“Have you ever heard the old saying ‘The portal to hell is opened with the incantation of good intentions’? If there was a moral to their story, I guess that would be it.” - Watcher

Rarity did her best not to be appalled at her traveling companion’s mannerisms. It had been decided that Brute, the overgrown hellhound, would accompany her, but with his behavior towards other ponies they had come across, Rarity was beginning to wonder if she shouldn’t have asked Rebar to go with her instead.

Rebar had assured Rarity that the small filly would be fine with her friend, and to even prove it, Rebar had even demonstrated several… explosive traps, leaving Rarity to question the filly’s sanity. Of course, Rarity didn’t want to argue at a time like this. She needed to find her friends first.

The city was rather empty, but Rarity would occasionally feel like somepony was watching her. Looking back at Brute, she asked, “You ever feel like there’s a pair of eyes on you?”

The hellhound grunted in response as they both walked down the street. Rarity was beginning to wonder if Brute was ever going to warm up to her. Though, from what Rebar had told her, it wasn’t likely, as most hellhounds hated ponies, much like diamond dogs.

From what Rarity could see, Brute was noticing, though. She’d see his ear flick every so often, slightly turning as it detected noise. Rarity, although she didn’t have hearing as good as Brute’s, would see glimpses of a strange figure. Whenever she’d turn her head, she’d see something move around the corner to hide.

Brute suddenly stopped at an intersection, puzzling Rarity. She waited for him to say something, but the beast remained quiet as if he were waiting for something himself. Rarity was about to speak when Brute said, “Stalker.”

“Excuse me?” queried Rarity.

“Stalker watching. We keep moving now,” answered Brute.

As he began walking once again, Rarity followed, asking, “Who is it? Do you know? Is it just one pony?”

Brute was a little confused by Rarity’s wording. “Not pony. Stalker,” he corrected.

“Wait, so you’re saying that they’re called Stalkers. Is that something that’s not a pony?”

Brute grunted, continuing on.

As they kept going, they would eventually stop again, the beast halting in his tracks. Rarity was about to speak up when she saw it, the strange creature walking out on two legs, with no lower jaw, its eternally-open mouth allowing a tongue to flicker out every so often. With empty eye sockets, it didn’t seem to pose any threat, but the look of the creature alone was enough to seem menacing.

Rarity hid behind Brute, not familiar with this creature. Since Brute knew about these things, maybe he knew more on how to fight them properly?

Suddenly, the stalker hissed out in a female’s voice, “Hhhhh… hhh… hhhello.”

Rarity was a little astonished. “How did it speak without its---?”

“Move,” Brute demanded.

The stalker fidgeted, her clawed fingers twitching, fingers curled and pressed to her chest. “Wh-... What’sss your naa-aa-aa-aame?” she asked.

“Brute said MOVE,” repeated the hellhound.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve… seen someone like you,” she said. “How is… y-your day?”

Rarity tilted her head a little. “Is it trying to strike up a conversation?”

“Brute doesn’t care,” said the hellhound. “Stalker is stalker. Only good stalker is dead stalker.”

The creature began to slowly step forward, stumbling a little, her tongue occasionally darting out like a snake’s as she sensed the heat of the individuals in front of it. Brute suddenly slammed his spiked tail on the ground.

The hellhound raised up onto his two legs, his claws primed for battle. Rarity lit up her horn, ready to fight if she needed to. She wasn’t against fighting, but she would have much rather preferred to simply talk it out.

“...So, that’s it, then?” the stalker hissed out. Her claws clicked against each other, making an odd noise similar to teacups hitting teacups. “You don’t even want to talk to me,” she said. “You… y-you want to play games with my mind?!”

Brute ran at her, using his hefty arms to help propel him forward, moving much like a gorilla. The stalker bent her legs, then leapt over Brute as he swung a massive arm in an attempt to hit her.

Rarity cast a spell as the stalker was about to dig her claws into his back, a protective bubble encasing Brute. The claws of the stalker did nothing to get through, and quickly figuring out she couldn’t get through, she sped after Rarity, catching the unicorn off guard.

Rarity put up a magical manifestation of a diamond-shaped shield in front of herself, the bubble around Brute vanishing. The force at which the stalker hit the shield made it knock into Rarity, sending her tumbling across the road, the unicorn now with bits of asphalt in her mane and coat.

She was covered in filth. It was unacceptable. she wasn’t going to let some horror show get away with it. Shakily getting up, she said, “Now, you listen here! I’ve woken up in garbage, seen fine articles of clothing burned, and have suffered through the indignity of gutter sludge in my coat! But now… I’m done.”

