The Friendly Plague

Chapters

The Fire Begins
A Shocking Past
Easy Prey
Meeting an Old Foe
The Path of Lies
The Dark Truth
The Chaos Ensues
Battle of the Beasts
Grogar vs Slash
Epilogue
The Hardest Decision

The Fire Begins

Author's Note

Hey, guys! Here’s the sequel that will show us an unusual path that will give the villains an experience which they will not expect. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Share your thoughts in the comments section! Enjoy the ride!

The Fire Begins

It was early afternoon in Equestria. The Legion of Doom were traveling to the city of Canterlot to commence their attack on the ponies, particularly the princesses, the Elements, and Discord. They knew that with their powers combined, they will be unstoppable. They were confident more than ever that they will triumph over their enemies and crush the heroes for good. Equestria will surely be in their hooves and hands forever.

Grogar led them through the Everfree Forest while on their way to Canterlot. His minions were former Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings, Lord Tirek the magic eating centaur, King Sombra the former tyrannical ruler of the Crystal Empire, and lastly, Cozy Glow the former student of Twilight Sparkle from the School of Friendship.

He stopped trotting and turned to face his lackeys. “My comrades, if we are to seize this land once and for all, we need to construct a strategy. Canterlot is a highly guarded city since the princesses rule there. The best way to take them all out is through the element of surprise.” Grogar spoke.

“As a changeling myself, I’ll volunteer to distract the Royal Guard. I can tell you how easily gullible they are. They’ll fall for any trick you throw at them!” Chrysalis chuckled.

“Tell me about it!” Cozy concurred. “I remember when all the students fell for my deceptions at the School of Friendship and made them turn against Chancellor Neighsay! Haha, that was fun!”

“And let’s not forget about Discord. That weak-willed turncoat was blind enough to work with me until I got him right at the moment! Absorbing his precious magic tasted delicious!” Tirek gloated, licking his lips.

“Vengeance and destruction will be more delicious when we exterminate anypony who will stand in our way! None shall dare cross us or fight us once we destroy Twilight Sparkle and her weak friends!” Sombra added with an evil smirk.

“Right you are, Sombra. Now that we are together, it will take much more than just friendship for them to stop us all. Now let’s get into business, shall we?” said Grogar.

“Chrysalis, I need you to put your shapeshifting abilities to good use in order to distract the Royal Guard. Also, do not even bother to battle them; for the moment you hit, shoot, or attack one, the guard falls. Thus, do so with minimal effort.” Grogar ordered.

“Gladly! I also despise those incompetent fools! It would be a waste of strength to even battle with them. They go down within five seconds at least.” she said.

“The same goes for the rest of you in regards to the Royal Guard.” Grogar commanded them. They nodded their heads in understanding.

“Tirek, you will burst through any door you encounter. If Discord confronts you or starts to attack you, you know exactly what to do.” Grogar ordered while wickedly smiling.

“Oh yes, I do.” Tirek grinned.

“Sombra will brainwash all the ponies of Canterlot to side with us to attack the Canterlot palace. Cozy and I will take on the princesses.” he finished, looking at Cozy. She look confused when he mentioned her.

“Ummm, but I'm just a kid with no magical powers. How can I fight them like this?” she asked.

“Fear not, little Cozy, you shall have a portion of my power to remedy that lack. The alicorns will be powerless against you, me and all of you.” Grogar promised. Grogar rang his bell and shot a a large wave of magic at Cozy. The filly remained the same but a with large horn on her forehead, big wings on her back, and an armor plating that surrounded her neck. She flew up to Grogar in surprise. “Mr. Grogar, I’m...I’m now an alicorn!!”

“Indeed, you are. Your power is now superior to that of the princesses. You can wipe them out with one full blast.” Grogar grinned wickedly.

“I love it! Twilight will cry for mercy when I will finish her!” bragged Cozy.

“There’s no time to waste, my friends! Together, Equestria is ours for the taking!” Grogar shouted. The whole Legion laughed evilly together as they were now savoring the victory. They will have the biggest time of their lives in tearing the heroes apart.

However, things started to go south. The black and purple panther who overheard them earlier spied on them from on top of the tree branches while invisible. He looked down on them and waited for the right opportunity to introduce himself. He refused to allow the Legion of Doom to hinder him from gaining his objective.

“Let’s move on! Canterlot shouldn’t be far from here.” Grogar commanded. They went forward for several more miles until they saw Canterlot in the distance. The villains grinned widely at the sight of their first target. “This is it. Those poor ponies won’t stand a chance against us.” Grogar grinned.

“Neither will you.” an intimidating voice spoke. The startled villains turned around to see the peculiar wild cat emerge from the shadows. The panther evilly grinned at his stunned prey. However, the moment Grogar set his eyes on him, he widened them in pure shock and absolute unusual fear. The villains looked at Grogar confused and anxious.

“No...no...NO, NO, NO, it cannot be!! How...how are you here?! This cannot be happening!!” Grogar screamed. The panther chuckled sadistically.

“Whyyyy, if it isn’t my precious big brother in a futile attempt to prove his worth.” he said. He then glared at the Legion beside the horrified ram. “You think your weak wannabe minions are going to be successful in everything they do? How sentimental...”

“What?! That animal can talk?! How is that possible?!” Chrysalis cried in disbelief.

“I didn’t know walking piles of garbage can talk. You learn something new every day.” The panther condescendingly spoke.

“Brother, how...did you get here?! Why...?” muttered Grogar.

“You know this creature? He’s your brother? It can talk? I have so many questions!” Cozy shouted. Sombra and Tirek stood there speechlessly. They didn’t know if they should be terrified or doing something to appease the situation.

“Comrades, my brother’s name is...” Grogar said before the animal spoke again.

“Slash. That’s right. I’ve escaped from that cruel prison where you placed me. I was about to fulfill my destiny by creating all the monsters needed to destroy Gusty the Great until you interfered!” Slash angrily said.

“That was MY duty to fulfill. I was the one appointed to be their creator, not you! You didn’t have the integrity or the wisdom to guide them in the right direction!” Grogar defended. “Your crimes against our family were too great for us to keep you around. I had to in-prison you!”

“Oh, shut up, do not even take the high horse now and act all holy and perfect.” Slash snapped. “Besides, you are an insignificant pathetic excuse of a necromancer who was always our mother’s favorite. Man, was she that dumb and naive before her death?”

“DO NOT SPEAK OF HER LIKE THAT AGAIN!!!” Grogar bellowed in anger. Slash circled them while his paws generated his electrical magic.

“I believe it’s high time that you feel the pain and suffering that you put me through while I was in-prisoned in Tartarus for 500 years and before then. Your beasts of burden here will have that same experience as well.” he said before he stood on two feet and shot his magic behind them creating a huge portal. The Legion grabbed hold of the ground to avoid being sucked in. Slash had his paws turn magnetic to remain firmly on the ground with no struggle.

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?! THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING!!” Sombra cried before he was sucked in.

“I can’t hold on! The portal is too strong!” Chrysalis shouted before turning into a monkey to get a firmer grasp on the grass. Slash breathed purple fire on her that pushed her off the ground and sent her flying to the portal.

Cozy held unto Tirek’s arm while he was stabbing his arms into the dirt for anchorage. Grogar tackled Slash on the ground to subdue him. He punched him several times on his face, but the evil animal scratched the ram across his muzzle with his claws. Grogar was then kicked on the chest by Slash which caused him to hit Tirek and Cozy from the ground; the remaining three screamed in terror as they were sucked into the portal before it closed behind then. Slash wickedly laughed in triumph.

“Those fools will have an exceptional time with dangerous creatures that will...give them the shock of a lifetime. Now, where shall I go now?” he said out loud. He looked around the landscape and noticed Ponyville in a distance. He grinned widely. “Now there’s a sight. That’s where I’ll execute the first phase of my plan.” Slash finished before walking out of the forest.

A Shocking Past

The Legion of Doom woke up in the middle of a desert. Grogar and his team were surprised and blown away at the environment. There were skeletons of ponies and uncommon creatures everywhere. The sun was shining bright and high in the sky.

“Where are we?” Cozy asked.

“It seems we are in a desert...somewhere.” Grogar replied as he looked around.

“Ahhhh!!! Skeletons of dead ponies!” Cozy cried. She flew and hid behind Tirek’s beard “Why is this place so creepy?!”

“Bah! Get a grip! This place doesn’t look scary at all! Nothing can scare me that easily!” Chrysalis bragged.

“Never mind this uncouth environment! The real question is what was that creature? That...Slash he calls himself.” Sombra spoke. Grogar breathed deeply as he once again had to mention his familial rival.

“Slash is my younger brother. We were both wielders of all-powerful magic. He and I never got along while growing up.” Grogar replied, lowering his head in sadness.

“How can you two be brothers? You’re a ram, and he is a panther.” Tirek observed. Irritated, Grogar turned his head toward him.

“I can ask the same of you, Tirek! You’re a centaur, and your brother Scorpan is a gargoyle. Care to explain that?” Grogar roughly asked.

Tirek realized his mistake and backed down. Of course, he had no desire to talk of Scorpan. “Sorry, I just thought it was strange. That’s all.” he admitted.

“Very well. Forgive me, I faced a lot of backlash and lambasting because my people of the ancient times were victims of his notorious crimes...crimes greater than my own evil deeds. Since then, I didn’t ever want to speak of him to anyone. If you really want to know, he isn’t my brother by blood. I was...adopted by our mother.” Grogar explained.

“WHAT?!” the villains gasped.

“It’s true. She was a lovely creature. When she saw I was a young kid, she realized the potential I possessed. She took me under her wing and educated me on everything I needed to know, including necromancy. She taught me hundreds of thousands of ancient spells, invented my Bewitching Bell, and gave me the motivation to take over everything I saw in pre-Equestria.” he continued.

“So she taught you how to be a creator of monsters or something?” Cozy asked.

“Correct. Thanks to her teachings and motivation, I became the most ruthless, powerful, daring, and fearless Emperor she raised me to be! She had so much magic in her. Seeing the good son I was to her, she rewarded me by endowing every bit of dark magic within my bell so that I could create an innumerable army of monsters. Even to this day, I am eternally grateful.” he grinned to himself as he reflected on his childhood and memories.

The villains were impressed by his development and growth. But the thought of Slash and family members drove their curiosity and wanted to know more. As they were walking with no destination in mind, they took the opportunity to ask him. “If I may ask, what about your father? How did Slash handle your presence when you were a foal?” Chrysalis asked. Sombra, Tirek, and Cozy were equally as anxious to know.

“I never knew my father. No one ever told me of him.” Grogar nonchalantly answered. “As for Slash, he...” he paused as he started, after a full millennia, to be slightly emotional. He fought back the tears and tried to keep his serious demeanor. “He just hated me. Obviously, he was envious of my abilities and power. As you heard from him, I was my mother’s favorite child. Every time he did something wrong, she scolded him harshly. When I did something wrong, she either overlooked it or only gave me a slap on the wrist. He took it to heart.”

“So she basically spoiled you, didn’t she? That’s what it sounds like.” Sombra concluded.

“Even I can understand this since I was a mother of the changelings. I gave my children equal punishments for their wrongdoings. No more, no less.” Chrysalis concurred.

“You must have been mommy’s good little boy, huh, Grogar?” Cozy teased. All eyes then shot at her deadly glares, especially Grogar’s. Caving in to their hard stares, she backed off, “I’m just teasing! That’s all! Sorry if I offended you.”

“Don't worry about it. Anyway, Slash wanted the power to create monsters so much he had to take drastic measures to seize that power. Before my mother died by means of which I have no clue, he corrupted hundreds of artifacts with his dark magic in a vain attempt to gain the power of creativity. He even robbed my own people while blindly pursuing that goal. He robbed, maimed, and even killed to get what he lusted for.” Grogar seriously informed. The villains gasped at the mention of his evil deeds.

“Later on, he was arrested for his crimes and was sent to Tartarus.” He then turned to Tirek. “Your father, King Vorak, charged him with these crimes since Slash was trespassing on his kingdom. There were reports that he assassinated some of the officials of the kingdom, one of whom was...your uncle.” Grogar grimly said. Tirek stood in shock at what he heard.

“WHAT?! He was the one who murdered my uncle?! I always wondered what happened to him! No! No!” Tirek cried before he started to sob and bend to his knees. Cozy drew near to comfort him.

“I am sorry for your loss, Tirek. Slash was in-prisoned for five hundred years. How did he escape, I know not. How was he able to learn more spells such as opening a portal, generating electricity, and breathing fire, I do not know. So don’t ask me.” Grogar said.

“But why should we care about his crimes anyway?! Haven’t we done similar things as well when we tried to destroy Twilight and her friends?” Sombra asked with a raised eyebrow.

“He is nothing like any of you four!” Grogar retorted. “You all may have done evil in Equestria, but my brother has done much worse, even things that the young should not even hear or know! Those evils that are not worth mentioning.”

