The beginning of the end the remix.

“What? What is all this?” Grogar bellowed as he looked about at the cave that had been decorated with fox magic.

“Well, you didn’t expect us to just sit here all day?” Kitsu asked.

“But where did all this come from?”

“I conjured it up. You know what I can’t conjure? Food, I can’t conjure food. So how is Daddy fairing?” Midnight Sparkle had already returned and was presently having an early bedtime in Chrysalis’s chamber.

“Daddy?”

“That is the rumor,” Chrysalis offered.

“Are you telling me that Sombra and Luna…”

Tirek made a rude gesture with his hands.

“Well, technically, Nightmare Moon would be the one. Didn’t you know?” Kitsu asked.

“I know everything… alright fine, I missed that. But how. Nightmare Moon didn’t happen until after Sombra was defeated. Which he has succeeded in doing again. Failing miserably.”

“Darling, the Night Mare had her grips on Luna long before she tried to take over,” Chrysalis informed him. “Trust me, we changelings could tell.”

“So, Sombra failed, did he?” Tirek all but teased.

“Yes, he failed! And he can serve as a warning to anyone who fails to follow my plan.”

“We’ve decided that we will work together,” Chrysalis offered.

“Then we will work together to bring Equestria to its knees!” Grogar shouted and then started laughing maniacally. The others just sort of nervously laughed along with him.

One week later finds Kitsu, Chrysalis, and Midnight looking out from Chrysalis’s chamber down at Grogar.

“Does he do nothing else?” Chrysalis asks in a whisper. “All he does is stare at that blasted eye.”

“I know,” Kitsu confirmed. “Behold the great wizard contemplating eternity.” Chrysalis had to hold back a snicker. The two had developed a cordial relationship and one would almost say they had become friends. Not so Tirek who took to pacing like a caged animal whenever he wasn’t lifting his homemade weights.

“If we don’t do something I fear Tirek may do something rash,” Chrysalis remarked about a moment later.

“If nothing else we need to send Midnight on another food run.”

“Think we can distract him from that stupid ball?”

“I think it’s time to be a little petty.” And with that, Kitsu got up and walked down to the podium.

“I wouldn't want to tattle on my good friend Tirek, but… you might want to know that he left food out,” Kitsu announced in a sort of passive-aggressive tone. “Again.”

“I’ll deal with it when I’m done,” Grogar griped.

“Don’t trust anything that nosy little fox says,” griped Tirek as he came down from his chambers.

“I don’t trust anything any of you say.” Grogar turned back to his ball only to discover Chrysalis now all but perched on the thing with a hoof blocking his view.

“Are you planning on attacking any pony any time soon?” Chrysalis bemoaned. “If not, I don’t know why I’m wasting my time here when I could be out playing pranks on Twilight. I am a Queen, you know. I have better things to do.”

“Enough!” Grogar ordered. “I’m leaving. Given it’s impossible to accomplish the work I need to do with you three constantly bickering. I suggest the three of you come to some kind of accord. I don’t care how, but you must learn to work together. Only then can we accomplish what you so greatly desire. The defeat of Twilight Sparkle and her friends!” With his declaration made he stormed out.

“That worked better than I thought it would,” Kitsu announced with a grin.

“Worked?” Tirek asked while studying the two mares. Both of them had silly grins on their faces.

“Is he gone?” Midnight whispered from around a corner.

“Let me check,” Kitsu offered and produced a fox fire screen to check the area. A moment later, Chrysalis had thrown a blanket over the eye. “He’s gone. Quickly now before he comes back.”

Tirek couldn't help but chuckle as the little alicorn scampered out the entrance. “You had me fooled too. I see that I should never underestimate any mare.”

“What I greatest desire indeed,” Chrysalis muttered as she looked in the direction of Tirek and then Midnight. In the time we’ve spent cooped up together, I’ve come to realize that my family and freedom are more important than any revenge on Twilight.”

