The beginning of the end the remix.

Once Kitsu was satisfied Midnight would be safe, she took the saddlebags and headed back. She would find Chrysalis and Tirek in a little dinghy lost in the swamp. She swooped down, ignoring their bickering, and hoisted the boat up into the air passengers and all.

“Nova! What are you doing?!” Chrysalis shouted out in dismay. A moment later the rowboat had transformed into the gondola of an airship.

“What?” Kitsu asked, now standing at the helm.

“Just how much power do you have that you can do... this?” she gestured about herself.

“It’s fox magic. Fox magic can do some pretty impressive things. In this case, we’re still in the boat you had, but I levitated the boat and the illusion makes us see an airship. So long as no one disrupts the spell the boat will be an airship.”

“The fact that she hasn’t tried to take on Grogar has me more than a little apprehensive. Princess Nova, you’ve changed. You aren't the pony I fought, and you aren’t the pony who spent time with me in Tartarus. What changed you? How are you so much, more… and what is Grogar that you aren’t willing to confront him directly?”

“A lot of things changed. After I got out, I ran. I ran just about as far as a pony could run and then ran even further. I was taken in by a good pony who helped me to mature, to learn how to use the power I have. She knew what Grogar is. I can’t tell you what I have in mind, all I can ask is that you trust me.”

“Trust you?”

“Grogar is playing a game with us. If he wins, we spend the next thousand years or more locked in stone.”

Kitsu piloted her airship north and then turned northwest on spotting Horseshoe Bay. By the time the Princess Amore River between the Canterlot gap and Mount Canterhorn and the Foal Mountains came into view the last rays of the sun were highlighting the peaks of the mountains.

“Any idea where we are headed?” Chrysalis asked.

“Into Yak Yakistan,” Kitsu replied. “The light of the moon will highlight the river. We’ll follow it north.”

“It occurs to me that that Goat expected us to walk the whole way,” Tirek muttered. “How was Midnight?”

“She’s in good hooves,” Kitsu replied. “She was worried they might find out what she is.”

“She was worried?”

“That they would discover that her core is a stick.”

“Wait, she knows?!” Chrysalis asked.

“It wasn’t exactly kept a secret from her when I reanimated her. It’s OK, she’s fine with it. She was more worried about being found out. She’s more than a stick though.”

“A stick and one of my pearls.”

“That stick is growing. She’s alive and a whole lot more than just a spell. She remembers. That’s why she gave you that hug. She is alive and not just an enchantment. And now that I think of it, I'm wondering if Grogar saw you with the stick earlier and doesn't have clue one about Midnight?”

“She…” Chrysalis said softly. “..is alive. I have a daughter.”

“You have a whole hive full of daughters,” Quipped Tirek.

“I’ve three sons. No daughters. Kevin, Pharynx, and Thorax. Pharynx was always my favorite. Strong and courageous. Kevin was just odd. A bit of an outlier. He left the hive years ago and became an outcast. Thorax was always the weakest link. Oddly enough, I’m kind of proud of him, in an odd sort of way. Never expected him to spearhead my overthrow.”

“Nobody was making you leave, you did that on your own,” Kitsu pointed out. “From what I hear they kind of need you. Thorax…”

“Go on, say it. He’s an idiot. The hive was attacked by a Bug Bear and Pharynx was the only one with enough initiative to try to drive it off. Thorax did eventually rally the hive but that should never have happened. Ever since Thorax took over every ling has been trying to be individuals while neglecting the needs of the hive.”

“I’m surprised.”

“At what?”

“That you’ve been keeping tabs on them.”

“They are my hive. Why shouldn't I?”

“When we are done with Grogar, I say we go pay them a visit.”

“Might be fun,” Tirek offered.

“You would want to visit my hive?”

“I’ve been in and out of Tartarus for so long I doubt I’ve anything to go back to. What about you, Miss Nightfoal? You had a place you call home, did you not?”

“I did. Getting there could prove difficult.”

“How so?”

“I’d need to access a portal under Canterlot Castle.”

“A portal?”

“To another world. There should be one in the Everfree, but no idea if it’ll even take me to the right world. Grogar pulled me out of another world. The portals are something Star Swirl discovered and figured out how to replicate. He and Clover the Clever used one of the portals as a dumping ground. I knew they were there so picked a portal that seemed the most promising and went for it. I was able to start all over again. I had a life there. The pony that took me in was none other than an older version of myself.

“And she was able to warn me and prepare me just in case.”

“You want me to take over for a bit?” Chrysalis asked. “All this magic outlay must have you worn mighty thin. Or is this one of those you have to stay awake things?”

