How Bronconia Was Made

Chapters

Mustangoes, Pre-Bronconia (1/6)
The Shadow Army Vs. Mustangoes, the fall of Mustango villages (3/6)
“Last Stand”, Second Chief of Arms - The Avatar of Nature (4/6)
Our friends from the east (5/6)
Birth of Bronconia (6/6)
Thorn roots of a beautiful tree, seeds of malignance (2/6)

Mustangoes, Pre-Bronconia (1/6)

In the distant future, ponies thrive and evolve into phenomenal beings. They develop and strive in various fields of specialties. The pony history of Bronconia is an interesting one. One that the indigenous leaders from the distant past would have never fathom in their wildest imaginations.

Mustangoes, Pre-Bronconia

If you were to look back at the time when Bronconia did not exist, the land was mostly inhabited by Nature and the Wild, and for the great majority remained untouched. Only indigenous Earth ponies roamed a small piece of the great vast. As far as we know, these indigenous ponies, known as Mustango or Mustangoes, are the first inhabitants, as well as the first pre-Bronconian civilization on this land. They have prehistoric pathways (or dirt roads) that lead from one Mustagon village to the next. Another accomplishment known to them are their cultivation of the land, only accessing enough to fulfill their needs, and giving back to the Nature. Other unmentioned accomplishments include: Constellation awareness and mapping, sports & hunting, art, music, primitive record keeping, and so forth.

Probably the most important legislation the Mustangoes have produced and put to practice in their society is the “Law of the Land & Keepers of Nature”. In this stone, Three fundamental rules were set that every decent Mustago must follow, they are:

Respect the land. Give back to the land no less than what you take from the land. (In the sense of what you give must be the same or able to produce more of the same or similar product of Nature.)
Protect the land. Before police force existed, every Mustango was an authority only in protecting their ponies, their land, and Nature. It was every pony’s duty to disarm, desist, and report outsider threats to the Head Chief or Vice Chief, or as they say, First or Second Chief of Arms. Later they developed their first dedicated police force, Sentinels, and were included into their doctrine.
With the addition of the Sentinels came the third directive; Order of Arms and Protection. Basically directs who would take up arms as or with the Sentinels as well as designating at least two Sentinels or equivalent stallions to direct and protect mares, fillies, and colts at their designated area, usually higher ground like Mount Mustango.

The law was carved onto a huge, flat stone at the basin of Mount Mustango, which would later become a historic site.

It goes without saying Mustangoes had their own problems. Things such as; contending with dry spells. As much greenery as there were, some seasons there was little to no rain for their crops, which prompted them to build an ingenious system of canals overtime. They would also get too much rain, causing a flood in their huts and roads. Also, they had to make sure every pony had adequate amount of fur on their backs during the winter seasons. Some of them evolved to have thicker coating than others. Among weather problems, at early to mid stages in their main settlement, they also had to deal with other creatures. Mainly, a very specific type of wolf which they called Farafur, or Werewolf in their language. They were successful in fending off threats like werewolves. But nothing could have prepared them for what was coming.

The Shadow Army Vs. Mustangoes, the fall of Mustango villages (3/6)

The Shadow Army Vs. Mustangoes, the fall of Mustango villages

It is very unfortunate that some exiled did not learned their lesson and planned to do it all over again by migrating west near places where the Mustangoes inhabited. It took a long time for the casted to regain strength, mainly due to their lack of structure, authority, and leadership. Even so, they managed to setup camps, regroup, rebuild, and re-execute their plan.

On that fateful night in the cover of darkness, the new Unseen Gallopers striked on the westernmost village where there were the least inhabitants. There was no warning, no visual, not even a sound. No villager escaped. This new generation of Unseen truly perfected their craft at a breakneck speed. It was unfortunate or the Mustangoes that this was a start of a long chain of defeats. One after another, each village was taken over. Each take over meant they scored new cache of resources and tools to fuel their campaign.

As their group became bigger and bigger, the Unseen became too big and powerful to be unnoticed. Therefore, their night raids became irrelevant as they started conquering at anytime. Day or night, it did not matter to them as if they created their own storm that casted a shadow over the land they marched on. This was the time when Mustangoes got their first break to warn everypony else. And thus the remaining Mustangoes headed east to the greater populous and prepared to defend for their land, and possibly their lives. Every mare, filly, and colt headed to Mount Mustango, while the Sentinels and any pony who can stand guard, along with the First and Second Chief of Arms.

The day came when the two forces would collide. It was a quiet day as the Mustangoes stood ready for an imminent threat. Beside that fact, you would not know it if you were an outsider looking in at the scenery. The sun was shining high in the sky as it was yesterday, and the day before. The critters frolicking near the tree line into the woodlands. There was not even a breeze. It was very quiet, Mustangoes were quiet as well. Not a sound to be heard, as if both Chiefs instinctively knew something was out of the norm.

The sky filled with clouds that rolled in from the west, blocking the sun. Daylight escaped. The flock of birds that were nesting in the trees all took flight away from the forest. Then, abnormal sounds from the distance, unclear exactly what it was. As the sound came in, it became clearer. The wild fled from their forest. Every possible creature that had legs were running away from the forest towards the village. It seemed they would collide with the Mustangoes. But this was avoided as they split. Some ran north, and some ran south. Never in their lives have the pony villagers witness such desperation exodus of the wild. That frightening scene was soon replaced with sudden wind, thunder and lightning, again coming from the west. Then .. the indescribable sound of the masses in the distance marching towards the village. There was a malignant aura in the air, and they were responsible. Villagers recognized some of the familiar faces among the opposition. Those were distant friends and families that were possessed, taken by the Unseen Gallopers. No, they are much bigger now. They are The Shadow Army. Three distinguishable Tyrants were leading it. A Shadow Earth pony, a Shadow Unicorn, and Shadow Pegasus.

Pony villagers, even some of the Sentinels were terrified, not because of the size of the opposition, but rather they do not want to fight their own ponies. Their morality took a hit. Feeling the same effects, the First and Second Chief of Arms do not waiver.

The First Chief of Arms turns to his Vice, and whispers, “My comrade, please do this favor for me. Stand back. Take charge of the rear, and lead them towards the 'Last Stand'.”

Second Chief of Arms replies also in whisper, “Are you mad? Do you see the size of that front! It is like a moving wall of stone, we need every pony here for the fight.”

First Chief takes another hard glance at the incoming threat. He trembles, yet cracks a smirk. Second Chief sees it and replies “Is there something amusing?”

First Chief replies, “Heh. No. Quite the opposite.” First Chief inhales a deep breath, and exhales a deep sigh as if that is his method of calming his nerves, though it did little help. Then he continues “In all of my warrior life, I have fought alongside with my comrades. We have fought really bad-boned ponies and creatures alike. We have fought formidable warriors. We fought threats greater than ourselves. We even fought against the elements of Nature, and of course lost to Her. Never have I thought in my warrior life I would see my ponies on the other side. For the first time in a very long time, I am trembling in fear.”

Second Chief was silent feeling a bit of guilt for misreading his comrades true emotion. But then, something powerful emerges out of First Chief, as if he can no longer contain himself. Then said with a much reinforced stern tone in his voice.

“With that confession off my chest, press forward still I must, for the ones captive are our enemies NOT, for the true force hiding behind our Mustangoes are formidable NOT, AND the cowards hiding behind our friends ARE OF NATURE NOT! WE LOOSE NOT TO THEM!”

The center lets out a big roar, which then is echoed by everypony as they feel pumped up. Their spirits are high again.

Once again, First tells Second, “Go. Trust in me, and our ponies.”

Second Chief of Arms agrees with a last reply, “You really are gonna do it. Alright brother. I expect nothing less than a Mustangon victory!”

He then takes two Sentinels and a group of villagers and directs them to follow him back to the “Last Stand”, galloping towards the east.

The Shadow forces are now closer than ever. With all his fear, all his courage, all his might, the First Chief of Arms steps forward front center and said to the villagers, “Worry not my ponies. Yes, it is true. It seems our brethrens are not with us at this time. The Shadows have stolen their minds, their hearts, their spirits, their will, and turned them into the ugliness you see before your eyes. But worry not. We will remind them they are with us. Their will, is not those of the Shadows.”

And at the last moments, he said “Think of all the Earth, the Wild, the Nature ...”

Shadow steps are now clearly heard splashing the mud, rustling the grass.

“And our comrades captured by our true enemies! They ARE with Nature! Let us remind them of that!”

Each Shadow step intensifies.

“Fight for them! For we are they, and they are us. And if they are in dire need, we must help they!”

The Shadows let out a primordial roar.

“We are Mustangoes, SENTINELS - OF - NATURE!”

And Mustangoes let out a roar of their own as both sides charge towards each other and finally collide! At collision, a shock wave rippled in all directions as if an explosion occurred.

It was a fierce, powerful, epic struggle. It was extremely remarkable! Despite around two to one ratio against their odds, The Mustangoes were holding their ground and took down almost half of the Shadow forces while carefully knocking down their possessed friends. It seemed as if the Mustangon front could win this fight. They would win had their momentum not been interfered by one of the Shadow’s highest Commander.

The Shadow Unicorn Commander, Nocturnal Aura, turns to the Shadow Earth Commander, Hammer Hard Rock, and spoke, “Is this the limit of your kind? I am disappointed. I expected more. I guess trash was destined to be just that”.

Hammer snarled a bit and responded, “I will make you regret those words one of these days”.

Nocturnal then replied, “Ha! I doubt it.”

The Earth Commander resist further hostility. The Unicorn Commander then turns to the Shadow Pegasus Commander, Airebelle Gust, and tells her, “You know what to do.”

The Pegasus Commander nods and flies into the cloudy dark sky, rallying all of her Shadow Pegasi, while the malignant intellectual Unicorn does what appears to be casting a magic spell.

“What is happening?” the First Chief of Arms wondered.

It does not look good for the Mustangoes. The Unicorn did cast a spell that has somehow boosted all the Shadow forces strength. As if that was not the worst news, both the knocked down friends and the defeated Shadows are now back on their hooves. It does not seem like they are conscious. Their eyes glowing orange and black, same color glowing on the Unicorn’s horn. Could it be his magically infused malicious will is fueling the reanimated ponies? Whatever it is, it is nothing ever seen in the villagers, nor experience by First Chief of Arms in battle. This is trouble. Mustangoes are knocking their opponents down, yet they keep standing up. The Mustangoes have been fighting a long battle and are now losing their ground due to battle fatigue, exhaustion, and morality shift. Further fact, they lack experience dealing with a high skilled Unicorn. Try as they might, the Mustangoes are being pushed back into the village. First Chief of Arms thought it may be a good idea for many of the villagers have their own cache of useful items stocked in their huts as back up in case of an emergency. But just as he was about to suggest it to all villagers, the wind started picking up. It is now blowing harder, stronger than before.

“What now?” First Chief thought to himself. Then he remembered, “The Pegasi!”

Indeed. They were conjuring a massive typhoon over the village. The huts were built for flooding, but not this! Nature has not given the Mustangoes typhoons. The brutal force of wind ripped apart huts. Loose trees from previous storms were uprooted and tossed into the air along with anything else, including the poor villagers as they screamed.

A major shift in battle has been made in favor of the Shadow Army. They rejoiced, while the remaining Sentinels and villagers were in a daze, including the Chief. He looked around the village .. what is left of it. Unrecognizable. Their village has been wiped out. Nothing is salvageable. This was a devastating blow to them. Yet, it is not over.

“Too easy.” arrogantly spoke Nocturnal as The Shadow forces pressed forward.

First Chief of Arms never thought in his life he would yell the next command “RETREAT !!”

In a panic, all Mustangoes adhere to the call and blitz toward east with all the might they have left in them. Some did not escape.

“Submit to my will!” demanded the arrogant Unicorn.

“AAAHH!”

“No! Save yourselves!” and similar out cries were the last words heard from the captured by the grips of the Shadows.
They have now become Shadowlings.

This was very heart wrenching for the Chief to hear as this compelled him to do one final, noble act: Self Sacrifice. The Chief was running on pure will as if he was possessed himself. Some of the villagers encourage the Chief to escape. But he replied, “GO! You all are our legacy, and the future of our ponies! FOR MUSTANGO, FOR NATURE!”