“I’m all ears! I’m a villain too, you know!” Cozy said. Grogar glared at her. Cozy then thought about it. “You know what? Never mind.”

“You might have a point, Sombra; however, this Slash is capable of doing something beyond our imagination. Anything that can end our lives. You saw his intense hatred toward us. I don’t care if he destroys those worthless ponies, but I care enough to take him out of the way! It’s too personal now. He will pay for killing my uncle.” Tirek growled, clenching his fists.

“And once we defeat him, we’ll take back Equestria and rule it for ourselves!” Chrysalis exulted.

“Yeah! Twilight Sparkle will be finished once and for all once we’ll be through with her and her stupid friends!” Cozy added, evilly grinning.

“Then there’s no time to waste! Grogar, what shall we do now?” Sombra asked.

“We must find a way out of this barren wasteland, take out Slash before he causes any environmental damage, and then conquer Equestria for ourselves!” Grogar declared. The villains cheered as they had a new objective to get them back in course.

But they were immediately interrupted at the sound of a magical explosion. It sounded so close that they looked around to see where the sound came from. Then they looked behind Grogar, “Grogar, behind you!” Cozy warned, pointing at the newcomer.

As soon as the ram looked behind him, he widened his eyes in shock. “No... it cannot be!! Is that you? GUSTY?!” he shouted.

“Long time, no see, Grogar. We meet again.” Gusty spoke in a battle stance and glaring.

Easy Prey

Slash traveled to Ponyville to commence his plan. His hunger for power and authority was greater than ever before. If he is to one-up Grogar, he must activate a source of power that is even greater than his. The evil panther knew that he will win once he gazed on the ancient artifact on his chest. He grew a wide sinister smile. “This is going to be the most joyous experience I’ll ever have. Once I put this to the test, I’ll know for sure how powerful this is. And I know just how to do this.” Slash said as he looked upon Ponyville.

In Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle just finished her duties at the School of Friendship for the day and went back to the Friendship Castle. Spike greeted her at the door. “Hey, Twilight! How did everything go today?” Spike said.

“It was all right, but at the same time, it was stressful.” said Twilight. “I’m going to be the new ruler of Equestria, and I still have to manage my duties at the school! How can I run an entire kingdom if I still have to take care of the school?!”

“At least Starlight will take your place as the new Headmare. So you won’t have to worry about that anymore.” Spike comforted.

“I know but still, it just feels...rushed. This entire transition from being Headmare to ruler of Equestria is very stressful. But I’m glad that I talked to Starlight about the job. I know that she will do very well as the new Headmare.” said Twilight.

“Hey, Twilight!” Starlight called out. Twilight and Spike turned to the unicorn who entered the room. After Twilight and Starlight embraced, the latter gave to the former a frame that contained a picture of the Mane Six hugging each other after they defeated King Sombra. Seeing the delightful picture of her best friends together caused some tears to fall out of her eyes.

“You might want to put this in your future bed chambers when you become ruler of Equestria. It will bring the memories of you guys saving Equestria and spreading the magic of friendship to all across the land. I know you’ll need it, Twilight.” Starlight said, smiling.

“Thank you, Starlight.” said Twilight as she wiped off the dropping tears from her face. “You know me so well. I’ll definitely need this to remind myself that I’m never alone. Like I said before, as long as we have each other, we will definitely handle anything life throws at us.” she finished before embracing Spike and Starlight tightly. The latter hugged her back.

*Knock Knock*

“Is somepony at the door?” Starlight asked.

“Hmmm. I’ll check it out.” Spike said. As soon as he opened the door, his eyes widened in amazement. Slash greeted him with a devious smile that gave Spike chills through his spine.

“Greetings, little dragon. Mind if I enter in this castle?” he asked.

“Whoa! Y-You t-talk?” Spike stuttered.

“Of course. Is there a problem with that?” Slash said, glaring at him.

“No! No, of course not! We’ve never seen an animal that can talk before.” Spike admitted.

“Sorry, sir, but who are you? I don’t think we’ve met before.” Twilight said, staring at the black panther who entered the room.

“You may call me...Slash.” he growled. “Quite a pleasure to meet you ponies.”

“Ummm...likewise!” Twilight uttered, snapping herself out of her stunned state. “I’m Twilight Sparkle. This is Spike, and this is Starlight Glimmer.” she introduced, pointing to herself and her two friends.

“Can we help you, Slash?” Starlight asked.

“Why, I am interested in knowing more about your species, my dear. Tell me, what do you believe in? What ideology do you cherish and uphold?” he asked.

“Well, we believe in the magic of friendship; friendships are what bring us together and bring peace and happiness throughout all of Equestria. Along with friendship comes honesty, loyalty, laughter, kindness, generosity, and of course, magic. With all these elements, we become strong and unbreakable.” Twilight explained.

“This is perfect! They believe in love and friendship? This is becoming easier than I thought. What a convenient way for my master plan to succeed.” Slash thought.

“How interesting!” Slash commended.

“Yes. Now can we please talk about your ability to speak?! It’s so amazing! We’ve never seen any animal like you talk before! Fluttershy will be so surprised!” Twilight squealed excitedly.

“Uggghhhh...” Slash groaned. “These ponies can also talk! Why is everyone so flabbergasted of seeing a panther talk if they can talk too?! Ugh!! No matter. This is nonetheless trivial; no big deal. Focus on the task at hand”. he internally ranted.

“Soooo, Slash, where are you from?” Starlight asked, smiling.

“I am from the city of Tambelon, a place where one should never dwell in.” he replied.

The two ponies and Spike gasped at the mention of Tambelon. “Tambelon?! THE Tambelon?!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Oh? You’ve heard of the place?” Slash asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes! I’ve read many stories of the evil ram named Grogar who ruled that city a millennia ago! Gusty the Great and her unicorn warriors defeated him and banished him from Equestria.” Twilight replied.

Slash was internally surprised and angered that ponies actually cared in writing stories about his brother and what he did and what happened to him. The additional fact that these individuals never heard of him (Slash) made him angry even more. But for the time being, he maintained a calm demeanor.

“Ahhhh, I see. Quite a studious alicorn you are, Twilight.” he praised. Twilight blushed from the compliment.

“Oh, thank you.” she said.

“She is one beautiful specimen. I have something special for her when the time is right.” he thought.

“So you’re from Tambelon, huh? So, you’ve met Grogar before? The tales must be true!” Spike said.

“Yes...I have.” Slash replied, gritting his sharp teeth.

“Did he ever wrong you? What was he like when he ruled over Equestria?” Spike asked. Slash then thought of an idea. He grinned to himself as he hatched one.

“Why, yes! He was a cruel taskmaster. He harmed me in so many ways unimaginable. You are very lucky you were not born during that time. Grogar was someone who cared for no one but himself!” he explained.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you, Slash. But luckily for you, you have new friends at your paws! I, as the princess of friendship, would be honored to be your first friend! My friends will also show you the ways of friendship that you will greatly benefit from! Slash, welcome to Equestria!” Twilight welcomed as she offered her hoof to him. Slash, without hesitation, shook her hoof in acceptance. Then the three hugged Slash affectionately.

“Who-hoo!! We’re very excited to introduce you to our friends, Slash! You’ll love them and us!” Spike shouted joyfully.

“Oh, I would love to meet them, my new friends.” Slash uttered. At that moment, the heart-shaped artifact glowed bright red on his chest as soon as they offered their friendship to him. However, they failed to notice it since their eyes were closed while hugging him. “And I will love you more once your love and trust are surrendered to me as you are doing now. You will be my faithful monsters to tear this world apart!” he thought. His smile grew wider sinisterly as his plan started to succeed so far.

Meeting an Old Foe

“Gusty?! What are you doing here?!” Grogar shouted in shock.

“That’s Gusty the Great?! Impossible!!” Chrysalis shrieked.

“So the legends are true! First we have Grogar, and now we have Gusty before our very eyes!” Tirek added.

“I’m sorry but who is she?” Cozy asked, tilting her head in confusion. “I’ve never heard of Dusty the Great.”

“It’s GUSTY, little filly.” Gusty intimidatingly corrected. “Are they new friends of yours, Grogar? It appears that evil breeds evil.”

“Get out of my way, Gusty!!! I will not allow you to waylay our path!” Grogar demanded, fiercely glaring at his old nemesis.

“Never, Grogar! Whatever it is that you are planning, we will stop you!!” Gusty defied, glaring back at him.

“We? Who’s ‘we’?!” Grogar asked.

“WE ARE!!” new voices shouted. As the villains looked around to discover the sources of those voices, three new figures appeared on sight. On Gusty’s right side stood a huge elephant that had the garments of blue and gold all over his body, yellow eyes, two sharp yellow tusks right next to his trunk, and had white hair on top of his head. On Gusty’s left side stood a hyena who was dark pink with violet stripes on both sides of her body, red-orange eyes, and two large bronze javelins on her back. Finally, right above Gusty flew a large falcon colored in dark green with silver wings and tail; it also had a black spot on the tip of its beak. Its eyes were orange with black pupils.

The villains, except Grogar, were intimidated by the newcomers who apparently assisted Gusty. The ram however was quite surprised to see these figures who also death glared at their old enemy. “You...you again? I honestly never thought I would see you again after all these years.” he said.

“Indeed, it has been a long time, Grogar.” The elephant spoke with a gruff voice. “My question is what are YOU doing here? Why are you crossing on forbidden territory?”

“That is none of your concern! Now get out of my way so that we can get out of this place!” Grogar snapped. But right before he and his minions could move one step closer, a huge magical boomerang struck the ground on which they were standing. Their eyes moved toward the source of that blast. The falcon landed on top of a pile of rocks before blowing smoke out of his right wing.

“Make one more step and you will be apprehended.” the falcon threatened.

“I will not be threatened by a mere animal!!” Chrysalis defied. She ignited her horn to shoot the bird, but the ancient bird threw another glowing boomerang out of his left wing and it deflected the green blast away and smote Chrysalis to the ground. She groaned in pain. “AHHH!! What in the name of Equestria was that?!”

“A weapon of comeuppance, changeling.” the bird replied.

“WHO ARE YOU?!” Chrysalis demanded.

“The name is Sharpbeak. The bird of justice and founder of Mt. Everhoof! I’m more than willing to give you a fair fight!” he challenged.

“Fine! I’ll destroy you for this!!” Chrysalis shouted, blasting her magic again. Sharpbeak and Chrysalis flew up in the sky and fought with every resource they had.

“Well then, I suppose that you want to fight as well, young centaur?” the elephant asked.

“I don’t need to fight you! I can just drain you of your magic!” Tirek shouted with an evil smirk. He ran up to the elephant and opened his mouth to absorb his magic. However, to his horror, no magic exited out of the elephant. “WHAT?! What kind of trickery is this?!” Tirek exclaimed.

“Your magic-draining ability has no affect on me, young centaur. For I possess no magic at all but only physical strength that I have worked hard enough to earn. Strength and power cannot be gained; they must be earned. Those who cheat their way to get power are not only weak but are foolish foolhardy souls.” the beast lectured.

“NONSENSE!! I’ll destroy you all with ease!!” Sombra angrily screamed. But before he can attack the ancient heroes, the hyena tackled him and restrained him with its magical chains.

“Oh no you don’t!! You need to chill out and relax! Can’t you at least rest a bit? You baddies must be tired from all the long travel to come down here!” it spoke with a female voice.

“EVERYPONY STOP!!!” Cozy screamed at the top of her lungs. Sharpbeak and Chrysalis paused their battle and turned to Cozy puzzled. Grogar and Gusty also stopped their fight and looked up to the filly; the rest stopped what they were doing and focused their gaze on the young villainess. “Can we just stop fighting and at least introduce ourselves to each other?! Maybe we can help each other for once because apparently we both have a common foe on our hooves!! So please stop fighting and start talking!!” Cozy finished.

The villains and the heroes did what they were told and stood down while still glaring at each other. The hyena released Sombra from the chains and allowed him to stand upright on his hooves. Cozy then flew down beside Grogar and smiled at everypony’s compliance. “Good! I’ll start first! My name is Cozy Glow! It’s a golly great pleasure to meet you creatures!” She then turned to her three allies. “Guys? Your turn!”

“Very well then. I am Chrysalis, former queen of the changelings.” she introduced professionally.

“I am Lord Tirek, the son of...King Vorak from the kingdom of the centaurs.” the magic eater said hesitantly.

“And I am King Sombra, former ruler of the Crystal Empire! The master of fears and king of the shadows!” he proudly introduced himself. The villains rolled their eyes in annoyance at his pride.

“I am Gusty the Great.” the unicorn said.

“You can call me Groundbreak Tusk, the ruler of the grasslands.” he spake.

“I am Sharpbeak, the bird of justice!” he added.

“And I am Joypath!! I love to make parties and celebrations for warriors and heroes who dedicate their lives to protect others!! Anypony wants some vanilla ice cream?!” the hyper hyena asked, holding the said ice cream in the air.

