A Random Fimfiction

Notice:I Never Really Readed This Fimfiction,Read At Your Own Risk!

First Chapter - Arrival in Ponyville
The fighting occurred close enough to Ponyville for its residents to witness the light show in the sky. The rainbow-colored flare that concluded the battle was quickly understood by some hopeful townsfolk as a positive sign, but it was only after the storm cleared up and the warmth of the sun returned that ponies came out of hiding. The first ones stepped outside slowly, unsure whether it was really over, but soon enough doors and windows were swung open and ponies young and old entered the town's unpaved streets to greet friends and relatives and to make cheer. The atmosphere became saturated with chatter and with music, because they knew the world was saved and everyone was alive and well. One could hardly imagine a more untimely moment for a giant centaur to come storming in.

Like a beehive that received a firm kick, the party instantly turned into a mass panic. A cacophony of screams replaced the festive music as ponies ran through the streets in search for cover, entering houses or hiding in the bushes. Some of the faint-hearted residents passed out on the spot and had to be dragged inside. Twilight didn't think about what sort of reaction Tirek's presence in Ponyville would evoke until she saw the horrified faces for herself. She ignored them and kept running until they arrived at the hospital. They put Cozy in the hooves of the doctors, who were among the few who stayed composed; they committed themselves to their patients even in the face of apparent danger.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief and could now think about how she would calm the populace. She would need the help of Spike. He was probably at the Castle, so that would be her next stop. The two took a small detour through the outskirts of town so as to attract as little attention as possible. Arriving at the Castle a few minutes later, Twilight opened the gates and saw Spike panting in the foyer; he had arrived here shortly before them. "Spike, good that you're here," the dragon heard from behind him.

"Twilight?" He turned around and saw his caretaker at the doorstep. He ran up to her to embrace her; he had missed her since they parted when the villains first showed up. "I'm so glad you're here! Did you see Tirek? He suddenly rampaged through Ponyville—"

"Don't be afraid", Twilight said with a calm and comforting voice, "Tirek is with me. He's standing outside right now. We sent the town into a panic on accident and now we have to set that right. Grab a quill and paper and follow me to the town square, I will explain everything there." Spike understood and went to the study to grab the supplies.

"Tirek," Twilight turned to the centaur, "I know that this is a very strange situation to be in, but please stay in the Castle for now. If I take you with me I won't be able to get the ponies to listen. I have a plan for how I can at least have them accept you for some time, until Cozy has recovered. You want that, right?"

"Is there no way to hide my presence?" Tirek proposed, "You can say that I left Ponyville."

"My saying that you escaped won't do any good, because that would mean you still pose a threat. Besides, you did help defeat Grogar, so we don't have to lie. I will tell them the truth."

Twilight knew Tirek didn't have much of a choice in this, but he looked nonetheless hesitant. Maybe she was going too fast trying to redeem him. "Trust me just this once. I'm not asking you to stay here forever, or to become friends. I'm here to help you and Cozy Glow out."

"Are you saying that I will be free when this is over?"

Spike just returned to the entrance of the Castle with a quill in his one claw and a scroll in the other.

"Yes, I promise I let you go when Cozy leaves the hospital."

"Very well then, I will stay in your castle."

And so Twilight and Spike went to the town square while Tirek stayed in the Castle. The streets were completely abandoned except for them. Silencing his voice by holding his claw by his mouth, Spike whispered, "Twilight? Did I really just hear you say that you promised to let Tirek go? Are you sure that was a good idea?"

Twilight whispered back, "I know, it's a big gamble. Perhaps it's the most risky promise I have ever made. I really believe that I can redeem him, but I'm not sure about the other two. Cozy is impossible to read and she doesn't seem to possess an ounce of empathy, and I don't think Chrysalis has gotten over the loss of her hive. I hope the girls can talk to her, but to be fair I don't think it will work. Tirek and Cozy Glow are the only ones who are close to her so if anypony can reach her, it's them. Tirek will stay here as long as Cozy is here, and we must make sure that he understands friendship in the meantime."

They arrived at the town square. It was dead silent like everywhere else in Ponyville, but there were many ponies within earshot hiding in their homes. Twilight loudly scraped her throat and spoke, "Dear ponies of Ponyville. It's me, Twilight Sparkle. Please listen: my friends and I have defeated Grogar! We are safe, so come outside and hear what happened."

"Everypony come listen to Twilight!" Spike added for emphasis. They paused for a minute and then saw doors being opened. Good thing Twilight had an excellent reputation in Ponyville. After all, she had lived in Ponyville for many years now and she contributed to the community in many ways since she first defeated Nightmare Moon. And furthermore, it was she who defeated Grogar, so why should they doubt her? Ponies slowly gathered on the square.

Twilight continued her speech. "I understand that you are all still afraid, because you just saw Tirek running into town. He was coming with me, everything is under control. You see…" Twilight recounted how the villains betrayed Grogar, how Twilight freed them from the curse of the Bewitching Bell, and how they together with her and her friends defeated the evil wizard. She told them the whole story and described in detail how the villains helped each other and how this weakened the chilling powers of the Windigos; how Tirek protected her from a blast as she concentrated on casting a spell. She explained that Cozy Glow was unconscious and in need of urgent medical attention—they could check that for themselves. She even revealed that Tirek was at the Castle right now; this was met with some murmuring from the crowd.

"…I hope you now understand that happened, and that there really is no reason for fear, but rather reason for celebration," Twilight added on a cheerful note. "I want to celebrate our victory with a party, and I will invite the Princesses too. Spike, take a note!" She began to dictate:

"Dear Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,

As you may already have noticed, me and my friends have defeated the evil wizard Grogar. We would like you to come over for an official visitation next week, here in Ponyville to celebrate. Though harmony has returned to Equestria, there is still one issue that needs to be resolved, and I would like to discuss this in person.

Your faithful student forever,

Twilight Sparkle"

"Aaand signed!" Spike rolled up the scroll, held it high in the air and blew a bright green flame at it. The paper caught fire and as the cloud of magical sparkles drifted off in the direction of Canterlot, the ponies cheered and stomped their hooves. This gesture had fully brought back the spirit of the townsfolk. Twilight's speech was now finished and ponies dispersed through the town to pass along the good news and to begin setting up the festivities. There was still a slight tinge of uneasiness in the atmosphere because of the presence of the villains, but Twilight had succeeded in soothing it for the most part.

While Twilight was conversing with a small group of ponies that had some specific questions, Spike suddenly burped up a flame which materialized into a scroll. Apparently the Princesses had anticipated mail and responded swiftly. "What does it say?" Twilight asked eagerly. Spike read aloud:

"Dear Twilight Sparkle,

We would like to congratulate you on restoring harmony to Equestria. You have proven once more to be invaluable to our nation. As a sign of our gratitude, we graciously accept your invitation, and we look forward to visiting Ponyville.

Yours sincerely,

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna"

"Spike that's excellent news!" Twilight clopped her hooves together in joy. "We should get to organizing the party right away." Organizing the party, that reminded her. "The girls! We still haven't heard anything of them yet. Come Spike, the party can wait." She let Spike climb her back and galloped away, leaving her company behind.

She dashed through the streets with haste and was determined run all the way back to where she last saw her friends, but that journey was quickly cut short. As she rounded the corner of the road that led out of town, she noticed a band of ponies coming in. It were her friends. They walked slowly, side by side. Rarity was still helping Fluttershy walk. Twilight came up to them and asked, "Girls, you're back! What happened?" She took a closer look at their faces, they looked defeated. Starlight Glimmer looked especially morose.

"We're very sorry, Twilight," Applejack replied after a deep sigh, "we couldn't get Chrysalis to listen to us. She escaped."

Second Chapter - The Right Decision
The news that both the Princesses were going to visit Ponyville had really uplifted the mood of the citizens. This was the first time since the award ceremony in honor of Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, Thorax and Discord that the Princesses would make an official visit to Ponyville. Everypony had been busy all week preparing a reception fit for royalty, decorating the houses with ribbons and banners and sprucing up the gardens with colorful flowers. Many ponies contributed by their personal talents, like Applejack, who was making pastries, or Rarity, who spent all her time in her boutique to design dresses for the occasion. Now the day had finally arrived and the town looked as festive and welcoming as never before.

Twilight was nervously going through her final round of checkups. Though everything was fine on each of the earlier rounds she did today, she did one more to be certain that today would go flawlessly. As usual there were a few logistical hiccups, but these were quickly resolved. The greatest issue was the looming threat of Chrysalis. After the battle with Grogar, Starlight Glimmer and the rest of Twilight's friends tried to talk to her and gave her another chance at forgiveness, like Twilight did with Tirek. She rejected the offer outright. With an explosion of hatred she cursed Grogar, the ponies, friendship, and what they had done to her hive. She then leapt at Starlight, but she managed to fend off the attack with the last of her magic. With a bitter, frustrated cry of defeat she took off and fled in the direction of the Everfree Forest. Nopony had any clue what she was up to; Twilight appointed E.U.P. agents to investigate the case and to protect Ponyville from behind the scenes.

The sound of the trumpet rang through the air: the Princesses were arriving. Ponies looked up and saw the golden coach in the distance, shimmering in the sky like a star in broad daylight. Two white pegasus stallions pulled it in a graceful arc from Canterlot to Ponyville. Everypony gathered at the welcoming spot to witness the coach touching the ground and to greet the Princesses. The brass band gave a splendid performance and Mayor Mare formally welcomed the royal visitors. Then followed a procession leading to the town hall, where Twilight and her friends were lauded for saving Equestria from its oldest foe and were awarded the Pink Heart of Courage, Equestria's most distinguished decoration. After the ceremony the Princesses made a tour through Ponyville while the town hall was being refurnished for tonight's dinner party.

It was during the dinner that Discord decided to show up. Discord, whom we haven't mentioned yet, was defeated by Grogar in his initial strike while the other three villains went after the Mane 6. In terms of magical prowess they were matched, but Grogar had come prepared to face Discord's chaos magic and he defeated him with little effort, leaving him as a statue until Twilight and her friends found him several days later and brought the indignant draconequus back to life. Having had enough of being turned to stone, he found this was an opportune moment to have an intellectual discussion (this sentiment could be recognized from his wearing a suit and glasses) with Princess Celestia regarding petrification in martial and criminal law, demonstrating his points with a small theater of stone figurines that he had set up on the dinner table. Twilight had left her seat trying to get Discord away from Celestia when she was addressed by the guest beside her, Princess Luna.

"Twilight Sparkle," Luna spoke behind the backs of the guests at the table, "in your letter you mentioned an unresolved issue that you wished to discuss in person. Would it please you to elaborate on this occasion?"

Twilight hesitated but realized this issue was more pressing. "Yes it would, Princess," she replied, "There is a friendship problem, possibly the toughest problem I've ever faced and I need your guidance." She peeked left and right to make sure nopony was listening in on them. "It concerns Tirek and Cozy Glow."

Luna looked conflicted and responded reservedly, "Let us withdraw from this dinner to go outside and speak in private." Luna got up from her seat and the two alicorns left the town hall without attracting attention.

The autumn sun had just set and the evening star was visible on the horizon. The serene night sky was perfectly clear and the weather was windless and refreshingly crisp. The glow from the bottles of fireflies gave warmth to the town that it didn't have in ordinary evenings. Twilight resumed the conversation as she and Luna into the silence. "I wanted to talk with you because I want to try to reform Cozy Glow and Tirek. They are in Ponyville right now and I want to talk with them to see if we have any chance of success."

"I'm aware, Twilight Sparkle. The rumor that the villains were staying in Ponyville has already reached Canterlot—though I understand you weren't keeping it a secret."

"They helped us defeat Grogar, which deserves to be acknowledged. Besides, I don't think I could have hidden it without stirring up a controversy."

"I also understand you want to try to reform them. For a long time I've had the preconception that you would do this. You've already reformed Discord and Starlight Glimmer, as well as Stygian. You gave Cozy Glow another chance after the school raze incident. How could the Princess of Friendship choose to do otherwise?"

"You understand exactly how I feel. I want to save them, and I want to make Equestria a safer and better place, and I think we can only do that with friendship. But I also realize that we are dealing with very dangerous individuals and you have handled them differently from how I would do it. I don't want you to feel to feel guilty by my asking you this question, Princess, but if Cozy Glow hadn't escaped, how long would you have kept her in Tartarus?" Twilight's eyes had a penetrating but sympathetic look. "Please be honest."

"My sister and I agreed that we would send you to Tartarus to help Cozy Glow if she ever showed any signs of genuine guilt. In the beginning we visited her on a weekly basis, but she showed no signs of change. If we interrogated her she said she wanted her punishment to end, but also that she enjoyed her time with her ‘best friend’ Tirek. She would always play the character of the young filly, who is too innocent to understand the concept of evil, let alone the full extent of her crimes; a charade we have long seen through but which she never gave up. Don't forget what she is capable of; we would take no risk until she decided to drop the act. Several moons passed without progress and we started neglecting to visit her."

Twilight chose not to respond or ask any further about Cozy; Luna clearly had a difficult time answering. The concept that she had sentenced a filly to Tartarus of all places tormented her, not to mention the fact that it was because of her negligence that they didn't know the villains had escaped. Besides, Cozy wasn't the one she was most interested in at the moment.

"What about Tirek? Would you have let him stay there forever?"

"Most likely," Luna said more resolutely, "We have already told you the story. Tirek came to Equestria in search for power. We were only able to defeat him thanks to the Elements of Harmony that Starswirl had just discovered. And you know what happened when he finally broke out. Power is the only thing he is interested in. He is not like us ponies."

"But what about Scorpan? Have you forgotten about him? You told me that he became friends with the ponies, and that he in fact warned you about Tirek. If Scorpan can be nice, then I believe Tirek can too."

"So you believe you can become friends with them?" Luna sounded somewhat cynical.

"After Grogar was defeated I had the choice to see them as our enemies or our allies. If I had seen them as our enemies, they would have been sent back to Tartarus, and everything that took place would have meant nothing. In all likelihood, they would break out again in the future, more spiteful than ever, and now united in their hatred they would surely bring about the end of harmony. Actually, no—I didn't have that choice. I couldn't fight anymore. I could only offer the choice between being enemies or being friends, and Tirek himself made the decision not to fight us." Luna looked at Twilight. Her deep, dark, lonely eyes expressed a thin, superficial skepticism. "He cooperated because Cozy was in very bad condition. He probably wasn't really ready to become friends, and I don't think I can teach them about friendship, but they share a meaningful bond with each other—a positive bond, not one based off of hatred—and I'm convinced that they can discover the magic of friendship for themselves if we can guide them to the right path."

Twilight pointed at the Castle of Friendship, whose towers were visible above the roofs from where they stood. "Tirek is in the Castle and he agreed to stay in Ponyville until Cozy Glow leaves the hospital. I want you to talk with him about his brother. I am aware that he holds a grudge, but I hope we can show him a new perspective and perhaps change his mind. It will be our best chance at redeeming him, in any case."

"Very well," Luna answered after taking a minute to contemplate, "let us talk with Tirek. Neither I would rather send them back to Tartarus. I know how painful it is to be alone, and how the loneliness only strengthens one's hatred and one's lust for revenge. I shall put my trust in your plan, Twilight Sparkle. To-night we shall begin resolving these hostilities.

"May I ask you one more thing, Princess Luna?" Twilight hesitated to add, "I remember you told me that when and Tirek and Scorpan came to Equestria, Scorpan became friends with Starswirl the Bearded. Is there any more that you could tell me about?"

Luna collected her thoughts and began reminiscing, "When Tirek and Scorpan came to Equestria, we had only just been installed as princesses. We were still young and inexperienced, and Starswirl the Bearded was our tutor and guardian. When he heard the rumor of a gargoyle from a far-away land visiting Equestria, he became immensely curious and set out to meet him right away. Scorpan was a very friendly creature; Starswirl found him in a flower field, surrounded by a small crowd of equally curious townsfolk that his presence had attracted. The two quickly became friends, and the next days they spent exchanging knowledge and wisdom. Almost everything we know about the centaur race comes from Starswirl's writings. Starswirl also showed him his spells and inventions, as well as the Tree of Harmony that he had just recently planted. But it didn't last long; Tirek, as you know, had begun his conquest and alarmed by the damage the centaur was doing to our ponies and our lands, Scorpan approached us and bade us to stop him. Led by Starswirl, we went into the Everfree Forest and sought the power of the Tree of Harmony. With Scorpan's assistance, Starswirl cast a spell that made the Tree bear fruit: the Elements of Harmony. My sister and I used these to defeat Tirek and banish him to Tartarus. As for Scorpan, we never saw or heard from him again. Starswirl said to us he had returned to his homeland. We didn't even say good-bye."

"So, you don't know anything about why he went back to the land of centaurs so suddenly?"

"I'm afraid I don't. Perhaps he felt ashamed, or he felt compelled to inform his race about his brother's actions."

"That could be. I still find it very strange." Twilight thought deeply, struggling to make sense of it. After a few moments she let it go; their conversation had gone on long enough, it was time to pay a visit to Tirek.

Twilight opened the gates to the Castle of Friendship. The bright moonlight reflected off the crystal structures, illuminating the interior with a pale blue glow. The two ponies stepped inside. Their hooves produced a rhythmic echo as they walked through the empty hall. Twilight expected Tirek to be in the library; it is a spacious and comfortable room, capable of housing a giant creature the likes of Tirek, and indeed it's where he stayed all of last week. He didn't bother to read; he picked up a book once or twice but quickly put it back. His principal means of recreation was the dumbbell that Twilight had procured him. The past week wasn't exciting for him, but after having spent such a long time in Tartarus he could suffer to stay put a few more days. Twilight knocked on the door politely, waited a second and entered the room, with Luna following her.

The mood of the library strongly contrasted that of the rest of the Castle; the cold crystal walls were fully decorated with books and tapestries and the fireplace gave them a warm reddish hue. An eerie masculine voice sounded from the other end of the room, "Twilight Sparkle, what a surprise to see you return so soon. Are you enjoying your little victory party?" Tirek got up, casting a colossal shadow on the wall. He noticed Princess Luna standing beside her. "And who do we have here? Princess Luna, what an honor to be visited by the likes of you."

"Greetings, Lord Tirek," Luna responded soberly.

"Princess Luna is here because we would like to ask you some questions, if that's okay," Twilight added.

"You are still standing by your word that you let me free?"

"I certainly am, and that's actually the first thing that we’re curious of: what are you planning to do when we let you go?"

"Hmmm, I don't know…" Tirek said indifferently, examining his nails. "All this time I've been fond of the bountiful lands of Equestria, but I suppose those aren't mine for the taking any more."

Luna ignored the provocation. "We understand that you hail from the distant land of centaurs. Our correspondences have been rare, and it has been ages since we've heard any word from them."

"What of it? I don't care about my homeland. My people were a weak and pathetic bunch. If I were to return there it would be to claim the throne."

"Was there nobody you loved?" Twilight asked, "Did you not have a family? What about your brother?"

"Ha-ha!", Tirek snorted, "What a joke! My brother is the individual I loathe the most in the whole world!"

"But did you never like him? You and Scorpan came to Equestria together."

"Do not mention the name of that traitor!" Tirek's sarcasm turned into fierce agitation, "He's a vile traitor indeed, Scorpan. The two of us came to Equestria to seize its magic—that's the simple truth—and then we would rule the lands together. But he betrayed me, and thanks to him I have spent a thousand years in Tartarus. Has he ever come back to you to ask you to free me, or at least to pay a visit?" He gauged Luna's face. "I suppose not. He's not worthy of being called my brother." He focused his attention on Luna. "But this is all familiar to you, isn't it, Princess Luna? After I was sent to Tartarus you fought your own sister, and she banished you to the moon. You should understand the contempt that I feel. Siblings are true tyrants, aren't they?"

"On a different occasion such an insult towards my sister would have prompted me to cast you among the stars, Lord Tirek, a centaur would do fine in my night skies," Luna had also raised her voice, "but I will do no such thing, because, indeed, I understand your situation perfectly. Jealousy turned me against my sister, and with no other recourse she banished me to the moon. For a thousand years I was trapped there as a spirit without material form. I stared at Equestria across the untraversable emptiness of space. My own tormented spirit was my only company, and I bided my time nourishing my hatred and plotting my revenge. I constructed the idea of a nocturnal kingdom, a dystopia predicated on the vices I discovered in the darkest corners of my heart." Tirek couldn't suppress a large grin upon hearing this confession.

"Only by exacting this reign I could heal the wound that Celestia had brought unto me. Or so I believed. At last I returned to Equestria. I took my revenge, making Celestia disappear like I let the sun disappear. My absolute rule was nearly confirmed, but I was defeated by Twilight Sparkle!" Luna's eyes were burning with fire. "She ended it before it even began, and she brought back Celestia, too. All the hatred had dissipated from my soul and I was totally powerless before the one pony that had caused my demise, and whose demise I myself had premeditated for centuries. There was nothing left in me and I was ready to die: such was the only sensible recourse. But though I had long forgotten the notion, my sister really was a good pony. She forgave me for all that I had done. Upon receiving her loving gesture, I could only cry. I felt born anew, and only because who I thought was my worst enemy gave me another chance. I later understood how much Celestia had suffered for what she had done unto me. She had to make the decision between our subjects and me, and she knew that my error was also her own. I think Scorpan must have felt the same."

"It's a whole other story if the ones you sacrifice your brother for aren't even related to you, wouldn't you say!"

"Don't think that I'm saying that our ponies are more important to him than you, Tirek. Scorpan must have seen the value that all creatures—and our ponies in particular—possess. I don't know why he never returned to Equestria, but I have no doubt he loved you. He's not here to tell you, so if you want to know the truth, I implore you, as somepony who understands you like nopony else, to go the land of the centaurs."

"I might never know the truth," Tirek said after a contemplative pause, "he's long dead. I know about Tartarus: it's an eternal realm where time stands still. Creatures of the centaur race are long-living, but not immortal. He, my father, and everyone I knew died ages ago." Luna wanted to express condolences but Tirek continued, "Either Scorpan loved me, or he did not. Or I will never find out. You have sparked my curiosity, I would like to see what he made of his life in my absence. But don't think I see any merit in your told experience, Princess. His actions shall determine my fate, pray they were virtuous.

Luna didn't have any more to add. Her story had definitely left an impression, but she didn't quite get Tirek to embark on the conditions she wished for. If Scorpan wasn't as good-natured as Celestia, Tirek would quickly return to his old ways, and she would be at a loss to redeem him. Twilight, however, seemed hopeful. "Whatever you will find in your homeland, I'm sure it will change you for the better. You aren't a bad guy, Tirek, I've seen it for myself. As you know, Chrysalis has fled, and our troops are combing Equestria to find her. We don't know what condition she's in, but it can't be any good."

Tirek knew what Chrysalis was like before she was summoned to the lair; Grogar had shown the group through his crystal ball right before they went out to execute their plan to conquer Equestria. It showed a scene of Chrysalis in the murky Everfree woods, talking to herself and to the trees around her, her speech afflicted with a deranged giggle, her slowly losing her sanity in solitude. Grogar meant it to take her ego down a peg, and while it left her in shame, it also sparked her desire for revenge—revenge on Grogar and on the ponies she was planning to crush. And with what Grogar had done to the Changelings before, Chrysalis's sense of self must have been left totally shattered.

"She may well have gone insane, and if that is the case then she will never listen to us. But maybe she will listen to you. So when you come back from your journey, I ask you to help us find her, and save her from herself."

"…if I come back," Tirek corrected, "but suppose I do, I think I will need somepony's help."

"We will be there with you if you want."

"No, I need Cozy Glow." It fell silent. "I want Cozy Glow to accompany me. You will trust me on my word that I take her with me on my journey; I’ve held up my end of the bargain during our battle, when I returned to you your friends for all the magic in Equestria.”

"I already have other plans for Cozy Glow. I can't let her go, I can't trust her like I can trust you."

"Why not? You said you saw us working together, are you suggesting her actions and her sacrifice were ingenuine? Or maybe you don't really trust me after all?"

"No, I—" Their friendship was real, Twilight had no question of it, and she could trust Tirek, but what was stopping Cozy from going her own way?

"She's a notorious criminal, and unlike Chrysalis she cannot shapeshift, so even if she fled she cannot go far. And if that does not quell your concerns, see to it that she won't flee."

Luna looked at Twilight in silent awe. The stakes had grown far, far too high for her. Setting free both villains, just after they have tried to lay ruin to Equestria? And on what conditions? "Twilight Sparkle," she said to her, "I cannot approve of this agreement any more."

Twilight took a minute to think. Finally she let out a sigh and spoke, "Okay Tirek, I will allow Cozy Glow to accompany you. Luna," she turned to the moon princess, "I know this is unprecedented, but what you agreed to was already unprecedented. Have you forgotten why we are here? Imprisonment in Tartarus, banishment to the moon, withering away in the wilderness, it makes no difference, we are going to put an end to it, and if that requires us to take a risk, that's alright. Whatever happens next, the power of friendship will prevail."

Luna thought once more about her torments on the moon. She could settle them here and now. She surrendered. "It is wasted effort to waver your determination, but we will discuss all of this with my sister."

"I'd be happy to," Twilight smiled, "Celestia will trust me on this." She returned to Tirek. "Cozy's health is making good progress, she will probably be released in a couple of days. I permit both of you to leave for the land of centaurs together. You were right, Ponyville may tolerate her presence, in a hospital bed and under my watch, but the rest of Equestria won't. If she escapes, we will know it on short notice, so try to keep her with you."

"I will try to keep the brat under control."

"Tirek," Luna said, her voice now quavering, "thank you for this conversation. I feel a lot better after talking with you. I feel like I've finally paid up for the favour that my sister had done me all those years ago."

Luna turned around and left the library, crying.

After their visit to Tirek, Twilight and Luna returned to the town hall, but the party was already nearing its end. Twilight spent time with her best friends, and just half an hour later it was time for the ending ceremony. A procession of lights accompanied Princess Celestia and Princess Luna back to their coach: unicorns lit their horns, earth ponies carried firefly lanterns in their mouths and pegasi fluttered through the sky with will-o'-the-wisps between their hooves. Arriving at the coach, the Princesses waved farewell to their Ponyville subjects, and got in. The coach took off, heading back to Canterlot, leaving behind a fantastic trail of sparkles in the night sky. It wasn't long before everypony had returned to their homes; the long and eventful day had left them dead tired.

Twilight lay in her bed. She couldn't catch sleep, her mind was still fixated on today's events. She was convinced that Tirek was going to go to the land of centaurs. Nopony was sure of what Scorpan's motivations were, but she had hope. A creature so close to Starswirl, how could he have faltered? She was more worried about Cozy Glow, who likely had no inkling of sympathy. The number of potential threats she posed was almost infinite. If she wanted to truly impress into her an idea, she would have to think like Cozy herself.

Third Chapter - A Friendship Mission
It was about an hour before noon when Dr. Horse was going through the hospital ward, doing the daily checkup on his patients. Next up on his clipboard was Cozy Glow, who was taken in two weeks ago. Tirek had told him what happened: in their battle with Grogar, the little filly had received a cruel blunt hit from the ram. She was swatted out of the sky like a fly and slammed into the ground, immediately losing her consciousness and sustaining internal trauma. By the time she arrived at the hospital, her situation was dire. The doctor had her taken to the intensive care at once, where she was diagnosed with circulatory shock. The operation that followed was long and intensive but thanks to the talent and expertise of the crew it was a success. The next day everyone was relieved to hear Cozy had woken up; and she was moved to a personal room on the third.

When the doctor opened the door he saw that Cozy was already wide awake and playing with one of the brain teasers that Twilight had brought with her on her frequent visits. Cozy was wearing a light green hospital gown and her mane was fuzzy and unkempt because one of the nurses had rinsed it. One could tell from the concentrated look on her face as she tried to assemble the wooden gizmo that her spirits had fully returned, her shabby appearance notwithstanding.

He looked up from his notebook. "Good morning, Miss Cozy Glow. How are we doing today?"

"Morning, mister Dr. Horse. I'm doing great, and it's all thanks to you and the kind nurses!" She smiled with cheeks that had the color and sweetness of soft peaches.

"Don't mention it, it's our duty." The doctor smiled back. He knew that this filly was the mastermind behind the nation-wide loss of magic last year, and he heard that she hid her plot behind an innocent, cutesy persona. Innocent and cutesy, that is exactly how he would describe her during her hospital stay. From the moment she first woke up she was cheerful, almost to an exaggerated degree. Whenever he shared news that was slightly less than positive she would pout, only to switch back to blissful, childish joy when he assured her that there was no reason for concern. He couldn't tell how much of her character was genuine and how much of it was just a persistent and skillfully crafted façade. Cozy Glow brightened up his day, and he had to remind himself to be vigilant on more than one occasion.

