It was now the day of the Scalers invasion as they had announced. Everyone in Canterlot was ready for whatever the Scalers might throw at them. Guards were flying high up in the air to spot the incoming army, only they saw a legion of undead approaching the city instead of Scalers. They alerted all other ponies on the ground about the army’s arrival. Many minutes later, the undead were now right at the gate leading to Canterlot. They banged on the gate as hard as they could but couldn’t get it to open. The guards staying atop the walls near the gate were spilling cauldrons filled with magma onto the zombies, burning their flesh and leaving them as nothing more than mere masses of flesh and bones unable to move. Everything was going well, until one guard was hit in the head by a zombie of all things, turning his body into colored rain. The soldiers paid more attention to what was going down below. They could see them clearly; Balgo, Kryser, the Soldier and Smithy were chucking zombies over the city’s wall. The reanimated corpse, thanks to their immortality, survived the impact and were now moving around the city itself in their quest to satisfy their hunger. Multiple reptilians were now digging themselves out of the earth and started throwing zombies over the wall. Then, it all culminated with Balgo charging at the gate, plowing through it as if it was made of cardboard.
“To all those who wish to fight us, enjoy your last stand for your souls shall be all mine!” yelled the giant.
Twilight stood near the castle, watching the battle from afar. “Do you have enough faith in you to fight back, or will you crumble like the others?” She jumped. The unicorn heard someone speak to her, but she couldn’t see anyone who could have said it. That voice sounded just like her, but more... demonic in nature, and it was now echoing through her mind. It couldn’t have been Balgo for sure, seeing as he was still at the city’s gates. Her breaths were getting more and more agitated. “This is a battle you have no chance of winning.”

“Come on girls, we have to go in now.” said Alduin to his friends. The Elements of Harmony were all prepared for this battle, having been blessed by Drag and Alduin’s magic to boost their physical capabilities as well as holding on to their respective element should they ever be needed. Everyone rushed in the city, all except for Twilight. Drag noticed it and gestured at the others to keep going “Twilight? Are you all, right? If you’re not feeling well, you can always stay in the safety of the castle. We won’t get mad at you for that, for you’ve been through a lot of stress recently.”
“I’m fine... I just needed a moment to mentally prepare myself for this.” responded the unicorn in a less than convincing way.
“I sure hope so... Just be careful out there.”

~***~

As the heavy hitters arrived near the warzone, they could notice that there were only zombies near the gate. No sign of any Scalers around, not even Balgo. Soon enough, they heard roaring and screaming all around them. “Oh shit! They are coming in from the sides! They are trying to surround us!” screamed Pink.
“That won’t be a problem, we can deal with it.” said Alduin as he leaped in the air.
“We just have to push in. Every pony let’s each go in a separate direction and help out the soldiers push back the invaders.” said Twilight in an assertive tone. The others all agreed, and thus, each went their own way.

~***~

Applejack went to the main district, where multiple Scalers were already fighting the resistance. Drag had healed her injuries just before the fight began so that she could participate in defending the city. Just as she jumped into battle, she was stopped mid-track by a familiar looking Scaler. “Hello again!” said the Soldier in a strangely happy voice. He was still grinning, his mouth stretching to the very edge of his face.
“Dang nab it! Not you again. I suppose we still have some unfinished business.” responded Applejack.

“This time, you won’t be able to run from me! My gun is faster!” he said as he cocked his shotgun. He took aim and fired in direction of the earth pony, but the mare narrowly avoided the pellets as they hit another Scaler behind her. “Oh, shit.” She jumped inside a nearby house to be safe from the lizard’s weapon. The Scaler wasted no time plowing through the house’s walls just to get inside. Noticing the mare was nowhere in sight, He threw his weapon away and instead pulled out a pickaxe. He was now hacking away at every piece of furniture inside the house, looking for his opponent.

“Ok, think Applejack. This guy is bigger and stronger than you! And on top of that, he’s got a pickaxe! Charging him head on is a bad idea, I just have to find another way to beat him.” thought the earth pony to herself, hidden inside a cupboard big enough to fit a pony of her size.

