The Amphibious Hope

Chapters

Prologue: Birth of a Monster
Chapter 1: Survival of the Hopeful
Chapter 2: Pain and Suffering
Chapter 3: Arriving in Amphibia
Chapter 5: An Amphibious Plan
Chapter 6: A Heartfelt Reunion
Chapter 7: Trapped
Chapter 8: Healing Old Wounds
Chapter 9: Taken Alive
Chapter 10: Salvation at Hand
Chapter 11: The Final Battle part 1
Chapter 12: The Final Battle part 2
Epilogue: Paying the Price
Chapter 4: Informal Introductions

Prologue: Birth of a Monster

Author's Note

Here is the sequel you’ve all been waiting for, folks. This story will be quite a ride, I’ll tell ya. Enjoy the prologue, and let me know in the comments what you think! Thanks for your patience!

Prologue: Birth of a Monster

“Feisty. Feisty. Time to get up, sweetheart,” a fatherly voice spoke.

The said filly slowly woke up and opened her eyes before her smiling father. Yawning, she rubbed her eyes and got out of bed. “Good morning, Daddy.”

“Good morning to you too! You know what today is, right?” the dad asked, grinning widely.

Gasping, she jumped up and down. “It’s my birthday!”

“That’s right, sweetie! Happy third birthday!” her dad celebrated. Her mom brought a birthday cake before her.

Feisty smiled brightly right before she hugged her parents. “You guys are the best! This is already my best birthday ever!”

“You said that during your second birthday, Feisty,” the mom chuckled.

“Go ahead, make a wish!” the dad said.

The filly inhaled and exhaled before closing her eyes. After a few seconds, she blew out the candles. Her parents rejoiced and held their daughter in an embrace.

“I love you, Mom and Dad.”

“We love you too, dear,” replied the mother, the dad nodding in agreement.

Suddenly, a thunderous noise shook the house. Outside, a swarm of Changelings encircled the entire city of Canterlot, evilly grinning at their frightened prey. Then they collectively smashed against the magical force field, causing it to crack.

As they struck the shield one more time, it shattered to pieces. Then the bugs invaded the entire city, terrorizing all the ponies.

Feisty held onto her mother’s right leg while her father ignited his horn. “Keep her safe. I’ll handle those filthy invaders.”

“What’s going on, Daddy?”

“Don’t worry, Feisty. I’ll be back soon, okay? Just stay here with Mommy for now until I get back,” he assured, kissing her on the forehead.

Then he kicked the door open, glaring daggers at the ravaging insects. He saw one of them who had purple eyes with blue wings fly by and lunging at a random couple.

“Run!!” the mare yelled.

But then the Changeling jumped ahead of them and landed before them, blocking their escape.

“You’re not going anywhere, ponies!” the bug hissed.

The couple embraced each other as they prepared for their doom. However, the Changeling was knocked out from behind by a magical beam.

The dad glared at the bug before looking back at the couple. “Go! Go!” he urged. They did so and ran off as quickly as possible.

The Changeling got back up and angrily hissed at his attacker. “You have some nerve, unicorn! You’ll pay for that!”

The father shot another beam at the insect, but the latter dodged it and flew up to the sky. He called the rest of his comrades before landing back down on the ground. Thus, the unicorn saw himself surrounded by more Changelings.

His wife and daughter watched from inside the house through a window. Clenching his teeth, he produced a multi-spell beam and blasted at his opponents in all directions simultaneously.

He glared at the purple-eyed Changeling again as the bug slowly got back up. “Had enough?”

“Heh…not yet,” the insect sneered, smirking.

At that moment, the father groaned in discomfort as his love got drained completely. Two Changelings absorbed every ounce of his love before smacking their mouths in satisfaction. He limply fell on the ground exhausted.

“No!!” the mother and daughter yelled.

The leading Changeling then loomed over his weak prey with a nasty smile on his face. “Not bad…for a meal,” he taunted. Then he bit the dad’s neck while Feisty and her mother watched in horror.

“Let’s go! Queen Chrysalis is expecting us!” he commanded.

As soon as they left, Feisty and her mother took his dying body and brought him back inside the house.

“Dad…?” the filly wept.

The venom coursed through his blood vessels, shortening his breath in the process. He desperately gasped for air as he gently touched his daughter’s face. “Listen, love, I…I need you to remember this. I love you, sweetie. I…*gasp*…love you very much.”

His heart stopped working, and he gasped his final breath. His head lifelessly fell on its right side.

Feisty then cried over his corpse, her mother shedding tears along with her. After a couple minutes of crying, the filly looked out the window with sheer anger in her watery eyes.

Back in the present time, the mare looked out through the window of Canterlot Castle. Clothed with her new royal cape, armor hooves, and golden necklace, Feisty reflected on her past fillyhood and how unhappy she was back then.

“Wow…I’ve come this far, huh? Never thought it would come to this. After everything that’s happened, I finally get what I want. And honestly, I couldn’t be even more…” she spoke before she suddenly smiled. “….HAPPY!!”

She maniacally laughed in her new bedroom. The frobot guards looked at each other in confusion from outside the door.

“These seven years have been the best times of my life!! Conquering, terrorizing, slaughtering, enslaving?! Ha, ha, It’s like a dream come true!” she reveled.

Then she looked at the clock. “Oh, look what time it is. It’s time for more fun!”

As she exited her bedroom, she walked through the hallway until she arrived at the dungeon. Inside, there were five young Changelings and three little dragons. Once they saw her, they quivered in fear.

“Aww, poor little creatures…all alone, no friends, no parents, and no one to help them. Isn’t that right, little savages?” she mocked with a motherly tone.

“Are you gonna h-hurt us?” one of them asked, shaking.

“We wanna go home!” a baby dragon cried.

“Don’t worry, little ones. Your emotional pain will be over; after all, you don’t deserve any suffering. Well, not like this anyway,” Feisty said, caressing them gently.

“Guards!” she called.

The frobots appeared next to her as summoned. “Relieve them of their misery. They deserve some mercy,” she ordered. After she gave her command, she walked away.

Then the frobots aimed their weapons at the younglings. The mare evilly smirked as she heard their screams after shots were fired.

Then she entered the throne room. Before her stood Gloam Fall/The Core as they looked at their newfound empire. She ecstatically pranced on the floor and then kneeled before them.

“Such a lovely sight to behold, General Feisty. If only Twilight was here to see it,” Gloam Fall remarked, chuckling.

“You got that right,” the unicorn agreed. “Much better than the boring old days of depression.”

“Anything to report?”

“Of course! Early this morning, the Dragon Lands were taken hostage by our forces, and now Dragon Lord Ember has conceded.”

“Precisely what we hoped to hear,” Gloam Fall smirked. Then they turned to face their second-in-command.

“With her no longer in control of the Dragon Lands, her underlings will automatically be subject to our authority—which means—,”

“They will be at our mercy,” Feisty finished, evilly grinning.

“Exactly!” The Core smiled. Suddenly, crowd noises were heard outside the castle.

“Oh, we almost forgot to mention! The ponies are nervous, afraid, and confused. You know what to do.”

“Of course, my lord,” the mare obeyed.

As she stood before the crowd outside the gates, she fired a magical beam into the sky. It loudly exploded which caught everyone’s attention.

“The Emperor has heard your cries and your discomfort. We understand the severity of the situation; however, the Emperor and I are working restlessly to bring these non-ponies to justice!” Feisty proudly spoke.

The majority of the crowd happily cheered in response whereas some of them looked uncertain and worried.

“Even though these heathens have managed to fight back throughout these years so far, they won’t be for long. Stay strong and stay safe, folks!” she concluded. She teleported back inside the castle as the crowd cheered again.

“Excellent speech, my friend. Oh, and one more thing. King Thorax and his Changelings have failed to surrender their kingdom and their rights within three days. You can have them,” Gloam Fall commanded.

Then the unicorn wickedly laughed. “With pleasure!”

Chapter 1: Survival of the Hopeful

The land of Equestria was swarmed by a horde of frobots; all of them surrounded every city and every town. The sky was dark orange as the sun was covered by thunderous, dark red clouds.

At Canterlot, the castle had an imprinted insignia of The Core whereas the Unity Crystals still hovered above the palace. The frobots guarded both the front gates and within every hallway of the castle.

The ponies however went back to their homes. Some of them had uncertain looks on their faces after Feisty had given her reassuring speech earlier.

“I kinda wish we had Twilight as our ruler again,” said one earth pony.

“Tell me about it. Twilight would never force us to obey her! *sigh* I just want things to get back the way they were,” a mare sighed.

“One can only hope, Blossom. One can only hope,” he sadly replied.

As the ponies entered their houses, a gray-tailed hawk stood on a roof and observed everything. Then it flew off to the Everfree Forest and landed on a particular grown dragon as he was sitting down on a log.

“How’s Ponyville holding up?” Spike asked.

“Let’s see…gloomy atmosphere, fearful ponies, doubt, uncertainty, anti-creatures, tyranny…yep, the usual,” the hawk nonchalantly replied, morphing into a draconequus.

“There has to be a way we can overthrow that…thing! We can’t let it ruin everything we love and cherish!” Spike exclaimed.

“Well, technically, it already has,” Discord corrected, trimming his lion claws with a butter knife.

“Discord, this is serious! If we don’t do something now, we may never get our lives back!”

Discord then grabbed his thinking cap and placed it on his head. The cap then started to produce a few lightbulbs all at once. As soon as it finished, he threw it away and scrutinized each of the bulbs.

“Hmm, let’s see.” He grabbed one of them and zoomed his eyeball right into it. “Nope, too boring,” he said, throwing it away.

Then he grabbed another. “Nah, too cliche.”

For the third, “Nope, another boring trope.”

For the fourth, “Oh, no, we’ll get copyrighted for that.”

For the fifth, “Yuck, I hate that universe!”

Finally, he picked up the last one, “Ahhh, now this is more like it!”

“What is it?”

“Oh, you know, it’s been years since I’ve visited that world. Much like Equestria, it has many wonders, surprises, amusements, and a lot of interesting creatures. I believe they will help us.”

“Well, what are we waiting for? Take us there!” Spike urged.

“I wish I could, but this time, I don’t have the ability to create portals at the moment,” replied Discord, looking down sadly.

“What?? You’re literally the Lord of Chaos!! Don’t you travel through inter-dimensional places anymore?”

“Blame those annoying robots for shooting those magic-draining darts at me,” he groaned, plucking said dart from his back. “Luckily, they only managed to land one hit. I still have magic…except I can’t create portals for the next 5 hours. It requires a lot of magical energy to perform that operation.”

“So what are we supposed to do until then?”

“I suppose we can check on our friends and make sure they’re alright,” Discord suggested before his ears literally deflated. “Fluttershy must be worried sick.”

“Good thing you rescued us from that dungeon or else we would have been toast sooner or later,” Spike smiled until he suddenly remembered something. “Wait, how did you get past those robots anyway? I’ve been meaning to ask you that for a long time.”

“Ha, it was super easy! Barely an inconvenience!” Discord chuckled.

“Oh really?” Spike scoffed, arching an eyebrow.

“It’s true! I didn’t even need to get my claws dirty!” Discord explained, pulling the flashback slide out of thin air.

The draconequus disguised himself as a mechanic before he approached the frobot guards. The latter drew out their blasters at him.

“State your business.”

“Pardon me, sirs, but I was called to fix a certain toilet problem in the dungeon,” Discord replied, talking with a British accent. “Allow me through, if you please.”

The frobots looked at each other before they withdrew their weapons. “Make it quick.”

Once he was able to gain access into the dungeon, he spotted Spike and the Mane Five therein.

“Discord, you’re here!” Fluttershy cheered.

“Shhh! Don’t wanna alert the other robots,” Discord whispered. Once he snapped his fingers, they all vanished.

Spike looked at him puzzled. “Seriously? Those guys were that dumb?”

“That’s what I thought! But then again, villains usually don’t have smart minions. I guess that’s one of the reasons why they always lose,” Discord grinned.

“Anyway, let’s get out of here. There’s no time to waste.”

“Well then…” replied Discord, turning into a helicopter. “Let’s roll out.” Thus, he followed Spike out of the forest.

Later that evening, Spike and Discord arrived in Ponyville which was heavily guarded by frobots on all sides. The duo hid behind the bushes and quietly snuck right into the back door of Sugercube Corner. Locking the door, they entered into the basement floor of the building.

As they slid right down on the ground, there was the Mane Five, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Big Mac along with his wife and son, Twilight’s parents, and Cheese Sandwich who was watching over Lil’ Cheese.

“Is everypony okay?” Spike asked.

“Surviving but…barely,” Applejack replied, organizing what remained of her apples.

“I hate it when these meanies always make everypony miserable! No parties, no treats, nothing!” Pinkie ranted, her hair deflating.

“I’m sure it will all be over soon, sweets. Nothing like pure optimism to keep the light shining!” Cheese Sandwich assured, embracing her. Pinkie smiled in response.

“Right. Gotta be hopeful for our little pie,” she replied, hugging their little foal.

“We can’t just sit here and do nothing while that lunatic mare destroys Equestria! We have to fight back!” Rainbow spoke up.

“How? We are no match for those ruffians!” Rarity doubted.

“We faced many villains before, and these guys are no different!” Rainbow argued.

“Yeah, that’s because we had the Magic of Friendship until Feisty destroyed it! Face it, Rainbow, we’re never getting our lives back,” Rarity replied, sitting back down depressed.

“So that’s it? We’re just gonna give up? Just like that?!” Sweetie Belle shouted, looking at her older sister.

“When was the last time any of you gave up?” Scootaloo asked.

Nopony answered.

“We may not be as powerful as these frog critters, but we can still kick their sorry behinds goodbye!” Apple Bloom encouraged.

“Apple Bloom’s right! We have to fight back. I mean, look how far we’ve survived!” Sweetie continued. “Rarity told me how Twilight was on the verge of giving up until she and the rest of you reminded her of the power of friendship. We all came together to stop Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Tirek despite the odds! No matter how much they damaged Equestria, they still lost at the end!”

Everyone smiled as they recalled the memory.

“Huh, it’s interesting how history often repeats itself,” said Discord, grinning. “But it’s getting more unoriginal by adding another psychopathic unicorn into the mix for the hundredth time.”

“Ahem,” Spike elbowed him.

“What? It’s true!”

Rarity sighed deeply as she thought on her sister’s speech. “You’ve come a long way, Sweetie Belle. And you’re right; I should’ve never given up hope. It’s just that this feels more…”

“Everlasting? Yeah, I guess that’s what seven years can do to us,” Sweetie replied.

“Let’s not forget about Twilight! I don’t know what that horrible alien looks like, but I hope it didn’t hurt her!” Velvet cried. Night Light placed his arm around her.

“Once this is all over, I’ll make sure that abomination never enslaves anypony else…EVER again,” he added, glaring at the ceiling.

“See? That’s the fighting spirit I wanna see! We can do this!” Rainbow shouted.

“Eeeyup!” Big Mac agreed.

“Well, if it means protecting our family from evil…then it’s worth a shot,” Sugar Belle nodded, determined.

“But we still have no means of fighting them. With what little magic we have, it won’t be enough to stop them. We need a plan to figure this all out,” Fluttershy reminded.

As everyone was thinking, Discord stepped forward. “Weeeeelll…I may have a solution for our little setback.”

This caught everyone’s attention. “Oh boy…it’s always gotta be his ideas,” Applejack groaned, face-hoofing herself.

“At the moment, my portal-creating abilities will return to me after 5 hours. At that point, I can send myself and Spike to a world that can help us.”

“Another world? Like Sunset’s world?” Rainbow asked.

“Hmm, no. I was thinking something more…amphibious….if you know what I mean,” Discord smirked.

“No. No, we don’t,” Applejack bluntly replied.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at each other excited before they approached him. “We can come with you guys! I’ve always wanted to travel to a different universe!” Scootaloo volunteered, flapping her wings.

“No, you should all stay here where you’re safe. Discord and I can handle this,” Spike objected.

“Oh, come on! The three of us are grown mares now! Why do ya guys always have all the fun?” Apple Bloom whined.

“Because…the plot said so?” Discord replied, eating roasted pickles.

“Don’t worry; I know Discord and Spike will find some outside help,” Fluttershy assured.

“Thank you, my dear,” the draconequus warmly smiled. “Well, Spike, you think you’ll be up for the challenge?”

“Anything to save Equestria and bring Twilight back!” Spike responded, clenching his fists.

Before the duo could leave, Rarity tapped Spike’s back. “Spike, just remember…be safe out there.”

“Hey, you know me. Always prepared for anything!” Spike smiled.

“Of course. Even though you’ve grown, you’ll always be my Spikey-Wikey…” Rarity whispered, hugging him.

Slightly blushing, Spike briefly hugged her back. Once they broke the embrace, Discord teleported himself and Spike out of the basement.

Chapter 2: Pain and Suffering

As the moon was rising, Starlight, Trixie, and Sunburst locked the front doors of the School of Friendship and checked the classrooms to make sure they were empty. Once they checked out the premises, Starlight pulled out a carpet from the floor and opened up a door.

The trio stepped down into the basement and closed the door. There, they saw multiple hippogriffs, changelings, and griffons huddling together, warming themselves with their blankets, and eating whatever food they had left.

“How long are we gonna stay in here?” a changeling asked.

“I…I don’t know, but we’re gonna continue to keep you safe,” Starlight assured.

“Do you think they might find us here?” a griffon asked, shaking.

“They won’t. We made sure that our hideout remains a secret, so you have nothing to worry about,” Sunburst replied.

“I’m scared.”

“Me too!”

“Fear not, young creatures! The Great and Powerful Trixie is here to protect you!” Trixie spoke up, wearing her old magician attire.

The children however continued to keep themselves warm without even looking at her. “Huh…this usually works. Younglings love to look up to Trixie! Why aren’t they encouraged?”

Sunburst then nudged her as he noticed something in her eyes. “Uh, Trixie? Are…you feeling alright?”

“Ha, me? Trixie’s more than alright! Giving hope during our darkest hour is what I do!” she happily replied. Then a tear fell out of her eye. After a few seconds, she trembled on the floor, sobbing.

“Forget it, I’m not okay! Trixie gives up!” she cried.

Sunburst then embraced her, quietly calming her down. “It’s alright, Trixie. Let it all out.”

“Why are things much more horrible than they were before?! When will this nightmare end for Trixie?!” she wailed.

“We can only hope it’ll end sooner than we think,” Sunburst replied, depressingly sighing.

Starlight then noticed one of the young hippogriffs quietly sobbing. Concerned, she went over to the corner where he was and gently laid her hoof on his shoulder.

“Ares, what’s wrong?”

“*sniff* N-nothing. It’s just…I—I miss my family. My mom and dad. I’ll never see them again!” Ares wept.

Starlight hugged him. “I’m so sorry. I wish there was something we could do, but…*sigh*…we just have to keep you safe until it’s all over.”

“When will it be over?” Ares asked.

Starlight was silent for a moment until she hugged him again. “Soon….soon…”

Back in the throne room, Thorax and three of his royal advisors were chained together while they were surrounded by six frobots. The former changeling king was sadly looking downward with his eyes closed whereas his friends kept shaking in fear.

“I think they’re gonna…t-torture us!”

“I hoped this day would never come…*gulp*…and now we’re at their mercy.”

“Hey, it’s gonna be alright. I won’t let them hurt you guys,” Thorax comforted, looking at them compassionately.

“Really?”

“Of course! Our kingdom may be destroyed, but that doesn’t mean we surrender. Changelings don’t cower before the enemy,” Thorax assured.

His advisors then calmed themselves and nodded in agreement. “Ha, I’m sure Chrysalis would’ve been happy to hear that coming from you.”

“Yeah, well, that’s the only true lesson she ever taught me. Guess it’s in our nature,” Thorax chuckled.

They were silent for a moment, contemplating on everything that has happened so far. Then as Thorax turned his face toward the frobots, he narrowed his curious gaze on them.

“Have you guys ever wondered where these creatures came from?” he asked his friends.

His advisors looked at one another puzzled. “Actually, yes. We assumed that this alien invader whom General Feisty calls emperor created them out of pure magic…but it seems there’s more to them then meets the eye.”

“Wait…could it be possible there’s a world where sentient frogs exist? Because these beings look like frogs!” one of them wondered.

“I dunno. But whatever they are and wherever they came from, they’ll think twice before getting rid of us,” replied Thorax, glaring at them.

However, the frobots remained unfazed by his comments and stood on guard. This surprised the prisoners as they noticed their lack of reaction.

“Huh, I guess they’re emotionless too?”