He continued, "Your health has very strongly improved, and we think that you are ready to be released from the hospital."

"Golly, that's wonderful news, doctor!"

"I talked to Twilight Sparkle, and she agreed to take custody of you. She will be here in an hour to pick you up."

"I secretly hoped Twilight would care of me. I really don't want to go back to that scary place Tartarus again… It was so dark and cold and lonely, that's something nopony deserves. But Twilight is a very nice pony so of course she would save me! But jeez, in so little time? I need pack my stuff and curl my mane and tail!"

She hopped off the bed and went through her belongings. There wasn't actually a lot to pack: she only had basic necessities and a few gifts she received from Twilight and her friends. She put all of it in her saddle bags. Dr. Horse saw that his helped wasn't needed. He checked Cozy off his list, said goodbye and went on to the next patient, closing the door behind him.

Cozy heard a knocking on the door at the expected time. Her mane and tail she had fashioned into the familiar look: big light blue curls neatly tied together by a white ribbon. She put the saddlebags on her back and walked up to the door.

"Hooray, Twilight is here!" she exclaimed as she opened up. Indeed, before her stood the Princess of Friendship.

"Hello Cozy, are you ready to go?" Twilight asked kindly, as if nothing had ever transpired between the two.

"I certainly am! You know, I am so, so sorry for all of the bad things I've done. I cannot believe that I tried to steal all of Equestria's magic. And then I worked together with those baddies to take over Equestria, how could I?" She looked away, cowering in shame. "Maybe it is because I am just a little filly and I didn't know any better."

"It's okay, Cozy. We all make mistakes, and sometimes we make them several times before we learn from them." Twilight knew that Cozy's crimes were far beyond the pale and could hardly be excused by such a cliché moral truism; her aim was simply to console her. Or, bearing in mind that this may well be another ruse, she was rather presenting herself as gentle and forgiving—though she really did wish to forgive her. In any case, it had a better chance of success than treating her coldly.

"My, headmare Twilight, you are so wise, and I still have a lot to learn.” She puffed up one of her cheeks with her hoof in an act of adorable reverence. “I suppose you will send me back to the School of Friendship. I think I need to start over from the very beginning."

"I haven't fully decided yet," Twilight replied pensively, "I don't think re-taking classes will be of much help. You have already passed them with flying colors and there isn't much else in the book for you to learn. I'll have to come up with an extra curriculum or something. Come with me to the Castle, we will figure out what to do there."

The two left the room and headed for the exit. "Are you hungry, Cozy?" Twilight asked once they were outside. "Spike is making pancakes."

"By golly I am!" She fluttered into the air with excitement. "I haven't eaten yet today, and I haven't had pancakes since, well, I was sent to Tartarus."

"I'm glad to hear that. If there is anything else you like to eat just say so and I'll see what I can do. We really want you to feel at home, Cozy. Putting you in Tartarus was a mistake, it's not a punishment fit for a filly, even if that filly did terrible things. Can you forgive me?"

Cozy looked up to Twilight with a blank expression. Then she smiled. "Don't mention it anymore, Twilight! Tartarus was a really terrifying place, but at least I was there with a friend."

"You mean Tirek?"

"Yes he! You think he's super scary the first time you see him, but it turns out he's actually very funny, even if he doesn't mean to be funny. And he is smart too: I have read a lot about magic artifacts but he told me things that were in none of the books. But he probably doesn't want to be friends with me so much as I want to be friends with him. He hates cute stuff and he thinks I'm annoying. I tried to make our time in Tartarus more fun but that just made him upset."

"So you really saw him as a friend, and not just as a tool for power?"

"When I first learned about him, I wrote to him because he could help me get more powerful. You know how I was." She looked away in shame again, but now that Twilight had apologized to her and they were on friendlier terms, sh seemed less somber. Instead she was blushing. "But I've changed. Maybe it was the School of Friendship, maybe it were the things you've said to me personally, but after Grogar freed us, we had to work together to get the Bewitching Bell. Perhaps this is when I first felt friendship, although I still don't understand it."

"That's alright, Cozy. You have already made great progress, and you did it without me. It just goes to show that friendship really isn't something that you can learn from a book," she added reluctantly.

Their path went through the Ponyville park, which was crowded with ponies enjoying the autumn weather. The Running of the Leaves would be held in a few days, but for now the trees were dressed with foliage of a rich palette of red, brown, gold and orange. Around them were foals, laughing and cheering while playing a frantic ball game. Their excitement rubbed off on Cozy Glow, who had grown accustomed to the sterile hospital atmosphere but was now finally breathing crisp air again. It had been two weeks since she last went outside and had any exercise, and pegasi of her age are brimming with energy. She had already started prancing. She looked for Twilight's approval to fly, which she granted her, and took to the sky; her youthful display of saltos and zig-zags amused Twilight greatly; she had to restrain herself from flying into the sky like a filly herself. After a few minutes Cozy finally got tired and came down to the ground.

"Are you having fun, Cozy?"

"Yes ma'am!" Cozy said between pants, "I didn't realize I missed flying so much. It's good to be back outside!"

"Pardon me for asking, Cozy, but did you ever go to flying school?" Twilight wanted to see if she could learn anything about the pegasus before she would leave. Her origins were remarkably mysterious. Cozy Glow began attending school a couple of weeks after the official opening, when the year had already started. Twilight wasn't too strict on late enrolment, but at the same time she couldn't remember any of such cases occurring. What's more, unlike other students, she wasn't listed with legal guardians, nor did Twilight know where she came from.

"I've had private lessons back when I lived in Las Pegasus. Oh, I must have never told you that's where I'm from. I lived there with Gramps and Granny. They used to run some businesses there and were very rich. I loved my Gramps and Granny, but there weren't many foals where I lived, so I didn't have any friends. They heard about the school opened by Princess Twilight and thought it would be good for me to attend it. That's how I ended up in Ponyville. Uhm, in case you were wondering about that."

"If you want to, we could visit them."

"I'd love to, I haven’t seen them in so long! But only after I have graduated. I don't want to disappoint them—they probably don't even know that I was in Tartarus. They almost never went outside."

Spurred on by this idea, Cozy fluttered to the Castle at an increased pace, with Twilight trotting closely behind her.

A brief while later, Twilight and Cozy arrived at the Castle. Twilight opened the doors and was ready to announce her presence to Spike, but she found the dragon waiting for them in the foyer. He was wearing an apron and a chef's hat.

"What took you so long?" he asked rather impatiently, "We've been waiting for you."

"Apologies. We took a little detour through the park, it is such nice weather."

"Whatever. I hope you don't mind I've snacked on the gems that were supposed to be mixed with the batter."

"Hey Spike!" Cozy quipped. She came up from behind Twilight and greeted the dragon with an eager hoofshake.

"Uh, hey Cozy Glow," Spike replied hesitantly. "Haven't seen you in a while?" Back before Cozy executed her evil plan she often helped out at the School of Friendship. She became Twilight's closest student assistant and often worked together with Spike, and the two grew very close. As a result he was most disillusioned by her sudden turn to evil. Yes, Twilight had told him what had transpired during the battle, and he had even visited her in the hospital once, but now that she wasn't bound to a hospital bed he was unnerved nonetheless. "The pancakes are ready. Are you coming with me?"

They went into the dining room and found Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy sitting at a round, wooden dinner table. It was decked with plates and silverware, as well as with fruit and other pancake toppings such as maple syrup, whipped cream, chocolate sauce and sprinkles. The warm, sweet smell of freshly baked goods saturated the room.

"Finally, there you are! Can we eat now?" Rainbow Dash shouted before anypony else could get a word in. She had already filled her plate with fruit and was ready to dig in.

"Now, now, Rainbow Dash, that is no way to greet an old acquaintance," Rarity reacted with an air of impeccable courtesy. "Good afternoon, Cozy Glow, are you doing well? Hm? Please have a seat."

Cozy climbed up on the empty chair to the right of Fluttershy. "Hullo everypony. Look, I'm really really sorry of the bad things I've done."

"It's okay Cozy, we know you didn't mean to do any harm," Fluttershy assured her with puppy eyes. The others nodded in agreement. They too had visited Cozy on multiple occasions in the hospital, but they avoided talking about past incidents lest they upset her in her weakened state.

"T-thanks guys…" Cozy pouted, "Where's Starlight? I suppose I should apologize to her too."

"Starlight couldn't be here today," said Twilight, who had taken the other seat next to her. "She's visiting Sunburst in the Crystal Empire."

Pinkie suddenly jumped up onto the table and scooted towards Cozy. "Hey! I know we're all excited that you're here with us, but I am super excited. You wanna know why?" She stared at Cozy with intense joy beaming from her eyes.

"Why?"

"Why, because now I can finally give you this."

She pulled an object out of her mane and presented it to Cozy. It was a small, hoofcrafted sculpture of a googly-eyed Cozy Glow riding on Tirek's back.

"My best friend rock sculpture!" Cozy picked it up and carefully examined it up close. Aside from a few traces of glue, it looked exactly as she last saw it, before she was summoned by Grogar.

"After you and Tirek came to Ponyville I went to Tartarus." The others stared at her quizzically. "What? That place needed a spring cleaning badly!"

"In autumn?" Applejack's mumbled. "And just how did you get in there in the first pl—"

"Anyways, I found it as a pile of rubble on the ground. But a little super glue can do wonders!"

"I made this to celebrate the friendship between Tirek and me. He didn't really care about it but to me this sculpture really meant a lot. Thank you so much!"

"Meh, it's nothing. Just what friends to for each other, right?" Cozy could only nod in response, for she was at a loss of words of gratitude. Her eyes twinkled like little stars.

Spike entered the dining room with two plates stacked with steaming pancakes. He served everypony a pancake and then joined the table himself. Cozy put as much whipped cream and chocolate on it as was possible. She gobbled it up faster than anypony else and still felt famished, so she took another one, which she ate with some cotton candy that Pinkie Pie had supplied. When she finished her second pancake and the ponies finished their first, Twilight decided it was time to get to business.

"So, Cozy," she spoke to the filly besides her, but loud enough for the rest to hear, "I've been thinking about we could do with you. You want to prove that you've changed right?"

"Yes!"

"And what better way is there to evaluate someone's skills than through an exam of some sort? We're going to send you on a friendship mission."

"A friendship mission? Good golly, I thought only the teachers went on those."

"Normally that's true, but this mission is special. This is something that only you can do. At school you have learned the story of Tirek and Scorpan, right?"

"Yes ma'am, about how they came to Equestria."

"Precisely. The brothers never saw each other again after Tirek went to Tartarus. But Tirek is here in Ponyville right now. What I want you to do is join him on a journey to the land of centaurs. Try to learn as much as you can about the centaurs and report back to me. Here's a list of things you can look into." She conjured up a scroll with her magic and pressed it into Cozy's hooves. "If you get a satisfactory grade, we will say you've officially passed the School of Friendship cum laude."

Who were the successors to King Vorak?; Who were the centaurs' closest allies?; Did the centaurs know about Starswirl the Bearded?… Cozy skimmed through the questions; the last bullet point caught her eye. She read it aloud, "Explain the difference between friendship and power."

"That last question is the most important. I remember that's what you once said—that friendship is power. I regret that I've never been able to teach you the answer, and to be honest I don't fully understand it myself. Maybe friendship really is power, in a sense. I think you will find the answer on your journey."

"Sounds like a mighty hard task…" She cowered back into her chair a little, but Twilight reassured her.

"We have full confidence that you will find the answer."

"You can do it, sport!" Rainbow Dash added.

"You were our best student, you'll do great," Fluttershy said.

"Hm-hm," the others hummed in agreement.

Cozy found her confidence coming back. "In that case, sign me up! When will we leave?"

"You can go as soon as tomorrow morning. I've already arranged the essential travelling accessoires for you. I know it's a bit strange to send a small filly on such a long journey, but Tirek will be there with you on the way. I understand that you already went on a mission to Mt. Everhoof together, so this shouldn't be too much to ask, should it?"

"That mission to Mt. Everhoof was a breeze, don't you worry one bit about me! We'll go to the land of centaurs and ace that test!"

After lunch Cozy wished to see Tirek. Twilight took her to the library, which was still Tirek's main place of residence. He had just finished a pile of pancakes that Spike had prepared for him—centaurs have to eat, too—and wasn't doing much in particular when they entered the room.

"Hey Tirek! How is my favourite geezer doing?"

If there was any happiness or relief in Tirek, he was suppressing it. "Well, I suppose this marks the end of my peaceful life in Twilight's Castle", he muttered to himself. But when she clung to his leg, he couldn't help but pat her on the head, which made her squee with delight.

Cozy tried to exchange a few more words with her travelling mate, but Tirek was clearly not fond of casual talk, so after a few minutes they decided to leave him in peace. They spent the rest of the day preparing for tomorrow. Twilight taught her everything that she knew about the land of centaurs and how to get there—which wasn't a lot. It lay somewhere in the Undiscovered West, and depending on its precise location as well as travelling speed, the journey could take anywhere between a week and a month—Tirek would be able to give a better estimate—and that's not counting the time to travel back to Equestria. The farther they ventured, the more they would have to rely on his memory and intuition. In any case, they would be passing through the White Tail Woods and through the valleys of the Lunar Isthmus.

She also thought it were wise to teach Cozy some basic camping skills such as setting up a tent and finding edible berries, which was something Rainbow Dash was happy to help with. This let the remainder of the day pass by rather quickly, and after dinner Cozy went to sleep early.

The next morning, at the break of dawn, the pegasus filly and the centaur stood in front of the Castle of Friendship, ready to depart. They were accompanied by Twilight and here friends, who had woken up early to say farewell. The weather was gray and misty, but Rainbow Dash assured them that it would clear up before noon. Tirek was cladded in a green cloak that Rarity had quickly put together for him: it would keep him from getting a cold, she said, and it had the advantage of hiding his menacing appearance from random passers-by. Not to mention, it looked “exquisitely dapper” and “punctually fashionable”. Twilight was going through a checklist to make sure the two ex-villains had everything they could possibly need. Tirek carried most of the load: maps, a tent, clothing, water, bandages, et cetera. As for Cozy, she also wore saddlebags, which contained, among some miscellaneous items, her own winter clothes as well as lunch for the first day.

"Alright, it seems you are ready to go," Twilight said as she checked off the final box on her list. "I wish both of you a prosperous journey, and good luck on your mission! Oh, I have one final thing you need to bring with you." A small device appeared out of thin air with a magenta zap and it floated to Tirek. "If you find somepony living in the land of centaurs, like a king or a descendant of yours, give this to them as a sign of goodwill from the ponies," Twilight said to him.

"What's it supposed to be?" asked Tirek as he examined the object in his hand. It consisted of two metallic, dark blue rings arranged in the shape of a sphere, with a golden arrow protruding diametrically through one of them. The other was inscribed with ancient characters that he could not read. It stood atop a wooden standard, that was clearly worn down by time. The entire thing could fit in a pony's hoof.

"It's a magical sun-dial. It originally belonged to Starswirl the Bearded. He infused it with the power of the sun and the moon: if it's day, it can give off sunlight of its own. If it's night, it can draw away light and cast darkness." Tirek put the sun-dial in one of his saddlebags. "Well, that's all. Is there anything else you need or want to ask me before you go?"

"I've got nothing," Cozy replied, "What about you, Tirek?"

"Me neither. Come on, let's go."

Fluttershy flew up to Tirek's shoulder. "Please take good care of little Cozy Glow for me. I know you've got a good heart," she said to him, although she unintentionally spoke so softly that her friends couldn't quite hear it.

"Will you ponies ever stop being so sappy?" He whispered back annoyedly. "Yes, she'll be fine. Now goodbye and farewell!"

"Farewell!" the other ponies chanted back.

"Goodbye everypony!" Cozy cheered while trotting to catch up with Tirek, who had already started walking. "Don't forget to say hi to Starlight Glimmer for me!

Fourth Chapter - The Chessmaster
"Ha. Ha. Ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha! I'm free! I'm finally free!" Cozy and Tirek had walked for about an hour since they left Ponyville and were now in the White Tail Woods. Ever since they left Cozy had been carefully watching the surroundings, making sure they weren't being followed. Now that she was certain they were alone and sufficiently far apart from the town, she could no longer contain her laughter. "At last, no more of Twilight and her friends and their little visits! I've had to put up with that much too long. At least she put me in the hospital where she would visit me only once a day—you were holding out in the belly of the beast. That must have been unbearable."

Tirek hesitated to comment but Cozy continued, "But it sure paid off. Can you believe it? 'We're so sorry for what we did to you Cozy, can you ever forgive us?'" she cried, imitating none of the ponies in particular, but nailing the heart-wrenching sympathy with unsettling precision. "'We trust you, now go on a friendship mission with Tirek.' Jeez, ponies are so gullible!" She had to land on the ground and catch her breath before she could continue. "A friendship mission! Can you imagine I would ever do something like that?" She fetched the scroll with assignments from her saddlebag and unceremoniously tossed it into a random bush. "Good riddance. Now, let's get serious. What's the plan? Taking magic from a small village? Stealing a magical artifact? A direct march on Canterlot?"

"We're going to the land of centaurs," he responded soberly.

Another fit of laughter overwhelmed Cozy. "My, Tirek, you're a riot! For realzies now, where are we going?"

"I am serious. I have every intention of travelling to my homeland."

Her smile collapsed into a pathetic frown. "Did those ponies really get to you so soon? You disappoint me. Don't you see you're playing right into their hooves? Twilight can't stop us when we work together and she knows it, that's why she put us on a wild goose chase." She flew in front of Tirek, emphasizing her words with dramatic gestures of her hooves. "I bet there isn't a trace left of your kingdom. It's been more than a thousand years since you came to Equestria, after all. If there was anything left of the centaurs, surely we would have known by now. You would be searching for months, for years, desperately trying to puzzle together Twilight Sparkle's lies while she is relaxing in her castle, comforted by the idea that she has forever diverted this threat to her reign. So congratulations, you're walking right into a trap!" Cozy smiled and patted the centaur on the head, much to his annoyance.

"But if we went our own way," she continued, "we could take revenge. Grogar is off our backs and the ponies have lost the Elements of Harmony. Even the Tree of Harmony is destroyed, so what's gonna stop us?" She reclined upon his shoulder. "Maybe you're just a little grumpy because you haven't eaten this morning. You know, we just passed by a town full of hard working earth ponies. You'll feel a lot better after you've absorbed their magic." She brought her muzzle close to his ear and whispered, "What do you say?"

Tirek picked Cozy Glow off his shoulder and held her in his fist. "You're really getting on my nerves, you know that?" to which she nodded delightfully.

"I'm not going on this mission because 'Princess Twilight' wants me to. I'm doing this for myself. Scorpan is the reason I was trapped in Tartarus for a thousand years, I need to know what he has done to my kind after he betrayed me. The ponies can know my wrath once I've proven that he's just he lousy traitor to his kin. So much for friendship…"

He loosened his grip and Cozy climbed out. "All I'm saying is that you're wasting your time. But if you won't change your mind, I'll go my own way." She spread her wings and flew off in a different direction.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tirek shouted after her.

"To the train nearest station. I suppose I'll just start over in Manehattan or something."

Tirek bellowed with laughter. "Start over? You're more stupid than I thought. You've tried to take over Equestria twice, you're known in every corner of the land. The ponies from Ponyville might have fallen for your sweet act, but to the rest you are still a notorious criminal and not as cute as you try to be."

"I AM cute!" Cozy's face turned red with anger. "In that case I'll just find Chrysalis and team up with her. I know she has escaped and still wants revenge."

"Good luck with that. She can be anywhere, disguised as anypony. Ponies have been looking out for her for weeks and are still patrolling the areas. The odds that you will find her before they find you are zero."

Cozy groaned with frustration and lifted her nose in defiance. "That's still better than being on the road with a grumpy centaur. I'll take the risk."

She wanted to fly away, but Tirek managed to grab her attention. "Do you want to know why you lost against Twilight and her friends, but won against Grogar?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've thought about this question over the last couple of weeks. I blamed my defeat on dumb luck, but there is obviously a pattern to this."

"Let me guess, it's 'the magic of friendship'?" Cozy rolled her eyes.

"I don't believe in that. I'm more of the opinion that friendship is indeed power, but that cannot be the full explanation, or you would have defeated the ponies long ago. You just need to understand what you were doing wrong and beat them at their own game."

"That's very smart. If I know how Twilight and her friends think, and then do what they do but better, then I can defeat them for sure! So what's your plan then?"

"I already explained this. Twilight believes that Scorpan had no malicious intentions when he left me behind to rot in Tartarus. I will see for myself if this is true, and when I show the truth to her, she will have nothing to bring against me. As for how we can exploit their power to our own ends, I'm not sure. We'll have to figure that out along the way."

Cozy Glow thought it over. "You know, coming with you might not be such a bad idea after all." She figured furthermore that if the journey were to turn out fruitless after all, Tirek would have no reason not to join in on her own plan. She ran up to him and happily trotted beside him, continuing their path through the woods.

Rainbow Dash was correct; the mist began clearing up not much later. The sky assumed a beautiful shade of cerulean and direct sunlight warmed up the surroundings. Positive spirits had fully returned to Cozy and with what seemed genuine excitement she filled the time enumerating and looking forward to all the fun things they could do on their "camping trip": telling campfire tales, spotting birds, playing board games, foraging wild berries, et cetera. Tirek was as always indifferent. Besides the fact that they were together by his own volition, it was nothing different from the endless small talk that he had perdured in Tartarus after the filly accompanied him there, and yet he was somehow feeling less annoyed now than back then.

When Cozy had fully exhausted this conversation topic she reached for her saddlebags and took out the map of Equestria.

"So, let's see… Ponyville is here, the forest is here," she traced their path with her hoof, "that's where we are. We should reach the end of the forest by nightfall. After that: the Undiscovered West. That's as far as this map can help us. How far do you think it is, Tirek? Twilight said it could take as long as a month before we would get to your old kingdom."

"That's a great overestimation," he spoke as a plain matter of fact, "If we keep up the pace we will arrive there in little more than a week."

Cozy inspected the map once more. The lands were charted from north to south and beyond the sea to the east, but the west was uncharted. "It's strange that ponies never explored further in this region, don't you think?"

"After we've passed the isthmus, the terrain will be much rougher. It's a mountainous forest area that is filled with monsters."

"Kind of like the Everfree Forest?" Cozy interjected.

"Precisely. It's no problem for centaurs, but for your kind it would be hard to traverse, and outright impossible to inhabit. Besides, I think Celestia herself has a stake in keeping the area near the isthmus clear."

"Celestia? Why is that?" Cozy asked with profound confusion.

Tirek showed a faint smile of anticipation. "You'll see."

Suddenly the pair saw two ponies running in their direction. Tirek, who had the incident of a couple of weeks ago still fresh in his mind and didn't want to start another panic, instinctively pulled his hood over his head. As the oncomers approached it became clear were still foals, about Cozy's age, and they were in great distress. Maybe they had recognized them?

Nevertheless, Cozy put up her most joyful face and greeted them warmly, "Hullo there! What's the hurry?" She waved her hoof in the air and caught the attention of the duo. Heavily panting, they came to a halt before her.

"Please, can you help us?" the filly said with an anguished voice. She was slightly taller than her male companion, whom Cozy presumed was her little brother. "Our pet bunny has a really bad fever. We're from a nearby town and we're on our way to Ponyville to see somepony called Fluttershy. They say she is really good with animals. She might be able to cure him, but we don't know how to get there."

"Yes, Fluttershy's cottage, it's at the edge of the Everfree Forest. To get to Ponyville, just keep following this road and…" Much to Tirek's surprise, Cozy's instructions were clear and accurate (as far as he could verify for himself; at least the way to Ponyville was explained in good faith). The two siblings wasted no time. They thanked Cozy, paying no heed to the centaur in disguise beside her, and dashed off to Ponyville's resident veterinarian.

"Who'd have known," Tirek proclaimed in theatrical surprise, "the little devil can actually speak the truth? And you thought I'm the one who has gotten soft."

The taunting made Cozy blush. "Don't get the wrong idea, centaur. I may be cunning and deceptive, but I'm not cruel to animals. Besides, I've never seen these ponies before, and I will probably never see them again, so I had nothing to gain from lying to them."

But Tirek pressed on, not letting this opportunity for humiliation go to waste. "Twilight would be proud if she saw what you did."

"Why? If you're only ever mean, you won't achieve anything. If you want to get ponies to do your bidding, you must get them to like you. I'm not afraid of being friendly if it means I can get a lot more in return. Just act nice, compliment, throw them a bone, and they will be your friend and do whatever you want. And that is the true face of friendship: ponies sacrificing their time, their bits and even their lives for others. I see this happen, and you know what I think? That it's all a game: the game of friendship. Everypony in Equestria is playing it, and they all play by the rules: trusting each other, being kind and generous, repenting and forgiving." After the latter burst out of her with sheer loathing. "They are all wearing blindfolds, they don't see the objective. Some of them, like Twilight Sparkle, even refuse to see it willingly. She knows so much about friendship, but she's just a glorified pawn."

"So that's the true meaning behind your cutie mark."

She proudly looked at her own flank. "Yes sirree. I've always had a knack for games, but my mark only appeared when I learned to manipulate ponies."

"If I may ask, are you manipulating me right now?" Tirek was serious, but asked the question with playful curiosity.

"Uhm, well, duh. If you want to call it that, anyway. My point is, it is in our interest to work together for now. While ponies don't realize this, you understand that there's no point in helping somepony unless you can get something more valuable out of them in return. If you put it like that, we're kind of BFF's, right?"

Tirek smiled hesitantly. "…Right."

They kept travelling and set up camp when they reached the end ond of the woods. After dinner Tirek lay down for the night. He was enjoying his freedom: no walls or bars surrounding him, no struggle for power, only the soothing ambience of the landscape around him. He couldn't remember the last time he experienced it. On any other day he would have disturbed the silence: he could turn back and take revenge on Twilight and her friends, or he could loot a village like Cozy tried to tempt him to. But the more he rejected these ideas, the easier it became to put them out of his mind and the more tranquil he became. The only thing he couldn't shake off was his brother. He would take revenge if he proved to be the scoundrel he had always believed him to be; that promise was irrevocable. But at the same time he had begun feeling a glimmer of hope—hope for plausible explanation for Scorpan's absence during his time in Tartarus, so that he could put it to rest.

He thought about Cozy Glow. He knew a thing or two about cutie marks. They were supposed to be a graphic representation of the pony's talents, but for Cozy it didn't entirely make sense to him. That a chess piece symbolizes strategy and manipulation is obvious, but why the rook? It's a powerful piece that dominates the board by posing threats along brute, straight lines. Its movements leave it trapped in the beginning, and it only becomes more useful as the game develops. The rook is also involved in castling, a special strategy to guard the king. None of this sounded specifically like Cozy. She's a child prodigy and acts with cunning rather than force. She can operate in tight spaces and has no loyalty to the king, whomever that may symbolize. Could there be an unknown meaning lurking behind it, or was he looking too far into it? Maybe it wasn't him, but Cozy herself who had the wrong idea.

Tirek opened his eyes and looked up. At the other end of the campfire lay Cozy in her sleeping bag. The filly was sound asleep and looked as peaceful as a newborn, dreaming about Luna knows what. Now more than ever did it strike him what an unnatural individual she was. For a pony—a filly, no less—to join a group of villains who want to take over Equestria, something must have gone awfully wrong in her past. He couldn't deny he was experiencing a sense of responsibility towards her. However the future will come to unfold, he should try to stay together with her.

Fifth Chapter - Corruption
Chrysalis couldn't fully remember what happened before she was knocked out. They had betrayed Grogar and taken him on in a three-versus-one, using the power of the Bewitching Bell for themselves. The last thing she could recall was the warlock ram taking the Bell back, and being frozen in place. She was frustratingly aware that more had transpired between then and her black-out, but she just couldn't retrieve those memories from her befuddled psyche. When she came by she heard a raspy, female voice; clearly not that of Tirek or Cozy Glow.

"Chrysalis? Is everything alright?"

She could hear that the one asking was standing right beside her, but it felt more as if she was being called from a distance.

"Uhm, Queen Chrysalis?" another, softer voice spoke.

She realized it was the voice of a pony and immediately remembered the evil trio hadn't fought by themselves: after their conspiracy had been crushed by Grogar's unparallelled power they were forced to work together with the ponies—the ones they had set out to defeat before turning on him. If these were their voices then Grogar must have been defeated. Did the ponies somehow manage to beat him? No, his magic was much to strong and without the Elements of Harmony they stood no chance. That means it was she and her co-conspirators who defeated Grogar! But where were Tirek and Cozy Glow?