The stalker screeched, stepping forward. “What are you, some stable pony? I’ve been through much worse than tha--!!!”

A large chunk of the road itself struck the stalker in the back, sending her skidding past Rarity and into a streetlamp, an audible metal clang ringing out as the stalker made contact with the structure. Rarity, shocked, saw Brute’s claws covered in asphalt and dirt, the canine looking indifferent. He grunted, then hit the ground once with his fists in victory.

“Short fight,” said Brute. “Dumb cat. Brute crush all the same!”

“Do you think she’s alri--?” asked Rarity, turning her head to look back at the streetlamp, the stalker missing. Rarity’s fur stood on end. “Wh-Where did she go?”

Brute’s eyes shifted from side to side, looking for the stalker.

They heard cluttering noises from around the corner. Brute slowly walked over, ready to attack if need be. Rarity’s breath held, the mare expecting something bad to happen. There was something about the atmosphere that screamed trouble.

Brute’s eyes met no creature, the hellhound stumped. There was nothing there but a few trash cans, toppled over and emptied. But as he began to think the stalker had gone, a sudden blur whizzed by, his arm cut with claws that may have well been knives.

The hellhound swung his bloodied arm, his own claws attempting to swipe the spot where the stalker had just been. Another blur went by, this time slashing into his back. This monster was toying with him, keeping him alive. With that kind of speed, Rarity knew it could’ve ended Brute’s life at any moment it wanted.

“Does it hurt?!” screamed the stalker. “You don’t like it when I toy with you! So why are you toying with me?!”

Brute’s fur was soaking in his own blood, but he kept standing strong. Instead of replying, he began swinging his arms and slamming the meaty appendages into whatever he could. Most casualties were made up of trash cans, lampposts and the walls of buildings, everything either bending, cracking, or outright breaking. He was furious, but even so, the stalker would come back, to slash him again with razor-sharp claws.

Rarity could only do one thing, and that was to put a bubble dome over him, but the moment she did, she heard the terrifying screech as the stalker immediately changed targets. She wasn’t used to putting up more than one shield, but she focused as hard as she could, putting up a second dome over herself, the stalker slamming into it and cutting partially through.

With its claws stuck inside, the stalker screamed, “Let me go! You wench! I’ll kill you!”

“Wench?!” replied Rarity. “Well, I never!”

The stalker repeatedly used her free hand to slice into Rarity’s shield as best she could, but it was to no avail. What was the deal with this thing? Was it running on nothing but insanity and rage? It just wouldn’t quit! Rarity definitely wasn’t Twilight, but now she had to think like her.

She’d remembered how Twilight handled her own spells. With help, Rarity was able to understand some of the concepts, but most of her magic was centered around usefulness, and she had never truly seen fighting as useful. She was above it.

But now, with this creature about to kill both her and Brute, she was forced to remember what Twilight had shown her only a couple of times before. She focused as best she could, picturing the tower in the distance. If she could get them there, even if it were a few blocks closer to the destination, that would be enough to put distance between them and this psychotic monster.

With a flicker of her horn, Brute vanished first in a fizzle of light, an afterimage of him remaining for a few short seconds before fading away completely. Upon detecting the absence of Brute’s presence, the stalker began immediately tugging harder, her claw eventually breaking free from the bubble around Rarity.

Rarity focused again as claws bashed against her protective force. The mare almost panicked, but she kept her mind clear until she could concentrate on the location ahead. The moment she did, she cast the spell, the mare vanishing, the same afterimages occurring shortly after her disappearance.

The stalker, seeing that they were now both gone, threw her head back, an unnatural sound emanating from her windpipes, multiple voices, more than just two or three, a thousand screamed out as she had lost her target.

. . . M e a n w h i l e. . .

Hindsight watched as Doctor Scalpel worked on an odd-looking weapon. Weaponry like this wasn’t normal. It was just a plain old speaker that Scalpel had hooked up to a balefire egg. The very thought of hooking up a near-unlimited supply of energy to such a mediocre device was unheard of in Hindsight’s opinion.

“What is that?” he asked, his blindfold partially raised. He wasn’t used to seeing someone doing something beyond him. It was a bit refreshing to see that there was someone on a somewhat equal level.

Scalpel’s gray eyes focused on the wiring and he replied, “It’s a device based off of weaponry made by my own species. Not only did we use hydraulics, but we also dabbled in phonetic technology.”

“And why the balefire egg?” asked Hindsight.

“You’d be surprised at how powerful our technology is without a near-limitless energy source,” replied Scalpel. “I want to know what it’s like with it.”

“How powerful is it without the source?” asked Hindsight.

