> The End of an Era (Series Finale Rewritten)
>  by StacheHand
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> Prologue: Seasonal Recap
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Equestria had entered what everyone thought was it's biggest period of harmony. But under their noses, a plot brewed to bring the equine-dominated country into a new, fear-soaked epoch of evil.

The long-time Alicorn rulers of Equestria, Princesses Celestia and Luna, announced their plans to soon retire and leave it's champion of friendship, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends in charge of the responsibilities they've had for over a thousand years. It came so fast, Twilight was left in a state of anxiety unlike any she'd been in before, but her best friends, Spike the Dragon, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash knew how to calm her down and make her think about how qualified as a leader she is. A big way to illustrate that, however, was on it's way to give their world a cold welcome.

The rogue former queen of the changelings Chrysalis, left wandering the wilderness since she was booted from her throne by Starlight Glimmer and Thorax, was teleported by a sinister, yellow and black magic. The same also freed the magic-eating centaur Tirek, alongside his recent protégé, the wicked pegasus filly prodigy Cozy Glow, from their cages within the dark prison of Equestria's deadliest villains, Tartarus. Elsewhere, necromancy was performed to bring Sombra, the tyrannical former king of the beautiful Crystal Empire, back from the ether as a lively, though no less ghastly revenant. They were gathered in a murky cavern by an ancient dark sorcerer of legend.

Their benefactor was Grogar, the "First Emperor of Equestria", the "Father of Monsters", whom claimed all that he saw many ages ago, before he was defeated and banished by the unicorn heroine Gusty the Great. Everyone besides Cozy was familiar with him, and they were all astounded to see him in the flesh. He brought them together in the hopes of creating a team. They believed Twilight and her friends only won because they "cheated", or got "lucky", but Grogar saw the true reason: they worked together, and that gave them the power to protect the world time and time again. Sombra wasn't interested, so he struck out on his own. Grogar allowed this with the agreement that when the dark unicorn failed, he would submit to the ram sorcerer.

Sombra's return as a revenant had some unforeseen side effects, like warping his ego to cartoonish levels and changing his once demonic-sounding voice into something more operatic, but he remained a force to be reckoned with, brainwashing ponies with illusions of their greatest fears. Twilight and her friends grabbed the Elements of Harmony as he reclaimed his throne in his former kingdom, and they seemingly defeated him pretty easily, but it was merely a trick to destroy the Tree of Harmony, along with the Elements. He pulled it off and went on to conquer Ponyville and Canterlot. Twilight wanted so badly for Discord to snap his claws and end the threat immediately, but he insisted they handle it themselves. How could they, though, without the Elements? Celestia, Luna and the ancient unicorn Pillar Star Swirl the Bearded helped keep the Everfree Forest under control in the meantime.

When they confronted Sombra in Celestia and Luna's throne room, Discord took what was apparently mortal damage from one of Sombra's blasts. Hope seemed completely lost, but the weakened draconequus reminded the ponies that they didn't need the Elements. They gave the Elements power in the first place by representing the virtues of friendship: Honesty, Laughter, Generosity, Kindness, Loyalty, and most important of all, Magic. They were technically Elements of Harmony themselves, it just didn't occur to them until Discord gave his heartfelt, motivational speech. With renewed resolve, they faced Sombra and awakened a new colourful, evil-dispelling power from their cores, much like what they had used against Tirek after unlocking the late Tree of Harmony's crystal box, but without any transformations.

In his final stand, the fallen Crystal Empire monarch looked on with disbelief that the girls were able to use the Elements' power, despite the Tree of Harmony's destruction. He screamed in terror and pain, his own fears realized, as his body evaporated into the light. But deep in his mind there was a dying thought of defiance: Grogar, this changes nothing!

Sombra was returned to the eternal darkness from which Grogar resurrected him and everything was returned to normal. The road to Twilight becoming more confident had begun in earnest, but Celestia and Luna decided to give her more time and rule over Equestria for a while longer. It turned out Discord had actually faked his mortal injuries as part of a plan to motivate the heroines and shape Twilight into the leader he knows that she can be. He wasn't happy that the young alicorn's coronation wouldn't be taking place quite yet, and most of the ponies didn't appreciate this trick, but his dearest friend Fluttershy could say in good faith that he only pulled that stunt because he has their best interest at heart.

Despite the deal he made, Grogar didn't bring Sombra back again to serve him. In fact, he saw his final downfall as the ponies saving him the trouble of showing this upstart his place. Instead he used the dark unicorn's gruesome end to illustrate what fates await his remaining cohorts, Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow, if they defy him and refuse to join forces. They reluctantly agreed, because none of them wanted to be blown to dust by friendship.

Not long after these events, six students of the School of Friendship, Smolder the Dragon, Gallus the Griffon, Ocellus the Changeling, Yona the Yak, Silverstream the Hippogriff and an Earth Pony named Sandbar, unintentionally resurrected the Tree of Harmony when they built a monument in it's memory. It's now a crystalline treehouse, standing in the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters and serving as a gathering place for these promising young friends.

Sombra's attack left enough of an impact that Twilight Sparkle's big brother, Shining Armor, at Celestia's suggestion and with help from the Canterlot Royal Guard, and Star Swirl, fortified Canterlot Castle with heightened security measures, such as remnants of Chrysalis' throne, which nullfied non-changeling magic, powerful giant fans, brick walls over the underground entryways, doors that require Royal Guard medals to open and a lot of geese. It was a lengthy, complex process, but all it took was a conspiracy between Spike and Luna to bring the holes in the system to light. With that blow to her pride, Celestia begrudgingly agreed to discuss patching them with Luna, to account for threats on the inside and the outside.



Weeks later, Grogar was busy, but he wasn't telling the terrible trio anything about a plan against the heroes, or how they can build their team. Chrysalis' already unstable state got worse by the day with all her bottled up rage, and Tirek has just been passing the time building muscle, often forgetting that he was broken out of Tartarus and summoned to this cavern for the purpose of working with two criminals that he didn't want anything to do with. Chrysalis expressed her frustrations to a small, violet-coloured piece of wood, a reminder of a failed plan where she made twisted clones, and while Tirek was in his 2nd form thanks to a small sample of the ram sorcerer's magic, he yearned for the size and power of his final form.

Cozy, having devoted time to learning about friendship (or at least her own twisted perception of the concept) in the School of Friendship, was the one creature genuinely enthusiastic about following Grogar's plans and establishing a powerful team dynamic between her and these bigger, stronger creatures. As things were, though, they were unmanageable, even for the great mind she was gifted with. Then things looked up when Grogar came back from one of his oddly frequent, confidential excursions to give them "the perfect test". He sent them to Mount Everhoof to reach it's peak, hopefully becoming an effective and stable combined force in the process, and obtain his wicked talisman of power, the Bewitching Bell, which was taken away from him long ago by Gusty the Great.

Through many arguments, failed attempts to reach the peak on their own, unexpected saves, friendly fantasizing over the wonders of world domination, a long climb and eventual creative teamwork born from putting trust in one another, they got the Bewitching Bell, and for a moment, they were beginning to see the light. The beauty of real friendship. But thanks to Chrysalis' strong hatred, they fended off the temptation.

Recognizing how powerful Grogar is, they decided that they would hatch a plan to double-cross him and keep the Bewitching Bell to themselves until they figured out how to use it's great powers. When they returned to the ram sorcerer's lair, they hid the Bell completely from his line of sight behind a rock and feigned subservience, easily convincing him that they failed to retrieve it. He was livid, though grateful that they managed to work together like he demanded. As he walked away, the trio smiled with utmost confidence that from then on, things would be going their way. But they had to get back into their "loyal servant" characters when he collected himself and turned back around to make an announcement.

"I hope you're ready for another teammate, because you may still have work to do before our attack." the ram sorcerer grumpily said.

"Huh? Another... teammate?" Cozy inquired. It felt rather soon.

"Though I only have a fraction of my magic, I have been able to deliver a most useful asset." Grogar remarked. "Something you three couldn't." His eyes glowed with more tranquil, but still very real fury.

"Did you bring back Sombra again?" Tirek asked worriedly.

"No. That proud fool has served his purpose." Grogar growled. "I don't tolerate unruly failures."

"The Storm King?" Chrysalis presumed with a raised eyebrow.

"That childish worm would be of no use to us!" Grogar suddenly yelled with a raging fire in his tone.

"Flim & Flam?" Cozy guessed wildly after pondering for a second. Grogar didn't dignify this with a response, preferring to roll his eyes over the pegasus filly's attempt at a deduction.

"Well, who's left?!" Tirek queried with an expression of confusion.

"The only ones whom came to mind that I want were three in particular; a trio of my most terrifying and powerful monsters. But alas, they're completely out of reach." Grogar responded, reminiscing and shaking one of his fore hooves in anger and regret. "Then I recently found something here, which I imagine has much sentimental value to one of you."

"I had a friendship statue, but that was left behind in Tartarus." Cozy mentioned.

"I found what looks like a mere miscolored branch, but actually contains, to my surprise, a scintilla of pony life signs." Grogar explained in detail.

"Branch... pony..." Chrysalis whispered. Then her eyes widened with disbelief. "No... you. Did. Not!" she exclaimed her last word, displaying utter discontent with the ram sorcerer's snooping and what his words were implying.

"And on one of my trips, I collected a sample of pony DNA to mix with the branch, restoring life to a most promising enchantress. I have not constructed a mere copy, but an echo of a time long past." Grogar continued with the details. "She has been caught up on everything, and it's most regrettable that she will not see me at my peak, with my prize. Now, i'm off to get more work done. I expect that if there's anything besides embracing your new alliance that you can do competently, it's giving her a warm welcome." With that, he snorted irritably and walked through the hole in the wall he made with one of his beams.

Once Grogar had completely disappeared into the darkness, a shadow walked in from the corner of the room. It had the shape of a pony. One could make out the silhouette of a horn, indicating a new magical being had entered the room. Chrysalis stared at the pony with hatred in her eyes and bared her teeth like a territorial animal.

"I can't believe Grogar brought you back." Chrysalis snarled. "Come out of there so I can clip your wings, you insubordinate scum!"

"Wings? I don't remember being a princess." The pony in the shadows replied, and not in the voice that the rogue changeling was expecting to hear. It was a voice that actually caused her fury to somewhat flare up. Then the mysterious equine stepped out of the shadows, revealing herself, and she was not the malevolent copy of Twilight Sparkle that Chrysalis created quite some time ago in the hopes of controlling the Elements of Harmony.

Instead, she had no wings, her coat was a lighter purple, her mane was closer to violet than blue with bright, toothpaste-like streaks, and her irises were closer to blue than violet. Her mane style was even like two equals signs surrounding her horn. Tirek and Cozy looked on in shock and perplexion, while Chrysalis recognized this entity instantly as her rage reached a feral breaking point.

"STARLIGHT GLIMMER?!"

Chrysalis flapped her wings lightning-fast and launched herself at the Starlight copy with a gutteral sound most bestial. The distance between them was great enough that the unicorn could react fast and ignite her horn with magic, performing a spell on the fuming rogue changeling that altered her trajectory against her will. This unexpected counter left her falling to the ground on the unicorn's left. Tirek and Cozy struck fighting poses.

"Slow down, everycreature!" the Starlight copy exclaimed. "I'm not here for a fight amongst ourselves." Her attempts at diplomacy left her wide open for a beam attack from Chrysalis. Soon after she was in the grip of her telekinetic spell, the centaur and pegasus filly gathering around with looks of animosity.

"Is that old goat playing some kind of joke?" Chrysalis growled with a fiery passion in her tone. "You mock me by wearing her colours! Give me one reason why I shouldn't feed you to the Ophiotaurus!" Quickly before she knew it, the copy extended a blade of light from her horn that pricked the changeling's, cancelling her magical grip.

"Because I have more know-how and creativity in magic than all of you put together." the copy answered confidently.

"Please, you wouldn't be here if I didn't master the art of duplication." Chrysalis snorted. The copy chuckled, as if told a decent joke.

"You were created from that purple log queenie here used to carry?" said Cozy, fascinated. "And here I thought she was just venting to a lifeless object." This got her a sneer from Chrysalis.

"So you're this... Starlight those ponies mentioned when I was in Tartarus?" Tirek asked.

"I am what Starlight used to be. What she was meant to be, before friendship changed her into a pity lab rat and rendered me a distant memory." the copy explained in a vindictive manner.

"She looks like Starlight, but the mane is off." Cozy pointed out.

"It makes no difference, her presence is not welcome." Chrysalis grumbled.

The Starlight copy turned a little to show off her flank to the three evil-doers, and another apparent difference from her template was displayed. It looked like Starlight's cutie mark with the two streams of magic, but there was no star on the bottom. Instead, there was an equals sign piercing through them like two long, sharp javelins.

"Hey, Counselor Starlight, the real Starlight, was known to have a sign like that on her flank a long time ago." Cozy stated.

"I've been imprisoned too long, what is this about?" Tirek wondered, lost and scratching his head.

"My ambition was to create a society of equality, and I succeeded for a time, until it was destroyed by Twilight Sparkle and her meddling friends." the copy answered in detail. "I tried to take revenge by altering the course of history, but my template was consumed by the princess' influence and swayed away from rebuilding my utopia when shown a grim outcome of such temporal vandalism. After that, I remained in the very back of her mind... until today."

"Equality?" Chrysalis scoffed. "There's no equality, only might making right!"

"I agree." the copy said with a smile. The rogue changeling's response was nothing more than a dumbfounded expression. "What i've learned is that utopia doesn't come from fairness, it can only be achieved through burning passion. And i've just found some creatures who can share in that passion. If all who live in Equestria, in this whole world, need ruthlessness to get in line, so be it! The only utopia is in a dystopia! Let me into your alliance and your plans."

"NEVER!" Chrysalis snapped.

"OK, i'll demonstrate what I can do and we'll put it to a vote." the copy stated. She lit up her horn again and used a few magical abilities. First, she used an invisibility spell that not only made her vanish from sight, but also covered the other three like a ghostly blanket. Second, she teleported herself, Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy back and forth across the room. Third and finally, she changed the world around herself to look like a gigantic x-ray. It was when she used this particular spell that she saw through the rock the Bewitching Bell was hidden behind. This took the copy by surprise, causing her spell to shut off.

"Well, that wasn't bad." Tirek judged.

"Grogar said you didn't get that Bell." said the copy.

"Ha! Like we were going to just give it to him." Chrysalis laughed. She pulled the artifact out of it's hiding place for the copy to see, certain that Grogar wasn't nearby to hear or see anything. "This talisman is the key to our victory against Twilight Sparkle's little crew."

"We got all the way up Mount Everhoof and applied a genius strategy to claim it." Tirek boasted. "Grogar has been fooled, so we have all the time in the world to master it's magic."

"Planning to double-cross him with his own weapon, huh? How poetic." the copy said gleefully. "It's just what I need. Grogar is powerful, but also barbaric and too tight-lipped, and that won't do. Count me in."

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I say the more, the merrier. Plus, she's got the moves." Cozy noted. "Welcome to the team... Mean Starlight Glimmer..?"

"I suppose she'll be of use. Not like we know those tricks." said Tirek, raising a hand. He and Cozy looked expectantly at Chrysalis, but she spat on the ground without saying a word.

"Now, for your convenience, Queen Chrysalis, don't think of me as your hated enemy, because you needn't address me as you would her." the copy urged. "Starlight Glimmer is a shameful shell, brainwashed into believing Twilight's philosophy. I will use the name my mother would've wanted. From here on out, call me... Aurora Eclipse."

Though the new name would be easier for Chrysalis to say, the malevolent Aurora Eclipse bearing the same appearance as the benevolent Starlight Glimmer would continue to remind the rogue changeling of what she lost and all the rage that she desperately desired to let out on her for playing a part in taking away her position of power. Those feelings had to be set aside, for Eclipse could straighten her out easily. Besides, they had an old Bell to figure out.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders, earth pony Apple Bloom, unicorn Sweetie Belle and pegasus Scootaloo were almost torn apart when the latter's parents came for a visit. They wanted their daughter to live with them, but were convinced to let her remain in Ponyville when it was made clear what a difference the CMC have made in society in their own way.

Much time had passed with many developments for Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Most importantly, Celestia and Luna decided to spend some adventure and vacation time and leave Twilight and the others in charge of the Swanifying ceremony. After all the arguments and trouble on both ends, the Royal Sisters came to an understanding on how empty their lives really are without each other, while the young alicorn learned the importance of delegating tasks, thanks to the Royal Swanifying Committee. However, she lost control of herself when trying to work an amulet imbued with the sisters' sun and moon-moving magic. The next step in this journey to the throne was keeping her "Twilighting" in check.



Without his Bewitching Bell to use against the heroes of Equestria, unaware that it was being hidden within his own lair by the villainous tetrad, Grogar felt it necessary to find another source of great magical power to replace it, even if nothing he could find would ever compare to his mighty talisman. When he left for yet another excursion, Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy and Eclipse were left alone with the Bell, but unable to tap into it's power. They didn't trust the ram sorcerer to find anything of use, or honour the alliance he had formed. Luckily, as they hid his most prized possession, he didn't suspect a thing, despite their histories of deceptive deeds.

Cozy remembered hearing Twilight mention a restricted section in the Canterlot Library Archives. It only made sense that any clue to unlocking the potential of this ancient, long-forgotten item of dark magic would have to be buried within a vast collection of forbidden knowledge. It was time for a road trip.

The four of them put the Bell in a safe hiding place and teleported to a new area, far away from the lair, with Eclipse's magic. Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy wouldn't say it out loud, but they had to admit to themselves that this was refreshing after the walking and flying they had to do to get back from Mount Everhoof. They looked around and saw that Grogar was nowhere in sight. Not even his scent or the faint sound of hoofsteps from him could be picked up. As they prepared for their visit to Canterlot, Cozy thought about the sorcerer's line of thinking.

"If he needs a source of power that bad, why look for an alternative instead of, I don't know, climbing Mount Everhoof to get the stinking Bell himself?" she honestly puzzled.

"Isn't it obvious?" said Tirek, as if nothing had to be spelled out. "He wasn't testing us with that quest, he's just too weak to do what we managed to pull off with our combined skills. He's a withered sorcerer under a mask of bravado, and he only orders us around now because our current states are even weaker."

"The more I look at him, the less I can wait for that to change." Chrysalis growled. "He should be the one filled with fear. He should be the one standing helplessly. That way, he won't stand in the way of my vengeance."

"Our vengeance." Eclipse corrected.

"I've got the biggest chip on the shoulder out of all of us, echo." Chrysalis stressed.

"And that's why we're here now: carrying the burden as one." Cozy remarked.

"More importantly, we're on the verge of golden opportunities." said Eclipse. "Though he has unwittingly sealed a grim fate for his whole agenda because of it, solidarity is the very reason Grogar motivated us to see value in teamwork. But we, the four of us, have the vision to lead. Not to mention we're devious and vigorous."

"Don't get used to it. We're going to violently oppose each other again when it's all said and done, anyway." Cozy mentioned.

"Hmph. I don't know about you, but I believe we need a more... pragmatic solution." Eclipse opined with a low chuckle.

"Like what?" Tirek asked.

"We'll discuss it later. We should be arriving in Canterlot in a couple more bursts." Eclipse replied. With that, the villains gathered around the unicorn, disappearing with her in a turquoise discharge of magic.

The Summer Sun Celebration approached once again. Twilight Sparkle made a long, intricate list of plans to make sure it went swimmingly, but she had to make some last minute changes when Celestia and Luna announced this being the very last time the celebration would take place, now that they were stepping down as Equestria's rulers. Ever since the Swanifying ceremony, Twilight had been making a lot of progress in keeping herself calm and focused in her work. All she required now was to pass along her new plans to her friends and make this final Summer Sun Celebration extra special. Discord stuck around in the event she did lose her head from everything going south.

Upon arriving in Canterlot that night, the villainous tetrad discovered the increased security around the castle grounds. An attempt from Chrysalis to sneak into the castle by disguising herself as a Royal Guardsmare failed due to the new way of unlocking doors, and an attempt by Eclipse to teleport them all inside failed due to the rogue changelings' throne's effects inside the walls and roofs. This would require them to use their heads more than ever, and thankfully, for them, the extra jobs Twilight's friends were assigned to provided a good distraction. Eclipse and Chrysalis discussed their next plan of action to take advantage of these circumstances.

With his magic-draining powers, Tirek stripped several earth ponies of their energy and left them looking sick on the ground. He even absorbed enough to buff up to his 3rd form. Despite the increase in size, he was able to sneak around the castle gardens and not be seen. The incident he caused lead others to believe something was terribly wrong with the food.

Cozy, using not any magical powers, but her own cunning and unassuming appearance, tricked a neurotic pegasus managing the weather for the celebration and stirred up a terrible lightning storm. It helped that her target, conveniently, was ignorant of who she was. The end result made a chaotic scene across the castle grounds, sending ponies running in fear.

Chrysalis shapeshifted into a unicorn named Crackle Cosette to manipulate some unicorns performing for the celebration. With only a few, select words, she was able to stoke up the pride they held in, convincing them that their unparalleled control over magic had far more potential than making flashy effects at parties. They all agreed to cancel their whole show.

Eclipse stayed hidden with her invisibility spell and targeted a lone Royal Guardsmare. Turning off the high-level spell, she hid behind a shrub and struck her with a Cutie Mark removal spell. It made the Guardsmare's colours dull and left her in a trance, allowing the unicorn echo to use a gradual, but effective, memory collecting spell, before returning the Cutie Mark to it's rightful place. From this, she got a mental map of the castle's interior and obtained some other information, all of which were vital to the tetrad's goals.

When they found out, all of Twilight's friends tried to hide the fact that everything was going wrong from her, except for Applejack, whom insisted that they tell the truth. But there was little doubt among them that for all of the young alicorn's talk of improving on her freak-outs, she would inevitably spiral into a panicked state. To the best of their ability, they tried to fix the issue before Twilight found out.

Meanwhile, the villains made their move. Tirek sapped a Royal Guardsstallion of his energy while Cozy distracted him, allowing Chrysalis to use his medal to open the castle doorway. As they headed inside, Eclipse froze him, put a magical tether over his muzzle, and then used her invisibility spell to cloak herself along with Tirek and Cozy. Chrysalis put her Royal Guardsmare disguise back on so she could speak to other Guardsmares and Guardsstallions to allow her access into other rooms. They employed a new security measure: passwords. With Eclipse's invisibility in effect, Chrysalis could listen to her suggestions while making it look like she was pondering the answers. She got them right, but it would take a few doors to find the Archives. The Royal Guard was everywhere, patrolling the hallways restlessly. The tetrad even had to shake off some geese and dodge multiple magic-sensing searchlights.

Eventually, Twilight saw for herself that the festivities didn't go the way she envisioned them, and that her friends were lying to her. They braced for more "Twilighting", but were taken by surprise at her actual response. She genuinely had grown up, realizing that freaking out only exacerbates problems. With the leadership worthy of a future queen, she devised a a new plan to resolve the fiasco. Earth ponies' health was tended to, pegasi were assisted with weather control, and the unicorns were reminded that their performance for this last day of this important celebration in honour of their longtime rulers was worth their talents.

In the Canterlot Archives' restricted section, the evil tetrad searched the darkened, abandoned bookshelves for anything that looked like what they sought. Cozy managed to discover something behind a bookshelf planted into a wall. It was a tunnel just big enough to fit her tiny filly body. She crawled through, and on the other side found a stone door. She called to her partners; Eclipse responded by teleporting to her position. She tried moving the door, but found that it had properties which negated her magic, even teleportation. Chrysalis crawled in by shapeshifting into a small creature, but her power couldn't move it, either. She couldn't even change her form around it. Then finally, Tirek was teleported over, and when his magic also failed, he got physical. Using the muscle he gained from absorbing some life force earlier, he lifted the heavy door, revealing a downward staircase into darkness.

Chrysalis, Cozy and Eclipse went down the stairs, the two horned creatures lighting the way while Tirek held up the door behind them, and eventually came to the last step. In  front of them was nothing but a giant pit. Eclipse used her x-ray spell to reveal a wide, hidden platform across from the stairs' bottom. On the other side of the platform, the rogue changeling and filly prodigy came across a statue that resembled the Sphinx, a monster that once came face-to-face with the ancient pegasus Pillar Somnambula. They looked at the stone structure, not knowing what to make of it. Cozy tapped it, and it suddenly lit up and spoke in a riddle, characteristic of it's inspiration.

"I am created from the inside, yet already there on the outside! I am untamable, but acquiescent! When currently present, I enforce dominance! In my absence, there is no freedom!" the Sphinx statue sung in a ghostly voice.

The remaining two villains thought long and hard about the answer. Chrysalis was growing frustrated and couldn't think straight. Cozy contemplated for a few more seconds, until she thought of Grogar. She remembered when the ram sorcerer first brought the villains together, and he was referred to by a certain "Father of..." title by the late Sombra. Then it clicked into place. Cozy responded to the riddle with "a Monster."

The statue accepted this with a shout of "Correct!" It slowly opened up to reveal a wall covered in chains. In the middle of these binds was a brown and yellow tome with a bell on it's front cover. Cozy flew up to try and get the tome out, but the chains electrocuted her upon contact. She fell and landed on Chrysalis' back, something that she immediately told the child not to look too deep into. When the chains proved too strong for telekinesis and blasts, Chrysalis shapeshifted; this time into a Maulwurf. With a few giant claw swipes, she broke the chains with only minor difficulties from the electrocution hex, releasing the tome. The four villains exited the Canterlot Archives with their hard-earned prize, eager to read it.

Thanks to the efforts of Twilight and her friends, the last Summer Sun Celebration was saved. The ponies' tensions were relieved. With a graceful turn of the sun and moon amulet, she brought the sunrise of a new day. With Celestia and Luna leaving after this, Twilight declared that going forward, they would celebrate them for the watchful eye they've had over Equestria for over 1,000 years, and the good they've accomplished before passing the torch. This new holiday was given the name 'The Festival of the Two Sisters'. The young future ruler never felt more confident, composed and happy. Even Discord, though saying so out loud only to himself, couldn't deny it.

The evil tetrad soon returned to Grogar's lair after sneaking out of the castle and teleporting with Eclipse's magic once they were back outside. Eclipse rested in a corner, tired from so much magic usage. Before they could get a look at Grogar's tome, the big boss himself appeared in the room. When Cozy asked if he found what he was searching for, he told the tetrad "Once again, i've found success where you all find failure." He announced that he located something of value, but didn't specify to any of them what it was. Tomorrow, he would go out yet again, hoping to retrieve it and use it to officially begin their takeover.

Tirek had returned all of his absorbed magic to it's owners to cover his tracks and avoid suspicion from Grogar, reverting him back to his 2nd form, much to his chagrin. With Grogar in another room, Chrysalis reminded them of the tome and the knowledge they could now study and utilize. They knew that they needed to take advantage of the ram sorcerer's absence and master the secrets and spells of Grogar and the Bewitching Bell written in it's countless pages. So far, they were many steps ahead of everybody.

"And if we're going to keep it that way, we need to discuss what we're going to do whenever we manage to defeat them." Eclipse said.

"What would that be, echo?" Chrysalis asked skeptically.

"We can't just use our kingdoms as a means to usurp each other. Like Cozy here said, the more, the merrier." Eclipse explained.

"Yeah, that's right." said Cozy with a nod.

"We can rule as we want, but if we leave each other in peace, there'll be more minds managing every corner of the world." Eclipse continued. "We can keep it all organized with our combined influence and separate nations. Uprisings will be discouraged, servants will submit more easily, we'll dominate wars and any friendship-worshipping fools will be driven mad trying to pick us off. This is a chance to make our alliance grow into a superpower."

"I find it hard to trust you." Chrysalis bluntly snorted.

"You'd better, because as a former leader of a village full of loyal followers, I want as much as any of you to have an empire again; authority, tributes, strength and affluence. The seed is planted, and the tree to grow from it is my new definition of living equal: equality in dominance." Eclipse stated with a look of certainty in her icy, blue eyes.

"Eh, i've heard crazier ideas. Honestly, i'm bored of the whole world domination thing and relieved that we have the keys to unlimited power." Tirek admitted. "I want to finish the job soon so I can relax and focus on some... personal projects."

"An interesting sentiment, but even detailed discourse like that rings hollow if you can't act upon it." Chrysalis venomously grumbled. With a sigh, she then thought out loud "I tire of betrayals, and i'll know if anycreature pulls a fast one."

"That sounds good to me. Wise pony say: a clock only works if every little cog meshes together." Cozy said in agreement, exchanging sincere smiles with Eclipse. "Our team dynamic's really grown, if I do say so myself. Also, speaking of planted seeds..."

Cozy then pointed out how easily the earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns fell into total strife when they messed up the Summer Sun Celebration preparations. Chrysalis acknowledged this as a subject worth thinking about. Their secret plot was reaching it's final stage.

Following the Summer Sun Celebration, Twilight retired from her position as the School of Friendship's headmare, and gave it to Starlight Glimmer. After many mishaps, she wound up making her childhood friend, the unicorn magic scholar Sunburst, the Vice Headstallion, and her more recent best friend, the unicorn stage magician Trixie, the new Student Counselor. Everything seemed to be right with Equestria and the lands beyond, and love was in the air. They had gotten so comfortable, nobody was even the slightest bit paranoid that another horrible threat was on the horizon. Before too long, everyone found themselves making lengthy and hard preparations for the most important day of Twilight Sparkle's life.



The ultimate battle for the fate of Equestria, and the entire world, is drawing near. Everything the heroes and villains have been through has led up to this grand event. What item of great power does Grogar seek, and will Twilight really get the happy ending she earned? Whomever stands victorious when the dust settles, it will mark...

The End of an Era!
> Part 1 - Chapter 1: Coming Together
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

All of Equestria was gathering at the heart of the country, and preparations for Twilight Sparkle's coronation were just about finished.

An earth pony baker, Mrs. Cup Cake, was helping her baker husband, Mr. Carrot Cake, ship loads of pastries and sweet refreshments, all lovingly made in the comfort of Sugarcube Corner, from Ponyville to Canterlot for all the attendees. She left to grab one more crate of their goodies, when suddenly, a "psst!" was heard in the nearby bushes. In them was another earth pony mare, this one having a violet and fuchsia colour scheme.

"Oh, hello there." Mrs. Cake politely greeted.

"Looks like i'm not too late." said the mystery mare.

"For Twilight's coronation? No, dear, there's plenty of time left." Mrs. Cake warmly assured.

"It's not that. I have a message that you need to hear." the mystery mare corrected. She looked up, down, left and right for any witnesses, and saw none. Then she closed in on the blue baker mare. "It's about the pegasi and the unicorns."

"What about them?" Inquired Mrs. Cake. "I know they were difficult during the last Summer Sun Celebration..."

"That's the thing. Ever since then, they've been discussing how they could "easily take over our roles in society", to quote one." said the mystery mare. "I fear that we have become disposable to them."

"That sounds awful." Mrs. Cake said. However, she rubbed her head with a hoof in skepticism. "But are you sure?"

"Would you put it past them, especially the unicorns?" the mystery mare asked, with a very subtle smirk of mischievous intent.

"Well, I always did think many unicorns were quite the upstaging types." Mrs. Cake admitted as her mind drifted off into memories of magic quickly performing feats that earth ponies such as herself put hours of work into. She felt such power was extremely threatening to her business. "But I have a unicorn foal, and a pegasus one, too. They couldn't be..."

"Think of all the advantages those races have, and the vanity they give them. It's not too late to make your foals different." the mystery mare advised. She smiled confidently, like a seductive spirit.

Mrs. Cake spoke no more words as she stood in place, contemplating the matter of the pegasi and unicorns' alleged opinions of her people.



In Cloudsdale, Zephyr Breeze, the brother of Fluttershy, the pegasus whom embodies kindness, was conversing with a pegasus filly wrapped in a robe and wearing some white and blue paint on her face, concealing her identity.

"So what you're saying is that earth ponies and unicorns are starting to realize we pegasi are "incompetent at our jobs", because they think we can just stop storms before they begin?" Zephyr echoed to the one who gave him this information. "The nerve! All this over a slight mishap."

"You better be careful, mister." the painted filly warned in a squeaky voice. "Before you know it, our whole weather-controlling system will crumble, and those unicorns will gain the favour of the princess, leaving us all on the streets."

"But earth ponies don't have the kind of fancy, sparkling magic unicorns do." Zephyr noted.

"Yes, and after all these moons, they may be learning to predict the weather." said the painted filly. "Who's to say they haven't been observing our techniques closely to adapt accordingly? Even if chances are slim, we have to take that as a possibility."

"I see your point." Zephyr stated. "I know how the earth ponies have gotten on sudden rainy days. In fact, this may have something to do with the recent pegasi disapearances."

"Disappearances?" the painted filly queried, this whole thing being completely new to her as suggested by her tone.

"Oh yeah. For example: one pegasus is with this other pegasus, one turns around for 2 seconds, and poof! The other's gone, and they're nowhere to be found in town, as if they left to another dimension." Zephyr explained.

The painted filly put a hoof to her chin, smiling with interest. This discovery was a happy coincidence that would work in her favour.



Up in the beautiful city of Canterlot, a unicorn stallion with a mane fit for royalty was talking to Starlight Glimmer, the former evil equality activist turned student of Twilight Sparkle turned School of Friendship Headmare. She was speaking to Celestia's nephew, Prince Blueblood.

"What have you heard about these unicorn disappearances, your grace?" Starlight asked.

"I heard that some friends had a falling out, probably over something silly like the size of their formal attire." Blueblood informed his fellow unicorn. "And the next day, before they can reconcile, one of them just vanishes off the face of Equestria."

"That poor mare." Starlight said with sympathy. "I really thought we ponies had fully embraced harmony."

"Well, world peace wasn't built off of saying things!" Blueblood exclaimed. "Looks like we unicorns are the superior race after all. If those earth ponies and pegasi want to stage a rebellion out of their screaming insecurities, then it's war!"

"Careful, you could be next, your majesty." Starlight added. "Frankly, with the power we possess, stamping them out is something we should've done moons ago."

"Indeed." Blueblood agreed. "If we want something, we can only count on ourselves. Especially me." He finished with a vain grin.

Starlight smirked and chuckled at him as if he had told a funny joke. She took hold of the prince's hoof in respect. All too easy.



"Somepony told me that her husband went to work, and after he left, he never came home." Mrs. Cake explained. "A few moons have passed since then. I thought it was an isolated incident, but the earth pony disappearances just keep piling up." The mystery mare put a hoof on the distressed baker.

"Then I think you know what to do, my friend." she said. "We earth ponies have to stick together, for Princess Twilight's sake."

Mrs. Cake nodded in agreement, a look of determination flaring up in her eyes. The mystery mare released her, and the blue baker returned to her duty of getting the last crate of sweets for the coronation. A pegasus came into her view and she eyed her, saying "i'm watching you." warningly. Then a unicorn walked into her line of sight, carrying a crate with his magic, and she yelled "especially you!", causing him to drop the crate out of fright.

The mystery mare dropped all pretenses of compassion when everyone's back was turned on her. She let out a quiet, sinister laugh while brushing her mane and sneaking away.



Inside a room within Grogar's lair, the notorious centaur lord, Tirek, was sitting on a stone chair in front of a stone table, on top of which the ram sorcerer's sought after artifact, the Bewitching Bell, rested. He was reading the large tome that his three comrades stole from the Canterlot Castle library, learning how to work the ancient item.

He turned his head away from the pages as the mystery mare, the painted filly and Starlight Glimmer walked into the room.

"Had a successful trip, ladies?" said Tirek with a smile.

The mystery mare's irises glowed green, and she was engulfed in a rising green flame, revealing her true form: the former queen of the changelings, Chrysalis. The painted filly wiped off the white and blue substance on her face with a cloth and tore off her robes, unearthing the figure of the wicked young prodigy, Cozy Glow. Starlight used a magical aura to reshape her mane into the style she wore during her days of running the nameless village, and wipe away her cutie mark, revealing one that was like it, but with the star below the two streams of magic replaced with an equals sign, like two javelins, piercing through them. It was actually Aurora Eclipse, Starlight's doppelganger based on her past self.

"Soon, the pride of those unicorns will be their own destruction." said Eclipse.

"The pegasi are going to keep some eyes open for days." said Cozy.

"And earth ponies shall campaign for their rights." said Chrysalis.

"Excellent!" Tirek exclaimed.

"We can crush Twilight and all of her friends a hundred times over, but as long as they know there are ponies all over, united in their faith in them, they'll always come back from the brink." Eclipse hypothesized. "The first step to beating them for good? They need to experience the failure of their lives' work."

"Once we've made them suffer, and shifted the ponies' opinions, we can piece it all back together to make them adore us!" Chrysalis stated, lifting a hoof triumphantly.

"It was lucky for us that some ponies have inexplicably disappeared." Cozy commented.

"Is that a fact?" said Tirek with widened eyes. "What a happy accident. They'll be pointing hooves at one another in no time." The tetrad collectively laughed in malevolent pleasure. Then Cozy flew up to him, beaming.

"So, what have you found in there, T?" She affectionately addressed him with a nickname.

"I had to brush up on a lot of my old Ponish, but you'll love what I deciphered. According to this tome, the Bewitching Bell has a spell that can absorb the magical power of any creature or enchanted object." Tirek answered. As he spoke, he put the tome on the table for everyone to see and pointed to an illustration of Grogar, wearing the Bell on his collar, stealing energy from multiple creatures and placing it inside the item in the form of yellow and black streams.

Chrysalis, Cozy and Eclipse looked at the centaur in disappointment. "So, basically what you do already." Chrysalis snarkily pointed out. For a moment, it felt like they wasted their time on something that just did something they've had at their disposal all along.

"Not exactly." Tirek responded, sneering at Chrysalis for her tongue. "I absorb exclusively from living creatures, and only the circulating energy that powers their abilities; their vitality, which I convert to raw strength. This Bell takes that away as well as the core magical essence within, the foundation where the knowledge and mastery of spells lie, adding them to the wearer's skill set and assimilating it into Grogar's special brand of power. He dubs it... Malice Magic." He finished with a dramatic tone.

Chrysalis, Cozy and Eclipse's previous disappointment changed into genuine interest, the three of them now seeing the true value of the Bell. "So, what makes this "Malice Magic" so special, compared to other kinds of dark magic?" Chrysalis queried.

"It's completely poisonous. It says here that any bearers whom don't have hearts blackened by thoughts most unjust and impure will be slowly drained of their core essence, struck with escalating pain and sickness until they permanently collapse." Tirek described in detail. "And any magic returned from the Bell through this other spell becomes unstable and too dangerous to use. This in turns puts the victims' at it's mercy..." his tone then rose up into a shrill of excitement. "...which means the magic shall be all ours!"

"I have to admit, Grogar may be a thug, but he was ahead of his time in this field." said Eclipse, impressed with the description.

"We've gotta get Twilight and the others with that spell." Cozy vigorously cried out. "I doubt even their friendship powers can resist that kind of corruption. What else does the Bell do?"

"Shadow spells, mind control spells, protection spells, monster and zombie creation spells most of all." Tirek continued. He turned the pages of the tome and pointed at an illustration of Grogar and the Bell evolving some creatures into bigger and scarier looking forms, gazing down at them like a giant. "Here's a good one: it's called Malice Evolution. Provided we truly fit the criteria of unjust and impure thoughts, this will transform us into the best versions of ourselves we want to be, unlocking the latent potential of our clans."

"Well, me, you and Chryssy kind of almost had a friendship realization a while back..." Cozy reminded him, worried that what occurred between her, the magic-eating centaur and the rogue changeling on Mount Everhoof would throw a wrench into any plan they could have with this enticing spell.

"But we resisted, and nothing has come close to drawing us back in since." Chrysalis asserted, hanging her head up high with pride. "Don't call me 'Chryssy', by the way."

"And I haven't felt any negative effects the whole time i've been in this form." Tirek pointed out, recalling the little ball of Grogar's magic he ate to achieve his quasi-buffed state.

"Remember, a necessary evil to reclaim sovereignty is unjust and impure intent all the same." Eclipse clarified.

"Fair point." Cozy acknowledged.

"If just a sample of Grogar's magic can buff me up by one stage, then with this i'll go straight to my final form so I can have my dream body again." Tirek assessed. "And break free of these bands. They chafe." He looked at his silver arm bands disdainfully, remembering how good it felt to have them removed when he last accessed his ultimate state. "But my magic draining ability won't be of much use if we have the Bell. Hopefully the spell can make it reach out further, like a toxic gas cloud, to drain vitality magic more sneakily?"

"If the spell does what the tome says, I could uncover the secret art of changeling shapeshifting. Yes, the ability to turn into two creatures. Three creatures. FOUR creatures!" Chrysalis squealed with increasing volume, her thirst for blood on full display. "Starlight won't stand a chance!"

"Do you think it could make me an alicorn?" Eclipse asked, her face alight with curiosity and wanting. "My magic talent is already great, but if I ascend, it'll be perfected. I'll even wield the power over the soil and the weather that earth ponies and pegasi are so proud of. I know Star Swirl never became one, but he was allowed to choose his form."

"I think you answered your own question." said Tirek with a thumbs up to Eclipse. Then he noticed Cozy's tiny form come into the room with a mirror and place it on the table next to the tome. "What's that for, Cozy?"

"The tome says that spell makes the best version of yourself, and I know what my ideal form would be." Cozy replied. She pointed to her shadow and her reflection in the mirror. "This... and that... are technically part of me. They're like my closest friends ever. As they are, though, they just mimic what I do and nothing else. For my evolution, I want them to evolve, to protect me and play with my enemies. Can it be done?"

"Huh." Tirek uttered, scratching his head. "Perhaps we can make that work. I did say shadow, control, protection and creation magic were possible."

"Wouldn't have much combat value, child." Chrysalis muttered with doubts.

"If you're going to utilize spells anyway, evolve to alicornhood, and i'll teach you." Eclipse offered.

"Hey, don't get me wrong. Having a horn and laser powers is tempting and all, but i'm a trickster, not a fighter." Cozy stressed. As megalomaniacal as the filly prodigy was, her weapons of choice were, and always had been, her intelligence and her outward charm. Wielding a mighty pony hybrid's magic, with all the destructive capacity that entails, would fly in the face of her character. Eclipse grunted with respectful acceptance of her decision.

"Whatever. Let's use the spell before Grogar gets back, and once we've evolved, we'll deal with him first." Chrysalis demanded. "I'm sick of waiting for that old goat's "master plan", whatever it is." Her patience with the ram sorcerer had grown so thin, she became convinced that he didn't have any idea what he was going to do with the tetrad he assembled beyond forcing them to cooperate. Thanks to him being out for so long, finding an artifact to replace the Bell, she and the others had time to put their plans together.

"I'd say his usefulness ran out quite some time ago. He thinks he's all that, but if Gusty the Great has taught us anything, he's a spineless coward desperately compensating." Tirek mentioned with a laugh. "And after this, even Princess Twilight and her posse will be worms to us. Now, all together, girls." He called for them to stand united. They stood close in anticipation.

"At least with the knowledge of our unification, that washed-up wizard can fall proud." Eclipse remarked. On that note, she declared "Our pact stands. What we do next, we do as a team. Once we defeat Equestria's protectors, we can claim it, spread our venom to the outer lands, rebuild our empires and rule our shares of the world alone once more." Extra emphasis was placed on the word 'alone', signifying that this alliance would be reaching an end soon, but by that time the tetrad would leave each other in peace; no tricks, and no conspiracies.

"I'll hold you to that." Chrysalis said in a low voice. Wary of the others, she was thinking heavily of keeping her guard up around them at all times.

The tetrad smiled, thinking of the forms they were going to take upon their evolutions. Tirek and Eclipse hit the Bell with non-violent orange and turquoise beams, activating the desired spell. The artifact emitted a bright, white light and floated up into the air in front of the four. Each of them grinned at it in excitement, not just for their imminent rise to ultimate power, but for the fact that they'd finally be able to remove it's owner from the equation. The way they saw it, this was their show. They were the ones with scores to settle, not him. The Bell made a ghostly ringing sound, the white light turned yellow and black, like Grogar's Malice Magic, then the bottom of it pointed at the four creatures and fired a series of energy bolts.

The evolution process caused the room to rumble and crackle. Rocks fell as a towering mass grew all the way up to the ceiling, almost too big for it to contain. The mirror on the table shattered into pieces and was drawn into the energy bolts, travelling in the direction at which they quickly flew, while a shadow was changed into a giant puddle of black liquid, lifting off the ground to join the flashing light. Burns were felt, like flesh wounds were being cauterized by a blowtorch, and loud crunching sounds were heard, as if many bones were forcefully realigned. Lastly, a plume of fire engulfed the tetrad, followed by a massive burst of lightning that consumed the entire cavern. The one thing left untouched was the tome.

After that, the energy bolts ceased. The Bewitching Bell gently lowered itself back down on to the table. There was dead silence, broken by none of the tetrad. The spell was complete.



♫ My Little Pony, My Little Pony
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh...

(My Little Pony)
I used to wonder what friendship could be
(My Little Pony)
Until you all shared its magic with me

Big adventure,
Tons of fun!

A beautiful heart,
Faithful and strong!

Sharing kindness,
It's an easy feat!

And magic makes it all complete

You have my...
(My Little Pony)
Do you know you're all my very best friends? ♫



Outside the front doorway of the lair, Grogar, after what felt like moons of absence, had returned from his latest trip. Having sought an item he never specified, and still unaware of the tetrad's deception, he walked in with a look of confidence.

"Attention!" Grogar called, jumping across the stone footholds over the murky waters in his lair. "Twilight Sparkle's coronation is today, and we're going to give her a commemorative gift."

With a telekinetic spell, he pulled up an item wrapped in a yellow and black ring of magical energy. The item appeared to be triangular and gray, with a crimson red, diamond-shaped gem in the centre, and what looked like the head of a dark, red-eyed unicorn chiseled on top in-between two red and black pegasus wings. It was the Alicorn Amulet, the dark magic charm that granted ponies great power, but also corrupted their minds. It was sent into hiding after it was last used, but now, somehow, Grogar managed to find and acquire it.

"I have retrieved the artifact I desire, and it will serve us well once I apply it's magic." Grogar announced with a smile, continuing to step across the stones with perfect precision. Then it changed to a scowl. "But to achieve our ultimate victory, you must use what you've learned. You must. Work. Together!" He stopped at the last of the small footholds.

"One step ahead of you, Emperor Grogar!" Chrysalis proclaimed from the shadows in a mocking tone. Hanging from one of the cavern's stalactites, she twisted her head around in a neck-breaking motion and eyed the ram sorcerer with a look of sadistic glee. Immediately, she spat two balls of sticky changeling slime at his fore hooves, his collar and his horns, trapping him on the stepping stone he stood on and negating his magical power. It also hurt him, as he yelled in agony from a burning sensation. The Alicorn Amulet, released from the spell, fell onto his foothold.

Grogar reacted to his sudden entrapment with shock and confusion. He felt his magical power fade, and he struggled to move even a centimetre from his current position. He looked to his left, and through a stone doorway crashed Tirek, now in his gigantic, muscle-bound final form, with his bracelets removed and white hair on top of his head. He pointed his right hand straight at Grogar, and engulfed him in an aura of the centaur's orange magic, which made the ram sorcerer grow weak and look ill.

Cozy Glow flew in from another doorway, looking no different from before, until her eyes went blank and she was enveloped in a blanket of amorphous darkness, transforming into a shadowy, pony-like monster. Her new form was a Pony of Shadows, only unlike the darkness that took over Stygian for a time, this one was small, feminine-looking, didn't have a horn and wore a three-pronged, light grey peytral, shaped like a chess rook. With barely a look at the Alicorn Amulet or even any care to question what it was for, she threw a big rock at it with the strength of her shadow wings, crushing it. Grogar winced at the rock's impact.

Next, a tether spell was cast from seemingly nowhere, grabbing Grogar by the throat, pulling his head up and torturing him like a tight dog leash combined with a shock collar. As his guttural sounds of suffering echoed, Aurora Eclipse, the one responsible for the spell, made herself visible like a ghost atop the table where the goat eyeball-like crystal ball sat, now sporting a longer horn, a pair of large wings and a body like Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker with a darkened coat, a mane and tail that were like interstellar clouds, crackling with plasma, and dark regalia. A grin of delight spread across her muzzle while she simultaneously levitated the Bewitching Bell above her own head, giving the ram sorcerer a good view of the prized possession he was denied.

Chrysalis dropped down into plain view to show off her new form. It was like the form that the changelings had taken on ever since they rebelled against her, only this was coloured to look more sickening and terrifying; more like demonic battle armor, befitting of the rogue former queen. Also, her horn was straightened. She stared at Grogar with a low chuckle.

Grogar's eyes bugged out at the sight of his precious artifact. He had realized here and now that his minions, the ones he assembled to help him defeat their common enemy, had found success behind his back, keeping the Bewitching Bell for themselves and accessing it's amazing powers. The tables had turned: now he was the one sitting helplessly before a greater power, unable to fight back at all. Now he was afraid.

"My Bell! Traitors! You had it all this time!?" Grogar snarled chokingly in disbelief. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Uh, we're power-hungry malefactors out for revenge, and you literally directed us to the ultimate weapon." Cozy Glow replied in a smug, singsong tone. "Duh! What did you expect?"

Joining their magical powers together, Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy and Eclipse pointed the Bewitching Bell at it’s panicking owner and activated it’s magic absorption spell. The yellow and black light surrounds the Bell, and it causes a stream of magic bearing the same colour scheme to rapidly leave the ram sorcerer’s body, flowing into the opening on the artifact’s bottom. Grogar screamed and groaned in a lot of pain, struggling to break free from Chrysalis' slime or reactivate his powers.

The four double-crossers watched in euphoria as the one who intimidated and abused them for months on end had his remaining magic taken away, soon to be left a powerless husk at their hooves. It was cathartic for all of them to have successfully pulled this off, to play the most dangerous and powerful overlord of Equestrian legend for a fool and claim his power for themselves. At the same time, doing so proved to be so easy, they almost felt sorry for the poor sucker. After 6 seconds of enduring this agonizing process, Grogar’s face - unnoticed by the tetrad - suddenly went from a scrunched up, pained grimace to a devilish, cocky smile, and through the noise of the Bell's absorption spell he hollered a single, sudden word.

“PSYCH!”

In the blink of an eye, Grogar’s horns glowed and unleashed a magical energy wave, disintegrating the slime on them and blowing the treacherous tetrad into the cavern walls behind them with a painful crunch each. Their eyes were bugged out from what had just happened. Meanwhile, the Bewitching Bell stopped glowing and fell to the floor. The spell had no effect; Grogar looked barely injured, like he merely stubbed his hoof and got stung by a bee. As the ram sorcerer eyed his four shocked followers with a low chuckle of his own, he easily freed himself from the slime on his fore hooves that seemed to effectively hold him in place earlier. Even the molten crater in the foothold made by the slime was a minor inconvenience. With one last hop he set foot on the centre platform in the chamber.

"Well, that was unexpected." Tirek moaned in his now deepened voice, dazed from the shock wave and sore from his impact. He let out a grunt of pain as he slid off the stone wall and fell to his centaurian patellas, the weight of his body only supported by his open hands. To be caught off-guard here, evolved to his peak yet weakened by one blow was a lot for him to unpack.

Chrysalis fell to the floor of the higher platform, baring a look of agony and complete incredulity. "How..?" she managed to utter. She expected her slime to cancel out Grogar's magic, but if his horns could still do what they just did , then it clearly didn't work. Cozy was left a trembling heap, knocked out of her shadow form and moaning from the damage she took. Eclipse looked like she had been put under the spell that mixed 'Fiducia Compelus' with 'Cogeria' and 'Persuadere', but with tears dripping from her eyes.

"For your information, I didn’t cheat. Theatrics are a legitimate strategy, my friends." said Grogar, not with an annoyed frown like the tetrad had come to expect from him, but with a composed, neutral expression. “And this was no stroke of luck, either. I simply used the power I naturally have, like any good wizard. I know it’s heartbreaking; you had all been so confident since you came back from Mount Everhoof.” With his telekinetic spell, he moved the four villains right next to the crystal ball’s table.

Chrysalis, having registered the last part of Grogar’s sentence, instantly realized the implications behind it and felt a new wave of fury building up inside herself. “You...” she hissed, pointing a hoof at his bearded muzzle. “You knew what we were up to, didn’t you!?” Tirek and Cozy looked on in horror, while Eclipse covered her face in embarrassment.

“Of course. Did you truly take “I don’t trust anything any of you say” for hot air?” Grogar inferred. He pointed a hoof towards the crystal ball. The black rectangle in the centre changed into a pitch-black circle, and then a moving image showed; an image of a past event, which was none other than Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy at Mount Everhoof's peak, plotting against Grogar after retrieving the Bell. “I check Arimaspi’s Eye here regularly.” He stated matter-of-factly.

“Let Grogar think we’re his loyal servants. In the meantime, we’ll hatch our own plan.” said Chrysalis in Arimaspi’s Eye’s magical recording.

“Ooh... I love a good backstabbing!” Cozy in the recording cooed evilly with a wicked smile to match. Then the recording ended, returning the crystal ball to it’s normal state.

“ARGH!” Chrysalis roared with frustration, her rage having reached a boiling point. “I forgot about the stupid ball! You would use..!” She was fuming so much, she snarled like a beast and lunged at Grogar. Reacting incredibly fast, he sent the rogue changeling a few yards away from him by casually throwing a piece of teleporting Malice Magic at her. She stopped in mid-air for a moment, looking confused, then she eyed the ram sorcerer again. When she tried attacking once more, Tirek and Eclipse gripped her with magic to stop the rampage. Seeing them shake their heads with concern, she reluctantly ceased her assault.

“But even if I hadn’t spied on you, or predicted your treachery, I can sense my own artifact when it’s within my vicinity.” Grogar added, pointing a hoof to his head. “If there’s Malice Magic, I don’t even need to see it.”

“Oh... in hindsight, we should’ve accounted for something like that.” Tirek remarked, feeling defeated.

“Additionally, as Malice Magic’s pioneer, my vital energy and core shall never leave my body unless I, and only I, command them to.” Grogar continued, pointing at his chest with an air of authority. “When she took my Bell, Gusty the Great and her unicorn warriors literally had no choice but to seal me inside the stars." He laughed quietly over that memory.

"You told us you only had a fraction of your power." Eclipse mentioned.

"And that's the truth. It didn't mean i'm helpless against my talisman's enchantments." Grogar affirmed.

“Tch, what fools we were to think we could outsmart you that easily.” Eclipse admitted, hating herself for agreeing with a doomed-to-fail-miserably backstabbing plan. She bowed to Grogar, recognizing her place. “We don’t deserve the power the Bell has given us.”

“NO!” Cozy yelled, flailing her fore hooves around. “Please don’t take away my new powers, Mr. Grogar! I’ve barely gotten to test them!” She hugged her shadow on the ground.

“Don’t worry, i’m in a good mood.” Grogar said in an uncharacteristically soft tone. He then used his magic to lift up the Bewitching Bell and levitate it next to his head. “Besides, if I didn’t know of my Bell’s presence, I wouldn’t have gone out...” He simultaneously used his magical grip to take the Alicorn Amulet out from under the rock Cozy threw earlier. He showed it up close to everybody, the item still in one piece. “...for this.”

The tetrad looked at the dark charm. Chrysalis and Tirek were confused, as they didn’t see what was interesting about this pony-shaped item. Eclipse and Cozy, however, recognized it immediately, now seeing it up close. “The Alicorn Amulet?!” the mare and filly said with collective surprise.

“I read about that thing in the school library.” Cozy commented. “Very powerful.”

“And corruptive.” Eclipse added, thinking about how perfect the charm would be for her and Cozy, since their hearts are already consumed with unjust and impure thoughts. Then she raised an eyebrow at Grogar. “But, doesn’t it only work for ponies?”

“That matters not. As the tome says, what magic I absorb becomes my magic.” said Grogar with a roll of his eyes. Eclipse and Tirek responded with only a frown of awkwardness.

"Why go to the trouble of obtaining this pony trinket of all things, anyway?" Chrysalis asked, unaware of how the Amulet works besides granting ponies power.

"Let's just say the Amulet has something that'll keep my Bell close." Grogar stated while marveling at the dark artifact.

“Another thing...” Cozy started with a raised hoof. “If you knew we were keeping the Bell to ourselves, you could’ve just pulled it out of where we hid it and claimed it sooner.”

“Oh, Miss Glow, where would the educational value in that be?” Grogar replied.

“Educational?” Tirek inquired. He and the other three looked on in bewilderment.

"Using a persona, I let you get this far with your own preparations to improve your chances of success through crushing failure.” Grogar explained. “See how overbearing pride always comes before a devastating fall? It wasn't only Twilight Sparkle and her allies' teamwork that have won them every battle, you always grew complacent when you thought they were at your mercy; then you made that same mistake in underestimating me, never suspecting that I could throw a wrench in the works any minute. There's a word for that: insanity." He then gently set his fore hooves on Arimaspi's Eye's table. "If you're going to use the gift of Malice Magic, it's vitally important to let nothing get to your head. Remember this wake-up call, expect the worst from this world’s protectors, and approach every maneuver you pull wisely while putting your faith in one another’s capabilities. Let the knowledge of your failures strengthen your judgment! Only then can you reach your full potential and finally win!"

As the ram sorcerer spoke, Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy and Eclipse stared at him, stupefied by his personality. Grogar seemed like a different creature from what he was before. For so long, he gave them the impression that he was just a grouchy, old brute and out-of-touch has-been who relied too much on intimidation to get his way, something they thought would be his undoing. What they saw now was a wise, seasoned veteran who read them like open books and spoke a harsh truth, recognition of which terrified and impressed them more than ever.

"But, I know I can't rush you." Grogar sighed. "Freedom is too precious for one to sit on their vengeance."

“He’s right. Well played, Grogar.” Tirek admitted with his head hanging. “Now I know how Discord felt when I played him." Now knowing what it was like to be on the receiving end of a ruse, he put a hand to his chest with a look of resolve. "I accept my failures, and for the good of our team, i’ll remember to use my body and my mind for whatever trouble comes next.”

“He does have a point. I've gloated, laughed and awesomely walked away way too prematurely.” said Cozy, recalling when she thought her seemingly foolproof plans had gone off without a hitch. “Can't beat your enemies without beating your demons; it's actually pretty obvious when you think about it." She then tapped the side of her head with a hoof.

“Well, we have only one chance to do this right.” Eclipse noted. “Looking back, I was this close to falling into the same traps that Sombra did. To exact justice for what I lost, i'll strategize, i'll be patient, and i'll watch them fall before I let any hubris control me again." Then she, Cozy and Tirek looked expectantly at Chrysalis, whom was the most resentful of this experience.

“Your preaching disgusts me...” the rogue changeling growled. Her pride was in pieces. “...but if it will ensure my victory against Starlight and that turncoat Thorax, then i'll comply.” With a heavy sigh and a hard glare, she begrudgingly nodded in agreement to her four associates. Tirek gave her a thumbs up, Eclipse nodded back with a smile, and Cozy clapped her hooves.

“I foresee you will leave this cavern stronger, wiser conquerors.” said Grogar with a look and tone of satisfaction. He deactivated his powers to put the Bewitching Bell and the Alicorn Amulet on the table, clearing his throat afterwards. “Now, it’s about time I explained my master plan.” His face then changed to an exasperated expression, as if he was absolutely done with something, and he added “So you'll never question me about it again.”

The tetrad, having no other choice in the matter at this point, gathered around to listen to this long-awaited explanation they once doubted was even established. None of them were particularly happy to play second fiddle to Grogar, but for the time being, perhaps they would all be better off if they humbly followed his example. He would be the star after all.
> Part 1 - Chapter 2: Royal Gathering
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna guided Twilight Sparkle and her young dragon friend Spike to their throne room, revealing some renovations that have been made to the massive seat that the sun-moving alicorn sat upon for centuries. The smaller throne of her moon-moving younger sister had been conjoined with it to make it appear even more impressive. On top of it was a star, shaped exactly like the ones that make up Twilight's Cutie Mark. 

"Aw, you shouldn't have." said Twilight as her face glowed red from the sentiment.

"Go on, my faithful friend. Sit upon your throne. You've earned it." Celestia suggested.

Twilight nodded at her former teacher and walked up to the marvelous chair from which she would soon rule all of Equestria. Once in position, the soon-to-be-retiring monarchs took note of how she looked. From where they stood, there was a beautiful, sweet and wise pony looking downwards from the top of a regal podium, watching her subjects like a guardian angel and representing all that is friendly and virtuous in the world.

"Our little Twilight is all grown up." Luna commented with tears in her eyes. "It's like it was only yesterday that she saved me from that eternal night phase of my life."

"I've never seen such an adorably majestic sight in all of my days." said Celestia, putting her fore hooves up to her cheeks. "I don't think I could contain all this pride."

"Princess of Equestria and friendship. How exciting!" said Spike, flying next to the young ruler-to-be. "So, you freaking out yet, Twilight?" He proceeded to teasingly ask.

"Eh, not really." Twilight confirmed so casually in no time at all. "If anything, i'm relieved. After so many moons of travelling Equestria and beyond, fighting evil and amending problems, I get to enjoy a coronation and the next level of princesshood in peace with the friends i've had since the beginning."

"You're right. It's like we're finally getting a true happily ever after." Spike remarked happily.

"You don't feel as if having our responsibilities of running the country placed upon you is of concern?" Celestia inquired.

"Why would it be?" Twilight returned jovially. "It's been proven time and time again that with the support of my friends, and all the creatures we've touched in our adventures, we're always going to come out on top. If there's any magic that's actually more powerful than friendship, than I certainly haven't heard of it. I know we're more than up to the challenge of keeping Equestria safe and peaceful for moons to come."

"I know I haven't been occupying my throne for as long as Celestia has hers, for obvious reasons..." Luna reminded, recounting what she did so long ago to receive imprisonment inside the moon. "But I wish to remain at her side, wherever she goes next. So, I trust you'll have somepony to help with royal delegations."

"That reminds me." said Twilight, her eyes widening. She turned to Spike with an enthusiastic smile. "As of today, i'm giving you a special promotion, Spike."

"A promotion?" Spike responded with interest. The young alicorn hovered a small, red box over to him, gesturing at him to open it. He did so and found a golden medallion attached to a purple ribbon. "Royal advisor?"

"Royal advisor?" Celestia echoed. "I've never considered one of those."

"Really?" said Twilight to her former teacher.

"Well, I always had Luna, so the idea seemed quite redundant to me." Celestia explained. "And in her 1,000 year absence, no advisor I could enlist would've ever filled the void." Luna was touched, thus adding to her stream of tears.

"I see." said Twilight. "Consider this another development for Equestrian royalty then. None are more fit for the position than Spike."

"Wow. You mean that?" Spike asked, nearly choking up.

"You've been with me on this journey since before it began, staying at my side every single step of the way. I've had the strength and resolve to grow and succeed thanks to your loyalty and chivalry. If I had never hatched you, if you weren't there for me to count on, I doubt I ever would've gotten as far as I did. I am forever grateful to have you in my life, Spike, my little brother." Twilight explained truthfully from the very bottom of her heart.

"Awww." Spike sounded from his mouth, getting all misty-eyed. He hugged his equine friend and wiped his face with a smile. "Thanks, Twilight. You can count on me now to be your right-hoof dragon until the end, big sister."

"If you have any questions before the coronation, feel free to ask them now." said Luna.

"Just one." Twilight replied. "When you retire, who's going to move the sun and moon, or patrol dreams?"

"If you're suggesting we're going to have you handle all of those jobs, don't worry." Celestia assured. "Since the old days, magic has evolved tremendously and the unicorn population has grown a lot. I'm sure there will be many up-and-coming wizards and witches ready to take on these great duties. And remember, you've still got the amulet as a backup plan for the former." She and Luna bowed their heads. "Now, we release you."

The two sisters walked towards the throne room's great doorway. They looked at each other rather mischievously, their minds somewhere else. "I can't wait for after the coronation, when we show them that we redecorated our royal suites so they could move in." Luna whispered into her older sister's ear. The great doorway opened, and the soon-to-be-retired royal sisters were eventually out of sight.

"Alright, my right-hoof dragon. There's plenty of time left before the festivities kick off, and we have some preparations to oversee." Twilight declared while lifting off the giant seat. She and the dragon flew off towards the grand doorway together. When they went through, they were quick enough to fly past Celestia and Luna heading for the castle's conference hall.



In the middle of the city of Canterlot, the generous unicorn Rarity was carrying some designer supplies. Activity on the streets was way less bustling than usual. As a matter of fact, there wasn't any activity at all. They appeared to be abandoned. Stores usually lined with items were now empty and featureless, houses were boarded up, and restaurants were devoid of any business.

"Whatever has gotten into everypony today?" Rarity asked herself in confusion. One look up afterwards, she caught Twilight and Spike towards her.

"Hey, Rarity." Twilight greeted.

"Ooh, Twilight!" Rarity cooed. "Glad to see you, darling. I've made all of my pre-coronation stops. You're going to love the finishing touches to your dress."

"Good to hear." said Twilight. "But i'd be happy to wear something simple. I like the thought of just wearing a great, big cape to go with the slippers."

"That's what I thought, actually. After the coronation, we need a beach day." said Rarity excitedly. "WIth that on the mind, I decided that the dress will reveal plenty of your dazzling figure. The royal balcony shall be your royal runway."

"Thanks." Twilight responded. "Just leave a little to the imagination."

"Joking and having a simple conversation on the day of her coronation? You really have come a long way, Twilight." Spike commented. Twilight blushed over the praise.

"Say, where is everypony?" Twilight wondered, turning her head to observe the empty streets and alleyways.

"If I had to guess, they're probably unpacking the princesses' retirement privately." Rarity pondered. "A thread shop would still let me buy something, but not open their door." She turned around and saw the kind-hearted pegasus Fluttershy come her way. "Fluttershy, darling. What's new?"

"I've been trying to buy some blackberries for Pinkie Pie's coronation dessert, but every store owner has been hoarding all of the produce in stock." Fluttershy explained. "All they had on offer was rotten, smelly taters. I ended up having to find some in the wild."

"Must've been some rude store owners." said Rarity at the injustice done to her friend. Then a cloud hovered above, and pushing it was the loyal pegasus Rainbow Dash.

"Weather for the coronation: sunny skies all day!" she called out, kicking the cloud away and landing on the ground next to the others. "Hey, girls. Weird thing, very few pegasi have been helping me out with the clouds. They were kind of on edge today." Right behind her, a unicorn mare rushed into her house as she caught sight of the pegasus.

"It's not just them, methinks." Spike noted.

"To be fair, it's the very first shift in power in over a millennium. Drastic change like that can have such effects on creatures." Rarity rationalized. She then saw her alicorn friend frown over her choice of words. "Don't take that the wrong way, Twilight."

"One thing's for sure, they aren't worried about you. They adore you." Fluttershy assured her.

"Yeah! Thanks to you, Equestria has changed for the better, and moreso in mere moons than it has on Celestia and Luna's watch in a millennium." Rainbow pointed out encouragingly.

"Well, I can't take all the credit, but you're right." said Twilight. "Once everypony's had their time to process everything, tensions will lower and the coronation can proceed as planned."

"Pretty high tensions, if you ask me." Spike puzzled over the matter.

They approached the castle grounds and found the honest earth pony Applejack, pulling a cart full of apple cider and accompanied by a pegasus stallion guard, who was staring at her coldly.

"For the last time, I ain't after your silver." Applejack growled at the guard. She turned to her friends and pointed a hoof at the paranoid pony. "Twilight, there you are! Mind telling him that I don't need an escort? Especially if he ain't gonna help?"

"You can release my friend now." Twilight civilly ordered the guard.

"Yes, Princess Twilight." the guard replied, bowing down before taking off.

"So he refers to you by name, but he kept calling me "Earth Pony", like i'm some outsider." Applejack mentioned.

As if on cue, the big doors in the middle of the staircase burst open and a mountain of sweets flew out like a tidal wave. A pink ball rolled down the castle grounds past the girls before they had a chance to identify. Soon enough, it uncurled, revealing itself to be the laughter-loving earth pony Pinkie Pie. Nobody knew what to make of this.

"Word of advice: stay out of the kitchen!" Pinkie yelled. She was covered head-to-hoof in chocolate and multi-coloured icing, ruined pastries sticking to her like mud.

"Are you OK, Pink?" Rainbow asked, greatly worried for the curly-haired party planner.

"I'm dressed in baking casualties, but otherwise unscathed." Pinkie answered with a quick shake of her body to remove the mess. "Everypony is super grouchy lately. Mrs. Cake and that one unicorn chef got into a food fight. I tried to calm them down, and got caught in the crossfire for my trouble. At this rate, we'll have to cancel the coronation buffet." She finished with a sigh. Her saddened face lit back up when she took notice of another figure in their presence. A tall, slim, bipedal figure made of parts of many creatures. It was the chaotic draconequus himself. "Oh hi, Discord." She greeted him pleasantly.

"It's worse than grouchiness. Ponies are turning against each other; earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns have grown paranoid and hostile today." he stated.

"So much for your pre-coronation nerves theory." Twilight said to Rarity, not in a scornful tone, but in one of anxiety. The white unicorn scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Oh dear, do you know how this happened?" Fluttershy asked the spirit of chaos.

"From what i've heard, a bunch of ponies from all the clans have been mysteriously disappearing in the past few moons. So many gone without a trace." Discord explained. The reception to this was a gasp from the 6 ponies and the small dragon. "And apparently, they're using the fiasco at the last Summer Sun Celebration as a way to exchange the blame and undermine the unity they've had for the past millenia. A whisper there, a rumor here. Destroying some crops, causing some damage. Nasty designations flying everywhere, like "blundering pegasi", "useless earth ponies" and "arrogant unicorns", just to name a few."

"Of all the times for Equestria to fall apart around us, why now?" Twilight moaned.

"It is indeed fractured, and the kind of chaos I take zero pleasure in watching, but no doubt it'll piece itself back together when you step up, your highness." said Discord with a bow to Twilight.

Twilight wanted to believe that when she took the crown of Equestria and officially became the new leader of her people, the broken bonds between the feuding races would go back to the peaceful state they were in before. But as things were, she feared the consequences of the rapidly building conflict, and wondered if Discord meant something more by "step up".



Celestia and Luna sat privately in the castle's conference hall to think about their retirement plans. They were blissfully unaware of the conflict rising between the pony races, their minds lost in thought of the free time they could be spending, released from these royal responsibilities they've had to take on for the longest time.

"Silver Shoals is closer than ever before. I can smell that salty ocean air already." said Luna.

"And just in time for the hottest time of the year." Celestia added gleefully. "If one thing hasn't changed in a millennia, it's our killer bods. The other retirees there will be so jealous when they see us take to the beach in bikinis."

The two sisters shared a wholesome laugh over the thoughts of their wonderful beach days to come. Even in retirement, they could tell they were going to be treated like royalty just for how gracefully they've aged, thanks to the miraculous gift of immortality that they were blessed with in their alicorn ascensions all that time ago.

"You know, though, a big part of me is going to miss this castle." Celestia admitted. "I've spent pretty much my whole life here, taking care of our dear subjects. These walls are filled with precious memories, and the grounds will always remind me of the amazing celebrations we've had. But Twilight has accomplished even more in these past many moons than I ever did in centuries. She built friendships, gave the Elements of Harmony power again, brought our family back together, restored the Tree of Harmony, united the tribes outside of Equestria with our fellow ponies and permanently defeated our greatest enemies. No doubt i'm doing the right thing, giving her the throne."

"We can visit every now and again, just to join Twilight for dinner or some future parties." Luna remarked. "It's always a letter or a flight away, so it'll never have to be  gone. A happily ever after is merely a fresh start, and with those six, life is a journey with no definitive destination. We'll never have nothing left to-" Something stopped her. An unsettling feeling inside her head. She closed her eyes and held a hoof up to her face. "Ugh..." she moaned.

"Luna, what's wrong?" Celestia quickly asked. Then she felt the exact same sensation, responding to it the exact same way. "Argh... I feel... a great magical disturbance."

The darkness beneath their eyelids shaped into an image of a swampy area. The sisters shared this vision.  It shifted to reveal the demonic skull shape of Grogar's lair. Through the front doorway and the eye sockets up top flashed a sinister blend of red, black and yellow magic. It zoomed inside, showing the sinister activity causing the flashes and the disturbance. The ram sorcerer was surrounding his Bewitching Bell with red and black rings of magic.

"My beautiful Bewitching Bell, we can be back together for all time!" Grogar declared. Within a nanosecond of finishing his sentence, he placed the artifact and the red and black ring onto the aforementioned collar wrapping around his body. He exploded with his trademark yellow and black Malice Magic. His eyes went pure yellow, the red and black rings became one with the collar, the cavern around him shook furiously as a blinding flash and a powerful wave of energy enveloped everything. His treasured talisman changed, as well, it's withered, greenish material becoming a shining, golden colour. When everything calmed down, his irises and pupils reappeared on his sclera, and he gently breathed in and out. With the lightshow at an end, four more creatures were noticed: Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy Glow and Aurora Eclipse, the latter of which the sisters couldn't identify from her alicorn form.

"NO!" Celestia and Luna shrieked in horror.

"It can't be!" Celestia cried in complete disbelief. "He returned, and he's at full power again!"

"How long has he been active!?" Luna pondered in a panic. "Why are we only now getting this vision!?"

"How did he find his talisman!? Or align with our worst enemies, and... this dark alicorn!?" said Celestia, still processing the vision. These questions burned like her brain being struck with a hot iron. She couldn't dwell on them for long, though. As much as she hated to have to ruin her former student's happily ever after, it was time to act. "We've got to warn Twilight!"

"We've got to warn everypony! We need all the urban areas evacuated and our strongest lines of defense ready for the enemies' arrival!" Luna added.

The two sisters hastily flew out of the conference hall and headed to the castle grounds where Twilight and her friends were standing. They all took notice of their appearance.



Celestia, Luna, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Spike and Discord had gathered in the conference hall. The young group of friends was filled in on the sisters' bone-chilling vision.

"So you felt a disturbance, too?" said Discord casually.

"We now anticipate our darkest hour." Celestia said.

"By Grogar, you mean that Grogar!?" Spike inquired with chills going up his spine. "I thought he only existed in a foal's fairy tale." He recalled the children's book 'Gusty the Great', which had always been the one source that told the tale of Grogar's reign of ancient Equestria and eventual fall, but he, like all others, only believed that to be fiction.

"Sadly, Spike, he is no myth, and though that story is true, many details were left out." Celestia explained, her expression and tone betraying sorrow. "It was agreed by the ponies of ancient times that to keep anypony from seeking his power, the full story of Grogar's iron rule and what he could do would never be officially recorded. His talisman of power and the key to his dark arts, built by his own heinous alchemy to be indestructible, were hidden away in undisclosed places no creatures were ever meant to reach. Gusty and her followers were confident that all future generations would never discover the darkest secret in all of Equestrian history."

"He was banished, wasn't he?" Twilight pointed out.

"Yes. Even after weakening him, it took the power of thousands for Gusty to do it, and the best place they could send him was into the stars in the sky." Celestia answered. "It was one of our country's greatest victories. The threat of Grogar was expected to have been removed for all eternity. We never thought he'd come back, let alone reclaim his talisman."

"If the seal was so powerful as to be inescapable, then the only way out is if somethin' compromised the thousands of locks placed upon it all at once." Applejack mused. "And it's so far up in the sky, you'd need a disabling spell of astronomical magnitude."

"And nopony has pulled off a spell of that scale. It'd be too time-consuming, and extremely dangerous." Twilight added to Applejack's reasoning. "I can't even recall one creature who made the attempt." Then she had a realization. "Except..." Her friends' eyes widened over what they recalled.

"COZY GLOW!" the 6 young ponies and small dragon said together at the thought. Such an explanation seemed so obvious, but at the same time, they couldn't have guessed that the complicated plot of an evil little girl would have a lasting consequence like this.

"That fiend!" Luna said through gritted teeth. "The crowning achievement of an ancient hero and her warriors, undone by a twisted filly!"

"Thanks to that, Grogar's gone and undone our achievements, and Starlight's, and those of the students." Twilight commented with sadness oozing from her mouth. "Chrysalis and Tirek are apparently stronger than ever, and Cozy Glow is free to cause even more trouble with that dangerous mind of hers. That alicorn, though. Where could she have come from? Could it be anypony we know?"

"Not Sombra back for round three, at least." said Discord.

"Beating him alone was hard enough!" Twilight mentioned. "Now we've got five foes to worry about!" She looked at the draconequus with a look of longing for his help. He fired an expression back at her, on which his pony lips clearly read something along the lines of are you really going to fall back on the easy way out now, like a coward? Twilight breathed in and out, the way Cadance had taught her to when she needed to collect herself. Then she turned to her former teacher with a resolute look to ask "Celestia, what is the dark secret of Grogar?"

"His magic. A type that can never be disabled nor destroyed, destabilizes and assimilates all other forms of it, has the capacity to plague the entire world and irreversibly poisons any creature to madness with a single blast. Only those evil enough can wield it, and evolve to untold levels of power from it. Malice Magic, he so called it." Celestia replied solemnly.

"Malice Magic? Creepy as fuuuudge." Pinkie responded out of sheer discomfort.

"Additionally, that horrible magic has been responsible for the birth of many wild, dangerous creatures, earning him the title of "the Father of Monsters". Some have said it can even affect those who have joined the ether." said Celestia with dead seriousness. "He must not use it where he can cause the most damage, and you cannot let it touch you."

"Gosh, to think the origin of all of those wonderful creatures locked in Tartarus and the scary beasts of the Everfree Forest is... something, and someone, that awful." Fluttershy said. She never imagined that something like Cerberus, for example, was actually born into the world from a literally toxic force. Then a good question rushed to her mind, regarding their desperate escape from Tartarus. "But how could Twilight use their magic to open the gate without getting poisoned?"

"Well, seeing as I borrowed from the hybrids, maybe they had safeguards from Malice Magic's effects, and transferred that along with their cores." Twilight guessed, not sure whether her theory made any sense.

"If it can affect the ether, then... Grogar's the one who brought back Sombra, isn't he?" said Rarity. At the time, she thought that some shred of the former dark king had survived and slowly, but surely, regenerated his body from even something as powerful as the Crystal Ponies' collective love. Now she realized what was actually going on, and shivered as she exclaimed "He was a zombie!"

"A revenant, actually." Luna corrected. "A disturbed spirit who maintains their independence and haunts the physical plane until they're laid back to rest. Zombies are a different story."

"An angry changeling, a hungry centaur, a psychotic filly genius, an evil mystery alicorn, monsters, zombies, a talisman of ultimate power and the most dangerous, abominable magic of all time?" Spike counted. "That's the most prepared villain i've ever heard of."

"Then we'll prepare, too. Take a letter, Spike." Twilight commanded. A piece of paper and a quill materialized in front of the small dragon, giving him the cue to write something. "Inform the entire Royal Guard to evacuate Canterlot and cover every corner of the city. And I mean the borders, too. Tell Star Swirl and the Pillars that we need them to guard the Tree of Harmony and evacuate Cloudsdale. With their status, they'll prove how secure Equestria is. With the villains on the loose, Chrysalis will be out for Starlight, so we need her, Trixie and Sunburst to escort all of the students out of the School of Friendship to safety. If possible, they must evacuate Ponyville as well. Finally, warn Cadance, Shining Armor and their Royal Guard of the coming threat. They'll need to evacuate the Crystal Empire, and if all else fails, they're the country's final line of defense."

"Don't forget all of our allies outside of Equestria." Luna reminded.

"Send a message to Thorax, Dragon Lord Ember, Prince Rutherford and Queen Novo, too." Twilight ordered Spike, who was in the middle of writing the first message. "The strength of the changelings, dragons, yaks and hippogriffs, combined with their numbers, are the backup we need if our primary forces aren't enough." Then she sighed, fear and regret affecting her attempt to valiantly exhibit authority. "Some coronation day. The ponies i'm going to lead hate each other, and there's about to be a villain attack with higher stakes than any we've had before."

"The ponies what?" Celestia asked about Twilight's mention of the current pony crisis.

"A bunch of earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns have been vanishing into thin air lately, and the disasters that occurred during the last Summer Sun Celebration built up animosity between them." Twilight explained to the sun princess. "They're blaming each other, refusing to lend any of the help they've given for generations. And even worse? It seems to be getting violent."

"How could we have allowed this to happen under our noses?!" Luna yelled in shame.

"And here I thought everypony was thousands of years past this. What a disaster!" said Celestia in vexation. "Unfortunately, with Grogar coming, there's no time to get to the bottom of this. I hate to say it, but the coronation's off. For now."

"Huh, so I cleared the sky up for nothing." Rainbow groaned.

"Forget the sky, we've got an apocalyptic crisis on our hooves!" Applejack snapped at the blue pegasus.

"An epic attack before the coronation. Now won't that bring everypony together?" Discord noted sincerely.

"Well, he's right about that." Fluttershy said, standing by the chaos spirit. "These world-saving battles have always had that effect of building and rebuilding relationships."

"I guess so." Twilight acknowledged. "But I won't lie. I'm scared." Small tears built up in her eyes from the pressure.

"We may not look it, but we're all scared, darling." Rarity confirmed.

"To face the danger in spite of that is the literal definition of courage. And we're facing it as a team, as usual." Rainbow asserted.

"Let those meanies come, and if they manage to knock us down, we'll just get back up again!" Pinkie exclaimed, reminiscing of their valiant final stand against Sombra. "Right, Twi?" The other ponies, Spike and Discord gathered around and beamed at the future ruler, displaying their absolute, unfettered faith in her ability and leadership.

"Absolutely." Twilight agreed, radiating high self-confidence. "Our team has always pulled through, no matter how big the threat is, so there's no reason to think this time will be any different. With friendship as our armor and teamwork as our power, we've made it this far, so we can make it all the way."

"That's the pony I taught." said Celestia with pride.

"And hey, let's face it. There hasn't been one enemy that's overcome the friendship-powered rainbow lasers." Spike remarked matter-of-factly before he finished writing a letter and sent it away with his magical dragon breath, enveloping the paper in green flames. "Never, ever forget that." This got a genuine laugh out of his big sister. She knew he was 100% right.

"I may not become Equestria's princess today, but like many other days, I - with the support of those who have helped me save it time after time - will serve as it's protector." Twilight proclaimed. "I will be the leader that it needs, and that everypony knows I can be. We're gonna give Grogar and his band the fight of their lives! The Elements of Harmony may be gone, but we embody what they represented, so we hold their real power! By the end of the day, or the week, however long it takes, those villains will know our names and respect the most powerful, indomitable magic of all! Friendship forever!"

Everyone in the room applauded Twilight after her enthusiastic speech, including Spike, who took a moment out of writing the next letter to join in. They loudly cheered and raised their limbs.

"And so, the main event of the century is nigh." Discord whispered to himself in the corner, levitating a gigantic bucket of popcorn, a massive cup of soda, a wide plate of cheesy nachos and a big pack of multi-coloured candy next to him. It was all a fun, theatrical experience to him, and he was giddy with exhilaration for what he saw as the inevitable outcome.



Back at Grogar's lair, the villains gazed upon the heroes and their country's guardians through Arimaspi's Eye. The ball returned to it's normal state, and the villains looked at one another.

"Remember the plan." said Grogar.

"With those ponies in disarray, each of us will blow Equestria's champions of "love and friendship" out of the water, wiping out that annoying power for good - just like we planned - enjoy a sound victory and collect what garbage remains." Chrysalis recalled.

"You'll break the Tree of Harmony's seal to open and corrupt the heart of the world itself, causing a worldwide Malice Magic plague, while we wreak havoc on the civilizations, then subjugate the other creatures and build our kingdoms with your army." Tirek remembered.

"You need to extract the magical cores from the "key entities", including Twilight and her friends, then expel that power to this "Phantom Zone" and finally, acquire their talents permanently through simple memorization." Cozy continued.

"And to make way for Equestria's impending doomsday, our shared reign and all the promised food, shelter and wealth, the Windigos need to wipe out everything." Eclipse finished. "But they're very dangerous, it'd be unwise to leave them unchecked for too long."

"Rest assured, your lands will be protected. Though they aren't my creations, even the Windigos can be regulated if I use the proper spell." Grogar affirmed in no uncertain terms.

"One more thing. What are we to do about Discord?" Tirek asked with a raised hand. "He can transform the cosmos on a whim."

"He'll be too busy having confidence in Twilight's abilities to help, and even if that weren't the case, I can easily manage that traitor." Grogar answered patiently. "You've been a promising class. For passing the tests, you have my blessing to use your evolved powers."

"YES!" Cozy Glow yipped. "Thank you, Mr. Grogar!" The filly prodigy then felt a sharp pain after speaking so loudly. Her body promptly changed to it's shadow form.

"A Pony of Shadows." said Grogar with interest in the young one's form. "You've chosen my favorite darkness magic." Out of nowhere, a magical doppelganger of Cozy materialized next to him with a cute popping sound.

"It suits my purposes. Oh, ow! Pain!" said Cozy through the doppelganger, feeling how much it hurt to speak or use magic. The doppelganger disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Tirek, aware of the damage that lingered in him and his teammates after being hit by Grogar's blast, instinctively stretched out his arms and released a blue cloud of magical energy from his fingertips. Within a few moments, he and the others were back to full strength. It felt like he gave magic without actually emptying his body at all.

"Golly, now I feel much better!" Cozy exclaimed, amazed by this turn of events.

"Did... did I just... use the ancient centaur art of... healing!?" Tirek gasped with realization.

"That's pretty cool." Eclipse gratefully complimented.

"No, it's not!" Tirek growled. He closed his eyes tight. "My unjust and impure protection is fading! Must... think... bad thoughts..."

"You do realize you healed us, right?" Chrysalis commented with deadpan delivery.

"Oh yeah." said Tirek at the reality of his actions. With a deep breath, he relaxed. "Sorry."

"Now, let's meet the army." said Grogar darkly. Igniting the yellow glow of his horns, collar and fore hooves, Grogar removed what looked like hundreds of transparent, yellow-ish bubbles from the shadow-y areas of the cavern, as well as the murky water. Inside them were a bunch of earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns, looking confused, scared out of their mind and already past the point of losing it.

The tetrad looked upon this amazing sight with pure awe. None of them had any idea that a collection of Equestria's people was building while they weren't looking. But for how long?

"Come on out, children!" Grogar called in a high volume. On cue, a bunch of creatures, big and small, emerged from the water, walls and ceiling. These were ones that the folks of Equestria were all too familiar with, the monsters of the ram sorcerer's creation. The Bugbear, the Roc, the Chimera, the Hydra, the Tatzlwurm, the Maulwurf, the Sphinx, even the Ophiotaurus from Mount Everhoof. Alongside them were a gaggle of fantastic species, such as Timberwolves, Cragadiles, Ursa Majors, Manticores, Cockatrices, Yetis, Pukwudgies, Whirling Mungteeth, Sea Serpents, Slingtails, amphibian demons and Cyclopes, giant, one-eyed humanoids with goat heads, just like Arimaspi. Even tiny critters like Twittermites, Fly-ders and Parasprites could be seen. Some were new, like shadow dogs, birds with lightning powers, multi-legged sea monsters, lava lizards and water ponies with ghastly appearances.

"I feel like a queen again already." Chrysalis said with glee.

"It's fine! This is a bad dream! I'll be back with my bro! It's fine! This is a bad dream! I'll be back with my bro!" a pegasus mare in one of the bubbles repeated to herself.

"What are you going to do to me? Can I at least tell my friend i'm sorry?" a unicorn mare asked of the villains.

"Please let me go, Grogar! I have a wife and foal, and they're worried sick!" pleaded an earth pony stallion in tears.

A clock ticked in Cozy's head. After a few seconds, it rung. "Oh my gosh! You were behind the pony disappearances!" she yelled in astonishment. Then she scanned the room and thought back even further. "All this must've been why you've been vanishing so much!"

"Well deduced, Miss Glow." Grogar commended. "I rescued these magnificent, deadly beasts from Tartarus quite some time ago. As for my captives, we needed something to ensure the dismantling of the ponies' harmony, and make our forces even stronger." With a wicked smile, he blasted swirling clouds of Malice Magic up at all of the bubbled ponies. Each of the poor ponies screamed in anguished fear as they were consumed by the dreadful dark magic.

Soon, the screaming stopped, the frightened equines now wholly covered. The Bewitching Bell shot energy bolts at the bubbles, popping them to reveal the ponies undergoing grotesque changes. Their teeth were sharpened, their manes and coats were turned to shades of black, and they gained glowing yellow eyes. The wings of the pegasi became bat-like with feather-esque needles, the unicorns' horns split open to look like two-pronged forks, and the earth ponies grew claws on each of their hooves. They lowered to the ground and made demonic moaning sounds. They were hideous, mindless zombies now.

"Gross." Cozy muttered, feeling her stomach churn.

"Children, zombies, listen!" Grogar hollered authoritatively.

"Alright, beasties and reanimated ponies, we've got a job to do!" Eclipse called out to her new army. "Follow us in crushing our suppressors, and we'll soon live in a world where we rule equal!" She and her three partners displayed overwhelming surges of magical power which left the monsters and zombies in awe, kneeling reverently before their new mistresses and master. Grogar nodded approvingly.

"With hatred as our armor and teamwork as our power, we'll get what we deserve." he announced. "Queen Chrysalis, Lord Tirek, Cozy Glow, Aurora Eclipse, my children and these ponies are yours and mine to command; they deserve to relish in the joys of freedom with us." He stepped towards the side entrance of the lair and held up a hoof. "The moment of truth is here." His allies, his monster children and the zombies followed.

"Not to sound ungrateful, but... permission to settle some grudges on our terms, boss?" Tirek requested.

"Permission granted." Grogar approved forbearingly. "Now go, my Horses of the Apocalypse! Today: Equestria! Tomorrow: all of the world!"

Grogar opened five large, circular, yellow and black portals for him and his minions to enter. They jumped into them immediately. Whatever patience they still had was about to be rewarded. Very soon, they would be spread across Equestria with the most powerful army of darkness it will ever see. But first, a few of them had personal vendettas to take care of.
> Part 1 - Chapter 3: Horses of the Apocalypse
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Canterlot Royal Guard watched over the area around the city. Unicorn Guardsstallions and Guardsmares around the walls set up a magical barrier, and others patrolled the borders, keeping a constant vigil in every direction. Citizens were being escorted out at the train station. No activity took place, until a yellow and black portal opened over the path leading to the raised drawbridge. Out of it came a bunch of the infamous, savage monsters and a crowd of pony zombies. The time for battle had arrived.

The unicorn guards outside immediately attacked by firing magical beams from their horns at a rapid rate, and utilizing telekinesis to throw stones. The pegasi guards used an array of sharp and blunt weapons, likes swords and maces. One monster, the one-third tiger, one-third goat, one-third snake creature known as the Chimera, breathed a powerful stream of fire that pushed back guards holding up small shields, and the bird-like Roc blew mighty gusts of wind to send them tumbling down the mountain.

The Royal Guard did their best to fight off the invasion by jumping on the monsters' backs and trying to make them hit each other. Reacting fast, the unicorn zombies threw the guards around like ragdolls with their telekinetic spells, the pegasus zombies pinned them to the ground by their hairs by shooting out their needle-like feathers, and the earth pony zombies used their hoof claws to shred their weapons and tear off their armor, piece by piece.

In the middle of the confusion, the barrier surrounding Canterlot was being pelted by unicorn zombie heat beams and pegasus zombie needles, and the earth pony zombies were trying, and failing, to dig tunnels into the city, as the barrier also reached underground. The defensive guards then heard a high-pitched, feminine cry for help.

It was Cozy Glow going "HELP!". The guards were able to make out her tiny form outside the barrier, and she was apparently in trouble.

"Cozy Glow?!" one of the Guardsstallions said apprehensively.

"LET ME IN! LET ME IN, PLEASE!" she screamed pleadingly. "I DON'T WANNA-" She was interrupted by a flock of zombies, and monsters like Manticores, Ursa Majors, Timberwolves and Twittermites, all threatening to rip her apart. All she could do in this predicament was scream and struggle to escape their grasp.

"Don't open the barrier, it's a trick." a high-ranking unicorn guard captain commanded.

"I BEG YOU! PLEASE, DON'T LET THEM EAT ME!" Cozy continued, tears running out of her eyes as the zombie and monster army ganged up on her. "I DON'T KNOW WHO ELSE TO TURN TO!"

"You should be in Tartarus!" the captain yelled. "Why should we let you in here?!"

"BECAUSE GROGAR TOOK ME SOMEWHERE EVEN WORSE! HE TORMENTED ME!" Cozy hollered. "I CAN'T GO BACK! HELP ME, AND I'LL DO ANYTHING FOR YOU! FOR PRINCESS TWILIGHT!" Some unicorn guards blasted the zombies and monsters attacking her with an explosive blast, saving her life. She was clearly grateful for their actions, but they gripped her like a pair of cuffs, putting her back into a shrieking panic.

"Sir, she seems to be in real trouble." said a lower-ranking pegasus private.

"Stick to your post, private." the captain ordered.

"She's just a kid!" the private argued, aware that this filly was a criminal mastermind despite that, but was still unable to feel no pity.

"She's also a liar and a traitor!" the captain remarked harshly.

Then the private sneered at him, saying "Oh, I see, it's because she's a pegasus, right?"

'What's that supposed to mean?" the captain growled. "You know what she has committed!"

"Even so, Princess Twilight would want us to make no exceptions when protecting terrified creatures in peril." the private stated.

"Princess Twilight knows where wrongdoers belong!" the captain retorted.

"Then why did she let Tempest off the hook?" the private raised in rebuttal.

"She left Equestria alone!" the captain reminded him.

"After handing it and the princess to the Storm King!?" the private returned.

"Well, perhaps unicorns are favoured!" the captain lashed out, prodding the private's head. "Frankly, my kind does the bulk of the work!"

"Okay, I see you have it all figured out." the private hissed. He couldn't wait to tell his fellow pegasi of the captain's condescension. "Tell her majesty we non-spellcasters are off the payroll."

"Alright, then!" the captain barked. The threat struck a nerve, enough so to persuade him to reluctantly give another unicorn the order. "Let her through." He signaled to the guards outside, a hole was opened in the barrier, Cozy was released, and the drawbridge was lowered, allowing her full access. She flew into the city, ducking into the shadows of the archway while passing through.

Some guards surrounded her with spears and horn-generated magical blades. Instead of feeling like she was in danger, she yelled "THANK YOU! THAT WAS TOO CLOSE!" while wiping her tears away.

"We know you're here on business, child." the captain said darkly to the filly prodigy. "Princess Twilight told us."

"She misunderstands! I've been held up in Grogar's lair for moons, and he sent all his monsters through that portal, which I used to escape!" Cozy explained.

"Oh yeah? How did you get away?" a pegasus soldier queried coldly.

"LOOK OUT!" Cozy yelped while pointing a hoof. A mass of debris came flying towards the guards, slamming into the ground like a meteor. Cozy flew around to dodge.

"What's going on?!" a unicorn soldier hollered in bewilderment.

"I've got to get to Princess Twilight!" Cozy exclaimed to the pegasus private. "I know how she can beat Grogar!"

"You do?" the pegasus private said.

"It's urgent! I know what i've done to Equestria, but you have to trust me!" Cozy stressed. The private put a wing on her assuredly.

"Stay close." he suggested. Together, the two pegasi flew through the chaos of more debris falling, including the giant fans that were placed on the rooftops to fend off flying intruders. Everytime something hit the ground, the other pegasi weren't far behind. The guards holding up the barrier had their focus broken by fallen fans still blowing. Soon, the magical sphere protecting the city vanished, allowing the zombies and the monsters to fully invade.

Up on the rooftops, Cozy's amorphous form of shadows creeped around and took out what remained of the fans. Earth pony zombies jumped ferociously out of holes, Slingtails in the distance launched rocks into the city, the Roc and pegasus zombies caused some mayhem from above, the Chimera and unicorn zombies lit the streets ablaze no problem, Twittermites and Parasprites went for the openings that the fans blocked off, and Ursa Majors, like monster movie beasts, picked up buildings and threw them like buckballs.

The pegasus private and Cozy were separated by a Timberwolf pack. She screamed as the canine wood golems dragged her out of his sight. Before he could give chase, he was blown away and slammed into a wall by the Roc's hurricane winds.

Back on the rooftops, rocks from Slingtails busted holes through them, good for slinking into by the shadow-y Cozy.



Inside the castle, Twilight, her friends, the Royal Sisters and the rest of the Royal Guard were contending with Twittermites and Parasprites.

"Please, Parasprites! Don't be so mean!" Fluttershy pleaded. Her words fell on deaf ears, for all the Parasprites wanted to do was munch away at the floors, walls and ceilings, the latter of which lead to tiles dropping on the ponies and dragon.

Twilight did her best to teleport each of the Parasprites and Twittermites away, and Pinkie Pie was distracting them with sprinkles and confetti from her new handheld Party Bazooka, but there seemed to be no end to them. The Twittermites' electrical properties were wearing everyone down, especially.

Things quickly escalated as zombie ponies, Timberwolves and Manticores entered the hallway, the former leading the charge and roaring like primal ghosts.

"I always knew this day would come." Spike muttered at the equine undead, eyes bugging out.

"HELP ME!" Cozy screamed at the top of her lungs, trapped in the jaws of one of the lion-like creatures.

Twilight noticed and recognized the filly and her voice immediately. She joined her magic with Celestia and Luna, and they unleashed an amplified magical beam that blew away the deadly creatures in front of them and freed Cozy. She was grabbed by Applejack's lasso and tugged over to the group. After calming down, she gazed at them in surprise.

"You rescued me. After all I-" Cozy started.