“Oh no, not this again! This is no time for this nonsense, Joypath!” Grogar whined, hoofpalming himself.

“I’ll have some!! I love ice cream!” Cozy giddily replied. She swooped down and started gobbling on the ice cream. Tirek, Sombra, and Chrysalis looked at each other in confusion.

“Why does she remind me of that insufferable pink pony?” Tirek asked.

“Well, Grogar, care to explain why you’re here?” Gusty asked.

“Fine! If you must know, I and my minions were trapped in this dimension because of my...brother who brought us here so that he could take over Equestria for himself.” Grogar explained. Gusty, Groundbreak Tusk, Sharpbeak, and Joypath gasped at the mention of his brother.

“Your brother?! Slash?!” Joypath shouted.

“That is not possible! He was in-prisoned in Tartarus for five hundred years! How did he escape?” Sharpbeak asked.

“I still do not have an answer for that. All I know is that he has returned to complete the task he failed to accomplish five hundred years ago. I and my team need to stop him before he can destroy us all! Once he is out of the way, I will take Equestria for myself!” Grogar said.

“Take back Equestria for yourself?” Gusty asked. “You are one stubborn goat. I’ll give you that. But how will you be able to stop him? He is not an easy adversary to defeat just like you weren’t an easy foe to take down.”

“Well, I have my Bewitching Bell; I used it to take him to Tartarus. But if he grabs hold of any source of power that is more powerful than my bell, it won’t be effective against him. I know this by experience when I fought against your unicorn warriors. I have to admit that was embarrassing.” Grogar said which caused Gusty to giggle in amusement.

“Glad that you remember that, old goat.” Gusty said, smirking.

“So what are we supposed to do now? How can we get ourselves out of this barren wasteland?” Sombra asked.

“Well, as young Cozy suggested, we can talk about this together and see what we can do.” Gusty said.

“Wait...are you proposing an alliance?!” Chrysalis asked. “Why should we put our trust in YOU?”

“I can say the same as well. I don’t take kindly to traitors and backstabbers.” Sharpbeak stated.

“Hmm...since we both have a common enemy, we can both call for a truce...for now. It is true that Slash is too powerful to take on one-on-one because the more power he seeks, the more strong he gets. Once we take him down for good, we will go our separate paths. Nothing more, nothing less!” Grogar commanded.

“I concur!” Tirek agreed.

“Me too!” Cozy said.

“Me three!” Chrysalis concurred.

“Me four!” Sombra also agreed.

“I will gladly accept an alliance. However, there are some things I’ve been needing to tell you ever since we became enemies, Grogar. I’ll tell you more about it once I bring you all to my humble dwelling if you wish.” Gusty said. Grogar raised an eyebrow at her. Once he considered her offer, he nodded his head.

“Fine. Take us there since we have nowhere else to go. Lead the way.” Grogar said. Gusty smiled and led her three friends and the Legion of Doom from the area unto her home. Upon arriving, the villains, except Grogar, gasped in amazement upon seeing the ancient city that seemed unrecognizable.

“What is this place?” Chrysalis asked in wonder.

“This used to be Tambelon. Now, it is a desolate place which we now consider our home.” Groundbreak Tusk replied.

“What creature lives in an abandoned city? That’s just weird.” Cozy muttered to herself.

The Path of Lies

Twilight, Spike, and Starlight showed Slash all of Ponyville and its residents. The evil panther was slightly impressed by the ways of some of the ponies who lived therein. Once Slash was presented before them, some of the ponies were terrified by the sight of a dark talking beast of prey; others were amazed by his presence and started to like him.

“You have quite an interesting hometown, Twilight Sparkle.” Slash remarked. “I must say that these ponies are definitely an interesting species to mingle with.”

“Indeed, they are! I’m glad you noticed!” Twilight replied, smiling brightly. “Now, I would love to introduce you to my best friends!”

“Yep! They would love to meet you, Slash!” Spike added. Starlight nodded in agreement.

“So do I, Spike.” Slash said, smirking.

First, the four went to Sugarcube Corner; after Twilight opened the door of the place, they met a familiar pink pony who just finished baking strawberry pies. Pinkie Pie looked behind and saw her three friends standing beside the door. “Hey Twilight! Hey Spike! Hey Starlight!” she happily greeted.

“Hey Pinkie!” they all said. Slash beheld the pink pony with a raised eyebrow.

“Are you guys here for a celebration of King Sombra’s defeat? Oh! Oh! I forgot! We still need to have a ‘Thanks for Saving Equestria!’ party!! I focused too much on cakewalking that I forgot all about it!!” Pinkie shouted enthusiastically.

“It’s all right, Pinkie. It’s not that.” giggled Twilight. “We’re actually here to introduce a new friend to you guys. He’s new to Ponyville.” Pinkie gasped as loudly as she could the moment the words ‘new friend’ were uttered.

“A NEW FRIEND?! I LOVE MEETING NEW FRIENDS!! WHERE CAN I MEET HIM?!” Pinkie energetically yelled.

“He’s right behind us.” Starlight said. Both she, Spike, and Twilight stepped aside to reveal the black and purple panther. Slash stood there examining Pinkie from top to bottom.

“Greetings, pink pony. The name is Slash. It is a pleasure to meet you.” he introduced.

“WOW!! Cool!! You can talk! I’m Pinkie Pie! Your name is so cool! I love that name!” Pinkie said, jumping up and down.

“I know right?! It’s so awesome!” Spike agreed.

“I see that you’re an enthusiastic type of pony. A rare trait in a common creature.” Slash remarked.

“Aww, shucks. You’re quite a charmer, huh? Oh! Oh! Do you like treats? Do you have a favorite? What’s your favorite pie? Or cake? Or cupcake? Or sweetener? Or flavor? Or dessert in general? Oh! Do you like milkshakes?” she asked, nonstop.

“Why does she remind me of Joypath? For some reason, I suspect that this Pinkie Pie is a descendant of that annoying hyena. Two of a kind, I suppose.” Slash thought. Disregarding all her questions, he went closer to Pinkie, “Is baking and decorating sweets your special talent, Pinkie Pie?” he asked.

“Yes, sir! I love doing this! To make everypony smile and be happy!!” she replied before quickly gobbling on several cupcakes. Slash considered her words and then looked up to her again.

“Well, I am happy that you are passionate about making everyone happy. In fact, I’m sure that we would make great friends from here on out.” Slash then opened his arms for embrace. Pinkie willingly hugged him and celebrated their new ‘friendship’. Once again, the artifact on his chest glowed bright red while none of the ponies or Spike noticed it.

“Don’t you want to tell me about yourself, Slash? I would LOVE to hear your story!” Pinkie asked. Slash thought about it until he evilly smirked again.

“Very well then, Pinkie Pie. Long ago, I was a poor creature who had no one to look up to. At that time, I was a cub enslaved to the wicked Grogar in the city of Tambelon. He was a sadistic cruel warlord who murdered several innocent lives to feed his hunger for power. I, however, had no magic, no talent, no knowledge, no parent, no goal in life!” he half-lied. “My parents abandoned me when I was just born into the world. Instead of protecting me, they left me at the cruel world’s mercy, such as that fiend Grogar!” he vehemently lied.

“That’s terrible! What a big meanie he was!” Pinkie sympathized. Seeing that his method was working, he continued.

“Yes...he even abused me on a daily basis because I didn’t do want he wanted. Eventually, I escaped Tambelon and was left alone in the Everfree Forest during all these years until now.” he lied again. Pinkie sobbed while listening to Slash. Twilight, Spike, and Starlight were also saddened by his ‘story’ as they too listened attentively.

“I am so sorry to hear all of this, Slash. I really am! I am sooooooo glad that you’ve come to the right place where you will have friends who care about you and love you!” Pinkie encouraged, wiping off tears from her eyes.

“Oh, I am sure you will all be worth spending with. You have the potential to be such great...buddies.” he strained the word. “I believe that you have other friends to show me, Twilight?” Slash asked.

“Yes! You’ll enjoy them as well! See you around, Pinkie!” Twilight waved. Spike and Starlight also waved goodbye.

“Bye, guys! Bye, Slash! I’ll make sure to throw you a ‘Welcome to Ponyville!’ party!!” she said while shooting some confetti from her party cannon.

“Oh, there will be a party all right...” Slash muttered.

Slash and the three went to the carousel boutique where Rarity lived and worked. Once they entered in, Rarity took notice and warmly greeted them. “Why Twilight, Spike, Starlight, I didn’t expect you to come here! But still pleased to see you!” She then noticed Slash right beside them. “My goodness! Who is this creature here, Twilight?”

“Consider me your new friend, my dear.” Slash politely spoke. His voice caught Rarity off guard completely.

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA IS THIS?! He can talk?!” she yelled in fear.

“Is everyone like this, Twilight?” Slash asked, clearly annoyed at the same reaction given to him. Twilight blushed in embarrassment.

“Ummm...well like I said, ponies are not familiar with talking animals. Sorry if it’s offending you.” she said.

“No, no, don’t be. Let’s just make peace with each other, shall we?” he said. He then looked to Rarity. “My name is Slash. It is an honor to meet you for the first time, madam.” he kneeled. Rarity was pleased with his mannerisms.

“My, my, what a gentlecolt or um...gentlecat! The name’s Rarity, sir Slash. The honor is mine.” she politely introduced herself.

“It appears that you have quite a reputation in this town. I’ve heard some ponies talking about your sense of...fashion and dress. You must be doing a splendid job of doing what you’re doing. I’m very impressed.” Slash said.

“Why thank you for the kind words, Slash. Much appreciated. How about you? Where are you from exactly?” Rarity asked. Slash told her the same story that he gave to Pinkie earlier. Despite the love and appreciation he’s been given so far, he was still focused entirely on his master plan. No matter what stood in his way, he would confront it with deception and half-truths. So far, he was succeeding.

“My apologies for what you went through, dear Slash. Luckily, you won’t have to face that ruffian Grogar anymore now that you’re here. If you need any help, you know where to find me, Slash. Friends?” she asked.

“Friends.” he replied.

“Great!” Rarity and Slash shook paw and hoof in acceptance. Once they waved goodbye to each other, they left the boutique. The artifact glowed red again once the process was done.

While they were walking/trotting in Ponyville, Dr. Fauna spotted Slash with Twilight, Spike, and Starlight. Excited to see a new animal in Ponyville, she quickly trotted towards them “Twilight! I see you have another good creature with you!” she called out. All four turned to see the newcomer running towards them.

“Dr. Fauna? Nice to see you today! Are you here to see Slash?” Twilight asked.

“Slash? That’s his name? Interesting name! And yes, he looks so gorgeous today! I’m jealous that you have such a good-looking pet!” the vet praised. Slash didn’t take kindly to being called a pet or treated like one.

“Excuse me, what did you just call me?!” Slash angrily snapped. Dr. Fauna immediately trembled at the creature’s intimidating voice and approach.

“He can talk?! I didn’t know he could talk!” she exclaimed. Slash drew near to her to attack her while growling. But Starlight jumped between her and Slash.

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Easy there! It’s just a big misunderstanding! Her name is Dr. Fauna. She loves to take care of animals just like Fluttershy.” Starlight said, smiling nervously. Slash had his claws extended but backed down slowly. His angry expression remained the same. He then thought of an idea.

“If it’s a misunderstanding, then all is forgiven. So, Dr. Fauna, pleased to meet you.” Slash said. Twilight, Starlight, and Spike breathed sighs of relief. Slash turned to face the three. “Would you mind giving us a moment? I like to visit her place to know more about her. Bring your other friends in the meantime.”

“Oh, um...okay! Sure!” Twilight said.

“No problem!” Spike added. After the two ponies and Spike left, Slash looked at Dr. Fauna with an apparent peaceful smile.

“Would you kindly show me your place of operation, Doctor? I’m very sure your animals would be pleased to see another creature who could help them as well.” he requested.

“Must certainly, Slash! Follow me!” Dr. Fauna joyfully said. She led him to her workplace where all the other animals were being cared for and resting for recovery from their respective wounds. Slash looked around and saw those creatures. They looked at him both astonished and scared by his appearance. He wickedly smiled at their fear. But he was disgusted by the sight of them being cared for and treated well. He then gazed upon the pony with malicious intent.

“As you can see, these creatures absolutely—ahhh!!!” Fauna was interrupted by Slash grabbing her by the throat with his paw. All the animals were startled by the sight.

“Not only do I hate being second-best to my pathetic brother Grogar, but I also detest worthless creatures who cuddle animals and give them free will!! Animals are to be obedient, not cared for. I am nothing of the sort! Calling me a pet was a big mistake, pony. I SERVE NO ONE!!!! YOU HEAR ME!!!!!!!!” he roared wrathfully at her while choking her.

“Pl-please, have me-mercy...I-I didn’t mean to- to offend y-you...” Fauna stuttered. Slash looked upon her with scorn; he grew an evil grin that sent chills to her spine.