Chrysalis got up on her legs with considerable effort and saw that, indeed, a small pack of ponies stood by her. They looked no less worn down than she. She quickly looked around, expecting to find her allies somewhere in the field. But aside from them, there was nopony to be found in the area.

"Thank Celestia you are okay!" the one with the white coat exclaimed with genuine concern.

"Careful now sugarcube, we'll get you fixed up."

"Where's the centaur? Where's the filly? Tell me," she demanded, completely ignoring the words of relief that would under any other circumstance have been to her surprise.

"They went with Twilight. They're heading for Ponyville." The one speaking to her was Starlight Glimmer.

A sudden rush of resentment overtook Chrysalis. She cast an infernal gaze upon the unicorn, to which she flinched in horror.

"They've left me behind!" she cried out upon realization.

Starlight froze in fear, stammering, "No! Well, er, yes but it isn't want it seems like. You see, when we found them after the battle—"

"They are going to be the next in your series of 'redemptions', aren't they? They have been very well-behaved and now they can join your little club. And I am simply to be forsaken!"

"Not at all, you can come with us," Starlight said, desperately looking for words to best explain the situation to the furious, misunderstanding Changeling queen.

"Oh, is that so? Ha!" she laughed in her face. "Preposterous! Haven't you taken enough from me yet?"

"Chrysalis please think about it! If you just come with us you can return to the Hive!"

"Won’t you just quit already? You haven't just taken them away from me, you've bastardized them. The fact that you are promising the same fate to me is astounding. I shall never yield to your pathetic pleas. I shall have my revenge, I shall crush all of you, but you, Starlight Glimmer, you I shall devour!"

Starlight Glimmer let out a mortal shriek as the Changeling Queen leapt towards her with exposed fangs, but the assailant's movements were sluggish and she was intercepted in mid-air by Applejack's lasso, which had tied itself to one of her hind legs. Chrysalis dropped to the floor and let out an extended, thrilling groan of her own. Looking up, they saw the ponies had dashed to Starlight’s aid. They looked at her varyingly with anger, shock, and disappointment.

"You haven't seen the worst of me yet! Mark my words!"

Consumed by rage she shot up, spread her insect wings and flew off, leaving the ponies to console the sobbing unicorn.

"Lord Tirek and Cozy Glow! You were nothing more than the others who have abandoned me. My hive, my clones, and now you too. After all that we went through, you run off with the ponies and leave me to fend for myself. To think I had finally found faithful allies. To Tartarus with you! I won't need you two any longer. All the preparations are in place. Soon I will get back all that is rightfully mine, and I will destroy those who oppose me!"

Chrysalis had fallen into one of her delirious monologues. She found herself in Grogar's lair, to which she had fled after the battle. She had become very familiar with the place, but with the permanent absence of Grogar, as well of her allies, it had lost both its dread and its warmth. Before her lay a log of wood with a distinct lavender color—the remnants of Mean Twilight Sparkle, the savvy clone of Twilight that she used to take control of the Elements Of Harmony. Back when she worked under Grogar she had experimented and tried to resurrect her, but the spell with which the Tree of Harmony had sealed the antagonistic spirit inside the wooden vessel proved too powerful to undo, it held unyieldingly even after the Tree had perished for several moons. But after her hasty refuge to the former headquarters, she found that the seal had significantly weakened. Even then, her incantations had too little effect. It wasn't until now that Chrysalis finally had the magical prowess to break through it.

With considerable effort she cast a bright emerald beam at the log. Upon contact it glowed and began to twitch and rumble and then, in quite an unnatural fashion, it started to grow. It sprouted branches from its sides, and slowly became thicker; it was assuming the crude shape of a pony. With a blinding flash the process was complete and on the floor now lay Mean Twilight, unconscious yet already frowning.

Chrysalis let her lie there like that for a moment. The alicorn let out a groan, stood up, and opened her eyes. She cast two glances at the area around her and saw Chrysalis. Despite having been awakened from her slumber just a few seconds ago, her gaze was keen and wicked.

"You've brought me back."

"Indeed I have," Chrysalis proclaimed with immediate fury, "I need you for something else. But I haven't forgotten about how you betrayed me before."

Her horn lit up: she was going to cast another spell. Mean Twilight braced herself, ready to reflect the oncoming beam. But no such thing happened; instead, she felt an acute pain in her head, as if her skull was being split by an axe. She groaned in pain and collapsed onto the ground.

"Hnng! What is this? What are you doing to me?"

"This is just a little mind control spell to make sure that doesn't happen again. If you're done writhing we can continue."

Mean Twilight's migraine soon went away. She got back on her hooves without saying a word but looked at Chrysalis with piercing eyes. Just like the spell she used on Shining Armor, it didn't actually control her mind—at least, not yet—but rather induced headache and numbness whenever she defied her. Chrysalis ignored her struggle, holding her head high with an air of majestic authority.

"The reason I have brought you back is because I need your help with a spell. May I take it that you are as good with magic as the real Twilight Sparkle?"

"I'm better at magic than my döppelganger. I possess Twilight's body of magical knowledge, in that respect we are equals. However, unlike her I am not restrained by the ethical concerns prohibit the practices of dark magic that any grand wizard should be a master of."

Chrysalis smirked. "Very well. Let me put that knowledge of yours up to the test. Can you tell me what this is?"

Out of one of the corners of the hideout, an object enveloped in Chrysalis's green aura came floating in. It landed gently on the table. Mean Twilight examined it from up close. It was a small metal shard with the dull color of copper oxide. It was undoubtedly ancient, possibly as old as ponykind itself, but the artifact that it belonged to had only recently been shattered, as indicated by the gleaming, torn edges. And while it was as good as harmless now, she sensed the remnants of an awesome magical potential.

"You don't know?" Chrysalis asked indignantly. "I expected as much; the original Twilight didn't think it to be real either. This is a piece of Grogar's Bell."

"You mean the Bewitching Bell? The legendary item with which he created monsters and conquered Equestria?" She almost stammered in awe in the presence of the hallowed magical relic.

"Recently Grogar had returned. Me and my accomplices stole it from him, but he found out about it. I shall spare you the details. We defeated Grogar but the Bell was shattered, and with it almost all of its power was lost. This small piece is all I could salvage. It still possesses a sliver of magic. I suppose I won't need to compel you to study it and to master the magic for yourself."

"You certainly won't, my Queen." Mean Twilight picked up the piece and as she did she felt its power resonate with her own. She sensed a dreadful energy, shrieking, wailing, crying to be used by her. "I will study its power with pleasure, but explain to me what you will use it for."

"Fair enough, I will tell you," Chrysalis spoke, assured that she had full control over the clone and the powers she bestowed upon her thanks to the mind control spell. "After I had been cast out of my hive, Thorax"—she spat out his name as if it were poison—"the leader of the rebels, took control and under his reign my minions have been turned into a pathetic race. But with this artifact we will restore the Hive's glory. The magic of the Bewitching Bell has a corrupting effect: use it on a 'reformed' Changeling and he will get his old form back."

"May I test out this power at once?" Mean Twilight spoke eagerly.

"Go right ahead, I would love to see what you are capable of."

Chrysalis picked a flower from the swamp just outside of the hideout and put it down beside the shard on the table.

"Try using it on this."

Mean Twilight didn’t waste any time initiating the experiment. Her horn lit up with a murky purple and she picked up the shard again. Closing her eyes, she fell into a deep concentration. A minute passed in full silence without the slightest stir. Chrysalis had begun thinking the effort was in vain when she noticed that the aura on the döppelganger's horn flickered in color: it pulsated between purple and a new pitch black. The alicorn clone began breathing more heavily as the tip of her horn produced yellow sparks. The sparks liquefied and blended with the aura, driving out the last whiffs of purple. Not longer being able to contain the monstrous power, she pointed her horn at the flower. Then suddenly—prematurely—the magic was discharged in a bright yellow-black flash that hurled the caster against the wall. The noise that accompanied it didn't resemble the tolling of a bell, but rather a hammer striking an anvil or the breaking of glass.

Mean Twilight immediately got back up on her hooves. The blow had dazed her only slightly. In fact, the look in her eyes was even more vicious than before. Chrysalis examined the flower that was still lying on the table. It had withered: its petals were dry and dull and the stem, which was tainted brown, had turned flabby. It was a perfect, small-scale representation of Grogar’s prowess.

"Not bad for a first attempt," she said indifferently.

"I have two observations," Mean Twilight said. "Firstly, the magic inside the artifact is entirely unextractable. Whatever spell was cast upon it, it has irrevocably sealed the power within. But though this power cannot be extracted, it can still be imitated, as I just did. Secondly, although it is obvious, the power of the Bewitching Bell is extremely unstable. My thesis is that the Bewitching Bell acted not only as a vessel for the magic, but also as a moderator. Without the Bell, this magic requires the utmost concentration to wield and is unfit for combat and other highly dynamic situations."

Chrysalis listened attentively; she was concerned about the latter remark. "Do you have a solution for that?"

Mean Twilight smirked. "I will need the other Mean Six. The Element of Magic is the strongest when supplemented by the other Elements, and the same holds true for us. With their assistance a blitz attack is viable yet."

"Those lousy wooden copyponies cause more harm than good. I shall put up with them not even a second more than I absolutely need to."

"Very well then, you can resurrect them when we commence our attack. I will study its power by myself. It will slightly affect our chances at success, of course I propose the following approach: using your transformation powers and my likeness to the Princess of Friendship we will infiltrate the Hive and take out its leaders. From thence taking out the drones will be a trivial matter and you will rule once more over your corrupted underlings."

"What are you talking about?!" Chrysalis snapped, struck by a sudden coldness.

"About your form, my Queen. It is a product of the Bewitching Bell."

"How do you know?"

"Isn't it obvious? You have already given me all the clues to infer the fact." She spoke even more well-articulated than usual, as if to stab the breathless Changeling queen with every word. "You are relying on me to harness the power of a single fragment of the Bewitching Bell, an artifact belonging to Grogar, the Father of Monsters, who is known to have created many of Equestria's frightening beasts. To think he created the Changelings is therefore no stretch. Additionally, the fact that Changelings have a 'light' nature deep within them suggests they were corrupted rather than created that way, and Grogar has been said to create new beasts from existing creatures. As to why you didn't call on me before, but instead set out to find the Tree of Harmony: it can only be that you've learned of it recently. It is only logical that Grogar, whom you have met personally, related to you that he is in fact your progenitor."

"Enough, silence!" Chrysalis furiously interrupted Mean Twilight's dissertation. The latter immediately ceased talking; she knew she was treading on the edge of Chrysalis's sanity and was all but asking to be smited by that mind control spell again. She let her respond.

"It doesn't matter what happened thousands of years ago; I have always been like this, just like the Queen before me and the Queen before her. As far as history goes, the Changeling Hive has been a dark force that inspires fear in its enemies. I cannot be the deviation, I am myself, I am natural and all I want is to return my Hive to their original form. Thorax has made them weak and pathetic; how can that be natural? Weakness only persists if there is artificial element to keep it in existence. But under me they will be strong! But they still know what it was like; how we grew to be Equestria's greatest threat, successfully infiltrated Canterlot and defeated the Princesses. When we have turned them back to their old forms, they shall understand the error in their ways! They shall detest that ridiculous mutant appearance that has been imposed upon them by Starlight Glimmer. She shall be hated more passionately by them than by myself!"

Chrysalis could feel her blood boiling. She shouted her echoing words into the room, almost forgetting about the presence of Mean Twilight, who was still listening in total silence. A thin, satisfactory smirk had grown on her features.

"And you," she said as she turned to the clone, "what do you think you're doing, bringing up my past?"

"Forgive me, I meant no offense." She picked up the wilted flower, examined it complacently and then began slowly picking off the shriveled petals, scattering them on the ground. "I have no intention to jeopardize my own goals, which are to be reunited with the other Elements, to develop arcane magic and to spread disharmony. I cannot operate as long as I'm bound to the spell you put me under. Be aware I share your sentiment, for I myself am a superior form of another individual. Only by defeating them can we truly triumph. I don't just help you because I must; I insist on it."

Mean Twilight's words were seductive and intoxicating and their sweetness nourished Chrysalis's lust for revenge, but at the same time aroused nausea and an urge to wince in revulsion.

"Do not think I trust you one bit. You will remain under my control."

"That is an acceptable condition. If you excuse me, I will continue studying the power of the Bewitching Bell." She tossed the featureless stem away and collected the shard of the Bell that had fallen onto the ground.

"Very well, then I shall retrieve the remains of the other Mean Six."

"Farewell, my Queen," Mean Twilight spoke absent-mindedly as Chrysalis spread her wings and fluttered out of the hideout, out of earshot. "Do not fail me."

Sixth Chapter - The Edge of Equestria
It was the third day of their journey. Continuing westward at a leisurely pace that Cozy could keep up with on hoof, they had found their way out of White Tail Woods on the day before. Beyond the railtracks leading to Las Pegasus that unceremoniously marked the edge of the forest, the scenery was flat and considerably plainer. The deciduous trees that had given such a warm color to the lands reduced to a rarity and evergreens made their way into the landscape. Of the tiny, picturesque villages that they sighted in the forest there were none more; the only mark of civilization was the primitive dirt path they treaded on.

Another day's journey brought them to the Lunar Isthmus, the broad strip of land that connected Equestria to the Undiscovered West. The mountains gradually re-emerged from the earth and flanked both sides of the land bridge, hiding the North and South Luna oceans behind their snowy white peaks. The open space in-between was wonderfully fertile and teeming with life, much in contrast to what the two had experienced the day before: the grass grew tall and provided safety for the indigenous bunnies. Flowers of many colors that were scattered all over the valley attracted bees, and various birds circled in the skies.

"So this place is called the Valley of Dreams. It’s is so pretty, as if we've ended up in a kind of paradise!" Cozy Glow exclaimed as she marvelled at the landscape before her. In her excitement she flew ahead of her companion, who ventured along at an ever steady pace.

Tirek had to raise his voice somewhat to have his words heard by Cozy. "I remember resting here when Scorpan and I came to Equestria. This valley is inhibited by fireflies which come out when it's night, even I must admit it's a gorgeous spectacle to behold."

"Golly, I definitely wanna see that!" An idea popped in her mind. "Hey, why don't we set up camp here?"

"I thought you wanted to get to my kingdom as quickly as possible," Tirek said with deliberate indignation. "It's best if we continue our path without digress."

"I said that? Well, I guess I can wait more day to become Empress of Friendship again," Cozy replied hastedly. A nearby wild berry bush caught her eye. "This place seems to have plenty of berries, flowers and mushrooms that we can eat and there are streams of fresh water, too. Since we are getting low on supplies, it would actually be very convenient if we stayed here a little longer, wouldn't you say?" Anticipating the centaur's approval, she sat down in front him, symbolically blocking the way and claiming her territory.

Tirek conceded, "I suppose it would be wise to restock. And if it doesn't bother you to extend our journey, then it doesn't bother me either."

After examining the area for a convenient site to set up their camp, they settled at the foot of the northern mountain ridge. The site was located nearby a freshwater stream and provided a view of almost the whole valley. It was in stark contrast to the previous days, on which they didn't prepare for the night until dusk, that the sun was still high in the sky when they were finished. They were also done faster than usual thanks to Cozy Glow putting in significant effort.

With still several hours left until sunset they set out to forage. Because of her smaller posture, Cozy had an easier time picking out the plants, berries and other foodstuffs than Tirek, who was furthermore troubled by the unwieldy size of his hands.

"We're making good progress. My saddlebags are quickly being filled," she chirped, and tossed another mushroom in.

"This valley is so bountiful, we will have enough for the coming days as well," Tirek said plainly, meticulously scouring the grass in another direction.

"Beyond the mountain is the Luna Ocean, right?" Cozy asked suddenly. "If my map is anything to go by, it should be visible from the top."

"What? Do you want to climb to go and see it?"

She smiled, "I think it would be fun!"

"The terrain up there is rough, will it be no problem for you?"

"Of course not!" she sputtered, and spread her wings, "I can fly! Come on, let's go!"

Cozy took off and fluttered her way up the mountain. She was rather swift despite the load on her back and Tirek cantered to keep up with her. But after a minute, when she was two-thirds up on the mountain, the altitude gain started putting a strain on her wings, and she had to land to catch her breath.

"This mountain is taller than I thought it would be," she uttered between pants.

Tirek caught up with her. He snickered, "You should have taken those heavy saddlebags off before going up. Now you are too tired to fly."

"It's no big deal!" With one burst of power from her fatigued wings she leapt into the air and landed gracefully on the centaur's back. "I'll just let you do the rest of the climbing."

"My ancestors would be ashamed if they saw me like this," Tirek mumbled to himself, but loud enough for Cozy to overhear, "has the great Lord Tirek been turned into a glorified pony ride?"

"Aww, don't be so hard on yourself," Cozy said pathetically, "you're good at so many other things! Conquering lands, breaking through forcefields, being a packing mule… just not so great at collecting berries—"

Her motivational speech was interrupted as Tirek dashed off and galloped to the peak of the mountain ridge. Cozy had to readjust and grab on to what she could and nearly fell off in the process, but just as she managed to secure herself and got into a comfortable position Tirek came to a halt. Shaken and disoriented, she got back up on her legs and then she witnessed the North Luna Ocean. She felt a refreshing breeze blow through her curls, and for a brief moment she was speechless. The ocean before her seemed infinite, stretching all the way to the horizon in unperturbed peace. The surface was a dark, imposing shade of blue, almost like a starless night sky. As for the shores, they were exclusively lined with moss, grass and other small plants that could survive on the rocky bedding.

Tirek, too, was captivated by the vast body of water before him. He was caught off-guard and felt as if he were standing before a sleeping giant, one so big that it makes one feel puny and insignificant in comparison. It was an impression that he hadn't felt in ages. Sure, he had long acknowledged that Grogar was his superior in terms of raw strength, but he always figured he could get his hands on the means to overpower him. Indeed, even if he were kept in bondage in his weakest state—like how he was kept in Tartarus—he wouldn't have considered the warlock ram more than an obstacle to a delayed but unstoppable conquest.

He was born with a prodigious affinity for magic, a potential unlike that of anyone in the land of centaurs. Wandering into the foggiest parts of his mind, he recalled the plot against him. His father, King Vorak, was keenly aware of Tirek's prowess. Believing his mentor, the hermit Elder Sendak, to be a bad influence on him, and worried about his kingdom, he neglected his son and tried to keep him away from the throne. Thus rejected he began visiting Elder Sendak in secret. it was out of jealousy that Vorak did this, the hermit used to say; the throne rightfully belonged to Tirek and if Vorak wouldn't give it, it would have to be taken by force.

When Tirek learned that Elder Sendak had ponynapped a stallion from the far-off Equestrian nether-lands in order to absorb its magic and use it for himself, he stole that power and left Sendak behind. Together with Scorpan he set off to Equestria. Every bit of magic he drained from the local ponies exhilarated him, he needed more and more. Not much later he even forgot about reclaiming his right to the throne. His own kind had nothing to offer anymore. He was stronger than any creature in the world and thought himself invincible. Even when he was jailed in Tartarus after being betrayed by the one creature he had ventured to trust, this sense of ultimate supremacy never went away.

"I told you this trip would be worth it!" Cozy interrupted his thoughts. She smiled brightly, but Tirek, having spent plenty of time with her and having seen her mask slip several times, could by now detect the underlying motive. She had caught him daydreaming and wanted to call him out on it.

"It is quite beautiful," he said, just to give a proper response.

"You seemed awfully silent, Tirek. Why don't you tell me what's on your mind?" she asked, exactly as he predicted.

He sat down beside the filly, and sighed. "I was just thinking about what it is that brought me to Equestria the first place." He related to her all the things that had just come back to him.

"So you left because you wanted to claim the throne, and then wanted to stay for the greater source of power that you found here?" Cozy asked the dispassionate centaur curiously, "I don't think there's anything more logical in the world than that. If only you had been better friends with Scorpan he wouldn't have betrayed you and you wouldn't have ended up in Tartarus." She scooted over to him and tapped him affectionately on his back with her hoof.

He groaned and gritted his teeth. "Yes, yes, I know that. I've made some mistakes, and I've paid for it."

They sat in silence for some time again. The sun was soon going to set; as it approached the horizon it scattered a brilliant orange light through the atmosphere.

"Now that you know my story, tell me yours." Tirek said finally. "How did you become so interested in power? You're just a filly, not even old enough to travel alone."

"That is true, I am just a little filly," Cozy said sheepishly, as if she were taking some pride in the fact. "I guess it had to do with my upbringing. Pappy was an important political figure in Fillydelphia, he taught me from a young age that it's important to have as many ponies on your side as possible. If the ponies near you depend on you and the ones further away believe your lies you are tremendously powerful. That's what he always said. But then one day… when I wasn't home…" She choked on her words.

"What happened then?" Tirek asked discreetly.

Cozy wiped away the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes and continued, "I wasn't at home when it happened. The police ponies say it was a cooking accident but I don't know. Anyway, a fire broke out… and it quickly spread through our house… and my parents couldn't escape…"

She couldn't hold her sobbing in any longer. Tears streamed down her face as she dug into the centaur's lap. Tirek, unsure what to do, stroked her back in an attempt to comfort her.

Cozy calmed down after a few minutes. She lay there and after a while perked her head up. Tirek noticed the relief in her eyes.

"It's getting cold, let's go back to the camp."

Without further ado the two went down the mountain. Cozy chose to walk by herself; she had to be careful where she put her hooves, now that the sun had set beyond the mountains. Tirek followed closely behind, so he wouldn't accidentally lose her. Neither of the two travelling companions wished to perturb the melancholic atmosphere with senseless small talk, so they made their way to the camp in silence.

Not long after first setting hoof in the grass again, Cozy Glow heard the sound of crickets. She looked ahead and understood what Tirek meant with the beauty of the Valley of Dreams. Never had she seen the stars twinkle so brightly in the sky as here. The softly waving grass reflected their light with a marvelous purple luster, like a unicorn's magical aura. The flowers, which were bright and colorful at day, had turned shades of fluorescent blue. Owls, bats and other nocturnal animals had woken up and were lurking in the shadows, where they couldn't be seen. And, exactly as promised, here and there were small swarms of fireflies, performing their mysterious dances in hypnotic synchrony.

"You weren't overselling it for me when you said this place would be pretty," Cozy finally remarked when they reached the camp. Her voice was still a little choked up.

"Are you saying that centaurs don't have a sense of beauty?" Tirek retorted sarcastically.

"Oh no, I just mean that you were right all along." She took off her saddlebags and lay down on the blanket that was spread out before her tent. "Going on this journey was a good idea after all. If it weren't for you convincing me to come along I would never have seen such wondrous places. I bet tomorrow will be even better than today!"

Tirek sat down and rested in the damp grass. "That may very well be. Say, you've been curiously open today."

"Gee, am I not always like that? Well… I don't tell my life story to ponies everyday. I guess that means I trust you now." She yawned contently and wrapped her blanket around herself. "I've never been so tired in my whole life, I'll probably fall asleep the second I close my eyes. Sweet dreams, Tirek."

"Sweet dreams, Cozy." Not even a minute later he heard a gentle, rhythmic snoring coming from the filly, and soon dozed off himself.

The next morning Cozy and Tirek had a big breakfast made of the foods they had foraged; their impromptu detour had left them exhausted, and they hadn't eaten yet. With sated bellies they left the Valley of Dreams.

"Welp, it seems we've reached the end of the map. We're in no pony's land now." Cozy said, and she put the map away. "Speaking of…"

The notion struck her as she observed the new environment, and a cold shiver ran over her spine. They had gone beyond the frontiers of Equestria, where the weather is controlled by pegasi; whereas just a few moments ago the sky was only partially clouded, it was now densely overcast with ominous grey clouds. As a matter of fact, everything—the rocks, the dirt, the trees—had a lifeless, ashen grey color.

Cozy adjusted her pace to trot beside the centaur and stammered, "Do you think we're still going the right way? This place is creeping me out."

"Definitely," Tirek replied, himself wholly undaunted by the forest's uncanny appearance, "If we keep following the path we will reach the end of the forest before nightfall."

"Getting out of this scary place, sounds like a plan to me!" she exclaimed with frail optimism while nervously bouncing her curls with one of her hooves. "The faster the better. If we suddenly get attacked, I wouldn't know what I would do."

"I don't think there is any reason to be afraid as long as we stay together," Tirek responded half absent-mindedly. Her words sank in a moment later, upon which he raised a suspecting eyebrow. "Is anything the matter, Cozy? I don't recall you ever being so afraid. All the time you were in Tartarus you've never uttered a cry, nor when we scaled Mount Everhoof to retrieve Grogar's bell. You're not playing any tricks, are you?"

She winced with meek indignation. "Golly, why would you think little old Cozy would trick you? Is it not normal for somepony as small as me to feel scared in a place like this? This forest is filled with monsters, and I think I saw something in the bushes just now!" She pointed with her hoof to a bush at the other side of the path.

Although skeptical, Tirek turned his head and listened for hoofsteps or rustling of leaves, but there were none. It was only their breathing that broke the dead silence. He didn’t see anything remarkable either. They were perfectly alone for all he knew. He wanted to call a bluff, to figure out if Cozy Glow was, for some reason, trying to deceive him. Nonetheless, she was correct that this place was home to the most horrifying of creatures, including some that can prey on such a little pony with perfect stealth—even though these only come out at night—and therefore he figured he'd better play it cool, and challenge her peculiar demeanour on another occasion.

"If it scares the likes of you it must have been something truly terrifying," he replied. "Maybe it's Princess Twilight who's hiding there, and she has been following us all this time. Or maybe it's that friend of hers Pinkie Pie; now that would even chill me to the bone." He slapped his thigh in laughter and proceeded walking.

Cozy stood there stupefied for a second before breaking out of it and cantering to catch up. "I can't believe you. This is serious!" She said, still slightly stumped. "How would you like it if you were as small and defenseless as I am?"

"Oh come, it was only a joke." His voice was dismissive, but not apathetic. "Surely you've heard jokes before?"

"Of course I have," Cozy said irritatedly. "Back when I was at the School of Friendship, Pinkie Pie would talk about laughter and jokes for hours. Sometimes her classes were nothing but a stand-up routine. One time she told the story of how she and her friends were in the Everfree Forest and how their laughter saved them from the bewitched trees."

Tirek stroked his goatee in amusement. "That's kind of what we've got here, right? That lesson can do you some good."

"But it makes no sense," she continued. "How can I be joking around when something is on the line? Something that you've been working on and want to succeed at. It would be as if it just doesn't matter that you lose, or fail, or worse."

"I reckon that sometimes being too serious makes things seem bigger than they really are," Tirek pondered out loud. "I guarantee you there is nothing that is following and planning to attack us. Fussing about it will only make our stay here longer. In the worst case you may start to panic and get lost. And besides, maybe failing isn't always the worst thing."

Cozy Glow shook her head. "That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. If I want something, I'm going to do my best to get it. Otherwise it you shouldn't even bother. It's that simple and yet, everypony seems so content with losing, it makes me wonder why they pretend to care at all. They shrug and laugh about it, and I cannot stand it, especially not if they laugh about me! It only proves that they aren't worthy of the dreams they are following." She faced Tirek. "Don't tell me you'd rather have this than defeating the ponies and ruling over Equestria?"

"Sure," said Tirek, "if it were offered to me like that I would pick world domination. But in reality you need to work for it, and there are always factors you cannot account for. Like those ponies managing to create a rainbow laser when I had already taken all their magic," he added sneeringly. "I'm still not over that… But Grogar stopping us from defeating the ponies wasn't the worst thing. We weren't even banished: we're free."

"Free to come up with a new plan and try again, you mean. I've got another chance to befriend everypony in Equestria and rule over them as my pawns!" she added joyfully.

"At least you don't seem frightened anymore," Tirek remarked, softly chuckling to himself.

The path blended into a natural stairway that led down into a shallow canyon. Tirek descended with careful steps while Cozy opted simply to fly down. Below the air was humid and flyders could be seen swarming here and there.

"Hey, what's that over there?" Cozy pointed with at a particularly tall, spire-shaped structure, positioned in the center of the canyon. It had a distinct but subtle, menacing appearance and was seemed somehow darker than the other craggy peaks and cliffs, as if the sun couldn't reach it. They had to circle around to get closer, passing through a hallway lined with rocks on either side that seemed to exhale fumes generated by an invisible source of heat. After turning a corner and climbing a broad set of ascending stairs they saw a large, black gate that was decorated with mysterious crimson patterns.