Scalpel stopped for a moment, then said, “Imagine taking mere energy from the light of the sun. I don’t know if you’ve worked on solar technology, but it can be fairly weak compared to other energy sources. With solar power alone, a speaker of this size could fire soundwaves capable of killing in a limited range.”

Hindsight was surprised. He’d heard of killer radios in Canterlot emitting sounds that could kill within a limited distance, and that was probably without infinite energy. He began to wonder if this technology was similar to dark magic such as what was going on in Canterlot.

“Sounds familiar,” he said.

Scalpel went on to say, “I’ve seen speakers much larger than this, using only solar energy. Those speakers were capable of wiping out entire cities. If there was something like this in my realm, I could have used it to gain the upper hand. No one would dare oppose me, and I could rid my pathetic society of the barbaric games it cherishes.”

“But you can’t bring magic back with you,” stated Hindsight. “You said so yourself.”

“You are correct,” said Scalpel. “But I can bring technology from there to here. Everything in my world can be achieved in yours. You just have the power source I need.”

“I’ve been wondering,” said Hindsight. “How long do you plan to stick around?”

“I’m tempted to stay until the end,” answered Scalpel. “It’d be very interesting to see how it all turns out. Whether or not you fail, I can take notes back to my universe.”

“So, I’m a trial run,” assumed Hindsight. “You’re seeing what I do to make sure you don’t make the same mistakes.”

“You may see that as insulting,” said Scalpel. “I see that as… a teaching moment. You could consider it an honor that I see enough of myself in you to stay and see how you do.”

“You think of us as alike?” questioned Hindsight. “But I’ve seen all your sins. You’ve committed many acts of atrocity.”

Scalpel stood up from the device and turned to face Hindsight. “It’s not as though we’re the same. It’s more that we both want something. I want to bring order to a world where war is considered a sport, and you want to bring order to the surface.”

“I… suppose,” muttered Hindsight. “I still don’t appreciate being a test subject.”

“Don’t think of it as being a test subject,” said Scalpel. “Think of it as being a teacher. You’re teaching me how to do things right.”

Hindsight was not liking how this conversation was going so far. “Tell me more about the device you’re working on,” he said.

Scalpel picked up the speaker, holding the hefty device in his arms. “My kind first invented them during a crucial war as a way to get the upper hand on our enemies,” he said, turning the speaker around and showing the back of it, its internal components showing various talismans inside.

Scalpel then pointed out, “While you do not use the same technology my kind does, you do have magic, which gives me a workaround for limits that I’ve had to face in the past when working on my own machines.”

“And this will kill other ponies?” asked Hindsight. “With ease?”

Scalpel put the speaker back down, then replied, “No. It will make their deaths very slow and painful. While you and I are alike in intelligence, we are definitely not the same when it comes to our internal structures.”

“You have the standard organs, correct?” questioned Hindsight.

“You only have one heart,” said Scalpel. “I have three. You have thicker skin as well, while mine would most likely tear in the wake of this audio terror. You have bones, I do not. My kind would die easily to this particular weapon if I made only slight adjustments to it, but as for your kind, I’m afraid to say that the deaths caused by it would be agonizingly slow, to the point where parts of their bodies could possibly burst one at a time depending on the organ’s structure.”

“Could we use something a little… faster?” asked Hindsight. “I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with using something so…”

“Fear-inducing? Savage? Tenacious?” guessed Scalpel. “In most cases, violence is unnecessary, but based on what you’ve told me of the surface, there are individuals whose only language is violence.”

Hindsight didn’t like this. “I…”

Scalpel approached Hindsight, the two minds connecting gazes. “If you want to set an example, you need something that makes others fear you,” said Scalpel. “If you can’t do that, then you’re not fit to take over. They will crush you, step on your corpse like you were an insect. Are there others you care about, Hindsight?”

“There are,” replied Hindsight. “My mother and my sister. They’re the only ones I have left.”

Scalpel then said with an intense seriousness in his tone. “You wouldn’t want them to be taken advantage of by the very system you’ve told me about. You’d want to save them. Don’t be weak. Be tenacious. If you can’t use this weapon on the few to make an example, then you can expect the many to trample all over you and your forces.”

Hindsight definitely knew how the ponies of the wasteland were. Scalpel was probably right. If Hindsight couldn’t sacrifice the few for the good of the many, then he might not be able to take over at all. What if there was a mass uprising? Using this weapon could prove useful. If it was for the greater good, it was forgivable, right? ...Right???

Hindsight nearly bit his tongue. He replied, “Fine. We’ll use it once, but only as a demonstration of power.”