“Think I’ll go lift some weights,” Tirek said and returned to his chambers.

“You think he’d like to go home too,” Chrysalis asked softly even as Kitsu was working a spell. “What are you doing?”

“Putting up a banner. Team Frenemies.”

Chrysalis turned her head to see crude representations of Tirek, herself, Grogar, and Kitsu on the banner. “I hate it.”

“I imagine Grogar will too.”

“In that case, I love it.”

“As for Tirek, he just wants to get out of here. It’s every bit as bad as being in Tartarus.”

“I imagine the amenities are considerably better.”

“True. Granted the place hadn’t fully dampened my magic.”

“That's how you got out?”

“My little Moonie came for me. Let’s just say she’s a construct similar to Midnight. Together we found a way out.”

“That sounds suspiciously like a friendship lesson.”

“Is it? I imagine it kind of is. Not even Tartarus can hold good friends down. When Grogar plucked me from my home she was left behind.” Kisu suddenly got an idea into her head and trotted up to Tirek’s room. “Say, Tirek, any chance you can make us some bowling pins?”

“Bowling pins? Can’t you just conjure some up?”

“They wouldn't have the same gravitas.”

“I suppose you want me to make you a ball too?”

“Na, I was thinking of using that eye thingy.”

“Are you saying that you want to intentionally aggravate Grogar?”

“Um, yes. Actually. I’d kind of like to get some idea of what we are dealing with.” Granted Kitsu already knew. She just wanted to try pushing Discord’s buttons.

“You’re a mad fool, I like it,” Chrysalis chimed from where she was. Grogar stuck his head out of his room.

“I’ll see what I can come up with.”

“Enough!” Grogar shouted shortly after returning a little over three weeks later. The trio had been arguing over the score of their bowling game.

“Well, he keeps cheating,” Chrysalis complained.

“I’d thought that by now you’d have resolved your differences, but I see that I was wrong… is that my eye? What have you been doing with my eye!?”

“We were bored, and it made such a nice bowling ball,” Kitsu explained followed by a vein popping on Grogar’s forehead.

“That’s an extremely delicate magical artifact.”

“Perhaps if we knew what your plan was we’d be better able to prepare. Instead, you keep us cooped up in this place with nothing to do,” Chrysalis complained.

“Pretty sure even the best of friends would be at each other’s throats under these conditions,” Kitsu pointed out. “But then again, what would you know about friendship?”

“Do you even have a plan?” Tirek asked.

“Of course, I have a plan.” Grogar was staring daggers at Kitsu, quite possibly because he liked to think that he did know a thing or two about friendship.

“Spoken like someone with no plan,” Kitsu quipped under her breath to Chrysalis who let loose an unbidden twitter.

“Silence,” Grogar ordered. “I’ve located an object of power and it occurred to me that this is the perfect test for the three of you. Chrysalis can even take her stick with her if she wants.”

“Stick?” Chrysalis asked softly.

“Curious…” Kitsu said in just as soft a tone.

“It seems to me that the three of you should have no trouble retrieving what I need. And against this item, those ponies won’t stand a chance. But who to lead you?”

“I am a queen, I can lead us.”

“I am Lord Tirek, I had those ponies on their knees.”

“If this is to be a group effort we need no leader,” Kitsu offered. “Each according to their strengths.”

“Let’s keep in mind that each of you failed to defeat Twilight Sparkle and her friends!” Bellowed Grogar causing the others to cringe. “My power is greater than all of yours combined. What you have seen is but a fraction of it! Understand?”

“Yes, sir,” Kitsu replied meekly with a bow, the others making similar gestures.

“Thousands of moons ago…” Grogar began. He then went into a long-winded excuse about how Gusty the Great stole his bewitching bell, the centerpiece of his collar. Gusty could not destroy the bell so he hid it in a place where no one creature could gain access to it and it had taken Grogar a millennium to discover its location. “High atop Mount Everhoof High in the Chrystal Mountains within an enchanted cave is where you will find it. Scale Mount Everhoof, and bring me back my bell.”

