> Guardians of Harmony: Nightmare on Halloween Street > by Postwarmonkey50 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1: Bringing Back the Festivities > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Far away from Equestria, in a land that only a handful had known far too well, was the country that rivaled Equestria itself; the city of New Carinthia. Ever since their home was freed, many chose to abandon the old Capitol, for it would bring back too much painful memories. But thanks to the Grand Tree of Harmony, it had helped created a new capitol, one where not just the Caribou, but every creature, can thrive and live in peace together. From within the walls, many citizens had made newer buildings and other attractions that many could enjoy, as well as enjoying the final touches of the kingdom. However, from within the Citadel, was much larger at play. From within the council room, Thorin and Lizzie, along with their company, who were also known as the Council of Oakenshield, were going over the recent events of Caribouria. “So how goes the restoration of Caribouria?” asked Thorin. “From what our messengers have reported,” said Kili as he was the first to volunteer “The Houses of the Griffons, Dragons, Changelings, Yaks, Hippogriffs and Wolves have restored parts of their lands.” “And once that was all said and done,” said Kili’s brother Fili “Many of them have gone to the other houses and restored many of the others’ homes and lands and have been a tremendous help with their strength and magic.” “And what of the others?” asked Lizzie in concern. “Well, according to them,” said Bofur. “The Kirin, Buffalo, Deer, Minotaurs and Centaurs’ Houses have been restored to their former glory.” “The Deer are currently restoring all plant life throughout the kingdoms,” said Óin “And the Kirin are also using their fire abilities to try and restore the fires of the other Houses so that they could warm the homes of others, as well as help cook their foods.” “And the Centaurs, and Buffalo,” said Balin “Are currently trying to restore most of the kingdom’s books. Before Dainn came, many Centaurs were able to make copies of them and hid them for safe keeping to ensure that all knowledge would not be forgotten.” “And the Minotaurs are currently trying to train others for security measures to ensure that there are no thieves about.” Said Glóin “There are still many thieves about, even those who didn’t get the message that Dainn’s reign is over.” “Isn’t that the truth of the day.” Muttered Thorin. “Anything else?” “The Ahuizotles, Sirens and Harpies’ houses are restored as well.” Said Ori “The Ahuizotles are currently trying to find any of our lost artifacts that have been taken from Caribouria and are trying to restore them before bringing them home.” “The Sirens are currently using the songs to soothe the pains of many of those who have lost their homes,” said Dori “And the Harpies are currently trying to find others who had gone into hiding to tell them the news that the war is over.” “The Diamond Dogs, Abyssinians, Ornithians and Gargoyles need more time though.” Said Nori. “Their Houses are still under construction.” Said Bombur “They say that they’re about ninety percent complete, so it will take some time for them to be fully restored.” “Half of the countryside in their territories are also struggling to be restored.” Said Bifur “It will take some time before the greenery is restored so that people could plant food again.” “And their military will also take time for them to be restored.” Said Dwalin “But at the moment they’re trying to help the citizens rebuilt their homes before they can do anything else.” Thorin sighed whilst he looked down. “This is good news. For as soon as Caribouria is fully restored, we’ll soon open our borders to others around the world so that they can see Caribouria themselves, which is why I’m hopeful that we will succeed for the future.” Thorin stood up, with Lizzie and the others following suit. “Continue to monitor the other houses and ensure that those who do not have homes can have shelter until their homes can be restored.” Said Thorin. Soon the council leaves and were on their way to perform their duties whilst Thorin walked to the edge of the balcony, with Lizzie in tow. He soon stood and watched the entire city from there, with Lizzie standing by his side. “Are you okay Thorin?” asked Lizzie. Thorin sighed and said “The damage Dainn had left in its wake left the entire kingdom scarred and broken. It would take a long time before it’s fully healed.” “Thorin,” said Lizzie as she held onto him “We already accomplished so much thanks to you.” “Beau and the others were the ones that helped me.” Reminded Thorin. “But they were the ones to give you the credit because the people needed hope, to know that the Oakenshield line had not been severed.” Said Lizzie. The two of them continued to stare at the horizon as they watched many of its citizens trying to live their daily lives. “Beau and the others may have helped you,” said Lizzie “But because of your leadership, everyone was able to live their lives to the fullest like they did before. And right now, you need to focus on the now instead of the past and what’s to come.” Thorin couldn’t help but smile and held her close. “You always know to say the right things.” “That’s what I’m here for.” Responded Lizzie as she returned the gesture. “How are the children doing?” asked Thorin when he thought about the kids. “Freya and Silver Sentry are still fast asleep.” Said Lizzie “Once they’re old enough, they want to explore Caribouria.” “Agreed.” Said Thorin. He then looked down and said “But back to the topic at hand. Now that Caribouria is freed, what can we do to liven their spirit, something to celebrate over again.” “It’s quite the mystery.” Said Lizzie. “Too bad I turned down my brother’s invitation. For he really wanted me to spend Nightmare Night with Crystal, considering how much she admired me.” Thorin’s ears perked up and looked at her and said “Wait, what? What’s that?” “Oh,” said Lizzie when she looked at him “Silver explained that to me. Every year, they dress up in costumes and have parties that kids tend to get free candy. It’s kind of like humanity’s holiday called Halloween.” “Heh, almost sounds like Alfblot.” Said Thorin. He then paused, and lowly widened his eyes in realization. Then he had a bright smile and exclaimed loudly “That’s it!!” Lizzie was surprised by the outburst, “What?” Thorin grabbed Lizzie and kissed her full on the lips, surprising her before he broke it and said “You’re a genius!!” He quickly went back inside, with Lizzie not sure what just happened, so she followed him to find out why he was so excited. She saw that he was calling over the butlers and messengers. “Half of you, please send out invitations.” Said Thorin “I want every decorator, planner and caterer to the Castle at once. And send out invitations to everyone throughout Caribouria.” He then realized there were more room around, then he said “And be sure to send special invites to Equestria too.” Lizzie was surprised by this as the servants said “At once sire.” They soon left, with Lizzie wondering. What in the world is he planning? **************************************************************************************** Meanwhile, at Equestria, specifically at Ponyville, everyone had already placed orders for costumes and decorations for the upcoming Nightmare Night. Luna was especially excited, for she could go on her persona during the festivities. “This is so exciting!!” exclaimed Luna as she couldn’t help herself but feel giddy at the same time and danced around a bit. “You’re already making me excited Lulu.” Said Nebula with a smirk as he watched her bosom and posterior bounced. Luna instantly stopped and blushed, then immediately turned around and said with a flustered tone and pout “Oh, hush you.” “Can’t help it, you’re adorable whenever you do that.” Said Nebula as he walked over, gently held her in his arms and kissed her. “Plus I know how excited you get.” “Well of course,” said Luna with a slight pout, but then ended up smiling and kissed him back whilst also embracing him. “Nightmare Night is almost upon us and I am happy that I get to dress up in my persona.” “As long as you don’t go stir crazy my queen of the night,” said Nebula playfully “Otherwise I might have to use my secret weapon for this.” “Oh, stop.” Said Luna as she playfully slapped his chest whilst the two laughed. “And I’m also more than happy to be your first ever Nightmare Knight Commander.” Said Nebula. Then he looked at her with a flexed eyebrow and asked “Although, how the heck did you convince Beau and the others to become Nightmare Knights?” “I made them an offer they couldn’t refuse.” Said Luna whilst rolling her eyes and said “Plus it was put into a royal decree, knowing that Princess Twilight would refuse to take a break from school.” “I’m sure the students will understand.” Said Nebula. The doors soon opened, revealing both Princess Celestia and Platinum. “Which is why we need to be prepared for what’s to come.” Said Platinum. “Luna, are you sure about this?” asked Celestia in concern “Considering that we all had a close call with Cozy Glow.” “Fret not sister,” said Princess Luna “Everything will be fine. Plus with everything happening the people could use the distraction to have fun for the festivities.” “If you’re sure Luna.” Said Celestia in concern. “Honey,” said Platinum, “Why don’t we get ready for Nightmare Night too. I know that the kids have been looking forward to something like this.” Celestia managed a smile and said “Oh very well. The children could use the time to have fun.” The two of them soon left. But after the door was closed, Luna moved towards the window and looked at the countryside. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell her about a certain creature that stole your power?” asked Nebula. “I don’t want my sister to worry,” said Princess Luna as she looked at the horizon “For what happened back then was my responsibility.” “You know it’s not healthy to keep secrets from family.” Said Nebula “Cause sooner or later, you’re going to have to tell her, otherwise she’d end up doing more harm than good. Even though Capper, Trixie, Stygian and Tempest helped you, you won’t be so lucky next time.” Luna sighed whilst Nebula wrapped his arms around her whilst he was standing from behind. “I know. But when the time is right.” She then felt something behind her and said “Are you getting turned on, as the ponies would say?” “What can I say,” said Nebula with a smirk “Even after all this time, your booty is a Lucious as the moon.” “Oh, you perv.” Said Luna as she instantly broke free and tackled him over on the ground. The two of them bearing their smiles. “You’re trouble, you know that?” “From the day I made you faint?” said Nebula in a teasing tone. “Maybe.” said Luna with a smirk. The two of them kissed. Until they broke it when they saw both Celestia and Platinum enter the room. The two looked and saw two amused faces on both Celestia and Platinum the moment they entered in the room. “Having fun, are we?” said Platinum. Nebula ended up smirking and said “Like you’re one to talk.” Platinum also had lipstick over his face, which made both him and Celestia blush from their little action. Before they could say anything, a certain cross-eyed delivery pony, came in with a handful of letters and a salute. “Hey there your majesties.” Said Derpy. “Thought I’d deliver a letter that just came for you recently.” Princess Luna had a deadpanned and said “We always receive letters, Derpy.” “Not this one,” said Derpy as she pulled out a couple of letters “The letter here seems to have a picture of both an Oak and a Shield on the front.” The sisters were surprised and received the letters, with Celestia saying “Thank you Derpy, that will be all.” “Happy to help.” Said Derpy as she saluted before flying away. Princess Celestia looked at the letter and said “Well this is a surprise.” “Indeed,” said Princess Luna “It appears we have received a letter from Thorin Oakenshield.” “Really?” said Nebula “I haven’t heard from him ever since they visited us a while back.” The two of them opened their letters and, with their husbands, also looked through them. After much reading, they were surprised by what they have read so far. “Oh?” said Princess Celestia “It appears we have been invited by Thorin to attend Caribouria’s Alfblot festival.” “Alfblot?” said the husbands in confusion. “It says he will explain everything once he gets here.” Said Luna. “Hmmm,” pondered Celestia aloud, wondering what to do, then she looked at Luna and asked “What do you think Luna?” “Well,” said Luna “It’s been a long time since we’ve been to Caribouria. Plus I am also wondering what the festival over there is like.” “Maybe we should go.” Said Platinum. “If would give us a better insight of what’s going on.” “Plus we don’t want to be rude to ignore an invitation.” Said Nebula. Celestia and Luna nodded with smiles. “Very well then,” said Princess Celestia in agreement “We shall attend there.” “Oh, and I was so looking forward for Nightmare Night.” Pouted Luna. “Don’t worry Lulu,” said Nebula when he grabbed the side of her flank, making her flustered “I’m sure we’ll enjoy it no matter what.” Luna suddenly grabbed him, and looked at him directly in the eyes and said “You. Me. Bed. Now.” They instantly teleport without saying another word. Both Celestia and Platinum watched, but couldn’t help but smirk and look at one another. “How long do you think they will take?” asked Celestia. “About thirty minutes.” Said Platinum. He then suddenly held Celestia close, surprising her as he said “Although…maybe we can do the same whilst we wait for them.” Celestia then smirked and her horn ignited, causing the two of them to be teleported to their room too. ********************************************************************************************** At the same time, whilst the ponies and a handful of humans of Ponyville, everyone began to prepare the decorations for Nightmare Night, whilst at the same time, Derpy came along and flew around whilst holding a letter at the same time. She began to maneuver and trying to avoid all of the decorations, until she flew into a ghost decoration and was blinded, making her go stir crazy and flew straight towards Twilight’s castle. Before anyone could say anything or react, she instantly flew straight through the doors with a mighty crash. CRASH!!! From within the castle, both Beau and Princess Twilight heard the loud noise at their front door from their library, causing Twilight to grab Beau and the two teleport at the same time. When they, along with Moonlight, arrive, they saw the doors were smashed in and Derpy was able to poke her head through the sheet and was very dizzy. She shook her head, looked around and gave a sheepish smile. “My bad.” Said the cluts Pegasus. Beau groaned and facepalmed. “Why didn’t we bother to put the same protection spell on the doors like we did to the windows?” “I couldn’t focus on my spell on everything at once.” Protested Twilight. “Oh, come on, not again.” Said Moonlight in misery “We had to rebuild that door seven times already.” Derpy got up and saluted, whilst presenting letters to them at the same time. “Got a ton of letters for you and your friends, Princess Twilight.” Said Derpy before she saluted. Once she handed the letters to them, she immediately flew out of the door. Twilight sighed and used her magic to instantly fix the door. “Good thing you learned a restoration spell during your sophomore years.” Said Beau. “It was one of the easiest spells to learn.” Said Twilight with a smile, with a hint of pride. She then looked at her letters and said “I think we should call the girls and their husbands over, along with Spike and Emily.” “Good idea.” Said Beau “I’ll have everything arranged in the throne rooms” ***************************************************************************************************** A short while later, everyone was gathered in the Throne room to talk about what Derpy had given them. After going through the letter, they were surprised by this. “No way,” said Frosty “Thorin is inviting almost all of us to Caribouria?” “This is amazing!!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie “We got invited to another party at the kingdom, how exciting is that?!!” “And according to their letter,” said Spike “It says it’s related to Equestria’s Nightmare Night.” “I think we should go, considering that we’re all invited.” Said Emily. “But we can’t miss out on Nightmare Night, it’s only a week away.” said Applejack “She’s right,” said Bucky in equal concern “Even a quarter of the Apple Family is coming over to celebrate Nightmare Night, and Apple Bloom was really looking forward to spend time with Babs again.” “That may be so,” said Beau “But it’s also an invitation from Thorin himself, and when he sends an invite, it’s best not to ignore it.” “I agree.” Said Princess Twilight next to her husband “It might also give us an opportunity to visit another kingdom.” “And we should be excited,” said Bolt, “For we get to visit Caribouria again. Plus we’ll be able to see what they can offer.” “He does have a point,” said Silver “The only time that all of us were there was when Lizzie was going into labor.” Rainbow suddenly grumbled whilst crossing her arms “At least you and the others were lucky that you weren’t nearly eaten by monsters.” “Hey, normally I’d be angry too,” said Bolt when he turned to his wife “But we somehow made it and Lizzie really wanted to see Silver again.” “Then we should go,” said Princess Twilight after she stood up “For if it’s related to Nightmare Night and Humanity’s Halloween, maybe we can see what kind of holiday it is.” “Plus the big kicker,” said Beau with a smirk “According to the letter, Thorin is going to send his personal airship to Canterlot, that’s where they’ll pick us up.” “Wait,” said a surprised Frosty “Caribouria already has their own airship?” “Remember,” said Emily “Caribouria’s magic is more advanced than the others.” “Alright then,” said Twilight “We’ll go there first thing in the morning.” ****************************************************************************************** The next day, the Mane 6, their husbands, Spike, Emily and their kids were at the dockyard of Canterlot. But to their surprise, all of Ponyville was here too, as well as half of Equestria’s ponies have been invited. “Wow,” said Twilight in utter disbelief “I didn’t know half of Equestria’s ponies would be here.” “That goes the same for us.” They looked and, to their surprise, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, along with their husbands and children, were there too. “What are you doing here Princess?” asked Beau. “Apparently we were also invited.” Said Princess Luna. “Plus it had been far too long since we’ve been to Caribouria. So how could we say no to the invitation?” “We never even had the chance to meet Thorin either.” Said Platinum. “Are you sure it’s alright to leave?” asked Twilight, “I mean, after what Cozy Glow pulled…” “Twilight,” said Celestia in a motherly tone whilst holding her shoulder “We left the ponies we trust in charge to look after everything so things will work out.” “I’m just surprised to see a ton of ponies invited.” Said Beau. “It’s not just Ponyville and half of Canterlot,” said Princess Celestia, “The Crystal Empire and a handful of others were also invited, even some of the kingdoms beyond Equestria’s borders.” “Well it shouldn’t be all that surprising,” said Beau “Considering most of your ancestors are from Caribouria.” “Ship ahoy!!” called out a guard. Everyone looked up to the sky, and to their surprise, it was the biggest airship they have ever seen, whilst if was flying Caribouria’s flag. But before anyone else could react, smaller ships began to descend from the ship and flew towards Canterlot. Once that was done, many of the ships landed on the sides. One of the ships’ ramps had been lowered. And when they looked up, to their surprise, they saw a Caribou, standing at the top wearing royalty armour. He walked down with a human female in tow, as well as a company of Caribou Templar Guards. Beau couldn’t help but smile as he walked up to them. “Thorin and Lizzie, you old so and so’s.” said Beau as he hugged the both of them, to which both the latter returned. “Long time no see.” “Good to see you too old friend.” Said Thorin after they broke the