“You’ll need more than that, eventually,” said Scalpel. “There will be a point in time where some may attempt to rise up again. There’s always a stray. Fear is like medicine. It must always be administered as prescribed…”

“We’ll talk about this later,” promised Hindsight.

“Fine,” replied Scalpel, sounding impatient. “We’ll discuss your future strategies later.”

Hindsight wasn’t one for torture. Most of the things he had planned were supposed to be quick and merciful, not slow and torturous. He hoped that Scalpel would eventually forget the whole talk and be done with the topic.

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

On a street near Tenpony tower, sparks burst into existence, emitting a high-pitched screech before reality had decided to spit out Rarity, sending her tumbling across the road. She shakily stood up, her purple mane smoldering briefly before cooling down and leaving only a small bit of damage.

She looked around her, trying to find her friend. “Brute? Brute! Where are you?!”

A grunt could be heard from a nearby dumpster, making Rarity smile nervously. “Oh, dear. I’m so sorry about that.”

Brute lifted himself out of the large, metal container, trash in his fur. Rarity was very disgusted, but she didn’t say a word. She was simply glad that she and her friend were able to get away from that crazed creature.

“Next time pony use magic, pony ask first!” said Brute, shaking the bits of filth off him. “Pony magic always go wrong.”

“Pardon me, but I just saved your life, I believe,” said Rarity.

Brute grunted, then slowly moved towards Tenpony Tower. Rarity knew how diamond dogs normally felt about ponies, but she wasn’t sure how far the hatred extended, especially out here. With everything here being so different, she wouldn’t have been surprised if relations between ponies and diamond dogs here were even worse.

As they approached the tower, Rarity saw a blonde-maned mare with a white coat. She smiled as she walked up to the mare, greeting her. “Hello,” said Rarity. “I was hoping you could help me and my friend here? We’re looking for my friends.”

The mare stared off into the distance, a green glass bottle in her hoof. “Why are we here? Just to suffer?” she muttered.

“U-Um, excuse me, dear?” questioned Rarity.

“Yeah, yeah, I got what yer lookin’ for,” said the mare. “They’re inside. Dog stays outside, however.”

“What? Brute can’t come in?” Rarity challenged. “Why not?”

The mare took a drink from her bottle, then said, “I’m not gonna sugarcoat it, ya damn prissy marshmallow. That dog right there, he’s likely to slaughter every last soldier inside this building the moment he sees ‘em. We don’t have a good history with diamond dogs.”

“Who, him?” asked Rarity, gesturing to the easily-over-five-foot-tall overgrown hellhound. “He wouldn’t hurt a fly, I assure you.”

Rarity turned around, wincing as she saw the dog squishing a strange, mutated abomination of a parasprite in two heavy hands before letting it drop to the floor.

The mare looked at the scene and replied, “Wouldn’t hurt a fly, huh?”

Rarity nervously laughed. “Uh, I’m sorry about that. Perhaps you’re right? I wouldn’t want him getting lonely out here, though. Brute, do you want somepony to keep you compa--”

“No,” replied the hound.

“S-Sorry,” said Rarity, really unsure of everything now. “Well, I’ll meet you back out here in a little bit. I just need to check on my friends, see if they’re really here.”

Brute simply grunted in response, then sat down by the doorway. The blonde mare guided Rarity in, and after they entered the elevator, Rarity couldn’t help but feel that sense of familiarity with the mare singing over the elevator speaker.

“A very beautiful voice, if I do say so myself,” said Rarity.

“Sweetie Belle is a classic, I suppose,” said the blonde mare.

“I beg your pardon?” questioned Rarity.

“Sweetie Belle. She’s a classic,” repeated the blonde mare.

Rarity was shook, unable to associate the voice with her sister. “Are you certain that’s Sweetie Belle?” she asked.

“Well, it’s not Octavia or Velvet Remedy,” replied the mare. “Sweetie’s got the iconic voice everyone can more certainly recognize.”

Rarity stayed quiet, trying to keep herself calm. She had no idea her sister had the potential to become a singer, and considered to be a classic. As the door opened and she stepped out, she was still rather astounded.

“Your friends will be up ahead,” said the mare. “I also need to warn you. I’m not certain how long the floor in that room will keep supporting all that weight, because every time a pony walks in, I hear the creaking screams of the fucking building coming from the floorboards.”

“Um, alright?” replied Rarity. The language from this mare was really uncalled for in Rarity’s opinion.

As they entered the hallway and went into the room on the right, Rarity was greeted with a tackle from none other than Pinkie Pie. “OH, MY GOSH!” shouted Pinkie. “We were getting really really really worried!”

