Year of the Snake

by SharkBowser58

Legend of the Serpentine

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Ponyville

A grand festival was being held in Ponyville, celebrating the heroics of their Rabbid visitors. A few months after helping the Mane 6 save Equestria from the Megabug, it was finally time for the Rabbids to leave, and explore the universe on their own.

The citizens of Ponyville gathered as the Rabbids began to climb into their Time Washing Machine, and the Rabbid 6 were watching over them.

"I can't believe they're leaving." Fluttershy expressed, sad that the Rabbids were finally leaving Equestria.

"I can't believe we can't enjoy their Weekend Late Nite parties anymore." Pinkie added, sad that they won't party with the Rabbids again anytime soon.

"I can't believe they're takin' their statue them." Applejack added as she watched the Rabbids stuff the statue of the Rabbid 6, which they yanked out of the ground earlier, into the Washing Machine in disbelief.

"Guess they didn't wanna leave it behind." Rainbow joked. "I wouldn't've."

"I am a bit bummed that there didn't end up being a Rabbid Me." Spike expressed in sadness.

"Oh, but there was!" Pinkie assured him. "He had those challenges for us to do while there were still Bad Rabbids on the loose!"

"Granted, he just stitched together a purple dragon costume that looked like you, but I think it still counts." Rarity added.

"Eh, he was better than nothing, at least." Spike said as he decided to just accept it.

"Well, here comes the hardest part." Rarity addressed to the group as she noted that a majority of the Rabbids have made their way into the Washing Machine. "Saying goodbye."

With that in mind, the Mane 6 split up to say goodbye to the new friends they've made while journeying together.

Rainbow and Rabbid Dash were performing a secret handshake they've worked on for a while one las time: a double high fives, 2 play punches past their cheeks, an elbow bump, and fake head bump.

"Stay cool, Rabbid me!" Rainbow told her counterpart as they shared a fist/hoof bump.

"Bwah Bwah." Rabbid Dash answered as she put on her shades and did a "pew,pew" gesture with her finger guns.

Applejack was filling a crate up with some apples for the Rabbids to take on their journey, and Rabbid Jack was helping out. Not only that, but the Rabbids were going to take along a batch of special apples as well.

"Good thing the Zap Apples popped up before y'all left." Applejack said as she filled a crate up with the rainbow-colored Zap Apples. "Y'all would've REALLY missed out!"

"Bwah!" Rabbid Jack replied with eating one of said Zap Apples.

"Remember, Rabbid Jack, these Zap Apples are special, but they won't make ya stronger like those Bad Apples did back on the island."

"Bwaaa..." Rabbid Jack sighed as she attempted to flex her muscle, only for it to drop down in a comical way.

"Don't worry, yer strong where it counts."

"Bwa-Bwah."

"Just remember to share these apples with everypony durin' yer trip."

"Bwada Bwah." Rabbid Jack said as she shook hands/hooves with her counterpart.

The 2 Pinkies saluted each other.

"Rabbid Pinkie." Pinkie addressed to her counterpart.

"Bwakie." Rabbid Pinkie replied back. "Bwada Bwada Bwah." She said as she reached out her arm to shake hands with Pinkie.

"I'M GONNA MISS YOU SO MUCH!!!" Pinkie cried as she suddenly burst into tears.

"BWAHAHAHA!" Rabbid Pinkie cried with just about the same amount of tears, stating that the feeling is mutual.

"WHEN YOU COME BACK, I'M GONNA MAKE YOU THE BIGGEST, MOST SCRUMDIDDLYUMPTIOUS RABBID PINKIE CAKE EVER!"

"BWA BWA HAHA!" Rabbid Pinkie cried, saying she would like that very much.

The 2 Pinkies then hugged and cried even harder.

Fluttershy was talking with Rabbid Fluttershy, as well as the SupaMerge Rabbid who brought them all to Equestria to begin with.

"Alright, me and the other animals back home worked really hard on these very special gift baskets for you two." Fluttershy explained while handing both Rabbid Fluttershy and Spawny big gift baskets that contained fruit, candy, toys, books, and even assorted lotions. "We're going to really miss you two stay the cottage, so we wanted to make sure you had a small piece of us to bring along for your journey."

"Bwada Bwa." Rabbid Fluttershy said as she gave a simple flower to Fluttershy showing that she was going to miss her too.

"Thank you." Fluttershy said as she accepted the gift, even though it wasn't as big as hers, but that when she noticed Spawny was starting to cry a bit.

"It's okay, Spawny. I think you're finally ready."

"Bwa?" Spawny asked in curiosity.

"You didn't let Chrysalis push you around anymore, you practiced your powers with Twilight, and you have better control over your emotions now. We're all very proud of you."

"Bwa Bwah?" Spawny said in joy as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Just remember Spawny, if you ever feel scared, you have your friends with you."

Hearing this, Spawny didn't hesitate as he quickly gave Fluttershy a hug, showing that he was going to miss her very much, and Rabbid Fluttershy joined in too.

