Twilight Sparkle and her friends clung to each other pitifully as Tirek, Cozy Glow, and Queen Chrysalis charged up their magic to it's maximum output.
The energy wave launched forth and engulfed Equestria's last hope. Turning them to dust in an instant and leaving only a smoking crater behind.
The villainous trio stared at the blackened earth, as if surprised that it actually happened...they actually won.
They stared in shock as they processed the information, and then they threw their heads back and laughed.
They laughed for quite some time. As if it were some que that the story had ended and nothing more was to happen. But eventually they stopped laughing, and began to ponder what they should do now.
"Well...I guess Equestria is ours now." Began Chrysalis.
"Yeah...ya know, I spent so much time thinking about making this happen, that I have no idea what to do now that it has." Cozy Glow continued.
"Well, I believe the first step should be securing our rule. There's going to be more than a few resistances, and in case you've forgotten." Tirek throws a hand out to gesture towards the distance where Windigos are still running wild. "We have to find a way to take care of them."
"Oh yeah, that's happening." Cozy Glow deadpanned. She did not like cold weather.
"Hmm, perhaps the answer is in the restricted section of the Canterlot Library. That is where we found the key to our victory after all." Chrysalis suggested.
The others nodded their agreement and set off.
Unfortunately, it seemed to slip their minds that they had destroyed Canterlot Castle, and the Canterlot Library with it.
"Oh, well that's just great. Now how are we supposed to defeat the Windigos?" Cozy Glow asked no one in particular.
"Hmm, perhaps further conquest is the key to our victory. If we defeat all the nations loyal to the..ugh, 'Magic of Friendship', then I can drain the magical power of those foolish creatures and be strong enough to drain the power of the Windigos themselves." Tirek suggested.
This was met with judgmental stairs. "Really, we're just going to let you aquire that much power?" Chrysalis deadpanned.
"Well what do you suggest? It's not like we can use Grogar's bell to divide it between us." Tirek countered. It was true, as long as Discord's magic was inside the bell, it was too big of a risk.
The Changeling put a hoof to her chin as she contemplated the predicament. "Hmm, perhaps building an army will suffice. We sweep through the lands as you suggest, but you only drain power from your cut of the conquered masses, and we get to keep the rest as servants."
Cozy Glow lit up at that idea, but there was still a condition that she needed to add. "Alright, but we leave the Changeling Hive for last so that you can't use them against us."
Chrysalis rolled her eyes at the accusation, not because she wouldn't try it, but because she doubted that her foolish former Hive would be competent enough.
And so, the conquest began.
The Pony races fell first, as they were closest. Tirek absorbing the power from a third of them while Chrysalis and Cozy Glow bossed the others around, threatening to punish disobedience with being given to Tirek...and then a Manticore.
The next nearest kingdom was the Dragon Lands, but it was quickly agreed that they should wait until they had a decent invasion force. And so the griffins fell next, and anypony caught trying to help them was given over to Tirek...but these were few and far between...friendship was forgotten.
And so it went. The Yaks, Hippogriffs, Dragons, and Changelings fell as many rather than standing as one. And with their power ruled by the three tyrants, they fought against the Windigos as directed by their rulers.
2 Weeks After Twilight's Death
"Ugh, What. Is. TAKING SO LONG!?" Cozy Glow shouted. Due to the persisting war against the Windigos, she was hiding away in the now abandoned School of Friendship, which was being rebuilt as her castle.
Chrysalis was focusing on returning her Hive to its former glory, while Tirek was leading the charge against the Windigos.
After it became apparent that the Windigos were stronger than the villains had anticipated, Cozy Glow had agreed to let the centaur have some of her slaves as well, barring those that she had already put to work.
Of Cozy's remaining slaves, the only ones present were several Dragons who were giving themselves sore throats by burning books from Twilight's school to help the power-mad filly escape the cold.
None of the Dragons had opted to answer Cozy Glow's rhetorical question, which actually bothered her more than a stupid answer would have. "WELL!?"
"Uh, um, Maybe Tirek is just taking his time?" One Dragon answered.