"Look what we've stumbled upon," Tirek said. He smugly put his hands on his sides.

Cozy looked puzzled. "Should I recognize this? It doesn't ring any bells."

"Of course not, you've only ever seen this place from the inside, after all."

She pondered for an extended moment while Tirek patiently listened to the gears turning in her head. Then it struck her.

"The gate to Tartarus!"

Tirek nodded delightfully with his eyes shut.

"Yes, I have seen this before in a book that I borrowed from Twilight. It was when I was coming up with a plan to take over the School of Friendship. I decided trapping her and the others in Tartarus would be good riddance. Then they put me in there!—but I'll make sure I’ll even the score. They can rot behind these doors for all eternity! Ha-ha!" She tapped vigorously on the gate to emphasize her point. A delightful, galvanizing shudder ran down her spine. "I can already taste the sugary sweet taste of revenge when I put them in the very cage they condemned me to and kick the door closed!…"

Tirek just stood there, listening to the tirade of his companion. But while the filly raged on he sensed an almost undetectable grumbling in the rocks, like a distant volcano about to burst. It gradually grew stronger.

"…Golly, what a devious picture: little Cozy Glow, the adorable star pupil who just didn't want to be redeemed, for whom the 'Princess of Friendship' had to no other option but to condemn her to the underworld, will give this pretender what she metes out to those that she failed! All hail—"


 * bonk*

"—the Empress—"


 * BONK*

"Cozy!"

"—of Friendship!"

The gates behind Cozy crashed open with a deafening thud. Tirek only had time to guard his face with his arms. As for Cozy, she was frozen on the spot. The beast that was standing in the entrance produced a tremendous roar, sending another shockwave through the canyon. It locked eyes with the centaur.

"Cerberus," it flashed through Tirek's mind. "He must have sensed his escaped prisoners outside and has come to take them back in."

Without wasting a moment the three-headed hellhound lunged at its prey. Tirek anticipated the attack and guarded his torso with his arms. When he was within reach he grabbed the two outer heads, and kept them as far away from him as he could. The middle head was still free and was barking and foaming ferociously right before his face. With all of his strength he grappled his foe and tossed him onto the ground. Cerberus shook off the blow and prepared himself for a second strike. He cautiously stepped sideways as if to circle around Tirek, studying his every move at the same time.

"What an exceptionally powerful creature," Tirek thought. He figured that the guardian of Tartarus was strong, but he didn't expect him to match him in terms of raw power; he was nopony’s match. He slowly opened his mouth and inhaled to swallow the dog's magic. No effect. He figured it hadn't—he had tried it many times before. It would have to come down to physical strength after all.

Cerberus suddenly moved. But instead of attacking, he withdrew and bolted away to where Cozy Glow was still standing awestruck.

"Cozy, watch out!" Tirek shouted to her. He rushed to her aid but couldn't compete with Cerberus's hellish speed. He could only stretch out his hand in vain as Cerberus picked the defenseless filly by the scruff and retreated to Tartarus.

"Tirek! Help!" he heard the filly scream.

With the guardian dog back in his realm, the doors were starting to close. Tirek jumped in. With just a second to spare he put his fingers through the crack and prevented them from shutting completely. They were as heavy as two giant slabs of lead, made to stop even the most powerful of creatures from breaking them open. But he had to get in and rescue Cozy, who knows what kind of fate would await her? He braced himself and pulled with all his might. His teeth were clenched, his back was sweating, his hooves were starting to slip on the rocky ground, but slowly he managed to force them back open.

The dark depths of this dungeon was a sight he wished he'd never see again. For centuries he had waited to escape this dreadful place, and he never loathed his imprisonment more than when Cozy Glow joined him. But now, in a twisted turn of events he had to go back in for that very same filly.

He had no time to waste. He advanced, and the gates slammed shut behind him

Seventh Chapter - Behind the Gates
The outermost part of Tartarus was as dull and somber as the exterior. Just enough light was coming from somewhere to create a permanent twilight, of the sort in which shapes can be discerned but all color is depleted. Aside from the metronomic dripping of water off some stalactite, which softly echoed through the tunnel, there was a tranquil silence. Rather than ominous, the gloomy atmosphere of the premise was soothing.

Tirek waded through the thick fog that hung above the ground, being careful not to make excessive noises. He figured Cerberus would have returned Cozy to the place she and himself used to be imprisoned: the center of Tartarus. He kept going straight ahead, leaving the entrance tunnel and entering a more open section of the complex. Dreadful monsters were confined here in dungeons that lined the walls. His presence stirred a slight disturbance amongst the creatures, but he paid no attention to them; his mind was preoccupied with getting past the guardian dog.

He was still carrying his travelling equipment, but nothing he had with him was particularly suited for taking out the likes of Cerberus. Through his earlier skirmish he had already figured out that magic had no effect. He could try to outwit his foe, but he had no idea what to expect up ahead and he couldn't come up with an effective ploy for his life. Cleverness was never his strongest trait, he hated to admit. His best bet was to get the jump on Cerberus and try to take him out right away, but, again (the thought gnawed on his mind), it was Cerberus who had the tactical advantage here. Knowing his sense of smell and hearing, even spying on him from a distance would be a considerable feat of stealth.

Tirek clenched his fists in frustration. Why did he go back into Tartarus? He was fully aware he was risking his life; Cerberus might have easily restrained Cozy, but he himself, as a powerful centaur, an infamous criminal and a trespasser at the same time, would require a harsher approach. And he didn't even have a plan! He could have just let her be taken away and completed his quest by himself. Maybe she wasn't in immediate danger, and he could just explain the situation to the Princesses and ask them to let her out again.

No—he shook his head—he had to act. He couldn't be sure that Cozy was alright; if she was still in danger or in any way injured, the only one who could save her now was him. Seeing what state she is in, she couldn’t be abandoned, certainly not in a place like this, or she will surely succumb to psychological trauma—insofar as Cozy was scarred already. Even if she was lying and scheming behind his back this whole time, she needed to be helped. Besides, though he didn't really care much about it at the time, he did promise to Twilight Sparkle that he would look after her; and Tirek was a creature of his word.

But as he reasoned this, he realized that this wasn't this that was bothering him. Rather, it was the fact that he had acted without thinking it over. Even if he would have done so anyway, he threw himself back into Tartarus without deliberation, driven by pure instinct. Is this what the ponies call "friendship"? "Friendship is like a disease," Chrysalis put it when they were at the summit of Mount Everhoof. He was already infected, and now he was showing surefire symptoms.

He let out a heated sigh, and put a hand on his throbbing forehead. It was getting warmer: the central ring was getting close.

Cozy Glow could finally feel herself regaining control over her muscles. From the second the unleashed hound set his six eyes on her, she had been in a total state of shock. All of her motor skills were shut down by an overwhelming fear for her life, leaving her dangling like a stiff puppet while she was being carried back to her former prison. But right now she wasn't feeling anything.

She stood up, trying the strength in her legs, and looked through the bars of the cage. Cerberus was vigilantly guarding the narrow stairway that led to the spire upon which she was being kept. He noticed the filly was watching and turned around. She cautiously put up her most charming smile and waved with her hoof.

"Hey Cerberus! This cage is so cold and hard, won’t you please find me a better place to stay? If you let me out I promise not to fly away!"

She could barely finish these words before Cerberus barked back at her. Startled, she stepped back, tripped and fell down again on the cold floor. Her smile was shattered.

"Why don't you do what I want like everypony else," she whispered to herself, "I'm just an adorable filly, I'm weak and small so you should treat me like I'm innocent."

She lay still for a minute.

"Oh, forget it, I'm only kidding myself at this point. Of course pretending to be nice isn't going to work anymore. Twilight is still falling for it, but what does that matter?" She glanced at the cutie mark on her flank. "Even if I do everything as good as I can, even if I have everypony under my hoof, somehow me and my stupid mouth just end up here again. I didn't even do anything this time, so why does this only happen to me?"

She dusted herself off and sat on her hinds, her head hanging down in defeat.

"I wish Tirek was here. He might be only slightly smarter than the average pony, but he was a nice distraction. He's probably happy to have lost me, because he doesn't really need me. He will get stronger than all of Equestria combined and will succeed without my wits. And I was only joining him because of Twilight and her dumb ideas, so what does he care. I should have seen this coming. I was careless and let him have the upper hoof. This is all my own fault!"

She was suddenly filled with a bitter rage. Tears were welling up in her eyes. She wanted to stomp on the floor and pull at her mane. It made no sense, it served no purpose, but it was the only thing she could do.

But before she could act out her despair, a loud clang rang out of nowhere, and seized her attention. She started, and looking for where the sound came from she noticed a pebble just outside of the cage, barely within reach.

"Huh?"

She stretched her hoof through the bars and picked it up. "Where did this come from?" she muttered quizzically to herself. Did somepony throw it at her? She put her head between the bars and looked outside.

Off to the side, half-hidden behind a big boulder she saw an imposing, hooded figure waving his red, muscle-bound arms at her. For a second Cozy couldn't believe her own eyes. Was Tirek here to save her? Newfound joy welled up in her, and she had to suppress the impulse to squee. If she wanted to escape, she had to stay cool.

Cozy waved back discreetly, careful not to draw the attention of Cerberus. Then when she saw she had Tirek’s attention she put her hoof by her muzzle, gesturing caution, and pointed to the guardian dog, who was still patrolling the bottom of the stairway. Tirek couldn't be seen by him from where he was standing, but conversely he didn't have a good view of the area, either.

Tirek, with a face dead serious, responded by putting his hands up in a shrug and then pointed with open palms also to Cerberus.

Cozy took a second to read his body language. "Wait," she thought, "don't tell me he's come all the way here without a plan! That dumb oaf, how is he supposed to break me out now? Can I count on him doing something useful for me for once?"

Or maybe… this is just what she needed. Tirek still had the strength to break her out of her prison and to fend off Cerberus, and best of all: he still had the element of surprise.

At that moment Cerberus suddenly turned around and, seeing the filly standing up, he fixed his suspicious eyes on her. It caught her off-guard, and she reflexively forged another smile. It only lasted a few seconds but this one hurt to wear, and she was relieved when he looked away again.

She tapped her forehead, trying to regain her focus and pondered, "Think, Cozy Glow, think, think! How can you use all of this to your advantage?"

"Hey Cerberus," Cozy practically shouted to make herself audible through the entire space, "you have been doing such a good job dungeon-keeping, and I thought you deserved a treat. Do you want a cookie?" Out of her saddlebags she took a bag of cookies that Twilight had packed for her and took one for herself. "They're veeeery delicious! Come get one if the path is clear!"

One of the heads, the most docile of the three, was eager for a snack, but the others seemed more skeptical. They would probably have scolded her again if they weren’t promised food. The three heads entered a small argument but it was soon settled: Cerberus would stay put.

"Well, so much for that idea," Cozy thought. She didn't expect Cerberus to fall for such a simple distraction, but that wasn't the real purpose of her move. She was really signalling to Tirek, and she hoped he had understood it.

Now it was time for plan B. Using some rope and a blindle that she had with her she crafted an improvised sling. With it she would launch the pebble Tirek threw at her, hoping to hit the metal bars of a big empty cage that was standing near the wall and distract Cerberus. It was a long shot, and she had only one try, but it had to work.

"Of all those bogus classes at the School of Friendship, I never thought lassoing practice from Applejack would prove useful," she whispered to herself as she put the projectile in the pouch and took aim.

Cerberus was looking the other way. This was her chance. Putting the end of the rope in her mouth, she swung the sling around several times and then released. The pebble went through the bars of her cage and shot through the air like a bullet, invisible to the eye. Cozy's ears pricked up, awaiting impact, and true enough, just a couple of seconds later she heard the distinctive noise of metal being struck echoing from the other side of the complex.

Was her plan working? She didn't dare to take a look right away and see if Cerberus had reacted to it, she didn't want to raise any suspicion. She had to lay low and wait.

Half a minute passed in dead silence before Cozy took the risk and peeked through the bars. Cerberus was still standing right at the foot of the stairs. His tail was wagging intensely. The middle head, the most ferocious one, was tugging at the others, trying to get them to move to that dark corner from whence the sound came.

"Come on, go check it out!" her lips articulated inaudibly.

The other two heads didn’t want to move; Cozy held her breath to see what Cerberus was going to do. But knowing that the other escaped prisoner may be hiding there…

Slowly Cerberus began making strides in the direction of the noise, sniffing and examining the area in three directions at the same time. Reaching the corner he looked back one final time and then disappeared from view.

This was their window of opportunity! Cozy saw Tirek was already scaling down the elevated rock he had sat upon waiting and stole towards the stairs and swiftly scaled them. Just a moment later he stood before Cozy's cage.

"Golly, Tirek, you've made it! Can you break me out?"

Tirek grabbed the bars of the cage and bended them with ease. Cozy jumped through the opening.

"No problem for these babies," Tirek boasted, flexing his biceps with a sense of pride. "Mission accomplished."

"Not quite," Cozy retorted tensely. Cerberus was already returning from his excursion. When he saw the Centaur standing by the prison he growled and started sprinting.

"We might be in trouble. Do you have another plan?" Tirek pointed at the charging hellhound. Their previous spar had proven that attacking Cerberus head-on was a dangerous idea.

"Sort of. The plan is to defeat Cerberus by working together," Cozy explained. "I will distract him, then you come in to take him down. Then we will make a run for it."

Tirek scratched his head in hesitation. "If he catches you you'll be toast. Are you sure it will work?"

By now Cerberus stood at the bottom of the stairs, blocking only way down. He was about to climb up.

Cozy gulped, "It's our only chance to escape. I'll just have to keep my distance." She turned around, spread her wings, and took off, making a beeline in the direction of the exit. She didn't fly at full speed, hoping that Cerberus would see her escape her and chase after her. As expected, she was spotted by one of the heads right away. With a considerable distance between her and the dog, she stalled, turned around and teased, "Hey you dumb dog, try to catch me now!"

Hesitating to pursue the fleeing prisoner, he put a paw down from the stairs, but a second's deliberation later he retracted it and proceeded creeping up to where Tirek was.

Cozy panicked a little. Though she had hoped for better luck, going after Tirek first was the logical move: without his strength she would have been stuck anyway and could be taken care of later. However, that did leave Cozy with little choice: if Cerberus had to be drawn away from there, she had to get closer.

She turned around and flew back. With clenched teeth she fluttered over the canyon that divided her prison from the rest of Tartarus. She was out of range of Cerberus's bites and swipes, but close enough to lure him into going after her. Cerberus could only growl at her. In order to lead him away from the stairs she flew behind his back, prompting the dog to step back and turn around. She had to be extra careful now: one miscalculated wing flap and she could end up in his paws. The thought of it sent a chill over her back.

As Cozy slowly hovered backwards, Cerberus snuck after her with silent steps, preserving an even distance between predator and prey. Should she fly higher, or was she safe at this elevation? Should she flee right now, or wait a little longer? Panic overtook her, she tugged her body to turn around and flapped her wings with all her might. Unable to see the threat behind her anymore, her vision went dark from fear and she plummeted to the ground. She could hear Cerberus approaching, his mean, three-mouthed growl increasing in volume as it came closer, it was less than a hoofstep removed from her—

"Now I've got you, you mutt!" Cozy opened her eyes. To her shock, Cerberus was indeed practically looming over her. But try as he did, he couldn't get any closer, something was stopping him. Behind him stood Tirek, holding Cerberus by the tail.

"How about you go sit in the corner for a while!" Tirek pulled Cerberus back and started swinging him around in circles. After several turns of building up speed he let go, crashing the dog into a nearby rock structure and knocking him out.

He reached out his hand to Cozy Glow, who was still lying on the ground.

"You're not hurt, are you?"

"No, I'm fine, I think." She allowed herself to be pulled up. Rubbing her temples, she felt her senses were finally returning. "Come on, what are we waiting for, let's go!" she commanded, upon which she flew up and held on to Tirek's shoulder. He took off as fast as his hooves could carry him.

"The exit isn't too far away, but how are we going to get through the gate?" Tirek wondered.

"You're just going to have to use raw magical power!" Cozy replied. "Twilight combined the magic of all creatures in Tartarus to break out, but now that you are all strong and mighty you can do that all by yourself, right?"

Tirek smiled. He always appreciated it when his brawn was recognized. "Twilight Sparkle has nothing on my power, just you watch!"

Still holding on tight, Cozy looked over her shoulder. Cerberus, it appeared, had already gotten back up. Though he tried to push on, his movements were slow and sluggish and with each step he nearly stumbled over. He was unable to give chase. Instead Cerberus sat down and lifted his three heads into the air, and they howled in unison. It was a sound so awfully distressing and ominous that not even Tirek thought he had ever heard a noise so dreadful in his life; he covered his ears to silence it.

It didn't stop. Like an alarm gone haywire Cerberus was trying to announce to the whole world that his prisoners were fleeing.

"What is wrong with that dog?! Enough of the yelping already!" Tirek snarled irritatedly, his palms still firmly pressed against his ears.

"T-T-Tirek!" Cozy cried with clappering teeth. "W-w-w-we're being chased!"

"How in the—I thought we'd lost him!" He glanced over his shoulder to see what Cozy meant.

No, it wasn't the hellhound; something much larger and much more daunting was hot on his heels. Bones that lay scattered throughout the dungeon had started moving on their own and were being assembled in the image of a gigantic horse galloping at incredible speed. Its nostrils produced a torrent of black smoke that shrouded everything behind it in darkness.

"It's getting closer, hurry up!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!"

The duo passed a corner. Another long, dark passageway. At the opposite end stood the gate.

"There's our exit!" Tirek shouted hopefully.

"Charge your magical attack! We've only got one shot to do this right. Wait for my signal to fire!"

Tirek accumulated all his magical reserves between his horns into ball of pure magic, which was rapidly expanding. Cozy could feel the heat radiating off it. With one hoof she blocked its blinding light from getting into her eyes; she had to keep track of the distance to the gate. If Tirek'd fire too soon they would compromise on power and accuracy; on the other hoof, if he'd fire too late they might get caught by the blast radius.

Cozy didn't want to think of the monstrosity behind her. She swore she saw the smoke creeping up into the corners of her eyes, ready to swallow them both. She knew this escape was no longer a calculated plan with clever mind-games and a foreseeable outcome—her own inevitable victory. It had come down to unknowable odds that decided if she would live or die. Ponies long had a name for the emotion that tethered one’s sanity to the unbearable, fatal ambiguity that life may bring, but this was the first time she understood what having hope felt like.

As the tunnel straightened and the gate was only seconds removed from them, the entire cacophony of stamping hooves, clattering bones, hissing smoke and most of all Cerberus's howling was further amplified, as if the whole world was crumbling apart.

"Blast it open now Tirek!" Cozy yelled.

Tirek aimed his horns forward and shot a concentrated magical ray with the color of molten lava at middle of the gate. The beam exploded upon contact, creating a powerful shockwave that ran back into the bowels of Tartarus. Cozy pressed her eyes shut to protect them from the debris. She stayed like that until she could feel the light through her eyelids—the sunlight of an overcast day that seemed so drab before now felt warm and inviting.

She and her companion had come to a standstill. The world gone silent again, save for Tirek's intensive heaving. Opening her eyes, she found herself back at the entrance of Tartarus. The gates were standing wide open and out of the opening projected an assortment of bones, as dead as they once were. The sunlight had vanquished the darkness that animated them.

Tirek rested his arms on his knees for a second before he dragged himself towards the doors. Only a slight pull turned out to be necessary for them to close on their own; and fortunately so, because he didn't have a whiff of strength in him anymore. He figured they were finally safe, and reached his hand around his neck and patted the pegasus foal who was still clamped to his shoulder on her head.

"Are you still in one piece, Cozy?" he spoke with a soft chuckle, as if trying to lift the mood somewhat.

"I've made it without a bruise, I think,"—she yawned—"but I do need rest. I don't think I can trot much further."

"Hmm. This adventure into Tartarus has cost us a lot of time, and we must leave this forest before night falls. If you really can't go on, I suppose you can rest on my back."

"Okay." Cozy let out a sigh, in which Tirek detected genuine relief. "Thanks, Tirek." She shuffled down from his shoulders and lay down comfortably on the centaur's backside. It was a remarkably pleasant surface to lie on, and she felt herself dozing off almost instantly.

"If it wasn't for your cleverness and your bravery we would still be stuck there," without looking back he pointed to the gates of the prison that he was leaving behind for good, "I think it's I who would be thanking you."

He didn't know if Cozy was still listening. It didn't really matter to him.

Eighth Chapter - The Obelisk
After escaping the dreary woods, the two rested for the night in a nearby cave. Their journey continued the next morning.

"This terrain is beginning to look familiar. I'm sure these are the outskirts of the land of centaurs," Tirek proclaimed with confidence. He had often visited this territory to train his magic prowess when he was young, and apparently nothing had changed about it. The stormy skies had a permanent blue glow due to accumulated electrical charge, while dry grass painted the grasslands yellowish blond. The monotony was interrupted only by a few dead trees bearing red-hot scars, as if struck by lightning no more than an hour ago.

"Which means we will likely arrive at Midnight Castle today," he added, "though after all these years I cannot remember its precise location. Since we don't have a map, we will just have to rediscover it for ourselves."

An hour passed uneventfully. While walking Tirek inspected the horizon for the buildings of his former home as well as the nearby environment for pathways, milestones or any other artifact that would indicate that they were approaching civilization, but it was to no avail. Eventually a moderately tall hill arose on the horizon.

"That hill over there would be a good vantage point," Tirek said. "From there we can cover a lot of ground, especially if you fly up high and look around from above."

His words garnered no response. In fact, as he realized, the filly beside him hadn't said a thing all day. At first Tirek believed she was still fatigued from their escape the day before and therefore respectfully refrained from asking unnecessary questions; but now it had been hours without her uttering a single word and he was growing a little concerned. Indeed, upon closer inspection Cozy was far from her usual energetic self. She seemed lost in her thoughts, trotting forth with signs of some profound conflict etched into her rust-red eyes.

Thinking he had been patient long enough, Tirek tried to grab her attention by waving his hand before her face.

"Equestria to Cozy! Is everything alright in there? How about this: if it cheers you up, I promise we'll have ice cream later." He'd never had ice cream before, but one day during their shared time in Tartarus Cozy had mused at length about her love for various flavours of ice cream. He smirked, "Or perhaps we can search libraries of Midnight Castle for a book on ancient, powerful centaur magic. It's knowledge that not even Twilight Sparkle knows about."

"Thanks Tirek, but I think I'll pass."

Tirek winced in surprise. "Did I hear that right? After reaching me in Tartarus in search for great magical power, you're letting a free opportunity like this slip?"

"Even if I had all the power in the world, what does it matter if I'll just end up back in Tartarus? I'm better off doing nothing at all."

Tirek withdrew his elatedness and tried to sound more understanding. "You're still sad about yesterday."

Cozy thought for a second. "Not really sad, just… confused. I don't think my dream of becoming the Empress of Friendship is realistic anymore, because even if I’m in the middle of nowhere and I’m not really doing anything I still get brought down and my plans are foiled before I even begin. If I had to guess, it's probably that Tree of Harmony that the other students talked about. It knows where I am and is conspiring with Twilight to defeat me."

"Come now, that's a ridiculous theory. We wandered to a place where we shouldn't have been and through bad luck ended up in dire straits. But we managed to escape, we learned about some of the secrets of Tartarus, and now we are free to live another day and try again. That's something that you what you told me earlier, right?"

"Yes," she conceded, "but that was only because you helped me, and I didn't even coerce you to. A lot of things could have gone wrong and if they did, I don't know what I would have done." She let out an erratic sigh.

"But it isn't just you, Cozy Glow. We're a team. I bring the firepower, Chrysalis can shapeshift and hypnotize, and you are a strategic genius, especially for someone your age. How old are you again?"

This made Cozy giggle and her cheeks flushed red. "I'm only nine years old."

"And despite that you've devised plans to bring Equestria to your hooves. So what if you relied on somepony else for a moment?" Tirek shrugged.

"But that's something that Twilight would do."

"And?"

"And I've studied your battle with Twilight. If she hadn't traded off her useless friends for all alicorn magic, she wouldn't have been in needless risk and would have defeated you for sure—"

"Hold on a minute, that's debatable…"

"My point is that her friends are her biggest weakness. They used to be instrumental for wielding the Elements of Harmony, but ever since Sombra destroyed those they have been nothing but dead weight. What were they to you except worthless bargaining chips? Not only that, but they know her insecurities, her blind spots and all her secrets. She must live in constant fear that one of them flaps out some intimate fact about her and threatens her reputation! With the amount of time and effort she spends on those friends she has pretty much put herself in a position of subservience. If that is what it would take to become a more powerful pony like Twilight, what kind of empress would be left of me?"

"Well," Tirek responded pensively, "maybe they are less useless and fallible than you think they are. They have been successfully working together for many years now, so they must be doing something right. It seems that they trust each other enough that they will never let each other down; that's exactly why she demanded all of her friends—including Discord."

"I have considered that, but I don't see any evidence for that being the case. The only reason Twilight beat you was because the Tree of Harmony happened to intervene. Besides—" she looked Tirek in the eyes with coldblooded sincerity, "—I don't think you've forgotten the last time you put too much trust into somepony. Be careful not to repeat past mistakes."

"I—" His head sunk under his shoulders. He had balled his fists and was searching for words to explain himself. A softly grumbling thunder strike rolled over them, and it was followed by a moment of silence.

"What happened that day"—the words, weighed down by shame and self-reproach, barely broke from his lips—"happened because I never really trusted Scorpan in the first place. He was always following me around, listening to me, disturbing me with questions and opinions whenever I was working on something he found objectionable. But I never listened to him, and never asked him anything. I took his obedience for granted. When I first knew that he betrayed me, I don't think I was even enraged; I simply dismissed him, thinking that I was already invincible. Turns out I wasn't."

He suddenly stood still, raised his head and took several deep, meditative breaths, tasting the sharp smell of ozone that hung in the air. Cozy was staring at him all the while, showing neither empathy nor vanity.

"It is different," he continued, his voice now sounding considerably lighter and even slightly confident, as if some heavy weight had been lifted from his chest, "I think if I had cared about him more, he would not have turned his back on me. In a sense, he was never on my side to begin with."

"Or he would still have ditched you and ruled as king of the centaurs happily ever after," Cozy added with no trace of sarcasm.

"I will perish the idea for now," Tirek said, calmly but visibly dissatisfied with Cozy's snide remark, "it coming from our favourite warmongering filly."

"Warmongering? Me?" Cozy put her hoof by her cheek in amusement. "Maybe yesterday, but not anymore. What even is the point if we're all going to lose what we have gained anyway. If not sooner, then later. Not even the perfect plan can allow to you rule forever."

"Your sun princess is immortal, isn't she? Maybe you can find out a way to become an alicorn, too," Tirek proposed nonchalantly, yet at the same time eager to hear Cozy's opinion.

"Assuming I will never be defeated by a magical tree, that might work," she speculated, reciting thoughts she had worked out not much earlier, "but what point is there at staring at a finished chessboard for all eternity?"

Tirek shrugged. "Beats me. I only wanted to conquer Equestria for its delicious magic."

"I see." Cozy seemed content with the answer, but suddenly she followed up, "By the way, who was that King Vorak who Twilight mentioned on the checklist she gave me? Did you know him?"

Tirek's torso stifled with irritation. "Vorak?! Why in the name of Grogar are you bringing him up now?"

"No reason, it just came to mind," Cozy replied plainly, "Do you know him?"

"I most certainly do: he was my father. It is not something I wish to discuss."

Cozy leaned in a little and studied Tirek's face. Upon noticing the staring filly, he looked off the other away.

"If you don't want to tell me then I hope I can learn to know who he is at Midnight Castle. He sounds like a pretty important guy."

"Enough, Cozy Glow!" Tirek waved her off and increased his pace, forcing Cozy to speed up as well. With this she dropped the topic and returned to her own thoughts.

Sometime later they reached the foot of the hill. Despite the considerable distance covered today and the day before, Tirek was still energetic and quickly marched to the top. Cozy rested her hooves by flying the last stretch. Reaching the top, they found that the land before them had much of the same timeless impression: a climate frozen on the brink of its extinction. The only plain difference was that there were more hills and other rock structures.

"Tough luck. Are you sure we are going the right way?" Cozy said between puffs from her flying workout.

"No, we are almost there." Tirek pointed into the distance. A corner of the horizon appeared to offer an inconspicuous stony desert.

"What are you talking about? There's nothing there."

"That's where our destination is." Seeing Cozy looking at the centaur with a quizzical expression, he continued, "Midnight Castle used to be guarded by powerful spells. To outsiders it is invisible and impossible to find."