"Take care of each other, along with the rest of our Rabbid friends." Fluttershy stated as she hugged the 2 Rabbids.

Rarity was taking some selfies with Rabbid Rarity to help commemorate the occasion. Since the defeat of the Megabug, the pair have gotten along so much better.

"My, Rabbid Rarity." Rarity addressed her counterpart. "These photos are simply divine."

"Bwa Bwa Bwah!" Rabbid Rarity agreed as she began posting them online.

"I really do appreciate your help around the boutique. I just wish you didn't buy out almost all the dresses we've worked on together that were made specifically for the Rabbids."

"BWAH BWAAAH!" Rabbid Rarity shouted as she ordered the 2 Flat Cap Rabbids, who were still serving out their sentence for bossing around the Rabbids too much, to carry all of her luggage into the Washing Machine. And I do mean ALL of her luggage, as she had several large, white bags that held all of the dresses she and Rarity worked on together.

"Oh well. That's what makes us similar."

"Bwa Bwah!" Rabbid Rarity agreed as she took one final selfie with the Unicorn.

Twilight was talking to the Beep-0, the robot who had more knowledge on the Rabbids than anybody else.

"Are you sure you and the Rabbids have to leave, Beep-0?" Twilight asked the robot.

"This isn't our world." Beep-0 replied while looking at the Washing Machine. "It's time for us to go our own way. I need to let my partner know what's been going on with me."

"Will we ever see you again?"

"It's hard to say, but as long as we got the Washing Machine with us, it's possible."

"Well, just remember, there'll always be a place for you all in Equestria." Twilight assured her friend before noticing Rabbid Twilight come up to her.

"Bwa-Bwa Bwa." Rabbid Twilight said as she held up a can of peanuts while holding something else behind her back.

"For me?" Twilight asked as Rabbid Twilight nodded. "Thank you." She opened the can, and a hundred rubber snakes shot out of it, spooking her!

"SNAKES!" Fluttershy screamed in fear.

"Relax Fluttershy, they're only made of rubber." Rarity assured her friend as used her magic to pick up one of the snake, showing it was only a harmless toy.

"One last trick for the road, I see!" Pinkie laughed.

"I can't believe I fell for that old trick." Twilight expressing in annoyance as one of the snakes landed on her head.

"BWA HAHAHAHA!" Rabbid Twilight laughed as she fell to the ground and started pounding it with her fist, with the rest of the Rabbid 6 joining in. However, she didn't notice that she dropped the item that she was hiding behind her back: a green book.

"Hey what's that?" Beep-0 asked in curiosity as Twilight went to pick up the book.

"Legend of the Serpentine" Twilight read the title aloud. "Wow! I haven't seen this book since I was a filly."

"Looks like Rabbid Twilight loved every page of it, judging from her little prank." Beep-0 pointed out. "But, what are Serpentine? I've never heard of them before."

"It's nothing, Beep-0, but it's gonna take more than an old bedtime story to scare me." Rainbow stated as she stretched one of the rubber snakes and shot it away.

"The Serpentine are real, Rainbow". Applejack explained. "They ain't somethin' to joke about."

"Serpentine? Real? We're talking about the ancient race of snake creatures who once ruled Equestria, and were supposedly locked underground?"

"Uh, sealed in 5 different tombs to separate the warring tribes, and to ensure they don't unify to exact their revenge on those who put them there!" Fluttershy added with fear in her voice.

"It was an old wives' tale to teach fillies not to poke our noses where they don't belong. Don't you think it's a little suspicious nopony's ever found one of their tombs?"

"That's because you'd be a fool to look for one." Rarity answered. "If there was anything I hated more than ruined dresses, it was snakes, rubber or no."

"Either way, I'm too old for that book now, anyway." Twilight stated. "So if you really like it, you can keep it, Rabbid Twilight."

"BWA-BWAAAH!" Rabbid Twilight cheered as she hugged her Pony counterpart in thanks, and took the book back from her.

Beep-0 noticed that just about every other Rabbid has made their way into the Washing Machine. "Well, it looks like it's time for us all to go." He then turned his attention back towards the Mane 6. "Thank you all so much for your kindness. I don't know where we're going, but we'll never forget what happened here in Equestria."

"Bwa-Bwaaah!" the Rabbid 6 and Spawny cheered, agreeing with Beep-0's statement.

"Safe travels, my friends." Twilight stated, wishing them all luck on their new journey.

Beep-0, the Rabbid 6, and Spawny hugged the Mane 6 and Spike one last time before quickly making their way towards the Washing Machine, making them the last ones to jump into it. They all waved goodbye to their Pony friends as the door closed slowly.

The Washing Machine activated, and all the Ponies waved farewell as it began to float up and spin around very fast. Energy built up around it before it disappeared, leaving Equestria to parts unknown.

Northern Equestria

Cozy Glow, who had recently escaped Tartarus, was trekking across the frozen tundra while kicking a rock, not having any place to go since she was expelled from the School of Friendship.