The Chief’s last out cry echoed throughout the land. After that, rain came in.

“Last Stand”, Second Chief of Arms - The Avatar of Nature (4/6)

“Last Stand”, Second Chief of Arms - The Avatar of Nature

Sometime passes. All of the remaining villagers and Sentinels are gathering at what they call the “Last Stand”. A region somewhere between what used to be Mustangon villages to the west, and Mount Mustango to the east. It is an open savanna area with the Mustango basin not far from them. The same basin that has the three fundamental rules to the Mustangon law carved into the large stone wall. It is said that this is where the first generation of Mustangoes began their first act in building their society. A sort of crossroads, and the mountain being the end of their territorial jurisdiction. This is a symbolic site that, in the future, would be turned into a historic monument.

The masses gathered inside the cave in the mountain. Sentinel guards take post on both North and South sides. And two Sentinels stands guard, one inside the cave, and one at the entrance of the cave overlooking west. If any pony has a clear view of incoming danger from the west, it will be the entrance guard. The rest of the Sentinels are inside the cave getting a much needed rest before taking turns guarding their site, as well as the remaining villagers and Sentinels coming from the battlefield.

Everypony is devastated. Beaten, battered, and a bit broken. They have never suffered as much as they are now. Not in this way. This truly is their last stand should the Shadow forces proceed at their current pace towards them. Their existence, their legacy is on the line. Everypony is feeling it. The tension, the anxiety, the desperation. The pony feeling it more is their Second Chief of Arms, technically promoted to First Chief of Arms, but refuses that title. The Second Chief cannot concentrate among all of this negative vibe. So he decides to do something for everypony to participate.

“Everypony, gather around me”, the Chief said as he noticed the Sentinels did not budge. Maybe thought they were not included, so he added “Yes, you too Sentinels”. And so they gathered too.

Fillies, colts, even some stallions and mares could not hold back tears.

One of the mares asked, “Be honest Chief. Is this the end of us all? Was it all for nothing?”

Another asked, “What will happen to our children?”

“Why has Nature forsaken us?” a stallion outbursts, followed by increasing murmurs amongst themselves.

The Chief closed his eyes for a long moment. Then he spoke, ”Ponies .. Mustangoes. Please, join me. You will find what you are looking for.”

Everypony stared at each other, wondering what he meant by it, then looked back at him.

“Trust me. Now, hold my hoof, or place your hoof on my shoulder. Then you place your hoof on another. Then you place your hoof on another. So forth until everypony has formed a link with one another.” And so they did.

In a calming, peaceful tone, the Second Chief continues. “Now everypony close your eyes. Focus on your breathing. Inhale ... Exhale ... Inhale ... Exhale ... Inhale ... Exhale. Your hearts are now beating at the same rhythm as each other, as the pony next to you, as the Sentinels, as the guards outside, as me too.”

Nothing at first for any pony. He continues, “Think of the moments your heart beat like this. Calm. Tranquil. Warmth. Calm of knowing one another and you are there for each other. Choosing tranquility and fidelity over chaos and hostility, thus keeping the peace and harmony with each other, and Nature. Warmth … of love.”

But then something strong. Something compelling.

Further he goes, “Do you know love? Do you feel love? Love for the air. Love for the sea. Love for our Earth, our homeland, us!”

A few ponies feel an aura, then the next, then next.

“Our First Chief said it. We are Nature, and Nature is us, since our beginnings long ago. Nature can be cruel. But Nature is equally giving. You may not understand Her. But Nature DOES love us.”

Then, everypony shines a bright glow, even the guards outside for they take a moment to close their eyes and let this feeling sink in.

“Take this time to feel this unconditional love of Nature. It has been there yesterday, it is with us now, and it will be with us tomorrow. If the pony next to you has forgotten, remind them as simply as think of them. From yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”

Everypony is in a state of bliss. Blissful feeling the air, their sea, their Earth, themselves and each other. It is so because everypony knows this. So does the Chief, and he is delighted knowing all his ponies in someway felt love in the past, are feeling it in the present, and will feel it in the future. Because he knows that “Love is Nature, and Nature will never be defeated”.

Then almost immediately, a voice that sounded like the First Chief spoke to the Second Chief clear as day,

“You got this.”

He opened his eyes in a shock. Almost everypony did for they heard it too. That was unexpected. Some were in tears, not of sadness, but of joy. Others were speechless. But most of them were still in a bliss still even as they opened their eyes. Mustangoes are not Unicorns. But the one thing that makes them very special, their bond with the Earth, and the strength it gives them. The first generation may have very well formed a sacred pact with the Earth. As the Chief said, their love of Nature is still with them, and will continue on as long as they remember.

“INCOMING!” Shouted the guard at the entrance.

Still glowing, everypony is now aware of the coming storm. Not of Nature, but of evil. They are not in sadness, they are not in fear, they are brave. The Second Chief stands up. Everypony follows.

Then speaks still in tranquil tone, “Now that you remember, all of you know what to do.”

Everypony nods in agreement.

He goes on, “This is our moment to show them what unifies us, what keeps us together, and most importantly, our bond.” Then with a loud yell “DEFEND -- OUR -- NATURE!!!”

And every pony shouted like a roaring thunder “YEEAAH!!” and it echoed throughout the land.

The storm known as the Shadow Army has now shifted, crossing over the savanna continuing its movement eastward. It is moments away from reaching the dried up lake at the basin.

Airebelle speaks, “They seem to have taken refuge by the cave inside the mountain.”

“Of course, that is their sacred land, where they etched their law of Nature into a stone”, added Hammer.

“A piece of rock is sacred to them?” asked the Unicorn Commander as he clenched his yaw with a grin and a fierce look in his eyes. “They and their rock will now crumble at our hooves! Then afterwards, Equestria!”

From the Shadow Commanders vantage point, it appears like a lava is flowing out of the cave. That is not lava. Those are Mustangoes! Just about all of them are coming out of the cave. Mares, fillies, and colts still inside guarded by the two designated Sentinels.

This is a familiar event occurring again. Unlike the first battle at the village, there are two differences. First, the location. And second, the will of the ponies. Their spirits are at an all time high, they have never experienced before. They will need it as they come closer and closer, bridging the gap between them and the Shadows. And once again, both sides outburst a war cry before an even greater explosive collision at the middle of the dried up lake. The impact extremely forceful as they created their own thunder clap that echoes in all directions. The ground trembled for a moment. It may had been felt everywhere.

Headbutt. Push. Shove. Smack. Tug. Bite. Pin down. They were fighting with all their heart. The Shadow Commanders noticed something different in the way the Mustangoes were combating this time. They seem to be reaching to their friends and families that are under the Shadow’s spell. You can hear some of their pleads.

“Snap out of it!”

“This is not who you are!”

“Fight it!”

“Let not these Shadow fools overtake you!”

“Nature is with you!”

Nocturnal is surprised, “What?”

The villagers are successfully dispelling the cursed Shadow grip. The ones that were under the spell’s influence are now conscious.

“.. w .. what? Where am I?”

“What happened?”

“Where are we?” are some of their initial thoughts.

“How is this possible? You ponies posses no Unicorn magic!” wondered the Shadow Unicorn in confusion, though he would deny being impressed if some pony asked him.

And just as the Second Chief was about to answer, another pony beat him to the punch.

“We don’t need it!”

“Yeah! We have each other!” said another with confidence.

The Second Chief gave a brief smile before adding, “Indeed. Most importantly, we have Nature. She is counting on us, and we won’t let Her down!”

Not a moment sooner, clouds that are covering the sky began to weakened, opening up holes, and letting the sunlight shine through, right at the Mustangoes, adding more to their glowing effect. It was a sight to behold. For a brief moment the battle was halted by this divine design. The Shadow Commanders were not pleased at all. The Second Chief closed his eyes a second or two. As he opens his eyes, he gives the Shadow Army an ultimatum.

“It is not too late leaders of the Shadows. I ask of you, please return the rest of our family. Abandon your old ways. Stop your hostility. Return to your homeland and start giving back what you have taken from Nature. I promise you all. Do this, and all will be forgiven. Should you decline .. well .. I rather not say.”

The thing about the Second Chief is that even though he has also fought alongside with his comrades and subordinates, as he is now, he never considered himself a fighter in the sense of brute force. Rather wishes to think he is a peacemaker. He always thought to himself a victory over any battle is one that is never fought. He wanted to share this philosophy with his peers and superiors, even with the First Chief of Arms, but never had the guts. All he saw from his superiors were strong, stern, statue-like figures who pursuit further strength and cannot be bothered by sentiments in battle. But he learned under those tough skins, every pony share the same feelings. It was not too long ago he saw an example of this fact as he recalls what the First Chief confessed to him;

“In all of my warrior life, I have fought alongside with my comrades. We have fought really bad-boned ponies and creatures alike. We have fought formidable enemies. We fought threats greater than ourselves. We even fought against the elements of Nature, and of course we lost to Her. Never have I thought in my warrior life I would see my ponies on the other side. For the first time in a very long time, I am trembling in fear.”

Still, the First Chief pressed on for that was the only solution he was taught, the only answer he knew. Seems like Second Chief is regretting not having enough fortitude to have voiced his opinion to his superiors, and to the First Chief. But he remains positive, for this is the message he has spread to all Mustangoes.

"Brute force is not always the answer, and it is definitely NOT the only answer. Otherwise, should we continue down that path, we would become into something despicable, something monstrous .. something not worthy of being associated with Nature, not worthy of ourselves.” Every Mustango understood this message.

For a brief moment, it seemed like this battle would come to a peaceful end. The Second Chief couldn’t be happier. But then, “Enough!” outburst Nocturnal with a fierce tone in his voice.

“All you ever do is blabber on about nonsense”, said Airebelle.

“The fact is, this makes all of you weak”, added Hammer.

“I will hear further NOT another word of sentimental drivel, nor words of changing our ways.” added Nocturnal.

The Second Chief closed his eyes in utter disappointment, for his attempt to persuade the leaders have failed.

“Mustangoes, and Equestria will get what is coming. You all fall right here, right now!” said Nocturnal before unleashing a powerful magic.

The holes in the skies are covered up again, blocking the sun, and reintroducing the Shadow. This Unicorn seems to be unleashing all of his magic, hoping not to do it so soon, saving it for the fight against Equestria. Who exactly is this Unicorn? What kind of magic did he study? His magic is so strong, it gives power to his Vice Commanders, and Shadowlings, taking back control and recasting a Shadow, tentacle-like grip on Mustangoes. Second Chief tried to disarm and repel this grip, but it was no use. It was taking any pony it could latch onto.

The Mustangoes quickly got in a formation and launched an attack that can only be done in high numbers. Second Chief recognizes this move and follows it. Every Mustango blocks each Shadowling attack, and engages in a struggle, equaling them; strength for strength, hoof for hoof. While this occurred, the remaining Mustangoes pushed further and further, one by one equaling the clash, until all who was left charging was the Second Chief as he leaps into the air and comes down on the Shadow Commanders. Hammer Hard Rock quickly counters, and pins him to the ground while the Airebelle Gust leads all the Shadowling Pegasi to the sky and into the dark clouds, and the Shadow Unicorn Commander casts another spell. As if he hasn’t done enough already, this is another high level spell that begins draining energy, taking away from the grappled Mustangoes their power of Nature, bit by bit. You can hear their out cries and screams.

“AAAH!”

“Nooo!”

“This power is NOT of yours!”

“You fiend!”

Many of them lose their glow, and turned into Shadowlings at even faster pace. The ones that haven’t been capture are now cautious of the tentacle-like Shadow grip. The Pegasi in the dark clouds are bucking them, creating lightning. These lightnings begin reaching below, striking down Mustangoes. It is impossible to dodge this attack for it happens in an instant. Now that they are knocked down, the tentacle-like Shadow grips them and drains them of their power. This was horrendous. Too much to bare for the Second Chief. He closes his eyes, but keeps his ears open, continuing to hear the cries of his ponies, still being pinned by his Shadow counterpart. It is unfortunate for him, he knows what he must do next. He is about to go against everything he stands for, against his principles. All but one thing. As the screams of his ponies resonate into his ears, he thinks to himself, “Never forget love ..”