"Well even if he were, you would think that the other creatures would want to get rid of the Windigos too. Working day and night to cater to my every need has got to be better than freezing out there...AND KEEP THOSE FIRES GOING!!!" The Pegasus-made-Alicorn shouted when it started to cool.
The Dragons obeyed for fear of the consequences, several priceless tomes were consumed by Dragon fire, the knowledge within lost forever.
This meant nothing to Cozy Glow, who had long since taken any book that she had deemed valuable. "Ugh, I need to take a walk. You, bring a cart."
The Dragon in question grabbed a metal cart stuffed with books that he lit aflame as he followed the filly. Two other Dragons followed with packs of books to keep the fire going.
Cozy Glow walked the corridors of the former school, turning her head this way and that to observe the construction. Papers and school supplies being thrown away, classrooms being turned into storage areas and barracks for her army, just as she imagined it.
Of course, she imagined a large and competent army that served her every whim, rather than what little was overseeing the construction with some giving her a stink-eye when they thought she wasn't looking.
She'd have them replaced with more spineless individuals later, obedience was more important than competence after all.
...Cozy Glow was bored, she couldn't tell anycreature to do anything she wanted them to do because they were already doing what she needed them to do.
After thinking about what she could do to entertain herself, she decided that she was far enough along that she could afford to gloat about her accomplishments. And she knew just whose snouts to rub it into first.
Cozy Glow combed through her servants for somepony who might know where to find them. "...YOU! You lived in Neighvada, right?"
The pony in question hesitantly nodded. "Y-yes ma'am."
"Tell me, do the names Cozy Coat and Glowstick mean anything to you?" Cozy Glow inquired.
"Uh, yes. I am familiar with them...and you." The pony answered.
Cozy Glow brightened at that. "Yep. All that worry that I could only get myself in trouble unless I fell in line. Heh heh, I can't wait to see the looks on their faces. So where are they?"
"I believe that I saw them being sent to the Changeling Hive when Neighvada was taken." The pony answered.
"Thanks." And with that, Cozy Glow decided to give teleporting a try.
The Changeling Hive
Chrysalis looked on as the Changelings that she had already returned to their true selves drained the love out of the others, returning the hunger that makes them strong.
Some Changelings were easy enough to cure, but others such as Thorax, Ocellus, and surprisingly Pharynx seemed to have more love in their hearts than others.
Chrysalis was livid for their existence, but they did make for a good food supply, and forcing Changelings to feed off them was starting to rebuild their ferocity.
Of course, she fed off them herself, though she despised that she was eating this well off her own kind. Nevertheless, she appeared to be on the right track to righting Thorax's wrongs.
She was pulled from her thoughts by the audible pop of a teleportation spell. "Good morning Chrysalis, how's the reformation of your Hive coming along?"
Chrysalis shot an accusing glare at Cozy Glow. "What do you want?"
The filly never faltered in her friendly mask. "Oh nothing much. I was just hoping that you'd be willing to trade a few slaves. Well, two to be exact."
An odd request, but an irrelevant one. "I'm afraid Tirek's beaten you to it. His cut of my Hive in exchange for all my non-Changeling slaves to help him keep the Windigos at bay."
The mask came off in an instant. "WHAT!? BUT HE ALREADY HAS MOST OF MY SLAVES!!!"
That got the Queen's attention, Tirek had not told her this. In fact, when she had asked him why he didn't go to Cozy Glow with his offer, he explained that she wasn't interested. "That miserable traitor! He's seeking to gain power above us. Let's take care of this."
Cozy Glow hastily agreed, though she seemed more worried than vengeful.
Ponyville
Chrysalis and Cozy Glow arrived at Ponyville in a flash of light. The sight that greeted them was nothing out of the ordinary.
After being drained of their magic, Tirek's cut of the slaves were abandoned to the mercy of the Windigos. Those that managed to survive the harsh whether made their shelter in Ponyville.
The powerless creatures worked together as well as they could, but the Dragons couldn't breath fire for warmth, and the Earth Ponies couldn't cause food to grow, and so everything was done mundanely.