“Everything will be fine. Yes, thank you. Just follow the river north. When you spot Neighagra Falls we head north over Lake Mackintosh. Or if all you see are a bunch of big huge lakes, just keep heading north.”

“Not a problem. Go get some sleep.”

“Thank you.” Kitsu let her take the wheel, went to the aft end of the gondola, and lay down on a sofa.

“There’s another sofa back there,” Chrysalis suggested to Tirek.

“I’m good for a while yet. Offering to help… that’s the sort of thing friends do, isn’t it?”

“Colleagues help each other to achieve a common goal,” Kitsu offered with eyes closed. “Chrysalis… don’t transform.”

“I wouldn't dream of it.”

Kitsu awoke as the first light of morning streamed into the canopy, and when she opened her eyes she found that Chrysalis was asleep on the other sofa. She got up, and went forward where Tirek was minding the ship.

“Good Morning,” he offered.

“Morning,” Kitsu said nothing more and proceeded to rummage through one of the saddle bags she’d taken from Midnight. A moment later she’d produced a coffee pot, a canteen of water, and everything she’d need to make coffee. Once she had that going she pulled out sweet bread rolls covered in syrupy goodness and filled with pudding.

“Here, yes, I know, but under the circumstances it’s the nectar of the gods. Baked yesterday.”

“Ah, so you had more in mind than just catching up with Midnight.”

“The more magic I use, the more sugar I need. Well, that and we needed our supplies.”

He took a bite out of the one she’d offered him. “Hmm, sweet, like pony magic.”

“Is that what pony magic tastes like to you?”

“Not far off. Not like what Grogar gave me. I could taste his bitterness. There was a quality about it that was hard to define… like… like Discord’s…” There was a look of realization and panic on his face.

“Hold that thought, and it might be best not to say anything to Chrysalis.”

“Discord,” he hissed.

“Trust me. The bell is the way to undo him. We can do this. We must, we have to. We’ve no other choice.”

“No other choice than what?” Chrysalis asked as she sat up.

“Asking for directions from the Yaks,” Kitsu offered. “Or whomever we happen to come across first once we reach the mountains.”

“Oh, OK. Um, what about just looking for the tallest peak? Isn’t it supposed to be the tallest?”

“I think we’d have to fly up higher than it’s safe to do so to be able to tell. Even I have my limits.”

“Stop and ask for directions then it is,” Tirek announced with a grin on his face. “What is that you are brewing?”

“It’s called coffee. It’s noxious but fills the drinker with new life and energy.” She’d dumped the grounds into the water.

“And you learned of this brewing technique. how… ah, are you letting Chrysalis feed off you?”

“Princess Luna practically invented coffee, and yes. I have plenty of love to give.”

“Not so much in the mornings, you don’t,” Chrysalis lamented only to have a sweet bun shoved in her mouth.

“I see a town up ahead, do you want to stop there,” Tirek asked. “Looks like ponies.”

“I imagine Chrissie and myself can go into town. They have a small wharf, might drop down onto the river and ditch the airship.”

“You don’t want me going into town?”

“You aren’t exactly inconspicuous and if there is any pony there who can identify you it it could end in disaster.”

“And she’s not inconspicuous?”

“Hello, changeling?”

“So long as they don’t have any detection charms in place we should be fine.”

“Ha, those detection charms are worthless.”

“Glad to hear that. In that case, all we need to worry about are bat ponies and fox ponies.”

“Why’s that?”

“They can out a changeling. I knew you weren’t Cadance. If there’d been any pony who could have backed me up…”

“Sorry about that. They shut down Twilight too if that’s any consolation. I will have to admit that I was genuinely surprised when you gave me that right cross. No hard feelings. Seeing that kind of fire in a sea of sheep was kind of exhilarating.”

“Thank you, I guess…
“It’s just occurred to me that if Lord Tirek can do a decent Iron Will impersonation he could come along.”

“He’s a Minotaur,” Chrysalis pointed out. “and a doofus.”

“You want me to play the fool?”

“I want you to not be Lord Tirek. We could go with the same cover story we gave Midnight, that we are Naturalists and archaeologists on an expedition. A three-day survey of the environs at the base of Mount Everhoof. Nothing about trying to climb it. They’d probably try to stop us.”

“I know, I can be Mane Allgood.” suddenly Chrysalis was a dark peach-colored pegasus with bleach blond mane and tail.

“Ahhh,” Kitsu wasn’t too sure that was a good idea.

“She’s the only naturalist I know well enough to be able to pull it off. That and she and Snap should be at the ruins of the palace of the two sisters right now. They’d been permitted to do a detailed survey of the site. What? I hang out around Ponyville a lot.”