“Seems like it,” Thorax replied, shrugging.

Suddenly, the doors burst open, revealing a smug unicorn who was accompanied by two more frobots. Thorax glared daggers at her while his advisors tried to put on brave faces.

“Feeling comfortable, your ‘highness’?” Feisty mockingly welcomed.

“You’re never getting away with—,”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, ‘…getting away with this! Oh, the Magic of Friendship will destroy me! Oh noooo!!!’ Hahahahaha!!! Keep dreaming, bug face, keep dreaming!” Feisty taunted, mimicking Thorax’s voice.

“What are you gonna do? Torture me? Because it’ll take a lot more than that to break my fighting spirit,” Thorax challenged.

“Torture? Oh, no, I’m normally not into that sort of stuff…” she replied, circling her prisoners. “…although I could at least give it a shot…” she playfully added.

She then produced a dagger made purely out of magic and pointed it right at Thorax’s chest. “You’re keeping secrets from me, and I want to know them all. Otherwise, what will be left of your entire existence is what you’re named after.”

“You can threaten me all you want, but I will never give up my family to the likes of you,” he defied.

At that moment, she hatched an idea. Evilly smirking, she trotted over to Thorax’s advisors while playfully brandishing her dagger. “Do they share the same sentiment?”

Widening his eyes, he tried to break the chains, but the frobots knocked him back down. Then they aimed their blasters at him.

“NO! Don’t you hurt them!” Thorax pleaded.

Feisty stabbed one of the changelings in the leg and twisted his wing. He screeched in pain and fell on the floor. “Tell me where your surviving bugs are, and I will let your little buddy live.”

Then she pressed the tip of the blade on his belly, slowly pushing it. Tears came out of his eyes.

“You already ransacked and murdered half of my people! Haven’t you had enough?!” Thorax yelled.

Wickedly smiling, she slit the other changeling’s throat. He fell on the floor and exhaled his final breath. “Does that answer your question?”

Enraged, Thorax broke free of his chains and tried to lunge at the general. However, the frobots subdued him and held him firmly on the floor.

“Ready to talk?”

The former king hatefully stared back at her, spitting at her face.

Shrugging, she nonchalantly wiped the spit off her face. “Oh well, I guess we’ll get ‘em next time.” She nodded to the frobots, and they lowered their weapons. Her dagger disappeared.

Thorax looked at her confused but internally sighed in relief.

“At least we have your brother…” she remarked.

Snapping his head backward, Thorax struggled against the frobots. “No…no…NO!! You leave him alone!! Your battle is with me!!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll have you be a witness to his grand finale—his ignominious execution…” Then she teleported to his spot, angrily looking at him in the eyes. “…and I will make you watch. Take him away.”

The frobots forcefully took him back to the dungeon while he continued yelling in a distance.

“What about these two, General?” a frobot asked.

“Keep them. I’m sure they will be somewhat useful to the Emperor,” Feisty commanded.

The remaining two changelings looked at each other uncertain. The frobots also took them back to the dungeon with Thorax, preparing them for the big day tomorrow.

Author's Note

Sorry that it took this long, guys. I’ve been really busy lately. Still, I hope you’re liking this story so far.

Chapter 3: Arriving in Amphibia

Discord and Spike quietly snuck behind berry bushes of the Canterlot Garden. Once they got past all the fences thereof, they found themselves alone in the midst of the garden.

“Alright, it seems like my temporary magical suspension has expired! It’s time to explore a new world!” Discord shouted.

“Shhh! Keep it down, Discord!” Spike scolded.

“What? It’s not like we’re in a library or anything,” replied Discord, looking at a library book in his paw. “Speaking of which, I need to return this book to the Canterlot Library. It’s been like what? Four years since I’ve read it? Good thing I’m not Twilight.”

Spike facepalmed himself, groaning. “Can we just go already? Time is of the essence!”

“Of course,” he nodded, throwing the book away. He snapped his fingers, igniting tiny sparks of light in the air. Those sparks then opened a large portal door before them.

“You sure this world will help us?”

“Trust me, Spike, you will love its admirable quality,” Discord assured, winking.

As Spike opened the door, Discord kicked him right through it. “Multiverse trip, here we go!” he yelled right before he jumped in.

Then the door closed, and it instantly disappeared.

Spike slowly opened his eyes and noticed his new surroundings. He saw the greenery all around him, the mountains, and the blue sky. He even noticed a random frog statue a few inches from him.

“What the—? Is…is this the one?”

“Right you are, Spike-O! This is where the fun begins!” Discord chuckled.

They both beheld the lustrous landscape of Amphibia; the weird-looking mosquitos, the insectoid creatures, and some monstrous animals—all crawling everywhere.

“Whoa…these guys kinda look like the ones from our world! Except they’re more…weird?” Spike observed.

“Ha, you haven’t seen everything yet. Wait till you see its inhabitants,” Discord replied, winking.

They started to walk across an open field. As they were traveling, Spike gazed at a massive vineyard to his left. It had large stalks of corn which were all twice the size of normal corn. He then noticed a large worm eating a massive mosquito, burping after it was finished.

“Ugh,” he groaned in disgust. “Um, how far is civilization from here?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Probably three miles away? Five? Fifty? It’s been forever since I visited this world.”

“Don’t you think it’ll be quicker to fly? We have to find help as fast as possible!” Spike urged.

Discord then zoomed his eyeball all over Spike while randomly wearing a doctor’s attire. “Are you sure you’re not Rainbow Dash?” Then he grabbed a thermometer and put it in his mouth. “Hmmm, your body temperature is normal. Definitely ‘20% cooler’ as she would say,” he chuckled.

“Very funny, Discord,” Spike sarcastically replied, spitting the thermometer away. “Come on! The sooner we find these guys, the better!”

Suddenly, a little frobot walked beside them while watering some soil beneath them.

“What the…?” Spike muttered, confused.

At that moment, a large figure slowly approached them. As the duo eyed him, the creature had one arm, one leg, a half-broken tail, a white beard, a chain around his body, and a cloak covering his head.

“Uh…excuse me, sir?” Spike called.

“Who goes there?” the stranger asked with a surprised tone.

“We…are…*ahem*…we are visitors from another dimension…uh…Equestria! My name is Spike, and this is my friend Discord. Do you…have a moment?”

The crippled figure then dropped his hammer and raised his hood. As he revealed his face, he only blinked twice and lowered his head.

“Equestria? Hmm, it is a place I’ve never heard of. But…I do find it interesting to meet with sentient life forms from another dimension. My name is Andrias; it is my pleasure to meet you.”

Discord slithered around him in his snake form. “My, my, my, you look like you’ve seen some intriguing stuff in your time! Would you like some pickle in a jam?” he asked, holding jelly-covered pickles in a fork.

“Discord, now is not the time!” Spike scolded.

Andrias heartily chuckled at his antics. “No, no, it’s fine. He reminds me of some dear friends I once knew.”

“Oh? Well, do tell!” Discord smiled, grabbing a popcorn out of nowhere.

“Dude, we really don’t have time to—,” Spike spoke before a zipper closed his mouth.

“Shhh! It’s story time!”

“No, I…rather not waste your time,” Andrias shook his head.

“Why? Feeling embarrassed about it?”

“It’s something I…don’t want to talk about.”

“Come on, I’m sure it’s nothing to be embarrassed about! After all, friends listen to each other,” said Discord, pressing his face against Andrias’s cheek.

The old newt sighed deeply before he sat down on the ground. “Very well. During my youth, I would often hang with my two best friends: Leif and Barrel. They were the greatest friends I could ever ask for. Every time I felt sad, they would cheer me up. Every time I felt happy, they would make me even happier.”

“But…but those good times didn’t last long. My father hated our friendship; he made me think that friendship was a waste of time—a hindrance to success. When I saw Leif steal something that belonged to us, I was angry…and turned against her,” Andrias shared, tears forming in his eyes.

“Why?”

“She had her reasons. It was an artifact that would have doomed another world had she not acted,” he replied.

“Looks like friendship did a number on him,” Discord whispered to Spike. The latter elbowed him out of annoyance.

“It was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. Instead of standing up for my dearest friend, I arrogantly stood by my father. For a 1,000 years, I became a self-hating tyrant—destroying worlds and using their resources to prepare our invasion of Earth. During that time, I felt no love in my heart……until I met Marcy.”

Discord and Spike curiously raised their eyebrows.

“She reminded me a lot like Leif, and we became great friends who shared a lot of interests…despite what my former master said of her.”

“Who was your master?”

“The Core,” Andrias hatefully muttered.

The duo gasped in shock.

“I blindly followed its vision for the future. I caused so much pain and suffering because of it. But…if it weren’t for the wisdom of my late friend…I would have never seen the error of my ways. *sigh* I truly wish she were here to see who I am now,” Andrias finished, smiling at the leaf symbol on his cloak.

“So the Core used to be your master?!” Spike exclaimed.

“Yes. You seem as if you knew about it,” Andrias replied, arching an eyebrow.

The duo then gulped. “Well…it would appear that your ex-boss decided to stay at our world,” Discord informed.

Andrias then faced the draconequus with a surprised look. “What?”

“The Core took over Equestria, possessed Princess Twilight, and is currently destroying everything and everyone we love! That’s the reason why we came; Discord thinks that the residents of your world will help us defeat it. Do you know where we can find everyone else?” Spike asked.

Before the newt could answer, he bowed his head in sorrow and turned his back. “I had a feeling it wasn’t truly over…”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“There was an ancient prophecy that mentioned The Core. It spoke of it as an ‘unnatural thing that will not sleep and will not die’. From the looks of it, that description is coming to fruition,” Andrias explained.

“An ancient prophecy?” Spike repeated, puzzled. “So…it can’t be destroyed?!”

“Technically, it can. However, it has an unshakable willpower that refuses to accept any loss. Ergo, it will go to any length to ensure its victory…no matter the cost. It was beaten before, and it is now trying its hardest to not be defeated again.”

“Ahhhh, so it’s basically a sore loser! Hahaha, what a big baby!” Discord laughed.

Andrias chuckled. “You could say that.”

“So that creature has a long history, has terrorized other planets, and is now seeking revenge. This…THIS IS A LOT TO TAKE IN!!” Spike yelled.

“I’m sorry, my new friends. I wish I could do something to help, but…I’m in no condition to do so,” Andrias apologized, looking down on his broken body.

“That’s fine. We just need to find any town nearby that can help us.”

“Just keep going south. Once you get past the southern woods, you’ll find Wartwood. They can help you,” Andrias directed.

“Wartwood? Hmm, why does that name sound familiar?” Discord wondered, his eyebrows detaching from his eyes to scratch his head.

“Thank you…Mr. Andrias,” Spike thanked. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that. Inflicting pain on others must have eaten you inside, huh?”

“It did. Which is why I am paying the price for my crimes; on the bright side though, I get to garden for a living. It’s what Leif did, and it has surely made me happy. It’s something I want to continue doing even after my punishment is complete…until my time comes,” he replied, sowing the seeds on the soil.

Spike stood there as he watched him sow more seeds. He then smiled at him.

“I must be on my way. Good luck with your mission….Spike,” Andrias waved, leaving.

Spike nodded. “Come on, Discord.”

“Right behind you, big boy!” But before Discord could leave with him, he turned his head around and stared at the old newt. “One more thing, old timer!”

“Yes?”

“You should meet your voice actor one day. He has such a powerful voice it’s relaxing to hear…like yours has. Toodles!” Discord snapped his fingers, vanishing.

Then Andrias looked at the sky. “That was pleasant. I sure hope they succeed in their endeavors. The whole multiverse depends on them.”

Suddenly, he looked back at them with curiosity. “What’s a voice actor?”

Chapter 5: An Amphibious Plan

“The Core…is BACK?!” Sprig exclaimed.

“Yeah! That Andrias guy back there mentioned it has some unbreakable willpower which means it will stop at nothing from destroying everything!” Spike replied.

“But how?! Didn’t Anne destroy the Core?” Hop Pop reminded. “There’s no darn way it survived after all this time!”

“It really hasn’t been that long, dear,” Sylvia corrected.

“Well, it surely feels like it has!”

“Who’s Anne?” Spike asked.

“Oh, uh, she’s…a close friend of mine. She was the one who saved us from that monster. She literally…*sigh*…sacrificed herself to save Amphibia…” Sprig said, sadly reminiscing at the painful memory.

“Buuuuuut, she’s alive and well! How so? Long story, so don’t ask,” Polly flatly added.

“I guess that explains why you don’t have a moon anymore,” said Discord, looking at the moon’s remains through a telescope. “Hopefully, that doesn’t mess up your ecosystem!”

“Hehe…that’s an entirely different story,” Hop Pop remarked, nervously scratching his hair.

“So…the Core has returned for revenge and is taking it out on your world? Why?”

“I don’t know, Sprig. But we’re not gonna sit here and do nothing while it massacres more innocent creatures! Right, Discord?”

Discord was briefly absent-minded until he snapped right back to reality. “Oh, oh, uh…of course not. But…we can’t head back to Equestria without some resources. After all, that thing has us outnumbered 100 to 1, so we could tour around here and look for some magical artifacts to help us save Equestria.”

Sprig however had to process all the information he heard; he silently stood still while looking down. Worried, Polly, Ivy, and Hop Pop walked over to check on him.

“Sprig, are you okay?” Ivy asked.

“I…I don’t know…” Sprig replied, his voice cracking.

Then Spike also drew closer to the frog and looked at him concerned. “The Core did so many horrible things in Amphibia, huh?”

“…yeah…” Sprig replied. “I really thought this was all over; that thing was supposed to be gone—for good. I almost lost my best friend in the whole universe to it…” Tears fell from his eyes as he again remembered Anne’s last moments before her temporary death.

“Really?” Spike curiously asked. “What was she like?”

“Well…she was brave, strong, smart, an—and funny too,” he said, softly smiling. “We did so many things together, both dumb and awesome. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be the frog I am now.”

Ivy held his hand in comfort. They warmly smiled back at each other.

“That’s amazing, Sprig. Twilight is like that too,” Spike mentioned. “We’ve had some ups and downs in our journey together, but in the end, it was all worth it. My friendship with her will remain unshakable and unbroken no matter what. This is why we’ve come here. If we can work together, we can defeat the Core, rescue Twilight, and save Equestria!”

Sprig looked back at his family who nodded to each other in approval. “Wow, it’s been about eleven months, and we’re suddenly back in action, huh?”

“I don’t know about you guys, but I kinda miss kicking some frobot butt! I say we help these guys out!” Polly shouted, brandishing an axe out of nowhere. Frobo and Polly then fist-bumped each other.

“If that Core creature wants another whoopin’, then we’ll give it to it!!!” Sadie Croaker concurred.

“Looks like we’re all in!” Hop Pop announced. “We’ll remind that monster what we’re made of!” All of Wartwood shouted battle cries in agreement.

“This sounds like a great plan and all, but I agree with…uh, Discord here. We’re no match against the Core’s army; so we’re gonna have to start all the way from scratch,” reminded Sprig. Then a light bulb appeared above his head.

“Wait, that’s it! All the way from scratch!”

Discord grabbed it and squeezed it back inside his ear. “Again, my bulb, my idea.”

“Discord…” Spike scolded, glaring daggers.

“I know, I know, it’s a bad habit! I just can’t help it! Hahaha!” Discord chuckled.

“Guys, listen! What if Discord can take some of us to Anne’s world and convince her to help us defeat them! We can take on its army while she can destroy it like before!” Sprig suggested.

“Is that so?” Discord wondered.

“Yeah, she obliterated it before, and she’ll do it again!”

“But the gemstones are gone! How will she confront it without their power?” Hop Pop asked.

“Maybe Discord can give her magical powers?” Spike suggested.

“Oh dear Celestia, does everything have to be resolved by me?! What am I? A plot device?”

“I mean…you’re the Lord of Chaos.”

“Hmm. Good point, Spike.”

“Alright. So let’s go, then!” Sprig said, jumping.

Polly then wore a smirk. “You really want to see her again, don’t ya?”

Suddenly, Sprig’s eyeballs poured waters like a fountain as he fell on his knees. “YES! YES, I DOoooooo!! I really miss her!!”

“Geez, I thought I had abandonment issues…” Discord muttered.

“Hey, if your friend defeated the Core before, then there’s a high chance we can win! We’re finally gonna save everyone!”Spike cheered.

“Well, not exactly everyone—,”

“Shut up.”

“And I will,” Discord complied, literally zipping his mouth.

“If I gotta be honest, it would feel nice to see Anne again. I always think of her every day and…wonder how she’s holdin’ up,” said Hop Pop.

“Yeah, I can’t wait to see my big sis! I bet she’s dominating her world right now!” Polly added.

Sprig grew a hopeful, joyous smile while he relished the thought of seeing her again.

“Well then…another road trip to another world! Can this day get any better? Mind to tell me where she’s from?”

Sprig whispered it in his ear.

“Oh, my, the place where pop culture is revered and acknowledged? Sounds like chaotic fun to me! All aboard on the multiversal train!!” Discord announced, wearing his train conductor attire.

He snapped his fingers, taking himself, Spike, Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop to another world.

Back in Equestria, Thorax was chained up before an entire assembly of ponies within the palace of Canterlot.

Beside him were Gilda, Gabby, Sky Beak, and Rutherford who were also in chains. Multiple frobots were stationed on every side of the palace, and two large wooden poles were installed in the center of the platform.

As the ponies were anxiously waiting for the main event, General Feisty teleported in front of them. She evilly grinned at the sight of the non-pony rulers bound before her.

“Citizens of Equestria! Today is the day of judgement for the Changeling Kingdom!” she proudly spoke. “For decades, they have terrorized our kingdom, wrecked havoc on our communities, and destroyed our way of life! But no longer will they strike fear in our hearts!”

Most of the ponies cheered in response.

“Now we shall make an example of one of the most notorious Changelings: Pharynx!” Thorax gasped as he saw his older brother brought before her upon the platform.

“No…”

Pharynx was bruised, cut, whipped, and tired; he weakly lifted his head and emotionlessly stared at the smug unicorn. The latter then angrily slapped him.

“Does the heathen have anything to say before his timely execution?” she challenged, glaring at him.

Pharynx remained silent.

Growling in fury, she stepped on his bruised hoof, forcing him to squirm in agony. “Talk, filth…” she sneered, grinding her teeth.

The wounded Changeling still said nothing, making her groan in frustration. “You’re still a stubborn piece of trash, eh? Well, remember that the spirits of Tartarus will welcome you with open hooves before you suffer for all eternity…for my father…and for me…” she whispered. She then spat at him before she refocused her attention to the assembly.

“This is why we strive to protect our kind! Non-ponies have always been vile, unforgivable, and cruel to our species! But today, we shall show them who we are and what happens if they dare threaten us!” Feisty declared.

The ponies shouted cries of hate and anger to the prisoners.

The unicorn stepped on the platform, magically activating the poles to morph into aurora hooks.

“In the name of the Emperor, I sentence this abomination…to DEATH!!” she ecstatically yelled.

Pharynx looked to his right where Thorax was breaking down in tears. “STOP! PLEASE! LET HIM GO! HE DID NOTHING WRONG!!”

Pharynx then cracked a small grin as a tear fell from his left eye. “See you on the other side…little bro.”

Thorax watched in horror as the hooks were raised high in the air until they dropped upon Pharynx, impaling him in the back and head. Then they ignited blue flames throughout his body, burning him to a crisp.

As the ponies celebrated his execution, Thorax’s legs felt weak as he watched him die. He loudly sobbed on the floor, not caring if anyone else could hear him or not.

Feisty watched with glee whereas the other rulers witnessed the burning in pure terror.

“This is only the beginning of your severe and painful punishment,” she said, facing the prisoners. “Once the Emperor returns, you will be interrogated about the whereabouts of your lackeys. In the meantime, I’ll have some fun with some other non-ponies.”

Two frobots brought a young yak and an elderly hippogriff. Producing her magical dagger again, she playfully swung it around them—making them tremble in fear.

“Ready to have fun?!” Feisty smiled.

“NO! YAK DONE NO WRONG!” Rutherford pleaded.

“Don’t you hurt her!” Sky Beak begged.

She fatally stabbed both of them and smote them with her hoof. Blood spilled on the platform until they uttered their final breaths. Sky Beak and Rutherford stood there in complete shock and horror.

“Awwww, what’s the matter? Did I take away your family before your eyes? Aww, that’s too bad. Well, what goes around comes around, don’t you think?” she taunted.

She motioned the frobots to take them away. All that was left was a weeping Thorax. She kicked him to get his attention.

“You’re—y-you’re a…monster…” he hatefully muttered.