"Save it, kid!" Rainbow Dash snapped. Everyone was giving Cozy a cold, accusing look.

"Brought a bunch a friends to the party, did ya?" Pinkie Pie snarked. "Well, it's cancelled."

"Twilight, please listen to me!" Cozy begged.

"You joined up with Grogar, Chrysalis, Tirek and some alicorn to take over Equestria." said Twilight, having none of it. "Celestia and Luna saw you coming."

"No, you've got it all wrong! I was their prisoner!" Cozy attempted to explain. "The monsters, the destruction, the takeover, it was their idea! They're the enemies! They did awful things to me, and I only just escaped by dumb luck!"

"Dumb luck? Sure." Applejack muttered.

"Why should we believe you? Everything you ever told us was a lie." Twilight scolded.

"It turns out that your magic extraction scheme is why Grogar returned in the first place." Luna asserted.

"It was? Oh no, what was I thinking?!" Cozy squealed. She wrapped her small fore hooves around Twilight's and desperately implored "Things have changed. You have to believe me this time, because it's crucial."

"What if she really means it?" Fluttershy whispered worriedly.

"Don't you know any spells that read minds or memories, Twilight?" Rarity asked the young princess.

"No. That type of magic is taboo." Twilight replied. "But I won't need it to be ready for any tricks. Got it?" She gave Cozy a cold, hard stare for emphasis.

"I have fire breath, and I will use it." Spike threatened, giving Cozy the "I am watching you" finger gesture.

"Just hear me out. I've learned the secret to beating Grogar." Cozy affirmed.

"Stripping him of his Bell? Already got that." Celestia stated.

"Well, what if I told you it isn't going to be that simple this time?" Cozy implied.

Meanwhile, in a room nearby, the shadow-y Cozy was taking apart one of the magic-sensing security devices in the wall, some knocked out guards behind her. Afterwards, her form changed back into a regular shadow, revealing the true Cozy. She rubbed her fore hooves together and smiled wickedly while peaking at her magical duplicate and Twilight's group from the corner of the doorway.

"I love being cute." she quietly giggled.



Three of the Pillars of Ancient Equestria, and the former Pony of Shadows Stygian, gathered near the Castle of the Two Sisters. The unicorn sorcerer Star Swirl the Bearded, strong earth pony Rockhoof and brave pegasus Flash Magnus made their way towards where the Treehouse of Harmony rested, expecting combat. When they got a look at the tree, they were in astonishment at the sheer, glimmering majesty of it.

"Our beautiful seed, how you've grown." said Star Swirl, shedding a tear at the sight of the magnificent tree made from the Pillars' magic. "For ages you have protected this land and blessed righteous creatures with your gifts. Now it's about time we returned the favor."

"As long as we stand, Grogar's Malice Magic will never taint your roots." Rockhoof proclaimed, wielding his trademark shovel like a weapon. "The heart of the world couldn't be in better hooves."

"Stay ready and memorize the battle plan." Stygian instructed. "Distract, surprise and trap."

"I hope the girls won't mind missing out on the action." Flash Magnus joked. "They'll have their hooves full helping the pegasi." With Somnambula, Mage Meadowbrook and Mistmane tending to Cloudsdale's evacuation, the Pillars were split in half for their part in defending Equestria, but it wouldn't matter when the Tree's line of defense had great strength, combat experience and magical skill beyond most others.

Then the ground began to shake. A massive force was heard jumping around with incredible intensity, like a giant kangaroo. In the distance, the towering, musclar, red and black form of Tirek could be seen in the Everfree Forest.

"Cloudsdale and the Tree depend on us." Star Swirl stated. "Spread out."

Over in the trees of the forest, Tirek stopped jumping and turned over to his army of zombies and monsters. Two of the monsters following him were the Hydra and the Sphinx.

"You guys go and have some fun over at Cloudsdale, give the ladies a good time." Tirek ordered his squad. "I'll handle Mr. Legendary." They all nodded and went off to the city of pegasi, leaving the magic-eating centaur alone. With one more leap, he landed right in front of Star Swirl with a grandiose landing. The wizard stood alone, the others hiding from the centaur.

"Lord Tirek!" Star Swirl called out.

"That's right, Star Swirl; the conqueror of ponies, heir to the Midnight Kingdom throne, until you and the Equestrian ways brainwashed my brother, Scorpan!" Tirek snarled, cracking his knuckles.

"Ah, I remember him. Between the two of you, he was the smart one." Star Swirl recalled. "Not a glutton for power and punishment."

"So, where is he these days, old stallion?" Tirek sarcastically asked. "Living it up in Silver Shoals? Having dinners with the princesses? Or just plain lost and forgotten to the memory of time, while I, the mightier brother, have made my mark in Equestrian history and achieved awesome power? That'll teach him to have a heart!" He wished Scorpan was in front of him right now, so he could laugh and dance all over him. Then he levitated Star Swirl up to his face, preparing to do something to him.

"While nopony knows what became of Scorpan, we do know that in the end, he walked away with dignity and satisfaction in the better life he decided for himself, thanks to us ponies." Star Swirl clarified. "You may be remembered well, but for what? Taking what doesn't belong to you by force for the sake of making yourself stronger, terrifying and subjugating lands you have no royal right to, and now soon, for borrowing the power and army of somecreature who's more powerful than you'll ever be, because you know deep down you'll otherwise never live up to the expectations of your father... King Vorak?" These words set Tirek off.

"LEAVE MY FATHER OUT OF-" the centaur roared. His sentence and his magical blast preparation were interrupted by Rockhoof stomping his back, bringing him to his knees. He yelled in pain as his grip on Star Swirl was loosened.

Star Swirl got to his hooves and stood his ground. He used a telekinetic spell to lift Tirek up by the horns, forcing him to spin around in a circle, making him dizzy. After his spinning began to slow down, Flash Magnus came in with a sword in his hooves, using it to slash at the centaur's eyes. Tirek growled in pain as his vision was violently taken away from him, his hands cupping his face on instinct. Despite these conditions, Tirek tried to fight, firing a continuous energy beam. It came at Star Swirl, whom deflected it using a mirror-like shield spell, causing it to hit Tirek's legs and trip him. The beam's potency sent the wizard flying back at the Tree.

For the final stage of the attack, Flash Magnus tied up Tirek's arms in chains as he swatted at the air, attempting to hit somebody, Star Swirl opened up a portal that led to the bottom of the chasm near the Castle of the Two Sisters, and Rockhoof ran there to dig through the dirt, setting a trap up in almost no time at all. The unicorn wizard called to his giant nemesis from behind the portal, and the sound of his voice was followed. Tirek soon fell through the portal and straight into the great hole Rockhoof dug, hitting the bottom with a massive thud. The four ponies gathered there and saw he was no longer moving.

"We did it!" Star Swirl declared. "A perfect performance!" His fellow Pillars cheered with him.

"I can't believe we already beat him." said Stygian. But before the celebration could go on for long, a light glared inside the hole, to the shock of everyone.

Tirek wasn't done. He healed himself back to full health, his vision returning like it was no big deal. He jumped out of the hole and slammed the ground, unleashing a barrage of stalagmites on the stallions with a burning hot rage. The geokinetic assault was quickly dodged with shielding, kicking and magical teleportation with a bit of levitation, some stones grazing their coats but doing little to no damage. The Pillars faced him again, teeth gritted and hooves planted firmly in the dirt. They and the centaur sharply stared each other down.

"Why won't you yield?!" Star Swirl growled in confusion.

Tirek let out a low laugh before slashing his chest, then magically replenishing the wound and answering "Centaur healing, old stallion. A gift from Grogar for undoing physical trauma." His smirk then turned into an expression of disbelief when he noticed how energetic his opponents remained. "You still stand. My absorption power created a field that covers this whole area! Why does your magic not drain?!"

"You thought I wouldn't prepare for that two-bit tactic?" Star Swirl snorted. He and his fellow stallions could feel Tirek's magic surrounding them, but a spell protected them from it. "I'm a legend in this time for a reason!" Agitated by his confidence, Tirek levitated chunks of the nearby wall to throw.



The hopeful pegasus Somnambula, earth pony healer Mage Meadowbrook and beautiful unicorn Mistmane arrived in Cloudsdale, one by wings and the other two by a soldified magical projection of a dragon. The latter two had cloud-walking spells cast on them to make sure they didn't fall through the clouds. The pegasi were humbled to be in the presence of legendary heroines, but tributes would have to wait. Lines were made and escorted out of the city.

"Everypony, hold on to hope and we'll make it!" Somnambula called out.

"But without Cloudsdale, where will we go?" asked a random pegasus citizen. "I don't want to live with the grounded ponies calling us blunderers!"

"Nopony is calling anypony "blunderers", you are afraid." Somnambula reasoned. "Cloudsdale will survive. It is not merely a place, but it's pony population. As long as you are together, there will always be a foundation upon which a glorious civilization can be built." After her speech, many pegasi took off from their home.

"Whatever did the earth ponies and unicorns do?" Mage Meadowbrook wondered.

"Come after our jobs, fearing we aren't up to the task! And just when pegasi go missing without a trace, too! Coincidence? I don't think so!" a pegasus stallion described.

"There has to be another explanation for this." Mistmane proposed.

"All I see is that it's a pony-eat-pony world down there." the stallion assessed. Just then, a zombie pegasus appeared in front of him, along with a bunch of others, all with zombie unicorns and earth ponies riding them. Monsters came in from the other side. The wingless zombies and monsters apparently had the cloud-walking spell used on them.

Mage Meadowbrook threw some smoke bombs to throw their deadly enemies off and help the pegasi escape faster. Somnambula dodged heat beams, needles, Whirling Mungtooth cyclones and the lightning birds' electricity, but only for some time. She was knocked on to a cloud, and before her stood the massive, grinning Sphinx, whom she defeated generations ago.

"My ancient foe." Somnambula groaned, looking up at the riddle-spouting beast.

"No riddles today." the Sphinx hissed as she grabbed the pegasus pillar with her massive paw. Just then, a smoke bomb hit her in the face. She lost her grip and Mistmane caught her falling pony ally with telekinesis.

They made a break for it, but the Sphinx and the monstrous army closed in quickly. A thick, smelly gas surrounded the mares, and before their eyes the Hydra's heads emerged from the clouds, surrounding them and diving down to take some big bites. Somnambula and Mage Meadowbrook ducked under Mistmane's shield for cover.



In Ponyville, Sunburst was lining up the citizens and directing them towards the train station. The pace had to be picked up when the zombies and monsters approached the outskirts.

"There's plenty of room, everypony!" Sunburst called out. "Stay in single file and wait your turn! It won't be long before the next train!"

"Get more of us unicorns on, we're indisposable!" a proud unicorn stallion yelled.

"You unicorns can just magic yourselves away!" snarled an earth pony mare with a filly on her back. "Like you and the pegasi did to my husband!"

"You still on about that?" the unicorn stallion scoffed.

"Any accusations can wait until after the ride!" Sunburst hollered impatiently, shutting the two grown ponies up.

Somewhere, further back in the line, the earth pony teacher Cheerilee was keeping school colts and fillies in line. Among them were the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"Stick together, boys and girls, and stay calm. This crisis will blow over before you know it." she assured them, though not with full certainty.

"Everypony's acting so crazy today. Where did this come from?" Sweetie Belle fretted.

"I think it's pretty convenient that the changelings' original leader plans a visit around the same time the ponies erupted into discordance." Scootaloo suggested.

"Yeah. It might just be a gossip conspiracy!" Apple Bloom mused. "By villains!"

"But who'd believe the word of kids like us, when they're paranoid beyond reason?" Scootaloo worried.

"We'll follow the trail to the root of the problem, Crusaders." Apple Bloom recommended. "Find the ponies who first spread the word, we find the answers."

"Then we better start searching when we get the chance." said Sweetie Belle.

Meanwhile, within the emptied town, Chrysalis faced her share of the dark army, pointing a hoof at a picture of Starlight Glimmer she was levitating. The Maulwurf and the Ophiotaurus stood respectfully at the sound of her venomous voice.

"Remember, none of you are to interfere with my grudge match! Take the rest of the ponies, burn that School of Friendship to the ground, but Starlight Glimmer is mine!" The former queen commanded with a demonic echo. Every zombie and monster in her presence nodded without complaining and went on their way.



The whole student body was directed to the safest way out that Headmare Starlight Glimmer and Guidance Counselor Trixie could think of, the grille leading down to the Tree of Harmony caverns below the School of Friendship. The yak Yona, the dragon Smolder, the griffin Gallus, the changeling Ocellus, the hippogriff Silverstream and the earth pony Sandbar stayed together and helped Trixie with the evacuation.

"Just follow Counselor Trixie, stay in single file, don't move too fast and keep your buddies close!" Starlight ordered to the frightened children.

"Yes, Headmare Starlight." said all of the children in unison. The horrifying sounds of zombie ponies and massive monsters outside pierced through the building's walls, sending a chill down their spines. The ground shook and rocked every nearby piece of furniture.

"Better move fast enough, kids!" Trixie exclaimed, prompting the last of the students to hastily run down the grille. Then another terrible sound was heard, which Starlight investigated through the nearest window.

"Starlight, star bright. Where's the pony I want to fight?!" Chrysalis sang sadistically, right outside.

"I have a date with destiny, Trix." said Starlight to the magician. "Can you do this alone?"

"Fear not, Star. Nopony does a great and powerful escape like Trixie." the proud magician confirmed. Starlight lunged at her to give a hug, which was immediately returned with an added kiss on the cheek for good luck. With all of the students in the caverns, Trixie went down with them and closed the grille.

Starlight powered up her horn to teleport outside as Chrysalis was heard singing "Wish I may, wish I might. Exact revenge on you tonight!"

Outside the School, the monsters and zombie ponies were tearing it apart. The unicorn zombies blasted their heat beams through the walls, sea serpents made their shrill noises as they emerged from the pond and blasted water through the windows, the Maulwurf climbed on the right side of the roof and slashed at it viciously, and Twittermites surrounded the building like fog. On the left side of the roof, Chrysalis waited for her opponent, and she popped up behind her, ready for a duel.

"Ah, finally. Just the Headmare I wanted to see." said Chrysalis gleefully, her eyes bulging with bloodlust. "We have much to catch up on."

"Sorry, but you didn't make an APPOINTMENT!" Starlight shot back. She took the rogue changeling by surprise with a pounce as the last word of her sentence was angrily screamed. Then, with another spark of magic, she teleported the both of them out of the area.

In the underground caverns, Trixie and the students hurried along when a wide, fast stream of water approached. She used a magician's trick to conjure up umbrellas for protection.



Starlight and Chrysalis rematerialized, sliding along the ground, in a mountainous place with stone plateaus standing tall everywhere. The wind was very strong, no living things were present, but there was plenty of space for combatants. The two separated and faced each other.

"Where did you take us?" Chrysalis growled, baffled by Starlight's actions.

"Somewhere you can't hurt anypony, or anything." Starlight answered, preparing her horn for another spell.

"Wrong!" Chrysalis spat. "I can hurt..." she prepped up her own horn and surrounded herself in the changeling flames, transforming into a giant spider. Four giant spiders. Having caught her foe in a state of surprise, the changeling's four forms shot web from their abdomens and shouted "YOU!"

Starlight was trapped in the strings of webbing. The giant spiders pulled with much force, threatening to tear her apart, but she managed to teleport to safety. Chrysalis rejoined her forms, changed back and searched for Starlight in every direction. She caught the unicorn in her line of sight again just as a turquoise beam was headed her way. In another flash of fire, Chrysalis turned into a swarm of bats, dodging it completely. The swarm charged Starlight, but she used her horn to change the changeling's trajectory, sending her flying into a nearby boulder. She only stopped just in time to change back and plant her hooves on it. She swiftly tilted her head back to fire a surprise energy beam, but Starlight teleported again to avoid it.

"ARGH!" Chrysalis groaned with frustration. "Stay still so I can break you!" Then she caught the unicorn again, this time seeing her teleport into her next position.

"Oh yeah, real motiva-" Starlight snarked at the changeling's futile use of words. Her last syllable was turned into a high-pitched shriek as Chrysalis flew at and her transformed into four iron balls, covered in spikes. Starlight jumped to avoid the iron balls, but one sent her flying into a nearby wall, and one more barely missed her, but one of the spikes grazed her cheek. The balls then tried to roll into Starlight, until Starlight used telekinesis to throw them back together, reverting them to normal. She stood up and rubbed her damaged cheek with a fore hoof, staring coldly.

"Feels good to let all this rage out." Chrysalis laughed.

"You had an opportunity to be free of rage." Starlight mentioned. 'When I stretched my hoof out to you that day, it was a chance for a healthy new start. To be happy. To be a better leader for your clan, and you deliberately wasted it!"

"Well, friend, maybe you should've thought about that before you RUINED MY LIFE!" Chrysalis replied with a demonic screech. She spewed a gooey stream of acid at the rock formation that Starlight stood on, cutting through it like a hot blade through butter. "And gave my throne to that softie!"

Starlight dodged the acid with teleportation, but the damage to the stone made it unstable for the massive boulder to stand on much longer. Starlight looked up and gasped. Chrysalis took advantage of this precious moment and locked her in place with changeling telekinesis. The boulder fell, Starlight howling in despair beneath. It hit the ground and split into fragments, leaving a cover of dust clouds. It looked like there was no way Starlight could escape, not even at the last second.

"I wonder what pony pancakes taste like?" Chrysalis pondered. She flew down to the remains of the boulder to check for the unicorn's body.

Underneath the gravel, in the crater made from the impact, Starlight remained in one piece, covered in a powerful blue shield summoned by her heightened emotions. It was glowing brighter as her eyes opened. Eventually, Chrysalis noticed and gazed upon the light confused, until it exploded in a circular white burst, blowing the stones away and sending the former queen flying into a rock face, cracking it slightly. Starlight walked out of the crater and stared at her enemy, who managed to get back up, despite her damages.

"Too bad your rage just blinds you, sweetheart." Starlight taunted with a chuckle. Chrysalis roared with animalistic fury and transformed into four Crackle Cosettes, firing energy beams from each of their horns, and it was like looking at a violent, concussive version of a concert's laser light show.



The Crystal Ponies were boarding the train, while their co-rulers and the Royal Guard stayed behind to hold the fort. It was the most glum they had been since the Crystal Empire re-emerged from the millennium-long disappearance it suffered thanks to Sombra's curse, back when he was fully alive. There was no telling if they were ever going to see it again, or if Princess Cadance or Shining Armor would make it out of this conflict alive. They at least hoped that the baby princess Flurry Heart would be okay.

"Castle guarded, Crystal Heart protected, borders covered, Flurry Heart safe." Shining Armor listed off, having assigned all of his Guardsstallions and Guardsmares.

"If we fall here, our daughter may be the final hope for Equestria." said Cadance. "And i'm not letting any monster touch her again!"

Then the zombie ponies and the monsters came, led by Eclipse, the Bugbear and the Tatzlwurm. A war broke out. The enormous, atrocious worm creature coiled around a group of guards, each herded by the flying bear and bug hybrid, and crushed them. The guards had strong crystal weapons perfect for taking out ferocious beasts, but their numbers were evened out by the amount of enemies they had to deal with. During the chaotic battle, Eclipse flew up to the castle, cloaked in a spell of invisibility. Using it concurrently with an intangibility spell, she easily snuck into the Crystal Heart's chamber, and she picked it up with telekinesis.

"The Heart!" a crystal unicorn guard shouted as the prized relic of the Empire lifted off it's pedestal. They fired all over the area until one of the beams hit a forcefield. Eclipse's position was revealed. The same guard called out "The dark alicorn! Seize her!", switching to a mass telekinetic pull for his group's next attack.

Eclipse easily teleported out of their grip and opened portals underneath their hooves, sending them away to the barren wastes of the frozen north. While she held on to the Crystal Heart, she raised her fore hooves. This motion grew giant crystalline vines out of the castle grounds, which wrapped around the beautiful structure and squeezed it like a tube of gel. Spikes grew out of the vines to secure their tight position. Eclipse took a few pieces to entangle the Crystal Heart, cracking it and dimming out it's light.

At that moment, Shining Armor and Cadance had broken into the Heart's chamber, and confronted the wicked transcendent alicorn.

"YOU!" Shining Armor yelled.

"Why hello, Princess Twilight's big brother, the one left with the table scraps of royalty." Eclipse greeted darkly after turning around to notice the pair. "And Cadance, the Crystal Princess. Yet not the hero with a statue." She was then surrounded by more guards. She scanned the area and then gazed back at the Crystal Heart.

"I don't think you have any plans to surrender, so let's go." said Cadance, igniting her horn and joining it with Shining Armor's.

"You want the Heart? Fetch!" Eclipse taunted, teleporting the Crystal Heart away. Everyone else gasped. Without it's power, it was doomsday for the Empire. The evil alicorn bended backwards in the air and shot a beam at the guards. It wasn't a simple damaging blast, but a spell. One that stripped the guards of their Cutie Marks. The spots where their marks once were now filled by crossed out equals signs.

The Guards stood still, caught in a trance, and saw things in their vision change. Eclipse had changed to Cadance, and Cadance and Shining Armor now looked like killer zombies. Their hearing was also altered to hear Cadance commanding her troops to protect her from the two undead equines. This illusion brainwashed them into striking their leaders, whom had to go on the defensive.

The brainwashed guards pushed them back with energy beams and pointed weapons. The royal couple were surrounded by them, Eclipse, the zombies and the monsters. The Tatzlwurm caught them in it's multiple tongues and closed it enough for it's teeth to poke at the pair. A zombie earth ponies had some fun and clawed Shining Armor's armor off.

"What did you do to them?!" Cadance asked angrily.

"I just converted them to my new community of servitude, where they still get exactly what they want and need to see and hear." Eclipse explained. "I'm a very influential mare."

"You may take my guard, villain. But one thing you'll never steal..." Shining Armor growled, sparkling with energy with his horn on Cadance's. "Is our love!"

"Ooh, I love testing theories." Eclipse chirped, unfazed by the threat. At that moment, everyone felt the breeze of the snowstorm that was now enveloping the Empire. Eclipse ordered the Tatzlwurm to "Take them up!", and the great creature threw up it's head, releasing the royal couple from it's tongues with amazing force. 

Eclipse swiped her fore hooves down, and this time, a snowy cyclone formed in the sky overhead. It sucked in Cadance and Shining Armor, but before it could envelop them in it's freezing clutches, they began to glow with a mixture of blue and pink protective energy. Their expressions changed to ones of absolute determination. The alicorn bride grabbed her husband and dove back down to the ground with a powerful landing. The zombie ponies, monsters and brainwashed Guards backed off in shock, leaving only their dark mistress to face the royals.

"You asked for this, witch." said Cadance.

"It'd be boring otherwise." Eclipse said back.

Shining Armor blasted a wall of solid energy at Eclipse, which knocked her back until she turned intangible to get through. Cadance blasted a beam at her, which the dark alicorn retaliated against with a triple beam, one to push back the princess' attack, and the other two to hit the couple, but their love's protection lessened the damage. Shining Armor used telekinesis to grab Eclipse, ignoring her intangibility with the increased power, which Cadance would capitalize on with her crystal materializing magic. Pieces of glittering crystals covered the villain's horn, wrapped around her neck and seized up her wings. But none of it was enough to stop her from breaking it with a simple magical burst.

Eclipse completely froze Shining Armor by trapping him in a crystal cage. Cadance, too. But the Crystal alicorn easily destroyed the cages and weaponized them against the evil one. Eclipse deflected the pieces by generating a lightning-fast spinning blade from her horn. Shining Armor pounced her and levitated a bunch of Royal Guard weapons, pointed and blunt, over her. She teleported out of his grasp, and when she did, Cadance fired an energy beam at where she predicted she would pop up. Eclipse saw this coming and used a fore hoof to swat the beam away, causing it to hit the ground with an explosion that kicked up a dust cloud.

While the dust cloud blinded the royals, the evil alicorn took the opportunity to grow vines, catching Shining Armor in a tight, strangling hold, and manipulate the oncoming snowy storm clouds to smother Cadance. It looked like Eclipse had won, but the couple just kept coming, their love was just that great of a power source. She had enough and used her brainwashing spell, but it was repelled. Cadance cancelled out her intangibility by using a telekinetic freeze, Shining Armor came from above with a magical shield and an axe, Eclipse blocked the assault with a magical horn blade while trying to break free. The couple's affection for each other was manifesting in it's strongest form, surrounding their opponent in a ball of light.



As the battles raged on across the country, Grogar was busy with some destructive business elsewhere. He used his telekinesis to sabotage each of the train tracks between Canterlot, Ponyville and the Crystal Empire. He formed giant chasms, towering plants that would lead the trains into a roller coaster loop, and strong wind turbulences around them, just to hurt ponykind's unity even more. He had also collected 11 historical items, which he levitated for analysis.

He held up Star Swirl the Bearded's Journal, Somnambula's Blindfold, Mistmane's Flower, Clover the Clever's Cloak, Private Pansy's Armor, Smart Cookie's Quill, The Amulet of Aurora, the Talisman of Mirage, the Helm of Yksler, the Crown of Grover and Knuckerbocker's Shell. He looked around, when he felt a familiar presence.

"Once Tirek and his squadron have cleaned up, I will take the last three relics and have enough for the unsealing spell." Grogar softly said, as if talking to anyone. "And there's nothing stopping you from halting my plans right here and now, right?" He eyed a small blade of grass, out of which popped the head of Discord, smugly smiling as usual.

"You're right, there isn't." Discord answered casually. He jumped out of the ground like a snake and landed like a giant, living accordion. "But i'm a draconequus with a plan, not a crime fighter." He glared at the ram sorcerer.

"Oh, how you have become so much less than the sum of your parts." Grogar lamented with a sorrowful expression.

"I must say..." Discord started, snapping his lion claws. "Your Bell's never looked b-" He stopped when noticed that the Bewitching Bell didn't go over to him. He snapped again. "Never looked-" and again. "Never looked-" and again, then with double the claws, but it didn't come off Grogar's collar, thanks to the Alicorn Amulet's enchantment. In frustration, he gave up. "Oh, this is embarrassing! You embarrass me... father."

"Surprised, are you? Such is the reward of a disappointment... son." Grogar said with a venomous hint on the last word. He stared at  the chaotic draconequus with a resentful look that could shatter glass.

The spirit didn't ask how the Bell was strapped so tight, simply materializing a chair to continue the talk.

"I remember when I embodied everything that Equestria stood against." said Discord. "Not proud of that stage of my existence."

"You were my masterpiece, Discord. Your Chaos Magic was the happiest accident of my hybrid experiments." Grogar reminisced. "You loved having the ponies at your mercy, everything you saw was a thought away from disaster under your power, and you ruled with not only an iron claw, but with exceptional creativity." He sighed, turning his head in shame. "Truthfully, you were the last creature I expected to fall into Harmony's temptation."

"Surprised, were you? Perhaps you shouldn't have given me too much free will, then I wouldn't have made a friend... one who showed me that great power without somepony to enjoy it with... is complete emptiness." Discord responded, starting sarcastically and then shifting to a tone of sincerity straight from his heart.

"Yes, Fluttershy the Discord tamer." Grogar muttered. "Another keeper of the flimsy peace."

"Hey, the ponies may fight a lot, but I think you underestimate how defended they really are." Discord retorted.

"Regardless, their convenient safety net enjoys the show." Grogar responded with a smile.

"You know, why are you still talking? Why don't you just take my power right here and now?" Discord grumbled in annoyance, painting a target marker on his chest.

"I could, but these circumstances aren't favorable." Grogar said cryptically. "You're holding back, my boy." He added, sensing the chaotic spirit's core.

"As are you, dear old dad." Discord returned, a bit of sweat running down his pony head. Then he popped out of the ram sorcerer's sight in a quick flash.

Discord, the Lord of Chaos, a strange, imaginative, nigh-omnipotent being who had been of unknown origin, as far as any creature could tell, but was in fact something they never would've guessed in their lives: another of the fabled dark emperor's monstrous creations. However, unlike all the rest, this one would not follow his evil will. Not at this stage.
> Part 1 - Chapter 4: A Lapse in Judgment
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the throne room of Canterlot Castle, the Royal Guard tried it's hardest to fight the zombie and monster horde, but the strength of the beasts was greater, even with the Royal Sisters assisting with their creative magical attacks. The chimera came out of the crowd and targeted Applejack, specifically, grabbing her in it's claws.

"Remember us, earth pony?!" the tiger head of the chimera snarled.

"Oh, howdy, y'all." said Applejack, nervously recalling when she tangled with the three-headed beast back in the Flame Geyser Swamp years ago.

"There's one thing we can all agree on. You must fry!" the goat head said harshly.

"And to ssshare your meat with Emperor Grogar." the snake head added.

The goat head breathed a stream of fire at Applejack's head, but it was blocked by a shield conjured up by Twilight. The flames bounced backwards and charred the monster's three faces, forcing it to release the farm mare. Celestia and Luna wrapped magical tethers around it and teleported the beast out of the room. With that, they and the guards had the squadron's full attention. Twilight and her friends faced Cozy, who was making herself comfortable on the throne.

"Hey, that's Twilight's throne!" Spike yelled at the filly.

"I like the foam." Cozy commented with a shrug.

"If you do know the secret to defeating Grogar, tell us now." Twilight demanded.

"You see, he has found a spell that protects his Bell from all hooves." Cozy explained. "But there's one thing that can cancel it. Petrification."

"Like what a cockatrice can do." Fluttershy pointed out.

"Speaking of which..." said Pinkie, setting her eyes on some incoming cockatrices. They surrounded the throne with terrible scowls.

"Right. If we collect these, we can weaponize their gaze and turn Grogar to stone." Cozy assessed. "It's the kind of monster he always had to be careful with. His collar will chip right off."

"Are you ready to help us with this task and save our land, wondrous ones?" Fluttershy politely asked the chicken and cobra hybrids.

They all responded by giving hard, glowing glares at each of the ponies, and their dragon friend. The group gasped in horror, for the intensity of so many cockatrice stares made their petrification power all the more potent. The ponies' minds revisited that moment when they confronted a cockatrice right on the other side of Tartarus' front door, but with the magic restored, they were in true danger now. Cozy looked on in what seemed to be fright, yet was making sure to look away from the beasts.

"Oh no! Wrong targets!" Cozy yelped with her fore hooves on her face. She watched them turn into statues. Twilight had a spell ready and was just about to cast it, until at the very last second, Cozy kicked her horn, cancelling it out. It was done. Cozy looked at the petrified ponies and dragon, dropping her facade, and remarked "Whatever, a demonstration was in order."

"TWILIGHT!" Celestia yelled, noticing what had happened. Flying with Luna to Cozy's position, they used magic to blind the cockatrices and teleport all of them away.

"What are you doing?!" Cozy rebuked. "We need them to beat Grogar!"

"Twilight and her friends are the best hope we have! We need to undo what those fiends did!" Celestia retorted.

"How did they even get past our city-wide barrier?" Luna queried.

"Hmph! You know, this is the problem with you magic-types." Cozy began stating as two giant, outstretched claws of darkness snuck behind the sisters. "You're so reliant on all your special power..." Her frown of vexation shifted into a cocky smile. "You forget to use your brains!" Without another word, she vanished into thin air. The copy was gone.

With the sisters left in confusion, the darkness claws went in for the kill. Before impact, however, they were ceased by two surprise attacks: one delivered by a flying rainbow streak, and the other by a diamond-shaped magical shield. From the ground where the claws protruded, Cozy Glow popped out, looking agitated.

"Keep telling yourself that!" the voice of Twilight called out. She appeared on the throne, having used an invisibility spell. Her face wore an unimpressed expression.

Cozy looked at her in bewilderment, then turned to the statues. They dissolved to dust, revealing them to have been magical copies, just like what Cozy had produced. Her eyes bugged out.

"Told you i'd be ready." said Twilight with a wide, toothy grin of confidence. Raising a fore hoof, she gave the attack order to her friends, "NOW!", signaling all six of them to come out from behind the throne and charge forward.

Rainbow Dash, with her trademark speed, flew around Cozy in a rainbow twister, spinning her like a top. With a fore hoof, she abruptly stopped Cozy's spinning to set her sights on Pinkie Pie, whom was levitated by Rarity's telekinesis and holding her Party Bazooka.

Pinkie blasted the filly with a round of confetti and cake frosting, proceeding to yell "SURPRISE ATTACK!". She and Rainbow had a laugh afterwards.

Cozy coughed loudly, and was too busy with trying to wipe off the cake frosting that she didn't notice Fluttershy behind her, summoning the throne's room security geese with a call of "Now fly! Fly!", which the geese followed. They charged Cozy and bit at her viciously, which prompted her shadow to form a protective field around her. The geese were shooed away, but this left an opening for Spike to fly up and blast Cozy with his green fire. Even with her shadow's defense, the little prodigy could feel the unpleasant sensation of the heat.

Applejack grabbed Cozy with her lasso and pulled her to the ground, slamming her against the carpet. Celestia and Luna stood her up with telekinesis and locked her in place with luminescent chains attached to balls. They surrounded her, Pinkie holding her at party bazooka-point, Fluttershy carrying a goose up to her face, Spike preparing for another breath of fire, and Twilight pointing a magical horn blade at the child's muzzle.

"You barbarians." Cozy moaned. "Locking me in Tartarus, then hurting me, even trying to set me on fire. Will you be proud of this?"

"I know where wrongdoers belong. Stand down." said Twilight menacingly.

"I wanted to do this the diplomatic way." Cozy hissed.

"So did I." Twilight remarked, prepping up her horn for a new spell.

Cozy's shadow broke her bonds and completely enveloped her body, transforming into the dark equine form. She posed like a magical girl and floated high in the air while flapping her dark wings. Everyone in the throne room was left in awe.

"Cozy Glow?! You're a Pony of Shadows?!" Twilight shrieked.

"That sorcery, and that copy, they should've been picked up." Luna pointed out, then growled "So much for the security upgrades."

"We're gonna have a blast!" said Cozy maliciously. She clapped her wings, getting the attention of the zombies and monsters, who had overwhelmed most of the Royal Guard. "Beasties, reanimated boys and girls, party's over here!"

As the order was made, Discord appeared and shouted "Girls, Spike, Grogar is targeting the Tree of Harmony! He knows an unsealing spell and has what he needs to do it!", but he was drowned out by the action happening before him. Twilight once again joined with the sisters to fire a powered up energy beam, this time at the shadow Cozy.



Starlight scored a good energy beam hit on Chrysalis, who changed back from a flock of four geese. The former queen wiped her muzzle and snarled like a dog.

"You'll pay for this impudence!" Chrysalis hissed.

"Put it on my tab." Starlight quipped. She teleported to the top of another plateau and used telekinesis to pull Chrysalis from behind and slam her down. Even with this much damage done to her body, Chrysalis kept climbing back on to her hooves, and she laughed.

"Very well, once i'm done with you and the usurper, i'll make sure to pay an intimate visit to your pathetic boyfriend!" said Chrysalis, drooling and licking her lips. Something in Starlight snapped.

The unicorn fired an enormous energy beam from her horn, one that shook the earth on which she stood. It hit Chrysalis head-on, whom received the impact with a banshee-like scream as it drifted her away into the biggest rock face in the entire area. The power put into the beam made the plateau under Starlight crumble, sending her plummeting to the ground. Before impact, she used teleportation to soften her landing. The beam hit the rock face and exploded, turning a chunk of it into a rock slide, certain to bury the shocked rogue changeling.

The fight had finished. Whether or not the beam, or the rock slide, or both killed Chrysalis, Starlight didn't care. She walked away contently, her mane and tail catching the strong breeze.

Then a strong wave of magical energy sent rocks raining down on Starlight, tripping her. Chrysalis had not been beaten. She dove down really fast and spat some slime at Starlight's hooves. The slime glued the unicorn to the rocky ground and burned her like two steaming hot rods. She screamed, brought to tears.

Chrysalis laughed evilly, but was now badly bruised and fatigued. She wrapped a changeling cocoon around her archenemy, making sure it wasn't acidic to savour this dish, and placed her fore hooves on top, panting heavily.

"This... is only Part.... 1... of my... vengeance." Chrysalis uttered between breaths. She defeated Starlight, now it was a matter of how she was going to regroup with her partners.



Cadance and Shining Armor had managed to trap Eclipse in a crystal prison. The ground opened wide beneath her. She struggled to break free as her cage was lowered into the hole. The royal couple put all of their energy into this ultimate technique. With one last push, they had successfully shoved the dark alicorn into the abyss, and then closed it up. The two's love had pulled through, but left them exhausted to the point of stumbling. They took a moment to catch their breath.

"A thousand years... ought to discipline her... whoever she was." Cadance panted.

"She sure learned... the hard way... that the power of harmony... runs in the family." Shining Armor breathed.

Before they could celebrate for too long, the brainwashed guards jabbed them both in their backs with spears. Then to make things worse, the ground began to shake and glow. A tremendous amount of turquoise energy erupted out, blowing the couple into the sky. Cadance and Shining Armor fell back down, but couldn't reach the ground again before they were caught in an electric tether. After a literal shock, they dangled in the air, twitching with pained grimaces.

"I won't lie, your power of love sure came in handy." Eclipse noted. "Too bad the power of hatred could easily bounce back."

"Who... are... you?" Cadance moaned feebly in questioning.

"An echo... a reborn shadow of one whom Princess Twilight cursed to embrace friendship." Eclipse answered.

"Aurora Eclipse, rendezvous at Canterlot Castle. Bring your prisoners, too." Grogar ordered the wicked pony through telepathic communication.

"Yes, my emperor. Just got a bit more cleanup left to do." Eclipse responded respectfully.



Eclipse went inside the castle and used her brainwashing spell to convert the rest of the Crystal Guard into her servants. They saw enemies where allies were, and allies where enemies were. She reached the bedroom of baby Flurry Heart, and the poor thing could only watch as her remaining protectors were forcefully stripped of their Cutie Marks and turned into evil henchponies. Even at this young age, unable to speak a single Ponish word yet, this moment would surely stick with the little princess for the rest of her life.

Eclipse got a good look at the frightened alicorn child, and had only one cold thing to say to her. "Hush little one, i'll get you a blanket. May it cover you well, for all eternity." Then she flung her fore hooves down and vanished into a portal she opened up over herself, carrying the half-dead bodies of the baby's parents tauntingly and taking the brainwashed guards with her. Everything went dark and cold, and Flurry Heart was powerless to stop it. All she could do was cry and wail as her entire world faded under a pitch black veil.

The Crystal Empire was covered in ice and snow, lost again to the winds of time.



Tirek threw boulders at Star Swirl, which he skillfully jumped through, despite his old age. Then he sucker punched his bull-like foe with a powerful, point-blank energy beam to the face; powerful enough to topple Tirek and knock out one of his lower teeth. He rubbed his jaw, but found that his healing magic couldn't grow a new tooth.

During the centaur's vulnerable moment, Star Swirl used magic to open up a dimensional portal. Rockhoof came up from underneath and scooped Tirek up into the air with his prized shovel. Tirek flew right into the magical vortex, but hung on by the edges and growled with extreme anger.

"You've grown too dangerous, Tirek. Begone; to a realm where your magic will be lost forever!" Star Swirl declared emphatically. With a stroke, he fired a bladed beam at Tirek's left hand, releasing half of his grip on the portal and getting a guttural sound of pain out of him.

Following up, Flash Magnus wielded a bow and fired an arrow with a heated head at Tirek's right hand. Tirek was sent falling into the vortex, but he managed to telekinetically grab Rockhoof and quickly pull the earth pony in, planning to take another down with him.

"ROCKHOOF!" Star Swirl, Flash Magnus and Stygian yelled at the same time. The wizard hurriedly used telekinesis to pull his ally back out.

The portal was slowly closing, and on top of that, Tirek was clinging on to his victim for dear life. He twisted around as they reached the opening, and Rockhoof was brought out, but the portal only closed enough for Tirek to poke out from the top of his chest. With quick thinking, he shot an energy beam in the direction opposite to the Pillars and got himself out completely, using the force of his blast for propulsion. The heroic ponies were knocked off balance by this crafty maneuver, and the centaur stood tall.

Tirek focused magical energy into a fore hoof and prepared to stomp the ground, grinning with malevolent delight. He took a few steps and kicked the ground severely, creating a tectonic shock wave, crying out five words:

"Don't mess with this centaur!"

The entire area shook, and the Pillars were blown away. Star Swirl rolled across the ground, coming to a stop only to be lifted into the air by a rising stalagmite, holding him up by his cape. Tirek approached the defeated wizard and put a pinky finger around his horn, failing to notice a thin, crystalline object falling into the stallion's mane. Flash Magnus tried to attack with a long-ranged flail, but Tirek grabbed the chain and pulled the knight into his free hand. With a nasty crunch, the centaur squeezed Star Swirl's horn like a grape, and that did it. The anti-magic drain spell was nullified, and the absorption field drew Star Swirl and Flash Magnus' vitality out of their bodies and into Tirek's.

"NO!" Rockhoof cried, picking up his shovel to strike, but he only ran an inch before his vitality was drained as well. He and his friends, even Stygian, were now weak and bordering on the brink of unconsciousness.

"Mmmm, magic seasoned with age. Delicious." Tirek sighed with pleasure, smacking his lips.

Nearby, Somnambula was flying down with Mistmane and Mage Meadowbrook following on the magically conjured dragon, escaping the flying monsters and the zombie pegasi. When they caught sight of their defeated stallion allies, they gasped. Somnambula did an aerial somersault, and Mistmane teleported herself and Mage Meadowbrook away, which caused some of the army to collide with each other.

Mistmane and Mage Meadowbrook popped up next to Rockhoof's large, muscular body, finding out too late that Star Swirl's protective spell was cancelled out. Somnambula, flying out of range of Tirek's power, watched in alarm as her allies were turned into energy-deprived shells, and the towering fiend took notice.

"Ooh, seconds." Tirek yipped.

I've got to warn the princesses! Somnambula thought, turning to fly in the direction of the Everfree Forest. Tirek turned his head fast enough to see her go.

Monsters and zombies caught up with Somnambula, a lightning bird stopping her in her tracks with thunderbolts, a zombie unicorn shooting a heat beam, which she tried to dodge but got part of her mane burned, the Hydra slapping her with it's tail. She was slammed into Tirek's rock-hard body. He picked her up and watched her vitality magic flow into him, then sighed again before tossing her into the chasm with Stygian and the other Pillars.

"Thank you." he said mockingly, jumping into the chasm and rubbing his stomach victoriously. "The perfect dessert to a legendary meal." Just to rub one final grain of salt in the wound, he went over to Rockhoof and stomped on his shovel.

"Just what I expected from the rightful Midnight Kingdom heir." Grogar complimented, having just come in through a portal.

"I was hoping to crush them way faster, but they were ultimately outclassed." confirmed Tirek.

"I need you to rendezvous with Miss Glow, Eclipse and Chrysalis at Canterlot Castle. Bring your prisoners there with you." Grogar ordered. "But first..."

Star Swirl, with only a little bit of will to move and speak, gazed upon the ram sorcerer and instantly recognized him. "Grogar... sweet Celestia..." He coughed for a second. "It's really you. The Father.... of Monsters... the architect... of Malice."

"So the famous Star Swirl the Bearded is an avid historian." said Grogar happily, before switching to a remorseful expression. "A pity that this sacrifice needs to be made. Schoolchildren don't know what they're missing." His golden Bell rung with that ghastly sound and pointed at the unicorn sorcerer. The stream of yellow and black magic connected to Star Swirl and mixed with his white essence, violently sucking it out. A small orb of white light also swam through the stream into the Bell; the core of Star Swirl's being.

As the assimilation happened, Star Swirl screamed with whatever breath he could muster up at this moment, before he was reduced to a shriveled, desaturated husk. Stygian and the others helplessly watched, only able to weakly squeal the old stallion's name.

Once it was over, Grogar felt his newly-acquired power surge through him like a powerful sensation of warmth after much exposure to cold air. He then levitated the remaining artifacts to himself; he acquired Flash Magnus' Shield, Mage Meadowbrook's Mask and Rockhoof's Shovel, the latter's broken state not bothering him at all.

"Oh. Forgive me, boss!" said Tirek, feeling that Grogar might be mad at him for his actions.

"It'll do in any shape, your highness." the ram sorcerer assured him warmly. "Now, you have your orders."

"Right!" said Tirek, wiping his brow in relief. He put Stygian and the Pillars in magical bubbles and did his mighty kangaroo jumps into the Everfree Forest, carrying them along.

Grogar made his way to the Tree of Harmony's old cave, the 14 relics held over his head. The bottom part of it's Treehouse form now made up the entirety of it, but it was all the same to the old tyrant. He cast the spell, the relics spun in the air, faster and faster, until they became a glowing ring of Malice Magic. Grogar levitated into the air, his Bell pointed through the circle made by the spinning relics, and together they acted like a cannon, firing a spiral beam at the Tree. Yellow veins appeared on the crystal material, and all of it's light was drawn to the roots from which it had grown. The ground in front of Grogar was about to split open.



Trixie, Sandbar, Yona, Gallus, Ocellus, Smolder, Silverstream and all of the School of Friendship schoolchildren felt the effects from the caverns. The brilliant light was fading, and drifting away as if drawn to another position. In the darkness, many screamed in terror.

"Everycreature stay calm!" Trixie called out. "Princess Twilight will figure this out!"

Sandbar and his group weren't freaking out. They were doing as the magician would've wanted, but got a little spooked when a voice was heard in each of their heads.

"Listen!" the voice, sounding like Twilight Sparkle's, demanded.

"AH! Yona hear ghost!" the young yak yelped with a jump.

"Easy, easy, it's just the Tree!" said Gallus, pressing his talons on Yona's back. "Are you in our heads?"

"Grogar has breached the heart of the world with a forbidden unsealing spell. My time may be short." the Tree's voice explained. "Five of you must return to your homelands and bring the creatures outside of Equestria to a full alliance. They may have become peaceful with the ponies, but with each other, their hearts have yet to be opened."

"Will do, Tree! We won't let you down!" said Sandbar with determination.

"Yak want piece of Grogar! No villain hurt Tree!" Yona yelled.

"We can't do anything about that now." Smolder stated. "There's no time to lose."

"Who were you talking to?" Trixie asked, providing a light with her horn.

"The Tree of Harmony's in trouble, and we need to get back to our lands!" Silverstream replied.

"It said to align our clans." Ocellus explained.

"Ah, you and that tree are close." Trixie said with a warm smile. "Who would I be to doubt a great and powerful friend? Onward!"



The opening of the world's core was like the Tree of Harmony opening up a gigantic maw that it secretly had. The hole exuded an unbelievable amount of Harmony Magic. This was it, the very lifeblood of everything that existed, from Equestria to the farthest reaches of the outer lands. Grogar couldn't help but shed a little tear at it's pure, untainted beauty. Before he made his next move, the spirit of the Tree, shaped like Twilight Sparkle, appeared.

"You can't win, Grogar." the spirit said. "Even with all the studying of Harmony's power you may have done, it will prove to be far more powerful than you, or even any other living thing, could possibly comprehend."

"Maybe it will, maybe it won't. You know as well as I do, spirit, that the best teller... is time." Grogar replied. "A mistress that has it's increasingly surprising methods of cruelty." He levitated into the hole, feeling the tingle of the Harmony Magic very hard, and positioned himself in the center. His Bell rung once again, releasing the yellow and black Malice Magic down into the heart. The ram sorcerer groaned with what seemed like pain as the two polar opposite forces collided. Suddenly, the Tree stuck out it's ghostly tendrils, wrapping them around him.

The Tree tried it's hardest to depower and dissolve Grogar through the many tendrils, as it did to some fake ponies a while back. It didn't work, and they soon faded away. The Twilight-shaped spirit closed it's eyes in defeat, whispering "Good luck, my friends." before disappearing into nothingness.

The Tree pulsated with sickening yellow and black veins and electricity. The corruption spread to the sky, gradually turning it crimson, and the earth, poisoning the Everfree Forest.



Twilight, her friends, the sisters and the last of the Royal Guard had their hooves tied with Cozy and her squadron. Unicorn guards repeatedly fired beams at her, but her shadow form devoured all of them, before she also swallowed the guards and fired them out like spitballs through a stained glass window, shattering it.

Celestia and Luna blasted Cozy with a loud sound wave generated by their combined Royal Canterlot Voices. It disturbed her shadow and caused it to flee, leaving her regular body uncovered. They telekinetically grabbed her, but she disappeared, revealed to be another copy, left by the actual Cozy still covered in her shadow. Fluttershy sicced the geese on her again, but all of their biting efforts were repelled by Cozy's darkness wings clamping together and dunking them down on the ground. Rainbow tried a sneak attack, but was swatted away.

Twilight cast a reverse gravity spell on Cozy, which got her into a confusing predicament as the ceiling attracted her weight. The sisters went in for another attack, but they were struck from behind by heat beams from the zombie unicorns. The pain had them hurdling towards the ground, and their wings were strapped down by Timberwolves. Spike breathed a stream of fire at Cozy, but a shadow wing easily blocked it. The distracted little dragon was grabbed and thrown by the Roc, crashing into Applejack.

Shards of the stained glass window were thrown at Cozy, the effort of which was put in by Rarity. This cut the shadow form up, sending the filly prodigy tumbling out. Pinkie sprang up and blasted her with the Party Bazooka again, covering her in confetti and, this time, balloons that popped shortly after coming out, causing disorientation. The shadow shortly rejoined her.

Twilight blasted nearly the whole room with a heavily charged up lightning spell. It scared away the shadow and forced most of the monsters and zombies back, even lighting some like the Timberwolves on fire. She approached Cozy, but alas, another copy. Twilight groaned with exasperation, then turned to Discord, who was just watching in the corner.

"Hey Discord, reformed villain! You want to actually help a little bit instead of twiddling your thumbs?!" Twilight yelled at him.

"It's not my battle, princess." Discord replied dismissively.

"Please, this filly's trickery is starting to get old!" Fluttershy pleaded. "I'm so peeved I could..."

"Alright alright, Fluttershy. No need for the language." said Discord, giving in. Then he warningly raised a claw. "But just this once." Finally, he snapped his lion claws.

"Gee, I guess I have to admit we're at an impasse." Cozy considered. "But... i'm having too much fun!" The second that last syllable came out, her shadow was tightly wrapped around her, covering everything but her head, and a giant shoe was dropped on her, weighing her down completely. Also, the zombie and monster squadron poofed out of reality.

"HEEEY!!! NOOO FAAAIR!!!" She screeched so hard, her voice should've given out and the stained glass should've broke. In a huff, she materialized a new copy in front of Discord. "There really should be a moratorium on Chaos Magic!"

"Exactly. It's not my place to show you your place." said Discord, flicking the Cozy copy into the opposite wall, dispelling it.

"You were kind of right, Cozy. Friendship is power, but it's decency and trust that forms that power." said Twilight.

"Where'd you get that, a daily affirmations calendar? Yeesh!" Cozy dismissively joked.

"By the way..." Discord started before going emphatic. "Grogar has been gathering relics to unseal the Tree of Harmony! He might already be there!"

"Well, why didn't you say so?!" Twilight scolded with utter disbelief.

"I tried!" Discord stressed.

Twilight's face burned with intense fury, and she turned back to Cozy, preparing a scary-looking spell. 'So this has been your game?"

Right behind her, the giant stained glass window above the throne was blasted open by a powerful magical blast, and everyone and everything was pushed by it, including the giant shoe. As they all got back up, the heroic ponies began to lose their vitality magic. Cozy, returning to her shadow form and floating up with a smug smile, was unaffected.

"Distract!" she shrilled.

Tirek jumped through the open, ruined window and landed on the throne, destroying it, just as he absorbed the vitality. His seven bubbled captives were dropped to the ground.

"Surprise!" he sang with his arms raised.

Eclipse flew into the room, carrying the royal couple of the Crystal Empire and setting them down on the floor to be drained of magic. With a flick of her horn, she increased the gravity around Twilight and company, keeping them from even crawling from the spot, and all of her brainwashed soldiers came in through portals.

"And trap!" she hollered, laughing.

Discord vanished, not wanting to interfere with this fight anymore. Twilight groaned with disgust.

"Looks like we all had fun cleaning their clocks." Cozy laughed. Then she noticed that one creature was oddly missing. "Uh, where's Chrysalis?" As if on cue, the rogue changeling was whisked into the room by Malice Magic, and the cocooned Starlight with her. She was growling like a mistreated pet.

Tirek, seeing how beaten up she was, held out his hand and replenished her strength. She roared with fury upon her full recovery, but then turned her head and mumbled "Thank you". Starlight was drained by the absorption field, just like the rest of the present defenders of Equestria.

"The Pillars have been defeated." said Tirek.

"Your School is abandoned." said Chrysalis.

"Every line of defense you set up has been deconstructed." said Eclipse, showing the tainted Crystal Heart.

"Best of all, your adoring future subjects are one little push away from going past the threshold." said Cozy. "And when they pray for guidance, you might not be here to listen."

"We and the boss have been busy." Tirek noted.

"So... you creeps... have been putting... the ponies... on edge!" Twilight puffed.

"As I said long ago, Twilight, everypony believes they are better than others, no matter how they grow or what they claim." Eclipsed lectured the young alicorn. "They fight a losing battle against their egos, like animals."

Twilight gasped, quickly realizing the dark alicorn's identity. It had to be some kind of illusionary sorcery, but she couldn't deny who this was. "Starlight Glimmer?" The others reacted with a collective "What?!"

"That name from my father is nothing but a mark of shame to me now." Eclipse clarified disdainfully. "I am Aurora Eclipse."

"How... dare you." Starlight, still conscious, panted with hatred, offended that the villainous echo was using the name that her mother wanted for her.

"The icing on the cake is when the petty ponies are consumed by pride, they won't pay attention to details anyway." Chrysalis added. "They probably won't even care who rules them, just as long as they can live without each other."

"You think your backup friends in the outer lands will find you worth fighting for after that?" Tirek rhetorically asked.

"Face it, you've lost! The perfect just desserts for the infection of my hive!" Chrysalis hissed.

"For the dishonor to my family!" Tirek growled.

"For the destruction of my equal community!" Eclipse snarled.

"And for throwing me in Tartarus!" Cozy barked. "Seriously, what's wrong with you?!"

Chrysalis, Tirek and Eclipse opened portals, sending the defeated defenders besides Twilight, her friends and the sisters to the crystal caverns underneath Canterlot for their imprisonment. That same crystalline object in Star Swirl's mane fell out and attached itself to Twilight's, avoiding everyone's attention. The remaining heroes struggled to reach out to one another, knowing what they could do here.

"I'm afraid... you've made... your last mistake!" said Twilight, getting back from the gravitational pull. Her five pony friends followed suit, held hooves and floated into the air, surrounded by a lustrous energy field. The power of the Elements of Harmony ignited in their cores, just like they did before Sombra. Twilight declared "You're all here, right where we want you!"

"UGH!" Tirek grunted, feeling a shock that returned the heroes' stolen vitality magic. "Not again!" He groaned.

"Frankly, it's embarrassing that we need to remind y'all how it always ends for varmints." said Applejack, sighing.

"This is bad, isn't it?" Cozy murmured, shivering.

"No beating around the bush! Blast them, girls!" Spike hollered with excitement.

The six ponies unleashed their great power, but out of nowhere it was slowed down to a crawl. The villains looked on in surprise, and Spike in confusion.

"Hey, what happened to the blasting?!" Spike asked.

Realizing the chance they had, Eclipse, Chrysalis and Tirek shot five of the six Elements out of the air, leaving Twilight for Cozy to flick on to the ground with a darkness wing. The friendship power was cancelled.

"Girls, no!" Celestia and Luna yelped. Then they looked to their left and caught sight of... him. Instant dread pounded their nerves. They jumped to Spike and the young ponies, forming a spherical barrier.

"Oh my gosh, Grogar's right there!" Spike shrieked.

"No wonder Star Swirl has his own wing." the ram sorcerer mused, the unicorn wizard's white magic glowing around his collar. He zipped right up to the barrier and eyed the night princess. "Dearest Luna, you were always the most ambitious of the two. That's why I helped you escape the moon when the Elements' seal was at it's weakest. But, you live and learn." Twilight and her friends stared in bewilderment.

"Those stars were you?" Luna gasped.

"So, I have more than Twilight to thank for bringing my sister back." Celestia remarked.

"Sad to say you must be torn apart again." Grogar said back.

"Here's a good key entity, your majesty." Eclipse called, giving him the Crystal Heart.

"Behold, an informative demonstration." said Grogar with a bow. His Bell rung and assimilated the Crystal Heart, sucking out it's light blue energy and core. Afterwards, the artifact shattered into countless, barely visible pieces.

"You can take whatever you want, but you'll never be even a fourth as powerful as the Tree of Harmony." said Luna.

"And mark my words, you'll have to face defeat eventually, regardless of how many you take down." Twilight asserted, rubbing her shoulder.

"No matter. I've already poisoned Equestria to it's core." Grogar confirmed, shaking his head sideways.

At that moment, the corruption of the sky was now reaching Canterlot, showering it in a harsh, crimson light.

"You think that pathetic shield can stop us?" Chrysalis laughed.

Grogar was happy to show how futile this defense was by breaking it with a simple tap. This left the sisters whimpering in distress.

"How about we start redecorating, huh?" Cozy suggested.

"Indeed." Grogar agreed, forming shields around the brainwashed guards. "Time for the past to die." He charged his magic and combined it with that of Chrysalis, Tirek and Eclipse. Cozy ducked into a shadow-y blob for cover.

BOOM! A tremendous geyser of Malice Magic mixed with green, orange and turquoise energy blew up all over Canterlot, like a volcano went off beneath the city. Everything was demolished in the devastating wave. The explosion could be seen and felt from everywhere. Sunburst and the Cutie Mark Crusaders noticed it from a train, Trixie and the students experienced the aftershock, and the creatures from the outer lands picked up the horrible sound it made.

Canterlot was now a vast pile of ash and debris. Nothing could've been left untouched by the blast. The villains stood on the platform that was once the throne room. The heroes were gone.

"I think you overdid it." Cozy opined.

"No, Discord saved them." Grogar corrected her. "It was inevitable."

"Well don't just stand there, go deal with him!" Chrysalis yelled.

"Patience. I will take no further chances with him." said Grogar with a raised hoof. "If he hasn't gone too far, my senses will easily track his location. You make sure the prisoners are comfortably locked up, i'll let you know when the deed's done." His next move was to close his eyes and feel for a Malice Magic signature. He whispered "Now things look favorable."



Discord had teleported Twilight and company to the far borders of the ruined city, and hid themselves behind thick, dying trees.

"Close call." Pinkie commented.

"Oh, those poor ponies." Fluttershy weeped.

"No worries, every citizen was evacuated, and I snapped all the guards away to safety." Discord assured her.

"Thank... me." said Celestia.

"Now, performance review: you girls can do better than that!" Discord reprimanded the group.

"Excuse me?! We did the best we could!" Twilight said back indignantly.

"Like you could've seen that time spell coming!" Spike argued.

"And that was a perfectly good giant shoe I wasted at your request!" Discord scolded. "This was meant to be your moment! The moment of truth, where you make friendship fireworks and kick their butts!"

"Do you take this for a movie, Discord?" Celestia inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"I take this for the culmination of Twilight's character growth! The climax we've been waiting for! What Equestria's been waiting for! What i've been waiting for!" Discord ranted.

Those last words got a clock ticking in Twilight's head. It went back to the cryptic things Discord had been saying earlier that day. All the weird stuff she had overheard him talking about. The way he had been acting, and the convenience of his behavior at the time of this crisis. All this put together made the clock ring with an ear-piercing sound. Her face contorted with rage as she pointed a hoof at the draconequus.

"You knew! You knew they were coming, and you didn't tell us!" Twilight called him out. The others gasped in shock and disgust.

"Who, me? Come now, you know I wouldn't do that!" Discord lied, immediately recognizing that he would do something of the sort. "Oh okay." He laughed cheekily. "You got me."

"You've known the whole time that Grogar, Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, Tirek and that Aurora Eclipse character were planning to attack?" Luna reprimanded.

"Don't forget Sombra." Discord added shamelessly.

"You've seriously been teasing and testing us from the start." Twilight assessed.

"It was a serendipitous opportunity, my friend." Discord justified. He snapped his eagle claws and displayed footage of events from the past, starting with the chaotic spirit pacing in his dimension. He began narrating:

"When I went home the day the princesses announced your rise to power, I got thinking. Twilight just can't see the fact that she is everything Equestria needs. If only there was another bad guy to battle; that always makes her feel awesome. I considered creating an apocalyptic threat myself, but decided nah! Then... I sensed an imbalance of magic. A kind I hadn't felt in eons. By an anti-miracle, my father, Grogar, had come back."

"That monster created even you?" Fluttershy interrupted.

"Correct. But I was a special specimen, unlike the others." Discord affirmed. "Chaos Magic is a great safeguard against Malice." He resumed.

"I investigated - from a distance to avoid being tracked - and saw that he already gathered the villains. This Legion of Doom. My reaction was one of great anxiety, and naturally, I thought this. Is. Perfect! If Twilight can beat this, she'll never doubt herself again! So I spent the next moons monitoring their activities, from Sombra striking out on his own, to the acquirement of the Bewitching Bell, to Aurora Eclipse's conjuration, to their attempted sabotage of the final Summer Sun Celebration."

"Where did that mare come from, anyway?" Celestia questioned.

"Grogar brought her to life from a piece of wood with pony life signs in it, which Chrysalis apparently had an attachment to. Now let me finish." Discord replied impatiently.

"Whoa, I think we really missed something." said Pinkie, mystified.

"After our up-and-coming ruler gained a confidence boost from destroying that revenant despot, I kept an eye on her progress, and by that fateful sunrise of her own doing, I knew that she was now ready for anything. That her journey was almost complete." After this, the footage ended with television static.

"And how was this last part supposed to help her again?" Spike queried angrily.

"By making sure she had fully overcome her weaknesses, showing how defended Equestria truly is under her leadership, and proving how little you really need me to provide a safety net, as good-looking as I am." Discord answered. "It was so simple: five times the baddies, five times the assurance. But I did remain cautious. If they had mobilized a little too early, I would've snapped my claws... to delay them."

"You beastly beast!" Rarity snarled with a pull of the draconequus' beard. "You literally could've stopped this at any point before it began, and you sat back and let it begin; on this important occasion of all times! What, did you have popcorn and soda, too?!"

"You don't take the final exam on the first day." Discord retorted.

"I understand." said Twilight, which made the chaotic spirit smile. "Knowing all that, giving it some thought. It all... makes me want your help even more!" On the young alicorn's face was a fury unlike any she had shown before.

"Oh, come on!" Discord whined.

"I never asked for another battle!" Twilight snapped. "I don't need another battle because I had everything I wanted, and I have it all because of friendship, and I have friendship because i'm a diplomat, and that's how I want to rule Equestria because I. HATE. FIGHTING!"

"WHAT?!" Discord yelped. He couldn't believe, even for a second, what he just heard. He had to clean out his ears, checking to see whether or not they were playing tricks on him. Did Twilight Sparkle, Equestria's champion, after all the victories she has won for her country, just say that? It was as if, for example, Applejack, after all the years of apple bucking, admitted that she despised striking trees. It didn't make sense to him. What did he miss? After several seconds of stupefaction, he brought up "But... you rose up to fight the bad guys every time."

"They didn't give me a choice!" Twilight stressed, teeth gritted. "You think I got a kick out of that?! I studied magic for knowledge, for how it could benefit ponykind, not for superhero training!"

"You know we need a strong leader." Discord pointed out.

"I already was, through love, decency, trust and reason. I never liked using magic for force, and when we beat Sombra, I wanted that to be the end of us resorting to violence." Twilight explained, tearings starting to roll down her cheeks. "I didn't need adversaries to defeat anymore. I just wanted to relax and enjoy the next phase of my life with my friends."

"And here I thought you weren't cowardly." Discord grumbled.

"For all the time you've spent with us, you really haven't picked up as much in the way of friendship lessons as you should've by now." said Applejack.

"Well, you should know by now that I let this all happen because I care." Discord said back.

"Yeah, for the boost to your ego you were gonna get." cracked Spike.

"Tch, at least one of you gets how I work." said Discord, rolling his eyes. He ducked down to directly face his kind pegasus friend. "Fluttershy, you always backed me up. Remind them how well-intentioned I am, and what a great job you've been doing, and the confidence I helped grow in everypony. Remember the cheering? The hoof-bumps?"

"NO, Discord!" Fluttershy snapped, swatting the spirit away. Discord backed off in shock and put his lion paw up to his chest, like his heart was poisoned. The pegasus never looked so disappointed in him. "This time, you were just carelessly putting everypony in danger and loading a bunch of unnecessary trouble and stress onto Twilight! Onto all of us!"

Discord had to take a moment to process that his biggest defender, his best friend, couldn't make any excuses for his deceptive actions this time. That moment ended with him shifting to feelings of utter indignation.

"How is that any different from what she's done?!" he asked crossly, pointing to Celestia. "That's right, I challenge you to justify yourself, sun-flank!"

"I'll admit to being far from a perfect planner, but for your information..." Celestia began, flying up to Discord with an icy sneer. "I never spent moons just watching a threat come to fruition, I never let it come marching to Twilight, and I never aimed to gain a shred of the benefits from her victories. My teaching methods were in service to her education. For things that she needs, and enjoys."

"Don't pretend you didn't throw her into perilous situations." Discord scoffed.

"I made efforts to keep her out of harm's way whenever I could." Celestia said matter-of-factly. "She has too much to live for to risk her entire future of spreading friendship on world-threatening conflicts. That's why I tried to send Luna to find the Hippogriffs when the Storm King invaded, and sent you after Tirek, back when he first broke out of Tartarus. I put my faith in my oldest and most powerful allies... to protect my faithful student."

"And besides that, the times when things went south were more my fault than anything." Twilight chimed in, addressing the draconequus. "I was green, and I made mistakes thinking I was more qualified to do what to be done than anypony else. I came close to failing the tests, because I had much to learn about embracing the help of my friends. You opened my eyes to that, you know."

"Darn tootin'." said Applejack.

"She's got you there." said Pinkie.

"Quite accurate, i'd say." said Rarity.

"They have a point." said Fluttershy.

"Pretty hard to dispute, actually." said Rainbow Dash.

"You should pay more attention." said Spike.

"It's indubitable, you're a fool." said Luna.

Discord raised a claw, but no words came out of his mouth. He puzzled for a second before uttering "Huh."

"You have made a grave misjudgment, Discord." Celestia stated venomously.

"Oh, yes I have." Discord mumbled. "So... my bad." He shrugged and smiled nervously, getting nothing but glares from everyone. It felt like every mistake he ever made came crashing down on him and left him a flaming wreck, his ego receiving permanent damage in the aftermath.

"Do you have anything else you would like to tell us, your lordship?" Celestia inquired with a sarcastic hint at the end.

"Well, my old ram acquired something called... the Alicorn Amulet." Discord responded meekly. Twilight and her friends gasped.

"The same Alicorn Amulet that Trixie used way back when?!" Fluttershy guessed, that dark day in Ponyville still fresh in her mind like it was only last week.

"Are you kidding me?! It was supposed to be locked up and hidden away forever!" Twilight shrilled. "What would he even want with it?! It only enchants ponies, and he's already-" Then a thought that should've been so obvious came up, enough so that she slapped her head before saying it out loud. "The lock! He has found a way to protect his bell! With the Alicorn Amulet's magical lock applied, the thing will never come off!"

"I guess even Cozy Glow can be kind of right twice a day." said Pinkie.

"Oh, so that's why I couldn't snap it into my grasp?" Discord pondered.

The group looked at him with disdainful - sorrowful in Fluttershy's case - looks of disbelief. Rainbow snarkily said "Knowing you, I find that hard to believe."

"I'm sorry, everypony. I'll make it up to you the best I can. I'll give them a Triple Pandemonium Snap Overdrive, your highness." Discord said remorsefully, bowing to Twilight.

"Whatever that means... do it." Twilight ordered darkly.

"Oh no." Discord murmured with dread. "Grogar's here, hide!" The dead trees were destroyed by a wave of Malice Magic. Discord took the blast, trying not to tumble, while Twilight and the others ducked down and hid under the invisibility spell. The Lord of Chaos, a fire stoked in his asymmetrical eyes, once again faced his sorcerer father.

"I love a game of cat and mouse." Grogar chortled fondly.

"This mouse has a hammer." Discord boasted. On the last word, he tried to snap both his lion and eagle claws, and materialize something from his thoughts. He couldn't. Grogar, from his glowing horns, appeared to be stopping him with his power. The spirit struggled, gritted his teeth, sweating from the strain. "Come on..." He growled. "No, he's got me..." At first, Twilight looked worried for him and was about to gasp, but then she blinked with a near-immediate realization that left her glowering in frustration.

"Seriously, Discord? This again? We know nocreature can ever beat you, so cut it out and end this already!" Twilight scolded, trying not to raise her voice too much.

"Argh! Girls, help me! He's too strong!" Discord exclaimed in pain. "Quit gawking and use your rainbow laser, hurry!" He was now inhaling and exhaling heavily, reaching out to his allies in desperation.

"Yeah yeah, our friendship is awesome and super strong, got it, we're not falling for that twice!" Rainbow growled quietly. Nobody was buying that Discord was actually being hurt or needed help of any kind. No way this was for real after all the convincing ruses he has already pulled.

"Girls... I'm serious! I can't control my body... or my thoughts!" Discord wheezed. He fell to his goat and lizard knees, receiving shocks from electricity running all over him. "This really hurts!" The tone of his voice was genuine, but the ponies and dragon still believed this was another one of his acts.

"Discord, you're scaring me!" Fluttershy admonished the draconequus. "This isn't funny, stop it!"

"Save me..." Discord pleaded with his breath running out and tears rolling out of his reddened eyes. The Bewitching Bell made it's eerie ringing sound and pointed at him. He squealed "Please!" before the assimilation spell hit him, making him scream so loud it echoed throughout the valley. Twilight and the others, previously exasperated, were now horrified by what they were seeing. Their chaotic friend was stripped of his magic and his core, both of which were coloured blue and purple, and made unique, cartoon-y sounds.

Grogar briefly glowed like a neon sign from taking Discord's power. Discord became desaturated, and flopped to the ground. He instantly got back up, and felt around his own body. He didn't seem that damaged.

"Oh. Well, fancy that. I guess your Bell isn't what it used to be." Discord laughed with relief. 

The heroes behind him were stupefied. Was Discord just so powerful that Grogar's spell didn't affect him as much as it did others? It may have been possible. Grogar, however, didn't look worried at all. He patiently stared at his son, smiling with confidence.

"Now then." said Discord. At last, he thought up something and did a double snap. The "Triple Pandemonium Snap Overdrive" was performed.

But nothing happened. So he tried again. And again. And again and again.

POOF! His lion paw magically came off and turned into a full lion. Then his eagle claw reverted to a full eagle. His pegasus and bat wings were next, then his deer antler and goat horn. He lost his goat leg, causing him to fall over backwards. As his lizard leg came off, he rolled over and looked at the ponies in true, unquestionable distress.

"FLY, YOU FOALS!" He bellowed to his figuratively petrified friends as his tail poofed into a snake, still with the fluffy tuft on the back end of it. The last look he gave was specifically to Fluttershy, who looked back at him, more devastated than the rest.

Twilight and the sisters knew what to do. Having to cancel the invisibility spell, they joined their horns to prepare an amped up teleportation spell. Their former-foe-turned-friend finished breaking up, his remaining parts turning into animals, until he was reduced to his core component: a grey earth pony. Grogar pulled his now near-lifeless body over, only noticing his other targets making their escape when Fluttershy stretched out a fore hoof, her face scrunched up from tears and grief, and screamed out to the fallen spirit. The pitch of her voice was raised the highest it had ever been in her entire life.

"DIIISCOOORD!!!"

And with that, Twilight's whole group disappeared in a very bright burst of magic. Grogar wasn't bothered. Just dealing this great blow to them, taking out their greatest safety measure, felt sufficient for now. He gave the unconscious pony Discord one more glare and opened a portal leading to the crystal caverns under what was once Canterlot.

"You've earned a big time-out, little renegade has-been." said Grogar before using his breath to forcefully blow his depowered child into the portal, landing him in an area of the caverns where Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy Glow and Aurora Eclipse were settling the royal couple, Starlight and the Pillars into cocoons on the ceiling.

Though the last official defenders of Equestria standing had made it out of a tight squeeze, they wouldn't be forgetting this turn of events anytime soon. None of them could've seen what they just saw coming, and on top of it all, they ended up looking like hypocrites in the process. Their latest enemy now possessed phenomenal, world-moving magic for this deed.

Something other than the friendship-triggered Elements of Harmony actually overpowered and soundly defeated the nigh-omnipotent Discord. And they all just stood by and watched.



To be continued...
> Part 2 - Chapter 1 (5): Everypony for Themselves
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Previously on My Little Pony...

With the shock and strife of the final Summer Sun Celebration's troubled preparations lingering, the greatest enemies of Equestria and the lands beyond, the former changeling queen Chrysalis, the magic-absorbing centaur Tirek, the psychotic filly prodigy Cozy Glow and the Starlight Glimmer echo Aurora Eclipse, have steadily weaved the threads of mistrust and hatred among the pegasi, earth ponies and unicorns. Now the clans are at each other's throats, wary of rebellions, uprisings, and theft of their purpose in nature. And worse? Many members of their kind have mysteriously disappeared.

The villainous tetrad had now unlocked the Bewitching Bell's untold power, a poisonous, world-destroying force named Malice Magic, thanks to a tome they stole from the deepest, darkest depths of the Canterlot Archives. With a spell that transformed them into their most powerful selves possible, Malice Evolution, they were finally ready to attack. Their master, the legendary monster father and dark sorcerer Grogar, was no longer of use to them, so they used his Bell talisman against him, activating a spell that rips out one's magic and the core of their being, the first chance they got. But he was not so easily dispatched.

"PSYCH!"

The spell did nothing. What's more, it turns out that the villains had been playing right into Grogar's hooves the whole time. Their backstabbing plan was ruined, and in the process of their latest failure, they were humbled before they even set out for battle, receiving a painful, but important, lesson in how they needed to control their hubris and make wiser decisions through the knowledge of their past mistakes if they were going to win this time.

This dark day just so happened to be the day of Twilight Sparkle's coronation, and the entire country was excited for it, too. She was more comfortable and more confident than she had ever been in all of her years, but the preparations of this momentous occasion had to be called off when the soon-to-be-retired royal sisters, Celestia and Luna, received a vision of Grogar and his cohorts. The ram sorcerer had rejoined with his Bell, this time enchanting it and his collar with a pony artifact that was never meant to be found or uncovered again, the Alicorn Amulet. By applying that item's special magical lock, his Bell is now irremovable.

Having been made aware of this oncoming attack so late, Twilight rushed to set up Equestria's finest lines of defense. She, her friends, the sisters and the Royal Guard would stand, protect and evacuate Canterlot, the Pillars of Old Equestria defended the Tree of Harmony from Tirek and got all the pegasi out of Cloudsdale, Starlight Glimmer and her employees at the School of Friendship would help vacate it, as well as Ponyville, as Chrysalis approached, and Shining Armor, Princess Cadance and their soldiers fought Eclipse at the Crystal Empire as the Crystal Ponies were sent away to safety. Cozy and Grogar would handle some extra crucial jobs.

Grogar had set free a legion of his monster children, pairing them up with an army of zombies, created from the bodies of the disappeared ponies, who had actually been captured and collected by him for some time. He gave his allies their fair share of the monsters and zombies to terrorize Equestria, though many of them preferred to take down their opponents alone. Cozy, as a more diplomatic figure, used the deadly creatures and her outward charm to put on a facade of reformation, infiltrate Canterlot and distract the champions of ponykind until the primary forces of good were sabotaged.

Grogar collected items of historical figures and joined them with his Bewitching Bell to perform an unsealing spell on the reborn Tree of Harmony, opening the very heart of the world itself, allowing him to corrupt it with Malice. Before it fell into a greatly weakened state, the Tree reached the students known as Sandbar, Yona, Gallus, Smolder, Ocellus and Silverstream telepathically, ordering them to return to the yak, griffon, dragon, changeling and hippogriff clans to form a total alliance between them. They may be ready to back up the ponies in this great battle, but they still need to come to a worldwide accord.

"Good luck, my friends."

Although the Bewitching Bell powered up the ram sorcerer's partners to great heights, Chrysalis into a devilish mockery of her former subjects' new forms with enhanced shapeshifting capabilities and acid spit, Tirek into his peak physique with expanded magic draining power and a healing spell, Cozy into a heavily-protected Pony of Shadows that can summon lifelike clones of herself, and Eclipse into a dark, transcendent alicorn that can control nature and brainwash creatures by inverting all of their senses, Twilight's group, the Pillars, Starlight and the Crystal Empire couple put up good fights. They all came close to vanquishing their foes, but none of it was quite enough. Most were beaten and imprisoned, the last of them were pushed into a corner. The Horses of the Apocalypse had the advantage.

"Face it, you've lost! The perfect just desserts for the infection of my hive!"

"For the dishonor to my family!"

"For the destruction of my equal community!"

"And for throwing me in Tartarus! Seriously, what's wrong with you?!"

Twilight and her friends, remembering what Discord taught them back when Sombra invaded, triggered the power of the Elements of Harmony to blast their enemies away, but were foiled at the last second by Grogar. After the strongest defenders of Equestria had fallen, the ram sorcerer had obtained the magic of two "key entities", Star Swirl the Bearded and the Crystal Heart. Then, with a devastating showcase of power, he, Chrysalis, Tirek and Eclipse destroyed Canterlot. All of it. Luckily, Discord saved the heroes after mostly watching the fighting. Thanks to a poor choice of words on his part, Twilight figured out his dirty secret.

"You knew! You knew they were coming, and you didn't tell us!"

From the start, Discord had not only been keeping an eye on Twilight's progression, but also one on the villains' machinations up to this point. He sat by and let them attack on this day as a final inspection on how far the friendship princess had truly come as a confident leader in the making. Twilight rebuked him, saying that she didn't need this, and never wanted this because of her hatred of fighting, and using magic as a means of force. Everyone, even kind Fluttershy, was disgusted by his decisions. After a thorough speech from Celestia, he realized his lapse in judgment and earnestly vowed to make up for carelessly endangering the world.

Grogar found Discord, his turncoat son, and did the unthinkable. He overpowered the draconequus in a straight demonstration of magical power. Twilight and company thought the spirit of chaos, who was so powerful that he could fake serious injuries from a blast fired by Sombra, was just pretending again to motivate them into reigniting their friendship light. They found out too late that he was in genuine trouble, and Grogar now possesses his core. The nigh-omnipotent Discord was utterly defeated by a force other than the mighty magic of friendship, ripped apart into the animals that his body parts belonged to. With the window of opportunity they had to escape, they got out of there to fight another day. Fluttershy, most of all, was shattered by the horrifying sight of what may be her chaotic friend's final moment.

"DIIISCOOORD!!!"



♫ My Little Pony, My Little Pony
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh...

I think I see a better way to be bad
Just put me in charge, make me queen, you'll be glad

No! Listen to me, 
I'm the best of us three

Then you'll see a better way to be bad

Wait! This is my thing,
a better way to be bad

You shall do as I command,
I will rule this triad!

Hey! This is my song!
Sorry, not any longer!

A better way to be bad
Now you're making me mad

Won't the ponies be sad?
That would make me so glad

Now we've got a better way to be baaaaaad! ♫



Thanks to the power of three alicorns amplifying the teleportation spell, Twilight's group managed to land near Ponyville together, right in front of the entrance to the now grey and withered Everfree Forest. All of their surroundings bathed in the light of the crimson sky, making Grogar's presence felt everywhere, even when he was far away.

Twilight looked over at a patch of grass near along the path towards the forest, and looked at this lone, magenta flower. It seemed to be okay for a moment, but just like all the trees and other plant life in the vicinity, it wilted under the toxic Malice, flopping to the ground. Her expression became mournful, but an even more saddened pony was letting loose a river of tears and making her sorrow heard: Fluttershy.

"DISCORD!" she wailed out of grief. She cried loudly as her wet and reddened face bobbed up and down, making the salty liquid fly from her eyes like rain. "He's gone! He's really gone!" Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie put their hoofs on her shoulders to console her.

"Doggonit!" Applejack growled, throwing her cowgirl hat to the ground in a fit of frustration. "If he had concerned himself more with the security of Equestria than his delusions of teaching ability, none of this would've ever happened!"

"Applejack..." Fluttershy whimpered, futilely wiping her own face. "Whatever he's done to us, the horrible deed that monster did to him was the last thing he deserved!" She heavily sobbed and wheezed, burying herself in Pinkie's coat in the hopes of slowing down the currents of tears.

"Not gonna lie, I feel awful." said Rarity. "I wish we could see him again and apologize. He did seem to learn his lesson."

"Indeed. I sensed no reluctance when he chose to make up for his well-meant error." Celestia mentioned, remembering and recognizing how genuine Discord's tone was when he last exchanged words with the group. 

Twilight nodded to her in agreement, not only coming off experience of the draconequus helping out begrudgingly, like during the Sombra conflict, but also because she noticed, knowing now he was truly being hurt and restricted, that he didn't expect his powers to be overpowered by the ram sorcerer's either. His remorseful vow and pained cries played back in her mind, hauntingly, like a vinyl record.

"Darn that Grogar..." Rainbow muttered vengefully, her fore hooves comfortably wrapped around Fluttershy. "Next time I see him, i'll make him wish he was a myth."

"With an opponent that powerful, we can't be too risky." said Luna solemnly. "Not even with the power of the Elements."

"I don't believe him. Not just the power he has, but what he said." Twilight addressed Luna about Grogar's words to the night princess back in the now-decimated castle. "Creating Discord, I could fathom, but freeing you from the moon?"

"I haven't fully comprehended it yet either, Twilight." Luna admitted. "Even knowing we were both prisoners in celestial bodies, of all the stars in the sky.... but we can dwell on the matter later; we can't afford to lose another ally to that bell."

"No, Discord isn't gone." said Twilight, pounding one of her fore hooves with another. "There has to be a chance we can save him."

"B-but h-how?" Fluttershy stuttered askingly in her shaken state.

"You see how that spell forcefully extracted this glowing orb from his body? That was his core." Twilight explained. "It's the source of his Chaos Magic. The way he split apart after it came out was just like how those hybrid monsters separated when they transferred their cores to me. If Discord is the same, then I doubt he's beyond help, even if has no life force to keep him up on his legs."

"You really... think so?" said Fluttershy, feeling a bit of hope return to wash away her intense misery.

"I know so." Twilight assured her pegasus friend with a smile. "We'll avenge him, Fluttershy. Grogar and his gang may have knocked us down, but what villain hasn't? We never let that take our hope away, and we're not starting now."

"Yeah, it's all just a Tuesday at this point." Pinkie chuckled. "I'm glad you finally agree on that." The somewhat cheered up pegasus she was comforting lifted herself out of her hooves, cracking a smile to the party pony and wiping her own tears, this time successfully.

"So then, with our best defenses taken out, the School shut down, the ponies' friction growing and the Lord of Chaos training wheels officially off, let's make a new plan and hope the lands beyond Equestria will be bringing in the cavalry soon." Spike advised.

"All I ask is that we have enough time." said Twilight, betraying worry in her words, but looking with determination. She gazed at Ponyville, which looked to be completely abandoned, all the buildings ruined and monsters and zombies running all over the place. She turned back to the others and instructed "First, let's gather at my castle. My old castle."

Without another word, the ponies and the young dragon headed towards the desolate Ponyville, ready for the beasts that were certain to welcome them on the outskirts of town.



In the crystal-covered basement of the dead, burnt debris pile where the glamorous, high-class structures of Canterlot stood mere minutes ago, Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy and Eclipse were taking some time to speak with their captives from a fair distance, knowing that they could still hear their vile voices.

"I'm a changeling of my word, Starlight. I will be seeing your stallion soon, and he'll join my... collection once I return to my rightful position of power." Chrysalis declared, flying next to the cocoon containing her unicorn nemesis. "And I want you to see and hear every. Last. Bite."

"You big stallions kept me on the tips of my hooves, and you lovely mares gave the monsters and zombies a hard time." Tirek acknowledged to the cocoons containing the Pillars. "But legendary or not, you're no alicorns, and you're only two of each pony type out of many." He then pointed to Stygian's cocoon. "I don't know you, little one, but you're out of your depth."

"I know what you're thinking: "Eclipse, you monster, why don't you just brainwash us into your slaves?", right?" said Eclipse to the cocoons containing Shining Armor and Cadance. "Well, the missus, as the Crystal Princess, is a key entity for Grogar's magical assimilation. Can't enslave a raisin, can we? As for you, mister, I have a special proposal in mind."

"Now, you're all drained of magic, and thus can't really do anything, but you never know when these magic blocking stones could come in handy." said Cozy, pointing out the black rocks attached to the inside of each cocoon, including one that carried the earth pony component of Discord.

"Those fools brought the remains of my throne to Canterlot for protection, inside and out. Somehow, they modified them to cancel even changeling magic." Chrysalis explained. "How fortunate we were able to recover them from the ashes we and Grogar left behind."

"Also fortunate that they don't cancel out my large form or most wing functions, or Eclipse and I wouldn't have been able to carry them all here." Tirek pointed out, showing his large hands and referring to the dark alicorn's prehensile wings, a recent physical development among winged ponies. Then he put a finger up to his bearded chin and let out a quiet "Hmm..." sound of contemplation.

"We still have many shards to use for our next prisoners. As long as we don't get too close, and we keep every last one in this single, isolated location, they'll pose no threat to us." said Chrysalis, rubbing her fore hooves with glee.

"Hold on a second. Since somepony was able to make modifications to the stone, perhaps we, as talented spellcasters, could possibly make adjustments of our own." Eclipse mused. "Our squadrons can keep Equestria's last heroes busy while we experiment. Give your throne that pinch of Malice."

"No, Eclipse! We must complete our victories against Twilight and her friends and end this battle quickly, before they pull a trump card." Tirek argued.

"Oh relax, big boy, and you, echo, straighten your priorities." Chrysalis berated the two. "This is about humiliating those goody-goodies as hard as possible. You can't rush such gratifying art, or waste precious painting time on pet projects."

"You know, guys, before we do anything..." Cozy interrupted, holding out her shadow wings to stop the argument before it escalated. "We should probably check on Mr. Grogar and see if he's dealt with Discord already. I mean, this pony here who just came in looks kind of familiar, doesn't he?"

Her fellow villains took a hard look at their most recent prisoner and actually thought of the fallen Lord of Chaos as well. They turned to the filly and nodded in accord, opening up a portal together to reach their ovine leader.



Outside of Canterlot's ruins, Grogar was pointing a hoof at his own head and talking as if there was a voice inside it.

"Just soften them up for my students, children." he said, telepathically communicating with his squadrons. "Once we've given them the honours entirely, and I have Twilight's and her friends' cores, your destinies shall be fully fulfilled. Good. Now, for Cadance." Just then, a portal mixing green, orange and turquoise appeared in front of him, the villainous tetrad emerging from it's vortex.

"Mr. Grogar, what's with that weird earth pony?" Cozy asked.

"What of Discord?" Chrysalis queried impatiently, getting up in the ram's face.

"He is finished." Grogar confirmed. "Discord feared my power, yet still overestimated his own. Now that defective hodgepodge of mine is only the powerless stallion he was built from." The last sentence got a collective reaction of confusion from the others.

"That little pony used to be him?!" said Tirek, bemused.

"Wait! Discord was Grogar's child? Like, the whole time?" Cozy questioned.

"I figured he was as old as time, being the embodiment of disharmony and all." Eclipse commented while scratching her head. "But it makes sense, actually."

Grogar pointed down to his glowing, golden Bell and stroked it like a suave mastermind petting a cat. He said "From Discord's defeat I sent a potent message to his friends, on top of claiming a very special prize: his Chaos Magic core."

"Wow! His infamous Chaos Magic, all contained in there." said Eclipse with amazement. "Your tome said when you assimilate a core, you gain the magical knowledge and mastery of the original bearer." Grogar nodded to her with a proud smile, to which she yipped "That means... we've won!" and pumped her hoof. "All you have to do is flick your pastern and this battle's over!"

"Well..." Grogar uttered, about to state a correction.

"We all know how powerful Discord was, so what if we each had that Chaos Magic running through our veins?" Chrysalis suggested, licking her lips.

"I'll pass. I might explode." Cozy declined, shuddering from some graphic mental images her mind instantly conjured.

"Taking that magic, especially in large quantities, would be madness!" Tirek rebuffed, looking at Chrysalis like she was asking for the most absurd thing. "It's impossible for any other creature to control. Yes, I drained Discord once, but if I stripped him of more than his vital energy, which I couldn't, I would've been in trouble."

"Even for me it's tricky." Grogar said, receiving more expressions of confusion from the tetrad. "I have the knowledge and mastery of Chaos Magic, but I never intended to create this magnificent power. The traitor also possessed a third crucial element that gave him such reality-bending finesse. His wild, infinite imagination."

"But you created all those monsters, right? I think you're selling yourself short." said Cozy.

"Alas, i'm not a perfect sorcerer." Grogar replied. "I can put Chaos Magic to use, but nowhere near it's full potential because my creativity, my vision for the zany and madly unpredictable, ultimately pales in comparison. Watching it in action can only educate me on it's functionality so much."

"Well, that's an inconvenient catch." Chrysalis muttered. "Perhaps we could use a guinea pig to see if any of us can get a handle on this magic."

"What's that? Somepony wants to experiment? Ha, I win!" Eclipse sang.

"In that case, you be the test subject." Chrysalis breathed out disdainfully at the echo alicorn with a mock smile.

"As if!" Eclipse spat, pushing the changeling back. "I may have ideas, but i'm not chaotic."

"Forget about it. Let's just continue taking over with what we have." Tirek urged, feeling highly uncomfortable about the possibilities of this test.

"I concur, Tirek, but a queen must have her demands met." said Grogar, wisely conceding to the mentally unstable tyrant's wishes.

"I nominate Chrysalis." Cozy spoke up. The rogue changeling reacted to her words with apprehension. "She has the biggest chip on the shoulder out of all of us; her imagination must be filled with hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of great and terrible ways to punish the ponies and their little friends. She's an artist of vengeance waiting for her work to be known. Sounds like a good candidate, right?"

"Flattery will get you nowhere, child!" Chrysalis snarled at the tiny pegasus with a savage bloodlust. It vanished like a fleeting shadow as those claims were processed. Now she was smirking darkly. "Actually, you're right. I do have infinite ideas on how to bring endless torment to those who've wronged me, I don't even know what to do with them all. Haha, i'd love a way to dispense each of them at once." With that affirmation, she gestured towards her chest in anticipation.

"So be it." said Grogar in agreement of the terms. He ignited the yellow and black glow of his horns and collar, activating his Bell with another of it's ghostly ringing sounds.

"No, hold on, I was just kidding!" Cozy yelled, fearing the absolute worst after the changeling's self-assured statement.

"You're crazy! We don't know what'll happen!" Tirek shouted at about the same time.

"This is going to be good!" Eclipse hollered in excitement like a schoolgirl finding a working chemistry formula.

As they clamored, the Bewitching Bell released a stream of Malice Magic at Chrysalis, quickly carrying along the blue and purple magical core of Discord. It phased into her body, causing her to glow like a neon sign, just before suddenly, she grew in size, getting bigger and bigger, until she cast a shadow over everyone, including Tirek's giant, muscle-covered stature.

Chrysalis, filled with Chaos Magic, now stood twice as tall as Tirek, who was nearly the size of a two-story house in his current form. Her appearance also changed drastically. Her mane was unkempt and blowing in a non-existent breeze, spikes covered most of her body, she grew a bony peytral out of her chest and some bony shoes out of her hooves, her face now had small, beady eyes and four rows of fangs in her wide mouth, she grew two extra wings on her back, and finally, her single horn was now two, looking like the horns of a demon from the front. In this new state, she laughed maniacally in a deepened, booming voice. Tirek, Cozy and Eclipse recoiled in terror, but Grogar was not the least bit fazed by the sight.

"IDIOTS!" the massive chaos-powered changeling bellowed triumphantly. "YOU PROVED TO BE PATHETICALLY GULLIBLE AFTER ALL! NOW THAT THIS POWER IS MINE, I STAND ALONE AS CHRYSALIS: THE INVINCIBLE!" Her subsequent laughter thundered through the air.

"Th-this is definitely b-bad!" Cozy stuttered with fright, turning white from the fear that was taking full control of her mind.

"Don't shield me!" Grogar ordered the others without a hint of concern for his own well-being, holding up a hoof to them. Tirek and Eclipse raised their eyebrows at him.

"GOOD-BYE, SUCKERS!" Chrysalis called out gleefully, stomping the ground with loud, stone-breaking force and igniting her horns with blue and purple Chaos energy. She blasted downwards at her partners, showering them all with a gigantic, powerful beam.

As the magical beam came towards them, Grogar looked up without so much as flinching, Tirek and Eclipse joined together, simultaneously forming shields for amplified protection, and Cozy screamed at the top of her lungs, covering up behind the centaur and alicorn mare in her shadow form. Her entire, short life flashed before her eyes, for there was no telling if the power of the mad titan standing above the gang could be blocked. It was certain to leave a deep crater with their charred remains.

The blast passed... and no crater was left. In fact, the shielding wasn't effected by the beam at all. Grogar was in the same position, with the same expression that he had before it hit. All that happened was that the gang was drenched in some chocolate milk and covered in cotton candy. Once Tirek and Eclipse got a good look at these results, the dread they were filled with a moment ago quickly subsided. They smiled and chuckled at Chrysalis, who looked down at them confused. Cozy, however, was in too much shock to notice.

Chrysalis reignited her horns and materialized a storm cloud into over the others, which looked threatening at first, but soon transformed into a bunch of falling rubber chickens. Tirek and Eclipse used their telekinesis to blow every last one of them away. "WHAT THE-?" Chrysalis responded to the ineffectual nature of her attack. Making one more attempt, she raised one of her fore hooves and caused giant, living, ravenous pineapples with sharp teeth to grow out of the ground. Not a single one attacked the four, instead directing their savage attacks on their creator. They got all over her, causing her much pain.

"OW, NO! NOT ME! AH!" She screamed in agony. Then to make things worse for her, an even bigger pineapple popped out from under her hooves and threatened to drag her down. "OKAY, TAKE IT BACK! TAKE IT BACK!" With that, Grogar smiled, knowing that this had been a valuable learning experience for her. She was soon reverted back to her normal, stable evolved self by the Bewitching Bell's reassimilation of Discord's core.

By this time, Tirek and Eclipse had burst into laughter at Chrysalis' expense, pointing at her and coughing from how much breath they exerted. Chrysalis was sitting flat on the ground, groaning and looking like a wreck after that dose of cosmic power. Grogar used some magic to materialize a paper bag out of the grey grass and handed it to her when it looked like she was about to lose her lunch. She did, right into the open bag.

"S-somepony h-h-hold me." Cozy whimpered, crouched down and completely pale in the face. Tirek heard her and clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"Don't be such a wimp, it couldn't hurt you anyway." said Tirek to the filly with a rough, but fatherly tone.

"It's better off in the Phantom Zone." Grogar recommended. "I'm going to take the Crystal Princess' power now. Target Ponyville, and you'll find Twilight's band. But don't interfere with the conflict of the ponies; from here on it has to build up on it's own."

After his order, Grogar received a respectful bow from Eclipse and a hard thumbs up from Tirek. With a wave of his hoof, the ram sorcerer - again - opened up five portals; one for himself, and four for his partners. But before he disappeared into his, there was one last matter he had to bring up.

"My children and our zombie friends will keep them running. As long as they can't hide, their fates are tied on the end of our string." He notified them, smiling as his eyes glowed yellow and red.

"Now we're picking up the pace! I win!" Tirek gloated. Eclipse and Cozy, the latter now out of her state of shock, rolled their eyes at his declaration, and Chrysalis groaned behind them.



In a flash, the ram sorcerer's surroundings were changed to the underground caves littered with crystals, and in addition to that, the former changeling queen's throne shards. He illuminated the darkness with the yellow glow of his Malice to find the magic-nullifying stones. Despite being right next to them, though, his magical abilities didn't fade.

"Interesting. They're different from before." he pointed out to himself, sensing the modifications within the shards. He cracked a smile of amusement at this discovery, which brought back to mind that ever since he was freed from his cosmic prison, he didn't have the universal view he once had, so there was still much he hadn't seen or found out yet. "A good defense, but even an inhibitor has it's limits."

He levitated several shards with his Malice telekinesis and, with intense focus, combined them together like an assortment of pastry recipes until he managed to conjure up some dark diamond cages, each big enough to fit crowds of prisoners. Personalized for the reigning champions - not a bad gift i'd say, he thought about his work. But now, it was time to take his next prize.

Grogar floated off the ground, up near the ceiling, and faced Cadance's cocoon. By now, she had adjusted enough to her currently life magic-deprived body that she could speak, look and think straight, at least a little bit.

"Who are you?" she spoke weakly.

"I am Grogar, the original emperor of this world." the ram sorcerer formally answered. The alicorn and her husband, also recovering a little, scowled at him. "I'm here to obtain a most valuable asset."

"What do you want?" She growled in question.

"Your core is mine." Grogar replied simply, his face intimidatingly straight the whole time.

The Bewitching Bell pointed towards the Crystal Princess with another ring, and without a chance to realize what was hitting her, she found herself enveloped in the yellow and black, energy-stripping stream. Cadance's core, a blend of pink and baby blue, entered the artifact, and Shining Armor could only watch from his cocoon in horror as his wife was reduced to a fully unconscious husk. Not only that, her horn faded away into dust, devolving her into a pegasus; her original form.