"Brrr! Meddlesome Princess of Friendship." Cozy said while shivering. "I'll show her and all her friends who they're dealing with." She went up to the rock again and kicked it.

*CLANG!*

"Hey, what is...?" Cozy asked in curiosity as she began to dig into the snow where the rock had made the sound. She quickly looked ahead and saw that the wind has uncovered a large, metal door in the ground that resembled a cobra's face. She noticed a golden, snake-like lever and pushed it forward, causing the door to open and release a green gas into the air.

Cozy began to back up as the door got close to opening under her feet, but she slipped on the ice and started falling down into the tomb.

She hit the ground hard and slid across the icy floor, and after quickly coming to, she began to observe her surroundings as she had found herself inside an underground ice cave that has been must've been hidden for centuries.

"You are out of your mind to venture ssso far away from home, little one." Someone hissed.

Cozy Glow turned around and gasped as, emerging from the darkness, was a creature that resembled a cobra, except it was blue with yellow, white, and black swirl-like patterns on its scales that ran down its torso, head, and its long serpent tail; had glowing red eyes with a swirl pattern; 2 yellow swirl-like markings on his hood; a set of sharp fangs; and 2 arms which held a golden staff that resembled a snake coiled around a stick, and had a glowing, blue gem with a swirl pattern directly under its snakehead. Cozy began to back away slowly as the snake began to slither towards her.

"Look into my eyesss." The snake hissed her as his eyes began to glow brighter and the swirls flared to life. "Give up your mind."

Cozy watched as the swirls began to exit the snakes eyes, as if they were focused on her specifically.

"I will control you." The snake stated as he concentrated his hypnotic power on the filly.

Cozy began to relax as her fear exited her eyes and calmed down, beginning to fall prey to the snake's power, before she tripped on a small ice ledge, breaking the connection between her and the snake.

However, this led the swirls to hit a nearby slab of ice that was behind Cozy, causing them to bounce off back towards the snake. It groaned as it fell prey to its own power.

Snapping out of her own trance, Cozy looked at the snake and the ice that was behind her. Realizing what had just happened, she smirked and evil did. "No, I will control YOU from now on." she stated, taking advantage of this opportunity.

"What shall you have usss do, Missstresss?" the snake asked while bowing to the filly.

"Us?" Cozy asked, confused at what he meant.

This was quickly answered as more of the snake creatures emerged from all sides of the tomb, except they all had 2 legs instead of snake tails. This was composed of Soldiers, who all had smaller hoods with black swirl-like patterns, and gray swirl-like patterns on their bodies with fewer yellow scales; and Scouts, who all had primarily gray scales with blue scales covering their faces, running down their torsos, and on their head along with small, swirl-like patterns, and darker gray swirl-like patterns on the sides of their torsos. All the snakes had glowing red eyes with the swirl pattern, indicating they all had the same hypnotic power.

"My own army of snakes!" she couldn't help but laugh maniacally at this sudden turn of events. "And I know JUST where to give them a little test run." she whispered to herself, knowing what place was very close in this region of Equestria.

Ponyville

After the Rabbids' big send off, the Mane 6 were helping everyone clean up the town of the party decorations, as well as any other junk the Rabbids left behind during their visit.

"I'm really going to miss those Rabbids." Rainbow admitted while taking down banners alongside Fluttershy.

"They were quite charming, weren't they." Fluttershy agreed.

"Well, I wouldn't necessarily say 'charming'." Rarity argued, remembering all the chaos they caused, even when they weren't under the Megabug's influence, while using her magic to pick up an apple core. "But they were quite interesting."

"Don't worry, girls." Twilight assured her friends while clearing off tables of leftover food from the party. "I'm sure we'll see them again someday. I know they'll be fine as long as they've got our doubles with them."

"Yep." Applejack agreed. "They're pretty strong like us."

"And they make an awesome team!" Rainbow added.

"AND SO MUCH FUN!" Pinkie added.

"It was nice of you to let Rabbid Twilight have that book, Twilight." Fluttershy said to her friend.

"Yeah, you usually keep every book you can get your hooves on." Rainbow joked.

"Well, yes, it's true that I love reading more than anypony." Twilight admitted while blushing in embarrassment. "But who am I to deny that privilege to other creatures? If Rabbid Twilight wants to start her own collection, that book seemed to be the best place to start."

"You seemed pretty excited when you saw that book, though." Rarity pointed out. "Are you sure you won't miss it?"

"Don't worry about, the idea of the Serpentine never seemed to bother me. In fact, that story always seemed to freak out my brother more than me."

They all couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Besides, that book was for fillies, it's not like it had any essential information that we'll need later on." Twilight joked.

"Like I said, the Serpentine are an old wives' tale." Rainbow added. "Nothin' to worry about."

"Either way, wherever the Rabbids are going now, I know they'll be fine."

"Agreed!" The rest of the Mane 6 agreed.

"Now come on, that hole where their statue was isn't gonna fill itself." Twilight stated as gave her friends shovels so they could work together, and fill the hole where the Rabbids' statue used to be.