There were no songs, no celebrations, and the most common food was meat from small game, hunted by the Griffins and reluctantly accepted by the starving masses.
Chrysalis was unmoved by the despair, but she noticed Cozy Glow seemed uncharacteristically concerned.
She considered questioning the filly, but her thoughts were interrupted by a scream.
Ponies, Hippogriffs, and the odd loving Changeling ran this way and that while Dragons, Griffins, and Yaks shielded the cowering creatures from the two tyrants.
"What do you want? You have to know that we're no use to you now. Just leave us alone." A Griffin pleaded, barely able to stand, but still ready to fight.
"We have no interest in you fools. It has come to our attention that Tirek has taken more power than he agreed to. I'm sure you know why we would be concerned about that." Chrysalis informed the Griffin.
"Also, I'm looking for a couple of Ponies, and I'm willing to reward anycreature who helps me find them. Their names are Cozy Coat and Glowstick." Cozy Glow added, satisfying Chrysalis' curiosity with those names.
The Griffin breathed a sigh of relief. "Tirek is still fighting the Windigos not too far from here. As for those Ponies, I can't help you. They all look the same to me."
"Well spread the word that I'm looking for them, okay?" Cozy Glow asked, clearly worried for her parents well being.
"Uh, okay, sure." The Griffin said. She probably would've pressed for a price, but knew better, considering who it was.
"Let's go." Cozy Glow said before flying off in the direction of the Windigos.
"...So, the Ponies you're looking for are your parents?" Chrysalis questioned as they flew.
Cozy Glow hesitated at first. "...Yeah. I grew up in Neighvada, a city that's practically next door to Las Pegasus. My mom actually came from there after she went broke thanks to bad gambling....I think that's why she and dad tried to steer me away from that life."
"Of course, my desire to make my mark in Las Pegasus only grew when I got my Cutie Mark. If you haven't figured it out yet, my special talent is manipulating people. I knew then that I was destined to make a living off gambling and conning...but my parents went from concerned to crazy."
Chrysalis formed the rest of the story from there. "Let me guess, they shoved Harmony and Friendship down your throat and forced you to attend Twilight's stupid school, thus motivating you to conquer Equestria just to prove to them that you're better than that."
"And promptly screwed it up and got sent to Tartarus... Yeah, I'm gonna leave that part out. Heh heh." Cozy Glow blushed a little as she pictured what her parents would've said if they found her there before she got her second chance.
"Hmm hmm hmm. Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. We can even pull the Royal Sisters out of the Canterlot Dungeon long enough for them to tell your parents how you stole their magic all by yourself." Chrysalis promised.
"Grea-...I just hope they're still alive to see it." Cozy Glow's attention had been grabbed by a dead Griffin. It hadn't survived the journey to Ponyville.
"...I'm not the kind of creature to comfort an acquaintance, and I'm not going to promise that they're still alive, but if it is too late, then we can take it out on Tirek. His punishment for betraying us." Chrysalis said.
"Yeah. Thanks for pretending to be a friend." Cozy Glow jested.
Chrysalis took it in stride. "I'm the best you got."
The rest of their flight towards the Windigos was in silence. Cozy Glow would keep her eyes on the ground and investigate any dead or dying Ponies that they saw along the way. But eventually, they made it.
"GRRAAAAAAHHH!!!!" The two tyrants immediately forgave the third when they realized just how hard he was fighting. The Windigos were huge, a lot bigger than they were before, and there was a lot more of them.
"WOAH!! Tirek has been fighting all of this by himself!?" Cozy Glow exclaimed.
"Not anymore he's not. Let's go!" Chrysalis shouted.
"Right behind you!" Cozy Glow replied.
The two smaller villains landed on the massive centaurs shoulders and blasted the nearest Windigo, which was almost as big as Tirek himself.
"What the hay are you two doing here?"
"Well, we were going to kick your butt for taking more than your share of our servants, but now we're here to help." Cozy Glow explained.