“To you creatures? Yes, I am. But a hero to the ponies—the true members of society. Equestria doesn’t need you anymore,” Feisty replied, motioning to her frobots.

“You and your master will pay for all your crimes against Equestria,” growled Thorax before the guards picked him up.

“Ha, I doubt that.”

Once the frobots took him away, Feisty breathed in and out. She happily gazed upon the ponies as they walked back to their homes.

She wickedly laughed out loud, lightning striking above the castle. However, the brightness of the Unity Crystals grew slightly dim which caused a small crack.

Chapter 6: A Heartfelt Reunion

The group teleported in the middle of Los Angeles. As they looked around, Spike gazed at the tall buildings by which they were surrounded. “Whoa…this is Anne’s world? It almost looks like…Sunset’s world!”

“We’re back on Earth now. I never thought I would see this place again,” sighed Hop Pop.

“Earth? Huh, that’s new to me.”

“Trust me, Spike, you’re gonna love this city! After we meet Anne, we’ll show you everything LA has! It’s just amazing!” Sprig exclaimed, stars beaming in his eyes.

“I’m not sure if we have enough time for—,”

“Oh, come, come, now, Spike. No need to ruin the fun,” Discord interrupted. “I’m sure this Anne will show the wonders of this dimension! Oh, I can already feel the chaotic energy around us!”

“Shh! Watch out! Humans are approaching!” Sprig alerted.

They all hid behind the bushes before they could be noticed by the locals. As the human civilians casually passed by, the group peeked through the bushes.

“Man, that was a close call. We almost got caught!” Sprig sighed in relief, wiping sweat off his head.

“Why can’t we ask those…uh…humans…about this Anne?” Spike asked.

“Dude, those people have really bad reactions to things they don’t understand. The moment they see us, they’ll be like, ‘OMG, talking frogs!!’ ‘AHH, a talking dragon! THEY’RE GONNA KILL US!!’ Y’know what I mean?” Polly informed, mimicking their screams.

Spike arched his eyebrow. “Really? They’re that scared??”

“Pretty much,” replied Polly, shrugging.

“Hmm, I guess that makes sense. Guess we’ll have to keep a low profile for now,” Spike said.

“So, Sprig, to whence shall I resume our road trip?”

“There’s a house a few miles outside the city. We know her parents live there…if they still live there. It’s been so long since we’ve seen them. I hope they’re doing alright,” Sprig replied.

“I can imagine how old they’ve gotten by now. I can’t wait to see their faces once more…especially Mr. Boonchuy! I always admired his sense of humor!” Hop Pop chuckled.

“Well then, a nostalgic family reunion, here we come!” Discord announced, putting on his sunglasses.

“Wait! How can we get there without getting any unwanted attention?” Spike reminded.

“Hmm, I have a…funny solution for that,” Discord said, mischievously giggling.

Spike widened his eyes before he scooted backwards. “Oooohhh no! No, no, no, we’re not doing this again!”

“Do what again?” Sprig wondered.

“You’ll see…” Discord smirked.

“I dunno what it is, but I’m all for it!” Polly spoke, wickedly narrowing her eyes in excitement.

A few minutes later, the frogs and Discord were disguised as humans whereas Spike’s body was turned into a dragon-like motor vehicle. His head remained intact on top of the hood.

“Woo-hoo! Now this is fun!!” Polly shouted.

“Told you it’ll be amusing! Hahaha!! Right, Spike?” Discord laughed.

“You guys are freaking insane!! WHY DOES THE UNIVERSE HATE ME?!” Spike cried.

Anne took her work shirt off and put on her normal T-shirt before she went back into the kitchen. There, her parents—wearing slightly gray hairs—were having a conversation in the living room.

“How many more classics will they remake? Haven’t they done enough already?” Mrs. Boonchuy complained.

“Tell me about it! They’re even planning to remake another animated film that isn’t even a decade old!” said Mr. Boonchuy. “They’re just getting desperate at this point!”

“If they ever—I mean ever—remake The Soft Heart, *cracks knuckles* they’ll have another thing coming for them,” she added, typing furiously on her laptop.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” Anne said.

Once she opened the door, her jaw nearly dropped and her eyes widened in absolute shock. The Plantars, especially Sprig, smiled at seeing their old friend once again.

“Hey, Anne…” Sprig softly greeted, fighting back tears.

Anne’s pupils shrunk as she gazed back at him, standing in awe. “S-Sprig? Hop Pop? Polly? You’re—you’re here?! Am I…dreaming?!”

Polly jumped up and slapped her in the face.

“Okay, definitely not a dream. Also, ow!” Anne casually replied. Once she shook the pain off, she gave them a tight hug. “I can’t believe it!! You guys are actually here!! This is amazing!!”

“I missed you so much!! Every night, I dreamt of this moment!!” Sprig sobbed, hugging her back.

“I missed you too, dude!!” Then she looked back at Hop Pop. “Wow, you look like you haven’t aged at all!”

“Hehe, guess that’s the benefit of being a farmer,” Hop Pop grinned. “Still, I never thought I would see your young face again. Seems like you’ve gotten a little…tall now.”

“Yeah, I have,” she chuckled, wiping off her tear drop.

“What’s up, girl?!” Polly shouted, giving her a high five.

“Hey, hey, sis! Look at you getting taller now! It feels like yesterday you were this small!” Anne remarked.

“Yep! And I’m still kicking butt to this very day!” Polly replied, flexing her muscles.

“I’m so glad to see you guys again. But…HOW?? How did you get here?! Weren’t the stones supposed to be used one last time so that Sasha, Marcy, and I can go back home?”

“Well, they did fulfill their purpose, and yes—they no longer exist…” Hop Pop began.

“Buuuuutt, we did get some help!” Sprig added.

“And we didn’t come alone!” Polly finished.

“Why are you guys emphasizing ‘did’?”

“I dunno. Why not?”

“Anyway, there’s some folks we’d like you to meet!” Hop Pop introduced.

Once the Plantars stepped aside, Anne saw Spike and Discord just behind them. The dragon nervously waved his hand while Discord awkwardly kicked a rock.

“Whoaaa! Who are these guys? New friends of yours?”

“You could say that,” Sprig replied.

“Hi…uh, Anne? I’m Spike. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“HELLO THERE!” Discord greeted in a form of a ringmaster. “I am Discord, Lord of Chaos! Master of Disharmony! Do you crave for mischief? Well, look no further ‘cause I’m here to put a smile on your face! Hahaha!!”

Spike face-palmed himself whereas Anne stood back both confused and surprised. Polly however gazed at Discord and randomly took a picture of him.

“Uhhh…what did I just witness?”

“Don’t ask. That’s just his thing,” Spike replied.

Anne shook off her confusion. “Alright, so now there’s a talking dragon and a weird-looking…lizard…snake thing who can do magic…now I’ve seen everything!”

“So…can we come in?” Spike asked.

“Yeah, come inside! My parents will LOVE this!” Anne squealed.

As they entered the house, Spike and Discord curiously looked around. “Hmm, these humans have quite a humble taste in home decoration. Not suitable for Rarity’s sense of fashion, I’ll tell you that,” the draconequus observed. “Although this is still inferior to Fluttershy’s exquisite housekeeping.”

“Alright, listen, we ask Anne to help us out, go back to Equestria, defeat the Core, rescue Twilight, and—,”

“…and then we get back to our happy little lives! Yeah, yeah, Spike, we get it,” Discord interrupted, turning into a dragon. “‘This is a serious mission! No fun and games until we complete our duty! No distractions!’” he mocked.

Spike groaned in frustration. Then he proceeded to angrily whisper to Discord saying, “Ever since we left Equestria, you barely took this mission seriously. The more we goof around, the more lives will be in danger!”

While the Plantars reunited with Anne’s parents with joy and tears, she noticed the two Equestrians whispering to each other.

“I’m most definitely taking this mission seriously, Spike. But there’s nothing wrong with having some fun during harsh times, you know.”

“Can you just—?!”

“Hey, uh…sorry to interrupt your conversation, but…is everything alright?” Anne politely asked.

The duo then stood upright and cleared their throats. “Why, of course, my dear. We’re…just new to this whole…environment of yours. That’s all. No need to worry!”

“Yeah, uh…I like your, um, home!” Spike added.

“Okay! Come meet my parents! They’ll be thrilled to meet you two!” Anne invited.

As they walked into the living room, the frogs were chatting with her parents in a rapid heartbeat.

“And then we soared high in the sky! It was the first air sport we’ve ever done!” said Sprig.

“That’s amazing, Sprig! That takes a lot of courage to do that! I would never because I’m afraid of heights,” Mr. Boonchuy complimented.

“Ha, wait till you see me skydiving. It’ll make you tremble…in fear,” Mrs. Boonchuy said, grinning mischievously.

The dad nervously gulped. “Wow…hehe…pretty intriguing…”

“Mom, Dad, these are the Plantars’ new friends: Spike and Discord!” Anne introduced.

“Great…more introductions…” Spike sighed, rolling his eyes.

“*Gasp* A big talking dragon?! I didn’t know Amphibia has one of those!” exclaimed Mr. Boonchuy.

“We’re from Equestria, actually.”

Anne’s parents looked at each other amazed. “My goodness…there is more to the multiverse we know very little about,” the mom remarked.

“Aaaaand what are you supposed to be?” the dad asked Discord.

Before Discord could reply, Spike opened his wings in front of everyone. “Guys, listen!!” he yelled.

The others silently stood by with widened, startled eyes.

“Thank you. I know this is a heartwarming moment for all of you and especially for you, Anne. However, there are urgent matters that brought us here.”

“Urgent matters?” Anne asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Yes,” replied Spike. He took a deep breath before he could explain. “We’re here because Equestria is in utter danger. An evil creature has taken our kingdom, enslaved my best friend, and has slaughtered many innocent creatures!”

“Plus, the Core has ruled Equestria with an iron hoof for seven years now. It won’t be long until it has fulfilled its destiny,” Discord added.

Anne gasped in horror.

“The Core?! Uh….I’m sorry. What’s this ‘Core’ you’re speaking of?” the mom asked.

“Anne, are you familiar with the name?” her dad asked.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Anne cleared her ears and rubbed her eyes. “Please tell me you’re making this up. You’re not talking about…THE Core, right?”

Spike and Discord looked at each other awkwardly.

“RIGHT??”

Then Discord looked at her sadly. “Perhaps you should see this for yourself.” He waved his lion arm across the room, creating a panoramic flashback before their eyes. They saw a darkened Equestria below them while an armored alicorn wickedly laughed at the mere sight of it.

Anne then gasped at witnessing the return of her past archenemy: the Core. Blinking its bright orange eyes, Gloam Fall activated their horn and sent a large blast toward the cowering non-ponies beneath the Canterlot Castle. The blast wiped them all out, leaving nothing but burnt skulls and scorched flesh on the ground.

Multiple frobots and ponies erected flags with the imprinted Core insignia. All the other ponies bowed before Gloam Fall and worshipped them.

The flashback ended with Gloam Fall evilly laughing once more.

Anne fell backwards as if she had a heart attack. Her parents and the Plantars rushed to her aid. “Sweetie, are you alright?”

“What’s wrong, Anne?”

Anne then burst into tears. “This…this can’t be happening! This can’t be true! I know I destroyed the Core! I know it! There’s no way it survived!”

“Huh? Anne, you never told us about it! When did you first confront it?” her mother asked.

“Back when Andrias invaded LA. When we rescued Marcy and briefly returned to Amphibia, the Core took over its own moon and used it as a weapon for a final resort. That’s when I used the stones to destroy it along with its moon…in space.”

“Really? So the Core was behind the invasion ten years ago?!” her dad realized.

“Yes. Andrias used to serve the Core for over a thousand years,” Anne explained.

“Ahh, so that would explain that mental breakdown he displayed on top of that building,” her dad said, rubbing his chin.

“So…you defeated the Core…by destroying their moon?? How did you even breathe?” her mom asked.

“Hehe, it’s a long story,” Anne nervously giggled.

Her mother sternly glared at her. “Anne…”

“Well…I died.”

Her parents gasped in shock.

“But then I came back to life! Some angelic guardian talked with me, learned a valuable lesson, and then decided to give me a second chance. Pretty wild, huh?”

Her parents rushed to hug her tightly. “Guys, come on, it’s not—,”

“Anne! You realize we could’ve lost you forever?! Don’t you have any idea how it would have affected us?! Knowing our daughter lost her life at a young age?!” her mom shouted, shedding tears.

“It’s a miracle you’re alive!” her dad added, kissing Anne on the forehead.

Anne hugged her parents. “I know. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you both at the time. I just didn’t want you guys to be hurt with the knowledge of my death. Plus, I felt like it wasn’t necessary since it was all over…” then she stopped smiling. “…or so I thought.”

Spike then held her shoulder. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out. I really am.”

“No, you don’t have to be sorry about it. It feels like my sacrifice was all for nothing now that the Core is back—possibly for revenge. And without my powers, I have no way of defending myself.”

Spike looked at Discord who winked back at him. Then the former turned back to her. “We can fix that. It would mean so much to us if you help us destroy the Core once and for all. You seem to know it more than anypony.”

Anne looked at him flabbergasted. “Really?”

“Yeah! Your friends believe in you, and so do we,” affirmed Spike.

Anne looked back at her parents. While still sad, they smiled in approval.

“Normally, I would say ‘absolutely not!’, but…you’re not a little girl anymore. You’ve already shown your bravery and true strength while facing that monster,” her mom said.

“Also, that thing may come for us anyway, so they will need all the help they can get,” her dad added.

“Wow…so we’re doing this all over again, eh? Ha, of the things you let go, you’d be surprised what makes its way back to you,” Anne muttered, slightly grinning.

“Alright, you two, you found the right person for a little…pest control!” Anne accepted.

Discord snickered at her reply.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing! It’s such a cheesy line, I love it! Hahahahaha!”

“Hey, saying cheesy lines is part of my nature! Cut me some slack!”

Chapter 7: Trapped

Inside the Core’s inner sanctum, Twilight Sparkle sat down in the middle of a library room. There, she kept turning every page of a book she was reading. Once she finished, she proceeded to open the next book and repeated the same process.

She stared at each page emotionlessly. Her eyes skimmed through the information paragraph by paragraph and section by section.

As she was doing all this, loud footsteps can be heard just behind her. “I see you are occupied. Always a studious, diligent little pony…”

Aldrich entered the library and noticed tens of hundreds of books she has read. Grinning to himself, he gently lifted her chin. “Why so pale, my dear? Are you not enjoying yourself?”

Twilight sadly sighed. “All these years…of suffering and agony…were all because of me. How can I…’enjoy’ myself knowing what I’ve done?”

“On the contrary, you have greatly benefited the Equestrian nation. It has become stronger and wiser thanks to our leadership,” Aldrich boasted. “Without the misguiding magic of friendship, our legacy will survive.”

Twilight then shook her head in disgust. “I trusted you. I believed you. Yet, you made me do all this!”

The evil newt mockingly chuckled. “Me? Making you do all this? Such nonsense, Sparkle. If I recall, you made your choice to serve our needs. You created the Unity Crystals; we simply offered the only logical choice for survival.”

Twilight made no rebuttal.

“You wanted this, didn’t you? You wanted your ponies to stop fighting with each other, yes? You got exactly what you needed, and this is what will stick with you for the rest of your life. But of course,” he continued, opening his orange eyes. “…that won’t matter. What does is your undying allegiance to the Core. So far, you have served us well.”

“Please…” Twilight begged, sobbing. “I just—want to go home! Please…let me go…”

“Oh, my sweet child, I know how much it hurts. Trust me, I do. But there is no need for tears. Soon, everyone will be at peace, and conflicts shall arise no more,” Aldrich assured, slowly walking back. “You’ll thank me later.”

As he vanished, Twilight looked up and saw Chancellor Neighsay and his colleagues walking around the library and picking up random books to read.

Neighsay then closed the book, grabbed a broom, and swept the upper floor. “Something wrong, Twilight?”

“Well…I’m stuck here reading books, doing nothing else, watching my friends die, and doing a monster’s bidding. No, no, nothing wrong here!” Twilight sarcastically replied, eyes twitching.

“I’m sorry, Princess, but there’s nothing we can do about it. I wish I could comfort you, but…my lack of emotions prevent me from doing so,” Neighsay blankly stated. “Now, I must be off.” He exited the library without looking back at her.

Twilight then closed her eyes and lowered her head. Suddenly, a yellow light shined through the ceiling which caught her attention. She curiously flew up and entered the attic, following the light.

As she found herself in the midst of darkness, the whole room lit up as if she were now in space. She looked around in amazement, gazing at the stars.

“Where…am I? What is all this?”

Then she looked behind her and saw Princess Celestia speaking with her past younger self. They didn’t see or hear her as they were talking with each other.

“Congratulations, Twilight! I knew you could do it!”

“Princess! I don’t understand. What did I do?”

“You did something today that’s never been done before,” Celestia explained. “Something even a great unicorn like Starswirl the Bearded was not able to do. Because he did not understand friendship like you do.”

Twilight sadly looked on as she precisely remembered the day she received the ultimate reward for her accomplishments. She even looked at her unsuspecting younger unicorn self with a bittersweet attitude.

“The lessons you learned here in Ponyville have taught you well. You have proven that you’re ready, Twilight.”

“Ready? Ready for what?”

Then they walked across a hallway of past memories—memories of all the adventures Twilight and her friends had in Ponyville and beyond. The current Twilight sobbed as she recalled those memories: defeating Discord, stopping Nightmare Moon, helping the Crystal Empire destroy King Sombra, making friends with Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack.

She even saw her memories with Spike when he was a baby dragon.

Then she saw herself receive the magical endowment of becoming an alicorn. She landed before her friends, opening her new wings.

As the current Twilight saw all this, the light instantly died down which brought her back to reality. She fell back down to the Core’s library.

She got back up, shedding more tears than before. She picked up her crown and looked at her own reflection. Then she looked down on the books and angrily threw them at the nearest shelf. “I failed Equestria, and I failed you…Celestia. I don’t deserve everything that was handed down to me on a silver platter. This is…ALL. MY. FAULT!!! I should’ve killed the Core if I knew what would happen!!”

She fell on her hooves and cried on the rug, burying herself in her arms. She tried to ignite her horn, but her magic faintly sparkled. Once she stopped crying ten minutes later, she laid her head on the rug and slowly fell asleep.

Gloam Fall soared through the Dragon Lands where all the remaining dragons were bound in chains by the frobots. Smiling, they descended toward the landscape and landed before them.

Ember was also held hostage by the frobots. She struggled against them until the fireproof chains shocked her. She stumbled to her knees, trying to get back up.

“Ahhh, if it isn’t former Dragon Lord Ember! I presume you miss our company?” they taunted.

“You’ll never get away with this!” Ember sneered.

“Haha, seems like you need to wake up. Look around, Ember. Your friends have abandoned you, your pony companions despise you, and your kingdom has fallen,” Gloam Fall gloated. “Heck, not even your favorite dragon is here to save you! What was his name again? Spike…was it?”

Ember furiously snarled. “Don’t you dare underestimate him.”

“Awww, how cute! You think a worthless lizard is gonna stop us! Haha, that’s pretty funny,” they chuckled. Then they narrowed their eyes on the dragons. “Now…straight to business…”

The prisoners cowered before the Core, fearfully embracing each other.

“No! Leave them alone!!”

“What should we do to you dragons? We’ve been fantasizing about killing you all…making you instantly…EXTINCT!” the Core shouted. “But then we realized—where’s the fun in that? You all could be useful for something more important than—ugh—friendship.”

“Pfff, as if! You’re out of your minds if you think we’ll ever work for you!” Ember scoffed.

As she said that, Gloam Fall walked toward the area where all their eggs were kept warm and safe. “Hmm, such fine eggs you have. A promising offspring! Wouldn’t it be a shame if something terrible were to happen to them?”

As the dragons were puzzled, the Core drew closer to them and removed the rocks that huddled them together.

“NO!” all the dragons shouted until the frobots tightly restrained them.

“GET AWAY FROM OUR EGGS! DON’T YOU DARE!” Ember screamed.

Gloam Fall dramatically raised their hooves and forcefully stepped on all their eggs, crushing them completely.

The dragons looked horrified at the sight as the liquid remains were all over their hooves. They wiped them off on Ember’s face, evilly grinning.

“Hope you enjoy your breakfast! HAHAHAHAHA!”

Ember fell on her knees, shocked at what she witnessed. “You…you monster…”

“Well, Ember? Are you finally ready to serve your new master?”