“I’m gonna getcha!” said the Soldier while slashing away. The pony got out from her hiding spot, bucking the lizard away from her. He landed next to a kitchen counter and accidentally got his pickaxe stuck in a toaster. This caused him to be electrocuted. Once the shock had ended, his body was still twitching as he fell on the ground, writhing in pain. Applejack ran in direction of the stairs as the Soldier got back up from the shock as if it was just a flesh wound. He followed her up the stairs. With no way out, she chose to lock herself in the bedroom, looking for any kind of escape. Before she could do anything, the Soldier punched through the door and was now trying to unlock the door, struggling as he couldn’t see the lock itself. Applejack knew that her only chance of escape was by jumping out the window, but as she opened the window, a Scaler flew right in the window, blocking her escape. The door behind her finally clicked open and her adversary was now merely inches away from her. “Ha! You were loud and ugly and now you’re dead!” said the Soldier as he lifted his pickaxe high in the air. However, before the final blow was struck, a bath fell from the roof and crushed the lizard.
“What in the hay just happened?” Applejack simply looked at the scene, confused but relieved that she survived another encounter with this bloodthirsty reptile.

~***~

Fluttershy was flying around the battlefield, looking for any injured soldiers to bring to safety. She saw a pony lying on the ground with a very bad stab wound on the chest. The Pegasus approached the injured pony. “Don’t worry, I'll take you inside the castle’s infirmary. You’ll be safe there.” However, as she lifted her head to look in direction of the castle, she saw a Scaler wearing a black cybernetic armour just inches away from her face. He lifted a foot in the air and a blade came out of his heel. With this he stabbed the injured pony right in the face, pushing harder to the point of completely crushing his head. Blood spewed all over Fluttershy’s face, startling her. “Cowardly Pegasus, your unwillingness to fight will be your undoing!” yelled Kryser with burning hatred in his voice. He pulled out a knife from his palm and slashed away at the Pegasus who despite her best effort to evade the incoming attack, still got one of her hooves slashed open. She squealed and chose to flee through a nearby house, getting in through the bathroom’s window. Kryser leaped immediately, breaking through the window and started charging towards the frightened Pegasus. She pushed a bath with all her strength in a desperate attempt to slow down her pursuer. The Scaler wasted no time grabbing the bath and throwing hundreds of feet in the air. “Weak!” he exclaimed. But before he could attack Fluttershy once more, he was interrupted by a call from his superior. He paused for a moment, staring at the Pegasus, curled up in the corner of the room before jumping out the window again.

~***~

Pink didn’t have much luck either, he landed on one of the worst types of opponents he could ever fight; the speed demons. Smithy, despite the burly physique of the average Scaler, was extremely agile and lightning quick on his feet. The swordsman dashed around Pink, slashing with deadly precisions at his joint. The guardian was quick to react to his attacks’ blocking them with his diamond shovel and pushing him back with is immense strength. He was bleeding quite badly, and despite his best efforts, blocking Smithy’s attack was quite the arduous task for his attacks were fast. He realised he wasn’t paying any attention to his opponent and immediately pulled his shovel up to block an incoming attack, only to realize Smithy hasn’t move a single inch from his position, having not even taken a stance. “Uh, you could’ve attacked me right there, j-just a friendly reminder.” said the guardian.

“Oh! T-That would’ve been very dishonorable!” replied the swordsman, having just realised he wasn’t paying attention to his stance.

“Huh, at least you have some courtesy.” Smithy placed himself once again in an offensive stance while Pink took on a defensive stance. The blue lights on Smithy’s armour turned to a crimson red, catching the guardian off guard. With impressive speed, the swordsman maneuvered all around Pink, slashing him rapidly, albeit the cuts weren’t all that deep. Pink’s surroundings turned into a confusing tornado of sharp blades hacking away at his skin, turning the wind around him red with his blood. It kept on going until he no longer had the strength to stand. He fell on the floor, as his opponent stopped his attacks to stare at his vanquished adversary. He kept on looking for a few second while wiping the blood off his blade before giving him a small bow and turned around to leave. “Where are you going? I’m not done yet.” Smithy turned around in surprise to see a bloodied Pink back on his feet winding up a big punch.
“Wai- what?! Nooo!” He had no time to dodge and simply opted to block the punch with his arms but the strength behind Pink’s strike was much more than he could have imagined. He was launched out of the city entirely. “Fuck me, I'm gonna pass out.” He passed out on the floor.