The Windigos drew closer, but Tirek sent them flying with a far more powerful blast. "There isn't much that you two can do at this point. I don't know how, but they keep growing stronger. So now that you know how dire the situation is, get me everycreature left that you've got. I'll return the lifeforce from your slaves after we're finally rid of these things."
The Windigos howled blowing cold wind onto the three tyrants. "Y-YEAH! WE'RE ON IT!!" Cozy Glow shouted before teleporting away.
"I'LL RETURN WITH MY ENTIRE HIVE AS SOON AS I AM ABLE!!" Chrysalis shouted as she flew away...only to be intercepted by a Windigo.
The Changeling Queen had barely a second to comprehend the attack before it struck, a Windigo's hoof knocking her to the ground before the attacker blew it's icy breath onto her still outstretched wings.
Chrysalis screamed as her fragile wings froze, cracked, and shattered.
The Windigo loomed over her, intent to finish her off. But the enraged Changeling transformed into a large Dragon and breathed furious flames onto the Ice Demon.
The Windigo was sent reeling, but any damage done healed almost instantly.
Chrysalis grappled the beast, but quickly let go as its freezing hide burned her with an almost instantaneous Frostbite.
An audible pop signaled Cozy Glow's return. Tirek turned from his own battles and absorbed the life force of the filly's gathered servants...who actually looked like they were going to try and fight the Windigos first. Chrysalis would've laughed at the notion if she wasn't fighting for her life.
Tirek roared as newfound power coursed through his being before he directed that power towards the Windigos....who were stronger than before.
"That's impossible..." Chrysalis mumbled to herself as she, Tirek, and Cozy Glow were slowly overwhelmed.
The three were pushed back to back. The now powerless creatures that Cozy Glow had brought had collapsed in the freezing cold, never to rise again, and the three tyrants were soon to join them.
No...This can't be... Chrysalis thought to herself. I'm stronger than I've ever been, even without Alicorn magic, how could I lose? Tirek wondered almost out loud. No...there has to be a way, how do we defeat them? "HOW!?" Cozy Glow shouted to the heavens...and the heavens answered.
The three tyrants were engulfed in a flash of light. When it faded...they were face to face with six mares they never thought they'd see again.
Twilight and her friends stared indifferently at their slayers, almost as if they were strangers. "Do you not know?"
The three tyrants looked at Twilight, hoping she would say more. "Not know what exactly?"
"How to defeat the Windigos, have you forgotten?" Twilight clarified, the rest of the Element Bearers doing nothing.
"Forgotten? How could we forget it? We never found it. If we did, they'd be gone." Cozy Glow ranted.
"And yet they were defeated...by Friendship." Twilight clarified.
The villains stared at her like she was stupid...and yet, they couldn't think of anything to counter her statement.
"The Windigos feed off strife. The more creatures suffer, the stronger they become. The only way to banish them is to end suffering." Twilight explained.
"Thanks for the obvious, not that it helps us." Chrysalis seethed.
"We're not here to help you, we're here to save Equestria...through you." Rainbow Dash clarified. The others' disinterested looks becoming distasteful scowls.
"And just how do you plan to do that? Because if think you're possessing us..." Tirek finished the statement by channeling his magic.
"Only if you choose it. You have three options: As Tirek implied, we can possess you and fix the mess you made. Or: We can use what little magic the Spirit of Harmony has left to teleport you away from here so that you can teach the Magic of Friendship to those you've forced to forget it. And finally: We can use the last Harmony's magic to teach those who would be the most willing to teach others...after you die here." Twilight stated.
"Really?" Chrysalis said with an amused voice. "I don't think you have it in you."
Twilight's gaze became cold. "The only reason I'm speaking to you now is because even after all you've done, I can't condemn you to die unless I absolutely have to. Do I?"
Chrysalis was no longer amused. She realized that the Alicorn held her life on the tip of her horn, and though she would never admit it...she was impressed.
"So..." Twilight spoke up. "What'll it be?"