Flabbergasted, she stood back up on her feet and roared at their face. “After what you just did?!? NEVER!! I’d rather die fighting than grovel to the likes of you!”

Gloam Fall groaned in annoyance. “Of course you would say that. Oh well, if that’s what you want…” The frobots shocked her and knocked her out unconscious.

“Take her away. We’ll make an example of her later.”

After the frobots did so, Gloam Fall turned back to their prisoners. “Anyone else desires to follow her footsteps?”

The dragons fearfully shook their heads.

“Excellent! Now that all the non-pony leaders have ceased their resistance, no one can stop us! The legacy of the Core will reign supreme!” Gloam Fall triumphantly declared.

Chapter 8: Healing Old Wounds

“So how will we catch them by surprise? Knowing the Core, they’ll just increase their security and triple their defenses.”

“That’s just the thing, Anne. The robot will be so focused on looking at the windshield,” Discord said, turning into a windshield with wipers on. “…it won’t know what will hit ‘em from behind.”

“Oooohh, so that means we can still use the element of surprise?”

“Precisely!” Discord affirmed, his paw forming into a check mark.

“Great! I’m gonna tell my friends what’s up.”

“Your friends?” Spike wondered.

“Yeah, Sasha and Marcy. I’m not the only one who’s experienced some hardcore stuff, y’know,” Anne smirked.

“Speaking of trauma buddies, how about they join us in a little get-together, hm? They wouldn’t want to miss out!” Discord suggested.

“Uh, isn’t Anne more than enough for—,”

“Great idea! They’re so gonna freak out when they see you guys!” Anne agreed.

Angrily snarling, Spike clenched his fist and turned to the draconequus. “Discord, we need to talk…”

“Oh boy, are you planning to share a secret with me? Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone!” he excitedly whispered.

He grabbed Discord’s tail and rushed upstairs to the hallway. He found the bathroom and decided to go there. As he closed the door, he glared daggers at him. “Geez, Spike, what’s going on? Are you about to do your dragon business…in here…with me?” he asked, having a suggestive look on his face.

“Cut it out, dude! I’m sick and tired of you constantly wasting our time! Don’t you have any idea how serious this is?! At this time, we should already be back in Equestria, kick the Core’s butt, and save what remains of our home! But we aren’t!!”

Discord was taken aback by his outburst. “Spike…I was just—,”

“If I didn’t know any better, I think you’re intentionally delaying our mission just so that you can goof around—almost like you don’t wantto help save our friends,” Spike accused.

“Spike! How can you…?!”

“LISTEN TO ME! Twilight is probably suffering right now, and we—I am not there to help her!” Then Spike proceeded to fall on his knees and weep. “Ever since that monster took her, I…I…felt guilty. I wasn’t there to save her—to protect her. I should’ve been there with her when she lashed out at us and ran to her room…crying. I felt like I wanted to give up…but I didn’t. *growls* And I wanted to get my claws on that thing for whatever it did to her.”

Discord stood still as he listened.

“That’s why I’ve urgently wanted to complete this mission as soon as possible. I care about Equestria, Discord. Why won’t you?”

Discord offered tissues as Spike continued to cry. As the latter wiped off his tears, the draconequus laid his arm on his shoulder and sat down next to him.

“Spike…I…*sigh*…I’m gonna be honest with you. I…wanted to be away from Equestria for a while.”

“What?”

“It’s true. Because, like you, I felt guilty over what happened. Twenty-seven years ago—right after we defeated Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow—there was a pool of random portals up in Equestria’s atmosphere. I didn’t know where they came from or how they were splattered all over the sky, but I cleaned them up.”

“Thankfully, no creature came out of those portals,” Discord continued. “I theorized that the rainbow magic you and our friends used to defeat the villains was the cause of the abnormal phenomena. I wasn’t sure if I had to inform Twilight of what I saw because I didn’t think it was that important. I was wrong.”

“When I witnessed the Core taking over Equestria, it suddenly hit me—it came through one of the portals.”

Spike gasped in shock.

“I can’t remember if I accidentally overlooked or didn’t outright notice that portal, but…” Discord weakly muttered the last word as he also shed tears. “…I failed Equestria. First, I betrayed Twilight by siding with Tirek, then ruined her coronation through my whole Grogar charade, and now this…”

“I…didn’t know any of this. Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“Because I was afraid of what you would think of me—how it would affect our friendship.”

Spike then lowered his head and pondered his thoughts.

“I think we both have much to reflect on. We both feel guilty about what happened, and…”

“We wish we could have done something to prevent that from happening,” Discord finished.

“However, we can’t let that stop us from doing what is right. What we do now is what matters,” Spike encouraged.

“Indeed. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. From now on, no more secrets between us,” Discord promised.

“I think I owe you an apology as well. Even though I find you a little annoying, just remember you’re still my friend. I often don’t treat you as such, and for that, I’m sorry.”

“That’s all behind us now. Regardless of how powerful Gloam Fall is, we’ll take them down together! The Lord of Chaos, Spike the Mighty, and a band of weirdos! Saving the day!!” Discord happily declared. He and Spike wore superhero capes while a gust of wind made them hover in the air.

“On a side note, I didn’t know you actually care about what I think. Fluttershy made you that soft, huh?” Spike grinned.

Discord blushed. “Well…um…just wanted to be courteous…”

“Seriously, I’m surprised you haven’t married her yet.”

“Alright, Spike, no more jellybean crackers for you!” Discord shouted.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” Spike laughed. “See? I can make jokes too.”

“Ha, very funny, Spike,” Discord muttered.

“Anyway, our friends are waiting. Let’s go.”

As they went back downstairs, Anne and the Plantars were already preparing to depart. “Sasha and Marcy are at the mall having lunch. Oh, and remember to wear disguises before heading out!”

“Way ahead of you, my dear!” Discord smiled, snapping his fingers.

The frogs dressed up in their same old disguises whereas Spike wore a trench coat, a fedora, and a beard.

“Finally! It’s about time I wear some human clothes,” said Spike. Then he slightly stretched the back of the coat. “Uh, although I wish there was…mm!…more room for my wings!”

“Sorry, dude, that’s all I can find for you,” replied Anne.

“Unless you want to be a motor vehicle again,” Discord smugly suggested.

“On second thought, this feels great. Moving out!” Spike accepted, quickly exiting the door.

“Be careful, Anne.”

“Get back home safe.”

“I will, Mom…Dad. Love you guys,” Anne responded, sadly smiling.

As she left with the others, Mrs. Boonchuy looked at the clock. “My shift doesn’t start until three hours from now. Wanna watch a sci-fi movie?”

“Oh, definitely! I’ll choose which one we’ll watch!” Mr. Boonchuy squealed, rushing to the living room.

“You already chose last time. It’s my turn!” the mom replied.

“No way! This movie made 400+ million at the box office?!” Sasha exclaimed, looking at her phone.

“I know right? That’s pretty good results compared to other recent films,” Marcy said, eating her french fries.

“Hopefully, it’ll make more because it was such a breath of fresh air after all the horrible sequels this franchise made over the years. It’s about time we see some actual creativity for once!” Sasha added, eating her chili beans.

A few minutes later, Anne and the others approached her two best friends in the middle of a mall cafe. She hugged them from behind without warning. “Guess who?”

“Haha, Anne! What’s up, girlfriend?”

“Hey, Anne! How are ya?”

“Ah, nothing much. Just a little surprise I think you gals will love.”

“Oooohhh, a surprise? This should be good!” Sasha grinned.

“Now, try not to scream or anything because we’re in public. Look who showed up today…” Anne whispered. The frogs approached the girls and revealed their faces to them.

Sasha and Marcy widened their eyes and dropped their jaws, utterly dumbfounded. They struggled to find words to express their shock but could only mutter unintelligible sounds.

Marcy even grabbed her purse and covered her entire face with it, quietly screaming on it.

Sasha cleared her throat, got up, threw away what remained of her lunch into the trash, and stared right at the ceiling.

Growing bored of this, Discord snapped his fingers and teleported all of them off the mall.

They appeared in an abandoned warehouse. This took Sasha and Marcy by surprise as they looked around and saw they were in an entirely different location.

“What the…? How the heck—? What just happened??”

“Hehe…I’ll let him explain…” Anne nervously chuckled.

Discord revealed himself in the midst of fireworks. “Hello, my dear friends!! Discord, the Lord of Chaos, at your service!” He picked out a dozen poker cards from his beard and made them all dance in circles around him.

“And this is my ever-so-mighty companion, Spike the Dragon!” Discord introduced. On cue, Spike removed his disguise and opened his large wings. He flew around the flabbergasted girls.

“Hey, hey, hey, there! Pleased to meet ya!”

“……I…have so many questions…” Marcy said, barely blinking an eye.

“I have only two: 1) What the heck are you supposed to be? 2) Is that a talking dragon?!” Sasha yelled.

“At this point, I shouldn’t be surprised. If talking frogs exist, why not talking dragons?” Marcy reasoned.

“But I am more surprised to see you guys back!” Sasha exclaimed, facing the Plantars. “Is Grime okay?! Are Percy and Braddock okay?!”

“Are Olivia and Yunan alright? I miss them so much!” Marcy added, violently shaking Hop Pop.

“Don’t worry, they’re fine! And you both may be wondering how we got here,” Sprig said. “Discord teleported us here so that we can ask Anne for her help. How so? He’s got some all-powerful magical powers of some sort.”

“Oh yeah, he does,” Polly agreed, staring at a picture of Discord she took earlier.

“Is it wrong I feel a little creeped out by the way she’s staring at me?” Discord whispered to Spike.

“That’s just fangirls for ya.”

“But anyway, we got some bad news—*ahem* the Core is back…and he has taken over a world called Equestria—where Spike and Discord come from. We have to help them save their world before it’s too late,” Sprig concluded.

“The Core…is…back…?? Is—is this a joke?” Sasha replied, stammering in shock.

“I know, Sash, I was shocked to my core as well,” said Anne.

“(Snickers) To her core,” Discord laughed. “Good one.”

“No pun intended!” Anne shouted. “Listen, I thought this was supposed to be all over, but it seems like I was wrong. I know how hard it is for you to accept, but—,”

“Stop…no. This…cannot be,” Marcy muttered, slowly sliding down on the ground. She covered her face as she shook in absolute horror.

“Hey, buddy, this isn’t funny!! If this is your idea of a joke, it is in terrible taste!” Sasha snapped at Discord.

“I wish I was lying, but I’m not. See for yourself,” he responded. Discord once again presented a panoramic view of the Core ruling Equestria.

Gloam Fall ignited their horn and sent a spell toward the Unity Crystals. The Crystals emitted a wave of magic across the land, moving the ponies to bow down and worship the tyrant. As soon as they hugged and greeted each other, the possessed alicorn smirked in satisfaction.

Sasha trembled at the sight, sweat dripping all over her face. Marcy, on the other hand, refused to look at those same orange eyes she once feared.

“That’s impossible. Anne killed that thing! How in the heck did it survive?!” Sasha exclaimed.

“I have no idea, but what’s worse is it possessed my sister—my BEST FRIEND! I won’t stand by while that monster uses her as a weapon for evil!” Spike replied, growling in anger.

“I promised these guys that I’ll help, and I was wondering if you—,”

Sasha suddenly bellowed in fierce wrath. “WHY WON’T THAT ABOMINATION STAY DEAD?!? AFTER EVERYTHING WE’VE BEEN THROUGH, THE CORE STILL LIVES?!” She grabbed a random crowbar and impaled the garage door with it.

“Of course I’m gonna help! But this time, we’re gonna make sure it becomes dust…FOREVER!!” she finished.

Discord and Spike stood still while their pupils shrunk. Discord’s eyes drained themselves of their yellow color down the toilet, and he had to pour lemonade on his sclera to turn them yellow again.

“Remind me to never get on her bad side.”

“Ditto,” Spike nodded.

“What about you, Mar-Mar?” Anne asked.

Wiping off her tears, Marcy took a deep breath and relaxed. “I believe you guys. And while I trust you will save your home world….I can’t come.”

“Huh?”

“I just can’t. Not after all the heartbreak and suffering I endured. You guys can go. I’ll stay here to help keep our families safe.”

Sasha and Anne looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Then they gave Marcy a big hug.

“We respect that, Marcy.”

“And we won’t let any of you guys down. We will save the multiverse once and for all,” added Sasha.

As they broke the hug, Anne and Sasha regrouped with the others.

“But in case you ever change your mind, you can always use this,” Discord suggested, tossing a purple remote control to her.

“Alright, big guy, let’s go back to Amphibia!”said Anne.

Thus, they vanished within a white flash. As Marcy thought back on her old adventures and remembered her green calamity powers she used to fight the Core’s army, she sadly smiled.

Then she opened the garage door and left. “(Sigh) Good times…”

Chapter 9: Taken Alive

Feisty was sound asleep on her bed despite the loud thunderstorm outside the castle. She even quietly giggled to herself while she rubbed her hooves together. But then a few moments later, her little smile disappeared.

She opened her eyes and saw herself in a dark forest. A bright light caught her attention; as she looked up, she saw her father frowning on her.

“Dad? Daddy! You’re here!” she shouted, happily smiling for the first time in years. She tried to jump to reach out to him, but her hooves were locked on the ground.

“What the? I can’t move?” But as she looked up again, her father disappeared. Then he suddenly reappeared right in front of her.

“Dad, you have no idea how much I’ve missed you! With all those disgusting creatures gone, nothing will stand between us!” she spoke. Her dad still frowned at her.

She looked at him confused. “Wha-why aren’t you happy? I killed the changeling who took your life. I’m destroying those fiends in your honor!”

As her father remained silent, she became more agitated. “You always hated them, right? You should be grateful for what I’ve done! I’m avenging your demise!!”

At that moment, she began to sink under the quicksand. Panicking, she tried to blast it from her hooves, but it was unsuccessful. “Help!! Dad, HELP ME! HELP!!!”

As her father gave one last look of apathy, she sunk beneath the quicksand—silencing her pleas.

Then she woke up from the nightmare. She angrily punched her pillow multiple times. “Screw you, Princess Luna!! Don’t wanna help anypony anymore, huh?!”

She took a few breathing exercises and drank a cup of water.

“This is the first time I’ve had this dream. Why wasn’t he happy? After everything I’ve done for Equestria, this is how I get repaid?” she asked herself.

As she thought about it, she got another idea. “Wait a minute…I still haven’t found those six creatures the non-ponies admire so much. They haven’t been seen over the last seven years…”

She jumped out of bed and scrutinized all her maps she drew out. “I couldn’t find them in any of those countries no matter how hard I try, but there’s gotta be some place they’re hiding. And wherever they are—(gasp)—OF COURSE!”

She ripped out all the maps from her wall. “It makes perfect sense now! Considering how influential they are, they had to be gathering all the rest of their species under their protection. Maybe—maybe that’s the reason why Dad wasn’t happy.”

Then she glared at the wall. “They obviously still live. Once they’re all extinct, then my nightmares will be history.”

She jumped right back into bed. “Don’t worry, Daddy, you will finally be avenged once they’re all dead.”

Early in the morning, Feisty had breakfast, put on her royal cape and necklace, and entered the hallway.

Then she opened the door that led to the underground catacombs of the castle where all the prisoners were being kept.

Seeing the two changelings she interrogated before, she nodded to the frobots and let them awake the duo.

“Good morning, little fools. I hope you had an unpleasant night sleep,” she mockingly greeted.

“What do you want from us now? You know we will never tell you anything.”

“Oh, I’m aware of that, Marrow. That’s why I’m thinking about using a different approach,” said Feisty. Igniting her horn, she drew closer to the puzzled changeling.

“What in the—?”

She pressed her horn on Marrow’s forehead, entering his mind. The latter screamed in agony during the process.

“What are you doing to him?!” the other changeling yelled, violently shaking the prison bars.

Marrow continued screaming until Feisty finished the procedure. Evilly smiling, she released him.

“Wow, he didn’t put up much of a fight. So pathetic,” she condescended.

Then she gathered an entire squad of frobots. “Alright, listen up! I’ve finally discovered the location of the remaining non-ponies, and I am 100% certain they’ve been protected by six popular creatures you all should be familiar with.”

“Assemble your comrades and prepare yourselves! It’s time we crush them for good!” Feisty ordered.

“As you command,” they obeyed.

As they prepared themselves, Feisty generated a magical map with her horn. “Now I got ya.”

Later in the morning, two ponies ran together to the School of Friendship. As they got inside and made sure no one was following them, they pulled a rug from the floor and opened a door there.

Once they climbed down the ladder, they reunited with the large gathering of yaks, hippogriffs, griffons, and changelings alongside their younglings. There were also a dozen ponies who offered them support.

On top of a rocky platform stood Yona, Sandbar, Silverstream, Smolder, Ocellus, and Gallus. There were also three ponies next to them: Starlight, Trixie, and Sunburst.

“We gathered up all the remaining changelings. They’ll be safe here,” said Starlight.

“Man, I’m getting sick and tired of hiding down here like sitting ducks!” Smolder ranted. “Why can’t we just fight back?!”

“We can’t risk exposing ourselves! It’s too dangerous out there! The Core has guards everywhere which makes it all the more hard to avoid,” replied Sunburst.

“He’s right. Our best chance is to move out of Equestria. It’s…the only way to keep you all safe,” added Starlight.

“Yona not go anywhere! Yona stay and fight back!”

“Yeah, we’re not afraid of them! If they want to get us, then we’ll give ‘em a fight they’ll never forget!” said Silverstream.

The assembly shouted their agreement. However, Starlight and her colleagues looked at each other with uncertainty.

“Look, I get that things seem hopeless right now, but we can’t just give up. We gotta fight back, and the more we hide, the longer these villains remain here,” lectured Sandbar. “We need to show them who we are and why friendship is the greatest magic of all!”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Gallus agreed.

“And besides, they don’t know where we are, so we can use this time to form a plan and figure out how we can defeat them,” suggested Ocellus.

“I think so too! Let’s do it!” a pegasus concurred. All the others nodded in agreement.

Starlight looked toward Sunburst and Trixie who seemed hesitant at first until they smiled and nodded. “(Sigh) I gotta say…I’m proud of you all. You’ve learned so much over the years that you’ve become what we’ve trained you for. I know Twilight would be proud too.”

The Heroic Six sadly smiled. “Yeah…she would.”

Suddenly, the entire floor shook as if an earthquake occurred. It then made large cracks across the platform. “Uh, guys, I think we have a problem…” said Terramar.

At that moment, a humongous magical driller emerged from the ground—knocking out everyone that stood on that area. Once it dissipated, an army of frobots flew out of the hole and surrounded everyone.

Then Feisty revealed herself in front of her new captives while she held Marrow in her telekinetic grasp. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the rotten crumbs of a worthless generation…”

“It’s you again!”

“How did you find us?!”

“I’m so sorry, friends. She…broke me,” confessed Marrow. Feisty then paralyzed him with her magic and threw him to the ground.

“After seven long years of searching, you’re finally ours for the taking. Haha, and you thought you could escape your fate,” she taunted.

Starlight, Trixie, and Sunburst tried to blast her, but she cast a spell that nullified their magic and bound them with chains. She did the same with all the other ponies and creatures.

“I’m honestly disappointed in you all. You side with these dangerous heathens instead of the rest of our kind?” Feisty sneered.

“They are NOT heathens!! They are our friends, just like everypony else!!” Sunburst defended.

She then landed softly on the floor. “Can’t you see the truth? They are nothing but treacherous lowlifes who feed on your gullible minds. Especially the changelings! Ever since they captured Twilight and her friends, they revealed themselves to be truly disgusting, vile, and merciless. No…even before that—when they first stormed Canterlot…”

Ocellus listened as she remembered that day as well.

“That day…changed my life. When I was a filly, I never realized how horrid they were…until they took away the one person I ever cared about,” said Feisty, trying hard not to display any emotional weakness.

“From that day onward, I made sure that I honored the legacy of my family. And now the time has come I finally fulfill my destiny.”

“General Feisty, I…didn’t know you—,”

“Didn’t know what, Ocellus? That your kind is foul? That you all are disgraceful to the history of pony kind? Well, NOW you know!!” Feisty angrily yelled.

“No, no, I’m…I’m sorry you went through that experience. I may not know what it’s like to lose a loved one, but I understand it must feel awful—being alone and feel like you lost everything,” replied Ocellus.

“Please know that we’re not like that anymore. Starlight made the changelings realize that love can be given, not taken. That’s why we’ve become what we are.”

Then she stretched out her chained hoof to Feisty. The latter looked at her puzzled.