Crystal Empire

Starlight was visiting her old friend, Sunburst, in the Crystal Empire. They got together at a restaurant for lunch, where Starlight was explaining the events of Season 8 to Sunburst, who wasn't present for most of it.

"Well, Twilight's new school has been working out well, so far." Starlight explained. "Sure, it wasn't easy to get it started, but it's been doing great now since Chancellor Neighsay finally supports it."

"Yeah, I remember him being very strict and tough with the students whenever he visited Princess Celestia's School." Sunburst explained. "I'm impressed he was finally able to accept Twilight's methods."

"That crisis with all the magic nearly disappearing from Equestria really helped change his mind."

"It's hard to believe one Pegasus, a filly I might add, was responsible for all of that to begin with. What was her name again?"

"Oh, it was--"

The pair suddenly heard screaming as Crystal Ponies quickly ran passed them, trying to avoid something. Starlight and Sunburst quickly got up, and went the direction the Ponies were coming from, and the former couldn't believe who she saw emerging from behind one of the buildings.

"The Crystal Empire." Cozy said as she looked at her surroundings, not even noticing Starlight or Sunburst way in the distance. "The perfect place to begin my revenge."

"Cozy Glow!" Starlight shouted in shock as she quickly recognized the Pegasus. "Impossible! How did she--" She was quickly cut off as she and Sunburst were shocked to see a large army of snake people emerge from behind Cozy.

The Crystal Ponies watched in shock as the Hypnobrai entered their Empire, not believing what they were witnessing.

The Hypnobrai looked at the Crystal Ponies, and, like their leader, used hypnotic powers to sway them over to their side as their eyes glowed red and swirled, and they all began to moan and walk like zombies.

Cozy was followed behind directly by the Hypnobrai general and his 2nd in command, Skales, who was a Hypnobrai warrior who strongly resembled the general, but had 2 legs; gray-scaled arms; small, gray, swirl-like markings on his hood; and more yellow markings on his head and torso than the general.

"Thisss makesss no sssenssse, General Ssslithraa." Skales explained to the general. "Taking ordersss from a little filly?"

"You will do asss I command, becaussse I hold the ssstaff!" General Slithraa stated.

"We're wasting time!" Cozy stated, interrupting the interaction. "Once we take control of the Crystal Heart inside that castle, we can use its power to take control of the Crystal Empire, then move on to all of Equestria."

"Oh no!" Starlight whispered to Sunburst. "We have to warn Cadence and Twilight!"

"So, is your hypnosis permanent?" Cozy asked Slithraa.

"It wearsss off after a certain amount of time, but my ssstaff containsss antivenom that will undo the effectsss quicker." Slithraa explained while Skales facepalmed, clearly knowing better than to give out information like that.

"Interesting." Sunburst stated as he and Starlight overheard what the Hypnobrai general just said. "Let's go!" They quickly left the scene before the villains spotted them.

Meanwhile, Princess Cadence and her husband, Shining Armor, witnessed the attack from the balcony of the castle.

"I can't believe it." Candence said as she watched the scene in disbelief. "The Serpentine..."

"I haven't heard that name since I was a foal." Shining admitted. "I didn't think they were real."

"I remember Celestia telling me about them, but I never wanted to believe it."

"What do we do?"

"We need Twilight. I'll send a message to her and look after Flurry, you help get the citizens to safety here in the castle."

"Right!"

As she watched her husband leave to help the Empire, Cadence took out a parchment and quill and began writing. "Dear Twilight, we need your help..." she said a loud while writing.

Ponyville - Castle of Friendship

The Mane 6, minus Twilight, were all sitting in the Map Room after cleaning up Ponyville from the party, thinking about what they were going to do now that the Rabbids were gone, to no avail.

"Slow day, huh?" Pinkie asked her friends.

"Yeah, seeing the Rabbids leave really bummed me out." Rainbow agreed.

"I'm not sure what to do now." Fluttershy added.

"Can't just sit around fer the rest of the day." Applejack argued. "Maybe when Twi's done cleanin' her library from Rabbid Twi's mess, we can plan somethin' ta do."

"Sure, but knowing her, it could take ALL NIGHT." Rarity pointed out.

Meanwhile, Twilight and Spike were in the castle library, reorganizing the books that we're scattered all over the room.

"(Sigh) Rabbid Twilight just had to toss the books around, didn't she?" Spike groaned in annoyance as he helped Twilight sort though them.

"At least she took an interest in one of them." Twilight argued.

Suddenly, Spike belched out a scroll that was sent to Twilight.

"Oh! A message." Twilight exclaimed as she used her magic to open it. "Looks like a message from Cadence! Musht be time for her annual Crystal Faire!" She cheered as she recognized her foalsitter's handwriting before turning her attention towards Spike. "By the way, since the Empire was hidden for a thousand years, some of the activities are still outdated, let's not tell them about roller coasters yet." She cleared her throat, then began reading the letter out loud. "Dear Twilight, we need your help. Cozy Glow is here at the Crystal Empire, and she--" After reading that name, Twilight didn't bother reading the rest of the message, immediately knowing how serious the situation is. She quickly grabbed Spike, and ran to the map room. "Cozy Glow is back!" Twilight addressed to her friends. "Everyone in the Crystal Empire is in danger!"