A tentacle is about to grip the Chief as he is still pinned down. Then, his voice changed into a roaring thunder-like tone, and demands.

“LET - MY - PONIES - GO!”

This shook the Shadow Earth Commander, loosening his grip against the Chief. He opened his eyes wide, which are now glowing. The Earth around him begins to tremble. The howling wind calms down to a breeze. The lightning that the Pegasi were creating stopped. Something strange is happening. Something never seen by the Mustangoes, or the Shadowlings. Something is happening to the Second Chief. Now his whole body is glowing, shining bright! His body is growing! Bigger, and bigger. Not only growing, but morphing into a different form.

“What the hay is that?” asked Airebelle.

By the time the transformation was over, the Second Chief grew ten times, maybe twenty times bigger than his original pony body. His body morphed into something that resembles a half horse from the waist down, to half human from the waist up with his face remaining relatively the same, but resembling more of a horse than a pony face. He stands on two hooves, and is now holding a transparent, glowing, divine hammer with two hands, not hooves.

Everypony is amazed as they stared in awe. One of them softly asked, “Is that our Chief?”

Nocturnal is not thrilled, “Oh .. this was unexpected.” he said in a low grunt.

Another excited pony said, “Unbelievable! Our Chief is a giant! A titan!”

One of the Sentinel snaps out of it and quickly realizes the situation is in their favor, and commands, “Now is our chance while they are distracted! Get our friends!”

And so the fight continues. Neither side making much progress. But then as the Mustangoes grabbed on to their friends, the Shadow Unicorn sees it and reacts.

“Oh no you don’t!” he said, quickly turning them into Shadowlings. And just like that the Shadow Army grew exponentially what seemed like now a four to one ratio.

The others panicked, “Oh no!”

The Second Chief, sees the dilemma and does an amazing thing; He holds his hammer with both hands. He bends his arms slightly towards his body while twisting his upper body slightly backwards, then swings his huge hammer at The Shadow Commanders, Shadowlings, and Mustangoes. The Shadow Unicorn saw it coming and blocked himself and nearby Shadowlings with a magic barrier. The Chief’s hammer did two things. First, the hammer went thru the Mustangoes, expelling the darkness out of them, and turned them back to normal. Secondly, to the Shadowlings that failed to dodge the hammer were dealt a big blow, knocking them to the ground.

And just like that, the odds are even again. Mustangoes rejoiced with a big cheer. But the battle is not over yet. They rushed to their friends, knocking down as many Shadowlings as they could. The goliath Chief goes for another swing. This will surely put the odds in their favor. Nocturnal anticipated his next move. As the Chief swung his hammer at another group, the Unicorn erected a force field, nullifying the hammer’s effect. This irked the Mustangoes.

One of them said out loud, “This is insane! Are all Unicorns this powerful?”

The Chief tries again, and it is blocked. Again, and again, and again. Each time nullified by the Unicorn’s magic.

“How long do you intend to continue this vainful attempt?”

The Second Chief continues on pretending he heard nothing, but jesters, “Hmm? Did you say something?”

This annoyed Nocturnal. As the Chief continued on what seemed to be doing nothing much, he noticed the limitation on the Shadow Unicorn’s ability.

He thought to himself, “He sure is powerful, but lacks stamina.”

Then he noticed an opening in the Commanders’ defenses. That was the break he needed. Nocturnal is unaware what the Chief will do next. The Chief raised his leg closest to the Commanders, and stomps as hard as he could to the ground.

“You missed!” said the Shadow Earth Commander.

“Did I?” replied the Chief.

Quite a delayed attack, but it came furiously as the reverberation quickly erected a big Earth spike under Hammer, Nocturnal, and the surrounding Shadowlings, catapulting them into the air. That is when the Chief took a big swing. Luckily for the Unicorn, he caught a glance of what was going to happen during his airborne trip, so he conjured around him a barrier, not having enough time and power to provide others that luxury. The hammer delivered a blow to the Shadowlings, and the Shadow Earth Commander, sending them all into the sky. A farewell departure to them. The Shadow Pegasus Commander emerged out of the cloud and blitzed towards the Chief from behind. Without having to look behind him, the Chief raised his hammer to right back side of his shoulder, high enough to stop Airebelle as she blatantly crashed into it. Then falls to the ground.

For the first time, the Mustangoes’ odds of victory are in their favor by a one and a half to three ratio. They begin pushing back the Shadow forces into one spot, corralling them further and further. Yet another flawless plan in motion they just thought of and already executing. Now that they are in a tight spot, quite literally, they signal the Chief to hammer them down. Just as he goes into motion, Nocturnal has a trick of his own

“Your attack earlier seemed quite useful. I shall borrow it.”

With that said, his horn glows and the Earth starts shaking violently. It is throwing the Chief off balance as it is difficult to stand with two legs instead of four. A spike comes out of the ground and lifts one of the Chief’s leg.

“Pegasi! Now is your chance!” yelled Nocturnal to Airebelle and her forces.

Without hesitation, the Shadow Pegasus Commander led the train of Pegasi, circling around the Chief’s one leg that is still touching the ground, at a breakneck speed. In doing so, they created a twister with enough power to lift the leg, causing the goliath Chief to fall backwards crashing down. Once that happened, the Unicorn’s horn glowed even stronger. Almost instant, many many thorny-like roots appeared from the ground and grappled the Chief, pinning him down. As big as he is, as strong as he looks, he cannot budge. Nocturnal got him. A few stallion Sentinels nearby the Unicorn saw what was happening, and thought this was their opportunity to take him down. So they charged towards the elite, only to be knocked down by Shadowling Pegasi and Unicorns.

“No! Chief!” screamed one pony, followed by others encouraging him to get up.

Try as he might, he just can’t force his way out. The Mustangoes had the advantage. But just as they quickly had it, they quickly lost it. Rendered down to doing nothing but to look at the cloudy sky, the Chief re-evaluates, and knows exactly why the Mustangoes are having such a difficult time against the forces of Shadows.

“I am not one to admit defeat, not to my enemies. But I think I know why our ponies have such a trial against this malignant scourge.”

At the corner of his eyes, he can see the difference between Mustangoes, and the Shadowlings.

“It is so obvious and fundamental.”

He further examined and exactly looks at each Shadowlings. Their hooves, their wings, their horns.

“Our will against their will is matched. Our tenacity against their tenacity is match. Even at one point, our numbers matched theirs. They may all be the same. But they are different. One thing we lack that they have, that makes them different, is diversity. Earth, Pegasus, Unicorn.”

He then makes some more observations. An Earth Shadowling headbutting a Unicorn Shadowling. A Unicorn Shadowling using her magic in a menacing way against Pegasus Shadowling. And a group of Shadowlings all different types taking turns tickling a Mustango.

“As chaotic as they are, these different types of Shadow ponies are very effective when they are not horsing around.”

“You have so much power.” snickered Nocturnal and begins draining the Chief’s energy.

“No! Chief!” shouts a Mustango, still putting up a good fight against Shadowlings, though now the Shadows are beginning to push back.

“No! My power ...” grunts the Chief as his power is being drained, and the Shadows gain momentum once again.

The Chief continues thinking, “I am sorry brother. I did the best I could. I do not know what else to do.”

All hope seems lost. The Chief and all Mustangoes want their last thoughts to be not those of sadness, not those of fear, not those of hate, not those of despair, nor remorse. None but one thing that got them this far .. love. So, many of them closed their eyes as the Chief does, and remembers that feeling one last time.

The Shadow Unicorn Commander catches on, “Is this your way of admitting defeat? By staying silent and hoping for a higher divine to strike down? Your kind has a weird way of doing battle. Oh well, not that I’m complaining. This makes it easier for us.”

They ignore those remarks. They care not. They care not even about the preservation of their legacy. They care about now. The present. Them. Each other. Peace. Nature. As the walls keep coming closer and closer, to the point that they are going to close down on them, there is one final thing that the Second Chief wishes for,

“I wish we had Pegasi and Unicorns among our ponies.”

Our friends from the east (5/6)

Our friends from the east

Out of nowhere, something came in at blinding speed and caused an explosion right in front of the Shadow Unicorn Commander. This surprised him, but not enough to loosen the grip he has over the Chief. Then, two more explosions. All three explosions were intense. So much so, it created a cloud and lifted dirt, dust, and debris into the air and hurled in all directions.

“What now?” Nocturnal asked out loud.

As the cloud and dust settled, every pony gets a clearer view of what, or who is there. Three Pegasi, who seem to be wearing some sort of uniform outfit and eye-wear.

“I hope we are not late.” said one of them.

One of the Mustangoes asked out loud, “Who are you?”

Another of the three replied, “What? Haven’t you heard of the Thunderbolts? Well technically, we are Recruits in training.”

A breeze blows in to fill in the awkward silence accompanied by blank looks. Mustangoes never seen, or heard of such things for they know not of any occurrences that happen beyond their territory.

The Pegasus continues, “You all need to get out more often.”

Nocturnal is well aware who these newcomers are, and is very upset. In fact, his teeth may form cracks from clenching so much. The Second Chief grunts as he tries again to get out of the Shadow Unicorn’s grip, but to no avail. The Lead Thunderbolt darts her eyes around while holding her pose. First at the Chief, then at the Mustangoes and Shadowlings, then to the sky where the Shadow Pegasus Commander is hovering, and lastly in front at the Shadow Unicorn Commander. She has all the information she needs. Then whispers at the other two, “Follow my lead.” They agreed.

“I do not know what you ponder. Whatever it is it won’t w..”, before the Tyrant can finish his sentence, the lead Thunderbolt charges ahead towards him at same speed they arrived. It was fast, too fast. No pony saw this coming, not even the Shadow Unicorn as the Pegasus headbutted him right in the chest with such force, he tumbled away a few times before coming to a halt face down. At last, the pinned down giant is now free. The other two Pegasi were circling around Shadowlings, causing a vortex which sucked them right in from one end and spew them thru the other end. They have somewhat organized the battle field a bit by having Mustangoes on one side, and Shadowlings on the other. The Mustangoes were impressed. They are witnessing Pegasi, other than the Shadowlings, come together, whom are fighting on their side.

“I see. You are with us! But where did you come from? And why is this the first time seeing you all?” one of the Sentinels wondered.

“You REALLY need to get out more often” said one of the Recruits.

The Lead Pegasus responded, “Give them a break. Be honest, have YOU ever heard or visited this land before?”

The Recruit settled down “Point taken.”

As they continue their conversation, the battle seems to have taken an intermission, for there is a bit of organized chaos, excitement, elation, confusion, and surprises. This gave time for all sides to regroup and recover a bit. Unfortunately, this also gave time for Nocturnal and Airebelle to recover and further analyze the situation.

“Thunderbolts? Are they new?” thought the Shadow Pegasus Commander.

“I must gather my strength.” thought the Shadow Unicorn Commander.

And the Chief is on his hooves, still the figure that eclipses every pony on the field.

Back to the conversation, “I don’t get it. If you all never heard of this land, how did you know this location? And how did you know we needed help?” asked another Sentinel.

Remember the story of how the Neutrals established their little settlement? And, how they chose to live by themselves, yet on rare occasions they would meet wondering ponies? One of those wondering ponies happens to be a Pegasus who does some detective work. Some may label him as a spy due to the nature of his work. He consider himself as a Scout. He works by himself, and only reports to one boss. We do not know who. But anyways, he became good friends with the Neutrals. So much so, that they told him a bit about themselves and why their town is the way it is. He understood and reserved judgement, and promised them not to talk about it with any other pony. One of the Neutrals asked a big favor from him.

“If you happened to be traveling west, can you keep an eye out for a .. let say, not so friendly group of ponies that look like us?”

He nodded.

“Also, should you notice this .. particular group talk about or plan to do bad things when they come east, should you happen to be traveling east, can you let our ponies know about this threat?”

The Pegasus replied, “You have my word. I will.”

And so along his route west, he came across the Mustangoes. That group that spotted him repelled the Scout away from the village with sticks and stones. He decided to camp out near the sea. That is when and where the Second Chief of Arms met him for the first time. The Scout was on guard at first, but then he sees the Chief not doing anything hostile. They both relax a bit.