The cocoon was blown open by the assimilation spell, so Cadance fell out, but she was caught in Grogar's hooves before her body even got close to the ground.

"Cadance, no." Shining Armor cried quietly, trying to sound louder, but being too low on energy to raise his voice. "You won't get away with this."

"I'll give her an appropriate monument, Shining Armor. After all, her triumph over Sombra was overshadowed by a young'un." Grogar stated with a businesslike tone. With that, he telekinetically pinned Cadance's body to one of the walls of the cave, then used her magic, indicated by a pink and baby blue aura, to conjure up new crystals to make a tomb for it.

"You creep... if you'll take her, take me as well." Shining Armor snarled in tears.

"I could, but I have students who'd enjoy using your mind and talents. Preferrably untainted." Grogar explained. "Believe me, i'm no barbarian."

"Your voice." Starlight Glimmer said over in her cocoon, loudly enough for the ram sorcerer to hear. "It sounds... familiar."

"You don't need to worry about that, Ms. Glimmer." Grogar responded to her knowingly. "You have a different place in this story, and you're not alone on that, either. Right, Stygian?" He shifted his eyes over the cocoon of the small unicorn hanging next to the six Pillars.

Stygian tried to ignore the wizard trying to address him, one thought stirring all alone in his mind. A plea for Twilight's group: Dear Tree, may the branch you gave me protect our last hope.



Ponyville never looked so gloomy. Monsters and zombies ran rampant all over the torn-down houses, stores, eateries and sports establishments across town. Twilight, her friends and the Royal Sisters surveilled the area and found no signs of pony life left, much to their relief. However, they also had to fight off the demonic hordes with all the strength they could muster. Twilight wanted to teleport herself and the others past all this, but their numbers were continually splitting them apart. For a moment, by luck, they managed to tire out the beasts and restrain the undead equines enough to catch their breath.

"Alright, the path is cleared!" Twilight called out to everyone. "Time to take refuge!"

"Thank you for your understanding, wondrous ones." Fluttershy said to some monsters she pacified, thanks to her signature Stare. Even with them clearly trying to attack the group by the will of their father, she still wanted to be their friend, even using any substitute for "monsters" as a term of addressment. To this mare, they were just beautiful, exotic animals.

Racing against the clock, the 9 of them headed in the direction of the Castle of Friendship. This was it; a chance to take comfort inside a safe haven. They could go down into the castle's basement, lock the doors, get away from the action for a while, set up a place to rest for the night, contemplate a plan to effectively strike back at the villains in the morning, and do it all as a singular unit. It felt like things, even if it was only to be for a short time, would look up.

They were wrong to get their hopes too high. When they got a good look at the Castle of Friendship, Twilight's home, their hopeful faces warped into expressions of devastation at what happened to it. The castle, as they remembered, was a part of the Tree of Harmony, and thus shared with it the core energy of the world. The once brilliant, blue, crystalline structure of royalty was covered in yellow veins, pulsating with electricity and black energy, it's walls changed to a grotesque purple colour. It did not look safe to go near, let alone inside.

"Oh no!" Twilight exclaimed at the miserable new appearance of the place she lived in for so long now. "Grogar did this?!"

"That's insane!" Spike yelled in disbelief. "Nocreature should be that powerful!" The sight he beheld felt like too much for his young mind to process. The defeat of Discord in a head-on assault, and now this, it didn't feel real to him at all.

When everyone looked to their right, they saw what was essentially the supplement to this awful display. The School of Friendship, a happy place where creatures from all over could come to learn the values of camaraderie, was ripped apart like paper, and the Maulwurf was playing in it's pieces like a sandbox. They didn't have long to process this imagery before the beast took notice of the group and roared. It's friends answered the call. The Ophiotaurus and many monsters and zombies burst out of the castle's front door, causing it to leak even more electricity and ominous black energy. They were eager for a fight.

"Run for it!" Rainbow yelled as she and the others turned tail.

Twilight ignited her horn and finally got to do what she was trying earlier, teleporting everyone away from the chaos. She successfully got herself and her friends a fair distance from where they were, no army crowding around them. The young princess needed another moment to breathe, for the strain of the spell was rough, and her mind was in turmoil.

"Guess a wrench is thrown in that plan." Pinkie remarked. "What do we do now?"

"It's time to leave. There's nothing left for us here, except danger." said Celestia.

"Yeah, nothing indeed." Twilight agreed glumly.

"Keep playing to your strengths, Twilight." Luna advised her fellow alicorn. "A moment of weakness could cost us dearly."

"Let's follow the train track, everypony!" Rainbow called from above, checking the distance from a higher height. "I see something far past the station!"

"Guess we have nowhere better to go." said Spike, jumping on his big sister's back as the group started running. His mind then flashed back to Starlight, held captive by Chrysalis. This reminded him of their other allies who received the Ponyville and school evacuation orders. "I hope Trixie, Sunburst and the students are still okay."

Twilight nodded, once again putting on the face of determination that she knew her friends would want to see on her, doing well to hide the sadness that was rattling her brain. For a few final moments, before it totally left her line of sight, she looked at the Castle of Friendship, it's new ugliness just as visible from afar, and quietly lamented as she barely held back a sob. This event brought back one of her most painful memories of days of old. Not another one.



After a long, organized walk through the underground tunnels, now turning the same purple colour as Twilight's beloved castle, Trixie and the students finally found a way back to the surface, though the red glow coming from the sky outside was not very inviting.

"Daylight!" Yona yelped in excitement.

"Ugh, you sure?" Trixie asked. "With that ugly light?"

"I don't like things that are all red, it's scary." Silverstream complained with her teeth chattering.

"Hold on, I think I see a tree out there." said Gallus, looking closely at the hole before turning to the magician. "It's our only way out. It has to be."

While nobody was looking her way, Yona had already gone up towards the hole with a charge like a bull, determined to finally leave this dark cave. It took everyone by surprise, but Silverstream most of all was beside herself with worry. None of them knew what they'd be walking into.

"Hey, Yona! Wait up!" Gallus hollered, wanting to make sure Yona didn't meet any opposition on the surface. Flying up, he poked his head out of the hole and found the young yak sitting nearby, waiting impatiently for the rest. "Oh." He muttered before rising out completely.

"It's okay, everycreature hurry! Either this way, or we go back!" Yona called to everyone still underground.

"Well, we didn't go all this way for nothing." said Trixie, wiping her forehead in relief. She trotted up to the hole with Silverstream, Smolder, Sandbar, Ocellus and all the pony students in the line. 

Before the magician climbed out, she noticed that the walls of the tunnel had begun to crackle intensely with electrical bolts. Her relief returned to panic at these once beautiful walls becoming so violent like this. Now more than ever, it was time to make a run for it. In a neat order, they made it out and felt the fresh air of the outside world again. But what they saw were not the lovely sights they wanted to see.

"What happened to this place!?" Trixie cried in shock.

"All of this must be that Grogar guy's doing." Sandbar commented, taking in what had become of the surrounding nature.

"How long did it take him to do this?" Smolder questioned, fearfully suspecting how much damage had been done to the Tree of Harmony.

"Counselor Trixie, is Headmare Starlight coming back?" a pink unicorn filly student with a purple mane and tail, scared out of her mind, asked the magician.

"I've no doubt, Raspberry Dazzle." Trixie answered confidently, not hesitating for even an instant. "Starlight is the greatest and most powerful pony i've ever met. I bet all my bits that by now, she's already blown that nasty Chrysalis away with one, spectacular blast."

The moment she gave her quick reply to the filly, a loud rumbling sound came from the passage from which they exited the tunnel. It turned everyone's heads like they were about to witness a magic act. It got louder, it sounded closer, those sparks of electricity were starting to pop out, little by little. Trixie had an idea what was going to happen.

"Get back!" Trixie yelled, and everybody did as she said. Thankfully, none of the children were in range of what happened. Electricity and that black energy burst out of the hole, as if it was a volcano blowing it's top. When it was over, a little bit of smog was left, which everyone could tell was bad news. Moving as far away from the tunnel exit as they could, every single creature present took a bit of time to collect themselves.

"I'm going to wager it wasn't a blast like that." said Gallus, for levity. "Okay, guys. I think this is where we go our separate ways."

"But Sandbar lives in Equestria, where will he go?" Silverstream questioned out of concern, remembering the tree's specific orders.

"I'll stay close to Counselor Trixie and take refuge wherever we can." Sandbar assured his friends. "Hopefully we can get Celestia and Luna to discuss the alliance, too. Good luck!"

"Say, guys? Does anypony feel it getting chillier out here?" asked a light gold pegasus colt student with a vermilion mane and tail, feeling as if hit by a sudden cold breeze in the wind.

"Huh? What do you mean, Hyper Sonic?" Sandbar queried back, not noticing any cold sensation himself. Before any further conversing could happen, out of the horrible smog, bursting out of the ground from the sounds of it, came monsters and zombies, ready to attack the helpless group of children. They all screamed with face-whitening terror at the beasts drawing close, some flying in from the side or behind.

"Ah! Yona don't want to be monster food!" Yona yelled, ducking and shielding her eyes.

"Don't worry, filles and colts!” Trixie hollered, though she too was freaking out, as the sweat running down her head like rain indicated. “I’ve got this!” Swiftly, she used her telekinesis to draw a whole collection of small balls out of her magician’s cloak. She threw them on to the ground with a swift stroke and, as a result, covered herself, as well as all of the students, in a blinding smokescreen the size of an entire theatre stage.

Every monster and zombie present lost track of the ponies and non-ponies, and before long, their prey was gone; off to find shelter and fulfill the final wish of the Tree’s consciousness.



The ruined town of Ponyville was behind Twilight and her friends, but all that was ahead of them was even more dark roads and bleak landscapes. Wherever they could possibly go, the red sky and wilted plant life were inescapable. Following the train track, seeing it as their best way forward, they got far and hadn’t run into another horde of Grogar’s deadly creatures. For the moment, it felt like they could catch their breath.

“Uh oh, I see smoke up ahead!” Rainbow called down from the air.

“Smoke? Like, from the chimney?” Spike queried, confused. “The train had to have left quite a while ago, and we’re not that far from the station yet.”

“Yeah, it looks pretty fresh.” Rainbow confirmed, coming down with a look of concern. “That can’t be good.” Right in front of the group, a jittery unicorn stallion approached and gazed at them, fearful about their situation.

“Princess Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and your friends!?” he exclaimed questioningly to them. “What are all of you doing here, out in the open?! Hide!”

“What happened to the train?” Rarity inquired. “Nopony got hurt too badly, did they?”

“Vice Headstallion Sunburst got us on board with... those earth ponies, and we were on our way, but the whole thing got derailed!” the stallion explained, which made Twilight’s entire group gasp and jump. “We couldn’t go forward with that chasm in the way, and worse, there’s monsters everywhere! I was just escaping from the chaos, and then I saw you.”

“All of this is Grogar’s doing.” said Twilight.

“Grogar?! Don’t be ridiculous, that’s just a character from a little foal’s story.” the stallion scoffed at the matter-of-fact statement he received. Of course, he couldn’t possibly believe it when the ram sorcerer’s presence hadn’t been made known to the rest of Equestria yet.

“I thought so too, but I saw him with my own eyes!” Spike stressed, a little frustrated at the disbelief he had witnessed.

“As did I, right along with everypony here.” Applejack affirmed with the straightest possible face. “Take it from me - i’m not known for my lying skills.”

“You sure?” the stallion said back with doubt. “It sounds far-fetched.”

“I only wish that such a dangerous wizard was just a fictional entity.” said Celestia. “Even worse, Tirek, Cozy Glow, an evil alicorn named Aurora Eclipse, and the former changeling queen, Chrysalis, have aided him in destroying our home, and dividing the ponies.”

“How?! They were cast out and locked away, right? And what evil alicorn?” the stallion questioned even further.

“From what we’ve heard, nasty rumors and word of sabotage has gone around thanks to those bullies.” said Fluttershy.

“Well, it doesn’t matter, the evidence speaks for itself. I’m going to find shelter; not sure where yet, but me and the other unicorns are going to gather there.” the stallion declared. “While you’re here, they could use your help over by the train wreckage.”

“What about the earth ponies and pegasi?” Rainbow asked.

“I don’t want to get caught in the crossfire of their rebellion!” the stallion harshly replied.

“Rebellion?! That ain’t right.” said Applejack incredulously.

“You’ve fallen victim to great deception, young one.” said Luna. “It’s blinding you to the bigger picture.”

“I don’t have time for debates.” the stallion groaned. “We lost enough unicorns before the attack.” Then just like that, he was dashing towards who-knows-where, hoping that he would find a place to get away from the mayhem.

“My word, it’s gotten that bad. Worse than I could’ve ever imagined.” said Rarity with dread.

“Everypony’s scared, that’s all.” Applejack remarked with a hoof on the unicorn mare’s shoulder.

“And the ponies over there need our help.” Twilight added, prompting the others to continue running along the train track with her, now that they have had a moment to recharge. “We need to reach them and explain this whole situation pronto. If we can’t quell the friction, who can?”

The group of ponies and their small dragon friend closed in on the wrecked locomotive and, of course, the monstrous enemies that they had to contend with. Right behind them, unnoticed by even a single living thing, fell something small. Something white. Something that didn’t belong at this warm time of year. A snowflake.



Behind some dead forest trees by the nearby hills, a plot was being hatched by the villainous tetrad responsible for the direct damage to ponykind's unity. Each of them were watching the ponies' progress closely, though Chrysalis was having focus trouble due to her botched Chaos Magic handling earlier.

"Those jerks are so busy exhausting themselves, they don't know what we're going to do next." Cozy commented, then giggled with malefic delight. "Revenge is great."

"The army will deliver them to the stage of their defeat, and we'll meet them there." said Tirek. "We just need to take full advantage of the goodness in their hearts."

"Right. Chryssy, you can turn into multiple creatures now, can't you?" Cozy mentioned.

"I said don't call me that." Chrysalis growled by animal-like instinct.

"I won't if, well..." said Cozy with sly expression.

The four malefactors huddled together and discussed their current plan against Twilight and her friends. One part of their big idea left Chrysalis in indignation.

"Augh, didn't I swallow my pride enough?" Chrysalis groaned with aggrevation. "I'm a queen, not a lapdog!"

"No arguments or complaining, your whininess." Tirek rebuked. "The boss has allowed us to live out our revenge fantasy. Are you taking that for granted?"

"NO!" Chrysalis snapped back vehemently. "But I won't stoop that low, not for vengeance, not ever."

"Come on!" Cozy complained.

Huddling together again, Cozy and Eclipse explained to Chrysalis the reality of their current circumstances, how things played out on one's end while the others were busy, and how the end result of their countrywide attack's first phase has informed the heroic ponies.

"They saw through me the first time." Cozy mentioned.

"And you really think they'll buy anything I could fabricate?" Eclipse rhetorically questioned.

At the end of the discussion, Chrysalis opened her mouth thinking she had more protesting to make, but then realized that she didn't have a retort.

"I hate you." the rogue changeling muttered at the pegasus filly and the alicorn.

"Feeling's mutual." Eclipse breathed out, brushing her waving mane with a hoof. "Look, we've excelled at clandestine operations so far, so let's try not to trip at the finish line. This is exactly what Emperor Grogar trained us for."

"Chrysalis, o' majestic one, can you pleeeease turn into-" Cozy requested in her sugary sweet tone of voice, hugging the air like it was a teddy bear. The changeling shoved her away with telekinesis, interrupting the sentence.

"Yeah, yeah, i'm changing. Look away." Chrysalis grumbled, wanting to hurl again, and this time into anything but a bag. She enveloped herself in the green fire, beginning the demanded transformation. Tirek, Cozy and Eclipse watched in anticipation.

"Now, for the interesting part." Tirek said with a devilish, knowing smile. Cozy and Eclipse turned their eyes to the sides of their sockets, synchronizing their grins.



Grogar resurfaced from the underground caverns beneath Canterlot's burned ruins. Scanning the now lifeless area around him, gazing upon the mountainside that was blown apart by the blast his, Chrysalis', Tirek's and Eclipse's combined magic generated, he knew that he didn't want this whole space to go to waste. Then his eyes locked on to his Bell, curious about one thing. I may not have Discord's sense of artistry, but I know I can control his magic to some degree. Almighty Chaos Magic, help me construct the capital city of my dream kingdom.

With a thought and a clap of his fore hooves, the ram sorcerer activated the magical power of his draconequus son, just about the way it was done by it's original owner. In this case, he was using it to an incredible degree. In an instant, many bright flashes surrounded him, and many tall, dark and intimidating structures materialized on top of what was left of Canterlot. Grogar took a few seconds to breathe before getting a good look at what he just created. He was pleased at the results.

"Haha!" he laughed happily and proudly. "Perfect!"

With a flick of his pastern and ideas swimming all over his head like goldfish, he started building what would become his empire's capital city. The destroyed chunk of the mountain would be filled in with the keep of his dark castle, the former spot of the falls near the city entrance would now be filled with lava instead, the streets would be decorated with his symbol, shaped like his beloved Bewitching Bell, and statues shaped like his children and the four villains he helped bring together, each monuments of honour. All of this work proved to be tiring for him, for the strange nature of Chaos Magic challenged his focus and control a fair bit.

So this is the power you commanded, son. Truly, nocreature could replicate your dominating usage of it. Grogar thought. That's why I have to banish it after this. It's too great a risk to my vitality.

Now feeling that he had done enough to build what he had fantasized, the ram sorcerer would let his natural magic take over from here, arranging everything in the city to his liking, working out the kinks left in the architecture, making sure that there would be space and good homes for him and anyone else who treaded the grounds of this mighty, evil-looking place he owned. He intended on taking his time with this project, certain that his partners were plotting their victories over Equestria's heroes as carefully as both he and they desire.
> Part 2 - Chapter 2 (6): Her Majesty's Choice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This day had been long and tiring for the eight ponies and the small dragon, and it wasn't about to get better. With no real opportunities to get some rest, it was a strain on their minds and their bodies to deal with another pack of zombies and monsters on the railway.

Leading this bunch was the Ophiotaurus. It grabbed a hold of Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Spike in it's tail, and didn't waste time descending it's snake-like maw on them. Applejack threw her lasso around one of it's horns, pulling it back with all of her might as the beast's teeth just scraped Pinkie's curly mane. Twilight, Celestia, Luna and Rainbow flew above the action and briefly discussed a plan of attack.

"Okay, i'll hold everypony down the best I can." said Twilight resolutely.

"Princesses, follow my lead." Rainbow instructed to the Royal Sisters. The irony of this wasn't lost on them, but they didn't question a thing out loud.

Twilight flew down to the ground and focused as her horn ignited. With a massive telekinetic spell, she pulled herself, all of her friends except for Rainbow and the other princesses, plus the surrounding innocent earth ponies and unicorns to the ground, as if increasing their centres of gravity. This freaked out a number of citizens, who were right in front of some monsters, like a lava lizard drooling boiling liquid over an earth pony mare, and a zombie earth pony grabbing a unicorn stallion's horn with it's hoof claws.

Rainbow, Celestia and Luna swiftly, and repeatedly, flew around in a circle, which immediately formed a turbulence around them. The blue pegasus was impressed with the sisters' ability to keep up, losing focus for a short enough time that it didn't interrupt the flow of their rotation. Back on the ground, Applejack managed to reel the Ophiotaurus towards her, the resulting strain on the creature's serpentine body loosening it's grip on the ponies and dragon wrapped up in the tail.

Unfortunately, some of the monstrous mob caught on to Twilight's activity. A zombie pegasus and zombie unicorn attacked her simultaneously with feather needles and a heat beam. Twilight's eyes had closed from the effort she was currently exerting to pull her spell off, so she couldn't even see what a tight spot she was in. The attacks made contact, but bounced off a blue, glittering shield protecting the young alicorn, just barely. A Timberwolf approached the shield and prepared to stomp it, and Twittermites prepared an electric barrage straight out of a thunderstorm.

A tornado fully materialized and began to suck in every last member of this beastly pack. There was no escape for them now. Round and round they went into the giant vortex, creatures of varying sizes trapped in one spot. As they continued their rapid revolving, Celestia and Luna ignited their horns and cast a teleportation spell to send each of the caught creatures away. Where to exactly, they didn't know, but hopefully away from all other bystanders.

Twilight finished her spell and released every pony she held down. As she got up, she bumped her head on the glittering shield. "What?" was the first thing she thought aloud. Looking around, she saw Rarity, her horn glowing with the same glittering shine. The fashionista ceased to cast her spell, and the shield was gone. Her immediate expression after was a smile at Twilight. It felt close to dropping though, with how exhausted she was. Twilight smiled back at her for what she managed, taking a moment to breathe.

Now that the malevolent creatures were gone, the earth ponies and unicorns in the train wreck could collect themselves.

"Princess Twilight, Celestia, Luna, Miss Rarity, thank you!" a unicorn stallion gratefully expressed.

"Princess Twilight, Celestia, Luna, Applejack, way to go!" an earth pony mare shouted in gratitude at about the same time.

"Is everypony okay?" Twilight asked the entire group of equine civilians.

"We are now, but we need to find shelter fast!" said another unicorn.

"It's not safe for us earth ponies anymore!" an earth pony stressed.

Out of one of the tipped over train carts behind them, came a noise. Twilight and her friends prepared for more trouble to come their way, but when a window opened, out of it came four ponies. First out was Sunburst, then followed by Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

"Sunburst!" Twilight hollered to the bearded, cloaked unicorn.

"Twilight!" Sunburst yelled back in exhilaration. As he stepped off the cart and Twilight approached him, he exhaled in relief. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Sis!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle cried out in euphoria at the sight of their older siblings.

"Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo exclaimed at the same moment.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders ran and dived into their clutches of the older earth pony, unicorn and pegasus, tears making waterfalls on their small faces.

"You made it! I thought you were a goner for sure!" said Apple Bloom, expressing fears now put to rest.

"For a moment, I thought I was, too." Applejack said back warmly, remembering the chilling brief moment she was a sitting duck, along with the others; how terrified she was in the instant Grogar and his partners discharged their destructive energy before a flash of white light carried her off.

"I knew you wouldn't be dealt with like that. I just knew it!" said Scootaloo honestly.

"What can I say? Friendship goes down hard." Rainbow Dash boasted.

"Well, factually speaking, Discord saved us. Dramatically at that." Applejack explained.

"Oh. So, where is that troublemaker?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I'm afraid..." Rarity started with her answer, shifting her eyes to Fluttershy nearby before finishing with the most thought-out words she could find. "Grogar's taken Discord hostage, so he needs our help."

"Who!?" the Cutie Mark Crusaders gasped in disbelief.

"Grogar? Is that supposed to be a joke?" one of the earth pony mares scoffed.

"I know it sounds unbelievable to y'all, but as the Element of Honesty's bearer, you should know darn well I ain't stretching the truth when I tell you this." Applejack remarked. "Ever since Princesses Celestia and Luna announced their retirement, Grogar has been planning to bring Equestria, and everything we've built through lessons in friendship, to ruin. And he's not alone, either. He's freed these monsters and reanimated ponies of days gone by to do his dirty work, and worse, he's gotten our worst enemies, Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy Glow, and an impostor Starlight Glimmer on his side. And I know they've been plotting that long because somecreature had been spying on them and keeping the information to themselves."

"Did she say impostor Starlight Glimmer?!" Sunburst shrieked in worry.

"An impostor Starlight Glimmer with alicorn magic." Twilight replied to him, hinting at the letter about the villains' attack she sent to the School of Friendship. "I never would've guessed." She added as Sunburst gritted his teeth at the fearsome possibilities of a Starlight, still overcome with the grief and madness he inadvertenedly inflicted upon her as a child, wielding the strongest power in Equestria. Please don't do time travel again, he prayed silently.

"I know ya'll are terrified, and I get it. We all are." Applejack continued with her speech. "But from our past battles, you know how dangerous those four varmints are, and with this army they've amassed, they're going after everypony we know and hold dear. Do you want to stand against each other, knowing that our freedom, our unity, is being threatened by a force that stands against every last one of us?"

"Whoever said you don't lie?" a unicorn objected snarkily.

"Excuse me?" Applejack replied to the unicorn with a raised eyebrow, her temper tickled.

"Were you not listening? Bad guys are working together to destroy us, so you need to work together to stop them!" Rainbow asserted, trying to make it simpler for the pony crowd.

"What do you want us to do?! We don't have magic to protect ourselves like these upstart unicorns, or a city in the sky to hide in like those cowardly pegasi!" the same skeptical earth pony mare questioned.

"Cowardly?!" Rainbow growled, her temper rising to the surface fast.

"Upstart?! I never!" Rarity indignantly huffed.

"I don't care how bad those villains are or what they've been planning lately, don't shift the blame on them for hoarding the food we're rightfully owed!" a unicorn mare said stubbornly, before she turned to the earth pony group. "You and those airborne ponies think we're too powerful and lazy to deserve it; that's why your crops have been underperforming!"

"You're testing my patience." Applejack grumbled through gritted teeth, exchanging glances with Rainbow.

"Can everypony listen to reason please!?" Twilight called out.

"We only hoarded our food because you ponies have been conspiring with the pegasi to wreck everything we grow!" an earth pony stallion claimed. "We do what we must to stay safe, the likes of you unicorns only care about pride and power! And as for the pegasi..."

"I think i've heard enough!" Rarity hissed, igniting her horn as if ready to do something drastic. Spike stood at her side with flames conjuring in his mouth.

At that moment, something in the red sky casted a shadow over all the ponies (and one dragon) in the area. Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity and Spike's anger was replaced with confusion as everything darkened. They all looked up and saw that a gargantuan cluster of storm clouds were gathering together and growing wider. Cloudsdale, visible from the angles they all stood at, was completely covered by these new clouds.

"Look, they're blocking Cloudsdale!" the skeptical earth pony mare shouted, pointing up in the direction of the pegasus city's new cloud cover. "Said they don't want any "grounded" ponies up in their business! I doubt that includes their magical friends!"

"You mean their magicless friends!" a unicorn stallion snarled, thinking he was correcting her.

"Listen up, buddy!" Rainbow snapped, flying up to the earth pony and unicorn.

"Don't!" Fluttershy cried, putting herself between Rainbow and the ponies that spoke ill of their clan. "That's exactly what Grogar and the others want - more fighting! We're here to help, and we will! Have faith, everypony!"

"If you can fix this, please do!" another earth pony mare yelled from the crowd. "Get us a safe place away from these life stealing snobs!"

"Help us stop their rebellion!" a unicorn stallion demanded. "We can't take chances with the bottom-rung of the pony ladder anymore!"

"Why can't you ponies collect yourselves and just talk things out?!" Twilight hollered in exasperation. "All of Equestria is at stake, and so are your livelihoods! I didn't learn the magic of friendship and practice for leadership of this country just to watch you all get lost in your paranoia!" Twilight, after letting that out, took a moment to breathe in and out through her nose. If she was going to continue speaking, she needed to display the attitude she had trained for so many moons now.

"Your future ruler speaks, fillies and gentle colts." said Spike with a grimace aimed at the feuding clans.

"My friends have taught me that friendship, for all of it's imperfections, is always worth maintaining because it is what proves our strength, keeps our home alive, and makes our dreams a reality." Twilight declared to the ponies watching her. "Honesty is always better than living a lie, Laughter is the medicine for rage, Generosity always leads to the defeat of greed, Kindness is more worth the effort than cruelty, loyalty creates what treachery destroys, and magic... is the link that weaves it together and builds it to last. Friendship is not only magic, it's the very soul of our world." She turned her head to Celestia and Luna.

"Can friendship bring our loved ones back?" a fearful earth pony stallion said.

"I realize that much has happened to bring you to this frightened state, but if we are to know peace for another generation, you shouldn't hate each other." Celestia commented. "If you cannot tolerate each other, at least don't take action to harm one another, directly or otherwise. These ponies, united in their friendship, are your best hope for the futures you long for. To fight would only be to rush the bleak fate Grogar and his allies will choose for you."

"Don't repeat the mistakes I made as Nightmare Moon." Luna urged the crowd. "Serve your country, not just yourselves."

"We've lost too many earth ponies already for our complacency!" an earth pony mare argued. "We have to stick together, and your majesties... you can only choose one of us!" Twilight, Celestia and Luna flinched with apprehension. Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity and Spike smacked their foreheads with their hooves (and claws) at the incorrigible attitude they were witnessing. "It's either us, the unicorns, or the pegasi! If you're not with us, you're against us!"

"You used to be a unicorn, Princess Twilight!" a unicorn mare pointed out. "I think you know the only choice here."

"It's either us or them, Princesses! Decide!" that same earth pony mare cried out impatiently.

A strong, cold wind began to pick up. Everyone felt it, and they all jumped from how sudden it was. They had little time to register this odd temperature shift, because from the nearby chasm close to the train wreck, a goat-headed Cyclops emerged and roared a most bestial sound. The crowd of civilians screamed at it's towering presence and ran for cover. Twilight and her friends groaned and looked with dread, tired from the battles they've been fighting all day. Still, they knew they had to take this thing head-on.

"Uh oh, it's Grogar Junior!" Pinkie squealed in surprise.

"I'll handle this one." Celestia stated, glaring and flying at the beast while motioning Luna and the others to stay back.

The Cyclops, with all of it's titanic might, lifted one of the train carts off the ground and above it's horned head, showing dominance through an intimidating feat. Celestia remained undeterred, though. Her horn lit up once again, readying any spell she needed to face her freakishly tall opponent. The Cyclops' single eye glowed with what was clearly a charge of energy, and just like that, a big, powerful beam came out if it straight for the alicorn. Celestia blocked it with a magical shield, which caused bits of the beam to disperse around the area, but thankfully not into any of the nearby ponies, or Spike. With great effort on her part, Celestia boosted her shield to redirect the smaller beams, now sending them into the sky where they couldn't damage anything.

Everyone who knew and cared about the Princess of the Sun watched her put all of her strength into her means of defense. Then something rather scary, probably as much as the monsters and zombies themselves, happened before their eyes. Something in Celestia snapped. She screamed at the top of her lungs with explosive anger, the glow around her horn sparked violently, and her appearance made a mysterious change. Her serenely waving mane turned into a wild plume of fire. Unseen by the creatures behind her, her eyes became pitch black voids, no pupils or irises, as the shield spell changed shape into a blazing five-point star. The Cyclops' beam was consumed by a stream of fire that blasted it's eye.

The giant, in pain, threw the train cart to it's left and reeled back. Occupied by the burn, it caught it's rear hooves on the edge of the chasm and fell back to where it came from, screaming like an abomination from the darkest realm. The train cart it released crashed down away from the railway. Celestia, having used up so much of her magical energy, dropped to the ground just barely holding herself up with her wings.

"Celestia!" Twilight cried, the most worried about her fellow alicorn's condition along with Luna.

"Nobody... harms... my.... subjects." Celestia slowly panted out, composing herself.

"What in the world was that?!" Rainbow asked in bewilderment. "You caught fire!"

"Don't... worry about... it." Celestia panted in response.

"I thought she couldn't exist." Luna said to her sister, unsettled.

"Celestia's weak." an earth pony stallion remarked. "This wouldn't have happened..." He turned to the unicorns. "...if you unicorns kept those things locked up in Tartarus!"

"You little... you had one job: to use your hooves instead of waiting for someone with wings or levitation powers to come help you!" a unicorn mare argued.

Twilight and the others looked back at the conflict between the earth ponies and unicorns, and saw that this group was just not going to listen to anything they said. They were so caught up in bickering, they lost all sight of what unity was, and the true problem at hand. At this point, they were now pouncing on each other, biting, shoving heads and pulling at manes. All except for a handful: including Mayor Mare, Big MacIntosh, Granny Smith and Sugar Belle. All they could do was get away as the commotion raged on.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders, come with us." Luna advised the three fillies of the three clans. "It'd be unwise to stick around here with these hopeless cases."

"No thanks, Princess Luna." Apple Bloom responded, shaking her head back and forth. "Those villains will be after Twilight, our sisters and the others most of all. Besides, we've got our own plans."

After a moment of quiet contemplation over Apple Bloom's point, the all-too-likely possibility of the fillies being endangered as the circumstances were, Luna said "Fair enough. But you'll need someone to guide and protect you." She added, implicit in her intention to split off from Twilight's group.

"I'll look after them, Princess Luna." Sunburst volunteered, approaching the Princess of the Night. "Our friends need you and Celestia's strength now more than ever. As Vice Headstallion, I have a responsibility to the School's friendship tutors."

"Thank you, Sunburst!" said Sweetie Belle with a sincere tone and smile.

"I'll do what I can." Sunburst promised. He sighed and said out loud "Oh, Starlight, where are you?"

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention!" said Twilight, having overheard. "Starlight's been captured, and she's being held prisoner back at Canterlot."

"What?!" Sunburst gasped. "Sweet Celestia, I hope Chrysalis hasn't done anything to her!"

"Well then, we gotta get to Canterlot!" Apple Bloom declared. "And if we're lucky, we'll get the truth these ponies desperately need to hear."

"Lead the way, Sunburst." Scootaloo requested with a raised hoof. Sunburst smiled and set off into the distance with the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"Sweetie Belle, darling! Don't do anything rash!" Rarity called out to her filly sister, scared for what she was in for.

"Stay safe, Scootaloo!" Rainbow called out to her flightless protégé, showing faith in her abilities.

"Let's go!" Twilight ordered after a smile of trust over at Sunburst, running towards the chasm with her group of nine. As they left, they noticed three ponies weakly crawling across the railway, not too far from the train cart that was in the Cyclops' grasp. They were a black pegasus stallion, a green earth pony mare and a red unicorn stallion.

"Oh my gosh, are you alright?" Fluttershy said worriedly as she instantly approached them.

"I can't... feel... my back hooves." the green earth pony mare whimpered.

"My wings... are like... they've been clipped." the black pegasus stallion moaned.

"Magic... drained... losing weight." the red unicorn stallion coughed.

"Did you come from over there?" Pinkie asked the three ponies, pointing to the train cart. "Tough ride, or what?"

Celestia, having recovered a little bit of her energy, realized the implications and was hit with a wave of guilt. Looking down, she said "I'm sorry, my little ponies. Don't talk now, we'll help you."

"Wait, magic drained? Oh no, Tirek must be nearby. Or worse, that..." Fluttershy fearfully surmised, her look of dread than immediately replaced with a teary-eyed, vengeful expression when she ended her sentence with "...that demon with his Bell."

"Please... help." the three simultaneously begged. Just then, they found themselves lifted off the ground by the princesses' telekinesis and placed on the backs of Luna and Twilight, specifically. They held them up well with whatever strength they could still muster. Once again, they headed off, but were stopped by a voice.

"Hey, what are you doing with that earth pony and pegasus?!" a unicorn stallion from the crowd shouted and queried, having caught the group leaving.

"You help a unicorn and one of ours?! Make up your mind!" an earth pony mare screamed.

"All ponies!" Twilight yelled back in frustration, not wanting to hear these quarreling lunatics anymore, before resuming her exit.

"That's friendship, something you don't care to remember!" Rainbow bellowed one last time back to the earth ponies and unicorns, not caring if she touched any nerves with these final words.

The ponies and their dragon companion were on their way with the three injured and tired victims in tow. They crossed the chasm thanks to both flight and simple teleportation, but as much as they willed themselves to keep going on, exhaustion was very clearly setting in from all the intense action. Adding to that was mental exhaustion from the debacle with the ponies at odds. As the champions of friendship, they had failed. As leaders, Twilight and the Royal Sisters failed. No use dwelling on missed opportunities, though. They had a mission.



Grogar had reached a point in his city-building project where all that was left to do was interior decoration. Not wanting to sabotage his magic with further usage of Discord's powers, he settled for the other magic he claimed from the "key entities" he sought. With Star Swirl's time magic, he chiseled statues of varying sizes and collected all the residual pieces he broke off in his craftsmanship before they could even get close to the floor. With Cadance's crystal magic, he made see-through cases and hauntingly beautiful ornaments all around his castle, from the foyer to his throne room. With the Crystal Heart's magic, he brought warm light to every single room and hallway within the structure.

After all that work, Grogar sat upon his large, grandiose throne, stationed in front of a wide, circular meeting table, on which Arimaspi's Eye sat. Along the sides of the tables were four other thrones. On the ram sorcerer's right: one shaped like the one Chrysalis had back in her reign over the changelings, and one shaped like Tirek's bulky centaur build. On his left: one shaped like a big vertical equals sign, and one in the shape of a chess rook. Arimaspi's Eye showed it's master a visual of Twilight's team on the run.

"Farther away, Twilight Sparkle and her friends come from home, and the storm of the millenium is beginning to close in." Grogar mused. "Wherever they go, my children will chase them off, my students will corner them, and their cores will be part of me. But first..." He waved his hoof and teleported four fragments of Chrysalis's old throne into the throne room, hovering before his muzzle. Ah, i'm talking to myself. Chrysalis must've rubbed off on me, he thought with a genial chuckle.

He tapped his head with a hoof and sent out a telepathic signal, his focus locked around the area Twilight and the others were moving. Still levitating the dark stone pieces and shifting his crystal ball's visual to his students, except Chrysalis, he then made a call.

"Lord Tirek." he said, expecting a response.

"What is it, boss?" Tirek answered after 2 seconds of silence.

"If you, Eclipse, Miss Glow and Chrysalis are far outside Ponyville now, then you are on the right track." Grogar stated, certain of how his students have been carrying the plan out.

"Oh, yes we are." Tirek assured him gleefully. "We've got Chrysalis on her way to wherever they'll settle for the night, in disguise. Soon, we're going to jump them, and they won't see it coming."

"As i'd expect from her grace. If I may give a tip, you need to maximize their false sense of security, make sure they believe they have truly lost us, and can rest. Equally important is to remove one of them from play." Grogar suggested. "You leave that part to me."

"If you're the slightest bit concerned about us drawing too much attention to ourselves, don't worry. Eclipse has us covered. Literally." Tirek confirmed, then mumbled "Not sure what you mean about that last part."

Grogar circled one of his hooves around Arimaspi's Eye, and the visual changed again, this time to an overhead view of the area Twilight and her friends were in. Not too far from the heroic group, and of interest to the ram sorcerer, was a hollowed out tree that looked like a cozy shelter, ideal for a bunch of creatures to take refuge in.

"Near your position is a tree where they can get a reprieve. Don't attack them yet, because I plan to imbue the tree with magic neutralizing stone." Grogar clarified. "Just point them in the right direction, and my children shall give them a rude awakening. Believe me, I know an ideal spot for you to finally have your revenge."

"If you say so." said Tirek. "Me and Chrysalis better not wait too long. She'll need my healing soon enough, and I have big things to do."

"Good things come to the patient, your majesty." Grogar affirmed. "May this dish be served cold." On that note, the telepathic call came to an end. His horns and collar glowed with yellow and black Malice, and like a sharp gale, a pressurized blast of breath from Grogar's mouth whisked the four fragments away in a magical cloud. He looked up at the ceiling of his throne room and wondered off somewhere. He thought It's been ages since I gave a monster life. After this, I think i'll make a new addition to the family. A loyal one. But what to call them?



Sunburst and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had followed the railway back to the demolished Ponyville, like they had just gone in a circle. Seeing the station now ripped to shreds was a harsh reminder of their predicament. As much as they wanted to reach Canterlot, getting there wasn't going to be so simple without a train to ride.

"Starting to regret never practicing teleportation spells." Sunburst lamented.

"I wish I brought my new scooter and wagon." Scootaloo commented. "Probably wouldn't be the fastest, but it'd still be better than a hike right now."

"A new scooter? You really gotta tell us these things." said Sweetie Belle about this trivial matter.

"I'm afraid from the look of things, we won't find anything in Ponyville." Sunburst remarked as he analyzed the wreckage of buildings in the distance. "Our best bet of reaching Canterlot is flying."

"Yeah, but the Hot Air Balloon service is definitely out of the question." Apple Bloom noted. "Crusaders, Sunburst, we need to get creative." They all paused for a moment before anyone spoke again.

"So, what do you have in mind?" Scootaloo asked out of curiosity.

"Some of them pony zombies are pegasi, so I reckon we can tame them." Apple Bloom explained.

"Hold up, Apple Bloom. Those guys are vicious, and i'd never forgive myself if I let them hurt you girls." Sunburst expressed his concern about the proposed idea.

"Trust me, a little magic and strength goes a long way." Apple Bloom assured the older pony. Turning towards the abandoned station, she saw three pegasus zombies hovering over it's remains and keeping a vigil like satellites. She waved to her friends and Sunburst to get to the railway platform and quietly urged "Hide!" So they got there and ducked under a piece of furniture left intact between the broken door and ticket window: the bench.

The pegasus zombies heard the sound of creaking wood below them. They flew down to look around for whatever caused it, then they picked up a smell. They landed on the railway platform, right in front of the bench. None of them had the time to turn around and reach the source of the scent before the Cutie Mark Crusaders leaped out, landed on their backs and grabbed them around the necks.

As expected, a struggle for control began. The zombie pegasi wiggled and bucked as hard as they could to shake the three fillies off, but they persisted and didn't lose their grip. Sweetie Belle used her unicorn telekinesis in an effort to slow down the mounts, but it took a lot of energy and didn't have much of the desired effect.

"Sunburst, we could use a little help!" Sweetie hollered in desperation.

"Sweetie Belle, I think I know something useful!" Sunburst yelled back, a thought coming to him as he jumped out from the bench. "Starlight told me this!"

"What is it?!" Sweetie Belle hastily queried. Sunburst's reveal turned the pegasus zombies' heads. They growled at the sight of him.

"Fiducia Compelus!" Sunburst answered. "It'll get them under control! Say the words, think of it, and it might just work!" He backed up against the bench as the savage reanimated ponies closed in on him. They opened their needle-covered wings wide and extended them towards him.

"But I don't know that spell!" Sweetie Belle pointed out. "I'm still practicing!"

"Just try it anyway!" Sunburst pleaded, so close to becoming a zombie meal.

"Okay, uh... think, think... think! Fiducia Compelus!" Sweetie Belle chanted quickly, igniting her horn and casting a spell bigger than any she performed in the past. She waved her head in the hopes of spreading it. It touched all three of the intended targets, missing her friends. Just like that, the mindless pegasus zombies ceased their predator-like approach on Sunburst and became pacified, staring blankly at the station wall.

There was no more struggle to be had. The Cutie Mark Crusaders took a moment to check if anything was different. Apple Bloom commanded "Okay, partner, spread your wings.", and her mount did just that. Scootaloo gave the order of "Take us on a ride to Canterlot, ponies!", and her mount whinnied and started flying up in the air.

"It worked!" Sunburst yipped in amazement.

"Ow, I need some ice." Sweetie Belle groaned. She wasn't used to these more advanced spells, so this one left her sore in the head.

"Who knows how long it'll last, though." said Sunburst, reaching forward. "Hurry."

The Cutie Mark Crusaders took off in an orderly fashion and had their new mounts hold the bearded, cloaked unicorn, two with one of their fore hooves, and one with it's rump supporting his weight. Was it a miracle that Sweetie Belle pulled off that control spell on her first try? It didn't matter, for now they could easily reach Canterlot. Or rather, what was Canterlot. For Scootaloo, this ride was exciting, what with her unable to naturally fly. Sadly, that made way for anxiety as they saw Grogar's threatening-looking new city in the distance.

What was also nerve-wracking was the lowering temperature. Going high up made it worse, but there weren't many options.



Twilight and her friends, along with the hurt ponies they carried, had to find somewhere they could safely crash. Now. But it looked like there wouldn't be anything for miles. Just the continuing railway, and the wilted forest along the pathway. The chilly wind picking up sure didn't help matters.

"Why is it getting so cold?" Fluttershy moaned, putting a hoof to her shoulder.

"That's what i'd like to know." said Rarity. "Equestria's supposed to be at it's hottest this time of year, and I thought the skies were cleared, too." As she braced her hooves around her chest in the hopes of warming up, Spike blew his green flames around the ponies. The heat made everyone tingle.

"This ought to help." the young dragon proclaimed confidently. With another breath, he pressed on with his warming exhalation.

"Thank you, Spike." said Twilight with a thumbs up-like wing gesture.

"Unfortunately, this is no weather for a bird's-eye view." Rainbow remarked. "How are we gonna get out of this cold before we get a cold?"

A fair distance away from their position, Tirek, Cozy and Eclipse were watching, but cloaked in the latter's invisibility spell. The three looked on intently, carefully analyzed the area, organized their thoughts before making another move.

"You're up, Eclipse. I saw the tree not too far from here." said Cozy in her shadow form, covering up from the near-freezing breeze. "Don't worry, T. Your big part will come eventually."

"I don't think i've shown you my new earth pony qualities yet." Eclipse mentioned. "They're pretty fascinating." Planting her hooves in the ground and closing her eyes, she sensed everything touching the ground. The sad state of the plant life did nothing to hinder her connection or her targeting of the heroes. A single wave of her horn did something.

The nearby forest trees extended their branches from the ponies' left. None of them missed this, so they promptly moved away with a collective scream. The surprise they felt knocked them off balance.

"What now?!" Fluttershy yelped.

"Those trees aren't supposed to do that!" Celestia exclaimed in confusion. To the ponies' right, roots began to wildly emerge from the ground in large numbers.

Both the roots and the tree branches gathered together to block all the ways they could go, except forward. As fast as they could, they ran, or flew in the case of Rainbow, Spike and the Princesses. The roots and branches gave chase as if intending to crush them. The tunnel they made curved like a tunnel. Luckily, like any tunnel, there was a light at the end.

The eight ponies and the small dragon leapt through a closing hole before they were fully sealed into the gigantic root and branch bind. The path from which they came was blocked off. Their surroundings were no longer the wide Equestrian plains, but the inside of a tree, hollow on the inside and perfectly for setting a nest. It felt a little claustrophobic, but there was enough room for the nine of them, and at least they were in some form of shelter now.

"What is this place?" Applejack wondered.

"I don't know, but it looks like..." Twilight pondered, growing fuzzy with nostalgia.

"Are we trapped?" Fluttershy asked fearfully.

"No, I see an opening just over there." Twilight answered, pointing to a small, but noticeable doorway on the other side of the tree.

"Well everypony, I can spend the night here." said Pinkie with a smile. "I've got the Games Before Bed pack."

Huzzah!" Luna whooped. "I love me a relaxing game on the board. But, we better relax now." She hoped that her words weren't killing the good mood Pinkie was trying to raise, but the party pony just smiled on.

"I've got that game, too. The Atmospheric Sleep Assistant." she stated, then giggled. The others had a nice chuckle. It was sorely needed, being the first pleasant thing they had all day since the villains' attack began.

"Need... rest." the black pegasus stallion moaned.

Moments later, everyone except for Luna fell asleep, a green fire started up in the middle of the tree by Spike for warmth. The younger Royal Sister agreed to stay up and keep watch, a duty that, with the danger at hand, took too much time for her to patrol around anyone's dreams. The roots and branches blockade never disappeared, and as the fire dimmed ever so slowly, she looked deeply into it, thinking hard about an earlier moment. She thought of the occurrence where Celestia turned into a screaming, fiery-haired version of herself. The sight was disturbingly familiar.

Sister, you've been suppressing her in the back of your mind all this time, haven't you?, Luna questioned in silence. Please, don't lose yourself. She turned her head over to the direction of her sleeping big sister, all calm and making barely audible noises in her relaxed slumber. The idea that she could actually be holding back something so explosive, and that the danger actually provoked her to bring it out, made the Night Princess most uneasy.

A bit more time passed, Luna's vigil continued, her sister and companions rested easy, except for Fluttershy. She seemed to be having a nightmare. Whatever it was could be defined by the one thing she was mumbling during all of her tossing and turning: "Discord" over and over again. Tears were just now beginning to leak out of her closed eyes. Another matter rose up in the form of a rumbling sound. The ground inside the tree began to vibrate, dirt began to rattle all over the place, all enough to wake up the entire group. They only had a moment to stare in puzzlement before something else rocked the whole place.

The Tatzlwurm burst out of the soil and towered over the ponies and their dragon. It roared it's horrible sound, attracting some of it's friends. The exit covered by the roots and branches was torn up and entered by unicorn zombies and some lava lizards. Up above, pegasus zombies slowly flew down, earth pony zombies crawled down the walls, and those spooky water ponies entered through the other exit. 

"Everypony!" Twilight called everyone over to here. Celestia and Luna joined her again in the teleportation spell, and before the nasty creatures around them strike, the group disappeared. But when they popped not outside the tree, but into the wall next to the alternate exit. They tumbled and could only grunt in shock.

The water ponies sprayed streams of water to hold the ponies and dragon against a wall, and while they were at it, they raised their fore hooves, one each, extended them like rubber and transformed them into blunt weapons, like maces and hammers. Celestia, fighting against the high-pressure currents, used her telekinesis to grab the water ponies' weaponized hooves and throw them away. Free of the attack, she, Twilight and Luna all telekinetically grabbed the zombie ponies and left the monsters to the others. Fluttershy was the first to step up. Lava lizards tried to spew molten hot liquid at her, but Spike breathed fire to stop the flows. The Tatzlwurm lowered itself to grab the other ponies in it's tongues, when Fluttershy spoke.

"You just stop right there!" she snapped with her wide, commanding Stare. "This is what do not need right now, because we're trying to rest, and there are three ponies right here who are so weak, they can't even defend themselves! Do you have no shame, whatsoever?! I don't care if you're bound to Grogar's will, you have no reason to hurt creatures in need! Nothing! Go and tell that to all your brothers and sisters, and remember this!"

The Tatzlwurm and it's fellow monsters heard the shy pegasus loud and clear. They vacantly stared at the tree walls in contemplation, like the speech they heard struck a bit of a chord in all of them.

"Help... help." the green earth pony mare whimpered in tears.

Celestia, Luna and Twilight stared at the monsters, released the zombie ponies, and then didn't let the beastly beings leave their sight as they walked out of the small alternate exit with the three pony victims. Everyone else followed. All was quiet for just a moment. When they got outside, however, the silence was broken when they stared in the face of the Bugbear. Quick to act, Rainbow swiftly circled around the big creature, and the princesses passed the pony victims over before flying up to charge up another combined energy beam, opening a window of escape for the rest. Needles hit them in the back before they fired, splitting them apart, and pegasus zombies flocked them. Same with Rainbow.

Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Spike and the pony victims found them between the flying bear and bug and a pack of it's friends. The fashionista unicorn did the best she could to project a protective barrier, for all the good it was going to do them. Fluttershy doubted she could do a Stare talk twice in the span of a minute in this high-stress pickle.

The three princesses tried to use their magic to remove the pegasus zombies restricting them, but then Fly-ders came in to bite at their horns, making everything even more complicated. This was getting ridiculous. They couldn't take it anymore. They wanted an end to these assaults. One especially had enough. She thought back to all the times that she was helpless, to all the moments she should've been a big help, but failed miserably at accomplishing anything. The aggravation of uselessness, the dignity... of potential held back.

Her mane burst into flames again. Her eyes turned into voids of darkness. Again. She shined like the celestial body she controlled everyday. Celestia broke free of her captors, screaming, and dived down to the ground with the force of a meteor. BOOM! The collision caused the plains to ripple, and the railway to lift off the ground. Fire spread everywhere and hit every zombie and monster within a half-mile radius. The Bugbear and the creatures accompanying it were singed and blown away, the tree was ignited in a blazing pillar, both the flying and grounded heroes tried their best to not to get sent off, but Twilight and Luna yelped from a cluster of embers hitting their coats and fell back to the grass. Far away, Tirek, Cozy and Eclipse felt the shock wave too, and the heat it generated. Much dust was kicked up by the end.

When everything settled (besides the cold wind), Twilight, Luna and Rainbow and the others got a closer look at Celestia. Before too long, she came into view behind all the dust clouds. Not only did she have a mane and tail made of fire, but her royal crown, peytral and shoes became sharper and pointier, armour materialized around her head and wings, and with her mouth open, they could see that her teeth had sharpened into fangs. She was laughing maniacally, like she had committed a most dastardly act. She looked in the others' direction with her black eyes, now filled by golden irises with reptilian pupils.

Twilight recognized this form that her former teacher was taking. It was the same fiery-maned transformation Celestia made in that vision of her fears Sombra induced her with. She didn't think that would become a reality, and now, to see it before her eyes, to see the pony she saw as a second mother change into this embodiment of her own fury, and feeling the burns she received from her attack, was petrifying.

"D-D-Daybreaker!" Luna stammered. She thought that this had to have been a bad dream. But no; this terrible, dark counterpart of her sister indeed walked the waking realm. The haunting, burning alicorn approached the two other princesses, chuckling like a fiend.

"So, that's like... Nightmare Moon, but for the day?" Pinkie asked anxiously.

"Please, Celestia. Don't do this to us." Twilight begged, shedding a tear. Daybreaker looked down, smiling wickedly. Nobody could read what awful thing she had in mind now. She stood there for a couple of seconds, doing nothing. Then her smile faded, leaving a look of realization, then regret. The mane and tail fire died down, and in the next few seconds, she was beginning to look like the Sun Princess they knew and loved again.

"Twilight. Luna. I hurt you." Celestia said remorsefully. She looked down at one of her fore hooves and then let it make soft contact with her face. "I'm so sorry. I could've... I could've..."

"It's okay, Celestia." Twilight assured her. "You can control it, I know you can."

"No, I don't think I can." Celestia said back. "I swore she wouldn't exist again, but all this time, she's been laying dormant inside my thoughts, growing more and more from every failure i've suffered."

"Failure? Come on now, you've been helpful to us thus far." Applejack stated. "Helped us out of some tight binds."

"And almost risked your safety. I can't be trusted to keep this power in check, and if there's one thing I hate, it's being a burden to my subjects!" Celestia argued.

"You're never a burden." Twilight asserted. "You gave so much to us."

"Really? Because I remember i've made my fair share of mistakes." said Celestia. "The idea that I may be potentially dangerous in these dark times, when you have so much on your shoulders already, is a recipe for the biggest mistake I could make: becoming a threat to Equestria and all the lands beyond it, like them."

"But you know that you're not, and never will be." Luna stressed. "You defeated Daybreaker in a dream, you can win the battle in the real world. And I think you already know who will back you up."

"I get what you mean, Luna. I can't let her win." Celestia noted. "It's just that this is reality, and if I cause permanent damage to somepony I love, they won't be waking up to find themselves unharmed. I haven't been strong enough for our country as a protector, and what's more... i'm not as smart as you, Luna."

"Sister." Luna murmured in surprise.

"I'm not as smart as any of you." Celestia added, to which Spike and the other ponies widened their eyes. "And I know that you've had to have commented on my ineffectual endeavors." Rainbow sweated, blushed and rubbed the back of her head at that remark.

"I haven't been the best at protecting Equestria, either." Luna pointed out, frowning at Celestia's insistence that she was at fault alone.

"But I endangered Equestria when I thought I was saving it!" Celestia stubbornly, and suddenly, yelled. "I mentioned I sent Discord after Tirek, when he first got out of Tartarus, to protect Twilight. To end it quickly, so she'd never have to face him. I made the error of trusting Discord at a point where he hadn't learned of real friendship yet. And yes, it all worked out in the end, thanks to the Tree of Harmony's gift, but I could never shake the regret. I haven't learned anything about preparing for the worst. All of you, on the other hand, have."

"What are you saying?" Twilight queried.

"Let's be honest, I haven't been the best planner, or the best leader, or the best sister." Celestia proclaimed. "I put too much stock on blind faith, I never took initiative in my royal responsibility, and after Luna returned, i've more often than not taken what she's had to offer for granted because of misplaced pride."

"I know a thing or two about having misplaced pride." Twilight commented.

"A flaw you overcame, even with the weight of an impending ascension." Celestia said with a smile. "I'm proud of you for that. That's why you must lead Equestria now, my faithful friend, and why all of you must press on, no matter what comes your way. You have much to see in the years ahead." She then points to her little sister's chest, where the heart should be. "That includes you, Luna. After all, you had a thousand of them taken away from you."

"But I deserved it!" Luna barked.

"You deserved to be healed, not sealed away!" Celestia snapped. "I let fear control my actions then, but today, I stare fear in the face!"

"So, we agree that you can face Daybreaker and together we'll help you gain the strength to overcome your weakness?" Spike asked with a confident smile.

"No. I'm leaving to face Grogar." Celestia corrected. Spike and the pony group collectively gasped in horror.

"Uh, hello? Equestria to Celestia? Discord fell to him! What could you possibly do to that guy, make him trip?!" Rainbow questioned snarkily in bewilderment. He noticed Fluttershy sob, and promptly said "Sorry."

"Sister, Rainbow Dash is right!" said Luna. "All you'd be doing is throwing yourself away!"

"If this is where my story ends, i'll end it with some real pride, as the pony i'm expected to be." Celestia assessed. "I may not be able to damage him, but I can leave an impression that will extend to everycreature across this world. Equestria's reunion, it's rebuilding, shall start with a symbol of hope; hope for the light."

"Don't do this to me, sister! Please!" Luna protested emphatically.

"Who's to say it'll work? You can't go." said Twilight sorrowfully.

"I know it won't be in vain, Twilight, because I know you'll make sure of that." Celestia explained. "You, your friends, and all those you've passed the teachings of friendship's beauty onto. I had high hopes from the very beginning, but nothing could've prepared me for how happy I am right now about how much you've grown. Equestria is definitely in the right hooves." Tears began dripping from Celestia's radiant eyes as she wrapped her hoof around the younger alicorn. "One more thing I want you to know: in all the years i've lived... the moons I spent watching you, from when I sent you to Ponyville, to when you became the Princess of Friendship, and everything up to now? Those were the best moons of my life."

Twilight sniffed, wiped her face and extended her hooves for an embrace. She didn't like having to go on without a pony as strong as her former mentor, but she accepted that her mind was set. Tearfully, she said "I love you, Celestia."

Celestia took her other hoof and gave her former student a full hug, like the parental figure she was. "I love you too, Twilight Sparkle. You are ready." After several seconds of a loving hold, Celestia released Twilight and started flying up to depart. But Luna stopped her, grabbing her by the shoulders.

"Don't you dare!" Luna exclaimed in desperation. "We're supposed to be together until the end, so you're not leaving to face that sorcerer without me, you hear!?"

"They need you, Luna." Celestia remarked, pointing to Twilight's group with a smile.

"I need you!" Luna shouted. "I don't want to lose you again!"

"Likewise." Celestia acknowledged. "That is why I need to do this." Closing her eyes and igniting her horn, she used her magic to blast Luna with a blindingly bright blast of light, akin to the sun itself. Luna grunted in pain, closed and covered her eyes and fell back to the ground, caught in the nick of time by Twilight's telekinetic hold, who reacted fast enough after shielding herself from the light.

"This is my final order as the princess of Equestria! Go now, and keep my sister safe!" Celestia commanded from up in the air, her presence more majestic than usual from far down below. "Go, everypony!" Then at last, she flew away in the direction opposite of where Twilight's group was about to head in.

Twilight and the others continued along the railway, carrying not only broken pony victims, but also Luna, who was recovering from the blinding flash. At this moment, of all moments, the already frigid weather went from bad to worse. It began to snow. Snowflakes were falling, and with the long road ahead, Spike couldn't blow his warm bursts of flame forever.



Back at the dark new city, Grogar, sitting quietly on his throne still, watched Celestia fly away from her friends through Arimaspi's Eye. This development, born from the Sun Princess' fear for those she loved, made him crack a smile. A knowing kind of smile.

"That's right, Celestia. You don't need to curb your inner beast anymore." the ram sorcerer said. He viewed her progress more, ever so diligently. Celestia's flight sped up, like she was a rocket. The crystal ball panned away from her and angled itself to show where she was headed. Her trajectory was calculated to be just past the city.

His horns, collar and Bewitching Bell glowed and rang, getting ready to do something. Grogar gave a satisfied whisper of "Wise choice, my successor."



Celestia, flying as fast as she could through the snowy storm, lit up her Daybreaker flames slightly to keep herself warm. She took a moment to look at what her home of Canterlot had been malformed into. This new twisted capital felt like a shot to the heart. Everything was lost, and now it's remains were defiled by these abominable structures. There was no time to feel sorrow, though. She had to reach her destination, which was the plains past the city. Along the way, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Sunburst on the pegasus zombies caught sight of her.

Before too long, the older Royal Sister landed in a wide open field, anticipating the arrival of the wizard she would defy.

"Grogar, i'm here!" she yelled in the royal Canterlot voice. "Come out and face me!" It didn't take too long. A portal opened several meters away from her, and as if immediately responding to a phone call, Grogar walked out and presented himself, smiling like he was about to greet an old friend.

The two stared each other down.

"I'm glad you realize as well as I do, you wouldn't want all this power and have nobody to give you a proper exercise." Celestia claimed. "An emperor's got to have his honor."

"You think you're creating a diversion from the plan. But the truth is - you're aiding it." Grogar affirmed. Celestia raised her eyebrows and made a perplexed grunt, followed by her caprine enemy adding "We both want to send a message. Let's see which will get lost in the mail."

"At least out here, I can cut loose all I want. Only you will take the brunt of my real power." Celestia growled, beginning to heat up with intense, thermal energy. Once again, she lit aflame and wore her spiky wardrobe. Daybreaker eyed the ram sorcerer ferociously, and with the royal Canterlot voice, she roared "This will be a test of your judgment! COME ON!"

Pointing her horn up, the alicorn fired a magical flare high into the sky. When it came close to touching the clouds, it exploded into the giant, flaming sun shape of her cutie mark. It was big enough that it could be caught by everyone in Equestria. Twilight and her friends saw it, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Sunburst had a close look at it, Trixie and the School of Friendship students saw it, and Tirek and his villainous pony partners could feel the scary power behind it.

Back where it was launched, however, it served another purpose: raining balls of fire on Grogar. With a wave of his head, he blocked all of them and dashed forward at Daybreaker with a headbutt. She blocked the incoming assault with a magical shield, but still got pushed back considerably. Collecting herself in no time at all, she surrounded herself in rings of fire, then threw them at the ram sorcerer. They grabbed him by every body part, intending to squeeze his body into submission and burn his collar. He easily blasted them away with a Malice shock wave, no part of him harmed in any significant away. Before he realized, Daybreaker flew up and had an launched an energy ball at him. It exploded upon contact.

The corrupted Sun Princess hovered and laughed in malefic delight. Suddenly, through the dust and smoke, a rock came flying at her, and it hit her in the peytral. The shock of the hit shook her up a bit, but she managed to catch her opponent standing on a cliff, levitating a lot of rocks. He threw them all and used his telekinesis to move them all around. Daybreaker was overwhelmed, but put all of her strength into blasting every last one with her flames. Grogar, having her distracted, disappeared through a portal. He popped up behind the alicorn and prepared another spell. Glowing blue, he zapped Daybreaker with a powerful surge of magic electricity. Volts and sparks coursed through her body, the surprise overpowering.

Daybreaker fell to the ground, now feeling the power of Malice in her veins. Somehow, she could still hold herself up with her wings. Grogar levitated before her, looking expectantly. Daybreaker, without warning, cast that blinding flash spell from before on him. He seemed to squint at this. To follow up, she charged directly at him, twirling around and forming a flying drill of fire. It didn't work, for it turned out the ram sorcerer was only inconvenienced by the bright light in the most minor of ways. He stopped Daybreaker in her tracks, holding her by the horn with his hoof. He wasn't using his magic here, just casually holding the demonic pony off with raw strength alone. But then he was; to open a portal, then telekinetically push her through forcefully.

Daybreaker came out of a portal in the sky, fell fast towards the ground and smashed into it hard enough to kick up a big dust cloud and make a small crater. Finally, her form faded, and she was once again back to being Celestia. The Malice Magic took effect in earnest, causing her to cough, breathe in heavily and grunt loudly. Grogar magically floated over to her position and gazed upon his defeated adversary.

"The saddest part is that this power paled in the comparison to when you were connected to the original Elements of Harmony." Grogar mentioned about Daybreaker.

"Th-the Elem... m-ments were m-m-mere... sssymbols..." said Celestia, breathing in and out, then coughing. "W-we have g-g-grown... sssome... th-thing much stronger. A-all of uh.... uh-us." Her vision was growing blurry, her hearing was getting fuzzy, she couldn't move her muscles and she was out of breath, but despite her uneviable condition, she took her defeat with a smile. A knowing kind of smile.

"I'll spread the word of your sacrifice, princess." Grogar declared. "Call it a gut feeling, but you may not be seen in the same light ever again." He pointed his Bell at the beaten up alicorn, it rang, and it's assimilating beam of Malice Magic was the last thing Celestia, the leader of Equestria, saw before everything went black. This may have been her final defeat.
> Part 2 - Chapter 3 (7): All Downhill
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deep within the frozen abyss, where the Crystal Empire once stood so proudly, there was nothing. Not a single entity stirring. Nothing could live down here but the banished, dormant spirit of something ancient, and dangerous. The beautiful structures of many sizes rested here now, beneath the surface. Along with... one, small thing that went silent some time ago.

A tiny whimpering sound was heard in the void, from where the dark was ever-so-slightly illuminated by a spark. The spark turned into a light trying to stay on through noticeable struggle. A few seconds of flickering passed until it made a shape. One of a heart.



The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Sunburst were in for a rough landing when the Fiducia Compelus spell wore off at last. The zombie pegasi returned to their unruly, violent selves and dove down to the path leading towards Grogar's city. With the ground getting near, they bucked their riders off and sent them rolling, and screaming, towards the side of the mountain, and worse, near the river of lava.

"Sweet tarnation!" Apple Bloom shrieked at the molten substance. She looked up and gazed fearfully at the approaching zombie pegasi, hopelessly grounded with her friends. They stood up on their hind hooves before their prey, and fired their spiky pinions at the four ponies.

"No!" Sweetie Belle squeaked, igniting her horn. Her head was feeling better, so she was able to pull off a telekinesis spell to stop the pinions, but it was strenuous to hold them all. Sunburst, now recovering to witness this instinctive action, smiling at her effort, used his own telekinesis to push them back at their senders. The impact of the needles made these reanimated equines scream and fall on their backs.

"Hoo boy, Starlight makes it look all so easy." said Sunburst, rubbing his horn after it's glow went out. "Are you girls alright?"

"It's cool. We've crashed harder than this." Scootaloo confirmed with a blasé inflection. She and the other three turned to the ominous burg sitting on the other side of where the drawbridge would lower. Being this close to it and seeing how big it really was, even compared to what used to be there, was enough to put freezing chills down their spines.

"I don't know what this place is, but it ain't Canterlot." Apple Bloom whispered.

"So, Sunburst? Your friend's in there?" Sweetie Belle asked the stallion, taking some breaths.

"Somewhere." he responded, beside himself with dread. Only amplifying those feelings was the gap full of lava before them, and no way to cross it.

"Well, whatever we have to do to get inside..." Sweetie Belle started before dropping down and putting her fore hooves together. "Please don't make me do that spell again!" The ground rumbled shortly after.

In the opposite direction of Grogar's city, stomping forward from the distance, were Ursa Majors. The Roc flew above them, the Chimera led the pack of other monsters and zombified ponies on the ground. The entire squadron that Cozy led into Canterlot was in one piece, thanks to their chaotic brother. They hadn't noticed the bearded stallion and three fillies yet, but they all knew they would soon. Moving off the path, closer to the mountainside, Sunburst hid the girls under his cape, and tried his best to fit himself under it as well.

They watched as tension overtook their senses. The beasts and the zombies approached the entrance to their master's gigantic new abode, waiting for permission to proceed. None of them seemed to notice the presence of any unwanted guests. However, one type of hideous creature picked up their scent: the Timberwolves. Steps of wooden feet came closer and closer to their position. Their foul breath was affecting their noses more and more strongly as they approached. The growl of the canine golems came with audible sounds of slobber. They were only a few feet away from the cape now, leaving no room to escape.

"Children!" Grogar called out from high above the city gate. The Timberwolves' attention was drawn to his voice, away from the ponies' cape. Their instincts compelled them to go back to the other monsters in respect to him. He spoke once more, saying "For generations, the ponies have confined you to Tartarus and the depths of the Everfree Forest. Starting today, you are united in your liberation and power to choose. Free to take what you want, and leave the rest to the strugglers. Most importantly, though it's a work in progress, my city is built for solicitude. When all creatures of Malice, young and old, and the stronger generation yet to come seek sanctuary, an impregnable haven, you will find it here. The capital of our realm."

All of the monsters and zombies looking up at the ram sorcerer cheered and roared happily for their emperor. It was like the most raucous and terrifiyng sound of applause in history. Out from their hiding spot, the CMC took a peak at where the booming voice was coming from.

"Up there. That goat." said Scootaloo quietly to her friends, pointing at Grogar and just making out what he looked like. "That's Grogar?"

"Huh. I know he's pretty far away, but he sure doesn't look like much." Apple Bloom opined, finding this legendary, tyrannical figure unimpressive on the surface, especially next to the titans he was addressing.

Grogar, igniting his horns and collar, flicked a pastern and not only quickly lowered the drawbridge for the walking monsters and zombies to cross, but also temporarily formed a force field over the lava river. His army of subjects marched forward, the flying ones going over him. He watched all of them proudly and made a vehement announcement.

"Welcome, brethren, to Tambelon!"

"Tambe-what?" said Apple Bloom in confusion. She and the other two CMC gave expectant looks at Sunburst, which got them a shrug in return.

"Girls, everything about Grogar's unknown." he affirmed. "Everypony thought he was just a character in folklore."

"Applejack and I thought the same about Rockhoof." said Apple Bloom.

"And Mistmane." said Sweetie Belle.

"Don't forget Flash Magnus." said Scootaloo.

"I don't expect you to know about everything concerning magic, I just think if there's a legend, there's a lesson, Sunburst." Sweetie Belle explained. Then her eyes widened over her choice of words. "Oh yeah, we've been forgetting. Princess Celestia!"

"Ah, right." Sunburst wondered out loud. "Why did she leave Twilight's group?"

"I don't know, but I reckon she had some reason to come here and light that symbol in the sky." said Apple Bloom.

"She hasn't came back from that valley yet, though." Sweetie Belle noted. "Oh no, you don't think..?"

"You got me. Celestia works in many ways." Sunburst remarked. Suddenly, the dirt next to the small group rippled, and then exploded as another pony emerged, looking ragged. They jumped at the sight, but instantly recognized the face in the hole, blue with a pink whipped cream mane.

"Mrs. Cake!" the CMC said all at once, hurrying to pull the mare out.

"Oh, girls!" she exclaimed. "Good heavens, whatever are you three doing out here?"

"We could ask the same of you, ma'am." Sunburst replied. "Derailed train?"

"No thanks to your unicorn buddies!" Mrs. Cake suddenly snapped at the bearded stallion. "I expected such magic powerhouses to get those fiends under control!"

"Hey!" Sweetie Belle yelled indignantly. "That's not my job!"

"Not you, Sweetie Belle. You're good." Mrs. Cake assured with the warmest tone she could muster. The insincerity wasn't lost on the unicorn filly, nor her friends. Right behind the mare, Mr. Cake emerged along with some other earth ponies.

"Dear, is the coast clear?" the stallion baker asked.

"All except for this horned one." Mrs. Cake answered. "Don't worry, he's with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, i'm watching him."

"Mrs. Cake, what's with that attitude?" Apple Bloom queried. "Why are you speaking so ill of ponies outside our clan?"

"Well, sweetheart, I took the signs for granted when they turned their noses up at their festival duties, but the writing's on the wall." the mare baker clarified. "How convenient that we lose precious harvest and ponies right after we recovered from that whole mess."

"Where did you get those ideas from?" Apple Bloom pressed further.

"A nice earth pony approached me and told me everything." said Mrs. Cake.

"Did you know them? Did you catch their name? Had you even seen them before?" Apple Bloom questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, no... I..." Mrs. Cake stammered.

"Aha! Clearly, an unreliable source." Apple Bloom pointed out. "Mrs. Cake, believe us when we say that there are some greater, terrible forces at work, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders are here to impugn."

"What kind of greater, terrible forces?" Mr. Cake inquired.

"There's this goat guy, leading all of those monsters. He built that." Sweetie Belle quickly explained, pointing towards Tambelon. The earth pony crowd turned their heads towards it.

"Yowza-wowza! What happ-?!" Mrs. Cake shrieked. Scootaloo jumped up to force her mouth shut, cutting off the sentence.

"Atut-tut-tut-tut! Quiet, Grogar might hear you!" Scootaloo urged without raising her voice. Mrs. Cake looked at her like she said something nonsensical, so she specified "Grogar: the big, bad goat guy, he's in there."

"And Headmare Starlight, and Discord, held prisoner." Sweetie Belle added. "We could use a bit of help getting in."

Really?! But why?" Mrs. Cake gasped, trying not to sound too loud.

"Because... well, you might of missed it, but Princess Celestia gave herself to Grogar to put up a sign of hope, regardless of the danger." Sunburst stated. "We have friends, and friends of friends who need us, including Starlight, my best friend."

"Princess Celestia did what?" Mrs. Cake muttered in disbelief.

"She faced Grogar and put her mark up in the sky. We must see to it she did it for a reason." Sunburst explained more simply.

"I understand you unicorns need to stick together, but I don't want you influencing these fillies." said Mrs. Cake.

"I walked away from her and lost our friendship long ago, but never again!" Sunburst blew up. The mare baker stepped back, intimidated by this outburst.

"O-kay, okay, but it's not like we can do much." Mrs. Cake affirmed. "Not to help you get over this." She pointed to the city gate, the drawbridge now being closed.

"Then we either need another pegasus lift, or unicorn power." Sweetie Belle declared.

"Oh, heavens." Mrs. Cake anxiously moaned.

"Stay calm, Cup." Mr. Cake said softly to his wife. "Stay calm."

"Did somepony call for unicorns?" Hollered a mare's voice in another direction. Everyone turned to find a bunch of unicorns walking towards them proudly.

"No!" a random earth pony stallion called out. They and the others members of their group backed away tensely.

"Hey there." said a certain unicorn mare, the one named Moon Dancer, smiling to Sweetie Belle and Sunburst. "You're new."

"Friends of Twilight." the filly and bearded stallion said at almost the same time, overlapping each other.

"Twilight's friends, eh?" the unicorn responded after a pleased gasp. "Well, then you're a friend of mine. She and I used to study together."

"Oh, a fellow studious type." Sunburst gleefully commented. "The name's Sunburst."

"My name's Moon Dancer. Pleased to meet you." Moon Dancer introduced herself formally.

"Hi, i'm Minuette!" yelled a blue unicorn mare next to Moon Dancer, jumping out joyfully.

"Twinkleshine." a pale unicorn mare next to Minuette chirped and waved.

"Lemon Hearts." a yellow unicorn mare said casually.

"Apple Bloom, watch out!" Mrs. Cake shouted unprompted.

"No, Mrs. Cake. We're going for a ride. Again." said Apple Bloom, shaking her head back and forth in the mare baker's direction.

"One lift over the wall, please." Sweetie Belle requested.

"You sure you want to go in there, whatever it is?" Moon Dancer asked out of concern.

"You bet! Don't worry, we'll stay close to Sunburst." Scootaloo assured. Sunburst chuckled a bit nervously.

"So gutsy, I love 'em." Minuette cooed.

"Mister and Missus Cake!" an earth pony Royal Guardsstallion called, approaching the Cake couple with their baby colt and filly, Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake, on his back. The twin foals were crying, but looked completely unharmed. "As you asked."

"Oh! My darlings! Thank you, good sir!" Mrs. Cake gratefully gasped, grabbing Pumpkin.

"It's okay, mommy and daddy are here." Mr. Cake whispered, grabbing Pound.

Pound and Pumpkin calmed down considerably when they were in the grasp of their parents, and then wrapped tightly around blankets they had been holding on to. Still, the air was getting colder and colder, and more and more snowflakes were falling.

"Find somewhere safe, everypony!" Apple Bloom instructed. "We'll take care of things here!" They all did as they were told, except for Sunburst and those in Moon Dancer's group, who were igniting their horns.



Inside Tambelon Castle, Grogar had retreated to another room. A chamber where his personal bed was placed. He trotted over to the mattress, soft pillow and snug sheets laid out for an ideal sleep. He wasn't tired, but he eyed it with absolute interest, like it was just another one of his alchemy items to use.

"If I time it just right, i'll be able to point you in the right direction, Luna." Grogar mused. "Just like old times." With that nostalgic comment, he looked out his bedroom window, which showed a great view of the city. No wind was heard blowing, and no snow was falling near it. It's as if the storm was selective about where it hit.

Without another word, the ram sorcerer climbed onto the mattress, peacefully laid down on the pillow, wrapped himself up in the sheets and shut his eyes, taking a nice, relaxing rest. It's been too long since my dream children came out to play, he thought as his mind drifted off into the subconscious plane.

Outside, the warm, snowless streets of Tambelon were full of monstrous and zombified life, happily parading around, eating and drinking, or taking a rest as their master happened to be doing. Most places were coated in the black smog of crackling Malice energy. Only one thing looked out of place. Perching on the castle's roof, not seen by any of the demonic fiends, was a phoenix. It had tears to shed in the midst of this once-elegant city's downfall.



Cold. So cold. Crazy cold. That was all Twilight and her team had on the mind as they exhausted their energy to walk the seemingly neverending railway. Spike had burned himself out on warming flame breaths some time ago, so he took a ride on Rarity's back, just as the pony victims rested upon the rest of the group.

"This is... no weather... for a dragon." Spike groaned between deep breaths.

"Can't you heat us up, Twilight?" Pinkie asked, the frigid air taking the spring out of her step.

"Sorry, Pinkie. My shield spells aren't meant to block harsh temperatures." Twilight answered regretfully.

"I know: we'll just have to get really angry. That'll stoke a nice flame." Pinkie suggested. Everyone, besides the still recovering Luna, just stared at her silently as they kept moving. She looked around, frowned and rolled her eyes. "Well, I think it'd work."

"Hey, hold on. Is that..?" Applejack cut in, noticing something close enough to be significantly visible in the distance. "Shelter! We've got shelter, girls!"

"Oh, that's great, Applejack." Rainbow uttered in a chilly breath, sticking to the ground. "But it's still minutes away by hoof, if we don't freeze before then."

"Twilight, darling, if there's any spell you could possibly use to help our situation, anything at all, tell me just this once you know a good one!" Rarity desperately cried.

"I'm trying, Rarity!" Twilight honestly stated. "I can't keep up mass teleportation. There's got to be a substitute. We're working our legs to the bone."

"If only we had a carriage. Your magic could easily accelerate that and save us the exercise." Applejack thought out loud.

"Yeah, accelerate." Twilight repeated. Then she gasped with a realization. "Accelerate. Acceler- Accelero! That's it! The super-speed spell! That can carry us all forward, and use magic efficiently!"

"Sounds like my kind of spell." Rainbow commented, highly interested.

"Thank you, Starlight!" Twilight said to herself.

"I knew you'd come up with something." said Rarity, relieved.

"Everypony, we're blasting off! Hang on and stay in the slipstream!" Twilight announced.

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie yipped.

The moment Twilight lit up her horn, her friends huddled up next to her, trying to get their hooves on her body. With a sonic boom, Accelero activated, sending them all dashing rapidly in a magenta blur. Before too long, they reached the buildings in the distance, but the end of the spell resulted in them all tumbling through the town. They were down on their faces in the middle of the deserted Dodge City.

The entire group took a moment to recover and recollect themselves. They picked up the pony victims again, who were still moaning and weeping about how hurt they were, and how hopeless they felt. Luna, however, was completely back on her hooves, her vision fully restored. She gritted her teeth and spread her wings.

"Celestia~!" the moon princess growled, fuming out of both frustration and worry. "You're going to pay for that!" She lifted herself off the ground, but was immediately pulled on and halted by Fluttershy.

"Please, Luna." the pegasus pleaded. "Don't you go flying off, too."

"We have our orders. Let's honour them." said Twilight calmly. The last words of her former mentor echoed within her thoughts since they pressed on without her, so she felt, as the new leader-to-be, she had a responsibility to keep the other princess in check.

Luna's heat-of-the-moment rage died down quickly, as if her cooling off was hastened by the chilly air. She nodded her head to Twilight in acknowledgement that she was correct. Celestia left for a purpose, so as her sister, she had to do right by her and guard this group of friends with her life. But now was the time to get inside one of Dodge City's buildings, the desired shelter.

When they got inside, away from the brunt of the cold storm, and climbed the stairs to find the comfiest room, it turned out the structure they entered just so happened to already house another couple of ponies. Somebody got here first. Happiest of all happy coincidences, the two were none other than Trixie and Sandbar.

"Trixie!" Twilight exclaimed at this unexpected encounter here.

The magician yelped at the sound of the new voice in the room. Clearly, she had been alone with Sandbar for some time. He was laying to rest on the comfy motel bed; his warm sleep wasn't disturbed by the noise, as was hoped. The tension lowered until Trixie could register the presence of the group.

"Oh, Princess Twilight." she murmured. "It's just you, and the rest." She tried to make herself look less frazzled than she was with a forced laugh.

"Fancy meeting you here, Ms. Back Alley Fireworks." Pinkie joked.

"Well, what can be expected when it's suddenly ice cold out for no reason?" Trixie expressed, ignoring Pinkie's attempt at a nickname.

"I see Sandbar's safe. Where are the other students?" Twilight queried the magician worriedly.

"Well first, Gallus, Yona, Smolder, Ocellus and Silverstream have headed home. That Tree of Harmony told them to." Trixie told in detail. "I've gathered the pony students here. Sandbar, Raspberry Dazzle, Hyper Sonic, Patty Peppermint..."

"Ah, it must've given them a mission." Twilight pondered. "Before it was tainted."

"Yeah, something about uniting all of the clans for a super big alliance." Trixie explained. "Hey, you there." she then whooped, noticing and pointing to Luna. The response from the night princess was a wide-eyed expression. "You're one of the great and powerful rulers of this country, right? I've been meaning to ask you and the big alicorn for your contribution to the assembly."

"Twilight has already sent letters to most of the tribes to send reinforcements." Luna informed the unicorn magician. "For now, we have placed our faith in their numbers and strength. But if we must talk about full harmonization... well, you can count on me at that meeting."

"Where... is Celestia?" Trixie inquired. She received glum looks from the others, especially out of Luna's body language.

"She went to Grogar. Didn't indicate she'd be coming back." said Luna. Not a single word left her mouth without an air of sorrow or fear-born anger.

"Oh." Trixie mumbled. "I'm sorry."

"Look, we can't stay long." Twilight asserted to alleviate the awkwardness. "That band of bad guys is hunting us down, and i've no doubt they're close."

"While we're here..." Spike started in his better rested state. "Do you have any food?"

"Are you kidding? Student Counseling 101: have free empathy rations on standby." Trixie boasted. She pulled out a bag from her hat, like a conjuror revealing a rabbit. One untwisted knot later, the food was revealed: puffy, golden biscuits. Twilight's group did not hesitate to grab them.

"Thanks, but don't you mean emergency rations?" Spike mentioned.

"I know what I said." Trixie proclaimed.

The biscuits turned out to be delicious. It took a minute for each of the ponies, and the one dragon, to finish their share. Pretty filling considering the size. Soon, all that was left in their clutches were tiny crumbs. Their quick snack break done, they resolutely looked at Trixie.

"By the way, who are the new ponies?" Trixie queried, just noticing the unfamiliar people brought along.

"These poor ponies were hurt in a monster attack." Fluttershy replied. "We took them along, because somepony has too. They won't last in this weather."

"Where... are... you..?" one of the victims groaned.

"Well, princess, i'm afraid all the rooms in the city are packed." Trixie informed everyone. "Big school, you know. But still, i'll take those three off your hooves."

"I appreciate the offer, but we plan to take them with us, far away from this terrible storm." said Twilight. Trixie didn't argue, though looked uncertain.

"Just answer me this one last thing: what about Starlight?" Trixie wondered all puppy-eyed. Twilight puzzled for a moment before an answer came out.

"She's... going to be just fine." she declared uncertainly, but also assuredly.

"If you don't mind, Counselor Trixie, we must use Sandbar to escape." said Luna. "We're going to travel by dreams."

"Dream travel? But our bodies don't physically manifest in dreams, only our minds projecting images of our bodies, if I recall correctly." Applejack stated.

"With somepony sleeping nearby, my magic is able to tear open a hole that allows the entry of solid forms." Luna described. "It goes against my usual dream patrol methods, and it's not so easily executed, so I usually never do it."

"Sounds painful." Pinkie noted.

"Even so, that would've come in handy earlier." said Rainbow.

"Not without a subject." Luna retorted. "Though, in fairness, somepony could've stayed for this part." Her thoughts dwelled on her sister's departure, how annoyingly inconvenient it was in hindsight for the fact the forbidden dream travel idea was only being thought of and resorted to now.

"Press on, all of you. The Great and Powerful Counselor Trixie will handle these fillies and colts." Trixie promised.

Without another exchange besides some nods of agreement, Twilight's group huddled together once again. Luna lit up her alicorn horn and wrapped it in a white light. This light created a thread that attached itself to the sleeping Sandbar, the contact created a mental bridge that linked the ponies to the earth pony colt's mind. The night princess concentrated hard to put that extra effort into her spell. The result it yieled was a wide tear in space on the other end of the thread; a portal directly into Sandbar's dream. Luna and the group turned into smoke with a cosmic appearance and got sucked into the dream portal. Finally, they were gone and the tear closed up. Trixie was left awestruck by this powerful feat.



Right outside, an x-ray spell was cast over all the buildings in Dodge City. No signs of life were seen besides the School of Friendship students occupying all the rooms, as Trixie said. Eclipse had been using it as a means to seek out and spy on her pony prey. Simultaneously, she used a spell that allowed her team to hear from a good distance away. Both were deactivated for a briefing.

"So much rich magical knowledge." Eclipse uttered. "Why aren't I, the pony ideal, collecting that?"

"Better question is: where are they going?" Cozy added, rolling her eyes.

"I'm magic, not psychic, Cozy." said Eclipse. "Chrysalis could be anywhere by now with those ponies." She tapped her head in order to get telepathically reach out and make a call, and for a moment, it seemed like she was able to connect. "Emperor Grogar, you there?" No response. "Emperor Grogar, Princess Luna just got away with Twilight and her friends through a dream portal. Do you know where they're headed?" Nothing. "Hello?" She started to sense this was turning out fruitless. "He must be asleep."

"Well, stinks to be him, I guess." Cozy chuckled. As protective as her shadow form was from the cold, a bit of chill began to break through. "And for us... do we have to seek them out in this weather?"

"You can go find a house to cover up in, i've got to get this overwith." Tirek suggested, starting to tromp away.

"And where will you go, genius?" Eclipse questioned, crossing her fore hooves.

"To wherever this "ideal spot" for revenge is. Can't be much colder than here." Tirek replied. "Then again, the colder, the sweeter." The repeating of how cold things were, seeing the falling snow, promptly brought a clear idea to the centaur's head. "Ladies, I have a clue." He motioned his fingers for the pegasus and alicorn to fly up and bent down slightly to whisper in their ears.

"Okay, but we don't know if they'll be there." Cozy argued.

"The boss knows." Tirek fired back.

"Teleportation travel?" Eclipse proposed. The giant centaur flashed her a thumbs up, to which she then said "This trivial errand girl stuff is beneath me." before disappearing with her partners in a large, bright, turquoise burst of energy. After they vanished, a sound was heard amongst the strong whistling of the wind. A ghastly sound, like the cry... of a horse.



"One, two..." Moon Dancer counted up, ready with her friends to launch the Cutie Mark Crusaders up the wall fortifying Tambelon. Finally, she called "Three!"

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, magical auras of multiple colours enveloping them, flew up the height of the city gate and over the lava river like torpedoes. It was like the sensation of going down a zip-line, but in reverse, of course. Successfully, they made it on top of the wall, landing on their bellies. They took a good look at Tambelon, all crawling with Grogar's monsters, and felt the strong presence of pure evil.

"Hey, the snow isn't falling in here." Apple Bloom pointed out. "How odd."

"Well, that's a relief." Scootaloo remarked before shifting to the matter of their position. "So, how are we going to get down?" It was a long drop to the city grounds. It was so dark, and so far, it was akin to looking at a pitch black, endless hole.

"Oh... didn't think this far ahead." Sweetie Belle said in regret. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo threw weird looks her way. "B-but, I think I have an idea. Scootaloo, jump!"

"What?!" Scootaloo barked in surprised.

"It's simple, you jump, flutter your wings, and i'll lower you down with magic." Sweetie Belle explained.

"You know I can't-" Scootaloo started.

"Yes, you can't fly, but i'll be here supporting you. Trust me." Sweetie Belle interrupted. "Just pretend it's one of our old skydiving escapades, or you're a Wonderbolt, like Rainbow Dash."

"Alright." Scootaloo acknowledged after pause. "Okay, but grab hold now, just to be safe." The unicorn's filly telekinetic aura latched on the pegasus filly immediately, and then she, despite the fright dominating the mind, made the leap down the wall. She fluttered her wings, desperately hoping it'd break the fall. Before too long, though, she reached the bottom safely. Fear turned to relief, and the scream she wanted to let out ceased to build up in her throat. With one look back up, she smiled in gratitude. Her next move was to look around and find a way to open the drawbridge. There it was, the windlass, on top of some stone steps.

Scootaloo took a running start with her wings rapidly fluttering and jumped up to give the windlass handle a martial arts kick. The force was enough to spin it and lower the drawbridge. Sunburst and the other ponies outside came into view. The bearded stallion quickly joined Scootaloo and used his telekinesis to lower Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle down next.

Unfortunately, they were spotted by a couple of cockatrices. Their petrifying glares were locked on the four ponies, their beastly snarls indicated their approach. The fillies and stallion noticed them and shielded their eyes from the reptilian birds' red gazes before being pounced on.

Sunburst, without looking at them, instinctively rubbed the one on top of him on the spot beneath it's beak. This triggered a pacifying reaction from the creature. "Girls, massage their breasts!" he ordered.

"What was that?" Apple Bloom called in her struggling.

"Massage the cockatrices' breasts!" Sunburst repeated. "But keep your eyes closed!"

"O-okay!" all three of the CMC said. These ceased struggling and managed to get their hooves on the cockatrices where they told to put them, just as their had their fangs over the fillies' muzzles. They rubbed in a hurry, like their lives truly depended on it. It worked. The cockatrices enjoyed the sensation.

The horrible snarling replaced with soft, affectionate clucking, the creatures released their grip and allowed the ponies to get up. The four opened their eyes and, for once, felt safe looking at the sets of crimson ones.

"That worked." Sweetie Belle commented honestly. "How did you know they'd back down from that, Sunburst?"

"You learn a thing a two from your school's students, and their helpers." Sunburst affirmed matter-of-factly with a wink, recalling that recent chain of events with Silverstream and the cockatrice known as Edith.

"There there, who's a good cockatrice?" Apple Bloom complimented her cockatrice.

"Okay, you four." Sunburst addressed the four chicken snakes. "We're looking for a unicorn, pinkish-purple, swirly mane and tail, held up here. Do you know where she is?" They all cried out in awareness and moved their heads up and down. "Good. If you can get us there quietly, that'd be great, too." he added in a whisper. The CMC pumped their hooves at their success.



The dream of Sandbar's in which Luna and Twilight's group landed was a rather bleak place. As a matter of fact, it lacked heavily in the imagination department. Mundane as can be.

"Princess Twilight, Princess Luna, what are you doing here?" Sandbar asked in surprise.

"Just passing through." said Luna in response, sounding rushed. She and the others opened up another portal to leave this area.

"Stay safe, Sandbar!" Twilight shouted out before they were all out of Sandbar's sight.

"Okay then, see you later!" the earth pony colt shouted back when it was too late.

On the other side of their exit, the team went into the lobby of the dream realm, the place where all dreams could be seen and entered from.

"Oh yeah! Dream walking at last!" Rainbow cheered, like this had been her life's goal. "So awesome, the possibilities!"

"That's a lot of doors, though." Applejack considered. "Which one do we go to?"

"Ideally, we'd pick one with a bath, if that isn't too much trouble." Rarity recommended.

"Fret not, i've been entering ponies' minds for moons." Luna assured. "I can tell where they are just by memory." The corner of her eye caught something, but it wasn't recognizable. It was a dream portal, for certain, but it was black, orange and yellow with a black rectangle in the centre. She had no words, only a squinted, confused expression to give for this anomaly.

The evil-looking dream portal spawned a swarm of small demons, not too dissimilar to a pack of Parasprites. They flew around the dream realm and made a collective dive onto the ponies and dragon.

"RUN!" Luna commanded loudly. Everyone made a mad dash, never stopping to look back. They could see that the demons were in hot pursuit and blocking off every dream portal they could possibly go through.

"What are those things?!" Spike shrieked at this nightmarish horde.

"No time to find out!" Rarity screamed.

Indeed, the dream demons gave them almost no room to breathe. They all moved at an impeccable, terrifying speed. So much so that if they caught the escaping bunch, they'd certainly turn them into a minced meal. The number of them totally surrounded the heroic steeds to the point that they had nowhere to go. Without thinking, Twilight and Luna guided their friends to this one, solitary portal that wasn't guarded. The younger Royal Sister showed her glow once again to forcefully rip open another spatial tear, their last chance at a getaway.

On the other side, they fell into what looked like a cabin room, mountain-climbing and excavation tools, not to mention tons of furry decor, everywhere. Next to where they crashed, on a bed, an old stallion with a bucket on his head, Rusty Bucket, woke up due to clattering noises.

"What the-?" he spouted as he jolted from his mattress. "Who goes there?! What?! Who-?" His attention was drawn to the ponies and dragon in a pile, just recovering from any injuries they had in the middle of his room. "Where the heck did you ponies come from?" he demanded incredulously.

"Oh, i'm sorry, mister." Twilight apologized to Rusty after rapidly shaking her head. "It's a long story."

"Well, i'll be darned." Rusty gasped, getting out of his bed. "Princess Twilight Sparkle! It's an honour to be in your presence." He bowed before the young alicorn in admiration, for a mountain hermit like him never got the pleasure of seeing Equestrian royalty in his house. It was a lucky chance of a lifetime. "I, Rusty Bucket, am not worthy."

"No need for the kneeling, dear friend." said Luna humbly.

"Princess Luna, too! What can I do for you, your majesty?" Rusty inquired.

"A place to spend the night will do." Luna replied, nothing complicated.

"Excuse me, but where are we, sir?" Fluttershy asked.

"Mount Everhoof, on the northern border of Equestria." Rusty confirmed.

"Mount. Everhoof? Argh, we just went in a circle!" Rainbow complained. "What we needed was even colder weather."

"At least we found somewhere to crash, figuratively and literally speaking, of course. Best to stay here than take chances with those vile flying things." Rarity pointed out. She counted their blessings at the fact the dream demons couldn't follow them, as expected of anyone else present. "Now, my good stallion, if you'd be so kind, i'd like to be directed to your bath."

"Well, miss, since you're one of Princess Twilight's friends, i'd happily prepare you some hot water." Rusty agreed, unable to say "no" to the unicorn fashionista's signature charm.

"Your hospitality is appreciated." Luna commended the stallion. "I wasn't certain we'd get here in one piece. My spell was quite taxing."

"You did great. That's all that matters." said Applejack, hoof on the princess' shoulder. "Now let's grab a bite. I think the carbs from that biscuit already burned off."

"First thing's first, I gotta go!" Pinkie proclaimed, scurrying out of the bedroom door. Everyone knew what she meant to by 'go', and didn't think too much more about it.

"It's on the right, down the hall!" Rusty hollered over.



Over at Yakyakistan, Prince Rutherford had received the message of the threat to Equestria and, having built positive relations with residents in recent moons, especially with Pinkie Pie, gathered the best of his yak subjects, the finest warriors of the entire clan. All lined up, they paid heed to the prince.

"Yak brothers, ponies in time of crisis, need yak strength!" Rutherford spoke. "Ponies strong, but ponies and yaks even stronger! Battle is coming, enemy will be ruthless! Yak must be ruthless in return!" All of the yak warriors cheered. "Liberate ponies, glory for all yaks! March forward to attack!" They all let out battle cries and made their way past the front gate of their kingdom. 



The dragons in their territory were gathered by Dragon Lord Ember, another recipient of the urgent message. Each of them were itching for a fight. The assembly listened to what their sceptor-wielding leader had to say.

"This is our moment, dragons! As corny as the ponies can be with all their constant talk about kindness and generosity, those same sentiments have been salubrious for our society!" Ember spoke. "Most of all, our fellow fire-breathing lizard, Spike! I owe him for where I am today, and you should too!" Her dragon subjects applauded. They shouted things like "Yeah, let's kick butt!", and "For our Dragon Lord's friend!" before lifting off the ground to fly off.



The hippogriffs gathered before General Seaspray, the leader of Queen Novo's navy. She left him the duty of rallying their clan up on the surface while she took care of everything with the seaponies under the ocean near Mount Aris. The general cleared his throat.

"My fellow hippogriffs, today, we stand our ground against a great adversary!" Seaspray spoke. "We are in the ponies' debt for our freedom from the Storm King's iron fist! No longer do we cower in seclusion! Now's the time to repay their service, to save them from the horrors of tyranny!" The hippogriffs yelled out in excitement. Never before had they been more ready to take a great enemy as a singular unit.



The changelings got into an organized position in reverence to their king, Thorax. Almost the whole hive was prepared to follow him. Even though he was still relatively new as the big guy of the clan, he earned an audience that viewed him as nothing but a symbol of hope and love. He began.

"I know we have dedicated ourselves to serenity and bonding, so the time has come to reignite our fighting spirits to save what we've built!" Thorax spoke. "Starlight Glimmer, Spike and their pony friends taught us how powerful the Magic of Friendship is! It made us better than we ever were before! They're our friends, too, now let's make sure they don't stand alone!" the changelings whooped in accord. Among them, Thorax's brother, Pharynx, praised with "That's my brother!"