"Cozy Glow?" Rainbow asked while laughing a bit under her breath. "Sure, she nearly erased all of magic from Equestria with Tirek's advice, but on her own, she's--"

"Cadence wouldn't send a message unless it was an emergency!" Twilight stated, interrupting Rainbow. "Cozy Glow is on the loose again!"

"Starlight is visiting Sunburst there now." Fluttershy quickly recalled. "We have to help them, too."

"But the Empire's too far away." Applejack stated. "How're we supposed ta get there in time?"

"Well, I've been working a new teleportation spell for quite some time now." Twilight explained. "It should be able to bring all of us over to the Crystal Empire in an instant. It's all based on Beep-0's 'Sploing' technique that helped us a while back."

"Really, darling, you have?" Rarity asked.

"It isn't perfect, though, there are still some bugs for me to work out." Twilight admitted.

"Umm... I'm not too sure about this." Fluttershy admitted, nervous what an imperfect spell could entail.

"I say we go for it." Pinkie cheered, excited for Twilight to try out a new spell. "It could be fun!"

"We don't have time for this!" Rainbow intervened. "We need to do something now!"

"I know, I'm not too sure about trying out the spell yet, myself, but if the Crystal Empire is in danger, we've got to take that chance!" Twilight declared.

"You are gonna change that name, though, right?" Applejack asked, still bothered with the "Sploing" name from the last story.

"Oh yeah, I will eventually." Twilight answered. "Now gather around, girls."

The girls gathered around Twilight as her horn began to glow. Magic began to envelop around them, and in a wave of magic that resembled the pixels that Beep-0 used for his technique, the girls were teleported out of the Castle of Friendship.

Crystal Empire

The spell was a success as the Mane 6 quickly found themselves in the Crystal Empire, however, Twilight suddenly fell to the ground.

"Twilight!" The girls shouted as they helped their friend get back on their feet.

"You okay, Twi?" Pinkie asked, worried about her friend.

"I'm fine, but I guess that spell took a lot out of me." Twilight noted as she tried to use magic from her horn, but it glitched out before it could glow properly. "I think it'll be a while before I can use my magic again."

"Can you walk, at least?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I can manage with magic for a while."

"Um, girls?" Fluttershy asked while observing her surroundings. "Is it me, or is it a little quiet around here?"

They all looked around and saw that Fluttershy was right, there was nopony in the area at all.

"Odd." Rarity stated. "This place is usually bustling with Crystal Ponies."

"I hope we're not too late." Applejack said with worry.

"If Cozy is here, then she must be after the Crystal Heart, we need to help Cadence and Shining protect it." Twilight told the others. "Stay close. Stay together."

"Would we do it any other way?" Fluttershy assured her friend.

The Mane 6 quickly made their towards the castle, and they soon spotted Cozy Glow by herself, trying to figure out exactly how to get past the magic barrier produced by Cadence.

"There she is!"

Hearing that familiar voice, Cozy turned around and saw the Mane 6 slowly walking up to her. "What?! You all shouldn't be here now of all places!"

"Well, we're here, and we're gonna stop you, here and now!" Rainbow stated.

"Cozy Glow, I don't know how you escaped Tartarus, but we're going to send you back." Twilight stated to the Pegasus.

"Get them!" Cozy ordered the general with a smirk on her face.

The Mane 6 turned around and saw the Hypnobrai approaching.

"Ssseize them!" Silthraa ordered his snakes as he rattled his tail.

"The Serpentine?! They're real?!" Rainbow shouted in shock.

The Ponies heard moaning as they turned around, and were shocked to see an army of hypnotized Crystal Ponies making their way towards them.

"It's not just them we have to worry about." Fluttershy realized. "The Empire has been hypnotized!"

The 6 Ponies looked around as they were surrounded by both snakes and Ponies alike.

"Use your magic, Twi!" Applejack urged. "Try ta snap'em out of it!"

"I can't, remember?!" Twilight reminded as she tried using her magic again, but failed.

"Then I'll punch our way out!" Rainbow declared.

"No, that could do more harm than good!"

"I guess that leaves us with: run!" Pinkie shouted as she took off running through the crowd at hyperspeed.

Splitting off in different directions, the 6 Ponies were able to evade both the Hypnobrai and the hypnotized Crystal Ponies.

"What're you waiting for?! Go after them!" Cozy ordered the snakes. "We can't let them interfere with my plans!"

"You heard her!" Slithraa ordered the Hypnobrai and the hypnotized Crystal Ponies. "Find them!"

The snakes and the Ponies split off in different directions, with the latter moving very slow.