“Ha, the ease of this task is laughable,” Chrysalis said with much mirth.

“We still have to get out of this swamp, and I’m not carrying Tirek,” Kitsu quipped.

“Will a small boat do?” Grogar growled.

“Better not be too small, Tirek is a big boy after all, just look at these muscles,” Chrysalis added as she took the moment to tease Tirek. Though in truth the banter was more aimed at annoying Grogar.

“It won’t be,” he said and stormed out.

“Where is he even going?” Tirek asked.

“To go find a boat I’d imagine,” Kitsu offered. “Let’s pack some things and get going. Also, I better go find Midnight and warn her not to come back.”

“How much do you think he knows?” Chrysalis asked. “About Midnight.”

“We’ve been playing with that eye for a couple of weeks now and he didn’t come running so I can’t help but think we overestimated him in that regard. I am curious that he said stick and not a puppet or anything like that.”

“He can see right through to what she really is, is it?”

“The question is, is he seeing through the spell, or does he not see the spell at all? He can see all my conjured furniture and draperies. Be useful if we knew, but I don’t know any safe way to find out. then again, maybe he's just being antagonistic.”

Kitsu went up to her room, arranged a few things in a pack, put a pair of goggles around her neck, and then put on the pack. Once satisfied she’d the bare necessities, she trotted back down. Called out that she would catch up with the others, and then headed for the exit. The sunlight revealed her white fur had dulled to a dingy gray cast from living in a cave. Even her wings despite her best efforts looked dingy. Overall, it gave her the appearance of a silver fox. She would need to conceal her true identity anyway so cast a spell that enhanced the silver effect and camouflaged her horn. After all, a horn on a winged pony was sure to attract attention.

“Not trying to get a jump on us is it?” Tirek accused from the entrance.

“A whole lot of good that would do. Like he said, it’s going to take all three of us. Probably going to take a couple of days just to get into range of that mountain as is. I don’t want Midnight showing up while we are out wondering where we went. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

“Why do you care so much?”

“Why? No idea. I just do. Friendship is funny that way, and I doubt I could make another Midnight without that specific stick. See ya,”

“Friends?” Tirek said softly as Kitsu spread her wings and lifted into the sky. “Are we... friends?”

Kitsu sped away to the coast and on seeing the coast turned northward. Even with her magically enhanced speed it still took her a little better than an hour to get as far as the southern heal of Horseshoe Bay just north of a decent-sized cove lay a small fishing village that sported a lighthouse out on the point. The village consisted of one main street with little more than three or four side streets and a couple of cart paths to outlying homes. Most of the buildings were clustered not too far from the small harbor which even boasted a breakwater. Kitsu drifted on in in hopes of locating Midnight seeing mostly earth ponies. The truth was, considering how long it had taken her to get here, it simply didn’t make a lot of sense for Midnight to keep going and this looked very much like to description Midnight had given them.

Some of the ponies out and about gave her dirty looks as she glided by. She paid then no never mind. She chose to land on seeing a market and walked on in to be greeted by the sound of a rather unusual hush followed by Midnight demanding she be given back her hat.

“She’s an alicorn,” Said a sandy pony behind a counter in a hushed tone.

“She’s not an alicorn,” Kitsu scolded as she ambled into the store. “Nor is she a pretender. She was born that way.”

“Ah, oh, welcome to Maritime Cove,” offered the tan Earth pony. Midnight was in front of the counter, a short distance away a teal green colt earth pony had her hat, and just coming out of an aisle, a maroon earth pony mare. Possibly the colts mom.

“I’m her mom, Tsuki. She’s just a pegasus with a horn. Ponies giving her a hard time is why we took her along with us.” Midnight looked Kitsu over, and then slowly walked over to her. Kitsu leaned down and whispered explaining she was using a spell to disguise herself.