With the sky coloured red and the clouds covering it up, nobody could tell if the sun was setting on Equestria at this time. Regardless, after Twilight and her allies got comfortable in Rusty Bucket's home, ate some good portions of food and got cleaned after such a long trip, being assaulted and chased by fiendish creatures of many types, they were ready to take it as easy as possible. The increasingly freezing storm couldn't get them here, at least.

As a bonus, as far as they knew, those creatures and the villains leading them had no way of tracking them down. For once, they were secure. While most of her friends, and the recovering victims, were getting tucked into spare sleeping spaces, Twilight was using her free time to contemplate over by one of the house's windows.

"Twilight?" Fluttershy, still up, murmured over to the young alicorn. "What are you thinking?"

"Many things." Twilight stated. "A lot has happened. The deadliest sorcerer ever, and the monster horde he gave life, are loose, our worst enemies have come back with insane power, the school's been forced to shut down, the Tree of Harmony's been poisoned to the core, Canterlot, the Pillars and the Crystal Empire have fallen, and everypony's become so lost in their suspicions and fighting, they don't even remember what friendship is. It's been so much to unpack."

"I see." said Fluttershy. "It's not your fault, though. Remember that. There's just nothing creatures are afraid of more than things they don't, and aren't able to understand. I'd know that more than anypony."

"Yes, that is true." Twilight acknowledged. "Say, how come you're not getting ready for bed, Fluttershy?" Her curiosity over this got a gloomy expression out of the kind pegasus.

"I don't rest easy anymore. Ever since he was taken." Fluttershy clarified.

"Discord." Twilight surmised.

"It was a real jerk move, what he did. Absolutely reckless, even for his standards. And for that... I should be more angry at him." Fluttershy explained. "But I wish he had the chance to make up for it. He deserves redemption after the good he's done. If there's any friendship lesson that stuck with him, it's... valuing life."

"Well, that's why Celestia chose you to befriend him way back when. Not me, not Pinkie Pie, you." Twilight noted with a smile. "Whatever happens, he will get that opportunity. All we need is a plan to sneak back into Canterlot, or... whatever is standing there now, and fix the damage to the pony's unity. As they say, I always come up with something in due time."

"Take as much time as you need, Twilight." Fluttershy encouraged, cracking a smile from the warming confidence. "Just make sure to relax while you're at it."

Twilight continued to puzzle over the entire situation, what could be done about it and how she could execute her potential ideas. It was only getting bleaker by the minute, and Twilight, trying so hard to maintain faith in Equestria's recovery, was now questioning if there'd be an end to this apocalyptic-looking madness anytime soon. Worry that she would mess up anything she did to take their home back was taking a tighter hold than previously.

BUMP, went something outside Rusty Bucket's front door. It was rather loud, to the point Twilight jumped. The sound came again, and then one more time. Whatever it was, the source was approaching this very structure, probably towered over it as well.

"What is that?" Rusty cried in confusion.

"Mr. Bucket, I hear it too." said Twilight.

"You stay in here, your majesty." Rusty suggested. "I'll go out and look around."

"Hold on, what if it's one of those monsters?" Twilight thought out loud, worriedly. "Those guys are after us."

"Eh, I deal with big, nasty critters on my property all the time." Rusty attested. "Comes with the guardian job." His mind was set, and he trotted out of the house to his front yard, blunt instrument in hoof. Once out there, he took a good look around the area after taking in the harsh, icy wind. "Hoo boy, this ain't typical Mount Everhoof wind." He saw just how cloudy and crimson the sky had become. His realization of how unnatural this was perturbed him to the bone.

BUMP, the sound from before repeated, now so close to Rusty's ears to rattle them. He felt like he was within feet of an explosion. When it looked like things couldn't get spookier, three figures appeared seemingly out of nowhere before him. The biggest of them cast a vast shadow over the bucket-wearing stallion. Tirek and Cozy were back at his abode, and Eclipse was here as well, meeting him for the first time.

"H-hey! It's you again, that weird kid!" Rusty exclaimed at the wicked filly. He recognized the centaur and added "Didn't you used to be smaller?" Without any words, Tirek grabbed the stallion with his hands, which he looked like a doll compared to. Rusty screamed for his life.

The sound of distress alerted Twilight to Rusty's predicament, and the rattling of the house was now starting to disturb the resting ponies and dragon all over.

"Everypony, get up!" Twilight shouted, trotting in place. "Get up! Something's got Mr. Bucket!" Spike, Luna and the others, besides the restless Fluttershy, opened their eyes and rose out of their sleeping spaces. They too would pick up the high-pitched screaming. So, the entire group ran outside to see the commotion.

"Okay, you monsters and ugly zombies, we're prepared for you this t-" Rainbow bellowed, but stopped at what they were really facing.

"What a quaint little place for R&R." said Cozy, back in her shadow form with a terrified Rusty in one of her wings of darkness.

"For a supposed guardian, it's a pretty pathetic position for you." Eclipse mocked. "Do you even get paid?"

"You've got to be kidding me!?" Spike shrieked. "How did you find us?!"

"Got a tip. And you've got something we need." Tirek answered.

"Yeah, unattained closure on your hatred!" Twilight snarked. "You think we couldn't-?"

Tirek ignited his horns with a ball of searing, orange energy and covered Rusty's home with his aura. The materials of the building were crunched up in his telekinetic grab and lifted high off where they stuck, all residual pieces included. He threw every last bit of it to his right, sending wood, bricks and everything else applied down the mountain, as if tossing litter. Twilight's group yelped at the destruction.

"My house, NO!" Rusty mournfully howled. "I just finished shoveling!"

"What do we have here? Free prizes?" Eclipse sang wickedly. She telekinetically grabbed the three pony victims from out of the destroyed house and placed on them ground between her partners and the heroes. "How noble, tending to the most unfortunate." She laughed. The injured earth pony, pegasus and unicorn moaned more loudly than ever.

"Save.. me..!" the three wheezed together.

"NO!" Twilight roared. "Leave them alone!" She watched as Tirek raised and pointed his hand at the helpless equines, grinning like a madman. "It's us you want!" She jumped in front of the ponies, the rest of her friends following suit. "They have nothing to do with this! It's between you and us!"

"Tell us something we don't know." Cozy quipped.

"What is your ultimatum, scum?" Luna growled, demanding details.

The centaur's open hand glowed with magic, preparing to fire. But it was not with the expected, offensive orange power. Rather, he emitted the healing blue power, which was fired past Twilight's group. The glow transferred over to the three pony victims, making the group turn around in response to the bright luminescence. In just moments, the suffering ponies were at full health, and standing up tall. Their elation was met with perplexion from the heroic creatures.

"Finally!" the three collectively yelled in celebration, followed by laughter. All of them jumped by Twilight's gang, whom were having trouble registering what they witnessed.

"You. Healed them." Twilight uttered. "Why?"

"Totally unexpected." said Pinkie.

"Because contrary to what you believe, princess..." Tirek began to announce. "They do have something to do with this."

"I'm glad they're okay, but they're just innocent-" Fluttershy argued, but stopped when she noticed that the three happy ponies shifted their expressions to stares of malevolence. Unexpectedly, each of them spat a bunch of sticky fluid out of their mouths, directly at the legs of the ponies and dragon, as well as the horns of Twilight, Rarity and Luna. The acidic quality of the stuff hurt immensely.

The three ponies, thought to be poor victims of the chaotic circumstances, leapt up high, joined each other in mid-air and burst into a green flame. When it cleared, they revealed themselves as the disguised forms of Chrysalis. Her laughter at the heroes' expense was more manic than a hyena's.

"Oh, if only you could see your own faces!" the rogue changeling cackled. "Friendship is so exploitable!"

"Self-righteousness gets you nowhere, your highness." Eclipse mocked, and sarcastically finished with "What a surprise."

"You! Why y-" Twilight snarled, taking in the truth.

"You won't be using your rainbow powers now!" Tirek bellowed.

The noise caused a house-size ball of snow to fall from the side of Mount Everhoof. When it was close, Cozy grabbed it in her other shadow wing and absorbed it. The tetrad's finishing attack began. Eclipse summoned a gigantic lightning bolt - descending from the snow clouds - to strike with, Tirek expelled orange energy from his other hand, and Cozy fired a high-pressure blast of snow from her shadow form's mouth. Twilight and the others couldn't move; only look upon the impending doom and scream, hoping their voices would be heard, and something would come to save them at the last possible moment. Sadly, it looked like nothing would.

Their saving grace was already there, and they didn't know it. The glitter of the tiny crystalline branch inside Twilight's mane, having hung on the whole adventure, formed a bolt of energy that disintegrated the slime on her horn and redirected the villains' attacks. The group was totally unharmed, and the spark was releasing them from their bonds. When they ceased screaming, they had no idea what was going on.

The evildoers, predicting the worst, quickly took advantage of their bewilderment. Chrysalis transformed into a flock of bats and swarmed the ponies and dragon in an effort to assault, blind and push them apart. Tirek tried to sap away their vitality magic, but unbeknownst to him, the branch was blocking that ability. Eclipse stepped in and manipulated the wind to direct a powerful breeze to each of their foes. This move managed to fling them to separate parts of the mountainside, sending them rolling along either piles of snow, the ground of the nearby woods, the trail near the frozen lake, or a cliff. Chrysalis returned to normal.

"There we go. Can't beat us apart." Eclipse declared. "Split up and take them apart!" At this order, Tirek made a kangaroo leap away.

"You know what they say: go big, or go home." said Cozy, before laughing evilly and releasing Rusty on the ground.

"For a little filly, you sure are rotten." Rusty commented.

"My friend, you've read a pretty biased journal." Cozy remarked with squinted eyes at the old stallion, just before she flew into the distance. Rusty ran off, shivering madly. The filly's words made him miss his journal of Twilight's teachings, knowing it was no doubt lost forever to the rubble of his house.

"Echo, let's agree on one thing first." said Chrysalis up close to Eclipse. "I never. Want to put on. That long act. Again!"

"Who said anything about repeats?" Eclipse dryly said. They exchanged sharp looks before they took off to find their targets.

Twilight and Luna got back up from the fall they had onto a snow mound. It did not take long for them to notice their division from the others on their team.

"Are you alright, Twilight?" Luna asked, wrapping a hoof around the younger alicorn.

"Never mind me, we lost the others." Twilight replied, though still grateful for the embrace. A hoof was put up to her muzzle to shout out everyone's names. "Spike! Applejack! Pinkie! Rarity! Fluttershy! Rainbow!"

"Nope!" exclaimed the chirpy voice of Cozy Glow, spreading her massive shadow wings menacingly. "Just the cutest little thing you ever condemned to a COLD ETERNAL PRISON!"

Over at the cliff, Spike and Rarity came face-to-face with Chrysalis, baring her fangs for a fight most savage.

"Don't you touch her, you brute!" Spike growled, lighting his mouth up with fire.

"Oh ho ho, I was wondering when it'd be snacktime." Chrysalis devilishly cooed at Spike's passion over the unicorn he loved so.

Applejack and Pinkie were stared down by the crackling, hostile radiance of Aurora Eclipse in the woods. The farm pony took her battle stance; the party planner was just standing, eyes closed.

"I couldn't destroy the integrity of your friendship in the past without erasing what I sought in the future, but in the present, I can shape the consequences like cookie dough." said Eclipse, grinning so proudly.

"I've dedicated my life to making creatures happy." Pinkie coldly described. "I hate to see someone frown when they deserve to smile. To see the light among the dark. But if there's anything I can stand less than that..." She pulled on one of her hooves, yanking off a pink, tight, camouflaging sock to reveal her actual hoof underneath, and glared at the Malice-powered alicorn. "It's those who abuse the gift of smiling, like yourself!"

By the frozen lake, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy wound up in the telekinetic grip of Tirek. Fluttershy gritted her teeth at the centaur, flashing back to when he deceived and drained the draconequus she held dear.

"Whatever the reason I can't consume your life magic, it won't stop me from delivering a crushing blow." said Tirek.

"Well, it's not like things could get any worse." Rainbow claimed. Fluttershy shot her an accusing look for that sentence. "No, wait, I take it back! It can always-" she attempted to backpedal. Right above them, in the stormy, cloudy sky, there was a loud horse cry, from three sources. Alongside that, thunder boomed. Rainbow looked up, and all she could say at what she was seeing was a weak "Too... late?" Tirek, seeing it as well, dropped the pegasi.

The wind picked up even more, the quantity of falling snow increased, and the thunder was accompanied by rapid bolts of lightning. The heroes and the villains stared, slackjawed, at the beings making those haunting neighs. Three white spirits, shaped like ponies, glowing with icy auras, circling around the very eye of the storm, their faces as chillingly devoid of life as the frozen Equestrian plains.

"They're finally here." Eclipse murmured in amazement.

Spike, aghast, howled "THEY'RE REAL, TOO?!"

The legendary, fearsome Windigos had appeared. This was their blizzard.
> Part 2 - Chapter 4 (8): Perfect Storm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the Windigos manifested in the sky, their wind began evolving slowly, but surely, into a frosty hurricane capable of blowing small creatures off their hooves. Their nightmarish presence wasn't helped by Grogar's glowing, red, worldwide Malice infection, nor by the unstable clouds blasting the likely related bolts of lightning. Plain and simply: they looked even more scary, even more sinister, than they were ever described to be in stories.

From where Twilight, her friends and the villainous tetrad stood, it's almost as if they could be easily touched. In another part of Equestria, the earth ponies, now having managed to find a spot where they could build homes away from their perceived enemies, were getting worse in mood from the decreasing temperature. Here, within an empty village in the middle of nowhere, they had inaudible exchanges, until Mayor Mare spoke up.

"Please, stay calm!" the mayor hollered, getting the entire chattering crowd's attention. "I know everything seems bad, but this is no time to panic!'

"GIVE US ONE GOOD REASON NOT TO!" a mare, one of those who spoke to Twilight and the others back at the trainwreck near Ponyville, screamed in disagreement. The others, minus a handful, joined in the rowdy yelling, much to the mayor's discontent.

"Because Equestria's own heroes are on the job!" Mayor Mare answered, trying to sound as assuring as she could. "Twilight Sparkle and her friends? They're out there, seeking the solution! When have they ever let us down?"

"They're letting us down now by not protecting us from the threat of termination looming over our heads!" an earth pony stallion argued.

"Speaking of "over our heads", the Windigos!" another earth pony mare yelled, having noticed the ghostly pony spirits in the sky, rotating endlessly around the thundering clouds and neighing monstrously. Almost everyone present saw too, and gasped like they were literally struck.

The skeptical one scoffed and said "That's just a Hearth's Warming story! Enough with the bad jokes, ponies!"

"These are creatures made of wind who destroy the land by burying it in endless ice and snow, to punish ponies, and they're descending before us right now!" Cheerilee objected incredulously. "You call that a joke?!"

With the realization that the Windigos were real, and that they all now stood among their tempest of cold and misery, the earth ponies ran around in a panic. They felt more powerless than they ever had before.

"Let the pegasi deal with this!" the especially frightened earth pony mare said. "There's nothing we can do except hide!"

"I think this may have been what they and the unicorns have been waiting for!" an earth pony stallion surmised. "We're gonna live in dread forever!'

Among the crowd of running earth ponies, Big MacIntosh was remaining calm, so as not to worry either his grandma, Granny Smith, or his new wife, the unicorn Sugar Belle, anymore than they already had been for the past hours. Even more fortuitous for him was that the one unicorn close by wasn't chased out. Yet.

"Them Windigos will go away in no time with a little magical friendship, won't they?" Granny Smith guessed.

"Eeyup." said Big Mac to her in his usual laconic manner. His thoughts, on the other hand (or hoof), formed a full sentence of what deeply troubled him most. Applejack, Apple Bloom, wherever you are, come back in one piece, before Granny loses it.



Up in some mountains, the pegasi had found a new settlement within a series of caverns. They already saw the winter spirits enter their vicinity. Some made the valiant effort to trying to ward off the violent wind, but to no avail. The force of it was troubling enough, but the uncontrolled lightning cemented the futility of the attempts.

"That's enchanted wind!" a pegasus mare stated to a crowd of her people. "We can't control it! And we certainly can't rely on those snooty unicorns or those earth ponies for help!"

"Well that's great!" Zephyr Breeze complained. "This'll add more fuel to their "pegasi are dangerous blunderers" fire!"

"Build up the cloudbank! We'll try to block it!" the pegasus mare ordered. In acknowledgement of the stallion's concerns, she added. "Keep your eyes out for intruders!" The pegasi flew off, leaving only the leading mare and a single colt.

"But, the earth ponies, unicorns, Princess Twilight, Rainbow Dash and the others down below. They're-" the colt, Rumble, said.

"On their own? Yes." the mare interrupted him with certainty. "We all are." Then she lifted herself into the air to join her brethren.



The unicorns settled into the depths of a withered forest. Chancellor Neighsay of the Equestria Education Association spotted the Windigos through a telescope he carried with him, and whispered into the ear of another unicorn stallion. The same unicorn stallion who was by himself when he conversed with Twilight's group not too long ago. That stallion approached the rest of his clan.

"Everypony, get those shelters up and fortify the shields around them!" he ordered the other unicorns. "We need to protect ourselves from the imminent storm, and the other clans! It's all we can do for now!" The other unicorns murmured worriedly, uncertain about their futures coming up. Not all of them were skilled spellcasters, so how well would a good number be able to keep themselves safe?

"Those brutes will likely use those Windigos to their advantage, but we're unicorns!" Prince Blueblood declared. "The most powerful of all ponies! We will be safe, we will get our resources back, and we won't let them win!" His speech gave his fellow unicorns an extra bit of drive to get down to business. If this royal figure was confident, they had to be too.

"Everything should be getting better any moment now." said unicorn colt Snails hopefully, as the others walked towards their chosen shelter spots around him. He turned to his friend and fellow unicorn colt, Snips, who just shrugged.



Back at Tambelon, Sunburst and the CMC managed to stealthily navigate the monster-infested streets with the help of the cockatrices. The chicken-snakes also had the decency to grab some pouches of food for the four ponies, like they were faithful pets.

"Make it last, girls." Sunburst advised the filly trio, holding up their grub.

"You know, I think you guys are actually very good at heart." Sweetie Belle opined at the helpful cockatrices. "You don't have to follow that Grogar guy. Do you?" They just blankly stared at each other without giving a certain reply to her.

Their sneaking around led them behind a statue, and within view from their current spot was the Chimera, on their guard in front of what looked like a door sealed up with a brick wall.

"Not that thing again." Apple Bloom moaned, all the bad memories of confronting this particular monster by her lonesome rushing back.

"What is it standing guard for?" Scootaloo whispered in pondering. "Doesn't look like there's a way to get in."

"Starlight's in there, right?" Sunburst asked the cockatrices, who nodded in response. "Are there any other entrances, maybe less guarded?" He asked further. This time, they shook their heads back and forth.

"Okay, ya'll. Perhaps one of ya can petrify that beastie?" Apple Bloom requested. The cockatrices clucked in surprised, then backed away disapprovingly. The farm filly peaked back at the Chimera and figured "Make that three of you."

"Please?" Sweetie Belle begged. No signs of them budging. "Oh, if only Fluttershy was here with her Stare."

"Would you perhaps do it for... some nuts?" Apple Bloom suggested, pulling the mentioned type of food out of her pouch. "Not a fan of these." But the cockatrices looked at the crunchy morsels with intense interest. Their craving expressions instantly gave her an idea. She threw the nuts out where the Chimera was standing and watched them split apart, but land close to the same spot. The big creature's three heads looked around in confusion.

The cockatrices repeatedly clucked and ran for the nuts to peck at them, appetites wet. Their fellow monster noticed the four little ones come from the statue on it's right. From back there, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Sunburst threw their own sets of nuts out. Some managed to get on the beastly hybrid, and bother it. Growling, it began to approach the ponies' hiding spot, much to their terror, but it was blocked by the hungry chicken-snakes pursuing their snack.

Briefly, a fight broke out. The chimera spewed fire that came too close for comfort. It chased one of the cockatrices off, and grabbed the other three whichever way it could. In retaliation, the three avian reptiles gave the three-headed beast their crimson stares, resulting in it quickly turning into a stone sculpture of itself. Quiet took hold on the situation.

"Thank you!" said Sweetie Belle.

"And there, fillies, is another way to treat a cockatrice." Sunburst noted. Before any form of celebrating could take place for this small victory, the cries of the Windigos were heard by him. He immediately turned up to see them. The CMC, too, bore witness to this event.

"What in the..?" Apple Bloom muttered in befuddlement.

"Oh no... it can't be." Sunburst breathed out in fright. "The Windigos. The legends were true." The filly trio gasped at the mention of the creatures' names, before he raised his volume to say "We've got to get inside, now!"

"But, what do we do about the door?" Scootaloo reminded them. Beside her, Apple Bloom's face scowled with determination.

By giving the brick barricade on the door several hard kicks, Apple Bloom was able to bust a hole open in it; the labyrinthine lower levels could be seen on the other end, and it was just big enough for her and the other three to squeeze through.

"You buck apple trees for a living, you get muscles like these." Apple Bloom boasted, but trying to hold back a grimace from how sore her back hooves had become from the kicking impacts. 

In any case, their exploration of the caverns below Tambelon began.



"I should've known the Windigos were stirring this up!" Twilight exclaimed, angry at herself. "That they were more than characters!" She had been fending off Cozy Glow to her best of her ability with Luna. They didn't know where the rest of the group flew off to, just that they were alone with a psychotic child coated in solid darkness.

"Just goes to show: where there's a legend, there's a lesson." said Luna. With their combined alicorn magic, they produced a magical wave that was potent enough to phase the little shadow pony.

"Not a bad day for a blizzard, I say!" Cozy laughed. "Now it's time for you and your magic of friendship's complete destruction! Soon, power will redefine it all!" Her magical clone popped up in front of the two princesses and grinned wickedly - as far as her cheekbones could stretch, her irises and pupils shrunken to dots - to end with "Won't that be fun?"

"You are so infuriating, you know that?!" Twilight spat in aggravation. "I mean, "power" this, "destroy" that; is that the way you want to live your life? I don't know what you learned before you attended the School, but it must've been pretty bad for you to walk this path!" She felt two shadow wings lift her off the ground after speaking. The true, Malice-powered Cozy stared at her.

"No, it was fine." said Cozy. "Just very lonely, and unsafe." The wing was sliced off by Luna's horn blade, allowing the younger alicorn the chance to escape. 

"You had friends at the School, Cozy, who would've had your back - if you hadn't stabbed them in theirs!" Twilight stressed as she descended gently. "True friendship is worth fighting for, no matter how much there is to learn about it! Why take the lessons we taught for granted, and make it about being more powerful than everypony else?! WHY?!"

"Because it's a preachy, backhanded, six-way street!" Cozy screeched wrathfully. Twilight flinched with shock.

She didn't just say that about friendship, Twilight thought in silent rage.

"You're a lot more by the book than you think you are, Princess!" Cozy explained, approaching while raising her shadow forms shoulders to look extra imposing. "It's always gotta be about your specific virtues, no room for any deviation, or actual evolution of who creatures are! The blind followers are rewarded, and the ambitious rebels get punished!"

"Well, sorry, I don't remember any other "rebels" LYING TO PONIES AND TAKING ALL OF EQUESTRIA'S MAGIC AWAY!" Twilight scathingly remarked.

"Earth ponies and unicorns could adapt!" Cozy argued. "And hey, it's not like I removed pegasus flight, you know! You don't trust anypony, anycreature, with their own ability to become stronger in body and character! I just did my methods, to become the most secure and assured I could be in this rough world! Friendship's a weapon, and it's gotta be used!" She pounded her shadow wings like fists on the ground, sending Twilight, Luna and much snow flying. When they landed, Cozy detached the wings from her shadow form's body and molded them into cages to ensnare the two ponies.

"You're delusional, Cozy Glow!" Luna chided.

"Honesty, Laughter, Generosity, Kindness, Loyalty, Magic, those are a farce built on a misplaced sense of superiority." said Cozy. "Even if I have to play some mind games and engineer things, it's better to build relationships for strength, to rise up to those above me, than to kowtow to your patronizing ideals."

Twilight, having had enough of this crazy child's tirade, teleported out of the shadow cage to get behind her and dash off. Luna wasn't worried about being left behind, thanks to a wind manipulation spell she demonstrated to her insane little foe.

Applejack and Pinkie were trying to hide from Aurora Eclipse so they could wait for the most opportune moment of attack, but the dark alicorn made a joke out of the whole game of hide-and-seek.

"My magic sees all, lesser ones!" Eclipse called, using her x-ray spell on the trees and rocks. "At least look me in the eyes like real mares!" Her telekinesis removed the two earth ponies from where they took cover. They were frightened, but knew this wouldn't be easy.

"I'm sure glad the Starlight we know saw the error of her ways, because I always hated to imagine what she'd turn out to be if she didn't." said Applejack. "And now..."

"Now you know how much better, how much more beautiful, and how much more bold she was supposed to be!" Eclipse stated proudly. "We learned magic and gained power from the best, but only I am tapping into it's potential!" Without another word, without a warning, she shot a beam spell at the heroic mares before her.

Applejack and Pinkie tried to yell, but were cut off by the beam spell. It began to simultaneously scramble their brains. Their cutie marks were trying to leave their flanks, but struggled, as if it was possible, but not quite.

"Aw, geez!" Applejack groaned, holding her head. "Everything's getting fuzzy!" Right beside her, Pinkie was whistling while rocking back and forth from the same sensation.

"Well, this is interesting." said Eclipse at this new effect. "Applejack, let's get to our friends right away!" That sentence sounded like the voice of Twilight from the farm pony's point of view.

"Er-, right." Applejack responded in her dizzy state. It looked like the senses alteration spell worked just enough for Eclipse to render her enemy vulnerable, and easy to direct.

The evil pony gave the "lesser ones" boosts into the open with telekinesis, Applejack blissfully unaware of what was going to happen thanks to her currently susceptible mind. Pinkie, however...

"Step right up, evil fillies and gentlevillains!" the party pony announced, suddenly dressed in showman's garb. "I'll be your target for this evening! Try your luck!"

"What the..?" Eclipse muttered, baffled by this behaviour uncharacteristic of a brainwashing victim. She fired an energy beam at Pinkie, who dodged and rolled away on a pinwheel she pulled out of nowhere. Eclipse pulled it back with her telekinesis and sliced it in two with a magical horn blade. The earth pony had inexplicably slipped away and vanished at the very moment the strike was thrown.

"Haha!" Pinkie laughed at the alicorn's attempts atop a dead tree. A focued lightning bolt quickly came down on her spot, seemingly making contact and frying her. Not even a full second later, she popped out from under a rock completely untouched. "Missed me!" She chirped. Roots sprung viciously out of the hole she poked out of, intending to impale her from below. Once again, she appeared unharmed, and this time from a wilted bush. "Close, but no cherrychimichang-AAH!"

Eclipse grabbed telekinetic hold of Pinkie and wrapped her in the electric tether. Pinkie, within her oddball nature, resisted the shocks to make one more declaration.

"Hey, no cheating! Oh well, thanks for playing!" she shouted in the dark alicorn's ear, holding up a randomly materialized prize: a small, crudely-woven Grogar doll.

"How is your brain not scrambled?!" Eclipse growled, vaporizing the doll with an energy beam.

"Silly you..." Pinkie said before throwing a lemon pie in the echo's face and dropping out of her telekinetic grasp. "My brain's always scrambled!" She then took Applejack and got out of there.

Rarity and Spike desperately defended themselves from Chrysalis' assault. She spat a salvo of acid at them that they had jump for their lives from. Seeing them separated, the changeling aimed her crosshair at Spike. Rarity, on instinct, telekinetically lifted up a rock nearly her size and chucked it at Chrysalis before her beam hit the young dragon. The impact stung, but did little more than tick her off.

"We should've taken you prisoner while we had the chance!" said Spike, recalling when the former changeling queen was at her most helpless: the moment she was defeated by Thorax and Starlight.

"Yes, you should've!" Chrysalis mockingly agreed. "You practically gave me the opportunity to beat you!" She breathed out acid at Rarity in revenge for the rock throw.

Rarity blocked the stream of acidic fluid with her magical shield, but in just a second, it shattered from the force and sent her sliding back, leaving her sweating. Next, Chrysalis, in an expression of gleeful derision, shapeshifted into four Twilight Sparkles. Rarity and Spike both gasped in disgust at the sight of this act. The four fake Twilights laughed and fired energy beams down at both the unicorn and dragon. In a rage worthy of a fiery reptile, Spike exhaled his most ferocious and powerful wave of fire to hold the four beams back, but the struggle was darn-near one-sided.

Rarity saw a new window of opportunity here. Before the beams could hit her small dragon friend, she quickly dashed up to the fake Twilight's, jumped with all the strength her hooves could muster and poked one of them in the belly with her sharp horn. Chrysalis yelped from the sudden pain on her underside and changed back to normal immediately, cancelling her quadruple attack. Worse for her, Spike's fire breath rocketed right to her face and burned it, forcing an even more agonized sound out of her.

"MY FACE! MY ROYAL FACE!" Chrysalis howled in her literally blind rage, descending to the ground to bury her head in the snow. "You little... pony!"

"Do you know how much this day meant to Twilight?!" Rarity asked angrily.

"I'm well aware, I just don't give a rat's-" Chrysalis snarled in frustration.

"Do you know how much this day meant... to me?!" Rarity asked additionally through gritted teeth, her glare intensifying until it was colder than the Windigos' frost. Spike felt the fury. Chrysalis' response for this one was an energy beam to the face. Rarity waved her horn and deflected the shot at a rock upon the cliff. Following the hit, it looked like it could chip off any second.

Chrysalis charged head-on like a bull, only following where she could hear the fashionista. Rarity pressed forward herself and punctuated her every attack.

"I!" She punched Chrysalis with a fore hoof, causing her to twirl around and stagger back. "MADE!" Her shield spell returned and shoved the disoriented changeling into the cliff wall, threatening to squish her like the bug she was against it. "HER!" She telekinetically pulled the rock above downwards, sending it plummeting onto Chrysalis before any recovery could be made. "DRESS!" That last yell shook the snowy mountain to the point a snowball rolled down and fell onto the spot where Chrysalis was crushed. Finally, Rarity grabbed Spike and jumped down the cliff area before the ball crashed.

After they were gone, a pack of worms crawled out from the snow. Regrouping in that green fire, they were actually Chrysalis, damaged, but still on her hooves, and getting her sight back.

"Fools! I've taken worse today!" the changeling bellowed, then cackled.

Tirek lost sight of Rainbow Dash in the thick Windigo blizzard, but he managed to keep track of Fluttershy. She was not having any of the centaur's attitude, like a mouse standing up to a cat despite the circumstances.

"You think just because you have so much magic, so much power, so much... muscle, you're that tough?!" Fluttershy inquired indignantly. "Well, last time you were this big, you had to play with my friend's feelings to get his energy, and this time you hid behind someone stronger, because without others, you have nothing to back you up! Isn't that right?" The magic eater grabbed her with his hand and stared her down.

"I care not about surpassing that pony errand boy's ridiculous Chaos Magic." Tirek asserted. "Even the boss can't use it the way he could. I just want closure on the shame you ponies have made me live with, so I can fulfill my destiny with renewed warrior's glory!"

"There's no glory in preying on those smaller and weaker than you." Fluttershy argued.

"I alone was smaller and weaker than you and your pals combined." Tirek mentioned. "My associates and I have only leveled the playing field." He did not allow Fluttershy to reply again, slowly squeezing her like a stress ball. The rising pain in the kind pegasus' rose higher and higher. She was a moment away from shrieking, when something caught the centaur off-guard.

Rainbow flew into Tirek at her remarkable speed and, with the hit being so unexpected, shoved him into the frozen lake and loosened his grip on Fluttershy. Fluttershy evaded the drops of the giant splash to grab onto her fellow pegasus' hooves.

"Hope I didn't keep you waiting long." said Rainbow.

"Right on time, actually." Fluttershy said back.

"Okay, stay close, and we'll reconvene with the others in 10 seconds flat!" Rainbow claimed, starting her flight back with Fluttershy.

The lake split apart and steamed from the potency of Tirek's searing hot energy generation. He let out a bestial battle cry, followed by a kangaroo jump out.

The villainous tetrad had been gathering back together without noticing it. Cozy chased down Twilight, binding her down by conjuring her magic clone, hooves wrapped tightly, on top of her. Then, as if swatting a fly, she slammed her shadow wing on to the seemingly defenseless alicorn. A moment to grin victoriously was ruined by Luna digging her horn into the shadow form and telekinetically yanking Cozy's true body out.

"I'd stand down if I were you, child." Luna said to the pegasus filly, wrapping her in a tight magical bubble.

Chrysalis pursued Rarity and Spike down the mountain. The duo had an idea on how to lose her. The young dragon flapped his wings in unison with the unicorn jumping, for extra height, just at the moment the rogue changeling fired an energy beam. She flew under them and didn't catch when a ball of fire was spat out to strike her right in the tail. Chrysalis screamed over the burn all the down to her crash landing. Tirek just so happened to land nearby and send her rolling a few feet.

Pinkie sped onto the scene with Applejack, whom was beginning to regain her natural composure.

"Whoa, what in tarnation?!" Applejack cried out in confusion.

"Tell you later!" said Pinkie. A turquoise blur sped by to the front of the party pony's path. Eclipse had caught up with the Accelero spell, and her horn flaring up for a fiery spell. All of a sudden, Pinkie's tail twitched. Her Pinkie Senses were going off.

"Oh, is your tail cold?" Eclipse sarcastically asked with a faux sisterly voice. "Good!" She raised up her head, which was then hit by a falling rock. It seemed that rock she launched into orbit earlier trying to hit Pinkie came back for revenge. She fell on the ground, growling in pain.

Pinkie ran past all of the villains, getting lucky enough that Tirek took a moment to heal up Chrysalis (again) and Eclipse, and Cozy was breaking out of Luna's bubble. The filly, teeth gnashing, popped her prison using protruding shadow spikes, plus much effort. Luna didn't take this sitting down, nor did Spike give them a moment of reprieve. Energy and fire surrounded the tetrad.

"I hate these guys! Do they have to be so annoying?!" Cozy growled at the inconvenience they suffered.

"Not annoying!" Chrysalis corrected, catching something more concerning in the corner of her eye. "Distracting!" Her hooves pointed to Twilight and her five friends hastily gathering in one spot. She wasted no time in firing an energy beam their way, thus their attempt to light up friendship's all-powerful magic was prevented.

Eclipse teleported around them and blew them apart again with a magical shock wave. Twilight quickly got back up on her feet to come face-to-face with Tirek.

"Nice try..." Tirek snarked. Smiling wickedly, he cracked his neck and channeled his orange magic into shooting waves of spiked rocks at Twilight. She flew with grace past them, picking up a few with her telekinesis in the hopes of throwing them at the centaur, but didn't expect him to pound the ground with a magically-charged fist. BOOM! A flaming, earthly burst blew her away.

Applejack released her lasso at Rarity from a good distance, hoping to pull each other close. Eclipse sliced the rope and telekinetically threw the farm pony like a ball before any progress could be made. Chrysalis shapeshifted into two adult dragons and breathed explosive blasts of fire to easily keep Pinkie, Rainbow and Luna at bay. Fluttershy, panicked, flied the fastest she ever had before to get to her friends, but she was met halfway by Cozy.

"Now now, professor." said Cozy, all snakelike. "You know as well as we all do that you're not the fast one." The quick diversion distracted Fluttershy enough that she could not see Cozy's shadow form before bumping into it. The good pegasus could only feebly yell at the filly's next action: absorbing her into the darkness construct, ultimately ejecting her with a deafening belch. Rainbow was quick to catch the poor kind one.

"ENOUGH!" Chrysalis yelled impatiently. The ponies faced her with a mixture of worry and annoyance. "No more grief..." She took out a hostage, Spike, holding him by his wings. "Or the baby dragon's wings get plucked!" He grunted at his back appendages getting yanked.

Twilight ran up and looked on in horror, only having one plea to spare. "NO! Please, don't hurt him!"

"Spike!" Rarity cried in distress.

"Don't worry about me!" Spike hollered, tears dripping down his eyes. "Just defeat them, n-" Chrysalis sadistically pulled harder on his wings. "OW!" was the only semblance of a word that could leave his mouth.

"Personally, i'd prefer a part that rolls." said Tirek, pointing down at the suffering little reptile.

"You cowards!" Luna chided the tetrad. She wanted to do something, but she knew that she couldn't. The powerlessness overcame her judgment.

"Put him down! We'll surrender!" Twilight begged.

"Oh no, smartyboots! He's too good an incentive!" Chrysalis chortled horrifically, no compliance.

Twilight and the others couldn't risk igniting their Elements of Harmony power here. It wouldn't be worth taking these four malefactors down if it meant Spike, their dear friend and the Princess of Friendship's beloved brother, would end up in a worse ordeal. In hope for his well-being, they ceased their attack and stayed apart.

"So all it takes for the Magic of Friendship to relent is the endangerment of a loved one." Eclipse mused. "How predictable. But I can't complain."

"All's fair in war, Twilight." Tirek commented smugly. "If only you hardened your heart a long time ago, like a soldier."

"And so, you're right where we want you." Cozy said delightedly. "Equestria's a diseased and incorrigible mess, you have no protection left, and best of all: friendship has been turned against you."

"Don't worry, though. We'll leave enough of you for our dear emperor." Eclipse proclaimed.

Tirek and Eclipse charged up their offensive energy, Cozy prepared to throw a drilling shadow wing strike, and Chrysalis' mouth bubbled with acid. They were triumphant... or so they thought for a moment, until Twilight casted a spell. It was just like her former mentor's, an instant, bright flash of light. The villains were blinded and groaning. Spike, his eyes too shut tight from his pulled wings to be affected the same, was dropped.

"You rotten..!" Tirek growled.

"My face! Stop! Hurting! My face!" Chrysalis roared like an animal.

Right behind the hurting tetrad, a yellow and black Malice portal opened up on a nearby crag, overlooking the scene. Streams of magical energy jetted out of it and hit the ground between the heroic ponies, just before they could regroup yet again. The marks of the attack made fields of that ghastly magic between them and the tetrad. Tirek instantly healed up himself and the others, muttering "I'm running out of healing force." Their restored sight saw the Malice Magic, and then they turned to see the portal, out of which came Grogar, for all to see.

"It seems I arrived early." Grogar surmised, stroking his beard.

"We were just on the precipice of victory!" Chrysalis called up to him, teeth bared. "The job's almost done!"

"About time you stopped hiding, Grogar!" Twilight derided after teleporting herself and her friends past the Malice barriers. "Your underlings fought hard, but they can't win if we never give up! Whatever's going on in Equestria, as long as I have my friends by my side, i'll put my faith in friendship and crush all who oppose-" Abruptly putting an end to her speech was the sight of Fluttershy flying up to Grogar with the intention of attacking him. "Wha- Fluttershy, wait!"

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow, also noticing, cried.

"GIVE HIM BACK!" the otherwise sweet and soft pegasus bellowed at the ram sorcerer, not just in rage, but in deep, impassioned hatred. Her means of hitting him was throwing a snowball, then delivering a flying kick. The snowy projectile didn't even make him flinch, and whatever the kick might've done, it was negated by Grogar effortlessly stopping her with a loud, horrible sound from his Bell. She backed off while holding her ears, unable to take it.

"Let's be businesslike for a minute, everypony." he suggested calmly. "I'm here to return this to the sender." What he referred to was an unconscious, shriveled up, desaturated, rather tall unicorn with a pink mane, levitated by him on full display.

Twilight, Luna and their allies looked at this pony for half a second before realizing who it was. This was Celestia. Luna remembered this as her original form, from the life she left behind a millenia ago. Looking at her in such a miserable state, her worry-born anger over her sister's departure waned. Twilight, though she knew Celestia was taking a losing gamble, still thought she would somehow come back, perfectly well. The Princess of the Sun lived for so long, she had to be too tough to go down. Right? What wishful thinking from a young mortal.

"It was just how she lived; dreaming, but not thinking." said Grogar in lament. He dropped Celestia's body on the ground from his greater height, making sure it landed with an audible thud. All of the heroes reacted in shock, but Twilight and Luna were in extreme anguish. The once-proud Princess was rushed to by her former student, who promptly wailed for her.

"NO!!!"

"The sister goes next, now that her purpose has been served." Grogar stated, lifting Luna up to himself with his Malice telekinesis. His expression shaped into something mournful, almost like it emotionally hurt to do what he was about to do.

"Purpose?" Luna said under her breath, too lost in trauma. The Bewitching Bell rang for the assimilation of her core. The spell was just about to happen, but what went unnoticed was the small sparkles of Harmony energy protecting her body from the Malice. In reaction to it's opposite force, the magic spiked up around Luna, and Twilight too. A beam was forced out of the younger alicorn's horn, a beam that made for Luna. Then the Night Princess was gone.

"What's this?" Grogar gasped.

"Argh, it's that irritating spark again!" Tirek grumbled.

"Harmony Magic has made it out here?" Grogar guessed. He felt the power surge from Twilight and presumed "Why, the Tree has given you a gift.' His telekinetic power quickly picked at the young alicorn's mane, plucked the branch out and drew it towards his face.

Twilight and her friends looked up at the tiny object. She realized "That's what been saving us. Must've fallen off before..."

Grogar clasped his fore hooves together, crushing the branch into microscopic pieces. The ponies winced at their inanimate saviour being reduced to dust.

"I see. The Tree may have gotten resistant since Sombra shattered it, but an individual piece is easily broken." Grogar affirmed.

"Enough t-talk, let's g-get on with it!" Cozy complained in a state of shivering.

"Who the hay do you think you are?!" Applejack vehemently questioned the ram sorcerer. She and the others watched him jump down the crag and hit the group's level with a powerful landing.

Grogar used Star Swirl's magic to stop time around him, the six ponies and the little dragon. Strangely, he casually sat down as if he wanted to engage in a casual conversation. He also used Cadance's magic to keep each of them stuck away from one another, before he provided a reply.

"Where were my manners back there?" he asked himself. "It's good to properly see you face-to-face, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkamena Diane Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash."

"What is this?!" Rarity snarled in angered confusion. "You hurt Celestia, and you want to chat?! Don't insult us!"

"It'll be a minute." said Grogar patiently. He was silent for a few seconds, inquisitive. "I've been here before. You remind me so much... of her." His mind changed the sight of Twilight in his eyes to a distant memory - one of the unicorn who defeated him millennia ago: Gusty the Great, a snow white mare with a loose, green and red mane and tail, and a Cutie Mark of leaves blowing over a wind current. The flashback ended when Grogar finally said "When Gusty defeated me, I thought that I may as well have ceased to exist. But she actually gave me a wonderful gift."

"Gift? What kind of gift would a legendary hero beloved by foals have to give to you?!" Twilight queried.

"Here's a hint: i've known you, every last one of you, since you were born." Grogar implied. The ponies and Spike's irises shrunk in surprise over their immediate realization of his words. "In the stars, i've watched you, studied you, learned your strengths and weaknesses, and helped craft challenges for you and your allies, by which I could research the key to breaking the cycle."

"What are you talking about, Groangar?" Rainbow asked insultingly.

"Despite my imprisonment, I had a little power both in the sky and through small avatars on the surface." Grogar explained. "Before they, the Horses of the Apocalypse, could run, I gave them the means to walk. The magic-disspelling stone, the disturbance that removed my son Cerberus from his post, a secret mail service between Tartarus and Ponyville, and lessons in magic no school of Celestia's could offer, for one's mission to eliminate Cutie Marks."

"Wait, Horses? Only two of them are ponies." Pinkie pointed out.

"Quite." said Grogar without looking at her.

"You're telling me, you gave Chrysalis... you helped Tirek... you allowed Cozy... and you taught magic to... to..." Twilight stammered. Her mind felt like it was going off like a fireworks finale.

"Like you, they and I grew in failure followed by success." Grogar continued. "Speaking of which, the cracks in this harmonious epoch have been exposed, as they should've been generations ago. Your pony kin are already beginning to notice as well. This is their country. They won't wait for a higher power before they're advancing forward with the most important, but most unsung, partner."

"Their country? You mean yours, don't ya?" Applejack corrected disdainfully. All she got in return was a hearty laugh from the old blue creature.

"Laugh it up while you can, and spout whatever wannabe world changer claptrap you want! Friendship knows no rival!" Twilight retorted fiercely. The end of her sentence also marked the end of the time stopping spell.

"You know what's stronger than friendship, Twilight?" Grogar asked. His voice raised from 0 to 100 at the single word he shouted next. "FEAR!" The force of his voice broke Twilight and her friends from their crystal bonds and sent them flying back to the tetrad.

"That's right, because when you have to protect yourself, you have no time for anycreature else!" said Tirek. As his partners grabbed the rest of Twilight's group, by means of telekinesis and shadow wings, he lifted up the Friendship Princess by her wings with only his fingers and meaty thumb. His magic drain also worked again, absorbing the vitality out of the six victims.

"The moment doubt takes over, it comes to light how "different" and "unique" you small folk can be really be!" Eclipse remarked, adding thrillingly sarcastic hints to her tone.

"And you don't even need a pinch of dark magic to know it!" Chrysalis gladly mentioned, knowing she was taking a certain late king's name in vain.

"Too bad you never taught that in school, ex-Headmare!" Cozy laughed. On that note, she and her teammates initiated the finishing moves on their restricted targets.

They were sure they had won right here and now, but something delayed their victory again. Tirek's body vigorously rejected something. He coughed at a surprising volume, and his mouth released balls of life force. Seven were released. Six went back into the ponies, one flew off into the distance. The four villains lost their grips and stumbled around.

"Whoa, T! Take a cough drop!" Cozy scolded.

"Not.." Tirek coughed more quietly. "My fault." He looked at the re-energized heroes and narrowed his eyes in disappointment. "Argh, what good is draining life force if this happens?!" He and his three comrades prepared their attacks once again, but the heat of the moment didn't help them notice Twilight's team teleport away.

"Don't you get it?!" Twilight shouted, now behind the tetrad with her friends. Flying several feet off the ground with her wings, she fired a rather powerful beam from her horn as a warning sign. "Inside us is the very power of the Elements of Harmony themselves! As long as it's bound to our essence, we're unstoppable!"

Chrysalis blasted Twilight with acid, it was blocked. Cozy tried a combo of her clone and her wings attacking at once, still nothing. Tirek fired an energy, no effect. Eclipse used her senses reversal spell, and all that happened was a brief lightshow. The young princess wasn't giving in.

"As long as the likes of you are evil and friendless, you will always fail!" said Twilight, crackling with raw power that warded off the four enemies. "Your numbers mean nothing! Your shortcuts to power mean nothing! We built what we have through years of effort, love and reason, and we earned it, together!" Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew up to join hooves with her. "It's been said before, and i'll say it until the memo sticks!" Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie rose on their hind hooves to take hold as well.

During the lengthy speech, Tirek looked at Grogar, silently praying for assistance in this troublesome predicament. Grogar recognized this, lit up his horns, threw his head forward and launched a Malice energy beam forward. It zipped past the towering centaur, and just before friendship's ultimate power could illuminate the blizzard-covered land...

"Friendship. IS-!" Twilight announced, her last syllable rising to a cracking pitch before she was silenced. The blazing hot, high-power Malice beam hit her right in the face and burst like inflamed gas all over her.

Everything around the princess went silent. The world seemed to go into slow motion as she flew back from her friends at the rate of a jet, covered in Malice's glow. With a hard bang, her body smacked into a wall covered in snow and fell to the ground with a blanket of the crystallized water above and below. No grunts came from her. The rest of the friend circle just registered what happened and looked at her lying in defeat.

"TWILIGHT!" all of them simultaneously screamed in frightful worry, soon making a mad dash to her aid.

"You know what to do!" said Grogar to the tetrad.

At long last, without any further delays, nothing left to get in their way, the Horses of the Apocalypse dealt the ending blows. Cozy squeezed the ponies and dragon forcefully in her shadow feather, and Chrysalis, Tirek and Eclipse joined their magical charges to blast them with an amplified beam of green, orange and turquoise. Snow and dust were kicked, and a long crater had been formed. But something else came up before it all cleared. A whirlwind of purple and blue magic came out of nowhere around where their shots landed. It expanded for a few seconds before it zipped off into the distance and cleared the snow and dust cover.

"Oh, what now?!" Chrysalis groaned loudly.

"I don't know, but... we got them, didn't we?" said Cozy, rolling her eyes at the grouchy changeling.

"The stain has been cleaned." Tirek commented.

"Who's tornado was that?" Eclipse asked. "Because i'm telling you, that isn't my colour."

"Luna." Grogar stated, approaching the front of the tetrad's spot. "She made a last-ditch effort to help them escape."

"So, where does that fit into your master plan, old-timer?" Chrysalis sarcastically inquired.

"I shall not deny, this is a setback. The Tree of Harmony made a good play." Grogar admitted, grunting in annoyance. "If they got away, Arimaspi's Eye will track them down."

"Well, in that case, get it out and whisk them back over here!" Cozy implored.

Grogar focused his Malice Magic, and within seconds, his crystal ball was sitting right before him. His fore hoof orbited the orb with expectation.

"Arimaspi's Eye, show me Twilight Sparkle and her champions of friendship." Grogar chanted. An image came on the Eye. It looked vaguely like ponies arriving somewhere, but to the surprise of the ram sorcerer, it was highly obstructed by a bright, white and blue light. "Hmm? It can't be! Arimaspi's Eye is blinded!"

"Blinded, your majesty?" Eclipse questioned.

"Show me the source of this problem!" Grogar ordered to the Eye. It image changed to a dark abyss, where a light of the same shade and hue was taking the form of a heart. "Ah, how interesting. This isn't the Tree's work."

"Come on, teleport it!" Chrysalis demanded.

"I do not know where this is coming from, nor if it is an object I can bring over, Chrysalis." Grogar patiently answered. He sent Arimaspi's Eye away, done with it for the time being. "I'll get to the bottom of this. As for Twilight's bunch, they still walk, but not on Equestrian soil anymore."

"I doubt that they'll get far." said Tirek. "That blast you threw really took it all out of that goody-goody."

"Yes, that is my play." Grogar remarked. "No force besides hearts of pure darkness can truly fight back the poison of my Malice. Not only may Twilight feel her magic fade, and her sanity slip away, but a disconnect from the Elements is now in effect, and before long, the pain will take it's toll on any hope or courage she ever wanted to hold on to. In the end, they will not last as friends if their synergy, their shared belief, is broken."

"Sounds like the perfect test, that they'll never pass." said Eclipse. "A hostile fallout; not a bad ending to their childish story."

"No friendship, no magic.' Cozy chortled. "That's good enough for me."

"I feel your pain, little ponies." Chrysalis spoke under her breath. "Running away in disgrace, lost in the woods, no home, no power, nothing to eat, nocreature to turn to, wasting away waiting for either the end of it all or the dumbest stroke of luck to pick you up. For that... we are even."

"Then I suppose this is where we go our separate ways." Tirek presumed. "I'm ready to go."

"First thing's first." Cozy reminded. "Tirek, you are the strongest and most lionhearted creature i've ever had the good fortune of being the protégé to. Your warrior spirit is fit for a king, and I hope it inspires more hardened fighters to come."

"Oh, you're just saying that, kid." Tirek scoffed, but unable to hide the signs of appreciation in his eyes.

"I can see you winning a good queen and a lot of fans with your pragmatism, musculature and healing technique." Eclipse added. Then she and Cozy tilted their heads from him to Chrysalis.

"If you say so..." Tirek began. "Chrysalis, your skills of deception and changing form are most impressive, and truthfully, you are a creature who's never part of a dull moment. You deserve your kingdom."

"I know. But do you think i'm..?" Chrysalis hissed. She eyed her associates, who all just stared at her in anticipation. Even Grogar gave the impression of do not delay the inevitable, and finally, the changeling sighed in resignation. "Among all the ponies who've occupied my space, you two... have proven to be the least intolerable. Thank you for your usefulness. THERE, HAPPY?!" In embarrassment, she turned her now bright red muzzle.

"Eh, i'll take what I can get." Cozy accepted with a shrug.

"Last thing before you go: while I uncover the mystery of the light in Arimaspi's Eye, i'll send a monster squad after Princess Twilight's team and Luna." Grogar informed. "I've already ordered your squads to march on to the unguarded dragon lands, changeling hive, Yakyakistan and Mount Aris. Choose your destination."

"The rightful queen is coming home!" Chrysalis yelled, immediately flying off into the cold, windy evening.

"I'll take the Hippogriff land. There's a been a vacancy since that Storm King guy fell." Eclipse decided before she left as well.

"The dragons are made of stern stuff. Perfect spot for the throne... of King Tirek." Tirek thought out loud. "Boss, Cozy, farewell." And he sprung out of there with a final kangaroo jump.

"I guess Yakyakistan's a nice, remote place for my new, better School of Friendship." said Cozy.

"Consider it a free gift. Look forward to a bonus that'll go out to all of you, for a destiny fulfillment well done." Grogar kindly proposed.

"Cool!" Cozy cooed.

"A return of the favour for setting me free from my millennia-long prison." Grogar thanked. Cozy's eyes widened in correlation with the thought Oh my gosh, those hero ponies were right!

"Thank you, Mr. Grogar!" Cozy, in her natural form, cheered, hugging the ram in an uncharacteristically loving fashion. "You're great in my book. Mmm." She realized the way she was acting and backed away in shock. "N-no, no fuzzy feelings! I'm evil! Rar! Mwahaha!" Then silently, awkwardly, she covered back up in her shadow and flew away as the ram sorcerer disappeared into a portal.

After they were gone, Rusty Bucket returned, sensing the coast was clear, and picked up the life-deprived Celestia with all of his strength.



Thorax and his changeling army made haste for Equestria, but halfway there, they were intercepted by a squad of Grogar's monsters and zombies, led by the Maulwurf and the Ophiotaurus. They all shapeshifted into the strongest creatures they could think of to fight back, but the numbers and strength of the beasts were more than a match for them. Not one changeling could slip past.

"Where did they all these guys come from?" Pharynx, the elder broodmate of Thorax, wondered, strained from the fighting.

"They must've known we were coming!" Thorax guessed. "I don't know how, but..." He then noticed something else. Many of the monsters were running, jumping and flying past his forces and heading where he and the others just came from. This brought a dreadful expectation to mind. "The hive! A Team, back to the hive! B-Team, hold them off!" He flew back to his home with Pharynx and a bunch of his subjects.

When he and his squad returned to the lavish, highly vegetated place he called home, the monsters and zombies were tearing it down. As peace-loving as he was, Thorax wasn't going to let this stand. However, this wasn't his only obstacle.

"Thorax, my insubordinate subordinate!" Chrysalis venomously called from above.

"Chrysalis!" Thorax shouted, most unpleased to see his old leader back in his territory.

"It's been a while since we last spoke, for my liking!" Chrysalis reminisced, oozing with hatred. "You've kept the royal seat warm long enough!"

"This will be your only warning!" Thorax threatened. He transformed into a giant mantis-spider hybrid, same colour scheme as his regular self, and flew up to Chrysalis viciously.

The evil changeling one-upped him by turning into four giant, flying snakes. An advancement of changeling shapeshifting took Thorax by surprise, only making a wide opening for Chrysalis to catch him in her multitude of coils, painfully squeezing his body. He changed into a hummingbird to swiftly get away, but then the rogue turned into a swarm of bees, catching him in a ramming attack that dragged his tiny form down. His next move was to become a black bear and climb to the top of the hive. He made it, and was ready to deal a claw swipe to Chrysalis. He witnessed her coming in fast and transforming into two battering ram timbers, both of which smashed into him like missiles and sent him across the floor.

Chrysalis changed back and spat her sticky, acidic slime at the downed (also back to normal) changeling leader, then listened to his tortured screams, followed by telekinetically pulling on the usurper's antlers to proclaim "For your crimes against your queen, you will feed her for all eternity." She noticed Pharynx trying to pull a sneak attack on her, but he couldn't get past the Maulwarf or a Twittermite swarm, no matter what he changed into.

"You're back." said one of the changelings across from Thorax. "And Thorax is defeated."

"Run!" Thorax desperately ordered. "She's too strong, get out of here!"

"No, we won't run." another of the changelings said. "We stand our ground here and now, to say something."

"What would that be?" Chrysalis asked with a raised eyebrow.

The changelings before her, seemingly wearing faces of courage despite all fear, cracked smiles paired with their glaring eyes to convey feelings more... devious. They spoke what was on their mind. "Long live Queen Chrysalis!"

"WHAT?!" Thorax shrieked, now mentally harmed.

"We don't have to humor this softie's lame-o traditions anymore!" one of the rogue changelings declared happily, and genuinely. "We are changelings: deceivers, takers of love! Nothing mushy!"

Queen Chrysalis, now possessing the knowledge that loyalists remained in her hive, waiting for her return, smiled more joyfully than she ever had since she lost her throne. Her eyes shed tears, and out of her mouth came laughter both euphoric and maniacal in how it sounded. Her day was getting better in a way that she definitely considered a pleasant surprise. Around the land, the monsters were gathering up the other traitors. The sky darkened on cue with this turn of events.

In the distance, there was an exception, and it met another. Pharynx got away and happened to bump into young Ocellus.



The dragon lands were hardly faring better. As strong and sturdy as the fire-spewing, barbed-tailed dragons were, the oncoming assault by creatures such as the Hydra and the Sphinx gave them a run for their bits. Within minutes, the majority of them were rounded up, and their volcanic region was under siege by Tirek and his squad. Ember, the only one who could break away, realized she couldn't challenge the centaur's might alone.

"As of today, dragons, you are subjects of my kingdom!" Tirek declared. "The New Midnight Kingdom, where you serve me, either as lowly servants or elite warriors!"

Some other creatures across the dragon lands heard his words. They came flying in from a mountain in a vast herd, roaring triumphantly. These were seemingly dragons, but unlike the more commonly seen species, they had no arms or fore legs, only long and broad wings. They looked quite malicious.

"Wyverns, today's the day we rise up in the ranks!" said one of the armless lizards. His wyvern brothers and sisters helped the monsters and zombies with subduing their dragon neighbours, much to Tirek's delight.

Ember had long since resumed her trek to Equestria. She heard a 'Psst!" behind some rocks, and thought it wise to follow that sound. Whom she had to thank for this was Smolder.



The hippogriffs fought their hardest against the monstrous squad of Eclipse, but the ferocity outmatched them by a long shot, especially from the Bugbear and Tatzlwurm. Deep in the chaotic battle, Queen Novo and General Seaspray were coming to an agreement. He would need to quietly escape and look for help, while the queen needed to stay with her people for the sake of their spirits. She'd be the one to take the storm the dark alicorn was cooking up.

"As promised, my equal reign begins anew!" Eclipse announced. She laughed crazily as her magic darkened the sky, kicked up the wind and covered the ocean, the home of the seaponies, in lowered storm clouds. The sight of her made the helpless hippogriffs flash back to the face, and the laughter, of the fallen satyr tyrant they feared for so long. That dark time was coming back, full swing.

"Charge!" a brainwashed Crystal Royal Guardsstallion yelled, trotting with his fellow soldiers onto Mount Aris. To see ponies attacking like this added to the newfound terror.

Seaspray looked back at his home, hurting inside from the familiarity of this horrible situation. Halfway to Equestria, around Klugetown, he encountered Silverstream.



The big and seemingly unstoppable yaks were stopped in their tracks by Cozy's determined squad. For every beast or zombie they could smash, yaks would be blown away and burned en masse by the Roc and the unpetrified Chimera. Prince Rutherford tried to attack the wicked filly head on, to no effect against her shadow form. He picked up on the futility of his efforts and reluctantly ran away to Equestria alone, bulldozing whatever came in his path.

"School's in session, friends!" Cozy stated to the crowd within Yakyakistan. Above a spot lined with yak huts, a massive portal opened, and magic poured out of it. This power began constructing a building, multiple stories, covered in crystals and labeled with the prodigy's Chess rook Cutie Mark.

"Ms. Glow, Emperor Grogar's informed us that your secondary unit has hunted down and collected the School of Friendship students." the chimera's tiger head reported. "Also this annoying unicorn in a hat." Cozy clapped her fore hooves repeatedly in excitement.

Rutherford left Yakyakistan behind, running through the snow with every ounce of energy he could muster. On the way, he met Yona, who joined him in his rush.



Gallus, on his way back to Griffonstone, took a good look at the white winter spirits of wind swimming around Equestria's sky. He couldn't believe what he was looking at, not even for a millisecond.

"The Windigos... but how?!" Gallus yelped. He thought he was having a bad dream, or he was unwittingly teleported into a storybook. No, he knew where he was, and they came. "What's going on?!" His flight continued, trepidation boosting him forward.



The corrupted Treehouse of Harmony suddenly surged with new light. A magical heart shape formed around it's branches, and the faint sound, one of a tiny child, could be heard from it's trunk. It wasn't enough to wipe away the Malice cracks and lightning, but the Tree was able to do something slightly beneficial. Harmony Magic spread all over Equestria's ground, reaching as far as the borders, to form a force field. It was enough to keep the Windigo's blizzard from going out of the country, but no way was it stopping what they were doing inside.

The Windigos, feasting off the pony clans hiding from, hating, conspiring against and violently defying one another for their survival and places in Equestria, increased their blizzard to heights never before seen in all of history. Cities like Las Pegasus, Manehattan and Cloudsdale were ravaged by the pressure of icy tornados. Frozen tsunamis occurred at every bay in the land. Rapid lightning strikes pelted the open plains and tallest peaks. On top of this, the Malice within the world's core was causing earthquakes. It was a disaster zone.

Grogar watched the storm with a good view, and the eerily majestic wind creatures up close, from a balcony atop the protected Tambelon Castle's keep. As he enjoyed the culmination of his plan, the thought struck him. There's the name of my new child.

"This new beast will be my new masterpiece! They shall be the emblem of this monumental day; the fateful deconstruction, the wake-up call, the foundation of a nation free from instruction, unfair weaknesses and writing in stone!" he said. "Havoc!" Finally, his Bewitching Bell rung and ripped open a swirling portal of smokey darkness. "Now Phantom Zone, accept these offerings! Doom this tainted magic to eternal intermixture!" The cores of Star Swirl, Cadance, Discord, the Crystal Heart, and the fiery orange one of Celestia drifted out of the Bell and into the portal. It closed shortly after.

Though the cores he assimilated were now gone, the ram sorcerer could still feel the knowledge of the owners' magic in his brain. He couldn't perform Chaos Magic anymore without Discord's, but he had a certain insight of it's workings, substantial and processed without any instability issues. Back to the comforting interior of his castle he walked, certain he had a new, perfect recipe at the ready.

The Windigos raged on, the Treehouse of Harmony was getting by with what little power it had, Grogar and the Horses of the Apocalypse had fulfilled what they considered their final destinies, the last of the School of Friendship's free students were yearning more than ever to gather the world's leaders, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had nowhere to go but down into the basement of the scariest city, and wherever Twilight and the gang were, they were far out of reach. Their home fell to pieces around them, and now they may have nothing to return to.

As unity gave birth to Equestria in ancient days, division has begotten it's demise. Replacing it? A bitter wasteland, and equines at war.



To be continued...
> Part 3 - Chapter 1 (9): Lost and Without Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Previously on My Little Pony...

Shook up by Discord's fall and Grogar's unimaginable power, Twilight Sparkle and her friends, along with Princesses Celestia and Luna, had no other option but to run as fast as they can, hopefully to find a safe haven away from the continuous mayhem. The young alicorn didn't believe their chaotic draconequus ally to be gone forever, and the group could unanimously agree that this was just another epic adventure, and another day for their friendship to shine.

"Grogar and his gang may have knocked us down, but what villain hasn't? We never let that take our hope away, and we're not starting now."

The Horses of the Apocalypse held the other heroes and heroines of Equestria prisoner inside the caverns beneath the decimated Canterlot, drained, helpless, and placed next to pieces of Chrysalis' former throne for good measure. When they learned of Discord's defeat from Grogar, he informed them that the Chaos Magic core he obtained, which he actually created by accident, was so wild that even he would find it troublesome to control. Chrysalis thought that she, by virtue of her maddening thirst for vengeance, could handle it. It seemed she was playing the ram sorcerer for a fool, but the real sucker was herself.

"OKAY, TAKE IT BACK! TAKE IT BACK!" 

The last familiar place the last defenders of Equestria could find to feel safe was the Castle of Friendship in Ponyville. Sadly, of course, Grogar's Malice Magic taint on the Tree of Harmony and the world's core spread to everything directly tied to it, and the castle was among them. They couldn't go inside it without making contact with the poison, so they had to leave their ruined longtime home behind for the open plains past the train station. Out there, they got a better look at how bad the divide between the pony clans was getting. Earth ponies and unicorns were fighting, and the pegasi were staying away from the land below the clouds.

Determined to get to the root of the problem, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, decided to work with Sunburst to reach the other protectors and acquire some info. Meanwhile, the non-pony students from the School of Friendship took off towards their homes to carry out the Tree of Harmony's worldwide alliance order. Trixie stook with Sandbar and the rest in Equestria to get the Princesses involved.

Twilight and company, even the respected rulers of the whole country, failed to get it through the deceived ponies' heads, and making things worse was not only the continuing monster and zombie attacks, but the sudden occurrence of a snowstorm on what was supposed to be an exceptionally hot day. They had nowhere to go, almost nobody left to turn to, and the villains were keeping watch over their struggle. The only things they carried on their backs, besides hope of shelter, were an earth pony, pegasi and unicorn that got horribly injured from some collateral damage, thus they couldn't ignore. Or so they appeared to be.

Grogar, with the focus and energy he could apply to Chaos Magic, created a dark capital city over the burnt debris of Canterlot. A place for monster and - eventually - pony sanctuary; Tambelon. In it's completed form, his children and the zombies gathered. Eventually, as he envisioned, he would be met near the premises by Celestia, who chose to leave Twilight's group after a terrible battle that resulted in the sun princess exploding and transforming into her hidden dark side, Daybreaker. Even if she couldn't hurt or even distract him, she was confident about sending a hopeful message and sure it was best for her friends' safety.

"I'll spread the word of your sacrifice, princess."

In the end, Celestia was effortlessly beaten and stripped of her magical core. As her symbol in the sky faded, Sunburst and the CMC infiltrated Tambelon thanks to some luck with spellcasting and classic teamwork. They were coldly welcomed by cockatrices, but managed to quickly befriend them, gaining their help with navigating the city, a bigger and more unreasonable creature, and collecting supplies they were going to need in the underground.

At the heroic group's next stop, Dodge City, Luna tapped into the deepest depths of her dream walking magic to bring the group along for the ride across the subconscious realm. They wound up on Mount Everhoof, in the home of it's guardian, Rusty Bucket, when they were chased by Grogar's swarm of dream demons. Finally, a place to crash and take everything in was found.

"Everypony's become so lost in their suspicions and fighting, they don't even remember what friendship is."

Turns out Tirek, Cozy Glow and Aurora Eclipse followed them. And the trio of pony victims? Chrysalis in disguise. All the six friends had to do to win was come together and ignite their Elements of Harmony. They were spread apart, so a desperate battle for the upper hand was waged between the two parties. At this moment, it would be discovered why there was a fierce blizzard. The Windigos, the icy, hatred-empowered spirits of Equestrian legend, appeared in the sky. Their destructive storm would send the pony clans into panic, and into overdrive on their measures against each other. A return to ponykind's darkest age was nigh.

Victory was close one moment, and then far off the next. When their attempts at outdoing each other came to a head, Grogar showed up to deliver the crushed Celestia. As a bonus, he brought the word that he, from the stars, watched the ponies their entire lives and secretly, with what little of his power remained on the surface, pulled strings to set up most of the challenges they overcame in their adventures, all to break the cycle of dominant Harmony.

"You know what's stronger than friendship, Twilight? FEAR!"

"That's right, because when you have to protect yourself, you have no time for anycreature else!"

"The moment doubt takes over, it comes to light how "different" and "unique" you small folk can be really be!"

"And you don't even need a pinch of dark magic to know it!"

"Too bad you never taught that in school, ex-Headmare!"

Still, the power of the Tree of Harmony and the Elements would protect the good ponies, except when Grogar blasted Twilight with his magic, knocking her out cold. The villains finished the fight, but Luna's magic whisked the heroes away to parts unknown. Grogar tried to find them, but his crystal ball, Arimaspi's Eye, was blinded by something: a heart-shaped force connecting to the Tree and forming a barrier around Equestria. By this point, Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy and Eclipse were satisfied with how their enemies ended up. So finally, the evil quintet went their separate ways to their kingdoms. Grogar contemplated a new monster.

Within minutes, the Horses of the Apocalypse took over the changeling hive (where Chrysalis loyalists waited for their queen's return the whole time), the dragon lands, Mount Aris and Yakyakistan with their own malevolent agendas in mind. Pharynx, Ember, General Seaspray and Prince Rutherford barely got away from the takeovers and headed for Equestria, which was facing the apocalypse by the Windigos and Malice's toxicity. The fearful and angry ponies were officially going to war, and natural disasters were inescapable. The end of their unity spelled the end of their home, and on top of it all, a dreadful new gateway was opening.

"Now Phantom Zone, accept these offerings! Doom this tainted magic to eternal intermixture!"



♫ My Little Pony, My Little Pony
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh...

I think I see a better way to be bad
Just put me in charge, make me queen, you'll be glad

No! Listen to me, 
I'm the best of us three

Then you'll see a better way to be bad

Wait! This is my thing,
a better way to be bad

You shall do as I command,
I will rule this triad!

Hey! This is my song!
Sorry, not any longer!

A better way to be bad
Now you're making me mad

Won't the ponies be sad?
That would make me so glad

Now we've got a better way to be baaaaaad! ♫



A pony of oh-so-little size wandered a featureless land, holding a dirty cloak over her body against the strong wind threatening to blow it into the horizon. Where she was coming from, she had no clue. Where she was bound, not even with foresight could she tell. The only sure fact known to her was that she was alone, lost, devoid of hope, and probably forgotten.

Her name is Twilight Sparkle. She was a beloved alicorn, a figure representing the virtues of friendship, trust and love, in the pony country of Equestria. As of now, out here, she didn't know who she was anymore, beyond a wanderer covering her horn, wings and right eye from the elements.

A moment came when she considered giving up her fruitless walk, when the corner of her eye caught the first interesting sight along this path of desolation. Reinvigorated by curiosity, she moved over to what she saw and immediately found out what it was. It was the body of a pony, lying down in the dirt. That was unsettling enough, but what struck Twilight's nerves was four things: the greyed out colour, the absence of a Cutie Mark on it's flank, it's eyes being total white voids, and it's mane; yellow, tied and rested upon a stetson hat.

"Applejack?" Twilight said under her breath. She figured that the farmer pony would wake up with a little shake, but the body was indeed lifeless.

Her head gazed back and forth, she prepared to call for help, but another sign of a lifeless creature was detected. This one a pink-maned pegasus with a look of unfathomable sorrow.

"Fluttershy?" Twilight squeaked. Knowing what someone as gentle as her had been going through, she couldn't believe that the poor dear was reduced to this.

Suddenly, in a spot where she could swear there was nothing there before, the husk of a pink pony with a drooping mane, which was better known to be cloudlike, appeared.

"Pinkie Pie?" Twilight gasped at seeing it. She wishfully thought that the party pony would at least spring back to life when she came near and gave her a tap. No such thing occurred.

Right behind the young alicorn, something landed on the ground with a gravelly thud. When she turned around, it turned out to be a white unicorn with wildly confused hairs.

"Rarity?" Twilight murmured, holding her hoof to her mouth. By now, she wizened up to the fact that her friends... weren't going to budge. Or speak.

She noticed a hint of a pegasus feather sticking out of ground next to Rarity. Without checking the area, she dug it out and discovered a rainbow mane attached to it's owner.

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight whimpered, officially shedding tears that couldn't be held back after all their buildup. This tiny speck of a pony didn't want to believe it, or look at it.

It was pretty clear as day, regardless. She made a terrible mistake, and her friends had to pay the price. She absorbed all of this horrible information, held herself tightly and closed her left eye for a moment, crying beyond all control. The precise instant she opened up and looked at the wasteland ground again, something manifested on it to her shock. Communicating with Twilight, as if on some film projection, was the face of Grogar. He gave a most malice-fueled smile to her, and made a glowing circle around the six ponies.

"Figured it out, dear princess?" Grogar spoke. "We're all leaving behind the Equestria we knew. Without you, it'll be the ideal we deserve. No more Elements of Harmony, and no more friendship in the name of figureheads." Twilight repeatedly stomped on the ground face to no effect. At last, he added "Remember, proof of your insanity is one of my own." The ram sorcerer's face, as his sentence finished, morphed into the chortling mug of Discord.

Within the circle, the bodies of Twilight's friends rose up on their hind hooves and transformed into demonic apparitions, baring fangs made from their coats and emitting yellow and black light from their eyes. She thought to run away, but she was caught in five energy beams, each being spewed out by the monstrous impostors. They drained her of everything. Her magical power, her wings, her horn, even her growth, until all that remained of the friendship princess was a colourless, blank blob that evaporated.



Twilight's vision changed. Not only was half of it pure darkness, but the other half was extremely blurry. She moaned, trying to lift her heavy eyelids. However, the right eye wouldn't open up, no matter how much strength she used. Her head tilted and she began to hear the sounds around her. Someone was reacting to her awakening and movement. It took a bit for the sight to sharpen, but once it was halfway there, the alicorn recognized the creature watching her as the young dragon, Spike.

"Oh, Twilight!" the reptile exclaimed, coming in for a hug. "I thought you were a goner!"

"Uh, hi... Spike." Twilight whispered. Her thoughts gathered until it was clear that she had woken up from a nightmare. A turn of the head put Princess Luna into view.

"This may not be luck, but rather, it is thanks to the Element of Magic within that you have lasted this long." Luna commented. "I am grateful to see you okay, Twilight."

"What... happened?" said Twilight, still trying to gain her voice. Rising off the sleeping mat she was lying down on, she felt a burning pain around the whole front part of her body and groaned. Strangely, her sides were a lot lighter than usual. 

"Steady there, sugarcube." Applejack advised, holding stocks of food on her back. She and the rest of Twilight's friends were all present, alive and physically well.

"Thank heavens!' Fluttershy cried out in relief. "Twilight, I was beginning to think you were never going to wake up."

"It was horrible." Spike mentioned. "When Grogar struck you with that blast, you were out like a light. Then before anypony knew it, we were swept away by Luna, and we've had to carry and protect you all this distance, far from Equestria."

"You have no idea what we did to get this far." said Rainbow. "This isn't even the first of our temporary safe zones."

"The M-Malice... it touched me." Twilight whispered from that distressing realization. She then asked "H-how long was I out?", trembling at the answer's inevitability.

"We've been surviving out here, in the forbidden wilderness beyond, for days now." Spike explained. "A week, in fact."

"I counted the hours. It's now morning." Pinkie added.

"A w... a week?!" Twilight squealed, gritting her teeth in disbelief. She got on her hooves, to find that they were like jelly. Her body never felt this weak before. Balancing was rather tough. Taking just a mere step stung like a bee stinger. She tried to telekinetically grab some food from Applejack, but nothing was happening. She focused despite the poisonous sensation, tried so hard, but the pieces of sustenance wouldn't move.

"That nasty ram's magic has done a number on you, darling." Rarity remarked in distress. "I can't stand the thought of you hurt so bad, or what it did to your..." She stopped herself from saying any further words, hoping to seem sensitive.

"My what?" Twilight inquired in fear. Nobody was willing to answer. "What?!"

"Come." Luna requested. Pointing a hoof towards a pond, she slowly guided the injured Twilight. They stopped at the very edge, where the water met the land.  The night princess ignited her horn and used telekinesis to lift up the pond water in a tall, reflective pillar. Twilight flinched and covered her face at the initial appearance of the water pillar as droplets hit her.

If only I hung on to a mirror, just to spare her the suspense, Rarity thought.

When Luna got the water pillar stabilized in her magical grasp, Twilight stopped cowering behind her fore hoof and took a hard look at her reflection. At what she saw, she wanted to scream in agony, but some force kept the sound in. This was not another nightmare; not even in her worst dreams could she see this.

Her chest was scarred, her right eye was blackened and covered up in bandages, her mane was unkempt, but even worse, her horn. It was broken. All but the bottom part, snapped off. It was basically a crater on her head with serrated edges now. The very appendage from which she channeled her gift for magical talent, which she had been born with as a unicorn, and it would never cast a spell again. Not even anything stupidly simple. That wasn't it either. Her pegasus wings, both of them, were nothing but tiny, charred feathers. Her gifts from Celestia for her alicorn and princess ascensions, incinerated, no longer movable. She couldn't fly anymore. Grogar's attack did more than blemish and taint her body, it literally tore it up.

Though Twilight could only tear up in one eye, that was all it took for get her face all wet, even without the aid of droplets from the pond water. Her friends approached her as Luna solemnly, and carefully, lowered the pillar back into it's natural state.

"I know it looks bad, but we'll work through it. Together." Pinkie assured softly. "So, let's save Equestria."

"I failed." Twilight sobbed.

"I think she needs a moment, then she'll come up with something." Spike said, motioning everyone to walk away and give the young alicorn space.

"You've lived a whole week and made it all this way in the wild without my help, right?" Twilight muttered, choking up. "If you didn't need me then, why the heck would anypony need me now?" She ultimately walked away herself, continuing to feel the horrific feeling of Malice coursing through her like fire.

"Make that two moments." Rainbow gravely declared. She and the rest sadly watched Twilight, who was wallowing in despair-filled defeat unlike any seen in the low points of the past.



The changeling hive, once brought to a state of lush beauty in Thorax's reign, was returned to the ugliness that Chrysalis remembered it best as, now that she was back in power. She may not have had a magic-disabling stone throne these days, but she did have something new with the same function, plus anti-changeling properties: a dark stone alchemy cage sent to her as a present. Changelings who genuinely changed their ways thanks to Thorax's influence and Starlight Glimmer's rationale were kept in this cage down below the hive, while the Chrysalis loyalists enjoyed eating love with their queen. That's where Thorax came in.

For a whole week, the good changeling leader was hung from the ceiling underground and used to sustain Chrysalis and her faithful subjects. It was torture, having his deep affection for his friends, broodmates and home extracted from his head for breakfast, lunch and dinner while the others could only watch.

"A whole week after your downfall, it's still cathartically delicious." Queen Chrysalis commented sadistically. Thorax had no reply to give her.

"Poor little grub." said one of the rogue changelings. "Could've just stayed in the corner, played with his dollies, and avoided all of this." On his body, as well as the other rogues, were markings made of black paint to distinguish them from their friendship-embracing brethren - the traitors. They were worn proudly. Thorax didn't have anything to say to them.

"What's with the silent treatment, Thorax?" another rogue asked mockingly. "No soft and fuzzy feeling speeches left?" She took a moment to slap his face a couple of times. "Come on, say something cheesy and pathetic, I need a laugh." Nothing.

"I wonder where Pharynx went?" said yet another rogue changeling. "He loved our old ways. Dude's really missing out."

"Never mind that, my dears." Queen Chrysalis interjected. "We've got big plans. My revenge is complete, the ponies and their goody-goody protectors are broken, the creatures in the other lands have certainly turned their backs on them by now, and we're about to aim even higher on the pecking order. Seven days' worth of scheming is about to pay off."

"Aw yeah, I can't wait until we can make our own monsters to command!" a rogue changeling cheered.

"Evolve to our maximum potential!" another yelled.

"Expand our hive!" one more shouted.

"Just bare in mind: my fellow Horses of the Apocalypse will be spared. Grogar is our sole target." Chrysalis clarified. "Once his Bewitching Bell is mine... everything, outside those three kingdoms, will be our hive." On that thought, a sinister chuckle was let out through her grin.

"Yes, your majesty." all of the rogues said in unison.



King Tirek's iron-fisted rule over the dragon lands, now dubbed "New Midnight Kingdom" as per his decree, came with it's own drastic alterations. Another dark stone cage was used to hold some dragons. Inside, they couldn't breathe fire, use their physical strength or fly; this was a new property not seen before. Any of the mighty reptiles that were not imprisoned were forced by their wyvern cousins to either give them combat training or craft something from the diamonds and metal found in the soil. This product of their labor appeared to be a horned, winged, horse-drawn carriage, big enough for a multitude of creatures to sit in.

The gigantic centaur himself relaxed on his tall, wide throne, his fore hooves stretching down to the ground up front. The sight of the activity around him brought a smile to his face, for how it brought back childhood memories of his father's reign. But then a noise broke the immersion.

"King Tirek, sir!" a female wyvern called at the arm of the throne. "Your Chariot of Midnight is almost ready, and Stratadon Squad is preparing for takeoff!"

"Well now... for all their reluctance, your dragon cousins work fast." King Tirek remarked.

"And we made sure none of them goofed off or put any kinks in the structure, your majesty." the wyvern added, kneeling before her master.

"Excellent." the centaur said in satisfaction. "On my mark, me and the Chariot will go soaring through the skies of every land across the world. No exceptions. One night, one trip to deliver everycreature of extreme ambition one present: the gift of a perfect remedy." His hands glowed blue, the colour of his centaur healing magic, as he boisterously laughed. Lastly, Tirek whispered "Happy early Hearth's Warming."



It was hardly better at Mount Aris. While storm clouds covered both the sky and ocean, an overpowering overgrowth had covered the surface, ruining all structures and spreading spores like gas, thanks to Eclipse's magic. Hippogriffs, including Queen Novo and Princess Skystar, were rendered unable to fly or change to their seapony forms in the dark stone cage stationed in the middle of Hippogriffia. The Crystal Royal Guard, now outfitted in heavy black and purple armor with teal streaks, worked tirelessly to serve the whims of their empress, whom their brainwashed senses mistook for Cadance ruling with benevolence and fairness.

Eclipse made herself a small crystal tower over Harmonizing Heights, overseeing every spot on the mountain from her many balconies. Speaking of which, she was out on one of them today, using a replica of a magical item known to hippogriff and seapony society. In her telekinetic grasp, the Pearl of Transformation activated.

"Now, let's see if picking all those shards off the bird ponies was worth my time." said the dark alicorn, waiting for the end result of the pearl's glow. In moments, her body underwent changes that were easy to notice. Her backside and hooves felt different. She rushed to see her reflection on a crystal wall. Her fore hooves had hippogriff claws, gills were on the sides of her body, her tail was that of a seapony, and her muzzle became a beak. She beamed.

"Highness, your physiology looks different!" a guardsstallion watching his leader's business exclaimed. "Does this mean..?"

"Yes, captain. By distributing replicas of this to our horde of guards, monsters and zombies, they can take whatever form they want, for land, sea, sky and underground." Eclipse explained, transforming back and rubbing a wing on the Pearl. "Even better, anycreature without innate magic will soon be able to learn and harness some, under my tutelage."

"For the Crystal Empire, I accept the responsibility this Pearl presents me." the guard captain announced proudly. "What's your next order?"

"Now that I know it works, it won't be long until the implementation ritual." Eclipse replied. "All you can do for me, at the moment, is return to your station."

The captain nodded with a salute and said "Affirmative!" before leaving into the tower.

"Oh, my pretty, you will make a bigger statement than any Cutie Mark could." Eclipse thought out loud. "We'll truly have an empire of equality. Above the prisoners' tier, of course."



Cozy Glow's School of Friendship over at Yakyakistan was always high on activity. Said activity, however, mostly involved the filly's monster and zombie squadron threateningly supervising the teachers and students, pony and yak children alike. The Roc was monitoring the halls from the observatory. The Chimera, the one willing teacher, taught strength and intimidation. Trixie, as a magician who always dubbed herself "Great and Powerful", was forced to teach a class about deception. Sandbar, as an experienced student, was sentenced to giving survival lessons. Lastly, a copy of Cozy lectured students on the value of superiority.

The children all missed the old School, but whenever they defied the rules, they'd go in the dark stone cage in the basement for detention, or worse, be expelled into the cold. Meanwhile, Headmare Cozy sat in her office, enjoying the tributes they fearfully gave her over the past week, like toys, cards and jewels. Someone knocked on her door.

"Come in!" Cozy pleasantly called in response.

The door opened to reveal a timid colt, slowly sliding in with trepidatious anticipation. "Headmare Cozy Glow?" he spoked up.

"Please, call me Super Executive Mistress Headmare Cozy Glow." said Cozy pedantically.

"Uh, Super Executive Mistress Headmare?" the colt repeated back. "I want you to have this." Shivering, he held out an envelope with his left wing. It was decorated with hearts and horseshoe prints. In a matter of moments, a shadow wing stretched out of evil filly's body, grabbed the envelope and pulled it over to the desk.

Cozy squinted at the envelope, noticing that it looked rather old. She asked "Junk mail?"

"I made it... a long time ago. For you." the colt confirmed. "Even... after you... y-you turned out to... to be evil, I... I-I-I... held on to it. Thought you... should know... w-what I... wrote." Too nervous to stand in her presence any longer, he bolted out of Cozy's sight and closed the office door.

"Eh, it might be amusing." Cozy murmured, figuring it'd just be another one for the tribute pile. Quickly, with her shadow feathers, she tore the envelope up and opened the letter inside. She looked at the colt's writing, raising an eyebrow. "Dear Cozy Glow..." She started.

It read this:

"Everyday I see you,
I feel a cozy spark.
On Hearts & Hooves Day,
will you be my glow in the dark?"

She didn't read out the bottom part, where the colt signed his name. Her derisive expression turned into one of surprise. Those rows of words hit Cozy somewhere sensitive, making her feel something warm she hadn't before. A sensation like Summer's warmth over her frigid heart.

"Aw." Cozy moaned, sounding a bit nostalgic. Suddenly, like lightning, her hooves scrunched up the letter and threw it over her head. "Really cheesy! Ha ha ha!" She turned her chair to the window at the back of the office, looking for another tribute to caress. In seconds, she was interrupted by a ringing sound, coming from the self-portrait on the desk. She turned back around and shouted out to the whole School through a magical intercom. "Everycreature, a business call is in progress! None of you are allowed in the Headmare's office until further notice! Thank you!"

A shadow wing set the locks on the office door while she spoke. Then at last, she tapped the self-portrait to answer. A sparkling flame manifested above it and formed a portal-like oval.



"Long time, no speak, Horses of the Apocalypse." Grogar formally greeted from his throne in the Tambelon Castle council room. Around him, four of the same kind of sparkling flame oval appeared around the table, each displaying the faces of the other villainous conquerors; Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy and Eclipse answered at the same time.

"I'm in the middle of something, so this better be good, Grogar." Chrysalis hissed.

"Boss! What timing, I was about to visit you on my Present Run." Tirek said. He looked around and gave a compliment of "I like what you've done with the place."

"Queen Chrysalis, King Tirek, worry not. We'll be quick." Grogar assured.

"My emperor, glad you called, I just made a new magical breakthrough." Eclipse confidently stated. "You're all going to be surprised."

"Mister Grogar, the school's a complete success." Cozy delusionally claimed.

"Thank you for coming, Empress Aurora Eclipse, Executive Mistress Headmare Cozy Glow." said Grogar jovially.

"Super Executive Mistress Headmare Cozy Glow, please." Cozy corrected in a more respectful tone. "I added the adjective today."

"Ah. Sorry." Grogar apologetically took note. "Anyway, I call you four today to give you some... bad news."

"About the shiny dirt in Arimaspi's Eye?" Chrysalis snarkily guessed.

"I traced this blinding light back to it's power source." Grogar explained. "I found out it's been coming from the Frozen North. To be precise: the place where the Crystal Empire once stood. Deep beneath the ice is that very same light. It has formed a connection with the world's core, and what's more, I heard the echo of a baby's cry from it's general direction."

Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy directed gazes of exasperation at Eclipse, who they knew had been taking care of the Crystal Empire when they began the invasion.

"Well, he had to have dealt with it by now, right?" Eclipse defensively remarked.

"Now now, let's go easy on Empress Eclipse." Grogar rationally ordered. "This is an unexpected inconvenience for everycreature. Princess Flurry Heart is gone, but it seems she has undergone a transcendence into Harmony Magic, and extended her essence to protect her beloved aunt from imminent destruction. I blasted the light with all my might, but nothing has changed."

"What about your assimilation spell?" Tirek reminded.

"Oh, no, I cannot use that on such a force." Grogar confirmed. "It's primordial Harmony Magic, the one rival to the power of my Malice. Only the Tree of Harmony has ever wielded it, and it would clash with my core and tear me to shreds if I put it in the Bewitching Bell. But, back on topic, with no way to get rid of Flurry's energy spike, I relied on my children to sniff out Twilight's gang - no luck yet - while I-"

"Sounds to me like you've been sitting in your castle home all day, twiddling your heels." Chrysalis commented. "You're more powerful than Discord, right? Just find them yourself!"

"Not like there's a big hurry. Not when their friends are so far off, and Equestria's a frozen, war-torn dump." Cozy pointed out. "You just relax and go with the flow after you hang up."

"Don't tell me what to do." Chrysalis whispered darkly.

"I've been working hard for 7 days now, getting to the bottom of that light mystery, giving you those cages, transferring food and protective magic to your kingdoms, and controlling the Windigos." Grogar described. "But my biggest project was completing Havoc."

"Wanton destruction?" Tirek surmised. "I think the Windigos do enough of that."

"That sounds really different from your proven tactical patterns, my lord." Eclipse mentioned, confused.

"What do you mean by completing Havoc?" Cozy inquired, seeming to understand better than the rest.

"I don't mean that havoc. I speak of my latest child, Havoc: the Spirit of Destruction." Grogar specified. Right next to him, a bright, brief flash of light burst onto the scene, not unlike the entrances of a certain draconequus defector. Except it wasn't white, but purple. When the flash was gone, a figure stood next to the ram sorcerer. A familiar, but new creature. It was, lo and behold, a draconequus.

"DISCORD?!" the four Horses of the Apocalypse shouted in shock.

"Don't be alarmed, this is my proud prince, built from my newfound knowledge of Chaos Magic, and with none of his predecessor's emotional vulnerability." Grogar affirmed.

Havoc didn't say anything. He only grimaced, and growled like a large dog. He had the same animal parts as Discord, but his wingspan was greater, he had two big teeth sticking upwards out of his mouth, rather than one sticking downwards, the beard was instead a full, bushy goatee, he had a third horn, which protruded from his forehead, his body's colour scheme was dark purple, black and teal, and his eyes were blank and red. Any feature that could be considered unassuming on the reformed Lord of Chaos wasn't present on this monster.

"Well, he's handsome. Sounds like a warrior type, too." Tirek opined.

"Golly, sure might come in handy." said Cozy.

"His programming is focused more on devastation than creativity, but he can travel and locate at the same immeasurable pace. Our lingering worries may soon end." Grogar stated about Havoc. "But now, I believe it is your turn to take the torch." As he finished his sentence, he conjured a Malice Magic ball out of his Bell and split it into four.

"Ooh hoo hoo, a promotion!" Cozy cooed.

"What do you mean? Retiring?" Chrysalis asked, raising her eyebrow.

"In these four orbs are the thought waves for my Monster Creation spell." Grogar defined his action. "Take them and create ferocious servants of your own vision." Flicking his pasterns, the orbs disappeared from the council room and popped up in front of the Horses of the Apocalypses, at their respective locations.

"Yes, new magic! I've been waiting for something fresh!" Eclipse excitedly yelled.

"My own vision, eh?" Chrysalis murmured, then chuckled.

"Alright, perhaps this can build me a Chariot puller that can light up a foggy night." Tirek mused.

"Thanks! My school is a little understaffed." Cozy cheerfully said.

"Didn't you say it was a complete success?" Tirek reminded.

"In spite of it being understaffed." Cozy stressed reflexively.

"I await reports of the end results." said Grogar. "Good day, your worships." Without another word, the Horses of the Apocalypse were dismissed, the communication flames dying out to signify the end of the conversation. Content, he looked up at Havoc, and told him "Help your brothers and sisters find Twilight Sparkle and her team, however you can. The sooner their cores are in the Phantom Zone, the better for Equestria's evolution." Though the ghastly draconequus seemed feral, he understood his father's wish and disappeared in a literal flash.



The Cutie Mark Crusaders and their adult supervision, Sunburst, were basically lost at this point. They had gone deep into the caverns beneath Tambelon, but they hadn't even gotten close to the prisoners. The way they came in was far behind them, and they were down to their last rations. Good thing the cockatrice gave them just enough for the length of time they spent in this dark labyrinth.

"Our last crumbs of food. Let's make them last." Sunburst recommended, exhausted.

"What is it, Crusaders, like, Day 7?" Apple Bloom asked, her mane getting unkempt.

"I don't know." Sweetie Belle answered, grumpy. "I haven't seen the sun in so long."

"Whatever the case, we can't give up." said Scootaloo, trying her best to stay energetic. "We've got to be close... ish."

"Sunburst, probably should've asked earlier, but do you know any spells that can give us directions?" Sweetie Belle queried.

"Sorry, not a single one." Sunburst regretted to reply. Sweetie Belle hung her head in disappointment.

"Ah, shoot. We're stuck down here." Apple Bloom groaned. "And going hungry. This cannot be how it ends for the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"Apple Bloom, don't say such things!" Sunburst barked. He wouldn't allow a kid to have that defeatist attitude on his watch.

"Hey girls, Sunburst, do you hear that?" Scootaloo uttered with an outstretched hoof. "Ssh! Listen! Do you hear that"? They listened to her and lended an ear to the cavern. There was a short pause. Then, the silence was broken by the sound of something flapping. Flapping wildly. But what was flapping in here?

"I hear it, too." said Sunburst.

"Tell me that's not an untamed cockatrice." Apple Bloom whined.

"Only one way to find out. Let's go!" Scootaloo declared. She took off, her friends following behind.

The four ponies navigated around some crystal walls, made some tight turns and crawled underneath some rocks to get to the source of that flapping sound. What was previously faint was soon becoming as loud as a strong breeze, as if there was a giant bird in that cavern. Whatever they would find when they got to where it came from, they didn't expect anything nice. After turning right one last time, they found it. The sound was from flapping wings. The wings of two phoenixes, to all of their surprise. Their feathers lit up the darkness around them.

"Phoenixes!" Sunburst exclaimed. "How did they get down here?"

"They must've flown in here from that hole we made." Sweetie Belle deduced, looking up at the ceiling for a moment.

"But why are they down here? That's the question." Scootaloo wondered. As soon as she said that, she noticed the two phoenixes were desperately clawing at a rock in the wall, as if they really wanted to get past it. "Do they think there's something behind it?"

"Wait." Sunburst suggested. Through the phoenixes' glow, he spotted a crack around the rock, as if it were a door. Putting his chin up, he gave a command. "Let's give them a hoof."

The four worked together to shove the rock. With some exertion of the strength they could muster at that moment, they successfully moved it inwards. Turns out another part of the cavern was behind it. The very instant it rolled away, the phoenixes entered the room. Sunburst and the CMC walked in, tumbling when they set foot on a slope that the rock went down. Nothing broke, though.

"What's this place?" Apple Bloom questioned. She looked up, saw the phoenixes rise to the ceiling, and then she and the others saw it. They found the cocoon prisons of all the ponies that were defeated and held captive by the Horses of the Apocalypse. After such a long search, they did it.

"Oh my gosh, this is it." Sunburst gasped in horror. "These are Chrysalis' cocoons. Then that means..."

"Sunburst?" a familiar female voice hollered from above.

"Starlight!?" Sunburst cried as soon as he heard her. "Starlight, it's you!"

"Up here, Sunburst!" Starlight called. Her voice was followed, so the ponies below knew where to look up.

"Starlight, you're okay!" Sunburst called back, elated that he could hear the voice of his childhood friend after endlessly worrying about her.

"We came all this way to find you, and the others!" Apple Bloom explained.

"We took forever, though! I'm surprised you're holding out!" Sweetie Belle added.

"Apple Bloom? Sweetie Belle? You're here, too?" Starlight delightedly shouted.

"And Scootaloo!" the flightless pegasus filly pointed out.

"I was drained for a while, but then all of a sudden, my magic came back... for all that's worth." Starlight clarified. "A piece of Chrysalis' throne is attached to this thing."

"Don't worry, we'll get you down. Somehow." Sweetie Belle promised.

"Hey, you brought phoenixes?" said Starlight, seeing the two majestic birds perched on two other cocoons. From within hers, she couldn't clearly see which ones, but she noticed that their glow began to widen. "What are they doing?"

The fiery light from the phoenixes got larger and larger. Sunburst and the CMC took notice, and were just as curious as Starlight about their next action. The cocoons those two avian wonders landed on were the ones containing Star Swirl the Bearded and the earth pony form of Discord. They both cried glimmering tears before they gradually evaporated into their increasingly magnificent radiance.



The Windigos' storm may have been contained within the boundaries of Equestria for now, but the effects of Malice Magic could easily reach the lands outside the Tree of Harmony's barrier. The terrible quakes had an effect on a place not occupied by an evolved despot, thus the only one unprotected by Grogar's offering. The city of Griffonstone. What was already in disrepair for generations had been dismantled down to the foundation by the violent rumbling and earthly explosions. Fortunately, the now homeless citizens managed to survive, but there was nowhere to go.

"Anycreature see anymore scrapes of food?" Gallus asked an adult female griffon, the one named Gilda.

"Not one." Gilda replied sadly. "Every source we can find has wilted." Just then, the land began to shake. Another quake was about to hit the griffons like a ton of bricks.

BOOM! The ground over a large mound of rock, which used to be the formation that held up their city, blasted out like a volcanic eruption. Stones, small and large, flew up into the air and tumbled downwards, towards the hapless, starving griffons, who ran for their lives. They were showered with embers, stinging with every landing. That was distracting enough to keep them in the path of crushing doom heading their way.