“I’ll give you mercy all right. You won’t live to see the fruit of my labor when I’m finished with your friends. Monsters will arise to show the whole world who is the true Father of Monsters...and we both know that it won’t be that foolish goat. And so...” he said before releasing her. “Have a good night rest.” he darkly spoke. He bit her throat with his sharp teeth and mauled her to death.

After he killed her, he turned to the animals who looked traumatized by the horrific death scene. “You poor poor children...how long have you been deceived by the lies of freedom and love. Those so-called benefits corrupt the strong and oppress the weak. All of you will have a proper understanding of what happens when you allow those things to cloud your judgement.” he lectured. “So unless you want to join your deceased mistress, I suggest you keep silent until the time comes.” The animals fearfully obeyed his word, unwilling to share the fate of Dr. Fauna.

“See? That’s what obedience is all about. Very soon, all of Equestria will be cleansed...by my FIRE!!!” Slash cried out before breathing purple fire on Dr. Fauna’s corpse, devouring her flesh and revealing her skeleton.

The Dark Truth

Grogar and his gang entered into Gusty’s home within the ancient former city of Tambelon. Her home was a huge mansion that could fill up a whole town possibly. Once the villains entered, they gazed upon the design and appearance of her home. Even Grogar was impressed with her home texture.

“Are any of you hungry? Even you look quite famished, Grogar.” Gusty remarked, smirking. Grogar grumbled under his breath.

“I am! I haven’t eaten all day at all!” Cozy blurted. Her stomach can be heard growling.

“I suppose a simple meal won’t bite. Magic isn’t the only thing I eat after all.” Tirek accepted.

“I am much better off devouring love as it’s my main appetite, but I’ll take whatever you have nonetheless.” Chrysalis added nonchalantly.

“I expect your delicacies to be fitting for a King such as myself!! It had better be worth it!” Sombra shouted. Joypath rushed in front of him with a beaming smile that rivals that of Pinkie Pie.

“LEAVE IT ALL TO ME, GUYS!! You’ll all be blown away by the meals I’ll prepare! Wait and see!” she joyfully shouted. She then ran to the kitchen to prepare food for the villainous guests. Gusty, Sharpbeak, and Groundbreak Tusk chuckled at her enthusiasm.

“Please, make yourselves at home. I know you’ll like it here.” Gusty said.

“I would’ve enjoyed this much more if I were still emperor over this city and over Equestria.” Grogar muttered, scowling.

“Oh, get a grip, old goat. I know you’ll enjoy this. You do have a taste for fashion, don’t you?” Gusty asked.

“Yes...a dark and gloomy fashion that bears my name on it!” Grogar boasted. “(Sigh) Anyway, I...appreciate the kind hospitality and opportunity where we can discuss the current issue at our hooves. Do lead us to the dinning room, Gusty.” Grogar thanked although somewhat hesitantly. Rarely would Grogar thank an enemy for anything that was beneficial to him or anything out of mockery that suited his advantages, but seeing the stakes were dangerously high and had more hooves/claws at his reach for help, he had to at least try to play nice until they had successfully achieved their united purpose.

The eight creatures entered the dining hall where a large table was in the center thereof. The villains sat on the left side of the table whereas the ancient heroes sat on the right side of it. Everyone, except Cozy, kept staring each other down as if to check the attitude and behavior of the other. While Joypath was cooking and baking, there was silence in the dining hall for several minutes.

Deciding to take the initiative, Grogar broke the silence. “So then, Gusty, how has life been treating you during my absence here?”

“Well, it has been a lot more peaceful ever since I and my unicorn warriors defeated you a millennia ago; however, for some reason, it hasn’t been the same for me anymore. I felt something...different ever since then.” Gusty answered.

“What do you mean by that?” Grogar asked, raising an eyebrow.

“What I mean is...my life hasn’t been as peaceful and serene like it was before you rose into power. After your defeat and banishment, I took your Bewitching Bell, which you’re now wearing, and hid in Mt. Everhoof as you know. But when I looked at your bell, something just hit me: I felt sadness, anger, and guilt. The emotional pain was so great I didn’t want to ever look upon your bell on my hooves ever again. So when I saw you and your lackeys here, a part of me was terrified and shocked at your return while the other part of me rejoiced to see you again.” Gusty explained.

Grogar then looked even more puzzled as he was listening. “Guilt? Joy? Sadness? We are sworn enemies to each other! Why did you have those feelings after you defeated me?”

At this point, Gusty started to shed a few tears from her eyes. She was trying to think of what appropriate words she should use to accurately describe her emotions. “Because I didn’t want to banish you. I wanted to show you the true way of life.” she replied. Grogar was taken back by her answer. Even the other villains gasped at what she said.

“You didn’t want to banish me? Wait a minute...YOU WANTED TO SHOW ME THE MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP?!” Grogar yelled in disbelief once the realization hit him. Gusty sadly nodded. At that moment, Joypath burst through the kitchen doors while holding all the meals on her back and head.

“Dinner is served, everyone! Enjoy them all!” she said, smiling. She laid the meals at the table directly in front of each of them. She reserved the last one for herself and sat down with them. The Legion was honestly impressed with the attractive looks of their meals. Grogar had a plate of crackers with noodle soup; Chrysalis had toasted bread with a pink glowing magical jelly on top; Tirek had hay fries with buttermilk chicken burgers; Sombra had a plate of fried rice mixed with broccoli, shredded carrots, beets, sliced tomatoes, cauliflower, and onions; and Cozy Glow had an ice cream sundae. Gusty and Sharpbeak also had noodle soups but served with bread; Groundbreak had his soup with grass. Finally, Joypath served herself with orange-minted cupcakes and pizza.

“My, my, my!! This delicacy is spectacular! A meal fit for a king indeed!” Sombra praised, enjoying his meal.

“This spread tastes familiar...is this love?” Chrysalis asked Joypath. The hyena nodded in confirmation. “Splendid! This is as if I’m sucking love from ponies!” Joypath cringed at the last statement but was happy to see her enjoying the meal.

“I LOVE THIS!! BEST SUNDAE EVER!!” Cozy shouted as she munched on the sundae.

“How’s your meal, Tirek?” Joypath asked.

“This is moderately good. This is honestly the first time I’m having this sort of food. I think I could have this again in the future; however, it’s not any better than devouring magic of course.” Tirek concluded.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it!” she said, grinning.

“Once again, much thanks for your hospitality and care. But I still haven’t forgotten our earlier conversation, Gusty.” Grogar reminded. Gusty solemnly nodded in understanding.

“Of course. As I was saying before, I never wanted to banish you in the first place. I truly desired to show you the error of your ways and point you to the path of righteousness. I also believe that every creature, including those that are evil, deserve a chance to change. No one should ever be disregarded without being given a chance at redemption.” Gusty resumed.

“Do you honestly believe that I can be better?” Grogar asked. “You actually think that I can just forsake my plans of ruling Equestria and become a weak sycophant to those pontificating ponies?! NEVER!! Why should I change into someone who I never was? What is the point of repenting of my ways if I have spent over a million years in dominating Equestria as a tyrant with no remorse or intention of changing?”

“It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been evil! The truth is that no matter what you’ve done, you still have an opportunity to change for the better. Having a rivalry with you was never my greatest desire, Grogar. I only defeated you to show you how evil always fails you to the end.” Gusty argued. After taking a bite of a cracker with some noodles, Grogar continued with a scowl.

“Oh really now? If you never wanted to fight me or be my arch nemesis, then why didn’t you ever speak to me about it?! Why banish me from Equestria without even extending a hoof to me? It seems like you’re contradicting yourself here.” he argued. “First, you said you didn’t want to banish me, which you did, and you said every creature should never be disregarded without being given a chance. BUT LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID!! You did EXACTLY that!!”

“BECAUSE I WAS FORCED TO!!” Gusty yelled in anger. Everyone stopped eating as they were startled by the sudden outburst. As soon as Grogar and Gusty looked at them, they immediately resumed eating their dinner, not wanting to bother them. The ancient rivals then faced each other again.

“What do you mean by ‘forced to’? Forced by whom?” Grogar demanded. Gusty deeply inhaled as she was mentally preparing herself to explain the hardest truth she could ever bear.

“Your brother.” she simply replied. This shocked Grogar completely. The cracker dropped back on his soup once his jaw hit the table.

“My brother?! How?!” Grogar demanded.

“Hear me out on this. It all started when you were the first emperor of Equestria. There, with my unicorn warriors, I was debating on what to do with you...until he showed up.” she said.

FLASHBACK A MILLENNIA AGO

Gusty and her warriors gathered around a palm tree under Mt. Everhoof. It was nightfall with the full moon shining high and bright in the night sky. “Brave warriors, time is extremely short. Grogar’s monsters are rampaging everywhere and killing everypony they come across! Plus, his Bewitching Bell is giving him more and more power every time he gains fear and terror from ponies! We have to do something!” Gusty alerted.

“I say we destroy his bell and lock him up in Tartarus!” one of them suggested.

“How about we strip him of his powers first before we cast him there? You all know how powerful he is!” another advised. The others nodded in agreement.

“What do you say, Gusty? What should we do?” another warrior asked, concerned. Gusty was conflicted with what to do. She couldn’t decide which to follow since something in her head told her to do something different.

“I honestly don’t know. I feel like I need to talk to him about what he’s doing. We’ve been close friends before since we were little. But right now, it feels...(crack)” a crack interrupted Gusty’s reply. Suddenly, the evil panther came out of the shadows with his purple eyes and red iris glowing in the dark. He wickedly chuckled as he approached them. They trembled at his presence.

“Slash!! It’s you!!” Gusty cried.

“Of course, my dear Gusty. It’s me indeed. I’m not here to kill you all but to offer a deal.” he said, smirking.

“What deal?” Gusty demanded.

“The deal is for you to banish my worthless brother out of Equestria once you defeat him. After that, I’ll take Equestria for myself. For a reward, I’ll give you positions of high honor in my future kingdom. And you, Gusty, will be my queen.” Slash offered. They were baffled at his proposal.

“We don’t make deals with criminals like you!” Gusty defied, glaring. “That’s first. Second, I believe that Grogar needs to realize what’s he doing before he gets appropriately punished. And third, I will never be your queen!!” Slash frowned on her rejection.

“Have it your way, Gusty. It’s either you banish him or...” he then raised his right paw before it ignited magical electricity and shot its bolt at one of her unicorn warriors. The warrior burst into blood and bones from the shot. “Get the picture?” Slash finished.

“Slash, please...don’t do this.” she said, tears forming on her eyes.

“Haha! ‘Oh please, Slash! Don’t vent your hate and anger on Grogar! No! Ahhhh!!’ How pathetic.” Slash mocked. “Grogar is a fool. He thinks that he can get away with taking every single bit of love and affection from my mother for himself whereas that love should have been given to me only!! I should be the Father of Monsters! I am the true heir of glory and victory in this world!! So you do your part, and I’ll do my part. Got it?!” he yelled angrily.

Seeing she had no other option, she sadly nodded. After briefly mourning the loss of one of her warriors, she and her group left the area. Slash had another plan in mind. “Mother, you are in for a special occasion tomorrow morning.” he grinned.

The next morning, deep within the panther cave, a female panther finished constructing an artifact shaped like a heart. She looked upon it with satisfaction. “At last, this talisman is ready for use! It has the ability to absorb the love and trust of any creature once a bond is formed between that creature and the holder of this item. It corrupts that love by blending it with the poisonous potion that can turn any creature into a monster. Together, that creature becomes a monster and is enslaved to the holder of the artifact due to the love and trust surrendered to him. I shall call it...the Friendly Plague!” she explained.

“How fitting a name and item, mother.” a familiar voice spoke. She turned around to see her son Slash approach her menacingly. She was startled by his abrupt presence.

“Slash? Aren’t you supposed to be hunting food for us? I have no need for your assistance.” she rudely dismissed. “I am in the middle of—ahhh!!” Slash bit her throat and threw her against a stone wall. He then punched and scratched her muzzle vehemently. “Stop!! What are you doing!?”

“SHUT UP, Clawma! I won’t have you disrespect me again!! It’s time I take charge here!! I’m tired of you praising that pathetic excuse of a brother whom you adored over me!!! I AM THE ONLY SON WHO HAS MORE POTENTIAL THAN HE HAS!! You ruined my childhood!! You never loved me!!” he roared in full wrath. Clawma actually felt scared for her life and immediately started to regret everything she did to him.

“Son—pl-please...forgive m-me...I didn’t m-me-mean to...” Clawma’s muzzle was met by Slash’s claws.

“It is too late for sorry. You are no longer my mother.” he darkly spoke. He generated a magical dagger from his paw and stabbed her multiple times until she no longer breathed. Her blood stained the whole ground. He then grabbed the Friendly Plague and wrapped it around his neck like a necklace. “My time will come, Grogar. Soon, you will bow to my glory and superiority once you die.” Slash said before evilly laughing in triumph.