The Chief begins, “I apologize for what happened to you at the village. We rarely get visitors. And when we do, they are not the friendly kind.”

“I see.” said the Scout. “But, you are here, talking to me. Why? And how did you track me?”

The Chief answered one of his questions, “The wind just so happened to be blowing in our direction. Our noses picked up your unique scent. While every Mustangoes is on guard back at the village, I sneaked out and followed my nose. I guess it is a specialty we developed.” The Chief pauses to sit down to further relax before continuing, “As for your other question … I sometimes asked myself that. I could get in trouble should any pony from the village find out I am talking to an outsider, especially one from the east. I guess to directly answer your question, I just wanted to know you and your intentions.”

The Scout replies, “No need to worry Chief. I am a lone pony that wanders the world. I have been all over Equestria, but I have yet to travel this far west. I am curious what is out here.” A bit of relief came to the Chief. “You said you could get in trouble if you talk to an outsider. Particularly one from the east? Why is that?”

The Chief breathes in, and breathes out as his head angles downward looking at the ground.

“As you seen first hoof, tensions are running high in the village. Not so long ago, maybe a few moons in the past, there was a group of bandits that came from the east.” Instantly, the Scout remembers what the Neutrals told him. He further listens attentively. “The one time we let our guard down, our village gets raided by these scoundrels. We fought back. But they have done enough damage ...”

“I feel sorry this has happened to your ponies.” said the Scout out of sympathy. The Chief lightly shakes his head, as if he should not feel sorry for something he has no control over. Then the Scout added, “If there is anything I can do for you, I am at your service .. in secrecy of course.” The Chief was delighted.

To sum up a long story; lone Scout travels west for adventure. He barely noticed a hidden town. He makes friends with the Neutrals. He continues west. He was repelled by the Mustangoes. He takes a break near the sea shore. The Second Chief of Arms greets him and both became friends. He continues further west. He finally spots the baddy bandits, though they are much more than that. He secretly observes them, and catches wind on their evil scheme. He travels back east, secretly notifies the Second Chief of Arms. Continues east, notifies the Neutrals. Then makes a mad dash towards Cloudsdale where he knows a friend who knows a friend who knows a strong flier and is body guard material training to be a Thunderbolt on one hoof, and on the other is a vigilante who helps ANY pony and goes on adventures whenever possible. Then that Pegasus notified a couple close Pegasi. And that in turn caused a chain reaction of secrecy around Equestria letting trustworthy ponies know about trouble in the west that can potentially affect them.

“Wow!” one Mustango said in awe and shock.

“So they are outsiders of Equestrian origin.” another implied about the Shadow forces.

“There is a floating cloud village?” another asked in disbelief.

“More ponies are on the way here?” asked a Sentinel to one of the Recruits.

And one of them answers, “There may be. I can’t say for sure.”

This is not sitting well with the two Shadow Commanders. Nocturnal has lost his patience, while Airebelle sneaks into the clouds.

“No! Not good. We had the Mustangoes nearly wiped out, until these lily-livered Equestrian Pegasi interfered. Now more of them are on the way?” said to himself “They were already a burden to begin with since their Chief became a giant.”

The Shadowlings are noticing their Unicorn Commander having a tough time formulating a strategy. They continue to wait for their orders, or continue horsing around. Meanwhile, the Shadow Pegasus Commander gathered her Shadowlings already set their own strategy in motion. The others below are unaware.

“Enough down time. We should focus on our enemies.” suggested a Sentinel, also adding, “We can take on the Unicorn. We leave the Pegasi to you Thunderbolts.”

“Speaking of Pegasi, where are the rest of them?” asked a Thunderbolt recruit. Everypony is looking around.

“I can’t believe we took our eyes off of them. How careless of I!” said a Sentinel.

“Do not worry about it. I am sure they will show up again to back up their Unicorn leader. Maybe we can beat them to it if we all attack him at once.”

The Chief replies, “Sounds like a plan to me.” The Mustangoes and Thunderbolt recruits are ready to launch an all out assault aimed directly to their main opponent.

In a roar, the Chief signals “CHARGE!” as he leads it, practically already there.

The not so arrogant Unicorn charges up his horn, keeps a catalog of many advanced spells in the forefront of his mind. This is a desperate move he never wished to do. The Shadowlings brace themselves against the charging mega bull, as he takes a swing directly at them and their Commander, which the Unicorn nullifies. A distraction for the Bolts to come in at blinding speed rush to deliver a one-two-three successful hit directly to their enemy Unicorn, followed by a four-five-six successful blow from three of the Sentinels, that further launches him into the air, giving room for the goliath Chief to come back with another swing at a group of Shadowlings, hoping to send them on a one way trip to elsewhere. As he swings, the hammer goes thru. It is nullified! Not by their elite Commander, he is still in the air. Amazingly, the remaining Shadowling Unicorns gathered and pulled off a high-leveled skill! More Shadowlings charge at the giant, about to do the same as they did to their Unicorn Commander, but they are stopped by a sudden blockade of Mustangoes, which they keep that group of Shadowlings busy. The Chief then swings his hammer down to the Shadowling Unicorns, burrowing half of them into the ground!

All around everywhere Shadowlings vs. Mustangoes. As for the airborne Nocturnal, he reach peak height then starts falling down. During his fall, the Thunderbolts strike again in a fury of blows, until he finally forms a bubbles around him. He never thought he would be fighting an air combat, so he never bothered preparing for one. Something that the Chief quickly tracks, as he takes another swing at the falling Unicorn, the bubble disappears and turns into another form of protection, the same protection that nullifies attacks from the Chief’s hammer. The hammer goes through. As flawless as it was, one Bolt was right behind that hammer and strikes the Unicorn, sending him hurling into a stone wall. Another useful info that the Chief picked up.

“I see how his magic works.” he thinks to himself. “That was excellent Thunderbolts! One more assault!”

Thunderbolt recruits gather. The Lead Recruit is troubled by something.

“What’s up?” asked one to the Recruits to her Lead Pegasus.

She replies, “Strange. Still no sign of the Shadow Pegasi. I wonder..” before she could finish, a droplet fell on her muzzle. She looks up at the cloudy sky and thinks to herself, “Nothing seems out of the ordinary, just some dark clouds. Seem like it can rain in buckets at any ...”

She quickly realizes something, takes a look below at the flat dry basin, then looks at the sky again. It is then she realizes the imminent danger.

“Oh No!” out loud she said, then blitzes towards the dark clouds.

Inside she goes, coughing and hacking for it is extremely thick. She goes through a sizeable amount of thick clouds before reaching an opening.

“Oh my Spectra ..” she instantly tells herself once she sees this gigantic sphere of water, unfathomable to any pony’s mind. They have an intricate system of sucking out rain water from the thick heavy clouds that they made mixed in with natural clouds, then holding it in place. It started as one droplet, then a bucket, then a whole water tower, so on and so forth until it is now, a gargantuan sphere, still growing in size. You could probably fit ten large blue whales, maybe more. And what is keeping this massive, impossible ocean in its place is the sheer wind power by all the Shadow Pegasi circling at speeds that rivals the Thunderbolt Recruits.

“No time left, I must warn every pony!” she quickly dashes away.

Airebelle is absorbing this amazing feat her team has produced. It is like art to her. “I can look at this all day. But time is near. Those ‘no-stangoes’ are in for it.”

The frantic Bolt made her way out of the clouds and sees every pony and Shadows battling one another. With all of her breath, she lets out the only warning given.

“EVERYPONY! GET OUT OF THE BASIN!”

The Mustangoes on the ground heard a sound. “What was that?” asked one of them.

Another pointed at the sky, “It came from up there! I think a Thunderbolt is trying to warn us about something”.

It is too late. “RELEASE!” shouted the Shadow Pegasus Commander.

The Shadowlings changed their wind formation in a way that when they released this ocean of water, it funneled into a huge, steady stream directly onto the dried lake. The water is released. The poor Bolt that tried warning everypony was directly in its cross-hairs. She got taken by this water beast.

“What is that?” asked a Mustango.

It is a pressurized river barring down on them very fast. Goes without saying, they never witness this abnormal phenomenon either. The Chief is too late to react. All he can do is shout.

“Oh no! RUN!”

Imagine this is a big waterfall crashing down into rocks and making the sounds a waterfall resonates. Now add in many many many tons of pressurized, funneled power produced by the Shadowling Pegasi, and multiply the waterfall, volume and all, ten folds, twenty folds, fifty folds. All of it made impact almost dead center of the dried up lake. The poor villagers did not stood a chance as it wiped them out. The force of water was so great, a lot of it bounced into the air and came down again as a second waterfall. This massive, impossible deluge kept coming down, it seemed like it would never end. The poor Mustangoes, the Chief, even some of the Shadowlings that were in the basin were swept away somewhere.

Fortunately, the Chief is gigantic enough to stand on his hooves and not drown. But he has to hurry and scoop up as many of his ponies as he can and as soon as he can, for he does not know how much more the water level will rise. Some of the Shadowling Pegasi did rescues of their own, grabbing as many comrades as they could and leaving them at the edge of the basin above water. The Chief kept going back into the water, scooping more ponies up, bringing them back to the shore, then again and again until he can no longer keep his head above water. He rescued the last bunch, then falls on his hands and knees. He now is completely exhausted. So much so, that his gigantic body remorphs back to his original pony form, as he fully collapses, gasping for air. His great Nature power, gone. His divine hammer, gone. The whole ordeal was too much for him and everypony. The Sentinels that can still stand quickly go to their Chief.

The two Thunderbolts search for their comrade who was taken away by the torrent, still coming down from the sky. They spot her belly up drifting away. They grab and take her where the rest of the Mustangoes are somewhat gathered. Their numbers not as high as before.

“Is everypony okay?” a Sentinel asks. Some of them responded “uh huh”.

He realizes where they are currently located, at the base of Mount Mustango. The cave clearly visible from his vantage point. He looks at the entrance of the cave, still guarded by a Sentinel at the entrance stealthily looking out as that guard signals back giving a status update by body and hoof sign. The Sentinel looking at the cave sees a filly poking her head out to take a peek outside. As she looks towards the direction where everypony is gathered, she is shocked to see them at their current state. Her mother takes her back in.

“As if things can’t get any worse.” the Sentinel speaks being frank about their situation.

At the other side where the Shadowlings are gathering, one of them rallies the group. “Hey, let's take them down while we still can.” They gather and start their movement towards the Mustangoes.

Mustangoes began conversing with one another. “Oh my goodness. The dry basin is now a lake.” said one of them. Everypony noticed the basin that they used to know has changed. “How much more is this water going to rise?” The water still creeping up the edge. Not many Mustangoes been to the site where their civilization started. They have only imagined it by stories told by their predecessors. They recognize details about the site as they locate important landmarks. “The Stonewall!” Every Mustango gasps. A Sentinel states the obvious, “That wall is well submerged by now.”

Every Mustango is feeling the somberness vibe around them, as if everything they have done is for nothing. They are witnessing their kind being further reduced to less significance.

“Here they come!” one of them shouts. At this point, even though the numbers on both sides have been further reduced, the Shadowlings still out number the Munstangoes. They have no choice but to keep going with the little strength they have left. A few Mustangoes from random sides tried a sneak attack on the group, but the Shadowling Unicorns repelled them away. A Thunderbolt manages to sneak nearby a dark cloud. She bucks it causing a lightning bolt to shoot down, hitting the Shadowling group, knocking them down. The Bolt celebrate briefly, enough time for a Shadowling Pegasus to come at her from behind with a side flying kick, sending her down to the ground. Shadowlings surround and capture her. All Shadowling Pegasi swarmed down on top of the Mustangoes and few Sentinels. They tried fighting them off, but there were too many and were quickly overpowered and captured. The remaining Sentinels were also surrounded, still guarding the downed Chief.

One of the Sentinels did something unexpected. He did it very well. He took off his headgear and raised it with his left hoof abruptly, the Shadowlings halted for a moment, as if they were expecting a sudden attack, which in a way it was as he did a quick circular, winding motion, then threw his helm at a random Shadowling right to the forehead, stunning him. They quickly overpowered the remaining Sentinels and the Chief.