Swiftly, help came. Silverstream, General Seaspray and two giant bugs swooped down and pulled the griffons out of the way. Yona and Prince Rutherford jumped into the boulders, smashing them into harmless pebbles. Smolder and Dragon Lord Ember flew in and melted the rock shower down with the hottest flame breaths they could exhale. It was over, but the quake didn't end, only pass by.

"Hey, watch the coat!" Grampa Gruff could be heard complaining about his insect savior.

Gallus was let back on the ground by the hyperactive hippogriff, and took a moment to realize what had just happened a moment ago.

"Silverstream!" Gallus cried happily when he turned to see his schoolmate.

"Hey, Gallus!" Silverstream greeted in her bright and bubbly fashion. "We finally found you!"

"What a coincidence. After Griffonstone was demolished, me and the griffons have been traveling all over, and i've been looking all over for you and the others." said Gallus.

"You mean we've had a hard time tracking you down because you didn't stay put?" Smolder incredulously commented, flying over.

"Smolder!" Gallus exclaimed, the nervously laughed. "Sorry to worry you. Hey, did you get all the leaders?"

"Yeah, I got Ember." Smolder confirmed, who was then joined by the Dragon Lord within minutes.

"Hey." Ember casually said.

"General Seaspray's here." Silverstream stated as the adult hippogriff approached.

"Seaspray? Where's Queen Novo?" Gallus queried, scratching his head.

"My dear boy, her majesty Queen Novo has elected to remain at Mount Aris to keep up her subjects' morale. She sent me to aid Equestria, and I shall join this meeting of the clans Silverstream speaks of on her behalf." Seaspray explained. "Wherever it may be held."

"Smolder was talking about the same thing." Ember noted.

"Gallus!" Yona yelled, joyfully running to and pouncing on her griffon schoolmate.

"Oh, Yona! Oof!" said Gallus, happy, but a little sore from the impact. "Good to see you, too!" He saw Rutherford behind her, silently standing authoritatively. Then, next to him, one of the giant bugs landed, giving him a small fright. It shapeshifting in a burst of flame, revealing itself as his changeling friend.

"I hope we didn't cut it too close." said Ocellus so meekly. Her friends, all of them, smiled at the changeling child, happy to see her once again.

"No worries." Gallus assured her. "So, who's your friend?"

"That's gotta be Thorax." Smolder guessed, waving to the large, purple bug. Everyone watched it change to it's true form, expecting the good changeling king. But what they were presented with instead was Pharynx, smaller, darker, and with shorter antlers. The students looked at him in surprise.

"Huh? You're not Thorax." said Ember out of confusion.

"You must be Dragon Lord Ember. The name's Pharynx, Thorax's older broodmate." the adult changeling introduced himself, not offended by the impression he unintentionally made.

"You small for substitute." Rutherford opined, earning him a glare from Pharynx.

"Are you, perhaps, a spokescreature?" Seaspray wondered.

"No. When Chrysalis attacked and seized back control of the hive, she defeated my brother and took him prisoner, along with many of the others." Pharynx answered solemnly. "There was nothing I could do except fly away, and I was lucky to get all those beasts off my tail."

"Oh no!" Silverstream shrieked.

"I'm... i'm so sorry to hear that." Ember somberly expressed.

"Many of the others? You mean there are other changelings besides you who escaped?" Gallus queried hopefully.

"I wish. Before I fled, I overheard that some of the changelings remained loyal to Chrysalis all along." Pharynx affirmed. Everyone gasped in response to this information. "They were hiding among us, and we never noticed." He growled.

"That sounds like our cousins, the wyverns, back home." said Ember. "They came out of their den and pledged allegiance to that creepy centaur, first chance they got."

"From the looks of things, we might be on our own." Ocellus groaned at the reality of what she and the rest have learned, beside herself with dread closing in like moving walls.

"But at least we're here together now." Silverstream pointed out, trying to keep the mood lighter.

"Yak saw Equestria, not good." said Rutherford. "Strong storm, ponies not give warm welcome from other side of glowing wall."

"Same. It's gotten nuts there." Ember complained.

"It's because of those Windigos." Gallus stated. "I thought they were just a story, but now they've appeared thanks to all the fighting going on between the pony tribes. Their war is like a feast to those things."

"Is that a fact?" said Seaspray.

"So, what are we to do about that?" Pharynx inquired.

"I think all we can do is keep uniting our leaders." Smolder suggested. "Right now, we're just missing Sandbar and Princesses Celestia and Luna."

"Well, Smolder, actually..." Gallus nervously objected.

"You talked to Grampa Gruff about the whole thing, didn't you?" Smolder asked.

"Yes, but I kind of, sort of... didn't." Gallus slowly described his process. He sighed. "I don't know what to do with him."

"Well, you should!" Smolder proclaimed. "You know how much this means to the Tree! What have you been doing, Gallus?!"

"I tried. I've tried every approach I could think of, but he won't budge. It always ends the same: with me crouched down getting an earful about how much he doesn't care." Gallus cleared up, hanging his head at the end.

"Well, you're not gonna get through to him with that attitude." Smolder told him, approaching the blue griffon boy. "You're strong, and you know it. Show that grump some gumption for a change."

"How?" Gallus questioned, shrugging.

"If he tells you "no", don't take it. If he wants you to shut up, don't listen. Make your voice heard, and take any assault he throws at you with your chest held steady, like a shield." Smolder advised.

"Friends back Gallus up, if needed." said Yona. "Grab yak by horns, we cushion fall if grip lost."

"And hey, just look at it this way: there are way scarier things in the world right now than some old griffon with anger issues." Smolder encouraged. After that boost, Gallus felt a slight surge of confidence. Perhaps he was ready to face Grampa Gruff again.

"Hey, gramps!" Ember hollered.

"What?!" Grampa Gruff snarled from many feet away.

The students and their guardians moved away to make a path between Gallus and the grouchy elder. The young blue griffon gazed upon, bearing a neutral expression. Before he took a step forward, he breathed in for a good few seconds, then breathed out in preparation. This was a moment he did not want to waste.



As the blizzard, lightning and other natural disasters raged on, the earth ponies had built underground bunkers, using the ruined houses in the abandoned village as doorways to safety. No pegasi or unicorns had found it out. Well, no unicorns besides Sugar Belle, whom Big McIntosh and Granny Smith had to put under a disguise just to avoid raising any unnecessary alarms. Sadly, they had a new dilemma on their hooves.

"Our food supply's geting low." said an earth pony stallion farmer. "We've protected all the crops we can, but the land's no good for growing them anymore."

"Nnope." Big Mac agreed.

"What about Canterlot?" Mrs. Cake suggested, not aware that the corrupted royal city was now called Tambelon.

"What about Canterlot?" the farmer stallion retorted.

"Word has it the place is bustling, and folks are visiting it." Mrs. Cake explained. "Maybe there's some new food there?"

"Too risky!" an earth pony mare rebuked. "The pegasi and unicorns will be after the reserves as well, if it's true!"

"Well, personally, I think we have nothing left to lose." said Mr. Cake.

"Are you crazy?!" yelled that same mare. "It'll take days to hike there in this weather!"

"Not if we've got some carriages, and some coats, and some strong-legged stallions." Granny Smith argued.

"Eeyup." Big Mac seconded, recognizing that his grandmother's words meant him.

"I agree. We've got plenty of carriages for snow." Cheerilee added. "Just make sure they come back in one piece." Many big and burly stallions in the bunker rose up and silently volunteered to take on this task. They would make a squad big enough for support, but small enough to sneak under the eyes of the pegasi and unicorns.

"So be it." Mayor Mare accepted. "We're on the verge of starving, and our space has been barely holding together. Plus, we've got colts and fillies to think about." She turned to all of the earth pony children that were keeping snug in their makeshift sleeping bags, including the baby Cake twins.

Meanwhile, over in a dark corner, Rusty Bucket sat next to the immobile, devolved body of Princess Celestia, keeping a constant vigil, never moving from his spot, never shifting his focus.

Big Mac and others, suited up for the blizzard and carrying out traveling equipment, opened up the cellar door in one of the torn houses to go outside. As soon as they came out, a visitor greeted them, and flew past them down the stairway. A lost phoenix, looking for shelter. They were surprised to see it come at them like a torpedo, and gazed at each other, puzzled by the fiery bird's behaviour.



The pegasi, when they weren't taking shelter to protect themselves from the snowstorm and lightning strikes, they were looking down at Equestria from the safest observation towers they can make out of the mountainsides. One of them, the Wonderbolt Thunderlane, has kept an eye on Tambelon, and just took notice of something.

"I see a marketplace down at Canterlot!" He reported to his superior, Spitfire.

"They have a marketplace down at that scary new city?" Spitfire uttered, stupefied.

"It's true, and everything's up for grabs!" Thunderlane stressed.

"Hmm... sounds like it's now or never." Spitfire commented with interest. "Wonderbolts, set a course for Canterlot!"

"Yes, ma'am!" said Thunderlane respectfully.

"Finally, a positive development." Zephyr Breeze sighed.



The unicorns put all of their magical power into forming defenses against the neverending storm and quakes. Even with the trees in pitiable states, the forest was thick enough to keep eyes from above off of them. Still, they had sentries watch the world outside through telescopes, just to be safe. The one named Moon Dancer was peeping up at Tambelon.

"No sign of the Cutie Mark Crusaders." she relayed to her circle of unicorn friends. "But it seems that place is getting shipments of food."

"Oh my gosh, that's where it's growing!" Minuette shrilled.

"Now it's a matter of who's going to investigate." said Moon Dancer, holding up her hoof as a signal to calm down.

"Of course, this is a job for royalty." Prince Blueblood sang. "I'll lead the way, and be back with the food before lunch." He clapped his hooves smugly. "Fillies, gentlecolts, be my bodyguards!"

"Does he even know he's not that high in the hierarchy?" Moon Dancer whispered to Lyra Heartstrings, who shook her head in response. Sitting next to the green unicorn was her girlfriend, Bon Bon, wearing the most convincing fake horn they could craft. Even in these times, some relationships had to survive.
> Part 3 - Chapter 2 (10): Darkest Hour, Minute and Second
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ponies in the frostbitten Equestria, the captured residents of the other corners of the world, the Students' group, Twilight's friends, all of them were barely holding everything together in this time of immeasurable crisis. If any of them succumbed to their new dark masters, or the horrors of the storm, most sane creatures wouldn't blame them.

Back at the swampy forest in which they all gathered, Luna and Twilight's friends approached a small glade, where the young princess had her alone time. All of them were unnerved by how she spent it. All over the surrounding dirt, wilted tree trunks and rocks were scribblings of stars, stick figures seemingly meant to be ponies, bells, and unidentifiable monsters. Over on the left, she sat ominously quiet, facing away from everyone.

"Not good." Luna solemnly attested. But still, the rest walked over, ready for more talking.

"What do you want?" Twilight coldly asked, noticing their presence, but refusing to shift.

"We want to get out of here and find a way to fix this mess." Spike answered, taking none of his sister's stony tone.

"Yeah, we've spent too long escaping! I wanna go home, and take it back!" Pinkie proclaimed.

"That would be a mistake." Twilight said, all gravelly. "We've already lost, and you know it. All of you."

"Don't be silly, Twilight." Spike rebuked.

"You know us better than that, darling." Rarity chimed in. "As long as we walk, we are not admitting defeat. Here, we'll help you think of something."

"After all, we can't save Equestria without you." Spike added.

"Save it? We can't. I can't. Never could, never was." Twilight scoffed.

"Listen, we know things look bad, but we've been in tough spots before, and we always beat the odds." Rainbow stated.

"Did any of them involve worldwide poisoning, a blizzard eating our home alive, an invincible warlock leading a monstrous invasion, or me losing my horn and wings forever, and soon the rest of myself?!" Twilight asked rhetorically, her rough pitch now rising ever so slightly, her head finally turning, and a scowl from her one-eyed face entering everyone's line of sight.

"Well, n-no..." Rainbow stammered.

"I understand, you're not in good health, so you're not thinking clearly." said Applejack.

"Are you kidding? I've never thought more clearly in my life." Twilight replied with a sarcastic laugh.

"If only there was a book or scroll you could look through. That always got your-" Fluttershy thought out loud in longing.

"Look around! Didn't you notice?" Twilight angrily interrupted the kind pegasus, stretching her hooves out. She had her attention on all of the ponies, and the small dragon. "Let me spell it out: nothing we've ever done has mattered!" After that, she decided to walk around, wincing more from the painful steps.

"Say what?!" Rainbow gasped.

"Okay, I know that's the Malice talking!" Applejack remarked.

"Ugh, you don't get it!" Twilight growled. "It was one thing when we couldn't stop Grogar and his forces from destroying Canterlot! It was another thing when we tried to get the clans to stop fighting, and all they wanted to do was fight, whine and make Celestia, Luna and I play favourites! It was yet another thing when we were cornered on Mount Everhoof before we could get some sleep! But then... well, you heard that demon!"

"You mean what he said about, uh, knowing us?" Rainbow guessed. She, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy remembered Grogar's words pretty well, as if they heard it yesterday. None of the opposition they faced in the wilderness could jumble their memories on such a revelation.

"He's been setting up trials for us the whole time, even though he was supposed to be cut off from the surface!" Twilight explained. "All of our successes were manufactured! Nothing we did was really amounting to anything, just leading us into a trap!" Finished, she planted her head into a scribble-covered rock in defeat, and hard enough to feel a spike of pain that made her squeal like a pig.

"Twilight, that's enough crazy talk!" Rarity yelled. "Just because an old savage might have planned out almost everything we've been through to destroy us, that doesn't mean our victories were fake! And I know fake!"

"Also, we're all here, free, together, looking out for one another." Pinkie noted. "Doesn't that matter?"

"I think our friendship has done enough. If what it's "accomplished" is any indication, it can only make things even worse." Twilight disdainfully commented, burying her face in her hooves, shedding more tears from her single, undamaged and uncovered eye. Pinkie looked on, offended by the choice of words.

"So what's the alternative? Sit around, mope and wait for the end like a quitter?" Rainbow scathingly inquired. "We have to do something!"

"Knock yourself out!" Twilight snarled. "This fiasco is more than we ever should've been forced to suffer!" She gritted her teeth and grumbled "Friendship is magic? What a lie." Applejack heard her spoken complaint and grunted with annoyance, stomping reflexively before taking steps closer.

"You want the truth, Twilight?" the farm pony began. "Bad things happen! No matter what you do, there's never going to be a time where everything's perfect! But that don't mean you quit trying!" Twilight lifted up slightly. On her obscured face, she made a sideways glare at Applejack, gnashing her teeth in frustration. As much as the Malice poison stung, another feeling willed her into ignoring it. She felt her intelligence was insulted.

"What do you think i've been learning?!" Twilight snapped in a sharp turn, which made the farmer jump back in fright. The way she glowered at her looked particularly hateful. "By the way, didn't you mention that if things were a little different, none of this horror show would've happened? None of this had to happen! I would've had the happiest day of my life otherwise! That's the truth!"

"So, if it could've been easily prevented, and the coronation was going fine before this all started, then our achievements were real." Spike argued.

"They sure didn't seem important to... him." Twilight growled at the thought of that mischeivous and destructively secretive draconequus.

"Well, this wasn't his fault... entirely." Fluttershy pointed out in defense.

"Excuses, excuses." Twilight muttered, having grown more than weary of Fluttershy's bottomless optimism over Discord, seeing the pegasus as a hopeless wishful thinker. "Give them a rest, will you?" She added, at which her kind friend frowned and groaned indignantly.

Luna, standing in the shadows of the trees, was finding it hard to watch someone like Twilight Sparkle, the champion of all that was friendly and magical, speaking to her closest companions like they were never actually people she held dear, either as friends or an extended family, but as if they were a bunch of idiots kids she babysat for the better part of her life and all treated their nanny like trash.

"But you know what? The more i've thought about it, the more I realize he wasn't the only one I can blame." said Twilight in a spell of clarity. "Luna?"

"Yes, Twilight?" Luna answered, walking into view.

"Yeah, don't think I didn't notice you. Come here." Twilight urged the night princess darkly.

"If there's anything you need, i'll provide it the best I can." said Luna.

"Just one thing. You and Celestia. You both knew the story, correct?" Twilight asked. "What Gusty the Great achieved, what Grogar's reign was like, what happened at the end, and what Malice Magic was capable of?"

"Yes, but why do you ask?" Luna queried, confused.

"Because. You kept that from us." Twilight replied, shaking with anger. "That would've been nice to talk about earlier. Maybe even to write down and send to me in a scroll. Just saying, something that important is worth touching upon, preferably centuries ahead."

"We couldn't do that, Twilight." Luna stressed. "It was a vow passed on through generations. None of us knew he would break free, so why would we ever need to bring it up?"

"Oh, I don't know, perhaps so we could make preparations?" Twilight suggested in a snarl. "Study Malice Magic to develop a cure? Learn how to tame all the monsters? Find some way to banish that bell from existence for good? Something?"

"Absolutely not! It's too dangerous!" Luna affirmed, losing some of her patience.

"And you were too cowardly to take the risk despite that!" Twilight bellowed. "You know what you and so many before us have done for the past millenia? You let fear control your actions and decisions! You looked out for yourselves before everypony else, and for no reason! Guess that's one unified collective! What a history lesson!" Then, like lightning, her hooves smacked against her bandaged forehead.

Luna stood as still as a statue in stunned silence.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" Pinkie complained, coming between the two princesses. "The mood's sour enough, nopony wants more of this negativity!"

"Well, too bad. We'd all be better off if more creatures just paid attention to details." Twilight hissed.

"Pardon me, but about "fear controlling actions and decisions", what do you call this then?" Applejack mentioned at the implications of hypocrisy the younger alicorn was giving off.

"Being realistic." Twilight robotically responded. "It's been seven days, and we don't know where we are, other than really, really far away from where we started, running for our lives. I'm one eye short, and yet only I clearly see the problem here?"

"I'm sorry, Twilight." Luna, now out of her silent stupor, murmured. "I see your point, and I understand if you think my sister and I have failed you miserably in our duties."

"I know you did. Ever since I first discovered the value of friendship, I had grown and changed the world, one baby step at a time." Twilight described her long life's journey. "I was just gaining confidence that I would lead Equestria into a better future when I took over. Then I find out that it was all a series of twisted games. The kicker? It proved that the concept I represent, what destiny chose for me, is an enormous struggle for little reward, because it's so stinking fragile. What kind of princess does that make me?" She sobbed uncontrollably when she was done.

"Huh. Not my idea of going out." Rainbow snarked.

"You said it." Spike agreed.

"As it stands, the position of royalty is completely worthless." Twilight assessed. "One thing's for certain, and it's that i'm lost... i'm tired... i'm hurting to no end... i'm terrified out of my mind... everything is broken, and we have no advantage, no matter how you slice it." The demoralization in her voice couldn't be more palpable, and after hearing it for this length of time, her friends almost didn't recognize her as Twilight any longer. Choking up, face scrunched and glowing red from the sorrow, she put a question forth: "What am I supposed to do?"

Applejack and the other ponies stared at Twilight like they had seen a most shockingly horrifying ghost. None of them had seen her destroyed before, not just physically, but mentally. Their group's leader always managed to rebound from the brink of utter failure. Each time, she'd get back up when she was knocked down, knowing how much Equestria depended on the success of her plans and their teamwork. It seemed like a day such as this, where she threw in the towel and wrote off friendship as a farce, would never come. Who knew basic faith in love and trust would be wishful thinking?

Spike, however, was more familiar with this defeatist attitude. The image of his sister planted on a rock, nothing left on her mind to set things right, reminded him all too well of the Storm King's invasion, and the wasted trek they made to Mount Aris just to find any hope of turning the tide in their favour. The anger she felt when her friends called her out on trying to steal the Hippogriffs' Pearl of Transformation while they were distracting Queen Novo, and then the shame when she alienated her friends and realized that she made a terrible mistake that doomed their world to an eternity of servitude and ruin, topped by her kidnapping at the hooves of the then-wicked Commander Tempest, an event that crippled the little dragon with the fear that he had lost a member of his family forever, and the proceeding argument would be the last talk Twilight ever had with her loved ones.

But that ordeal was like stubbing a toe in comparison to the nightmare in which he and the others lived at this very moment. Heck, putting the late Storm King next to Grogar was like matching up an angry baby bunny with a rabid dog.

Amidst the quiet contemplation, Fluttershy stepped towards Twilight, uncertain if she could alleviate the emotional damage, fearful of how the young princess would react, but at least sure that she needed to say something. Just give what she was about to do one try. Slowly, she lifted her hoof onto her royal friend's slumped shoulder.

"I've known for the longest time how hard it is to find hope in the darkness." said Fluttershy warmly. "But thanks to all of you, i've learned that it's always a lot easier when i'm with my friends."

"I know, Fluttershy." Twilight dryly responded, sounding rather dismissive.

"If we're facing impossible odds, we're facing them to-" Rainbow added.

"Together, I know. Togetherness is great, woohoo..." Twilight finished for the pegasus, adding a tinge of sarcasm.

"It's what we always-" said Rarity.

"BUT. We're all alone, and up a creek." Twilight interrupted, sounding more and more irritated.

"That's true pretty much every time something terrible-" Pinkie affirmed with a smooth slide underneath the alicorn.

"Oh no, i'm just Twilighting again, aren't I?" Twilight venomously sang in pretend self-deprecation. "You're thinking it: "Twilight, stop freaking out!", and "Oh Twilight, let me roll my eyes and smack my muzzle at how you're blowing this out of proportion!", and all that junk!" Her cherry on top of that word sundae was a gagging sound. "Seriously, how aren't any of you Twilighting?"

"Because even if you don't think you can do this, we do." Spike answered, wrapping his arm around his big sister comfortably. "We-"

"You believe in me and yourselves, cool, tell me something I don't know." Twilight grumbled in increasing vexation.

"The truth is, all our lives wouldn't be the same if we hadn't met." Applejack continued the string of assurance patiently.

"I know I know I know." Twilight growled.

"We're better off because of our friendship-"

"With me, yes." Twilight finished for Applejack, and then argued.

"So when you say you haven't made a difference-"

"Not relevant." Twilight hissed.

"You've made-"

"I don't want to hear anymore!" Twilight barked.

"Look, Twi, we're just-" Rainbow, infuriated, tried to explain.

"Trying to make me feel better, I. KNOW!" Twilight lashed out. "Do you think i'm stupid?!" Everyone, even Luna, apprehensively stepped back.

"Well, sorry for helping." Fluttershy bitterly uttered.

"I haven't forgotten what i've done, okay? It was a lot. The ponies and creatures i've helped to make happy, including you, how beneficial it's been to the world, the bonds that have gotten stronger, and the powerful team we've made. I realize I have a positive track record, hence me being chosen to rule Equestria." Twilight announced in a sharp glare. "But what good is it to remember the things i've done then?"

"EVERY BIT OF GOOD!" Spike and the other ponies exclaimed.

"You can pepper your pep talks with my laundry list of goodwill, best plans and happiest moments all you want, that was the past." Twilight criticized. "It's not going to help us now. You want to find a way, and take a shot at stopping those jerks, think in the moment! I can't believe I have to tell you that, but somepony has to knock you out of this juvenile nostalgia!"

Nobody present could believe it for even an instant. To hear their longtime friend call their well-intentioned speeches and reminders "juvenile nostalgia" and brush it all off like they were patronizing her, it didn't feel fair to them at all. In fact, she started to sound like the Horses of the Apocalypse; like a villain in the making. By this point, they had run out of things to say to her. They spoke from the bottoms of their hearts, and Twilight didn't appreciate it.

"You're no fun." Pinkie whispered, slowly moving her head back and forth.

"Perhaps this is a case where friendship is indeed fragile." said Applejack to the rest of her allies.

"So. Rude." Rarity emphasized spitefully.

"Who is this sad pony?" Rainbow questioned to herself.

"Alright, if you don't want to figure out anything to save the day, fine, because the seven of us know how to take initiative anyway." said Spike authoritively. "The team needs a leader, and a leader needs a team who will press on to the very end."

Twilight stared at her dragon brother through a reddened, glaring eye. She had no visible faith in his commanding assertion. But without a hint of figurative malice, she simply asked him "Then tell me. What can do we right now?"

"We don't know." Spike answered honestly and immediately. He got a scoff from his equine sister for that, but ignored it. "We'll never find out if we stop, so buck up and have faith in the light among the darkness, for as long as your body allows. We refuse to be deterred, and if we fail while giving it our all, then at least we'll fall in a blaze of glory."

"You said it." Rainbow complimented.

"What pluck." Twilight moaned. "How do you take charge when I can't?"

"Hey, that's just what siblings are for." Spike asserted, lightly pounding his chest. "Furthermore, that's what royal advisors are for." Those two words describing his title, on him which the Princess of Friendship bestowed last week before doomsday went down, got a bit of a chuckle out of Twilight. She didn't feel better, but at least found humor in this all-too-familiar "noble dragon" behaviour.

"I don't mean to break up the moment, but we've been camping here long enough." Luna opined. To make sure Twilight wouldn't be left behind, or think of staying, she telekinetically lifted the poor crippled alicorn onto her back to give her a ride. "The monsters and zombies have been on our trail for all these miles, I doubt they'll stop for anything." Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow and Spike nodded in agreement, like soldiers working as a singular mind.

Everyone looked on to see a tall mass of stone through the trees. Before them stood a mountainous area overlooking the forest, and stretching out across the swamplands like a fence.



When the light of the phoenixes faded out, so did the phoenixes themselves. Sunburst, Starlight and the CMC couldn't figure out what just happened, but some noises, clearly coming from the mouths of creatures, were heard before they could get far in questioning the whole thing.

Inside their cocoon prisons, Star Swirl and the earth pony Discord woke up.

"Huh? Oh, heavens." Star Swirl moaned, sounding like he got out of bed from a normal night's rest.

"What is this place?" Discord asked. "I... am I awake?"

"Who's that up there?" Sunburst inquired up to the ceiling.

"It's Star Swirl!" Starlight hollered down. "I think the phoenixes woke him up, and somepony else."

"Star Swirl?" Rockhoof gasped from his own cocoon. "Thank Celestia!"

Somnambula, Mistmane, Mage Meadowbrook and Flash Magnus vocally expressed relief and happiness that their leader, their old friend, had miraculously opened his eyes and spoken again.

"But how?" Stygian chimed in out of confusion of this occurrence. "Grogar took your core."

"Took his what?" Scootaloo quavered.

"I think it's the core magic of the phoenix species." Star Swirl deduced.

"Oh, of course. Phoenixes are viewed as symbols of life and revival." Sunburst followed along, having an epiphany.

"And tales, as depicted in Equestrian manuscripts, have spoken of them possessing healing powers." Star Swirl continued.

"What's more, though they are few in number, they gather in the event the sun is lost and the cores of living beings, the vital cells that animate us all, vanish, so they are guided by their sorrow to whomever is devoid of light." Sunburst mused.

"With that, they deliver a new chance for one to rise by sacrificing their cycle." Star Swirl finished.

"This is a lot to take in." Sweetie Belle opined.

"Knowing that, it's awfully convenient they came down here when they did." said Apple Bloom.

"Quite a bit more than I deserve." Discord groaned. "I caused enough damage already."

"Hey, is that you, Discord?" Starlight called in recognition of the dismantled one's voice.

"You mean he's up there, too?" Apple Bloom questioned. "So this is where he's been."

"Yeah, right here." Discord pointed out, expecting someone to follow his voice. "But forget about me."

"We can't let that Grogar varmint keep you here!" Apple Bloom protested. "I can't believe you're even in this jam!"

"It's not my first time." Discord confirmed. "Even though that firebird woke me up, I still have no magic, and if I had been a better friend, I wouldn't have had to lose it."

"What are you talking about?" Sunburst queried.

"Long story; I don't want to talk about it." Discord sighed.

"Cadance." Shining Armor spoke up from above. "Cadance, she's in that crystal. On the wall."

"Shining Armor?!" Sunburst cried, surprised but given a warmer feeling from more familiarity of the voices he was hearing.

"Hey, Sunburst." Shining Armor welcomed warmly. "Glad you're here. Our old crystaller."

"But if you're here, then what happened to the..?" Sunburst worriedly wondered.

"The Crystal Heart was taken. The Empire is gone. And Flurry Heart..." Shining Armor explained. Saying his daughter's name threatened to break everything in him. His greatest fears silenced him, nearly paralyzed him, but contrary to the overflowing emotion, he didn't think for even an instant that the villainous alicorn he fought left his child to the worst possible fate.

Sunburst and the CMC overheard a quiet sob that he couldn't hold back for long. They had enough of an idea of how much he was hurting to feel the deepest sympathy for him.

"You said something about Cadance, though?" Sunburst finally mentioned.

"Right, you see that crystal on the wall?" Shining Armor addressed, calming down. "That wizard came down here, sucked her dry and encaged her in it."

Sunburst and the CMC looked around for any such crystal. Sunburst emitted a magical light to tell one piece of the wall from another more easily. Even then, nothing seemed like an unnatural part of the geography. Except for one spot. They noticed a clear silhouette of a pony with wings, and it wasn't a cave painting, but a sign that someone was on the other side.

"That looks out of place." Sunburst determined. His head turned. "Sweetie Belle?" the unicorn crusader nodded in agreement. Together, the horns ignited for a joint telekinetic grab of the crystal wall. They heaved.

Seconds later, their pull caused the crystal in the wall to fly apart, it's pieces soaring up to the ceiling like a storm of blades. Many of them managed to hit the cocoons, going fast enough to cut them. However, they only managed to raze the one holding Discord. Sunburst and Sweetie Belle were knocked off balance, Cadance dropped down from the wall, and Discord dropped down from his prison. That left Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, the former tending to the Crystal Princess, while Apple Bloom ran to break the dismembered draconequus' fall. All the same, it left them both sore. Around them, the crystal prison shards evaporated.

"Ooh, aah." Discord whined. "I miss snap-travel and self-levitation already."

"I can't believe she's like this." Scootaloo lamented over Cadance's limp body. "No horn."

Sunburst got up to see the Crystal Princess in her miserable state, and was taken aback by the fact that she had been reverted to a pegasus, and not even by forceful removal of her horn, but just erasing it from existence. It was two shocking sights in one.

"What the hay?" Apple Bloom gasped, wincing from the preceding impact.

"Hi girls, and Mr. Vice Headstallion." Discord nervously greeted.

"Are you really him?" Apple Bloom asked, feeling like her eyes were playing tricks on her. The feeling was shared with everyone who now got a good look.

"Sorry you had to see me like this." Discord wept. "This is how I used to be, before I became the almighty Lord of Chaos..." He wanted, just the tiniest bit, to glorify himself as he normally would, but the facts of his circumstances overpowered that urge. So instead, he remorsefully added "Who ruins lives."

"How did you end up like this? Did Grogar actually beat you?" Sweetie Belle pressed curiously.

"Well, you freed me, so I guess you deserve to know all the details." Discord conceded in resignment. "Just a warning: you're going to hate it." He cleared his throat, and took a breath to begin.



"How many times do we have to go through this, Gallus?!" Grampa Gruff shouted in angered exhaustion. "It's not my problem, and I want nothing to do with it!"

"Please, I beg you!" Gallus pleaded. "They're already done with the rest of the world, so we're next!"

"Tough tailfeathers! Stop complaining and leave it alone!" Grampa Gruff suggested.

"You mean give up?!" Gallus incredulously yelled.

"Maybe!" Grampa Gruff squawked back.

"Only a heartless coward would do that!" Gallus retorted. "My friends and I promised the Tree of Harmony we would unite the tribes, and-"

"Then why do you need me?!" Grampa Gruff queried furiously.

"Because we need both young and old representatives of each tribe to form a worldwide alliance!" Gallus clarified.

"Get another griffon!" Grampa Gruff ordered.

"But it has to be you!" Gallus argued. "As my guardian, as the one who came to the School of Friendship to bring a student from Griffonstone, this is your responsibility!"

"Argh, I am so sick-" Grampa Gruff growled, wheezing in the middle. "...of having this conversation, and it hurts me to keep listening to your incessant pleading! All you're doing is wasting my time, burning me out, accomplishing nothing-" He coughed harder from all the loud criticizing he was doing. "I thought you respected your elders more than that! What does your School matter to me anyhow?! That annoying, squeaky-voiced pony in the hat said i'm not even welcome around there anymore!"

By this point, in the radius of the old griffon's bellowing, Gallus was beginning to fall back into that feeble position, just taking it all in, not speaking up against his words anymore. It seemed like everything was going in a circle, and this time, his friends were nearby, watching his defeat. That was, until at the end of the tirade, when Grampa Gruff alluded to the unicorn he wound up in a screaming match with. A nerve inside the little blue griffon child hardened, demonstrated by him standing up tall and glaring in defiance.

"That "annoying" and "squeaky-voiced" pony's name is Trixie, and she was more of a guardian to me in that one conference than you ever were my whole lifetime." Gallus seethed in a low voice.

"Excuse you, sonny?!" Grampa Gruff snapped.

"Oh yeah, I said it." Gallus boasted, still eerily calm. "We had barely met, and she actually cared about what I was doing, and everything I had to offer. You didn't want to be there."

"I care about what you're doing!" Grampa Gruff cried defensively.

"Really? Well, thank you for the common decency." Gallus sarcastically replied.

"I ask that Gabby girl all the time for updates!" Grampa Gruff stressed.

"But that's all you ever do." Gallus stated. "You just want to know, but never come over to see."

"I don't need to see!" Grampa Gruff argued. "What's the point?"

"That is not a question." said Gallus.

"I took you in, gave you shelter and let you go to that School!" Grampa Gruff noted. "I'd say i've done enough!"

"That's only the bare minimum." Gallus pointed out. "I should've gotten more a long time ago, and our kind, considerate counselor gave it to me first, because you just wanted to get rid of me."

"Wha- get rid of- Ooooh!" Grampa Gruff stammered. "Is that what you think?! Because I don't fly over?! For what reason do I even need to?!"

"You shouldn't need a reason!" Gallus snapped, staggering the old griffon.

"What?" Grampa Gruff flatly said. "No reason? As in none at all? You're not making sense, boy!"

"Tsk. You wouldn't understand." Gallus muttered, rubbing his claw against his forehead. "If you care for somecreature, you don't need to be told why, or even be told at all you should approach them to say how proud you are, or to help them in their time of need."

"Isn't that a reason?" Grampa Gruff wondered, scratching his head.

"It's just what friends or guardians do for the ones close to them." Gallus specified. "Counselor Trixie didn't need some justification to stick up for me, and I don't need to explain why I need to help my friends. They need us, and so do our teachers. That's that."

"So, if i'm that terrible as your guardian, what would you do if I was in terrible danger?" Grampa Gruff asked.

"You already know the answer." said Gallus. "You are in danger, unless you come with us." As if to roll out a rug, he gestured towards the other students and their respective adult clan representatives. Nervously, they waved at the surly old griffon.

"Gallus, I think you missed the one detail. I don't get along with the likes of them." Grampa Gruff annoyedly reminded the young blue one.

"Well, their unity in general may be imperfect, but whether you like it or not, we're going to gather around and come to a compromise." Gallus asserted. "We don't have to be friends, just together, if this plan is to work."

"You wanna take the chance? You could hurt yourself, bad, and if that happens... I'm responsible." Grampa Gruff mentioned.

Gallus looked at him like his interest had been piqued. "Why have I never heard that before?"

"Because..." Grampa Gruff began to explain, but quickly found himself drawing a blank. His eyes got so wide from this moment of realization, they could pop out. "Look, kiddo, we don't really talk a lot."

"That's an understatement." Gallus quipped.

"Okay, we never talk." Grampa Gruff admitted. "But you can't say i've never watched over you like a hawk. You know what i've been asking of our bubbly mail carrier this whole time? To let me know that you're getting better everyday, growing into a strong, proud griffon, and that everycreature you surround yourself with, be it them over there, or the ponies, is treating you right, and giving you everything I never could here in Griffonstone." Uncharacteristic of him, his speech pattern became very sorrowful. His body language betrayed a sense of remorse.

"So, you're saying the reason you brought me to the School of Friendship in the first place is because you feel you're inadequate to raise me?" Gallus surmised.

"Yes. The bare minimum is all i've ever known how to do it." Grampa Gruff conceded. "I'm a historian, not a grandpa."

"Word of advice: follow your heart instead of letting fear tell you what to do." Gallus suggested.

Grampa Gruff paused to take a deep breath. The whole conversation, as he noticed by this point, had gotten most unusual. The situation had seen a total reversal. He was the vulnerable one this time, and Gallus the one casting a shadow and doing the deconstructing. He took several seconds to mull it all over before speaking again.

"I suppose I know what this has proven." he said. "You've changed, Gallus. I heard of many promising developments from the letters, but seeing it all before my eagle eye, I can say right here, to your face, I am... thoroughly impressed."

Gallus didn't know how to take the choice of the word "impressed", but he didn't vocally respond either.

"Your friends have been a good influence." Grampa Gruff complimented. "I should've been paying closer attention to your endeavors from the beginning, so I could've learned sooner what a great griffon you've become." He took a shorter pause before he followed up with "My boy... I hate to admit it, but I was a fool."

"Does this mean what I think it means?" Gallus asked hopefully.

"It does. My boy, I'm... i'm... sss... sss... sssorry." Grampa Gruff struggled to let out, mentally noting how surreal his apologetic tone was, like it was a sign of the Apocalypse around everyone ramping up from 11 to 12. A loud cough broke the awkward silence.

"Easy." Gallus cautioned.

"So be it. I'm old, and i've got nothing left to lose, except my family." Grampa Gruff stated. "As crazy as this whole "worldwide alliance" thing sounds, I cannot let you out of my sight. It's only the responsible thing, if I recall?"

Something was triggered by the griffon's acceptance. The barren ground around Gallus, his fellow students and the adults of the other clans glowed with the radiance of the Tree of Harmony. Rings of sparkles wrapped around them, accompanied by colourful glows coating the young creatures. They surged with this primordial energy, much in the same way as they did when they were almost transported to an unknown alternate dimension. It flashed, and then it stopped.

"W-what was that?" Grampa Gruff wondered.

"Guys, what just happened?" Gallus inquired his friends in perplexion.

"Tree spoke!" Yona hollered over. "Gallus and old griffon are one, like us yaks!"

"It recongized you and Grampa Gruff's bond!" Smolder explained more clearly. "Same thing happened with me and Ember!"

"Me and Pharynx, too!" Ocellus exclaimed.

"Same here!" said Silverstream.

"It can still sense our presence?!" Gallus gasped. "Whoa!"

"I really don't know what this Tree is." said Grampa Gruff, scratching his head. "But what are we doing loitering here? We've got something important to do, dagnabbit! This place ain't getting better by itself!"

Gallus looked at his guardian in the good eye, and gave him a sincere smile, and a truthful show of love he hadn't before. "Thank you, Grampa Gruff." He thought of giving him a hug, but decided against it, knowing his usual response to the most sentimental of gestures.

All around the ruins of Griffonstone, the other griffons were looking at Gallus before flying off, beaming with pride, exceptional warmth in their hearts.



Meanwhile, back at Tambelon, the streets and gardens, still as monster-infested and zombie-filled as ever, were lined up with marketplaces stocked with colourful food that looked and smelled delicious. No sign of any price tags, either. It was all there for the taking. It sure kept the living creatures energetic, though they would, of course, get into fights over scraps.

Inside the castle's council room, Grogar finished checking on Havoc's search for Luna and Twilight's group in the wilderness, using both Arimaspi's Eye and his telepathic communciation. There was nothing to report. That's when he switched the eye's view to a wintery area. In that area were earth ponies on the move. Then he changed to a view of pegasi. Then to unicorns.

He made an expectant "Hmm..." sound before, at last, he altered the image to display an overhead view of Tambelon, and symbols representing all three ponies clans slowly moving towards it.

"Excellent." Grogar expressed. "They're converging on my city. My supply of edibles draw them in like moths to a flame." After that last syllable, he thought When they have a moon's worth of sustenance, the seed-. Before he finished, the long-distance communication flames from Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy and Eclipse reappeared.

"Boss, my Midnight Chariot is about to take off, and I finished the leader of Stratadon-!" Tirek announced. His flame changed it's image to to view a dragon-like creature with four legs, wings with claws on them, a tail extended with a bending stream of flame, and elephant tusks.

"Behold, my latest addition to the brood! This is T-! " Chrysalis interrupted. Her flame shifted to the view of another changeling. This one was not how the others looked back in the day. It was a hulking creature with an insanely wide, jagged muzzle. 

"I think I have the most interesting creation; meet the B-." Eclipse interjected. Her flame changed it's image to reveal a demon shaped like a bear, boasting an intimidatingly unnatural build and an alien-like mouth.

"I made six, count them: six lovely little Umbrums, excited to-" Cozy impatiently spoke as she picked up her picture frame as if it were a camera, manually rotating it towards the other side of the room she sat in. Into view came six small ponies, four fillies and two colts, that looked to be made up of corporeal, slime-like shadows and black flames, but still had the eyes of natural equines.

The faces of the other Horses of the Apocalypse reappeared.

"I wasn't finished." Tirek growled in annoyance.

"Quiet!" Chrysalis bellowed at the same time.

"Wait your turn!" Eclipse scolded over the rest.

"Hey hey, let me go first!" Cozy yelled, her face returning to view.

"I go first! I have seniority!" Chrysalis hissed.

"As the strongest, next to our emperor, I should go first!" Eclipse argued.

"But I have so many to show!" Cozy argued back.

"I'm sorry, who was the first to speak up? Me!" Tirek chided.

Their bickering devolved as any round of the verbal equivalent to slap fighting would, a rapid exchange of incomprehensible words that may as well be gibberish. Grogar only looked on plainly, desensitized to the sight of pointless quarreling, and confidently tapped his bell, causing it to ring loudly. Everyone held their tongues and gave him their full attention.

"Show me your work." the ram sorcerer instructed. All four of the villains proceeded to show their monsters again without an argument.

"Forgive me, emperor." Eclipse apologized. "My Berserker may seem savage, but he's a refined, all-purpose bodyguard. That's the result of his inborn magical knowledge and infinitely flexible anatomy."

"Oh Eclipse, honey, Transformer can change individual parts of his body to become whatever amalgam of creatures he wants." Chrysalis dismissively boasted. "Also, he inherited my acidic attack." At her taunting, Eclipse scoffed.

"Long! Live! Queen! Chrysalis!" Transformer slowly chanted.

"With Stratadon's heat, he'll guide the chariot through even the Windigo fog. He's unbreakable, like me." Tirek explained.

"By the way, that's what you've been doing as king? Building a chariot?" Chrysalis questioned mockingly.

"It's an ancestral tradition. Don't walk on thin ice." Tirek threatened.

"My turn! Say hello to..." Cozy began. She pointed at her Umbrums from left to right, introducing them as "...Groggy, Chryssie, T, Rora, Windy, and last but not least, Cozy Glow the Second, or C.G.S. for short!" Chrysalis, Tirek and Eclipse groaned from her grating tone.

"Hello Emperor Grogar!" the six Umbrums addressed the ram in unison, and so innocently.

"Creative names." Chrysalis sarcastically remarked.

"Now I have substitute teachers, and extra hall monitors!" Cozy cheered, not acknowledging that Chrysalis said anything.

"A pleasure to meet you all, new children." Grogar warmly said. The Berserker, Transformer and Stratadon roared for the glory of their kings and queens. "Horses, take care of them as you did in designing them."

"Oh, my lord." said Eclipse. "This call, it's not just about Berserker. I have a question I think we should know the answer to."

"Fire away." Grogar permitted.

"What exactly is the Phantom Zone?" Eclipse queried.

"Oh yeah, that thing." Cozy recalled. "Whatever it is, it's still part of the plan, right?"

"Why did you even bring it up in the first place?" Chrysalis chimed in.

"What does it do?" Tirek asked.

'Very well then." Grogar replied. "I didn't give the details before since I knew you were anxious to get out there. Now that you have the time, class in back in session." He tapped his bell again, and out of both it and his collar, strings of Malice Magic rose up into the air to form a vision of the past. A piece of his memories played out as his lecture commenced.

"Millenia back, when I reigned over Equestria, and did a one-dimensional job of it, urgh, I completed my eternal contract with the Malice Magic I grew by banishing every last hint of light from my heart, leaving only the darkness. Knowing it couldn't just vanish into space, I warped it until I ripped open the fabric of reality and created a pocket dimension. As the original key, only my Bewitching Bell can open it. A realm of absolute nothingness that has served to hold magic i've taken and tainted over many moons, sentencing them to be mixed up and impossible to reclaim one at a time. But most importantly, the owners, if they could still function, lose their ability to remember it, and after the magic's been in there for 8 days, everycreature except myself who knows will forget it ever existed. Complete mass memory wipe, forever - and they will never realize it. Hence it's name - the Phantom Zone."

"That is devious, and I love it." Eclipse complimented.

"So that's what makes Twilight's ragtag bunch so important to extract cores from." Cozy figured.

"A valuable weapon, but I suppose even that couldn't consume the Tree of Harmony." Tirek guessed. Grogar just regretfully nodded to him. Next, the centaur asked "What if a whole living being was trapped in there?"

"Then recollection of them would fade as well." Grogar answered, nothing more complicated than that.

"8 days, and he seems so proud of that. How many pegs do I have to knock him down?" Chrysalis whispered to herself.

"That will be all for now." Grogar declared. "The pony tribes are on their way to Tambelon, seeking the food i've stockpiled outside. I'm ready to come out of hiding; the future of this empire rests on me making a good impression with my subjects."

"Buh-bye!" Chrysalis sang before unceremoniously hanging up.

"My Present Run has been delayed long enough." Tirek voiced in concern. "See you later, boss." Then he hung up.

"Best of luck. Not that you'll need it, but you deserve the support anyway." Eclipse remarked. "Berserker, come." With that, she hung up as well.

"Okay, Umbrums! Time is knowledge, and knowledge is power! Chop chop!" Cozy commanded, turning away.

"Yes Super Executive Mistress Headmare Cozy Glow!" the six Umbrums cutely responded together.

Cozy gave the ram sorcerer a wink before tapping her picture frame and hanging up.



Back in the earth pony bunker, Princess Celestia, in her weakened, devolved state, was reawakening.

"Uh... uh..." she moaned, slowly lifting her heavy eyelids and taking a little breath.

"Oh my stars!" Rusty Bucket, still watching over her, exclaimed.

"Oh!" Celestia yipped, quickly opening her eyes in surprise.

"Ma'am, you're awake!" Rusty Bucket cried out. "I knew I didn't drag you out of that blizzard for nothing!"

"What?" Celestia uttered quietly in confusion. "I'm... not... but how? Where... am I? Who... are you?"

"Ah, where are my manners?" Rusty Bucket sheepishly took note of. "Rusty Bucket, guardian of Mount Everhoof, at your service."

Celestia, cracking a smile, assured him "You.. have my... thanks."

"I was hiding from all these crazy creatures that were fighting Princess Twilight, Princess Luna and their friends, when I saw you laying in the snow." Rusty elaborated. "After they all left, I picked you up, but my humble abode was destroyed, so I looked for shelter to save you from the Windigo storm until I found some other earth ponies, and followed them to this place."

"Twilight? What... happened... to her?" Celestia asked worriedly.

"I don't know, it was hard to follow." Rusty replied. "But she and the other nice visitors were out of there before the nasty ones were."

Celestia quietly took in the rest of the information, before she murmured "I was afraid of this. That was no ordinary blizzard; the legends were true all along." Suddenly, she had regainined her speaking strength. She rose from her resting spot. "The Windigos appearing means that the ponies are completely divided, and their icy magic will devour Equestria."

"Hate to break it to you, but they already have for the past week." Rusty declared solemnly.

"Oh Luna, my dear sister. Be safe, and take care of our friends." Celestia prayed.

"Don't know what became of her. She just up and-" said Rusty, only to stop at what was implied before him. "Wait a minute. Luna, your sister?" He gasped, and exclaimed "You're Princess Celestia!?" At this surprise, he felt as if he made a mistake. His means to correct it was to bow and plant his face in the bunker floor, a classic I am not worthy gesture.

"Hey, corner pony, what did you say?" a stallion inquired a small distance away.

"It sounded like he said "Celestia" over there." Cheerilee thought out loud.

"Earth ponies, i'm glad you've been holding up well." Celestia sighed in relief. The rest of the ponies looking at her changed from interested to perplexed.

"You're Celestia?" the cynical mare from before said in disbelief.

"Why are you a unicorn?" Mrs. Cake asked.

"A unicorn?" Celestia questioned. She looked at the sides of her body on instinct, then it all made sense. "So, i've been reverted to my past self by Grogar's spell."

"There is no Grogar!" the cynical mare abruptly cried.

"But I have no core. What rejuvenated me? Is this... an illusion?" Celestia puzzled.

"See, until now, you were out the whole time." Rusty clarified. "Just minutes ago, this phoenix broke in and flew onto you, as if you attracted it. It laid down, looking pretty sad, radiated this blinding light, cried this haunting song, and next thing you know - it's gone. If I had to guess, you've made good friends with a phoenix or two, and it brought you back to consciousness?"

Hearing this explanation, and knowing the cause of her revival, brought a name out of Celestia's lips she hadn't said in ages. "Philomena..."

"I heard from one of those unicorns that you gave yourself up!" Mrs. Cake brought up. The depowered Sun Princess paid attention.

"Did you really abandon everypony?" Mr. Cake asked.

"What?" Celestia gasped.

"Where were you when we had to escape from this terrible snowstorm?" Cheerilee queried.

"I bet she didn't want to bear the weight of ruling us anymore, so she left us to do all the painful work." the cynical mare opined.

"It's not like that!" Celestia retorted.

"You had the choice to protect us from this disaster, and from them, and you chose yourself!" the stallion from earlier accused.

"I was helping Twilight and her friends!" Celestia shouted.

"Then why did you run along home to Canterlot, and put on a fireworks show?" Mayor Mare wondered.

"What was so important about your date with this "Grogar" we've heard about?" Mrs. Cake grilled.

"I only tried to protect my friends from my own worst self, and light up a sign of hope." Celestia explained.

"Ha! Ain't that just typical of you, Princess." Granny Smith laughed derisively. "Sitting idly by and only doing what makes you feel like you're helping."

"Oh yeah, that's actually true. She's never been as helpful as we thought." the farmer stallion.

"Come to think of it, we've faced so many great crises, and she never lifted a hoof to take care of them." Mayor Mare commented. "It's always another's job."

"You and Princess Luna were supposed to run this country, but you never understood the struggle of the common pony!" Cheerilee scolded.

"She's a fraud, and her sister too!" Mr. Cake exclaimed.

"You're as bad as all the other horned mares and stallions!” Mrs. Cake seethed.

“ENOUGH!” Rusty yawped. Nobody objected to him, they just backed off and grew silent.

“Listen, I have faced Grogar, and what he did to me, he’s doing to all that you love.” Celestia detailed. “Whatever you do, you cannot go near him. We need Twilight and the-”

“Argh! Fine, say he does exist: he didn’t make you run away from your responsibilities, did he?” that same mare of highly cynical, skeptical nature mused.

“And we’re done waiting for Princess Twilight to resolve this.” Mayor Mare chimed back in. “It’s us against those with wings, the horned ones, and the Windigos. None of this is friendship versus dark powers anymore. This... is war.”

“You darn tootin’ it is.” Granny Smith agreed.

Celestia’s face contorted with anger and disappointment in the earth ponies. She immediately buried it in her hooves as if to hide a dangerous fire it was lighting up. Rusty consoled her, feeling similar disappointment, seeing as he wasn’t too familiar with having so many to interact with. If it’s this bad with the pegasi and unicorns as well, the soul is truly gone, she thought grimly.



Twilight’s party traveled up a mountainside road, leaving the swampy forest behind. Where they were going was impossible to say. None had gone this way before, to the knowledge of anyone present. The air only helped to make it feel like the pathway that time forgot.

“My bird’s-eye view says we’re safe from monster and zombie attacks for the moment.” Rainbow confirmed.

“Frankly, i’d love a chance to talk with those guys.” Fluttershy admitted. “The beautiful creatures, I mean. Discord was a part of their family. They couldn’t be okay with their father doing what he did to him, could they?”

“Good question.” said Rainbow.

“Did you see where this path leads up there?” Spike asked in a reminding fashion.

“Oh, right. I saw a statue, right next to a cliff.” Rainbow reported.

“Well that doesn’t excite me much.” said Applejack.

“I’m just glad to be out of those muddy woods.” Rarity stated.

“I know, days and days in the same area, scenery unchanging, same smell hour after hour can drive a mare loopy!” Pinkie complained, her grievances obviously differing from the fashionista’s.

“How awful.” Twilight sarcastically muttered, slumped on Luna’s back.

They reached their destination, and found that Rainbow was accurate. There was a cliff, devoid of any features besides an old stone statue to the left. The view they got up there showed them what looked like the treetops of the forest, and vegetation growing over something that... looked out of place. A gigantic, dilapidated wall.

“Darn! A dead end.” Spike grumbled.

“How peculiar. There’s a sign of architecture in this area.” Luna pointed out. “Judging by that structure, clearly somecreature has been here.”

“What, that thing?” Rainbow guessed, getting a better look at the distant wall. “I didn’t notice it on my first look.”

“Looks like it was designed to either keep something in, or keep something out.” Luna surmised.

As they talked, the statue’s eyes shifted to the right, and seconds later, it began to shift it’s legs. It was slowly moving, almost soundlessly, right towards them.

"Best-case scenario is that there's a nice town with a motel and a place to do my hair." Rarity wished.

"Doubt it. That there wall looks like it hasn't been tended to in... who knows how many moons." Applejack opined.

"Darling, i'm trying to cope here." Rarity said, mildly annoyed.

"This is no time to speculate." Spike admonished the two mares.

"Yeah, nopony cares about your hair care." Twilight scathingly criticized, deadpan as can be. Rarity reflexively stuck her tongue out at her.

"Rainbow, Fluttershy, Luna, I need you to carry us down." Spike advised. "We'll continue along the forest path."

"Uh, Spike? Girls? Princess?" Fluttershy meekly called, noticing something. The statue being had closed in on the group, towering over them in the shade of the mountain. It seemed poised to strike. The corners of their eyes saw it.

"Monster!" Spike shrieked.

Rarity and Luna jumped in the being's direction, igniting their horns to cast defensive spells at any moment, should it make a move.

"Please wondrous one, we should talk!" Fluttershy desperately pleaded.

Rainbow, true to herself, was primed to make the first move. Like lightning, she dived down and aimed to deliver a swift, flyby punch. Nothing could stop her Wonderbolts-worthy attack. Or at least nobody she knew back home could. The being lifted a hand and halted her momentum. It kept her stuck in one position for a few seconds, taking it's time before pushing her back and lowering her to the ground with what was clearly telekinetic magic.

"That's the Rainbow we know." Twilight mocked. The loyal pegasus turned around to scowl and huff at her.

"You will come no closer, fiend!" Luna emphatically warned.

"Princess Luna?" the being finally spoke, sounding pleasantly surprised, and elderly. "By Star Swirl's beard, is that really you?" it asked, before finally coming out of the shade to reveal it's full form. It looked a bit monstrous, but nothing like anything the young ponies and dragon had seen before. Before them all stood an aged, male, winged, bipedal creature covered in brown hair, a grey beard, tattered clothes obviously from a bygone era, wrapped around a golden belt, and topping it off, a draconic head adorned with a golden crown. His tail was long with a tuft on the end, and his hands and feet were ape-like.

Luna's guard dropped and her eyes widened, her senses prickling with an overwhelming sense of familiarity. The feeling of astonishment was mutual. Images of the living statue in his physical prime flashed in her mind, and out of the blue, her pitch raised to the royal voice in exhilaration when she addressed him by name.

"SCORPAN?"

Spike and the others gasped together at the saying of that name. Even Twilight Sparkle lifted herself off Luna's back and stared up at the ancient gargoyle in disbelief.

"I've heard of you. You're Tirek's brother." the Friendship Princess presumed correctly.

"Luna, you've grown up so much." Scorpan remarked, his mind flashing back to the Night Princess at a filly's age, when he first met her in Equestria. That's when he looked at everyone surrounding her. "Earth ponies, pegasi, a unicorn... it's been so long since I had seen the ponies of Equestria. Oh, a dragon, too. A pleasure to meet you all."

"Uh, mighty pleasure to meet you, Mr. Scorpan." Applejack said respectfully.

"And I see the lavender one knows my brother." Scorpan pointed out.

"That's Twilight Sparkle." Spike clarified. "My name's Spike. These are Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash."

"We all know Tirek. Super mean guy, hates our guts, threatened us and all of Equestria on more than one occasion, directly or otherwise." Pinkie chattered. "Also not a fan of cake, hats, costume parties or ventriloquism, but I digress."

"Shut up, Pinkie." Twilight grouched.

"I said I digress!" Pinkie snapped.

"More than one occasion?" Scorpan repeated, bewildered by the concept.

"Yes." said Luna. "He broke out, and though we succeeded in sealing him back in Tartarus, Tirek returned anyway, and he roams free as we speak."

"Oh dear." Scorpan could only murmur. At that moment, his mind fell on how Twilight looked. Upon closer inspection, he saw how her appearance stuck out like a sore thumb. "Ms. Twilight, you're an alicorn too, but... well, I don't mean to be insensitive, but how did your horn and wings end up like this? Was this Tirek's doing?"

Twilight's only choice of word in her reply was "Worse." This piqued the old gargoyle's interest.

"I suppose we owe you an explanation as to why we're out here, old friend." Luna acknowledged. "It's a long story, but judging by our situation, this is a safe time to tell it."

Luna proceeded to give Scorpan all the details about what she had been up to in the millennia since they last saw each other, and what Twilight's circle of friends had been through in the years they had been together. The evil they defeated, the lives they saved, the magic they represent, and other events they took part in that led up to this moment. But most tragically of all, the decline in harmony that recently took place not only by Tirek's machinations, but those of other villains, especially the mythical Monster Father, Grogar: the most powerful, most cunning, most terrifying and most dangerous enemy they had ever faced. It was all frighteningly enlightening for Scorpan, but for the rest, it was physically painful to recount.
> Part 3 - Chapter 3 (11): Kingdom Came
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that Scorpan had been brought up to speed about everything he missed since he departed from Equestria over a thousand years ago, he realized how powerless he really made himself, standing alone in his stone form for so long.

"My word. I'm... i'm sorry about your sister, and everything that happened." Scorpan said woefully, holding his hand up to where his heart would be. "If only I were present; there might've been something I could've done."

"Please, don't be hard on yourself." Luna advised. "You had your own matters to take care of."

"To think, though, that Star Swirl still trots among us." Scorpan thought out loud. "And Grogar... more than a bedtime story, and worse than I feared."

"Well, i'm glad you believe us about that ruthless goat." said Applejack.

"Your friend's condition is all the proof I need." Scorpan stated. "Father hinted at something like this in the tale."

"Thanks for your concern." Twilight sincerely expressed to the sorrowful old gargoyle.

"You're welcome." said Scorpan in a bow. His eyes then shifted to the left, at the stone wall over in the distance. "I have something to show you all. What's happening to Equestria sounds familiar."

"It does? In what regard?" Fluttershy asked.

"I'd like you to see why." Scorpan replied, lowering himself down. He gestured the ponies without the means to fly onto his back, a signal that they instant read clearly.

The gargoyle was big enough to carry Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity and Twilight on himself without having to strain his wings. As the flyers, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Luna and Spike accompanied him in the air, all of them grateful that none of them would have to return to the lower path.

"So what's behind the wall?" Spike queried Scorpan, curious as a kid could be.

"My home. It's been guarded for the past millenia." the gargoyle answered.

Luna stared blankly in realization for a few seconds, before she said "Sweet sister... we've stumbled upon the legendary Midnight Kingdom. I never thought i'd find it, let alone see it with my own eyes."

"Oh, a kingdom." Rarity moaned in relief. "The perfect change of scenery."

"I would temper your expectations." Scorpan suggested. "My homeland was a great place where gargoyles like myself, and centaurs like Tirek, thrived. But today..."

Soon, they had gone over the stone wall, and broke through a cloud of fog, finding the Midnight Kingdom on the other side. But what they ended up viewing was nothing resembling a lively, functioning city. Instead, there was nothing for miles but dilapidated buildings, empty gardens, hills and crevices without greenery or water, abandoned weaponry littered all over the ground, and many, many stones, wood planks and sticks stuck in the dirt next to wilted bunches of flowers, each marking something.

They didn't know what to expect when they first laid eyes on the land where Tirek and Scorpan came from, but what they saw had seen far better days, even before the Malice plague began.

"Um... nice place?" Fluttershy feebly tried to offer as a compliment.

"Nice empty words..." Twilight groaned audibly. Fluttershy plugged her ears and sang "la-la-la-la" in response.

"What... happened here?" Luna asked in horror.

"It's a long story." Scorpan affirmed solemnly.

"Help. Help. Help!" Twilight begged as her face went green, and her stomach roared like a fire.

"Uh oh, we need an emergency landing!" Spike called.

"I'll lower us down at my quarters!" Scorpan hollered back. He and the other fliers quickly lowered themselves down towards the very heart of the ruined Midnight Kingdom, towards a castle that was ripped open, but still holding together by load-bearing design pieces.

They arrived in what appeared to be an old bedroom. Twilight returned from losing whatever lunch she had last week before her Grogar-induced coma.

"As you can see, my home fell into a state of desolation, the same fate now befalling yours." Scorpan stated.

"I guess it's as simple as that, huh?" Applejack figured.

"But I fought hard to prevent it." Scorpan solemnly added. "My brother and I first came to Equestria for it's magic, but I quickly learned from each clan, and Star Swirl, that ponykind was worth celebrating. My heart opened to the possibility of them and the Midnight Kingdom clans building a mutually beneficial relationship. Tirek said that would be disgraceful; he had always been the prouder one between us, loyal to the warrior code of the centaurs."

"That's his excuse for being a bully? For hurting thousands of ponies?!" Fluttershy inquired with an impassioned growl.

"It's what our father, King Vorak, desired for him." Scorpan clarified, hanging his head. "He was the chosen heir of this kingdom. I knew it was the right thing to do, but it hurt me to have to rat him out to Celestia and Luna, and go home... alone."

"I do believe I can guess where it went from here." said Luna.

"Indeed. There was an outrage when I returned here without Tirek, and informed the clans, and my father, about his imprisonment." Scorpan explained. "I was forthright about my complicity in his sentence; needless to say, father deemed me a traitor. That's exactly what I was. The gargoyles were the kingdom's gatekeepers, and the centaurs were the fighters, so without my brother, we had no future leader."

"Well, better to be a traitor for the right reason than for selfish gain." Applejack remarked.

"Thankfully, since I was taught the magic draining spell, I could escape the fate father ordered for all defectors." Scorpan continued. "I wasn't his son anymore, nor a prince, but I still had a voice. They prepared for war against Equestria, but day by day I managed to sway some. We charted every course to keep the army confined, not letting a single soldier reach the borders of your country. Moons passed, and my revolution was evenly matched with my father's batallion. But sadly..." He paused.

"But sadly... what?" Twilight questioned.

"Though they eventually forgot about attacking Equestria, they went to war with themselves." Scorpan said. "Words weren't working anymore, only violent actions. I was ultimately the last one who held onto reason, and what you've seen here is the end result of that battle."

"I'm... I'm so sorry, old friend." Luna mourned.

"Now, me and Tirek are the only gargoyle and centaur left." Scorpan lamented. "As my gatekeeper duty was all I had, I remained on that perch out there, keeping a constant, silent vigil on the kingdom's wall. But not before I made memorials for all of the fallen."

"And then we came along after 7 long days of running from monsters- uh, I mean wondrous, magical super-creatures, and gave you company." said Pinkie, nervously remembering Fluttershy's presense and giving one of her gigantic, cheek-killing grins.

"Wow, that hit close to home." Rainbow commented. "At least Windigos don't come around these parts, right?"

"Honestly, it's not a force of nature, but a kingdom's folk that are their own worst enemies." Scorpan remarked. "My homeland's destruction was grim, for certain, but what it went through was a fate far worse." He could hear Twilight giving a grunt of agreement.

"But we have many friends waiting for us back home, working as hard as they can." Fluttershy pointed out. "They have to be..."

"Don't say it!" Rarity emotionally responded. "Don't put the image in my head!"

"Think of the colts and fillies!" Pinkie hollered to Fluttershy pleadingly.

"So, is this all you brought us here for, or..?" Rainbow asked expectantly, feeling like time was wasted.

"Ah, yes, there is something i'd like you to have." said Scorpan, turning towards his decrepit bed. "I left Equestria with a parting gift. Star Swirl and their majesties thought I could use it as a goodwill token." He reached underneath the mattress and pulled something out. A small item fit perfectly between the palms of his ape-like hands. It was dusty, torn up, but recongizable as... a piece of headwear. It resembled a sun hat, but topped with a cup of some chocolate-y fabric.

Luna gasped and said "I remember now! The hat of Chancellor Puddinghead!" The others uttered "Huh?"

"The real hat worn by the Chancellor Puddinghead?!" Rarity exclaimed in disbelief. She got a closer look and felt morose from it's abused state. "What has time done to this poor garment!?"

"I never thought i'd see anything beyond those Hearth's Warming pageant replicas." said Pinkie sentimentally.

"That's valuable Equestrian property." Twilight pointed out. "Why would you give... it... away?" A vicious irritation in her throat caused her to hack and cough. It was so bad tears not only emerged, but streamed down her cheek.

"That hat is a symbol of Equestria's founding, and it was the only one of the ancient leaders' headdresses we were able to preserve after their departure." Luna explained. "To this day, the whereabouts of Commander Hurricane's helmet and Princess Platinum's crown remain a mystery, but that's for another time. Scorpan, i'm sorry our offering has proven a failure."

"You may take it back where it belongs, for what it's worth." Scorpan proposed.

"I doubt it'll help." Twilight moaned, heavily breathing and wiping her muzzle.

"Could come in handy." Applejack opined.

"Speaking of handy, do you have any parchment around here, Scorpan?" Spike formally requested.

"What for?" Scorpan asked politely.

"To write a letter to one of our friends back home." Spike simply replied. "We need to make sure they're... you know." He tried not to betray much of his dread, or worry anyone present even more, in saying those words.

"Here, use this." said Scorpan, gesturing towards an aged, dusty scroll hanging from a wall on the other side of the room, which he deftly removed.



Discord had finished talking about his deeds of deception, and everyone who listened, after a period of disbelieving silence, was ready to unleash a wave of rage.

"What in tarnation is wrong with you?!" Apple Bloom snarled in disbelief.

"How dare you!" Sweetie Belle emphasized her anger intimidatingly.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Scootaloo screamed.

"You thought that was going to work out?!" Sunburst questioned, infuriated.

"You betrayed us again!" Shining Armor yelled from above venomously.

"You are a creature of chaos!" Star Swirl snarked downward.

"I can't believe what I just heard!" Starlight joined, echoing on the ceiling. "I put up with your antics at the School, but there was a line, and you just crossed it, buddy!"

"I know, I... I took her for an action hero, like out of Ogres & Oubliettes, and neglected everything she really was, and earned." Discord berated himself, knowing there was no weaseling his way out of this. "I tried to make up for it, I really did, but I was overpowered; I never thought that'd be possible. So, if I couldn't correct my mistake with magic, I sure don't have a chance of doing so now."

"Even if you could, that's gonna need to be a pretty epic correction." Scootaloo critically declared.

Discord let out a guilt-ridden sigh. Without a sliver of hesitation, he muttered to himself "A klutzy draconequus to the last.", a moniker he hated. The taste of humble pie was quite pungent.



Stratadon Squad soared elegantly through the Windigo-filled air, carrying the Midnight Chariot like it was just a lightweight toy. Tirek signaled them to a halt when they hovered over the city of Tambelon.

"Looks like the boss has controlled the Windigos' ferocity, as promised." Tirek noted. He jumped off his chariot and landed on his feet on the city streets, getting the attention of the surrounding monsters and zombies. He was welcomed with respect and warrior cries, much to his enjoyment.

As if performing some kind of ritual, the centaur king raised his arms, expelling blue magical energy in a vast burst. The monsters took great enjoyment in this shower of power. It felt like being fed a bountiful feast and rehydrating. The zombies cackled with excitement at the energy surging through their veins. They could hit harder than before, fly faster and shoot stronger beams. It seemed they were set for life.

"And that was Stop #1. Now, i'll be seeing your father and master very shortly." Tirek announced to the deadly crowd. Before he could shift his weight, four cockatrices clucked loudly at his large hooves, snagging his attention. "What is it?" he asked impatiently. Using both their chicken-snake hybrid voices, and a group game of charades, they tried to explain something to him. Tirek stared, analyzed, and soon widened his eyes with realization. He pounded his fist on his palm in a growl.



Sunburst and the CMC scrambled, looking for something they could use. Fortunately, there were cave gems lying around, alongside the few remaining pieces of Chrysalis' throne.

"Hey, what's wrong with my horn?" Sweetie Belle thought out loud in irritation. Giving up, she lifted the throne piece with her hooves. "Float up, you dumb rock!"

"Oh, that dark stone? It cancels any magical force that comes near it." said Discord. "That includes my... something, magic?" All of a sudden, some blanks were drawn in his mind, by force. "It had a name, what was it again?"

"What?" Apple Bloom asked.

"That's odd. I know I had magic before, and potent magic too, but I can't remember what it was called, or what... it... did." Discord explained, scratching his head. He did a double take at how he was using a fore hoof to do that, no claws attached.

"You're not messing with us?" Sunburst queried. "You've lost your pieces, and got amnesia?"

"You do Chaos Magic." said Sweetie Belle.

"Kiosk Magic?" Discord erroneously tried to repeat, feeling a hard thump in his head.

"No, say it with me." Sweetie Belle began to correct, until a large, square portal with Tirek on the other side opened in the cave.

"HIDE!" Discord yelled, stricken with fear for his life.

Sunburst noticed the portal, yelped, and immediately grabbed the fillies, hauling them over to wherever they could escape the horned titan's line of sight. He entered, stopping to illuminate the dark place with a magical orb, and slowly tromped.

"Whoever's coming near the prisoners, you're going to serve time in my battle camp after my Present Run!" Tirek called, his voice echoing off the shiny walls.

"Well, long time, no talk, huh Lord Tirek?" Discord spoke up, trying his best to hide his terror.

"That's King Tirek now." the centaur addressed to the dismembered earth pony. He paused when he saw him. "Discord? Are you moving?"

"Yes, for the first time in... I don't know, what day is it?" Discord noted, picking up a gem off the ground and eyeing it.

"But how? You have no core." Tirek pointed out. "Tell you what: as the ruler of the New Midnight Kingdom, I shall allow you a place as my little Present Run helper every Winter season, in exchange for information on your miraculous resuscitation."

Discord scoffed at the offer. "I'm not telling a single thing; I certainly won't tell you after the way you lied to me the last time we teamed up, you muscle-bound cretin!"

"First of all, it's "CREE-tin", you idiot." Tirek annoyedly corrected the small creature on his mispronunciation. "Second of all, this "cretin" could crush you before you can blink, so choose your next words carefully."

"You're right, "cretin" is too polite." Discord admitted mockingly, saying that one word right this time. "How about "pathetic centaur who steals magic and uses others for his own benefit just to compensate for the fact that he has no faith in his own ability", hmm?"

"Didn't anycreature ever tell you not to pick on someone bigger and stronger than you?" Tirek snarled down at the pony, his eyes glowing with rage.

"Think about it: if I hadn't been such a proud sucker back then, I would've snapped you back into Tartarus in a literal snap." Discord explained. "What's more, you'd stab me in the back once you had everything you wanted, but you'd spare those other crooks? I was more helpful to your machinations."

"This is different!" Tirek stressed. "It was a universally beneficial alliance!"

"That doesn't change the fact that you needed backup to get this far." Discord stated. "Your kingdom's not much of a prize, then. But oh, I haven't even gotten to the juiciest story. When you were only pen pals with that Cozy Glow character. I was busy those three days, but Fluttershy told me all about it." He juggled the gem while slowly approaching the giant centaur.

"What of it, shrimp?" Tirek grumbled.

"The foal's plan almost went off without a hitch, you had Twilight and her friends trapped with you for eternity, and you were easily convinced to release them by... them being trapped with you for eternity." Discord went on, wanting to laugh.

"So I made an oversight!" Tirek yelled, preparing a magical blast from his horns.

"The only oversight was concerning your longevity, next to six finite ponies plus a dragon with no food or water." Discord refuted. "But even putting that aside, when it was all said and done, that crazy filly would've had everything, and you, who is nothing without others, would've been left with nothing. If you claimed to be okay with that, i'd say you're the same fat liar as ever." After taking all these insults to his pride, Tirek snapped and crackled. Discord finally asked slyly "What, you gonna tell daddy Grogar?"

Tirek, at last, popped. An energy beam shot out of his head, directly at the small pony. Discord, reflexively, held the gem up like a shield. The impact blew him across the ground, but the beam rebounded. It flew everywhere, bouncing off the walls rapidly. Even though Tirek was huge, he was able to duck and cover from his own deflected attack. Finally, it stopped and caused an explosion on the ceiling. Luckily, it wasn't enough to cause a cave-in. Everyone was unharmed, besides Discord, who was planted against a wall.

"Oh, that was your plan?" Tirek deduced. "Well, you missed!"

"Did he, though?!" Starlight called out, to the centaur's surprise. The throne piece on her cocoon was destroyed in the explosion. She ignited her horn and sliced her prison open, then eyed Tirek with renewed cockiness.

Apple Bloom, a light of hope twinkling in her eyes, said to Sweetie Belle "Give me that." for the throne piece. She complied quickly, and Apple Bloom came out of the hiding spot with her friends and Sunburst, charging into the fray that was beginning. Starlight used Accelero to swiftly run circles around Tirek.

"What is going on?!" Tirek exclaimed in confusion, not understanding how ponies that were clearly drained could've recovered like this. As he was about to let out another livid shout and activate his area-covering draining power, Apple Bloom threw the throne piece into the air, jumped, and kicked that little black stone as hard as she could, sending it flying at the centaur's face. His mouth opened, which let the piece enter his throat, where it would be lodged. Tirek hacked and gargled.

Starlight stopped her Accelero spell to blow a raspberry at her suffering enemy. Her next move was to unleash a magical shock wave to detach all of the remaining cocoons from the ceiling, disintegrating them as well and setting the others free. Once her telekinesis lowered them all down, they, although drained by Tirek, were able to stand.

"Cadance!" Shining Armor yelled, running over to his coreless wife to pick her up.

"Starlight, go! Take the others and help Equestria!" Star Swirl ordered, he and the other Pillars looking ready to fight Tirek again.

"What about you guys?" Starlight asked, concerned.

"We may not have our magic, but we aren't completely helpless!" Star Swirl asserted in determination. Rockhoof, Somnambula, Mistmane, Mage Meadowbrook and Flash Magnus nodded simultaneously. They all tackled the choking, magically-nullified Tirek, even knowing he could still use his physical strength and weight against them.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders, Sunburst, Shining Armor, Stygian, Discord, let's get out of here!" Starlight commanded. Sunburst telekinetically collected the dismantled earth pony, the CMC also tending to him. Still conscious, the poor thing had something to say.

"I know what I just did was crazy, and doesn't make up for the atrocity i've committed." Discord softly said, still overriden with regret.

"Yeah, that wasn't an epic correction, but it's a start." Scootaloo remarked. Nobody objected to her in any fashion, but all their expressions had signs of appreciation towards the chaotic being.

Everyone who didn't want to stay and fight gathered around Starlight as her horn ignited for a teleportation spell. In a flash, they were out.



That high-effort teleportation landed the ponies in the streets of Tambelon. However, the first thing they saw up here was not a bunch of monsters, but rather many ponies from each of the three clans, marching and clamoring for the food in the marketplace. The monsters, as well as the zombies, were letting them pass without a fight.

"How long have we been down there?!" Sweetie Belle shrieked.

"Everypony, what are you all doing here?!" Starlight tried to ask somebody in the crowd. She took a moment to look at her surroundings. "Is this... Canterlot?"

"This looks nothing like Canterlot." said Shining Armor, feeling ominous air in his spine.

"This is what that Grogar varmint did to it." Apple Bloom solemnly clarified. "He called it "Tambelon", the thief."

"Look what else!" said Sunburst, pointing up. Starlight and Shining Armor gazed at the sky to see the Windigos.

"No way!" Starlight gasped.

"But... they were just symbolic inventions!" Shining Armor ranted in shock.

"Star Swirl told me he was there when they last descended." Stygian mentioned gravely. "History is repeating itself."

A Malice portal appeared in front of the pony crowd, a fair distance away from the heroes, to all of their surprise. Out of it slowly trotted the big guy himself. On his face, to present to his audience, was a smile.

"So, he decided to get some fresh air." Shining Armor contemptuously whispered.

"Why does the Architect of Malice reveal himself here?" Stygian puzzled over tremulously.

"Who the heck is that?" an earth pony stallion in the crowd asked.

"Ponies of Equestria, welcome to Tambelon, my humble city!" Grogar pleasantly greeted everyone with a bow.

"Starlight, can you check around this creepy place for any way to deal with him?" Apple Bloom suggested.

"Hmm... i'll try." Starlight considered and decided. "Sunburst, look after the girls. Shining Armor, Stygian and I are going to search this place, top to bottom."

"Okay." Sunburst agreed.

"Be careful." Shining Armor wished for the three fillies before he left for the castle, hauling Cadance. Stygian silently bidded farewell.

"My name is Grogar." the ram introduced himself. "I built this city with a mere thought, and the power of Chaos, as a sanctuary of warmth, rich food and enforced shelter from the forces of nature, especially the Windigos."

"You're real?! Weren't you that villain from Gusty the Great?" a unicorn mare inquired.

"Yes, that does seem to be the only record anypony has written of my existence." Grogar confirmed. "A true, though modified, telling of my story, and my terrible mistakes. All of which I wish to correct for the new generation."

"So if you're in charge here, I guess you overthrew Celestia and Luna." a pegasus stallion mused.

"Yeah, that rotten-" Scootaloo growled.

"Good!" the same pegasus stallion said.

"Huh?!" Scootaloo gasped, the other heroes giving confused looks.

"Yeah, good riddance to no-good, complacent princesses!" a unicorn stallion shouted.

"Same goes for Twilight Sparkle!" an earth pony mare yelled. "Guess we finally agree on something!"

"Don't get used to it!" that same unicorn stallion hollered back.

"Celestia came to me for a fight, to send a message, and I utterly defeated her. The message, as it appears, has been lost. Luna and Twilight have been chased out of Equestria, and my children are seeking them out as we speak, to bring to me, so I can make sure they never restart the loop of insanity again." Grogar went on.

"Children? You mean these big, mean monsters?" Soarin asked, terrified.

"I apologize for their temperaments; I taught them some barbaric things back in ancient times, hard habits to break." Grogar answered. "The only orders they've received were to keep you, my subjects, together, and help me deal with oppressive so-called "peacekeepers" like Twilight and her friends." The crowded went "Aah!" at this explanation.

"What about those pony zombies?" asked Moon Dancer as she raised her hoof.

"A unit of earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns long or recently past that i've summoned under my power." Grogar explained carefully. "Magical support for my children."

"That's messed up!" an old earth pony stallion shouted.

"I consider it a necessary evil; expect them to return to their slumbers in due time, when our common enemy has fallen." Grogar promised.

"Whatever." a pegasus mare accepted along with the others, though still unsettled by the concept of zombie animation. "We're here for something. We noticed it from our settlement."

"Now, I wish to offer you all this wide, neverending stock of food to aid in your livelihoods." said Grogar. "It will give you strength, will and strong seeds to plant rejuvenating trees. Do you accept?"

"Eeyup!" Big Mac agreed loudly.

"Big Mac?!" Apple Bloom gasped incredulously.

"But that food belongs to us unicorns! These ponies have been taking our cuisine away from us!" Blueblood hollered. "You can only choose one of our tribes, and you must pick us!"

"No, we deserve it most! You, as the new ruler of Equestria, have a responsibility to the pegasi!" Spitfire objected.

"We earth ponies are the most vulnerable, and you know it, right Grogar?" yelled Dr. Hooves. "Leave these high and mighty bunches with the scraps!"

"Come now, everypony." Grogar softly said. "This isn't a contest of who will get the most love from the figure of authority. I don't play favourites, fillies and gentlecolts. This is about your self-preservation, your futures, your friends and families. It's all about you."

"You mean you want us to consider them equals?! Never!" Blueblood objected.

"Not equals. Each clan has strengths to play to, and weaknesses to overcome." Grogar specified. "Which one is best, whom becomes stronger than the rest, is in your hooves."

"Then what's your purpose?" Thunderlane inquired.

"As an emperor, I must indeed heed the will of my subjects, provide for them, keep their communities in order, eventually ensure that these storm-bringing beings are permanently disspelled, so winter can be wrapped up forever." Grogar continued. "Take your well-earned feast, and i'll make sure you will want for nothing more. Tough it out, everypony."

The crowd of ponies began giving sincere thanks to the ram sorcerer, some even saying things such as "That makes sense!" and "I'll hold you to that promise!"

"Okay, i've heard enough!" Scootaloo snarled, ready to charge in.

"Me too!" Apple Bloom growled.

"Sunburst, save yourself." Sweetie Belle recommended darkly.

"What? But I can't just leave you fillies!" Sunburst protested.

"Trust us, you'd be more useful elsewhere." said Scootaloo.

"Where? There's monsters and ponies all over the place." Sunburst stressed.

"You can just slip on through the crowd." Apple Bloom advised.

"You're too young!" Sunburst emphasized.

"And we're three of the most appreciated ponies in town." Scootaloo added. "They have to listen to us."

"I can't leave you three." Sunburst argued again.

"If thing's go wrong, we want you out of the way." Sweetie Belle remarked. "If you see Starlight, i'm sure she'll understand. We sent her off, too."

Sunburst mulled it over briefly, and he silently accepted. Without any further argument or complaints, he trotted off into the crowd with the coreless Discord, whom was too remorseful to say anything the whole coversation.

The CMC moved through the crowd of earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns as they hurriedly took food items from the marketplace. Grogar looked at them contently, feeling hopeful about his success.

"Everypony, stop it!" Scootaloo hollered desperately, jumping out in front of the ram sorcerer.

"Are you gonna let this beast maker manipulate you?!" Apple Bloom reprimanded the clans. They stopped and gave her a look. "Do ya'll even realize what he confessed?!"

"You're focusing too much on your differences, and letting them divide you!" Sweetie Belle commented. "That's what villains like him use to their advantage!"

"I don't care! If it weren't for the Windigos, we wouldn't be begging!" Soarin cried.

"How do you know this isn't some ploy?" Scootaloo queried. "For all you know, that food has mind control... stuff in it."

"Sorry, but we're in a war right now; we can't afford to weigh our options too much!" Moon Dancer replied.

"Big Mac, surely you must see this for the hooey it is!?" Apple Bloom protested to her big brother. "Think of Applejack!"

Big Mac, even understanding that his honest answer isn't what his youngest sister wants to hear, still had to give her a straight "Nnope." The earth pony filly couldn't believe her ears.

"Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, how nice of you to visit." Grogar happily said to the little trio. "I've watched all your escapades, your accomplishments, your vocal desires to find the full potential of the three pony clans you each represent, young and old. Truthfully, i'm a fan of your work."

"Shut your bearded muzzle!" Sweetie Belle snapped. "I know none of that was sincere!"

"Believe or don't believe, it doesn't change the truth." Grogar accepted. "I know you support your self-righteous sisters, but on your own, I feel you are a precious collective talent. The educational system can use ponies such as yourselves, to help those searching for their identity. I know somepony who'd love to hire you; somepony you've already met."

"Oh, I can tell you want to teach all the boys and girls right from wrong." Scootaloo sarcastically replied and rolled her eyes.

"I promise you all that while my magical ability has exceptionally poisonous properties..." Grogar started to clarify to the fillies and the crowd.

"You see?!" Apple Bloom yelped, desperately expecting everyone to wise up.

"None of those properties grew these nourishing edibles. Only passion." Grogar ended, undisturbed by the interruption.

At that moment, Tirek emerged from a portal right in front of everyone.

"Boss, the prisoners underground escaped!" Tirek called. "They're loose in the city!" The ponies gasped at the centaur's presence.

"Tirek? But weren't they all drained?" Grogar patiently asked.

"One of them got their vitality back! I don't know how, and somehow Discord's moving, and Star Swirl's moving, and he and his pals escaped in the caves, i'm so confused!" Tirek babbled.

Grogar gave a serious, businesslike look. "We can't let supporters of false peacekeepers run amuck. I'll see to it soon, you may return to your Present Run."

"It's Lord Tirek! He and Grogar are acquainted?!" an earth pony mare screamed in disbelief.

"Oh, busted!" Scootaloo sang.

"You won't imprison any of us, will you?" asked a trepidatious pegasus stallion.

"Excuse me, everypony." Tirek cordially addressed the crowd. "I'm on a mission to deliver a powerful miracle to all creatures. Early Hearth's Warming gifts, you can call them. I'll send them to your homes, and you may thank me later."

"Worry not, dear subjects. Despite what he has done in the past, he's a reasonable creature of honour at heart. We see eye-to-eye." Grogar made clear. Tirek gave a big thumbs up. "The only ones we imprison are the most dangerous, stalwart minions of the princesses."

The pony clans once again felt the genuine sound of the ram's tone of voice, and agreed with each other. Someone said "Alright, I guess he's cool."

"Did he say Star Swirl?" Lyra pointed out, fascinated. "Wow, legends really aren't everything."

"Oh, come the heck on!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed in exasperation. Scootaloo could only smack her forehead. And Apple Bloom? She just had to look away.

Tirek kangaroo jumped back onto his Midnight Chariot on one of the rooftops. Grogar faced the CMC again with intent.

"Seriously, you could turn into zombies, like those ponies, the moment you eat some of that!" Scootaloo angrily rebuked the busy ponies.

"Look, if you kids aren't picking sides, then get along!" Spoiled Rich came out and snapped, pointing forward as if to an exit. The CMC recoiled at her acidic attitude. With a sneer, she ironically suggested "Unless you'd like to be taste testers."

"Well, maybe I wouldn't mind you getting zombified." Apple Bloom spat back, but comfortable about it, unable to forget how Spoiled Rich treated her own flesh and blood.

"Thunderbird!" Grogar called to one of the electric, avian monsters. It approached like a lightning bolt, and a good dog. "Safely escort these three fillies to the School of Friendship in Yakyakistan." As the bird lifted the CMC onto it's back, the sorcerer, with a flick of his pastern, encased them in a protective field, which only restricted the young trio, having no poisonous qualities. "Don't want you freezing out there."

"Peh, imagine you showing kindness." Apple Bloom scoffed. "You ain't got no reason for this but to keep them skeletons in your closet."

"What reason do I need to want to protect my children?" Grogar responded matter-of-factly. He waved the Thunderbird and the CMC good-bye as they quickly disappeared over the city wall, into the thick blizzard. He looked once more at the crowd to tell them "They will lead fulfilling lives under the employment of Cozy Glow, the best Headmare I know."

The ponies of Equestria now had big enough food stockpiles to last them a whole normal Winter, and if their new emperor was correct, this would be the beginning of good things for each clan's evolution apart. The Cutie Mark Crusaders would soon arrive at Cozy Glow's school, and whatever positions they would be hired for, they dreaded the possible prospects.



Spike, Twilight and company were preparing to head back out, but before Scorpan carried the non-fliers into the air, Spike had finished taking a letter on the old, dusty parchment.

This is what he wrote:

"Dear Trixie,
We're holding out, but lost, and Twilight got struck with poisonous Malice Magic.
She's just hanging on, so we're keeping eyes open to help her through it.
Princess Luna is still with us, helping to escape from Grogar's army.
But get this: we recently found the headpiece of Chancellor Puddinghead, an old leader.
We think that could turn things in Equestria around. Pass on this knowledge and reply soon.
Sincerely, Spike."

"Please don't let Grogar or his Apocalypse posse intercept this." Spike pleaded before teleporting the letter away in his fire breath.

"How do you... know she has... letter materials?" Twilight weakly questioned.

"Because she pulls lots of things out of her hat." Spike mentioned in good faith.

"Ready for takeoff." Scorpan vocally signaled, flapping his gargoyle wings once again to lift off the ancient grounds of his tarnished homeland.

A fair distance was flown over the wilderness the group previously wandered on their hooves. The fliers hadn't been at this height above the trees before, at least for any reason other than looking for civilization they had no luck of finding. Now that the sick pony they were looking after was also airborne, it felt like a weight was removed, especially for an acrobatic speedster like Rainbow Dash.

"If my memory serves me right, Equestria is in this direction." said Scorpan. "We'll arrive there in a few hours if we make a straight shot for it."

"But... we can't... go back there." Twilight moaned.

"Unfortunate that your first revisit to Equestria must be under these circumstances." Luna lamented to the gargoyle. But something else caught her attention.

"You said there were these monstrous creatures in pursuit?" Scorpan echoed from a previous conversation.

"This isn't good." Luna remarked. "No telling where or when they'll spring a trap." As her sentence finished, needles rained down from the cloudy, red sky. A stream of fire flew up from the swampy forest. Scorpan and the other fliers reacted like cats to dodge it.

"Like that?!" Spike exclaimed at the sight of their attackers. Zombie pegasi cast a wide shadow above them, alongside Thunderbirds. Lightning crackled in their talons, ready to strike downward.

"Time for another one of those "emergency landings", youngin!" Scorpan commanded in terror. Thinking quickly, he bounced the ponies on his back off and magically grabbed them in the air, pulling in them to use his body as a protective shield. Then he quickly descended, but took a barrage of needles and terrible shocks to his back, which his large body could take, but still hurt immensely. He suffered enough from the assault to hit the ground on his front, sending the ponies tumbling.

Luna fired energy beams from the horn to fend off the monsters the best that she could, though the reality of their strength in numbers couldn't be overcome. She and the others were surrounded by lava lizards, Manticores, shadow dogs. Pukwudgies, Whirling Mungteeth, and a few Ursa Majors crawling on all fours.

Scorpan quickly got back on his feet and got on his guard. "Stay back! I am a gatekeeper, and I will defend!"

"The rainbow laser, quick!" Spike yelled desperately.

"What? Here?" Fluttershy objected.

"Twilight's awake, let's use it!" Spike urged. "It's our best chance!"

"Oh, okay." Fluttershy reluctantly agreed after narrowly avoiding a swipe from a manticore.

"Yeah... rainbow lasers... answer everything." Twilight sarcastically puffed out.

"Come on! Altogether now!" Rainbow hastily called, shoving the Friendship Princess next to the rest.

The six Equestrian champions lined up, faced their foes and stretched their hooves over to one another. Except Twilight, just sitting and feeling empty. Pinkie was the one to give the trigger. "Friendship is magic!"

"Forgive me, beautiful ones!" Fluttershy pleaded to the monsters upon the growth in magical light. It took all of the surrounding beasts by surprise.

It grew and grew, enveloping all six of these heroes once again. They started to slowly lift off the ground. True to form, their friendship would unleash a glorious, cleansing blast.

But... instead, it flickered on and off before fizzling out entirely. It stopped; no blast.

Collective responses of either "Huh?" or "What the-?" were heard from the group, except Twilight again, remaining silent. The monsters and zombies traded looks in confusion.

"Uh, did I stutter? Friendship is magic!" Pinkie repeated, annoyed. The light of their rainbow attack ignited once more, surprising the beastly squadron again. But the same thing happened. The five healthy heroines didn't notice that the serene glow of friendship's might was being rejected by Twilight. A look of contempt, closed eyes clenched tight, crossed her face within the radiance.

"Come on, work, you darn Elements!" Spike complained.

"Forget the Elements' power, it's cheap!" Twilight snapped, wearing a psychotic, mocking grin, followed by a short coughing fit. There was no more time for talking after that when their monstrous enemies lunged.

Scorpan, as he warned, defended the ponies and dragon to the best of his ability with his own magical skills. Telekinesis, energy blasts fired from his hands, and swapping to his statue form here and there to slam into monsters and zombies. Luna fired more energy beams, Rarity assisted with a few bolts of her own, and everyone else besides the ill Twilight only had their old tricks to rely on. The tussle covered everyone up in a dust cloud.

The fight left everyone rather battered, but they managed to put their foes onto their knees. Luna pacified the Ursa Majors and sent them away by manifesting large, transulent beehives with some of her Nightmare Moon magic.

"I did... my best." Scorpan panted, holding his chest.

"Ow..." Rarity groaned, softly rubbing her head. "How does Twilight do this blasting thing without getting dizzy? Ow..."

"Come on, creepers, i'm up for Round 2!" Rainbow hollered. "Oh no, wait, "super-creatures", sorry Fluttershy." She scanned the area for a moment, and noticed everyone was still present... except for the very pony she mentioned. "Fluttershy? Hey, where's Fluttershy?" Great worry took it's hold on her mind.

"Fluttershy!" Pinkie called. "Oh, Fluttershy!" No response.

A scream of "AAAAAH!" erupted from the bleak forest. Everyone turned to where it came from, recognizing it as the kindly pegasus in trouble.

Far along in the swamplands, Fluttershy was in the clutches of her captor, a Manticore. She screamed again, but rather than doing so in complete fear, she had been doing so to get her friends' attention, hoping they'd follow the sound. She addressed the Manticore with an ice-cold, disapproving gaze.

"You're in big trouble, you bad kitty!" she chastised the lion-scorpion beast through gritted teeth.

The Manticore spoke to her in it's feline language. Fluttershy could read it as if it were the regular Ponish tongue she'd spoken in all her lifetime.

"You're "Just honouring the order of your dear father", you say?" Fluttershy translated. "He's no parent, he's a tyrant! He doesn't love you!" The Manticore roared in her face defensively. "What about Discord? He was your brother, and Grogar demolished him, piece by piece!" she argued.

The Manticore spoke once more, articulating itself in a more impassioned fashion.

"A "Harmony lover?", "Minion of the princesses?" "No brother of yours?!", "Deserved?!"" Fluttershy continued translating. "Well, what kind of daddy does that make Grogar?! Think about it: defy him once and he's done with you!"

The Manticore simply shook it's head back and forth, realizing that this pony just wouldn't understand the relationship between the ram sorcerer and his monster creations. Or what it believed such a relationship to be.

"You serve him out of fear, I can tell." Fluttershy deduced, calmed. "But you and all your brothers and sisters lived and prospered without him. Why can't you go back to that?" The Manticore, clearly now fed up with hearing her words, threatened to bite her wings.

Then it stopped moving, noticing something approaching from the forest darkness. The presence of what it was seeing made it look on in reverence. Within it's view and Fluttershy's was a tall silhouette most familiar. The shape from top to bottom was umistakeable.

"What?" Fluttershy gasped, on the verge of choking up. "No... that isn't..." How badly she wanted to believe it was, but even in this emotional state, her mind couldn't find it possible. "Who are you?!"

The draconequus made a low sound like a lion letting out an evil chuckle. Then swiftly, it came out of the shadows, intent on drawing close and spooking Fluttershy. Smiling down at her, unnaturally toothy, was Havoc, in all of his Discord-impersonating "glory".

Fluttershy shook, stammered and shed tears at the Spirit of Destruction. It was several seconds before she could get out a new sentence. "W-why... Why d-d-do you... look like him?!"

Havoc pointed at Fluttershy, then counted up on his claws. Seeing that they only had one of Twilight's group of six captured, he, through his animal noises, deemed this insufficient, and not the time to go teleporting back to Grogar. He showed six claws, to which the Manticore nodded.

"Fluttershy, i'm here!" Rainbow cried out in a rush, arriving on the scene. "Just tell me whose butt to k-" That's when she noticed Havoc. "IS THAT DI-?!" The fiend noticed back, showed two claws and did a quick snap of claws on his other appendage. This transformed Rainbow into a little oatmeal cookie, which he grabbed out of the air, very much to Fluttershy's shock.



Just like Tirek said, the Pillars escaped into the very caves that the CMC and Sunburst spent an entire week roaming. Victorious in escaping the centaur after their fight, they traveled deep into a dark, crystalline path.

"With us down here, and the others up there, we can spread the attention of Grogar and his pets as thin as possible." said Star Swirl. "No matter how harmless we may seem without our magic, we'll be targeted as threats to their power."

"But what are we to do in the meantime?" Flash Magnus asked.

"We hope." Somnambula proposed. "For now, it's all we can do."

To their great fortune, the Pillars found one of the old minecarts stationed in the caverns. Sadly, there was only space for one passenger. They exchanged some looks of consideration before they silently came to a decision. Rockhoof would hop in and carry Star Swirl on his giant back. The rest would push it forward. When it got going, it spiraled down the tracks into the abyss before them. The ride was wild, like a roller coaster, but before too long it would come to a bumpy end. In the darkness, they couldn't tell where they were.

"Perhaps we made a wrong turn?" Rockhoof mused, scratching his beard.

"Rockhoof, stay close while our eyes adjust." Star Swirl ordered, taking note of how dark the place was.

As they methodically walked through this straight, crystalline tunnel, and their pitch-black view cleared up ever-so-slightly, Rockhoof anticipated the other Pillars catching up, though wondered how without a spare minecart. He couldn't really tell where he and Star Swirl were walking towards. Just a deep hiding spot with no light, perhaps?

"You know, in our era, many a greedy unicorn called these caverns home." Star Swirl proclaimed to break the silence. "Their gems used to be immensely valuable, especially to the society of spellcasters."

"You sound like you have firsthoof experience in here." Rockhoof responded curiously.

"That's because I visited these caverns back then." Star Swirl confirmed. "Not for any treasure, but to find a place where I could practice, alone, far from anypony."

"When?" Rockhoof asked.