Pushing Pinkie off, Rarity stood up. “Yes, well, I can handle myself, thank you,” said Rarity. “I was worried about you all as well, however the case is.”

Twilight walked up to Rarity with a smile and said, “Good to see you again! Now we’re all together again!”

“Does anyone know how we got here?” asked Rarity. “I remember portals, but I don’t know what caused them.”

“To tell you the truth, I’m trying my hardest to figure that out,” replied Twilight. “Spontaneous magical bursts aren’t normal, and even when they do occur, they don’t typically open portals to another parallel universe.”

“I’m still trying to get over the fact that there’s posters of us in the city,” said Applejack.

“Wait, you too?” asked Dash. “I thought I was the only one who saw that!”

“Um, you guys are pretty much all involved with the events leading up to the megaspells,” said a young abyssinian.

“Oh, my,” said Fluttershy. “I hope we didn’t mean it.”

“I am certain you did not mean it, but since you are you, I cannot be certain if the other Fluttershy is you,” said a zebra with an odd dragon’s tail.

“I am uncertain of what you are talking about,” a tiny, brown earth pony with a scorpion tail added as she scratched her ear much like a dog would.

“And with that kind of paradox taking place, I don’t know if I wanna interact with it any further,” said a red-maned, white-coated pegasus mare.

“Think we’ll ever meet our alternate selves?” asked Pinkie. “We could throw the biggest party ever!”

“I doubt that, Ponk,” said a green-maned, pale-yellow mare. “Most of the population thinks yer dead.”

A dark gray, red-maned stallion then said, “I’ll be honest with y’all, cuz if I were to just been seein’ y’all right now with no explanation, I’d be thinkin’ that we’re goin’ through a zombie apocalypse that was occurrin’ after the initial apocalypse.”

Rarity had no idea who all these new ponies were. Then again, she had tagged along with a giant diamond dog, so it was probably likely that all her friends had someone to guide them through this crazy world. “I’m beginning to think this is far from over,” said Rarity.

“Welp, let’s get moving. The longer we stay, the more likely we are to nab wrong looks.” the brown pony spoke up again, clearly growing anxious.

Twilight glared at the pony, asking, “Did you just form a near-perfect sentence? Last I heard you talking, you were really bad with your grammar.”

“I fluctuate with stress.” the brown scorpion pony said as she snorted at Twilight.

Twilight’s eyelid twitched at the very ridiculousness of this claim. “That… doesn’t make sense. You get better at speaking when you’re under stress?”

“Don’t some ponies usually operate better under stress?” pointed out Dash. “I perform better.”

“Yes, but this is, well it’s, I mean, ah, never mind,” said Twilight, a little annoyed.

“Can anypony clue me in as to why we’re here?” asked Rarity. “I know the how, but I don’t see why portals would just pop up on their own.”

“That’s what has me puzzled,” replied Twilight. “The magic required to open a portal to anywhere is complex enough. I don’t see why magical nature would have anything to do with it. The probability of it happening without someone who understands the magic is nil.”

Rarity nodded in understanding, then said, “It looks like we’re going to have to figure that out later. Right now, we need to figure out how to get back.”

“Not so fast,” said Twilight. “I think we’re here for a reason.”

“Oh, don’t tell me you think the Friendship Map has anything to do with it,” said Rarity.

“It’s never been wrong before,” said Twilight. “I’m willing to bet that all of this, this destroyed society of mean ponies and utter chaos, is the friendship problem we have to solve.”

Dash chimed in. “Twilight, if you’re right about that, then how are we supposed to fix all this?”

Twilight looked around at all the extra characters of the group. “Let’s see… From what I’m understanding after speaking with all of you, there’s a divide between all species. We need to fix the relationships between everyone and help get them on track to fixing this broken world.”

“Twi, that’s a tall order I reckon nopony could possibly fix,” Applejack said in doubt. “I’ve even seen ponies fighting ponies on the way over here. Can’t really get two kinds gettin’ along when they can’t even get along with themselves.”

“She’s probably right, Twilight,” said Dash.

“I don’t know,” said Fluttershy. “I think we could do it if we tried hard enough…”

Rarity rubbed her chin with thoughtful intent. “Well, one way we could do it is by teaching them the elements.”

“Kindness, Honesty, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic!” said Twilight in agreement.

“Hold on, now,” said Applejack. “Y’all wanna do the whole Friendship School over again, but in the wasteland?”

The small scorpion pony hybrid laughed hard, and when she was done, she said, “Wasteland need strong alpha to show them de way.”

“We haven’t had anyone take charge in this wasteland since the megaspells,” said the dark gray pony.

“Perhaps it is time that someone did take charge,” said the zebra.