“We got ‘em all!” cheered a Shadowling, as the rest cheered in their own way.

Not entirely true. When that Sentinel raised his helm with his left hoof and spinned it, that was a hidden code exclusive to the Sentinels. The guard hiding in the cave picked up the distress signal, something every Sentinel had hope to never ever see. The guards, one inside and one near the entrance, along with all the mares, fillies, and colts, escaped into the mountain’s intricate system of hidden passageways. As they reach the exit, something stops them in their tracks.

Back at the other side of the mountain, the Shadow forces are savoring their victory over the Mustangoes. The Shadow Pegasus Commander makes her way to the center and speaks. “Well done my Pegasi!”

The Chief is held on the shoulders of two Sentinels that are closely surrounded by Shadowlings. He wakes up to find himself and his ponies surrounded by darkness. Heart broken and defeated, the Chief can literally do nothing more.

“Shadowling Unicorns, where is your Commander?” asked the high ranked Pegasus.

“Right .. here.” answered the battered and exhausted, yet still arrogant Unicorn Commander, as he seems to be holding something.

“What is that? Are you holding a piece of rock?” asked Airebelle.

“Good question. I’ll let the Chief answer it.” replied Nocturnal.

The Chief did not want to humor his intolerance, but he looks anyways at what Nocturnal is holding in his hoof of what appears to be a piece of slab with symbols on it.

“No!” responded the helpless Chief, for all he can do is watch the Commander drop that piece of stone, and forcefully stomp it, breaking into smaller pieces of rocks. It is now indistinguishable.

Airebelle is amused, “Ha! I see you were precise to your metaphor.”

“Of course. Except for their civilization crumbling part. I planned on giving them a proper funeral by opening a rift into another place far worse than Tartarus as a good gesture sign. Of course, it takes a high leveled individual to conjure that kind of spell, such as myself. And, a massive amount of magic, which thanks to you Mustangoes, I have very little of.” Some of them grunted in disgust for they have never met such a foul fiend. He continues, “Instead, we will have to settle for something more brutish. Not my kind of style, but effective.”

The Shadowlings grabbed a big heavy rock, tied a rope to it from one end. “Who pony better to go first none other than .. the Chief!” implied the ruthless Unicorn.

Mustangoes are stunned in disbelief. They struggled to get free, but to no avail.

“What are you doing? Get your dirty hooves off our Chief!” Out cried one of the Sentinels next to the Chief as he is quickly pinned down.

The Chief’s legs are now tied and bound to this large rock. The Shadows now take possession of Mustangoes’ beloved leader and carry him and the boulder towards the ledge. In doubt that he will be asked any last words, the Chief speaks one last time.

“Mark my words, fiendish leader of the Shadows. You may have defeated us, and may rid of us Mustangoes. But you will NEVER - EVER - rid of Nature. She WILL come at you hard and smite you down!”

All of the Shadowlings burst out a laugh.

“Toss him!” ordered the Unicorn.

Thus, the Chief and boulder were launched into the air to fall and drown into the newly formed lake, courtesy of the Shadow Pegasi team.

“Chief!” shouted all the Mustangoes.

Then the Unicorn ordered, “Prepare the Sentinels. They are next.” The Chief fell a long fall, but never made a splash. Two Pegasi bolted in and caught the Chief and rock just in time. As they slowly make their way to the top ledge, the Mustangoes gasped. Nocturnal turned around and see the other two Thunderbolts carrying the Chief and rock. They place them down, and severed the rope.

You can bet the Nocturnal is not pleased to see them again as he admits, “Oh. I completely forgot about you two.” The Shadowlings quickly jump on them, making sure they do not attempt any more heroic acts. “I should have handled them immediately. A mistake I will not make again. Quickly, tie them as well!”

They had just enough ropes to tie up the legs on both of them. The Shadowlings begin creating more ropes.

“Thank you Thunderbolts” said a Mustango. “Thank you very much!” another speaks in tears.

Nocturnal impatiently orders, “Hurry and send them to their aquatic grave. Their sentiments are making me nauseous. It seems that is the only thing they have an abundant amount of to compensate for their loss of ‘Neigh-ture’ power.” Every Mustango collectively grunted under their breaths for the Tyrant has hit a nerve.

One of the Thunderbolts stirs up a peculiar dialogue with the dark Tyrant, “I know you have no honor, but you could have at least properly given the Chief the opportunity to say his farewells to his ponies.”

The Mustangoes look at each other in a bit of shock and much confusion.

The Unicorn Tyrant responds, “You are right. I have no honor. As for last words, he uttered them out before his fall.”

She then continues, “Hmph. You can act and carry this macho, malevolent, high nosed snobby facade and strike fear into those weaker than you, or you can have a real impactful impression when you duel another Unicorn of your caliber. And when ponies see you are defeating other Unicorns as powerful, no, more powerful than yourself, that is when they fear you the most. Especially if the Unicorns you defeat are the ones everypony know and admire.”

“I have no interest in such sport. And, if you don’t shut your hole, I will tie a rope around your muzzle myself!” replied Nocturnal.

Everypony are wondering what is going through that Thunderbolt’s head, still she continues. “Okay, okay .. on one condition.”

“Really? Have you forgotten you are the one tied?” instantly responded the ticked Unicorn.

She continues insisting proper etiquette out of the intelligent brute, “Call me crazy, but I am not letting your rudeness go. Properly ask the Chief if he has any last words. I promise I will be quiet. Oh, how rude of me. Please properly ask the Chief if he has any last words.”

Nocturnal ignores her as he is trying his best to meditate to gather up strength. As if he and the other Shadowlings were not annoyed enough, she then continues, “Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please .. ”

“Urgh! Are you done making ropes?” he snarled.

“Not yet sire!” hastily responded a Shadowling.

The Shadow Pegasus Commander, as well as other Pegasi, used both main feathers to cover their ears as the daring Bolt continues to test their patience, “Please Please Please Please Please -- I can do this all day -- Please Please Please Please Please ”

The impatient Unicorn just wants silence. “Fine!! Any last words you infatuated Nature loving simpleton?!”

The Chief looks towards the outspoken Bolt for a clue. Unsure whether to answer or stay silent. The Bolt looks at the Chief and gives a sudden wink. And so the Chief answers, repeated the words he said before his anticipated demise. Those words were:

“You may have defeated us, and may rid of us Mustangoes. But you will never - EVER - rid of Nature. She WILL come at you hard and smite - you - down!”

Right on queue. In an instant, the dark clouds cleared up like a ripple effect, from one little circle to a huge clearing and beyond.

“What the hay!?” exclaimed Airebelle.

The sun and the blue sky has been re-introduced to the landscape below. A sudden unexpected phenomenon that shocked every pony, but a much welcoming sight for the Mustangoes. The Shadowlings are nervous as they look around.

“You have got to be kidding me!” With a desperate look on his face, the Nocturnal is livid at this point, looking around aimlessly as he sees no pony else other than the ones already there. The cheeky Bolt is enjoying every moment of the Commander’s reaction, absorbing their response to their current disposition. She can barely contain her amusement as she cracks a little smirk. The Unicorn Tyrant seems less of one, for he cannot think straight anymore, for he knows this is not a good sign of what may come to him and his army. Desperation has taken over him as he turns to the Bolt who was talkative a moment ago. He noticed the subtle look on her face has slightly changed. Enough of a difference that he is convinced she knows what is going on. So he implies it.

“You ..”

“Me?” rhetorically responded the Bolt.

“You have something to do with this.”

The Bolt rolls her eyes to look another direction and says, “I do not know what you are talking about.”

That was it. The last mane strand of his patience has been plucked. Nocturnal took over the Shadowling’s task and finished making the rest of the ropes.

“This should suffice.” he said using his magic to wrap the ropes around as many Mustangoes as he could in a bunch. “There! Now march them off the ledge. I don’t care who goes first - oh what the hay, March all of them at once! End them all now!”

The silence was quickly filled by the sounds of Shadowlings and Mustangoes struggling with each other. But the Shadowlings still have the upper hand and force the villagers to the ledge.

The Tyrant added one more thing, “Oh, and put that cheeky Bolt in front of the pack. Let see you smirk now.”

One Shadowling carries the Bolt to the front. She decided to take initiative and throws the tied up Bolt off the ledge. Every pony gasps. She probably had enough of the Bolt as much as her Commander. She then goes to any pony she can grab.

“Good! Keep it going until they are all gone!” praised the savage Unicorn.

The group of tied up villagers are near the edge of the drop off when suddenly, the thrown Bolt magically re-appears in front of the group, standing on all four hooves untied. The villagers, and the other two Thunderbolts gasped, then breathed a sigh of relief.

“No way! No Pegasus have Unicorn magic!” outbursts Airebelle.

Then, behind the reappeared Bolt emerges two filly Unicorns, as they each stand on either side of the Bolt.

“Only two filly Unicorns? .. Stop playing and show yourself whoever you are, wherever you are!” demanded the Unicorn Commander.

“Look up there!” said one of the villagers who noticed something. Rather, some ponies. More Pegasi. They are more Thunderbolt recruits, who were the ones that cleared the sky seamlessly. Then more random Pegasi showed up. As they come closer, one of them looks familiar.

“Ah .. it’s .. you.” said the Chief.

“It is good to see you again Chief.” said the wandering Scout.

Then, more Unicorns and Earth ponies started appearing, by magic or transit. Another familiar set faces to arrive at the scene were a small group of Neutrals. Mustangoes were utterly relieved when they started seeing familiar faces accompanied with the newcomers. Those faces are the ponies they thought they lost in battle. More and more kept appearing. It was a miracle in their eyes as it seems all of them are okay. The Chief looked around hoping he would see his comrade, his superior. But, it seemed he would be the only Mustango not appearing. He can only imagine the worst thing has happened to him. He then shifted his focus on the overall good outcome of this day. Soon enough, the scene of the Shadow forces out numbering the villagers was completely reversed, many times over. There were the fully recovered Mustangoes as well as the newcomers from the east, in the variety of Earth, Pegasi, and Unicorns in great numbers. Impossible for the Shadows to take on such an army at their current state, they were quickly disarmed, diffused, and taken away. All of them, including the Hammer Hard Rock, who was captured along the way, sent to Tartarus.

Their journey towards the west was a long, restless one for the newcomers. So they took a day to relax, recover, meet and enjoy each other’s company. Then the next day came when they had to leave. Though the Mustangoes did not show it, there was a bit of sadness, for a part of them wanted the newcomers to stay. But they understood they needed to return back to their families, their responsibilities, their home back in the east. After clearly seeing first hoof what a difference having a variety of ponies in their village can make, the Chief can only think that maybe it is time for the Mustangoes to adapt to the changing world around them.

And so he said to the departing, “I hope you all come back again. We promise not to throw sticks and stones.”

A Scholarly Unicorn replied, “Of course! I have to say, even though I am not a Shadowling, knowing that they came from Equestria makes me feel kind’ve responsible, and ashamed at what our society has produced.” A lot of them murmured in agreement. He added, “So I want to make things right by helping you all rebuild your village.” And this sentiment comes from a Unicorn who only seen maybe a quarter of all Equestria.

Another one, an Earth pony, has traveled most of their region said, “I feel the same way. You bet I will be coming back. Besides, you have to show me more of your sports.” And the others echoed their same thoughts.

“Looks like your village will soon become a popular destination place.” said the Scholar Unicorn.

With that said, they all part ways. Little did the Scholar Unicorn know, that destroyed village would become more than a popular destination site. Gradually over time as the village was rebuilt, ponies from east Equestria were interested about a new place outside of their region to the west. More ponies started traveling to the rebuilt Mustango village. It was a long journey, so out-posts, other villages and small town were built to ease the burden that comes with long distance travel.