"Many times. All the way until we had to send ourselves and Stygian to limbo." Star Swirl answered solemnly.

"Ah, that makes sense." said Rockhoof casually. "We may have been a team, the Pillars of Equestria, but you preferred to be alone, not too keen on friendship." Suddenly, he was beginning to feel he was annoying the old wizard. He spoke sheepishly, "Er, you know what I mean. So... is that all?"

"Well, when I wasn't training myself, I eavesdropped on the unicorns' activity. Those eager gem miners included a very special pony: King Bullion's daughter, Princess Platinum." Star Swirl explained, rubbing his head in subtle embarrassment.

"Really? But what purpose would that have served you?" Rockhoof inquired, an eyebrow raised.

"The princess loved these caves more than any jewels, pearls or metal in all the land." Star Swirl described. "It was her dream to build a castle around them. She'd live at the top, and have a monument to her excellence in it's heart."

"So, what happened?" Rockhoof pressed further.

"We got Canterlot, which was not exactly to Platinum's vision." Star Swirl remarked. "But, that leaves the monument. I never got to see if it had been made. If i'm not mistaken, we're approaching the heart of the cave right now."

"I don't see what that'll do for our predicament." Rockhoof commented.

"It wouldn't hurt to learn history in the time we still have." Star Swirl remarked poignantly. When he looked straight ahead, a faint gleam several yards away came into view. It almost looked like a sunlit exit. The two Pillars took interest and rushed over to see the source up-close. Star Swirl uttered "My word." at what turned out to be an exceptionally shiny stone carving of Princess Platinum, surrounded by gemstones.

Up above this area was a wide void, no ceiling. Pointing towards it, atop the monument, was a worn, rusty, jewel-adorned crown.

"Her design came true." Star Swirl breathed.

"Fortuitous, is what this is." Rockhoof concluded. "To think all these moons it's been undiscovered."

"Rockhoof, is that you?" Somnambula's voice echoed behind.

"Over here!" the large stallion called back. Unfortunately, this attracted the source of other sounds. Sounds more monstrous and demonic. It was an omen that made the two Pillars exchange looks of worry.



The message Spike blew away travelled fast and homed in on it's target at Cozy Glow's School of Friendship. Just one obstacle got in it's way: a window. Inside, Trixie was giving one of her smoke & mirrors demonstrations, monitored closely by Twittermites. Her eyes shifted back and forth out of nervousness, hoping her dreadful time was at least informative.

One longing look towards the window got her to notice the smoke trail outside. She gestured at everyone to wait, opened and closed it quickly, and the Midnight Kingdom parchment manifested in front of her.

"Finally, outside social activity." Trixie moaned gratefully before reading it. Instantly, she saw the names written in it, and widened her eyes at it's clear importance. As if responding to privacy violation, she said "Do you mind?" to her Twittermite supervisors, and covered herself and the letter.

"Professor Trixie, what does it say?" Patty Peppermint asked, her hoof raised. All she got for a reply was a shushing command.

The magician concluded her silent reading and faced the schoolchildren seriously. "Class, you've learned a lot today. I declare this naptime, for there'll be plenty more great and powerful lessons. Don't want your brains low on energy." she announced. "That's fair, right?" The Twittermites buzzed in approval, thankfully, so as long as Trixie went to sleep herself. She rolled under her desk as the students lowered their heads down on their desks and rested their eyes.

Hiding, Trixie quickly thought of a plan to write back, in which she slowly - quietly - tore the parchment in half. Next, she pulled a readied quill out of her cape. Student Counseling 102: keep a pen, even if you have no paper! she thought proudly.

Before Trixie started writing, intense worry surged in her mind. In that moment, the first name she wrote was "Starlight".

In the time it'd take to throw a smoke bomb and exit, Trixie wrote this message:

"Dear Starlight,
i'm afraid i'm caught up in teaching magician lessons at Cozy Glow's school.
I hope you're doing okay, like Twilight said you are.
She, her friends, and Princess Luna mailed me today, and are in a bind as well.
Apparently, they found some hat from an old Equestrian leader, Puddinghead.
No idea how that's important, but it's important to me that we speak again soon.
Sincerely, your Greatest and Powerfulest friend, Trixie."

Followed by this one:

"Dear Twilight and friends,
I'm in a terrible situation, too, teaching magician classes at Cozy Glow's school.
I don't know what that hat will do to help things, but I hope you stay strong.
My students are currently on their napping breaks.
Princess Luna, if you want to warp over here, seize this chance now.
I've sent Starlight a letter as well, so maybe she'll write to us both.
Sincerely, the Great and Powerful Trixie."

"Alright, now, remember your training." Trixie whispered to herself. She took a moment to focus and breathe. Until finally, "Delivery, Starlight aaaand Twilight." A flash from her horn turned the parchment halves into traveling beams of light. At first they headed for the window, but ricocheted off it's glass and flew out the classroom door. Thankfully, none of the students were disturbed, but the Twittermites noticed. "Oops!", the magician weakly uttered.

"Attention, school staff and students!" Cozy called over the intercom. "Exciting news! I've just been informed that three old friends of mine are being brought over here, all the way from Tambelon! Look forward to the future vice headmare, student counselor and official headmare's butler! We're gonna have fun, like old times! Thank you!"

Trixie couldn't be more glad about that distraction for the Twittermites. They had forgotten about the parchment-turned-light beams. But knowing her back was against the wall anyway, she remained beneath the desk and forced herself into slumberland.



Gallus, his friends, their caretakers and the other griffons, flew as a unit over The Abysmal Abyss, the windy, seemingly bottomless chasm near Griffonstone. It had expanded to an outrageous level, stretching for miles, thanks to the earthquakes. Yona and Prince Rutherford had to ride Ocellus and Pharynx, respectively, to get across and back.

"So, boy, which way to this Tree of yours?" Grampa Gruff asked his child.

"It's deep in the Everfree Forest, the place covered with thick trees, right on the outskirts of Ponyville." Gallus answered. "You'll see the path when we get there."

Unfortunately, the Abyss's winds had gotten stronger. They had to fight against the air currents, and if they flew extremely high, they had lightning from the storm clouds to worry about, so it was no use going above them. They didn't give up, but even at just the right height, they were at risk at being blown in the wrong direction.

Griffons, the dragons and the hippogriffs were going all over the place, other griffons putting their strength into keeping them on a straight path. But worse, the changelings teetered, which was bad news for the flightless yaks. Most of all, Rutherford. These winds and the yak prince's weight had begun to take their toll on Pharynx's giant transformation.

"Yak unbalanced!" Rutherford yelled, panicked.

At this most inopportune time, a lightning bolt hit Pharynx's head, and with an exclamation of pain and exhaustion, he gave in to the current. Silverstream, Seaspray, Ocellus and some Griffons banded together to push and pull him, but unfortunately, Rutherford had fallen off.

"Help Yak!" he screamed. He was too heavy for the winds to push him back up.

Many of the fliers had noticed, and tried to pursue him, but they were blown back. Gallus and Silverstream took a dive together, but they didn't fare any better. Ocellus fought against it to catch the two. Gallus looked at her, thinking of something.

"Ocellus, can you give us a big push through?" he requested of the changeling youth.

"What do you mean?" Ocellus inquired in confusion.

"Like, can you toss us through there, while you're like this?" Gallus clarified. The spoken thought made Silverstream cringe with dread.

"I'll see..." Ocellus replied hesistantly. "Maybe... if i'm just..." she rose closer to the clouds, holding the griffon and hippogriff children in her transformation's claws, until she was out of the current. It was risky to reach that altitude, but she felt this needed to be tried. Ocellus pulled her arms back, and threw her friends downward, like a pair of darts, with great force.

Down Gallus and Silverstream flew. The power behind the throw allowed them to break through the strengthened wind. In the moment, Silverstream made a realization.

"Oh, I get it!" she chirped. "Gallus, spin! Do it in style, like the Wonderbolts!" Spin she did. Gallus looked and understood, proceeding to mimic that maneuver. Their small selves keep going, until Rutherford was in sight. The two avian hybrids grasped him tight and spread their wings. They weren't blown up, but they managed to slow down the big yak's fall.

A few more seconds later, they had descended well into the darkness of the Abysmal Abyss. It was illuminated enough by the crimson light of the sky to see what was in there. They had reached the bottom, where Rutherford would land a bit roughly, but otherwise safely.

"Griffon and Hippogriff save Yak life!" said Rutherford gratefully. "You honourary Yak brother and sister!"

"But how do we get you back up?" Silverstream puzzled out loud. "You're too heavy to lift. Uh, no offense." Rutherford didn't have any response.

"Well, i'm glad this abyss actually has a bottom." Gallus noted. His eyes turned above, to everyone still flying. He cupped his talons around his beak to holler "Grampa Gruff, guys, we're okay! Keep going, i'm sure you can figure something out up there!" But no indication if his voice made it past the sound of the winds, especially from that far below.

The three of them took a moment to gaze on their surroundings. The Abyss bottom seemed to be covered in different treasures, metallic objects and bones.

"What is this place?" Silverstream asked.

"Huh. From the looks of things, lost treasures of Griffonstone history." Gallus surmised. "Gold... armour... crowns... bones of enemies, probably..." One drew his eye in. "Hey, it's that Idol of Boreas." Then  he quickly resumed. "Strange that so much is piled into this spot."

"No waste time, we must go!" Rutherford puffed.

"Okay, okay, just... let me take a moment." said Gallus. "Ah!" he uttered at a particular sight. "The helmets of the royal guard." Golden headpieces, all identical and rusted with age, sat in a cluster with torn-off armor pieces. "The gear that ties the outfit together." He saluted the helmets, as if paying to respects to the spirits of the griffon warriors.

"Cool!" Silverstream yipped. "I bet you'd look amazing with one on!"

"Well, if the chance ever arose, I would love to be a royal griffon guard." Gallus admitted, followed by sighing. "I just need the guts for it."

"You showed that to Grampa Gruff!" Silverstream reminded. "You're gonna be great!"

Gallus chuckled. "Let's just call that my practice run." he said modestly, acknowledging the boost to his confidence. He figured he'd take one last look at all the helmets. That was all it took to catch... a helmet that looked rather out of place.

This strange helmet had gold accents, but was dominantly black. Of course, it looked as worn as the others.

"That certainly doesn't look like Griffonstone custom." Gallus thought aloud. "Must've been a visitor's."

"You're right." said Silverstream upon inspection. "But what creature could've dropped it?"

"I don't know, but it stands out. Like me." Gallus commented. With that, he felt compelled to pick the helmet up. "I better take this."

"What for?" Rutherford queried.

Gallus replied "Building character, I guess?" as he put the metallic headpiece on his head, seeming to enter a daydream.

The three marched to the other end of the Abyss, where the rest were headed. They had to climb over an increasingly high mound of stone and dirt, no doubt the fragments of the cliff affected by the earthquakes, and the reason for the expansion. With only the strain of fighting gravity hindering them, along with a few loose pebbles, they got to the top. But there was a dead end.

"Hey, guys! You've got a long rope, or something?!" Gallus hollered upward. As if on cue, something ropelike came down. But the rope was actually a chain. A chain of griffons, wings closed, with Ocellus, in her giant transformed state, at the end as a weight, held up by Yona, held up by Seaspray and Grampa Gruff. "Whoa, that... that's creative."

Indeed, the griffons were putting strenuous effort into holding this chain. At the top, the transformed Pharynx was pulling the whole load with help from Ember and Smolder.

"Hurry!" Ocellus panted. Gallus and Silverstream grabbed on to their changeling pal without causing any issues, but Rutherford's heftiness was felt across the entire chain. Still, with extreme determination, every winged creature holding together opened their wings to the mighty wind current.

Pharynx and the dragons gave a hard, exhausting pull, until, like a rubber band, the chain snapped back up the cliff, even with the extra pounds added below. The two young fliers made it out, their rescue a complete success.

"Rutherford!" Yona exclaimed in relief.

"Yona!" Rutherford exclaimed back. The two embraced, cherishing this precious moment of togetherness after the distressing last few.

"No need to thank us, Yak brother and sister." said Gallus.

"Well done, sonny." Grampa Gruff congratulated the blue griffon youth. "Just tell me you're gonna do that, my old heart races easily!" Gallus nervously nodded in compliance.

The students and their caretakers knew only one path forward from here: to the Treehouse of Harmony. Back to Equestria; whatever remained of it.
> Part 3 - Chapter 4 (12): Survival of Friendship
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"GET! BACK!" Fluttershy was now yelling in genuine fear. Her captor, the wicked impostor draconequus stood by, expecting her fear-driven friends to come for her regardless.

"Rainbow, hold your horses!" Applejack hollered, emerging from the trees. "That beastie'll shred you!" She didn't get a moment to register the presence of Havoc before he snapped his claws, transforming her into an orange.

"I SAID GET BACK!" Fluttershy, panicked, screamed louder.

"Applejack, what just happened?!" Rarity, coming up not far behind the farm pony, wailed at the magical change, then saw the pony-turned-orange levitate towards the draconequus, and gasped at the horrific sight of him, before she was suddenly transformed, too. She became a rock, and was also tightly gripped in telekinesis, along with the orange and cookie forms of her friends.

Havoc counted four on his claws, snickering in sinister delight. Party sounds were heard, and without warning, a cake flew into his face. The sudden hit caused him to drop the kind pegasus and the floating objects.

Fluttershy got up quickly and saw her savior. It was Pinkie Pie, using her party bazooka from within the trees. Her legs, as if by themselves, moved her towards where she knew it was safer. The manticore lunged for it's prey, but the bazooka fired again, this time launching balloons that popped in the faces of it and Havoc, to disorienting effect. Fluttershy slipped out of their sights by the time they composed themselves.

Pinkie Pie was caught. She pulled the trigger again, but it turned out she was out of ammo. Just like Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity, she was swiftly turned into an immobile object; in her case, a plastic spoon. Havoc pointed in the direction the other ponies came, the manticore heeding this as a command.

"Twilight, Luna, get away!" Fluttershy desperately cried as she flew.

Luna had been a fair bit farther behind than the ponies whom had gone to meet a literally transformative fate, looking after Twilight with Spike and Scorpan. All of them still felt the exhaustion that overtook them earlier. Luna, hearing the plea through the woods, immediately went on full alert, raising a wing at the sickly Twilight and recommended she "Stay down.", which she was content to do anyway.

"I don't understand. She yells in distress, then wants us to fall back?" Scorpan puzzled.

"If I know Fluttershy, she's gotten into something worse than before." Twilight grimly guessed.

"We should hope not." said Scorpan, trying to be optimistic.

Fluttershy sped towards them at a pace that Rainbow would truly smile upon, hyperventilating and sweating.

"Oh, thank my sister, you've escaped!" Luna breathed in relief.

"They sent a fake Discord! A fake, evil Discord!" Fluttershy wailed. "He got our friends and turned them into things!"

"What?" Twilight gasped.

Luna's eyes widened with horror. Scorpan, like his brother, knew all too well from legend what damage Discord was capable of causing. The news of this evil copy triggered his instincts into hovering aside and returning to his statue state to hide. As they responded, all around them, the trees disintegrated, leaving nothing to hide behind from the beast and the doppelganger.

It looked like it was over. They were cornered. The last two ponies Havoc needed to count, and the night princess as a bonus, were right there. They were coming up fast, and the heroic creatures had no defense. What could they do? Was hope lost?

"Sister, help us!" Luna prayed.

"No way!" Spike shrieked, spewing fire from his raised voice.

Then, Havoc was right in their faces, holding the changed friends. Glaring down, he spotted the cowering Fluttershy. He counted five on his claws. Luna hid Twilight under the wings the best she could, but was pushed aside to put the defeated little princess in his sight. Finally, he counted six.

Fluttershy, though now coated in dread like it were a blanket, knew she couldn't do nothing about this monster. Literal courage soon rose out of her. Against her better judgment, she put on a game face and flew up to Havoc's. Only certain it was her last resort, she used the Stare on him.

It had no effect on the draconequus she knew and loved, so she acted only on a hunch. "Look at me, creepy!" She ordered. If this would be the last thing she'd do, Fluttershy was going to commit to this Stare: the hardest she'd ever given, hyperfocused on this one target. It seemed like it was going to be brushed off, but surprisingly, it didn't seem ineffective. Havoc groaned, looking genuinely unnerved by the giant, angry pegasus eyes up close in his vision.

The manticore roared impatiently, poised to strike Fluttershy out of the air with it's scorpion tail. But, it stopped short of her coat, for Luna acted fast and telekinetically grabbed it's tip. With a yank, she painfully set the hybrid down on it's side.

Havoc, though clearly immobilized, was beginning to break himself free from the Stare's powerful influence. He got ready to snap both of his sets of claws and thought of his next destination. Before he could trigger his magic, though, he began to lose his strength. This was no accident, however. His power was being sapped away. On his right, Scorpan had reverted back to flesh and used his draining spell on the impostor, collecting magic as his centaur brother would've. Strangely, something was different. He didn't eat the vitality, he accumulated it into a large, glowing ball that he hovered over one of his hands. Havoc was on his knees, unable to act.

"Wait!" Fluttershy interrupted, fully aware again. "He needs that magic to change our friends back!" In response, Scorpan slowed the process of his spell down.

"Oh, sorry." he apologized. "Where are they?" Fluttershy pointed to the cookie, orange, rock and plastic spoon on the ground. "I see. But will he cooperate?"

"He'd better!" Fluttershy snarled at the draconequus, giving him a glass-breaking glare.

Havoc, feeling the brunt of defeat for the first time ever, felt too weak to defy anyone at this point. How easily he gave in to the pressure at his enemies' mercy. He slapped down on the objects, resulting in them changing back to their true, equine forms, and then he was drained completely.

"My word, all my memories... l-like, lightning fast!" Rarity whimpered.

"What... what the... what..!" Rainbow sputtered.

All four of them took a moment to analyze their surroundings. Being turned into things with no life in them sure had a confusing and frightening impact. They jumped and screeched at the sight of the weary Havoc, but calmed down when he realized he was now harmless.

"What a terrible knockoff." Applejack derided the monstrous pretender.

"Girls!" uttered Fluttershy, so relieved that her friends were alive. She hugged them so tight, never wanting to let go.

"I can't tell what happened, but I'm glad you aren't a thingamabob." Pinkie happily said.

"That was opportune." Twilight weakly remarked.

"That, big sis, was fighting with faith." Spike corrected.

Sometime later, the heroes had the weakened Havoc tied up in vines supplemented by a magical tether, sitting upright against a rock in the ground. The manticore was kept in check by Fluttershy, everyone else was contemplating their next move.

"Has "faith" come up with any plans yet?" Twilight sarcastically asked.

"I sent a letter to Trixie, remember?" Spike reminded patiently. "We should be getting a reply any time now. Preferably today, but... you know."

Like a jinx (but in a positive manner), a beam of light soared at everyone and hit the ground, changing shape to a piece of the parchment that Spike had sent. They gathered around to read.

"Yes!" Spike whooped, seeing the magician's name.

"Cozy Glow's school?!" Applejack said incredulously. "So, she never gave that ridiculous dream up?"

"This Trixie sounds like a very important pony." Scorpan thought out loud, enthusiastic.

"I hate her." Twilight grumbled, predictably.

"She wants Luna to come over." Fluttershy gulped. "Over to a school run by that rotten foal?"

"I will do what I must." Luna dutifully announced. "I only hope the students are still asleep as we receive this message. Now, who needs a nap?"

"I do." Scorpan yawned. "Today's been quite much for an old gatekeeper like me. Your wish is my command." He bowed to the night princess, and closed his eyes, transitioning back into solid stone.

"Thank you, old friend." Luna said, bowing back. With a large flash of her horn, she opened the gate to the realm of dreams once again. Before disappearing above the slumbering statue form of the ancient prince, she glanced one more time at the ponies and dragon.

"Worry not, Luna, darling. She's in tender, loving hooves." Rarity assured, wrapping her hoof around the pessimistic Twilight.

"Give me the hat. I can deliver it home faster." Luna suggested, tilting towards her portal. Rarity floated Puddinghead's hat over to her, and with that, the seven were left alone.

"Still got some of that grub left, Applejack?" Spike requested.

Applejack checked her person to find that the stocks of food she carried around previously were gone. She scanned the area, still cleared of trees, until she spotted her small saddlebags spread around the ground. It looked like crumbs had spilled all over the place.

"Well, with any luck..." she whispered, hoping there was something to salvage.



Starlight, Shining Armor and Stygian were inside Tambleon Castle, checking every nook and cranny. None of them were getting lucky in their search for a key to taking Grogar down.

Starlight, using the Accelero spell once again, zipped over to the stallions, wearing an expression of frustration after stopping. "Not a thing in any of these rooms." she regretfully noted. "Worse, I can't teleport, break or see through these walls and ceilings."

"I wasn't thinking he'd be predictable, but..." Shining Armor pondered. "From experience, I can guess what we need is somewhere up high, and secluded; the keep, in the back."

"Well, unfortunately, there's tighter security." Starlight pointed out.

They were interrupted by a beam of light, just like the one that came to Twilight's group, coming through the window and hitting Starlight in the head.

"Ow!" She exclaimed, instinctively rubbing her sore temple.

The beam turned into the other letter. The three unicorns took notice and decided to take a look. Starlight held it up in the air, and she immediately recognized the nature of the message.

"It's Trixie!" Starlight cried joyfully. She quickly switched to dread when more of the letter was scanned. "Cozy Glow's school?! If that's where she is, then... so are the students!" She continued and finished reading. "Twilight and the others need our help, too! I gotta write back to them all! If only I had a pen and extra parchment!" Her stress was now putting her on the verge of breaking down.

"Easy there." Shining Armor murmured, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "Calm down, and show us the way."

Starlight cooled off for a moment and sighed. "At least I got the layout memorized." Next, taking a breath and silently praying, she grabbed Shining Armor and Stygian, with Cadance also gripped hard, and told them to "Hold on." Accelero carried them forward quickly.

Below their level, Sunburst and Discord were climbing a spiral staircase. Well, Sunburst was climbing, and forced to carry Discord, who just couldn't stand all the walking.

"Sorry, chum." Discord apologized meekly, not in his usual, more sardonic matter.

"Eh, I watched three fillies for days. This is nothing." Sunburst dryly said. Unsure of what to talk about, he had a question to raise. "Say, is there any intel you can give about Grogar? You mentioned he was your father in your long confession, right?"

"To be truthful - really - I can't give everything." Discord admitted. "What I know is that he made a tome with all of his spells written down."

"You mean he owns a spellbook?" Sunburst presumed.

"Yes, and I know after his four-creature delivery service found it for him, he'd keep it in his personal library." Discord confirmed. "But, if I remember the old ram well, he's likely got it behind a curse that only he and his creations can bypass."

"That's better than nothing." Sunburst accepted. He picked up his stair trotting pace with a fire of determination lit ablaze. "Let's hope Starlight isn't too far ahead." Soon, he reached the top and opened a door to find a hallway, and a wide-open window. He looked out to realize it overlooked the crowd of ponies below, having collected all the food they need and being sent home by Grogar and his army in an orderly fashion. "Grogar's watching the hungry ponies, still. Not for much longer, though." he said from his observation.

Back with Starlight, Shining Armor and Stygian, they had reached the obstacle she had spoken of. It was a simple stairway, going in only one direction: diagonally up. No curves, whatsoever. The top of it couldn't be seen, for it was cloaked in darkness.

"Uh... what's secure about this?" Shining Armor asked, scratching his mane.

"Watch." Starlight instructed. She quickly ran up the stairs, and got several feet up from the bottom, before she stopped. Except, she didn't stop moving. She was still running, full speed, but her momentum came to a complete halt. As if it were a fast treadmill, it wouldn't let her go any higher, yet from her point of view, it looked like the ascent was still in progress. She ignited her horn, became a lightning-fast blur, teleported, fired a blast, all to no avail. "See? I can't even cheat this thing. It's like the barriers over the windows and balconies outside."

"Not good." Shining Armor growled. Then he thought of something. "Perhaps if we had one of those dark stone things, we could disable this curse?"

"No." Stygian replied. "Grogar's Malice Magic is beyond the capabilities of all forms of magic nullification to date. But..." Without another word, he steeled himself and charged into the stairway.

"Stygian, what are you doing?" Starlight asked, confused.

The small, cloaked unicorn ran up the stairs to the same effect, but did something else. He spoke in Old Ponish. Something eerie, like an incantation.

"Stygian, you can't cast a spell without magic." Shining Armor stated, shaking his head. He was ignored.

"Starlight!" Sunburst called from across the hallways.

"Sunburst?!" Starlight cried in surprise.

"Can you hear me!?" Sunburst called again.

"O-over here!" Starlight hollered, directing him.

"I'll be the compass!" Discord could be heard announcing. "This architecture's my specialty!"

"Follow my voice!" Starlight yelled. Shining Armor helped by neighing. None of this disturbed Stygian's chanting.

Something was heard moving behind the two loud unicorns, and that's when they saw the thick darkness above come down towards Stygian, as if answering his call. It threatened to envelop him.

"What are you-" Starlight stammered. "N-NO!" An energy beam shot out of her horn, almost as if not by her command. It hit Stygian, but didn't phase him. The darkness took hold of Stygian like a parasite. He called to it, and it accepted; henceforth, they became one.

"DO NOT STOP ME!" he shrieked, taking a familiar form. He was a Pony of Shadows again. Dark tentacles extended from the pitch-black mass and entangled the other unicorns. Starlight and Shining Armor grunted as they were pulled in, along with the unconscious Cadance.

"Starlight, is that what I think it is?!" Sunburst shouted in terror, coming over close to the others' area. More dark tentacles came out to grab him, as well. "Stygian, what are you-?"

All of the unicorns, as well as Discord, had been swallowed up by Stygian's transformation. Not only that, they had been forced into the union. All of them merged with the darkness, and where there was only one face before, there were now five. One laughed, the other four screamed for help. Swiftly, it crept up the stairs, unimpeded by the curse.

Their destination was a tower. The Pony of Shadows stopped at the top of the climb.

"THIS IS A PRODUCT OF MALICE MAGIC, BUT THE POISON IS AT THE CORE!" Stygian explained emphatically. "YOU'RE FINE, GUYS! NOW REJECT IT!"

He sure didn't need to tell Starlight twice. Her extreme buildup of emotion blasted her out of the mass, along with everyone, save Stygian. For a moment, all of them still looked like the dark creature, even having deformed features, like split horns. But they returned to the usual selves.

"Stygian, I've got you!" Starlight hollered, hoping to save her shadow-covered ally with her magical tether, as was done before.

"FORGET IT! YOU DON'T HAVE HELP!" Stygian objected.

"Look, that must be the tome!" Discord shouted, pointing at something in the middle of the tower room. He saw Grogar's Tome, floating atop a pedestal, encased in a Malice Magic bubble. "Everypony, look!"

"That thing?" Sunburst guessed, looking where the former draconequus was pointing. "Starlight, that book! We need that spellbook!"

"Busy here!" Starlight answered.

"I'VE GOT THAT!" Stygian declared. Stretching his tendrils of darkness towards the Malice bubble, he clasped it, and pulled on the tome. Electricity enfolded him, veins appeared on his ethereal body, and he roared like a demon from the surge of irreversibly evil power. Still, he wouldn't quit. He managed to get that tome out of the bubble, throwing it to the floor. But afterwards, the normal pony that was still present inside that dark form was becoming more a shadow than ever. Starlight's tether's hold was lost.

"Stygian, hang in there!" Starlight called.

"SORRY... CAN'T... ESCAPE..!" Stygian remorsefully affirmed. His eyes closed, and his body ceased any further actions. He breathed in sorrowful acceptance as he was carried away back into the greater darkness, descending the stairs and eventually, fading away, like a shy ghost. His face split apart like a kicked cloud, spreading through the walls and ceilings.

Stygian was gone.

"No." Starlight mumbled in disbelief. She couldn't believe that after her help in saving Stygian from the darkness, he is lost by returning to it.

"I can't believe that worked." said Shining Armor. "He mastered the shadows."

"But at what cost?" Starlight added grimly.

"Oh, Starlight." Sunburst moaned sadly. "I guess this was just one of those things. Sacrifices, and all." he then motioned towards the tome. "Come on, let's not let his be for nothing."

"Sunburst? Why are you here?" Starlight asked, shaken up a bit by the loss of Stygian.

"The CMC sent me off." Sunburst simply replied. He opened up the tome and flipped through the pages.

"What happened to them?" Starlight pressed further.

"Oh, I overheard they were sent away by one of my brothers, or sisters." Discord answered himself. "So way in over their little heads."

"Yeah, me too, but there's no time to talk about that!" Sunburst stressed. "We've got to find what we need before Grogar or his beasts find us!" With only a few more page turns, he found it. "Aha! Here we are: Malice Assimilation and Malice Release!"

"Ugh, if only I had something to write these spells down on." Starlight complained.

"So, that's how he used the spell that did this to Cadance." said Shining Armor, taking in the tome's illustrations.

"I've got an idea." Sunburst said. He took off his cape and offered it. "Can you transfigure this into paper?"

Starlight stared blankly for a few moments. Finally, she said "Hey, that's a good idea." Her horn flashed and fired a transfiguration spell to turn Sunburst's cape into a big scroll. With it, the brooch that kept it closed became a working quill. She smiled at the success, thinking of all her magic lessons paying off. Sunburst beamed at her enthusiasm.

At a brisk rate, she wrote this message:

"Dear Twilight,
I'm with some of our friends in Grogar's castle, in Tambelon: formerly Canterlot.
I heard about your situation from Trixie, and I hope you and the others are staying safe.
If you make it back, here's some thought waves from Grogar's Tome you could use later.
That hat you found seems pretty significant, so hang on to it. See you soon.
Sincerely, Starlight Glimmer."
Below the message was the written Malice spells, for thoughts to process.

Then she wrote this:

"Dear Trixie,
I'm inside Grogar's castle at the former site of Canterlot, now known as Tambelon.
Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine. I even have some friends along.
We found that wizard's tome, and a way we can disable our enemies' powers.
I'm sending Twilight a message, too, and hope this knowledge will help her in the end.
Whatever Cozy Glow is putting you and the students through, hang tight. All of you.
Sincerely, your best of friends, Starlight Glimmer."

She flicked her horn, visualized the desired recipients, and sent the messages through the nearest tower window. She looked at it, and a thought rushed to her mind.

"I think we should follow." said Starlight, looking a little sly.

"What do you mean?" Sunburst asked.

Starlight flung herself, and everyone else with her, out that very same window, leading them all into a great, several story fall. Thankfully, it allowed her to get out. Screaming was heard from her allies for a moment, before she teleported them and herself away.



Grogar had already reached the council room and started viewing Arimaspi's Eye. He had caught Starlight's group, just as they went out the window. Before he could teleport them to him, they had vanished. His jaw slightly dropped.

"I didn't expect that." Grogar said quietly, genuinely impressed with this unicorn's quick thinking and acting.



The Pillars reunited at the Princess Platinum statue, but they were cornered by the monsters and zombies that followed.

"My friends, it's been an honour to fight alongside you all." Star Swirl stated, lamenting their helplessness.

"If we go down, this spot will be a memorial for us, too." said Rockhoof, all dignified.

POOF! Starlight's group appeared before them all, startling the enemy forces.

"There you are!" Starlight exclaimed. Noticing the monsters and zombies, she ignited her horn once more and stamped the ground, unleashing a magical shock wave and restraints to push them back.

"Hope has paid off!" Somnambula cheered.

"Guys, what did you find here?" Starlight questioned ecstatically.

"Princess Platinum's crown." Star Swirl confirmed.

Starlight gasped. "Twilight and her friends found Puddinghead's hat!" she reported. "They might be bringing it home!"

"Puddinghead?" Star Swirl exhaled in disbelief. "How can that be? It's too coincidental."

"Well, maybe this is the coincidence we've needed." Starlight surmised. "If they're taking that hat, we should take this crown."

"And defile this memento?" Rockhoof questioned.

"Okay, so I'm following my gut here, again, but..." Starlight admitted, now uncertain on how to finish her sentence.

"So shall I." Star Swirl agreed. "Let's just have faith. You five have endured much today." he did a double take. "No, four. Where's Stygian? Didn't he go with you?"

Everyone conscious in Starlight's group hung their heads.

"He did. But, we got to a point we couldn't pass, unless..." Starlight started, gritting her teeth in shame.

"A sacrifice was made." Sunburst sadly followed. Star Swirl held his hoof up to his muzzle in shock.

"The castle didn't allow shortcuts. He found a loophole, by rejoining the shadows." Starlight went on. "He surrendered to them, to get us to the information we sought. Then he vanished."

The Pillars were speechless. They might've been caught in the trance of mourning a little while longer if the monsters and zombies hadn't recomposed themselves, broken free and prepared another, more furious assault. Rockhoof grabbed the crown and huddled with the rest.

"Let's get out of this cave!" Star Swirl barked. POOF! Each of them, gone.



Arimaspi's Eye followed Starlight's group, but it was hard to track them and get a good lock on them for teleportation with them popping in and out from place to place. Ever since they reached the Pillars' location, the same light that blinded the Eye to wherever Twilight's group was reappeared. Star Swirl and the others could be slightly made out, but there was no telling where they were.

"Ah, of course. The Tree was grown from the Pillars' seed." Grogar grumbled. "Impeccably sly, Starlight." He put a hoof on his beard and thought for a second. "What did they do in there?" He switched the Eye's view to the inside of the keep's bottom, where his tome rested. He noticed right away that it wasn't inside the Malice bubble, but on the floor next to it. "My tome! How did they get it out? How did they even get in the keep?" He had grown concerned of an oversight, and felt compelled to investigate.

He switched the Eye's view of his monster squadrons and sent them portals to the surface of Tambelon to walk through, before he walked through a portal himself. The ram sorcerer stood inside his tome's room. He immediately figured to look at the cursed stairs. Doing so tickled one of his senses.

"Pony life signs." he presumed.



Twilight and the others finished with their afternoon snack.

"This brute won't say a thing, no matter how hard I Stare at him." Fluttershy complained about Havoc.

"Well, does the manticore know anything?" Rainbow asked.

"Nothing we don't already know." Fluttershy affirmed. "I can't even get these two to chat."

"Well, I've got nothing." said Applejack. "I'd tell you to keep trying..."

"Why not? You're too honest, right?" Twilight muttered.

"What the hay is that supposed to mean?" Applejack annoyedly inquired.

"Oh, I'm just saying, it's okay to admit you have no options to weigh." Twilight bitterly explained. "Come clean and cut your losses. Of which we have a lot."

Applejack's face shifted to a dog-like grimace.

"What I want to know is: why didn't the "Friendship is Magic" laser work?" Pinkie wondered.

"Oh, don't you already know?" Twilight snarked. "Friendship is a fragile little thing, and ours has been rotting. I swear you treat me more like a princess, somepony to spoil and expect everything from, than simply your friend."

Applejack stamped her hooves and growled. Her temper was boiling at this rate. "You know what, Twilight? I'm plum tuckered of you criticizing us for every one of our little imperfections!"

"I don't ask for perfection, I ask for common sense!" Twilight argued.

"Well, we're doing the best we can, "friend" of ours!" Pinkie yelled.

"You tell, but you don't show!" Twilight fired back. "Face it, your faith is blind!"

"Look who's talking!" Rainbow spoke up angrily.

"Oh, go turn some heads with a Sonic Rainboom; you're good at that!" Twilight spat.

"Girls, come on!" Spike pleaded.

"I thought all you could ever ask for is us caring!" Rarity pointed out. "Don't you care for Equestria anymore?"

"I don't owe Equestria anything!" Twilight snarled. "As far as I'm concerned, they tossed us out!"

"You're being so ridiculous! Quit it right now!" Fluttershy growled.

"You don't have the slightest clue what I'm feeling!" Twilight bellowed. "You were never good at figuring that out!"

Spike blew flames in the hopes of stopping this argument, but it kept going past the smoke.

"I know what you're feeling, and it's not helping!" Applejack yelled.

"You haven't felt Malice Magic, this horrible sickness!" Twilight uttered darkly. "You think I can work past this!?"

"Stop, stop, stop, STOP!" Spike repeated, strained.

"We are not taking that as an excuse!" Applejack shouted in exasperation. "Maybe we did earlier, but not anymore!"

"Fine! Why don't you..." Twilight seethingly panted. Then, like lightning, she pounced on Applejack and stuck her broken horn down at her, as if trying to zap her face with an energy bolt, screaming "TRY IT!?" For a moment, there was some rough and tumble. Spike pulled on his livid sister with all his might. Pinkie helped him by pushing her away, and Rainbow lifted the grounded Applejack up.

Applejack wasn't really harmed at all, just a little dirty from the very brief scuffle. Twilight cringed and breathed in and out very heavily from the pain in her veins. Spike looked at her, silently begging for the escalation to cease. Applejack and the others looked at Twilight in anger and shame.

"Is that any way to treat ponies who've only wanted you to be happy?" Pinkie, shedding tears, chided.

Twilight began to cry as well. Every thought in her brain was one of indignance. She felt like these ponies believed they owed them thanks in return. She saw a betrayal to what made their camaraderie bloom in the first place. Her single, wet eye glared at the five, and a strong, rare, three-word sentence left her muzzle like a bullet.

"I HATE YOU!"

The five other ponies recoiled a bit at hearing those words hit their ears, coming from Twilight, and with true, spiteful loathing.

"You don't mean that!" Spike said worriedly, through gritted teeth.

"I've heard just about enough." Applejack uttered in disdain.

"Okay, go ahead and sit this out!" Rainbow said scathingly. "We'll find a way to save Equestria and kick villain butt without you!"

"But you can't!" Spike reminded the bunch. "Remember? The Elements? Take one out, and the rest are useless!"

"There's more to friendship than rainbow lasers, Spike." Applejack asserted.

"I'm glad it's settled!" Twilight called over hatefully.

As Twilight and the rest of the gang walked in separate directions, Spike ran over to the damaged alicorn, his heart knowing that she couldn't be left alone, no matter what.

"You just need to cool off, I'm sure." Spike expressed in good faith. "This is not how it ends between us. Right?"

As he begged for a resolution, Twilight stopped and sat on a spot near a little pond, looking again at her tarnished facial features, and the horn and wings that were no longer there. On the opposite side, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow stopped and laid down in contemplation. It seemed the rage was already passing, but much had to be thought about.



Trixie, still asleep, had begun having a nightmare. Something was going to catch her. Something was taking her by surprise. Then, speaking of surprise, Luna popped out of the dream portal, right above her desk. Everybody in the classroom woke up at her hoofsteps.

Trixie yelped and hit her head on the ceiling below the top of her desk. "Owie!"

The Twittermites monitoring the sleeping students looked at Luna and prepared to zap her with a barrage of lightning bolts. Acting fast, she blocked them with a shield, turned that shield into a big bubble to enclose the Twittermites in, then sent them flying away out of the classroom window to the left, into the cold of Yakyakistan.

"Who goes there?" Trixie called, on the defensive.

"Counselor Trixie!" Luna answered. "I got your message."

"Princess Luna!" Trixie gasped. She lunged forward and grabbed Luna's hooves, kissing them in gratitude and relief. "Thank your sister, it's you! I saw demons everywhere! And then..."

"Eh, yes." said Luna, embarrassed. "Enough with that, please."

"Ha ha ha ha, oops." Trixie laughed nervously.

"This looks just like the School of Friendship. Where is this place?" Luna inquired, disturbed.

"Cozy Glow, her Ultimate Super Executive Mistress Whatever Headmare Highness, set up this charming educational studio in Yakyakistan." Trixie explained.

"So, she's holding young ponies and yaks hostage here for some twisted education?" Luna deduced. "This cannot go accredited. Where's Sandbar?"

"Oh, he's one of the teachers here, like me." Trixie said. "His classroom's far down the hall. I'll take you to him, and you just leave the security matter to my Great and Powerful Tricks."

Next thing, Trixie was telekinetically holding a small sign that read "Off to get lunch." and running down the hall.

"What kind of trick is this?" Luna questioned, tucked in her hat, sounding a bit muffled. All she got in response was a "Ssh!" They had run past the door to Cozy Glow's office.

"That's right, I've got our business futures all planned out!" Cozy, from inside the office, announced to her new captives, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, tied to the wall by tape. "Apple Bloom: Vice Headmare. Sweetie Belle: Student Counselor. Scootaloo: official Headmare's and Vice Headmare's butler."

"What?!" Scootaloo incredulously snapped.

"Ya'll realize I wouldn't work for you if this were the last job in the world?" Apple Bloom snarled, from a quiet growl to a sharp outburst.

"I still can't believe it. Equestria. It's gone." Sweetie Belle lamented. "And everypony hates each other so much, they don't seem to care."

"Pity. What are you gonna do, when their fear and fury calls upon the Windigos?" Cozy uncaringly noted.

"I reckon you had something to do with it." Apple Bloom opined.

"Who wants to know?" Cozy retorted, looking transparent.

"So you admit it!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "Straight from the horse's mouth! Well, one."

"We have moons to spend together as employer and employees, let's not start by pointing hooves." Cozy smugly recommended.

"You know, Cozy, even if you always saw us and the students as tools for your schemes, and not friends in the slightest, we were your friends, and you were ours." Sweetie Belle spoke in nostalgic tones. "It broke our hearts when none of it meant anything."

"In hindsight, the moment we learned you flunked that test on purpose, after all we did to help you pass it, the red flags should've been crystal clear to us." Scootaloo bitterly recounted. "And I had my hopes up for a new Cutie Mark Crusader."

"Sorry, but the code of friendship you follow doesn't do it for me." said Cozy.

"What happened to you, Cozy?" Apple Bloom queried. "Before we ever met you, what happened to you that made you so evil?"

"I'm just bad. It's in my nature." Cozy replied dismissively.

"Why?! Who hurt you? What drove you to come to messed up conclusions about good things?" Apple Bloom grilled the wicked filly. A cunning thought then sprung to mind. "Please, it'd build our relationship."

"Oh, it's really nothing." Cozy started casually. "I never knew my real family. I lived in an orphanage in the city. I had peers, but no pals. Adult supervision, but no armour. I was the smartest, but I had no strength. A comforting, stable, but more importantly, worthless existence."

"So, we and everyone at the School of Friendship - the real one - wasn't enough for you, you picky brat?" Sweetie Belle chastised. "Everycreature wanted to be your friend. But as of today, you don't have any friends, or anycreature who will be. Only prisoners."

"Nonsense!" Cozy cried defensively. "My students show nothing but respect for their Headmare! See the tributes everywhere!? And I so have friends! Three of them!"

"Really? Are three of these tributes from them?" Apple Bloom asked, gazing slyly. "I can't tell, there's too many."

"They're a busy bunch." Cozy stated. "I don't need to prove anything."

"Maybe not. Except for how much you meant to their cause." Apple Bloom put forth. "You had to have put in one heck of a team effort to destroy Equestria."

"You really need to stick your muzzle elsewhere, Vice Headmare." Cozy grumbled, flying up to the farm filly's face.

"Nah, you're right. It's scary to share the old friendships with the new, so fair enough." Apple Bloom conceded artfully. "No need to trip over yourself for us."

"Silence!" Cozy snapped. She extended shadow wings to pull the CMC off the wall and put them near the office doorway. "Go to work!"

The CMC shook their heads and looked back at Cozy grouchily as they began making their exits.

"Wait!" Cozy suddenly yawped, stopping the trio in their tracks. She pressed her hoof on top of her magical picture frame, holding it there. "Watch and weep." Her shadow wings grabbed them to prevent their escape. With a confident smile, she looked on expectantly.



Grogar sat back in the council room, sitting before Arimaspi's Eye, which played him the events of Stygian's reunion with the darkness.

"Ponies are certainly interesting creatures." Grogar commended. "Without magic, he had mastery of my shadows. A shadow whisperer. He'd have made a great Horse of the Apocalypse, if he were still opposing Harmony." he sighed and moved on to pressing his hoof against his head. "Children, have you caught Starlight yet? Mmhmm? No? Okay, just a moment." He moved his hoof to another side of his head. "Havoc! Come in, Havoc! Where is Twilight Sparkle? I need Twilight Sparkle soon! Do you read me?"

His calls were interrupted by the Cozy Glow throne ringing. As it grabbed his attention, Cozy's mug came into view.

"Mr. Grogar! I'm glad you're here!" Cozy cheered.

"What can I do for you, Ms. Glow?" Grogar asked contently.

"I need to call the other Horses of the Apocalypse right away!" Cozy demanded. "My new Vice Headmare, Student Counselor, and butler who also serves the Vice Headmare, must be educated on a glorious historical alliance!"

"I hate to interrupt their business, but I'll see if this can be arranged." Grogar promised. He shot magical sparks at the thrones for Chrysalis, Tirek and Aurora Eclipse. They rang, then in 3 seconds, they all answered, one-by-one.

"I didn't order a last second letter." said Tirek in annoyance.

"What is thy bidding?" Eclipse respectfully solicited.

"HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT ME! I'M VERY BUSY!" Chrysalis hissed at full volume.

"Excellent! Here we are again!" Cozy declared. The changeling, centaur and alicorn stared at her funny.

"This better be good, Cozy." Tirek ordered threateningly.

"You bet your flank!" Cozy assured. "I need to teach how awesome our team is to my unenlightened new employees, whom Mr. Grogar graciously sent me."

"That's it?" Chrysalis scoffed. "Yeah, I've got better things to do than "enlighten" some ponies. Bye-bye~!" She almost hung up.

"Stay there, your majesty." Grogar urged. "This is important educational business."

"Bah! This is the age of kingdoms, not schools!" Chrysalis huffed.

"How does it concern any of us?" Tirek asked.

"I've got a whole army to groom for magical purposes." said Eclipse. "I can't waste time on that request."

"Don't spare any details, friends." Cozy insisted. "A generation of the strong hinges on our example."

"We worked together and conquered the enemy with help from Grogar's wisdom. That's all that matters." Tirek attested.

"Do you think we owe you a favour, child?" Chrysalis inquired, most uninterested.

"Well, yeah." Cozy answered, like it was the most obvious thing ever. "I brought the team spirit to our awesome band, if you recall."

"More like the incessant prattler who we let win!" Chrysalis acidically retorted. Tirek laughed.

"You were useful for the distraction, but after that, you were a liability." Eclipse bluntly put it.

"Hey T, care to vouch for your protégé?" Cozy tried to ignore the downplaying of her contributions. "We were pen pals!"

"We were. But that didn't mean we were friends." Tirek corrected her.

"Yes it did!" Cozy growled, indignantly.

"Our partnership was simply an exchange of back-scratching." Tirek further stressed. "Bonding over it, considering each other amicable companions, is an inglorious thing! I won't allow this sentimentality!"

"You've got to be joking!" Cozy snapped, checking her ears.

"Oh, you think you're so smart, but you hardly know your place, methinks!" Chrysalis derided. "Here's a hint, sweetheart. You whine like a spoiled baby, you're delusional in that you think you're loved, you hang on to some fantasy of ruling friendship, when there is no longer friendship, and you seek validation in front of some commoners. You're so low, I could climb down a rope to you!"

"Hey, Chryssie! You need compensation for your small loyalist army?!" Cozy fired back, getting temperamental.

"Don't even try, Cozy." Eclipse rebuked. "The agreement was that'd we'd rule our ends of the world alone. If you wanted to have more worth after that was fulfilled, you should've taken my advice and become an alicorn."

"That's not who I am!" Cozy shrieked.

"See, here's your problem, kid: you can't accept that our union, while ultimately beneficial, is over." Tirek asserted roughly. "Quit living in last week, and stick to your post."

"Post?!" Cozy squeaked, right on the edge.

"Your worthless, lonely post!" Chrysalis roared.

"Has anypony in your school ever come to your office to offer their servitude?" Eclipse grilled the little one. "Name one you haven't been forced to put in detention, and I'll offer some leniency."

Cozy raised one of her hooves to answer, with an air of confidence. It was fleeting, for she had nothing to abate the doubt.

"That's what I thought." Eclipse muttered, rolling her eyes. "Pathetic."

"Whatever! Not like you brought anything but flashy moves!" Cozy criticized the alicorn.

"I brought the compromise, you ineffectually mediated." Eclipse rebutted. Chrysalis and Tirek laughed at that. 

"You win that one, echo." Chrysalis complimented, quite uncharacteristic of her.

"Shut up!" Cozy howled, now really starting to fume. "The Horses of the Apocalypse owes it's formation to me! We'd have gotten nowhere without my diplomacy, and Mr. Grogar knew it!" Her eyes turned to the ram sorcerer. "Tell them, sir!"

"Yes, Ms. Glow. I did choose you as a Horse of the Apocalypse for your gift of exceptional intelligence, and your diplomatic skills. Those talents kept us tied as one in the moment of truth." He said with a truthful smile. But it shifted into a regretful frown as she shook his head and added "But, I never said the formation was your job, specifically."

Hearing those additional words left Cozy utterly, positively crushed. She didn't want to believe she was only ever kidding herself. Was she really that deluded? It couldn't be. Why would her memory fail her this bad? Fools! All of them, ungrateful fools!, she thought.

"Thank you!" Chrysalis and Tirek said in unified catharsis.

"It was anycreature's mission, because I chose you all - in addition to your power and leadership potential - for your intellects, including Sombra." Grogar elaborated. "Just a shame that his second chance negatively affected his mind. His third would have to be by zombification, for there are rules of nature even Malice must follow."

He and the other Horses kept talking, changing the subject, while Cozy just looked on, undergoing a silent realization, tuning the noise out. She was smacked with an epiphany, about her worth among these powerful people, of what she earned a place in Tartarus for, on how special she really is. As her heart sank, she put a hoof to her chest to feel it's beat. Suddenly, it didn't feel so hard there. Literally, it felt like her heart wasn't in it. From this weird, painful feeling she wouldn't dare describe, her eyes got wet and reddened.



Cozy's shadow wing released the CMC. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo could feel the insults of her "partners" like physical strikes.

"Could've fooled me." Scootaloo sardonically commented.

"FINE! BE JEALOUS!" Cozy lashed out, wearing a giant, plastic grin. "I'M TOO GOOD FOR YOU SIMPLISTIC BRUTES! WHAT A ROOKIE MISTAKE I MADE!" Her obviously feigned bluster couldn't hide that she was choking up. "FRIENDSHIP ISN'T FORGED IN FIRE! IT'S FORGED LIKE A BLADE!" On the last syllable, she furiously smacked the picture frame into the nearby wall, ending the call and smashing the communication item to pieces. Cozy, sobbing and sniffing, hopped from her desk to the office floor as she ran out the door.

The CMC looked at her in pity.

Back with Trixie, she walked into the survival classroom Sandbar taught lessons in.

"Counselor Trixie!" Sandbar cried out in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Trixie gave him a "Ssh!", but then, something answered to the noise in the door. It was three of Cozy's Umbrums.

"Hall monitors, look out!" Sandbar alerted. Trixie turned around, and yelped as the three shadow-y foals flew at them like cloudy fireballs. Sandbar grabbed the magician and tried to jump out of the way, but they were both caught in their highly prehensile bodies.

They squeezed and bared their fangs close to the faces of the mare and the colt, but they didn't expect Trixie's next move. She took her hat and put her hoof in it, as if to pull out a rabbit. The "rabbit" she pulled out was Princess Luna, who blew the three monsters away with an energy tornado. Nobody else in the classroom was touched.

"That was a claustrophobic experience." Luna remarked about Trixie's hat trick.

"We're saved! Thank goodness, we're saved!" Sandbar hollered in celebration. "Luna, I've been meaning to find you!"

"Likewise, Sandbar." Luna affirmed. "I know what the Tree has been dictating. Count me in." She and the young earth pony joined hooves. A yellow shade of the Tree of Harmony's glow surrounded them both, as it did with the other leader-student pairs.

"It seems there's a little bit of Element of Harmony in you, fledgling one." Luna guessed.

"What in tarnation's making the noise?" came the voice of Apple Bloom, entering the room. There she was with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They gasped in delight at the sight of the night princess.

Luna, Trixie and Sandbar looked at them in surprise. Something else came, too. The letter for Trixie from Starlight. When they opened it and observed the writing, Luna felt apprehensive.

Trixie sighed and collapsed in relief. Her dearest friend's well-being was all she needed.



Twilight's friends sat in a circle and decided they needed to have a talk after the heat of the previous moment had subsided.

"I never thought Twilight would say such a thing." Rarity commented, feeling a slight pain in her heart.

"We're only doing all we can." Fluttershy said. "We never wronged her, did we?"

"Not outside some honest mistakes that made us better ponies in the long run." Applejack added. There was a beat of silence before another spoke.

"I... guess if we had to name something: there was all the frivolity we got up to when the Storm King invaded." Rainbow mentioned. "She kept her head in the game the whole trip to Mount Aris."

"That doesn't justify her tricking us." Pinkie reminded.

"No, but we didn't exactly look trustworthy ourselves, did we?" Rainbow rebutted.

"There was also when the School was unaccredited, and she felt so terrible." Fluttershy mentioned.

"Yet, we tried the most insultingly generic ways of cheering her up we could think of." Rarity added. "Looking back, that dress was too clownish. Not my proudest project."

"Or how about that camping trip, when "Twilight" asked me Tree of Harmony-related questions she already knew the answer to?" Pinkie brought up. "I've thought about what Discord said about that Eclipse pony, and where she came from, and I think I just realized: that wasn't the real Twilight!"

"Are you suggesting there were evil clones of each of us walking around the Everfree Forest?" Applejack asked.

"Doesn't it make sense?" Pinkie said, raising her shoulders. "How often do we make a whole personality 180? It'd have to be like... magic." Everyone stared her vacantly for a moment.

"Wow. I guess we got into a fight over major assumptions, then." Rainbow concluded.

"I never meant to make our friendship seem so weak. I just never thought of things that way before." said Fluttershy.

"I suppose recently, we haven't been the friends the poor darling has come to know the last many, many moons." Rarity conceded. "We've fallen more in love with the concept she holds authority over."

"All because of what has worked." Applejack stated. "Here we've been, giving the old "we'll always win no matter what", having wild expectations of each other, relying on old tricks like old doggies, and treating anxiety like a gag, on the basis of what has been, and what could be in our perfect vision, rather than..." then, she found herself repeating those words spoken earlier, which they all previously dismissed. "Thinking in the moment."

Each of the five ponies fell under a spell of unexpected comprehension.

"Are ya'll understanding what I'm understanding?" Applejack inquired as they stood up.

Over on Twilight's side, she stared at the pond with Spike. For a moment she saw Applejack and the others around her. Slowly, they faded like vapor. As they did, their eyes turned into white voids, and their muzzles became demonic, as she had seen in her nightmare. The memory of that subconscious horror made her fully aware of her own truth.

She'd been warned. This was it: the mistake. Deep down, she perceived where this was going to lead. Her hoof poked the water, sensing how far everyone drifted. It felt like seizing them, and Twilight dared not retract.

I don't hate you.

Just then, her friends appeared in the water again. It was the reflections of the real deals, smiling upon her.

"We get it now." Applejack softly told the young alicorn.

"Girls." Twilight replied at their presence. She turned, teary-eyed and ashamed. "Oh, girls. I'm so, so sorry." So much sorrow to let out, and the one eye was all she needed to let it rain. "I don't know what I'm doing! I've been a horrible friend! You shouldn't have been pushed away like that!"

"We ain't going away." Applejack assured. "We're nothing if there's any less than 6."

"We're sorry too, darling." Rarity admitted. "You were right. We've been going off of faith, and trusting experience, because it's really all we have."

"We're beaten and downhearted, but... we've been just as scared to admit it as we are for our loved ones." Applejack confirmed.

"Here you are." said Fluttershy, offering a shoulder for Twilight to cry on.

"Don't apologize." Twilight whimpered, wiping her tear-covered face against Fluttershy's mane. "I made you feel like you weren't my friends. I almost badly hurt one of you. You deserve way better than me."

"Yeah, that definitely wasn't cool." Rainbow noted. "But, we've been too hard on you since you woke up. We should feel like we're part of the same team."

"Along the way, we forgot what united us and kept us tightly knit in the first place." Applejack assessed. "Love, decency, trust and reason."

"But you never forgot your love for Equestria." Twilight pointed out. "I turned my back on it, and that wasn't fair. I was giving up for reasons beyond my control. How could I take Celestia and Luna's place if I can be so selfish?"

"Think of that as the fun part of growing up, Twi. Unlike plants, we always have room." Rainbow mused.

"You can say that again." Pinkie attested.

At long last, for the first time in what felt like months, let alone a mere week, Twilight gave a genuine, warm smile to her friends. No sarcasm or contempt in her expression whatsoever. She was beaming, and her tears were drying up from the joy.

"I lied. I love you, girls." Twilight affirmed from the heart. "And I don't want you ever doubting your compassion."

"Group hug?" Pinkie happily requested.

"Uh, maybe later, Pinkie." Applejack recommended, thinking of Twilight's infection.

"If it's not too late to say it..." Twilight began. "Thank you so much for taking care of me all this way, these past days." the five pony friends simply nodded as their "you're welcome" gesture.

"That's the spirit." said Spike. "Now, we've got a long way to go, and somecreature's gonna take us there."

"And you're not gonna give us any trouble about it. Right?" Fluttershy finished to the face of the manticore. It briefly gazed at Havoc, who had dozed off from weakness. Having a heart, it shook it's head at the pegasus.

As if he heard the little dragon's plan, Scorpan woke up, yawning and stretching.

"Hello there, everypony." he greeted. "What did I miss?"

"Let's just say these 6 had a big breakthrough." Spike answered.

"Shall I continue escorting you home?" Scorpan asked. Spike gave an instant thumbs up.

"Okay, team. Patience is key." Twilight ordered. "How we'll get the edge is still in doubt. I don't know if the Elements will make things simple, or if we can win alone at all, but as Spike said, we'll never find out if we stop."

As her sentence ended, the letter from Starlight manifested before them. Rarity, true to her generous character, levitated it for everyone to read. So, naturally, they did.

"Golly gee, it's Starlight!" Applejack whooped.

"Tambelon?! He replaced that beautiful city with his own dreary sounding burg?" Rarity hissed. "Unacceptable!"

"Check this out. Spells for Grogar's Bell." Twilight mentioned. "It's ancient linguistics, but they look usable."

"Not without a horn." said Rainbow.

"We've got a horn." Twilight corrected, pointing to Rarity. This made the fashionista nervous. "But, we'll see what happens." Upon the red sky, she looked.

"So, Twilight, what are we gonna do this time?" Pinkie queried, hoping for a boost.

Twilight gave the confident, uplifting answer of "The same thing we do every time, Pinkie. Try to save the world!"

Scorpan carried them all over the skies, except for Fluttershy, who took refuge in the manticore's mane and rode it into the horizon. To provide cover, Spike blew intense flames from the back of the gargoyle to make a big, long smoke cloud. The magic ball that Scorpan had been carrying, even in his sleep, had now slowly, but surely, returned to Havoc. When he got it all back and recovered, he effortlessly destroyed his restraints, but wherever he looked, he couldn't spot the six ponies he counted. He lost his prey. In frustrated fury, he let out a roar like that of a large dinosaur and made the area on which he stood explode.



Gallus, Grampa Gruff and the other leader-student pairs had made their way out of Griffonstone, and reached the border of Equestria.

"So, what now?" Grampa Gruff asked.

The barrier opened up for them, and then it formed a hallway out of it's magical wall. A pathway, no doubt leading the pairs safely in the right direction, straight through the contained wasteland blanketed in snow and overwhelmed by a blizzard.

"Onward!" Gallus instructed.



The ride took some time, but at long last, Twilight and her friends had reached the outskirts of Equestria. Their home. The place where they were needed. Or rather, it's remains.

Everyone looked on in horror, including Scorpan.

"By Celestia." the old gargoyle gasped. "More has changed than I imagined."

The ponies and dragon up in the air got a better view of this image. Not only did the Windigos cover it all in their snowstorm, with lightning to boot, but faint silhouettes of ponies could be seen, returning to their makeshift sanctuaries, as well as the very capital of this ruined kingdom: Tambelon itself. Something else was starting to happen as they gazed at this very picture of despair. The Tree of Harmony's barrier surrounding Equestria, keeping the storm inside, was dying - indicated by it flickering like a burnt out light bulb.

The heroes of Equestria were back, and with renewed resolve to save everything they love. However, none of them were ready for the reality of how long they had been gone.



To be continued...
> Part 4 - Chapter 1 (13): Back Where We Started
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Previously on My Little Pony...

A week had passed since Twilight Sparkle and her friends' devastating defeat. Overnight, Equestria as they knew it was reduced to a desolate, fear-driven, hatred-soaked, winter war zone, and they were left on the run from the monstrous and zombified army of Grogar. Fortunately, Twilight, though horribly scarred and being gradually drained of her life force, woke up, but not before suffering a terrifying, prophetic nightmare.

"We're all leaving behind the Equestria we knew. Without you, it'll be the ideal we deserve."

Queen Chrysalis and her changeling loyalists feed off Thorax's love for his clan, and what's more: they have a new plan in store to take Grogar down and steal his Malice power. King Tirek has prepared a ceremonial carriage, a tradition in his clan, the Chariot of Midnight, to deliver his healing magic to other malefactors on a Present Run. Empress Aurora Eclipse has split the Pearl of Transformation to create an army of equally versatile, incredibly strong warriors, and give herself the choice of any form. Headmare Cozy Glow runs a new School of Friendship where the lessons given to the children and the admiration she gets are all forced through an unfair advantage.

Grogar called upon the four Horses of the Apocalypse to give them the news. The blinding light in Arimaspi's Eye could not be cleared, but he has tempered the merciless storm of the Windigos and completed a dark copy of Discord, named Havoc. Certain that his new Spirit of Destruction would soon capture the champions of friendship, he gave his subordinates the means to create monster children of their own.

"The sooner their cores are in the Phantom Zone, the better for Equestria's evolution."

When later asked about his most mysterious creation, the Phantom Zone, Grogar disclosed that it was a pocket dimension he built out of the light - potential for goodness - he expelled from his heart during his original reign millennia ago. Though he shows signs of being less than proud of the iron hoof he ruled with back then, he deems this makeshift realm, capable of inducing eternal mass-amnesia, the top essential tool in his grand plan.

Meanwhile, in the maze of a cave underneath Tambelon, Sunburst and the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally found their way to the prisoners, thanks to some phoenixes who found their way in there. In the midst of a reunion with Starlight Glimmer, they witnessed the fiery birds perform a magical technique not yet seen. They gave up their forms to bring the coreless Star Swirl the Bearded and Discord - the latter now unrecognizable - back to consciousness. Immediately after, the rescue effort fully commenced.

"Well, you freed me, so I guess you deserve to know all the details."

While Sandbar is trapped at Cozy Glow's warped school, his friends, Gallus, Yona, Ocellus, Smolder and Silverstream joined up at the ruined Griffonstone with their adult supervisors. All except for Gallus, who had yet to convince Grampa Gruff to come along for the Tree of Harmony mission. Backed up by encouragement from his fellow students, he tried one more time. This time, the grouchy, old historian inadvertently pinched a personal nerve that gave the young one the guts to talk him down. Grampa Gruff was amazed.

"I should've gotten more a long time ago, and our kind, considerate counselor gave it to me first, because you just wanted to get rid of me."

On the trail to who knew where, Twilight's group, accompanied by Princess Luna, seemed to be getting nowhere, until they ran into the most unexpected of creatures, and one most friendly: the long-lost gargoyle brother of Tirek, Scorpan. For more than a thousand years he stood and watched over his home, the Midnight Kingdom, which was now nothing more than a lifeless memoir of a proud kingdom damaged beyond recovery by violent strife.

"Honestly, it's not a force of nature, but a kingdom's folk that are their own worst enemies."

To their surprise, Scorpan had been keeping an artifact that belonged to one of the old Equestria leaders. It was the hat of the earth pony clan's Chancellor Puddinghead. They knew not if it could help in this trying time for ponykind, but it was trusted to Princess Luna in case that moment came before long. While they were at it, Spike managed to send a letter to one of their free allies, Trixie, to see if they could get helpful information. Their message was received and passed on.

Though Discord was completely guilt-ridden, near powerless and demoralized, he managed to pull a clever trick on Tirek to set the miraculously recharged Starlight, along with the six Pillars, Stygian and Shining Armor free. Back on the surface, the three pony clans gathered in Tambelon, drawn by reports of food appearing there. Grogar made his presence known and won them over, even when he revealed some dark details. Starlight, Sunburst and the others snuck away to find something to use against the ram sorcerer. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, after a failed plea to all the ponies, were sent off to work for Cozy Glow.

For Twilight and her friends, even as they struggled to fight off their savage pursuers, and had an extremely close call with Havoc that would've been their end if not for Scorpan's magic, it seemed their friendship was shattering. Twilight believed all they've ever done and accomplished had been meaningless; a years-long farce with "friends" who never truly understood her. The rest had tried to hide how dispirited they really were with a little illusion of optimism.

By a tremendous twist of fate, Star Swirl and his ancient allies found the crown of the unicorns' Princess Platinum in the Canterlot caves, and Gallus and Silverstream discovered the helmet of the Pegasi's Commander Hurricane after a deep dive into the Abysmal Abyss to rescue Prince Rutherford. Starlight's crew acquired Grogar's Tome and found spells for Twilight and company to use, a task that could sadly only be fulfilled by Stygian sacrificing his existence on the solid plane to the shadows.

With carefully chosen words, Apple Bloom persuaded Cozy Glow into conversing with Grogar and the other Horses of the Apocalypse for a history lesson on the villainous team's power and success, plus demonstrate how loved she was. Instead, she took a verbal beating and had her role trivialized, a scenario that, as much as she'd deny it, left her heartbroken. Cozy ran off to be alone, providing an opening for the CMC to join Trixie, Luna and Sandbar in a big liberation.

"Do you think we owe you a favour, child?"

"You can't accept that our union, while ultimately beneficial, is over."

"I brought the compromise, you ineffectually mediated."

"I never said the formation was your job, specifically."

"FRIENDSHIP ISN'T FORGED IN FIRE! IT'S FORGED LIKE A BLADE!"

Through realizations of recent, amateurish mistakes and comprehension of the warning sent subconsciously, Twilight and her friends reconciled and came to terms with their miserable situation. They're on the brink of a definitive defeat, none of them are confident, they have no plan, and as they quickly see, little of Equestria is left to save, but whether they win or lose, they, along with their new, rocky ally, are going out to make one, brave, final stand.

"So, Twilight, what are we gonna do this time?"

"The same thing we do every time, Pinkie. Try to save the world!"



♫ My Little Pony, My Little Pony
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh...

I think I see a better way to be bad
Just put me in charge, make me queen, you'll be glad

No! Listen to me,
I'm the best of us three

Then you'll see a better way to be bad

Wait! This is my thing,
a better way to be bad

You shall do as I command,
I will rule this triad!

Hey! This is my song!
Sorry, not any longer!

A better way to be bad
Now you're making me mad

Won't the ponies be sad?
That would make me so glad

Now we've got a better way to be baaaaaad! ♫



They'd rather look away at something nondescript for minutes on end than gaze upon Equestria's icy condition, but all of them knew there was no turning back from their final destination.

"I don't remember any orders for a protective bubble this size." Pinkie commented, pressing her face against the enormous barrier. It fizzled out again for a moment, allowing an unexpected gale to break through the opening and knock her on her rump.

Applejack, quickly analyzing the situation, deducted "Whatever this is, it isn't set up to keep anycreature out, but to keep the snowstorm in."

"It seems to have been doing it for a while, too." Twilight grimly commented as she watched the barrier blink out and in again. "We better move while it still holds out."

"But how?" Rarity asked, registering what she heard as a tall order. "Not even the Elements of Harmony, or Spike's fire could get us through that!"

"Couldn't the Elements' power at least get rid of the Windigos?" Spike suggested.

"Theoretically, but as long as there is rampant fear, scorn and aggression between ponies everywhere, they'll come right back." Twilight regretfully answered.

"Yeah, you're right." Spke conceded. He turned to Scorpan, in hope, requesting "Please tell us you have an idea." He didn't give a response right away.

Scorpan gazed off into the distance and saw something in the distance, which was different from all the pony silhouettes. It looked like a figure standing on top of some kind of sleigh, pulled by dragons; he recognized it as his brother, Tirek, riding the Midnight Chariot. The centaur dropped a ball of blue magic on to some faraway settlement, and continued his flight. He seemed to be heading in the group's direction. Scorpan shifted his head towards the manticore, then snapped his fingers.

"I think luck has our answer." he said.



Up in the air, Tirek and Stratadon Squad contined their Present Run at Wonderbolt-worthy speed. He laughed with satisfaction at his job.

"Now that we've covered the Equestrian settlements, let's expand our horizons, boys!" Tirek ordered. "To Chrysalis' kingdom!" Straight to the west, they charged. They were uninterrupted for a short time, passing through the barrier, when all of a sudden...

The manticore flew up and jumped Stratadon himself. The surprise and the two monsters' scrap rocked the other dragons pulling the chariot, challenging Tirek's balance.

"Hey! Get off my Chariot dragger!" he shouted in aggravation. Furious at this interference, he pointed the palm of his hand at the manticore and telekinetically seized it. Under their noses, the tether around Stratadon magically snapped off. He had forgotten about his aerial support during the brief fight, and thus fell. "NO!" Tirek cried, dropping the manticore in his state of panic.

Below, Scorpan put all of his might into telekinetically lowering the manticore down. Rainbow Dash and Rarity came to their aid, the former as the carrier of the latter. A quick diamond shield spell gave the lion-scorpion beast a platform to make a safe landing. Next to them, Stratadon crashed.

"Land now! Land now!" Tirek barked at his unsteady chariot pullers, back up above.

"Phew! He didn't see us." Rarity sighed.

Rainbow looked at the downed Stratadon for a moment. "So, what's this "answer" we "luckily" got?"

"The scales are thick, and exceptionally warm." Scorpan analyzed out loud.

"Oh. I see what you're thinking." Rarity remarked astutely, miming the act of pulling up a sleeve.

Just a little bit later, Tirek did a kangaroo jump closer to the spot where the ponies and their gargoyle ally had been. He found Stratadon, looking like he lost a fair amount of his scales, but now conscious again. He wasn't in pain, but he certainly felt more chilly, going by how he crossed his forelegs and constantly rubbed them.

"What happened here?" Tirek imposingly questioned his minion. The draconic beast approached his ear and whispered. "So, they're back." the centaur said in response to one of his confirmations. The whispering continued, until one last spoken detail left Tirek's eyes widened to the threshold. He muttered "Im... possible."



"Wasn't that a little cold-hearted?" Spike opined, coated in the scales of Stratadon.

"I suppose so, but when life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Rarity replied, beginning the trek alongside her friends and Scorpan through the winter-y wastes.

Applejack opened her mouth, tempted to correct Rarity on the definition of that phrase, but not one to complain about a stroke of good fortune, she kept shut and let her have that one.

Each of the ponies, and their dragon pal, were wearing coats with hoods, all made up of thick, warm, dark green scales taken off of Stratadon, then swiftly weaved into clothing by Rarity's elegant seamstress technique. It did a good job at protecting them from the vicious cold of the Windigos' blizzard. Scorpan carried Twilight and chose to go in with only the outfit already on his back, used to low temperatures from centuries as a lone, vigilant statue.



The students' group ran through the tunnel the harmony barrier made for them. They too noticed the flickering it recently started to do. This exertion of power had become taxing, even for something like the Tree of Harmony.

"Something's wrong with it." Ocellus worriedly state. "Very, very wrong."

"It's quite an eyesore when it does that." Silverstream whined.

"Don't get disoriented, gang!" Gallus demanded. "We haven't lost our directions yet!"

Around the barrier's tunnel, some ponies of the different clans, all in warm garb, took notice of the creatures. They quickly rushed up to them with interest.

"Hey dragons, come out of there and protect us from the pegasi and unicorns!" one of the earth ponies called out.

"Changelings, don't let the earth ponies and unicorns take our jobs!" a pegasus hollered.

"Hippogriffs, kick these earth ponies and pegasi to the moon!" a unicorn urged.

"Ugh, they're still nuts!" Ember groaned.

"Mind your own business, hornhead!" the earth pony growled, throwing a tomato mindlessly at the barrier, intending to hit their actual target.

"Mind yours, dirthoof!" the pegasus snarled.

"I saw them first, featherback!" the unicorn snapped.

"Arrogant fool!" from the pegasus to the unicorn.

"Blunderer!" from the earth pony to the pegasus.

"Useless little insect!" from the unicorn to the earth pony.

The barrier faded out and in again, allowing the angered ponies to break through and tackle each other, covering themselves up in a clouds of snow. Thankfully, they missed the students and their supervisors.

"Are you sure they're worth the trouble?" Grampa Gruff questioned Gallus pessimistically.

"They're confused!" Gallus asserted. "They aren't thinking straight right now, nor are they hopeless!"

"Ponies gone barbaric, and ponies say yaks brutes." said Prince Rutherford.

"I only hope Sandbar and the princesses are okay, wherever they are." Ocellus added, to which her friends simply responded worriedly with "Yeah."

Everyone continued, non-stop. Up ahead, they could see they were being directed towards what looked like a blanket of snow, covering the remains of a wilted forest.



Grogar hastily searched high and low around Tambelon for Starlight's group, from outside the entrance, to the marketplace. A bunch of zombies and cyclopes stood before him in reverence, as usual.

"Has anycreature seen Starlight and Star Swirl?" Grogar queried. They were sad to give him back and forth shakes of their heads. Scratching his beard for a few seconds, he pondered "If I know my former student, she turned herself and the Pillars invisible to analyze her situation with expectation until they found the window to escape. They must be across the wastes searching for help by now. Stay warm in here, children. I'll narrow it down and catch up to them myself."

Before he could make another move, Havoc popped in next to him. His appearance astonished the zombies and cyclopes.

"Havoc, you're back! You had me worried!" Grogar welcomed with a true tone of concern. Quickly, his eyebrow raised at his prince coming back emptyhanded. "Where are Princess Twilight and her false peacekeeper friends?"

Havoc regretfully communicated his failure with chaotic sign language, easily readable by everyone present. The cyclopes growled at their baby brother's apparent incompetence.

"You found them, but you needed to make sure you got all six?" Grogar assessed. "Why didn't you bring me one at a time?" the draconequus could only shrug. "And Luna was there, but you didn't take her?!" the Spirit of Destruction nodded trepidatiously. "Fluttershy's Stare?!"

The cyclopes wanted to hurt their little sibling, but even in their raging incredulity, they had to honour their father's wishes, by hoof motion, for them to ease up. Havoc turned away, ashamed, and vanished somewhere.

Grogar crouched with his pasterns together and said to himself "It seems that crafting a cosmic monster of Discord's miraculous magnitude on purpose is a faulty procedure. Too bad I have no time for discipline." He conjured up Arimaspi's Eye to get a view of Twilight Sparkle. Of course, the blinding light remained.

It seemed pointless for him to continue viewing what this magical power was not going to allow him to see. Twilight in the arms of a larger creature, along with her friends, could be slightly made out, but the location was unclear. That is, until it did something else. It flickered off for a moment, then another moment, and another moment.

"The Tree's obscuration, it's dying!" Grogar exclaimed in a rush of excitement. Quickly, he switched the ball's view to Starlight, Sunburst and Star Swirl's location, also hidden. He switched to an overhead map view as the flickering occurred again. "Still a bit fuzzy, but... I've got a new plan." He put a hoof on his head swiftly. "Havoc, head south to Starlight Glimmer's location!"

Havoc had gone into his father's bedroom inside the castle, sitting atop the cozy, wide mattress and looking resentfully at his upper body appendages as if they were mirrors. "Havoc?" the voice of Grogar called in his head. "I know you're there! Head to the south immediately!" the draconequus shadow listened, but wouldn't budge. Even without staying to hear what his father said about the faults in his first attempt at monster crafting with a hint of Chaos in the mix, Havoc felt insecure about his failure, especially after the severe disapproval of his brothers and sisters. He was but a large, unstable toddler.

"Alright then, take your time." Grogar sighed. "Now, what about one of my capture squads? Hello?" He tried hard to get some good news from his monsters. "Squads 10, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 86, do you read me?" An answer came from that one manticore. "You had them? Brought them as far you could? Good. Don't worry, I'll catch them." He checked Arimaspi's Eye again for the wide view of Starlight's location.

This time, something other than the dots representing her group came into view. Another, from the opposite direction.

"Ah, maybe that can solve the problem?" Grogar reckoned. The ram sorcerer ignited his horns to open a new portal, eager to get the job done.



A revolution was brewing. Trixie took Princess Luna, Sandbar and the Cutie Mark Crusaders through the School of Friendship, using a week's worth of layout knowledge, to reach the detention dungeon where the punished were locked up.

"Here they are!" Trixie yelled. "You've given me a lot of trouble, but the Great and Powerful Trixie always pays back!" several water ponies guarded the dark stone cage filled with students. Going on guard, they transformed their hooves into spiked clubs.

Trixie quickly acted to throw smoke bombs at them. Next, everyone used the all-too-brief smoke cover to move through, incapacitate the guards, grab the cage's key from them, and open it up to set the schoolchildren free. The young ponies and yaks cheered as they marched disorderly out of their prison.

"Thank you, Counselor Trixie!" Raspberry Dazzle could be heard expressing delightedly.

"You're the best, Sandbar!" Hyper Sonic shouted excitedly from the pack.

Sandbar scratched his head, glowing a bit red from the praise.

"Princess Luna, you've saved us all!" Patty Peppermint cried out in relief.

"Fillies, colts, little yaks, follow us!" Luna ordered.

"Hey, no thunder stealing!" Trixie snapped in petty annoyance. She took notice of the childrens' chaotic trotting, setting off her inner Student Counselor. "Single file, everypony! Single file!" She was sounding just like Starlight.

Like good, obedient dogs, everyone went up the stairs in a much more neat fashion with the CMC, Sandbar and the grown-ups. Still, so much walking out of their detention cell made noise that instantly reached the main hall. So, it wasn't long before an unwelcome, but predictable roadblock came up.

"Not so fast!" Cozy shrilled, showing her hoof like a crossing guard. The Chimera and Roc were right behind.

"Ugh! Why must you be such a nuisance, Super Headmare Extreme Queen I-Don't-Give-A-Feather?!" Trixie growled. Her frustration drove her to point a firework in the filly's direction. It was drastic, but she fancied the odds.

"That's two classrooms worth of students in detention that haven't done their time!" Cozy scolded.

"Two of them?" Sandbar gasped. "I knew you were punishing a lot of the student body, but you've been throwing a fourth of the school down there!"

"They alternate, you know." said Cozy, doing nothing for the tension.

"This school's not unlike Twilight's in appearance, but it's a void of heartless emptiness feebly filled by a shallow darkness that twisted it from the moment it manfiested in this world. Just like the pony who runs it."

"We, at the School of Friendship, value unity and compromise in the name of keeping budding companionship away from that lousy six-way street." Cozy asserted darkly.

"Show of hooves. Who's learned a valuable lesson since they first got here?" Apple Bloom called. There was dead silence from the crowd of little ones. Nobody felt compelled to speak about their class time or Cozy on any level of reverence.

"Oh yeah, too scared to admit something." Cozy said smugly. "Can't say, lest you tick off your rightful guide to camaraderie."

"Kid, we being too scared of you to do anything else is all that's happened." Trixie snarked.

Cozy kept wearing that smug smile for only one more moment, before her cheeks drooped and her wides eyened in a trance of contemplation. Those hurtful words from Grogar, Chrysalis, Tirek and Eclipse replayed from her memory to the sound of an imaginary ticking clock. Something caused a bit of pain in her head, like a literal, small explosion of the mind, to signal an epiphany.

She chuckled begrudgingly. "You ponies have a gift for driving me insane. I suppose we're definitely at an impasse this time."

"No, no, don't try the sweet, sugary facade again." Scootaloo objected.

"I'm a sociable pony, let's try scratching each other's back for a change." said Cozy.

"Uh-huh." Sweetie Belle uttered skeptically. "What's in it for you?" Cozy had no reason to, but she tittered at the familiarity of that question.

"See, there's something I could tell you, boys and girls..." the wicked filly began, approaching the CMC in as dignified a manner as possible.

Cozy spared no details in telling the story of how she, Eclipse and Chrysalis caused some damage to property and crops, left incriminating traces of pony activity on their neighbours' land, spread falsehoods and stoked the hottest flames, including self-preservation, territorial instinct, and blind pride, in each of the clans while using disguises.

"But, of course, I can't say that, for I am under no obligation to." Cozy ended off on. "I have no business over here, either. In fact, I'm in the closet across the hall." On capping that off, she faded away. Turns out the copy was sent as a messenger.

"Just like we suspected, a conspiracy!" Apple Bloom stated.

"You think if we can pass that on to the ponies back home, they'll finally listen?" Scootaloo asked.

"Let's find out for ourselves." said Luna, impatiently.

"Go, Princess Luna, and three remarkable fillies!" Trixie urged. "I will lead these students which I counsel to their freedom!"

"I'll come with you, your highness!" Sandbar requested. "We need to get to the Tree of Harmony!"

Luna simply responded, with a smile, "I know."

"Good luck out there, Counselor Trixie.” Sandbar wished for the magician.

“Don’t patronize me; Trixie’s got this.” Trixie lightheartedly shot back. She eyed the Chimera and Roc, both of whom were dumbfounded.

Luna, the CMC and Sandbar walked into the nearby closet to find the real Cozy Glow, next to a box of tissues. Their entrance prompted her head to turn, revealing her still-reddened eyes.

“This is awfully generous of you, Cozy.” Sweetie Belle noted.

“It’s purely a matter of chance.” Cozy lied.

“Your associates would destroy you for giving us a chance at winning.” Luna remarked.

Cozy scoffed and rebutted with “All I want is to see my “associates” humiliated. As if I’d like for Princess Twilight and the lame manes to win. You’re so naive.”

“Well, what right-minded pony doesn’t want to see villains like that Tirek varmint taken down a peg?” Apple Bloom mentioned. The implication wasn’t lost.

“You’d have an interesting theory there if we didn’t all know I’ve lived to be bad.” Cozy grumbled. As if a bug was on her chest, she pounded it while saying “Shut up!” through gritted teeth. She followed with “I’m happy this way, so leave me to cheer up.”

“We will, when you sleep.” said Luna, sounding very commanding and imposing.

“You know? This takes me back. Your attitude, your desperation, your embarassment.” Scootaloo began, nostalgia tickling her bones. “It reminds me of somepony who used to be our enemy, but we haven’t talked to in moons. For all of her harshness and bluster, this filly was good, for no reason, and couldn’t run away from that fact. Come to think of it, she may have been just the tutor for you.”

“And which little commoner from your dirty, happy-go-lucky, countryside town would that be?” Cozy inquired in half-interest.

“Her name... is Diamond Tiara.” Scootaloo answered. Cozy blankly stared with nary a clue.

Luna cast a spell that accelerated Cozy’s drowsiness until she was fully asleep and drifting away into her idea of a pleasant dream. The dream gateway was opened once again for the night princess to jump in, this time along with the CMC and Sandbar. The dream they stepped into looked quite like Cozy’s office, only with the terrible prodigy sitting on a throne before a servile, lovestruck colt groveling at her hind hooves. They all ran out to the dream hub, grossed out, as the colt recited that Hearts & Hooves poem.

“I feel a cozy spark. Will you be my glow in the dark?”



The earth ponies in their shelter had their moods perked up a bit by the arrival of the delicious food from Grogar’s market. That one mare still ranted in frustration at everyone treating the ram sorcerer as real, at least for a minute or two. It became clear to her that she was mistaken, since she knew that the other members of her clan were the only trustworthy ones, as she currently recognized, in this war.

Celestia had fallen back to sleep for the past few hours, too weak to move currently, or deal with the obnoxiously paranoid and hateful earth ponies. Rusty Bucket didn’t leave her side while she got well-needed rest, except to grab some of the grub the travellers brought back, like fruit and buttered bread. It was genuinely tasty and had no suspicious aftertaste.

The sun princess began to groan from a surprising sensation in her subconscious. “Luna?” she whispered. Rusty’s ear twitched at that name’s mention. He was growing worried that she was witnessing something unpleasant, concerning her sister. The opening of another dream portal, positioned above Celestia’s bed, made him jump, and everyone in the shelter had their attention drawn to it as well, but even moreso the arrival of Luna, the CMC and Sandbar from the supposed nightmare. The children's manes and tails had gotten messier on the trip.

"Don't make us go back in there!~ Sweetie Belle squealed. "I hate those bat things!"

“Hey, what is this place?” Sandbar asked, mystified.

“Apple Bloom, you’re okay!” Granny Smith called over not too far across the room. “Come to Granny and get away from Nightmare Moon!” Apple Bloom didn’t obey.

Luna didn’t pay any mind to the use of her former, villainous alias. She had turned around and sharply focused on the uneviable, tired state of her big sister. Once again, Celestia whispered “Luna.”, but then smiled and added “You’re... safe.” Though the sun princess didn’t have the strength to hug her, Luna tearfully kneeled over and gave a warm embrace, relieved beyond all belief that a miracle, one she didn’t know but didn’t care to, has given her family a chance to recover and live again. Not one word spoken.

“She’s the luckiest princess Equestria could’ve had as a ruler for over a thousand years.” Rusty commented. Luna looked at him and silently nodded, happy to see him watching over the poor alicorn-turned-unicorn.

“Get out of here, Nightmare Moon!” yelled Mayor Mare. The others joined her in jeering the night princess.

“She’s in good hooves, your majesty.” Rusty assured. “Whatever you need to do, you better go do it before they get worse.”

“I am eternally grateful, Mr. Bucket.” said Luna, bowing in respect. She charged straight for the shelter door with Sandbar and the CMC.

“Big Mac, grab Apple Bloom!” Granny Smith hollered.

“Eeyup!” Big MacIntosh acknowledged, his eyes flaring with determination, but not without a moment of hesitancy about, again, doing something that’d make his kid sister unhappy.

Every other earth pony in that bunker, save for the elderly Granny Smith and the infant Cake twins, trotted at Luna specifically. They had forgotten who they were trying to mess with: an alicorn who could move the moon like it was a small piece of styrofoam, meaning of great magical power. She demonstrated this by transforming into her incorporeal mist form, an old trick she last used years ago as, poetically enough, Nightmare Moon. Confusion conquered the earth ponies' senses when the mist drew images of the moon before them.

The night princess, Sandbar and the CMC busted their way through the bunker door, to ground level. The former two got their first look at what the filly trio saw on their ride over to Yakyakistan. They were hit with a double shock of Equestria's icy desolation and the glacial temperature, both compliments of the Windigos.

Thankfully, they were saved by the exact same tunnel of magic that was provided to Gallus' group, extending towards the bunker in recognition of Sandbar and Luna's arrival.

"What's this?" Apple Bloom asked.

"It looks like..." Luna wondered.

"I might have an idea." said Sandbar. Their protective barrier to safety flickered for a few seconds. He recognized that questions were for later. "Let's move!"



Starlight, Sunburst, Shining Armor, Discord and the Pillars had no luck as far as winter coats were concerned, but Starlight cast the sturdiest shield spell she could. Even though these energy fields weren't really meant for protection from freezing cold, the tough, crystalline structure of hers had to do for now. They managed to make it all the way to the ruined Ponyville, now only idenitifiable by the last thing standing in it: Twilight's Malice-poisoned castle.

"Oh, Twily." Shining Armor said under his breath, fretfully, looking at the tarnished structure of crystal. "Please... come back."

"I pray the same, Shining Armor." Star Swirl sympathetically stated. "Enough have been lost." Though he had only known Twilight for a shorter time than her brother, he knew that to lose a beloved family member was no different than to lose a friend, like Stygian. Shining Armor accepted the sentiment.

Starlight pointed over to something cutting through the devastated town. "Guys? You have any idea what that is?" She spotted the magical tunnel that had opened up for the everyone on the Tree of Harmony's mission. It flickered, and a bit more aggressively than before.

"It's a hope!" Somnambula jubilantly cried. "We must follow!" At her insistence, everyone ran towards the protective hall of magic they saw.

As they approached, it slightly changed it's appearance to create arrows, indicating the direction it needed for them to go.

"I see. Grogar's wicked magic has corrupted the Tree, but it's combating said corruption to help however it can." Star Swirl presumed. The Tree's power once again flickered rapidly.

"That'll give us a break from the cold." said Sunburst. One by one, they all began to jump into their safe, warm passageway and turn towards where they were needed.

"Just one Accelero, and I'll-" Starlight announced, but was shortly interrupted before her leap when a teal aura levitated her in a crushing grip. "Hey!" Like lightning, an energy beam suddenly struck, sending her flying and rolling across the ruins.

"NO!" Sunburst stopped to yelp.

Empress Aurora Eclipse appeared. With a flick of her hoof, she sprouted many wilted trees from the ground at Sunburst's and the Pillars' own. Shining Armor and Discord had gotten ahead of the trees, resulting in them and the coreless Cadance to be separated from the rest of the group. Then, Sunburst and the Pillars found themselves lifted, spun around, and wrapped in Eclipse's tether.

"Shining Armor, Discord, get to the Tree!" Star Swirl hollered, knowing he was giving their position away, but seeing no other way to communicate this message to them. The two heard and advanced into the dead Everfree Forest.

Eclipse pointed at the sky and manipulated the electrical storm clouds to hover over the forest, aiming at where Shining Armor was going to be. She smiled so devilishly, confident in her aim. At the precise moment of her attack, telekinesis roughly pulled her away. Swiftly, she flapped her wings to slow down and regain control. By the time she was collected, Starlight leapt over the echo alicorn, flipping through the air, and blasted her with a magical bolt, propelling herself forward while smashing her enemy into the ground.

"Starlight, are you hurt bad?" Sunburst worriedly asked. He and the Pillars were freed from their binds by Starlight's energy blade.

"I did well against an enhanced Chrysalis, so I think I can handle my villainous copy." Starlight boasted, winking.

"So that's the evil you I've heard of." Sunburst breathed out in surprise.

"Starlight, take this to Shining Armor." Rockhoof requested, holding out Princess Platinum's crown.

"Why?" Starlight replied in uncertainty.

"Follow your gut, lass, as we follow ours!" Rockhoof exclaimed. "For the Tree!"

Without further questioning or argument, understanding the simple point, Starlight closed her eyes in compliance. She zapped the crown with a teleportation spell, sending it away, with Shining Armor on her mind. Immediately after, an instinct kicked in. She turned around with a battle cry and blasted the snow before her with a large energy blast, causing an explosion of snowflakes. A moment of no noise beyond the cold Windigo wind passed before Eclipse teleported in behind her and seized Starlight. She took her into the air.

Sunburst acted fast and grabbed Eclipse with his magical tether, causing her to drop Starlight, but thankfully she landed on the back of Rockhoof.

Eclipse shook Sunburst off by generating electricity across his tether. She steered her view down to Starlight and the Pillars, and caught them just fast enough to see her good template shake up another snowflake cloud, having been inspired by the blast she did before, in order to create cover. Eclipse charged her horn and slammed down on that spot with a magical strike, widening the cloud to an insane degree. However, she didn't hit anything but snow this time. The group of heroes had been teleported some feet away.

"With or without magic, we'll help you bring this pony down, Starlight!" Flash Magnus declared.

"Weak as we are, we have to try." said Mistmane.

"Trust us, we are more than sorcery, flight and botanical connections." Somnambula optimistically affirmed.

"Try having all of the above!" Eclipse yelled, laughing. She leapt out of the snow and shot multiple energy balls at and around the group of heroes. They scrambled to take evasive action.

Starlight got a better look at the impostor, now that she wasn't flying around. She noticed Eclipse looked very different. Her coat of fur wasn't like a normal alicorn's, even for a dark one. It was thick like a yeti's. She was the only one present who wasn't feeling the cold of the blizzard in the slightest because of that.

"You couldn't defeat Chrysalis. What makes you think you can beat yourself, but stronger?!" Eclipse derided.

"You are not "myself!", and never will be!" Starlight barked. She was swatted aside with the other Pillars and Sunburst by a wind burst generated by the evil alicorn.

"I should've been, but you decided to buy easy forgiveness and use unearned hospitality as an excuse to hold no accountability for your cataclysmic act of spite!" Eclipse rebuked.

"Nocreature even cares anymore!" Starlight snapped. "I may have come close to relapsing once or twice, and it may have been some time before I could live it down, but that's water under the bridge these days! My past actions aren't causing any further damage, and I'm happier!" She reflexively generated a shield to protect herself from a big, dark blast. Still, it pushed her a few inches back.

"The past isn't something you pretend never happened, it's something you carry on your back forever!" Eclipse growled. "Why submit to Twilight's leniency rather than embrace the weight of a misdeed you shouldn't have been able to come back from?!" Sunburst and the Pillars tackled her and dragged her to the ground.

"Well, the way I see it, it was either let that horrible incident I caused define everything I did and would do, no matter how much I changed, and haunt me for the rest of my life... or, recongnize the chance Twilight and her friends gave me to be a better pony, believe in that chance, that I wasn't beyond it, and prove my ability, regardless of my future mistakes!" Starlight ranted.

"You chose such a path because you're confident in that!" Eclipse scoffed, blowing her grappling attackers away. "I want equality in a powerful kingdom because I'm confident in this!"

"You're a reminder I've long-since grown tired of hearing!" Starlight snarled, growing more and more impatient from the blizzard's chill. "Nothing will change the fact you happened, but as far as the world's concerned, my past is forevermore irrelevant to who I am today!" Something triggered within the reformed unicorn from her surge of emotion. A warm, fiery swell of energy. It passed on to everyone in her party, completely protecting them from the frosty fates that might've befallen them in another minute.

Eclipse didn't look worried in the slightest. She had already set up the clouds to strike lightning on Starlight's group. So, it struck. The blinding shock from above kicked up another cloud of snowflakes. All was completely silent. "The world's only got room for one, sweetheart." she belittled.

Her apparent victory was cut short when a light shined in her eyes, the suddenness making it sting them all the more. It was from Somnambula's glowpaz necklace, illuminating in the moderately low light conditions of Equestria. Mage Meadowbrook took this opening to throw a pouch of itching spores at the alicorn, the effect taking hold immediately. Sunburst grabbed her with his magical tether again and swung her around, releasing to throw her into a collision course with an incoming, giant snowball.

"Well aimed, Rockhoof!" Flash Magnus complimented. The big earth pony felt like an inner child sprung out of him for a moment.

Starlight used her heat magic to melt the snowball over Eclipse's body, and then reversed to freeze the resultant water into a sheet of ice. Hopefully, this would hold the villain. Her protective coat of flame would continue to cast over the others on the team, like a thermal blanket.

"What's our next move, Starlight?" Star Swirl asked.

"We find where the ponies are, and hope." Starlight answered. She didn't have the directions, but she was going to try anyway in these desperate times. Her first choice? "We could use the extra unicorn power."

"Stay strong!" Flash Magnus verbally wished. "Somnambula and I will seek out the pegasi!"



Gallus' group managed to make it to the area where the Treehouse of Harmony was located. 

"This is it!" Gallus confirmed. "The Tree's been guiding us to it!"

There was only one problem: the bridge to the Treehouse was out.

"Great, but... only 8 out of 10 of us can fly." Grampa Gruff pointed out. "I am not lifting the yaks; it's been an exhausting day for an old griffon already."

The Tree, whether it heard Grampa Gruff or not, addressed his complaint by generating a magical bridge for everyone to cross.

"Oh. Well, that's better." he said in surprise.

Gallus began to take the first step onto the bridge, until the flickering happened yet again. It flickered so much, it seemed like, for a couple of seconds, it wouldn't cease to. It did, but this was getting worrying.

"Make a break for it!" Silverstream screeched. The fliers flew over the bridge, while the yaks put all of their strength into a mad dash.

They made it across, but unfortunately, the bridge had to flicker just before Yona fully set foot on the other side. She lost her footing on her hind hooves and clutched the ledge.

"Yona scared! Yona scared!" the little yak howled in a panic, trying so hard to not to slip off, but losing the struggle to the stone cracking up. Her friends gasped for her well-being. Help was there in no time, though. Rutherford and Pharynx lifted her up without trouble, leaving only a piece of stone to break off and fall. "Yona saved! Not scared anymore!"

"Changeling help yak, too?" Rutherford inquired of Pharynx.

He answered "Changeling help whomever.", mimicking yak speech. "No big deal, it's a love thing."

Moving on, they got a good look at the Treehouse of Harmony. Though it seemed like it's power was fading, from all the flickering it's magic was doing, and despite the yellow and black veins and electricity running around the exterior, it looked almost as beautiful as it did before this crisis began. The students looked highly relieved to see the Tree, which was like a dear friend to them at this point, still in fair condition.

"Tree?" Ocellus spoke up. "It's us. We brought them together. We gathered our guardians, and you recognized our bonds. Even mine with Pharynx, despite Thorax being whom you wanted."

"I guess it knows how close me and Thorax are." Pharynx opined.

"Sorry we're missing Sandbar and the pony princesses." Smolder added. "They've got tons of catching up to do, but I'm sure they'll pop up any minute."

The tree emanated a light from it's doorway, manifesting arrows made of magical particles, to suggest what it wanted next. In addition to this action, a sound could be heard loud and clear. It was the sound of a happy baby, echoing from inside.

"That's an interesting new feature." Silverstream remarked, getting a chill down her spine from the ghostly sound.

Back at where the bridge started, Shining Armor - the crown of Princess Platinum on his head and Cadance on his back - and Discord arrived through the tunnel. Also, at the same time, another tunnel converged with it. From that one, Luna, Sandbar and the CMC ran to meet them.

"Shining Armor!" Luna called.

"Princess Luna, how'd you find your way here?" Shining Armor queried pleasantly.

"It seems we both followed this safe and warm passageway." Luna commented.