“Think I’ll stick with Tsuki Sparkle.” She switches her attention to Tirek. “I know, you can be Doctor West Hill,” Kitsu suggested. “No, make that Underhill. Doctor West Underhill, archaeologist.”

“I shall be Lord Westerly Underhill. Yes, that sounds pompous enough.”

“Oh, you are going for pompous. Well then, you’ll need this, this, and this,” Kitsu offered as she pulled out a large white pith helmet, a monocle, and a brown denim jacket that was loaded with pockets.”

“It fits… or is that more of your trickery.”

“Believe it or not, Midnight had ordered it for you and it just came in. Along with the helmet. The monocle is just a cheap magnifying glass that the grip fell off. Just use it to inspect anything that looks interesting.
“Now, I think I’d best take the wheel. I’m going to put it down on the river and turn this thing into a small riverboat.”

Moments later they were gliding through the water, their airship now a small motor launch with a cabin and because Equestrian motors were all powered by magic there was no need for exhaust.

“You are by far a good pony to have around,” Chrysalis proclaimed. “Miss Tsuki.”

“I still can’t believe Grogar expected us to go on foot.”

“I’m wondering if he thought we’d just give up,” Kitsu suggested.

“In that case, are we even going to find anything on that mountain?” Chrysalis asked.

“Oh, it’s up there. And to get it, it’s going to take all three of us working as a team.”

“So he wasn’t kidding when he said we needed to work together,” Tirek remarked. “Why though? Why give us the ability to defeat him?”

“We defeat him, and let him get away. Let our heads get too big for our flanks, take on Princess Twilight and all of Canterlot, and lose.”

“All of Canterlot?” Chrysalis asked knowing full well that three individuals didn’t have much of a chance in that regard. Not if a whole hoard couldn't do it.

“What’s the best way to unite creatures? Provide them with a threat. Unified in their endeavor they activate harmony magic, and before we’ve a chance to say it was Grogar’s orders, we are all turned to stone for however long that much magic is good for while the architect of evil goes about doing whatever he wants.”

“Well I say we spoil his plans,” Chrysalis offers with a tone of determination as they slowly pull up to the village’s dock. Kitsu threw on a cloak to cover her cutie mark, hurried aft, threw out a line, and looped it onto a dock cleat. She then jumped onto the dock with another line, tied one end to the midship cleat and the other around a cleat on the dock followed by going forward, securing the line to the forward cleat on the ship, and then tying it off to the next cleat up. And then just for good measure she climbed up onto the bow, took the anchor, and tossed it forward of the boat.

“That should hold it a while.”

“Howdy stranger,” offered a grizzled old earth pony. He’d one of them white captain's hats on. “That there yer boat?” The numbers on the bow weren’t making a whole lot of sense to him. WH 1212 SY The name on the fantail read Kobayashi Maru, Riverside, Iowa.

“Loaned out to us. We have to give it back when we are done. Name’s Tsuki Sparkle. We were sent up this way to do a three-day survey at the base of Mount Everhoof.”

“Mount Everhoof? Why would you want to go there?”

“Can’t say really. Just that someone at the Canterlot Museum of Natural History has wild hair up their backside.”

“Tsuki, please,” Chrysalis scolded lightly.

“Oh, this is Mane Allgood. She’s our naturalist, and the big guy inside is Lord Westerly Underhill. He’s the archaeologist. I do hope it will be alright to leave our boat here until we get back?”

“It’ll cost you?”

“Just send the bill to the White Hall Agency,” Mane offered. “They cover all our expenses.”

“Mane Allgood, weren’t you supposed to be married,” the old pony asked.

“I am. Snap Shutter. He’s at the castle of the two sisters. The palace to be exact. Something the team found prompted this trip. Dear little Scootaloo, our daughter, wanted to come but I thought it’d be best she stayed behind. I hear the mountain can be dangerous.”

“Underhill,” Tirek offered in a very good impersonation of a Canterlot noble. “Lord Westerly Underhill. At your service.”

“Welcome to Trailhead… oh my, he is a big-un.” Tirek had decided to get out of the boat followed by Chrysalis.

“Well, truth be told, we just brought him along in case there was any heavy lifting. By any chance are there guides available in town?” Kitsu asked as she tossed all their gear up onto the dock. Tirek picked up his pack, Chrysalis gathered up her saddlebags and Kitsu grabbed both a pack and saddlebags.

“There’s an Inn at the center of town. You can’t miss it.”

“Thank you,” Kitsu offered and then the three companions made their way into the small community. And yes, Tirek gathered every eye in the community.