Two new villages were built east and west near the Neutrals. No pony knew the Neutral village was even there until the new villagers and the Neutrals met by accident. From there on they became good neighbors. An established, dedicated dirt road from east to west was naturally built, a by product from all the hoof steps and wagons wheels rolling to and from. Overtime, The Mustango village grew into a town, then a big town as more huts and wood structural homes were built to meet the growing population. Travelers were coming in from all over. Places like; Los Pegasus, Van Hoover, Ponyville, Appleloosa, even as far east as Baltimare, and as high as Cloudsdale. Eventually, even the Royals noticed and heard ponies from Canterlot traveling to this new popular destination.

Birth of Bronconia (6/6)

Birth of Bronconia

That fateful day came that would completely transform Munstango Village and become the city as we now know it. The Chief, now much older and wiser, was on his way with a group of his followers to the home of the Scholar Unicorn, known as Bright Perl, that predicted their town’s future. He arrived a the entrance when his familiar Scout Pegasus friend, known as Feathercrest Windsor, or “Tight-lips”, shows up too.

“Oh hello Chief!” said Feathercrest to the Chief.

“Hi. What a coincidence. Here to see our Unicorn friend, too?”

“Yes. Just dropping off a little this, a little that of classified stuff.” vaguely explained his reason for the visit.

“Oh really? Like what?” wondered the Chief. The Scout quickly replied, “It’s classified.”

Bright hears their conversation outside, then opens his door to greet them both.

“Oh hello Chief, and every pony .. and shifty Tight-lips.”

The Scout Pegasus replies, “Here’s what you ordered.” He throws the tightly, securely packed classified box to the Unicorn.

“Ah, thanks. So Chief, what brings you here?”

Before the Chief can say a word, a sudden fanfare music filled the sky. A random Mustango passing by asked.

“What is that sound?”

It is a sound familiar to every pony from the east.

Bright recognizes the tune, “That sounds like ..”

A golden chariot hauled by two Pegasi Royal guard stallions in the front, followed by two guards stallions in the rear fly in and land on the middle of the main dirt road. Inside the chariot steps out two ponies, a prince and a princess, both Alicorns. They ask around, holding up a picture frame.

“Prince Beaming Arc! Princess Spectra!” says a random pony from the east as he kneels down, bowing his head.

The Royal Prince speaks, “Come now. No need for formalities. Besides, we are not even in Equestria.”

“Oh, right. Force of habit.” responds the nervous pony.

The Royal Princess speaks as she holds up a picture frame, “Have you seen this pony?”

He responds, “Yes. He lives right over there”, and points in the direction where the Scholar Unicorn, Scout Pegasus, and Chief are located.

“Oh. That was easy.” said Prince Beaming Arc. The Royals make their way to them.

“Your highness!” said Bright as he also kneels and bows his head. Feathercrest however does not change his relaxed position sitting on a fence post, one leg crossed over the other, and arms crossed on his chest.

“Have you no manners?” said the Unicorn to the Pegasus.

“You do realize we are not in Equestria, right?” responded Feathercrest.

“Still .. ”

Princess Spectra chuckles a bit. Then Prince Beaming Arc speaks, “It is good to see you.”

“If you mind me asking, why are you here? Surely you didn’t come just to check on me.” said Bright.

The stallion further explains their surprise visit, “That is part of the visit, which I’ll get to in a moment if you don’t mind inviting us in, for possibly some tea?” he suggested.

“Oh. Of course! Every pony come right in, make yourselves at home.”

They all got cozy as they could. The Scholar introduced the Royals, Prince Beaming Arc and Princess Spectra, to his friends, and vice versa before they all sat down. The Chief was staring for a while at the two Royals, he was wondering if his eyes were tricking him.

He said “A horn? .. and wings?” His ponies were just as confused, and amazed. He then added, “I did not know such a magnificent being exists.”

Bright in realization said, “Oh right! This is the first time you see an Alicorn, two of them.” The Chief was as impressed as when he saw cutiemarks on Equestrian ponies for the first time, for Mustangoes do not have those nor ever did in their history. They conversate a bit while Bright prepared tea. Feathercrest is a little too comfortable as he chose to sit on a cushioned chair, again with a comfortable, mellowed out posture and silent. A bit inconsiderate of him. There is a longer cushioned seat big enough for the two Royals. The Chief and his ponies sat on the floor, as so did the Scholar after he served everypony tea, including the two Royal guards inside the house, while the other two stand guard outside.

“I am sorry I don’t have enough chairs for every pony.” said the nervous Scholar.

“No worries about it.” said the Chief.

The Royal stallion and mare both take a sip of tea. “Mmm, this is good tea.” said the delighted stallion followed by a “Mhm.” from the mare.

He takes one more sip then sets it down on the table in front of him. He is now ready to conversate more.

“Now, to the reason why we are here: The word around Canterlot is that there is a new popular destination out to the west. Out of our borders and into ‘unknown’. Along with some stories and rumors. Something about castrated bandits, evil doers, monsters invading villages in the west, so on and so forth. Some of the rumors in details sound horrific. There were many made up stories and very little facts about them. And even those facts were questionable. So I dismissed those rumor as I thought they are nothing more. But, when I heard these ruthless bandits where from Equestria ... well. True or not, this is something I could no longer ignore. I then began looking for details in any new or old Equestrian newspapers, world articles, and other things like wanted post signs. This was not easy. I was doing this side investigation while doing my Royal duties. I was getting nothing solid, and going nowhere anytime soon. I talked with my wife about it, but she has heard of nothing at the time. I’ll let her tell what she knows ...”

Before the Royal mare tells her side of the story, she takes one more sip of tea and sets it on the table. The relaxed Feathercrest opened his eyes and looked at the Royals direction.

“ ... right. I have to tell it for a lot of decisions I made, my husband was unaware of. And I thought he had enough things in his mind with Royal duties, diplomatic issues, congregations of nations from other Royals, so on and forth. I had a bit less load, so I thought it was common sense for me to pursue with my own investigation, which at the time I did not mentioned to my husband for the reasons already stated. I did the same thing by reading newspapers, bulletin boards, wanted posted signs, and other things alike wherever, whenever I could in no particular order. Searching for possible leads yielded no evidence in continuing forward. So I decided to task two guards to take post somewhere North of Los Pegasus, and west of White Tail Woods. Not dressed as Royal guards, but regular citizens, and reside around that area in an inconspicuous way for many suns and moons. Surely, there has to be something, any bit of information we can learn from that side. They wrote down the number of outgoing and incoming ponies. Interestingly enough, there were a slight amount more of ponies going west than coming east. The next observation was a stroke of luck. My duties had me visit Manehattan, Baltimare, Dodge City, Appleloosa, and Los Pegasus. During my visit at Baltimare, there was a group of ponies that looked equipped for a long journey. One of them was wearing a big straw hat. Not sure why, but I made a mental note of that. When I visited Appleloosa, I saw the same group of ponies with the same gear on their backs, and same pony wearing that big straw hat. Coincidence? I would have thought so if I did not visited Los Pegasus, for I saw them there too, just as they were leaving to the west direction. Though our official Public Announcements discourages ponies to venture west past our Kingdom limits, ponies as far as Baltimare are doing it anyways. I had to know more what was going on that are making ponies go west. But what to do? My hooves are full with Royal responsibilities. And, Is not like I can sneak away out of Canterlot and go west to see for myself what was out there. Even if I could, that would be going against moral principle. Not a crime, but would not look good on any Royal. Of course, I would never do that. No Royal would .. but maybe some pony else better qualified for the task. That is when I hired him.”

She points her hoof to the Scout Pegasus. It was such a surprise to Bright, he choked on his tea.

“(cough) You?! Her? .. I mean, she is your boss?! Since when?”

The expression on the Feathercrest’s face does not change one bit, nor did he say anything.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt.” said the embarrassed Scholar.

Princess Spectra continues, “One time when I visited Cloudsdale. I took a look at the wanted post sign. That is when I saw Feathercrest standing there also looking at the sign writing on his notepad. So I stood next to him and said if he was looking for any pony in particular. He remained silent. I noticed he had a light camping sack on his back. So I then asked if he travels. Still writes in his notepad without saying a word. Then I said,

‘how would you like to work for me? You would only report if you find credible, circumstantial information I would need to be aware of that could affect every pony in Equestria. I’ll make sure you get compensated. What do you say?’

‘When, where, and how much?’ he replied.”

“Typical .. sorry.” said Bright.

Continuing with her story, “And so arrangements were made, and he went off to his adventures. Eventually, going west. Little that I knew, he was playing with me. He already knew what was going on and the information I wanted to hear when we first met. Maybe he had good reasons to not share it. At any rate, it was a few moons ago he decided to come forth. But, he only said enough to put my worries at ease. Do you remember what you told me?” asked the Royal mare to the Pegasus.

“Yeah. I said There WAS a threat out west. It has been taken cared of. That is all.”

“Geez, how vague of you. I’m not surprised.” said the Scholar.

“This pretty much brings us to the current moment. We knew as much as that. But still, there were ponies spreading rumors. Especially bandits, or something, that came from Equestria. So I told my husband we need to go west, and find out for ourselves.”

Prince Beaming Arc then steps in, “Honestly, we did not know what to expect. So we had to mention that to the Congregation of Royals, and our friends to the North who are so kind to keep a watchful eye on Canterlot.”

A moment of silence. The laid back Pegasus shuts his eyes again.

Bright Perl then breaks the silence, “So ... now that you are both here, what now?”

Then the Prince continues, “To the second order of business ... ” He then turns to the Chief. “... you did say you are the Chief of this village, correct?”

The Chief replies, “Yes.”

“Is it true? Was your village destroyed by those who came from the east?”

The Chief’s memory goes back to that terrifying day.

“Our village experiences a fair amount of problems. But that day .. that day ..” he vividly remembers those moments. His followers reassure him everything is alright. That is over and in history. “It was the darkest day in our village, ever.” And the last memories he thinks of is those of his comrade, The First Chief of Arms. He then snaps out of it. “Oh. Don’t mind me. I guess the mind wonders as you get older.”

Both Royals stand up and face squarely towards the Chief. Then, they both kneel and bow their heads completely until their muzzles touched the floor. Bright, and the guards, are completely shocked. They have never seen two Royals kneel and bow their heads to the point their muzzles touch the floor. This is their way of showing great respect and sincerity to the Chief, as if they are not worthy of being in his presence.

The Royal stallion continues, “I cannot express enough how deeply sorry for what we, what I have caused to your ponies.” This gets Feathercrest’s attention as he opens his eyes and looks at the bowed Royals. “Though I was not in power at the time, I witnessed my father cast away a sizeable group of bad ponies. It is in our laws that ..”

The Chief interrupts. “Now now. Rise your head and sit down young ones. There is no need for all of that. We are all friends here, yes?” The young prince struggles to hold back tears. The princess is equally emotional, for they both can’t believe the level of virtue this old pone is displaying. They both sit on the ground facing the Chief. “Besides, if you’re going to tell another story, I rather you not say it to the ground. Furthermore, I have bad ears don’t you know?” They both let out a brief chuckle. “Now, you were saying?”

The Prince continues, “These group of ponies were charged with aiding another, stronger group of ponies that conspired AND attempted to overthrow our regime. The ones that did carried out this act were sent to Tartarus, permanently. The ones that were associated, or had anything to do with that failed coup, we seeked counsel for the appropriate punishment for them. According to our laws, it would be Detention for many many many moons, followed by banning them from Equestria. But where? Not north, not south, not east. For all of those directions we would not want them introduced to our friends’ local society. We felt it just wasn’t right. Our only choice was to cast them west, hopefully to bother no pony or creature. We never heard of them ever again .. well, until now. And for that, we are deeply, deeply sorry.”

The Chief replies, “I see. You all seem to have a well established civilization, I see that from ponies visiting. And from the looks of it, you have ponies with a heart of gold. So don’t worry about it. A few bad ponies should not sour the sweet rest. Your regime has done an excellent job fostering great ponies.”

Both Royals are relieved to hear that coming from the Chief's own mouth.

“Thank you.” said Spectra.

“Thank you so much Chief.” said Beaming Arc.

“I am glad to hear that. I still can’t believe not one, not a single one out of them changed for the better. Was the punishment not enough? Were they so far gone to begin with? ugh.”

The mare puts her hoof on her husband’s shoulder and saids, “I do not know, honey. I don’t think we will ever know.”