"Seriously, do they have to move like complete zombies?" Cozy asked Slithraa in annoyance.

"Well..."

"One of them wasss a Princesss." Skales thought to himself, while ignoring Cozy and Slithraa's conversation, as he realized one of the 6 Ponies was an Alicorn. "Perhapsss I ussse thisss to my own advantage."

"Do you snakes have any other powers beside hypnosis that can get us in there?" Cozy asked Slithraa in annoyance to their situation.

"We could dig a tunnel by burrowing under the ground." The Hypnobrai General answered.

"Well, how long will that take?"

"Unlike our Conssstrictai brethren, not less than a month or 2."

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Cozy screamed in rage.

After finding an area where there were no Serpentine or Crystal Ponies in sight, the Mane 6 reunited and made their way into a dark alley where they were sure they wouldn't be found. However, 2 Unicorns quickly dropped in from the Empire rooftops, surprising them all.

"Starlight! Sunburst! You're okay!" Twilight expressed in relief.

"Barely, they've hypnotized almost everypony in the empire." Starlight explained. "We met with Shining Armor, and helped him evacuate most of the Crystal Ponies into the castle, which they've barricaded from the inside, but it's madness out here!"

"Mind control, you mean like that one spell you used on us that one time?" Pinkie asked, earning an embarrassed look from Starlight.

"I don't have any books about those snakes in my collection." Sunburst explained. "But we've observed them while helping with the evacuation. When you hear them rattle their tails, don't look them in the eyes. That's how they get you."

"What are we supposed to do?" Rainbow asked in annoyance. "Twilight can't use her magic, and now we gotta fight with our eyes closed? Ha! Perfect."

"The snake with the staff is the General. He's in charge." Starlight explained. "We overheard him telling Cozy that the staff contains the antivenom to their powers. If we can get that, we can save everypony."

"Alright, Cozy and the General are trying to figure out how to get into the castle, and we already figured that she's trying to get the Crystal Heart." Twilight explained, assessing the situation. "We just have to get that staff to stop them."

"Right, but they still got a whole army of snakes and Crystal Ponies guardin' 'em." Applejack added.

"Then we'll just avoid the hypnotized Crystal Ponies..."

"And we knock down any snake that gets in our way!" Pinkie cheered.

"Aww yeah!" Rainbow cheered. "Let's go kick some snake butt!"

"Care to join us?" Rarity asked Starlight and Sunburst with a smirk, despite already knowing the answer.

"Always." Starlight answered.

"Wouldn't miss it." Sunburst added.

The heroes carefully began to make their way back towards the castle, and wasn't long before they spotted the Hypnobrai who were sent to find them.

"Okay, everypony." Twilight explained to the others while carefully peeking out from the corner of the building they were all hiding behind. "We move quick, take down any snake in our path, and remember the most important thing?"

"Eyes down?" Fluttershy asked.

"Eyes down."

"We'll cover you so you 3 can get to Cozy." Rarity told Twilight, Starlight, and Sunburst, who nodded in agreement.

"Ok, 3... 2..." Twilight started counted down.

"It's party time!" Pinkie shouted as she suddenly dashed out from around the corner while wearing a blindfold around her eyes. The Hypnobrai quickly noticed her, but weren't able to do anything about as the Pony began swinging a baseball bat around.

"What're you doing, Pinkie?!" Twilight asked in shock.

"If I gotta fight with my eyes closed, might as well act like I'm hitting a pinata at a party!" Pinkie replied while hitting one of the Scouts in the stomach with the bat.

"I like the way she thinks!" Rainbow stated as she dashed out there, and began punching some of the snakes before flying high in the air.

"Hypnotize her!" A Hypnobrai Soldier shouted as he and a few other snakes tried using their powers on the Pegasus, but she was too far out of their range.

"Ha! Can't get me from down there!" Rainbow laughed as she dived down an punched the Soldier in the face, causing his allies to retreat before the Pegasus targeted them.

Fluttershy merely covered her eyes with her wings, not letting the surrounding Hypnobrai Soldiers meet her gaze.

"Get her wings open so we can see her eyes!" A Hypnobrai Soldier demanded as he and the other Soldier tried to pry open Fluttershy's wings by force so they can see her face.

"Hey, leave her alone!" Applejack shouted, getting the Soldiers' attention. She quickly bucked each one of them, while also making sure her eyes didn't meet with theirs.

"Thank you." Fluttershy thanked her friend.

"No prob." Applejack said as she wipe sweat off her forehead.

Seizing the opportunity, a Hypnobrai Scout tried to sneak up on the 2 from behind.

"Hey, Swirly!" Rarity said, getting the Scout's attention. As soon as he turned around, Rarity used her magic to make a bright flash!

"AAAAHHH!!!" The Hypnobrai screamed as he was suddenly blinded temporarily, unable to use his powers.

"Why should we be the only one to close our eyes?" Rarity asked as she began to run, using her flash spell repeatedly to disorient all the snakes that looked her way.