FLASHBACK ENDED

“That’s how it happened.” Gusty concluded. “My unicorn warriors were searching for some artifacts to help us defeat you until they discovered Clawma’s body. There were a few eagles on that panther cave that witnessed your mother’s murder. They told them that Slash was the killer. He took this talisman called the Friendly Plague and left the area.”

Grogar’s wrath, shock, and sorrow knew no bounds. For the longest time, he was ignorant of the actual cause of his mother’s death until now. It was one thing to have a brother who always hated him out of jealousy, but to have a loved one murdered by that same individual was unbearable. Grogar got up from his seat without casting a look upon Gusty, any of the heroes, or his own lackeys. He trotted out of the dining room while silently sobbing and covering his face. The villains were confused as he passed by.

“Umm, is Grogar okay?” Cozy asked.

“I think it’s best if we don’t bother him.” Tirek said. “By the looks of it, something depressing must be on his mind.”

The Chaos Ensues

“Greetings to you three ponies.” Slash introduced. “My name is Slash. It is a high honor to meet you all.”

“OH MY GOSH!! This is sooo amazing!! A talking panther!!” Fluttershy squealed excitedly. “Please! Tell me! What are you thinking right now?!” She pressed her face against Slash’s while her eyes grew larger in excitement. The panther had never met a creature...or pony in this regard react to his presence like that. While highly pleased to see some creatures give him so much attention and some kind of adoration, he was already over their same repetitive reaction.

“What I am thinking right now is for you to get OFF of my face!” Slash yelled.

“Oh, right! Sorry!” Fluttershy apologized, blushing in embarrassment. Rainbow Dash and Applejack giggled from Fluttershy’s dramatic reaction. However, they too were surprised to see a sentient animal in Ponyville.

“I’m Applejack! Toughest pony ya’ll ever meet!” the farm pony introduced.

“And I’m the one and only Rainbow Dash! The fastest flyer in all of Equestria!” the Wonderbolt also introduced.

“What an impressive display of potential in these ponies. They will serve me well as my future commanders of my army of monsters.” Slash grinned in thought.

“Well then, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, I’m happy to meet you both.” He then turned to the shy pegasus. “And what is your name, young one?”

“Fluttershy! With two t’s!” she said, smiling brightly. Normally, she would be shy and quite whenever she would attempt to introduce herself. But seeing an animal with intelligence and sentience speak to her unlike how Angel the bunny and her own animals talk to her made her very happy and comfortable seeing she loved to care for animals.

“Ahhh, so you are the Fluttershy I keep hearing about. I’ve heard that you cared for animals. Is that true?” Fluttershy giddily nodded.

“Peace be unto you, dear Fluttershy.” Slash said, kindly.

“Oh, thank you, Slash.” Fluttershy thanked, blushing.

“Your fate shall be no different from that Dr. Fauna pony. I’ll show them all how animals ought to be treated!!” he angrily said in mind.

“There’s another friend whom I believe you would be very interested in seeing.” Twilight said. “Discord, you can come out now!”

Hearing that familiar name puzzled Slash. However, his confusion was completely wiped out once the all-too-well familiar dragonequus appeared in a white flash. “Welcome to Ponyville, newbie!! Glad to see another creature arriving here to meet new friends and family!!” Discord greeted while waving the ‘Welcome to Ponyville!’ signs and spraying confetti over the panther.

But once Discord opened his eyes, he was shocked beyond words. Slash also was flabbergasted in seeing this chaotic being. Once they locked eyes with each other, they both narrowed and glared each other down. “Discord, it’s you! I haven’t seen you for over five hundred years.” Slash growled.

“Indeed, old timer.” Discord said seriously.

“Wait, you guys know each other?” Rainbow asked.

“Of course. Let’s just say that we have quite a history together.” Slash said, still glaring at Discord.

“Hahaha! You got that right! I was...uhhh...his roommate back when Gusty and Grogar were around! My goodness, I couldn’t stand his loud snoring, sleepwalking, and his fur being shed every single night! Luckily, I was able to put anti-panther spray in our bathroom so he wouldn’t have to make a mess!” Discord lied.

“Do not even bring that up! That was humiliating! I had to do my business out of our house in his dimension very often! Ughh, such a roommate you were!” Slash whined, playing along.

“Wow! You two must have been great friends! I’m happy that you have reunited with each other!” Fluttershy said.

“Yes...indeed.” Slash growled before turning to Rainbow and Applejack. “You two have great spirits I can see. Judging by your attitude and personality, you both are courageous, strong, and steadfast no matter what, correct?”

“Yup!” Applejack nodded.

“Absolutely! You can always count on us whenever things can go south! Besides, I’m always 20% cooler, am I right?” Rainbow boasted.

“Yeah, yeah, sure ya are, Rainbow Dash.” Applejack said, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

“I would love to get to know you more once we get along. Being your new friend would be an honor and privilege.” Slash said, offering his paw to them. Rainbow and Applejack graciously shook his paw in acceptance. Suddenly, they noticed his golden necklace glowing bright red on his chest.

“Hey Slash, was that your necklace glowin’?” Applejack asked.

“Of course. My mother gave me this; it represents my gratitude and love for every pony and every creature. I hold it very dear to my heart.” Slash lied.

“That’s so sweet, Slash. Please come to my cottage later today! Angel and my other animals would love to see a new friend at their doorstep!” Fluttershy said. Slash’s sinister grin immediately changed to a slight frown.

“Oh, I’m sure they will. Definitely sure about that.” Slash muttered. “The true Lord and Master is whom they’ll see.”

“Twilight Sparkle! I’m now ready for a friend picture which you asked for!” another pony shouted, running to her.

“Thank you, Photo Finish! Glad you can do it for us!” Twilight thanked.

Upon arrival, Photo saw Slash with Twilight, Discord, and the Mane 5. “This is a new friend of yours?” she asked. Twilight nodded while smiling. “All right! You all can gather around for the picture!” Photo said, getting her camera ready. Slash then looked upon the Friendly Plague artifact and saw that it had enough power to be fully activated. While he gathered with the ponies for the picture, he sinisterly grinned as the grand scheme he had been waiting to execute for a long time was about to become a reality.

“At long last, the glory, the fame, the fear, and the respect which could’ve been mine shall be mine forever! I’ve been dreaming that this day would come, and here it is!! Victory is mine for the taking!!” he internally gloated.

“Everypony ready?” Photo asked as she adjusted her camera. Seeing it as the right time to begin his chaos and terrorism, Slash raised his right paw toward Discord and shot at him with a lighting bolt behind the ponies’ backs. The blast struck him and sent him flying towards Sugercube Corner. The ponies were shocked at what happened.

“Discord!!” Fluttershy screamed.

“What just happened?!” Rainbow shouted.

“I HAPPENED!!” Slash called out. He then generated a magical spear and impaled Photo Finish through her chest. He pushed the blade further to crush the life of her. After the energy constantly electrocuted her, her mouth spilled blood out. He released the spear and kicked her corpse away from him. He crushed her camera.

“SLASH! WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!” Twilight shrieked. Deciding that he carried his charade long enough, he revealed his true colors.

“I am establishing my permanent territory here, Twilight! The time has come for me to rule the land that should have been mine long ago!!! YOU ARE ALL MINE, PONIES!!” Slash declared. He levitated himself in the air and the Friendly Plague started to glow dark red. “Allow me to demonstrate who you ought to be to me.” The artifact shot it first magical dark red blast at Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

They screamed in pain while the surge of magic penetrated their bodies. They stopped screaming and started to slowly mutate into gigantic beasts. Rainbow mutated into a giant pterodactyl-like monster with a dark blue color scheme, blood red eyes, darkened rainbow cutie mark, and razor sharp claws. Applejack mutated into a humongous rhino with dagger-like horns on her head, dark brown color scheme, bright orange eyes, and rotten apples as her cutie mark.

“APPLEJACK!! RAINBOW DASH!!” Fluttershy screamed in terror. Once Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Spike, and Starlight arrived, they beheld Rainbow’s and Applejack’s monstrous forms in total shock.

“What’s going on?! What are those creatures?!” Spike shouted in fear.

“HAHA!! Those ponies are now become the fear of the land and will become the scourge of this accursed world!” Slash proclaimed.

“Why are you doing this, Slash?! I thought we were friends!” Twilight said.

“Friends? I see no friends. I see ourselves as preliminary and temporary allies before we commence a more appropriate type of relationship: slave and master type to be precise.” he grinned. He then shot another wave of corrupt magic directly at Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Spike, and Starlight. They all mutated into blood-thirsty monsters. Spike became a T-Rex-like dragon in full form while breathing molten lava and fireballs; Starlight transformed to a huge glow worm that produced chemical-reacted blue orbs and sharp teeth at her mouth; Rarity was a skyscraper sized rattlesnake with indigo eyes and fangs made up of iced crystals; and Pinkie Pie was a monstrous hydra. Her six heads spewed cupcakes, pies, cakes, and even cookies detonated to blow.

“Thus begins a new age of Slash the Mighty! My ferocious monsters, destroy and kill all that get in your way!!” Slash commanded. The monsters mightily roared in willing compliance and began to ravage Ponyville. The ponies and non-ponies ran for their live everywhere. The beasts grabbed several ponies by their claws and either, devoured alive, smashed, killed, or blew them all. Spike and Rarity ran off to Canterlot to continue their onslaught.

“SLASH!! Stop!! You can’t do this!!” Twilight begged with tears on her eyes. Fluttershy hugged her tightly as she also beheld the massacre in horror.

“Oh, don’t you worry, my sweet princess, you will live to sit by my side and be my faithful queen once I take over the entire kingdom.” Slash said, holding Twilight’s head in mocking comfort. Twilight smacked his paw away in disgust and anger.

“I will never be your queen! You betrayed me, my friends, and all of Ponyville!” she defied, glaring. Slash chuckled in amusement.

“Funny. Gusty also refused me when I proposed to her as well. Speaking of the ancients, you will realize what I’m truly capable of. They didn’t imprison me in Tartarus for 500 years for no reason, Twilight.” Slash said. Twilight and Fluttershy gasped at the new revelation.

“WHAT?!” they both shouted.

“Yes! I mean after all...I am Grogar’s brother.” Slash confessed.

“YOU'RE GROGAR’S BROTHER?!” Fluttershy asked.

“Unfortunately. He took every single love and affection from our mother for himself and she just shut me out like I meant NOTHING to her!! He stole my glory, my reputation, my honor, my future, EVERYTHING!! He got what he deserved and so did his mother when I killed her! Now, this artifact, the Friendly Plague, will make everything right and make you ponies fear my powerful name!” Slash exulted. He then lunged at the two while roaring aloud.

Twilight shielded herself and Fluttershy from his assaults. “I have to hold him off! Go help Discord and the others! Get them all to safety!” Twilight ordered.

“I am not leaving you!! He will turn you into a horrible monster!” Fluttershy cried.

“I’ll be okay, Fluttershy! Go! Now!” she shouted. After Twilight blasted Slash away, Fluttershy opened her wings and flew off. Slash recovered himself from the blast and immediately caught one of her blasts in his left paw.

“How pathetic, really.” he taunted. “You do realize that I’ll always get what I want, right? You’re too precious to be a mutated monster; you will obey my command and be my lovely co-ruler next to me on the throne.” Slash again spoke. Twilight spat at Slash in defiance. He wiped off the saliva from his face nonchalantly.

“Hehehe, I guess I’ll do this the hard way.” Slash said. He scratched her and stunned Twilight’s face with his electric claws so hard that she slowly passed out. Her last sight was the houses being sent on fire, the smoke filled clouds blinding the sun and covering the sky, and...a lot of ponies being maimed and killed by the violent beasts. She closed her eyes.

Battle of the Beasts

“What do you mean ‘save Equestria’?! Since when was it ever our responsibility to save it?!” Tirek shouted in anger.

“YEAH! Aren’t we supposed to be Equestria’s most feared enemies? We didn’t sign up to be heroes or anything like that!” Cozy added in agreement.

“You have to understand that even evil itself has its own enemy!” Grogar argued. “An enemy that serves neither side: good or evil! That very entity that can wipe out the existence of every species in Equestria! If we do not act now, Slash will both destroy Equestria and all of us here sooner rather than later!”

“Grogar has a point. Slash has gone to a point where he doesn’t care who he kills or what species he could wipe out. The Friendly Plague will exterminate everypony and everything in this world. Slash knows that.” Gusty added.

“Well, if he is capable of that much power, we can just take it away from him, destroy him, and then we villains can just rule Equestria by ourselves!” Chrysalis suggested. “Besides, why should we just leave Equestria in its perfect peaceful state after we will have neutralized its current threat?”

“BECAUSE IT IS NOT WORTH IT ANYMORE!!” Grogar shouted in frustration. The villains were startled by the outburst. “Gusty has shown me that evil has its own limits and will always fail those that follow it. I’ve already lost to her a millennia ago. So why should I repeat it the second time?”