The three tyrants were at a loss. While they would proudly boast that they'd rather die than accept Friendship, they'd never had to back it up before. And being possessed by their mortal enemies didn't appeal to them either.
"....Release me. I'll die fighting." Chrysalis declared.
"Uh, eh, grr...You win. I'll return all the life force I've drained and let the other creatures go back to your way." Tirek grumbled.
"That's not good enough. If we teleport you to safety, we will not be strong enough to teach them ourselves." Twilight declared.
"WHA-BU-...Oh FINE!! You can possess me then. JUST GIVE ME MY BODY BACK WHEN YOU'RE DONE!!" The centaur whined.
"It will be many years before we can leave Equestria in better hands and rest, but it will happen eventually." Twilight promised, prompting another whine from Tirek.
"...WAIT!! THERE'S ANOTHER WAY!" Cozy Glow spoke up.
All eyes fell upon the young filly. "Friendship is the only thing that can banish the Windigos. Whatever your scheme is, it won't work." Twilight declared.
"But what if my 'scheme' was completely undoing all the damage we've done in an instant, would that work?" Cozy Glow inquired.
"And just how do you plan to do that?" Rarity asked her.
Cozy Glow locked eyes with everycreature there, Tirek and Chrysalis in particular. "Okay, so it's no surprise that we were all planning to betray each other one day, right."
"Uh, I guess. Although I was more concerned with reclaiming my Hive more than anything." Chrysalis half-admitted.
"Eh, I kinda lost track of my ambitions while I was trying to beat the Windigos. Why?" Tirek inquired.
"Because I got my hooves on something that I was planning to use against the two of you when the time was right." Cozy Glow explained.
"And how is this 'something' supposed to save Equestria?" Twilight asked.
"The same way Starlight used it to doom Equestria." Cozy Glow, finally clueing Twilight in on what she was talking about.
"I see. Starswirl's Time-Traveling spell." The Alicorn said, causing the filly to beam a smile while other villain imitated a beached fish.
"Yep. We can use it to tell our past selves what'll happen if they take over Equestria and stop them." Cozy Glow explained, which caused the other two to laugh.
"Ahhahahahaa, and what makes you think they won't just assume they can do things differently?" Chrysalis asked.
"Do you honestly think you could convince yourself not to seek power when it's right in your grasp?" Tirek added, destroying Cozy Glow's confidence in her plan. "W-well...what if we..destroyed the bell?"
"Hmm, actually, it could work...if you use this." Twilight said as she summoned forth a scroll from the ether and presented it to the villains. It's contents shocking them.
"W-WOAH!! Where did you get this?" Cozy Glow asked.
"When you destroyed our physical forms, our souls merged with the Spirit of Harmony, transforming us into the astral manifestations of the Elements and bestowing upon us knowledge of all that is, was, and could be. That is why I trust you with this power that was long since destroyed by Starswirl the Bearded to prevent the madness and suffering that casting this spell could bring under the wrong conditions." Twilight, or rather, the Spirit of Magic explained.
"Well, I would say that it was fun while it lasted, but honestly, ruling Equestria was more trouble than it's worth." Cozy Glow said with the other two reluctantly agreeing.
Twilight's horn glowed, and the three tyrants found themselves in the Princess of Friendship's old Head Mare office, now repurposed as Cozy Glow's thinking room. (it's too small to be a throne room)
Cozy Glow went over to the desk and pulled out the scroll containing the needed spell. "So, this isn't the part where one of us tries to do their own thing, right?"
"The only thing we can do at this point is die, unless we go through with this." Tirek pointed out.
"While I'm reluctant to give up on conquering Equestria, the fact that we did destroy Twilight Sparkle and her friends is enough to hold me over long enough to find a way to take Equestria without bringing forth the Windigos." Chrysalis added.
"Well you can have it. I'm going back to conquering Las Pegasus." Cozy Glow concluded as the Legion of casted the spell.
Two Weeks Earlier
"Our pact stands." Chrysalis stated as she placed her hoof in Tirek's hand. "What we do, we do together. Once we defeat the rulers of Equestria, we can claim this land and rule our kingdoms, alone, once more."