"Great thinking!" Twilight congratulated her friend on her idea before turning to Starlight and Sunburst. "Let's do the same!"

"Right!" Starlight and Sunburst agreed as the 3 began to do the same thing with their magic to incapacitate the enemy.

Even though Twilight was unable to do full spells, she was able to make flashes with the little magic she still had left.

While the rest of the Mane 6 battled the army, Twilight and the others quickly made their way back towards the castle, but they were soon came face to face with the rest of the Hypnobrai tribe.

"That 'flasssh ssspell' of yoursss won't work on all of usss!" A Hypnobrai Soldier stated.

"Oh, he's right!" Starlight stated, realizing that there were too many snakes around them to flash bang accordingly. She then turned to Twilight. "We'll take care of these snakes!"

"You get to the castle!" Sunburst added. "Don't worry about us!"

Using her magic, Starlight began to blast through the army, clearing a path for Twilight, who quickly ran through while still using her flash spell to disorient some snakes in her path.

After getting past the Hypnobrai, Twilight finally made it back to the castle, where she quickly saw Cozy's plan of getting inside taking place.

"Come on! Dig faster!" Cozy impatiently ordered as the Hypnobrai General, Skales, and a few other Hypnobrai dug a hole that had already made it about 8ft. into the ground. "This tunnel needs to go directly into the castle if we're to get the Crystal Heart."

"Perhapsss, it would help if a certain sssomeone pitched in to help with sssaid tunnel." Skales addressed to the Pegasus.

"I'm the brains of this operation, I don't need to get my hooves dirty. Keep digging!"

"You heard her, keep digging until we get into that castle!" Slithraa ordered.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but that won't be happening anytime soon."

Cozy, Slithraa, and Skales turned and saw Twilight standing near the edge of the tunnel.

"Well, well, Princess Twilight." Cozy addressed, not surprised that Twilight was still standing. "Looks like my new friends managed to overpower yours."

"Friendsss, yeah right." Skales whispered under his breath in annoyance.

"I told you, friendship is power, and I never needed your dumb school to collect them."

"I don't know where you found the Serpentine, or how you got them over your side, but this ends now." Twilight triumphantly stated.

"Oh yeah, you and what army?"

"What army do you have?!" Starlight shouted, getting Cozy's attention.

"Starlight?!" Cozy's exclaimed. "You're here, too?!"

"Yeah, I was visiting an old friend when you decided to ruin it!"

"Ha! You really think I care?" Cozy asked before turning towards the Hypnobrai digging. "One of you get her!"

A Hypnobrai Soldier jumped out of the tunnel and ran towards Starlight, who quickly responded by using her flash spell to disorient him, causing him to drop to the ground, and rub his eyes in pain.

"What the--!" Cozy exclaimed, shocked at what Starlight just did. She then looked around, and saw that the other surrounding Hypnobrai were all defeated the same way by Starlight and Sunburst's magic as they were all down on the ground, also rubbing their eyes in pain. "Get up! Get up!" Cozy shouted, desperately trying to get the Soldiers and Scouts back on their feet to no avail.

"Like I said, this ends now." Twilight said with a smirk.

Seeing as there was no other option, Cozy had to do the one thing she hoped she wouldn't. "Retreat!" She quickly ordered.

"Retreat!" Slithraa ordered as he and Skales jumped out of the hole, and the surrounding snakes began to make a run for it as their vision slowly began to come back. However, just as Slithraa was about the follow after them, Applejack, who caught up to Twilight along with the rest of the Mane 6, kicked him in the chin, causing Slithraa to drop the staff.

"Go ahead, gimme a reason." Applejack stated as Slithraa looked at her and down at the staff before quickly retreating in fear. Applejack picked up the staff and looked closely at it. She heard rattling as she lowered the staff from her eyes and saw that Skales was now directly in front of her.

"Look into my eyesss." Skales hissed as his hypnotic powers activated. "I control you."

"You control..." Applejack repeated as her eyes began to glow red.

"Applejack!" Starlight shouted, causing the orange pony to snap out of her trance.

Skales tried to take back the staff from Applejack, but was blasted with magic by Starlight, causing him to retreat with the rest of his tribe. "It wasssn't the Princesss, but ssshe'll do for now." He thought to himself.

"You have the antivenom!" Starlight cheered.

"Yer right, I do!" Applejack quickly recalled, and took the antivenom capsule out of the staff.

The Mane 6, Starlight, and Sunburst gathered around to get a good look at the antivenom.

"That's it?" Rainbow asked, unimpressed by the gem.

"That thing is pretty small." Pinkie pointed out. "Tiny, miniscule even!"

"Though, I must say, it is quite eye-catching." Rarity added while observing the gem.

"But half the empire has been affected." Fluttershy pointed out. "How can we possibly give it to all of them?"

"Use the Crystal Heart" Somepony suggested.

Everyone turned and saw Cadence and Shining Armor emerge from their castle.

"Cadence! Shining!" Twilight shouted in joy as she quickly ran up and hugged her family. "I'm so glad you're safe!"