~***~

Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Drag were in the town square, fending off the Scalers and zombies trying to breach further in Canterlot. The pink pony used confetti cannons that she summoned out of nowhere to send the lizards flying out of the city while the white unicorn used her magic to throw them away, not wishing to get in physical contact with the reptiles as most of them were covered in dirt. Drag was holding his own very well, his fighting skills and holy magic allowed him to take on the Scalers in masse. “Everypo- Everybody’s doing good so far?” shouted the Tauren to his friends.

“This is atrocious! Why must they all be so dirty?” whined Rarity as she did her best to keep the opposite force at bay.

“Uh oh, my cannon’s run out of confetti!” said Pinkie Pie as a Scaler drew near.

“Fuck your cannon.” He chopped the cannon in two with his axe, causing the pink pony to fall off, landing right in front of the reptile. He pulled out a gun on her and stared briefly at the pony, who giggled at the sight of his weapon. “What’s so funny?” Before he could even do anything, a Scaler was launched into him, sending a pair of lizards into a wall causing it to crack because of the force behind the throw.

“Thanks Rarity!” said Pinkie Pie as she waved off at the unicorn.

“You can always count on me darling.” replied Rarity as she trotted up to her friend. As she was helping her get up, they both saw Scalers in heavy armour marching down the streets, wielding energy-based swords. They were coming for them. Drag quickly took notice of these new foes and started walking up towards them.

“Leave them to me girls. I’m sure you can handle yourself just fine.” The two mares took off to somewhere far from this confrontation.

“Make sure not to stain your armour too much. Do I need to remind you that I'm always the one who cleans all your equipment after battle?” Drag briefly looked over at Rarity for a moment.

“I’ll try my best not to stain them too much, but you best believe you’ll have a lot of work on your hands once this battle is over.”

~***~

Up in the sky above Canterlot, Rainbow Dash and Alduin were locked into a heated brawl with the genie Aruba. The genie’s attacks were unpredictable as he summoned various items to attack ranging from swords, rubies, statues and cabbages. When it wasn’t items being launched at them, it was lightning, magical bullets and strong wind trying to blow them back to the ground. “How are we supposed to beat this guy?!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash in frustration.

“I don’t know! All I have is shouting, fire breathing and frost breathing as my techniques. Wait, I remember one shout that he won’t see coming.” The black dragon began shouting in his draconic tongue. Afterwards, his body became transparent and he bolted straight at the genie.

“So, you’re no longer opaque, how terrifying.” sarcastically said Aruba as he prepared to launch more lightning at the dragon. Once the dragon was close enough, the genie unleashed a fury of lightning on his opponent, only for his attack to pass right through Alduin. “Oh... I’m fucked.” Alduin went above Aruba and started shouting in his tongue “Fus... Roh Dah!” The shout launched the genie back down on the city, crashing into the walls. Rainbow Dash arrived at the dragon’s side to express her satisfaction.

“Now, this... was... awesome!”

“This won’t be enough to take him down, he’ll come back in just a few seconds. In the meantime, Dash, make yourself useful and prepare to flank him once he comes back in the sky.”

“You got it!” Rainbow Dash flew quickly away from the dragon and hid in the clouds above. Alduin looked back at the fallen genie, but his attention was rerouted to something being launched above him.

“Holy shit!” yelled Smithy.

Alduin looked behind him in surprise, barely being able to see Smithy flying above him, splitting the clouds open.

“What the fuck happened?”

~***~

Princess Celestia was patiently waiting inside her castle for the inevitable arrival of their leader. The castle was now completely empty, except for the sole alicorn remaining inside as to not get anyone caught in the crossfire of the battle that was about to take place. She looked at one of the windows inside the throne room, the sky was relatively clear of any clouds outside. It was a beautiful day indeed, such a shame it had to be ruined with senseless violence. “Admiring the clear blue-sky princess? Perhaps you should be looking somewhere else.” Celestia’s eye darted back to the front door in surprise, sure enough there he was; their leader. Strangely, she hadn’t even heard the giant doors open.