“You can start your life over. It’s not too late to realize that friendship can be felt by both ponies and non-ponies. I can show you the way,” Ocellus offered, warmly smiling.

Feisty stood silently still for a few seconds. Seething in rage, she pushed Ocellus away.

“You have the audacity to patronize me?! You don’t know me or what I can do!! I will never allow you or any of your stupid friends to entice me with your meaningless rubbish!”

But once she got a good look at Starlight, she rubbed her chin. “But there is one interesting thing you mentioned: Starlight Glimmer inspired the changelings to ‘reform’ all those years ago, eh?”

She forcefully pulled Starlight to her via telekinesis. “I never knew that until now. So…you inspired those wicked bugs to torment us with their wiles and made everyone conveniently forget all the terrible things they had done?”

Starlight struggled to free herself. Feisty punched her a couple times and knocked her down.

“I should’ve killed you years ago when I had the chance. But no matter—I’ll remedy that mistake later,” she smirked. She signaled the frobots to take everyone away.

“No! Stop, please! Don’t do this!!” Ocellus begged.

Feisty looked at her with scorn and allowed the frobots to take her away as well. Once they had done that, she ignited her horn, generated an orange capsule the size of a banana, and laid it on the ground.

She jumped back into the hole with everyone else before Marrow’s paralysis wore off. He tried to get up until he noticed the capsule was ticking.

“What the—?”

The entire School of Friendship exploded, eviscerating all the premises.

Later on, Feisty returned to the palace where Gloam Fall was expecting her. “Having an excellent time, General?”

“You can say that again, Master. I managed to capture the last remaining members of their respective species. We’re this close to getting rid of those creatures once and for all! I can already taste their anguish as we speak!” Feisty reported.

“Wonderful! Now all the ponies of Equestria will learn to forever revere the name of the Core. Tonight, we will execute the survivors and all the traitors who harbored them. Once that’s accomplished, we will have concluded…the age of extinction,” Gloam Fall declared, orange eyes brightly glowing.

Chapter 10: Salvation at Hand

As the gang returned to Amphibia, all the frogs, toads, and newts were already gathered together in Wartwood. Anne and Sasha brightly smiled at seeing their beloved frogs once again after so many years.

“Wow…we’re—we’re actually back in Amphibia,” said Anne, wiping off a tear.

“Yeah. I can hardly believe it. I never thought I would see these awesome dorks again,” Sasha agreed.

“It’s been that long, huh?”

“Yeah, Spike, these girls felt so at home they befriended all of us! Heh, I remember the day we first met—ganging up on Anne because we thought she was a monster,” recalled Hop Pop.

“Ohhh, boy, I remember that like it was yesterday!” laughed Polly.

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Anne cringed.

At that moment, three familiar faces showed up. Sasha and Anne saw Grime, Olivia, and Yunan approach them. The girls’ lips were quivering at the sight of their old friends.

“Sasha?! Is…is that you?!” Grime shouted.

“GRIME!” Sasha responded, tearing up. They instantly hugged each other before they sobbed their hearts out.

“I really missed you!”

“Not as much I did! I’m s-so happy to see you again! And I see you’ve…(sniff)…grown up. You’re making me feel old!” Grime remarked, blowing his nose with his tissue.

“How’s Braddock and Percy? (Sniff) They’re good?”

“They are. Remember what you told me to tell them before you left?”

“Hm-mm…”

“Well, they said that they’ll—they will miss you too, and they’ll never forget you,” Grime replied.

That made Sasha cry even harder. She fell on her knees and covered her eyes. “If only I didn’t break their hearts. If I had just—,”

“Don’t worry. They already forgave you,” Grime smiled.

Sasha smiled back and hugged him again.

“Anne, Sasha…it’s so good to see you again,” welcomed Olivia.

“I thought the day would never come we would be reunited…to save the universe again,” said Yunan.

“Yeah, I know, it’s becoming a cliché at this point. Still, I’m just glad we can see each other again for one last time,” replied Anne.

“Is Master Marcy doing alright?” Olivia asked.

“She’s good. She couldn’t come with us for personal reasons. You know—after…you know what…”

“Right,” Olivia sadly nodded.

“Well then, now that we’re all accounted for, what’s the big plan?” Yunan asked. All the frogs, toads, and newts turned their attention to Spike and Discord.

“Listen up, everyone! The Core has undoubtedly increased in strength ever since it took over Equestria. I’m sure you’re aware of how dangerous it is, and I know you will once more demonstrate just how strong you really are!”

“What the Core doesn’t have is the power of friendship. United, we will prevail!”

“I’ve heard that one before,” Discord whispered, snickering.

“So here’s the plan: we will divide into three groups. One of the three groups will set up a diversion to draw the attention of our enemies away from the Canterlot Castle,” Spike instructed. “Once that’s done, the rest of us will sneak in from behind, release the prisoners, and then commence the attack against the Core. Any questions?”

A few frogs raised their hands. “Yeah, uh, don’t ya think that stinkin’ robot’s gonna find us out before we know it?”

“Also, how are we supposed to sneak in from behind? I guarantee ya it’s gonna be one heck of a struggle!” Toadstool added.

“Come on, dudes, we’ve been through this before! We were a dominating force of nature when Andrias took over everything, so this should be no different!” Polly reminded.

“But don’t you think the Core has gotten smarter this time? It’ll realize what we’re up to before we could begin our attack,” countered Sprig.

“Hmm, touché.”

“Well, of course, we can’t just barge into their territory without an ace up our sleeve, but we can’t sit around idly by either. There’s gotta be at least something—,” said Hop Pop.

Then a lightbulb popped up on Discord’s head. “Say…ace up our sleeve! That’s it!” He snapped his fingers, creating a massive ace card. It flew down towards our heroes and shook Spike’s and Discord’s hands.

“Huh?”

“That’s right, Spike. Ace here will provide us with a special undercover surprise. Trust me, that know-it-all robot won’t suspect a thing,” Discord assured.

Spike smiled at him. “Knowing you, Discord, it’s gonna be fun.”

“Haha, you got that right,” he agreed, winking.

“So who will volunteer to be the diversion?” Anne asked the groups.

“We will!” said the toads. “Since we enjoy bashing those scrap heaps of junk, we might as well become the bait and take ‘em down!”

“Well, then, let’s not wait any longer. Time to make that monster regret it ever came back alive,” Sasha growled, cracking her knuckles.

“Tell me about it! It’s about time we get some action!” Yunan added, sharpening her blades.

“So am I, hon. So excited to battle side by side with you once more,” said Olivia.

“My pleasure, my lady,” Yunan grinned, holding hands with her.

“I may be missing an arm, but I still got the touch and the power!” Grime boasted.

“It’s now time to save Equestria. We’re coming, Twilight. We’re coming home,” Spike smiled, looking at the sky.

Ace flew around everyone in lightning speed. Once it generated enough magical energy, it teleported everyone out of Amphibia.

As the moon was shining through the blood-red sky, all the inhabitants of Equestria were once again gathered in Canterlot. The unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies stood together as they idly murmured.

At that moment, all the dragons hovered above the castle with collars on their necks. Once they were set in place, Gloam Fall and Fesity walked outside the palace and stood before the large audience of ponies.

“Citizens of Equestria, tonight is the night of salvation! You will witness the ultimate destruction of division, fear, and evil! We present to you…the last surviving species of the non-ponies!” Gloam Fall announced.

The platform opened its door and elevated another floor below the surface. As it was raised unto the platform, there stood the yaks, hippogriffs, griffons, changelings, Starlight, Sunburst, Trixie, the Heroic Six, and the rulers—including Queen Novo—all bound in chains. Dozens of ponies were chained up with them too.

“As the Emperor wishes, they will be executed on the spot along with the traitors who harbored them,” added Feisty. Then she evilly grinned at Thorax. “I will enjoy eviscerating what will remain of your crisp carcass.”

“To make this extra entertaining for you all, we’ve decided to coerce the dragons to do the honors. You know…‘cause we love drama!” the Core giggled.

“YOU COWARDS!!!” Ember defied.

“Heathens, prepare for extinction!” Gloam Fall and Feisty simultaneously declared.

The Core ignited its horn to force Ember and the dragons to heat up their breath. Ember, however, used all her strength to resist their magic by closing her mouth tight.

Ares held unto Starlight’s arm as he cried. “I…I don’t wanna die…”

She started to quietly sob as well. “I’m sorry, Ares. I really am.”

“I never imagined we would go out like this. Well, this journey was fun while it lasted,” said Gallus.

“At least we’ll die together! Better than being alone!” Silverstream spoke, her voice shaking.

All the prisoners braced themselves for their incoming death.

Having enough of Ember’s resistance, Gloam Fall forced their magical grip on her which broke whatever strength she had left.

“Once we’re done with them, we’ll incinerate you and all your dragons! Now DO YOUR JOB!!” Gloam Fall commanded.

Finally defeated, Ember and all the other dragons breathed in and spewed their fire towards the prisoners. Feisty’s grin grew bigger and bigger as she gleefully awaited their fiery destruction.

But then…the fire didn’t touch them.

Terramar opened his eyes and saw his skin was completely untouched. “Huh? We’re not burning?”

All the prisoners looked up and saw the fire was frozen solid. All the icicles flew down and pierced through their chains, setting them all free.

The assembly looked at this with confusion.

“WHAT?! What is the meaning of this?!” Gloam Fall demanded.

A giant polar bear with a purple hat and red gloves jumped in front of the crowd. He randomly danced and spat snow balls at the sky.

“What…is…that??” Feisty asked, dumbfounded.

The polar bear then made goofy faces at Gloam Fall and Fesity, making almost everyone laugh.

“Enough of this nonsense!” Gloam Fall angrily shouted, shooting a magical beam at the bear.

The giant creature was struck by the spell, and it fell on the ground. It was that moment in which the bear disappeared, revealing the presence of the toads before the assembly.

The ponies gasped at the sight of them. “What are those things?!”

“They look like giant frogs!”

“Why are they clothed and armed?!”

“Well…that went well…” Captain Beatrix grumbled.

“And they can talk too?!” a unicorn gasped.

“Says the talking horses!” Grime remarked, offended.

Gloam Fall was surprised to see the same toads who fought them before. “It’s impossible…how are they here? Hmm, it doesn’t matter.” They flew to the toads and held them via telekinesis.

“Well, well, you must be the toads from the glorious land of Amphibia. We gotta admit…it’s nice to finally see some familiar faces,” Gloam Fall mocked.

“Too bad we can’t say the same for you, ya bunch of pretentious blowhards!!” Beatrix insulted.

“Ohh, what a comeback!” The Core taunted. “Is that all you fools can come up with?”

“What she means to say is that you looked better when you were floating in space as a pile of scrap metal!” Grime interjected.

“And yet here we are—ruling this extraterrestrial world, snuffing the notion of friendship—you get the idea. Did you seriously come all this way here just to make a fool of yourselves?”

“Actually, we were just trying to distract you…” Beatrix smugly replied. Suddenly, there was an explosion inside the castle.

“…and it worked!”

Gloam Fall and Fesity looked back and saw the damaged and torn frobots flying out of the castle. Flabbergasted, the Core released the toads.

“What’s going on in there?!” Feisty demanded.

“Our—our fellow fro-frobots…attacked us…” a frobot reported before going offline.

Then Grime grabbed his new hammer and struck Gloam Fall in the face with it. The blunt of the strike caused a crack on the helmet.

“That was for my arm,” Grime growled.

“You’ll PAY for that!!” Gloam Fall sneered. Then they directed their attention to the crowd. “Citizens, protect your emperor!”

As ordered, the unicorns blasted their spells at the toads whereas the pegasi attacked them from above.

Grime, Beatrix, and the other toads unsheathed their weapons and deflected the magical blasts effortlessly.

“Wow, these magic-proof swords came in handy!” Beatrix said.

“Maintain your positions and don’t harm these civilians!” Grime ordered.

“Why not? They’re attacking us!” Captain Bufo asked, punching a pony in the face.

“Alright, let me rephrase that: don’t kill them. How’s that?” Grime replied, ducking below a dive-bombing pegasus.

“Eh, I can handle that,” Bufo shrugged, casually knocking out a few unicorns domino effect style.

“How long can we hold ‘em off?!” Bog asked, pushing the earth ponies off him.

“Just long enough until our friends do their thing!”

“Well, that’s reassuring!” Bog sarcastically responded.

As the toads were fighting off the ponies, Gloam Fall and Feisty turned back and noticed the prisoners already escaped. Angrily snarling, Gloam Fall opened their wings and flew up in the sky.

“Find the prisoners and terminate them! We will deal with this insubordination ourselves!” Gloam Fall commanded, flying through the open balcony.

As Fesity was searching, something caught her eye: a few of those escapees quickly entered inside the Canterlot Library. Then she sadistically smiled at the sight. “With pleasure.”

As Gloam Fall burst through one of the windows, they confronted the rogue frobots who were just finished destroying the other frobots. “What is this foolishness?! You dare turn against your lord and master?!”

Then the frobots lifted their heads and revealed themselves to be Spike, Discord, Anne, Sasha, and the Plantars. A giant frobot walked near them and opened up its chest, revealing all the other frogs and newts ready for battle.

“Hello, Core. Missed us?” Anne taunted, brandishing her sword.

“Didn’t expect to see us again, did you?” Sasha added, sharpening her duel swords.

Gloam Fall widened their eyes in shock. “Why…Anne Boonchuy—Sasha Waybright. It—well—we are surprised to see you. Actually, we are very happy you’re here!” Their eyes brightened with glee.

“You just saved us the trouble of hunting you both down! Say, where’s Marcy? Is she still around—given that you are ‘true’ friends and all?” The Core taunted.

“That is NONE of your concern, you disgusting abomination,” Sasha coldly replied.

“Your manipulation tactics won’t work this time!” Anne added.

“Let my sister go! Your reign of horror is OVER!” Spike demanded.

“If you want your precious Twilight Sparkle back, you will have to fight me. But wait, you might end up hurting her! You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

Spike clenched his fists. “I want you to shut up!”

“Don’t let that get to you, Spike. She’ll be alright,” Sprig advised, laying his hand on Spike’s arm.

Spike breathed in and out. “You’re right, Sprig. I know we can do this together.”

“And together, we will put an end to the Core…for good!” Sprig declared, glaring at Gloam Fall.

“Oh, my…such determination! Well, in that case…” Gloam Fall ignited their horn and generated the exact same scythe they used to fight Sasha and Grime.

“Let’s get ready to RUMBLE!”

Spike and Sprig looked at each other with determined grins. “Ready, pal?”

“As always. Let’s finish this…for Amphibia, Equestria, and beyond!”

Author's Note

And so the final battle begins….

Chapter 11: The Final Battle part 1

As the heroes of Equestria and Amphibia surrounded Gloam Fall, the latter ignited their horn with lustrous flare. Opening their wings, they blasted the floor with a spell—sparking explosions everywhere.

As Discord shielded them from the explosions, Gloam Fall fired more spells at them.

Spike breathed fire whereas Sprig launched his explosive mushrooms with his sling.

All they managed to do was distract the Core; meanwhile, Anne and Sasha brandished their weapons and ran towards them from behind.

The girls struck the tyrant at their sides, forcing a groan of pain. The alicorn pushed them back with their wings.

All the frogs and newts fought against a horde of frobots storming through the palace.

Ivy grabbed her shield and threw it like a frisbee; it sliced through the heads of three frobots, and it flew right back to her hand.

“Ha! Huge score for me!” she boasted.

Wally was surrounded by multiple frobots who were aiming their blasters at him. Before they could fire, he used his concertina and played it casually.

The sound waves of the music shocked their system, making them instantly explode.

“That oughta teach them not to mess with me!”

Polly gleefully watched as Frobo blasted a lot of frobots heading toward his direction. “Woo-hoo! Take ‘em down, Frobo! Just like we’ve done before!”

Gloam Fall growled as they witnessed their forces crumbling down one by one. “ENOUGH!” they screamed, stomping their hooves on the ground. The impact sent the girls, Sprig, Spike, and Discord back against the wall.

“We have become much more powerful than the last time we fought, Anne Boonchuy! And this time, you will fall!” Gloam Fall taunted.

“I beg to differ!” Anne retorted, getting back on her feet.

She raised her hand and slammed it on the wall, generating a magical hand. It punched the alicorn in the face and flicked them unto the other side of the hallway.

“Whoa…that was kinda cool.”

“Told ya,” Discord winked.

Sprig leaped into the air and launched another mushroom grenade. “Hey, metal head! Remember me?!”

Gloam Fall got out of the rubble before it could hit them. Angered, the villain fired a spell toward him which he quickly dodged.

Spike and Sprig stood side by side once the Core hovered in the air. The latter sent another horde of frobots toward them.

Looking at each other and smiling, Spike breathed fire on the mushrooms and allowed Sprig to throw them at the frobots. The grenades detonated, obliterating all the frobots above them in one massive explosion.

“Alright!” both shouted, high-fiving each other.

Discord snapped his fingers, causing four frobots to turn into cotton candy. Then he proceeded to eat them with ketchup on top.

“Mmm, a bit rich but…okay!” he grinned.

As Sunburst closed the doors, all the surviving members of the non-ponies gathered at the main floor of the Canterlot Library. The sympathizing ponies locked all the doors of the library.

“Come on, we need to get out there and fight!!” Smolder yelled.

“We can’t risk losing any of you!” Starlight argued.

“You are all that is left of your respective species. Keeping you safe is our top priority right now,” Sunburst added.

“But we gotta keep you safe too! We need to look after each other, right?” Silverstream reminded.

Suddenly, the doors were torn out of their hinges. Feisty walked in and teleported to where they were. She slowly approached them with a malicious smile and sizzling horn.

“Going somewhere?”

Starlight, Trixie, and Sunburst blocked her path while they ignited their horns as well. “Step away from our friends!”

“Friends? Don’t you mean…our enemies?”

“Face it, Feisty, you and your master will pay for all your crimes against Equestria!” Starlight boldly declared.

“And the great and powerful Trixie will make sure our friends are kept safe from the likes of you!” Trixie added.

Then Feisty angrily growled. “Then die.”

She and the other unicorns blasted their magical beams towards the other at the same time, struggling to achieve dominance.

Wanting to get into the action, Smolder flew behind her and breathed fire at her. Noticing this, Feisty sent a backwards spell at her.

“Uh oh!”

She ducked below the spell, falling on the floor.

Once the beam collision dissipated, all the ponies and non-ponies tackled her to the ground. However, she sent them all flying with her powerful magic.

“Fools, I’ve been beating you for seven years! You think you can stand up against me now?!” she gloated.

As soon as she finished that sentence, she received a kick to the left cheek. She looked and saw Gallus glaring daggers at her. “You mess with my friends, you mess with me.”

“You wanna play dirty, eh? Heh, two can play at that game,” Feisty evilly chuckled.

Feisty blasted him with more spells. Thinking quickly, he grabbed a mirror and deflected all those shots.

Then Gallus jumped on her, tackled her, and repeatedly punched her. Then she swiftly kicked him off her and tried to blast him as he flew around.

“Go, everyone! Get to safety! We’ll handle this!” Ocellus ordered. Nodding, all the survivors escaped through the back door alongside the ponies.

“You can’t fight her alone! She’s too dangerous!” Starlight objected.

“We’ll be okay, Ms. Starlight,” Silverstream replied. “Trust us. We can do this.”

Without another word, Starlight sadly nodded and escaped with the others.

“Be careful,” advised Sunburst, running with Trixie.

Thorax, however, looked back at Feisty and briefly death-glared at her until he ran with everyone else.

Feisty grabbed Gallus with her telekinetic grasp and slammed him hard on the floor. She pressed her hooves on his head, causing him to groan in pain.

“This is where you belong, Gallus. Under. My. HOOVES!” she sneered, grinding her teeth.

Then the griffon bit her left hoof.

“AHHH!”

He knocked her backwards. “You…(coughs blood)…talk too much.”

Gallus then whistled; two seconds later, a battalion of royal guards swarmed the library and surrounded Feisty. The Heroic Six stood side by side in front of them.

“What?! I thought I discharged you idiots already?!” Feisty exclaimed.

“We don’t take orders from tyrants like you,” said the pegasus guard.

“Give it up, Feisty! As a member of the Royal Guard, I advise you to surrender! We outnumber you 100 to 1!” Gallus ordered.

“I’ll never bow before unruly creatures like you!” Feisty defied.

“General, please! You know this can’t go on forever!” Ocellus pleaded. “We did nothing to you. All we ever wanted was to embrace everypony.”

“Shut up….shut up…SHUT UP!!!!!” Feisty screamed, pushing everyone back with her magic.