“Ah, that’s what it was… why are you here?” she asked also using a hushed tone.

“Something came up and we are all headed for the Chrystal Mountains. Might be a wild goose chase, might be a big breakthrough.”

“The Chrystal Mountains?!” Midnight asked in genuine surprise. “Everyone is going? Will I be there all by myself?”

“Let’s just say there won’t be anyone there I trust. Grogar knows about you and I think it might be a good idea for you to stay away for a while.”

“But where will I go? Where will I stay?”

“Let’s see…” Kitsu looked at the ponies in the shop. “Something’s come up, any chance I can talk any of you ponies into foal sitting for a few days?”

“You would ask perfect strangers to foal sit?” Scolded the mare.

“Our team has to make a run to the Chrystal Mountains. There will be one individual holding down the fort, but… to be honest, I’ll trust a stranger before I trust him. A goat. Acts like he has all the answers and it’s kind of hard to tell him no because he’s the one leading the expedition.”

Midnight tugged at Kitsu’s leg and when Kitsu leaned down she whispered, “But what if they find out I’m just a stick?”

“I see…” Kitsu replied softly. “Listen, what Tirek said, he can’t even begin to comprehend what fox fire is capable of. He can’t control it, but it can control him. That’s why he’s afraid of me. You are growing inside. Slowly becoming a real pony. A little different, but that’s what makes you so special. You are worthy of love. And I’m thinking that being around earth ponies might prove beneficial as well.”

“I can take her in,” Offered the shopkeep. “She can help out here in the shop.”

“Ah, splendid. That’ll be perfect. Just no hot baths. She likes a cool shower, but don’t let her stay in too long. We don’t want her getting over-watered, and she’s an allergy to excessive salt so she’ll need to stay out of the ocean. Lots of sunlight, but don’t let her get scorched.”

“Is she a filly or a potted plant?” asked the mare.

“Ah, Mom’s just teasing,” Midnight quipped. She had a silly smile on her face.

Kitso hugged her and whispered, “I gave you a second chance because I thought you might be the key to saving Chrissie. Midnight, if anything goes wrong, it’ll be up to you to carry on where we left off.” She let her voice go back to normal. “In the meantime, do what Mr Sand-dollar tells you.”

“How’d you know my name?”

“Maybe because it’s on your sign?” The mare asked sarcastically while the colt face hoofed and laughed.

“Ya, I kind of figured the name on the sign might be yours.”

“Does she have any sort of overnight kit with her?”

“Afraid not. Everything is happening rather fast. I will need the supplies she came for though, and if you could be good enough to take care of her needs…” Kitsu fished out a single large coin, took it up to the counter, and laid it down. Now if you are wondering where she was getting the money, she’d figured out how Pinkie stored everything in her mane and had been using the same to avoid having to carry a bag around with her. This bit of hammerspace was the one bit of kit that had come with her when she’d been pulled from the human world.

“Why that’s a Royal. That’s worth a hundred bits. I couldn't take that?”

“It is indeed, and I’ll not have you take her on out of charity.”

“You know, I could…” The mare began tentatively.

“You had your opportunity,” Kitsu stated, cutting off the mare. “You didn’t offer when you thought we had nothing, but now when you see that we do, you offer. I dare say that if I were to let you take Midnight in, you’d spend the money on yourself and lock her in a shed.”

“I would do no such thing! The nerve. Come along, Sprout. Lock her in the shed indeed. And what kind of name is Midnight anyway?”

“It’s Midnight Sparkle. We are related to the Sparkles, as in Princess Twilight. Names that hearken to times of the night are tradition.”

“What?”

“Come on mom…” Sprout prompted with an eye roll and led his mother out the door.

“That’s telling her,” Mr Sand-dollar offered with a chuckle. She never does anything unless there is something in it for her. And don’t worry about little midnight, my wife and I will take good care of her.”