“Wait ...” saids the puzzled Scholar as he faces the Scout and saids, “You didn’t tell the Princess about the Neutrals, did you?”

There was a pause, then she asks, “Neutrals?”

Feathercrest goes back to his laid back posture and closes his eyes. Bright puts his hoof on his forehead in disbelief.

“Of course you didn’t.” Then faces the Royal mare and saids, “Your highness, not all of them were bad. In fact, there was a bunch whom saw the error of their ways. The Neutrals ended up separating away from the baddies. They even established their own settlement. You should both visit them. I’m sure they will be pleased to hear your side of the story.”

Beaming Arc breathes a sigh of relief. Spectra replies, “I’m very glad to hear that. I think we will visit them on our way back to Canterlot.”

Followed by Beaming Arc asking, “Why are we just now hearing about this? For that matter, why have you not told us about this village, and its ponies. Hay, about all of this? How long were we ‘out-of-the-loop’? You are my student under my wing after all. And I am kind’ve responsible of your well-being.”

The Scout also asks, rather in a jesterly way, “Yeah, why didn’t you mention any of this to the Royals?”

“You are one to talk!” replies the Unicorn to the Pegasus, then answers to his superior, “Well see. The thing is .. as ridiculous as this may sound, I sworn to secrecy. In fact, we both did. Mainly out of respect for the Neutrals because that is what they wanted. They felt so bad, so ashamed of what they have done in the past, they truly did not want to bother any pony. So they remained a hidden village. And I thought, all of this," Bright Perl implies all of their efforts in building the village and restoring Mustangoes civilization back to a settled, steady state. "is part of their affairs in one way or another. Only a few ponies know about their settlement, mainly the two villages east from here.”

A short silence passes. Then, “Aren’t you forgetting something?” asked the Feathercrest.

“Eh? I hope not.” replied Bright. Tight-lips, for once, talks.

“He is not the only one keeping all of this a secret. As much as I wanted to tell the world I faced against an army of Shadow-lers … Shadow-ings .. Shadow .. whatevers, and totally whipped their butts all the way 'til Kingdom come ...”

The expression on Bright’s face is priceless, as he rolled his eyes.

“... they insisted every pony who was there to keep their mouths shut and tell no pony else.”

“Well .. until today … surprise ~~”, said the Unicorn as he nervously faded his voice.

“Wait! You are his teacher?!” randomly asks the Pegasus breaking his relaxed posture.

“Wow. Delayed reaction much?” mocks Bright to Feathercrest.

“Yes. He is my student.” replied Beaming Arc.

“Heh, we both ended up working directly for the Prince and Princess. That has got to be .. Wait, How dare you keep this from me.” replies Feathercrest to Bright, though tough to tell if he is jestering or being serious.

The Scholar replies back at him, “How dare you not be more informative when and where it counts!”

Beaming Arc joins in, “How dare you both keep all of this a secret from us!”

Spectra steps in to be the more reasonable pony, “To be fair, we have been keeping secrets too .. mainly me. And besides, would you have let him go west if he had asked you?”

Beaming Arc admits, “Okay, I see your point.” The Prince insists under his own breath “Still, I am responsible of his well-being.”

“Furthermore ..” saids the Princess, as she furthers another big reason for their visit, “ .. he demonstrated he is well equipped and capable of taking care of himself and helping other ponies. I’ve been saying it for quite some time. But if now is not a good of time as any, then it will never be.”

The stallion teacher then confesses, “I know, I know ..” a brief sigh before he continues “He is like the son I never had, and reminds me of myself .. which makes it that much harder to let go.”

The mare is confused, “You are both about the same age range.” she said.

Then he adds, “Age is just a number, my dear. He will always be my son no matter what stage he is in the pony life cycle.”

Blank stares all around after that comment.

“O-kay.” said the Unicorn before continuing. “But wait. ” Bright looks at Spectra, “When you said ‘if now is not a good of time as any’..” then looks at his teacher, “then you said ‘harder to let go’. What do you both mean by that?”

The stallion teacher replies, “I have taught you all you need to know. You have graduated, in that sense. We still have an official ceremony, but that will come later.” Bright’s mouth opens wide. He is speechless. “I was also going to say you needed to come back to Canterlot for the arrangements, but I see you have your hooves full of work .. and books. So instead, I’m here to ask you this: Do you want to come back to Canterlot? Or do you want to stay here and hold the ceremony at a more suited time?”

Still speechless, but then he replies, “Wow! To be honest, my heart is still here where much work needs to be done. These ponies need me, right?”

Unsure of himself as he looks at Chief. “Of course!” the Chief replied.

“What is it that you do again?” asked the forgetful Feathercrest. “I mean I kind’ve sort’ve get what you do,”

“No you don’t.” quickly said Bright.

“but is there like an official title or something?”

“Eehh .. actually I’m not so sure myself.” Bright responded while looking towards his teacher.

Beaming Arc then fills in the gap, “He is studying to become a Peacemaker, at a Scholar level, as well as official Representative and Ambassador of Equestria.”

“Oooh .. sounds boring. I’m going back to sleep.” And Feathercrest does that.

The Unicorn’s field of studies and what he is pursuing catches the attention of the Chief. “But I guess, he can be a representative of sorts for Mustangoes, of course if the Chief approves. What do you say Chief?” Asks the Prince to the Chief.

“I just realized we have been the ones doing all the talking, when we really do want to hear more of you and your ponies. We are sorry Chief. We are not being good guests.” said the guilt feeling Princess.

“Neigh neigh, think nothing of it. Besides, I have enjoyed listening to you Royals and subordinates so far. For once, it is nice to be the listener.” His ponies sitting besides him shake their heads in agreement. “Now to answer your question, I think I have a bigger proposition for your pony student he may not refuse.”

“Huh?” naturally comes out of the Bright’s mouth.

“When you came here for the first time, you used your magic and helped us defeat those cursed Shadowlings. Do you remember what you said to me the day you departed?”

“Umm .. if I remember it was something like:”

“I have to say, even though I am not a Shadowling, knowing that they came from Equestria makes me feel kind’ve responsible, and ashamed what our society has produced. So I want to make things right by helping you all rebuild your village.”

“And after ponies voiced their same thoughts:”

“Looks like your village will soon become a popular destination place.”

“I really hope I’m not forgetting anything this time.” said Bright.

“How much did you believe in those words?” asked the Chief.

The Scholar paused, as if he wants to choose his words carefully. Then he proceeds.

“I must admit, a part of me said all that in-the-spur-of-the moment. But, I was sincere when I said it. And, when I thought about it afterwards, I thought to myself; you ponies have been through the absolute worse ordeal ever in your village history. Your village was destroyed, Nature around you was suffering, and your kind almost were extinct. It seemed hopeless. But that night when we camped out in what was the remnants of the village, you Mustangoes told your good times, your bad times, and your epic war story as if I were experiencing it myself. All of it. From before when the village was alive and vibrant, to when Nature was not always kind to you, to when each and every Mustango sworn to an oath to always be on Nature’s side and love her unconditionally as much as She loves you, to the moments leading up to the battle, to the actual battle and the long struggle to a force, other than Nature, bigger than yourselves, to when you all remembered the oath you all have taken with Nature and the strength of Her love, to when your ponies raved and rejoiced when you Chief” he points his hoof at the Chief, “turned into a divine giant, to the moments when it looked like it was the end, yet never ever forsaken Nature, though it seemed like She had forsaken you all .. I can’t help but feel moved by all of it that night, even now! I thought, this place, this land can only get better! It has to, it must! Some pony has to help and preserve history after experiencing what you all went through. So I, along with other good hearted, honest, hard working ponies, are willing and wanting to help.”

The Royals are silent, but you can tell by the look on their faces they are proud, especially his teacher.

The Chief then speaks, “Just about the answer I’d expect from a great Scholar under the wing of a true leader. You will make a great Chief for this new village. How about it?” Bright’s mouth opens, wider than before, a bit of wonder if he heard right what just came out of the Chief's mouth.

The Royals both “Oooo ..” Beaming Arc added, “That is quite the title to behold. Are you up for it?”

The Unicorn then thinks and speaks, “Wait a moment wait a moment. Hypothetically speaking, If I’m Chief, what would happen to you Chief?” Spectra remembers another important order for their visit, “Oh dear. I just remembered the other order of business why we are here.”

Beaming Arc also remembers now, in a long list of Royal duties, “Oh right. That.”

Spectra continues, “We are here to meet the leader of this kingdom .. or tribe I guess, and hopefully agree in allying together.”

The Chief then continues with what is in his thoughts.

“Oh. I think things will be more clear after you hear me out. I don’t know how else to say it so I will just say it. In that battle, I learned something from the Shadows. I realized something that made them strong. In their ranks were Earth, Pegasi, and Unicorns. I learned that if our ponies are going to fend of enemies like those Shadows, we need Earth, Pegasi, and Unicorns too.. To be exact, more Pegasi and more Unicorns. And so we have them in our society, and I am very happy that we do. But there is so much more to it, to this outside world that I do not understand that has been brought into this village. A lot of our ponies seem to have adapted to what the outside world has brought to us. So much so that they are teaching me about it. Things like Equestrian culture, Manehattan style of living, Appleloosan festivities, so on. I have done the best I could to learn it all, as well as some of the Mustangoes like these beside me. But it is just too much for me, for us. And if I’m to be honest with myself, I enjoy the simpler things more. When me and my ponies went west to see the other destroyed villages. Nature took over some of the ruins. That is when we felt in-touch again. As if we were talking to Nature again, so I was wondering if She wanted us to be there. We rebuilt one village to near half of its original state. Then, Nature answered us in the most beautiful way. We saw woodland critters coming out of and greeting us. They were welcoming us back. We also saw a small field of red, blue, and purple roses complimented by newly formed greenery amidst the rubble. And as cloudy as it was that day, a ray of sunshine was casted over us, feeling Nature’s warmth. That was the moment She answered us. What I am trying to say is, I will be moving back to the wild along with any Mustangoes - no, along with any pony else, Mustango or not. If Nature calls to them, I am sure they will answer Her.”

“Oh. I see.” said Bright in sadness.

The Chief puts his hoof on the Unicorn’s shoulder and saids, “Do not feel sad. And don’t you dare feel guilty either. I won’t allow it” said the Chief as he smiled. “You will be an excellent Chief .. prince .. leader. Whatever title you give yourself, I know you will always think with this” he touches the Unicorn’s forehead implying his brain, “and feel with this” then touches his chest implying his heart. “And should there be a great conflict that requires the use of force, I know you will use this” touches his horn, most likely implying his magic “for good .. for Nature, not evil.” Then pats his shoulder.

The Unicorn can’t help but shed a tear, “I will Chief.”

“It was nice meeting you Royals.”

Spectra replies as she and Beaming Arc bow their heads, “It has been a great privilege and a great honor meeting you Chief of Mustangoes.”

“Fancy seeing you too 'Tight lips'.”

Feathercrest is fast asleep, “ZZZzzz ..”

“You all know where to find me if you ever need words of counsel, encouragement and wisdom. Feel free to stop by my home anytime. See ya’ later. May Nature be with you all.” where the final, exiting words from the Chief of Mustangoes, Doha Dakota.

The Royal guard opened the door for the Chief and his ponies to exit out of the Scholar’s new home, then closes it after they all exited.

“Congratulations! You are now the leader of your kingd .. your tribu .. you are a Leader!” said the Royal mare. She also adds, “A Unicorn leader. How about that.”

It is too much too soon for the poor Scholar, “Oh my gosh ... oh my gosh ...”