hug. “Sorry we couldn’t have helped all of you with your magic crisis, but with Chancellor Neighsay gunning for outsiders beyond Equestria’s borders, we didn’t want to risk starting something.” “We didn’t want to take any risks that Caribouria could’ve lost their magic too, especially since our magical wards had warned us that a force had appeared to drain Equestria’s magic.” “No need to apologize,” said Beau “Truth be told it caught all of us off guard too, especially now that we have more Knights here.” "And Crazy Glow got what he deserved." said Bolt. At the same time, the mane 6 and their husbands, along with Spike, Emily, Celestia, Platinum, Luna and Nebula approached the two. “Good to see you girls,” said Thorin with a smile “I haven’t seen all of you since Lizzie gave birth to our children.” “How are the little dears doing?” asked Rarity. “They’re currently resting at the moment,” said Lizzie “especially since all of them are so excited for the festival.” “So what kind of festival are we talking about?” asked Rainbow. “Do not worry, we will explain once we get there.” Said Thorin. “Thorin Oakenshield,” said Beau “Meet the high ranking rulers of Equestria. Princess Celestia and her husband Platinum. Along with her sister, Princess Luna and her husband Nebula. Your highnesses, meet Thorin Oakenshield and his wife Lizzie.” Both sides bowed to one another, then stood back up. “It’s an honor to meet you.” Said Thorin. “I apologize to what Dainn had done to both of you all those centuries ago.” “It’s quite fine.” Said Princess Celestia “Because of Beau and the others that we have peace between our nations.” “And we were also surprised that not only did Humanity come from Caribouria, but our ancestors as well.” Said Princess Luna. Thorin hugged the two of them, which surprised them, then broke it whilst he said “I look forward to know the two of you.” Celestia and Luna returned the hug, then broke it. “Now then,” said Thorin as he pointed at their rides “Shall we go?” Everyone nodded in agreement and made their way to the ships. Once all of them were onboard, all of them immediately took off to the Airship. Once they were docked, the ship soon departed for Caribouria, where their answers would soon be answered. > Chapter 2: Air Travel > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shortly after their departure from Canterlot, the Caribourian airship, which they found out later was called the “Oak’s Shield”, took the passengers straight towards Caribouria, where Thorin had invited them for the festivities that he promised that they’ll love. During the travels, whilst everyone was admiring the designs on every floor, the servants entertained the guests, serving them food, playing music and made sure that everyone was well entertained. But on the top deck, everyone began to look out and enjoyed the view that was all around them. And from the top deck, the Mane 6, Celestia, Luna, Spike and their husbands and wife, along with Shining Armor, Blade and Princess Cadance, stood with Thorin on the top deck whilst watching the view. “Really an amazing view, isn’t it?” asked Thorin. “It sure is perdy.” Said Applejack. “Who designed this ship?” asked Princess Celestia. “After Dainn was banished, the restoration of Caribouria was taking a bit longer than they thought,” said Thorin “And seeing that one of our most important holidays were around the corner, I figured I could use it to help raise morale for everyone in Caribouria.” “And seeing that the borders are opened to the world,” said Lizzie “We figured that every creature beyond its borders would see what Caribouria is about.” “I think it’s a wonderful idea,” said Princess Celestia “Not only would it be wonderful celebrating another holiday, but in another kingdom too.” “So what’s this one called?” asked Rainbow Dash. “It’s called Alfblot.” Said Thorin. They were confused, but then he explained “It’s almost similar to Equestria’s Nightmare Night and Humanity’s Halloween, but different.” “There are also similarities.” Said Lizzie “Like Equestria’s Nightmare Night and Humanity’s Halloween, where everyone dresses in costumes, children asking for candy and also have parties that help others mingle, but it’s also having a Mexican holiday theme, which is known as Día de Los Muertos.” Needless to say, the humans among them were super excited about that, but the others were still confused by this. “Uh, what now?” said a confused Applejack. “Día de Los Muertos happens to be an Earth holiday in another country.” Said Bucky. “It’s also known as the Day of the Dead.” “The what?” said a frightful Fluttershy. “Don’t worry, it’s not what you think.” Said Lizzie “For this kind of holiday, not only is it a way to celebrate Halloween, but also celebrated their departed loved ones who had passed from the world and where their tales would be passed down to others.” Everyone was surprised to hear of this kind of holiday, especially Applejack. “They not only celebrate for their loved ones who have passed to the afterlife, but also carrying on and telling them their stories for those who came before them.” “We even made a special mural for anyone who would wish to place their photos of their departed family members there and would also be an opportunity to try them out.” Pretty soon, everyone got excited, with Bucky saying “You know, maybe we should make a holiday like that In Equestria.” “Indeed,” said Princess Luna “For not only is it a way to celebrate the departed, but also remember them and passing down their stories.” Many of them agreed to this. “So Thorin,” asked Beau “Where is this holiday going to take place?” “We’ll be holding the festival at New Carinthia.” “New Carinthia?” asked Celestia surprised, “Why not the old one?” “All of Caribouria voted that the old capitol would be left to be a rotten ruin.” Said Lizzie, “For going back there would only bring back painful memories there for everyone. But thanks to Beau and the others, with the power of Harmony, it created a new city for us, much larger and grander than anyone could’ve imagined. Because of it, it became a new home to not just the citizens of Caribouria, but the other houses from the kingdoms that wished to make a new beginning.” “All of them would love it,” said Thorin “The city is truly having a lot to offer ever since many creatures moved there.” “Speaking of which,” said Princess Luna as she was curious over something “How is the kingdom ever since you took the throne?” Thorin groaned a bit and said “Very exhausting. But thanks to my friends and Lizzie, we were able to make a council. Two of them in fact. One that’s meant for the citizens of those who live in Caribouria, and the other is for those representing each House. The restoration project was taking a bit longer than they realized, and the kingdom is about ninety five percent restored, with the other still following.” “Most of the Houses that housed the Lords of their Lands were restored,” said Lizzie, “But the Houses of the Diamond Dogs, Abyssinians, Ornithians and Gargoyles had taken it the hardest. The kingdom is still currently working trying to restore them, but so far, it’s been a lot harder than they realized. The other houses joined in to help fix it, but even they’re having a hard time to fix what had been broken.” “Would you like it if Equestria would help?” asked Princess Celestia. “That would be of great help,” said Thorin “But your kingdom is in need of help ever since what happened with Cozy Glow. And the last thing we want is for something like this to happen again, especially since both groups of protectors were gone.” “He’s not wrong.” Said Daisy “Twilight and her friends being trapped in Tartarus. Beau and the others captured by Dainn’s forces and taken far away from Equestria. Even though you guys were lucky that Platinum and the others were by miracle chosen as the next group of Knights of Harmony.” “He’s not wrong.” Said Princess Cadance, “It was hard for all of us, especially since Starlight was almost banished to the Ether.” “Where is she anyway?” asked Shining Armor. “She’s over there.” Said Blade. Everyone looked as Starlight was standing on the other side whilst her husband Chance stayed by her side and held her close to him. “Ever since what happened, Chance refused to leave her side and is prompt to stay with her. Even though she said it wasn’t necessary, she understood his fears, for he almost lost her.” “Well not to worry,” said Thorin “What we have planned will help all of you take those troubles away. And who knows, maybe there will be a ton of stress relievers for all of you.” “On that we can agree,” said Princess Twilight. “When is the Festival going to take place?” “It will take place within the same day as Nightmare Night, which would give all of you plenty of time to be prepared for us to be prepared.” Soon enough, all of them had passed through the Caribourian borders. Most of Ponykind began to feel a tingling sensation the moment they crossed the borders. “Whoa,” said Rainbow Dash, “That feels amazing.” “When every creature used to live in Caribouria,” said Thorin whilst he explained things to them, “Every creature was connected to this kingdom, because this is the kingdom where all source of magic comes from. But now that their descendants, namely all of you, Caribouria itself have now accepted all of you because the original inhabitant’s descendants have finally returned after all this time.” As they flew, many were surprised to see how beautiful Caribouria’s countryside looked, especially the rich farmlands. “Whoa,” said Applejack amazed by what she saw, “These farmlands are amazing.” Then from afar, Bucky spotted something and was surprised whilst saying “Look down there.” When they looked down, they were quite surprised. For it was none other than Zap Apple Trees. “Whoa, Zap Apples?” said Twilight in surprise, “I didn’t know Zap Apples grew here. Are they in season?” “Oh, it’s not in season, we grow those apples every time after they’re harvested.” Said Daisy. Everyone was surprised to hear that, with Applejack saying “Really?” “That’s right.” Said Thorin, “The Zap Apples we grow here are like the ones in Equestria, but except for once a year, they grow like any other Apple. And thanks to them, they produce many treats. There are also other farms here. But Caribouria has one rule, no fighting among themselves of who has the better fruit.” Some were confused by this, until Thorin walked up to Applejack and had a strict look on his face, one which Lizzie recognized. “Oh dear.” Mumbled Lizzie. “I know of your family’s constant fighting with the Pears, Peach, Orange and other families because of your pride over which grows fruit much better, which not only hurt your business, but also your family name.” Said Thorin, which surprised Applejack. “I’m aware of Granny Smith when she was a filly, and that her family were the ones who helped found Ponyville and it was because of your business and their influence and their relations to folks like Filthy Rich, made your town what it is today. Other farmers did the same with other towns, yet they come over only to rub it in their faces. Because of that a ton of folks are sick and tired of it, which like I said, would hurt your family name.” He leaned over and squinted his eyes at Applejack. “And I know of your history of being stubborn when it comes to reason, especially when your friends wanted to help you.” said Thorin, which caused her to blush in embarrassment, “if you plan to go out of line or insult the farmers here just because of their different produce and farming methods, there will be dire consequences. Am I understood?” “Uh, sure partner.” Said Applejack nervously. Thorin suddenly changed his attitude and said “Very good. Enjoy your cruise.”, then he left to be on the other side. After Thorin left and stood on the other side of the ship, Applejack was greatly affected by it, with Bucky comforting her. Lizzie spoke to them, gaining their attention. “I’m sorry about that,” said Lizzie, “You shouldn’t take it personally. Ever since we reclaimed the throne, it had been a constant nightmare for him trying to restore the kingdom back to its former glory. We restored the farmlands first, which would allow us to feed our people, and to have them start fighting over which produce is better, it would be a disaster for the populace and the hunger problem would only get much worse from there.” “We understand,” said Princess Celestia, speaking on behalf of her friends, “For having a kingdom suffer under Dainn’s wrath could take a long time to repair, and we understand how every inch of supply is crucial to one’s survival.” “Am ah really that stubborn?” asked Applejack. Her friends didn’t say anything, but their facial expressions say otherwise, which left her lowering her eyes in guilt. Bucky then comforted her. “It’s okay.” Said Bucky, “We’ve all been there when it comes to asking others for help.” “Although he does have a point,” said Applejack, “Mah family and ah always tend to argue over things that are greatly unnecessary.” “Well it’s not a total loss.” Said Bucky, “At least you guys made peace with the Pears.” “But not the Peach and Orange families.” Said Applejack. “And one day we’ll make things right.” Said Bucky as he held her close, which made Applejack smile. However, Applejack suddenly felt his hands on her posterior, with her feeling flustered, then whispered “Bucky, not in front of folks.” “There happens to be a private room down the ship,” whispered Bucky, “We could have a few rounds of our own down there.” Applejack took one good look at him, and before he could say anything, she grabbed him and then immediately darted off to do who knows what. At the same time, both Beau and Twilight walked over to Thorin, who was looking ahead of the horizon as the ship continued to sail. “Uh, Thorin,” said Beau, “Not that we’re trying to be rude here.” “But why did you scold Applejack like that?” asked Princess Twilight. “I apologize for that.” Said Thorin. He sighed and said “I just wanted to make sure that everything is perfect. My people and its kingdom had recovered a while ago. The last thing we need is another act of violence. We’re still trying to find our feet since before the Storm King came along.” “But is it necessary?” asked Princess Twilight. “It’s not that I didn’t want to act this way,” said Thorin when he turned around to look at her, “I have to because I have to be. For every decision, and every action, must be done for the good of my kingdom. Plus I am well aware of the incident back at Mt. Aris.” Princess Twilight flinched at that, with Thorin asking, “Why didn’t you trust your friends?” “I just…didn’t want Equestria to suffer.” Said Princess Twilight, “I had to do something.” “I understand that more than you know Princess Twilight,” said Thorin, “But you were also naïve when it comes to the real world. You needed to think things through before acting, because if you didn’t, then everything you worked hard for would’ve been completely destroyed. Then again, Princess Celestia should’ve done a better job at teaching you.” Before Twilight wanted to respond to that, Thorin cut her off and said “You’re also young and the next time you think of plans like this, think of what Beau would’ve done.” Twilight was confused by what he meant. “When Beau and his friends helped us in Caribouria in our time of need,” said Thorin, “Beau was more levelheaded than any individual we had ever seen.” He leaned over to her and said “And the next time you plan on doing something this reckless, I’d listen to him. He’s the only sane one in the family that knows what he’s doing.” Twilight blushed a bit at that, with Beau saying “I was just there to help them in their time of need.” As Beau and Twilight hugged, a guard came along and said “King Thorin. We are nearing the city.” Thorin looked ahead and smiled. Within moments, everyone on the ship went to the front and all of them were surprised to see what was before them. “Ladies, gentlemen and creatures all around!!” pronounced Thorin, then pointed to the city and said “Welcome to New Carinthia!!” Everyone was in awe when they saw how big and beautiful the city is. They couldn’t believe how amazing it looked. Now this was a holiday that they look forward to. Meanwhile, from within the large mountains of Caribouria, a portal somehow opened from within the shadows. And from the portal, a strange entity, walked out, holding what appeared to be Dainn’s sword, the Dáinsleif. The entity chuckled, revealing to be a female. When she walked to the edge of the mountain and out of the shadows, it was revealed to be Eris, Discord’s Cousin and also bearer to the power of Chaos. She looked at the kingdom and said “Perfect. I can sense many dead forces among this land. And with the power of this sword, I can summon the dead and no army can stop me.” She then scoffed and said “Discord was a fool to side with the ponies, but now I will make sure what needs to be done what should’ve been done centuries ago.” She cackled with laughter as it echoed throughout the entire mountain. For what she has planned, we will never know. But let’s just say, all of Caribouria will be in for a rude awakening. > Chapter 3: Welcome to New Carinthia > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Soon enough, the airship had docked from the large spot that had been placed of the city. Soon, everyone began to depart and climbed off of the ship, where many guards were guiding them to where they needed to go. Thorin and Lizzie continued to guide everyone to the doors. “Moonlight,” said Twilight, “Make sure you and your friends stay close to us at all times.” “Okay mom.” Said Moonlight as she and her friends were staying close to their parents. “And now,” said Thorin to everyone, “To what you’ve all been waiting for.” The moment they opened the doors, the Princesses, the Mane 6, their kids and many Equestrians were in awe of what they were seeing. All of them saw many different citizens walking to and fro, going about their business, selling their products, many different kinds of children, the works. Thorin turned to everyone and said “If you’d be so kind, we’d like to take you to our tailors.” Some were confused by this, with Rainbow Dash asking, “How come?” “Well, since all of you came to Caribouria,” said Thorin, “All of you have to look the part. For the old saying goes, one must learn to fit into culture, before venturing out to other places.” Suddenly, Rarity gasped in delight and squealed, causing many to close their ears from the sound, then she said “Idea!!” She immediately went to Thorin and said “Could I have some of your fabrics?!” “I don’t see why not,” said Thorin, “I’d be very interest to see what you have in mind.” Rarity again squealed in excitement and darted off towards to the tailor, with Crystal Gem in tow and great excitement. Lizzie then asked, “Does she know where she’s going?” “I might have told her and Crystal where the Tailor shop was located the moment the capitol was designed.” Said Silver with a sheepish tone. ********************************************************************************************** Not a moment too soon since Rarity and Crystal Gem had heard about it, they immediately rushed into the shop and, with permission, were able to begin making designs that everyone got to love. Pretty soon, everyone, civilian and royalty, had all looked the part as if they were born in Caribouria. Thorin looked impressed and said “I’m amazed Rarity. Silver really wasn’t exaggerating about your talent and skill. You truly are a natural, for you made clothes that not even our top designers could think of.” “Naturally darling.” Said Rarity as she flipped her hair. “I have to admit,” said Crystal in excitement, “I never imagined that a place like this could have so much inspiration.” Before they knew it, every citizen in New Carinthia took notice and were amazed by what they saw. Soon there were murmurs and excitements that they wish they could have clothing like this too. “Oh my,” said Rarity, “I didn’t think it could catch on this fast.” “Not to worry,” said Silver, “I’m sure if the other Tailors in the city pitch in, they might help.” Soon enough, everyone was dressed for the occasion, and all of them were happy and excited. “I think you made a very good impression.” Said Lizzie, with Rarity giggling in agreement. “Now then,” said Thorin, “Shall we go to the Citadel to show you around?” Everyone agreed and left for the