"I knew it!" Sandbar exclaimed. "The Tree of Harmony! This was leading here! Oh, that must be my friends! Hey, guys! HEY! Over here!" Sadly, the wind drowned out his shouts for attention.

The Tree made another baby sound, this time forming a word. "Whammy!"

Shining Armor gasped. The word struck him like a punch in the chest. He shook, eyes slowing watering up. "I-i-i-it's her."

"I heard it, too." Luna confirmed. "Perhaps it calls to you."

"I-i-it has..." Shining Armor stammered. "It h-h-has to be a trick."

"I doubt it." Luna assured him. "The Tree bears your foal's voice for a reason. That I can't doubt."

Shining Armor considered it for a moment. He may have been playing a trick on himself, in his grief, but like earlier, he wanted to believe the best for the well-being of his only child. He nodded and agreed to press forward.

"That crown. Is that... the crown of Princess Platinum?" Luna noted.

"Yeah, from what I'm told." Shining Armor responded. "Me and the Pillars found it under Canterlot, or Tambelon, as Grogar's calling it now."

"The CMC told me all about Tambelon." said Luna. "But, what a fortuitous find; to think it was literally underneath me and my sister's noses all along. Coincidentally, Twilight, her friends and I found the hat of Chancellor Puddinghead over in the undiscovered beyond." She showed the hat, which she had been keeping tucked in her ethereal mane.

"Hmm... if you still have your magic, you should hold onto this crown." Shining Armor requested, handing over the headpiece with his hoof. "Tirek still has mine."

"Okay." Luna agreed, levitating the crown in her telekinetic grasp. "Where are the Pillars?"

"They were with me, and Starlight and Sunburst too, but they stayed behind to fight that Aurora Eclipse character while I transported the crown." Shining Armor explained.

"A valiant diversion. I pray it hasn't wound up a sacrifice." said Luna.

"Luna? Tell me... how is Fluttershy?" Discord questioned in worry, only now drawing notice.

"Discord." Luna simply said back, surprised at the former draconequus still moving. Once the astonishment wore off, she smiled in good faith. "Fluttershy is going to be perfectly fine, and she will be pleased to know of your health."

"Come on, there's a bridge, let's go!" Sandbar restlessly urged the adults and the CMC.

Luna telekinetically lifted all of the others as she flew over the bridge, easily passing through what was left of the Tree's tunnel. The rapid flickering occurred another time, and worse, this allowed a harsh blast of wind to break through. It threatened to break Luna's concentration and shift her off the flight path. She held it together well enough to hold onto the children, but Shining Armor, Discord and Cadance, unfortunately, slipped. Down they fell into the chasm, and Luna didn't realize it until after she and the four young ones crossed all the way. The two stallions screamed until they hit a mound of snow below.

Luna tried to dive down to fetch them and the coreless Crystal princess, but the wind was getting so bad around this area, she had no control. She had to give up and strain herself to get back to the Treehouse's entrance, before she was gone with the frigid wind.

"Sandbar!" Yona yipped at the sight of the earth pony student in the presence of the other students and their guardians. The sound of the baby giggling reverberated off the walls, seemingly as a sort of welcome.

"We did it, Tree." said Sandbar in a low, relieved voice. "We finally did it."



Shining Armor and Discord took a hard fall, but not the most damaging one, thanks to the snow cushioning it. That didn't change the fact of the cold air around them, though.

"Oh, geez!" Discord bellowed. "All this running's bad enough, I don't need to be reminded I can't float anymore!"

"Sure, don't ask how I am." Shining Armor dryly responded, emerging from his spot in the snow. "I'm fine." He looked around and found Cadance's body lying a few feet away. "Cadance!" he gasped, rushing to pick her up.

"Let's g-get in that cave over there a-and..." Discord suggested, shivering. He sneezed and muttered "Y-you know."

"Papa!" the baby voice shrieked from the cave entrance.

"Flurry Heart, I'm coming!" Shining Armor desperately called in a rush.

"I don't know, what if that is a trick, set up by my old ram?" Discord hypothesized, following the stallion out of concern, sneezing again on the way.

The stallions didn't take long to reach the end of the cave and see what was waiting there. They saw the bottom part of the Treehouse of Harmony, and what had become of it for the first time. It was exactly as Grogar left it, a giant hole like an earthly mouth spewing yellow and black energy on the bottom of the brilliant, crystalline structure. Still, it was fairly warmer in there.

"Well, this is a case of picking your poison." Discord complained. "Cold wastes, or poisonous root?"

"Mama!" the voice of Flurry Heart called out cheerfully.

"Flurry Heart! It's me, daddy!" Shining Armor yelled back. "I'm here! Where are you!?" He could hear his little girl laughing with joy. It became pretty clear now that the sound waves were emitting from the hole in the Tree.

"It's coming from the Tree's roots?" Discord said, unsettled.

"Please, dear. Come out and see me." Shining Armor pleaded. "Mommy's here, too."

The yellow and black mixture of energy in the hole began to glow with more pleasant colours, such as pink and cyan. It was followed by Flurry cheering, a sound that'd make any heart fuzzy with the nicest feelings. But then, to the stallions' shock, eight tendrils of light emerged from the hole, rocketing towards Shining Armor. All of them surrounded him, but he wasn't wrapped up by any of them. Their target, whom they wanted to grab, was Cadance.

"Mama!" Flurry called again as the tendrils pulled the coreless body of Shining Armor's wife in.

"Cadance, no!" Shining Armor howled. He jumped towards the hole, reaching out. "No, NO! NO!" He couldn't catch her. Cadance had been dragged under the Treehouse of Harmony, devoured by the Malice within. Yet, the voice of Flurry still sounded excited with joy.

"Show's over, we're out of here!" Discord frantically yelled through gritted teeth, yanking on Shining Armor towards the exit.



With all the corruption the Treehouse had suffered, unlike Twilight's castle it was perfectly safe to go into. The students and guardians all went upstairs and gathered in the centre of what looking like a meeting room. It was akin to a peaceful sanctuary with righteous beings watching from stained glass windows above.

"Yona like this floor best!" said the little yak.

"Aren't stairs the coolest?" Silverstream remarked to General Seaspray.

"They are certainly a splendid invention." he agreed.

One by one, they gathered around and circled a small table in the room, which was more than big enough to fit these visitors of varying sizes.

"This had better been worth it, or somecreature owes me bits as compensation." Grampa Gruff grumbled.

"Cool it, Grampa Gruff." Gallus recommended. "Bits will only be useful in a saved world, you know."

"Hey Gallus, what's with the helmet?" Sandbar asked, interest piqued.

"Oh, this?" Gallus noted. "I found it in the Abysmal Abyss among some war spoils."

"I know that helmet!" Luna announced. "That's Commander Hurricane's! He was in Griffonstone!?"

"Commander who-now?" Gallus mumbled in confusion.

"Commander Hurricane, the pegasus leader Rainbow Dash played in the Hearth's Warming pageant, the one about the legend of Equestria's founding!" Scootaloo chimed in to clarify.

"Huh. I had no idea it was so special, or Equestrian property." Gallus admitted. He took off the helmet and placed it on the table.

"That makes all three!" Luna took out the other ancient Equestrian headpieces and began counting. "Him..." she put down the old, dusty hat, "Chancellor Puddinghead...", then the rusty, aged crown, "...and Princess Platinum, the daughter of King Bullion."

"Wow!" Sweetie Belle whooped. "What are the odds we'd see the three treasures of the pre-Equestria hiearchies, in one place? The real ones?"

"What's the big deal? They're just museum pieces." Ember commented.

"No offense, but I don't think this old headwear's important right now." Pharynx seconded.

The Treehouse glowed brighter around them, and Flurry Heart giggled with jubilation from beyond the roots.

"That there ghost voice seems to disagree with ya'll." Apple Bloom stated.

"Yak come to meet other creatures, right?" Rutherford mentioned. "Clans meet, clans talk."

"I'm glad you found pieces of your history, Princess Luna, but I do believe this meeting needs to get underway." said Seaspray.

"If this is the start, it's not off to a good one." Grampa Gruff groused.

"Patience, my friends." Luna instructed. "Sandbar and friends, as students of Twilight Sparkle's School of Friendship, whom were entrusted by the Tree of Harmony to build this alliance, you shall speak first."

"By the way, wherever is Princess Celestia?" Seaspray pointed out curiously.

"She is indisposed. We'll be seeing her later." Luna instantly answered, still in lament of her sister's condition, but having more optimism after that stop at the earth pony bunker. Silently she permitted the talking to commence properly.

"Listen!" Yona started. "Tree know it, Yona's friends know it! All great! Ponies good to us! Yaks strong! Ponies strong! Yaks and ponies stronger! But yaks, ponies, dragons, changelings, hippogriffs and griffons strongest together! All must be good to each other, and be loyal to pony friends!"

"I know the whole helping creatures by being kind and generous thing sounds lame on the surface, and you may have only gotten a taste of it, but I've seen how powerful it can be!" Smolder added. "It's not weak to have pride and show the strength you have, nor is it to share that pride and strength with the world!"

"Playing together, singing together, even laughing together! It opens up a whole realm of possibilities to make us better than what we've strived to be for so long!" Gallus spoke. "We should never be afraid to extend our hooves, or claws, in peace and open up our hearts to unlock our greatest selves! That's what real heroes look like!"

"We never built the courage to face our fear of the Storm King, but let's be honest, none of us were truly happy by ourselves at the bottom of the ocean!" Silverstream continued the streak. "The ponies taught us the better way that Princess Skystar realized all the time! Then my friends taught me there's no better way to live than with many as one!"

"They've taught us how beautiful spreading love to friends and family was, and it saved our hive from the reign of Chrysalis!" Ocellus advanced the conversation. "We've been the ponies' friends for a long time now, and I believe we're starting to become friends of yours! So please, help us help them in their darkest hour! They need us most!"

"What I've learned in school, as Princess Twilight and our professors have spoken from experience, is that friendship is difficult, but it's worth the battle because what it represents in Equestria, heck, everywhere, is the very Fire of Friendship itself!" Sandbar began to wrap up. "It saved the founders of Equestria, they and their descendants worked to keep it lit, and if we fight with faith and trust, we can light it up again and put an end to the Windigos' evergrowing wrath!"

Such extensive speeches of motivational words left all of the non-pony adults in the room in awe. Each of them had always thought that these children should've been learning from them, but right now the expected mentor and student roles had been reversed. Luna suppressed a laugh she had at their expressions.

"Well, as I recall, we need not be friends if this is going to pan out, only gathered up in the same place." Grampa Gruff recollected.

"If you ask me, gramps, we've got a lot of friendly advice to pass on." said Ember. "I helped Pharynx's brother with his leadership troubles, and he helped me in return."

"Changeling, griffon, hippogriff and pony help yak. Single out nocreature." Rutherford pointed out. "Common friend in yak."

"Seems like this friendship stuff really has that much power behind it." Pharynx mused. "I transformed when I learned to give, and I believe Thorax would call this the next step."

"Queen Novo helped bring us back to our former glory to live in the light again." Seaspray mentioned. "That means the world's our oyster now, and we welcome all sorts."

"Your queen sounds like one me and the other changelings wish we had." Pharynx remarked.

"She has her moments indeed, my friend." said Seaspray said.

"And Ember? That was nice of you, to give my brother the strength to sort out the renegades." Pharynx thanked. "If only it actually worked on the ones besides me. Not that I second guess your-"

"Hey, I'm sure changing the one closest to him was reward enough." Ember interjected. "It's cool."

"What about old griffon?" Rutherford asked. "Old griffon uncertain?"

"Eh, the ponies and all of yours treated Gallus very well, and you kept us safe from that earthquake without asking for anything in return." Grampa Gruff listed off. He sharply switched to a look of dejection. "But we still don't have our Idol of Boreas!" Then he turned to Gallus. "Boy, tell me you saw it down there!"

"Yes, but it's-" Gallus replied, interrupted by Grampa Gruff's hard stare. "But tough tailfeathers! It's why Griffonstone's been such a sad place for so long, and every griffon's been healing from it's poison. We should show that."

Grampa Gruff relented on the little blue griffon, reminded of how little he has left to lose in his life. "I suppose we griffons haven't had much to be proud of recently, until Gilda took notes from a couple of ponies." Grampa Gruff pondered out loud. "We'd have even more pride if we proved ourselves. So, you know what? I accept every last one of your challenges! You shall have the aid, and witness the might, of the griffon army!"

"Dude, we're talking about saving the world, no need for a long-winded justification." said Ember.

"I think he needs his medicine." Smolder jokingly whispered to the Dragon Lord.

Grampa Gruff, Seaspray, Rutherford, Ember and Pharynx stretched their frontal appendages over the table, past the Equestrian headpieces, ready to complete their union and seal the alliance.

"We, the ponies of Equestria, are in your debt now, creatures of the lands beyond it." Luna proclaimed as she joined her hoof with the hooves and claws of the other adults.

A powerful rush of Harmony Magic, glowing pink and cyan, erupted through the room, up the Treehouse, in recognition of this worldwide bond. They all looked around in wonderment, until the non-pony creatures felt themselves being slightly lifted off the ground. Beneath their feet, five roads made out of rainbows extended from the Treehouse in differing directions. A new way, perhaps?

"Follow. It'll take you home." Luna surmised.

"So, what about these things, then?" Sandbar queried about the Equestrian headpieces. Before his eyes, the CMC picked up and lifted them, as if to put this set of old gear on.

"Leave that part to us." said Apple Bloom.

"Earth pony, pegasus and unicorn unified? No fight?" Rutherford questioned.

"Our magic differs, but our hearts are the same, like the founders and their trusted right-hoof ponies." Sweetie Belle stated.

"We just need the rest to learn that, all over again." Scootaloo added, glaring with fire in her eyes.

It was time to leave this sanctuary. Time to set all the kingdoms free. Time to find the ponies in hiding. Time for Grogar and the Horses of the Apocalypse to meet their match.
> Part 4 - Chapter 2 (14): Voice of the Unheard
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The paths of rainbow the Treehouse of Harmony laid out for the yaks, dragons, changelings, hippogriffs and griffons automatically carried them out, and across the sky of Equestria, like shooting stars.

"I guess this is good-bye then, Tree." said Sandbar. "Thank you for-"

His farewell of lamentation was cut off by the Treehouse's energy flickering rapidly, and this time, it looked like it wasn't going to stop.

"Make haste!" Luna cried as she telekinetically grabbed Sandbar and the CMC, flying off the balcony.

The five ponies got away from the Treehouse to see it had officially reached it's limit. The vains grew larger, bigger sparks of electricity were generated off it's crystalline form, and clouds of Malice were puffing out of every opening. They each shielded their eyes from the eyesore it turned into, and at last, the primordial magic it generated finally faded away, and the structure itself erupted like a geyser with that ghastly smoke.

"AH!" the CMC yelled in the moment they and the bigger ponies fell to the ground, thanks to the Windigos' wind.

"It's too strong!" Scootaloo groaned in frustration. "We're icicles for sure!"

Behind everyone, Flurry Heart sounded off from the Tree, even after succumbing to the Malice. She was wailing, putting some form of struggle in this losing battle down in the core.

"HEY!" hollered Discord from the top of the cliffside stairs. "Quickly!" The group barely managed to hear him past the loud, icy gales.

Luna desperately flicked her horn and cast a wind manipulation spell to reverse the winds from her, Sandbar and the girls. "I can't keep this up forever! Go!" They wasted no time making it for the stairs.

"You made the right call there, Shiny." Discord sincerely remarked, recalling the choice to hand over Princess Platinum's crown. Shining Armor was too shaken up to say anything. Nothing but a pained whimper emerged from his lungs.

"What has happened?" Luna asked through gritted teeth, owing to the effort of her spell.

"The Tree ate his beloved." Discord answered without pause. The ponies were startled by this answer, and turned their heads back to the dying Treehouse in response.

"I... I..." Luna tried to come up with something to say. Something to comfort the grieving stallion. She couldn't. Shining Armor looked inconsolable, and she worried anything would only upset him more.

"Maybe the Tree will explain later?" Sandbar mused optimistically.

"Let's figure out what to do now, though." Discord added. It was here he noticed the new item added alongside the hat and crown. "Hey, where'd you get the helmet?"

"Super important Equestrian artifact, like these other two." Sweetie Belle spoke fast in her answer.

"We know where the earth pony shelter is." said Apple Bloom. "Sandbar's coming back with me. Discord, you're an earth pony, so you come too."

"What?" Discord gasped. "Where? In that blizzard?"

"Oh, yeah, that's a fair point." Scootaloo conceded. "We don't know where the pegasi or the unicorns are, and we can't waste time in the cold."

"And what about magic?" Discord pointed out.

"Well, I've been praticing quite a lot." Sweetie Belle mentioned. "I'll keep us warm, Shining Armor, sir." She climbed on his back, deciding to travel with him.

"You Cutie Mark Crusaders are kind of crazy." Discord commented.

"If only you saw our old to-do lists." Scootaloo quipped.

"Can we focus?" Apple Bloom urged the group, drawing the plan of action on the snow. "Team A: Sandbar, Discord and I will take the earth ponies over yonder. Team B: Shining Armor and Sweetie Belle, shields on, will seek the unicorns. That leaves Team C: Luna and Scootaloo to fly to the pegasi. Repel the winds as long as your horn holds out."

Luna hesitated to reply for a few seconds. Uncertain, though looking forward resolutely, she said "I'll try. Safe travels, all of you."

The teams split up with the headpieces: one group to a destination that was already found, and one they knew how to return to, and the others on paths yet to be figured out.



Some guests were passing through the cold Equestrian wastes in flight. The rogue changelings were making their way in the direction of Tambelon, carrying a pair of feminine Ophiotauri, the former looking forward devilishly, and the latter looking like it had taken too much of the cold air and become nearly frigid. It didn't move.

"We're almost there. Not only at Tambelon Castle, but at my finest moment." the left, actually Queen Chrysalis, delightedly said. "When he sees one of his prized monsters in this condition, he won't guess it's me under my Malice signal, and he'll be forced to put his own magic in his precious Bell, by his own command, to save them. It'll be too late when he learns that neither of these forms are real, and the Bell is in my hooves!" She couldn't contain her laughter of malicious excitement.

"Forgive me if I'm speaking out of turn, my queen, but what if he isn't home?" asked one of the rogues.

"Don't tempt fate!" another rogue chastised the questioner.

"Then he can't be out for long." Chrysalis confidently assured.

"We'll have time to get into position either way." a gruff-voiced rogue noted.



Down below, a fair distance opposite to where Chrysalis was heading, Grogar was on his search for Twilight Sparkle and her friends, as he said he would be. He looked to the skies and noticed the nonstop flickering that was occuring all over the borders of Equestria from a distance. It became clear to him what this meant.

"Finally, the Tree's magic is gone!" Grogar cheered. "And that means..."

"Emperor Grogar!" called the voice of Aurora Eclipse telepathically. "Starlight Glimmer and the Pillars got away from me! Now they're trying to get to the pony clans!"

"So, you couldn't stop them?" Grogar inquired.

"I will next time! Don't take me out yet!" Eclipse insisted.

"Worry not. I've sent some squad members to the shelters, just to be safe." Grogar reported. "I look forward to the fruit you've borne, but right now, I'm on the cusp of claiming the final cores!"

"Affirmative!" Eclipse declared.

Grogar summoned Arimaspi's Eye again, but this time, the summoning came with a surprise. As soon as it appeared from the Malice Magic cloud, Havoc appeared in his flash of light, his eagle claw clenched into a fist and poised to strike.

"Havoc?!" Grogar yelped in confusion at the Spirit of Destruction's appearance and unexpected posture.

In a turn of events to fast and too out of the blue to process or predict, Havoc swung down his fist, throwing a punch packed with fury. True to his destiny as the Spirit of Destruction, he landed that blow on Arimaspi's Eye and shattered it into pieces so small and numerous, they were nearly comparable to specks of dust.

Grogar could not believe what he had witnessed.

"Arimaspi's Eye!" he exclaimed. "Havoc, I needed that! How could you break it?!"

Havoc turned to his father, and his expression of rage turned to something more meek. He once again used his sign language to justify himself.

"It's not me? It's your brothers and sisters? And the eye belonged to one of them?" Grogar translated. He sighed and rubbed his temple. "Oh well, I can rebuild it with time, and I'll sort them out later, as well as you. Just focus your devastation somewhere you can't hurt anything while I track these six villainous ponies down, please. I'm so close!"

Havoc, like a good boy, nodded his head and disappeared with an apologetic gesture.



Grogar's voice could be heard across the plains from the point Twilight's bunch reached. They found some woods, which was only felt like the slightest refuge to take.

"Whatever was that voice?" Scorpan asked as he moved along the rest, stepping sideways through the trees cautiously.

"Do not follow it!" Spike stressed. "It's Grogar!"

"He's after our core essences, and has the tool to take them!" Rainbow explained emphatically.

"If he catches us? Game! Over!" Pinkie added, holding up a wooden sign depicting scribbles of Grogar capturing the six pony friends on the left, an equals sign in the middle, and the phrase "WE LOSE!" on the right.

"Who goes there?!" hollered a different voice, coming from the trees. It made everyone except for the old gargoyle jump.

"Over here~!" Rarity called back in a singsong tone. She rushed to the direction of that friendlier sound. The others quickly collected themselves to follow.

Rarity wound up trotting into the clearing where the unicorn population had settled. All around the hollowed-out tree homes and mud huts were stockpiles of the food Grogar generously provided.

"Oh, a unicorn!" said a relieved stallion.

"Rarity, running off ahead is my thing, you know." Rainbow groused, catching up, her friends not far behind. Their appearance brought out a collective gasp from the unicorn clan.

"She brought in the rebels!" a unicorn mare screeched.

"Who's that guy?!" Lyra Heartstrings questioned loudly about Scorpan.

"The unicorns of Equestria." Scorpan breathed out in wonder. "It seems to be all of them in this confined space."

"Lousy infiltration, earth ponies and pegasi!" the posh Cayenne commented.

"Ugh... are ya'll still on about some "rebellion" scare?!" Applejack incredulously queried.

"You think we've had enough time to feel more secure?!" argued the Flaming Sky Firework Troupe leader, Fire Flare.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, please." Rarity pleaded. "We traveled miles, all the while finding no shelter. I don't suppose you have room in this modest hideout?"

"Your charms won't lower our guards, traitor!" Prince Blueblood snarled, pointing at the exit. The sight of him, and the sound of his voice made the fashionista's blood boil. Not helping was the masses grunting in agreement with him.

"If any of you ponies have some healing magic, lend it to this one." said Scorpan, showing the weakened and sick Twilight in his arms. She took a look at the crowd.

"Everypony, you can't just sit around here!" Twilight reprimanded. "I know the Windigos are scary, but you can fight them if-"

"Like how you fought them?" Cayenne interrupted. "We don't need a "lesson" from the Princess of Letdowns!"

"You and your royal buddies are the biggest disappointments in Equestria!" that one unicorn mare growled.

"Now look at you, broken, powerless and stiff, unlike me." Blueblood criticized and boasted. In response, the unicorns booed the Friendship Princess.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" Spike screeched in fury, putting his foot down and pointing at his sister. "Grogar is the reason she's in this condition! Any minute now, the Malice Magic running in her veins will finish the job! My sister, our best friend, gone! You're really going to gang up and kick her while she's down?!"

"Well, we don't need her bringing in some insurgents!" Moon Dancer opined.

"Ugh! Really, Moon Dancer?!" Spike snapped, veins bulging. "You're gonna shatter all goodwill!?"

"And after I threw you a party!" Pinkie scolded, very hurt.

"Believe it or not..." Fluttershy spoke up. Her eyes opened wide and sharply pointed at the entire unicorn colony, as did a feather on one of her wings. "The only creature I want to rebel against is that despicable ram!" Her words set off some non-pony creatures that were hiding amongst the unicorns. A cragadile and a zombie unicorn were there, not acting with hostility until this moment.

"Aw, shucks!" Applejack exclaimed. "We can't fend them off in here!" She and the others, for the well-being of these irratingly stubborn unicorns, made a run for it the way they came. Except Rarity, for a moment.

"I'll take these, thank you for very much!" Rarity scathingly announced, telekinetically snatching some of the fruit and bread from a food pile before making her escape from the charging beasts, which the unicorns made a path for.

The 6 ponies, dragon and gargoyle returned to the snowy wastes from the thick woods. It was certainly a bitter and wasteful reunion with their fellow ponies, especially after how far away they had been for so long. Luckily, they at least had a new bite to eat.

"Waste of our precious time!" Rainbow grumbled.

"Those are certainly not the ponies I advocated for." Scorpan lamented.

"We'll make you feel more at home when this is over..." Pinkie nervously assured him, clinging to his shoulder and letting go.

"Girls!" called out the voice of Starlight. She appeared before in a blur from her Accelero spell, Sunburst, Star Swirl, Rockhoof, Mistmane and Mage Meadowbrook in tow. "You're back! W-where you'd come from?"

"Long story, but we just paid a visit to the unicorn forest over there." Spike briefly explained, pointing his thumb claw back to the trees.

"OOH! I can't believe they're humouring that blowhard!" Rarity snarled under her breath. She took a second of grinding her teeth to swallow and calm herself, before her eyes contently aimed at Starlight. She asked "How do you like my dragon scale coats?"

"Better question: who's that?" Starlight queried, pointing at the larger creature in their company.

"Scorpan? Is that you?" Star Swirl gasped, approaching the gargoyle in nostagic recognition.

"Star Swirl, I've heard of your reappearance." Scorpan said warmly, feeling internal excitement at the sight of this old face. "You're just as I remember you."

"And time outside limbo has certainly changed you." Star Swirl replied.

"You never told us about this Scorpan." Rockhoof noted, feeling left out. "A friend, I presume?"

"Speaking of friends, we have one here in more need than ever." Scorpan stated, putting Twilight Sparkle into full view. She was coughing, feeling feverish, even with the warm Stratodon coat over her body.

"Twilight!" Starlight gasped in distress. "Did she..?"

"Yep. It's exactly what you're thinking." Applejack confirmed.

"And now that goat's coming for us!" Spike added fast. "Starlight, work your magic and get us out of here!" he continued at that same quick pace.

"Can do!" said Starlight, igniting her horn. It stopped glowing when she realized her lack of direction. "Where, though?"

"Tambelon!" Spike suggested resolutely.

"What? But that's where Grogar is!" Starlight argued.

"We were just there and barely got out!" Sunburst added.

"He isn't home right now, actually." Pinkie mentioned. "We heard them over there, and please teleport us far away!" her gaze oozed with fear and impatience into the unicorn's view.

"But it's crawling with monsters." Starlight pointed out, but then let up on stressing the recklessness of their decision, seeing their clear desperation. "Okay." Her horn lit back up, and POOF! Twilight's group had disappeared. All of them, except for Scorpan. He had released Twilight and turned his attention to something else.

"Starlight, what have you done?!" Sunburst exclaimed in alarm. "There's nothing for them there!"

"It'll get them out of the cold, if nothing else." Starlight reminded him of the anti-Windigo barrier.

The sound of tremors, made from something huge landing, getting louder.

"You better go." Scorpan urged Starlight's group, tilting his head to his right.

Star Swirl instantly recognized the warning for what it was, and nodded. "Quickly!" he commanded. Starlight's Accelero spell carried them all off, most appropriately.

As soon as Scorpan was left all alone, Tirek landed in front of him from one of his kangaroo jumps, and turned to his direction, his physically youthful, muscular form towering over his aged, comparatively fragile gargoyle sibling.



Grogar had his hoof to his forehead once more, and for a moment, he had a lock on a Malice signature and focused hard on it as his horn and collar glowed. He reacted with surprise when that signature completely vanished from his senses the next second.

"Darn it, she got away." Grogar muttered. "This cat & mouse game is no longer fun. Without Arimaspi's Eye, I'll have to make a guess or two." he opened a Malice portal and walked through it, having mixed feelings of hope and doubt.



"I never thought I'd see you again, little brother." Tirek greeted the gargoyle darkly.

"Lord Tirek, you too are exactly as I..." Scorpan noted, but then stopped himself. "No, it's because of stolen magic that you appear this way!"

"That's King Tirek, old boy!" the centaur corrected with a proud pound of his chest. "And the magic you speak of wasn't stolen, but used with Emperor Grogar's blessing!"

"I would've thought centuries in Tartarus might teach you well the folly of taking other creatures' power by force, and claiming lands outside of Midnight Kingdom jurisdiction." Scorpan bemoaned.

"So, how's the gatekeeping business?" Tirek asked mockingly.

"Midnight Kingdom has spent the last millennia in total ruins." Scorpan answered.

"Not surprised." Tirek dryly said with a cocky smile. "Wow, it's like I was needed there to succeed Father on the throne, or something." He chuckled at what he perceived as incompetence from Scorpan.

"And what exactly are you King of today?" Scorpan inquired, unflapped by the taunting.

"The New Midnight Kingdom, built atop the land of the dragons." Tirek answered in boastful earnest. "They make some fine warriors, and present delivery assistants."

"You? A giver?" Scorpan skeptically pondered.

"A giver of centaur healing magic, for the mighty takers who need moons of strength for a new year." Tirek explained. "Compliments of Grogar's Malice Evolution."

"You have the wrong hands for such a sacred technique that so few centaur have perfected." Scorpan grimly said. "You took a shortcut, and twisted it's purpose."

"Honestly, how can you complain?" Tirek rhetorically questioned. "Where I am, what I have, it's everything Father wanted for me."

"Did you not once think that there could be much more to life than the fate our Father wrote for you in stone?" Scorpan queried, masking his anger in as deadpan a tone as possible.

"Oh, don't worry, brother." said Tirek. "I'm not interested in world domination anymore. I've moved on to training knights, and Midnight Chariot Present Runs. It's been a healthy reign."

"Not my point!" Scorpan stressed. "You never lived by anything else but that silly old centaur warrior code, because Father encouraged it!"

"Well, you were encouraged to do gatekeeping, and you sure stayed in that lane, didn't you?" Tirek countered.

Scorpan paused for a moment, and sighed, conceding with a "Touché."

"But, I can write you a more interesting fate." Tirek promised, holding his hand out to his sibling expectantly. "We can start over, Scorpan. You, me, royal brothers of Midnight Kingdom, ruling with iron fists as King and Lord. It's the only place left for us to go."

"Share a makeshift throne over a pale imitation of what you were destined to rule?" Scorpan said without hesitation. "At least I did my job safeguarding our real home, big brother." he pushed the centaur's outstretched hand away with a glare.

"Such soft-hearted nonsense." Tirek growled, and then chuckled. "You know, it was always ironic that you can turn to stone, but aren't really made of it. Oh well, if you won't be my partner, you'll be my servant."

On that dark note, Tirek activated his wide draining spell on Scorpan. The gargoyle began to feel his vitality leave him, like a cloud of steam exiting his body with the force of a cannon shot. But, he recognized the sensation right away and made a move before all that magical life force left him. He used his own draining spell to counter the centaur's. The two identical spells collided and reversed each other. The air between the two siblings cracked and burst, sending them both flying backwards, knocked down, and neither of them successfully drained.

Tirek took a second to lift himself up with his long arms and give a hard glare at his brother. He snarled "You flipped my power! That's never happened!"

Scorpan lifted himself off the snow-covered ground, and smirked, remarking "To be fair, you shared it."

Tirek remembered, indeed, sharing the power to drain magic with Scorpan in their younger days, and so begrudgingly gave him a "Touché."

"Tell me... why would you need me now, as a  partner or servant?" Scorpan queried.

"Well, the last centaur and the last gargoyle have to stick together." Tirek answered. "Unless you're thinking I'm "nothing" by myself. Yeah, heard that one already!"

"The thing is, last I checked, the warrior code to which you are sworn, didn't say anything about cowering behind others, whether of greater power or sentimental value, and giving them room to offer you their protection half the time." Scorpan described.

"What are you going on about, you elderly fool?" Tirek muttered, massaging his temple.

"To summarize: it sounds, as you'd put it, soft-hearted." Scorpan specified.

Tirek, on a gut reaction, threw up his arms, made fists, and slammed them down at Scorpan, kicking up a cloud of snowflakes. It quickly cleared, thanks to the wind, to reveal that he didn't actually hit the gargoyle, only the ground around him. He took a look at how his brother barely reacted to his attack, and gritted his teeth in frustration, with himself.

"Strange. Father wouldn't have missed." said Scorpan. In the next moment, he felt himself grabbed and lifted up high by Tirek's jumbo-sized hand.

"Well, I'm not Father." the centaur snapped through gritted teeth. "Let me give you an example." he leapt away, the old gargoyle remaining undaunted in his grasp.



"I never did any of that!" Starlight incredulously barked.

"Well, you can't prove it wasn't you who spread the word of the other clans' campaign!" Blueblood scoffed.

"I just met the proof; that evil clone of me that's terrorizing Equestria!" Starlight explained emotionally.

"There are very real enemies out there, all of which you're turning a blind eye to." Star Swirl grimly reminded.

"Speaking of which, get those earth ponies out of here!" Cayenne demanded in disgust, pointing at Rockhoof and Mage Meadowbrook.

"Point proven!" Sunburst snapped at the posh unicorn.

"But you don't see Rockhoof and I fighting Star Swirl and Mistmane." the healer pointed out. "No sense in hurting one another over just a little bad feeling."

"Indeed." Mistmane agreed. "I am all too familiar with the ugliness a unicorn creates if fueled only by pride, hunger and anger. It's healthy for nopony."

"Even before Star Swirl actively studied friendship, we'd always been a great team." said Rockhoof. "Do you not miss what you had with earth ponies and pegasi when you happily shared the same space?"

"You never had them disappear on you." said Lyra, grasping the disguised Bon Bon as tightly as possible. "How do you expect us to be less careful?"

"None of you have any idea how much more you're going to lose if you insist on fighting everypony?!" Starlight rebuked.

"Don't misunderstand us, Starlight!" Blueblood responsed. "We don't plan to fight the earth ponies and pegasi! We want to destroy them!"

"What?!" Starlight gasped in revulsion. Sunburst, Star Swirl, Rockhoof, Mistmane, Mage Meadowbrook shared her utter shock.

"I came up with the master plan myself." Blueblood mentioned.

"And we already have the best new title for Equestria when we're finished: Unicornia!" the one named Sassy Saddles announced. The other unicorns cheered very loudly at that name.

Starlight stared in disbelief for a second before coming to a decision, her head facing down and her irises staring up. "If you're going to ignore legends, and listen to a royal... I'll give you a real one to heed!" Her Accelero spell activated yet again, allowing her to run out in a blink of an eye.

Sunburst stood for a moment, turning the gears in his head. The four Pillars present stared at him with expectation. He turned his head to them and gave a wink, and then shifted it to the unicorns, requesting "May we go over your plan, step-by-step, Blueblood?"



Pharynx and Ocellus had just arrived back at the changeling hive. While Chrysalis and her loyalist minions were out, many monsters and zombies kept their headquarters occupied. As the two entered this familiar territory, they noticed the sound of Windigo wind behind them.

But strangely, an invisible barrier had kept the blizzard from reaching the hive. Pharynx and Ocellus did not know what the reason for this was, for they were not aware, as Grogar said not too long ago, that protection was set up for the kingdoms of the Horses of the Apocalypse. It did not matter to them, either, besides the relief of the cold not getting through. They needed to get into their home and save their people, the ones who truly turned on Chrysalis. They charged into battle in their giant insect forms, naturally.

Predictably, the Maulwurf and Ophiotaurus became keenly aware of their presence and rallied their fellow beasts into a fight. A claw swipe from the left, Ocellus dodged. A bite from the right, Pharynx blocked. Needles raining from the pegasus zombies, only a brief distraction. Pharynx and Ocellus moved up, the Maulwurf and Ophiotaurus collided, discombobulating each other. Unicorn zombies fired energy beams, Pharnyx fired back from his mouth. To surprise them, the changelings transformed into boulders, crashing into the armies with the force of granite.

The fighting raged on for a little while. Two targets proved to be surprisingly tricky for an entire large group of enemies, especially with the many possible forms they could change into. But, that was only the beginning. The noise of the monsters and the zombies facing troublesome adversity caught the attention of another great fiend. Transformer, Chrysalis' unnatural creation, flew out from the hive, viciously revealing himself, all burly and mishapened, to Pharynx and Ocellus. His demonic roar reverberated like they were in a glass building.

"What the heck is that?!" Ocellus shrieked in a full panic.

"I've never seen a changeling like this!" Pharynx yelled in astonishment.

Transformer changed his head into that of a giant bat. It screamed a most terrible, piercing scream that, if these creatures were in a glass building, would cause a shower of shards. Pharynx and Ocellus couldn't stand this sound, the two of them desperately trying to protect their ears from it, but this meant they were wide open.

Transformer changed his fore legs into octopus tentacles and wrapped them in their suction cup-covered embrace. They wiggled and squirmed before turning into pebbles to slip out, but then Transformer turned his tail into a vinegaroon's and sprayed the area they fell to, and his hind legs into monkey legs and feet to squeeze them in his toes. They returned to their giant insect forms to escape and tried to circle around the artificial beast.

"This thing isn't natural! No changeling can do what it's doing!" Pharynx yelled in bewilderment.

"Pharynx, what do we do?!" Ocellus pleadingly inquired, the heat of the moment getting to her too much to form a coherent thought.

The vinegaroon tail sprayed again, stopping them with a misty distraction, and the octopus tentacles took back their hold on them. They swung down and stopped against the monkey feet. The two's capture was sealed. With a malevolent chuckle of enjoyment, he turned his head into a snake's attached to the neck of a giraffe, which reached for them, planning to take a bite. He licked those reptilian lips with his forklike tongue and bared his long fangs.

That was when something came along and interfered with his imminent meal. It came in the form of the yaks. Rutherford and his army, joined by Yona and having many fillies and colts riding atop them, attacked the horde of monsters and zombies, and caught Transformer off his guard. They charged, stomp, kicked rocks with force, they put up a great fight with the element of surprise. However, they weren't in this attack alone.

Pony-shaped creatures, covered in flames, aided the yaks in pushing back the hostile super-creatures. They were the Kirin, fighting in their Nirik forms, which burned many that got in their path. Thanks to their magical attacks and the yaks' strength, Pharynx and Ocellus were released and Transformer met some true opposition.

"Changeling and yak meet again already!" Rutherford hollered to Pharynx.

"How did you get here so fast?!" Pharynx questioned, surprised. "And who are they?!"

"Yak get flown home, when yak find..." Rutherford began to explain.



Not too long ago, when Rutherford and Yona had gotten back to Yakyakistan, they saw the other yaks, as well as the students of Cozy Glow's School of Friendship, running rampant, tearing the mockery of a building to the ground and repelling the monstrous forces patrolling the place, with surprising help from the Chimera and Roc.

"For great and powerful glory!" Trixie cried out in exhilaration on the back of the Roc. She led a mighty attack force of both small and large creatures. They all seemed unstoppable. The two yaks at the town's front door were most impressed.

"Yaks, this way!" Rutherford bellowed from a rush of excitement.

Only moments later, Trixie's reinforcements joined the yak's tidal wave of a stampede to the nearby lands.



"Week of world-trotting like drawing map, so Yona know best route." the little yak explained, back in the present.

"No need to thank me." Trixie said, still riding the giant bird. "Aw, what the heck, you probably already have, so you're welcome."

"Kirin been wandering since ground explosions ravage Peaks of Peril, they say." Rutherford carried the explanation. "Powerful balls of fire, they make, lucky for us."

"Keep things busy out here, we'll be right back." Pharynx requested, flying into the hive with Ocellus.

Deep in the bowels of the ruined, overrun hive, all of the good changelings imprisoned there, including Thorax, had little more sound to make at their predicament besides whimpers of sorrowful defeat and longing, or, in their benevolent, true leader's case, absolutely nothing. It was like he had fallen asleep, but his ears were still listening to the ambience of his dreary surroundings. 

His ears twitched at a new sound, which was of two pairs of wings flapping down to his location, both clearly changeling from the sound of it. Pharynx flew over to the cocoon keeping his brother a dangling captive and sliced it wide open with his horn. Thorax gasped with pleasant surprise and started flapping his own pair of wings, for the first time in a long time.

"Pharynx!" Thorax delightedly squealed.

"Here I am again, saving you from bullies." Pharynx lightheartedly ribbed. "The more thing's change, the more they stay the same."

"Very funny." Thorax ironically fired back. His eyes widened with realization, leading him to ask "Was that a pun?"

Ocellus flew over to the cage with the rest of Chrysalis' prisoners, but was having some trouble. She couldn't use her shape-shifting powers next to it, and it was locked tight, too.

"Hey kid, what's the problem?" Pharynx called over impatiently.

"I don't know how to open this thing!" Ocellus confirmed. "Thorax, do you know where the key is?"

"I do, actually. Chrysalis didn't need it anymore once she rounded up all of our broodmates..." Thorax clarified.

"She threw it away, didn't she?" Pharynx grumbled, rubbing his forehead with a groan. Ocellus made a gasping expression, but took no breath.

"Actually, in one of her games, she stored it with me, right in this..." Thorax made sure to check the cocoon, and plucked an item of black stone out of it with his hooves. "Aha!" He revealed the very key they needed.

"Ohoho! Old Chryssie was too confident in her security." Pharynx laughed.

The key was put into the lock, and turned to open the door to the changeling hive's freedom.



Silverstream and Seaspray snuck around the pathway home after their rainbow ride, and soon, the two hippogriffs noticed something they found especially odd when they got back to Mount Aris. The monsters, zombies and brainwashed pony guards under Eclipse's command had been marching out of the area in an orderly fashion.

"It appears they're going to battle somewhere else." Seaspray commented.

"Well, that's relieving. I mean, that they're out of the way." Silverstream opined. Her face filled up with worry, stuck on the thought spoken aloud. "Terramar... mom and dad..."

"But I doubt they'd be so non-strategic to leave it completely unguarded." Seaspray mused, scratching his lower beak.

They flew over the ocean around Mount Aris, it still covered in storm clouds, blocking the way to the seapony-inhabited city beneath the surface.

"Hello! Any hippogriffs anywhere?!" Silverstream hollered hopefully. The general reflexively put a claw to her beak with a "Ssh!", to which she responded "What?"

A moment of quiet passed. The silence would only barely be broken by a distant noise. The sound was of something hard, like steel, being hit. It was like creatures clamboring against a wall from the other side. They listened, they followed, they pointed in it's direction.

"Follow that road." Seaspray quietly instructed, his claw aimed at a pathway going through the ruined hippogriff town.

Their continued flight forward was interrupted when the ocean seemed to strongly burst up behind them. Unexpectedly, coming out of it, through the storm clouds, covered in electricity, diving at the hippogriff duo and snarling with malice, was the gargantuan Berserker. They both yelped, and narrowly reacted in time to avoid getting pounced on by this king-sized, bearlike demon. His impact with the grounds of Mount Aris caused the heavy objects in the vicinity to bounce up.

"Take evasive action!" Seaspray hastily ordered, grabbing hold of the younger one. With the boost in adrenaline, he could still keep track of what road he chose to follow.

Both hippogriffs would find out the hard way how difficult Berserker was. He snatched them with telekinesis, followed by altering the aura in which they were carried, making it seem like they were absorbing it like sponges. Their every limb, even their wings, straightened out and crackled, their muzzles shut tight, before long they had become practically statues. Following this, the demon set them down, showing how immobilized they really were now.

Berserker walked up to their still bodies and placed his claw up close. With a wave he magically plucked the Pearl of Transformation shards from the necklaces the two wore. With another wave he threw them into his grotesque mouth and stored them under his tongue. The paralyzed Silverstream and Seaspray couldn't react, except by shaking like worms.

Considering his job done, Berserker carried his hippogriff captives the rest of the way down the road they intended to go down in the first place. The prison of the other hippogriffs was found. Queen Novo and many other members of the clan had been restlessly clawing at the bars of their cage, all as a means to keep themselves from relinquishing all lingering hope. When they saw the forms of their saviors held by the demonic giant, overpowering despair was getting to them fast.

"Silverstream!" Sky Beak yelled, distraught.

"Sis!" Terramar howled at the same time.

The fiendish beast reached into his mouth and pulled something out of his tongue. It was a key to the cage. On twist in the keyhole, the door opened for the new pair of occupants.

All of a sudden, some green blurs zipped around Berserker, seized the immobile hippogriffs, he got pelted by barrels, turned around trying to swat at the interfering pests, and then ZAP! Lightning struck him. His fur was on fire, but he tried to fight the burning pain as he saw who or what was on the attack; none other than Tempest Shadow, along with Captain Calaeno and her cloud-sailing crew.

Angered, Berserker fired a powerful beam of lightning from his maw, which punched a trail of blackened dirt into the ground. Two of Calaeno's mates took care of getting Silverstream and Seaspray out of the crossfire. Tempest, Calaeno and the rest kicked up dust clouds and split up to try and spread the monster's assault thin, going on the defensive as equally as the offensive. They soon discovered the further depths of his power when his back burst with volcanic energy and shot sharp, fiery missiles at the group. The hippogriffs behind him took care not to get too close to this violent surge.

The claws of this massive demon, while he was still overflowing with power, pressed the ground and altered it's temperature. It made it even more difficult for the combatants to maintain balance on, as it was almost like... the ground was lava. In fact, it appeared lava would literally burst forth. The mouth once again opened wide, ready to spew another lightning beam.

Before that could happen, a fireball flew down from the sky, into Berserker's jaws. It caused an explosive reaction inside him that caused his mouth to spew smoke like a train's chimney, and his energy surge to cease. The hippogriff prisoners saw it was now safe to get going, so they exited the cage, proceeding to bowled over the big guy with their strength in numbers.

Unfortunately, Berserker wasn't done, and he was angrier, to the point of insanity. He returned to that crazy power state immediately after getting back on his feet and fired a hail of heat missiles at the new challengers: the dragons. In his blinding rage, he did not realize he was out of luck. Dragon Lord Ember and her army easily maneuvered past the missiles in the air, and surpassed his fiery defense with their impeccable heat resistance. After all, these flying reptiles could swim in lava.

With all their might, the dragons lifted and threw Berserker up, Tempest followed up with another electrical strike attack, and then, as he fell, caught him with her teeth and swung him into the open cage, jamming his head in the door. Victory was claimed.

Another dragon, the once beloathed bully Garble, tended to Silverstream and Seaspray, whom two of the pirates continued to watch over. The heat of his small flame unstiffened them both.

"No need to thank me." Garble casually said.

"Wow! The dragons! Tempest, too?!" Silverstream squealed in delight, with a hint of surprise at her second observation. The unicorn turned her way in acknowledgement, and gave a comforting smile, rather dissonant with her scarred look, but making her allegiance clear.

"Impeccable timing, Dragon Lord!" Seaspray complimented. "Not a moment too soon!"

"I don't do tardy, general." Ember boasted.

"Good thing we wrapped up business in the dragon lands really quick." said Smolder.



Not even a whole hour ago, Ember and Smolder were sneaking through their homeland, trying to figure out how to manage their most obvious obstacle.

"Wyverns and beasties everywhere." Ember stated. "We could be here all day getting past them to find the dragons."

"If I remember my lessons in school, we need to approach this on an emotional level." Smolder suggested. Her muzzle quivered over the sound of that.

"Not the time or place, kid." Ember groaned.

Out of nowhere, it started raining rocks on the wyverns and monsters in the area. The sound of loud footsteps approached the dragons' location. The enemy forces could also feel the imminent danger.

By air, the griffons attacked. By land, the buffalos charged. From high and low, Tirek's New Midnight Kingdom squadron met some incredible opposition. Swooping, tackling, clawing and smashing, the griffons and buffalos' combined ferocity was just enough to put the wyverns and monsters in corners, out of Ember and Smolder's path.

"How convenient." Ember commented. She and the younger dragon looked up to where the griffons were coming from, and saw one hovering, elderly figure holding his chest up high, laughing.

"Are you impressed?!" Grampa Gruff shouted proudly, laughing even more. It strained him enough to put him in another coughing fit. Gallus patted his back, chuckled and shook his own head back and forth.

Ember and Smolder had an idea just where to look for their imprisoned brethren: the very cave where the Gauntlet of Fire was held. Established in the former resting place of the Bloodstone Scepter was the colossal cell holding the dragons, big and small.

"Hey, guys! Why don't you burn this down?" Ember asked, claws on her hips.

"We can't breathe fire in here, don't you know!?" Garble answered. "And the bars are too strong!"

"Okay, so where's the key then?" Smolder inquired. "Tell me that centaur guy didn't eat it, or something."

"I heard Tirek hid it in one of the lava pools..." replied the rotund Clump. "Back the way you came." Ember and Smolder's were left with widened eyes and agape mouths.

They went back a few rooms to the chamber of ascending lava pools, and dug through each one for the key. It took a minute, but they found the key before the circumstances got even more worrisome.



The freed hippogriffs, partnered with the dragons, blew the storm cloud cover off the ocean by flapping their wings in unison, allowing the seaponies to come to the surface at last. Silverstream and Seaspray pulled Berserker out of the cage to retrieve their Pearl of Transformation shards. Afterwards, the former had a warm reunion with her brother and parents, wanting to treasure this precious moment of togetherness. The latter rejoined Queen Novo, bowing to her majesty.

"Now, your highness, it believe it's time to march intrepidly to the greater battle ahead as a singular unit." he respectfully proclaimed. Novo nodded in full agreement. They shook on it, and were joined by Tempest pressing her hoof against their claws. Neither of them minded the addition.



Shining Armor and Sweetie Belle endured the freezing Windigo wind with only the best of their ability. The little unicorn's magical shield was the only thing covering them, but it only did so much good, even if the older one was moving at a fair speed.

Something came at them at higher speed. Starlight Glimmer stopped her Accelero spell right in from them, kicking up a little cloud of snowflakes.

"Shining Armor, grab on!" Starlight told him in a commanding fashion, starting to feel somewhat exhausted. Her eye caught the sight of the little one on his back, making her nerves jump. "Sweetie Belle?"

"Gotta. Get to. Unicorns." the filly groaned, trying to maintain her shield.

Starlight's face lit up. "I found where they are!" In return, Sweetie Belle's face lit up as well. "Hang on, the Accelero spell will get us there in record time!"

"Accelero?!" Sweetie Belle gasped. "I know that one!"

"Then I hope you're prepared for the ride!" said Starlight emphatically. Both her horn and Sweetie Belle's ignited before they took off with Shining Armor in a blur coloured two shades of green.



Flash Magnus and Somnambula trotted forward, covered in the protective heat barrier Starlight left them. They knew only one lead to the pegasi, and that was looking for any place that was up high, touching the clouds.

Such a place was spotted through the blizzard by the two. Flash Magnus looked up and saw something noteworthy.

"Hey! You see that cloud cover?" he called to Somnambula.

"Which one?" she asked, having seen so many all day.

"Up in those peaks!" Flash Magnus responded, pointing to the top of the mountain. It seemed to be covered up in a thicker layer of storm clouds than the rest of the area in the sky. "It looks... intentional. Like a barrier. Somepony's at work up there, isolating their shelter."

"In this weather?" Somnambula said, perplexed. “That’s especially optimistic.” she laughed.

All the same, they had no way of quick transport up the mountain. But, before they could think for long, a blue tornado swept up next to them and reveale itself as Princess Luna, carrying Scootaloo, as the snowflakes flew up.

“Flash Magnus, Somnambula, I found you two from the air!” Luna said. “What is your destination?”

“Where the pegasI are.” Flash Magnus clarified, pointing to the mountain’s upper area again.

“O-oh, s-same here!” Scootaloo chimed here, shivering. “W-we could u-use the h-help, Mister F-Flash Magnus!”

“Already figured it out.” Flash Magnus affirmed. “They’re operating atop that mountain, under the thick wall of clouds.”

"A-alright. N-now, I h-hope they... listen t-to reason..." Scootaloo prayed.

"We need all the hope we can get, little one." Somnambula appreciatively remarked.

"Thank you." said Luna, reactivating her tornado spell to carry the pegaus Pillars with her and Scootaloo. Through the snowy wind, to where the lightning flashed, they traveled further and further away from the ground.



Things weren't looking so hot for Apple Bloom, Sandbar and Discord, in both senses.

"I get the feeling we didn't plan out this return trip so thoroughly." Discord sardonically opined.

"You're right." Sandbar admitted. "It was much easier when the Tree was protecting us along the way."

"Come on, guys!" Apple Bloom snapped. "We're ponies! This can't stop us!"

"Easy for you to say, when you came so far to find me and the others who were cocooned on the ceiling." said Discord.

"Maybe we should turn back and hide somewhere, Apple Bloom." Sandbar suggested, feeling his limbs getting harder to move.

"Hold up!" Apple Bloom yapped, squinting her eyes through the snowy fog. "I see something."

"Hello there!" a voice came from the figure emerging from the fog. A familiar voice, belong to a recognizable figure. It was Rusty Bucket, covered in many thick layers of winter clothing and pulling a little sled. He approached the three and wondered out loud "What are ya'll doing out here in nothing?"

"Oh, thank hoofness!" Apple Bloom breathed out in relief. "It's that nice pony Luna was talking to."

"You c-came after us, M-Mister... uh..." Sandbar commented, rubbing his fore leg with another in desperate hope of a little warmth.

"Rusty Bucket, at your service!" the bucket-headed stallion introduced. "I wanted to come after you, and I followed that scary looking beacon over yonder. Let me tell you, things have spiraled out of control since her majesty Luna dropped in. The earth ponies have gotten so terror-stricken, they're plotting something against the pegasi and unicorns." Apple Bloom and Sandbar were terror-stricken themselves over this news. Discord hid his face and shifted his eyes with guilt. "Here, let me get you covered." the outfitted stallion offered.

In a matter of seconds, Rusty got Apple Bloom, Sandbar and Discord in some of his thick winter threads. He didn't mind being less protected from the cold if it meant generously lending them to ponies who needed warmth even more.

"Much appreciated, Rusty, sir!" Apple Bloom thanked. "If you don't mind, can you take us back to the earth ponies' hideout?"

"What for?" Rusty queried, surprised.

"We need to talk to them and make them friends with the pegasi and unicorns again, before they do something terrible!" Sandbar explained.

"Maybe much more than that." Apple Bloom added.

"Alright then, kids. Wishing you the best." Rusty agreed, turning around and motioning the ponies to hop onto his sled.

"Finally, a new excuse not to walk." said Discord, eagerly jumping onto the sled and laying down, stretching his legs out.

Like he had years of athletic training, Rusty sprinted down the trail ahead at a considerable speed, pulling the sled passengers easily. It was like riding a toboggan downhill for the three.



Sunburst reviewed Blueblood's plan to defeat the pegasi and unicorns, pretending to approve of it.

"I'm glad we got this all settled." Sunburst said in mock support, which none of the unicorns picked up.

"Just what I thought you'd say." Blueblood haughtily replied.

"I know it's asking a lot, Sunburst, but we'll need all the studious spellcasters we can find if we're going to win this war." Moon Dancer stressed.

"As long as we're together, the Windigos won't scare us anymore!" Minuette sang.

Just then, Starlight swiftly returned, with Shining Armor and Sweetie Belle in tow. She also needed to catch her breath.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, the royal you've been promised." Star Swirl announced.

"Hey, it's Twilight's brother!" said Lemon Hearts in recognition. Most of the unicorns in the shelter cried "Aaw!" in exasperation.

"My family's in danger! My sister, my wife, my foal, all them are being taken away from me!" Shining Armor cried out pleadingly. "Help us! Don't just sit around, or you're going to lose one of yours!"

"This is a real royal? Look at him, he's delirious!" Sassy Saddles cackled.

"My wife, Cadance, and my baby Flurry Heart are trapped under the world and I don't know what to do!" Shining Armor snapped back, emotions flaring up.

"Cadance? You mean another one of the princesses, who betrayed and condescended us?!" Lyra touched on bitterly. Starlight felt indignance hearing this, but was too tired to act upon it.

"Unicorns of Equestria, I'm here representing the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Sweetie Belle spoke up.

"Sweetie Belle, you're here?" Sunburst said in jubilation.

"I have a few words to share." Sweetie Belle darkly promised. The unicorns all around her murmured in confusion.



Luna successfully blew through the cloud barrier at the top of the mountain, and lightly crashed with Scootaloo, Flash Magnus and Somnambula down where, as suspected, the pegasus colony was located.

"Intruder alert! Take battle positions!" Spitfire called in alarm. Her fellow Wonderbolts put on their goggles, preparing to take on the interlopers.

"Hope has shined on them. They are well." Somnambula commented.

"Why, it's Flash Magnus and Somnambula of the Pillars!" Soarin mentioned. "We could use your talents right now!"

"Oh no, it's Nightmare Moon!" bellowed Night Glider. The others jeered upon noticing the presence of the night princess.

"GET THAT VILLAIN OUT OF OUR VILLAGE!" Short Fuse of the Washouts screamed.

"Everypony, calm down! You can't cut yourselves off like this!" Flash Magnus ordered. "The only way you're going to get out of this winter nightmare is if you make peace with the ponies below again!"

"Ha! You're asking us to let them take away our reasons for living!" Zephyr Breeze scoffed. "Not happening, boyfriend!"

"That is why we hope, my friends." Somnambula stated. "You didn't lose Cloudsdale; by staying united, you brought it with you. If you welcome the other clans back, you can still have Equestria."

"It isn't going to be Equestria any longer!" Spitfire corrected.

"When we're through burying the surface and making this country sky-only, it'll be Pegasopolis from here on!" Lightning Dust finished the thought.

"As it should've been since it's founding." said a Canterlot pegasus guardsstallion.

Pegasus zombies and a cyclops closed in on Luna and the Pillars, poised to pounce them.

"Out of my way!" Scootaloo growled. She slipped past the giant and it's reanimated entourage, making a leap into the crowd. Being so little, she bounced on some heads to get across, looking for an opening to land.



Rusty Bucket successfully escorted Apple Bloom, Sandbar and Discord to the where the earth ponies rested, or rather, restlessly clamoured. They arrived to time to catch them in a meeting outside their underground bunker.

"They think they're the only ones with all the surprises? They don't know us at all!" Mayor Mare spoke. "But they'll know for sure after today!"

"We close in on their lairs, small divisions on the right sides, and big ones on the left, create a diversion, tackle them from behind, spring a trap that'll put their magic and flight to shame, and take all their food!" Mrs. Cake recounted in a long-winded speech. "We may have one shot each to make it count! One, important shot to show those egomaniacs what happens to those whom underestimate us, not the ponies of Equestria, but the ponies of Earth!"

"Didn't I tell you?" said Rusty to the group.

"Well, this is your moment, friendship experts." Discord remarked to the colt and filly. Before anyone to do anything else, he saw a yeti and some earth pony zombies in the corner of his eye. This gave him an idea. He pressed the kids to go forward and rolled up a snowball. He threw it at the yeti and yelled "Over here, big bro, or sis! Eh, I don't care!"

"What are you-?" the startled Rusty yelped. The yeti and zombies came after him and the incomplete being of chaos, prompting them to run away. "Back, get back! I can take ya'll on!" was his battle cry.

"Everypony, remember the story of Hearth's Warming! You know there's a better way, and that's what will defeat the Windigos, not dealing more damage!" Sandbar implored.

"What, you really think if we all sing a couple of songs, everything will be fine?" the mare named Berryshine questioned.

"It's not just singing that saved the founders of Equestria, or kept our unity alive for centuries!" Sandbar snapped, pushing Berryshine sharply. "It was all the hard work we put in to prosper and maintain the balance of peace together. It's easy to hate and fight, but in doing the best we can, wherever we were from, that's what made Equestria worth it."

"The evidence was all laid out for us! The signs were seen!" Cheerilee argued. "They don't respect us anymore! You pretend we're still in the Equestria we once knew, but if you were grown up, you'd recognize everything for what they really are!"

"Eeyup!" Big Mac uttered among the raucous group.

"Down with wings and horns!" Granny Smith howled.

"You mean what you think they are." Apple Bloom's voice retorted from behind everyone.

"Huh?" Sandbar uttered, noticing now that Apple Bloom walked away from him.

"Ya'll are making such a big fuss over some irrational assumptions." the filly continued. "How quickly you assumed the worst, and simplified friendship down to songs and dancing... I reckon that goes to show how little of friendship and faith ya'll ever knew!" Standing atop a wooden platform, in front of the entire colony, she held the hat of Chancellor Puddinghead up high. They looked on in bewilderment at the old garment.

"What's that?" Berryshine asked.

"See this? This belonged to one of our ancient leaders, whom was saved from an icy fate by their faithful companion, and the friends they earned." Apple Bloom described. "They understood the assignment: the fact it it would take their all to make Equestria a warm place to live, and doggonit, they made it! 7 to 8 days, the ponies I see have ignored what's at stake here! No homes, no homegrown food, no livelihoods, no escape from this blizzard, and no sun! Actually, that's what Celestia's symbol in the sky meant! At this rate, you're never going to see the sun again! But, I guess that's what ya'll want now, huh!? Even my own family!"

"Apple Bloom, isn't that a little harsh?" said Sandbar in discomfort.

"Sit back down, I'm not done!" Apple Bloom snapped, pointing her hoof at Sandbar without looking at him. He backed away cautiously.



Sweetie Belle, back at the unicorn shelter, held up Princess Platinum's crown and had begun her own speech.

"Nothing, for many years, and I mean nothing stood between us ponies and harmony!" Sweetie Belle went on passionately. "We heard from a reliable source, one of our true enemies, that everything's been premeditated by our true enemies, and that's really all it takes to ruin this beautiful thing that was supposedly built to last?! You'd trust random, shady characters over ponies who didn't know what you were talking about, or Twilight Sparkle?!"

"You want to talk about true enemies, look at the Windigos!" said Blueblood defensively. "Because of them, Emperor Grogar's our only food provider left!"

"Yet, Twilight and her friends don't care to shoo them away with their rainbow blasts!" Cayenne huffed.

"THEY'RE ONLY HERE BECAUSE OF YOU!" Sweetie Belle shrieked in vexation. The unicorns gasped and froze up. She continued, saying "When I was very young, I heard of how great being a unicorn is! As of now, I'm embarrassed to be seen with this lot! You're all so high-and-mighty you cannot fathom the idea that you could be wrong! The earth ponies and pegasi are also guilty, but you unicorns in particular are the worst in taking responsibility for your mistakes, like throwing away what you had that's now all gone!"



Scootaloo showed the pegasi in their mountain home the helmet of Commander Hurricane, giving them a piece of her mind.

"My friends and I are totally different, Twilight and her friends are totally different, the Pillars are totally different, but they never let their differences or petty squabbles about ridiculous details distract them from what they really need." Scootaloo spoke at length. "They're out there trying to put a stop to this fiasco! What do you think you're doing?!

"We're trying to save our jobs, squirt!" Spitfire claimed.

"Job schmob!" Scootaloo rebuffed. "There's no job to protect, not that it needed protecting! These defenses are just to save your own hides! You want to be helpful to society? How about don't become the exact danger to the other pony clans those gossip spreaders warned them about!? That'd be a good first step!"



"How did ya'll stoop so low as to want to remove your fellow ponies from the picture?!" Apple Bloom carried on back on her side.

"We're terrified, is all!" Berryshine asserted.

"Cry me a river!" Apple Bloom snarled. "Your fear has a face, and you can't give it a hard stare?! Fine, maybe this is where ya'll belong! Equestria has no room for the spineless, and while Grogar has you played like a set of toys, and those other big bad bullies walk all over the debris of the land we once loved, ya'll can at least stand so proud of how obstinate you are!"



"If you can't get along with the other clans anymore, you think you can still not do some horrible things to them?! All it's doing in return is hurting back!" Sweetie Belle talked on, taking a few breaths here and there. "Use that magic to clean up your own mess, and be better than some figurehead's herd of sheep, or you're going to be all alone in this world!"



"You won't have to be thought of so lowly, if you did something of significance for Equestria! Not Pegasopolis, Equestria!" Scootaloo persisted back where she stood. "Here you stand, ponies who can do greater things, condemning the legacy of those before us for their own gain! Sound like real paradise? You have to decide right now if you want to go down there and help Equestria heal, or leave it the way it is for the sake of yourselves!"



"Tell me, everypony! How do ya'll truly want this to end?!" Apple Bloom questioned in a severe tone. "Serving your country, or feeling like you are, but only really serving yourselves?! The decision's yours!"

The entire cluster of earth ponies murmured.

"It's now or never! Equestria, or yourselves!" Apple Bloom repeated. To cap off her entire angry, tough speech, she said one word, which unbeknownst to her, her friends over at the other shelters had spoken at the same time to their respective clans.

"DECIDE!"

The earth pony collective went silent before her. After taking in everything she spelled out, and how she finished, they didn't say another word. They only exchanged looks.

Two ponies present had different reactions. Granny Smith looked at her youngest grandchild with a smile of pride. Big Mac looked down, consumed by guilt that he had been part of this fear-driven campaign for so long. He knew her kid sister was right, and he was ready to admit to his faults. Additionally, he felt there was something he no longer had reason to hide.

Big Mac turned to Sugar Belle, who had remained disguised, and moved his hoof over his head, suggesting she take her getup off. She telekinetically revealed her unicorn feature before the rest of the earth ponies, receiving a mass gasp.



In the unicorn woods, Lyra acknowledged the hard truth Sweetie Belle spoke, and decided she didn't want to keep a secret anymore. She went over to the disguised Bon Bon, raised her hoof and slapped the fake horn off her partner's head. The unicorns also gasped simultaneously.



Meanwhile, in the snowy wastes, Cozy Glow, in her shadow form, scanned the premises of Equestria for some time in the air. "Those pests will pay for breaking all my tributes!" That was when she saw something very interesting in the sky.

Monsters in the clutches of the rogue changelings, both actually Queen Chrysalis, King Tirek with Scorpan in his hand, and Eclipse teleporting around, all appeared to be converging on the exact same place: Tambelon. What's more, she spotted some little specks of figures at the front gate of the dark city through a telescope she brought along. They were Twilight Sparkle and her six friends opening the way inside and crossing the bridge.

"Hmm... what's the occasion, old "friends" of mine?" she whispered sinisterly, cracking a smile not only devilish, but knowing.
> Part 4 - Chapter 3 (15): The Great Intersection
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight's gang, once in front of Tambelon's entrance, worked to open it up with haste. Rainbow got to the other side and lowered the drawbridge in, as she would always put it, 10 seconds flat. Everyone uneasily walked across, avoiding the still boiling lava moat, to the brick roads of the city.

"Ew, so many blacks and greys." Rarity complained. "Hasn't that goat ever heard of a colour wheel?"

Spike took a breath and lowered his scale coat's hood to feel the area. In realization, he said "Do you feel that? It's warm in here!" The girls took heed and lowered their own hoods.

"Hey, cool!" Pinkie exclaimed. "No, not cool. Anypony know a better word?"

"That's just like a tyrannical varmint to hog the cold protection." Applejack commented.

"Stay alert." Spike recommended. "If we see anything, like that impostor draconequus, we'll try to work that to our advantage." He turned to one of the mares approaching, her balance unsteady. Twilight was shivering, as if the chills of the Windigos' blizzard lingered at full force. "Twilight, easy."

The young alicorn heavily inhaled and exhaled at the increasing effects of the poison swelled in her body. She could barely open her eyes to look at her dragon sibling. Her response was given with a smile. "Don't worry too much about me. We have to save Equestria... that's all that matters."

"Hang in there. We won't let the sickness beat you." Fluttershy encouraged softly.

"Eh, it's like getting bit. Keep it together, and the animal loosens up." Twilight remarked as her shoulder began to feel like an active stove.

"I guess." Fluttershy half-agreed.

The seven friends walked around for several seconds to find no signs of life within the city. No monsters or zombies whatsoever.

"Not as vibrant as I expected." Rainbow noted.

"It better stay that way." said Spike.

No sooner than when the dragon spoke did the smog of Malice creep into the area in a vast volume, closing in on the group like a river breaking past a dam.

"Oh, that doesn't look fun!" Pinkie stated anxiously.

"NO!" Twilight cried in sheer terror. Seeing all of that dark magic manifesting as this accumulation of gas clouds brought a freezing sensation to her spine even the scale coat couldn't protect her from.

They had to shake a leg. Nobody knew their way around Tambelon, for the layout of the roads and buildings were not the same as Canterlot's, but they could see a clear path on which they were able to get away from the thick smog. At a junction they'd find one way to go completely covered in it, but on the other they'd see just little enough of it to get past.

Following this chase, at the brink of tiring, the seven stopped at a place atop a set of stairs. Twilight groaned and coughed from all the exertion before looking up at the structure they stood before now. It looked like a theatre, from the ticket booth next to the doors.

"You think... it might... unsafe to go in?" Twilight asked, peaking behind her to see the smog surrounding them from the staircase and the parts adjacent to it.

"Horn please." Spike requested of Rarity. She opened the theatre's doors with telekinesis in a trepidatious rush. They looked through the opened passage to find a well-lit room, and no sign of that smog. "Inside!" he called out.

They ran inside and beheld the lobby walls. On each was... nothing. Not a single spot had a poster on it. There were only lounges chairs and tables, plus large windows. No life forms were around, either visiting or working.

"Slow day." Twilight muttered.

"Pinkie, can you race around and look for a back exit?" Spike asked of the party pony.

The question couldn't receive an answer before a most unwanted figure burst his way out of concession stand and made a snarl that echoed on the building's walls. Havoc appeared, bringing senseless destruction indoors.

"Oh dear Celestia, him again!" Rarity squealed. "It's over! We're done for! It's pick your poison! A rock and a hard place! Score 0 for us!" The whole team shared her state of panic. They were in this abomination's presence, but without a magic-draining gargoyle to help this time.

But, one member wasn't having this.

"Hold the phone there, grumpy pants!" Pinkie commanded. "I know they don't have a purpose, but that doesn't mean you have to tear them down!"

Havoc responded with a guttural howl at the pony's defiance.

"Pinkie, that's not helping!" Spike groaned.

"Won't it?" Pinkie argued with a sly smile. She looked at the malevolent draconequus  and suggested "I'm just saying, you have all this power, rivaling the very creature you look like, you can make new things out of old things, but you wastefully break stuff. Funny enough, in your destructive pursuit, you've done a little... anti-destruction. You made us into new things. Dabble in that some more, but use the world around you. It's like cooking. Eggs crack, omelettes are made. Open the carton and grab some."

Havoc was taking a minute to register what this talkative, whimsically twirling equine was saying to him. Breaking eggs? Making omelettes? He couldn't wrap his head around these everyday concepts.

"Impress your papa with a little artistry, buddy!" Pinkie urged the Spirit of Destruction. "Nobody likes basic, broken junk! Replace to your heart's content!"

A nerve in Havoc was struck by the insult to his destruction. With a snap of his claws, he transformed the destroyed concession stand equipment into a big, fancy cupboard decorated with leaves and flowers. With another snap he transformed one of the tables into a wide mat with cushions. From a spark in his thoughts he turned the doorway into a conveyor belt and hatch. He grunted a silent query of his work.

"Not bad, but you could do more." Pinkie assessed. "How about... you replace the window glass with film projections? Or the stairs with platform lifts? Or the chairs with bikes? Or our position with the city's castle? Or the smog outside with cotton candy? Or..."

Havoc processed all of these ideas and, with a bellow, began snapping his claws like wild. It was like he was performing what his template never got to: the legendary Triple Pandemonium Snap Overdrive. The many objects in his vicinity turned into exactly what was planted into his mind. He didn't really notice that he teleported the gang of seven away while he basked in the realization of his creations. The streets of Tambelon were lined with blue clouds of a sweet carnival treat. He laughed in satisfaction, most fiendishly. Having had his fun discovering the joys of this newfound artistic thrill, he tapped his head for a second before remembering what he did with those ponies and that dragon. He was ready to finish things with them, even after what they gave them for a last request.

That heartless ambition suddenly came crashing to a halt when he felt his body grow paper-thin. A gasp left his mouth as the destructive being grew heavily transparent, vanishing to the wind within too few moments to understand the occurrence.



Spike and the others, as Pinkie wanted, had been moved to the inside of another structure. Judging from the interior decor, it was definitely a castle. The castle of Emperor Grogar.

"Wow. That did help." Spike pointed out.

"Pinkie, I can't believe that worked!" said Rainbow in astonishment.

"I get that a lot." Pinkie laughed.

"Fighting with faith... you could say." Twilight commented, trying to hold back the sensation of stinging, electrical currents in her bones.

"Alright, ya'll. What's our next move now that we're essentially, you know, IN THE BIG BADDY'S HOUSE?!" Applejack inquired, hitting everyone with a reality check.

"Oh dear, maybe we should get farther away." Fluttershy opined.

"Uh uh, no more chances with the disgusting gas out there." Rarity asserted. "I can't teleport us."

"Then again, we've been improvising so far." Spike mentioned, and sighed. "If it works, it works."



Tirek jumped upon the wall of Tambelon and gave his tightly gripped gargoyle brother a great view of the bleak city of the ram sorcerer. He held out his free hand and walked along the roof, pointing specifically at the marketplace.

"Do you see this, Scorpan?" Tirek asked. "It's the emperor's offering to all of us! You wished for a pair of kingdoms to work together in the past, and I accomplished such a goal through an empire which, as my centaur brothers and sisters did, valued and embraced the supreme power of cold-hearted might! It inspires the most determined types! It's them whom deserve and take this food grown from Grogar's garden, and hold hooves or claws in standing above the lower class! You might've had this, but over a thousand years later you continue to choose the lesser of two goods!"

Scorpan's unimpressed expression didn't break for the entire speech. He shifted his eyes to the smiling face of his big brother and figured "That's different from father, I suppose."

"It is my proudest decree!" Tirek declared.

"So, in short, this means New Midnight Kingdom..." Scorpan reflected aloud. Stretching out his neck as far as possible and speaking at a deadpan pitch, he finished by saying "...is a petty kingdom."

Tirek received a shock to his brain, like some creature's acidic spit hit him in the head. He even reflexively put his free hand up to the back of it as if something actually did touch him there. When his little brother's words sunk in, he grinded his teeth, blew air out of his nostrils harder than he ever had in his entire life, and charged a fist full of heat energy to stick up to the gargoyle's face.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL IT, RUNT?!" Tirek screamed through his bared teeth.

"A petty kingdom." Scorpan repeated. "A footnote of a monarchy beneath the real superpower. Our family would've been ashamed."

"You! Will not! Shatter! My composure!" Tirek growled in intervals.

"Maybe we should talk about your composure, as well." said Scorpan.

"Talk to the hand." Tirek spat threateningly. The centaur wanted to strike down his helpless sibling right then and there. He could do so anytime; one powered jab would end it instantly. However, a feeling of frustration overflowed his senses, compelling him not to put energy into hitting him. His own words: "I'm not Father." played back to him, followed by Scorpan's descriptor: "A petty kingdom.", then Discord's mocking "What, you gonna tell daddy Grogar?", then Fluttershy's argument that "There's no glory in preying on those smaller and weaker than you!", and finally, Star Swirl asking "You may be remembered well, but for what?"

Tirek shook from these memories returning to him and spinning about like a blender mixture. Twitching all over and sharply turning his head left and right, he searched for some way to change this subject. To his fortune, he spotted a figure flying into the premises of Tambelon.

"Eclipse?" he presumed. "Why is she here in the flesh?" He opened a portal to the underground prisoner holding cavern beneath Tambelon, dropped Scorpan into it, and jumped down onto the rooftops.

Chrysalis, remaining in her Ophiotauri forms with her loyal carriers, took a look down below as the entire city of Tambelon came into view. She was surprised to see one of her fellow Horses of the Apocalypse trotting around on top of the buildings.

"What's Tirek doing here?" Chrysalis asked. "If he's come to step in the way of my plan, he'll know the depths of my wrath!"

"Into character, your majesty." one of her subjects whispered. At her reminder, Chrysalis cleared her throat and made a proper Ophiotaurus cry of distress.

Eclipse surveilled Tambelon with her x-ray spell, trying to spot any forms of life hiding within the rows of tall structures. Her sharp focus was broken when the edge of her eye caught the changelings' flight towards the castle. She magically enhanced the range of her sight on the crew of deceivers and their beast cargo.

"Sure smells nothing like a snake, Queen "Invincible"." the dark alicorn dryly observed. "You won't break apart our equality." In a flash, she teleported over to the balcony by the tip of the keep.



The six ponies and their dragon companion split up to cover more of Tambelon Castle's halls. Spike was with Rarity to look after Twilight. Pinkie covered Applejack. Rainbow stayed by Fluttershy. They scanned the place, top to bottom, for doorways, stairways, any way to reach a good vantage point where they could see Grogar, and in good health.

"Spike, darling, say we do get close enough to him without being seen, what do we do about his Bell?" Rarity asked.

"Still working on the process, but basically: I need you to use that spell Starlight sent us on the Bell to release all the magical cores he's captured." Spike explained. "Then we reunite and blast him with our friendship power without interruption."

"Normally, I'd be above using murky, evil talismans willingly, even to my benefit." said Rarity. "The suspense is worse, though."

"That'll mean he won't be able to stop time." Twilight pointed out. "Remember..?" she coughed, covering her mouth at the first sign of throat irritation.

"Ah. Of course." Rarity chuckled sheepishly.

"I feel you." Grogar's voice reverberated all over the castle's interior. "I hear you, doomed-to-fail peacekeepers of Equestria."

"Oh no!" Spike gasped. It looked like his idea was ruined.

From each of the places around the castle they occupied, Twilight and her friends paused and lent their ears to the air. The ram sorcerer was actually speaking to them from far away, within the great royal structure.

"Welcome to Tambelon, the capital of Equestria, and where your unrealistic scourge ends!" Grogar announced.

"Our unrealistc scourge?!" Fluttershy exclaimed furiously. "After all the horror you've sewn, you think you have room to be the critic?!"

"Has anycreature ever told you your head's deceptively small, considering how big-headed you are?" Rainbow questioned rhetorically. "I see big heads, I read them like an open book."

"Truly, you believe you know me, but don't care to make sure." Grogar commented. "So close-minded."

The seven friends continued running through the hallways, trying to give the ram sorcerer as many moving targets as they could.

"We're already quite sure of what his grace is, and the load of hooey he's full of!" said Applejack. "Everything you've said about the ponies "advancing forward" with fear? Claiming Equestria as their country? Big vows, all malarkey!"

"You act like this is supposed to make everypony happy and better, but we saw them up close!" Pinkie called out. "They're only angry and heartless! If I didn't know better, I'd say you take a lot of pleasure in it!"

"Haha, of course! It's amusing to me!" Grogar admitted in a change of tone that'd match the crack of a whip. "What a bore it'd be to look at you puny ponies grow off hugging and mingling in your comfort zones! The "betterment of society" is garbage, because the only suitable fate for you all is to live as peasants, squirming, and raving like chickens under the despair-bringing hoof of me: Grogar, Malice Incarnate, the Father of Monsters, the Sorcerer King, the First, and Rightful..."

As his speech progressed, his voice sounded more and more strained. Suddenly, he made the heaviest groan their ears were ever hit with."No. Not doing it anymore. I played that act long enough for my Horses. To think I got that far..." he said gloomily, and genuinely. Even sarcasm couldn't subdue the shame in behaviour he once exhibited with pride.

"Whatever kind of creature you think you've become since Gusty the Great banished you, we're not buying into it, and you're going to be stopped!" Spike affirmed.

"I won't try to sway you to my side." said Grogar, shooting down the assumption. "It'd be a naive thing for me to do. But, before I take your cores, you deserve to know what I really want."

"What, as another way to belittle us because you have the upper hoof?" Rarity guessed.

"I have to give respects where they're due, even to foes." Grogar answered. "Call it a fair trade."

"Respects where they're convenient for you, more like." Fluttershy scoffed, her thoughts returning to Discord being unfairly taken away from her.

"Question of the day: do you think you worshippers of the force of Harmony are the only ones who have hopes and dreams? Aspirations for a future without pain or war?" Grogar queried. "I've dreamt this one since your land was named!"

"Miss us with it!" Twilight barked.

"What I desire everyday, waking moments or otherwise, is an Equestria where everypony doesn't wish upon a star, but upon the very seeds they plant, figuratively and out of their dedication, passion, and freedom to make something of themselves!" Grogar began explaining. "A country without the shackles of destiny; a country truly free from tyranny!"

"You expect us to fathom your "noble" goal after how much you and your accomplices have destroyed the world? Why?!" Applejack inquired, flabbergasted.

"You speak truthfully, as I'd expect, Applejack." Grogar noted. "I won't deny, I am destroying the world. Causing the dismemberment of unity and stability... so I can save the world."

"Huh?! D-destroying everything down to the last bit to save it - IN WHAT WORLD DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?!" Rainbow exclaimed incredulously.

"Rainbow, there's a mantra everycreature abides by, whether or not they recognize it." Grogar responded. "It goes: no sacrifice, no victory. Your princesses have made Equestria forgo it's independence to suit the hiearchy's agenda. My reign seeks to suit the populace, regardless of gravity."

"Do you even see your own work?!" Rarity yelled. "I'd say poisoning the Tree of Harmony was hardly necessary!"

"Didn't you know? I moderated my power to make sure the foundation of Equestria didn't burn to smithereens!" Grogar attested. "Same with the Windigos, but I'm not done with them yet. I hold the key to their final defeat."

"So what, then? How do the Windigos fit into your scheme, huh?" Fluttershy asked.

"That's where all the magical cores I've assimilated come into play." Grogar answered. "The Fire of Friendship could only repel the Windigos until the illusion of peace and tranquility breaks down. With the powers of the key entities: time, love, crystals, Chaos, the day, the night, and your representation of Honesty, Laughter, Generosity, Kindness, Loyalty and Magic, I can cast an erasure spell that'll vanquish those winter spirits once and for all! Ponykind will be free from their deep winter!"

"I don't see how that explains your Horses of the Apocalypse." Pinkie mentioned. "Never mind only two of them being real horses, what would you have needed them for when you're this powerful?"

"Dear Pinkamena, like fillies and gentlecolts, we had an agreement." Grogar described. "Before my wish could be granted, I had to give them the honour of closure with you seven. They were satisfied, and since then, evolution has exponentially taken place!"

"I... don't... follow." Twilight dismissively mumbled.

"Over the ruins of the old Equestria, a brand new one will be built, devoid of limit and dissonance!" Grogar went on vigorously. "The ponies shall have the choice to fight and win it's own battles! The strong will thrive, and the weak will become the strong! Picture it: future generations learning about a world where their clans revolutionized order, not for materialism, not for control, not because they were pointed in the so-called "right direction" by the top of the food chain, but for no reason at all! None but their own instincts!"

"You haven't even told them you're the whole reason Equestria's a wasteland and unity's broken apart, have you?" Spike inquired.

"I have not." Grogar affirmed. "I'll concede my methods aren't flawless, having to commit a few regrettable, though necessary evils. Besides the Horses and my children, you're the creatures I've been the most transparent with. However, I care not about the state of my reputation at this point, just how distracted everypony will get if they know more than they need to. In the end, Earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns will rule, and write history as the real victors! Thanks to fear, they'll be shaping their versions of the betterment of society by whims alone! They'll be defended! They and the Equestria they inhabit will be... an eternal memory, remembered and celebrated forevermore!" After that, the ram sorcerer took a long, serene breath.

"I understand dispelling the Windigos for eternity... and wanting to make sure our time is never forgotten... not so much turmoil you felt you had... t-to... to cause." Twilight exerted herself to say.

"It's my personal guarantee the new age I imagine will never have to see meaningless divides or battles, when the fruits of labour grow." Grogar remarked. "Decades and decades of easily-provoked hardship, and untamable togetherness that you've been put in charge to monitoring, as Celestia dictated. However you justify the job... that can't be your responsibility forever, Princess Twilight. You shouldn't even want it to be."

"Thinking about what you're saying, perhaps you are not a creature without merit." Spike pondered. "Unfortunately, none of it excuses the SHEER DEVASTATION AND DECEPTION YOU'VE COMMITTED!"

"You're just as bad as you've always been, but for a new reason!" Applejack stated vehemently. "At least way back when you were frank about the monster you are! You know whom else are? Chrysalis! Tirek! Cozy Glow! Aurora Eclipse!"

"Speaking of which, what kind of champion of the greater good calls their posse the "Horses of the Apocalypse", anyhow?!" Pinkie regarded. "Kind of a hole in your intentions, big guy!"

"You didn't give Discord, your own son, that freedom you promise!" Fluttershy hollered hatefully. "None of your children will get your leniency if they don't fall in line! They'll see what "love" you have for them!"

"And don't act like you know a darn thing about the difficulty of friendship!" Rainbow called. "You never had to experience the happenings and the mendings of heartbreak, or what we need for camaraderie to make it through every storm, or any other lesson we've learned and shared firsthoof! You just watched it!"

"How about Midnight Kingdom?" Rarity asked. "Tirek and Scorpan's family and clans; they got the choice to live without royal guidance, and now they're gone! All of them! What makes you so sure things won't devolve into another picture of ugliness with us ponies?"

"All the good things you may do will never overshadow the effort and heart born from generations of friends new and old." Twilight added.

"Exactly the self-centered responses I expected." Grogar posited. "How could you know the value of the hard decisions, when you spent your lives placing faith in a perpetual failsafe? Discord didn't just step out of line, he submitted to the influence of Harmony! Midnight Kingdom fell because it never sought to find compromise in a needless, easy war! And lastly, "Apocalypse" stands for the removal of your diseased propaganda. There's no accounting for details with your crew; that is why you must be eliminated."

"Then come get us!" Rainbow challenged the ram sorcerer. She and the rest had the same idea in the heat of the moment: to split off even further. No more teams. They each took off and searched for ways up the characters by their lonesome. All except for Spike, who stayed as close to Twilight as ever.

Spike ran, Twilight fought to keep her balance as every step she took was on par with walking on a bed of nails. They found a door, at long last, but then something else happened. A cloud of black magic surrounded the young alicorn and whisked her out of the hallway. She was gone from the dragon's green-eyed sight.

"Twilight!" Spike wailed, dropping to the floor, clawing at where his big sister previously stood.



Twilight reappeared in the wizard's throne room. Every moment of transportation by his Malice spell, however brief, stung like a Flash Bee rampage. She was too bothered by it to say a word to the face of her captor.

"Because of your infection, I could track you the easiest." said Grogar. "So, you shall be the first thrown into the Phantom Zone." He prepared for Malice Assimilation. While his Bell pointed towards it's target, Twilight did something he didn't notice. She glowed a dark blue for a few moments. It didn't seem to mean anything, though, as it didn't change that afterwards, the spell struck her body and began stripping the energy and core away.

Twilight released a feeble sound from her mouth before she was left without the magical battery of her essence. It was dark blue, foggy, and looked like... the moon. What's more, near the spell's completion, Twilight turned into a cloud of smoke, which reformed itself into the shape of... Luna. She took Twilight's form and replaced her at the last second, and just like Celestia, she had been regressed back to her original unicorn form as her body fell down without any sliver of life left.

"Luna!?" Grogar gasped. "But, I know I had Twilight a few seconds ago." His attention was caught by the sight of some visitors. It was a cyclops and a pegasus zombie, crawling and appearing sleepy. "Back form the pegasus camp?" he presumed. He put his hoof up to his forehead and looked at the signatures. He found three. "Hmm, indeed, you are the same I sent there. Say, how would you kids like to see the Phantom Zone, for old time's sake?"

The drowsy beast and undead equine nodded. Right behind them, clinging on to the back of the cyclops, where there should've been the other zombie, was Twilight, still energized.

"The Phantom what?" she whispered in confusion.

The Phantom Zone, in all of it's terrifying, hypnotic, portal-to-nowhere glory, manifested above the throne room's council table. Grogar reached it's hoof out to in in preparation.

"Starlight, you better not have held out on me about this." Twilight murmured in awe.

"Wherever I'll find you, Twilight and her friends, listen: this void of condensed space is my creation, the Phantom Zone!" Grogar announced, as if to speak to the running ponies from afar again. "This is how I'll perfect the erasure spell! By offering all the assimilated and tainted magical cores to be sentenced to eternal intermixture..." registering the command, the Bewitching Bell blasted Luna's core into the portal. "...memory of these powers shall be widely and permanently forgotten in 8 days, but best of all, the blend will be all mine to hold and command! One mold, clean slate! Farewell Windi-"

"Thank you nice shadows! Whee!" Pinkie hollered, bouncing into the throne room from the side and hurling herself into the Phantom Zone. When Twilight saw, she gasped on the verge of tears. Grogar was taken aback. "Should be around here somewhere!" said the party pony from the dark void. Then she was going "AH!", and "EEK!", and "D'OH!", and "OOF!" repeatedly from all the Malice Magic poison she was making contact with inside.

Grogar shook his head and quickly waved his pastern to close the Phantom Zone. At the very last nanosecond, Pinkie shot out of the decreasing hole like a cannonball and landed on the floor, not too far from the ram sorcerer. Her body was rapidly wiggling, generating electricity all over, and every part of it was growling like a hungry stomach.

"PINKIE!" Twilight cried, her worry powering through the Malice-induced pain. "Pinkie, why did you do that?!"

H-H-Hi, T-T-Twilgiht! Ooh!" Pinkie stammered through her quaking muzzle.

"Not bad, Luna." Grogar complimented the lifeless night princess upon seeing Twilight reveal herself.

"Pinkie, you have the poison now, too! How do you feel?" Twilight asked without thinking much.

"Hmmm... tingly. Itchy." Pinkie assessed, her talking sounding normal again. Suddenly, her body grew a couple of feet in an instant. "Also like..." the growing kept going. She stood up on her hind hooves. Her head reached the ceiling. Eventually, she grew too big for the floor to support her weight, and it  wasdestroyed, causing her to fall through. But that didn't matter, because she wouldn't stop getting bigger. Grogar and Twilight backed up as her pink, marshmallow-y form took up more and more space. Her head smashed through the roof.



Outside in the city, Eclipse was confronting Chrysalis and her minions at the keep's balcony, making a good guess as to what she was up to. Chrysalis was cursing the dark alicorn for trying to be a roadblock on her path to success. Tirek was about to reach the end of his climb up the tower to join the quarrel, when each of them heard the growing noise coming from the castle. The bubbly, curly-maned giant emerged from the castle's materials breaking off and flying everywhere.

Just outside the city border, Cozy Glow arrived to get to find the colossal metamorphosis that was taking place.

"What the.. what did I miss?!" the wicked filly shrieked in perplexion, her hooves clasping her head.

Soon enough, after a quarter of a minute that made the entire continent shake, let alone the city, Pinkie stopped growing and towered over at a height that was certainly multiple stories tall. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow and Spike, with the added bonus of the walls being torn down, saw the enormous earth pony from ground level. They were frozen with fear at the sight of their companion having gotten so frighteningly large, and then stamping her hooves on what still remained of the castle.

"I COULD TRANSFORM THE COSMOS SO EVERYTHING IS MADE OF ICING!" the giant Pinkie gleefully roared at a booming pitch, cupcakes in her eyes. Confetti, streamers, balloons and cake batter popped into existence around her and flew all over Tambelon.

Applejack gulped, realizing what this had meant. "Aw, shoot! Not another problem!" Incredible as it sounded, Pinkie had absorbed Discord's Chaos Magic.

Chaos Pinkie raised one of her fore hooves, and each of her friends were teleported away, including the husk that was Luna. Not only that, they were taken out to the outskirts of Tambelon in a protective bubble, which the Windigos' blizzard couldn't get through. "I SEE YOU!", she hollered out, noticing Eclipse, Chrysalis and Tirek nearby. Her mane, having a life of it's own, grabbed and entangled them deep into Pinkie's hairs. She blew a strong gale at Grogar, lifting him off his hooves, after he took some time to transport the cyclops and zombies to safety in a portal. The gale then became sticky, pink cotton candy and constricted him like a rope. "WE'RE GONNA PARTY INFINITELY!"

Grogar looked at the earth pony-turned-chaos being defiantly, even as she made her next astounding move. Her other fore hoof pointed at him, and transformed into a gigantic Party Cannon. Without a second wasted, it fired with a deafening squeal, blasting the back of the castle to pieces in a shower of flour, sugar, candy and dough.

Cozy, witnessing this display of bedlam in stunned silence, turned around robotically, shrugged and said to herself "Well, they got theirs." while retreating.

Chaos Pinkie giggled and snorted madly at what she had done. WHO WANTS CHOCOLATE RAIN?!" So, by her mental command, the sky made it rain chocolate milk, and not only that, but also numerous great dollops of whipped cream. This disturbed the Windigos a bit. But, the chocolate droplets didn't come down as rain. It was hard and icy, as immediately seen by it's meteor-like impact on it's behemoth of a conjurer. She reacted in pain at the barrage.

"That's chocolate hail!" Spike exclaimed down below in the plains.

On the streets of Tambelon, Scorpan managed to escape the underground caverns. He brought the leftover magic-disabling shards of Chrysalis' throne up with him, carrying them in one of his arms. "I'll see if Twilight can do something with these..." he thought out loud, before he looked up and saw Chaos Pinkie. "My goodness!" He shifted his view to the left to see Grogar above, pointing his Bewitching Bell and activating the assimilation spell once again. It hit, and Pinkie was being drained. He acted fast.

The chocolate hail and whipped cream storm ceased, and all the designs of Chaos Pinkie slowly faded away in the moment she was having her power absorbed. Every core that was put in the Phantom Zone was ripped out of her. Scorpan lobbed one of the throne chunks at Pinkie, knocking her out of the stream's range before her core was pulled out. The party pony fell, but was thankfully caught in time by the gargoyle. They flew out of the decimated city, and fast enough for Chrysalis, Tirek and Eclipse to miss them in their unfortunate descent.

Grogar spotted him as he sent all of the collected cores back into the Phantom Zone. The sight of the one-and-only Scorpan passed him by, as he was too surprised by the big show he got to see.

Outside, the protective bubble around Twilight's group lowered. They quickly put their scale coat hoods back up in response to the cold. Scorpan arrived at their position with Pinkie, whose coat had been destroyed by her Chaos transformation.

"Pinkie!" Spike and the ponies worriedly whimpered for the bringer of laughter.

"Waiter! There's some chaos in my soup! Needs crackers!" said Pinkie, dazed and wobbly.

Right before them, portals opened. The evil changeling queen, the gluttonous centaur king and the malicious alicorn echo stepped forward, faces rich with contempt.

"You..." Chrysalis hissed, eyes twitching. "We should've dealt with you thoroughly."

"Yes, you should've!" Spike snarked. "You practically gave us another chance to beat you!"

Having her own words, almost verbatim, thrown back in her face made Chrysalis emit the most supernaturally demonic series of noises from her lungs, spewing a cascade of her acid spit in the midst of it.

Tirek used his telekinesis to rip the remaining scale coats off their wearers and toss them away. "Sorry, small potatoes. You blew that chance. Accept your miserable failure with some grace."

"You won't threaten our plans anymore, and I won't let your precious ponies threaten my world of equality!" Eclipse declared, wrapping the group, including Scorpan, in her electrical binds by every appendage. "I can't believe Grogar was instigating such a thing!" She overheard the emperor's discourse from the balcony doorway, gripped with paranoia over an imbalance of influence in the works.

Atop Tirek's head, Cozy lowered herself down and looked at her fellow Horses of the Apocalypse jovially, chirping "Oh boy, the band's back together! Reunions are my favourite!"

A foot behind the villainous team, Grogar's Malice portal opened, and the emperor himself walked through it with a content smile.

"And one more makes five." Cozy stated, wearing a cunning stare.

Grogar stepped up to Twilight and her friends, all of them helpless and looking the cold embrace of defeat right in the eyes. He laughed heartily. "Magnificent, Pinkamena! If only you had been raised under a different wing, I'd have happily given my blessing for you to be known as the Lady of Chaos!"

"Save your blithe kudos. Get it over with." Fluttershy spitefully snarled, tears welling and freezing up in her eyes.

"So I shall. The time for wasting time has ended." Grogar confirmed. This was it. His Bell pointed at the six ponies huddled together. The spell was ready, And then, not another second spent, everything went white.

The next instant was in silence... save for the single, remarkable sound that preceded it.

BOOM!

"Uh, girls? What happened? Can I open my eyes?" Spike asked apprehensively.

"You sure can!" Applejack attested. She, Spike and others had been lifted far off the ground, floating above a cloud of snowflakes. "We're safe! But how?"

"It's not me!" said Twilight.

"Rarity, nice save!" Spike commended.

"Don't look at me, either!" the fashionista stressed.

Right after that sentence, they were pulled towards the hill in the large, telekinetic field that hoisted them all at once. Sounds were heard from the other side. The sounds of stepping, and wings flapping. Some little ones, only heard from the number of them coming forth. Some were large and mighty. They all waited with baited breath to see just what was about to reveal itself at the very top of those snow-covered mounds.

What they feasted their eyes on next was... mind-blowing.

All of Equestria appeared. Every single, last earth pony, pegasus, unicorn and even crystal pony showed up to the area, from the most familiar of faces -  Starlight Glimmer, Sunburst, Trixie, Shining Armor, Discord, the six Pillars, Tempest, and the revived Celestia -  to ones the heroes had not seen in a long time. Family, friends and acquaintances from across the country, even some that were normally enemies, stood in a line and confidently stared down at the battlefield where the enemies were. The unicorns' horns were ignited to put their magic together and haul Twilight and her friends into the crowd of their fellow ponies.

But that wasn't all. Each of the various intelligent creatures from across Equestria and the lands beyond it had joined this great gathering. The yaks, the dragons, the griffons, the hippogriffs, the changelings, the buffalos, the Kirin, Zecora, Iron Will, Ahuizotl, Steven Magnet, the Diamond Dogs, Captain Calaeno and her pirate crew, Capper and the fishfolk from Klugetown, the hulking creatures whom served the late Storm King, all the animals from Fluttershy's sanctuary, and the one child of Grogar besides Discord who didn't serve his creator in this crisis, only living for his chosen purpose as a guard dog: Cerberus.