Smolder again breathed fire at the unicorn, but the latter shielded herself from the flames in a magic bubble.

Once the dragon was finished, Feisty blasted her against the ceiling.

“Smolder!” Gallus cried.

“I will kill every single one of you…before I decorate these walls with your blood,” Feisty growled. Then she uttered battle cries as she fired lethal spells.

Inside the Core’s inner sanctum, Twilight stared at the fireplace inside the study room. Aldrich stood behind her while she sat on the rug.

“This is pathetic. Your moping isn’t going to do you any favors, Twilight. You know there’s nothing you can do to save your friends,” he condescendingly spoke.

She looked up at the picture which displayed her younger self eating at the donut shop with her friends. Thus, she got a flashback of their victory snack after they defeated Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy.

“It’s like the end of an era,” said Fluttershy.

“Or…the beginning of a new awesome era!” Rainbow smiled.

“All I know is that whatever comes next is going to be perfect,” said Twilight.

“How do you know that?” Spike asked.

“With you guys by my side, how could it not?” she replied, laughing with her friends.

As the flashback ended, Twilight lowered her head in shame.

Suddenly, loud voices were heard outside. “Snap out of it, Twilight!”

“You have to fight back!”

“Don’t let the Core control you! Remember who you are!”

“Remember our friendship! Please, Twilight! We need you! I need you!”

This caught her whole attention. “Spike? Discord?”

“Don’t mind them, Sparkle. They are of no importance to us. Now, return back to your studies,” ordered Aldrich.

The moment he grabbed her hoof, she slapped his hand away. This caught him off-guard.

“NO! I’ve had it with you and your evil mind games, you monster! I don’t want to be a part of this anymore!” Twilight yelled.

“You have no power here, child. It is I and I alone who dictates what happens here.”

Then Twilight listened to the voices again and heard them plead with her even more earnestly.

“Fight back, Twilight! Resist their power!”

Twilight noticed Neighsay just a few feet from her; he looked back at her with an expression that seemed like a silent cry for mercy. She instantly knew what he and his colleagues wanted: for their misery to end.

Realizing what she needed to do, she tried to power her horn with all her might. Aldrich though laughed at her efforts.

“Your magic is depleted, young one. Do you really think that—AH!”

Her horn glowed brighter and brighter at each passing moment. She continually grunted as she charged up her energy.

“No! Stop! You’ll destroy this place!”

Her horn still continued charging up despite all the damage the sanctum was taking.

“You think your people will accept you again?! After everything you put them through?! They’ll never love you again!” Aldrich angrily shouted.

Then she death-glared at Aldrich. “It’s better to be hated than to be here…”

Finally, her horn finished charging. With all her magical prowess, Twilight shot her entire magic all across the room. Aldrich screamed in agony from the magic.

As the magic broke down every wall, door, and barrier inside the sanctum, Neighsay and his friends warmly smiled at Twilight.

“Finally, we can rest in peace,” said Neighsay, closing his eyes.

Yona jumped all over the floor while she dodged all of Feisty’s lethal spells. “Yona stop worst pony from hurting friends!”

Sandbar grabbed a rope, threw it around Feisty’s legs, and tried to tie her up. However, she blasted the rope to atoms and bucked Sandbar in the face.

“I pity you the most, Sandbar. You sacrificed your dignity for the sake of your so-called friends,” she said. “But y’know what? I’m gonna show you mercy. You are a pony like me after all.”

“I am nothing like you!” Sandbar retorted.

“Don’t lie to yourself,” Feisty scoffed. “I’ll make you a deal: renounce these monsters, and I will allow you to live. Even better, I can offer you a place within the palace! It’s far better than—,” she got punched in the face, getting her nose bloodied.

“I don’t make deals with murderers,” replied Sandbar.

Wiping off the blood drops from her nose, she glared daggers at him. “Then you will suffer and DIE!!”

But before she could blast him, Gallus threw books at her. She focused her attention on him as he threw more books at her face.

“You want a piece of me?! Come and get me!”

“WATCH OUT!” Silverstream warned, grabbing him from behind. Large spikes of stone fell from the ceiling and impaled the ground.

“You just don’t know when to quit, do you?” Feisty sneered.

“As long as my friends are with me, I’ll never quit,” Gallus grinned.

Growling, Feisty prepared another spell. But at that moment, Sandbar dropkicked her and pinned her to the debris-covered floor. Gallus, Silverstream, Ocellus, and Smolder joined him in holding her down.

“Ha! That’s it, guys! Keep her immobile!”

Suddenly, Sandbar got stabbed on his right side by a dagger made of blue aurora. Feisty wickedly laughed as she twisted the blade in his flesh wound. Once she slowly withdrew the dagger, Sandbar fell on the floor.

“SANDBAR!!!” his friends exclaimed.

Feisty teleported away from their grasp and stood upon a tall bookshelf. “No one will remember your worthless species, and no one…will remember him.”

Yona stared at Sandbar as the others attended to his wounds. Dropping tears, her pupils shrunk in pure rage. Snorting smoke from her nose, she ran across the room in full speed with her eyes focused on Feisty.

Once Feisty was finished gloating, she noticed at the last minute the enraged yak charging at her. Before she could react, Yona smashed through the bookshelf and trampled the books underneath the rubble.

As the unicorn fell, Yona head-butted her to the ceiling with brute force—causing her to fly right through the roof. Feisty screamed as she was flung from one place to another.

“Nopony hurts….YONA’S PONY!!!!!” Yona bellowed, thunderously stomping. Her raw strength left cracks across the floor.

She turned back to check on her best friend. “Sandbar! Sandbar! Is pony okay?”

Sandbar winced from the pain. “I’m…(cough)…f-fine. I’ll be alright. Ah!”

“Don’t move! It’ll take time for the wound to heal!” Silverstream notified, wrapping up his lower body.

“Don’t scare Yona again! Yona hate losing best pony!”

“Don’t worry, Yona, it’s gonna be alright. We will save Equestria. I…ow…know we will,”replied Sandbar.

Sadly smiling, Yona hugged him and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

“Feisty will hunt down the rest of our friends. We gotta make sure she doesn’t get her hooves on ‘em! Gallus, Silverstream, Ocellus, come with me. Yona, you take care of Sandbar,” Smolder directed.

Yona nodded, sitting next to Sandbar who blushed in response.

The others left the library with what remained of the royal guard.

Back in the castle, Discord created a wave of lemonade filled with candy canes and pushed it against Gloam Fall. The latter quickly made an electric wave that nullified the chaotic attack.

Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop leaped into the air with their brandished weapons.

“Hey, Gloam Fall, wanna know what karma tastes like?” Polly taunted.

But Gloam Fall generated a strong bubble around themselves. The trio struck the bubble multiple times until they got tired.

“Aren’t they…woo…aren’t bubbles supposed to…pop?” Sprig asked, catching his breath.

Gloam Fall pushed them off with their magical aurora wave.

Then Olivia and Yunan landed before them in a heroic landing fashion. “Not so fast, fiend! Your villainous machinations won’t save you!”

“And you shall fear the name of General Yunan, Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, and the youngest newt to ever achieve the rank of—OOF!”

Both newts were blasted against a pillar. Groaning in pain, they helped each other get back up.

“Okay…that really hurt,” Yunan grunted.

The evil villain grabbed everyone via telekinesis, spun them in a circle within rapid speed, and then slammed them down into the ground.

Gloam Fall evilly laughed in triumph. “You simpletons are no match for our superior might! Once we’re finished with you, we’ll use the Unity Crystals to travel back to Earth and Amphibia. We’ll crush those little insects with our bare hooves—especially the traitor Andrias.”

Spike got up and beheld their display of power in horror. “No…”

But just as Gloam Fall kept laughing, they suddenly felt something painful. Their legs began to shake, sweat started to drop from their face, and their eyes began to flicker. Then they screamed in agony.

This gave Spike, Discord, and the others a surprising glimpse of hope.

“Something’s happening!” Sasha noticed.

“Can it be?” Discord grinned.

“My…head…! This…headache is killing me!” The Core groaned. Their horn spat sparks of purple magic.

“(Gasp) Twilight! She’s fighting back!” Spike shouted.

“NOOO! You shall not…escape me!” Gloam Fall yelled. They laid their hooves on the helmet, preventing it from breaking itself apart.

Spike then tackled the alicorn and grabbed hold of the helmet. “I’m. Getting. Her. Back!!”

As Spike pulled the helmet from opposite directions, beams of white light burst through thereof. The Core uttered its screams of defeat until the helmet exploded into puffs of light.

Twilight was unconscious as she was finally free from the Core’s power. Her entire armor likewise vanished from existence. Anne, Sasha, and the whole Amphibian family looked on as the dragon hugged his beloved sister figure.

“Twilight! Can you hear me? Stay with me!”

Twilight could only groan, but she remained asleep.

Discord could hear her heartbeat up-close. “She’s fine. She just needs time to recuperate.”

“So that means…we won! The Core has been defeated once and all!” Anne cheered. Everyone shouted cries of victory and happiness.

“We did it. It’s finally over,” Spike sighed in relief.

However, they heard some sinister giggling inside the throne room. They looked up and saw an injured Feisty sitting on the throne, sarcastically clapping for them.

“Great job, everyone. You totally saved Equestria. Oh, yeah. Friendship definitely rocks, am I right?” she mocked.

“Uhh, who is this chick?” Sasha asked, arching an eyebrow.

Spike and Discord got into fighting positions, glaring at Feisty. “She’s not a friend of ours, I’ll tell you that.”

“This was only a fragment of our power. You truly think that was the end of it? Haha, think again! Because what you’re about to see will blow you away…LITERALLY!” Feisty monologued.

Twilight’s crown crawled on the stairs and stopped in front of the unicorn. It then opened its orange eye, mechanically hissing at its enemies.

This flabbergasted everyone. “WHAT?!”

“Twilight’s crown is the Core?! How?!” Spike questioned.

Feisty grabbed the crown and laid it on her head. The Core unleashed its tentacles unto the throne, connecting its energy into the castle and all its premises.

Without warning, the entire castle lifted itself from the ground with its spider-like legs. Then it thrusted its legs into the mountain it once stood upon.

Once that was complete, the whole mountain transformed into a titan-sized robotic crustacean; it grew giant claws, massive mandibles, and a large mouth with sharp teeth around the belly area.

It spat out Spike, Discord, the unconscious Twilight, the Calamity Girls, and all the frogs and newts outside.

As they crashed into a nearby lake, they witnessed the final monstrous form of the Core; the castle morphed into a rectangular-shaped face, revealing the signature eyes of the hive mind.

Feisty and the Core laughed together as they activated their last resort.

Grime and the toads also saw the crustaceous monster. As it roared thunderously, they shrunk their pupils in absolute shock.

“Welp, we’re all gonna die,” said Grime, gulping.

Chapter 12: The Final Battle part 2

All the ponies stopped fighting the toads once they saw the monstrous crustacean stand above the clouds. What was once the City of Canterlot has now become the face of the Core.

The ponies stepped backwards in fear. “What the heck is that thing?!”

“Hold on…is that the Emperor?”

“Look! It’s the General!”

Feisty sat on the throne, controlling all the movements of the monster with Twilight’s crown. The Core eyed all the inhabitants of the land and spotted its enemies down below.

“Equestria, our enemies have grown desperate! It is up to me and General Feisty to finish them for the salvation of your souls! We will triumph, and we will reign supreme!” The Core declared.

But instead of cheering, the ponies were still frightened. They fearfully ran off back to their homes in Ponyville.

The Core looked on in confusion. “Impossible. Why aren’t they listening?”

“Don’t mind them, boss. We still have these creatures to deal with. Once we destroy them, then my fellow ponies will grow to appreciate our newfound power,” Feisty replied.

The Core wickedly chuckled. “I like the way you think, my dear. Proceed with the attack!”

“On it!”

As she navigated the monster’s movements, the latter lifted its tail and slammed it on the ground—causing a tremor across the land. The impact sent our heroes flying in the air.

Getting back up, they readied their next move.

“Alright, guys, new plan: Sprig, Discord, and I will create a diversion to draw the Core away from town. Anne, Sasha, you girls will deliver a surprise attack while it focuses on us. Once it’s down to its knees, then we will combine our power to take it down for good!” Spike commanded.

“Hmm, sounds fair to me,” concurred Olivia.

“Hop Pop and Polly, keep Twilight safe,” he ordered, gently placing the unconscious alicorn on the soft grass.

“Don’t worry, Spike. She’s in good hands,” Hop Pop promised.

Then Spike, Discord, and Sprig glared back at the monster who was busy attacking the frogs and newts. The trio launched up in the air and prepared their attacks.

“Hey, bone heads, think fast!” Sprig challenged, slinging a mushroom bomb.

The mushroom struck the beast on its right cheek, exploding on impact. However, it only served to catch its attention with little to no damage.

Growling in annoyance, the Core raised its claw and tried to swipe at the trio. They dodged the attack, and Spike decided to breathe fire at its legs.

The fire did cause some minor pain, making it groan. This gave Discord an idea.

“You know what folks say: ‘The bigger they are, the harder they fall’. They always have their biggest weakness…” he smirked, snapping his fingers.

Giant feathers appeared around the crustacean. They tickled its legs relentlessly, but the monster made no laugh or giggle. Instead, it stared blankly at the trio.

“Well…seems like they’re not ticklish…” Discord muttered, snapping the feathers away.

The Core swiped its claws again and struck the ground, causing an earthquake across the landscape.

“Watch out!”

Everyone braced for impact, but none of the Amphibians or Equestrians were hurt at all. The beast received a surprising kick to the underbelly—making it tremble to the ground.

It looked down to see Anne and Sasha beaming with chaos magic. Smiling smugly, they lifted the beast with all their might. “You ain’t through with us yet!” said Anne.

They threw it back down on the ground face-first. Cracking their knuckles, the girls flew around the monster within lightning speed. They spun so fast they created a tornado that was big enough to carry it. The tornado threw it off-balance, casting it all the way on an empty space of land.

“Agh!! Who are those creatures anyway?! They’re beating us!” Feisty exclaimed, sweating excessively.

“Those were the sources of my initial demise,” the Core sourly replied. “But do not fear them. Their destruction is at hand!”

“Well, whatever they are, if they’re protecting our enemies, then we must destroy them too!” Feisty declared, motioning the monster to get up.

The Core angrily roared and shot fiery missiles from its shoulders. However, Anne and Sasha held hands, danced, and then spun around. That managed to re-direct the missiles right back at the Core, striking it on all sides.

The beast groaned in pain.

As they were fighting it, Spike and company noticed the Unity Crystals were still hovering high in the sky.

“The Unity Crystals!” Spike pointed. He flew out to get them back. But before he could even touch them, something shocked him and pushed him back.

“Hey, what gives?!”

“Seems like they’re protected by some sort of force field,” observed Sprig. “You guys have anything to disable it?”

“Twilight can, but she can’t do anything if she’s unconscious,” Discord informed.

“Unless we get to the Core and force it to hand the crystals over to us,” suggested Gallus, arriving on the scene with his friends behind him.

Silverstream and Smolder gently laid the wounded Sandbar on the grass.

“Sandbar! What happened? Are you alright?” Spike asked.

“I’m…(winces)…doing fine. I’ll make it!” Sandbar groaned, trying to smile.

“Yona smash bad pony!! She hurt Sandbar!!”

“I believe we have bigger problems. Literally!” Sprig reminded, pointing at the rampaging monster.

The Core smacked the Calamity Duo towards the debris and slammed their claws on them. However, the girls slowly lifted the claws from their backs with all their raw strength; in an instant, they threw it around and around until they let go.

The beast flew in the air until it landed on the ground, leaving a massive crater thereof.

The monster got back up on its feet and roared again. Before it could stretch out its claws towards the girls, multiple fireballs struck it. It turned its head to see Ember and her dragons hovering in the air together.

“It’s time for payback, you two! We dragons will show you what happens when you mess with us!” Ember shouted.

Following her, all the dragons circled in and breathed fire all at once at the Core. However, its eyes fired laser beams to counter the flames.

The beams disoriented the dragons, causing them to spin out of control. They crashed down on the ground one by one.

The crustacean triumphantly chucked. We are invincible! We are indestructible! We are inevitable!”

“And we are edible!” Discord cried, mimicking the Core’s voice. Everyone looked at him weird.

“What? Nobody likes seafood?” Discord asked, casually eating a krabby patty.

Anne and Sasha flew down and rejoined the heroes. “These guys won’t stop! No matter how many times we beat them, they still won’t budge!”

“And two people alone aren’t enough! We’re gonna have to fight them altogether!” Sasha added.

“That’s exactly the plan,” Spike nodded. Then he turned his attention to the draconequus. “Hey, Discord, remember how we defeated the Treacherous Trio?”

“Yes?”

“What if we try that again, but this time, we all partake in the friendship formation—you included,” Spike grinned.

This surprised Discord. “I’m…taking part in it this time? Me? What—,”

“Gather around, everybody! Form a circle! Hold each other’s hands!”

“What are we doing?”

“Just follow my lead,” Spike instructed. Everyone did so and gathered around.

“Uh, that’s an oval. Make it more…circlely?” Spike corrected. Then they got into a more accurate shape.

“That’s better. Okay, listen, some of you already know that friendship will always be our form of defense. Together, we can create rainbow magic that can hopefully destroy the Core. Only then will we be able to save Equestria!” Spike spoke.

“And Amphibia!” Sprig added.

“And Earth!” Anne also added.

Discord was trying to process what was happening. “I don’t understand. Why me too? I…don’t really deserve to be—,”

“A part of this? Yeah, this may come off as a shock to you,” Spike replied. “After everything you’ve done to help Equestria—despite the mistakes you’ve done—I think you deserve something…more, y’know?”

This made Discord slightly tear up. “Wow…I don’t know what to say…”

“I believe you deserve it, Discord. Sure, it was a long journey, but you’ve earned it.”

“Uh, guys, sorry to interrupt this emotional moment, but we need to hurry!” Grime urged, seeing the creature angry.

All at once, Spike, Discord, the Plantars, the Calamity Duo, the Heroic Six, Olivia, Yunan, and Grime glowed up and were lifted high in the air.

“What about Twilight?”

“Don’t worry, Discord. We can do this with or without her. This is for her,” Spike replied.

As they got face-to-face with the monster, Feisty and the Core stared at them in puzzlement. Then they shook off their confusion and set their target on the group.

“Let’s do this!” Spike shouted. He and his friends glowed up brightly and closed their eyes.

“Oh, man, this feels weird. I never felt so…magical before!” said Yunan.

“Tell me about it!” Olivia agreed.

“Ugh, this magic stuff is making me wish I didn’t eat those red beets in the first place!” Hop Pop grunted, trying not to gag.

“So this is how it feels…” Grime muttered, relishing the magic.

“Infinite POWER!” Polly proudly cried.

Anne and Sasha grinned at each other as they felt more ready than ever to unleash their ultimate attack.

“Pathetic fools! There is no escape!” Feisty sneered.

“Who said anything about escaping?” Spike retorted, smirking.

Everyone channeled the rainbow magic from the midst of their circle formation; the magic shot up into the sky until it descended upon the tyrants.

“And what is that supposed to—OH!!”

“Of course…” said the Core, remembering how the Treacherous Trio were defeated.

The rainbow magic smote them in one massive explosion, fireworks flying everywhere.

Then everyone slowly got back down on the ground, the magic dissipating. Once the smoke was cleared, they saw the injured monster laying on the broken, charred ground.

Still, the Core opened its eyes and extended its right claw.

“I underestimated you. Nevertheless, your resistance is nothing more than meaningless,” it coldly taunted.

“I’m not surprised you guys are still stubborn to the end,” Spike remarked. “Give up the Unity Crystals and make it easy for yourselves.”

Feisty sinisterly laughed. “That’s not gonna happen.”

The Core signaled a call to other parts of Equestria through the beast’s antenna. The sound waves spread to every major city in the land. Once they struck the highest buildings of every city, they began to glow orange.

The skyscrapers emerged from the concrete, grew legs, and opened eyes. All the ponies looked and beheld the arising monsters in horror.

The ponies screamed and ran for their lives; the buildings roared and started to demolish every non-sentient skyscraper around them.

Hearing the roars from a far distance, Discord flew up and zoomed his eyes on every commotion occurring. He gasped at the terrifying sight.

“Looks like the sore loser decided to turn random buildings into sore losers as well,” Discord confirmed.

“Why are you doing this, Feisty?! You’re willing to terrorize your fellow ponies?!” Spike exclaimed.