“Maybe,” replied the white-coated pegasus. “It’s just that we’ve already got Enclave trying to take over, and even though Littlepip cleared the skies, there’s still a strong enemy presence left.”

“At least it’s not hatelings,” said the yellow earth mare. “A few of them are pretty annoying. They’ve walked into my casino before and have caused a bit of trouble. I couldn’t imagine an entire hive.”

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

Chrysalis was right on one thing. Without her, her changelings had grown weak. Their tactics were bare, with no real coordination. The changeling queen was forced to put them to work on their listening skills, because for some reason, some of them were still defiant while others simply didn’t know what she meant when she gave a command.

“Alright,” she said. “Which one of you is smarter than the others. Surely, there must have been at least one changeling who stood out.”

“The smart one?” questioned a hateling. “We bullied them out of the group.”

“How are you still alive?” asked Chrysalis.

“Uhh, we feed on hate?” responded the hateling.

Chrysalis gritted her teeth. “That’s it. I’ve had enough. You’re all worthless! I’m going to train you into the ground!”

Cozy Glow watched the scene from afar, sitting next to Tirek. She was certain that if the hatelings didn’t shape up soon, Chrysalis would probably lose it and start hurting a few. “Do you think we’ll actually win the upcoming battle?” Cozy asked Tirek.

“That depends,” said Tirek. “You’re either strong or you’re not. With how these changelings are shaping up, I’d say we’d be lucky if we got through the defenses of this Enclave force we’ll be dealing with.

Cozy knew that hatelings most definitely didn’t like working together, but from her experiences with Chrysalis and Tirek, she had figured out that working together was what had gotten them the farthest with their goals. Chrysalis didn’t seem to remember this lesson at all, so Cozy thought it would be best if she stepped in this time.

She approached Chrysalis and asked her, “Have you tried telling them the benefits of working together?”

Chrysalis looked down upon the filly. “Excuse me? Are you questioning my leadership.”

“Um, Yes,” said Cozy, gaining confidence. “Don’t you remember what we did before? Working together, a new way to be bad?”

“Not this little song and dance again,” Chrysalis muttered. “It failed earlier.”

“Only because everypony came to help Twilight and her friends. There were only three of us, but now we have a whole hive. Let me teach them. I promise that you won’t be disappointed.”

Chrysalis was a little intrigued. Cozy was right. At the last moment, everypony had come to Twilight’s rescue during the final battle. She felt more certain this time with Cozy’s explanation. “Alright,” said Chrysalis. “You can teach them, but I want the army in shape for tonight. No longer will I go without the taste of victory.”

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

Ember looked down upon the ruins of Manehattan as she soared through the sky, her mind imagining what Spike had told her. Magic powerful enough to destroy an entire civilization? It wasn’t easy to imagine. She had never thought that ponies of all creatures could cause such destruction.

“These megaspells, they’re stronger than the usual magic?” she questioned.

Spike’s one good eye focused on her. “Megaspells were used to greatly enhance normal spells. Let’s say you wanted to heal just a small wound, like a scratch. The megaspell would take that and turn it into something much more effective, not only able to heal small cuts, but able to heal all injuries.”

“How did that lead to this?” Ember questioned, gesturing to the ruins below them.

Spike stared ahead as he answered, “Because someone thought to use the megaspells to enhance your average kaboom into an even bigger kaboom, one that was so powerful it caused the end of civilization.”

“Well, can it be fixed?” asked Ember.

“It’s going to be, as long as nothing messes up the current plan,” he replied.

“What plan?” asked Ember.

“That’s not something you need to know right now,” replied Spike. “Maybe later when I can trust you enough. I need to focus right now. It’s been literal centuries since I last saw Twilight, so I need to mentally prepare.”

Ember didn’t have much experience with emotional situations. Knowing that Spike had been living with ponies, she figured that this had a lot of strain on his mental state, especially since Twilight was a mother figure in his life. This version of Spike had been going through a lot of pain, his heart aching for over two hundred years.

“How’d you keep going?” asked Ember.

“A promise I made,” answered Spike. “I had to guard a secret so closely that much of my life revolved around it. I hardly ever left the cave, lest the Enclave get ahold of it. I’m only leaving now of all times because this is an opportunity I may never see again in my life. Do you know what it’s like to lose someone and feel regret for not being there?”

Ember couldn’t relate. She’d never really lost anyone before. Spike was pretty important to her, but what she would’ve felt had he vanished, she wouldn’t know unless she’d truly gone through it. “I’m sorry,” she replied. “I don’t know.”