palace. *************************************************************************************************** Thorin began to lead them to the palace. But to their surprise, waiting for them were some old friends of theirs. Dragon Lord Ember, Thorax, Pharynx, Prince Rutherford, Queen Novo, Admiral Sky Beak, and Grandpa Gruff. And among them was also Rain Shine. “Whoa,” said Princess Twilight, “This is a surprise, I didn’t expect to see all of you here too.” “Well, when we got invited, there was no way we could turn it down.” Said Thorax. “I know,” said Dragon Lord Ember, “I can’t believe that this was where all of our kingdoms first came from.” “Indeed so.” Said Prince Rutherford, “Yak surprised to see many of our kin here, but all of them also different from us yaks and creatures.” “It feels strange,” said Queen Novo as she saw a handful of Hippogriffs walk by, but not her own kind. “Seeing so many of our kinds here, and yet they don’t come from out kingdom.” “It does feel that way doesn’t it.” Said Lizzie. “But don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.” Said Thorin whilst he gestured the guards to open the gates for them, which they did, allowing them to enter inside. Once they entered the palace, all of them were surprised to see how this place looked like, especially the décor. “Oh my, this is so fascinating.” Said Rarity. “You’ve been here before honey, remember?” Said Silver. “Before my sister was going into labor?” “Oh, I know that Silver darling.” Said Rarity, “Only we didn’t have the chance to explore this place further.” “In case anyone else wonders,” said Beau as he turned to the leaders, “Back on my world, they used to have a place like this during ancient times. But back then everything was Viking and Norse themed.” “I have to admit, it looks really impressive.” Said Rain Shine. “Oh, I know right,” said Autumn Blaze, “The place is so beautiful, and festive, and decorative, and cultural, oh, the possibility is so endless.” Twilight looked at her and had a big smile on her face. “Oh, I like her.” Said Princess Twilight, which caused Applejack and Fluttershy to roll their eyes with an amused smirk. They soon arrived at a large room, where they saw a large scale model of the city. But at the same time, they heard the sound of laughter, which was revealed to be Silverbolt and Freya, with Rarity cooing when she saw them. “Hello there little darlings.” Said Rarity, gaining the kids’ attention, which they recognized their aunt Rarity. They ran over and gave her a hug, which she returned the gesture, even Crystal became excited and hugged her cousins. “Alright now Silverbolt and Freya,” said Thorin, “Let’s give them some space, they just arrived here after all.” The two kids immediately went over, allowing Thorin to pick Freya up, with Lizzie picking up Silverbolt. “So according to your letter,” said Princess Celestia as she took a step forward. “You said you were planning a special holiday? What is it?” “See it’s like this,” said Thorin once he held Freya, “Long ago there are three different holidays in Caribouria.” “First there’s Valisblot,” said Lizzie, “Which is known as the Festival of a Thousand Hearts. Where every year, we would hold many celebrations and celebrate love to not just as lovers, but also as family, friends and our kingdom.” “Oooh,” said Pinkie, “Sounds like my kind of holiday.” “As well as Cadance.” Said Blade. Then had a sheepish tone whilst saying “As long as she doesn’t get too stir crazy over it.” Cadance blushed in embarrassment upon hearing that, with everyone else confused by it as Shining Armor said “Long story.” “Then there’s Alfblot,” said Thorin, “Basically it’s like Equestria’s Nightmare Night and Humanity’s Halloween, as well as Día de los Muertos, to remember our departed loved ones.” Some were surprised and looked at one another, thinking that it was a thoughtful holiday. “And finally,” said Lizzie, “There’s Grackyule, which is sort of like Equestria’s Hearth’s Warming Eve.” “Whilst it’s snowing everywhere,” said Thorin, remembering the holiday well. “Everyone gathers in one spot, creating an amusement themed city, made of ice using our runic magic. With decorations hung all over the place, with food stalls everywhere, tables for everyone to sit down and enjoy their food, whilst there are many contests that many citizens perform, whilst singing and crafting and so on. Then all of us would take our gifts and place them under the largest tree in all of Caribouria. Once that’s done, we continue the celebration for a few hours, then afterwards, we give our gifts to our loved ones, whilst at the same time, we celebrate the holiday with our reindeer cousins.” Everyone looked amazed and surprised and were suddenly excited for a holiday like that. “At the moment,” said Lizzie as she walked to the east side of the city model, “We’re going to celebrate Alfblot. We want to get started, only problem was, we don’t know where to start.” Rarity suddenly squealed in excitement, and said “This would also be the perfect chance to celebrate something spectacular.” “Wait, are you sure?” asked Thorin, “The last thing I wanted was to was to ask you to help me with this, I mean you are my guests after all.” “Oh, it’s no problem.” Said Princess Twilight, “We are more than willing to help.” Both Thorin and Lizzie smiled, with Thorin walking over and shaking their hand. “Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to us.” “So, what’s the plan?” said Applejack, determined to help. “Let’s see,” said Lizzie as she went through a list that she was able to get together, “There are a few tasks on here and seeing that all of you are the professionals, we figured this would be up your alley.” “And not to worry,” said Thorin “All of you won’t be alone, for there are many in this city who’d be more than willing to lend you their aid once all of you get started. I will even notify them and tell them that all of you are helping out.” “Let’s see,” said Lizzie as she looked through bits and pieces of the list and handed each of them their responsibilities. “Fluttershy will be in charge of the animals that would help make this holiday very spectacular.” “Yay.” said Fluttershy in a silent tone, even though she may be brave, she’s still sometimes not used to big crowds. “Pinkie Pie will be in charge of all of the cakes and sweets for the festivities.” “Yes!! I’m finally going to be in my element!!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie in excitement. “Applejack will be in charge of all the food and cuisine for the festival.” “Ah’m sure ah’ll be able to make the food here edible for many folks.” Said Applejack with confidence. “Rarity will be in charge of decorations, considering her fine attention to detail.” “Oh, this will truly be a treat.” Said Rarity as she got excited. “Rainbow Dash will be in charge of the weather. We’ll need the skies being partially covered with clouds to add the atmosphere of the holiday.” “Now that, I can do.” Said Rainbow with determination. “And Twilight will help organize the whole event.” Said Lizzie to Twilight lastly. “I’ll make sure everything is ready for the festivities.” Said Princess Twilight. “Would it be alright if we helped with Security?” asked Shining Armor. “The more help in this kingdom, the merrier.” Said Blade. “I’d appreciate that.” Said Thorin, “Balin and Dwalin have been feeling a bit swamped lately. So in the meantime, whilst half of the family help the festivities, the other half can explore the city.” “We can help with that.” Said Beau as he and the husbands, along with Emily, volunteered to help. As they left, Thorin said “Princess Celestia. Could you, your sister, husbands and the other delegates stay. I would like to discuss a few things with you.” Soon, everyone, minus Celestia, Luna, Cadance and the royals, all left to attend the festivities. Thorin then had a show of concern on his face, then looked at them whilst saying “First of all, I wish to apologize for not sending any aid to help all of you against the Storm King. When he invaded, we wanted to help, but…” “We understand,” said Princess Celestia, “You have just reclaimed your kingdom and it would not be wise to send any reinforcements.” “Indeed,” said Princess Luna, “Not when your kingdom was in the process of trying to rebuilding itself.” “Also,” said Thorin as he walked towards his throne and leaned against it. “I also hear that the Knight of Loyalty is having trust issues with Princess Twilight.” Celestia, Cadance and Luna had dismal looks on their faces. “I know Bolt had a rough childhood and he had just finally begun to trust someone again, but to have that one someone betray that trust.” “Well, I can’t exactly blame him,” said Platinum, “Ever since the wedding debacle, she never trusted her friends again, not after the way they brushed her off like that.” “Luna and I have been secretly trying to have her friends trust one another,” said Nebula, “But after what Twilight did back at Mt. Aris, and what she nearly did to Bolt, it caused the trust to be shattered.” Thorin walked up to Celestia and had a disappointed look on his face. “I am also very displeased,” said Thorin, “Not only did you fail your role in being a teacher, but you also didn’t do a better job at helping her.” Celestia felt insulted and wanted to retort, until… “He does have a point.” Said Lizzie. She showed her a file, which had the picture, to her surprise, of Twilight on it. Celestia took it, opened it and read through it, which slowly shocked her whilst Lizzie spoke. “When I looked through her file from what the Caribou had learned from her,” said Lizzie, “She’s a mentally unstable, and has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Which would explain a lot of things. You could’ve at least tried to teach her a different way, otherwise she wouldn’t be constantly trying to please you and that Sunset wouldn’t have walked down the path she had before.” “I regretted not doing a better job at teaching my students.” Said Princess Celestia with a regretful tone. “I tried the best I could, but both of them were and always are extremely strong willed and balance constantly eludes them no matter how hard I tried to persuade them.” “Princess Twilight may have done some good in the past,” said Thorin as he walked to the replica city on the table, “But she also needs to learn that there are consequences that would soon follow.” “I know what you mean,” said Platinum, “Ever since Princess Twilight’s actions at Mt. Aris, all of the other leaders from all over the world were worried that she might do the same what she did at Mt. Aris, so I had to spend during the time of the School of Friendship’s construction to ensure that what she did wouldn’t happen again.” “There’s also another reason I called you here.” Said Thorin as he walked over to his desk. “My spies told me that Lord Dainn was the one who sent the Storm King to attack Equestria.” Naturally, everyone was surprised to hear this. “But why would he send the Storm King?” asked Dragon Lord Ember. “Ever since his defeat at Caribouria,” said Thorin, “He’s been going all over the world to gather the armies that have been hidden and that many of the corrupted leaders that owed their allegiance to him, hence why the Storm King attacked.” “But where is he now?” aside Princess Cadance. “We don’t know,” said Thorin, “They lost sight of him the moment he entered in Ornithia territory.” “All we can hope for the best that he never shows,” said Princess Celestia, with the nobles agreeing. “And seeing that our borders and trade are open once more,” said Thorin, “We should also focus on combining our forces in order for all of us to stand a better chance in the future.” “Agreed.” Said Princess Luna, “Shall we get started?” Everyone agreed and walked to another room. ********************************************************************************************** Meanwhile, from within a gravesite, Eris walked up and held the sword in her hand, with Mordred beside her. “Are you sure you know what you are doing?” asked a skeptical Mordred. “I have been planning this for a long time.” Said Eris. “Did you forget what happened the last time?” said Mordred. “I am well aware of that.” Said Eris, “But this time I came prepared.” She raised the sword in the air, causing it to cackle with electricity as it’s aura began to glow red and brighter. She casted it onto the ground, causing it to shake. And from within a split second, a dead hand popped up as if it had been trying to grasp onto something. One by one, more and more dead bodies began to pop up and raise themselves from the dead, causing them to rise, each bearing their own armor and weapons. Eris couldn’t help but smirk and said “And now…the fun will soon begin.” > Chapter 4: Inner Turmoil > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whilst the royals were talking to Thorin and Lizzie, Everyone else continued to move around the city and all of them were really excited for the festivities. “Oh, I’m so nerve-cited!!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie, “We get to celebrate an amazing holiday in another kingdom that we hope don’t get kicked out off!!” “Cool your party instinct Pinkie,” said Frosty, “Remember, we still got a lot of planning ahead of us.” “And we have to make sure that everything is perfect.” Said Twilight. “Even in another kingdom, you’re still trying to stay organized.” Said a familiar voice. The girls, husbands and kids turned around, and to their surprise, it was none other than Sunset, Ignis, Starlight, Chance, Trixie and Mystic, along with their kids. “Sunset, Starlight, Trixie.” Said Twilight as she hugged the three girls in excitement. “What are you doing here?” “We also got an invited to come here for their special holiday.” Said Ignis. “And we heard through Beau and the others of how amazing Caribouria is, so we thought we’d come over and investigate.” Said Sunset. “Indeed,” said Trixie, “The greatly and amazingly surprised Trixie could not imagine this place could be so beautiful.” “And so rich with culture.” Said Starlight, “Makes be glad we came here.” “But what about the school?” said Twilight. “Apparently the school also got the invite.” Said Chance, “You can imagine how excited all of them had gotten.” “Yeah,” said Ignis as he looked around a bit, “And this place reminds me of New Zealand.” Some were confused by what he said, with Ignis saying “It’s another country in our home dimension.” “There were even a few places that were recognizable.” Said Chance, “I remember going to this place about a month before I was diagnosed.” “And seeing is that all of us are here,” said Trixie, “What are all of you doing here?” “We were also invited for one of the holiday celebrations,” said Princess Twilight, “But King Thorin is a little shorthanded to help prepare for things, so he asked us if we could help out.” “A wise idea,” said Trixie, “You girls always know how to organize a good party.” “Hmmm,” said Sunset as she thought of something, “I wonder if we could provide entertainment for the city whilst we’re here.” “Good idea,” said Starlight, “Trixie and I can provide the entertainment in the city.” “Oh, Trixie agrees,” said Trixie, “A magic show during a spooky festivity is always enjoyable.” “I wonder if I could ask the same group of ponies I bumped into a while back can help me to do a musical performance.” “That is a sound plan.” Said Balin, who came over after he heard their conversation. “But wouldn’t it be better if you performed with your friends from the other world that you went to school with?” The Mane 6 and Sunset were surprised by what Balin had said. “Wha…how did you…?!” “Oh, what?” said Balin after he chuckled, “Just because we were at war with Dainn, didn’t mean we were unaware of what was going on.” “You’d really think they’d come here?” asked Sunset. “Why don’t you ask them yourself?” said Balin before he took a sidestep with a smirk. To her surprise, she saw her friends, but wearing different attire, as all of them were amazed by what they were seeing all around them. “Girls!!” exclaimed Sunset as she ran over to them. The Rainbooms noticed Sunset running over and exclaimed in excitement, “Sunset!!” The girls embraced one another with a group hug, with Sunset parting from them with a smile and said “What are you doing here?” “Well whilst we were busy with our day jobs,” said EG Rainbow Dash, “Balin over here came and asked us if we could visit for the week. And seeing that it’s with you and we’d get a chance to explore this world more, how can we say no?” “But wait,” said Sunset as she realized something, “What about back home? Won’t anyone miss you?” “Our husbands are currently covering for us back at home so that no one would notice that we’d be gone for the weekend.” Said EG Twilight. “And they’re currently looking after our kids so that we could have some friendship time with y’all.” Said EG Applejack. “On and this is so exciting!!” exclaimed EG Rarity, “Going to this place is going to be a great inspiration for my next line.” “And it would be perfect to see what kind of animals are here in Caribouria.” Said EG Fluttershy. “Oh, this is so exciting!!” exclaimed EG Pinkie Pie, “We’re going to have a great time organizing a super awesome deluxe party palooza!!” “And you’ll have all the help you’ll need right here.” Said Balin, “Now let’s get going. We do not wish to be late for any activities.” “Oh, this is going to be so exciting!!” exclaimed Princess Twilight. “I agree, it’s going to be so much fun!!” exclaimed EG Twilight. Soon enough, the group began to go in different directions to help everyone organize the festival for the guests of Caribouria. Pinkie and her human counterpart were busy at the largest bakery in town, which left them room for plenty of treats and cakes to make. Both Pinkie and her human counterpart continued to bake their cakes, with many others in tow as they too were eager to get things finished. At the same time, both Pinkie and EG Pinkie were busy taste testing the cakes to see if they are any good, which thankfully got a pass from both of the party planners. Applejack and her counterpart were busy looking over the recipes for those that ate certain foods that can be edible to them. They tasted every single food and different recipes, even from different fruits like apples. “So why are we tasting other fruit related foods too?” asked EG Applejack. “Uh, Thorin kinda lectured me about not comparing fruits with others.” Said Applejack. “That and Lizzie told us that ever since their kingdom got freed from a tyrant, the people were struggling to rebuild and were all starving. So their first priority was to restore the farmlands and food supplies. And they can’t afford other farmers fighting over who has the best produce, cause if they do, then the people would face food shortages and the food crisis will be far worse than what the kingdom went through.” EG Applejack was surprised to hear this, then said “Ah…ah had no idea.” “Trust me, ah didn’t either.” Said Applejack, “Normally mah pride as a farmer would be hurt, but ah didn’t think about the folks who had a much harder time than most. So that’s why ah decided to put that aside…for the kingdom’s sake.” EG Applejack smiled and said “Then let’s do it then…together.” Both of them agreed and continued to help with the food as many others followed suit. At the same time, both Rarity and her counterpart were busy going over the different fabrics and decorations, even the colors that could go with them. “Now then,” said Rarity, “How should the colors go?” “Could we not simply make our own?” asked EG Rarity. “We do not wish to offend any creature darling,” said Rarity as she looked at her counterpart, “Caribouria takes their traditions very seriously. If we make one mistake, then we’d end up making every creature upset.” “Oh dear, I did not realize that.” Said EG Rarity. “It’s quite alright darling,” said Rarity, “Learned that lesson not too long ago. Now then, how do we make this perfect.” “If you wish, I can help you out.” Said and elder, gaining their attention. “I remember what the festival was like before Dainn came along.” The elder pulled out a few pictures and drawings whilst he showed them. “I remember like it was yesterday. Many of the colors that were well blended, the decorations that were well placed, especially the fabrics to help others work well with it. I’m sure you can use this to help others.” Both Rarity and her counterpart gasped, as Rarity said “This…is…perfect.” “We shall get to work at once.” Said her counterpart before the two of them rushed off to help organize the whole event. The elder smiled as he watched them work whilst saying “You would love the festival again sister. I hope the newcomers would do you proud.” From the skies, both Rainbow Dash and her counterpart were flying around, trying to help the weather teams set everything up. They even added a few dark clouds and lightning storms above to bring a scary, but not too scary vibe along the way. “This is amazing!!” said EG Rainbow Dash “Who’d thunk that we would make the best vibe for a scary party.” “And the best part of a scary party.” Said Rainbow Dash with a smirk as she grabbed a random cloud “Pulling the best pranks.” Before EG Rainbow could agree, they heard a loud coughing noise, causing them to look down. To their shock, they saw Dwalin, looking at them with a stink eye and crossed arms whilst saying “Don’t even think about it.” He walked away to oversee security. Rainbow and her counterpart looked at one another nervously as Rainbow said “On second thought, let’s finish with the decorations.” “Ditto.” Said EG Rainbow as the two of them quickly got back to work. At the same time, both Twilight and her counterpart were going over two of the checklists of what will go where. “This is very exciting.” Said EG Twilight, I never had a chance to explore this world before. Well, except for that time at Ponyville during the Spring Break disaster.” “That’s okay,” said Princess Twilight whilst she looked at her counterpart, “All of you got there by accident and that the Storm King’s storm magic was the cause of it.” “But I still can’t believe my Rainbow Dash ruined our Spring Break because of her obsession.” Said EG Twilight. “That’s okay,” said Princess Twilight, “it could happen to anyone.”