“Your acts of violence have come to an end, Balgo. I will bring you down myself before you can cause any more harm to Equestria.”

“Ahh, I see you have remembered my name. This pleases me greatly; I don’t like having to state my name for the record every single time I make an entrance.” Celestia was quite wary of this Scaler, for she had heard of Drag’s defeat at his hands.

“I’ve heard you bested Drag in battle earlier this day. I won’t make the mistake of underestimating you.”

“Oh boy, you sure are making me feel flattered. Do you know just how often I get insults thrown at me? They are very damaging to my self-esteem. People just don’t know respect these days, It really is a concept lost to time.” Balgo had a lot of sarcasm in his voice. He didn’t appear to be taking this seriously.

“I said I won’t underestimate you, but I see you are fine with underestimating me.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, I’m just having so much fun! I didn’t really have much fun in these past eight months. It’s such a long time.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Let us put an end to this.”

“Of course, just don’t forget; if I win, this would just be the start of your apprentice’s problems...”

~***~

Twilight Sparkle was handling herself quite well on the battlefield. She was putting her magic to good use against the Scalers who didn’t know how to deal with the unicorn’s power. All was going well until she noticed multiple purple tentacles erupting from the castle where princess Celestia stayed in. “What’s going on over there?!” thought the unicorn. “I must see if princess Celestia is all right!” She ran to the castle immediately, her legs now filled once more with adrenaline. She didn’t even take the time to observe the chaos around her for her mind was only focused on the commotion going on at the princess’s castle. When she arrived at the front door, it opened by itself to reveal an empty interior, only with clear signs of there being a brawl. There were multiple holes on the walls, pieces of furniture smashed into pieces and broken windows everywhere. The only thing that remained untouched was the throne itself where Balgo was now sitting on.

“Where is princess Celestia! What did you do to her?” shouted Twilight as stomp down on the floor with her front hooves in an attempt to seem more intimidating but was unsuccessful as the emperor didn’t seem impressed in the slightest.

“Hey there Twiley! The princess and I had quite the heated argument. So, to make a long story short, I evicted her. Crazy story am I right?” replied Balgo with a calm and relaxed posture betrayed only by his excited grin. There was strangely no hint of malice in his voice.

“That doesn’t answer my first question! Where’s the princess!” shouted Twilight, this time it was even louder.

“Questions, questions, questions. I can answer them all, but at a price. If you give me the Element of Magic, I’ll answer all your questions. That’s a fair bargain, right? A powerful magical artifact for a bunch of words that will be in the long run, completely meaningless.” Balgo slowly rose from his chair while he made the offer. Twilight backed away slowly.

“Never! I will never give the Element of Magic to a tyrant like you!” Balgo’s smile slowly turned into a frown as his eyebrows lowered, giving him a rather disappointed look.

“Hand over the Element of Magic, SLOWLY, and then we’ll talk about your princess. That is, if you really care for her... You do care for her, right?” The giant now showed much clearer hints of impatience. Twilight considered running away, but the way he phrased his demand this time seemed more ominous. If she really cared for the princess, she would give him the Element of Magic?

Ultimately, Twilight decided that giving Balgo the Element of Magic would for sure go against the princess’s wishes. “You’ll have to take it from me then.” said the unicorn before bolting out of the castle.

“Farewell Twilight Sparkle, my new adversary. You’re going to have a bad time from now on.” Balgo grinned as he pulled out his phone. “Kryser, fuck her up if you must but get me the Element of Magic.”

~***~

In the sky, Aruba looked down at the battlefield with Kryser sitting on his flying carpet too. “Over there! There’s the element of magic! Get your gears in gear slow poke!” shouted the genie.