"If that is so then why did you ask me to keep a look out?" she protested.

"Since the Castle used to be my home, I was expecting it to readily reveal itself to us, but I surmise I have been outside of its walls for too long. We shall have to re-summon it. Though I have never witnessed it up close, somewhere not too far away from the Castle stood an ancient obelisk. If it still exists, we must find it. Its inscriptions can instruct us on how to gain entry to the Castle."

"I'm already on it." Cozy took off and flew straight up into the sky. She kept climbing until she was located about halfway between the earth's surface and the clouds. At this height her downiest hairs were standing on end due to the free electricity within the atmosphere. She carefully inspected the landscape with her sharp pegasus vision.

"Can you see anything yet?" Tirek shouted from down below.

"There's something over there! Follow me!" She went into a glide and Tirek hurried after her. As he was getting closer and closer to returning to his homeland, his heart was pounding harder in his chest. However, at the same he felt as if his emotions where being tightly restrained, for whatever it was that she was leading him to, it didn't resemble an intact monument.

Cozy had arrived a minute before Tirek and was waiting for him before the site, which now shown itself to be a pile of rubble. Broken pieces of granite were overgrown with moss and covered by a thin veil of sand, yet nearly untarnished by precipitation, temperature and other natural forces.

"I know it isn't exactly how you described it, but this was the only thing that stood out and it sure seems like it could have been part of a monument," Cozy remarked while studiously turning over a small fragment with her hoof. One the sides was perfectly polished and bore strange markings that she had never seen before.

Tirek picked up the piece, examined it and then dropped it. "It appears this is indeed the obelisk, or rather what is left of it."

"So how do we use it to find Midnight Castle?" she inquired.

"I've got no clue. In the condition that it's in, it's as good as useless." He sighed and started pacing in frustration.

"Don't give up so easily Tirek," Cozy said, though the centaur didn't appear to listen, "You would be surprised how much can be salvaged from something that is broken. I think we can fix it."

She began scouring through the rubble for small fragments, which she picked up and laid down in the grass beside the monument. Several fragments were already reallocated and she was on her way for another one when Tirek joined her.

"Do you really think this would work?" He asked, nervously rubbing his hands.

"Trying something out can't hurt. Think of it like a puzzle! First, we pick out all the pieces that have a smooth side and put them down over there: those are part of the outside, and the ones we need to summon the Castle. Then we put them together, using edge pieces and the inscriptions as our guide. If you do the big pieces, I will do the small ones."

Tirek nodded and the two got to work. About an hour later the fragments were all neatly spread out over an area the size of a living room. Cozy had already taken care to categorize her pieces according to their features—inscriptions and edges, as well as size; the ones that Tirek had moved were more randomly assorted. She spread her wings and took off to get an aerial view.

"Okay, let's see now. This pointy stone is probably the top of the obelisk. That's a good please to start. And that one over there seems as if it connects to it. Tirek, can you put them together?"

He did as instructed and Cozy continued, "That big one has a lot of text on it, so it probably belongs somewhere in the middle…" Piece by piece the monument was being put back together. Tirek was surprised at the speed with which Cozy managed to find fitting pieces: just as he laid down one fragment, Cozy had already selected the next one. All in all, he wasn't working any slower than when he was just sorting them earlier and even worked up some sweat. Through their combined effort time flew by.

"It's finished!" Tirek proclaimed finally, wiping his forehead with satisfaction.

"Oh golly, let me see!" Cozy buzzed over to Tirek, before whom the now-restored face of the obelisk lay stretched out. Its size was such that Tirek would barely have been able to reach the top if he stood on his hind-hooves and stretched his arms, and it had the shape of an elongated isosceles triangle with extra angles at the apex. From some of the bigger pieces that wrapped around the side it could be seen that it was in fact thinner at one side, like a tombstone. The text with which it was decorated appeared to be divided into two tall, vertical columns and took up the lower half of the surface. The glyphs were composed of shapes like circles, wedges and figure-eights, all connected by long strokes and here and there accentuated with dots. The upper half featured a coat of arms: it was the triangular sigil that Tirek once wore as a necklace but surrounded by a pair of horns. The whole was framed with a bordure and the surface was decorated with a subtle geometric relief that neither of them had noticed on the individual pieces.

It was the first time that Tirek had beheld anything from his own culture in a thousand years. It was clearly a sculptural masterpiece and for a full minute he stood there awed in silence and marveling at its beauty. Cozy was also admiring the work. It suddenly crossed Tirek's mind that while they were working, she had never even used the half-finished object as a reference, meaning that she was solving the puzzle just by looking at the pieces she still had.

"It looks really pretty," Cozy mused, interrupting his flow of thought. "Can you tell me what it says?"

Tirek blinked several times and mumbled, "Oh, right. It has been a while since I've read my native language, so give me a minute to comprehend it."

He first went through the text by himself, quietly reciting the words as he worked his way down. Cozy recognized the exotic yet graceful manner of speech from a few select expressions that slipped his tongue during their first days in Tartarus. He scraped his throat and read:

"The stronghold nearby

is beyond mortal powers

For shadows of night

are obscuring its towers

Centaurs and gargoyles

who laid down the bricks

Were masters of Nature

but knew not yet her tricks

The bat hunts by echo

and heat guides the snake

Without vivid daylight

they tell real from fake

Vain trust in illusions

foretells endless ordeal

But to the blind stranger

Midnight Castle shall reveal"

"Some of the stylistic devices have gone lost in translation," Tirek supplemented on a critical note.

Cozy Glow clopped her hooves in approval. "But you did give it a nifty rhyme scheme! Oh, I love solving a good riddle!"

Tirek stroked his beard. "What does it mean…"

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Cozy fluttered above the obelisk to capture Tirek's attention. "It says that we can only find the castle if look for it without using our eyes."

She dived into her companion's saddlebags and came back out with a piece of cloth, which she folded into a long strip. With one end in either hoof she darted around Tirek's head and drew it over his eyes.

"Night-night!"

"Hey! What in—get this off my face! I can't see a thing!"

"That's the point, dummy." She tied the ends into a sturdy knot and sat down on his back. "Try using your other senses. I'll hold on so we won't bump into each other." She too shut her eyes.

"Do you really think this works?" Tirek asked. He had regained his composure and was getting accustomed to the darkness.

"Maybe, maybe not. But it's worth a try! Now: shhh…"

Silence befell the duo. For a while they stood there, neither moving a muscle. Even their breathing was so slow and mild that it could not be heard.

Tirek listened closely to his surroundings. He picked up on a rustling: the wind was softly blowing through the grass. He felt it caress his arms, his legs, the hair on his face. He felt the dry, grassy soil that supported his hooves. Gravity pressed on his joints and he felt the weight of his own body, as well as that of the load on his back. The last picture of his surroundings faded from his mind; it was as if he could be at a completely different place when he would take the blindfold off. But still, no sign of a castle suddenly appearing.

"Have you noticed anything yet?" Tirek whispered in a deep voice.

"Not yet," he heard being whispered right next to his ear, "Try to think of what the place used to look like."

Tirek sat himself down on the ground, folded his hands, and took a deep breath. What could he think about? What could he even remember in the first place? He thought about the black, curving spires of the royal palace, as he last saw them when he set out for Equestria. He remembered the houses, the streets, the townsfolk going about their daily routine.

"Tirek, stop murmuring!" Cozy whispered from behind him.

"I'm not murmuring, you must be hearing things," Tirek rebutted, slightly annoyed at the accusation. "Wait, what did you hear?"

"I don't know, it was something in that centaur language again."

His heart skipped a beat. "Do you think it could be… Listen again, and listen closely where it comes from."

Again, Tirek pictured one of the main streets of the city, populated with centaurs and gargoyles. Some were hurrying to be somewhere; others were leisurely talking which one another. One centaur was shouting across the street at another.

"Golly, you're right! It's not you; it’s coming from behind us."

At once Tirek got up and turned around. He now too heard voices calling from far away. He could hear them, even though he wasn't even actively imagining them. Where was he? Was there actually somepony over there? Without thinking, he moved his arm to lift his blindfold.

"Don't look just yet! We have to do this right, or we may end wasting our chance." Cozy had gotten up and was pressing her hooves against Tirek's neck.

"But there is something over there, I'm sure of it!"

"Remember the text: it says that Midnight Castle shall reveal itself to us. Don't trust your eyes."

Tirek grunted, but he realized Cozy Glow made a very sensible point and reluctantly lowered his hand back to his waist.

For the third time he envisioned Midnight Castle. He tried to come up with as many memories as possible. The throne room of his father, the dinner hall, the armory, the training grounds, the marketplace… all these places that he hadn't visited for such a long time were now resurging from his mind, and with great detail. He pictured the whole place as if he were actually looking at it: the castle gate, the stone walls, and the menacing black spire in the middle, which was casting a huge shadow to the east. Its bells were chiming, like they did every evening. He also thought of the surrounding desert with its the sun-bleached rocks, the clear blue sky above it and storm clouds in the distance. When he looked down, he saw his torso and his arms. With a trembling hand he touched his forehead. His blindfold was still in place.

"Tirek," Cozy spoke aloud, "I can see it now."

He took off the blindfold and slowly opened his eyes. At a few miles distance, at a site that was as dull and barren as the vast stretches of the surrounding area, now stood Midnight Castle, exactly as he had remembered it—or rather, how it appeared to him. He did not think his own memory could create such a mental reconstruction. Even from so far away, what he saw looked more detailed than the most lifelike dream.

He got up. His knees were trembling too. For a while he stood there saying nothing. Cozy could hear him breathe heavily. She hopped off his back and joined him at his side.

"Congratulations, Tirek!" she chirped. "You've finally reached Midnight Castle and soon we will see what has become of it, just like Twilight asked."

Tirek took a deep breath and blew the air back out through his nostrils. "I have indeed. Actually, we have. I would not have gotten this far without you."

Cozy squeed. "All I did was keep up the morale a little, you don't have to thank me for that. Thanks to my bad luck we were almost trapped forever."

"No really, your company has made this journey considerably easier, despite the… uh, hiccups on the way." He produced a smile, to which Cozy blushed a little in response.

Tirek adjusted his cloak and stepped forward. "Come, let us see what I have missed."

Ninth Chapter - King Scorpan
The road to the entrance of Midnight Castle was laid with bricks the color of charcoal. It stretched out for half a mile before it was swallowed by the drifting desert sands. Clouds weren't covering the skies over the castle and the setting sun was bright and hot. It made Tirek feel feverous, adding to the nausea inflicted by his cramped stomach. He grabbed a canteen from his saddlebags and drank it empty, which put him to ease a little.

Of all the thoughts troubling his mind, there was one thing that was disconcerting him directly. The vision with which he made Midnight Castle appear featured voices, bells, and other noises natural to an active city; but as they were approaching the gate there was no trace of any commotion. It didn't seem right. Had his senses deceived him, after all?

The gate stood open. This was not unusual, as it was only closed after it had gone dark, however it used to be kept by two guards at any time.

Without wasting a moment, Tirek marched through the gate. Cozy stayed closely beside him. She held her breath as they entered Midnight Castle.

The interior of the city was densely built with houses and towers. The main road led to the central palace up ahead, although it took twists and turns and its spire was only visible above the rooftops. In this regard it was exactly as Tirek remembered it—and as he imagined it. However, there did not seem to be a single resident and the streets were dead silent; not even the wind made any noise.

Tirek stood still. Cozy Glow cast a nervous glance at his face. He was upholding a neutral expression, although he seemed stiff in the neck and his posture was like that of a statue.

"Hello! Is anyone here?!" Tirek bellowed, his voice steely and commandeering. A reply came only in the form of an echo which died out seconds later. Cozy wanted to say something, but Tirek proceeded walking before she could figure out what to say. His hoofsteps resounded through the narrow streets. They were truly alone.

To the right they found an alley that lead to a yard. From afar they could see it was a relatively large open space that, left to its own devices for possibly centuries, was overgrown with weeds. Still, it was the only living matter they had hitherto come across. Tirek took the turn and Cozy followed.

"Tirek, do you want me to take a look inside the houses?" she asked finally.

"Do as you please. Maybe it will gives us a clue as to what—"

Before he could finish his sentence he had already found his answer before him. The walls surrounding the yard were crumbled, making for a large hole that was cleared in the center, with rubble piling up on both sides. A second glance revealed there were tools scattered on the ground. Brown, rusty tools, with blades and spikes. Weapons of war.

Tirek climbed through the hole in the wall. Cozy fluttered after him with gentle flaps; she didn't dare to break the silence with the clopping of her hooves. They were led into another street, but unlike the ones by the gate this one was devastated: windows were broken, arches were destroyed. Whole houses had collapsed. Any wooden structures that were still standing were scorched black and seemed brittle to the touch. At the side of the road stood some kind of carriage with the wheels destroyed on one side; Cozy recognized it as a mobile battering ram.

"Oh no, Tirek… this is so bad, I am sorry this happened," she declared remorsefully, though she wasn't sure if she really meant it.

"Don't be," Tirek retorted coldly, "It is no surprise, considering how much time has passed. Kingdoms fall, that's a fact of life." His head was feeling light, almost as if he could float away. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"I… I need to be alone for a moment," he added. "There is some place I need to go. You can look around in the meantime, but don't follow me." Without looking back he wandered in the direction of the palace, leaving Cozy Glow behind. Unsure what to do she stood there for a minute, but finally decided to do as he said. It was her own idea, after all.

The further Tirek went, the worse the damage became. It soon became clear that almost the whole city was ravished. Of course, the palace was still standing, and that was exactly his destination. If there was any place that could show him what kind of disaster had struck his people while he was away, it was the city's capital building.

When he was young Father had explained to him how the palace was built many centuries ago by one of his ancestors. He didn't remember the name, nor the year, nor the circumstances nor any other detail whatsoever. Father's lectures about rulership and diplomacy were equally tiresome. He couldn't care less about such petty things; what truly interested him was magic and the power that it brought. Power not through deception and an intricate network of pawns—Cozy Glow's idea of power—but brute force with which he could bend anypony to his will. When all were below him, there would be nothing he couldn't have.

Before he realized it he had already set hoof inside the palace. Crimson rays of the evening sun shone through the broken stained glass and revealed to him the anticipated disaster in the grand hall: beautiful tapestries torn, furniture smashed to pieces, and everything glimmering coated in a thick layer of dust. Much more than before, he was now acutely gripped with sorrow and he didn't understand precisely why. Wasn't what he'd seen outside already enough? Why did he tolerate this horrible assault that had occurred without his knowing and the implications it had for his fellow citizens, but now choked up upon entering the place he had explicitly rejected?

Everything came to him at once with an immense force and he grabbed his face with both his hands. What had happened to everypony he knew? Were they still alive when it occurred? Who was responsible for this?

Tirek suddenly remembered: whenever the centaurs had a new king, a statue in his likeness was unveiled at the coronation. This statue was then added to the line statues of previous kings in the throne room. That's where he would learn the truth.

With newfound fervor he made his way through the hall of the palace. The throne room was just up ahead. His heart was beating in his throat.

He stormed in. The statues were aligned at the right hand of the throne. He immediately recognized the contemptible statue of his father, standing proudly with his arms resting on his traditional battle-axe. Beside it stood one statue was new. It was of a gargoyle, one who was notably smaller than the several other gargoyle rulers Midnight Castle had known. He was portrayed with a scepter rather than a weapon, unlike his ancestors, and there was a dove resting on his shoulder.

Tirek read the inscription at the foot:

SCORPAN, KING OF THE CENTAURS

He drew his hood over his head, let his arms drop by his sides and stood like that for a minute in total silence. Finally he spoke under his breath, "Scorpan, you were weak. You always were. In all my years that I grew up with you I have known you only as a coward. You rejected power even when I offered it to you for nothing in return. You did not have what it took to be a ruler, and now that I return after so many years, I find you on the throne and my home a wasteland. Is this the friendship that the ponies taught you, which you accepted in favour of strength and glory? A shameful, pitiful weakness that tears down the walls of a castle that have stood proudly through the ages? You have proven that friendship is a powerful force indeed—just not in the way you hope it is. It truly is a curse, after all; it spells a fate I wouldn't even wish upon my foes! Not even another ten thousand years in Tartarus can compare to the destruction I have come upon in terms of suffering! Because of you, everyone has perished, my home is destroyed, and I am the last of the centaurs!"

He fell through his knees on the dusty carpet that lay before the throne. Unbridled fury colored his face even redder than usual. Groaning woefully, he slammed his fist on the ground, the sound of which resounded through the room. His head sank in defeat.

"On my way here, I too have encountered friendship… I suppose it was an error…"

"…"

"Tirek?" A high-pitched voice called from behind him. "Tirek!" He turned his head and saw Cozy shyly standing in the doorway. She was out of breath, and after the initial surprise of finally finding her companion she retreated several steps, realizing what she was intruding upon.

"I know you didn't want me to come here, but I was looking around the city like you said and I came across this building. It looked pretty important, like some kind of shrine. The entrance is sealed off and I couldn't find a way in. Then I heard you, and, well…"

Tirek got up and wiped his face with his arm. "A shrine, you say?"

"Yup, it's somewhere in that direction, not too far away." She gestured with her hoof to somewhere outside.

If it was as remarkable as Cozy claimed, he should have been able to remember it. Had he ever been in a shrine that stood right outside the place? Nothing of the like came to mind.

"Very well, bring me there."

They left the throne room together, Cozy leading and Tirek following. His face bore a grim expression.

"But if you don't know it, then that probably means that it was built after you left, right?" Cozy asked, trying to make sense of it for herself.

"Indeed. It must have been erected by Scorpan after he became king." Cozy's ears perked up in understanding. "Likely a temple for him to be venerated in, or perhaps a vault for the riches he had taken for himself. No vanity project would be too much for somepony as rotten and inept as he. Let me guess: it portrays His Majesty as an unimaginably wise and benevolent ruler, clad in gold and purple."

"No, actually, it doesn't show anypony. There is some sort of engraving on it, but I couldn't figure out what it is." She spoke pensively, in a way that reminded Tirek from their earlier encounter with the fragmented obelisk. Another mystery had her fired up. Exiting the palace, Cozy took off and began fluttering in the air. "Come this way," she nodded sideways impatiently and took a direct turn.

It didn't provoke her companion: Tirek treaded with the same dispirited pace and his mouth was fixed in a disgusted frown. On one hand, he really wasn't in the mood for any adventures, especially not something that might have to do with Scorpan; on the other, he could admit to himself that the company of Cozy Glow made for a welcome distraction.

The destruction was as bad in this area of the city as anywhere else, but there was something that struck Tirek as curious. Something very subtle didn't match with the picture of Midnight Castle he had in his mind but he couldn't quite name it. Was it that the neighborhood felt more claustrophobic? Could it be that there were more houses than there used to be? And had the palace square always been paved with these dark, polished bricks? He felt some other details didn't quite line up, either, but he was shaken from his thoughts when he found himself standing before the mysterious building.

Cozy Glow was right that looked like shrine of sorts: it was square-shaped, supported at the corners by four milky jade pillars whose surfaces were irregular and polygonal like gemstones, and it had a broadly triangular pediment as a roof. The walls appeared to be made of blue marble and featured dents and stretches, but besides that, damage was minimal. It was furthermore remarkably small: its dimensions wouldn't even allow for two centaurs to enter it at the same time.

Tirek had no doubt about it: this structure did not exist before he left for Equestria. Though it was somewhat inconspicuous because of it size, it stood out in every other respect, like a crystal embedded in the wall of a murky cave.

"What is it supposed to mean, you think?" Cozy wondered, staring inquisitively at the decorated surface of the stone slab that was blocking the entrance.

This decoration was as enigmatic as the rest of the building. The lines were curvy and flowing and filled every square inch of the monolith, making it difficult to distinguish background from foreground and to recognize the part from the whole. But looking closer, one could discern a shape in the center, whose lines were drawn thicker than the others. It had the shape of a star, with curved rays emanating from the center and the broadest ray pointed towards the ground.

"It could be some kind of sun symbol, or maybe a tree?" she suggested.

Tirek stroked the marble, clearing away a fine film of dust that stuck to his fingers. "The land of centaurs wasn't particularly known for its trees. The closest living forest is many miles away. Maybe he has started a tree cult for that reason." He wiped off the dust and cracked his knuckles. "Enough speculation. Step aside."

Cozy Glow obeyed and moved out of the way. Tirek firmly grabbed the slab with both hands, lifted it up with ease and gently put it back down against the wall.

The two curiously peeked inside. The interior was empty, save for a stairway that led into a dark cellar. They cast a look at one another.

"You go first," Cozy said with a shy smile. "I'm not taking any more chances with strange doorways."

Tirek turned around and descended the steps backwards: they were too steep and the corridor too narrow for him to enter head-first. Moments later his head had gone underground. He kept going, and after several more steps he felt he had reached the floor of the dark cellar.

"Is it safe?" he heard Cozy's voice call from the surface.

"No bloodthirsty hellhounds here—I think," he answered dryly, upon which Cozy came fluttering down the stairs as well. Out of caution she decided to land on his back.

She tested her vision by waving her hoof in front of her eyes. "I'm as blind as a bat! Next time we should bring a light."

"I cannot see anything either. This is useless. I suppose we'll have to go back up and—wait!" Tirek started, a sudden realization came over him. "We do have a light!"

Invisible to Tirek, Cozy's eyes beamed as well. "You're right!" She climbed into his saddlebag and popped back out a second later, holding a small device in her hoof. "Starswirl's sun-dial! I had completely forgotten about it." She hoofed it over to Tirek. He experimentally held it before him with his arms stretched, but to no effect.

"How do I get it to work? Twilight said it gives off light when it is daytime. The sun is still up, right?"

"Yep, it sure is. Try to see if there is some kind of mechanical lock on it."

Tirek started fidgeting with it, searching for any part that would give to the gentle pressure of his thumbs. He tried rotating the axial ring that was inscribed with illegible characters.

He felt a movement. The device clicked with the distinctive sound of firesteel being struck. A sun-like orb materialized within between the rings and cast a bright red light into the room, just as if they were outside.

Tirek and Cozy could now see the interior of the room they were standing in. It was several times larger than the building at the surface. Between the elaborate inscriptions on the walls hung torches that hadn't seen use in centuries. But most strikingly, in the center of room, on a small, hexagonal, elevated platform there stood a crystal tree.

"Is that… the Tree of Harmony?" Tirek inquired with a quivering voice.

"It's not the Tree of Harmony, but a different Tree of Harmony!" Cozy corrected. "The one in the Everfree Forest had branches that are zig-zagging spikes, while this one's branches are curving, like on the picture outside!"

He agreed: it was distinct from the one that perished by Sombra's doing. The branches hung and the crystalline leaves drooped down like a willow, giving a somber impression. Not only that, but while the Tree in Equestria had an magnificent aquamarine halo, this specimen was a dull grey and glowed only with the dimmest fluorescence.

"It's not looking healthy," Tirek remarked. "Maybe it's ill. After all, it is likely that nopony has tended to it for ages."

"Then what are we waiting for? Give it some water or something!"

They approached the Tree, but suddenly, as if reacting to their hoofsteps, a spark ignited within the Tree's heart and it started pulsating vividly. Tirek and Cozy Glow stood aghast as the pulses became stronger and stronger, with waves of light coursing through the Tree from the trunk to the heart to the branches. Then, a bright flash that illuminated the whole room erupted from it, consuming the crimson light of the sun-dial and restoring a tranquil, jade glow in its place.

"What in Equestria is happening?" Cozy trotted around the Tree, marvelling it from all sides. The Tree's radiance had a calming effect: she wasn't afraid, sad or vexed anymore. The pain in her joints from all the travelling was cured at once, as if she had had a long night of rest. The same happened to Tirek, who felt soothed as his anger and anguish were dissolved like snow in the sun.

An echoing voice spoke up from every corner of the room at the same time.

"Tirek and Cozy Glow, be welcome. I have been expecting you."

The voice was gentle and kind, even somewhat juvenile, but it nonetheless startled Cozy, who instinctively spread her wings and looked around to find its origin.

"Who is speaking? Reveal yourself," Tirek demanded.

"I am a Spirit of Harmony, the guardian of the Tree that you see before you. Eight hundred years have passed since darkness befell unto my eyes. Your light has reawakened me at long last."

Reminded of her own close encounter with the Tree, Cozy asked, "Are you related to the Tree of Harmony in the Everfree Forest?"

"Though we are distant, we are closely related. I felt a great pain when it died. But thanks to the effort of six young individuals its essence was preserved."

"Spirit, appear before us," Tirek insisted. "Tell us: where did you come from and what exactly has happened to my kingdom?"

"I am afraid I cannot yet reveal my material form. You shall first face a trial in which your intentions are assessed. Pass, and you will find the answers that you seek."

"You mean a friendship test? Like the one those six students had? I'm not sure if we're up for that. We kind of rejected the whole 'friendship' thing some time ago," Cozy confessed soberly. It was something she still stood by, so she spoke in frankness, which felt good; but at the same time she regretted to disappoint the Spirit.

"Indeed," Tirek added. "Both of us have done awful things that we can never rectify. And given our circumstances, I don't see why we should even want to try."

"I am aware of your histories. While your burdens are heavy indeed, rest assured that they will not affect the fate that presently awaits you. What will matter are your choices here and now. Let us proceed to see what they would be. I've got faith in you."

The Spirit stopped speaking, the Tree lost its glow and the room went dark again. A few seconds later it reignited with a blindingly dazzling light. Tirek and Cozy both covered their eyes but the light could not be blocked. It penetrated their arms, their legs, their whole bodies. The floor, walls and ceiling disintegrated and for a brief moment it was as if they were standing in empty, white space. At last, the light permeated into their souls, upon which an irresistible drowsiness overtook them and they fell over, passing out.

Tenth Chapter - The Seed of Harmony
Tirek woke up to the sound of chirping birds. Still half-asleep, he let his mind linger on the dream he was having. It was a peaceful dream that had left him well-rested, but he couldn't remember what it was about. He tried to hold on to it, but it was already fleeting.

With no other choice than to wake up, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. To his surprise he found himself in a small crevice, lying on a bed of moss. Rays of light entered through the verdant foliage that was covering the entrance and brought a pleasant warmth. He climbed on his hooves, wondering where he was and how he got there. He was let out of Tartarus, obviously, but what was it that happened after that?

He moved away the leaves to exit his shelter and was met with the morning sun shining directly in his face. It had just risen above a tall hill in the distance, lifting the idyllic pink veil of dawn from the Equestrian sky to bring light to all its creatures. It shone a rather dim light; indeed, it was as if the sun was smaller than it usually is. It wasn't even capable of fully extinguishing starlight, as some stars could still be seen twinkling around it.

His hooves were moistened with dew as he stepped into the grass. The lush mountain valley that he was in must be part of the pony kingdom, he determined, but with no point of orientation—roads, villages, or even the city of Canterlot that is always visible from afar—he still had no idea where he was. The land was in a primitive condition, with no trace of anypony.

What was that? Tirek heard voices coming from somewhere.

"Brother, please turn back before it's too late!"

It sounded like it was coming from the other side of the hill. He went to take a look.

"For the last time, I will not. Now remain silent and follow me to Canterlot."

Tirek carefully spied on the two arguing individuals. One was a young gargoyle. His eyes were teared up and he was holding out his hand in a gesture of appeasement. Towering above him was a centaur. He was looking the other way, his hands indifferently placed on his hips. Tirek recognized him: it was himself. He had found himself at the argument with Scorpan on the day he went to conquer Equestria.

"I beg you, please, leave them alone. These ponies are innocent creatures, they only want to live in peace."

"Oh, brother, why must you always be so sentimental. Don't you see the vast reserves of magic that this land has?"

"It doesn't matter. You will bring terrible suffering, and for what? So that Father might be proud of you?"

"NO!" the centaur lashed out at Scorpan's face, following up with a soft-spoken grumble. "Father's approval does not concern me one bit. I am seeking power so that the whole world will acknowledge my strength. Now let's go and crush those petty pony princesses."

Scorpan mumbled something that was inaudible from where Tirek was hidden.

"What was that?" The other Tirek inquired, lowering himself to be at eyes' level with his brother.

Scorpan winced at his cruel gaze, stammering, "I said… I can't do it! I cannot help you attack the ponies!"

"Never in my life have I experienced disloyalty like this. Very well. Turn back to Father and worry not about me, you shall soon see me return when I claim my place as king of the centaurs. I do not need your assistance. Now go!"