“Please, they have no idea who’s behind this—for now,” the unicorn smirked. “Soon, they’ll figure out it was the non-ponies who brought them to life with their crafty magic. And in due time, they’ll become so mad they’ll wipe out every single one of you! Then my revenge will be complete!” Feisty monologued, evilly laughing.

“Um, I’m pretty sure there aren’t any non-ponies who have that kind of magical power,” Discord corrected.

“Oh. Well, in that case, I can frame you for this act.”

“That would make a lot more sense,” Discord agreed. Then his eyes shot back opened with dreadful realization. “Wait… oh no…”

“That’s right, tough guy. You think your infamous betrayals were hard enough? This one will top them all!!” Feisty bragged.

“No! You can’t do this! I won’t let you!” Discord cried out.

Before he could snap his fingers, the Core zapped him with a magical frisbee. He exploded into tiny pieces before he resembled himself back into his normal stature.

“Not so fast, draconequus. The alicorn magic from this beautiful crown allows me to counter your chaotic magic,” the Core explained. “I can predict your every move now.”

“Face it, Discord. You’ve always been a disappointment in life; you betrayed your friends twice—teaming up with Tirek and pretending to be an old goat just to free Equestria’s most dangerous foes. How pathetic!” Feisty taunted him.

Discord looked down in shame.

“Now ponies will think you’ve gone rogue for the third time. You know the saying, ‘Strike three and you’re out’. They’ll hunt you down for the evil villain you are.”

“You’re wrong, Feisty!” Spike defended. “Discord has never been a disappointment—not to his friends. He’s always shown his weird chaotic way of being a good friend. Yes, he’s screwed up many times, but that’s what makes him different. Despite his chaotic nature, he’s demonstrated in more ways than one that he cares about those he loves. And I’m proud to call him my best friend.”

Discord sadly smiled.

“Besides, he’s twice the hero than you’ll ever be!” Smolder added.

“You called him a villain, but you forgot to look at yourself through a mirror! And honestly, you’re even worse than the Storm King!” Silverstream lashed out.

Feisty dropped her jaw in pure shock.

“You’re NOT even a hero! You murdered so many lives over the past seven years, and you STILL consider yourself better than the likes of Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, or Lord Tirek?!You’re not just a hypocrite, you’re also legitimately insane!” Gallus added.

Feisty’s eyes then turned blood red. The Core could have sworn it heard a tiny blood vessel pop around her lower neck.

“Words…cannot describe the sheer wrath I have for these creatures. I was called many things throughout my life, but this—that does it. No one—and I mean, no one…calls. Me. Worse. Than. The…STORM KING!!!!!!!!” Feisty madly screamed.

Her rage alone was able to rejuvenate the crustacean. It got back on its feet, swatted the Equastrains and Amphibians away, and released the Unity Crystals from its force field.

“Well done, my friend. Now we can use the Unity Crystals to travel back to Amphibia and Earth,” said the Core. It tapped the crystals in a specific order, registering the code.

Then the crystals emitted a horizontal beam to the open air and created a massive portal.

Anne, Sasha, and Sprig looked on in horror.

“No, no, no, this can’t be happening again!” Sprig panicked.

The Core made its way towards the portal which was a few miles from Ponyville.

But before the heroes could interfere again, the Core shot electric ropes at all of them. The ropes tied them up automatically which prevented them from making even a slight movement.

“NOOO!!” Anne shouted.

The beast maliciously hissed as it resumed its path towards the portal. Our heroes hung their heads in defeat as they watched the Core slowly approach the inter-dimensional gateway.

Suddenly, it felt its legs restricted by something unnaturally strong. It looked down and saw Applejack and her family restraining it with their lassos.

“What is this?!”

After that, Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts zoomed across the dark clouds and zigzagged their punches to its face.

“Aww, yeah! Back in the flash, baby!” Rainbow proudly shouted.

That’s when all the unicorns showed up: Rarity, Starlight, Sunburst, Trixie, the FlimFlam brothers, Tempest Shadow, Vinyl Scratch, Stellar Flare, Firelight, Twilight’s parents, Party Favor, Sugar Belle, Moondancer, and a few others.

They sent their magical ropes around the Core’s legs, helping the Apple family.

Then it felt a few sweet objects launch into its mouth. Accidentally swallowing them, its belly felt an explosive sugar rush.

“IT’S PARTY TIME!!” Pinkie declared, dropping from the sky with confetti and cupcakes.

“Are you kidding me?! Now?!” Feisty exclaimed.

“Okay, everypony, discipline this bad creature!” Fluttershy commanded.

All the birds appeared out of nowhere and began to peck at the Core’s eyes. It shrieked in pain.

“Pinkie Pie? Rainbow Dash? Rarity? They’re all here!” Spike cheered.

“Great to see you both in one piece!” Fluttershy waved.

“Right back at you, my dear!” Discord waved back.

“And we brought a new friend!” Pinkie informed.

A bright green light shined beneath the clouds; once it got everybody’s attention, a smug human was seen standing in the air with her fists clenched.

“Sorry, guys, I’m late. Did I miss anything?”

Anne and Sasha widened their eyes in pure happiness. “MARCY!!!”

“Master Marcy!” Olivia cried.

“Oh no…” the Core fearfully muttered.

Marcy descended to lower ground and zapped at the Core with her fair portion of chaos magic. Her blasts destroyed several eyes of the Core while sparing the main ones.

“Remember me, Aldrich?! Wanna have a blast from your past?!” Marcy mocked, cracking her knuckles. “Hehehe, that’s a good one-liner. Gotta use that more often.”

Then she punched the Core in the jaw so hard all its mandibles broke off. It stumbled to the ground, groaning in discomfort.

Then she set everyone free from their restraints.

“Marcy, you came back! What changed your mind?” Sasha welcomed.

“Just wanna get some payback…and to relive the nostalgia…sort of,” Marcy replied, blushing. The three girls shared a group hug.

“Spikey-Wikey, thank Celestia you’re alright!” said Rarity, hugging Spike on his lower body.

“Um, Rarity, not in public,” Spike whispered.

“Sorry, darling, I’m just so used to calling you that.”

“I’m glad you guys are okay, and your help is very timely. But we got some bigger issues on our hands now.”

“Yeah, we noticed, Spike. Those old buildings will be reconstructed soon,” replied Rainbow, giving Pinkie Pie a hoof-bump.

“Really? Already?”

“Of course, darling! Everypony saw those ruffians tear up our cities, so with Marcy’s magic, we were able to locate those disasters and deal with them swiftly,” replied Rarity.

“I took pictures of them! See?” Pinkie showed snapshots of the monstrous buildings tied up with bow ties and showered with carrot cakes.

“This remote came in handy. I wonder if I can play video games with magic?” Marcy wondered.

“Huh. It came in full circle after all,” Discord grinned.

Then Spike noticed something happening in the sky: a couple more cracks were seen on the Unity Crystals.

“Umm…guys?”

“ENOUGH!!” Feisty yelled, knocking out the unicorns with the beast’s magic.

“We will go through this portal and reorganize the cosmos according to the will of Equestria! So no more delays!!” Feisty growled, putting more pressure on her horn.

However, unbeknownst to both her and the Core, the cracks on the crystals made the portal weakly flicker.

“The Unity Crystals are slowly losing power!” Spike alerted.

“But…but that means—,” Discord gasped in realization. “The ponies are still divided.”

“But how? We’re all here n’ workin’ together!” Applejack doubted.

“Um, does that answer your question?” Grime pointed. Behind them were dozens of random earth ponies arguing with the Pegasi.

“Seriously?! In a time like this?!” Rainbow ranted.

“We can’t lose our magic now! Equestria depends on it!” Rarity cried.

“But hold on…if the magic is vanquished, then they won’t be able to reach Amphibia or Earth. And we will all be safe!” Discord explained.

“But without the magic…then how will we live our lives?” Spike asked.

“Wait, wait, is this supposed to be a ‘pick your poison’ type of situation?” Anne chimed in. “From what I’m hearing, you guys need magic so that you can do whatever you normally do, but on the other hand, the Core and…what’s her name again?”

“Feisty.”

“Ohh, she certainly lives up to that name. Anyway, they need it to gain access to my home world and Amphibia. But the magic has to somehow disappear to prevent that from happening. Did I leave out anything?”

“Nope, that’s pretty much it.”

“Yeeeeah, that’s gonna suck, I bet,” Anne finished, awkwardly looking down.

“I wish there was another way, but there’s not much time, and that unicorn is getting angrier by the minute. So…we’re going to let the inevitable take its course…” Discord sadly sighed.

“That is?”

“You know it, Spike.”

His pupils shrunk once he realized. “Oh…”

In the background, a lot of Canterlot unicorns saw the earth ponies and Pegasi arguing with each other. Then they held their heads high.

“Dear goodness, was I ever that brash with my attitude?” Fancy Pants snorted.

“Definitely not. At least our status keeps us from stooping that low,” a unicorn lady haughtily chuckled.

“They make the non-ponies seem quite harmless by comparison!”

“Indeed! Just look at them!”

The Core was almost there towards the portal. It stretched out its claws to reach it. “At last, the victory belongs to us!”

Suddenly, the Unity Crystals started to lose power as a result of more cracks forming. The portal collapsed on itself and exploded to oblivion, nearly blinding the monster.

After one final crack was formed, the Unity Crystals separated from each other. Thus, waves of magic all ejected through the sky which blew away the dark clouds.

Afterwards, the crystals fell from the sky and landed on the soft grass—completely devoid of life and fragrance.

Spike, Discord, the Heroic Six, and all the ponies and surviving creatures stared at the horrifying sight. They witnessed with their own eyes the ultimate price of Equestria’s sins: the loss of magic.

“It is done.”

The monster looked up and saw the portal was completely gone. “Noooo!! How did this happen?!”

“It’s their fault! They did this!” Feisty accused, glaring at our heroes. The crustacean then charged forward with their extended claws.

Rarity and other unicorns tried to ignite their horns, but nothing came out. Rainbow and the Wonderbolts suddenly felt their wings strained and fell on the ground.

“Oh dear!” Fluttershy panicked.

“What do we do now? How can we stop them without magic?” Ocellus asked, unable to shape-shift.

“Hello? I still have my chaos magic!” Discord reminded. “It’s a good thing it doesn’t count as regular magic.”

The draconequus stretched himself with his tail like rubber and reached all the way to the charging beast. Then he jumped right into the throne room where Feisty was sitting.

Feisty stared at him flabbergasted. “No fair! You still have magic, and I don’t?!” She attempted to again fire her spell but failed at it.

“I believe you had enough fun for today—or should I say…NEVER AGAIN,” Discord said, glaring at them. He then forcibly grabbed Feisty by the throat and took the crown from her head.

“Please, don’t! I can give you everything you want! I swear!” the Core begged.

“Hahahaha, you literally have nothing to offer. So it’s time for you…to retire!” Discord retorted, severing its tentacles from the throne.

At that moment, the monster stopped moving and lost its entire energy. The crustacean then turned into chocolate from head to bottom; it immediately crumbled into tiny pieces.

All the monster buildings in every city were turned to dust and stone after the source of their creation was neutralized.

“Yay! Free chocolate for everypony!” Pinkie shouted, eating raining brownies.

“Is it over? Is that monster finally gone?” Sasha asked.

“Not yet. Look.”

Twilight’s crown frantically crawled on its legs to escape. However, it stopped its tracks before an angry Marcy, Sprig, and Spike.

“M-Marcy…m-my old friend. How lovely you are tonight,” the Core nervously greeted.

Marcy stood there silent, death-glaring at it.

“Come on, we can at least talk about this!”

“Talk to the feet!” Sprig retorted, stepping on the crown.

The trio kept stepping on the helpless crown for almost a minute. Then Marcy delivered the final blow and crushed the eye underneath her shoe.

“Good riddance,” she spat.

Spike then breathed fire on its remains, incinerating them to ashes.

Feisty crawled on the ground with her bare hooves as her hind legs were injured. As she attempted to stand up, Thorax flew by and glared down at her. A few other creatures were behind him as well.

Then she evilly looked at him in the eye. “Kill me. You want to avenge your family? Then finish me off—a magic-less, defenseless mare. I know you’ll enjoy it.”

Thorax though looked at her disgusted and turned away. “I’m not like you. None of us are. (Sigh) You’re not worth it. You never were.”

This both surprised and enraged the unicorn. Then she faced the unamused draconequus.

“At least I’ll get the last laugh from seeing you fall for good, Discord! Nopony will forgive you this time!”

“I think we had enough of you, madam,” Discord coldly replied, snapping his fingers.

Suddenly, Feisty’s skin started to grow blue from her hooves all the way to her head. She tried to get the parasitic layer off her but unsuccessfully.

“I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU ALL! YOU WILL NEVER BE HAPPY AGAIN!” she screamed, foam and saliva dripping from her mouth. “I HOPE YOU CREATURES DIE OFF FOREVER!!!!!”

Her last words echoed for one last time until her throat was cut from inside. Her entire body then evaporated into smoke, and all that was left was her skeleton.

A tear dropped from her angry skull, dripping down on the cold dirt.

Everyone stood still, shaken by what they witnessed.

“Welp, good luck sleeping tonight,” Hop Pop remarked without blinking.

Author's Note

One chapter left now….

Epilogue: Paying the Price

The Equestrians and Amphibians looked around and saw all the damage that was done throughout the landscape. Anne and Sasha nervously chuckled to themselves. “Heh, we really messed up your home, didn’t we?”

“It’s alright, Sasha. It’s nothing compared to the real damage we witnessed,” Spike sighed, staring at the lifeless Unity Crystals.

He tried putting them back together, but nothing happened. All the cracks, however, disappeared from all three crystals.

“So…does this mean we lost? Even though we…kinda won?” Sprig asked.

“Well…yes and no. Equestria is finally free, but at what cost? Losing our magic,” Spike sadly replied.

They turned to Rarity and Starlight failing to ignite their horns. They could only spew sparks thereof.

Then Spike noticed Discord standing above a pile of chocolate, looking at the clear night sky. He flew over to him with a look of concern.

“Hey, buddy. You doing okay?”

“(Sigh) I am, Spike. I never thought I would say this…but for the first time in my life…I feel complete,” Discord replied, slightly smiling.

“Oh? How so?”

“You know how I often helped Twilight and her friends defeat a few villains—meaning that I contributed to their efforts but not actually partake in defeating them?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, since I was a partaker in the rainbow magic formation for the first time and have directly saved Equestria this time—you guys helped too!—I feel so much more accomplished than I ever were throughout my career!”

Spike chuckled. “Well, you have grown so much over the last twenty-seven years. I mean, you’re still you but a little…different now.”

“It is a good thing, right?”

“Of course it is, Discord! I’m sure Fluttershy would say the same to you,” Spike smiled.

Discord smiled back and gave Spike a tight hug. “Thanks, buddy! I’ll be sure to add you as a reference on my résumé!”

“Squeezing…too…hard!”

Discord released him and snapped his fingers. A small gray could rained vanilla on top of them.

“Want some victory drink?”

“I’ll pass,” replied Spike, spitting the vanilla out.

At that moment, Twilight started to wake up from her sleep.

“Spike, she’s moving! She’s regaining consciousness!” Polly alerted.

Spike immediately flew back over to the alicorn and gently lifted her head. The latter opened her eyes and saw a concerned Spike over her head.

“Spike…? Is…that you?”

“Yes, it’s me! You’re back, Twilight! You’re finally free!” The Mane Five ran forward and hugged Twilight with tears on their eyes.

“Thank Celestia yer fine! We were so worried!” said Applejack.

“We missed you so much!” Pinkie Pie cried.

“We thought we would never see you again!” said Fluttershy.

“And don’t worry, Equestria is saved! The villains are gone, and everypony—er, everyone is here!” Rainbow informed.

“Including some peculiar visitors,” Rarity added, looking at the frogs, toads, and newts.

Twilight stared at the humans and bipedal frogs. “They’re from Amphibia, right?”

“Indeed! And it is an honor to finally meet you, your Highness,” Grime reverently kneeled.

All the other Amphibians briefly bowed as well. “So you’re Princess Twilight Sparkle, huh? Spike spoke so much about you, and I can imagine how much you both mean to each other,” said Anne.

Twilight looked at Spike and cracked a little smile. “You can say that.”

As Twilight got up, she beheld the devastative condition of her kingdom. She saw burnt bones, destroyed homes, flames on the ground, and the whole mountain alongside Canterlot completely gone. She hung her head in sorrow.

“You still have some alicorn magic, right?”

“Yes.”

“So there’s a chance you can return the magic to Equestria—given that you’re the Element of Magic and all,” Spike suggested.

“The Unity Crystals separated, didn’t they?”

“Unfortunately. But you can still—,”

“No. There’s nothing I can do to reverse the effect,” stated Twilight.

Spike, Discord, and the Mane Five tilted their heads in confusion.

“Furthermore, because of everything that has happened to Equestria, I am officially stepping down from being the ruler of this kingdom.”

Everypony gasped at the announcement.

“Wait, what?!? WHAT?!” Spike exclaimed.

“Furthermore, I make my final decrees as I step down from this royal position: From this day forth, Equestria will no longer require princesses, princes, or rulers; everypony will be their own independent agent. Second, Canterlot will NOT be rebuilt,” she commanded.

“Twilight, what are you doing?!” Discord shouted.

“I have failed you as a princess, I’ve failed you as a ruler, and worst of all…I failed you all as a friend. All the deaths of everypony and creature are on my hooves, and I will NEVER forgive myself for that,” she condemned herself while her voice cracked.

The Mane Five were about to speak, but Twilight lifted her hoof.

“And spare me your sympathies; I don’t deserve them. And don’t bother trying to unify everypony into friendship. As far as I can tell, friendship is dead to me…and I’m dead to friendship,” moped Twilight.

She opened her wings and ignited her horn.

“What are you doing?”

Twilight sent a spell on herself which encased her in a magical ball of light; after a minute, the magical light flew high up in space…never to be seen again.

Everyone gasped in shock as they beheld Twilight. She became a normal-sized pony with no wings; although she was still quite young, she had some gray hairs and bags under her eyes.

“Twilight…you’re—you’re a unicorn again?! How is that possible?!” Rarity yelled.

“Since when can alicorns do that?” Rainbow questioned.

“The night after I got my wings, Celestia told me that if I ever wanted to return to being a unicorn, I just use this spell. And frankly, I don’t deserve the alicorn status. I disgraced it, and Celestia made a grave mistake naming me as her successor.”

“No…”

“You shouldn’t be friends with me anymore. Starting today, I exile myself from this land—never more to return. Goodbye, everypony,” she finished, walking away.

“Twilight, NO! Stop! We still need you!” Spike pleaded.

“Not anymore, Spike.”

“Are you seriously gonna leave Equestria with no magic at all?! How are we going to live?!”

“And how will we feed our families? Earth ponies need to harvest food with our natural strength!” Applejack added.

“Same thing with Pegasi! We need magic to fly around and manage the weather!” argued Rainbow.

“They relied on magic for everything? Now I’m starting to wish I lived here!” Grime whispered.

“Hmm, maybe it’s a good thing? Depending on magic too much can produce laziness, and we all know hard work is the only true path to success,” Hop Pop whispered back.

“I understand your concerns, and fortunately for Equestria…you won’t need magic to survive. Look,” Twilight informed, pointing at the moon.

The moon started to set on its own while the sun slowly rose up. A rooster crowed at the sight of dawn.

“Dang, it’s morning already? That was one fast night!” said Sasha.

This made the ponies drop their jaw. “But…but how? How are they moving by themselves?”

“When I rid myself of my alicorn status and magic, I altered the natural order. From now on, nature will dictate your everyday lives. You will work harder to feed your families, it will be physically impossible to change the weather, and the sun and moon will rise and set according to the laws of time,” informed Twilight.

“But what about the Windigoes?” Terramar asked.

“They’re history. I made sure my rainbow magic settled that permanently.”

“Hmm, so that’s why they’re not swirling around causing a winter storm right now,” Discord realized.

“You have nothing to worry about. (Sigh) Now I must go in peace and live out the rest of my days elsewhere,” said Twilight, walking off again.

Spike jumped in front of her. “Twilight, listen to me! I get why you feel guilty about this, but this wasn’t your fault! You were manipulated and tricked into this mess! Please, you have to stay! We’re your friends, and we gotta stick together!”

“What friends?” she callously responded, refusing to look at the Mane Five.

She went past him and trotted down the hill. Spike started to get slightly angry and followed her.

“Spike, maybe we—,” Discord spoke.

“Don’t stop me!!” Spike snapped.