“Had a feeling,” said Spike. “Dragons weren’t very empathetic back then. Back in their prime, they just stayed in their land, dominating, never feeling regret for those they hurt as long as it was for the sake of themselves.”

“We’re not all like that,” said Ember. “You and I are an example of that.”

“Sorry,” said Spike. “I still don’t know much about you yet. I can only assume unless we have more time to talk. I guess I’m still holding a bitterness I can’t let go of. I knew a few bullies from back then, so it’s not like I had the most pleasant experience with other dragons.”

“You remember all that, but you don’t remember me?” questioned Ember. Then she remembered. “Right, right… Different world, or so you’re saying.”

“I don’t think I would’ve forgotten you,” said Spike. “You’re one of the few who at least seem accepting enough to the idea of helping others. That’s a trait that would’ve made you stand out had we ever met before.”

Ember couldn’t help but smirk at that statement. There was some odd sense of pride in her, and not her usual sense. It was a pride of knowing that she could be more than just what a dragon usually is. Of course, she was the Dragon Lord after all. That was in the job description, wasn’t it?

“So, tell me,” said Ember, “how strong have you gotten over the years?”

Spike didn’t seem too surprised by that question. “I’ve defended my cave for two hundred years from raiders, Steel Rangers, and Enclave. How strong do you think I am?”

“Well, since you’ve said these ponies have magic that’s stronger than usual, I’d say you’re probably very strong,” remarked Ember.

Spike looked as though he was holding in a laugh, his teeth flashing as he slightly grinned. “Yep, that’s me. The big, strong dragon.”

“With a heart of gold,” added Ember.

Spike just looked ahead as they flew. “Yeah…”

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

Dealing with two evil masterminds was one thing. Dealing with drones who had next to no intelligence was another thing entirely.

“So, we work together,” said a drone.

“Yes,” Cozy affirmed.

“To set the tower on fire,” the drone said.

Cozy shook her head. “No, you’re supposed to infiltrate them. You need to act friendly, pretend you’re one of them.”

“And then we set the tower on fire,” said another drone.

“Nopony said anything about setting the tower on fire,” said Cozy, a bit worried.

Chrysalis walked up to Cozy Glow, seeing the verbal trouble. “What is going on here?” asked Chrysalis. “Did you teach them to learn how to work together or not?”

“Kinda?” Cozy answered unsurely. “They keep saying the plan was to set the tower on fire.”

“I said nothing of the sort,” said Chrysalis. She turned to the group of drones and shouted, “Which one of you idiots thought I said to set the tower on fire?”

No one raised their hoof. Chrysalis then asked, “Which one of you suggested doing so?!”

Everyone immediately raised their hoof, receiving a look of disapproval from Chrysalis. She wasn’t happy one bit. “Can any of you tell me the reasoning behind your stupid idea?”

“We hate ponies,” said a drone.

“We don’t do acting,” said another.

Chrysalis tried her best not to lose her cool. “Keep calm, Chrysalis,” she said to herself. “Think of imprisoned princesses and devastated villages.”

Cozy spoke up. “Maybe if we told them more about why it works, they’ll listen?”

“Explaining why acting works? It’s obvious,” said Chrysalis. “It shouldn’t take a lesson on pretending to be nice just to get these buffoons to cooperate. What, are you going to do another one of your pathetic pony songs and dances?”

Cozy didn’t appreciate the attitude towards her. She did a lot to try and impress the other two, but they almost never seemed to appreciate it. Cozy looked at the group and asked, “How much do you hate ponies?”

“A lot!” said a drone.

“Enough to hurt ‘em!” shouted another.

“And set their towers on fi--”

“ENOUGH WITH THE FIRE,” yelled Chrysalis.

“You want to really hurt these ponies, don’t you?” questioned Cozy. “You call yourself hatelings, but you’re not willing to work together and listen to your queen so you can inflict the most damage possible?”

“How does imitating them cause damage?” asked a drone in the front.

Chrysalis couldn’t help but smirk. “Imagine a loved one suddenly betraying you when you needed them worse. Imagine kings and princesses suddenly declaring war for no real reason. Imagine an entire community turning on itself because rumors were spread. This is what changelings do.”

“How?” asked a drone.

“Lies spread if the right pony is talking. Don the form of somepony others trust, and they’ll believe every word you say. If you work under me, I can make sure that so much hatred is spread through lies that you will no longer have to work for your food. The ponies will already be fighting. Imagine all that hatred you could harvest. You want to come out on top…? Then listen to me, and I promise you that no changeling here will ever go hungry again! We will feast on the very seeds of hateful lies that grow like crops!”