He spread his arms in a grand, threatening gesture. Scorpan took a step back and stumbled onto the ground. He got back up and limped a few steps before leaping off with spread wings, away from the scene. The centaur shrugged and left in the opposite direction. Peace returned.

Tirek wanted to follow his döppelganger from the past but needed to keep himself concealed. He had no idea what might happen if the two came in contact, so he decided to stay hidden for another minute or so.

As he waited, he reflected on the spectacle that he just beheld. The day that he and his brother parted was still fresh in his mind. He could feel the words stinging on his own tongue as they were being spoken by his other self. Scorpan's pleas rang less familiarly. But hearing them again he wondered if he had a point. It was true that Equestria indeed held a great amount of magic that was ripe for the taking, but was it really worth it to bring suffering to a land of small, harmless creatures for the sake of selfish gains?

He snapped out of his thoughts. It was time to move; if he waited any longer, he might lose the other Tirek out of sight. Still checking his surroundings, he descended to where the two had just been fighting. The other Tirek was off in the distance following a dirt road that led down the valley. Suddenly, he vanished. He blinked. One moment he was there, and now he was not.

At the same time Tirek was struck with a profound epiphany. As if some kind of mental blockade had suddenly been lifted, he remembered how he traveled to the land of centaurs with Cozy Glow; as well as how he found Midnight Castle in ruins and how he had lashed out when finding out Scorpan was the cause.

The disappearance of the other Tirek… did it mean that he has taken his place? Had he been sent back in time to relive this day? If that was the case, Tirek reasoned, then he could change everything. He wouldn't have to spend a thousand years in Tartarus, he could live freely. he could save his civilization! He could take Scorpan out before he ever had the chance to do any damage whatsoever.

He looked behind him, in the direction that Scorpan had fled into, but he was already long gone. Where would he have gone to?

As Tirek recalled, his demise was not only due to Scorpan, but also because of Starswirl and the Royal Sisters, who used the Elements of Harmony against him. At the time, the Elements were still part of the Tree of Harmony. That meant that he could pre-empt Scorpan's treachery by doing that which Sombra would do much later: destroying the Tree. And he knew precisely where to find it.

Cozy Glow had been sleeping like a log, snoring loudly. She woke up, and found her head resting on the pillow of a bed in the middle of a large bedroom. Whoever had taken her in, he or she must have been very rich: the room was decorated with antique furniture, a crystal chandelier hung from the tall ceiling and the windows had beautiful red curtains that somepony must have opened earlier this morning. She stretched her hooves and yawned contently. On the nightstand was a glass of water; she picked it up with both her hooves and took a sip.

"Where am I?" she asked herself. She pushed the blanket away and got out of bed, her hooves clacking on the spotless marble floor. She peered through the window. Her room lay at the edge of a canyon with a barrier of dark trees in the background. Somehow, she had ended up in an unfamiliar palace in the middle of a forest.

This left her extra confused. She thought for a moment. The best thing she could do was simply leave the bedroom and ask somepony where she was and how she got here. Maybe act overly sappy, or even feign being lost and afraid; adults always fall for that.

Heading for the door she passed a mirror. She noticed her frazzled mane from the corner of her eyes.

"Golly, my curls are a mess! I'm going to have to fix that before I see anypony."

On the adjacent desk stood an opened chest with mane care accessories. She picked up a comb with her mouth and returned to the mirror. She sat down on her hinds and groomed her mane, starting with a nasty tangle, holding the comb awkwardly with her hooves, as always. When she looked again in the mirror, she dropped the comb in shock.

"Hullo there, Cozy Glow."

In the mirror Cozy saw herself, but it wasn't her own reflection. The Cozy Glow in the mirror was also older, as old as Twilight Sparkle, and had longer curls. Around her neck she wore a purple ribbon, like the one she had when she was appointed assistant at the School of Friendship. Her eyes were stern and beady.

"W-who are you?" Cozy stammered. She was frozen in place.

"Don't you recognize me?" the reflection pouted cynically, "Have I really changed that much in my years? I'm you, silly."

Cozy tried to respond, but in her stammering, she could hardly bring out a word.

The Cozy in the mirror continued, "Oh—you must be asking yourself so many questions right now. I will just say that you have nothing to worry about. Everything is going according to plan and soon you will become the likes of me. You see," she took a step forward, crossing her forelegs in a dignified fashion, "you are standing before the uncontested ruler of all of Equestria. That's right! Where I come from, even the Royal Sisters bow to me. There is nopony that dares to oppose me, and even if there was—"the mare giggled like a foal"—let's just say that pony would forever be sorry for not being my friend."

"I-is this all real? Am I really going to be Empress of Friendship?"

"I can deceive and manipulate anypony, but I cannot possibly fool my little old self, right? Everything I say will come true; in fact, you can make it reality right here and now."

She vanished from the mirror, and in her place, Cozy beheld a bird's eye view of a sinister forest with a path leading to a castle. She noticed a large horned figure moving in its direction. She recognized him at once.

"Tirek!"

"I see you remember your old accomplice," the disembodied voice echoed. "Your memory must have been partially restored."

"Wait," Cozy yelled, staring intently into the mirror, "that castle, that's where we are, isn't it?"

"You have keen observation; nothing less than I would expect from my youthful self. Now, if you remember your lessons on the history of Equestria you can tell me which castle this is."

"The Castle of the Two Sisters! Why does it look so new? It should be in ruins!"

The voice laughed, "That was only after Celestia and Nightmare Moon had their battle. I have taken you to a time before that happened. As a matter of fact, this is the day that Tirek attacked Equestria and fought the Royal Sisters."

Flabbergasted, Cozy uttered, "How?"

"'How' is not important," said the reflection as she reappeared in the mirror, "What you need to understand is the tremendous opportunity that is in your hooves. Check the drawer of the closet."

Cozy shuffled towards the closet and did as she was told. When she opened the drawer, she let out a gasp.

"Knuckerbocker's shell! The amulet of Aurora! These are the six legendary items!"

"After you had so unfairly been cheated out of a clear victory by the Tree of Harmony, I thought I'd give you a helping hoof."

Cozy lifted another one of the items from the drawer. They seemed authentic.

"With these, I can conquer the world…"

"And the greatest thing is: Tirek is on his way to destroy the Tree of Harmony; and in doing so he will draw the attention of the Royal Sisters, as well as Starswirl the Bearded. There is nopony who is going to stop you."

"But Tirek can't defeat them on his own!" Cozy retorted in horror. "He will be banished to Tartarus for eternity…"

"It won't matter. After he has destroyed the Tree of Harmony and weakened those annoying ponies, he has worn out his use. Everlasting victory is yours for the taking!"

Cozy didn't respond right away. She looked again at each of the six magical artifacts. She already knew how to harness their power; it would take only a few minutes to set everything up and initiate the spell that would summon the magical vortex. All the magic in Equestria would be drained in just a few minutes, and then she would already have won. No more Tree of Harmony, no more Twilight Sparkle and her friends, no more Royal Sisters. She wouldn't have to rely on anypony—nor would she ever have to again. One move, one rational decision was all it took.

Behind her, her reflection grew impatient. "Get on with it already! You're not going to back down, are you?"

Cozy turned around and walked up to the mirror. The mare, who was huffing air through her nostrils in irritation, had a remarkably meager constitution, with legs almost like sticks and a skinny barrel. Her curls, though they looked pretty at a distance, appeared thin and withering from up close. Even her frowned muzzle was feeble, as if there wasn't a living pony behind it.

"Don't worry," Cozy said, "I'm not backing down. My goal is unaltered. I will still become friends with everypony in Equestria—only not the way you want me to." A confident grin emerged on her features. "I'll do it for real, and I will start with Tirek and Chrysalis!"

As she spoke, the forms of the centaur and the Changeling queen appeared in the mirror, standing right behind Cozy Glow.

Cozy's reflection stiffened in anger and her twitching pupils shrunk to the size of pin-pricks. "WHAT?! Have you gone CRAZY?! Look at me: I'm your future. I'm everything you ever wanted: money, power, influence. I have seen through the lies that everypony told me and adapted them for my own benefit. You are setting yourself up for defeat!"

"No, you have set yourself up for defeat. Thanks to you restoring my memory I remember my journey with Tirek and the things he taught me on the way. You may obtain everything you want, but you still won't win because you will never be happy."

"And how do you plan on fixing that?!" The reflection squawked.

"I don't know how I can do it, but I know for sure that you are wrong. I've felt happiness when I was with Tirek and Chrysalis. Even when we denied it, we were still having fun, as friends. When I'm back in Ponyville, I will become friends with Twilight and the other Elements. And don't forget Spike and Starlight Glimmer—I owe her an apology, for sure."

Suddenly, images of the seven ponies and the baby dragon were added to the scene in the mirror. Cozy's reflection took notice and cast another scornful look at her younger self.

"Fool! They will never accept you for what you've done! You will be thrown right back in Tartarus!"

"I have done a lot of bad things, but they will let me start over. That's something that I have faith in and that I will work on. I am not afraid of them anymore. Now let's see who else is there… oh right! The Cutie Mark Crusaders! They were the first ones to help me out when I didn't understand friendship."

The CMC flashed into being and at the same time Cozy's reflection was transformed to her young self. The fillies jumped at her in a playful embrace, which mirror Cozy warmly accepted as she snorted and giggled in ecstatic joy.

"NO!" The voice cried out in panic. "How can I be betrayed by myself?! I won't allow this to happen!"

A small crack formed in the center, right where Cozy was standing. It quickly branched out over the mirror, threatening to burst it to pieces at the slightest perturbance. But just as the cracks were about to reach the edges, a brilliant white light burst free in the middle. With dazzling speed, it traced over the cracks, filling them up and preventing them from growing any further. The mirror stopped trembling and stayed like that for a few seconds, with Cozy Glow witnessing the process in awe. Between the cracks she could see the ponies around her smiling, and she smiled back. At that moment, the veins of light expanded, taking over the whole mirror.

"NOOOOoooo…" the voice cried one last time before being completely suppressed.

When the whole surface was covered, the light exploded out of the mirror, releasing a shower of glittering particles through the room and revealing the mirror scratchless as if it were brand new. It only showed Cozy's own image and by waving her hoof she confirmed that just an ordinary reflection. As the particles faded, everything in the room was back to normal.

Looking in the mirror, Cozy was filled with an overwhelming sense of inspiration. She knew exactly what to do.

Without hesitation she dashed to the window, threw it open and exited the castle by flight. She climbed high into the air to get a clear view of the area. No Tirek in sight—then he must already have reached the Tree of Harmony. She had no time to waste. Over there was the stairway down the canyon that led to the Tree! Cozy glided down as fast as her wings let her. She found the cavern and swooped in. There was the Tree—and Tirek was standing before it.

She made no time to break and slammed into the centaur's back at full speed. She shook off the blow and frantically clamped to his biceps.

"Tirek, don't destroy the Tree of Harmony! I know you want revenge but please let us find a better way!"

Cozy was bracing for impact, expecting to be shaken off or to be hit by the recoil of an imminent magical blast, but after an extended moment she realized that nothing was happening. She curiously opened her eyes again.

"Tirek?"

"I am not going to destroy the Tree, Cozy Glow." Tirek said under his breath. He picked the filly off his shoulder and let her stand on his palm.

Cozy took notice of Tirek's melancholic facial expression and responded gingerly, "Wait, you aren't? I thought you were here to…"

"Yes, that is true," he admitted, "I did come here with the intention to wipe it out and to have my revenge on Scorpan. Without the Tree, I could conquer the world and I would not be banished."

"And Midnight Castle wouldn't have fallen," Cozy added in macabre realization, which earned a solemn nod from Tirek. "But why didn't you do it?"

He sighed. "The whole way hither I was fully committed to change history. But when I stood before the Tree of Harmony, a realization came over me."

Cozy listened in absolute silence; she was hardly breathing.

"I realized that if I reclaimed what I lost, I would lose what I already had. I thought of the adventures I had with you and Chrysalis after Grogar assembled us. If I had destroyed the Tree of Harmony, none of that would have happened. That is why I couldn't do it. You must think of me a fool to sacrifice this chance for… for friendship, I suppose."

"Old Cozy would have thought you were the biggest idiot in all of Equestria," Cozy chuckled, "but not me. I think you made the right choice. In fact, I, uhm, kind of might have done the same thing before I got here."

Relieved that his embarrassment was shared, Tirek laughed along. "That makes both of us fools, then."

"Yup! And I don't even care if it does. Give me five, old pal!"

As Cozy reached out her hoof, she smiled brightly. Tirek had of course seen Cozy smile often before, but this time it was different. It wasn't the plastic grin that she wore in order to get what she wanted; this was a smile that brimmed with compassion and sincere joy. He raised his free hand to reciprocate the gesture. The instant they made contact they were blinded once again by a white light. It only lasted a moment, and when they could see again, they found themselves back in the Midnight Castle shrine.

"We're back?" Tirek asked.

"Now I remember!" Cozy exclaimed in epiphany. "We were put to the test by the Spirit of Harmony!"

"And I would say that both of you passed with flying colors," a third voice spoke. It was the voice of the Spirit of Harmony, only this time it sounded clear and it came from behind them.

Turning around, they were greeted by a bipedal creature. It was obvious from his white hair and crooked posture that he was of advanced age. Like the Spirit of Harmony of the Everfree Forest, his form was graced by a soft ethereal glow. His torso was clad in a white toga that partially covered his large, bat-like wings. Tirek recognized him at once.

"Scorpan?!" he managed to utter.

"Good to see you again, brother." He put a claw on his heart and made a slight bow that was more of a nod.

Cozy Glow gasped in surprise. "Wait, this is the one you travelled to Equestria with and who became king of Midnight Castle until it was destroyed?"

"While it brings me great pain and regret to admit it," Scorpan said, gripping the fabric of his toga, "that is indeed my legacy. As King and protector of our realm, it is my duty to take responsibility for what has happened."

"Then I was right. This is all your fault!" Tirek lashed out.

"Judge me as you wish, brother. But please, before you do so, allow me to give you the full story of what happened to our people in your absence. It is what I promised to you before your trial, remember?"

Tirek gritted his teeth, but ultimately deferred, "Very well, let me hear it."

"Thank you." Scorpan cleared his throat. "Let me begin on our final day among the ponies of Equestria. This is a part that is already familiar to you, but it is important for later that you understand this bit from my side. After I refused to go on with you any longer and fled, I didn't return to our homeland as you boasted I would do. Yes, being the coward that I was, I did initially want to run away from my fear, but once I was alone, I heard a little voice in my head, telling me that I should do what is right and safeguard harmony among all living creatures. I couldn't even take a single step further; I had to go back.

"Knowing that I couldn't possibly face you alone, I sought the help of a magnanimous unicorn wizard who went by the name of Starswirl, and whom I had become acquainted with during my stay. He immediately recognized my distress and called in the aid of the Royal Sisters. He assured us he had a plan. We followed him into the Everfree Forest, where he revealed to us an ancient entity that he had discovered on one of his travels. He called it the Tree of Harmony. According to him, it had a power that permeated throughout the whole world, connecting all its inhabitants. He cast a complicated incantation that prompted the Tree to bear fruit, which he entrusted to the two Sisters. Equipped with these elements, the Elements of Harmony, we set out to find you.

"Of course, I do not have to explain to you the outcome of our battle. After you were successfully subdued by the Elements you were instantaneously transported to the ancient dungeon Tartarus. Believe me that this was never my intention. I protested to the Princesses, begging them to release you and to take you with me. Though they said they understood my pleas, they couldn't possibly risk another disaster. As for Starswirl, he had to comply with their will. I knew I couldn't convince them, and so I shamefully readied myself to head back home. But before I could leave, Starswirl approached me. He wished me farewell and said he had a parting gift for me. Out of thin air he produced a pouch, which contained a small, glimmering seed with the color of aquamarine. 'I entrust this unto you,' he said. 'That our friendship may live as long as the Tree that sprouts from it. Tend to it well and one day it will yield fruit of its own.'

"So I left Equestria and returned to the land of centaurs. I was immediately summoned to the throne room by Father. He demanded to know where you and I had been, and, more pressingly, why you hadn't returned yet. I knew that if I told him what happened, he would be outraged. After all, Father had always been suspicious of you and your obsession with arcane magic and power. Instead, I made up a lie. I concocted a false, innocent narrative that we had merely gone on an expedition to the Valley of Dreams in search of unknown herbs and gems. This was partially true, as we did stay there and I had gathered some items that I presented to Father—but in reality it was still a lie. I said that I went home early because I was afraid and homesick and that you would likely return sometime later. I used my cowardice as an excuse in order to avoid facing my fears.

"Based on the false evidence and my reputation as a meek and fair gargoyle, Father believed me. It seemed he really did expect you to return in time. While things superficially returned to normalcy for me, I was constantly vexed by a dreadful anxiety, for I knew the truth would come out sooner or later. Several months passed and there was of course still no sign of you. Just as I couldn't uphold this falsehood any longer, it happened that father got gravely ill. He knew he didn't have much time left and therefore arranged that, in your absence, I would become the next King of the Centaurs. Even as I stood there beside his bed, he was oblivious to the conflict in Equestria and your subsequent imprisonment, as he even seemed somewhat relieved that I would ascend the throne in your place. He peacefully passed away a few days later.

"My first month as the new King were met with challenge. I had a tough time getting used to the responsibilities of ruling the country. It distracted me from thinking about your situation, but on the other claw, thoughts of you didn't escape my mind for a moment. I realized that I could use my newfound authority to get you free, perhaps even without anyone knowing about what happened. I even started making concrete plans for a visit to the Royal Sisters, but then disaster struck. Surely you remember your old mentor, Sendak the Hermit."

Tirek grumbled, "How could I forget." His disposition had changed from outright anger to a more reserved troubledness. He hadn't yet processed the series of events that had just been laid out before him and stood with crossed arms as he tried to mentally ready himself for what was yet to come.

"You will then also recall what happened to him. After Father found out about his abduction of a unicorn stallion, he sentenced him to work in the mines. But somewhere in-between it appears he managed to escape from his punishment and came back with revenge. He may have gotten wind of Father's passing and your absence, for him to strike at this moment. Regardless, I was only barely able to respond to the sudden threat. I collected a band of the bravest warriors of the land and together we eventually managed to defeat Sendak for once and for all, but not before he managed to cast a curse on me that ultimately spelt our doom. As long as I breathed, the land of centaurs and the surrounding fields would be sealed off from the rest of the world. We had enough space and resources to sustain ourselves—our kingdom even grew a fair bit—but we were never able to contact other civilizations anymore.

"Whenever I wasn't busy ruling the kingdom, I sought for a way to escape, to break the curse, but my best efforts proved to be in vain. Meanwhile I had planted the Seed of Harmony in this very underground chamber. Over the course of my life it grew into the tree that you see here beside me. I hoped every day that it would come to our aid in somehow, but herein I was let down as well. Years, decades, centuries passed in perpetual tranquility: for most it was as if nothing had occurred in the first place. You had disappeared from our collective memory, brother, but never from mine. Even in my old age I searched for a way to set right my error and make amends with you.

"It began as a day like any other. I was making a round through the city when I suddenly heard screams of distress. A moment later I was approached by guards. We don't know how they managed repeal the mirage that concealed Midnight Castle. Faster than we could react, the streets were being ravished by a band of giant cyclops goats known as Arismaspi. Though I had never witnessed any such creature in person, I recognized them from historic records that described them as ruthless pirates and plunderers who sacked every city or stronghold that lay in their path. They were fierce and incredibly powerful: not even our strongest fighters could take them on. The situation quickly turned from bad to worse. After securing the shrine by sealing up the entrance, I joined my fellow-citizens in a last stand. That is where the history of Midnight Castle ended."

A long silence followed as Scorpan and Tirek looked each other in the eyes.

"What I have done ashames me deeply. I fully understand if you hate me even more, now that you know the full truth. I am just happy that I no longer have to carry this burden."

"No." The word hardly escaped from Tirek's throat. "Knowing all this, I do not hate you anymore. It's… hard to fathom. The idea, that the centaurs are extinct, and that you gave your life to save them…"

Tirek wanted to look away, but Scorpan continued, grabbing his attention. "There is one thing I haven't told you yet. If you recall, the curse on Midnight Castle was bound to my breath. I realized that if I fell, the curse would be lifted and our kind would be free once more. I arranged a plan in which the Arimaspi would be led to one end of the city while survivors escaped on the other side. Insofar as I can testify, this operation was a success."

"Does that mean…?" he asked hoarsely.

"It means that some of our people have survived and may be alive to this day. No—I'm sure of it. I can sense they do. I hope that with this I have redeemed myself at least a little bit. There's only one thing left for me to do."

Beside Scorpan, the Tree of Harmony had begun pulsating again, this time in all colours of the rainbow.

"I learned that the Tree of Harmony strongly reacts to amity, true friendship. You two have shown this in you trial, and because of that the Tree is finally ready to bear fruit, just as Starswirl foretold. Take care of these for me."

Scorpan snapped his claw, to which six gems emerged out of the crystal branches of the Tree. They broke free and delicately floated in circles around Tirek and Cozy Glow.

"The Elements of Harmony!" Cozy Glow exclaimed.

"I have understood that there is another who is dear to you and who urgently needs your help. These gems shall guide you the way. Do not be afraid to follow them, or what to follow what they stand for. Friendship is not a curse, it is a wonderful thing, and it is common to all creatures in the world, including you. Ever since my… passing, I have looked over you. I have seen how you worked together and found a budding friendship on Mount Everhoof, how your sense of justice triumphed as you rejected Grogar's ways. I was with you when you took little Cozy to the hospital in the aftermath of the fight."

Cozy Glow suddenly made a jump and looked up quizzically at the centaur. "Wait, you never told me that was you."

Scorpan cast a serene smile at the filly. "Yes, young Cozy Glow, though my brother may at times be stubborn and irritated, he deeply cares about you. You should ask him sometime whose idea it really was to take you out of Ponyville onto this journey."

Cozy tried to formulate a response, but after incoherently sputtering out syllables, she simply stood in mute stupefaction. Tirek offered her an embarrassed chuckle.

Scorpan bent over as far as his back allowed as he addressed Cozy once more. "As for you, I ask you to stop cloaking your heart in shadows. You are still young, and you are smart far beyond your years, but the most important facts of life can only be known with time. Do not be afraid to live. Do not be afraid to trust others; you shall see it is well worth the effort."

The orange element graciously floated before Cozy's eyes and hovered in place for a moment. She marveled at its brilliant colour and the warmth that radiated off it and she nodded in agreement. The Elements then drifted towards the staircase leading outside.

Scorpan turned back to Tirek.

"By the way,” Scorpan said as he turned back to Tirek, “pardon me for noting but, it appears you are no longer wearing my necklace."

Tirek sighed. "Your necklace… I had given it to… someone who considered me to be his friend."

"Don't ask him about it!" Cozy added. "It's another painful memory. Hold on—didn't you say you've looked over Tirek all this time? Don’t you know what he did?"

"Heh, you got me. I wanted to hear it just to be sure. Well, you must go now. Make haste, for there is little time left. I wish you best of luck."

"Wait."

Tears had welled up in Tirek's eyes and were silently streaming down his face. After swallowing a lump in his throat, he broke open.

"I'm sorry, brother! I'm deeply sorry that I didn't help you when I should have, that I didn't spend time with you, and didn't protect you when you needed it. I regret not listening to you on that fateful day and scaring you off. I have begrudged your name for such a long time, ignorant of your selfless deeds!"

"It's all right, brother," Scorpan assured on the gentlest tone. "Do not live in regret, for I forgive you. Despite my tribulations I have lived a great many years that I have spent setting right what went wrong. And now that our bond has finally been restored, I consider my life complete. I have no more regrets of my own."

"Brother, please stay with us!"

Tirek dived towards him, ready to receive him in his arms, but Scorpan's appearance was that of a ghost and he passed right through him. With a face drenched in tears and now slightly embarrassed he retreated.

"I am afraid I cannot join you. You need to complete your journey on your own; but save your other friend and I promise this shan't be our final encounter. But for now, goodbye."

Scorpan’s image dispersed like a puff of smoke. The Tree had lost most of radiance and was now shimmering dimly. The Elements had already made their way outside.

"Tirek, we need to go," Cozy said.

Tirek wiped his face with his arm and replied, "You are right, let's save Chrysalis."

Eleventh Chapter - Friendship is Invincible
Thorax was standing eagerly by the entrance of the Changeling Hive. After several weeks, his pony friends would finally visit them! It was the first time since their heroic victory over Grogar that they would see each other. Today was the day, and they could not have picked a better one: the sun was shining, the temperature was just right, and an occasional cool breeze that stirred his wings brought him a delightful freshness. He could hardly wait!

It was not just for that reason that he was about to burst with excitement. He was also eager to show them the changes to the Hive since the last time the ponies were there. That was more than a year ago and a lot had changed since then. Thanks to the creativity and effort of his brethren, the central part of the Hive had been rebuilt. They had tried to make it look as open and inviting as possible and the result was something they were all proud of. They had also spruced up the area around the Hive, bringing structure while retaining the lushness of the vegetation that had grown over the remnants of the old Hive. The Changelings felt more alive than ever and their home reflected it.

A band of ponies was approaching. It was unmistakably Twilight Sparkle and her Ponyville friends. Thorax hurried towards them, his sparkling, translucent wings guiding his prances.

"Hey Twilight! Welcome back to the Hive!" he said, his voice sounding even more nasal than usual.

"Hello Thorax! Good to see you again. How are you?"

"As great as can be," he snickered. "We have so much to catch up on, so come right in. Who's your friend, by the way?"

He pointed at the unfamiliar pony in their midst. She was a unicorn mare with a dull green coat, emerald eyes and a sleek cinnabar mane. On her flank he inspected a picture of a ladybug.

The guest gleefully raised her hoof. "Hi! My name is Shutter Bug. I'm here to take photos of the occasion, so don't mind me." She snapped a sudden picture as she spoke, the sharp flash blinding Thorax momentarily.

"Nice to meet you," Thorax responded, still somewhat dazed. "The Changelings have been putting in a lot of effort in improving the Hive, so this journey will be well worth your time."

Pinkie Pie stepped forth and took position between the two creatures. "Yea yea, we get it. Get on with it already."

"Ahem, excuse Pinkie," Twilight said sternly, "we're just too excited to be here again, aren't we, girls?"

"Yup! Sure are," Applejack flapped out.

Rainbow Dash was gazing at the clouds. "If it means we can leave sooner."

"I will be quite delighted to see the Changeling's stash of valuables. You do have one of those, don't you?" Rarity inquired coquettishly.

"Don't count on it," Fluttershy snarled at the unicorn, "I wonder if these worthless, pathetic gnats have accomplished anyth—" Before she could finish she was muzzled by a magenta aura.

"Sorry, what was that?" Thorax asked.

"Nothing! Fluttershy was saying how much she wanted to see the… uh… brooding chambers?" Twilight said over the suppressed murmuring.

Thorax stared for a second, then smiled. "Sure, I can show you if you want."

"Great! Come along then, no time to lose."

Twilight starting trotting towards the Hive, the others following. "That was too close, can't they behave for just a minute?" Shutter Bug whispered.

On their path through the village they passed by a few Changelings, whose greetings were largely ignored; only Twilight waved back. The group went around the main building, along a path obscured by foliage and mossy rock. Here they stopped. There was nopony else to be found.

"Are you looking for something in particular?" Thorax asked. "I can give the tour if you like."

"That's not necessary at all," Shutter Bug chirped. She tapped the camera that was hanging around her neck. "I'm trying to find the perfect angle from which I can capture this beautiful Hive, and I think I've found it. Say, how about you go stand right over there and pretend to look the other way."

Thorax went over to the designated spot: a flower bed right beside an old remnant of a wall. It was one of the few sites where sunlight could reach the ground.

"Here?"

"Yes, excellent. Now turn around."

"Okay, tell me when you're ready to—aagh!" Thorax fell against the wall, his head writhing from the acute migraine. "My head! What is happening?"

Shutter Bug hurried to his aid. "Oh dear, are you alright? It must be fever. Let me feel your temperature."

"Stay away from him!" From above, a blur of colour leapt down in front of the Changeling king. He charged at the unicorn, knocking her to the ground, among the other ponies. She identified the blur as some sort of chameleon.

"Pharynx, what are you doing? She was trying to help me."

The chameleon changed back into the teal Changeling prince, and compassionately put his leg over the shoulder of his fatigued brother.

"You are mistaken, because the one who did this to you is she herself. I was suspicious the moment I saw her. So, I followed you, keeping myself hidden under the guise of a chameleon. When I saw her cast the mind control spell, my suspicions were confirmed."