Spike managed to grab her tail and hold her still. “The Twilight I know isn’t selfish and has the self-esteem to realize that everyone makes mistakes and can do better.”

Twilight then stared at Spike for a few seconds. “I admire your optimism, Spike. But it’s time to move on. Goodbye.”

She kissed Spike on the forehead and left for the Evergreen Forest.

“No, Twilight. No! Please don’t go!” he pleaded.

Discord and the Mane Five prevented him from following her. “Let her go, Spike.”

Spike sobbed loudly on the grass with his knees bent. “No…”

Twilight dropped a final tear until she went past the large trees. Thus, she was never seen again by her friends. Discord and the Mane Five hugged him in an attempt to comfort him.

Sprig, Anne, Sasha, Polly, and Hop Pop joined in out of sympathy.

“I’m sorry, Spike. I really am…” comforted Sprig.

The group remained silent for a moment as they witnessed the unexpected departure of Twilight Sparkle. The Mane Five and Spike wept together, daring not to look at the Everfree Forest again.

“Well…this is awkward…” Captain Beatrix muttered, clearing her throat.

“Yeah, I feel like we should go now,” agreed Wally, kicking the dirt.

Twenty minutes later, the Calamity Trio and the Amphibians gathered together with the Equestrians.

“Well, on the bright side, it was certainly a fun ride, and we got to kick the Core’s sorry tailpipe for one last time!” Marcy grinned.

“I only wish this didn’t end on a sour note,” Anne added, frowning.

“Yeah. We’re really sorry you guys lost your magic and for your friend,” Sasha apologized, resting her hand on Spike’s shoulder.

“(Sigh) I’m sorry too. But that’s not the only worst part of this whole situation…” Spike replied.

“Our non-pony numbers are at an alarmingly low rate; there’s now ten of us changelings, eleven yaks, fifteen dragons, twenty griffons, and twenty-two hippogriffs,” Thorax reported.

“That includes the five of us, excluding Sandbar,” added Smolder.

“That’s all?”

“Yes. We are all that is left,” Sky Beak sadly confirmed.

“Wait…does that mean you’re all endangered species?!” Anne exclaimed.

Gabby and Gilda looked at each other puzzled. “Odd way of saying it but yes,” Gilda nodded.

“Then you might have to implement some sort of protection program that safeguards you all from being extinct. That’s how we humans do it in our world—the ESA is very thorough on that,” Anne suggested.

“Ehh, what does ESA stand for?” Rainbow asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Endangered Species Act. There’s a lot of stuff you can learn from us,” Anne replied.

“You sure you wanna help us? Not everypony may welcome you with open hooves,” Fluttershy warned.

“Oh, it’s fine! If anyone wants to mess with us or mess with you, then they’ll answer to us!” Sasha replied, cracking her knuckles with chaos magic.

“Very well. We deeply appreciate your help,” Thorax smiled. “I know my brother would be very proud.”

Anne and Sasha took off to the skies. “Come on, guys, let’s get you somewhere safe!”

Thus, the surviving non-ponies followed them to the outskirts of Ponyville. But before Thorax left with the rest, he briefly hugged Spike. “Good luck, Spike. I hope I can see you again.”

“Ditto.”

Thorax flew off with the other changelings. The Heroic Six looked back at their former professors who waved farewell to them. The six smiled back and went with everyone else.

“It appears that our work is done. This world is saved, Amphibia is saved, and Earth is saved!” Grime said.

“Finally! I’m getting sick from all this pony stench! Hey, circus boy, take us back home, will ya?” Beatrix called.

“That’s Mr. Circus Boy to you, miss! Sheesh, these toads have no respect nowadays,” Discord shouted, rolling his eyes.

Once he snapped his fingers, it opened the portal to Amphibia.

“Welp, see ya later, losers!” Beatrix waved, entering the portal.

As the other toads entered through, Grime made a respect gesture. “I wish you luck, my Equestrian friends. Perhaps someday, we’ll meet again.”

Spike nodded to him. After Grime entered through, the other frogs and nexts waved their goodbyes and departed.

Olivia and Yunan hugged Marcy and spoke a few words with her. “It was certainly a great treat seeing you again, Master Marcy.”

“And now we’re gonna miss you again,” said Yunan.

“Hehe, don’t worry, I got this remote control thing. I can visit you guys anytime I want to. Oh! Oh! Maybe we can have a movie night at my house sometime! Wouldn’t that be great?!” Marcy offered.

Olivia chuckled. “That would be quite fun. Together, when we’re ready.”

Then Marcy got a little sad.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, I was just thinking about…Andrias. I dunno why…but I kinda miss him too.”

Olivia and Yunan looked at each other and smiled. “I’m certain he would be happy to see you again one day—I hope.”

Then she hugged them again. As her newt friends entered the portal, she went over to Spike and the Plantars.

“You guys wanna help rebuild their town?”

“That’s just what I was thinking! This battle made me want to exercise some more! Come on, kids, I think this town needs a new makeover!” Hop Pop replied, getting his tools.

“Alright, Frobo, let’s get down to business!” ordered Polly. Frobo winked and took off to the sky.

Sprig noticed that Spike was still down and frowning. He nudged him by the arm.

“Hey, buddy?”

“Mmm?”

“Are you okay?”

“(Sigh) I’m not…but I’ll be alright,” Spike replied.

“So…all those ponies—magic is what used to keep them together or something?” Sprig asked.

“Friendship is what did. But now that the magic of friendship is gone forever, almost everypony will be hating each other.”

“Well, only between races. The unicorns, Pegasi, and earth ponies will be living their own lives apart from each other,” Discord specified.

“Seriously? That’s just sad. Won’t they ever be…y’know…friends again?” Sprig asked.

Spike sighed in depression. “I don’t know. I really don’t know. Normally, Twilight would have the answer, but since she isn’t with us anymore…I’m even more unsure.”

“Well, I wouldn’t lose faith if I were you. Maybe—just maybe in one hundred years from now, they can be friends again. Someone might rise up to bring them together, I don’t know,” Sprig thought. “I just have a feeling things won’t be gloomy forever.”

Spike gave it some thought, slowly nodding in understanding. “I hope you’re right.”

Once Marcy and the Plantars finished repairing Ponyville, they departed back to their worlds through different portals. Anne and Sasha said their goodbyes and went back to Earth with Marcy…after the former said her final farewell to Sprig.

“Hope to see you soon, pal.”

“I’m pretty sure we will, thanks to Marcy’s portal device. Sometime next week, maybe?”

“Deal!” Anne approved.

“Spranne against the world?”

“Spranne against the world,” Anne smiled. They hugged tightly for one last time until they broke the embrace.

As the portals finally closed, Discord laid his arm around Spike. “He does have a point, you know. Everyone’s gonna have to mature sometime, someday.”

“You think so too?”

“I don’t think so. I know so!” Discord corrected. “Besides, only time will tell if there will be a new Twilight for a new generation!”

Spike frowned at him.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to overstep…”

“Nah, I get it. I just doubt that somepony will follow Twilight’s hoofsteps. Considering how stubborn most ponies are, I just find it so hard to believe!” Spike vented.

Discord looked at the white clouds and grew a smirk. “Not for me. All we have to do is simply look up.”

Spike followed his direction and saw exactly what he was staring at: a cloud shaped like Twilight’s cutie mark. This made Spike slightly smile.

“Wow. There might be hope for Equestria after all.”

The sun shined through that cloud, making the whole sky beam bright.

Elsewhere in Equestria, there was an underground garden just below where the Canterlot Garden used to be before it was destroyed with the Core.

In the midst of the hidden garden stood an old three-figure statue covered with leaves and vines. The statue consisted of three legendary villains: Lord Tirek, former Queen Chrysalis, and little Cozy Glow.

They even had a small description underneath their feet that said “The Treacherous Trio: defeated by their greed.”

Suddenly, a portal opened right in front of them. A magical beam struck the statue; it managed to separate the three figures from the stone platform. The stone broke apart which released the three villains from their stone imprisonment.

They laid on the ground unconscious. After that, they were lifted in the air and sucked right into the portal. An evil laugh could be heard just before the portal closed.

“Jacob, did you clean your room yet?!”

“I don’t need to clean my room, Mom! I’m 38 years old!!” he angrily yelled.

“Oh, sure, a 38-year-old who can’t get a new job, is on probation, and who leaves burnt waffles on a toilet seat! Definitely a mature grown-up!”

“Don’t sass me, Mom! I have feelings too, you know!”

“Just get your butt off your bed and clean your room! And wash the dishes too!”

Jacob Hopkins groaned in annoyance as he sipped on his coffee. He wore a long beard, sweatpants filled with holes, and a dirty rope.

He looked back at all the pictures of him being beaten by strangers, mocked by the crowd, and getting arrested by the police.

Then he grabbed a picture he secretly took long ago. It was a picture of two girls graduating from high school, one of whom he was familiar with.

Angered, he threw the picture away and drank the rest of his coffee. He slumped back on his bed.

“I thought I had a bright future ahead of me; I thought capturing a demon and a witch would increase my chances of success…but I was wrong. I’m such a failure!” Jacob cried, covering his face.

At that moment, he got a phone call. He was taken aback by that.

“Weird? Who would want to call me of all people?”

He answered the call. “Hello? Who’s this?”

“Hello, Jacob Hopkins. I trust you’re having a fine evening, yeah?”

“Who wants to know?” Jacob asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Nah, I’m just a friend who wants to give you a second chance. I’ve been watching you lately…learning so much about you.”

Jacob then got confused. “And people say I’m a stalker?? Who the heck are you??”

“Come on, bro, you love it when someone pays attention to you. For a guy who has an obsession with discovering alien life, you just can’t help but feel the need to be adored by everyone,” said the caller.

Jacob widened his eyes in shock. “H-How do you know that about me?”

“What to know what else I know? You’ve been jobless for two years, you’re on probation, you’re wearing a torn robe, ripped sweatpants, and you always put burnt waffles on a toilet.”

Terrified, Jacob looked through his window and saw nobody on his lawn.

“Who are you?! What do you want from me?! Is this the FBI?!”

“Yo, man, easy there. I’m on your side. In fact, I have an offer you surely cannot refuse.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s something you’ve been looking for your whole life. Wanna find out now? That is….if you want to stop living at your mommy’s home.”

Jacob took a peek at his mom watching the news on TV. He quietly closed his door and nodded.

“Okay, okay, fine. Where should I go?”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll just take you there myself,” the caller replied.

“Wait, what? You don’t even know my add—huh?”

Black tentacles of darkness surrounded him and encased him completely, silencing his screams.

The darkness then released him, and he found himself in a new location: an abandoned laboratory that contained three unconscious prisoners—Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow. They were chained up on a wall.

Seeing them made him gasp in shock. “How did I get here? And…what the HECK are those things?!”

“They are your new sources of power, Jacob,” a man replied, standing in the shadows. “With them at your mercy, you will gain a power you’ve never known.”

Jacob looked back and saw the man’s chest glowing red in a shape of a diamond; his eyes also glowed red in the dark. The mysterious figure evilly smiled at his flabbergasted reaction.

“You’re the one who called me?” Jacob asked.

“Correct! I have everything you need to access the world where demons and witches live. Do these look familiar?” He held the pictures that showed an owl beast looking at the camera with soulless eyes. The other was a picture of a shape-shifting demon.

“Hey, that’s the demon I captured four years ago!” Jacob remembered.

“That’s right! She comes from a world where fantasy becomes a reality. I’m sure you’ll find it…interesting?” the man smirked.

Jacob found a device that held a panoramic photo of a massive island that appeared to be the carcass of a titan.

“This will take me to their world?!”

The dark figure nodded.

“That’s…that’s amazing! I’ll finally be able to capture them for my world to see!! But…I’m confused though. Why are you helping me?” Jacob asked.

“The truth is…I was like you before. Being the odd one amongst the self-righteous dolts in a cruel world. You have so much to offer to this planet. By harnessing those creatures’ powers, you can become…a god!”

Jacob’s eyes beamed with hope. Smiling widely, he jumped up and down in excitement.

“All those people who mocked me are gonna be soooo sorry now! Alright, you demons, get ready to be swayed by my greatness!” Jacob boasted.

He looked back and saw that the man was already gone. “Wait, I didn’t get your name!” He got no answer.

Shrugging, he looked at another photo of the island which contained a name above the picture. “The…Boiling Isles? They’re not from Mars???”

TO BE CONTINUED.

Author's Note

There you have it, folks! The end of the Amphibian storyline! While this concludes MLP G4’s storyline for the most part, there are a few characters who will be featured next…the Treacherous Trio.

So, surprise, surprise, this is setting up a multiverse storyline. Now that Amphibia’s finished, the next is of course, you know what. Thanks for all your support so far, and thanks for reading this story. I had a lot of fun writing this, that’s for sure.

For now, I will be taking a break from writing for a while until the first week of September. You’ll see some one-shot stories here and there, but probably by the end of next month is when the next major story will be released. Until then, till all are one!

Chapter 4: Informal Introductions

Sprig and Ivy held hands as they were skydiving together. As they uttered shouts of excitement, they deployed their leafy parachutes in unison. They went right through a cloud, forming a heart shape in the middle thereof.

“Woohoo! This is a lot more fun than I thought!” Ivy shouted.

“Tell me about it! I can never get enough of it!”Sprig concurred.

Ivy then sighed affectionately. “It really makes me wonder what other stuff we can do—something just as new and fun as this one.”

“I know, right? Ever since you and I started dating, we became a lot more…well, adventurous! It’s been amazing so far,” said Sprig.

“Yeah…it really has…” Ivy agreed, gazing at Sprig’s eyes.

Once he gazed back at her eyes, they leaned toward each other for a kiss. But then a wind blew them away which caused them to roughly land on the ground.

Sprig lifted the leaf off him. “Aw, come on! We were having a moment!”

Ivy chuckled in response. “Don’t worry, Sprig, I gotcha covered.” She then kissed him on the lips, making him slowly kiss back.

Suddenly, Polly jumped down on Sprig out of nowhere. “Hey, Sprig! You got a moment?!”

“Polly, not a good time! Some privacy please?” Sprig replied, trying to get her off him.

“Nope! No time for that! We got some visitors today!” Polly informed.

This made both lovebirds widen their eyes in surprise. “Visitors?” they both asked.

“Could…it…be?” Sprig wondered, his eyes beaming with hope.

“No, it isn’t Anne in case you were wondering,” Polly bluntly clarified. Sprig then lowered his eyes in disappointment. “But these guys definitely aren’t from around here. Follow me!”

As Polly ran off, the young couple looked at each other. Shrugging, they followed her back to Wartwood.

Once they arrived, they were reunited with other frogs of the town; there, Sprig and Polly saw Hop Pop with Sylvia Sundew in the midst of the crowd.

“Any idea who these visitors are?” Sprig asked.

“No clue, but it seems like it’s their first time being here!” Hop Pop replied, pointing right where the visitors were.

Spike and Discord saw themselves surrounded by the Amphibian natives. The frogs gazed at them, highly intrigued by their appearances.

“Is it weird that I feel…uncomfortable by this?” Spike wondered, keeping himself at a distance.

“Not at all, Spike! You feel uncomfortable around me sometimes, so this should feel no different,” Discord replied, grinning.

Spike rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Sorry that I asked.”

Mayor Toadie and his new mayor assistant Toadstool approached the duo with friendly smiles. “Welcome to Wartwood, gentlemen! I’m your warm-welcoming Mayor Toadie, and this is my ever-so handsome assistant, Toadstool! It’s been months since we’ve had visitors here!”

“I personally have to admit that we haven’t seen folks like you before,” said Toadstool, looking up and down on them. “Say, where exactly are you from?”

Spike cleared his throat before he replied, nervously waving. “Hi there…um, I’m Spike. This is Discord. We’ve come from Equestria which is basically another universe. Uh…nice to meet you guys.”

“Ah! Now I remember this place! Unlike most of the ponies from our dimension, you frogs are always so interesting to watch!” Discord reminisced, stretching his long neck around the frogs and hugging them. “Oh, you are even more squishy than I remember!”

“Discord!”

“Oh, don't mind him. The big bad dragon always gets his tail in a twist. I did tell him to stop eating midnight snacks all the time, but he never listens,” Discord smirked.

Then his pupils shrunk. “What a minute!” He pulled out egg yolk covered in mustard and relish from his ears. “I do that too! Silly me!” He then casually ate them while the frogs looked on with surprise.

“What kind of a creature is he?! Did he just pull food out of his ears?!” Toadstool yelled.

“Wow! I like this guy now! This town needs some craziness every now and then!” Mayor Toadie remarked, gazing his eyes at Discord.

“That’s not all I can do!” Discord continued, snapping his fingers. A giant hive of strawberry birds fell on the dirt out of nowhere. Then the birds flew out and tweeted out their flavor songs, strawberries falling all around the amazed frogs.

Polly’s jaw dropped to the ground as she witnessed the chaotic magic before her eyes. “Whoa! Is he some sort of magician or something?! Cool!”

“Well, well, looks like I got some competition,” said Maddie, narrowing her eyes on the draconequus.

“Discord, we’re on a mission, remember?” Spike whispered in his ear.

“Come on, Mr. Serious Business, we’ll get back to Equestria in due time to save our friends, but in the meantime, how about we make some new friends, hm?”

Spike sighed deeply in frustration. “Okay, fine. But we should at least mention why we’re here so they know what’s going on.”

“Hey, Mr. Discord, can you create giant ice cream?!” Polly shouted.

“Huh?”

“Why, certainly!” *snap*

“Discord, no, NO!” Spike pleaded.

Giant balls of vanilla ice cream squashed them all. Polly, Sprig, Ivy, Maddie, and other frogs jumped out of the dessert while they ate some. Mayor Toadie and Toadstool stood on top of a creamy platform.

“You guys are amazing! You are welcome to stay here as long as you want! Dig in, everybody!” Toadie declared, diving into a pool of ice cream.

Spike poked his head out of the ice cream, spitting some of it out. He glared at Discord who was casually lying on a coach made of jello.

“Want some jello?” Discord offered.

“Man, these guys look like fun to be around!” Ivy observed.

“Yeah, especially that Discord guy!” Sprig agreed. “But I wonder what’s gotten that Spike dude all moody. I’m gonna go talk to him.”

As Sprig hopped forward, Spike wiped off the ice cream from his scales and stood back up. Then he turned to see the teenage frog walk up to him. “Hello, uh, Spike, is it?”

“Yes. Sorry about Discord. He can be a little too…eager to meet new creatures,” replied Spike.

“Nah, it’s fine! The fact that he has these magical powers is pretty cool, honestly! And man, that vanilla flavor is so good,” Sprig moaned, licking up the remains of the flavor on his hand.

“….right…” Spike muttered, awkwardly scratching his arm.

Sprig cleared his throat. “So um, my name is Sprig. It’s nice to meet you!”

“Sprig, huh? Hmm, nice to meet you too,” he smiled. They both shook hands while they stared at each other.

Sprig grew concerned once they parted hands.“Is…everything alright?”

Spike gave him a surprised look. He briefly stood silent until he closed his eyes and re-opened them. “Well, we came here for a reason…and it’s…not something pretty.”

“Oh? What’s wrong?”

“We came for help—a dire need for help. There’s an alien monster terrorizing my home, killing non-ponies, and taking over the kingdom. It’s taken my best friend as a slave, and if we don’t do something soon, Equestria will be done for. I hope you guys can help us out.”

“A monster? Terrorizing?! Well, that’s terrible!” Ivy responded, overhearing the conversation. “What does the monster look like?”

“Hmm, I can’t say for sure, but it does have those creepy orange eyes,” Spike recalled.

Sprig widened his eyes in shock, fearfully remembering Amphibia’s archenemy. “O-orange…eyes?”

“Yeah. And it also calls itself the Core.”

Sprig and Ivy’s eyes then literally shattered to bits once they heard the dreadful name.

“Somehow, it possessed Princess Twilight and made her a host. With her alicorn magic, it became the most powerful creature in Equestria! And it ruined everything! So from what I have learned so far is that you guys are more than capable of helping us defeat that monster so that we can save our friends, our family, and the whole world. Sooo…will you help us?”

Sprig and Ivy stood there completely shocked at everything they heard.

“Umm…you guys heard me?”

“I think they all heard you, Spike,” Discord notified, pointing at the rest of the frogs.

Hop Pop and the whole town of Wartwood surrounded them with their jaws dropped and eyes widened. Even their clothes dropped down.

“I think this is the part where we all scream at once. Ready?” Hop Pop calmly reminded.

“Ready!” everyone replied.

“One, two, three!”

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?” The whole continent shook from the loud noise.