“I don’t understand. Why the sudden change of heart? You’re not actually starting to accept the magic of friendship, are you?” Sombra asked, raising eyebrow.

“FAR FROM THAT! Even though I still detest the ideals of the magic of friendship, I now see that it’s just not worth trying to take over. However, there will be other pursuits I would love to follow for myself, you see. But for you four, it’s...it’s your calling.” Grogar said.

Groundbreak Tusk, Joypath, and Sharpbeak went up to the four villains and looked solemnly on them. “We will not force you to help us save Equestria from Slash’s tyranny, but you can choose to assist us in this endeavor. You do know that even evil has standards. If you wish to follow the same path that Slash is in, then you are more than welcome to do so.” Groundbreak sternly told them.

“Mmm-Hmm, you know how most villains always say that they will have their revenge and yet always end up being defeated again? So my point is stop wasting your time in trying to take over the world when you know you will inevitably fail.” Joypath added.

“The stakes are extremely high, and time is critically short.” said Sharpbeak. “With our combined forces, the resurrected threat will soon meet its just demise. If we remain divided amongst ourselves, we will embarrassingly fail and fall. There’s death and life right in front of you. Either one will determine your state of mind and heart. The choice is yours.”

Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow were conflicted with themselves once the ancient legends finished speaking to them. Their lust craved for power and domination. They knew that in order to gain these things, they will have to defeat the wicked panther which they had no problem with. But to leave Equestria in its safe hooves after the new villain is defeated was unthinkable. Sombra, having no mental conflict whatsoever, looked as if he was tired of having to deal with the decisions of ancient beings. Previously forced to join Grogar’s team and then being forced to not follow his tyrannical instincts was just outrageous to him.

After some silent moments of consideration and thinking, the trio came to a decision. “Okay fine. Perhaps we’ll help save Equestria...but only this once!” Tirek concluded. “Afterwards, I will just...retire from my career and have a vacation.”

“Yeah, I might join you, Tirek. Being a villain could be quite a workout, you know.” Cozy concurred.

“Ughhh, I suppose I can practice being a heroine for once. I really hope it won’t bite me in the back.” Chrysalis said, looking down on the ground. Everyone then looked at Sombra in expectancy. The dark unicorn groaned in irritation.

“OKAY, FINE! I’ll help! Stop looking at me like that!” he yelled. Chrysalis, Cozy, Joypath, and Gusty giggled at his reaction.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s save Equestria!” Joypath cheered.

“Very well. Gusty, I trust that you can safely guide us back to Equestria.” Grogar said.

“You know I can, Grogar. You know me.” Gusty smirked. She ignited her horn and shot a blast toward the wall of the living room. The blast struck the wall before it morphed into a large portal for all of them to enter. “Let’s go, everypony!” Gusty said. They all entered the portal that directly brought them back to Equestria. Once they exited the portal, it closed behind them. They found themselves in the outskirts of Ponyville.

What they saw shocked them: the houses were engulfed in flames, dozens of dead bodies littered the streets, the castle was destroyed, the school was also destroyed, and several animals were scattered abroad. “What happened here?” Cozy asked.

“It appears that my brother has successfully managed to turn some of those ponies into dangerous monsters to roam around freely. Yet he is not here, and no survivors are on sight.” Grogar replied.

“Oh well! Equestria’s wasted. Too bad. Boo-hoo. Let’s go. I’m leaving this—huh?!” Sombra mocked until being magically grabbed by Joypath. She glared at him and brought him close to her face.

“We. Are. Going. To. Save. Equestria. Together!!! If you want to be vaporized completely by Slash, then be my guest!!” she roared. Sombra’s face went pale as soon as she mentioned ‘vaporized’.

“NO! NO! Anything that doesn’t involve being vaporized, I’ll do it! I was just joking anyway!” Sombra said, smiling sheepishly.

“I hope you are. This is serious business.” Joypath growled.

Once the heroes and villains continued their path, they spotted a familiar being helping another familiar pony in recovering the survivors of the massacre. The villains especially were surprised to see them there. The two figures took notice of their presence and stood back. “Well, well, well, look who decided to show up! Big baddie Grogar and his team of little big baddies!” Discord greeted. He then noticed Gusty and her friends. “Ohhh!! Look at this! The legendary hero of Equestria and her foalhood friends are here too! It appears that Equestria is being filled with surprises today.”

“Discord?! What are you doing here?!” Tirek demanded.

“Uughhh, no. As if this day couldn’t get any worse...” Grogar muttered. Fluttershy hid behind Discord for fear of the villains.

“I’m simply taking good care of these poor ponies while assisting my dear Fluttershy.” Discord said before taking a look at the heroes and villains. “My, my, this is one heck of a crossover!! What is this? Are you guys like some sort of avengers or something? You’re here as if we’re in the endgame of sorts!”

“Spare me the subtle references, Discord! Slash is going to pay for all of his crimes he has done. The stakes are too high for us to fail. Now, if you would simply get out of our way, we would really appreciate that.” Grogar said.

“Maybe you can help us, Discord? We would love to have the Master of Chaos himself at our side!” Cozy spoke. Grogar glared at her.

“What?! No! He will waste our time and mess everything up!” Grogar objected.

“Most definitely! What do you say, Fluttershy? Those baddies can help us save Twilight and her friends, you know.” Discord asked her. Fluttershy was about to answer until something caught her attention. Applejack’s beast form burst through a few houses. She then roared mightily to the heavens. Everyone beheld her in surprise.

“THAT’S APPLEJACK! SHE’S GONNA DESTROY US!!” Fluttershy screamed.

“Applejack? You mean Slash turned them into monsters?” Cozy asked.

“Clearly!! Didn’t you hear me earlier?! Watch out!!” Grogar warned before jumping out of the way. The villains and heroes did likewise right before Applejack’s large rhino foot stomped on the ground where they formerly were. “EVERYPONY, ATTACK!!”

Cozy flew in the air and ignited her horn to blast her face. Her blasts struck the beast, causing her to focus her assault on the alicorn filly. While she was distracted, Groundbreak charged at Applejack’s large legs with hard force. His attacks were like pinches on her rough skin. Applejack kicked Groundbreak away from her.

Tirek looked up and saw her large dagger horns ignited and shot right upon him. He ran away from the deadly blasts and rejoined Groundbreak who just got up from the ground. “I need to have more strength to help you hold that beast off. It’s a pity you have no magic!” Tirek said.

“I might not, but Grogar has plenty of that.” Groundbreak said, turning to the ram. Grogar nodded and rang his bell before Tirek. The bell shot its burst of magic at the centaur; after absorbing the magic, he grew to his third large form almost to Groundbreak’s height.

“Ahhhhh, yes!!! Perfect!! Now I can help you, Tusk!” Tirek said before both of them went back to fight rhino Applejack. Suddenly, Spike, Rarity, Starlight, and Rainbow Dash in their monster forms approached them while roaring and screeching in anger and hunger.

“This is going to be quite a ride.” Sharpbeak said. “Mind if you can join me, Chrysalis? We can take on that flying pterodactyl beast.”

“I’ve taken predatory beasts before. So this will be no different! Haha!” Chrysalis boasted. They both flew off to pterodactyl Rainbow. Once the monster saw them, she spewed out large drops of acid in their direction. They dodged the incoming drops continuously until they reached to her back. Chrysalis combined her magic with Sharpbeak’s magic boomerangs and shot them at the beast’s back and neck. She screeched in pain and swatted them away.

“I guess this beast needs a little more force and a match!” Chrysalis shouted as she shifted into a roc bird. She clawed the beast with her talons relentlessly whereas Rainbow did likewise but with claws and talons. Sharpbeak flew up to them, twirled in the air rapidly until she became a twister to help disorientate the monster. Rainbow saw the twister too late before it swiftly knocked her out and tossed her to the ground. She landed with a thunderous thud.

“Watch out, Cozy, behind you!” Joypath warned as Spike gave an ear-piercing roar and breathed fire on her. Cozy shielded herself in her magical bubble from the flames. Joypath then grabbed her javelins, ignited them in pink magical aurora and threw them right at Spike’s back. Just before he could devour Cozy, the javelins punctured his skin. After ten seconds of roaring in pain, he was violently electrocuted until he passed out on the ground.

“Thanks for having my back.” Cozy thanked.

“Don’t mention it.” Joypath replied.

Grogar and Gusty shot their large beams of magic at Starlight’s and Rarity’s monster forms. Rarity ejected her fangs and lunged at them. They shot their beams right at her mouth, causing her to recoil in pain. She then shot large shards of crystals toward them. Suddenly, the shards turned to chocolate bars and fell upon the ground. Confused, they turned to see Discord grinning. “You know, you could’ve been nice enough to ask for help.” he said.

“We were doing just fine, Discord! You think we are useless against them?!” Grogar haughtily asked.

“Depending on how you use your intelligence and skills, Grogar. Good thing Gusty is here to give that good old help you need!” Discord stated. Without even looking, he snapped his fingers again, making the other incoming shards into flowers.

“I most definitely appreciate your help, Discord.” thanked Gusty.

Sombra shot his bursts of dark magic at Starlight. Infuriated that his magic had no affect on her sticky wormy form at all, he thought of an alternative tactic. “You may be resistant to my attacks, but can you resist YOUR FEARS?!” Sombra shouted. His eyes turned green and gave out green glowing purple flamed eyes toward the monster. After two seconds, the eyes disappeared from her face, and blasted Sombra with sticky goo. He was pasted on the grass while he tried blasting the goo off but couldn’t. “THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!! No one should be able to defeat their own fears!” Sombra lamented. Worm Starlight was about to devour him until Groundbreak and Tirek tackled her and held her down. Tirek blasted and tore off her sticky coverings, Groundbreak used his tusks to impale the blue orbs, which she had, to decrease her power since they were her sources of strength. Slowly, Starlight passed out.

“Come on! That was my moment to shine!” Sombra complained. Groundbreak and Tirek laughed together and released him from the sticky goo.

“I guess you have to give the others the spotlight, don’t you think?” Tirek said, smirking.

“Even I can’t disagree with the young centaur here. As we all say, ‘Better luck next time’.” Groundbreak added.

“Why does everypony hate me so much!” Sombra lamented in thought.

“Fluttershy, get those ponies to safety! Find some shelter!” Discord called out. She nodded and took the survivors with her away from Ponyville. He then went to Grogar and Gusty. “I guess it’s time to settle your family feud, old goat?”

“I know it is. Whatever he’s doing, he needs to stop now!! I will go alone and face him.” Grogar said with anger and determination.

“No! We need to do this—!” Gusty spoke before interrupted.

“Do not start this, Gusty! He’s my brother, my problem, my enemy! I’ll deal with him! And this is not up for a discussion!” Grogar said before teleporting out of the area. Gusty hung her head down in disappointment.

“Oh, don’t worry, Gusty. He’ll need our help. Heroes do that all the time whenever they are about to be defeated by the villain and so forth. You will see.” Discord nonchalantly said.

“Heroes do that?” Gusty asked.

“Seriously, you need to watch some action movies.” Discord muttered.

Grogar vs Slash

The Canterlot Castle was engulfed in flames, but the flames were neither lethal nor were they burning the castle. Within the throne room, Slash sat upon Celestia’s throne and Twilight sat upon Luna’s throne. The two sisters were tied up in chains before them. He looked upon his paws where images of his enemies were imprinted. “Twilight, my dear, the age of terror commences today. With your friends as my faithful monsters to dominate this kingdom, you’ll have no choice but to obey my will. I mean, it is for your good after all.” Slash grinned.

“You won’t get away with this, Slash!” Twilight said while she glared. “We will stop you!”

“How will you be able to stop me if you have insufficient resources to do so?” taunted Slash. “Oh and by the way, your two precious princesses look quite beautiful. Perhaps they will do well as my queens also.”

“GET AWAY FROM TWILIGHT, FIEND!! You are destroying Equestria!!” defied Luna. She tried to blast off the chains from her but they were magic-proof.

“Did I forget to mention that I have bedded hundreds of princesses and queens of many species in my time? I even mated a changeling queen when I was younger. So none of you beauties will be any different from what I have specifically planned for you.” Slash said.

“You are a disgusting vile creature! Why are you doing all this? What is your objective here?!” Celestia demanded. Slash then dropped his smug look and scowled at Celestia.

“To gain the power what should have been rightfully mine long ago! With this powerful artifact, the Friendly Plague, I can turn any creature into a monster; combining that with the love and trust of friendship, they will be my slaves for all eternity!” he boasted.

“That's why you manipulated us to be your friends?!” Twilight cried. “So everything you told us about yourself being a lost abused cub enslaved to Grogar was a lie?! How can you betray us like that?! This isn’t right!!”