The unicorn’s charade started undoing itself. From the hooves and slowly working to the tip of her horn, a poison green light reverted Shutter Bug to the true form of the dethroned Changeling Queen.

"Chrysalis?" Thorax exclaimed. "That's impossible! What's she doing together with Twilight Sparkle and the other ponies?"

Pharynx calmly shaked his head. "Look again. Those aren't the Element of Harmony."

His brother was right. Now that he knew, the subtle differences in their coat colour and mannerisms seemed obvious and he could identify the impostors as easily as one could tell apart a mannequin from a living pony. How did he not notice this?

"I thought all the Changelings had converted! Have there been defectors that we didn't know of?"

"Oh no, you are quite right. After I was banished there wasn't a single one of my subjects who came to my help," Chrysalis lamented. "These six are clones that I myself created to help me achieve my goal. However," her serpentine tongue licked her muzzle, "I'll take you two on myself. Stand back."

The six clones obeyed and collectively retreated behind one of the rocks that was half-buried in the earth.

A chill ran through Thorax’s exoskeleton and he started trembling all over. "I'm not sure if we can beat her," he whispered anxiously, looking for a possible escape route from the corner they were driven in.

Pharynx patted his brother on the back and assured him without a trace of doubt in his voice, "If you and I work together, it'll be a breeze. Come on, this is what we have trained for."

"You have anticipated my return?" Chrysalis taunted. "How charming. It won't make a difference."

"We knew you would try to take back the Hive sooner or later," Thorax professed with newfound courage. "That's what tyrants do: they only care about power at the cost of everypony else. Since you were defeated, we have been much better off. We now live in harmony with the other creatures and not one of us has felt hungry ever again."

Struck with indignation, Chrysalis sneered back, "You are an ungrateful brat. Everything I've ever done was in the interest of the Hive as a whole. I have sustained you. Without my leadership you would all have gone extinct ages ago!"

"But you have gone about it the wrong way," Pharynx intervened. "To satiate us you have preyed on the love of other creatures, whereas our real purpose was to share it. That's why we are happier now."

"It has also turned you softer from the looks of it."

"Want to find out right now?"

"By all means."

With that, Chrysalis sprinted towards the duo. Mid-gallop, she transformed into a panther and with her long fangs exposed lunged at the Changeling prince. In the blink of an eye he transformed likewise, choosing for his part the form of a sturdy rhinoceros. Chrysalis’s claws and fangs produced merely a harmless flurry of shallow dents and scratches on the creature’s tough skin and with a single powerful head-swing she was tossed into the air.

The Changeling Queen managed to land elegantly on her paws. She bellowed a thrilling roar, and another green flash changed her shape to that of a humongous mole. She pulled a boulder from the earth with her formidable claws and took aim. Pharynx stood ready to parry the incoming projectile when he realized that the she wasn't aiming for him at all.

"Thorax, watch out!"

Thorax, who had been beholding the showdown in awe, was immediately aware of the threat. He made a frantic jump sideways, fleeing into the skies. The rock barely scraped his tail-wing and crashed into the wall of the Hive like a wrecking-ball, creating a gaping hole behind a thick cloud of dust.

Chrysalis covered her eyes with her claws to protect them from the flying debris. When she lowered them again, the two brothers were gone. She crawled around, scanning the area, searching for any sign of their whereabouts, but they had vanished apparently without a trace. Frustrated, she undid the transformation and turned to her clones, who had on Twilight's insistence taken refuge behind a nearby tree.

"Where have they gone?" she demanded.

Twilight was preoccupied analyzing the situation and refrained from answering; the others responded with disinterested shrugs and one or two "dunno"s. Chrysalis put her hoof to her face and groaned: a useless but expected response.

She lit up her horn and stepped into the silent open area. They had to be somewhere.

"Show yourselves!"

Her imperative was met with an immediate reaction. Before she realized it, her hooves were constricted by the long, camouflaged body of a snake. She reflexively tried to shake it off, but it was to no avail. She then responded by lowering her head to punish the aggressor with a powerful, short-range magical blast, but her whole body was frozen in midmotion when she heard a piercing shriek sounding from her blind spot.

In her rage, Chrysalis had been completely caught off-guard. She could only make out what was coming for her: a giant bird—a roc—with a beak glistering like bronze and the lethal eyes of an apex predator. A moment later she was clutched in one of its powerful talons, unable to move an inch.

"Great job, Thorax!" she heard Pharynx say.

"Thanks, but it's really because of you. Your distraction gave me time to swoop in."

Thorax opened one of his talons, giving Chrysalis space to look outside. Before her stood Pharynx.

"Now that we've proven we aren't weak, are you ready to talk?" he asked.

"Never!" the Changeling Queen hissed, squirming and wrestling for breathing room. "Twilight, break me free from this beast!"

The döppelganger appeared from her hiding spot with a malicious smile painted on her features. "Do you want me to use Grogar's spell?"

"My patience with these two has run out. Fire at will."

"My pleasure."

An ominous droning noise reminiscent of the chiming of an ancient bell gradually filled the atmosphere. As soon as the power had built up, she cast the spell. A violent beam of magical light erupted from her horn with streaks of yellow and black like the asposematic colours of a furious wasp. The ray cut through Thorax and hit Pharynx in the side, prompting them to return to his Changeling form and fall on the ground.

"Aargh! What's going on?!"

He stared in horror at his trembling hoof: usually lime green, it was turning soot gray before his eyes. Holes were forming in his skin as the rot spread over his limb.

Pharynx was lying next to him. "Brother, are you feeling well?" he asked.

"I feel… I feel… hungry!" he cried. "I haven't felt so starved in years!"

Chrysalis stamped on the ground in elation. "Mmmhahaha! Who knew that old goat would end up being so useful? With his magic I can correct the disgrace that Starlight Glimmer has brought upon my children. I shall lead the Hive in the way that it once was! Clones!"

The Twilight clone presented herself to Chrysalis, followed by the other five. "Yes, my Queen, what is it?"

"The next phase of our plan is commencing. Spread through the Hive and get as many Changelings on our side as you can."

"Is there anything you wish me to do with them?" She pointed at the two brothers.

"There is no need for that. They won't fool me a second time."

As the clones galloped off, Chrysalis trod loftily in a circle around the two brothers, tossing her hair and humming a tune as she went. She stopped before them with her front legs crossed and her chin in the air. She pouted her lips as she cast a glance down; Pharynx growled in response but refrained from saying anything. A few seconds passed without anypony making a move, when suddenly Thorax started getting up, all the while fighting the infection that had now consumed half his body.

"Thorax, you shouldn't—" Pharynx protested, suffering from the same injury, but Thorax defiantly shook his head.

He straightened himself as much as he could and looked the Queen straight in her eyes. "Chrysalis, why are you doing this? You don't need to conquer us if you want to be reunited with us. We will accept you back, I promise."

He extended his hoof as a gesture of appeasement.

"This again," Chrysalis moaned. "How many of your little attempts at 'redemption' do I need to reject before finally give up? I am not interested, and at this point it wouldn't even make sense for me to consider the offer. Though it may not seem like it, I have practically already won! With Grogar's magic, every Changeling shall be changed back to their old form, whether they want it or not. Soon enough they will see that I was right all along, and so will you. You don't need friendship. Give it up."

"I'm sorry, Chrysalis," Thorax spoke with calm determination, "but you will not convince me. You may have forgotten, but the Changeling you're talking to is the one who first tasted friendship. I still know how it felt when Spike reached out to me and treated me not as an enemy, but as another creature, deserving of love. It fulfilled me with a joy that I will never forget. It felt so pure, so natural… friendship is in our blood. This is the way that Changelings are truly meant to be. And now you are taking it away, turning us back into monsters using the magic of another monster. It just isn't right."

Just as he finished speaking, Thorax turned his head away. He collapsed back onto the ground, next to his brother, who put a compassionate hoof around his neck. This appeared to soothe the pain, as his increased breathing immediately relaxed. Chrysalis responded to his speech and the subsequent display with a contemplative, disapproving "humph".

An upwelling noise suddenly came to her attention. It was a pounding of hoof steps, louder than that of any pony or Changeling. Searching where it was coming from, she saw a bright light shining through the trees of an alleyway. Six coloured sparkles emerged; they were followed by Tirek and Cozy Glow. Upon seeing Chrysalis, the two came to a rest, panting and sighing.

"Chrysalis! We finally found you!" Cozy exclaimed with equal parts joy and concern.

"You two?" she snapped. "To what do I owe this unannounced visit? I am busy." Noticing the sparkles fly into his saddlebags, she added. "What is that?"

"You mean the Elements of Harmony?” Cozy said. “We got them from Grogar at Midnight Castle… it's a long story."

"First you run off with the ponies and now you return with the Elements. What has become of you, Lord Tirek?"

Tirek responded, "The fact that we are here has nothing to do with Twilight and those other ponies. Speaking of, I think I saw them running around in the chaos. What in Equestria is going on here?"

"They are clones," Thorax clarified from behind her, understanding—hoping—that they might be allies. "Chrysalis found a spell with which she can turn Changelings back to their old form. She is using those clones to take back the hive."

"Silence!" Chrysalis threatened him with a glowing horn.

Cozy fluttered to Tirek's ear and whispered, "This is really bad. If we do nothing, she'll end up destroying the Hive, and there's no telling what she'd do next."

"You're right," he whispered back. "Go and see if you can rally the Changelings that are left; we will need their help. As for Chrysalis, leave her to me."

Cozy nodded and flew off, leaving Tirek with Chrysalis and the two Changeling princes.

Chrysalis made a threatening step, her horn still aglow and ready to take down the fleeing filly, but Tirek intercepted her by clearing his throat and cracking his knuckles.

"If you're here to stop me, know that I won't let you," the Changeling Queen said with a dramatic flair of disregard.

"When we were in Grogar's lair," Tirek began, "we plotted for the takeover of Equestria together. We were seeking power, but we also wanted to compensate our feelings: resentment, betrayal, a sense of loss. I understand what you are coming from, but thanks to my brother I have also recognized that revenge will not return to you what you've lost. Even worse: it will destroy the very thing in the process. You are about to make a terrible mistake."

"It's sad to learn that those Elements have gotten into your mind," Chrysalis snarked. "I just explained to these two that victory is already within my hoof. There is nothing standing in my way—unless you really are foolish enough to challenge me and my recovered legions."

"Indeed we are here to stop you, for your own good. You can choose to end this now, or else I will have to use force."

Chrysalis’s horn shone bright emerald. "Then I will have no choice!" Her last word was emphasized by the release of a searing magical beam.

Cozy was making her way through the alleys of the Changeling Hive. She had to take care not to be found by the clones or any corrupted Changelings. They had her at a disadvantage in strength and agility, as well as numbers, and any attempt to manipulate them would surely be hopeless. Her only option to find good Changelings was to use stealth, but this proved harder than expected: none were roaming the streets anymore and judging from the large black swarms, many must have already fallen to Grogar's magic. Was she too late?

She peeked through a bundle of vines. A ravenous gang of Changelings passed by without noticing her, but aside from them the coast was clear. She did a double-check and then quickly tip-toed across the dirt road. Crawling through the bushes, she found a way into a building of sorts. Despite the dark interior, Cozy judged from the sleeping-cells in the wall that it was likely another Changeling housing complex. Like every other place, it appeared abandoned.

"Who goes there?!" A voice sounded from behind her.

Cozy froze in place as mortal fear gripped her heart. "I am Cozy Glow," she muttered.

"Tell us, are you here with those other ponies?"

Cozy turned her head. A group of Changelings was hiding in a small corner. Their eyes peered through the darkness, but the dim light of their fluorescent wings betrayed them as individuals of the benevolent kind. Some of them appeared hostile, while the less courageous huddled themselves behind their apparent leader: a specimen with indigo chitin and orange wings.

"N-no, I'm here to help you defeat them. Those ponies are clones created by Chrysalis; she has returned to take over the Hive."

"That's not an unlikely story," the Changeling admitted skeptically. "She had escaped after the battle with Grogar, didn’t she? And what reason would the ponies have to attack us?"

"Exactly!" Cozy chirped.

"But how can we trust you? What proof do you have you are not just another clone who's going to rat us out?"

She gulped. That Changeling was right: it would make sense for Chrysalis to use disguised Changelings to drive the enemy out of their hiding places. The fact that she's the only other pony besides the bearers of the Elements was suspicious, at the very least. She thought hard to come up with an alibi. They didn't appear to recognize her by name. She could explain that she used to be Chrysalis's accomplice but what good would that do? It would only make her even more suspect. Nor could she leave the premise and return with some sort of proof: this would surely be taken as an attempt to betray them. There simply wasn't the time for something like that, anyhow.

She stamped on the ground and raised her voice. "You're just going to have to trust me! Do you want a chance to survive or not?"

"We aren't stupid," the Changeling barked back. "I will not lead my family right into a trap. Besides, you kind of look like the trickster kind, anyway."

He spread his wings and assumed a threatening position. Cozy slowly backed off. Her mind was overwhelmed with fear, she couldn't even think straight anymore. If Chrysalis would win, it would be all because of her.

"But what if she's speaking the truth?" It was another Changeling, one with white chitin and blue wings, who challenged the leader. "If this filly is speaking the truth, we might be able to stop this. Tell us, Cozy Glow, how is King Thorax doing?"

A glimmer of hope sparked in Cozy's eyes. "He is fighting Chrysalis alongside Pharynx and my friend Tirek as we speak. They need our help."

"This is insane," the purple Changeling protested. "If she has no proof that she's on our side then I will not trust her."

The white Changeling thought for a second. "What if we test her with our Changeling senses? If we can sense love in her heart, then she must have come to us with good intentions. If we don't, then we can safely assume she is with those pony thugs."

"You know, that's not even such a bad idea," the other divined. "Little filly, stay where you are and give me your hoof. It will only take a second."

Another surge of panic ran through Cozy's whole body. Of course she was speaking the truth!—or was she really? With all the bad things she had done in the past, would they really trust her? True, she had bested her evil reflection and Scorpan deemed her worthy of bearing the Elements of Harmony, but still… what if she would just become evil again if she was given the chance? What if she would be tempted by Chrysalis to switch sides, or worse: to take her out and in a moment of weakness grab all the power for herself? Could she resist? Had she changed at all? She would rather not find out. She could flee and rejoin Tirek to try to beat Chrysalis alone. After all, they still had the Elements: the most powerful magical artifacts to fight evil with! But if she did that, if she would rather run from herself than to embrace the truth, wouldn't she just be proving that her redemption had failed?

She tried to budge her limbs, but it was as if they were nailed to the ground. With a spastic tug she stretched out her hoof. As she made contact with the Changeling's hoof she looked away. She couldn't bear to see his reaction.

A second passed. Two seconds passed. He breathed in, and he breathed out. Finally, he released her.

"She is not easy to judge," the Changeling concluded, speaking slowly to cautiously pick his words. "Her heart seems troubled by a dark past, but there is an unmistakable warm and bright glow coming from it. This is not a kind of love that you would find in the heart of a malicious monster. We can trust her."

Cozy's eyes welled up with tears. "Thank you, thank you!" Her joyful outburst sparked some surprise among the Changelings, who looked at each other quizzically. Cozy blushed, "Ehm, I mean: great! Let's get to work. Do you know where any other Changelings might be hiding? We need as many as we can find if we want to stand a chance against Chrysalis's forces."

"I think I might know a few places where we can look," the Changeling replied, stroking his chin. "I have faith that this is going to work, how about you guys?"

The others softly cheered and stamped in unison.

Another proud smile appeared on Cozy's face. "Then what are we waiting for? Show the way!"

The clash between Tirek and Chrysalis had proceeded slowly. Titanic blows were dealt in turn, and the landscape bore proof of their strength: magical blasts had dotted the ground with craters and patches of smoldering ash. Some places were so thoroughly destroyed that the Hive was beginning to resemble a desolate wasteland. It seemed that Chrysalis wasn't intent on holding back even a little bit. Then again, Tirek thought, perhaps she was doing this on purpose.

Despite the lethal force, neither had been successful in landing a direct hit, but that was about to change. Feigning another fireball attack, Tirek instead slammed his fists on the ground, creating a shockwave that threw Chrysalis off balance. He sprinted towards his opponent to capitalize on the opportunity. She tried to fly away, but it was too late: as she climbed into the sky, she felt herself being dragged back down by her hoof. Tirek slammed the Changeling Queen into the ground with a loud thump and pressed his hoof against her back.

"Congratulations, you beat me!" she complained. "What are you going to do now? Send me to school to learn about friendship with the ponies? Please, I would much rather be disintegrated on the spot, like Sombra."

She ceased struggling, upon which Tirek extinguished the fireball between his horns. "I will not let that happen to you, Chrysalis. Not by myself, nor by anypony else."

"I do not appreciate your pity in the slightest, Lord Tirek."

"You are wrong if you think Cozy Glow and I have returned because we had pity on you," he said. "Though you are misguided, we know you are a capable leader."

"Then let me go! The Hive is none of your business. The Changelings are my children and I cannot suffer to see them like this any longer."

"If you really see them as your children, then it is your duty to at least hear them out." Tirek beckoned to the two brothers. They nodded at each other and got up. As they made their way to the two villains with lethargic but determined steps, a disturbing buzzing noise started overtaking the silence. Looking up, they saw a vast swarm of hungry Changelings darkening the sky, led by the Mean Twilight.

A wicked smile crept upon Chrysalis’s muzzle. "Well, well, well. It appears that I will not have to listen to your pleading anymore. I may not have been able to defeat you on my own, but I came prepared and in the end I win. Twilight Sparkle!"

"Yes, Queen Chrysalis?" Twilight replied snarkily. She lit her horn in anticipation.

"Free me from this centaur at once."

"As you wish." Twilight signed at the other five ponies, and together they galloped towards the centaur.

Tirek braced himself, expecting another ray of Grogar's magic; but as the clones rapidly approached, a direct assault didn't occur. Instead, he felt a harmless magical sensation envelop his waist. His saddlebags slid open.

"The Elements!"

"We'll take these, thank you very much."

Six sparkling gems drifted into the sky, guided by a lavender aura. Each pony made a leap for her respective Element. A series of bright flashes blinded every onlooker. The next moment they saw the six clones, suspended in mid-air high above the Hive. Twilight's eyes were black as tar.

Chrysalis crawled up from Tirek's loosened grip and hissed at. "What do you think you're doing?! I command you to come down and you shall obey me!" She cast a spell at Mean Twilight, intending to subjugate her by controlling her mind. The bolt reflected unexpectedly off a magical force-field before it could do any harm to its target.

"Haha! Do you really think I would come unprepared for that trick?" The alicorn's voice echoed from above. "You should have been more careful around the world's most powerful magician."

"Impossible!" Chrysalis cried. “After all that I have done for you, you have the audacity to betray me again?!”

"I am afraid it is so. You do not seem to understand, Chrysalis. I was never loyal to you. Not when you first created me, nor when you revived me—a bafflingly pathetic and foolish move at any rate. You should have learned the first time around.”

“Stop saying such falsehoods!”

“But it is all too true; and I insist that you learn the severity of your error. The opportunities you gave me as I patiently played the role of your lackey were almost too tempting. We could have betrayed you at any other moment but I knew that we had to bide our time and wait for the right moment. Though I must admit that our harnessing the Elements is pure contingent; a matter of skill meeting opportunity, if you will."

Several yellow–black strings of plasma split from her horn, connecting with all the Elements. They shook frantically as their luster was being drained out, and a rainbow of negative colours filled the void around them.

She stammered and then turned to the swarm with a broken voice. "My children, listen to me! Take this fiend out!"

"Try all you want, but they only listen to us. How does it feel to be beaten by your own tactics? Now, Changelings, satisfy your hunger and feast on my enemies!"

The buzzing got louder as every single Changeling made a dive for the creatures on the ground. Tirek spread out his arms before the other three to protect them and mustered his strength to charge up another fireball. At half-size, it collapsed back into itself—he hadn't the power. Moments later they were completely surrounded by a black mass. Hundreds of eyes looked at them lustfully, but they didn't yet attack, as if they were hesitating, waiting on some final signal.

A juvenile voice rang out from the outside.

"Changelings, it is time to take back the Hive!"

At once, the organized swarm deformed into a flurry of chaos. They saw several colourful Changelings mixing themselves with the others, pushing and pulling from all sides. More and more appeared on the scene in an all-out brawl.

As everyone was still trying to comprehend what was going on, Cozy Glow appeared and landed on the ground beside them.

"Seems like we weren't a second late," she said.

"Cozy Glow, is all of this your doing?" Thorax exclaimed.

She giggled, "Sure is! I found some Changelings in hiding and together we organized a counterattack."

"Very impressive," Pharynx admitted, "and not a minute too late. You're a hero, Cozy Glow."

"Aww, golly, I'm not sure about that. Besides, we haven't won yet. Some Changelings are pestering the clones right now, but it's all just to buy time. We have to come up with a plan to take them out and quickly."

Tirek stroked his beard. "Their power is derived from the Elements of Harmony… If we could somehow sever their connection, they would be crucially weakened."

"I think there may be a way to do that, but it will require all of us to work together in harmony. Are you in?" Cozy Glow extended her hoof to the group.

Tirek, Thorax and Pharynx nodded and put their hand and hooves on hers. They all looked at Chrysalis.

"Why are you all staring at me?" she mumbled, settling somberly down on the grass. "Haven't you seen that they are completely out of my control? Go on, save the day. Leave me alone."

"Aren't you going to help too, Chrysalis?" Cozy asked.

She sighed. "I want to be left out of it. Things have only become worse thanks to me, and even if good will come of my actions, I will probably be abandoned again. I am a queen unwanted by her subjects and a mother unwanted by her children."

"But what about us?" Thorax said, nudging his brother. "We are your children. We need you, and the other Changelings need you too. The Hive needs you!"

"I strongly doubt they want anything to do with me anymore."

"I am convinced they do. They understand forgiveness. You only need to set things right, and this is your chance to do exactly that."

"Very well, I'll do it." A chuckle of relief slipped from her lips. As everyone watched, she raised her hoof; and then lowered it again. "But what if I end up becoming… just like you?"

Thorax wanted to respond, but he was cut off by his brother. "Believe it or not, Chrysalis,” Pharynx spoke, “but I used to be just like you. I was the last Changeling to undergo metamorphosis. I believed that if I changed, I would become weak and pathetic. But it turned out I was wrong: true power comes from your will, not from your appearance. It seems that metamorphosis is a natural part of a Changeling's life."

"Are you certain that it hasn't infected your mind?"

"The only thing that has changed is that we are no longer subjected to relentless hunger. The rest is what we choose to make of it ourselves. Though we've become a better species in many respects, sometimes we do miss the guidance of our old Queen.”

Chrysalis raised her hoof and guided it towards the others. "For everything I've done, even if it was completely wrong, I hope you believe me when I say that I did it with the best intentions of the Hive."

"We understand," Thorax said. "Welcome back, Chrysalis." A glimpse of a smile crossed her features.

"Now then," Cozy cheered, "let's defeat those phoney ponies and take back the Hive together!"

"Together!" The others yelled in unison.

"Finally! Good riddance!" Mean Twilight had been preoccupied by a couple of insurgent Changelings for some time. They managed to avoid her magical beams and in doing so even raised her ire, but at last she was able to land a well-timed stroke, taking both of them out at the same time and sending them tumbling down. With them out of the way, she could concentrate on the big finisher: the rainbow blast that the Elements are infamous for, augmented by her own arcane magic. An all-consuming force through which the world would be bent to her will.

"Twilight Sparkle, give us back our Hive!" It was Chrysalis. She came flying, flanked by Thorax and Pharynx.

"Haven't they been beaten yet? You five deal with them," she addressed the other ponies, "I need to focus."

Chrysalis saw the two pegasi coming after her. She prepared herself for the assault, hoping to capture them at once; but even before she could transform, she was grazed by a rainbow streak.

“Come on, you’re so slow you’re boring me out of my mind. At least try to catch up, will ya?” the dull-blue pony taunted from afar.

She turned around growled back, “You’re going to regret those words—hey!” She was interrupted by Mean Fluttershy, who caught Chrysalis off-guard and bit her in her leg. Irritated, she immediately assumed her bird form once more and struck out at the malevolent clone. She proved to be considerably more agile than any ordinary pegasus, as she nimbly danced around the swiping claws.

She cackled, “Is that all you can do? My, you are even less of a fighter than I thought!”

Another rainbow streak flashed by her; again she slipped through her talons and scraped her wing.

Panting, Chrysalis yelled at the two Changeling princes, who were surrounded by Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Applejack, “These clones are too fast, I cannot keep up with them!”

“We’ve got our hooves full as well,” Pharynx replied as he dived out of the way of Pinkie’s balloons-suspended party cannon, “you have to think of something. Figure out their weakness.”

She thought for a second. “Hey you, the yellow one,” she said, “what was that you said about me?”

“I said that you are a useless fighter, an embarrassment, a wimp!”

“Am I supposed to feel insulted now? Please, tell me something that will make me feel at least a little bit angry.”

“What?!” the Fluttershy clone said, glaring spitefully. “Well, you’re also a worthless ruler who can’t do anything for her subjects, who hate her and…”

Her rant was interrupted by Chrysalis’s extended yawn. “How very original,” she added casually, “as if I haven’t heard that one before. You were supposed to be the element of rudeness?”

“That’s it!” She fluttered right in front of Chrysalis and tapped her repeatedly on the chest. “I don’t care how much you think of yourself—you are vermin! Once Twilight is done with her spell, you will regret—”

With one dexterous gesture, the meddlesome pegasus was plucked out of the sky.

Chrysalis sighed. “Silence at last,” she thought. “Now on to the other one: the element of disloyalty.” She looked over the skies and found Rainbow Dash resting on a faraway cloud. The pony’s head perked up when she saw the giant bird approaching.

“I didn’t care about your beef with Fluttershy so I decided to take a nap. Can we continue fighting now?” She got up, spread her wings, and assumed a takeoff pose.

“For what purpose should we be fighting?” Chrysalis asked, “So that Twilight Sparkle can take over the world? I hope you realize she only cares about you for your Element.”

“She is using me?” Rainbow Dash said with a puzzled face.

She nodded. “Twilight needs you for her plan, but as soon as her spell is finished, you will be dumped by the wayside. Is that fine with you?”

“No way!”

“Then come with me. Do not let her take your Element.”

Meanwhile, Thorax and Pharynx found themselves back to back, surrounded by the three remaining clones.

“They’re a tough crowd,” Pharynx said, panting. I’m not sure how much longer I can keep up.”

“If we want to defeat them we’ll have to try something else.” Thorax scraped his throat. “Hey Applejack,”—the orange döppelganger’s head perked up and she looked around nervously—“give Rarity back her Element.”

The outraged unicorn drifted over towards Applejack, with the corrupted Element of Generosity still floating behind her. “What?! You’ve taken my Element?”

“Sure did! ‘tsall mine,” she lied.

Rarity’s horn lit bright cyan. “No, it’s mine, and mine alone! Have at you, you thieving pest!” She fired a magical charge at her ally, knocking her out on the spot. Pharynx made a dive for her and held her in his hooves.

As Rarity was frantically looking around, Thorax confronted Pinkie Pie. She loaded her cannon and aimed it at him; Thorax fluttered to the side. Pinkie readjusted her cannon and Thorax moved again. He kept going, making circles around the pony, until she suddenly threw her hooves in the air and plopped down on her back, as if the air had solidified.

“Forget it, this fight is lame,” she mumbled.

Thorax grinned: his plan had worked! Just as he snatched the Element of Laughter, Chrysalis swooped in and captured Rarity in her free claw.

“That’s the last of them,” Thorax said, wiping his forehead. “The rest is up to Tirek and Cozy.”

Twilight reopened her dark eyes: she was ready. Each of the Elements glowed in their respective inverse colours, visible from far away.

Down on the ground stood Tirek with Cozy Glow in his palm.

Noticing that all the ponies except Twilight had been taken out, she commanded, "Now, Tirek, this is our chance!"

"Forgive me for asking a third time, but are you sure this is a good idea?" Tirek took a few steps back in preparation.

"We are the only two who have affinity with the Elements as far as we know, and you can't fly, so…"

She shrugged nonchalantly, but she knew she didn’t look as collected as she tried to be; there was too much at stake. If she failed, the foe would surely retaliate against her, and Tirek, Chrysalis, Thorax, Pharynx and everypony else would follow suit. This was her only chance, and the pressure was choking her.

Tirek gently clenched his fist around the filly. "Don't ever say this was my idea. Best of luck." He wound up, took a step forward and pitched the pegasus skywards with all his might.