The hatelings looked at each other, muttering quiet words of mixed reactions, but as the muttering continued, it turned into approval, the hatelings beginning to nod in agreement. Chrysalis was winning them over. She was just about to laugh when another drone spoke up.

“I got it! So we get them to burn their own tower!”

Chrysalis simply stared, complete disappointment hitting her as the crowd of changelings cheered. This... was going to take a while.

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

“So, we have Tricks, Dusk Feather, Zone and Taipan, Lucky Break, Fiddler, and… Brute,” said Rarity, looking out the window, seeing Brute standing by the entrance to the tower. “We’ve got a lot to work with if we’re going to teach them the magic of friendship.”

“When you say magic, do you mean real magic or something else?” questioned Zone. “I’ve never seen friendship casting spells.”

“It’s complicated,” Twilight tried to explain. “It gets you through pretty much everything.”

“Tell that to the millions of dead ponies after the megaspells dropped,” berated Lucky. “I don’t think any of their friendships did them any good.”

Rarity wanted to speak out against that, but she didn’t want to make the deaths of all the ponies from before seem like they could’ve been avoided easily. Even with friendship, there were some things you couldn’t avoid. “It’s not really something that always helps during a catastrophe, but it does help to mend after,” she tried to explain.

“From what Ah’ve been hearin’, ponies began burnin’ bridges after the megaspells,” added Applejack. “Friendship just kinda vanished.”

“It’s not easy when you’ve got a government who’s hellbent on being the dominant tribe,” said Dusk. “Pegasi were mostly solitary for two whole centuries until Littlepip brought them down to earth.”

“May I ask who Littlepip is?” queried Fluttershy. “I’ve been hearing about her alot around the tower. The soldiers keep talking about her like she’s a criminal.”

“Enclave propaganda,” Dusk answered. “Littlepip is currently considered a hero by the wasteland for defeating forces like the Goddess, Red Eye, and the Enclave, but if you ask me… the Enclave are still very much alive. We’ve just been split apart. There’s a rebelling group of Enclave and the loyal group of Enclave.”

“Do not forget that the zebra are also a major factor in all of this,” reminded Zone. “They still are hateful towards ponies, even after two hundred years.”

“Let’s not forget the hellhounds,” said Rarity.

“The what?” questioned Twilight.

Rarity smiled nervously. “The hellhounds. I had a bit of a talk with Brute on the way here. It seems the hellhounds, who evolved from diamond dogs, have been staying within their own small groups, attacking any pony who comes near them.”

“And then we’ve got the abyssinians,” said Tricks. “I… don’t know much about them even though I am one, I’ll admit, but I do know that they’ve walled off their own city and don’t ever let anyone in, but it’s not like they’re harassing anyone as far as I know.”

“What about dragons?” asked Spike.

“They have fled far from here,” explained Zone, sadness in her eyes. “They live in solitude, keeping to themselves. There are very few of them left. No one knows where they truly live, but we have heard of migrations, so they obviously do not stay in one place for too long.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed. She looked stressed. “Then we have a lot to do. We may even have to find them ourselves if we want to teach them to work together and rebuild.”

Zone looked over to Taipan and asked her, “What of the scorponies? Surely, they must also need help to connect with other kinds?”

“Depends on alpha” Taipan replied. “Some like old alpha don’t mind others, but others not so nice.”

“Maybe if they see how we’re uniting others, they’ll want to join up as well!” said Rarity in a hopeful tone.

“Scorpony only trust strength. Prove that, and they will follow you,” Taipan again replied.

“Well, this should be easy. We just need a plan,” said Rarity. She looked at Twilight and asked, “You do have a plan, right?”

“Well, I think we should deal with the zebras first, since the war was between them and ponies,” suggested Twilight. “With that out of the way, we could try to help out the hellhounds, then the pegasi, followed by the abyssinians, and then we can hopefully get home after with some help from our combined efforts.”

“Who would be alpha of all of them?” Taipan asked.

Zone jokingly replied, “Perhaps you.”

Twilight’s ear twitched, the mare asking, “Do you hear something?”

Rarity listened as best she could, the faint sound of heavy wings getting louder and louder. “Is… that what I think it is?”

Twilight looked out the window. The moment she saw what it was, her jaw dropped. “Girls? I think you need to see this.”

Rarity and the rest of the group walked up to the window. What Rarity saw was a sight that was all too familiar. She had a flashback to the time Spike had once gotten a little too greedy, his form having changed to a much larger version of himself.

This was that very same form.

The dragon landed, the building rumbling from the very act of the dragon landing next to it. Looking through the window with a single eye, a low voice rang out,

"Twilight…?"

Author's Note

Yo, what's up?