. She suddenly had a saddened look on her face and said “At least she didn’t lose your trust.” EG Twilight was confused by her sudden tone, and asked “What do you mean?” “N…never mind.” Said Princess Twilight in a nervous tone, “We’ll talk later.” She went to the next group on the list, with EG Twilight knowing that they would need to talk about this soon. ********************************************************************************************** Whilst they were taking a quick break, Shining Armor and Blade were helping others organize security, the Rainbooms and Mane 6 decided to take a break from their planning. “So,” said EG Twilight out of curiosity, “What did you mean by losing trust?” Princess Twilight sighed and said “It was during the Storm King invasion. Whilst we thought Beau and Moonlight were dead, my friends’ husbands quickly left for the other kingdoms to ask for their help, whilst Bolt kept an eye on us to ensure that we’d be safe. We went to Mt. Aris to ask Queen Novo for help, but she refused. Then I asked Pinkie to convince them, but I thought she was going to fail and backfire on us like it did with Rainbow and Rarity, so I tried to steal her pearl.” The Rainbooms were surprised to hear this. “What were you thinking Twilight.” Said Sunset, “You of all ponies should’ve known that it would’ve caused another war.” “I was desperate, okay?!” exclaimed the princess. “That still ain’t a good excuse for what y’all did.” Said EG Applejack, “Y’all could’ve been more patient and tried to trust yer friends despite yer faults.” Princess Twilight looked down in shame and said “I wish I did trust them more.”, then said “Before I could explain, that’s when Bolt showed up. He blamed me for my actions and that I should’ve made an attempt to trust them. But then again, I didn’t trust them again after that whole business with the fake Cadance.” Once more they were surprised again, with the rest of the Mane 6 looking down in guilt. Princess Twilight continued and said “And Bolt was right, I acted like a nitwit and a psychopath and that my friends had a hard time trusting me whenever I do this. And he was also right that it wasn’t their job to make my presence and worries known and that I needed to learn to communicate more.” She looked down and sighed, saying “And I ended up being no better than Discord, Chrysalis and Tirek. Our argument ended up being out of line and…I ended up shooting my magic through his chest.” The Rainbooms were shocked to hear this. “I did miss the vital organs,” said Princess Twilight, “But I still wounded him. Both physically and mentally. And he told me that I could blame others all you want, but at some point, in my life I had to take responsibility, for my own actions.” She wiped a tear away and said “He also told me that he learned, in his own words, that I was nothing but a little bitch who will never be satisfied with anything, even with perfection. And…that’s when he lost my friendship and trust that day.” “And it wasn’t just Bolt,” said Applejack with a hint of sadness in her voice, “Mah husband lost all trust in her too. Same with Silver, Genus and Frosty.” “And Nebula told us that everything happened that day.” Said Rarity, with her own voice in sadness too, “That broken buildings and broken bones, they can be easily fixed. But broken friendships, broken trust, that would take a much longer time.” “And even after we built the School of Friendship,” said Fluttershy, “Our husbands still wouldn’t trust her, not after what she did. Beau and Emily were able to convince our husbands to trust her, but Bolt refused, because he didn’t want to place his trust in someone who was going to fall on her old habits again.” The Rainbooms were once again shocked to hear this. “What the heck?” said EG Rainbow Dash, “Why can’t Bolt just forgive her already. I mean what happened to him that was so bad?” “You can thank his father and Dr. Paradigm for that.” They all turned around and saw Beau coming in. “How do you know what’s wrong with him?” asked Spike. “He told me.” Said Beau. “He made me promise not to say anything,” said Beau, until he smirked and said “But he never made me Pinkie Promise.” Pinkie Pie and her counterpart giggled at that, with both of them saying “Big mistake.” “What did those two do to them?” asked EG Applejack. “The reason he’s always having a hard time trusting is because of both his father and the man who ruined his cousin’s business.” They were a little surprised to hear this, but allowed him to speak. “Bolt’s father was abusive towards his own child,” said Beau, “He didn’t even want him, for all he cared about was, ahem, boning his mother.” The Rainbooms were disgusted to hear this. “And whenever he was drunk,” said Beau, “Well let’s just say Bolt found out the hard way that a beer bottle can hurt worse than a fist.” They were shocked to hear what Bolt’s father did to him. “After when Bolt’s father got arrested, he didn’t trust any person who dated his mom because of it. Then after he went to college, his cousins took over their father’s college, because their great-grandfather was the one who founded the college and they made it their vow to be a family business.” He looked away with his arms crossed and said “But all that changed when Dr. Paradigm came along.” “Why?” asked Rarity, “What did he do?” “He was once a respected genetic scientist who applied to work at the College to teach them. Until he was caught experimenting on the students there. Trying to use them as his pet subjects.” All of them were shocked to hear this. “Bolt and his Cousins caught him.” Said Beau, “After that, the cousins, along with the board, voted that he was unworthy to teach there ever again. At first things were back to normal. Until a few weeks later, Dr. Paradigm personally burnt the entire place to the ground.” All of them were speechless and didn’t have the words to say anything, even Princess Twilight and Rainbow Dash. “When he set the university on fire, his cousins lost everything that day. Everything they and their dad had built was reduced to ash, all because they disagreed with the Doctor’s methods when experimenting on innocent people and animals who didn’t have a say in anything. Everyone knew that it was Dr. Luther Paradigm who destroyed the place, but they couldn’t make the evidence stick despite there being witnesses. Afterwards, his cousins were left with nothing and had to start a new business again.” He looked at the others, and sometimes glanced at his wife. “And as you can see. Sometimes such events can have a major effect at a person’s psyche.” Said Beau. “When Bolt first came to Equestria, he felt like he could finally let go of his past and start off fresh and a new life. But ever since a certain pony displayed that same kind of mistrust at Mt. Aris, all that feeling he repressed all those years had resurfaced. And now because of that pony, he’s now back at that habit again.” Princess Twilight looked down and covered her face with her hands in guilt, not realizing that because of her actions at Mt. Aris, caused Bolt to have those kinds of feelings of mistrust. It’s no wonder he didn’t want to give her a chance again, not after the many mistakes she made in the past and that Bolt would think that she would make those same mistakes again. “But…” said Sunset as she looked at Beau in concern, “Isn’t there anything we can do to help him?” “We tried.” Said Beau, “But no matter how hard we tried, he still falls into those habits and he doesn’t want to listen to anyone of us either. That’s why the moment we get back, I’m going to ask Dr. Wolf if he can help out. Seeing that he’s the only one that can reach out to others, even at the stubborn ones. We hoped he would’ve listened, but no matter how hard we tried, he’s not listening to everyone, not even Rainbow and Junior. But then again what his father and Paradigm, even my wife did hurt and betrayed him more than anyone else could. No one can see it, because he didn’t want them to.” “But y’all can?” said Applejack with a flexed eyebrow. “Yes,” said Beau, “Because I know what it’s like when the people you love, don’t believe in you. When they let you walk away. Remember how hard it was for him to trust us when he first met us?” Everyone looked down and pondered about it, for what Beau said, he did have a point. They were suddenly interrupted by a large crowd going excited as one of them ran by. “Come on, come on,” said a kid, “The race is going to start soon!!” Some were confused by what was going on. Beau walked up to another Caribou child and asked “Excuse me, young man? What’s going on?” “The Raidon Race is going to start soon!!” said the child in excitement and ran off. Curious, everyone stopped taking their break and walked over to where the crowd was going. To their surprise, they were large beasts that no one has ever seen before and few were going to ride them. “Whoa, what’s all this?” asked Rarity. “That there, milady,” said a Caribou whilst watching the beasts, “Is the beasts being prepared for the Raidon Race. The goal of the race is to race around the capitol, with a total of three laps to go. And the one who crosses the finish line, wins.” At first, they were excited to see the race. However, a certain members from the group of friends have that look in their eyes and looked at one another. “Oh no.” said Bucky as he can’t believe what was going to happen. “Here we go again.” Said Frosty whilst rolling his eyes. “You wanna race?!!” said Rainbow Dash with competitiveness in her. “Yer on!!” said Applejack. “Hey, don’t forget about me!!” said EG Rainbow Dash. “Same here!!” said EG Applejack as she got excited too. The four of them immediately rushed over to participate in the race. Everyone else groaned when they saw them go off like that. “And here I thought they grew up.” Said EG Twilight in a deadpanned tone. “Oh they have,” said Sunset, “But they’re still competitive no matter what they do in life.” Bucky sighed and said “Well, I’m down for the contest. I’ll go fetch Bolt.” Bucky left to find Bolt and tell him of the contest. Princess Twilight looked around and wondered something out loud. “Where did Beau go?” “Oh, he went to find the kids and have them join us.” Said Pinkie Pie. ************************************************************************************************** At the same time, whilst on the other side of the city, Moonlight, Apple Slice, Crystal Gem, Warm Breeze and Cozy Breeze, Bolt Jr., Peacon and Lemon Pie, along with Searing Shimmer, decided to go explore to see what else the city had to offer. “This is a-mazing!!” said Crystal Gem in excitement. “All the animals.” Said Warm Breeze. “The great food.” Said Apple Slice. “And the great tasty baked goods.” Said the Pie twins. “So what are we waiting for, let’s go!!” said Bolt Jr. Just as he wanted to dash off, he felt something tugging him, making him fall on his rump. He looked back and saw Cozy Breeze was the one holding her down. “Uh-uh,” said Cozy Breeze, “Junior, stay.” “Cozy’s right.” Said Moonlight with a huff tone, “We’re trying to keep a schedule, remember?” “She’s right you know,” said Searing Shimmer to a pouting Bolt Jr. “We have plenty of time to look around, so let’s not go overboard. Or do you want a repeat of what happened at Van Hoover last year?” “Hey!! That squirrel had it coming!!” exclaimed Jr. “Will you just let that go already!!” shouted Warm Breeze, “The Squirrel said he was sorry, but you ended up antagonizing it, even after you were already even with them.” “Pff, whatever.” Mumbled junior as he grumbled and walked. However, as they walked, Moonlight suddenly felt some kind of magic pulse, making her stop within an instant, which surprised the rest of her friends as she just stopped right there. Moonlight slowly turned her head to the right as if something had caught her attention. She kept her gaze at that direction, whilst her eyes were slowly glowing purple at the same time. She turned to that direction and walked towards where the source of the magic is coming from. The rest however, were greatly concerned. “Moonlight, where are you going?!” said Searing Shimmer. The kids soon followed suit and tried to catch up with her, and trying to snap her out of whatever is happening. This however, didn’t go unnoticed. For the husband of the Princess of Friendship, whilst he was searing, spotted the kids going to another direction, and not going or joining the festivities. “Where the heck are they going?” said Beau. He soon quickly followed suit, trying to catch up with them. But little did they know, that whatever is happening has only just begun. > Chapter 5: The Hidden Ones > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, from within the mountains, inside a dark cave, Eris used the power of the sword to continue raising more undead soldiers, whilst at the same time, created and placed new armor on them that would be fitting for a Knight of Death. At the same time, Mordred came along, and Eris noticed he had an impatient look. Eris groaned in Frustration over that. “What do you want, Mordred?” said Eris. “I am getting impatient for waiting.” Said Mordred out of impatience. “I demand you make haste.” Eris suddenly snapped her fingers, causing Mordred to be ensnared by vines and shards being close all over his neck and body. Eris walks over to Mordred with a serious expression and a glare. “Do not question my motives, you filthy monkey.” Said Eris, “Unlike my cousins who tends to fool around with his powers, I am not so easily foolish or overconfident. Remember, I was the one who founded you in the third dimension, and I can put you back there where you truly belong. Do you want your revenge on the Rohan family?” “Yes, I do.” Growled Mordred. “Then I suggest you be quiet before I do something far beyond my chaos abilities.” Said Eris. She let him down by dropping him. After Mordred stood up and dusted himself, Eris said “Besides, I understand your desire for revenge. But now is not the time to seek out your own agendas. If you want revenge, then you will need to be patient for just a while longer. So unless you want to be banished back into the void, I suggest you be quiet.” Mordred growled and said “Yes, ma’am.” “Then I suggest you go sit down and keep your manhood in your pants.” Said Eris as she turned back to her undead army. “I have more important things to prepare for then listen to your senseless prattling.” Mordred growled and move to his corner. She sighed and looked ahead as she continued to raise her army. “He can be so annoying.” Muttered Eris. “Uh, excuse me.” Eris blinked and slowly turned to one of her undead soldiers, who was speaking directly to her. “If you don’t like him, why’d you bother to hire him?” Eris looked at him with a flexed eyebrow, then looked at head and said “Good help is hard to find. That and the Void Realm he was banished to was pretty cheap.” ************************************************************************************************ Back at the Capitol, everyone began to prepare for the race, with Rainbow and Applejack wanting to race first, then their husbands, along with EG Rainbow Dash and EG Applejack. Both Rainbow Dash and her counterpart, were going to ride on a few Cyclizard creatures, with Applejack and her counterpart riding a Gigantauros, with Bucky riding on the same one. The remaining Mane 6 and the remaining EG Rainbooms, along with their friends were watching. However, Princess Twilight noticed someone wasn’t here with them. “Where is Beau and Moonlight?” muttered Princess Twilight. At the same time, from outside of the city, Beau was trying to catch up with the kids, who seem to have traveled out of town for some reason. “Where the heck are these kids going?” said Beau as he continued to walk. However, his thoughts soon returned to the conversation he remembered having about Bolt. On one part he felt sorry for him for what he went through, hence why the distrust. But on the other hand, ever since he treated her like garbage since Mt. Aris, he’s been getting worse lately. “Are you okay?” Beau looked ahead and saw his grandmother, sitting on a rock as if she was waiting for someone. “Oh, hey.” Said Beau as he walked over, giving her a hug, to which she returned the gesture. Once they broke it, he said “I didn’t expect to see you here. What are you doing here?” “I wanted to take a break and watch the festivities.” Said Brightstar, “But then I saw you leave the city and followed the kids, so I decided to tag along. And yet your thoughts dwindle from the conversation you had with the others about Bolt.” Beau sighed whilst rubbing the back of his head and said “He’s been getting worse lately. His distrust for my wife and a few others is continuing to worsen on every step. And I’m afraid how it’ll affect not just most of our families, but between him and Rainbow and Jr.” Brightstar sighed and said “Yes. Normally I would agree, but given what the Princess of Friendship had done, I can’t exactly blame him.” “She was under a lot of pressure, and she thought her friends didn’t care.” Said Beau. “She wanted to keep the “Not trusting others” since the whole wedding debacle a secret. But a fat lot of good that did for them. And Bolt had finally felt like he belonged somewhere, that he could trust someone again. But because of what my wife did…” “I know.” Said Brightstar. She then suddenly had an idea and said “There might be a way to help him change his mind.” “Really, like what?” asked Beau. “Your sword, Magicalibur.” said Brightstar as she pointed at it, “It is capable of great power. It is capable of many things, even summoning those from another world, as well as their departed loved ones.” Beau was surprised by this, and said “Is that even possible?” “You won’t know unless you try.” Said Brightstar. Beau ended up summoning his sword and took a good look at it. He realized that his grandmother has a point. For if he couldn’t convince him. He knew who might, considering what he knows about them. Beau looked at her and smiled whilst saying “I know who we can call.” Beau turned around and faced an opening. He used his sword and charged up its harmonic energies, allowing him to shoot a beam of energy, allowing him to open a portal to another dimension. ********************************************************************************************* At the same time, back at New Carinthia, Bolt was in the locker room, getting ready for the next race that would happen once Rainbow and Applejack came back. As he was about to leave, he heard a knock at the door. The moment it opened, Beau walked in (He hurried back before Brightstar would teleport him back to look for the kids), and looked directly at him. “Bolt,” said Beau, “We need to talk about the whole trusting thing.” “Don’t