The many ponies pointed forward, and others charged downward.

Grogar and the Horses of the Apocalypse looked at the spot where the ponies, the dragon and Scorpan were. They saw... well, Spike and Scorpan had taken off, but apparently, the six heroines were still right there. The ram sorcerer narrowed his eyes at them. He noticed that Twilight was looking much more whole and healthy again, horn, wings and everything. He tapped his Bell, causing a terrible sound wave to affect the ponies. It wasn't them. They were changelings from Thorax's army, and their disguise was broken.

"How did you get free?!" Chrysalis yelled in bewilderment.

Tirek felt a bit dizzy, but regained his composure fast to look up at the creatures coming down the hill, and the ones at the top. "Don't let them escape!" he ordered.

"Big whoop! I'll compel them all to serve me!" Eclipse laughed. She spun around in her air, ignited her horn and shot out her brain scrambling spell in a multitude of beams aiming for most of the ponies above. To her surprise, the quantity of magic deflecting the blasts and redirected them as one back at her. By reflex, she flew aside and dodged it with a yelp. The beam ineffectively hit ground a mile away.

"Stand down, Horses!" Grogar demanded. His hoof went up to his head, but this time in the telepathic communication position. Each of them looked at him like he was insane, except for Cozy.

Come on, you goodie-goodies! One cheesy friendship blast on these four bullies!, Cozy was thinking impatiently. Her eyes sharply focused on the Bewitching Bell, like it was a prize in the cards. At that moment, the ponies and other creatures formed a perimeter around the villains. More changelings took the form of the six heroines in the hopes of achieving disorientation, but this time making sure to get the appearance of Twilight right.

Back on the hill, Twilight's gang looked around at their saviours. Surrounding everyone was a cylindrical energy shield.

"The changelings won't confuse them forever." said Thorax.

"And I don't know how long we can keep you covered." Starlight added.

"Everycreature, you came." Twilight stated under her breath.

"Twily!" the voice of Shining Armor was heard yelling.

"Twilight!" Celestia's voice cried out at the same time.

The both of them jumped out and hugged her. They felt relief beyond words. Shining Armor was so happy his sister was still alive. Celestia was exhilarated that her faith in her former student wasn't for nothing. It was only after this moment of warm contact that they noticed how bad she looked.

"I missed you." Twilight said tearfully. Her pain spiked like crazy again, prompting her teeth to gnash.

"Oh, Twilight. He did this to you, didn't he?" Celestia grimly pointed out. She looked to her left to see the drained body of Luna. She pulled it in, wanting to be close to her and Twilight. "Sister."

"Everything's going to be okay, sis." Shining Armor assured, choking up.

"You're all here. Did that alliance work out? How did you find us?" Twilight asked.

"That's kind of our fault." said Gallus, revealing himself along with Smolder, Yona, Ocellus, Silverstream and Sandbar.

"You know those long lectures you gave about friendship at school?" Smolder reminded. "Turns out they teach elders as much as they teach children."

"Also, we followed the giant professor Pinkie Pie." Silverstream added. "What was that all about?"

"Just as the School was meant for ever since it opened." Applejack remarked.

"More creatures learning friendship, more to protect us." Spike attested.

"The ponies are helping one another, too." Rarity noted. "Looks like you and your classmates are professors in the making, Sandbar."

"Oh no, that wasn't me." said Sandbar.

"Well, how else could they have been reunited?" Rainbow queried.

"By knocking some sense back into them!" Apple Bloom was heard saying behind the students. Sandbar and his friends stepped aside to show her, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. The Cutie Mark Crusaders presented themselves, beaming in joyous solace.

Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash were frozen for a moment. They each had an explosion of so many positive emotions, they couldn't express it coherently. After 7 days of separation, imagining what horrible trials their little siblings had gone through in this horrible winter, sometimes fearing they might already be goners, they got to see them again. They couldn't suppress the overwhelming sensation of their release from such long unease for much longer.

"SWEETIE BELLE!" Rarity screamed happily, tears running wildly as she jumped onto the little unicorn, picked her up with her hooves and nuzzled her cheeks, crying profusely.

"Apple Bloom, you're alright!" Applejack euphorically yelled, running up and grabbing the small earth pony in a tight hug.

"Right on, Scoots!" Rainbow cheered for the tiny pegasus in her usual way to mask her watery eyes, giving hoof-bumps up high and down low.

"We took a page from Headmare Starlight's book for our part." Scootaloo avowed.

"Got their split loyalties fixed." Sweetie Belle affirmed.

"We told you you had it figured out." Pinkie confidently hinted to Twilight. She coughed from the Malice irritating her throat afterwards.

"No. They did." Twilight modestly corrected her.

Scorpan held a ball of magic on his flight over to the worldwide army. Not sure what he might've collected, but guessing someone was missing their power, he bumped it up with his other hand and sent it flying. It returned to Shining Armor and the six Pillars. They instantly felt their vigor returned, the unicorns igniting their horns in celebration, as well as the pegasi by doing mid-air flips.

"Twilight? This is the Equestria I knew." Scorpan mentioned, approaching the heroines and their dragon comrade. "This waning gargoyle couldn't be more glad to see it once more. You have my gratitude."

"I think this goes to show however much of enemies a kingdom's folk can make out of each other..." Spike started certifying. "...there are always those out there whom are far, far worse."

"Case in point!" Rainbow said, pointing down the hill to the surrounded villains.

Back at the lower grounds of the city outskirts, Grogar made a complete observation.

"I sensed the storm had gotten lighter as I came down here. This is why." he asserted. "Besides that, what happened to Havoc's signature? I can't find him or get a response. Did they..?" He blew out of his nostrils and take a hard look at the worldwide army. "Princess Twilight and friends! As tired as I am of the chase, I praise this strategic defense! I wouldn't dare risk hurting or  poisoning either all these civilians or your squad of minions just to take six targets! Malice Magic is my curse for expelling all light from my essence! But if you'll allow a friendly reminder..." his horn and collar glowed, and a row of gigantic Malice portals opened up far behind him and his cohorts. "...you have no monopoly on armies."

Every single type of monster that served their father during this entire incident, from the miniscule to the gargantuan, clusters of earth pony, pegasus and unicorn zombies, along with the Horses' personal servants and creations, the rogue changelings, Transformer, the wyverns, Stratadon with the Midnight Chariot in tow, the brainwashed Crystal Empire guards, Berserker, and the Umbrums, emerged from or around the portals, roaring, screeching and shouting in respect for their leaders, and disdain for those opposing them.

"Remember, draw out Princess Twilight's herd of six carefully, and bring them to me." Grogar telepathically instructed his forces. "Do not harm the others, or worse. Only incapacitate. Anycreature unfortunate enough must be treated immediately. Thank you."

"You six stay back, get a spark going, and behold our command performance!" Trixie implored grandiosely, receiving a nod.

"Equestria, and everywhere else! In the name of harmonious freedom..." Twilight called.

"Horses of the Apocalypse, and children of Malice! In the name of immortal memory..." Grogar called.

At the exact same time, they spoke the signal for this war's climax.

"GO!"

Both sides attacked, full speed ahead. Earth ponies engaged in close combat, pegasi flew in circles making whirlwinds, and unicorns used energy beams, telekinesis, teleportation and some elemental spells. While a quarter of them were going-to-toe with their zombie counterparts, others were contending with manticores, avoiding the gazes of cockatrices, ganging up on ursa majors, and trying to fend off the tiny ones such as parasprites and twittermites.

The yaks used their size to shake the earth with their rhythmic stomping, causing a loss of balance in creatures like the cyclopes, who were firing their eye beams. The Chimera and a bunch of lava lizards joined up to blow streams of fire, but the dragons had the same idea, countering their offense. Pukwudgies shot out their needles, Timberwolves exhaled their terrible breath, and the griffons paid them back with a snowball fight.

Sea serpents blasted iron-punching streams of water, while the water ponies turned their fore hooves into hammers and swords to strike. The hippogriffs transformed into seaponies to swim through the blasts and liquid body parts to stupefy them. Changelings transformed into monsters and zombies to misdirect the attacks of the real ones, but the changelings on the villains' side saw through their ploy and took on the forms of giant insects to smack them around.

Iron Will joined the buffalos and Storm King soliders in toppling over the Maulwurf and the Hydra, with his old saying "When somepony tries to block, show them that you rock!" belted out. The Kirin took on their Nirik forms and tackled the Bugbear, Steven Magnet assisting by wrapping himself around it. The Klugetown fishfolk and Calaeno's crew were kept busy by the Tatzlwurm and the Ophiotaurus, but with help from Tempest's lightning, they got somewhat of an edge. Trixie launched fireworks at the Roc, the thunderbirds and the wyverns. The crystal royal guard and Whirling Mungteeth closed in on Zecora, Ahuizotl and Daring Do, tearing at their triple defense.

Ember headbutted a rogue changeling, Rutherford kicked the Sphinx, Sunburst threw amphibian demons into the air, Pharynx punched the Umbrums, Grampa Gruff tossed a bag full of bits at shadow dogs, and Seaspray flapped his wings to blow snow into slingtails.

Chrysalis furiously flailed and fired beams and acid spit everywhere, trying to swat the good creatures like they were gnats. She shapeshifted into a flock of bats to escape a bind. Tirek tried to drain the magic out of his attackers, but because he was such a big target, he was a popular choice for them to hit  and interrupt with snow, beams and other objects. He was left stomping about, leaving the work to his shock waves. Eclipse used her magic to sprout giant vines, summon lightning and generate fields of heavy gravity to attack, but her aim was compromised by all the snow that was blocking the view. Cozy, way out of her league, could only shield herself and use her magical clone as a means to slip out of the crossfire.

As the great battle raged on, the number of ponies and other creatures keeping Twilight's team out of sight were dwindling, as more and more needed to go out to hold Grogar's army off. It didn't look good.

"Why are some of the changelings attacking our side?!" Starlight questioned, noticing the confusing sight of the hostile rogues.

"The renegades! They remained loyal to Chrysalis and waited for me to be overthrown!" Thorax confirmed.

Chrysalis came diving towards the top of the hill, and everyone noticed; everyone including Pharynx, changing to the shape of a black bear and grabbing his former queen out of the air.

Transformer turned his head into a dragon's, and his wings into those of a giant albatross. He breathed fire and flapped those wings to fan the flames. Stratadon joined with his own fire breath, which was impeccably hot and strong. The dragons, even the massive Torch, were struggling to match. Berserker screamed in his surge of hot energy, culminating in a wave of magma bursting forth from the ground and blowing many of the worldwide army's combatants into the distance.

"Twilight, don't give up." Celestia said urgently, feeling her head.

"I won't." Twilight breathed out with a smile. "I feel them. They flow through me..."

It was certain what this meant. While they anticipated something good, a new surprise came. A manticore had snuck into the crowd.

"Stand back!" Starlight warned. But the lion-scorpion beast didn't attack. In fact, it looked ready to speak.

A bunch of cockatrices, cragadiles, Whirling Mungteeth, lava lizards, water ponies and parasprites joined it.

"Hold on, I think they want to say something." said Fluttershy. Her ear was raised.

The manticore and it's fellow super-creatures spoke. The shy pegasus had a reaction of shock.

By this time, the battalion of Equestria and it's neighbouring countries was spread thin and losing energy. The unicorns holding up the cylindrical shield couldn't persist anymore. Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy and Eclipse powered through the decreased resistance and scowled, absolutely finished with these delays in their victory. Grogar, still biding his time, narrowed his gaze to the space that had widened up on the hill. His six trophies were exposed.

"YOU TOOK OUR FAMILIES AWAY!?" yelled a pony at the ram sorcerer.

"THOSE ZOMBIES ARE THE MISSING PONIES!" yelled another pony.

"YOUR KIDS TOLD US EVERYTHING!" shouted a pony who sounded like she was in tears.

"WE TRUSTED THIS CREEP?!" shrieked a pony, embarrassed with themselves.

All of the ponies of Equestria whom Grogar made accept as their emperor jeered him relentlessly. For a long time they didn't understand why members of their clans were disappearing. Now they knew the truth, which this tyrant withheld. It became clear just how pointless their feud really was. The wizard didn't try to weasel his way out of this. No feeble, last-second attempt to save face. He did, however, feel something in him pinched when he learned that his children gave away this information. Nothing else, but a resigned sigh. He let not another second go by without immediately aiming to seize the six heroines.

Twilight, as a result of the ponies and the other creatures' determination to protect the land and fight for those whom they cared for, exploded with raw energy and rose into the sky, for the first time since before her wings were burned off. With her ascent a maelstrom of magic swept over Grogar and the Horses of the Apocalypse. Grogar wasn't affected as much, but the Horses felt like their center of gravity was cranked up by 3 times.

"Oh man, not me too!" Cozy whined, futilely trying to lift herself back up.

Twilight looked gloriously majestic. Her broken horn radiated a brilliant light, and translucent wings grew out of her sides.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" she bellowed. In this state, the young alicorn felt none of the Malice poison. She was in the perfect condition and mood to give a speech. She gave the villains, reaching out to the rest of the world on the side, this: "Because of you, I almost lost my way! But everycreature here has reminded me of the true power of friendship! The darkness in the world is unpredictable, but what remains constant is those who find the light! The Pillars knew this! That's why they created the Tree of Harmony! The Elements showed me and my friends how much our bonds can effect! As one, we worked to bring harmony to Equestria, but there will always be more to do, which is why we teach others about the values of it's virtues! Others who will continue our mission after we are gone! Do you understand? Our accomplishments, the powers my friends and I harness, were a seed! One which has grown the great tree of magic we see right here! And the more who understand the deeper meaning of friendship, the stronger we will all be! Together!"

Everyone in the worldwide army watched Twilight give her speech, touched by her words. Even the monsters on the villains' side thought this was a wonderful thing to see. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and even Spike rose up in that glow of Harmony magic. Star Swirl, Rockhoof, Somnambula, Mistmane, Mage Meadowbrook and Flash Magnus did the same, as did Gallus, Yona, Silverstream, Ocellus, Sandbar and Smolder. They closed their eyes, and from their wishes, rainbows lit up and spun around before shooting up at Twilight. Upon contact, Twilight posed, pointing her hoof up at the sky, directing the empowered rainbow beam towards the Windigos' clouds. In an instant, the clouds cleared away, the winter spirits vanished with a horrific scream of anguish, and then the beam slowly curved down to the five malefactors below.

"How confident..." said Grogar sarcastically, staring up at the rainbow beam with an expression that read "Bring it on!"

The rainbow smashed into the foot of the hill where the ram sorcerer and his primary enforcers stood, swallowing them in it's colourful luster. This was it! After everything that happened, they were defeating the greatest threat Equestria ever knew! Following this shining blast, the war was over! The tribulations were over! This almighty evil would never hurt anyone or anything again, and everyone could rest easy knowing they would soon be rebuilding, and returning to, the world as they knew it before! Twilight and her friends, the companions they made along the way, the power of Harmony, finally won!

Up close, where the rainbow hit, Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy and Eclipse were screaming from the ferocity of this focused surge of friendship. But what about Grogar? He had gone eerily quiet.

Then another noise sounded off. A noise that nobody could hear over the beam's awe-inspiring impact.

The sound of the Bewitching Bell activating.

The amazing rainbow, which had been mostly straight up until this moment, had been twisted into a tornado and pulled towards a smaller point, as if it were water going down a drain. Twilight's group, the students and the Pillars, previously generating the blast calmly, were now feeling like their hairs were being yanked. They all opened their eyes, and looked down along with all the other creatures in the worldwide army, to see an... unthinkable sight! The rainbow beam stopped flowing out of their bodies and was stopped! Not only was it rendered ineffective, Grogar had captured it in his Bell! Worst yet, he and his accomplices were no worse for wear! They saw him brush his shoulder a single time, unimpressed! The Horses looked at each other, astonished that nothing happened to them!

"WHAAAT?!" Twilight and her six friends shrieked at taxing volumes, not able to believe what they saw in the slightest. The Pillars and the students gasped in equal disbelief. Their triumphant auras of magic faded away, leaving them dropping to the ground unceremoniously.

"But you'll never be as powerful as the Tree of Harmony, will you?" Grogar rhetorically asked. His Bell, after assimilating the rainbow, was rattling, crackling with colourful lightning and emitting thick smog. Though it was an indestructible talisman, holding in that kind of energy was causing it to react violently, like it was going to burst any second.

"That! Didn't! Just! Happen!" Spike whimpered.

This cruel turn didn't feel remotely real. Was everyone way in over their heads after all?
> Part 4 - Chapter 4 (16): Faith's Gift to the World
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the sky, the Windigos had left, the thunderous snow clouds in the red sky were cleared away, but there were still no rays of sunlight. On the ground, the blanket of snow remained, and in all directions were ponies and other creatures laying down on their bellies, none seriously injured, but each one sore and exhausted from the fighting.

Twilight, her friends, the students, the Pillars and the unified army behind them were beside themselves with shock and demoralization when the rainbow friendship beam, something that never failed to defeat an enemy before - this one even being the largest in history - was blocked and caught like a butterfly in a net. Grogar, holding the blast in his Bewitching Bell, addressed everybody.

"This Harmony you attacked with was forged from the growth of your tree of idealism and zealous need for a fellowship." he professed. "It's not the primordial force that combats my Malice."

"You... lie!" Twilight growled, struggling against the pain of the poison again to get back up.

Everyone up on the hill who hadn't gone into battle snapped themselves out of their trances of horror to start charging down. If that blast wasn't going to do the trick, they were going to finish this instead. Unfortunately, Grogar thought fast and, with a pastern motion, lifted up a fiery magical barrier between them and the area where he, his allies and the heroes stood.

"Was a placebo worth undoing our work?" Grogar questioned.

"You cheated!" Twilight snarled. Her friends, the students and the Pillars glared at the ram sorcerer and walked in the direction of the diseased alicorn. "That stupid Bell!"

"Without the Windigos here, the erasure spell will be useless." Grogar stated.

"You got lucky, but not for long!" Twilight yelled, a deranged smile crossed her face.

"But if that wasn't enough... you..." Grogar growled. His tone, which was more composed just a moment ago, was starting to get more hateful sounding. "How dare you."

"Try and catch two lasers!" Twilight dared, gritting her teeth rather wildly. Spike and the others went "Yeah!" in vehement agreement.

Chrysalis transformed into a flock of bats to drive off and carry away the Pillars from the group. Cozy Glow snatched the students in her shadow wing, lifted them up high and squeezed, giving them no room or energy to retaliate.

Grogar looked onward, raising a trembling fore hoof. He snarled, quietly but furiously, "The nerve. The gall. The audacity, to brainwash my children and pit them against me." He levitated himself into the air, as if to assert authority, as he spoke.

"Our bonds change the world! We are stronger together!" Twilight declared, desperately trying to mimic the sentiment of the big speech from the heart she gave earlier. She didn't care what Grogar was saying, and neither did her close comrades.

Eclipse used her magic to suck Spike and Rainbow into the ground and pluck them out in a spot far away. Tirek used his telekinesis to push Applejack and Fluttershy back with force that would break a brick wall.

"You buried your way into my children's heads and planted germs of insanity." said Grogar, calm, but seething.

"Our lessons will live on! The light beats the darkness!" Twilight called out, her voice strained. She was expecting that glow to be generated again, but nothing was happening.

Grogar stretched a fore hoof out to Pinkie, the last friend standing next to Twilight, and cast a Malice spell. Pinkie's mind received an electrical blow that made her entire body shudder, like how it did when her Pinkie Sense predicted a "doozy" would occur. In a few seconds, her eyes had gone totally yellow, no irises or pupils to speak of.

"Give up, Twilight." Pinkie robotically uttered, her mind clearly altered by the spell.

"Shush! Friendship is magic!" Twilight retorted, foaming at the mouth.

"This folly, this misdirection, this sickness, it will not be taken sitting down." Grogar proclaimed, glaring down and clasping his Bell, still not raising his voice a single notch.

"Friendship is the greatest!" Twilight hollered, refusing to believe she was defeated.

"Then why isn't it working?" the mind-controlled Pinkie asked, condescendingly, in that same robotic voice. Twilight's eyes and muzzle contorted with so much rage in response, they might've gotten stuck.

"You even erased Havoc, didn't you?" Grogar inquired, his anger sounding sorrowful that time.

"I made him go against his destiny of destruction." Pinkie mechanically confirmed.

When Grogar heard that, his face widened as his temper reached the breaking point. He decided he was done speaking and let his actions take over. The four Horses of the Apocalypse looked up at him, listening to his every bitter word, taking in the low pitch at which he talked, and feeling the Malice Magic that his body sparkled with in his fury. They were as unsettled by it as all the creatures in the crowd who also had to hear it. He was tranquil, but hostile. Outwardly cool, but steamed inside. This wasn't like the loud, acted rage he treated the villains to during the invasion's planning stages. He did not explode, but it didn't take much deduction to tell what they were seeing. For the very first time, they saw Grogar genuinely, and blindingly, mad. Livid.

The rainbow beam the fuming Father of Monsters assimilated fired out of the Bewitching Bell and touched the sky, preparing to crash down the same way it did before.

"FRIENDSHIP IS INVINCIBLE~!" Twilight screamed, eye reddened, and no sign of the glow returning. Pinkie stood up and welcomed the gigantic beam with open fore hooves. Behind the two, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, in bad shape, tried crawling back to the young princess. Spike, the Pillars and the students were out of range of them, and perhaps this time, they had to be far away. It was only the six good-hearted ponies who would take the reversed, corrupted blast.

The Malice rainbow's impact shook the earth. Everyone even a few feet away from it was pushed back by the shock wave. Twilight and her five, dearest pony companions were swallowed under by malformed radiance. Unlike it's original form, it didn't stay too long, but what it left in it's wake was a shallow, but wide, smoking crater that surged with those familiar, disgusting bolts of electricity. Every single pony and creature around the area gasped in disbelief.

"NOOO!" Spike bellowed.

Shining Armor wailed in distress as Night Light and Twilight Velvet shivered and shed tears. Celestia breathed in and out heavily and put her hoof up to her chest, as if her heart had been struck. The Cutie Mark Crusaders grabbed each other and shook their heads constantly, wanting for this awful event to be averted. Big Mac joined the three and closed his eyes, pleading for something to save Applejack. Discord stuck his hoof forward, futilely reaching for Fluttershy, while the animals cried out in a panic. Spitfire and the Wonderbolts gritted their teeth in dread. Maud Pie had gotten so terrified for Pinkie, her consistently stoic expression was slowly, and visibly, turning into a look of anguish. Scorpan looked down at the throne shards he collected, feeling like he had to do something, and quick.

As it turns out, the rainbow didn't destroy the six ponies. They were still there, laying in the crater together in pain. Rarity still had her horn, Rainbow and Fluttershy still had their wings, but every single one of them was barely conscious. Their vision got blurry, their ears were ringing, and black smoke enveloped their hooves.

"Some... creature..." Rarity whimpered. "Help... us..."

"Twilight..." Applejack breathed out in a weakened voice. "I get it now..." She moaned as sparks flowed through her mane. Twilight gave no response.

Fluttershy turned her head towards the monsters in view. She had only a few seconds left of strength to keep her eyes open before she said one word to them. One word of worry and certainty. "Run..."

It was at this moment the Bewitching Bell, no longer rattling uncontrollably, used it's almighty assimilation spell one more time, just as it was going to do before the worldwide army's arrival! The stream of yellow and black magic targeted all six ponies at once, draining each of them at the same time! They shrieked in unimaginable agony! Everyone except for... Twilight! The torturous magical attack affected them for several seconds, until their uniquely coloured cores, all shaped like their respective Element of Harmony gems, left their bodies and entered the Bell! When it was done, Grogar glowed with a violent, multicoloured aura, and Twilight and her friends were grey shells bereft of life!

"Spike!" Scorpan called, approaching the little, weeping dragon as fast as he could, throne shards in his grasp. Softly, but in a hurry, he said "I got these shards! They can cancel magic!"

"What good are those now?!" Spike cried in question.

"The Bell! Hide one and get it close to the Bell!" Scorpan hastily suggested quietly.

Spike, without really thinking about anything since he was so stressed, followed the gargoyle's instruction, grabbed a shard and put it inside his mouth without it being seen by anyone! His claws and feet had more control than his mind right now, seeing as he was finding himself heading in Grogar's direction!

The sorcerer king nodded to his Horses of the Apocalypse in acknowledgment! They knew there was one more thing left to do! Grogar's horn and collar ignited with an offensive spell, Eclipse's horn cast a beam of light to the sky, Chrysalis prepared an energy beam from her horn, Tirek stretched out his arm and opened his hand to cast a field of heat around the coreless forms of Twilight and company! Cozy dropped the six students to the side, retracted her shadow appendage and plugged her ears in anticipation!

Not only were all the ponies of Equestria panicking and begging for something to happen that would save the day at the last second, all of the other creatures roared and screeched in despair! Rutherford and Ember yelled, incredulous at what they beheld, Seaspray and Thorax stared in hopelessness, and Grampa Gruff furiously clutched the snow beneath his talons! Sandbar, Gallus, Yona, Ocellus, Silverstream and Smolder covered their innocent eyes!

So then, lightning struck down at Eclipse's command, a wide blast fired from Chrysalis, Grogar threw up his head, and Tirek closed his hand! In the moment before this onslaught made contact, it was clear that nothing was going to pop up. Not this time. The only odd sign, something Twilight's gang wouldn't even catch, was the sound of a baby's laughter. A tiny, merry noise, right before...

BOOM!

Simultaneously, the power of four, powerful, wicked spellcasters made a devastating explosion in the crater. Grogar quickly cleared out the smoke by waving at it, and while the sound of the blast was still reverberating across the valley. Twilight Sparkle and her nearest, most beloved friends were no longer there. No signs left of their bodies, except for many strands of their manes and tails that scattered to the wind.

All the ponies and creatures from afar saw the hairs take flight over the reddened, wilted land. It was crystal clear what this meant. The war was, for real, over, and it ended in the villains' decisive victory. Everyone hung their heads in total defeat and ceased further resistance.

"Just like Stygian." Star Swirl whispered, standing by in mourning with the other Pillars.

Spike gave up running towards the ram sorcerer, for he couldn't take his eyes off the crater, where he took his last look at Twilight. It became harder for him to breathe, not only from the cold, but from the intense trauma he succumbed to, prompting him to bury his face in his claws. His big sister, whom he loved and looked out for since his early youth; he would never see or hear from her again.

The families of Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow expressed equal levels of heartache. Big Mac and Apple Bloom exchanged consoling hugs. How would they break this to Granny Smith? She was too old to bear the news that she outlived one of her grandchildren, and that said grandchild went to join the apple siblings' parents at a young age. Discord, low to the ground, looked at his hoofs and silently lamented what he had done. As he had been told, he could've ended this before it began a long time ago. Fluttershy paid with her life for his mistake. The world was doomed by him. He made this possible, by doing nothing. Zephyr Breeze and his mom and dad happened to be nearby to give him comfort, for all that was worth.

Celestia couldn't hold back her tears or stand up. She murmured to herself "First it was my stupidity, now it was my weakness." She hurt everywhere from the new reality she had to absorb. Her sister, Luna, was trapped in a state of permanent, inanimate state without a core, and through unforeseen circumstances, her former pupil, the pony whom she saw as a surrogate daughter, had been taken away from her, along with the friends the young alicorn made who championed friendship by her side. After all the lessons, after all the growth, the sun princess had to accept that as of this moment, the days she watched Twilight learn and develop into a worthy leader, those that she called "the best moons of my life" were a complete waste of time.

"YES!" Chrysalis whooped, standing tall on her hind hooves in unhinged euphoria. "They're finished! Those parasites will never again be a pain in my rear end!" She laughed in the most maniacal way probably ever heard in Equestria's history. She couldn't stop. Her loyalists laughed along with her.

"Alright, peasants! Get in line!" Eclipse ordered the crowd of earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns. "You don't have to inhabit this frozen desert anymore! I've got an ocean you can live in, if you don't mind paddling and holding your breaths!"

"Our business here is done, boss. The Present Run must go on, whether they appreciate it or not." said Tirek plainly. He shifted his gaze to Cozy and saw that she wasn't having much of a reaction. "Cozy? I thought you'd be thrilled?"

"Somehow, I feel empty inside." Cozy admitted. "But..." Abruptly, she turned her back on the giant centaur and demanded "Don't talk to me, you wouldn't understand."

"I beg your pardon?" Tirek responded in annoyance. "Bah! You were always a weird kid."

"Citizens of Equestria, Twilight Sparkle's contamination damages you no longer!" Grogar announced. "Sadly, though I have all the ingredients to cast the spell that'll get rid of the Windigos for good, no sense in completing the mixture for it without you summoning them back."

"We don't care about your erasure spell, even if you can cast one!" Moon Dancer tearfully objected. "The Windigos are our responsibility! It's up to us to prevent their icy storms by remaining unified, especially against dark forces like yours!"

"How long will you believe in those words?" Grogar queried.

"As long as it takes to bring you and your herd down!" Rusty Bucket replied, hoof raised.

Grogar sighed, and then his eye caught something not too far from the spot on which he stood. It was Scorpan, putting one of his ape hands on the grieving Spike. He had dropped all of the throne shards he was carrying on the snow-covered ground. With a swift wave of his hoof, the wizard disintegrated the shards, which neither the dragon nor the gargoyle noticed. Speaking of things unnoticed, Grogar was hit hard, but it was like a mere slap. He turned to his head to find that Yona was ramming him.

"GROGAR HURT TREE!" Yona bawled, headbutting the big ram in the side, to no effect. "GROGAR BLEW UP TWILIGHT! YONA NEVER FORGIVE GROGAR! YONA HATE GROGAR!" Gallus and Smolder rushed up and fought to pull her back, recognizing the futility of the little yak's rightful, and defiant, outburst.

"Please, don't hurt yourself more, Yona." Grogar advised the child. Then he turned his view over to the children he gave to the world. He saw the very manticore, cockatrices and other creatures who revealed the terrible truth to the ponies. He spoke up to them in a soft, fatherly way "What you did was treasonous. But, you fell under their spell, a far stronger one than I thought. You're not traitors, you're victims. Let me cure you, my wondrous little ones." The super-creatures felt uncertain about returning their father's side, but it would seem they had no other choice. All of their brothers and sisters were waiting.

"What do you hope to accomplish, moons from now?!" Spitfire inquired harshly.

"To craft an Equestria - a world - smarter, stronger, unrestricted and unforgettable." Grogar answered professionally. "To end an era, give or take a few generations, so we can start one that never will."

An era already had it's final curtain call. The day on which it did would, without a doubt, never be forgotten. Equestria's darkest day of all time, and nobody could tell when the sun was setting on it. This is what the mistress of time decided to tell.

Twilight Sparkle and her fellow bearers of the Elements of Harmony, the most heroic, righteous ponies ever born, were... dead.

...

For the first time, and the only time it would ever have to, the magic of friendship... lost.

...

This was... the end.

...

No.



A pony sprung awake, still one eye, a horn and a pair of wings short, hyperventilating and sweating like crazy while her line of sight adjusted to the new environment around her. It was... familiar, but also different. This reality she found herself in, filled with stars and cosmic clouds, but also lined with splotches of Malice Magic, she was surprised to see it. Twilight felt her shoulder, confused as to how she was wide awake and moving. The remainder of her life force faded away in the tainted rainbow beam only a minute ago, yet now, and without a core, she was back on her hooves. How?

"Twilight?" Pinkie's voice softly spoke from behind. This prompted the alicorn to turn, and get even more perplexed.

Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow were there as well, lively as they were before they were taken down.

"Can anypony explain where the hay we just wound up?" Applejack asked.

"Is... is this what the ether looks like?" Rarity nervously pondered out loud.

"I know this place." Twilight confirmed. "This is where Celestia gave me my wings." Saying "my wings" brought back to mind the incinerated spots where those pegasus appendages used to be.

"I doubt it looked corrupted before." Fluttershy mentioned, pointing at the waving Malice.

"It did not." Twilight attested.

"I can't believe this!" Rainbow yelled indignantly. "All the friendship of Equestria and every land out there, and it wasn't enough?!" In the midst of her rant, she tried to fly, but without her core she just fell flat on her belly.

"So, what did we come here for? Congratulations on influencing the whole world? Something for the students?" Pinkie wondered. "Are we gonna become alicorns?"

"I don't know." said Twilight, dejected. "Maybe we just failed, the villains won, and this is where we're staying for the rest of eternity."

"With those yellows clashing with the blues? No thanks!" Rarity protested.

"So, this may very well be it, huh?" Applejack assumed. "Tons of adventures, tons of laughs, and it ends like this?" She lowered her head, coming to grips with the situation. "Perhaps you were right, Twilight. Nothing we did ever mattered." Nobody noticed, but at that moment, the apple shape of the Element of Honesty appeared on her chest, pitch black.

"Eh, you know what? Friendship, magic, parties, all that stuff? It's for foals." said Pinkie. "Gotta grow out of it at some point." The Element of Laughter, also blackened, appeared on her chest.

"What a travesty." Rarity moaned. "If I had known it wouldn't work out in the end, I'd have been spending more time packing my things for our permanent vacation than spreading goodwill." The black Element of Generosity manifested.

"I guess the greatest kindness of all would be to let those ponies and all the creatures survive in a world ruled by a monster." said Fluttershy. "I wish them luck." The black Element of Kindness became visible.

"As far as I'm concerned, you five are all I need." Rainbow affirmed. "I don't owe Equestria anything. None of us do." The black Element of Loyalty shined.

"Friendship..." Twilight began. She looked for the words for a few seconds, before landing on "Friendship betrayed us." The black Element of Magic emerged. "At least we can feel sorry for ourselves alone. As... one." Her eye slowly closed, when a ray of new light touched it. It rose higher and higher. The alicorn took a good look at what was making it's presence known.

It was Flurry Heart, laughing like the innocent, cheerful little pony she was, jubilated to see her aunt. Right above her, sleeping with her head and wings pointed down, was Cadance. The baby's wings were pointed up, which gave the impression that these two were forming a shape.

"Flurry?" Twilight gasped. She realized fast that the mother and daughter were making the shape of a heart. "Did you..?"

"Unacceptable!" an echoing voice snapped, before it's originator materialized before the six ponies. It was the Twilight-shaped avatar of the Tree of Harmony's spirit, and it looked cross.

"What the- there's two of them?!" Pinkie yelped.

"What in tarnation is that thing!?" Applejack exclaimed in surprise. Everyone else was freaked out by the presence of this doppelganger.

"You are here because Flurry Heart, the child of the Crystal Empire, brought you here in astral forms." the spirit explained. "You were saved, in a way. Physically, you no longer exist."

"So, are you gonna be our bellhop and find us a spot to sleep?" Rarity asked.

"Thanks for ascertaining our fate, by the way." Rainbow sarcastically added.

"I am a projection of the Tree of Harmony's consciousness." the spirit described itself. "I have watched over you for a long time. I have given guidance to the students you welcomed into your School of Friendship. In their friendship and coordination, those promising six creatures have exhibited powers just like you and I."

"Well, that explains the new Treehouse look, alright." said Pinkie.

"How are you here, after what Grogar did?" Twilight queried.

"His Malice has greatly inhibited my capabilities, but little Flurry Heart, a perfectly pure being, entered the heart of the world to give me the strength to hold the Windigos in Equestria for some time." the spirit answered thoroughly. "She has my thanks for that. Currently, she is forming a new Crystal Heart with her mother, Crystal Princess Cadance, to create a perfect blockade between this dark magic and the world's roots of life."

"That's amazing!" Fluttershy complimented. "So, do you know when it will be ready?"

"Soon." the spirit state. "But not before you withdraw your foolish contradictions and learn what really connects the six Elements of Harmony."

"This is the heart that's been beneath us the whole time." Twilight whispered. She then said to the spirit "I'm sure we already know how the Elements connect, though."

"Are you so sure?" it doubted. "Here's a thought I believe you have never dwelled on before. Have you ever wondered how and why Celestia and Luna, only two ponies, controlled the six Elements of Harmony?"

"Because they're honest, generous, kind, loyal, magical and bring lots of laughter?" Pinkie guessed.

"It's not about what they are, but how their goals, their passions, their hearts weaved the virtues into a perfect web." the spirit clarified. "Honesty makes Laughter, speaks words of Generosity, is Kindness from the heart, and shows Loyalty to effort. Laughter is Honesty by truth, defines Generosity by healing, shows Kindness in togetherness, and displays Loyalty to hope. Generosity is Honesty in giving, brings Laughter to the sad, synchronizes with general Kindness, and proves Loyalty to the less fortunate. Kindness is living with Honesty, begets Laughter as a sign of happiness, instigates increasing Generosity, and is a mark of Loyalty to those whom are beloved. Loyalty is Honesty with your friends, a source of Laughter in knowledge, Generosity in facing fears, and an act of Kindness for refusal to give up."

Applejack stared into blank space for a moment before she repeated something recently said to her. "Take one out, and the rest are..!" She didn't finish, but it hit her that such words meant more than Spike or anyone else were aware of.

"Exactly." the spirit asserted. "If one Element is missing, the others don't sit without power. They disappear with it. And if they are twisted, the spark of Magic can prove itself venomous. Magic manifests from the Elements uniting, but their union is found and maintained by a single, more important force that mustn't be severed."

"You mean, like, a Super Element of Harmony?" Rainbow questioned.

"Essentially. Call it the Element of... Faith." said the spirit.

"For some time now we've been fighting with faith." Rarity pointed out. "It didn't work, Tree, darling."

"It is not merely a tool with which you win battles, it is a seed." the spirit corrected. "And what happens when the tree grows it? More seeds. That's what happened when the Pillars planted me." Then, all around the spirit and the six friends, screens popped into existence. Like videos, they displayed events that were easily recognizable, and showed many of the creatures they knew from all their adventures. The world's heart was playing memories of moments when friendship shined bright.

"Discord told us to believe in ourselves." Fluttershy reminisced. "That's how we learned that the real power of the Elements sleeps within us."

"Regardless of his trickster methods, he gave you that epiphany through his Faith." the spirit certified. "He had it in you as Celestia and Luna had in each other, in Equestria, and in the Elements' reawakening. For that, they were worthy to be the princesses for more than moving the sun and the moon. The old leaders of the pony clans found it when they joined together to bring Spring and Summer to what they would call home for generations to come. By sharing what you learned with the griffons, dragons, yaks, hippogriffs and changelings, you gave them your Faith in their ability to make a difference everywhere, they shared it, and their whole tribes wished to offer it in return, giving them an revolutionary link with one another as well as the ponies."

"I see. But, I'd like to know about this "primordial" Harmony we heard about." Twilight requested.

"It's the very energy that keeps the world alive, even if the magic or the light has disappeared." the spirit answered. "It is hurting, but Faith can heal it. Remember the love of family, the decency of neighbours, the trust of friends, the reason of home, for that's the way you, as the Elements of Harmony, will take shape again."

"That's what I've wanted to rule Equestria with." Twilight mentioned.

"It's your key to completing the cycle of optimism." the spirit assured. "Believing in and looking towards others as they, far and wide, believe in and look towards the six. This is where the real power of friendship comes from, and always has."

The friends stood in silence for a while, looking up at the screens that showed everything they, their loved ones and their students had been through, from the days of the Golden Oak Library, all the way to their time in the School of Friendship. Every victory over Equestria's enemies, every problem tracked by the map solved, every reconciliation, every mind changed, every noble sacrifice, every lesson ever written down or vocalized. As they watched, each of their open eyes glowed with rainbows, as they did long ago when they learned what they, as the Elements' representations, needed to do for the sake of others. The rainbows burst out like fireworks, and immediately afterwards, the black Element symbols on their chests changed to their proper colours.

"What were we saying earlier!?" Rainbow cried out in realization. "We are Equestria's remedy!"

"Your lesson is complete." the spirit announced with a nod. "Return. Cure this world. Be their crown and necklaces." On that note, the spirit disappeared into the cosmic clouds.

A second after the Tree's avatar faded away, Twilight's group was magically lifted off whatever invisible, but solid surface they had been standing upon and pulled up to Flurry Heart. The young alicorn herself had been drawn in to the baby until they were close enough for their hooves to make contact. Flurry's eyes opened to reveal blank, white, glowing sclera. Suddenly, she spoke. "Auntie Twilight!" Above her, Cadance's eyes opened to show the exact same thing. Within moments, the stars and clouds all over the place fought off the spread of Malice and closed in on everyone. They formed into a heart-shaped field that contained each of them.

They were out again, unable to see or hear the incredible flash of light subsequently enveloping the plane of the world's core.



The Crystal Empire re-emerged from the snow of the Frozen North within an instant, a new Crystal Heart materialized in the spot previously occupied by the original, and from the entire city, into the sky, shot an enormous, glittering energy beam.



A discharge of the Treehouse's primordial energy banished the Malice smog around it, and revived the greenery in the area. Not six, but seven marks illuminated it's openings and windows.



"That's all the turncoats amassed!" said Chrysalis, seeing her transformed drones capturing the benevolent changelings.

"Relax, everypony. We have all day to store your Cutie Marks." Eclipse promised, lining up all the despondent ponies of Equestria.

"There's still much work to be done, my Horses." Grogar emphasized. "Return to your kingdoms and await my next meal."

"Yeah, back to your post." Cozy snarked. "Until next time~!" On that singsong word, she began to fly away, looking back at her fellow Horses of the Apocalypse with a mix of disdain and disappointment.

"Post." Tirek repeated. "POST!?" The term was, in a reversal, affecting him personally. He held his head, teeth gritted, groaning. Wanting this frustration to wear off fast, he took his gargoyle sibling in a large, cramped bubble of magic and told him "Let's go home, Scorpan."

And so, the five villains were set to go their separate ways yet again, with Cozy having a head start. Tirek was about to jump, Eclipse prepared her brain scrambling spell, and Chrysalis and her followers were just leaving for the hive with their reclaimed prisoners. Grogar remained where he was to perform a spell on the harmony-cursed manticore.

Without warning, continuous bolts of blue lightning struck the ground all around the villains and the foot of the hill. The points where they made contact melted the Windigo snow. It wasn't a vicious barrage. It was a controlled, magical storm. Everyone within the vicinity stared up at the sky to see something that could only be described as... miraculous.

The heart-shaped field that closed in around the cosmic space descended from the red sky. When it touched the ground, it had an effect on some of the surrounding creatures. Gallus felt a magical projection of a crown on his head as his energy flowed into the heart. His fellow students sensed projections of necklaces appearing on them. Similar things happened with their adult supervisors, and the Pillars, and Discord, and Celestia, and the various family members of the heroic six. Even the three ancient headdresses joined.

Following the brief moment of soaking up magic, the heart spun and opened up like a flower to reveal the good equines everybody depended on, brought back to life!

Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash walked the soil once more! However, they looked different! Their manes and tails were ethereal and waving versions of their usual styles, comparable to the manes and tails Celestia and Luna used to have, and sporting silver streaks! Their Element symbols glowed vibrantly on their chests. Their Cutie Marks were surrounded by images of silver hearts! The two earth ponies had metallic looking hooves! The two pegasi had alicorn wingspan! The one unicorn had a longer, pointier, curved horn!

As for Twilight, her body was whole again! She had new wings, which had pink feathers underneath, a new, long horn not unlike Celestia's, which was coloured blue between each segment, a larger, more imposing figure, and her missing eye restored, just with yellow sclera, in addition to metallic hooves! She spread her wings and stared at the evildoers!

"HEART! RAINBOW! POWER!" the ghostly voice of the Tree, from the air, dubbed this transformation.

"You never cease to surprise, Tree." said Grogar.

"You know what's stronger than friendship and fear? Faith!" Twilight stated. "It changed us! As long as it's never broken, we will not allow you to subject our world to a fate worse than destruction!"

"If the Elements of Harmony won't be destroyed..." Grogar mused. "Creatures, children, get away!" He levitated with the Horses, minus Cozy, and then, with a swipe of both of his fore hooves, the Phantom Zone portal opened up on the ground, and it was larger than ever! Twilight's team flew up fast enough to not fall in! To the terrifying gateway, the ram sorcerer hollered "Phantom Zone, accept these offerings and return some! Give me strength and doom these ponies to eternal intermixture!"

"What the heck did he just open?!" screamed Starlight, horrified by the vast portal to darkness.

A massive glow of rainbow energy, much like the one that emanated from the first Rainbow Power, radiated from the six! They generated rainbow tethers, which grabbed Grogar around his collar! For a moment, it looked like it was going to come off along with the Bewitching Bell! Unfortunately, there was another complication! The Phantom Zone was trying to suck them all in, and magical cores were flying out of it at the same time! They reached the Bell!

Grogar looked at the ponies, his mind flashing back to when he was restrained by Gusty the Great and her warriors, before he broke out of the rainbow bonds, surging with new power! He emitted the same radiance as Rainbow Power, his mane, tail and eyebrows turned into starry flames, his horns became spiky and crystalline, and a pitch black star appeared on his chest, above where the Bell hung!

Twilight and her friends released a sonic boom of magic that surrounded and forcefully pushed the villains! Grogar resisted with all his might, but Tirek, Eclipse and Chrysalis struggled to push back! Rarity put up a diamond shield to block the current trying to pull the gang into the Phantom Zone vortex! She took a look around until someone caught her eye. She saw Spike, waving frantically and calling her name! The fashionista teleported within several feet of the little reptile to see what was up!

"Hurry! Take this!" Spike instructed hastily in a muffled voice. He spat out the remaining throne shard he hid in his mouth, and a great distance too, but it almost got drawn down into the portal, until Rarity caught it in time.

"A rock?" Rarity questioned.

"Get it close to the Bell!" Spike urged. "Trust me!" Rarity was uncertain about this pebble in her telekinetic grasp, but she didn't need to be convinced to trust someone this dear to her.

When she teleported back over to the side of her Heart Rainbow Powered friends, she gasped in shock at something bright and destructive looking above! Within seconds, Grogar conjured a massive energy ball, big enough to pass for a miniature dwarf star!

"Don't ask questions, pass it on!" Rarity yelled to Fluttershy, regarding the throne shard. So, Fluttershy carefully took the item sought to give it to Rainbow.

"Go where wrongdoers belong!" Grogar exclaimed, tossing his energy ball straight towards his opponents.

Rainbow, without question, passed the shard to Applejack, who gave it to Pinkie, who threw it like a baseball over to Twilight. The powered alicorn caught it in her telekinesis, and recognized it right away.

"Oh. Maybe I can..." Twilight puzzled. Before her thought could finish, the energy ball smashed into her group! Not only that, it inhibited their movement and pulled them into range, like a black hole! She shielded the shard with a tiny barrier! In the meantime, her friends fought back against the energy ball, while inside! What rotten luck, though, as it seemed they were at an undesirable impasse! The ball wouldn't move or dissipate!

Worry filled up Scorpan, whom was watching from the side! He viewed the clash from every angle! They're struggling! He searched for an opening! He tried to think of something he, an elderly gargoyle, could do for these girls! His view shifted until it locked on one thing; the three things that were far-removed from the fight, but were trying to be part of it - Tirek, Eclipse and Chrysalis, trying to attack from behind! He punched his palm with an idea and turned around to see the other creatures!

"Everycreature!" he addressed everyone emphatically, flying over. "Let me borrow your magic!" The response from all the ponies and creatures from beyond was one of confusion and apprehension. "I have a plan! Don't be afraid, I'll return it!" They still weren't sure about this. But, Scorpan's patience was already worn thin in this predicament.

Without further hesitation, the gargoyle pushed his draining power to the limit and stole all the vitality magic from every single pony, dragon and good changeling he could reach, rendering them tired and immobile! Within 5, strenuous seconds, he collected the magic in a big sphere! Putting his thumb on his palm, he twiddled his fingers to turn that single sphere into three, smaller orbs!

"Only one shot. Must not let that Malice touch it." Scorpan thought out loud to himself. He pulled his arm back... "HERE!" ...and he threw the orbs into the air. They curved around the battle zone and Grogar, completely under his notice!

Twilight's team managed to make it close to the other end of Grogar's energy ball. The alicorn held up the throne shard, injecting the power of primordial Harmony into it, and gave the ram sorcerer a grin when she pushed it towards his collar! He realized what was going on when that little stone sent jolts of electricity close to his talisman! It was time for him to end this faster! A powerful shout was belted out from his mouth, a move that gave the ball a push in it's collision course! Twilight and the rest yelped from the surprise! It may have been too late! But...

BANG! A thunderous explosion struck Grogar from behind! The sneak attack was strong and sudden enough to make him shut his eyes, grit his teeth and growl in pain! He instinctively looked to his rear side and lifted his eyelids to see the ones responsible.

Chrysalis, Tirek and Eclipse had received a major boost in power, thanks to Scorpan's help, and blasted their benefactor while his back was turned to them! They looked at him in loathing!

Grogar was distracted by this turn of events for the time needed for something to be taken off of him. His shock over the damage he took led to shock over him losing his core-enhanced form, and then finding that his precious Bell wasn't on his collar anymore. The Alicorn Amulet's lock had been broken through to, and opened.

"Oh no!" Grogar uttered in horror, looking at where the item went! Twilight and her friends fully broke through the energy ball, leaving it to harmlessly fall into the void below! She grasped the throne shard and the Bewitching Bell in her aura! This image made the wizard's mind flash back to when Gusty grabbed the Bell way back when! She was exhausted, holding it by her teeth, and covered in some Malice-induced scars, quite like what Twilight got! "My Bell! You worm!", yelled the past Grogar.

"You've taken something stronger..." Twilight deduced. "...than a thousand armies!"

The three Horses of the Apocalypse prepared to fire their combined energy wave at the wizard again, but they were stopped by a force that rapidly expelled the magical enhancement from their bodies! Scorpan was at work again, and the power of Harmony was too overwhelming for them to do anything about it!

"You know, I do have a very special creature to thank for getting us this far." said Twilight. "For planting the warning signs in my mind so I didn't abandon our path. For helping the Tree of Harmony pass on the friendship lesson we never knew we needed. For making our magic grow to the closest thing to perfection."

"Who?" Grogar asked, feeling the magical tendrils of the Tree of Harmony wrapped around him.

Twilight smiled, peaceful and satisfied, with a one word reply. "You."

Grogar's face fell. He looked down at the primordial Harmony trapping and consuming him. He puzzled for a moment. He didn't know what else he could say now. Finally, he expressed in both defeat and begrudging admiration, "Well played."

Chrysalis, Tirek and Eclipse made their next sneaky moves! They just got drained, but still had their evolved power! The centaur tried to blast Twilight to get the Bell from her! Chrysalis made a precise shot with her acid spit! Eclipse summoned lightning from over her fellow alicorn's head! Their desperate attempts were blocked! Out of the blue, Cozy returned, making for the Bell, but it was her copy! The real Cozy was coming in from the other side, forming a spinning drill in her shadow form! Twilight casually dispelled the copy and shoved Cozy over to her partners in crime!

"My worth!" Cozy whined.

So, at last, in the moments Grogar was accepting his defeat and having the strengthened light of Harmony crush him, Twilight activated the Bewitching Bell herself, and started reversing the enchantments it bestowed upon the four Horses of the Apocalypse! They squealed like pigs, especially Cozy, as their features from Malice Evolution dissolved; most clearly Tirek shrinking back through his lesser forms and Cozy's living shadow returning to it's natural, lifeless state! Twilight stopped the assimilation spell just before it extracted their cores!

Grogar closed his eyes and prepared for one, last blow from his Malice Magic's greatest threat. His whole body cracked, countless electrical bolts enfolded it, and one instant later, his entire form was nothing but particles of sand, spreading everywhere like it was kicked. The Phantom Zone closed, having already eaten the energy ball, the four Horses pathetically crashed to the ground, and the Heart Rainbow Powered six gently touched down.

In recognition of it's owner's sound defeat, the golden Bewitching Bell returned to the dilapidated condition it was in before and ceased to glow. At long last, at this moment of triumph, the red in the sky vanished, to make way for the warm brilliance of the afternoon sun. No more snow, and everyone could see the sun again after a week that felt like a lifetime. Over in the distance, Tambelon, already a bit messed up by Chaos Pinkie, crumbled to the ground in a deluge of dust. Every zombie pony evaporated into the breeze, no longer sensing their master. Nobody could believe it, but the worldwide army accepted it happily.

Grogar, the Father of Monsters, was no more! Harmony definitively won the war, peace was kept, and Equestria was on it's way to recovery! This ordeal was finally coming to an end!

As he vowed, Scorpan had returned the vitality he took to their rightful bearers. Everybody surrounding the field of the preceding battle cheered for it's powered winners. Twilight, focused on the Bell, plucked a core out of it's bottom; a blue and purple orb which made cartoon-y noises. She waved her hoof to send it on it's way. Discord was it's target. When it touched him, he jumped, and his body ejected the phoenix power that had reanimated him. That replacement core sprouted flaming, translucent wings and took off. It flew to Luna and entered her body. Her return to consciousness was signaled by her jolting awake.

Celestia looked down at the moon princess, beaming and beginning to choke up. "Welcome home, sister." The royal siblings had the warmest embrace they've had since the defeat of Nightmare Moon.

Back with Discord, a magical force compelled him to stand upright as all of the animals he was composed of before appeared and flew into him, rebuilding his chaotic form as quick as a flash. Surprised by his return to literal form, he pointed to the sky, commanding a living pineapple, the same kind Chrysalis failed to control, to spring out of the ground and onto his shoulder. It didn't bite, but rather purred at it's conjurer.

"Ah, yes, Chaos Magic, not Kiosk." he said.

Right in front of Shining Armor, in a small, sparkling twister, Cadance appeared, fully restored from the effects of Heart Rainbow Power, horn included, Flurry Heart carried in her hoof.

"Good afternoon, dear." Cadance greeted.

"Cadance!" Shining Armor cried, relieved and happy to see his wife and child in person again, and in perfect health. They lovingly embraced, their emotions overflowing.

"Mommy! Daddy! Auntie Twilight!" said Flurry Heart. It caught the couple off-guard.

"She's talking!" Shining Armor blissfully panted. The mother and father didn't want to let go of their learning little one.

Twilight's group was getting a look at one another's gleaming new forms, when Discord popped up close to them. They noticed in no time, and saw him nervously smile and wave, without a word.

Fluttershy's face lit up, her mouth gasped as hard as it was reasonably possible, and her breath was exhaled in a shrill call of catharsis. "DISCORD!" She jumped on him, knocking him on his back, laughing, shedding waterfalls of tears born of joy, and nuzzling up.

"It's good to see you too." Discord remarked, patting the pegasus.

Tirek, Cozy and Eclipse got up after their hard landing. Eclipse, back to a regular unicorn echo, stomped the ground in frustration at losing the fight. Tirek observed his withered hands, realizing in somber regret that he was once more left with nothing. Cozy, seeing her devolved and useless shadow, trembled and whimpered in her vulnerability.

"Imbeciles!" Chrysalis snapped defiantly, chest held high. "That upstart goat may have fallen, but we're far from vanquished! You think friendship will save you forever?! We will always return! Nothing will ever stop us! Furthermore, as the rightful queen of Equestria and the Horses of the Apocalypse, I decree you! Boors! Get-!" Then a giant winter boot fell out of thin air and squashed her.

"Oh, thank Celestia, somepony shut her up." said Eclipse. She tried to teleport away, but her horn had no power left. This caused her relief to wear off. "Why!?"

Chrysalis stuck out from the bottom of boot and tried to shapeshift, but nothing happened. All she could do was flail about and roar like a frenzied lion.

Two figures approached the four villains, angered beyond comprehension.

"Chrysalis! Tirek! Cozy Glow! Aurora Eclipse! There isn't a punishment proportionate to all you've done!" Celestia proclaimed threateningly.

"I know I likely... definitely don't have the right to ask..." Discord came up to suggest. "...but if you'll hear me out..." he whispered something into Celestia's and Luna's ears. Funny enough, they actually liked what they heard.

"Oh, that does seem fitting." the night princess admitted. "Twilight?"

"Your majesties, please, give me a minute." said Scorpan, holding his hand up to the ponies while approaching his centaur brother. They watched him expectantly.

Next to Twilight, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo tugged on her legs, drawing her attention. They whispered to the alicorn, revealing information that was much to her surprise.

"I'll take this one." Twilight announced, telekinetically pulling Cozy over, terrifying the filly even more.

Tirek tried to absorb his brother's vitality, only to discover his own powerlessness.

"It's over, Tirek." said Scorpan, stretching out a friendly hand to him. "I can give you a good life. You can do and be something better. We... can start over."

"Never." Tirek denied, pushing the hand away. "I call a truce, but remember my words from long ago: to live with friendship and love, as you have, would be to live in disgrace."

Scorpan paused, disheartened. No argument started. "Very well." He acknowledged. "It's what father would've wanted for you."

"Please let me go!" Cozy shrieked, eyes red and watery. "Let me go, I'll walk away and never do anything bad again! I'm sorry, I was all wrong, just don't hurt me! Don't hurt me! PLEASE!" She wailed so hard her throat hurt.

If this were an adult, this would be sad and hilarious. But, Twilight recognized that any creature Cozy's age, even somebody intelligent beyond their years, would be scared out of their mind if it looked like their short lives were about to be cut even shorter, whatever the method. Sympathy hit like a brick, but she had to remain firm, for the fact remained that this little girl helped bring about Equestria's darkest days.

"This is exactly the fear I felt for seven days, Cozy." Twilight darkly explained. "For that..." she calmly breathed in, and then said "...we're even." the filly opened her eyes and uncovered her face after that sentence. Twilight added "The Cutie Mark Crusaders told me you expounded the truth of how disharmony took hold, allowed them to reach the clans, and have chosen to rebel against your fellow Horses. Also, they say you're looking for worth."

"I am." Cozy confirmed. "I was naive to think I would find it with those THUGS!" she blew a raspberry at the other villains, before continuing. "Perhaps I need to give myself worth. Maybe not through your silly ways, but somehow... I'd like to try."

"Whatever we do with you, we'll give you plenty of time to find it." Twilight asserted authoritatively.

"Thank you, Princess Twilight." said Cozy. "As long as it's comfortable and stable. I miss those things." Out of nowhere, her chest got extremely sore as if it caught fire, her hoof reflexively jerking up to clutch it. She began coughing like a lot of dust got in her throat.

Twilight thought fast, took the throne shard she enchanted with primordial Harmony magic, turned it into a sheet of energy, wrapped it around the Malice-infected filly, and merged it with her body. A moment passed, and Cozy was taking breaths until she found herself no longer hurting. She looked up in perplexity.

"Hey! Whatever you did there, it... saved me!" Cozy commented, eyes wide.

"I've suppressed the Malice still within you using Harmony-enhanced cancellation." Twilight clarified. "Don't let it go to waste." Cozy nodded in compliance. Next, Twilight approached Discord and the royal sisters and began to carry out the sentence of their remaining enemies.

Twilight, her friends and Discord charged up an electrical spell. Celestia declared "To stone!", and Luna followed up with "Infinite sleep!"

"May you finally find peace in eternal imprisonment, Chrysalis." said Thorax, looking sadly at his former queen one last time.

"Fade with the rest of my accursed past, like our teacher!" Starlight hollered to Eclipse, shaking her hoof.

Scorpan glanced at Tirek only once before he glumly uttered "Good-bye, brother."

The spell hit the trio. In their last moments of freedom, Eclipse put her hands on her cheeks in shock and incredulity, Tirek initially looked surprised but crossed his arms and closed his eyes in acceptance, and Chrysalis howled and tried to lunge forward in animalistic rage. Those would be their positions when the spell was complete, and they were transformed into a stone statue, held up by a pedestal and connected by an added sculpture of a decrepit tree.

"Formerly isolated, now together forever." Discord cheekily noted, checking out the statue and giving it a flick with his claws. "I can't think of anything they would want less." While he admired his craft, Celestia and Luna shot each other smiles of amusement. They knew he earned this.

The sound of applause erupted from the worldwide army another time. Today was a historical day in the history of Equestria none would forget. A victory deserving of it's place in the books. But, there were still a few loose ends to tie up.

Shining Armor and Cadance tended to the Crystal Empire's royal guard, whom were now freed from Eclipse's mind spell. Ember and the dragons were blowing off some steam on their wyvern cousins. Then there was the changelings with the, once again, leaderless rogues.

"Thorax, you misunderstand!" one of the rogues stressed.

"Dude, listen, we were just pretending to be loyal to Chrysalis!" another rogue explained, sweating.

"Yeah, we had no other option!" yet another rogue added.

"We were going to double-cross her eventually!" one more rogue said.

"Define "eventually"." Thorax asked. He didn't buy their attempts at winning his favour back. One rogue looked like she was about to answer.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves, lying to Thorax and I, and undermining his leadership growth!" Pharynx scolded the traitorous bunch.

"Oh, Pharynx. What happened to you? You had more passion for our old ways than any of us." a rogue lamented. He realized what he just said, received glares from his partners for it, and slapped his head, groaning "Stupid!"

"You're right." Pharynx conceded. "My love for them was exceptional. But that was a long time ago, and I always loved Thorax more." The broodmates held hooves in brotherly love and respect. "Hey, magic stealing monkey guy!" he called over to Scorpan. "Do us a favour here!"

The rogues collectively responded "Uh oh!"

Meanwhile, Discord was in the middle of a conversation with Spike and the six, whom had turned back to their regular forms.

"Don't sweat it, Discord." Applejack said to the draconequus. "You'd have been spared a lot of torment if we hadn't made a lousy judgment of our own."

"I suppose so." Discord agreed. "Still, I barely helped in the cleanup." He humbly kneeled, conjured a top hat, pulled a slip of paper out and held it forward, anticipating some writing. "Your wish is my command, Princess."

"Discord, I sentence you to Equestrian service, helping others rebuild all that was torn down." Twilight decided. "On the level of a common pony. That means you must lose the Chaos Magic, for a while."

"So be it." Discord accepted without complaining, his punishment manifesting on the paper in words. "All the exercising I did as a pony, it wasn't so bad, despite the fact I'm millennia out of shape."

"You're cool with it, just like that?" Spike asked, bemused. "You sure changed while we weren't looking."

"Good thing, too." Fluttershy commended. "I'm going to need your claws and know-how to help me fit your whole family in while we get the sanctuary rebuilt." She motioned her head towards all of the super-creatures whom had stopped attacking, now that the values of friendship were clearing up and spreading to them.

"Oh yeah, and uh... Twilight?" said Rarity, holding up a reflective magical barrier up in front of the alicorn.

Twilight hadn't paid much mind to it before, but when she looked at her reflection, saw that her body was all better, the scars having faded, her horns and wings having grown back with colourful new features, with the only blemish remaining being the yellow right eye, no elation she felt before could compare to what she was overloaded with right here and now. Best of all, reverting back from Heart Rainbow Power allowed her to keep it.

"Thank you so much, Tree." she whispered in tearful gratitude.

"So... what do we do now?" Rainbow inquired, seeing as the damage everywhere, all the same, had been done. Twilight snapped her feathers like fingers, answer at the ready.



With the Elements' power having fought off Malice's corruption, the enduring Castle of Friendship was entirely safe to go into again. That's where the six ponies, as well as Spike, Starlight, Sunburst, Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor, Cadance and Flurry Heart went to settle. Better yet, they got Donut Joe - the unicorn from Canterlot's donut shop - to bake them a well-earned, delicious snack. Their spot of choice? The map room.

"Hmm, post-apocalyptic donuts. Interesting choice." Rarity opined.

"May I request: if the universe can keep all our future challenges, struggles and adventures simple and the stakes low, that'd be nice." said Fluttershy.

"Pretty nuts where our lives went since the early days, huh?" Applejack pointed out. "How did we go from a bad night at the Grand Galloping Gala all the way to a week of full-on end of the world business?"

"I know." Twilight noted. "But thanks to the other clans, the ponies will have a lot of shelter to turn to until we've finished construction. One day, however long it takes, we'll be setting hoof in what I, as Princess, will call New Equestria. Till then, all I ask for is to spend a quiet moment with the best friends I ever had."

"Well, mostly quiet, anyway." Applejack remarked, gesturing to Pinkie, whom was so hungry and sugar-crazy she stuffed herself with 40 donuts before chewing. In delight, she mumbled.

"It's like... the end of an era." Fluttershy commented.

"Or the beginning of an even more awesome era!" Rainbow put forth. "Like, come on, we're the Elements of Harmony now!"

"All I know is whatever's next in store, it's going to be interesting." Twilight said confidently. Her eyes shifted her view over to Spike. The alicorn noticed, strangely, he didn't seem to be in high spirits. "What's wrong, Spike?" she asked.

"Not going to lie, I'm jealous you girls alone got the big, flashy finish again." Spike confessed. "The one time I get to participate in the rainbow laser, it's chewed up and spat out like gum."

"Don't feel left out, little brother." Twilight reassured him. "It wasn't just us. This was everycreature's victory, and your Faith as a royal advisor played it's part perfectly."

"Besides, we're way past rainbow lasers." said Rainbow. "Have been for moons."

"Although that part is really cool, still." Spike maintained, cheered up.

"I can't wait until we can go back to our jobs." Rarity mentioned. "Your beautiful coronation dress was lost in the boutique's destruction."

"Well, considering the extra delay we've got, when the hour has arrived I'll be wearing something twice as beautiful." Twilight replied. "Like we are."

They would spend the rest of the day quietly enjoying each other's company, thankful for the fact that everything worked out fine, they had a brighter tomorrow to look forward to, their home was recuperating, and they were still alive, well and tight-knit.

The absolute worst was behind them, like a bad dream. Whatever their next endeavors would be, they'd face them happily, without an ounce of doubt or fear.

Together.
> Epilogue: The Final Problem
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many years later, after the great, final battle closed out...

The sun beamed across the mountains, plains and city buildings in the morning hours, casting warmth and luminosity all over the magical land of New Equestria. It was a typical day for it's residents; earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns, dragons, griffons, changelings, hippogriffs, yaks and a multitude of different creatures coming together to talk, eat meals, play games, sing songs, relax under the bright, celestial sphere, and many other activities to take part in. Those whom were not natives were either visiting or had taken permanent resident there. The country's non-pony population had increased substantially since the worldwide alliance.

On this particular day, the reconstructed, and expanded, metropolis of Canterlot was more of a bustling place than it usually was. New sightseers whom hadn't gotten a good look at the capital yet were coming in to meet potential new friends and behold the shining monuments to the heroism of New Equestria's many heroes. Additionally, some garden parties were being thrown to commemorate the growing unity of creaturekind. Standing in the middle of one of those gardens was a statue chiseled out in the image of a radiant tree and the six ponies whom set the foundation for this age of peace: the Elements of Harmony.

Inside the great throne room of Canterlot Castle, Spike, the reptilian royal advisor to the reigning sovereign, entered after a return trip from a peace meeting between the Abyssinians and the Diamond Dogs. He was all grown up - tall, bulky, physically stronger and slightly gruffer sounding - at a rate considered faster than usual for dragons. He proudly wore his medallion around his wide neck, asserting his authoritative status to everyone. Fondly welcoming him back home, right in the middle of signing royal documents, was his big sister, New Equestria's Great Princess, and the Element of Magic herself, Twilight Sparkle.

Since her Harmony Evolution, her magical prowess had gone off the scale. She could even move the sun and moon as easily as her predecessors, whenever necessary. Twilight has been a beloved ruler, and a collected pony the past few decades. Nobody, not even Spike, could recall the last time she went, as they would put it, "Twily-nanas".

Twilight retained her blue horn, pink wings and yellow right eye, but her main body, besides sporting golden garb similar to what Celestia wore, had drastically changed. It now resembled the larger form she took when she and her friends used Heart Rainbow Power, but without the gleaming mark features. What was also different was the sound of her voice. In accordance to this change in appearance, she spoke with a deepened tone that would befit a lullaby singer. All the better for the loving mood of a reunion with her little brother.

However, it turned out that there was more to this meeting of the siblings than taking a break from royal duties. Twilight was having a bit of a problem with her star pupil, so she needed her right hand dragon to back her up if it was going to be figured out.

The captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard, the adult Gallus, appeared at the doors. He was outfitted in the traditional guard armour, with one addition that helped him stand out. On top of the helmet was a fez, passed down to him from his surrogate grandfather, Grampa Gruff. He never removed it from his gear, for it reminded him of how proud he made the old historian back in childhood. He presented himself to notify his princess of the star pupil's arrival.

A young unicorn mare with a mane and tail like fire, and a Cutie Mark of a rising sun, walked into the throne room, nervous, yet prepared. This was the one Twilight spoke of: Luster Dawn. She referred to her teacher in the most proper terms, but the princess insisted that she call her by name, not wanting to see this scenario as a lowly citizen standing before a supreme, immortal being, but as a friend addressing a friend, nothing more.

Luster came to say that while she has loved every second of her studies in the School of Magic, she felt held back by something that she deemed an obstacle. Something she thought was being forced against her will. "I don't want to make friends." the student confessed.

"Oh boy, here we go." Spike groaned, exchanging raised eye brows with Twilight, before he crossed his arms in disapproval.

Luster desired to take an independent studying course, hoping it could lead her down a path of her choosing where she could accomplish as many things as Twilight has.

"Without friends, it's going to be a long road ahead... if not endless." Spike remarked.

Luster wasn't swayed. She found friend making too distracting, even going as far as to say it was pointless.

"Kid, we wouldn't be here if others concurred with that." Spike admonished the unicorn.

Luster made it clear she had no intention of diminishing the amazing deeds Twilight and the other Elements did back then, but pointed out that it's been years, with her teacher seemingly ruling the country by herself and no longer having her closest friends in her life. Spike, as the royal advisor, was quick to remind her that he was still there for the princess. So, Luster pressed the question: "If friendships ultimately fade, why even make them in the first place?"

Twilight, after a moment of quiet, fair consideration, admitted that her pupil was... right?

"WHAT?!" Spike hollered in shock, spewing a rock-busting stream of flame as the word left his mouth. He took a moment to regain his composure before asking Twilight in a whisper "This is your top student? Friendship is worth so much to this world."

Twilight stepped off her throne and walked down the hallway with Luster. She explained that friendship is an art, and can't be rushed. That it can be a messy beast. That it can be needlessly complex. That it never goes exactly how it does in one's head.

Right beside them, as they trotted, stained glass windows depicting significant events in Equestria and the lands beyond could be seen. One was of the six students, Gallus, Yona, Silverstream, Ocellus, Smolder and Sandbar, coming together to defeat a wild red monster. One was of an adult Flurry Heart, ascending to her mother's position of Crystal Princess, and raising the new Crystal Heart for all of the Crystal Empire to see. The other, the biggest of all, given extra room on the wall, depicted Grogar and the four Horses of the Apocalypse being defeated by beams of light coming from symbols representing the pony clans, the non-pony clans, the Elements of Harmony, plus Heart Rainbow Power according to the silver hearts surrounding them, and, at the top, a tree adorned with a blue star connected to a crescent moon, representing the Tree of Harmony and the binding Element of Faith.

Looking at the artistic rendition of the world's biggest, most desperate battle, Twilight began to recount to Luster the time she faced the most terrifying of realizations: how finite her friendships may have really been.



A long time back, shortly before Twilight's coronation...

It had been almost a year since the final defeat of Grogar and the Horses of the Apocalypse. With ponies and creatures everywhere cooperating in perfect accord, cleanup and reconstruction of Equestria was already over halfway complete. Thanks to the combination of the new Crystal Heart and the Treehouse of Harmony, the land was stable and all the plants were able to grow back. Everyone had homes of their own again.

Twilight had efficiently packed all of her possessions into boxes, preparing to move out of the Castle of Friendship. Now that she was able to cast spells again, she used Accelero, self-duplication magic, an instant cleaning spell and, of course, telekinesis to save time that would've went into the process otherwise.

"Hey, Spike. It's that issue of Power Ponies you lost." Twilight lightheartedly said to Spike, holding up a comic in her magical grip. Spike didn't think it was necessary to bring along to Canterlot. "Why not?" Twilight asked him. Spike said that he was growing older, many things were changing, like his interests. He wasn't even sure if he would be collecting Power Ponies comics anymore. "Just because things change doesn't mean you leave everything you love behind." Twilight said as a rebuttal.

Twilight couldn't keep up the face she was putting on. Even though all of her magic usage looked like an exciting rush, she had actually been solemn all day. Spike knew that ascending to the ruler of the New Equestria was greatly worrying his big sister; not that she wasn't prepared for the throne and all the responsibilities that it implied, but nothing could prepare her for the inevitability of leaving Ponyville, where most of her adult life up to this point had been spent.

She levitated newspapers that had been released once the Ponyville news station got back up and running. On the front of one was a headline that read "Grogar - Gusty the Great's antagonist - real all along!?", complete with some photographer's close and clear photo of the late ram sorcerer. Inside were articles with pictures depicting Twilight and her friends' battle with him and the Horses of the Apocalypse, and three of the villains being turned into a stone statue while one, the littlest and least magical, was shown behind steel bars with a colt and filly her age, both brutish. Another paper had unrelated articles, such as the wedding of Lyra Heartstring and Bon Bon, and a very special event happening tomorrow.

"When we were out there, clinging on to hope after I fell sick, fighting to take Equestria back from Tirek, Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, Aurora Eclipse and Grogar, then repairing the damage the monsters and Windigos dealt, the thought of it got away from me. Now it's about to happen all at once." Twilight elaborated on her predicament. When queried on what was happening, the alicorn answered that it was the coronation, and leaving their friends behind.

Spike scratched his head, as he was under the impression that the six would be ruling New Equestria as a singular unit. Twilight said they still will, but nothing will be the same because she and Spike are moving away, while the others are remaining in their hometown to continue their regular lives. Lives they were more dedicated to than ever, as a result of what they suffered in the war. Each of them drifting apart looked all too certain.

Spike, more understanding, suggested that she talk to her friends, because they had to be sharing her pain.



Their first stop was Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack was busy helping Big Mac and Apple Bloom pack and sort boxes of apple cider and apple sauce. A wider stock was produced to accommodate for the expansion of non-pony guests coming to the coronation.

Applejack didn't seem at all worried about how much was going to change about her friendship with Twilight after she moved away from Ponyville. In fact, the farmer was astoundingly quick to change the subject and never turn back to the serious discussion.



The next stop was Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie didn't look worried, either, though Twilight was willing to accept, somewhat, that was just Pinkie being her usual, upbeat self. Her only concern was how the party she set up would go, if the coronation buffet would be ready in time, and if her sister, Maud, had taken care of the fireworks.

The party pony mentioned that she would be in charge of the Canterlot galas from now on, but was okay with that. The thought of needing to be there to see Twilight was paid no mind.



Next was Fluttershy's animal sanctuary. Twilight expected that at least someone as sensitive and sweet as her would show sadness over what was going to happen. Instead, she was happily distracting herself with her animal friends' singing rehearsal.

After Fluttershy put the birds in cages to rest for the next day, Fluttershy wore a sunny smile while voicing her excitement over Twilight's eventual rise to power. The kind pegasus didn't see a single negative thing about this imminent event. Twilight was unpleasantly surprised.



Next up: the Wonderbolt Academy. Rainbow was training her fellow Wonderbolts to do a special air show for the coronation. At first it went smoothly, but then Spitfire and Soarin messed up and had to be saved by a cloud. Spitfire, while knowing what the routine meant to the speedster pegasus complained that the routine was getting too complicated.

Rainbow showed absolute certainty that this team could pull off the stunts. But, she was so committed to it's perfection that she had no time to talk with Twilight at all.



The last stop was Carousel Boutique. Just like the other four, Rarity displayed zero anxiety, and instead put enthusiastic energy into crafting her latest formal design. She got the inspiration recently to incorporate the webs of star spiders into the coronation dress, because of the glow they emit after they are spun.

Rarity, the ambitious fashionista that she is, also thought of opening up boutiques around the country for the other creature clans to buy clothing from. She told Twilight that change simply happens, it must, lest things go stale, and if embraced, it can be fabulous. It was likely meant to be assuring, but it was not.



Back at her castle, Twilight sat alone in the empty library. Spike came in to inform her that Starlight Glimmer was supposed to drop by tomorrow morning to deliver a gift before Twilight's departure. He also changed his mind about the Power Ponies comic, feeling it was wrong to leave his favourite superheroes behind. Twilight doubted they cared, just like the ponies she called her best friends.

Just then, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Rainbow appeared through the doors Spike opened.

"Howdy, Twilight. We still got lots to do, but we found time to pay you a visit." said Applejack with a grin.

"Why not stick around and see her off?" Spike asked. Applejack said she needed to double-check the delivery list. Rainbow wanted to go over the air show routine once more. Pinkie needed to check on Maud and remind her when to start the fireworks, just to be safe. Fluttershy stressed that she had to grab food for the birds that will be flying to Canterlot.

Twilight saw it as bitter poetry. She'll be living alone in Canterlot, so she may as well take the train alone as well. On that sour note, she gave an unceremonious farewell.

Rarity tried to cheer her up, saying that while the day may fly by, they had enough time to get everything in place. She encouraged her to rest off her worries if her coronation was going to be perfect. This made Twilight snap.

"That's the problem! I told you girls, I've learned the lesson! I'm okay with imperfect!" Twilight yelled, teary-eyed. "Yet you're trying so hard, while I'm leaving Ponyville and none of you even care!" The heartbroken anger she belted out took her friends aback.

All of their minds flashed back to when Twilight screamed I HATE YOU!, like lightning struck right in their faces.

Applejack, matter-of-factly, said that they obviously did care that Twilight was moving away. Fluttershy was surprised that her friend really thought such a thing. Pinkie wondered what possessed the alicorn to believe it. Twilight answered that she tried to speak to them earlier that same day, but they chose their coronation preparations over what she was feeling. Rarity confessed that the activity was only a way to take their minds off the painful reality. Applejack stated that she was not oblivious to how worried Twilight was over everything changing, but remembering that she, everyone, had been through enough that past year, she tried to make it seem like all was okay, hoping it really would be. Fluttershy only meant to make Twilight feel good, so she herself would not feel awful.

Twilight noted that her friends taught her so much about friendship, making it harder to believe it might be ending for her. For real, and not in bitterness, but by fate's plans. Her friends closed in for a tight, loving, tearful embrace. Twilight expressed how petrified she was to see that her old life was going to be over mere hours from then, because they won't be together in the future. The others shared their equal terror at what was in store.

Rainbow said "I wouldn't say scared...", and then yelped "BUT!" right as the others turned to shoot her disapproving looks. She knew they were coming. She added "Just because I won't say it, doesn't mean I don't feel it."

Finally, everyone broke down, verbalizing their unease. Will they not see each other again? Will they hardly talk? Will they remain friends? No answers would come right now, but oddly enough, seeing her friends as upset as she was actually made her so much less worried.

"If it'll make you feel more at ease, how about we stay the night?" Fluttershy requested.

"Oh, I don't know, I just got done packing." said Twilight.

"I've got my sleeping bag set." Rarity mentioned. "Everything's covered, darling."

So, it was agreed that for Twilight's last night in Ponyville, she and her friends would have a sleepover at the Castle of Friendship after their long days of preparation work. They wished one another good night, before Twilight and Spike got tucked in.

"I should've asked this a long time ago, but it just occurred to me..." Spike mused. "Why couldn't you have declined Celestia and Luna's transfer of power?"

"I never worked out how to say "no thanks" to them. Too late to, now." Twilight answered truly. "Besides, I'll get the School of Magic out of the deal, too." This part amused the little dragon.

Without another word exchanged, they closed their eyes and drifted off into slumberland within this majestic, crystalline structure, on their familiar beds, one last time.



Twilight found herself in a pitch black world of nothingness, but she was not by herself. Right in front of her was a surprising guest.

Grogar?

"You. You're only a memory." said Twilight dauntlessly. "This is a nightmare, and a tame one to boot."

"None of that has to mean I'm fake, Twilight." Grogar calmly argued.

"Still, we defeated you and have nothing else to fear." Twilight asserted.

"Yes. In a way, I defeated me, too." Grogar conceded.

"Are you proud that everycreature knows and acknowledges you existed?" Twilight asked.

"It's not a bad feeling." Grogar sincerely replied. "But answer this: are you fully certain your descendants will remember a New Equestria under your direct control?"

"Even if what you say is true, that future generations will forget this era of peace, don't think we'll let it's memory fade without a fight." Twilight avowed. "We have Faith on our side."

"Well, you need not take my word for it. Enjoy it to the fullest while it lasts." Grogar recommended. "Just withhold your surprise when it ends." With nothing more to say, the apparition of the dark wizard disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Twilight, wake up!" Spike's voice cried out from the void.



The young alicorn sprung awake to see the morning sun glare through her window.

"Twilight, hurry! You're gonna miss the train to Canterlot!" Spike hollered, full of adrenaline.

Twilight got out of bed and made a mad dash for the front entrance, where the remainder of her friends were waiting.

Starlight arrived to deliver a package at the exact moment the castle's doors were kicked open. She apologized for the late delivery, but the whole crew rushed past her.

"No time! See you later, Starlight!" Spike called out.

They moved as fast as they could, staying close, but were unable to get on the train to Canterlot before it left the Ponyville station. They were quite distressed. But, Twilight smiled as a thought came to her head.

"What are we thinking? Here's the best way to travel." Twilight announced. In a burst of light, her teleportation spell carried the seven of them all across the path ahead of them to the front entrance to the recovering royal city. No more boiling lava, but serene water. All around the area were extra towers and houses being constructed. Now there was her next plan. "Okay, let's make our presence known, and everything should be fine."

"Not yet. I'm a fair bit behind on weaving the star spider sash." Rarity objected.

"I hope Big Mac, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom figured out who gets what deliveries without me." Applejack thought out loud.

"I forgot the snacks for the birds that had to fly all this way!" Fluttershy worriedly mentioned. "Please let the pet shop still be open!" She ran off across the drawbridge.

"And I've got to meet with the Wonderbolts! Be right back!" said Rainbow with haste, flying off.

"Now, where is Maud? I got to find her and give the signal for the fireworks display, so she can take her seat." Pinkie added.

"Well, girls, from here... we see what happens." Twilight declared.



Big Mac and the rest of the Sweet Apple Acres family delivered a crate to the waiters at Canterlot. A crate that was meant to contain the finest sparkling apple cider to serve to the attendees.

"No worries, partner. We made sure of it a hundred times." Apple Bloom assured a male waiter, when he questioned what was inside.

Next up, they were taking a crate of what was supposed to contain apple sauce for the royal chefs.

"Open her up and see for yourself, youngin." Granny Smith said to a cheerful baker preparing to make an apple parfait, when he asked about the contents of the crate.



Rainbow soared through the sky back to the Wonderbolt Academy. She stopped halfway when she saw her teammates coming her way, leaving smoke trails behind.

"HEY!" Rainbow shouted. "Guys!"

"Rainbow, here you are!" Spitfire said. "We waited an hour, but when you didn't show, we thought you must've meant to meet us outside Canterlot."

"I came from there! Thanks for saving me a flight, let's go!" Rainbow commended, leading the squad back where she came. Things were looking lucky.



Twilight appeared near the doorway to the royal balcony, where Celestia and Luna waited. Despite the royal sisters no longer having wings, and their manes and tails no longer waving and defying gravity, the phoenix cores inside their bodies allowed for reconnection with their magic.

On the sisters' peytrals were amulets; one with a sun design for Celestia, and one with a moon design for Luna. Twilight invented these as an answer to the Bewitching Bell, on which many experiments were performed before it was finally sealed in a new, top secret hiding place. They housed their old cores, and were enchanted with primordial Harmony Magic so they could once again use their famous powers and other spells, without Malice Magic interfering or injecting it's poison. This is how they continued ruling until this day.

"Twilight, you're early." Luna pointed out.

"We missed the train, but I provided a shortcut." said Twilight, pointing to her horn.

Celestia restated her and Luna's pride in her former student. "You deserve as many hours to get ready as are required. It is your coronation."

"It starts in the afternoon." Luna added.

"Excellent!" Rarity chirped, walking in with her unfinished work for the occasion. "She's not putting on the crown without her coronation gown, or the regal image will be incomplete."

"Fair enough." Celestia accepted.



The morning passed, and the sun shined over the garden below the royal balcony in the afternoon. Every creature from every land was arriving to this great gathering, either taking their seats or watching everything from the air or a perch. Celestia and Luna presented themselves to the audience from their high ground.

"Citizens of Equestria and beyond!" the sun princess called.

Everyone, young and old, cheered, from the students, to the five clans that helped the ponies form the worldwide army, to the Pillars, to the kirin, to the buffalos, to the Klugetown fishfolk, to the parrot pirates, to the now tranquil monsters, including - but not limited to - Transformer, Stratadon, Berserker and the six Umbrums: Groggy, Chryssie, T, Rora, Windy and Cozy Glow the Second, to all that surrounded them.

"My sister and I have ruled this land for the longest time!" Celestia started. "But even we know that change, big change, comes for us all! And though we know it can be unsettling, it is as natural as the rising and the setting of the sun and the moon, both of which my sister and I feel confident leaving in the hooves of the pony who will come after us! More than a pony, she is an embodiment of the magical Harmony beneath us all that allows the world to stand!"

During the speech, friends, family and countless acquaintances watched on. Shining Armor was about to cry at seeing his little sister become the supreme sovereign. Discord was also there, being allowed to take a break from community service on this exceptional day. On the side of the table where Star Swirl, Mistmane, Rockhoof, Mage Meadowbrook, Somnambula and Flash Magnus sat, below everyone's notice, was a small, pony-shaped shadow with blinking white eyes and a smile. It seemed somehow, in his life after physical existence, Stygian was present, staying near, but unseen. Never touching, but always watching.

At the end, Twilight Sparkle came out behind the royal sisters, dressed up in her blue coronation garb, complimented by her finely done mane.

"And so without further ado, we say a final good-bye to the Equestria of old and implore you, everycreature, to say hello to the ruler of New Equestria - Great Princess Twilight Sparkle!" Celestia finished spectacularly.

Twilight almost tripped over herself at the announcement of her title. She couldn't help laughing and blushing. "Great Princess? You're too much."

Celestia had a laugh, and Luna joined in. This was an important moment and decision for Twilight and the both of them, but neither could resist having some fun while they were at it. Their need for giggles totally satisfied, they levitated their crowns off their heads with the amulets and combined them into one golden crown, bearing the new sovereign's Cutie Mark, for her to wear. The title of Great Princess would be carried along with it.



Returning to the present...

"So, how was the coronation?" Luster asked.

"Pretty standard, really." Spike confirmed. "Fortuitously so."

"Then, why did you drift apart anyway?" Luster queried, hoof on her chin. "Did your friendships just fade away overtime?"

"Not exactly." Twilight answered. Right on cue, a familiar face walked in.

It was the Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie. She had arrived late, and brought with her a tiny colt with similarly curly, cloudlike hair - her son, Lil' Cheese - playing with a rubber chicken, saying it was hard to find him a babysitter with a sense of humour. Primordial Harmony magic had boosted her parties to heights that could potentially make contact with extraterrestrial beings.

The Element of Generosity, Rarity, trotted inside, clad in a fur coat. She mentioned that her arrival would have been sooner if business had not currently been booming in Yakyakistan. Harmony caused creative designs and efficient production strategies to constantly course through her mind, at a jaw-dropping rate, daily.

The Elements of Loyalty and Honesty, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, came in next, playfully arguing about one insisting on doing all the chores alone, and the other being unreliable help, shedding light on their tardiness. The farmer wore the scarf passed down from Granny Smith, and had become so in touch with soil, she could accelerate the growth of trees and healthy fruit. The flier had become so fast, she could circle the globe in seconds, almost like teleportation.

The Element of Kindness, Fluttershy, her mane tied up by a bluebell, walked out of a portal conjured by Discord. In the years since he was punished, the draconequus had served his sentence and earned back his Chaos Magic. Giving his best companion a paper lunch bag, he returned to his chaotic dimension. It was explained that he decided to go to an O&O convention instead of joining the six at this reunion. As for the no-longer-so-shy one, she could now literally read the minds of animals and tap into their memories or medical states.

It turns out that Luster was wrong to assume that just because they weren't regularly seeing each other these days, Twilight and the others' long friendship had ended.

"That's not the point of my story." Twilight affirmed. "Even if the coronation had been a disaster, it wouldn't have come between us."



Back in the past...

Dusk was approaching. Everyone was going home after the party. The only ones whom remained were Twilight and her friends.

"Hoo! I'm party pooped." Pinkie panted, sipping one little drop of apple cider.

Twilight seated herself at the table, exhausted from a long day of celebration. "Finally, no more autographs." This provoked laughter from the team. She perked up and shared the sentiment. "Thank goodness."

"Ditto." said Starlight from behind. "It's fortunate you still have the energy to laugh."

Spike held the package Starlight carried earlier behind his back. "We wanted to give this to you before you left Ponyville this morning, but things got a little hectic."

Starlight explained that with Twilight moving away from Ponyville, the gift may help her. It was taken and opened to reveal a scrapbook. One with moving pictures of Twilight and company's many memories, from their humble beginnings as friends to their latest achievements. This was the Book of Memories, and everyone pitched in help Starlight construct it.

Twilight loved the present, but she didn't want to only look back on the past. The important thing was their relationships as the Elements of Harmony, and their jobs in maintaining them. Rarity expressed uncertainty on how that would be possible with Twilight living in a different place, far from town. Therefore, as her first royal decree as New Equestria's ruler, she established an agreement for them to meet once every other moon, so that they could effectively rule Equestria as one.

From here on, the gang would be named... the Council of Friendship!

Celestia approved of this decree. Luna commented on how even when fate threatened to remove one Element from the others, a way is found to keep them linked. Celestia then said that she had no regrets about leaving New Equestria under the care and watchful eye of Twilight and her friends. She and her sister would still be around if they were needed, but now they had to go.

Luna hoped that the Council would come visit her, Celestia, and Scorpan, the last gargoyle, in the rebuilt Silver Shoals. She took a moment to opine about how good of a storyteller, artist and supply transporter their old Midnight Kingdom friend was. Celestia clarified this was the time for the Council to rule, because they've proven themselves more than capable. The group shared a hug for many seconds after that. Celestia and Luna, using their amulets' magic, projected translucent, white and blue wings, respectively, to wrap around the ponies and dragon.

That night, Twilight and Spike got 8 hours of calm, undisturbed sleep in their new beds. Nobody else around, except the castle staff.



This had been quite educational for young Luster Dawn. She realized, at this moment, she was standing between the Council of Friendship itself, and this was the time in the moon where they reunited for joint endeavors. This was their method of ruling together, and staying close to tackle whatever adventures in, and threats to, Equestria came after the war. Although, none of them reached anywhere near that cataclysmic level. Most importantly, it was how they stayed in contact with each other, no matter how busy their lives were getting.

Twilight likened friendship to a hard day's work. Effort was needed to keep it alive, but it was practically as essential to living as eating food and drinking water. Without friendship, without Faith, tying a perfect knot, life's going to be that much more difficult.

As a testament to how unbreakable the friendship of the Council really was, the six Element ponies underwent their Heart Rainbow Power metamorphoses for the first time since this power was first given to them. Seeing it again was indubitably breathtaking. Twilight let the kids in the room gaze in awe for a bit before the transformations were deactivated.

Luster Dawn was learning a valuable lesson, now that she heard how making friends could be a lot like working hard for her future. Her teacher's story illuminated the fact that the pursuit of camaraderie was more worth the time of day than she gave it credit it. Sadly, one fact remained. She focused on her personal studies for so long, she had no clue where to begin. Where should she go?

Twilight had the answer on standby ever since she first took the little unicorn under her wing. Ponyville.



All eight of them were teleported to the rebuilt, and larger, Ponyville, where life went on without the slightest hint of strife between earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns. Certain civilians waved "hello" to Luster, to which she waved back bashfully. They walked over to the redesigned Sugarcube Corner to drop off Lil' Cheese, where he met his Uncle Pound and Aunt Pumpkin. Also waiting there were a giant, adult Gummy the alligator, and Pinkie's husband, Cheese Sandwich. Luster was instantly endeared to this family.

The Council went to an air show to watch Rainbow Dash, the new Wonderbolt captain, guide her team through rings and clouds in a dazzling manner. Not only were new pegasi brought on to learn her ways and pay respects to the Wonderbolts from years of old, but their first ever Hippogriff teammate, Silverstream, was soaring along with them.

Everyone went to the School of Friendship - the one, only and true School of Friendship - to see Headmare Starlight Glimmer, Vice Headstallion Sunburst, Student Counselor Trixie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders turned Friendship Tutors, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They also found Ocellus and Smolder hanging around there as teachers. Better yet, the School had more teachers employed than it ever did back in it's early years.

Next, Applejack gave Luster a personal trip to Sweet Apple Acres, where the orchard was lively as can be, and the barn had grown bigger than four houses. She wanted to pay a visit to her brother Big Mac, his wife - and thus Applejack's sister-in-law - Sugar Belle, and their own son - her nephew. Luster took an immediate liking to the new Apple child.

Rarity guided Luster to the vastly widened Carousel Boutique, just in time for the door to open and see Yona and Sandbar come out. The yak drew the earth pony and the Element unicorn into a group hug, happy as she has been since she was little. On her back was the most colourful Yakyakistan-style robe ever worn.

Fluttershy monitored the new animal sanctuary, where all of the animals under her care, as well as the numerous monsters that made peace with the rest of the world, settled in harmony, enjoying every minute of their freedom and unity. Cerberus, whom had been repositioned as the guardian of the sanctuary, had a mate and puppies. They eagerly welcomed the kind Element and Luster along with Angel Bunny's many, many rabbit kits. Discord was also around, bringing animals through portals and, most unlike what he was back then, doing cartwheels and backflips. He clearly, on no uncertain terms, liked moving around on his appendages now.

After today's tour, the sun was setting to allow the moon to go up. Luster was convinced that Ponyville is where she needed to get started. Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow and Spike saw her off, waving "good-bye" when she left for town with some creatures she managed to get along with during that wonderful, enlightening day. A kirin, a yak, a griffon and an earth pony would be her first unmeditated experience with the joys and virtues of friendship. This was her path. Her page in the books to write. Her story's prologue.

For the quiet moments Twilight watched her number one student leave, her mind lingered on the many possibilities of the future for New Equestria and beyond. Peace has been kept between ponies and the other creatures for a long time, but if the peace could be broken like a twig after centuries of no such conflict to bring the Windigos forth, couldn't it easily happen again, and on an even grander scale? Those winter spirits will be back if it did.

Twilight agreed on a single thing she heard near the end of the war: the stability of friendship and love in Equestria could not be her responsibility forever, and she didn't want it to be. Her time had to come sooner or later. Moreover, there weren't any "fail-safes" she could come up with for such a bleak occurrence that wouldn't just be brainwashing, fearmongering, or both. Twilight considered herself better than nobody, and hoped everyone else would take charge of Equestria one day.

As for any concerns about Luster Dawn, she had faith that this youth would grow into a fantastic leader and hoped that she, in due time, would succeed her on the throne of Equestria, just like she did under the wings of Celestia and Luna. This did not mean she ruled out likely scenarios of her pupil going off this charted course. Luster said she wanted to accomplish as much as Twilight did, but so much could happen in her life over the years to follow that her goals and desires could easily, and heavily, change. There was no telling if becoming an alicorn, or a princess, were anything she's destined for.

Regardless of being the Elements of Harmony, Twilight's friends were still mortal ponies. They would grow old and cease to exist completely, and when they do, it will feel like barely any time had passed. In the end, they would permanently join the Treehouse of Harmony in it's branches and spend eternity together keeping their eyes on the world from it's heart. Twilight wished to join them the day all five of them were part of the Harmony Magic collective, forgoing her alicorn immortality. It was planned out: the last one of the Council whom would be entrusted with the throne of New Equestria, if Luster, or anyone else didn't rise to power in the Great Princess' place, was Spike. He was the failsafe, not to mention the long dragon life span he had ahead of him.

Those grim thoughts would repeat both in consciousness and in dreams for the remainder of Twilight Sparkle's lifetime. At the same time, she had more than enough reasons to enjoy the amazing, beautiful thing she and everyone she held dear had in this age of prosperity, so she was going to cherish it to the fullest. Be honest, generous, kind and loyal, laugh, and keep the magic spark of the Fire of Friendship alit with all she had. All she was. All she knew.

Twilight earned this. She was going to keep earning it. Finally, night fell over Equestria, spelling the end of the Council of Friendship's precious day, and the start of a valuable legacy.

Poetically, in some regard, sharing really was an easy feat. Magic, indeed, made it all complete.



♫ When I started out, I was unsure
I thought I knew all that I needed, didn't know what to expect
But when my walls came down, I saw the truth
All along something was missing
And I think you'll see it, too
This is where the magic happens
This is where the magic lives
Our friendships weave together stronger
The bonds grow deeper, lasting longer
And the greatest spell you'll know
Is how the Magic of Friendship grows

And no matter how much time goes by
The party will still be here with some fun new games to try

Big adventure's waiting obviously
Long as we're still here together
We'll be flying happily

This is where the magic happens (where the magic happens)
This is where the magic lives (where the magic lives)
Our friendships weave together stronger
The bonds grow deeper, lasting longer
And the greatest spell there is
What the Magic of Friendship gives

And it's somethin' true to pass on down
To generations yet to come

And we'll never stop believing in
The generosity of the friendships we've won

And because the love that I feel
For every single living creature is something that is real
Friendship happens so naturally

Oh, and how I used to wonder

(Ahhh-ahhh-ahhh...)

What friendship could be!

This is where the magic happens (where the magic happens)
This is where the magic lives (where the magic lives)
Our friendships weave together stronger
The bonds grow deeper, lasting longer
And the greatest spell you'll know (you'll know)
Is how the Magic of Friendship grows

How the Magic of Friendship grows ♫