And then … “(GASP) Oh my gosh! There is so much to do so little time I’m sure this village will need some written laws written on scroll though I’m sure all my mellow fellow little pony citizens know what is right what is wrong but still it is not official if its not written on scroll and one can never be too careful we will need a whole bunch of scrolls poor trees wait I can use recycled newspapers there is always unread newspaper laying around or collected in packs no trees will be harmed or shaken FOREST SAVED wait what if no pony knows how to read that is crazy talk but it could be possible we will need schools yes schools gotta think about the little fillies and colts they need quality education and THEY WILL GET IT anything less is completely UNACCEPTABLE and once they grow into young mares and stallions they will need specialty schools for their specialty needs that IS if hopefully at that time they already have their cutie marks it would IT SHOULD be easier for them to have a better understanding about themselves and make a better decision what they will do with their lives WAIT what if they grow up and still no cutie marks on their flanks THAT WOULD BE HORRIBLE wait even worse what if there is not enough work or no work at all for them to do and end up doing something they are not destined to do OH MY GOSH I cannot even begin to think how that will feel like they will probably need to see a board certified therapist to deal with their hidden traumas but that would probably be too costly for them especially if they are young and repaying their debt they would just add more salt to their already severely injured wallet and have no bits for like ever ever ever ever that is like fourevers OH NOOOO BITS BITS BITS BITS BITS BITS BITS even though this village is thriving it is a fairly young village it would be mean for me to tax my fellow mellow jello little ponies especially the young who are repaying their debt from attending specialty school but I see no other feasible option to pay our contractors accountants yes we need accountants because let’s face it I am Nooo good with numbers especially when it comes to bits I REALLY REALLY REALLY wish I had more bits just take a look at my bank account BANKS oh my gosh do we even have one bank in this village this is a disaster waiting to happen how did we even ... "

the Royals have a disinterested look on their faces and wonder how long this propelled mouth of his will go on, they are probably thinking this was a premature move handing over such responsibility to this Unicorn

"... no leader from another village from another town from another city from another region in their kingdom in their rightful mind will do business with us they will just take a look at our bank then they will ask me “where is your bank” and I will say hehhehhehhehheeh what bank then they will ask “where do you keep your bits” then I will say I HAVE NO IDEA then they will look at me all funny and tell me “I need to use the restroom I will be right back” but they would not be fooling me I would run away from me too I DO IT ALL THE TIME especially if I found out I do not have a bank I would probably have to do something silly like run west in search for gold or crystals or diamonds or both or all three because let’s face it I am gonna need all the help I can get if I am going to fund my own village and make it grow WOOOAAAHHH I CAN’T EVEN THINK ABOUT THAT RIGHT NOW what if we become too big to handle we would need to build on top of each other on top of each other etc etc stories high until everypony has a suitable place to live but then if we have no bits to pay for quality material and skilled craftponies then WHAT hire cheap materials and uneducated unskilled bums to build high rises THAT DOES NOT SOUND SUITABLE TO ME then the entire structure would be questioned and would be a hard pressed sale to pitch to the building inspector or to the commissioner or to the head of public housing and safety committee OHH that is IF there is even any structure left at all after it KAPLUFFS hard to the ground YIKES THAT IS A TRAGEDY I WILL NOT ALLOW NO HIGH RISES oh who am I kidding we would all need to go back to living in huts poor fillies and colts would not have a sound structured school to attend I WILL DONATE MY OWN HOUSE TO THE SCHOOL IF NEED BE anything for those poor little fillies and colts but in seriousness we would need to use our precious BRAINS our creative minds to do some SERIOUS creative thinking and come up with out own patent pending materials and tools and revolutionize current ideas it is either that or locate the nearest cave and take shelter there MOUNT MUNSTAGO THAT IS PERFECT or do something silly like live in the sky I do not know how the Pegasi in Cloudsdale do it what is up with that only Pegasus can walk on cloud give me a break it is a wonder why any pony visits there AT ALL but back to the expansion issue not every pony will be on board with it for it is a huge train wreck waiting to happen HAY the train is not even on its rightful tracks it is already crashing because of obvious reasons we would need to expand to further west where there is ...” The Unicorn stops.

Utter silence. You can probably hear a hay strand drop from a far if you listen closely enough.

Arc whispers to Spectra, “I think we need to bring back the Chief of Mustangoes.”

“Do you think he is done? Or is he recharging for another round?” She whispered back.

“I don’t know.” he answered. The Scholar faces his kitchen window when he stopped, directly west. Then his teacher asks, “Are you okay? (please say yes, please say yes, please say yes),” said the teacher to his student, then whispering to himself what he hopes to hear.

A shorter pause followed before Bright snapping out of his deep thought and breaks his stare to the west looking at the trees. He realized he just had a nervous breakdown. His face turned a tint of pink-red as he turned around.

“Eh Heh, sorry. I guess I needed to get that out of me.”

“Did you get all of it?” asked Princess Spectra in a rather rhetorical manner.

“I know exactly what my first order of business is.” said Bright Perl in a complete attitude change from extremely low self-esteem highly charged mental meltdown to a super confident business, I-will-sell-you-this-product-you-will-buy-it-and-love-it-even-if-this-will-do-nothing-for-you, type of pony.

“And what is that?” both Royals said in synchronicity.

Bright Perl looks back out of his kitchen window to the west at the trees and said, “Effective immediately, west of our village limit belongs to the Mustangoes, as well as Mount Mustango. This will be a Nature preserve area and historic site where the traditional Mustangoes can live, or come and go as they please. Any builder, any pony for that matter who does not have the consent from the tribe’s Chief or equivocal authority, they will answer to me.”

Both Royals’ worries about their Unicorn student has been quelled.

“I do want this village to grow. But we need to respect the land, most importantly, respect Nature. This is why I want to adopt the ‘Law of the Land & Keepers of Nature’ into our own constitution.”

Prince Beaming Arc is curious, “It sounds like you already decided what kind of kingdom you want to build on this new land. I’m sorry, I keep saying kingdom out of habit. What kind of system do YOU have in mind?”

Bright answers, “Well .. an Alicorn I am not .. so that idea is off the table.”

“Oh, right.” replied the teacher.

“When the time comes, I want a system in place where the citizens can have a say in the decision making process. I will be sure to write it down. For now, it is too early for that. We need leaders that represent our ponies right away. We already have two. I’m sure I can find a third with the help of the Chief’s counsel.”

“Sounds interesting. You said three leaders? You are the first in command, and you said you will find a third. Who is the second?” wondered his teacher. The Scholar raises his hoof and hesitates for a moment, almost embarrassed of revealing his choice, but he is completely confident on his second in command, as he firmly points his hoof to the sleeping Pegasus.

“zzzZZZzzz.”

“Hah! Good one.” naturally said Beaming Arc. The Unicorn keeps the serious look on his eyes and firm hoof still pointing at Feathercrest.

Beaming Arc then said, “Seriously? Come on. I taught you better than that. Guess I gave you too much credit when it comes to choosing your inner circle.”

Spectra replies in a nag, “Honey.”

“He may not look it, but he is quite the trooper. He is a great Scout. For all of his shenaning and uncouthness, he is a loyal friend, true to his word, and has never turned his back on me. Though I wish he was not so tight lipped all the time, but I guess that’s what makes him unique.” Bright Perl reassured to the Royals.

“zzzZZZzzz”

“He sure isn’t tight lipped now” said the teacher, as he gets elbowed by his wife.

The Unicorn, again, reassures them, “And besides .. the ponies can vote for another Pegasus should it come to that.”

“Sounds like you have this. And I am sure you, the sleeper, and whoever your third is will make great leaders of this new land, known as … ” Spectra pauses for she does not recall hearing a name of the new land. “If we are going to be allies, we need to know your land’s name. Have you thought of one?”

This is quite sudden for the Scholar. He looks again outside of his kitchen window to the west, hopefully to be inspired with a name. But nothing. That is until he heard a neigh sound from a Mustango as he gallops into the woods. Then a name comes to him.

“How about, Bron-co-nia. To capture the spirit of the untamed wild in the west. What do you think?”

“I think having that window in the kitchen is paying off” replied the Royal mare.

The Scholar then asked, “Is it that obvious?”

“Mhmm” both Royals replied in synchronicity.

“I think it is a wonderful, fitting name. Furthermore, the land is short not of inspirational ideas.” said Spectra.

“This village has become a hot spot for many travelers, and many that stay. It has returned to somewhat normal. But it is clear, normal for us isn’t necessarily normal for them.” Bright implied about Mustangoes either adapting to the changing, evolving village, or completely sticking to their prehistoric traditional way of life. “Still, it feels like this village attracted trots of all life, and will continue to do so. I think a proper name ought to be made.”

“I am sure you already thought of one and will tell us what it is.” said the Prince anxiously waiting for the answer.

“Flockland Village.” Bright Perl reveals to the Prince and Princess.

Then Prince Beaming Arc holds his right hoof in front, for he initiates an in house informal enactment. More of a toast than an enactment, and said,

“To Flockland Village!”

Then Princess Spectra holds her right hoof over her husband’s hoof and saids,

“To Bronconia!”

And finally, the Scholar Bright Perl puts his right hoof over all of theirs and said,

“To our alliance, and our ponies!”

Thus Bronconia was born. The rest is history. First nation of its kind, first republic leaders of the new land, first nation to have three top leaders that represent Earth, Unicorn, and Pegasus, so on and so forth.

Fast forwarding to the current-future time when this story began. When it comes to the long line of descendants of Mustangoes and Flockland Villagers, more like Flockland City and its citizens, they have done a good job maintaining the first President’s order of preserving their first national forest, Mustango National Forest of Wildlife & Preservation, as well as the historic site of “Last Stand” and Mount Mustango, and basin, which has long dried up.

The true stone wall that used to be at the basin’s edge has been removed and substituted by a replica. The real stone wall with the original “Law of the Land & Keepers of Nature”, what is left of it anyway, has been moved to a secured vault for preservation, where qualified experts can review it should they need to conduct further examination. And, the first President kept true to his word by adopting the Mustango law into their constitution.

The city and its much larger population, has evolved much more sophisticated, and way more complex than what the First and Second Chief of Arms could ever imagine in their wildest dreams. Some things in the city resembles human innovations and technologies, while still maintaining relics of the past, like the original dirt roads the Mustangoes used to travel from village to village. Those roads still exist while the builders have erected bridges and overpasses in necessary locations, as well as developed their first highway system to meet the pony’s transportation needs. Speaking of transportation, Bronconia and Equestria have linked their railways so ponies from as far as Baltimare wanting to travel west can do so by train. The list goes on.

To sum it all up. The foundation has been set and seeds for the future planted by the Mustangoes and Equestrian ponies. Now in the current-future, we see the tree of life has grown, and all who help nurture it can enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Thorn roots of a beautiful tree, seeds of malignance (2/6)

Thorn roots of a beautiful tree, seeds of malignance

There was a period of time when Equestrian ponies had brutal outlaws among them. Basically, there was a specific, dangerous group of outlaws. These were the ponies that conspired in secrecy to one day overthrow their Royal regime and take control by any means necessary.

At the beginning, these were known as The Unseen Gallopers. It is unclear much about the battle between the Unseen and the Equestrian ponies. But their coup failed and were defeated. Equestria made the Unseen, and all ponies affiliated pay for willingly fostering and carrying out their unthinkable act of betrayal against their own Kingdom. Punishment ranged from minimal Detention sentence of many many many stellar blue moons, to total exile out of Equestria and/or into Tartarus, and all in-between depending on the outcome of the investigation conducted by Royal officials, the severity of the crime committed by the individuals, and the co-operation of the individuals that committed the crime or were involved.

The top most powerful, influential ones were sent to Tartarus. Those that were forced against their will were mostly pardoned. But a great number of those who were found guilty in knowingly helping in the conspiracy, fulfilled their time and were casted out of Equestria, deemed never to be seen again.

It should be noted that not all of the exiled were bad ponies. In fact, a small group headed west enough to not be seen by Equestrian eyes, yet east enough so they were not encroaching on Mustangon territory. They possibly had enough of the negative influence and the consequences that came from going against an established regime. Thus, became a Neutral populous and strongly adopted one Equestrian value, friendship and family. So much so that the greater mass went against the other group because of their stubbornness and unwillingness to change for the better. Maybe they had an argument, possibly an escalation of force.

And so the greater Neutral group banned the rest, for them to keep going west away from the their new settlement. As for the Neutrals, they just wanted to live their lives peacefully in their little quaint, hidden settlement. They seek no forgiveness, no sympathy, just each other’s company and good will. Even though their settlement was a small one that could be (and was) easily overlooked, they did good for themselves living off the land and near by sea. They even made a few new friends that happened to notice their tucked away village. They were truly changed.