“I see that bitch! Throw me down there!” replied Kryser. The genie grabbed the Scaler and threw him down with all his might. The armored reptile lands not far off from the fleeing unicorn. “Balgo doesn’t seem to be chasing me right now. I must go faster before he rushes in.” thought Twilight Sparkle. “I’LL CRUSH YOU!” yelled Kryser who was now just behind her. He was closing in on her, it was only a matter of time before he will catch her. Thankfully, the unicorn had her magic. Her horn started emitting a bright light from it, before a white flash blinded the pursuer. Once he regained his vision, the unicorn was gone. He stopped running and activated magic vision on his helmet. He could now detect the magical waves in the air coming from the unicorn. “Teleportation magic so it would seem.” muttered Kryser to himself before continuing his pursuit. Twilight turned to look back at her pursuer who was now once again getting closer. Startled, she used her magic to place random objects in the lizard’s way to slow him down. The reptile vaulted over the many obstacles the unicorn had placed in his way. It was slowing him down enough for Twilight to create a much more noticeable gap between the two. Eventually, Kryser stopped pursuing her and instead ran in another direction completely.

She breathed a sigh of relief which was interrupted by the sound of machinery just above her. Out of the flying vehicle’s cockpit came Balgo. “You don’t even know your fate, unicorn.” He then started cackling maniacally for a couple of seconds before lowering the vehicle to get closer to Twilight. He slammed his vehicle into the ground right next to Twilight. The unicorn nearly lost her balance but managed to catch her footing and responded by throwing a nearby Scaler with her telekinetic magic at Balgo. She watched as the reptile landed on the windshield of the vehicle only to be wiped away by the windscreen wiper. “That’s going to cost a lot to fix that cracked windshield ya cunt.” remarked an annoyed Balgo. “Hey hold on. Maybe you should pay more attention as to where you’re going instead?” As Twilight looked in front of her, she could see Kryser charging at her full sprint. She turned around, ready to jump out of the incoming attack but it was too late, the Scaler rammed into her at high velocity.

~***~

The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Silver Spoon were hiding in a shelter beneath the city of Canterlot alongside many other civilians. A strong magic barrier was erected around the shelter, blocking all sounds above, leaving the shelter in a troubling silence. All they could hear was the occasional rumbling coming from above.

“You girls think that princess Celestia and the Guardians will be able to defeat these monsters?” asked Sweetie Belle to her friends.

“Of... course? Well, I haven’t seen Celestia lose to any pony that’s for sure! But we did see Drag lose earlier that day.” replied an unsure Scootaloo. It was Applebloom’s turn to voice her opinion.

“Things will go differently this time; the other Guardians are here alongside Celestia. Together, they can defeat this Balgo!” Sweetie Belle looked behind her, alone amongst a crowd of other ponies was Silver Spoon. She had a look of utter defeat on her face to which the others shared. She approached the sad filly to comfort her.

“Are you ok Silver Spoon?”

“... You already know the answer, Sweetie.” the unicorn briefly looked at the floor in sadness, she had all rights to be feeling utterly pessimistic; she had just lost her closest friend earlier this day.

“You don’t have to feel alone Silver Spoon. I’m willing to forgive you for all the bullying you’ve done and become your friend if it will make you feel better.” A faint spark of hope came into the young filly as she heard Sweetie Belle’s words.

“You... would really b-become my friend just so I won’t feel alone?” Sweetie Belle gave the brightest smile she could.

“Of course, I would!” Silver Spoon’s eye began to water; she quickly took notice and wiped the tears before they could stream down her face. Applebloom and Scootaloo went to join the two fillies after the shelter began to rumble again.

“And so would I!” added Applebloom. Scootaloo also had something to add to the conversation.

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt for us to get a fresh new start and leave behind the mean things we said to each other...” At this point, Silver Spoon couldn’t hold her tears back anymore. Sweetie Belle reached out a hoof in solidarity accompanied with a smile that brightened up the dark shelter.

Suddenly, the hatch above the magical barrier opened, and Drag came down. He landed on the shield and motioned at the guards in charge of keeping the barrier to let him in. Once he landed on the ground, he looked around for the four young fillies.

“I think Drag is looking for us! Why else would he be here?” said Applebloom to her friends.