With no arguments, Tirek proceeded with the spell, levitating the bell and preparing to ring it.
Suddenly,a bright light erupted from behind the bell. Fading to reveal...the villains. Before the three assembled evildoers could react to the appearance of their other selves, the three newcomers blasted Grogar's bell and destroyed it.
The Legion of Doom stared with their mouths agape as their plans fell into pieces at their hooves. "...What. Have. You DONE!!?"
The future Chrysalis looked at her enraged past self. "See for yourself." With that, the three humbled villains joined hands/hooves and casted the spell Twilight gave to them: Soul Fusion.
In normal circumstances, this spell could merge two or more beings together. It was created by a power-mad Unicorn who sought to merge with a Pegasus and an Earth-Pony to become an Alicorn.
But in this case: the three villains became one with their past selves, bestowing upon them their memories and experiences, and the reason that they couldn't conquer Equestria.
The three stood there in silent contemplation of all that they had learned before asking the most important question...now what?
A Few Moments Later
Grogar had finally arrived after his long absence "Alright you three, Twilight's coronation ceremony begins tomorrow, and that is when is when we will launch our attack. But for this to work, you three will need to wrok together." The great goat announced to the cavernous hideout, knowing that his minions were in here somewhere.
"You can drop the act Discord, you're not fooling anypony." 'Grogar' turned to the voice and found the three standing in the shadows, their faces downcast.
The three former tyrants confessed what they had done and what they had learned. Needless to say, Discord was not amused.
Having dropped his Grogar facade, Discord bound the three villains to a wall and showed them just how intimidating he can be. "You three have exactly two seconds to give me a reason not to destroy you, and I'm not accepting 'I'm sorry'."
Cozy Glow spoke up. "Because if Twilight figures out that you stopped us from learning from our mistakes, you'll be in really big trouble."
The Lord of Chaos smiled sinisterly. "And just what makes you think they'll ever find out?"
"They won't. Because to explain this as 'you reformed us as a surprise gift for Twilight'." Cozy Glow's response got stunned looks from the other two villains and threw Discord into a fit of laughter.
"AHHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!" AND WHY WOULD I EVER DO THAT!?" The draconiquis asked.
Cozy Glow never missed a beat. "Because if you destroy us, and do everything you possibly can to cover it up...but miss something, one tiny little detail that leads Twilight and her friends to figuring what happened, then not only will they know what you did, not only will they know how badly it almost turned out, but they'll know that you tried to hide it from them...and they will never forgive you."
Discord wasn't laughing anymore. In fact, he seemed to be a little peeved. "...Fine, you win. I'll tell them that I reformed you."
Cozy Glow beamed, but the others weren't as thrilled. "Hold on a moment. I may have agreed to stop trying to take over Equestria, but I never said anything about accepting the Magic of Friendship."
Tirek shared Chrysalis' opinion. "If you think for one second that I'm going near those ponies without the intent to destroy them, you've got another thing coming."
Discord simply shrugged. "Oh well, I guess I'll have to try my luck at hiding two bodies."
But before he could snap his fingers. "W-w-WAIT!!! I didn't mean a total reformation, we're just not going to attack them anymore. One meeting to make it official, and then we're gone. I'm going to Las Pegasus, and you guys are going..." Cozy Glow rolled her hoof to tell the others to fill in the blank.
"Hmm, well I suppose I could join you. You ponies are lovesick wherever you go, so I don't think I'll go hungry." Chrysalis decided.
"Hmm, I suppose I could feed off the energy of creatures in the Everfree Forest And anypony that wanders too close to me." Tirek added.
"Eh, good enough for me." Discord declared. He had heard what Tirek said, but as long as it wasn't Fluttershy, he saw no reason to care.
20 Years Later
Today was the anniversary of the best day of Cozy Glow's life. Not the day that she and the others walked away from villainy, that was yesterday...and super embarrassing.
Discord and the villains had agreed that the three of them were going to agree never to attack Equestria again and go their separate ways...so you can imagine the Legion of Doom's shock when Twilight and her friends had been expecting the apology Discord had promised from them and Pinkie Pie's resulting party.