bother,” said Bolt, “Nothing you can say or do will make me change my mind.” “Then maybe you’ll listen to us.” Bolt stopped himself and blinked in surprise. He recognized that voice. He slowly turned around and to his shock, it was none other than his mother, along with his cousins, Bobby, Clint, Coop and John. “It can’t…” said Bolt as he was surprised. He immediately walked over and hugged them. He was extremely happy to see them. He broke the hug and said “How?” “Beau brought us here.” Said Bolt’s mother. “He told us what happened. Honey, why?” Bolt knew what she was talking about. He walked over to a table and leaned forward with his arms on the table. “You have to understand,” said Bolt, “What his wife did, by abusing her friends’ trust. It was beyond unforgivable. How the hell am I supposed to trust her if she plans to do this behind our backs again.” The cousins looked at one another, realizing that what Beau had told them was true. And now they have to try and talk some sense into him. “Colt,” said John, with Bolt turning around and looking at them, “Twilight isn’t your father or Doctor Paradigm, and you have got to stop pretending that she is.” “He’s right,” said Bobby, “Ever since you got here, Twilight had tried her best to help you and your friends ever since they got here. She may not have lost her life and family like you and the others did, but she knows what it’s like to be afraid, alone and helpless with only a handful of your kind still by your side.” “And when you thought you messed up your relationship with Rainbow,” said Clint, “Twilight was the one who helped you and learned more about Rainbow when it comes to her insecurities and everything.” “She even helped plan your wedding and placed a few funding aside so that you could raise your son,” said Coop, “Not to mention when Scootaloo was going to put herself in danger, she told you about it because she knows how close you had gotten to her, because you care about her. She risked everything to help you and to make things right for what she said and did to both you and your friends. She even worked hard every day to earn your trusts back, even her friends’ husbands.” “I didn’t ask her to do any of that.” Said Bolt. “No,” said Bolt’s mother, “Beau did.” Bolt was surprised to hear this, and said “What?” “Twilight’s husband.” Said Bolt’s mother. “The reason for that was because he knows what it was like not to trust someone. And that he always had a hard time grasping what was going on and that he always felt alone. Sure he could also have held onto a grudge, but he also knows that it wasn’t going to help him or anyone in the long run.” Bolt slowly looked down, suddenly feeling ashamed. “Now I know,” said Bolt’s mother as she stood near him, “That life hadn’t been fair for you and it had been hard. But it hadn’t been easy for the rest of us either. But there are also good folks in this world who tend to make mistakes just as much as the next one. Your father and Doctor Paradigm did all those things for selfish reasons. Twilight did it because she panicked and stressed and she didn’t know what to do and she was also worried about others.” She took a step back and said “Twilight and the others only wanted you to be happy, so that you could have a home and live the life that we couldn’t give you. Why would you walk away from that?” After his mother and cousins left the room to give him some space, Bolt suddenly looked down in complete guilt. He sat down onto a chair with his head resting in his hands. For he couldn’t believe that he was so selfish. At the same time, after Beau was done, Brightstar teleported him outside, allowing the both of them to continue their journey. “Do you think that Bolt would listen?” asked Beau. “Bolt will.” Said Brightstar, “Bolt had always listened to his mother and cousins since he was little. If there was no one else he listened to, no one will.” “True.” Said Beau. He suddenly smiled and said “Maybe I can do the same for some.” “Well, everyone will be there.” Said Brightstar, “I’m sure they’d appreciate it.” “Except for Bucky and Daisy,” said Beau, “Ever since Daisy died there, they treated him poorly and blamed him for what happened. So I doubt the two of them would want to see them again, not after they broke the promise.” He looked down and said “And I don’t want to see both my parents either, not after they lied to me about my family lineage and not told me of our legacy. They threw it away and squandered it as if it meant nothing to them. Besides…” He couldn’t help but smile as he stopped in front of her, then said directly to her, “I already have a mother.” She was greatly taken aback by this, and didn’t know what to say. “That is,” said Beau in a hesitant tone, “If you’d let me call you that.” Brightstar was so touched, she ended up shedding tears of joy over this. “I’d be honored.” She responded. The two of them then hugged one another, forming a new type of bond between them. **************************************************************************************************** At the same time, far from New Carinthia, Moonlight continued to follow the magical pull she had been feeling for a while now. However, this continued to leave her farther and farther from the city, with the rest following in tow and were getting worried. “Moonlight, where in tarnation are y’all going?!” said Apple Slice. “Yeah, you’ve been following that route for hours and you haven’t said a word since we left the city.” Said Searing Shimmer. “I felt a strong presence whilst we were touring the city,” said Moonlight, “I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that this is important.” “You think she’s trying to prank us?” whispered Bolt Jr. “Why in all of Equestria would she ever do that?” said Crystal Gem, “We all know that she wouldn’t know a good joke if it came out of a book.” “Err, good point.” Said Jr. Moonlight was able to spot a clearing ahead, and when she got clear from the bushes, she was amazed by what she was seeing in front of her. “Whoa.” “What?” said Warm Breeze, “What could be so…?” However, when all of them were in the clearing, all of them were too in awe from what they were seeing in front of them. For straight ahead was a town like fortress. There was a large wooden wall that surrounded a large plot of land, whilst from behind the walls were a large town/village. And from the right, appeared to be a large hill, which was none other than a large fortress. But from the looks of it, the town had seen better days. “What in Equestria is that?” said Searing Shimmer. “I’m not sure.” Said Apple Slice. Suddenly, Peacon and Lemon Pie grinned and shouted “Let’s check it out!!” They both grabbed Moonlight and dragged her off. “Hey, wait!!” protested Moonlight, but was continued to be dragged away. “What is up with those two?!” said Crystal Gem. But then she remembered and said “It’s Aunt Pinkie Pie’s children, don’t question it.” “Got that right,” said Jr as he carried Crystal bridal style, making her yelp, with him saying “Let’s go.” Warm Breeze held onto Apple Slice and Searing Shimmer, with Warm Breeze saying, “Stay close to me Comfy.” “Okay.” Said Comfy Breeze. The few of them took off and followed the Pie Twins whilst they still dragged Moonlight. They all soon stopped at the front of the gate, and saw how big it was up close. “Oooooohhh.” Said the Pie Twins, “Now that’s big.” However, Moonlight spotted something from up top, and saw a symbol above it. To her surprise, it was from what her father told her about, the House of Rohan. “Whoa, this is the Fortress that Uncle Thorin told us about the last time we visited.” Said Moonlight. “Wait,” said Apple Slice, just as surprised, “This is the Fortress of the House of Rohan?” “It is.” Said Moonlight as she used her magic to open the gates. Once they were through, they saw so many homes, shops, eating places, barracks and so on, all of it abandoned and left to rot in ruin, showing many buildings who had seen better days. They looked at through most of the buildings had seen better days. “Ugh,” said Crystal in partial disgust, “Why this place is quite repulsive.” “Well what did you expect, a Spa?” said Warm Breeze, “besides, this place had been abandoned for centuries and no one was around to maintain this place.” “This place reminds me of Ponyville,” said Lemon Pie, “Only very dreary.” “I had a nightmare that I wanted to throw a party in a place like this.” Said Peacon Pie, “Only nopony showed up, for nobody lived in Ponyville, or in Canterlot. And that the only ones that existed were somewhere near a bay of sorts that nopony was friends there.” They soon made their way to the fortress. They were surprised to see how big it really is. “Wow, definitely big.” Said Bolt Jr. when he marveled at the sight of the place. They walked inside to see what else they could find. But as they got inside, they saw many ancient artifacts, weapons, clothing, tables and many things that the Rohan family had prized the most. “Guys, look at this.” Said Searing Shimmer. When they regrouped with him, they saw a big painting in front of them. For in front of the painting, happens to be the painting of the Founders of the Knights of Harmony. On the left, is Brightstar, to which Moonlight was surprised to see her grandmother. On the right, was Gusty the Great, to which surprised the kids, seeing that they had heard about Gusty in their story times. But right at the center of the two, was none other than Achilles Rohan, to which the kids were surprised to see a human from back then. “Wow, Achilles really was a human.” Said Searing Shimmer. “Indeed.” Said Crystal, “Imagine what Equestria and the rest of our world would’ve been like if humans had still lived in this world.” However, Moonlight suddenly felt the pull again, but this time, it lead to what appeared to be a throne room. She followed the pull and to her surprise, saw how big it was on the inside. She was amazed to see what it looked like, for it almost looked more grander than Canterlot. She walked over to the throne and then sat down on it, which she couldn’t help but fawn over, with her giggling and said “So this is what it felt like to sit on the throne.” “Moonlight, where are you?!” said Searing as he and the rest of the kids walked in. “Oh, guys I’m over…,” said Moonlight. However, the moment when one of her hands were on the arms of the throne, it suddenly went crooked, causing a trap door to suddenly open, making her yelp as she fell in whilst she screamed. “Moonlight!!” exclaimed the kids when they all ran over to the trap door. The kids looked down at the trap door, with Apple Slice saying “What in tarnation do we do now?!” “What else, we jump after her!!” said Bolt Jr., causing him to immediately jump in after Moonlight, with the others having no choice but to follow in tow. They all kept sliding down further and further and further whilst some laughed and some cried in fear, now knowing where this will lead them to. After much sliding, they spotted a light at the other end of the tunnel, causing them to immediately exit out of it and fell, all in a big loud thump. The kids groaned in pain as they had the worst experience of their life. “That really hurt.” Whined Crystal Gem. “Speak for yourself,” said Moonlight as she grumbled whilst being at the bottom of the pile, “At least you’re not at the bottom.” Everyone slowly stood up and dusted themselves. “What the heck, Moonlight?” said Warm Breeze as he straightened himself out, “You ditched us when we’re in the middle of the festival, the next thing you know, we’re all brought here?” “I’m sorry, but I felt a magical presence.” Said Moonlight, “I was the only one who could feel it and I was drawn there for unknown reasons.” “You sure about that?” said Peacon Pie. “Uh, guys?” said Lemon Pie as she pointed in the other direction. When they looked, they were shocked into seeing what they couldn’t believe. For what was straight ahead, was a large city, that stretched as far as the eye can see, with rock pillars all over the place to keep the top from collapsing onto the ground. “Whoa.” Said the kids from what they saw. “There’s an entire city?” said Crystal. “This kind of reminds me of one of the Daring Do books that my mom once read to me.” “Daring Do and the Lost City of Diego?” said Crystal, making him gasp and slowly look at her. “I love you.” Said Jr. out loud, not caring that he was in front of the others. Crystal merely blushed madly and looked away whilst clearing her throat, whilst at the same time, the rest of the kids were shocked by what he had just said, except for Moonlight, who was observing the area around her. “This place reminds me of the underground city just far from Istanbul that my father told me about during his time in the human world.” Said Moonlight. “Um, darlings.” Said Crystal Gem, “I do not wish to sound like an uncouth friend. But could we please leave this place?” “Pff, I’m not scared.” Said Jr. “I can sense danger a mile away. I’ve got the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox.” When all of a sudden, a spear and arrow was pointed at his face, which shocked Jr, but stood in front of Crystal Gem to protect her, whilst more and more spears and arrows surrounded them, being wielded by hooded figures as they had the kids surrounded. They looked like they had nowhere to go now. “Oh, Pegasus Feathers.” Muttered Jr. “Y’all can say that again.” Said Apple Slice. > Chapter 6: Come Forth > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The kids were frightened and felt like they were backed into a corner. They were surrounded by many unknown creatures, all aiming their weapons at them. Though to be fair, they felt like they were intruding the place. They suddenly heard a loud yelp and fell beside them, which startled the humans and surprised the kids. “Flamethrower?” said Bolt Jr. in a confused tone. “What in Equestria are you doing here?” said a surprised Crystal Gem. “I followed you guys when you suddenly left town,” said Flamethrower, “So I followed you and wondered where you were.” “Aunt Emily is going to kill you when she finds out you wandered off!” said Peacon. “And if you think our mom was scary when she got depressed, wait till you face aunt Emily.” Said Lemon Pie whilst she and Peacon trembled just thinking it. Moonlight instantly grabbed Flamethrower and shielded him from the creatures. “Who are you?!” said one of the humans loudly, “How did you find this place?!” Moonlight however, took another look on the person’s face. She squinted her eyes and took a closer look. When she noticed their eyes, she saw that there wasn’t a single creature with that kind of eyes or bone feature. However, there was one that she recognized, causing her to slowly widen her eyes when she realized what they were. “These people,” said Moonlight slowly, then looked to the others and said “They’re human.” “What?!” exclaimed the kids, whilst the creatures, eh, humans, were startled and surprised to hear this. “They know what humans are?” said one of them to the other. “Say, now that you mention it,” said the other, “Some of them have human features. And some of them also look like humans.” One of the humans, removed his hood. And whoa to behold, he truly is. The rest did the same, which surprised Moonlight and the others. The leader walked over to the kids and was in front of Moonlight. He bent over and looked at her right in the eyes. “Who are you young one?” asked the human. “Um…” said Moonlight as she was greatly nervous, “My name is Moonlight Sparkle. Daughter of Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Beau, whose name is Thomas Rohan, descendant of Achilles Rohan.” The humans were startled, shocked and taken by surprise when they murmured among themselves. One of the humans went over and stood on knee level with Moonlight. He looked at her right in the eyes, as if suspecting something. Moonlight felt a bit nervous the way he was staring. Once he was done, he took a deep breath and sighed, then looked to the leader. “She’s speaking the truth.” The leader took another look at the group, then said to them, “Follow me.” The leader turned around, allowing the kids to follow them, with the rest of the humans following suit. However, unknown to them, another assailant jumped in whilst looking around. The moment he saw the kids, he quickly went after them, but from the shadows. The kids continued to follow the humans towards the location of where their elders were. “I have to say,” said Moonlight to the leader as she looked around, “The design of the place is amazing. I never figured that anything can be built from down here.” “It is,” said the leader, “When we got here, we built this city underground, but we also had to build places where we could store our food, even grow them if need be.” “Still, it’s very impressive.” Said Moonlight, “You could stand to teach another town a thing or two of building something like this.” “We get by.” As they walked through the underground city, many of the citizens were staring at Moonlight and the others in shock. Whilst some were curious, some were also a little scared. “Uh…I’m getting a little uncomfortable having everyone stare at us.” Said Warm Breeze, with Comfy hugging her brother, feeling the same. “Apologies,” said one of the humans, “They’re not used to any newcomers, especially from above.” Very soon, all of them arrived at the elder’s hut. “Wait here,” said the leader as he walked in. He talked for a few minutes, until finally, he popped back out and said “You may enter.” Moonlight and the kids entered the house, with them being surprised to see how decorative it was on the inside. And straight ahead, was the elder, whilst being accompanied by a Captain, who one could tell has a distrustful look on his face. “The Commander, Zane, said that you are the daughter of the one who is the descendant of Achilles Rohan.” Said the Elder as he looked at her, “Is this true?” “It is.” Said Moonlight. “And how is it possible, that the Rohan family, had returned after all this time?” said the Elder. “After when the Rohan family left,” said Moonlight, remembering what he father told her, “They had some difficult times trying to survive. But by the time my father was born, both his parents have completely squandered the Rohan name, even disgraced their legacy.” The elder had a concerned look on his face, but Moonlight continued. “After my father left the family, he drowned in a whirlpool and somehow, he found his way to Equestria. That’s when he met my mother, Princess Twilight. The two of them bonded overtime and they both developed romantic feelings towards one another. They soon gave birth to me after that. And I wasn’t the only one. There were more humans arriving in Equestria, and each had children of their own.” She motioned to the kids behind them, making them wave nervously, well, except for the Pie twins. “But as time went by,” said Moonlight, “They discovered that Caribouria needed help, so my father and his friends went over there to help. Somehow, they learned of their heritage, passed their trials and became the Knights of Harmony.” “Ha!! Blasphemy!!” said the Captain, not trusting them. “There is no way the child speaks the truth.” “She speaks the truth!!” The elders, Captain, guards and the kids all turned to the entrance. And standing there was none other than Beau, which surprised some of the humans in the room. “Dad!!” exclaimed Moonlight, happy to see her father. “Uncle Beau?!” said Flamethrower, “What are you doing here?!” Beau moved a bit forward and stood close to the kids, saying “I saw you kids wander off in another direction and out of the city. I was worried so I followed you. Although…I didn’t expect a certain half dragon being out all the way here, despite what his mother told him.” Flamethrower giggled nervous at that. “Intruder!!” shouted the Captain as he drew his sword, “You will pay for setting foot here!!” The Captain attempted to strike Beau down, however, the moment the Captain was close, Beau pulled out a sword and blocked the Captain’s attack, which shocked every human in the room, for what he was holding, was none other than the Sword of Achilles, to which every human could recognize. “But that line was lost forever.” Said the Captain. Within a split second, Beau grabbed the Captain’s neck, making the Captain gasp for air as Beau held his grip onto him. “It has been re-found.” Said Beau before he shoved the Captain away, whilst the Captain himself was just as shocked by what he had seen. The