An immediate dizziness took away all her sense of orientation, but nevertheless she managed to recover from the spin-out. The wind stung her eyes as she barreled straight towards her target: the Element of Magic that was floating ominously above the alicorn.

Twilight turned her head robotically; she had noticed the incoming projectile. "Cozy Glow, this will be your end!"

The dark rainbow materialized behind her, first reaching up and then crashing down towards the filly like a tidal wave. Cozy reflexively steered away and avoided the burst by just a few inches; its corrupting power was tingling on her skin.

Before she realized it, she had shot past Twilight. The Element of Magic was securely clamped between her hooves. As if reacting to her touch, it regained its lavender colour. The other Elements rose from their wielders and assumed their original colours as well.

The rainbow blast disintegrated into a harmless gust of wind right as it was about to hit Tirek. Awestruck, he looked at the sky and saw Cozy Glow surrounded by the six Elements. There was a blinking light, which turned into a shockwave, though it looked more like a luminescent bubble that was spherically expanding into the void. Everypony caught in it became weightless and unable to move; Chrysalis reverted to her Changeling form; Thorax and Pharynx had the blight vanquished from their skins; and the other Changelings were turned back as well, as soon as the light touched them.

A magical force guided the six clones towards Cozy Glow. The Elements aligned themselves with their respective bearers.

"No! Get it away from me, I cannot fathom its power!" Twilight protested without budging.

As each clone touched her Element, her cutie mark turned into the true cutie mark of the true bearer, and the faded colours of their coat and mane brightened until they had become perfect imitations of the ponies in whose image they were formed. They didn't look mean anymore: their expressions were blank and tranquil. They breathed in one last time and slowly disintegrated into a fountain of light.

Once they had completely faded, the Elements seemed to stop acting as well. Everypony was slowly settled back onto the ground.

"Cozy, you did it!" Tirek trotting up to the filly, who was rubbing her head.

"Sure did! But it wasn't just me—it was thanks to the effort of everypony!" She fluttered into the air and give Tirek a hoof bump.

"We saved the Hive!" Thorax cheered. The other Changelings cheered along.

One Changeling shouted, "Give it up for Thorax, Pharynx, Chrysalis, Cozy Glow and Tirek!" The others cheered even more enthusiastically the second time. Chrysalis blushed.

Cozy walked up to her. "Uhm, Chrysalis? I'm sorry I couldn't save your clones. The Elements just kind of did their thing without my influence. If I could have saved them, I would have done so."

"You do not have to feel sorrowful," Chrysalis consoled her, "I created them from my darkest emotions using forbidden magic. Their existence was an unnatural one, owing to my jealousy and loneliness. But now that I am back with my children, and with you two, I am finally not alone anymore. Thank you for making me see what is right; I wish I had seen it sooner."

"Good to have you back, Chrysalis," Tirek said, "Do you think we are ready now?"

"What do you mean?" Chrysalis replied sheepishly.

"To give the magic of friendship a chance?"

"Yes, I think I am ready."

Final Chapter - The Friendship of Evil Grows
Evening had fallen over Equestria, bringing rest and calm to all its residents. But while most were dreaming, Thorax was making his nocturnal round through the Changeling Hive. It always put him at ease, knowing that his kin was safe and sound. This sense of peace and security was even stronger since the victory over the clones a few days ago.

Most of the damage in the aftermath had already been repaired: holes in the ground were quickly filled and destroyed trees were removed and replanted. Frankly, a great deal was due to Tirek: his heavy lifting and tireless effort made light work of what would be a weeks-long chores for a pack of Changelings.

He stopped by the memorial that was put up in the middle of the town square and inspected it thankfully. It was a tree trunk of considerable size, into which an artistic representation of the battle was carved. The makers, a group of Changelings who had been practicing arts and crafts ever since their metamorphosis, had taken inspiration from the great stained glass windows of the Canterlot Castle. The five heroes were clearly identifiable, as was the evil sextuplet, which was marked with black ink. The background was populated with swarms of Changelings, of both the hungry and reformed kind.

A minute later Thorax and continued his stroll. The toughest part of the last few days wasn't fixing the damage to the Hive, but rather the healing process of the Changelings who had become victims to the clones. For many, being turned back to their former, love-starved selves was a traumatic experience, and he sympathized deeply with those who had to remember how they attacked their own kind. The Hive's communal response has been extraordinarily supportive, to the point that some have already made amends with Chrysalis. Speaking of…

He saw the lone Changeling Queen sitting by the pond, staring absent-mindedly over the water's surface.

"Hey, Chrysalis," he said quietly. Her ears perked, and she turned her head.

"Hello, Thorax," Chrysalis replied, sighing.

"Is something wrong?" He settled down beside her, gauging her expression. "Still having trouble fitting in?"

"Not so much." She smiled, "In fact it has been great pleasure to be united with my children again. This peace of mind that I've got since my return, it's something I've never before experienced. But still, I feel something nagging, as if there is a hole in my heart that hasn't been filled yet."

"If there is anything that the Changelings can do for you, just let us know. We're all more than happy to help."

Chrysalis shook her head, "No, this is something that I need to do myself. Tomorrow, Tirek, Cozy Glow and I will meet with the ponies in Ponyville to return the Elements of Harmony. We all have some other unfinished business with them, too. I expect that she will be there."

"Do you mean… Starlight Glimmer?"

"Yes, indeed. Long enough have I cursed her name. Tomorrow, I'm going to try to make amends."

For a while, they both sat there, neither of them saying anything. Finally, Chrysalis stood up and broke the silence.

"You are friends with her, are you not?"

"Ehm, yes," Thorax answered hesitantly, "We are. Ever since that day. Why do you ask?"

"Because I've changed my mind. I would like to ask you a favour. I suppose it would be easier if you would be there with us. So if you want to, I would like it if you came along."

Thorax nodded understandingly. "Of course I do. I'll tell Pharynx to watch the Hive and tomorrow we’ll go to Ponyville together."

It was late in the afternoon of the next day, when the two Changelings, the filly and the centaur wandered into the outskirts of Ponyville. Thorax took the lead, keeping a steady pace but at the same time remaining cognizant of the others, who followed him in a close pack. While their trip started off soberly, a sense of uneasiness began permeating the air, as they found themselves with nothing to say. As they passed between the apple trees of Sweet Apple Acres and entered Ponyville proper, Cozy Glow hopped on Tirek's back, tapping her hooves nervously.

"Tirek?" she asked, half-whispering.

"Hm?"

"Do you think they will still be mad with us? I mean, they probably could throw us back into Tartarus if they really wanted to."

"I have no doubt that Twilight will welcome our return. If she wouldn't have trusted us, she wouldn't have allowed us to leave Ponyville in the first place. However,"—he turned his neck left and right, inspecting the whole surrounding area—"I must say I'm not so confident that the others will be happy with our stay."

Cozy's head perked up, and her eyes darted through the streets of Ponyville as well. It occurred to her at that moment that there wasn't a single pony to be found. They were all alone.

"Where is everypony?" she said.

"I reckon they weren't fond of our return after all," Chrysalis added, blushing slightly. "Especially of mine, with the last that they've seen of me."

Tirek stroked his beard. "They heard about how we saved the Changelings, haven't they? Something doesn't add up."

"Maybe we should just leave while we can," Cozy said.

Chrysalis nodded at her proposal and cautiously addressed their escort, "Thorax? How about we call this off. Tell Twilight and the others that we wanted to stay at the Changeling Hive, and they can meet us there.”

Thorax turned around, revealing an excited grin on his muzzle. He waved his hoof, beckoning the trio to come closer. Reluctantly, they complied.

As they approached, the magnificent Ponyville Town Hall came into view. At the entrance stood a large crowd of earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi—at least half of Ponyville's population—which broke out in clamour at the sight of the astonished visitors. The six bearers of the Elements, who were standing in front of the crowd, came forward.

The cheering and stamping died down eventually and Cozy asked, "What is going on here?"

"It's a surprise party, silly!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, ruffling the filly's hair with her hoof. "For you!"

Applejack held her cowgirl hat by her chest. "We already heard a thing or two 'bout your daring adventures, 'n we thought it proper to give y'all a warm welcome!"

Somepony wrapped a leg around Cozy Glow's shoulders; it was Rainbow Dash's. "Is it true what they said? Did you really save the day by being pitched by Tirek and soaring towards that lousy Twilight clone in the face of danger?" Her voice was trembling excitement and her free hoof was frantically drawing patterns in the air.

"Why, yes, it's true," Cozy responded, bewildered by the sudden attention.

Rainbow Dash spun her around and held her face between her hooves. "In that case let me tell you—and believe me that when I say it, it means something—that you just did one of the coolest and most daring things ever!"

"Rainbow Dash?" a gentle yet stern voice sounded. It repeated. "Ahem. Rainbow Dash."

"Heh, sorry Twi." She released the shaken filly from her grasp, gave her a quick head-pat and shuffled back to the other ponies.

With order restored, Twilight turned to the trio. "Tirek and Cozy Glow. I can hardly express how proud I am to have invited you back into Ponyville today. Letting you go after Grogar's battle was a huge act of trust on my part, but from what I have seen and heard, it has paid off in a way that no ordinary friendship lessons can hope to compare to." She winked at Chrysalis. "Indeed the Changelings have already told us of the incident at the Hive, and I'm sure you have experienced many things more that we haven't yet heard of; but first things first. Have you brought the Elements of Harmony?"

"Certainly, Twilight Sparkle. They are right here." From behind his back Tirek procured a wooden chest. He undid the locks and opened the lid for all to see. The six legendary gemstones inside evoked a wave of whispers and cries of amazement from the crowd. Twilight peeked over the rim and studied the Elements with twinkling eyes.

"By Celestia, you really did find them…"

He closed the lid again, and the enchanting glow faded out. "I suppose you would like to take them over now? You ponies are its rightful owners, after all."

Twilight shook her head resolutely and pushed the chest away from her. "We do, but the honour to give them a place in the Castle should be yours. If Scorpan entrusted these to you, then you should be the ones to carry them. See it as a final proof of redemption."

"Hold on," Spike came running towards Twilight, "did you just say Scorpangave them? How did you—" A wide grin that betrayed both disillusionment and admiration appeared on his face. "Don't tell me you planned this from the very start!"

Twilight giggled, "Call it a hunch. After Sombra had destroyed the Tree of Harmony, I realized that Equestria was in greater danger than ever before. I went to the Canterlot Archives to find out if the damage could be undone, or if it perhaps were possible to create a new source of harmony. I searched for hours without any success, but just as I was about to give up I came across an ancient manuscript, written by Starswirl the Bearded himself. He wrote that he had studied the Tree of Harmony and unraveled the secrets of its life cycle. From this discovery, he had obtained what he called a 'Seed of Harmony'."

"Did you figure out what he meant with that? The Tree's life cycle?" Spike asked.

Twilight sighed. "I did not, and I still don't. It would be useless anyway, since we had already lost the Tree. Our only hope lay with the very Seed that Starswirl described. So I proceeded reading. Due to weathering large parts of the text was illegible, but one of the words that could be discerned was the name 'Scorpan'."

Spike jumped in the air. "Tirek's brother!"

"A plausible theory, since we know from Celestia and Luna that they have met before. But at the same time, it was nothing concrete. I wasn't even sure whether this was related to the ‘Seed of Harmony’ lines. It could have been nothing but a random scribble; his works contain a copious number of notes that are completely unrelated to the topic at hoof. Besides, following this lead would mean I would have to go on a weeks-long expedition to rediscover a kingdom that has been lost for centuries, and I simply didn't have the time for that. But when Tirek was staying in the Castle and I was thinking of what to do with him, the idea popped back in my mind. It was still a shot in the dark, but at least Tirek might know where to look, and I would never have expected them to find new Elements of Harmony, so trust me when I say that I am no less perplexed as you are."

Spike tapped with his foot on the ground. "You also predicted the return of Nightmare Moon, so I don't know why I'm even surprised at this."

Twilight's cheeks reddened a little. "Please, Spike, it is them who deserve the credit, not me." She turned her gaze back to Tirek. "What else did you find?"

"It's a long story, too long to tell you in full right now." Tirek scratched the back of his head. "But when we reached Midnight Castle, we found it completely abandoned."

"Oh, no…"

"I thought my race had gone extinct, but the Spirit of Harmony—that is, Scorpan—assured me that there is a surviving group of centaurs out there, roaming the lands of Equestria. My wish is to find them, restore our ancient bonds, and, fate permitting, to rebuild our civilization and live in harmony with the other creatures of Equestria."

"That sounds wonderful, Tirek," Twilight said, "With noble aims like those I am certain that you will succeed. Be sure to write down whatever you find: this is invaluable Equestrian history."

Tirek smiled, "You have my word."

She next addressed the pegasus filly. "What about you, Cozy Glow? Did you finish the assignment that I gave you?"

It took Cozy a second to remember what she meant. When she did, her head drooped. "Gee Twilight, I hate to admit it, but I threw it away right after we left Ponyville and I never thought about it anymore. I guess that means I failed, right?"

"The fact that you are honest about this already means a lot, Cozy," Twilight said reassuringly. "Perhaps you can tell us what you learned right now."

Cozy put her hoof by her chin as she searched for the right words. Half a minute passed as everypony eagerly awaited her response.

"As you know, I often liked to put up a sweet face and manipulate others into doing my dirty work. I figured that friendship is power because I could wield friends like pieces on a chessboard, and even sacrifice them to achieve my goals. But then I got a glimpse of the future. I saw how I was going to become an old mare who had everything she wanted except for the admiration of the ponies around her. Such ponies wouldn't be friends at all: they would hate me if they knew the truth. They would abandon me as soon as they could and never look back; that's the inevitable outcome. I don't want that. I want ponies to respect me for who I am and what they mean to me. I think that that is the true magic of friendship."

"I don't think I could have said it better," Twilight replied, looking up to the sky while reciting her speech in her head. "I’m convinced that you finally understand friendship, so consider yourself graduated!"

Cozy pranced triumphantically. "Golly, thanks a bunch! Ehr—I suppose you also want to hear an apology from me?"

"I don't think that's necessary; to me it's clear as day that you have changed. But perhaps there is something that you would like to say to these three?"

Twilight stepped aside, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders came running towards Cozy. They were dressed in their signature red capes, and to Cozy’s relief it appeared they were perfectly upbeat as always.

Apple Bloom took the initiative. "Heya Cozy Glow, long time no see."

"Hullo girls," Cozy replied coyly, "I hope you're not still angry with me for… you know, taking advantage of your kindness and doing all those other horrible things."

"Are you kidding!" Sweetie Belle chirped. "Of course we aren't angry."

Scootaloo ran her hoof through Cozy's curls. "It's all water under the bridge. I mean, come on, you pretty much saved the world. If that doesn't count for something, what will?"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle cast a look at each other and shrugged.

"You're right," Cozy said as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, "But to show that I'm a different pony, I will have to keep working and trying to improve."

"Just remember to stay true to yourself," Scootaloo said.

Apple Bloom nudged Cozy's side. "Despite the commotion 'n all, ah must say ah I find it mighty impressive how you managed to do all that. Ah can't even sneak out of the house without gettin' busted by my sis."

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack's voice rang from somewhere.

"Ah'm sorry. What ah meant to say was that we'd all be honoured to have you on board as a Crusader."

"What do you say?" Sweetie Belle presented her with a red garment.

Cozy unfurled the dress and looked at the logo that was emblazoned on the flanks: a golden filly on top of a blue shield. She had seen it before, in the CMC clubhouse.

"Why, of course I would like to join!" Cozy said, throwing the cape over her back. At that moment, the three fillies lunged at Cozy into a warm group hug.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders forever!" they yelled in unison.

"So, where will you go now that you're done with the School of Friendship?" Scootaloo followed up. "Will you stay in Ponyville or do you have some other place in mind?"

"Moving to the big city sure sounds fun, but for now I will stay in Ponyville. What better place to start over than right here?"

"And if you ever find you need help, we are always there for you. Aren't we, girls?" Twilight said, to which all her friends nodded in agreement.

"Now, last but certainly not least…"

She turned to Chrysalis, who stood ready for her call. This was the moment she had been anticipating for the last several days. To say that she felt nervous would be an understatement; she felt restless, humiliated and dreadfully anxious. It was only thanks to the presence of Thorax, Tirek and Cozy Glow that she had the fortitude to remain standing on her legs. She took a deep breath.

Twilight added, "I believe there is somepony that you would like to have a talk with."

Starlight Glimmer appeared beside her. Though she maintained a neutral expression, one could tell from her constant blinking and moving about that she was just as skittish as the Changeling Queen.

"Hey, Chrysalis," the unicorn said. "What brings you here?—Never mind, stupid question. You're here for returning the Elements of Harmony, of course."

"That is quite correct, Starlight Glimmer," the Changeling Queen replied, "but I am also here to set some matters straight. As you surely recall, you have granted me forgiveness on more than one occasion. First after the Hive was taken from my clutches, and then later, after the battle with Grogar. Out of pride and bitter hatred, I ungratefully rejected both, and instead cursed your name. I find my motives hard to put into words, and I wouldn't expect a pony to understand them."

"Actually, I kind of do," Starlight admitted, promptly relieved she struck an unexpected familiar note."

Chrysalis looked at her in disbelief. "Don't kid me."

"I am not. I used to be pretty ungrateful too, rejecting friendship when I most needed it and coming back with a vengeful plan… but all of that had made me capable of understanding your situation. When you were alone and everypony was against you, I recognized myself in you. That's why I wanted to forgive you. When you rejected my gesture, I was hurt, but at the same time I understood why you felt angry and I didn't blame you." She stopped for a moment, realizing how attentively Chrysalis was now listening to her. "Erh, let's just say that I'm proud to see you've finally turned around."

"I see." She sighed. "If only I had given your offer some more thought, then I wouldn't have suffered and turned against my own children. In any case, it's in the past now. Tirek and Cozy Glow are my friends and I have regained the trust of the Hive. All that remains is to ask for your forgiveness. So, will you…?"

Chrysalis extended her hoof. Perceiving the irony of the situation, Starlight looked at her friends; they were all smiling empathetically, ready for them to bury the hatchet for once and for all. She had their full support this time.

"Alright," she grinned, "you are forgiven. On one condition."

"Whatever it is, I shall accept it," Chrysalis said resolutely.

Starlight winked. "I ask that you strive to live in harmony with not just the ponies and the Changelings, but with all the creatures that inhabit Equestria. Let there be enough love for everypony, so that no Changeling will ever go hungry again."

"That sounds like a daunting task," she replied softly.

"Trust me, it's not that hard if you do it together with your friends." Starlight out with her hoof to Chrysalis's.

"I… I think you're right. Yes, I can do that."

As they shook hooves, Chrysalis couldn't help but to give in to a fit of chuckles. She had never felt this good, this loved, this complete. She was relieved, as if an ancient curse had at long last been dispelled. The laughter started giving way to tears, but then suddenly everything went blank, as if a bolt of lightning had crashed down upon her. A deafening whizz numbed her hearing and threw her off-balance, but instead of falling, her weightless body was lifted into the air. A brilliant light engulfed her vision, and the heat of purgatory fire ran from her hooves to her horn.

The sensation lasted only a moment, for soon she felt her hooves supported by the firm ground below. Still slightly disoriented, she opened her eyes. Everypony was staring at her, speechless and with mouths agape.

"What happened to me?"

She barely uttered the words when awe silenced her lips once more. Was that really what she sounded like? Her voice was softer, calmer, more feminine; yet it was unmistakably her voice.

Fluttershy landed beside her. "Chrysalis, is that really you?"

"Darling, you look simply marvelous!" Rarity applauded. "Truly befitting a Queen!"

"W-what?"

"Aw yeah! Now that's what I call a transformation!" Rainbow Dash cheered.

"This is incredible," Twilight said, "I must let Princess Celestia know about this."

"Transformation?"

Thorax pushed himself through the crowd that had by now formed around the stupefied Changeling Queen and studied her new form from up close. "They are right, you really are beautiful," he said. "You must see it for yourself. Come with me."

Slowly he led her to the bank of the creek that ran around the Town Hall. She approached the water and, careful not to fall, she leaned over the edge. Between the water lilies she saw an exquisite creature looking back at her. As Chrysalis turned her head, the creature did likewise. Her mane was spring green, with hair so fine that it glistened in the sunlight. Her chitin skin had turned from soot black to a soft, creamy shade of peach and those places that used to be marred with gaping holes were now as fair and smooth as anywhere else. Most striking was her horn, which had been healed of its crooks and fractures and was shaped perfectly save for a slight curve upwards.

She gently caressed the orange tuft of fluff on her chest; it was as soft as down and emanated a pleasant, natural warmth. Lastly, she lifted her elytra, revealing two pairs of violet wings, sparkling, perfectly translucent and bound together by an intricate network of swirling, light blue veins. They felt as light as the air around them; in fact, her whole body felt lighter, suppler, and, above all, healthier.

Chrysalis kept staring at her reflection for another minute or so. Eventually, Tirek and Cozy Glow came by her.

"Is everything okay, Chrysalis?" Cozy asked her with a concerned voice. "You don't hate your new form, do you?"

"We wanted to tell you that to us it doesn't matter what you look like," Tirek said, nervously rubbing his hands. "Whether you're an old Changeling or new, or whether you've taken on the shape of some terrible creature, we like you for who you are."

Chrysalis turned around, rubbing her eyes. "Thank you, but you don't have to be concerned. I never thought I'd admit it, but I too am pleased with this new form. Truly, it's a wonderful metamorphosis, and I don't even feel as if I have changed. Only when I look at my own reflection, I almost feel like I don't deserve it."

"Oh, good," Tirek said, relieved, "because I actually think you look rather charming, too."

"And you have more than earned it!" Cozy said as she nuzzled Chrysalis's leg. "By the way, do you mind if I stay at the Changeling Hive once in a while? We've been around each other so long, and we've gone through so much, we've become sort of like a family!"

Chrysalis and Tirek looked at each other, their cheeks swelling red with blood. Several seconds passed before their embarrassment evolved into a pacifying fit of laughter.

"Oh, Cozy Glow," she said, still chuckling, "why of course you are at any time welcome. But the idea that we are a family will strike me as bizarre for a long time to come."

"Indeed.” Tirek cleared his throat. “Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We might be united in friendship, but that does not mean I will be escorting you to the prom or anything of the sort."

"But you will help me with my newest plot to overthrow Celestia's regime and install my new world order, right?" She pulled a grin that was as wide as her cheeks permitted, but upon meeting the disapproving gazes of every pony within earshot, she reluctantly appended, "Joking! Joking! Geez, you save the world and ponies still look at you weird."

"You can't just expect folks to trust you because you did one mighty good thing,” Applejack said. "Buildin' an honest character takes time. Ain't that so, Starlight?"

Starlight snickered, "Hehehe, right."

"But picking the fruit of the Tree of Harmony is nevertheless a good start," Tirek added.

Twilight's ears perked up. "Wait, can you repeat that?"

"What do you mean? Picking the fruit? I was talking about—"

"Yes! Hold on—Tirek, can I see the Elements again?"

"Sure, but what for?" Tirek opened the locks of the chest and presented it to Twilight for the second time. As her eyes were laid on the Elements, they widened and she produced an epiphanic gasp.

"Everypony," she declared, "I think I know how to recover the Tree of Harmony!"

"Have you solved the mystery?" Starlight Glimmer asked, grinning with excitement.

"If my intuition is correct, yes. I will explain later. We must gather supplies and head to the cave of the Tree of Harmony at once."

Less than half an hour later, the party ventured into the Everfree Forest. The noon sun scared off all dangerous creatures, and without any major obstruction the party reached the gorge that lay at the forest's heart. They went down the stairway and entered the cave. Without the light of the Tree, the cave was uncomfortably dark. Twilight, Rarity and Starlight illuminated the cave with the magic of their horns.

"As with everything logical, the solution is quite obvious in hindsight," Twilight explained as they gathered in a circle. "The life cycle of the Tree of Harmony is nothing different from that of ordinary Plantae. Can anypony tell me how this works?"

Fluttershy raised her hoof. "The seeds are stored inside the fruit. Animals eat the soft, nutritious flesh but they cannot digest the seed. When they spit it out or excrete it, it falls on the ground and, from when it can grow into a new tree that produces its own seed and so the cycle continues!"

"Very well explained. You see, it's literally as Tirek said: the Elements of Harmony are the fruit! Now take another look."

As Twilight unlocked the chest, the Elements floated towards their respective wielders.

"Yeah? It's the Elements alright," Applejack said, inspecting the orange gem. "Not sure what you want us to notice."

"Look closer."

"My stars!" Rarity exclaimed. "There is some sort of dark kernel within it. Do you suppose that is…?"

"Hm-hm!" Twilight hummed triumphantly. “The Seed of Harmony.”

Rainbow Dash experimentally shook the red gem between her hooves. "How do we get 'em out? I hope you don't mean we gotta crack 'em open."

"A little magic should do the trick. Starswirl was quite proficient in life magic, so let's try that."

Twilight aimed her horn at her Element and discharged a lemon green ray of light. From it, a lavender beam shot at Applejack's, which in turn connected with Fluttershy's with an orange beam, et cetera, until all the Elements were linked in the shape of a hexagon. This arrangement hung motionlessly in mid-air for several seconds. Then, green jets emanated from each Element, meeting in the center, where they created a blinding spark. As the onyx kernels shrunk, the intensity of the beams also gradually decreased; and when the last streak was snuffed out, they saw an aquamarine seed about the size of an almond gradually sinking towards the ground.

"Did it work?" Thorax asked.

"I think it di-id!" Pinkie sing-songed.

Cozy picked it up. "It really is the Seed of Harmony," she said. "Just like Scorpan described it!"

"A new Tree of Harmony… this hasn't happened for almost a thousand years," Twilight mused.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Rainbow Dash grabbed a shovel and flew towards the precise spot the Tree once stood. She urged, "Come on, let's plant it already!"

The ponies got to work, and soon they had dug a fairly sized hole.

"That should do it, Applejack said as she scooped up the last load of dirt and tossed it over her shoulder. "You can put it in now, Cozy."

Cozy Glow dropped the seed in the hole and scooped dirt over it. "There!"

"Is it growing yet?! Is it growing yet?!" Pinkie exclaimed as she frantically danced around the site.

"Take it easy, Pinkie," Fluttershy said. "Everything in nature grows at its own pace, and we need to respect that."

"Fluttershy is right," Tirek remarked. "A tree doesn't grow in one day. It takes constant patience and diligence, but the result will be well worth the effort. In that sense, it's kind of like friendship."

His words were met with a round of laughter.

"What's so funny about that?" he cried, throwing his hands in the air.

"We still aren't used to you saying such sappy things,” Starlight Glimmer snorted.

"Exactly," Applejack chuckled. Sounds like something Granny Smith'd say."

"And a great friendship lesson to take to heart in any case," Twilight added. “You can write it in my journal, if you want to.”

"Everypony, look!" Chrysalis suddenly interjected. Her hoof was pointing at the patch of dirt. As they turned around they saw that a crystalline sapling had already sprouted. Though it wasn't taller than a few inches, it was already casting a bright, lustrous halo on the floor of the cavern.

"That's so awesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "It's gonna grow into an ever cooler Tree than the old one, I just know it."

"Even now it is a most exquisite specimen!" Rarity said. Her horn assumed its cerulean aura as she pointed it at the sapling. "And according to my gem-seeking spell, its roots have already burrowed deep into the ground."

"And so, Equestria will be protected once more," Twilight concluded.

"It's almost strange to think that we nearly destroyed each other just a couple of weeks ago," Chrysalis said. "I used to think that if it wasn't for Grogar's greed, we would have won. And if the clones didn't betray me, I would have won the second time. But now I believe that these outcomes weren't a coincidence. This is how they were meant to be. If you fight for what's good, you can never truly lose."

Tirek crossed his arms, and Cozy jumped on his back. "Agreed!" they exclaimed together.

"So… one more thing…" Twilight awkwardly rubbed the back of her head.

The three ex-villains looked at her curiously. "Hm?"

"After we saved the day, us ponies usually do a big group hug, but you're probably not used to it. If you don't want it, it's okay, but do you think that perhaps—waah!"

Before she could finish speaking, she felt the grip of Tirek's arms, capturing her and everypony else in one big embrace.

Tirek laughed, "Do you mean like this?"

"I think that's what she meant!" Chrysalis replied, nuzzling the ponies back.

Cozy giggled, "And golly, what a fantastic way to celebrate!"

This is where the magic happens

This is where the magic lives

Our friendships weave together stronger

The bonds grow deeper, lasting longer

And the greatest spell you'll know

Is how the Magic of Friendship grows

The End.

Credits
Zizi Tachyon Created This Fimfiction

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