This deep into enemy territory had the three wary of being imprisoned if they said or did the wrong thing, but running into more and more promised acts of redemption made an emotional explosion inevitable. And Chrysalis being expected to explain how stupid she was to her Hive was the final nail in the Apology Party's coffin.
Luckily, Cozy Glow and Tirek were able defuse the situation and turn it on Discord for demanding more out of them was agreed.
Having so many awkward conversations and apologies both faked and genuine for one reason or the other still haunted the Pegasus mare's nightmares to this day.
But that's not important right now. Because the very next day, Twilight sent her home to Neighvada, she skipped town without a word to her parents, and headed straight to Las Pegasus where she, in one day, scammed a couple of two-bit conponies out of a whole casino.
The Cozy Castle, as it was called, was the best and most favored casino in all of Las Pegasus...because Cozy Glow would sabotage the competition.
The mare sat back in her office, looking out the same window that the equally disarming Gladmane once peered through. She could've used the same dirty tricks to keep her employees under her hoof, but she was better than that...she just fed rumors to other potential employers to ensure they wouldn't offer better jobs while ensuring that more genuine rumors reached the ears of her customers.
It was a lot of work to make sure the right rumors reached the right ears whilst going unheard by the others, but excluding Deus Ex Machinas from magic trees, Cozy Glow's plans always worked flawlessly.
Down on the casino floor, a certain unicorn mare with a green coat and a mane the color of autumn leaves was keeping one of the resort's bars. Listening to some dumb sap going on about his ex. "I just don't get it, she understood me. Why would she leave me?"
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. While she would never have any friends, she actually managed to make one other acquaintance outside of Tirek and Cozy Glow. A lovely little Unicorn named Gold Digger.
Chrysalis was astounded at the sheer amount of idiots who fell for the story of her parents being gold miners, she's probably never seen a speck of dirt in her whole life.
But Chrysalis begrudgingly respected the mare for her lifestyle and eventually starting talking to her, which eventually led to a reveal of who she really was, which in turn led to Gold Digger frequenting the Cozy Castle for Chrysalis' benefit.
"...Ya know?" Chrysalis snapped out of her thoughts when she realized the moron talking to her. After looking to make sure nopony was looking in her direction, she quickly drained the dumb sap of the love in his heart, causing him to fall over unconscious.
"Oh boy, HEAVY DRINKER DOWN!!" Chrysalis called to a nearby bouncer.
The Everfree Forest
A Manticore roared at a Bugbear that had intruded onto it's territory, the intruder responded in kind.
The two predators lunged at one another. The Manticore swiping with it's claws while the Bugbear thrusted it's stinger.
However, the Bugbear lost momentum and was swatted to the side with contemptuous ease, hitting the ground unconscious.
Rather than roaring in victory, the Manticore looked at the opponent that should've challenged him, wondering what went wrong.
Suddenly, the Manticore felt dizzy, and then, it was too weak to move.
Tirek flexed his new muscles, it wasn't Alicorn magic, but he was now big enough to take on an Ursa Minor.
And the best part, a lot of the creatures he drained found their way to Fluttershy's Sanctuary, where they were nursed back to health, and he could drain them again...of course, Discord made it perfectly clear that if he was caught within a kilometer of that Sanctuary, he would turn Tirek into an Earth Pony Elder and remove his ability to steal magic.
But no matter, he was getting stronger every day. And one day, not even the Windigos would be stronger.
Author's Note
And done.
First off: I apologize that of the final arc is in summary, but I didn't intend for it to be this big to begin with, and didn't want to spend more time on it.
Also: I am aware that Nevada is a state, but for the purpose of this story, Neighvada is a village.
So yeah, the moral of the story is "Agree to Disagree" I wanted to actually include a moral, especially one that has never been tackeled in this show without the character who learned the moral having immediately decided that the thing they didn't like was actually kinda cool so they don't agree to disagree and instead just agree.