elder on the other hand, slowly stood up and approached Beau. He held onto Beau’s face and took a good look at him. Seeing the face and the eyes, the Elder widened his eyes in shock, then slowly took two steps backwards and said “It is true…The descendant of the House of Rohan, has returned.” Everyone in the room were surprised as murmurs were heard, even from the outside. “Please, enter,” said the Elder, “We have much to discuss.” “Yeah, we do.” Said Beau, “But first thing’s first.” He turned around and had a very stern look on his face, “What were you lot thinking, sneaking off out of the city like that?! If your moms or dads had realized you were gone…” “We didn’t mean to wander Mr. Beau,” said Apple Slice, “Moonlight was the one who wandered off and we followed her.” Beau looked at Moonlight, then walked over to her whilst standing on both of his knees, “What possessed you into going off like that?” “I’m sorry dad,” said Moonlight, “But whilst we were on tour, I felt a pull.” “A pull?” “A magical pull to be exact.” Said Moonlight, “I felt something and I followed it. I couldn’t explain why. It just…called to me.” Beau was concerned, but also intrigued. If she could feel its pull like that, then that would mean she also has a purpose in fate. Once that was done, Beau turned around and faced the Elders. He sat on his knees near him to speak to him. “Now then,” said Beau “I’m sure all of you have questions. But here’s mine. The humans all left this world long ago, how can there still be humans living in this world?” The Elder was in thought, then spoke to him. “Long ago, after the great battle had been won against the Legion of Monsters,” said the Elder, “Many humans had faced backlash from other creatures, thinking that it was our fault that everything fell apart in the first place. So many humans had no choice but to leave this world and start over in a new one, and would in time be forgotten. However, Achilles Rohan, felt what they did was not fair, so before he too was forced to leave, he left a large group of people to the House of Rohan, and said that when his descendant would finally return, humanity might return to the world once more.” The kids were surprised to hear this, even Beau when he heard the story. “Once he left,” said the Elder, “Our people began to construct a large underground city. Soon it amassed over a million so far, and in time, made it more livable and ensure that we would survive.” “I see,” said Beau as he closed his eyes, he then looked at them and said “What happened wasn’t humanity’s fault. Humanity, even the Knights were betrayed by our own.” Some in the room, even the Elder was surprised. “What, do you mean?” asked the leader of the group, the one who escorted the children to the shelter. “A group of Knights from the kingdom of Cunabula betrayed us to Grogar and his Legion of Monsters,” said Beau, which surprised the Elder and the others, “They also spread lies among the other creatures. So far, after they betrayed us, no one has heard from them since, but we haven’t forgotten.” “I see.” Said the Elder, “But did the Rohan family legacy live well?” Beau didn’t know how to answer that, until. “He didn’t I’m afraid.” Said Moonlight, gaining their attention. “What do you mean, child?” asked the Elder. Moonlight took a breath and explained things to them. “During their time in the other world, the descendants of the House of Rohan had squandered its name. My father’s mother kept working and his father. They didn’t even tell him their legacy, because they thought it was all make-belief and fairy tales. My father may have the training, but he soon left when he didn’t want anything to do with them anymore.” Some of them, even the Elder was surprised by the state of the Rohan family, that they would throw away their legacy just like that. “One day when my father was swimming at the lake,” said Moonlight “My father drowned and somehow ended up in Equestria. That’s when he met my mother, Princess Twilight Sparkle. The two became close and fell in love. They got married and I soon came to be. But my father wasn’t the only human who got here.” The Elder was surprised by what she had said, “Overtime, more and more humans arrived in Equestria after they died too. Hence why my friends here have human features. My friends’ father, and Flamethrower’s mom were humans who all died after coming into this world. Then they fell in love and also got married and had kids later on.” “Yeah, we couldn’t explain it,” said Beau after he chuckled, “It just sort of happened.” Beau took over as he said “After seven years, a friend of ours from Caribouria named Balin, came to seek our help, but Ponykind couldn’t cross the border ever since the last king had forbidden any outsiders to come, even after the barrier spell, they put up. But the barrier didn’t count on humans considering that a single human had existed in this world, so the Friendship Map back home summoned myself and my friends and sent them to Caribouria. From there, we had learnt of our legacy and became the Knights of Harmony. After we saved Caribouria, we went back home. We thought we were at peace. Boy, we thought wrong.” “What do you mean?” asked the Elder. “A few months after we came back, the Storm King attacked.” Said Beau, who then partially looked down and said “We may have saved the kingdom, but unfortunately because of my wife’s actions, my friends distrusted her.” “She tried to steal another kingdom’s artifact that could’ve caused another war and abused her friends’ trust when it came to saving the kingdom.” Said Moonlight, much to their shock. “They may have forgiven her,” said Junior for the first time, but then had a saddened look, “But my father hadn’t, because there were people in his life who abused his trust before, hence why he had trust issues. But when Princess Twilight did that, it brought that feeling back again.” “Yeah, that’s what happened.” Said Beau, then he continued with his story. “After that, we opened a school to teach others about friendship. We thought things would be normal, but a few new and unknown enemies plotted against us and whilst they lured our wives away, myself and my friends were captured. Before we thought we’d lose hope, a new group of Knights had arisen.” The Elder and the people in the room were surprised once more. “They are known as Platinum, Nebula, Chance, Mystic, Blade and Ignis.” Said Beau, “They freed us and together we defeated the ones who took us. By the time we had got back, our students had defeated the one responsible, who wanted to become ruler by taking their magic away. We captured her and sent her to Tartarus. But…not before…” “Before what?” asked one of the people. “Before the human named Chance came along, took a mace and bashed her head, giving her a pained concussion.” Said the Pie Twins, which shocked everyone. “Why did he do that?” said the Captain, who had finally calmed down instead of being judgmental. “The student uh…nearly banished Chance’s wife, Starlight Glimmer, to the Ether.” “That’ll do it.” Said one of the humans, with everyone nodding in agreement. “So far, things have been back to normal,” said Beau, “But we know that it won’t last. For as long as Lord Dainn is still out there, everyone will be in danger, and when he does, we’ll face him together.” “I understand,” said the Elder as he stood up, “For now that the Descendant of the House of Rohan has finally returned, will you lead us again, like your ancestor before you?” “I’d love nothing more,” said Beau, “But my place is in Equestria. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t help find humanity a home in this world.” The Elder smiled and said “I can agree with that.” Suddenly, the Elder groaned and held his forehead, same with Beau, causing many to look concerned. “Elder, what’s wrong?” said the Captain. “Daddy, what is it?” said Moonlight. The Elder and Beau looked very worried. “The inhabitants on the surface.” Said the Elder, “They are in danger.” “We need to get topside, now.” Said Beau. “Then may I make a suggestion?” asked the Elder. “It has also been foretold that if a Member of the House of Rohan has returned, then the humans would march alongside him.” Beau nodded in agreement and said “Thank you. I would greatly appreciate that.” **************************************************************************************************** Later that day, more of the husbands’ parents and siblings, minus Bucky and Daisy’s, have arrived. And as many hadn’t expected, they had come to greet them. The human husbands and wife’s families had come and all of them were hugging them, and were excited with joy, to see them again. “Ah don’t believe it, it’s a miracle there.” Said Applejack. However, she noticed the sad look in her husband’s face. She then came along and said “Ah’m sorry Sugarcube. Ah didn’t…” “It’s okay.” Said Bucky, “My parents may have been abusive and weren’t here, but I can at least finally move on. Still…” Bucky held onto her hand and looked at her whilst he said, “I’m lucky to have folks like you in my life.” Applejack couldn’t help but smile at that, with her holding his hand back. “Ah feel the same way Sugarcube.” When all of a sudden, they heard a loud crash, making the citizens panic. They saw many soldiers going one way, with Shining Armor calling out “What’s going on?!” “We’re under attack!!” shouted the Caribou as he made his way towards the wall. At the same time, right outside of the wall, as many began to prepare themselves, Eris stood there, with her armies behind her, whilst Mordred was standing right beside her. “Oh, this is going to be fun.” Said Eris as she pointed her sword at the city, with the undead soldiers cheering. > Chapter 7: Battle for New Carinthia > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the armies began to build up from the outside, Princess Twilight, Sunset Shimmer, their friends from both worlds, along with the rest of the Husband 6 and Emily (Minus Beau). Even the Royals were standing by the walls and watched how there were so many. “What’s going on?!” The Mane 6 turned and saw Lizzie and the rest of Thorin’s company arriving. “Your highness,” said the Caribou Captain, “We are under attack.” They looked and saw many undead forces. At the same time, Discord came along from out of nowhere. “Sorry I’m late,” said Discord, “I was minding my own chaotic garden when I heard of a new Holiday. I hope I’m not…” He then saw an undead army ahead and said “Oh, I didn’t know there was a…” However, he saw a familiar face among them, causing him to gasp in shock and quickly hid behind Fluttershy whilst trembling like a piece of jelly, which surprised the Mane 6 when they saw him. “We need to tell the king immediately.” Said the Captain. “We can’t!!” said Dwalin. “The King is out of town gathering the last of the villagers from the south to attend the festival.” Said Balin. “Hopefully he’ll be here soon.” Said Lizzie as she looked ahead. But then she looked at the others with the Drivers with a serious look. “Get ready.” They nodded and prepared their drivers. “Captain,” said Lizzie, “Tell the Troops to prepare for battle.” The Captain nodded and shot up a flare. At the same time, many soldiers of different races, showing a united Kingdom, all came together and prepared themselves for battle. Within a few minutes, every soldier was stationed at the wall, along with archers, mortars and catapults being at the ready. At the same time, both Eris and Mordred appeared in front of the undead troops and pointed at the city, to which shocked Princess Luna and Trixie when she “Attention citizens.” Said Eris as she pointed the sword at them. “We are here for your kingdom!! It would be wise to surrender to us!!” “And who are you, to make such a demand?!!” shouted Lizzie. “I am Eris, Princess of Chaos from another dimension!!” shouted Lizzie. She then smirked and said “I believe you know my cousin, Discord?” “Discord?!!” exclaimed everyone as they looked at Discord whilst he was still cowering. “Great, first Discord had a girlfriend who was twice as bad, and now he has a cousin!! Any more shocks you want to share with us?!” said Rainbow, only to receive a harsh glare from Fluttershy, to which Rainbow quickly began to shut up. “You never told me you had a cousin, Discord.” Said Fluttershy when she turned to Discord. “Oh, well you see…” said Discord whilst he was cowering, “When we both came to be, we both inherited the powers of Chaos, but we were completely different. Whereas I tend to play around with it, she tends to take it very seriously. She’s the serious one in the family, and she’s terrifying.” “Wait, if y'all only fooled around with them…” said Applejack, until it dawned to her and her friends when they looked at each other in shock, with her then saying “Ho boy.” “I know her too.” Said Princess Luna, surprising some. “Princess Eris one day came to the castle, pretending to go ask for my help,” said Princess Luna, “Only for her to trick me and stole my power, causing Eris to flee to another dimension. So myself, along with Tempest, Capper, Stygian and Trixie went after her to get it back. It was a struggle, but thanks to sister’s dark counterpart, I was able to get her back.” Princess Celestia was shocked by this, and said whilst in her worried state. “Lulu, why didn’t you say anything?” “Forgive me sister,” said Princess Luna, “But it was my burden to bear.” “That’s a load of hogwash and you know it.” Said Nebula, which surprised Princess Luna as he looked at her with seriousness. “I know it was your burden to bear, but it’s also my burden to help my wife. And if I did know about it, I would cross the ocean of stars just to protect you.” Princess Luna couldn’t help but smile and kiss her husband’s forehead whilst saying “Thank you dear husband. That means a lot to me.” “I will say it one final time!!” said Eris. “Surrender to me immediately or face the consequences!!” “I don’t think so, bitch!!” shouted Lizzie, which surprised many, “All of Caribouria was forced to bow down to another tyrant long ago!! I would rather be damned if I let some fat faced pigeon take a kingdom what never belonged to her in the first place!!” Many were surprised by her outburst, with Rainbow saying “Wow, I like her.” Eris growled at them and said “So be it.”, before she pointed the sword at the kingdom and shouted “Attack!!!” Within a split second, the undead attacked with full force. “Fire!!” shouted the Captain. Within mere moments, the arrows were fired, causing many undead forces to be struck down, as some were destroyed by mortars and catapults, thanks to the special enchantments, whilst they kept attacking the city. “All of you,” said Lizzie as she looked at the Equestrians. “I know that you came to visit, but I need your help. I need all of you to evacuate the citizens to the palace at once while we hold them off!!” “We’re on it!!” said Princess Twilight as she and the others immediately rushed off. “We’ll make sure that everyone else is safe and secured.” Said Sunset Shimmer as the Rainbooms quickly darted off. “Alright boys,” said Lizzie, gaining the others’ attention. “Time to go to work.” They nodded in agreement, allowing them to turn into the Knights of Harmony. They jumped off from the wall and stood a few feet away from it, with Lizzie at the center and the rest stood in a long line to ensure that all of them would be ready and no one would pass, no matter what. Each of them began to bear their own weapons as all of them stood at the ready. “Hmph, so be it.” Said Eris when she saw the Knights standing in front of the walls and gates in order to have a full on fight. The moment when they were close enough, the big fight began. Lizzie used her Frostbane Sword to cut at least three undead soldiers down, whilst using her ice ability to freeze them up. Bucky used his Gauntlets to punch many out of the way, five at a time, before he used his gauntlets to smash the ground so hard, many were sent flying. Silver used his Rapier sword to slice many of the undead soldiers before delivering a hard punch to the one closest to him, whilst using a geode shield to defend himself. Genus began to twirl his butterfly axe in circles as he managed to slice them away. Bolt used his Superspeed to run from one place to another, cutting down any undead soldiers in order to give them some time. Frosty used his hammer to smash the ground and sent most of them flying, whilst Emily used her dragon abilities to burn most of them as they collapsed. Platinum used Daybreak arrow as a bo-staff and sliced many of the undead soldiers that tried to pass him. Once he did that, he jumped high in the air and pulled the string of the bow, allowing to use the unicorn horn as an arrowhead. Within a split second, he released the arrow, causing it to create a large explosion, sending many of them flying. Nebula used his spear to slice and dice many of the undead, whilst also piercing many of them as if they were a bunch of kababs. He jumped in the air and used his spear’s special ability. As he threw it, it turned into energy before it landed on the ground, with the actual spear appearing in his hand. He did it several times and placed the spears as if they were walls. The moment he landed, he jabbed the bottom of the spear onto the ground, causing the energy spears to explore, sending many of them flying. Blade used his Pegasword to fight his enemies. He fought vigorously with it as he showed them just how dangerous he is. He twirled his trident with great speed, generating electrical energy as a result, causing him to raise it in the air and summoned a lightning storm, striking down many of his enemies as a result, which surprised many of the Caribou warriors on the wall. But what surprised them more, was that he used a shield to block them, then with great force, pushed many away as it sent them flying. Ignis used his Blazedge to create as much fire as he could, and with a single strike, caused many of the undead to be in flames. But to ensure that they would have enough cover, he turned the fire into his own massive phoenix, causing it to go down and destroy as many as they could. Chance used his Hunter Axe and threw it, causing it to fly around and slicing as many of them as they can, then summoned it back as if it were Mjolnir. He flew in the air and generate enough power to blast away as many as he could. Mystic used his Avalon Cane to bash as many away as he could, when all of a sudden, he charged towards them and tore the undead apart with his bare hands in order to try and thin their numbers. But try as they might, it wasn’t enough to keep them at bay. Many undead forces passed them and began to climb up the ladders, whilst many of the defenders of the walls held them off as best, they could, with both melee and arrows, even mortars, cannons and catapults. Mordred suddenly grew impatient and said “That is it. I will not wait any longer, they will be…!!” He was suddenly ensnared by an aura of chaos magic, which came from none other than Eris as she had a death glare on her. “You will remain where you are!!” shouted Eris. Then she looked at the battlefield with a smirk and said “I’ve already set things in motion.” At the same time, a handful of undead soldiers ran towards the gates and planted explosives onto it, whilst at the same time, one of them placed a torch near it, causing the gate to blow wide open. “They’ve breached the gate!!” shouted the Captain. “Commander!!” shouted Lizzie when she saw what happened, “Take half the infantry to the second wall!! Have them defend the gates at all costs!!” “Yes ma’am!!” shouted the Commander, “You heard the Queen, move it!!” Half the soldiers ran towards the gates in order to defend its position. “Everyone!!” shouted Lizzie to her fellow Knights, “Get to the city, defend every corner as best you can!!” “You got it!!” shouted Bucky, “Let’s go!!” Bucky and the others ran towards the walls and jumped in the air and continued with their path, going from building to building, whilst Lizzie teleported herself to the Captain’s position. “Captain!!” said Lizzie, “I need you and your Platoon to come with me halfway to the gate!! Have the troops protect the civilians whilst we hold them off!!” “Yes ma’am!!” shouted the Captain as he signaled the Troops to come with him whilst they ran. At the same time, the Rainbooms had just gathered near one of the gates after they closed it. “Is that all of them?!” asked a worried EG Fluttershy. “That’s all of them!!” said EG Applejack. They heard loud