“Bravo, Twilight Sparkle, you’ve figured it out! Hahahahaha!!” Slash mocked, waving his arms. This made Twilight even more angry. “Now enough talk, my love. Come give me a kiss.” As he leaned to her, Twilight smacked him in the face and tried to move away from him. Unfortunately, her hooves were chained to the throne, and her horn was sealed shut by his magic.

“Ahhh, you like to play rough, huh? Very well. Even cats need to play rough. I know it’ll teach you a lesson.” Slash spoke. He extended his claws and readied himself to scratch her. But a sudden poof of magic interrupted him, causing him to turn around to behold the intruder. Right before him stood Grogar, his hated brother.

“BROTHER?!? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?! GUSTY WAS SUPPOSED TO DEAL WITH YOU!!” Slash roared in shock and wrath.

“Ha! We both have settled our differences though it was inconvenient. But now I’m here to put an end to your terror once and for all!!” Grogar declared. His presence shocked all three alicorns present.

“Grogar?! How are you here?! I thought you were a myth!!” Twilight exclaimed with a fearful expression.

“Twilight Sparkle, it’s quite an honor to meet you in the flesh. And fear not, my traitorous brother and all of his heinous crimes will become a myth from this day forward.” Grogar replied, glaring at the panther. Slash growled in rage and fear.

“It’s too late, Grogar! I’ve already won the battle! I’m now the new and only Father of monsters to rule this kingdom! Now, I am the most powerful being in Equestria!” Slash arrogantly gloated. Grogar then ignited his horns, ready to fight.

“You cannot take the love and kindness from these ponies and brainwash them to serve you. That isn’t fair for them!” Grogar reprimanded. This threw Slash in a rage.

“FAIR?! I’ll tell you what’s not fair! Spending a lifetime as a second-rate, unloved, and uncared child while you get all the attention and love from mother! Well, my patience has finally paid off, and no hand-me-down self-righteous ram is going to mess it up for me now!!” Slash shouted in fury. He raised his paws and generated clones of Grogar and his legion, surrounding him. “Clones, DESTROY HIM!”

They all shot their magic beams at Grogar. He jumped in the air which made all the shots strike at each clone standing. Some of them exploded on the spot while the others recovered quickly and refocused their attack on the ram. Grogar raised his hooves and sprouted magical whips. He lashed at every clone that attacked him. He dodged, kicked, punched, and shielded.

Slash was enraged to see him wiping the floor with them easily. “Fine! I’ll kill him myself!!” Slash yelled. He roared out loud and lunged at the ex-villain. He tackled him on the floor while scratching wildly at him. Grogar shot at his back to get him off of him. Slash recovered from the blast and shot several bolts at him. Grogar ran across the room to avoid being shot while he returned fire with his magic. One of Slash’s bolts collided with Grogar’s blast and exploded, blinding everyone in the room.

After the dust settled, Slash opened his eyes and didn’t see Grogar before him. It wasn’t until huge curved horns rammed into him from behind him. He skidded across the room until he hit the left wall. Slash got up and unsheathed his magical spears again and threw them at his rival. Grogar seized them through telekinesis and crushed them by stomping on the ground with force. Then he generated magical daggers from his hooves and aimed them at Slash. Once he threw them, Slash caught them by paw and ate them all.

Slash lunged again at Grogar while the latter did likewise. With curved horns and sharp claws clashing together, both brothers struggled for dominance. “You are a weakling, Grogar! The Friendly Plague has made me more strong and powerful than you ever were! So now, you will bow to me!” Slash taunted while grunting.

“Fool! That artifact will kill us all! If it contains too much power and magic from other creatures, it will destroy the whole world! Look! It is glowing brighter by the second. Stop this madness now!!” Grogar pleaded. Slash looked down and saw the artifact glowing brighter than before. Wickedly smiling, he bit Grogar’s muzzle, scratched his cheek, and kicked him on the stomach. Grogar fell down on the floor with many bruises, including scratch marks.

“FINALLY!! Finally, I get to kill you for good! Look at everybody’s favorite villain now! You’re just a stupid, pathetic excuse of a brother! You’ve been number one for too long, Grogar! Now, your time is up! But don’t worry...this artifact will wipe clean all that unpleasant morality in this land.” Slash spoke before he readied himself for the kill.

Suddenly, he was blasted to the right wall of the throne room. Surprised and puzzled, he turned to see Celestia, Luna, Gusty, and Discord standing together. “Nice shot, Gusty! Looks like somepony’s target practice has improved.” Discord remarked, smirking. He snapped his fingers which made Slash’s magic seal and chains on Twilight disappear. Twilight ran to them and hugged Discord in gratitude.

“You see, old buddy? I told you that we need to work together.” Gusty reproved. Grogar growled in defeat and annoyance.

“I was able to hold my own against him! But there’s no time to argue! The Friendly Plague is about to detonate in the next couple minutes! It must be destroyed!” Grogar sternly warned.

“How? Slash is too powerful! How can we get pass him to get it?” Twilight asked. Grogar looked behind him and saw Slash quickly recovering. He then saw his legion and Gusty’s friends burst through the doors and joining them. He then got an idea.

“It’s just like how I’ve been emphasizing to my villains in my lair. We need to work together!! Though we may be opposite forces to each other, by being united in our common goal, we will emerge victorious! Concentrate your attack on Slash!” Grogar commanded them. Nodding in agreement, the heroes and villains gathered around Slash and unleashed their attack on him. Slash did everything in his skill and power to dodge all their magic blasts and attacks; however, he did suffer a number of hits and shots.

He kicked away Groundbreak and Tirek who tried to hold him down with their feet. He shot several bolts at Sharpbeak and Chrysalis but they managed to fly out of the way of the assaults. Celestia and Luna combined their magic and blasted him on his back, causing him to stagger on the floor. While he was distracted, Cozy and Twilight took him via telekinesis and kept him high in the air. “Let me go! You dare side with that worthless degenerate!! I am your true master!!” Slash defied while swinging wildly to set himself free. His effort was in vain.

“Joypath, now!” Grogar ordered. The hyena swung her chain right at the Friendly Plague and snatched it away from Slash. She gave the artifact to Grogar and Gusty.

“Ready, old friend?” Gusty asked.

“More than ready. Now!” Grogar said. Both of them combined their magic on the device. The surge of magic started to fully overwhelm the Friendly Plague to the point where it cracked and crumbled to pieces in a huge white explosion. All the heroes and villains were protected in Twilight’s bubble shield. The explosion took out half of the castle. All the love and friendship the artifact drained were then set free and returned back to the beasts who were still lying on the ground. Once they returned, all of them returned back to normal ponies.

Spike, Starlight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie woke up and saw their surroundings. “What...what happened? Where are we?” Spike asked.

“Wait a second...ah remember!! That backstabbing animal tricked us to be his friends! He turned us into monsters!” Applejack said, glaring at the sky. Discord appeared right in front of them.

“Now that you've mentioned it, you might want to head right back to Ponyville. That is where karma will be served for dinner!” he said, wearing his chef garment and hat. He snapped his fingers that caused all the smoke, dark clouds, burning fires, and debris to all disappear from Ponyville. All the houses were quickly rebuilt and all the corpses were sent to their burials in the cemeteries.

Twilight and Cozy then dropped Slash on the ground. Tirek then gave a death glare on the defeated panther. “This is for my uncle and for my family!!” he shouted. He opened his mouth and drained Slash all of his magic. Slash yelled in pain as all of his magic was taken from him. Grogar and Gusty looked upon him with scorn.

“I believe that a proper punishment would be more appropriate for you, Slash. Being sent to Tartarus is too merciful in my book.” Grogar judged. “Wouldn’t you agree, my friend?”

“Absolutely. In fact, Discord has a nice surprise for you in Ponyville.” Gusty added, smirking. She and Grogar blasted Slash all the way to Ponyville. There, he landed hard in the middle of town.

Once he got up, he saw everypony and every creature surrounding him and death glaring at him. He saw the Mane 5, Spike, the CMCs, Gabby, the Young 6, Big Mag, Sugar Belle, Ember, Lyra, Bon Bon, Cadence, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, the griffons, Thorax, Pharynx, Grandpa Gruff, the changelings, the yaks, and everyone else. Suddenly, Twilight, the Royal Sisters, Discord, Grogar, Gusty, Sombra, Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy Glow, Groundbreak Tusk, Sharpbeak, and Joypath appeared in a white flash and rejoined them.

“Uhhhh...hahaha...hello there—fr-friends! It’s...good to see you all!” Slash uttered fearfully.

“You ain’t no friend to us no more! Not after what ya did!” Applejack snapped.

“Out of all the animals I’ve cared for, you are the WORST!!” Fluttershy added angrily.

“I guess you all know what this means!” Discord asked, snapping his fingers again. Javelins, knifes, nunchucks, and whips were given to everyone present except for the ancient beings. “Roasted cat coming right up on the MENU!!” Discord shouted, ringing his little bell.

Slash’s face went pale in fear and horror. He started fidgeting once he looked around and saw the ponies and creatures drawing nearer to him. Without warning, they stabbed him on every side of his body. He screamed in agony. The Mane 5 punched and kicked him repeatedly; Gabby and Terramar whipped him; the yaks kept stomping him on the ground, breaking all of his bones; the changelings stabbed his legs; the CMCs bit his arms and cut off his tail; Chrysalis sucked up his love; and finally, the dragons including Spike breathed fire on him, consuming all of his flesh. What was left of him were his broken bones.

Author's Note

My God...what a painful and agonizing death for a villain, huh?

Epilogue

Everypony and every creature finished their work and carried Slash’s bones to Gusty and her friends. “This is what remains of our bitter enemy: his bones.” Grogar solemnly spoke. He turned to Joypath. “I believe you would like to keep his remains for yourself, Joypath. I’m sure your kind are very fond of bones.”

“Yep! We hyenas have the strongest biting force out of every creature! Bones are my favorite appetizer! Mmm-mmm!” Joypath said, licking her chops. She took the broken bones and ate them one by one. Everypony celebrated the demise of Equestria’s deadliest threat. Also, they thanked Grogar and the other villains for helping them defeat Slash.

The Legion of Doom were surprised by their warm reception. They didn’t know what to think of their words of gratitude. Still, they waved their hands/hooves in acknowledgement. Gusty and the Mane 6 went to them to say a few words to them.

“I know that this may sound strange, but we want to thank you for helping us save Equestria.” Twilight said. “However, I remain aware that you still might terrorize Equestria anytime in the future. So we are going to give you a choice as follows: you can either accept the magic of friendship and learn about friendship, or you go back to your old ways and scheme to take over Equestria. But, as you know, no matter how many times you may try, you’ll always fail. But it’s your calling. I won’t force you to choose.” she finished.

Grogar stood beside Gusty and expectantly looked upon the four villains for their decision. The villains considered her words, discussed it with each other, then got back to the ponies. “The magic of friendship does seem appealing; however, considering how much powerful I am compared to all of you here, I refuse to accept your low ideals. I am King Sombra who grovels to no pony!” he said before turning to Grogar. “Since you are surrendering your desires to take over Equestria, I will gladly take it back for myself. Enjoy your life.” He then turned to the trio. “If you need my assistance in conquering this land, let me know. It’s been an honor working with you three. See you later, ponies! Be prepared for my next invasion! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!” Sombra finished as he dissolved to shadowy form and vanished into thin air.

“I knew he was going to say that.” Grogar muttered.

“I guess being completely vaporized in the most graphic way possible is his new fetish then!” Pinkie said.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually liked that.” Starlight added.

Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow stepped forward. “Like Sombra, we too shall not accept the magic of...ugh...friendship.” Tirek spoke, straining the last word as if it was disgusting to him. “However, unlike Sombra, we realize that even evil has its own limits. When we were fighting against Slash, I personally felt as if I was fighting against myself, considering how I was power-hungry also. I now understand the cruelty of jealousy and hatred when they becloud the judgement of the mind.”

“Yeah, I mean being a villain sure is a lot of work, y’know. So you could consider us as neutral.” Cozy concurred. Suddenly, she remembered something and turned to Grogar. “Hey Grogar, can I keep my alicorn powers pleeeeaaaaseee!!!” she asked with a cutesy look on her face.

Grogar rolled his eyes and turned to Gusty who just shrugged in response. Thinking it over, he turned to Cozy. “If you want to remain an alicorn, you will have to take tutorials with Twilight, Celestia, and Luna.” Grogar answered firmly. Cozy’s pupils shrunk in shock.

“Huh?! Why?!” she asked.

“Because you don’t have adequate knowledge on how to skillfully cast a spell on an opponent! I noticed that when you kept blasting at Slash. Therefore, they will show you how it’s done properly. If you fail those tutorials, I will strip that alicorn power from you into my bell. Understand?” Grogar sternly commanded. She lowered her head in defeat.

“Okay fine...I guess.” Cozy conceded.

“I am taking a long vacation somewhere. I need some refreshment and a long break from this place. Chrysalis, would you like to join me?” Tirek asked her.