I also put a little bit of my own story into this. I joined the Army straight out of high school only to get honorably discharged a mere 3 months after graduating basic and...it hurt.
Like, people tell me all the time that I'm either lucky or pathetic, and I know my mother's happy as hell that I never saw combat, but I wanted that life, I wanted that challenge, and it wasn't even that I didn't have what it takes: a medical reason prevented me from even getting to try.
And after a couple of years of sulking, I finally got into a Trade School, and I'm months away from graduating and trying my hand at a...more mundane lifestyle. (I'm still gonna have more guns than Burt Gummer when I can afford it.)
But now that we've seen the series finale, I wanted to give my thoughts on it:BBBUUUUUULLLLLL SSHHHIIIIIITTT!!!! WHAT THE FUCK!? FIRST OFF: WE WERE PROMISED A THREE PART FINALE, NOT A TWO PARTER FOLLOWED BY AN EPISODE OF FAN PANDERING!!!!
Alright, I'm going to tone it down in order to explain myself.
First off: I do not have a problem with ships becoming canon. Exhibit A: I am 100% okay with RWBY's Bumblebee ship...because it took place beside the plot. If Adam had died when Yang hit him with her Bike and the rest of her and Blake's screen time had been devoted to them sailing the ship, that's my opinion of the very last episode.
I mean, does anyone even remember the name of Twilight's student? Cause forgot it the second I heard it. And Hot Damn, she has the blandest design I have ever seen outside of background ponies that no one cares about.
And her character is non-existent, she's just there to ask questions to fuel the flashback of Twilight's coronation and that's it.
Again, I do not have a problem with this outside of the fact that we didn't need it. This is what people write on fanfic sites all the time.
But what we did need is a BACKSTORY FOR COZY GLOW!!! I mean SERIOUSLY!!? Throwing her in Tartarus was questionable enough, but now they're turning a child to stone....WHAT!?
Now, I am a much bigger fan of Chrysalis (more on her later) and I will mourn her loss, but I still the necessity of her fate, but Cozy Glow. Is. A. CHILD!!! CELESTIA AND LUNA JUST COMMITTED AN ACT OF CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT TO A MINOR!!!
AND WHAT THE HELL ARE HER PARENTS GOING TO SAY (I was torn between writing this and a fic with Cozy Glow's parents spending years pleading with Twilight to release her only for Twilight to unknowingly relent and do so on the day parents pass)
And of course, the cocktease with Grogar. I'm as mad about that as everyone else is, I'm sure.
These are my three biggest gripes, and they are my biggest take aways from the finale, which is something that saddens me, because I wanted to enjoy it...so I'm going to move to did enjoy.
The biggest point is Chrysalis. Hands down the best villain in the series, and it is all proven in her final act. When the villains are petrified, while Tirek and Cozy Glow cower, Chrysalis lunged, defiant to the bitter end. (I'm going to make a tribute to her on my YouTube channel and I am torn between Die By The Blade by Beast In Black and Shiroyama by Sabaton.) EDIT: I've decided to do a tribute for all three with Die By The Blade and one just for Chrysalis with Shiroyama.
Ya know, all of my other brony fics are 40k crossovers, and I have paired Chrysalis with Tzeentch in the past and contemplated genestealers, but you know what? Personality wise, Chrysalis reminds me of the Imperium of Man more than anything.
And before you scream heresy and declare Exterminatus, realize that the Imperium's dark side is they're racist fanatics who believe that only their kind have a right to live and only in the manner they dictate, and they're light side is that even though the entire galaxy and beyond is choking the life from them with the assistance of literal gods, they don't quit.
Hell you can take an argument from Chrysalis' haters vs her fans and it's literally Pity The Guardsman.
That's all I gotta say for best villain, I also loved the battle sequences, Spike was a badass in the final showdown...And When the FUCK did Pinkie Pie make a Party Bazooka and why didn't it appear before I started writing the Grimdark 6? That would've been dope in the battle against Lord Caedus.
Alright, I think that's everything, I'll be back with another chapter of Broken Beast next week.