"We're so happy you're here, too." Shining added. "Thanks for showing up on such short notice."

"Quickly, connect the cure to the Crystal Heart." Cadence explained. "It's power should help spread it across the entire Empire."

"Good thinkin'!" Applejack agreed as she ran into the castle and connected the capsule to the Crystal Heart.

The Crystal Heart began to spin really fast as a blue glow matching that of the antivenom spread all throughout the Crystal Empire. Every hypnotized Crystal Pony was exposed to the magic, and they were freed from their trances almost instantly. They, along with the Crystal Ponies who took refuge in the castle, all began to resume their normal lives now that the threat was over.

"(Phew) I'm glad that's over." Rarity sighed in relief, happy that the Crystal Ponies were all safe. "And with no side effects, either."

"Yeah, but Cozy Glow still got away." Pinkie pointed out. "What're we gonna do about her?"

"I say we go after her!" Rainbow suggested.

"It's not just Cozy I'm worried about." Twilight expressed while looking in the direction that Cozy and the Serpentine made their escape. "A great evil has been released. I fear troubling times will come. This is only the beginning."

"Then we'll prepare, and be ready for the Serpentine." Fluttershy explained.

"Cozy is a problem, but those snakes are an even bigger one." Applejack pointed out.

"We better return to Ponyville to prepare." Twilight explained to the others. "I must try to find more information about the Serpentine before they strike again." She then turned to Candence and Shining. "Sorry this visit had to be a short one."

"It's alright, Twilight." Cadence assured her friend. "I'm just happy you and your friends got here before things got out of control."

"We'll keep an eye out and be prepared for Cozy in case she decides to come back." Shining added. "For now, you'll have to find out more about the Serpentine."

"Right." Twilight agreed before turning to her friends. "Let's head home, girls."

"How about it, Twi?" Rainbow asked. "Think you can use that 'Sploing Spell' of yours again?"

"I don't think so." Twilight admitted while trying to use her magic again to no avail. "I think we have to go back to Ponyville the old-fashioned way." Twilight admitted.

"So we're taking the train?" Pinkie asked.

"Yep."

"YES!"

"I better catch a ride back with you all." Starlight suggested. "It's a shame my visit got cut short, Sunburst."

"Actually, I think I'll come, too" Sunburst suggested, surprising Starlight. "I'd like to learn more about the Serpentine, and help in any way I can."

"Good thinking." Twilight agreed. "We'll need all the help as we can get."

"Well, welcome aboard, old friend!" Starlight said happily accepted Sunburst request.

"What're we gonna do with this thing, though?" Applejack asked while holding the Hypnobrai Staff.

"We'll take it back to Ponyville with us." Twilight answered. "I might be able to find something that matches it in my library."

"I'd also like to take a closer look at the antivenom for... um, personal reasons." Rarity explained, already thinking of a new line of clothes based on the gem.

Everyone rolled their eyes at Rarity, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

"The next train is due shortly." Starlight explained. "We should get moving."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and began making their way to the Crystal Empire Train Station.

"Good luck, everypony!" Cadence said, bidding the heroes a farewell, and wishing them luck on their new mission.

"Be careful out there, Twily!" Shining added, concerned for her sister's safety.

"We'll be fine! We'll be back again, soon!" Twilight answered back as the heroes made their way to catch the next train back to Ponyville.

Hypnobrai Tomb

With nowhere else to go, Cozy and the Hypnobrai retreated back to the tomb, which, at least, provided some form of home base.

"I hate those Ponies!" Cozy shouted in rage. "First, they ruined my plans to erase all the magic from Equestria, and now my takeover of the Crystal Empire!" She was furious about the situation, but quickly calmed down. "(Sighs) It's okay, it was just a test run, after all. As long as I have control over the Hypnobrai, I can control anypony in Equestria I want." She began to shiver as she began to notice how cold it was down there in the tomb. "Brrr! I can't stay here, though."

While Cozy was plotting her next move, Slithraa and Skales we having a discussion amongst themselves.

"The filly ssset usss free." Slithraa stated.

"Ssshe isss a child." Skales stated. "Ssshe isss not one of usss."

"I may not have the ssstaff, but I am ssstill you general. Ssstand down!"

"General!" Cozy shouted getting Slithraa's attention. "I need to talk to you about what I want our next project to be."

"Right away."

Skales watched as Slithraa made his way over to the young filly, but was still very annoyed with the entire situation.

"You coward." A Hypnobrai soldier called Skales as he went up to him. "We all know he isss under Cozy'sss ssspell. You are sssecond in command, and ssstill you do nothing?"

"Now wasss not the time." Skales answered. "I ssstill hold the key to dessstroy the Princesss and thossse Poniesss, and when I do that, everyone will sssee it isss I who ssshould be in control." He then laughed maniacally, excited about what he had planned, and exactly how he was going to do it.

Meanwhile, on the train ride back to Ponyville, Applejack's eye briefly turned glowed red and swirled before reverting back to normal.

Author's Note