roaring and saw many of the undead forces heading towards their direction. “T-there’s so many.” EG Muttered Fluttershy. “Then it’s a good thing we came along.” The Rainbooms turned around and from right on top, they saw Ignis standing, along with six other humans. To the Rainbooms’ (minus Sunset’s) shock, it was none other than their husbands. EG Pinkie’s husband Cake Frosting, EG Twilight’s husband Dusk Light, EG Rainbow’s husband Invictus, EG Fluttershy’s husband Wild Heart, EG Applejack’s husband Pineapple Breeze, and EG Rarity’s husband Quicksilver. “Honey?!” exclaimed the Rainbooms, minus Sunset. Ignis used his flame wall to block the undead, which allowed them to step forward and join them. “What are all of you doing here?!” said EG Twilight. “We wanted to surprise you girls and bring the kids here.” Said Dusk Light, “But before we got here, Ignis told us what was going on, so naturally we came to help.” Invictus however, was aweing over EG Rainbow, gaining her attention whilst he said “Did anyone tell you that you’re also sexy as a pony?” EG Rainbow flustered bright red and said “S-shut up!!”, before she punched her husband’s shoulder. “Focus Invictus!” said Ignis, gaining his attention, “And thankfully we also got what we needed to help you girls out.” “And don’t even think about talking us out of it,” said Pineapple Breeze, “You girls have already been through a lot when you faced tons of dangers. Now it’s our turn to either help and protect you.” The girls could see the determined looks on their husbands, with the girls smiling. “Well, alright.” Said EG Applejack. “Alright guys, you know what to do.” Said Ignis. The Rainbooms’ husbands transformed into their armored forms, and nearly looked like the Mane 6’s husbands. “Alright everyone, scatter and prepare yourselves!!” said Ignis. “Right!!” exclaimed the others as they quickly got into position whilst the flames were slowly dying down. As Sunset and Ignis stood beside one another, she said “You know I’d probably get mad after this for bringing them here.” “I hope you do,” said Ignis with a smirk underneath his helmet, “You’re really cute whenever you get angry and threaten folks, especially in a hot manner.” She then playfully bumped her rump against his thigh, making him flustered, whilst she also had a smirk of her own. “Let’s do this.” Said Sunset. “Or as Sonic the Hedgehog would say, let’s do it to it.” Said Ignis with his own smirk. “Plus after this, we’re going to the Rainboom’s world.” “We are?” said a confused Sunset. “Didn’t your friends tell you through your journal?” said Ignis, “They got a letter from CHS that they’re going to have a reunion party there. And everyone you and your friends helped will be there, even friends from Canterlot High. Plus you’re not gonna believe this, the Shadowbolts want to visit there too.” “Oh, right I forgot.” Said Sunset. Then smiled and said “I love you.” He held her close and kissed her fully on the lips, which she wrapped her arms around him, then pulled it whilst looking at one another, “I love you too honey.” Within a split second, everyone charged in different directions, trying to take down as many as they could. EG Pinkie Pie jumped around throwing her party shakers, blowing up any undead Caribou, whilst her husband Cake Frosting used his war hammer to smash the ground, sending many of them flying away. EG Twilight used her telekinesis to lift them up and tossed them away, whilst Dusk Light used his Shield to block them whilst also jabbing them with his spear in order to keep them back. EG Twilight notices the way he fights. “Are you fighting like a Spartan?” said EG Twilight when she noticed his stance. “Yeah, did a lot of reenactments with my friends!!” said Dusk Light, “You should join us sometime. I’m sure I can get you as a Princess!! Or my beautiful Adorkable Queen!!” EG Twilight instantly blushed and said “Why did you have to say that?!” “Cause I like to see you flustered!!” said Dusk Light, with EG Twilight flying down and gave him a playful slap on the shoulder, as well as a kiss to the cheek, making him blush as the two continued the fight. EG Rainbow Dash continued to use her speed to bash away any undead minion along the way, until one of them tripped her, making her nearly fall over, until her husband Blazing caught her. He kissed her full on the lips, taking her by surprise. Invictus broke the kiss and playfully said, “You really love falling for me, don’t you?” “S-shut up!!” said EG Rainbow. She darted off, but then suddenly came back and kissed him. Then she said “We’ll talk later when this is over.”, before she darted back off. EG Fluttershy used her abilities to summon a few flying animals to come to her aid to keep the Undead distracted, whilst Wild Heart used his Butterfly War Axe to keep them at bay. “Ooh, I hope the animals will be alright.” Said EG Fluttershy in worry. “Don’t worry honey.” Said Wild Heart, “Once we’re done here, we can give them a checkup and see how they’re doing.” “Thank you Wild.” Said EG Fluttershy whilst she commanded the larger birds to bash them away. EG Applejack was using her strength to push as many as she could away, whilst Pineapple Breeze brought more boulders for her to throw, as well as him smashing the ground to launch them away. “Y’all sure the farm’s in right hands?!!” asked EG Applejack. “Don’t worry!!” said Pineapple whilst he punched a large group of undead away, “Big Mac, Sugar Belle and Apple Bloom’s got everything covered. Plus she wanted to spend more time with Apple Butter!!” “Ah hope those two won’t make a mess, not after what happened last time!!” said Applejack. “Don’t worry, Big Mac will make sure that nothing happens!!” replied Pineapple Breeze. EG Rarity continued to shelter her friends from the incoming arrows and spears using her diamond shields and used them to slice many of the undead to pieces, whilst Quicksilver used his sword fighting skills to overcome many of his adversaries. “I knew those fencing lessons I took would come in handy!!” Said Quicksilver. “And you’re doing remarkably well darling!!” said EG Rarity, but then she noticed Quicksilver was blushing whilst he was fighting. “What is it darling?!” “Remember when we looked through your high school pictures and I told you how cute you looked with the pony ears and tail?!” said Quicksilver, “Well seeing them on you as a pony makes you even more irresistible!!” EG Rarity blushed at his comment and ended up using another diamond shield to push the undead away, then leaned near Quicksilver and kissed him, then said “And if we get through this, I’m more than welcome to do this on our…special night.” Quicksilver blushed and couldn’t help but smirk as he couldn’t agree more by that statement. ********************************************************************************************** At the same time, at the primary gate, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna used their magic to blast them away, with Princess Cadance and Princess Twilight doing the same thing. Rainbow Dash flew around and used the clouds to create lightning attacks onto them. Fluttershy continued to take others to safety, with Rarity helping her. Applejack used her lasso to ensnare and toss many of the undead minions away, whilst Starlight and Trixie used their magic and Pinkie Pie used her party cannon. Princess Twilight got exhausted and landed near the gate whilst she panted and rested on her legs. “Twilight!!” said the Mane 5 and Spike when they regrouped with the Princess of Friendship. “It’s no use, there’s too many of them.” Said the exhausted Princess Twilight. “We can’t keep this up forever!” said a worried Fluttershy. “Look out!!” cried out Spike when they saw another undead approaching. Before they could do anything, many were suddenly knocked away by an unknown force. They all looked up and saw Beau landing before them, bearing his Knight of Harmony armor. He slowly stood up and looked at his wife and her friends. “Beau!!” exclaimed Twilight as she was happy to see her husband, whilst the kids were up on the wall and watched the whole thing happening. However, from far away, Mordred sensed Beau, making him slowly turn to the direction he was sensing him. “There you are.” Said Mordred before he teleported away, with Eris not being able to stop him. Beau was about to move over towards his wife, until he felt a presence from behind. He squinted his eyes and said “Mordred.” He slowly turned around and saw the rogue warrior standing far away from him, with the Mane 6 and Spike noticing him too. “I’ve waited a long time for this.” Said Mordred whilst keeping his glare. “I’ve had a feeling you’d show your face around here again.” Said Beau. “Wait, you know him?” asked Spike. “In a manner of speaking.” Said Beau, “This here is Malcom Mordred from the House of Mordred. His family were Knights, just as my family was, until that fateful day they betrayed us.” “The House of Mordred were once a proud people,” said Mordred, “Until the Rohan family destroyed us.” “You lot had that coming for a long time.” Said Beau. “And I know everything. Your family sided with the Knights from Cunabula and tried to destroy the Trees of Harmony, and you lot sold us out to Grogar and his Legion of Monsters. And after the great battle, everyone blamed humanity for their problems. Achilles and the others did what they had to do to ensure that the world would have a future to look forward to, and because of the fact all of you were nothing but traitors.” “We did it because only the worthy rewards the strong to lead the world.” Said Mordred. “We’re Knights, not conquerors!!” shouted Beau, “As Knights, we must ensure that balance is in the world. Harmony, Chaos, neither side can exist without the other!! It’s not our choice to decide who lives and who dies!!” “I. Don’t. Care.” Said Mordred as he slowly pulls out his sword and points at Beau. Beau on the other hand wasn’t fazed by his decision to fight. But instead. “As a husband to the Princess of Friendship and a father, I will not draw blood.” Beau pulled his sword out and pointed it at Mordred. “But as the descendant of Achilles and the house of Rohan, will ensure the likes of you will never side or rule a kingdom. Not as long as I’m here.” “And how are you to face me?” said Mordred with a smirk as more undead warriors arrive. “You’re all alone.” Beau then suddenly smirked and said “I’m never alone.” And from out of nowhere, within a split second, a cloaked figure jumped from the rooftops and killed the first pair of undead, which surprised Mordred and the others. That was, until more of them jumped from the rooftops and struck the others down, whilst also charging in different directions to help clear the city. Whilst at the same time from all over, every one of the hooded figures attacked from all around the city. As more of them arrived, half had helped fend off the attackers from the wall, whilst the other jumped over the wall and fought off the undead forces trying to invade the city. Mordred looked back at Beau, whilst the latter said “This ends right here and now!!” Beau charged towards Mordred, with the latter clashing swords with their adversary. “Girls!!” said Princess Twilight as she looked at her friends. “Help the others throughout the city!!” “Right!!” said the rest of Twilight’s friends as they darted in different directions. Twilight flew towards he husband and attempted to assist him against Mordred. ********************************************************************************************** At the same time, Bucky continued to fend off the undead and fighting alongside many of the city soldiers. Until they saw the Undead suddenly retreating. “They’re pulling back!!” said Dwalin. “They must be planning to regroup to stage another counterattack!!” said Bucky. “Well then let’s go after them!!” said Dwalin as he and the guards give chase, with Bucky and many others following from behind. At the same time, many of the undead from within the city began to retreat and tried to regroup with Princess Eris. “What are you fools doing?!” shouted Eris. When she looked ahead, she saw many of the soldiers, along with the cloaked figures and the Knights and Rainbooms were outside of the city, itching to fight them head on. “It’s over Eris!!” shouted Lizzie, “Surrender immediately and we can both walk away from this!!” “I will never surrender to lowly filth like you!!” said Eris, “And I will ensure that all of you will bow to me when this is over!!” “Don’t bet on it, faker!!” shouted EG Rainbow Dash. “Attack!!” shouted Lizzie as all of them charged, with the undead doing the same, until they began to clash. ************************************************************************************************** From near the gates, Princess Twilight kept blasting Mordred with her magic, but he kept countering it whilst Beau continued to clash swords with him. “You call yourself a Knight!!” said Mordred, “Yet, you abandoned your heritage when you joined the Knights. What an embarrassment.” “If anyone’s a disgrace and embarrassment to the Knights of Harmony, it’s you!!” shouted Beau. “For my ancestors and I chose to defend the balance of Harmony, instead of betraying it!!” “I only wanted what was best for us!!” shouted Mordred. “We are supposed to be better than this!!” shouted Beau, “You betrayed your brothers and sisters!!” “No!! It is your family who did that when they turned their back on this world!!” Mordred continued his fight with Princess Twilight and Beau, whilst at the same time, their daughter Moonlight was watching the battle. Within an instant, Mordred temporarily blinded them, allowing him to punch both of them down, whilst Beau’s sword landed right next to Moonlight. Mordred walked over to the two of them as they got up and feeling slightly hazed. “This ends now.” Said Mordred as he raised his sword. He then felt a slight shot of magic at his shoulder, gaining his attention and revealing to be Moonlight. “Don’t you dare hurt them.” Muttered Moonlight as she was almost in tears. “Ah…so you have a child after all.” Said Mordred as he walked over to her, with Beau struggling to gain focus, as did Twilight. “You shall bear witness that I will take the life of your daughter…” Moonlight fell on her flank and crawled backwards, until her hand had accidentally planted on her father’s sword handle. It suddenly glowed, gaining her attention. And to her surprise, the sword shrunk down to her size. “The reign of Rohan…ENDS NOW!!” shouted Mordred as he struck. But the moment he did, a clash was heard. When he looked, he was shocked by what he had seen, same with Beau and Twilight when they regained their focus and looked at Moonlight. The sword she held remained strong in her grip and she looked at Mordred in anger. “You call yourself a Knight?” said Moonlight. She slowly looked at him in anger and said “You don’t even know the meaning of the word.” She kicked him back with great force, making him skid on the ground and looked at her in shock. Moonlight stood up and gripped the sword she was holding as it charged up its energy. She walked over to him as she gripped the sword with both hands. “A Knight is sworn to valor.” She struck left. “A Knight’s heart, only knows virtue.” She struck right. “A Knight defends the helpless.” She struck below. “A Knight upholds the weak.” She struck from high. “A Knight’s words, only speaks truth.” She struck from the middle. “A Knight’s wrath, undoes the wicked.” She punched him in the face with great force, breaking his jaw in the process, with Princess Twilight and Beau surprised by what they were seeing. “But so far what I’ve seen.” Said Moonlight, “You’re a coward for turning your back, you hurt the weak and helpless, you words are nothing but lies and you joined our world’s greatest enemy. It is you, who is unworthy.” Their blades clashed again, but this time, the sword’s energy charged up twice as much, as she said “And your time, ends here!!” MAGIC!! HARMONY BLADE!! STRIKE!! With one great swift strike and with great force, Moonlight used the power of the sword to strike Mordred down, killing Mordred within an instant. “How…” said Mordred in a strained voice. “How…is this…possible?” Mordred collapsed onto the ground, and the moment he did, he exploded upon impact. When the smoke cleared, there was nothing left but his corrupted Driver. Moonlight suddenly felt dizzy and landed on her knees, causing Beau and Twilight to quickly run over to see if she’s okay. “Moonlight!!” said both Beau and Princess Twilight in worry and held onto their daughter. Beau accepted the sword back, causing it grow back to normal and him placing it back in its hilt, whilst at the same time, he removes his helmet to take a better look at her. “Are you alright?” asked Princess Twilight. “I…I think so.” Said Moonlight. “Boy was that a rush.” Beau looked at his daughter, then back to his sword. ‘She held the sword and used the power of a Knight,’ thought Beau to himself, ‘How is that possible?’ Within a split second, one of the hooded figures came over, gaining their attention. “My liege, the undead have been defeated, and everyone surrounds Princess Eris as we speak.” “But won’t she use her power to create Chaos?” asked Princess Twilight in concern. “Not to worry, your highness,” said the hooded figure, “We have already placed a dampener on her, so she won’t be able to use her magic.” “That’s good.” Said Beau, then he looked at his wife and asked “Twilight?” “I’m on it.” Said Princess Twilight as she teleported herself, Beau, Moonlight and the stranger with her. They soon arrived at the outskirt of the city. And there, they saw everyone, the husbands, Emily, the Rainbooms and their husbands and many others, had surrounded Eris, whilst also revealing that she was wearing a shackle around her neck. She struggled to get up without her power. “I…” said Eris as she tried to raise the sword she was holding, “I will not…be beaten…so…” Within a split second, Lizzie knocked the sword away, causing it to fly out of her hand. However, before it could hit the ground, it suddenly disappeared, which surprised many. However, at the same time, the sword suddenly appeared in a different location. Before long, a being, which was none other than Dainn, walked over to see the sword and picked it up. “Now where have you disappeared to?” said Dainn. But then shrugged it off and said “Bah, who cares? I have to time to bother on such minor things.” He soon left and continued with his plans. *********************************************************************************************** At the same time, as all weapons were trained on Eris, Princess Luna stood near her with a glare in her eyes. “It’s over Eris. Surrender.” Said Princess Luna. “It did not work well for you in your favor, and it certainly will not now.” “Please Eris,” said Discord as he hovered towards his cousin, “You can take a different path. I once thought the same way you did, but it they taught me so much, for there is more to life than I once originally thought.” Eris ended up slapping his hand away. “I will not stop at nothing.” Said Princess Eris, “This world will bow to me and when it does, I will…” “You’ll what?” Eris turned around, but then she was shocked by what she was seeing before her. For it was none other than Thorin and his Elite Guards, whilst he looked at her with a flexed eyebrow, with a glare that could kill a person. “Thoi…the…Thorin!!” exclaimed Eris in shock, which surprised the others. “What. Are. You. Doing. Here. In. My. Kingdom?” said Thorin in an unamused tone. Eris was surprised to hear this, and said “What do you mean, you’re kingdom?” “I took back the kingdom ever since Lord Dainn was overthrown.” Said Thorin, “Afterwards he was banished beyond Caribouria’s borders, where he will never cause any more trouble again. Therefore, I am the new King now, as you can see.” He pointed at the great light above Caribouria’s skies, which shocked her as she saw it, which was a sign that the True King had returned. “Oh, apologies my dear king.” Said Eris as she walked over, trying to sweettalk him, which some began to notice. “I did not realize…” Thorin instantly grabbed her hand, still not changing the look on his face. “Save it, Eris.” Said Thorin, “I’m already married and have kids of my own.” Eris was surprised by this, with him saying “And whatever you’re planning here, it’s never going to happen, not since the day you tried to throw Caribouria off balance.” Eris pouted and said “You’re no fun.” Thorin grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her close, whilst growling and said “I’ve never been a fun guy.” He harshly pushed her back a few feet. “And remember when I said that I’d never hurt you in your dimension?” said Thorin, “Well you’re not in our dimension now.” Eris widened her eyes in shock as she realized he was right. “And now to show you out of here.” Said Thorin. He suddenly charged up with great power, taking her and the Equestrians by shock. Within a split second, he glowed and charged straight towards Eris whilst screaming in rage. UNITED!! CARIBOURIA!! SMAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSHHHHHH!!!!! And with great force, Thorin punched her so hard, she ended up flying high up in the sky, with Thorin saying “Discord, if you please?” Discord suddenly snapped his fingers, causing a portal to open and her falling through, sending her back to her home dimension. “Thank you.” Said Thorin. He then walked over to Lizzie and asked “Are you hurt?” “Nothing I couldn’t handle.” Said Lizzie as she and the others powered down, “But I had help fighting off the undead. Not on my bucket list, but it was still a good one.” “That’s good.” Said Thorin as he hugged his wife. “So uh…” said Bolt Jr. once the two were done hugging. “How do you two know each other?” Thorin then looked uncomfortable for a moment whilst rubbing the back of his head, then cleared his throat. “We uh…used to date.” Everyone was silent for a few moments… “EEEEEEHH?!!!” “Wait,” said Princess Luna in disbelief, “You two?!!” “Huh,” said Discord as he realized something. “So you were the ex she told me about on our last family reunion.” “How?!” said Beau in disbelief. “Thirty years after Dainn took over,” said Thorin, “I accidentally traveled to Eris’ dimension. We both met and were kindred spirits. Surprisingly, she ended up falling in love with me. The two of us were inseparable, until she came to my kingdom and tried to throw it off balance. So I tricked her, and cursed her to be forever trapped in that world, and that if she had left it, her lifeforce would be drained until she was gone.” He then looked at Luna and said “Although, I had not expected her to gain the power from the former Nightmare Moon in order to break the seal.” Luna looked either both sheepish or guilt written, but one can’t tell with an expression like that. “And what’s to stop her from coming back?” asked Nebula. “Not to worry,” said Thorin, “When I punched her, I also placed another powerful seal on her. This time, she won’t be allowed to leave. Ever.” Thorin looked at the kingdom and sighed, whilst saying “What a mess.” “Don’t worry,” said Beau, “If there’s one thing, we’re good at, it’s helping others clean up an even bigger mess.” “True,” said Thorin. But then noticed over dozens of hooded figures. “And if I may ask, who are they?” Beau looked at them and said “There’s also a new development.” “What kind?” said Lizzie. “These people having been living under the abandoned Fortress City of the House of Rohan.” “They did?” asked a confused Balin, “Why?” Beau looked at them and motioned to them to reveal themselves. The first one took off his hood, revealing to be a human, which shocked everyone. However, it did not stop there. One by one, every hooded figure removed theirs, revealing to be humans. Everyone looked at Beau in shock, with him smiling. “We have a lot to talk about.” > Chapter 8: Festive Conclusion > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thankfully, after the disastrous few hours, the cleanup was finished quicker than they thought. After they were done, Thorin talked to the humans whilst many others were present as they talked to the elder and other leaders. “How is it possible that all of you had been living in Caribouria this whole time?” asked Thorin. “I can answer that.” Said Moonlight (though a little hesitant because when he mother found out, she wasn’t very happy about that). “During the festivities I felt a magical pull and followed it. When I arrived, I arrived at the abandoned land of Edoras, the home of the House of Rohan.” Many, except a few, were surprised to hear this. “When the humans were leaving this world,” said Moonlight, “Achilles personally hid the humans underground, to ensure that no one would find them. But as time went by, the underground city had prospered into something large an amazing. They lived there for a long time, but they didn’t want to get involved in the world’s conflict because of the distrust they had with one another.” Thorin thought about it, stood up and walked over to the Elder and humans around him. “You are right,” said Thorin, “There were many who would seek to destroy what they wanted for themselves, but there are also good folks who would do what they can to ensure that the world has a bright future.” Thorin walked a bit back and forth whilst saying “It was long ago that a relative of the royal family, turned his back on everything that our kingdom stood for, and thus wiped out the royal family and took over the kingdom. I did everything I could to free it, but many had begun to lose hope, especially when so many houses had fallen prey to their own fears.” He stopped and gestured to Beau and the others, “But if it weren’t for a member of the Rohan family and his friends, our kingdom would’ve been lost forever.” He looked at them and said “I made a vow from that day on, that I would never let the old ways of our past plague us again and would seek to build a better future…” He placed his hand onto the elder’s shoulder and said “That includes humanity too.” “Ponykind had also been at odds with one another.” Said Princess Twilight whilst standing next to Thorin. “Earth Ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi were constantly at each other’s throats and when the Windigos came along, they instantly blamed one another. And they failed to realize that the more they fight, the worse the cold gets. If it weren’t for Clover the Clever, Smart Cookie and Pansy, they wouldn’t have been able to convince the leaders of the kingdoms to change their ways. We even tried to make it a united kingdom.” “Indeed.” Said Princess Celestia when she and Princess Luna stood together. “There had always been many obstacles and disagreed with a few things, but it had always been a work in progress.” “There were many ponies who were distrustful to every creature because of their reputation,” said Princess Luna, “But it was thanks to our friendships that we were able to reach out to so many who would turn their backs on us.” “When Beau and the others first came to Equestria,” said Princess Twilight, “There were some that were reluctant to trust them, even my own brother. But because of Beau’s bravery, even before he became a Knight, he stood up for me when nopony else did. And because of that, the two of us got married and had a child of our own. In time, more humans came and many ponies had begun to warm up to them, and had a place to call their own home.” “Your kind was long forgotten by many,” said Thorin, “That is why you have my word that your kind will never be abandoned or forgotten again. Cause believe it or not, Caribouria was also the humans’ home before they all left.” Thorin placed his hand on the Elder’s shoulder and said “Therefore I must ask…will you live in Caribouria among us once more?” “There are over two hundred thousand humans that lived underground.” Said the Elder, which surprised them to hear how many are still alive. “Half of them wish to live in Caribouria, to restore the House of Rohan. Once that is done, we wish to be part of that society.” “Which is good.” Said Beau, “I think the House of Rohan is in good hands.” “And if you wish,” said the Elder, “You and your family are more than welcome to live among this house again.” “I’d be more than happy to.” Said Princess Twilight, “I’d love to see what knowledge they had before they left.” Thorin smiled and said “Agreed. And if you ever need help. Don’t hesitate to ask.” “Wait,’ said Silver, “If the one hundred thousand want to live in Caribouria, what about the rest?” “I have selected a few leaders to lead a small amount of the population with them.” Said the Elder, “They choose to live out in the rest of the world, to see what they have to offer.” “Equestria will ensure that humans are most welcome to live in our kingdom.” Said Princess Celestia. “Same with the Crystal Empire,” said Princess Cadance. Many of the humans were eager to move to their new homes, for they had live underground for so many years, they wish to see what the world has to offer them. “Until then, before we get to that,” said Thorin, gaining everyone’s attention, “Let us enjoy the festivities.” “Let’s party!!” shouted both Pinkie Pie and her counterpart, which got everyone to cheer at the same time. Which is a good thing too, cause they didn’t want to keep Pinkie Pie away from the party for too long, otherwise she might go stir crazy within the hour. “And speaking of which,” said Beau to his human friends, “I also have a surprise for you.” They were curious of what that surprise was, until he stepped away and to Genus, Platinum, Nebula, Ignis and Chance’s surprise, it was none other than their parents and family members that they thought that they’d never see again. They instantly ran over and hugged them, and were extremely happy to see one another. Platinum’s parents saw Princess Celestia for the first time, and both of them were surprised to see her. “Is this her?” asked Platinum’s mother, to which he nodded. She looked at Celestia, all impressed and said “She’s beautiful.” “You sure know how to pick em son, she’s drop dead gorgeous.” Said Platinum’s dad. “Dad.” Muttered Platinum, to which Celestia couldn’t help but blush and smile at the same time, whilst at the same time, both Platinum and Celestia’s children were also there, causing the parents to go over and give them a hug. “The festivities will last for three days,” said Thorin, “So all of you are more than willing to enjoy it to your heart’s content.” “But…” said EG Pinkie Pie, gaining everyone’s attention. “Before we do that…” “Let’s make some exciting music!!” shouted EG Rainbow Dash. Soon enough, everyone was near a stage inside the city, and the Rainbooms begin to play. As the Rainbooms sang, their husbands watched from the back of the stage whilst smiling as they were having fun. At the same time, everyone was near the stage and began to cheer, even the humans, for they haven’t heard that song before, which got them really excited. However, Ignis suddenly surprised them when he and the Rainboom’s husbands began to sing whilst wearing their own spooky costumes. Everyone cheered at that, for the festivities is about to get exciting, whilst the Rainboom’s jaws had dropped from what they just saw. “Since when can you guys sing?!” exclaimed EG Rainbow Dash. “You’re not the only gifted music group.” Said Invictus with a smirk. ******************************************************************************************* Soon the festivities went underway, for every human began to enjoy them with every creature alongside them, and true and behold, everyone had enjoyed each other’s company, even the husbands’ relatives were having fun whilst everyone was in full swing. Frosty, Pinkie Pie, Cake Frosting and EG Pinkie Pie were at the cutout stands with their heads poking out as their bodies were the drawing of the board whilst they made silly faces, with the Pie Twins coming along and pied them in their faces, causing them to laugh. Bolt, Rainbow Dash, Invictus, EG Rainbow Dash and Bolt Jr. we’re competing in an obstacle course, with Rainbow and EG Rainbow trying to won up one another, which was easier said than done whilst everyone was cheering both of them on. At the food stands, Bucky, Applejack, Pineapple Breeze, EG Applejack, Apple Slice, Celestia, Luna, Platinum, Nebula and their families were at the food stands, eating to their hearts content whilst also enjoying sharing it. In the so called horror house, Fluttershy and EG Fluttershy (because they lost a bet with Rainbow that one time) were scared out of their minds whilst Genus and Wild Heart protected them, with Warm Breeze and Comfy Breeze also staying behind cover. Shining Armor jumped into Cadance’s arms out of fright, which Cadance gave a flexed and deadpanned expression, same with Flurry Heart and Raging Halbert, whilst Blade laughed his butt off. Dusk Light, EG Twilight, Beau, Princess Twilight and Moonlight were looking over the schedules of where they wanted to go, where the other attractions were and so on, whilst Moonlight pointed at the beautiful fireworks above them. At the same time, Starlight and Chance were helping Trixie and Mystic with their performances, to which the audience couldn’t help but applaud over their recent successful show, whilst at the same time, Silver, Rarity, Quicksilver and EG Rarity, along with Crystal Gem, were showing off their fashion to everyone, which the audience couldn’t help but cheer and also want a dress like theirs. Thorin and Lizzie, along with Sunset, Ignis and Searing Shimmer, were watching the parade with many different creatures performing whilst passing them by at the same time. Everyone soon got together and ended up getting together for their picture, courtesy of Photo Finish. ************************************************************************************************** By the end of the third day, the festival had been a major success. Though before the sun began to set, every creature began to continue with their daily lives, whilst at the same time, Moonlight took Thorin and many other to Edoras, the home of the House of Rohan. Many were surprised to see this. “Incredible.” Said Thorin, “So this is what it looks like.” “This was once where the city of the Rohan family once stood tall and proud.” Said the Elder, “But now…” Beau held onto the Elder’s shoulder, gaining his attention and said “It can be again. Though I think the city will be in good hands, now that all of you no longer have to hide.” “And all of you can count on my kingdom to help rebuild it to its former glory.” Said Thorin. “Though it needs a new name.” said Lizzie, “Since Edoras had been forgotten through time.” “How about…New Rohan,” said Moonlight, gaining their attention. “In honor of the Rohan family finally returning to the world.” “Is it possible for Genus and the others’ relatives to come to Equestria?” asked Beau when he looked at his grandmother. “It would,” said Brightstar, “But it would have to be their decision.” “We talked to them,” said Bolt, now calmer than when he was since they left Equestria. “They said that they’d like nothing more. And seeing that we started a new path in our story, they figured so would they.” They soon went back to Caribouria to rest up for the day. ************************************************************************************************ The next day, at the same time, many ships were prepared to leave that carried five thousand out of a hundred thousand each, determined to help them find their new homes. “Wish we could’ve gone to help them,” said Bucky, “It would’ve been a whole lot easier to help them.” “Don’t worry,” said Lizzie as she came to see them off, “Thanks to Thorin, he was able to send messages to the other kingdoms and they’d be more than willing to help them out. As for the last ten thousand, they’ll be heading to Equestria.” “I will ensure that they will be happy in their new homes.” Said Princess Celestia. “And I shall aid in their struggles as well.” Said Princess Luna. “We will be glad to help them as well.” Said Princess Cadance as she and Shining Armor stood together. The Pinkie and her kids gasped with joy, as Pinkie said “Then we can finally have our very own…!!” At the same time, both Pinkie and her kids shouted out loud “Welcome Humans to Equestria party!!” “Though there’s something else that comes to mind.” Asked Shining Armor. “Where will they all live?” Said Beau. “Exactly.” Said Shining Armor whilst Princess Luna teleported Equestria’s map, allowing a handful of folks to look at it. “According to this,” said Princess Luna whilst she investigated with the others, “There’s a large plot of land between Ponyville and White Tail Woods.” “There had been idea to use that location as a settlement long ago,” said Princess Celestia, “But it was deemed an unworthy place to settle because of the rough terrain.” “Thankfully after a thousand years the land has changed,” said Princess Cadance, “Now it’s a viable place for anyone to live in now, even a spot to have a large enough farmland for them.” “Then it’s settled,” said Beau, “The remaining humans will go there. But once they get there, they’ll need a government and military structure, homes to live in, even leadership for both their settlement and to represent themselves to Canterlot should they need anything.” “My people promise to help make it happen to establish themselves.” Said Thorin. “As will we.” Said Princess Celestia, “This will be the first time ever that we will be co-building an entire settlement.” “But what will we call it?” asked Bolt. “We’ll call it…” said Beau as he thought about it. Then finally said “New Harmonia.” Some looked surprised, with Twilight saying “New Harmonia. I like it.” “Same here,” said Shining Armor, “It has a nice ring to it.” “Very well,” said Princess Celestia with a smile, “New Harmonia it is.” ****************************************************************************************** Soon enough, all of the airships took off and slowly headed towards their destination, with Beau and the others waving goodbye to Thorin and the others. As their airship flew ahead, the other three carrying the humans follow them, so that they could get to their destination and start anew. At the same time, Beau stood at the front of the deck whilst leaning forward against the rail, smiling as the morning breeze began to grace his face. He looked down and saw many humans and other creatures coming together and began to rebuild the House of Rohan in order to restore it. “Are you okay?” Beau looked behind and saw Princess Twilight, Moonlight, along with the others and their husbands, even the Rainbooms were there. “You know,” said Beau as he couldn’t help but chuckle and said “It’s kind of funny.” “What’s that?” asked Sunset. Beau looked to his left and said “When myself and the others first came here, we thought that we’d be the last of the humans in this world, and we’d probably die in the future. But I was able to come to terms and made peace with that thought.” He looked ahead and said “But now, there are a lot of humans who chose to hide in this world, rather than leave with the others.” “And now because of it,” said Princess Celestia as she and Princess Luna stood at his right, “Many of them have chosen to live in different kingdoms, including Equestria.” “It will do us all good that they’re very close to home now.” Said Princess Luna. “And they’re very happy.” Said Bolt as the others soon joined, with Princess Twilight standing next to Beau and held his hand. “Our own relatives even chose to live there too.” Beau and Bucky looked a little down as they were in thought. Which Princess Twilight noticed. “Would you…like to see your families again?” “No.” said Beau, which surprised Princess Twilight. “My family turned their backs on not only just me, but our legacy, even our heritage long ago.” “Same with me,” said Bucky, “Daisy and I don’t want to see our parents again, not after the way they treated me after Daisy died.” “I agree.” Said Daisy, “I was very disgusted when Bucky told me. So we don’t want to be involved with them ever again.” “And this right here,” said Beau as he wrapped his arm around Princess Twilight with a hug, “I wouldn’t trade what we have for anything. Besides, we’re married, so your parents are my parents.” Princess Twilight smiled and hugged him back, with Moonlight in between, which allowed herself to be hugged between them. Princess Twilight’s friends hugged their husbands, Spike hugged Emily, with the royals and friends also hugging their husbands. All of them looked ahead as they saw the moon beginning to set and the sun beginning to rise, which was the perfect picture for everybody. “Everything really is going to change for the better for the future.” Said Princess Twilight. “And no matter what happens,” said Beau, “We’ll face them together.” Everyone soon enjoyed their ride heading back to Equestria. For this was truly a holiday for all of them to remember.