“Hmmm, perhaps a vacation wouldn’t bother. Cozy, stay out of trouble, okay?” Chrysalis told her.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Cozy said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh and by the way...” Chrysalis continued just as she shot a death glare at Starlight. “Do not think for a moment I have forgotten our last encounter, Starlight Glimmer!! I’m still having my revenge on you!”

“Oh gee, can’t wait for that day when it comes.” Starlight sarcastically replied, smirking.

“And keep your infectious magic of friendship with you! Anyway, I’m done with Equestria...for now.” she said before looking at Tirek. “Can you revert back to your second grown form? I’m more fond of that than of this form you’re in.”

“Seriously?! You’re actually gonna—oh fine, if that’s what you like. At least I’ll still have some of those good muscles on me.” he said, grinning at his biceps and kissing them. He opened his mouth and gave back the magic Grogar gave to him earlier. It returned to his bell. Tirek was then back to his second grown form. He and Chrysalis then left Ponyville for a relaxing vacation.

Twilight then turned to Applejack, Spike, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Starlight with a frown. “The six of you will have to do some community service once this is all done. I know you were all corrupted by Slash, but you are going to have to make up for all the damage you have done in Ponyville.” they bowed their heads down in deep shame.

“You’re right, Twilight. Ah feel so guilty knowin’ the innocent lives ah helped take away.” Applejack mourned.

“Me too. I can’t believe I did those horrible to our FRIENDS!! I’m gonna be hated a lot by so many ponies!!” Pinkie added, tearing up.

“(Sniff) I’ll be having nightmares forever after this!!” Rarity cried.

“I’m making myself even worse considering my horrible past. I really need some mental health aide once this is over with.” Starlight said, wiping off the tears from her eyes.

“I might as well be thrown to Tartarus for this. I—I...feel...so horrible killing some of my friends! I don’t deserve to be forgiven for this!” Rainbow mourned, covering her face.

“I’m feel so remorseful right now too. I wish we would’ve never befriended that evil cat!” said Spike, punching the ground. “Being a killer of ponies—my own friends—is something I would’ve never imagined in becoming!! I don’t know how I’ll be forgiven for this.”

Twilight wrapped her hooves around her friends with a soft smile. “I understand that and don’t worry. I will help you guys as your friend and princess of friendship.” she comforted.

Then they all had a group hug and escorted them to areas where they wrecked havoc in Ponyville. During that whole afternoon, they did full-time community service in Ponyville to redeem themselves before the ponies affected by them.

Later in the evening, Twilight rejoined Grogar, Discord, and Gusty along with the ancient heroes and her friends in the town.

“I can’t believe it! You’re actually Gusty the Great!? This is so amazing!!” Twilight squealed in excitement.

“Ahh, so you’ve been reading the legends that speak of me? I’m quite surprised you are one of the few ponies that actually have read about me. Right, Grogar?” Gusty said.

“Indeed. I’ll give it to you, Twilight. You are one studious alicorn. Would it be all right if I stay in your hometown for a while? I do need to be away from my own cavern just to spend some time outside.” Grogar asked.

“Definitely! I have so many questions for you guys!! It’ll be the best evening ever!!” Twilight said.

“Is she always like this, Discord?” Grogar asked.

“Oh, you have no clue, old timer. Imagine having to spend an entire day or week with somepony whom you've either admired or feared for all your life. It’ll be like that sometimes! Hahahahaha!” Discord laughed. Grogar nodded in understanding.

“I really like your spirit, Miss Applejack. Let me teach you how to bend the ground with raw strength. That took me years to accomplish.” Groundbreak Tusk said.

“Ah would love to hear from ya, Mr. Tusk! Lead the way!” Applejack said, riding on his back. They left for Sweet Apple Acres.

“You’re quite a fast pony there, Rainbow Dash! How about I race you to Mt. Everhoof?” Sharpbeak challenged.

“Sure! I’ll totally beat you there in 10 seconds flat!” Dash boasted until she tilted her head in confusion. “Uhhh, where’s that mountain exactly?”

“See you there!” Sharpbeak said, dashing off.

“HEY, NO FAIR!! Wait for me!” Rainbow shouted, following him in hot pursuit.

“Your vanilla cupcakes taste so good, Pinkie Pie!! You would love to taste the food I cook and bake!” Joypath said, eating the last cupcake.

“Really?! Well, what are we waiting for? LET’S START BAKING!!!” Pinkie shouted enthusiastically. Both of them sped to Sugarcube Corner.

As Grogar and Gusty went with Twilight to her castle, the ancients conversed between themselves. “Do you think you’ll like it here, Grogar old buddy?” Gusty asked.

“As long as nothing and no one annoys me to no end such as Discord, then I’m sure this town will grow on me.” Grogar replied. After a long pause, he turned to his former enemy, “There’s still one thing I don’t understand. How did Slash mange to escape from Tartarus after 500 years?”

After Gusty thought about it, a realization hit her. “Oh no...I think I know why...” she said. Suddenly, a giant three-headed dog jumped in front of them and barked happily at them. Grogar and Gusty were shocked to see the guardian dog not attending his post in Tartarus. “Cerberus?! Why is he here?!” Gusty yelled.

Discord appeared in front of them on top of Cerberus. “Hehehe, that would be my fault. I was having a conversation with Slash and made a bet with him that if he can beat me at chess, I’ll release him; but if I were to win, then I would kill him. I was confident I would win, but he ended up winning at the end. So I...set him free from Tartarus. Plus, I actually played ball with this good dog this morning until he head butted the ball so hard it flew out of Tartarus and landed on your cavern home, Grogar. Your home is destroyed. He is just looking for the ball. So umm...my bad.” he sheepishly grinned.

“DISCORD!!!!!!” they both shouted angrily.

THE END

Author's Note

Thanks to everyone reading this story. I hope you enjoyed it. Also, happy New Year to each and every one of you!🎆🎆 Have a great week and stay tuned for future stories! 2019 has been quite a rough ride but it was a decent year at best. Hope that 2020 will be better. Good night!

The Hardest Decision

Grogar was by himself in a bedroom where he locked himself in. His mind was bombarded with so many thoughts, and his dark heart was filled with raging emotions. After everything that Gusty told him, he felt that he just wanted to be alone to contemplate what he learned. But not only that, he did something which he had never done ever since he was a kid: he wept.

His eyes were red due to the tears, his nose was runny, and he started to have a headache. Naturally, he cared for no creature but himself, but Clawma was arguably and probably the only creature in his life he truly loved and respected. Her motherly care, instruction, guidance, and love though misdirected were what brought Grogar to be the powerful ram he was. For her to be taken away from him forever was one thing, but to have his brother betray his family, kill his flesh-and-blood, and turn on Grogar as a vehement rival was like a stab on the back. He knew how dangerous and vile Slash was to him and to his kindred in Tambelon years ago but he never thought he would do anything like that.

A double knock on the door interrupted his train of thought. “Grogar, are you okay? Can I have a moment with you?” Gusty asked, outside the door. Grogar groaned in annoyance before wiping off the tears from his eyes.

“If you relish my suffering enough to bother me with more heart-breaking tales, then fine.” Grogar replied. He unlocked the door with his magic and opened the door to allow his nemesis to enter the bedroom. Gusty saw the emotional pain in his eyes even though he was trying very hard to not allow his emotions to weaken his dignity and demeanor. Gusty shut the door and locked it back so no one could sneak in.

“Listen, I just came here to say that...I’m sorry for the loss of your mother. I really am.” she genuinely sympathized. Grogar slightly chuckled in disbelief.

“Really? After a full millennia of being my worst enemy, you finally have sympathy for me? Your arch nemesis? Unbelievable.” Grogar scoffed.

“I know. But like I said before, I never wanted to be your adversary. Don’t you remember the time we were friends as foals? Do you remember when we used to play with each other in my parents’ home? Clawma used to be friends with my mother; they used to be so close to each other just like you and I were, Grogar. Why can’t things be the way they were before?” Gusty said with a sad expression.

“Those were the years of old, Gusty. They no longer matter to me since Clawma showed me the true path of victory and superiority. She taught me that everyone is to be inferior to my power, that evil is more powerful than good, and if there is any source of might that the good possesses that can threaten the existence of evil, it must be revisioned and converted to evil in order for evil to remain to be the winning side.” Grogar replied.

“That is where your mother was wrong, old friend.” Gusty refuted. “If the good has a source of power that can destroy the life of evil itself, that puts the good on a higher level of strength. Do you not realize where you are wrong? Evil is weaker than good and you know that.”

“I AM NEVER WRONG!! There is nothing you can say to change my mind or my ways!! I, THE FATHER OF MONSTERS, WILL NEVER BE BROKEN!!!” Grogar bellowed with glowing yellow eyes. But as soon as he said those words, he fell upon the floor and wept again. He knew that Gusty was right, but he was too stubborn to acknowledge the truth.

“You see my point? I will say this again to make it more clear to you. Evil will always fail you to the end no matter how many times you deny it. You cannot keep ignoring the reality of the situation! If you keep following this path of stubbornness, evil, and lust for power, you will end up exactly like your brother. In fact, you are no better than him.” Gusty pointed out. Her statements angered and irritated Grogar, making him stomp his hoof on the floor hard enough to shake the whole bedroom.

“You dare compare me to that murderer?! I’ve always been better than him! It’s not my fault he wasn’t as lucky, obedient, and faithful to my mother like I was!” Grogar stubbornly boasted. Gusty then locked her eyes on him.

“What exactly makes you better than him? You created monsters that killed everypony and creature they came across, thus putting their blood on your hooves; Slash murdered tons of innocent folks in pursuit of power. You ruled as a dictator and tyrant which is exactly what he wants to be. You were selfish and vindictive which is what he is. I can go on and on.” Gusty argued.

Grogar was about to counter-argue her points but couldn’t say a word back. It was at that moment, the realization hit him like an incoming train. He thought back on his defeat by Gusty and her unicorns and the humiliation that followed. He also thought back on Slash’s imprisonment in Tartarus for his grievous crimes. The more he thought about it, the more he began to connect the dots. “Wait...you’re right. We are no different from each other, yet he allowed his jealousy and hatred to separate himself from me. All because of the high honor and love my mother gave to me whereas he got none of it. THAT IS WHY!!! She praised me for every single thing I did where she gave me all this power—my Bewitching Bell—so that I could rule Equestria! That could explain why I am so stubborn and prideful since I was never corrected on where I was wrong.” Grogar said.

“Mmmm-hmmm, and you used that power for evil and for the destruction of every creature that stood in your way. Even though I didn’t want to punish you without talking to you first to help you see the error of your ways, at least you suffered the consequences. Still, my guilt in not offering you a hoof of reformation never left my soul afterwards. I feared that I would live with it for the rest of my life.” Gusty said.

“Until I returned.” Grogar said, smirking. “Did you really think that I would stay banished from Equestria forever? Ha! It clearly didn’t work long enough.”

“I guess not.” Gusty agreed. “Do you now realize the full truth of the matter though? I know that darkness will always be in the world but so will the light. Light casts out the darkness, and the truth will always stand vindicated unlike deceptions and lies.”

“(Sigh) I don’t know, Gusty. I am infamous for being the Father of monsters for over a millennia now. How can I adapt myself to change if I habitually keep my own ways and path of life? The great Grogar accepting the magic of friendship? (scoffs) I seriously doubt that would ever happen.” Grogar scoffed. But before he headed for the door, he turned his head to Gusty. “Nevertheless, I now realize you speak the truth after so many years of ignorance and arrogance. I’ll think more about our discussion. For now, we need to start working together and making plans if we are to stand against our common enemy. Who knows what damage Slash has done already in Equestria?” Grogar advised.

“My thoughts exactly, old friend! Keep talking like that and sooner, I’ll have the Grogar I used to love and befriend come back again!” Gusty shouted, smiling.

“Do not push your luck, Gusty!” Grogar yelled. Gusty giggled in amusement. Once he and Gusty left the room, he saw the villains and heroes play chess together in the living room. Then the latter noticed their presence in the room.

“Is everything all right, you two?” Groundbreak asked.

“Yeah, I could’ve sworn I heard some crying back there. Was there?” Cozy Glow asked.

“We are doing fine. What’s important at the moment is making a plan where we can travel back to Equestria and defeat my brother Slash once and for all. He possesses an artifact that can extinguish us all forever along with all of Equestria with us! We must work together if we are to succeed!” Grogar spoke sternly.

“Oh great, first he unites us villains to work together, and now we must work with the ancient heroes together as well. What can possibly go wrong?” Chrysalis wondered out loud.

“So we can take Equestria back for us to control?” Sombra asked. Sharpbeak, Joypath, and Groundbreak frowned at his request. To their surprise and pleasure, Grogar answered otherwise.

“No, we shall not. We need to...save it instead of conquering it.” Grogar answered. Gusty smiled brightly.

“WHAT?!?” all the villains shouted in shock.