“We don’t stand out in this crowd; we need to get his attention somehow.” added Sweetie Belle.

“Ha! Leave it to me!” Scootaloo hoped onto the back of the older ponies in the crowd, moving from one to another. Eventually, the commotion this created caught on to the Tauren, who finally took notice of the young Pegasus. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon soon followed, running in between the legs of the adults in order to reach the paladin.

“There you are girls! Listen, we don’t have much time now. We absolutely must leave Canterlot right now.” The fillies were shocked to hear this coming from Drag. He sounded nervous and in a hurry, not really the kind of feeling some pony would have if they just won a war.

“W-Wait, what’s going on above us? D-Did we win?” said an anxious Silver Spoon.

“... No, that’s why we must leave while there is still time.”

“B-B-But what about ever pony in here? What are we going to do about them?” pointed out Sweetie Belle, anxiously looking at the other ponies in the shelter.

“We can’t save them all, Sweetie. We can only save ourselves for the time being.” sadly answered Drag, looking away from the fillies in shame. “Come, before they catch on to the bad news. We won’t be able to leave if the entire shelter falls into chaos.”

~***~

Twilight’s eyes began to open slowly. She was surrounded by darkness. Once her senses finally came back to her, she tried to stand up. However, as she tried, she felt an unbearable pain on her back legs. The pain lasted for what felt like eternity even after she sat down. She looked at her legs to realise that her two back legs were broken, wrapped up in bandages. She turned to look at what’s in front of her. Her eyes were slowly getting adjusted to the darkness and she could make out metal bars just a couple of feet away from her position. She was in Canterlot’s dungeon from what it appears. Worst of all, she no longer had the Element of Magic on her. “It would appear I was right; you never had a chance of winning this battle.” She could hear that demonic voice again resonating within her entire body.

“Now I know whose voice it belongs to; Balgo! why don’t you show yourself and get this over with!” replied Twilight, frustrated at her failure.

“I was going to come up with a snarky remark about your current predicament, but I'm rather intrigued by the fact that you responded to absolutely nothing but silence.” said a mildly amused Balgo. He stopped by in front of the metal bars, behind him was the silhouette of Aruba slowly coming into view.

“Do you think she’s going insane? Did we do it in record time?” questioned the genie mockingly while smoking his pipe.

“I think she’s already insane. Only an insane person would ramble about the magical power of friendship and what not. Even then, she seems like the kind of person who would read a book on how to friendship 101. What kind of person needs to study about how to make friends?” chuckle the governor to his friend. The genie laughed, nearly choking on his own pipe.

“Fuck, I’m gonna die! Oh wait, I'm fine.” He spat out his pipe, landing directly in the cell next to Twilight. The unicorn now only had one burning question in her mind.

“Hey Twiley, look!” Balgo began to search in his pockets for a few seconds. He pulled out the Element of Magic and placed it upon his head. “I may not be a king but I gotta say; royalty suits me. How do you like this new style?”

“You promised you’d tell me where the princess is if I gave you the Element of Magic. Well, there you go. You have it, tell me where Celestia is.”

“One problem, you didn’t give me the Element of Magic; I took it by force. But I'll be nice enough to answer your question anyway. Oh! I have a surprise for you by the way. Just look to your left, you might need a bit of light to see her though.” said Balgo with a strange sense of anticipation in his face.

Twilight hesitated, but ultimately look to her left. She couldn’t make out a thing because of the darkness. She lighted up her horn and cast a small orb of light that she sends in the direction of the corner of the cell. Her jaw nearly dropped to the floor and her eyes began to tear up at this horrible sight. Celestia’s body was lying on the cold floor of the cell, dried up and decayed just like the zombies that attacked Canterlot. Insects were crawling in and out of her. There wasn’t a single hint of life in her body anymore. “Celestia... no...” she said in a broken voice.

“Don’t be sad, I merely borrowed her soul. Here, have a look.” said the giant before opening his jaws, extending so much it nearly touched the ground. A huge and beautiful orb of shining light rivaling that of the Sun came out. “That is your princess’s soul. I haven’t used it up yet. So therefore, if you can get your hands on it; you can bring her back to life.” Twilight expression shifted from despair to a slight glimmer of hope.

“That’s a pretty soul, well that is what I would say if you didn’t just flashbang me. Turn the brightness down, will you?” said Aruba sarcastically as he was now covering his eyes with his hands.

The unicorn finally found the strength to speak once more, albeit in a tearful and broken voice. “How am I going to get her soul back from you? You have the Element of Magic. You are just saying this to bring my hopes up before you trample me again.”

“Nah ‘fam. I AM going to give it back if you manage to do something specific. See, I was originally here to conquer this world in the name of our empire, but there has been a change of plan. I’m just looking for fun now.” The giant got really close to the bars, he tore them open with his bare hands, still holding on to the soul with his dark powers. He moved inches away from the unicorn and kneeled to get closer to her height. “Problem is, no one here can make me feel challenged. But I see the potential in you to be a worthy adversary. If you can put me in a really bad position, and I mean REALLY BAD, then I will return Celestia’s soul to its rightful owner.”

Twilight’s eyes were now filled with determination as she wiped the tears off her face. She still had a chance to set things right.

“Well, good luck with that. You might want to do something about Celestia’s body. Its currently in its first stage of decomposition. As for you, you’re free to leave Canterlot at any time. However, that’s going to be challenging with two broken legs and a corpse to carry along.” finished Balgo before leaving the cell. Aruba was seemingly about to follow the emperor, but he stopped briefly to look one last time at the injured unicorn lying in the now open cell.
“Your insurance isn’t covering your medical bills by the way.” pointed out Aruba before joining Balgo.

~***~

The Guardians and the remaining elements of harmony fled the city on train, returning to Ponyville to take it back from the clutches of the invaders. Upon arriving, they were surprised to find no trace of any Scaler in the town. The townsfolk were now repairing the damages done to the infrastructures.

“Oh boy! Everything is back to normal here! Finally, we can throw another party in Ponyville!” said Pinkie Pie while bouncing around.

“You might want to hold off on the party for the moment. Twilight Sparkle didn’t come with us, we should at least check if she’s here.” objected an exhausted Alduin.

Mayor Mare came to the newcomers, looking very worried. “Wait, T-Twilight isn’t with you?”

“Wait, are you implying that she isn’t in Ponyville?” said a nervous Rarity.

“...Yes.” replied the mayor sadly. The group all exchanged worried glances for a while.

Suddenly, Spike spewed out a message. “Huh? It says it's from Twilight Sparkle!” exclaimed the baby dragon.
“Read it out loud now!” shouted impatiently Drag.

“This message is written to all my friends. I’ll cut to the point immediately, our current situation is dire; the princess’s soul as well as the Element of Magic have been taken by Balgo. To get them back, we must put him in a really bad position if we are to get them back. Otherwise, he will destroy her soul. My legs are currently broken and Celestia’s body is starting to decompose. I will make my way back to Ponyville with her, but I know it will take a long time to make the whole trip since the train stations are down in Canterlot... We can’t give up, even if all hope seems lost, I know we can still turn the tables on Balgo.”

“Huh, put Balgo in a bad position. That’s not gonna be easy, he kicked my ass fair and square last time I battled him.” said Drag to his friends.

“And without the Element of Magic, we won’t be able to use the full power of the elements of Harmony on him.” added a frustrated Rainbow Dash. They were all taken out of their stressful situation when they heard someone clearing their throat behind.

“Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! Looks like good ol’ Balgo is at it again!” It was a Scaler, albeit very off putting compared to the others. His eyes were black with no pupils. His mouth was contorted in a huge smile, extending his jaw to an uncanny length. His mouth didn’t really appear to have any fangs unlike any other Scaler, his teeth were strangely human-like. Harsh shadows were casted all over his body despite the fact he was standing in complete sunlight. “Let me help you out in putting a monkey wrench in his plans. Cuz’ that’s what I do best.”

Author's Note

And that's the end of Act 1! The first draft of Act 2 is fully written, I only need to add more to the chapters there, so it shouldn't take too much time to release a new chapter. Act 2 will contain chapter 7 to 11 btw.