The-TSSOCM

Primrose Thorn scowled within the holding cell that she’d been stuffed into. Weeks had passed since the initial hearing where she’d been denied bail before her trial, and still she was here, stuck with horrible prison food and equally horrible accommodations. How dare they do this to her? And how dare her father take so long in getting her out? She’d missed her reunion, and the accolades she was due there! She was going to have a word with him once she got back home. She’d stared at the door to her cell for so long, however, anticipating her release, that she’d gotten bored with it, and her gaze shifted towards the narrow window. It wasn’t much, but it did give her a slight glimpse at her reflection. She felt at her neck, and recalled the strong grip of magic that she’d been caught in. That damn princess had overstretched herself, and would pay for what she did to her. She’d get access to her magic restored soon enough, and afterwards, that pretty little pony with her pet

Chapter Eight: Legacy of Darkness “Thoooo… gonna tell me what happened?” Lyra looked into the bespectacled eyes of her marefriend’s niece. “What happened with what?” “You know what I mean!” Twist showed no sign of restraint as she continued to badger her honorary aunt. She’d waited until returning home from school to be alone with Lyra, and she wasn’t going to waste this chance. “You go off to Canterlot with Princeth Twilight early one morning, you come back home the next night, and you don’t thay a word about it! Thomething ith up here!” She then shrugged and admitted, “And tell you the truth, I’m a little thick of being thtuck on the thidelineth.” The minty green unicorn rolled her eyes. “This from the filly who got a front row seat to Discord getting his skull pounded into the ground.” She then smiled reassuringly. “Twist, Twilight just asked me to help her with a research project. I can’t talk about it, at least not until it goes public.” That prompted a grin

Twilight found herself within a familiar cavern, but briefly gasped as she took sight of its most prominent feature. The Tree of Harmony was still present, but it was smaller, reedier, and bereft of its crystalline branches. Nonetheless, the outlines suggestive of a sun, a crescent moon, and the same six-pointed star depicted by her cutie mark were still present. “Mah stars!” Twilight instinctively moved to one side, despite knowing that this was simply a vision, and turned to see Star Swirl lead his fellow Pillars into the cavern, with Stygian in the rear. Meadowbrook took keen interest in the Tree and asked, “Where did this come from?” “Alas, I do not know its origins.” Star Swirl approached the Tree and explained, “But in my travels and journeys, I have determined three things. The first is that this Crystal Tree, for lack of a better name, is ancient, far older than we know. The second is that its magic is of a similar sort to that of the Crystal Heart, which protects

Chapter Seven: Legacy of Light The party stood at the outskirts of Stygian’s village. By some stroke of luck, Basso Profundo hadn’t ventured far from it, and seemed content to indulge himself with the local population. How much of it was good luck, however, remained to be seen. Stygian stood off to the side as the Pillars downed Meadowbrook’s potion. He understood Star Swirl’s logic behind him holding back and not aiding in the struggle. The young unicorn was an amateur scholar at best, rather than some grand hero of legend like the ponies before him. Nonetheless, one thought pervaded his mind as he watched his idol rally the others. “Pillars of Equestria…” That he wished he was there with them. “…to battle!” As one, the six charged forth. Flash Magnus, appropriately enough, acted as the tip of the spear and shot through the air. He buzzed past the Siren, who laughed. “What’s this? Come to greet your new lord and…?!” He was interrupted as boulders pelted him

Chapter Six: The Sorceror's Failings “I must say darling, you had quite the time with Braeburn.” As tea was set out before her and her friends, Rarity poured herself a cup and remarked, “I just wish that I had been able to provide some assistance.” “Eh, don’t worry about it.” Applejack accepted a cup that had been poured for her. “You an’ Fluttershy an’ Pinkie were busy with the fair, after all, an’ even with jus’ the four’a’us, would’ve been overkill. Ah just wish Ah hadn’t taken so long to deal with that sidewinder.” Fluttershy had frowned at Applejack’s word choice, but diplomatically noted, “Well, it’s all been taken care of.” Spike then climbed into a seat beside them as she changed the subject. “Anyway, how do you think Twilight is doing with her research?” Golden Oak Library had been quiet with Twilight away, Spike having been left to his own devices. The building was still standing and kept in order, however, which the young drake considered a relief. Granted, most

Chapter Five: Beauty in Truth Sunset Shimmer sighed as she took in the atmosphere at Sugar Cube Corner, a smoothie in her hand and a soft smile on her face as she waited for her friends in their usual booth. Granted, she had to learn to be a morning person, but after nearly three years in the human world, she’d adjusted well enough. The bell chimed, and she caught sight of Pinkie at the head of the group. The party girl’s enthusiastic wave was returned with a smile and a gentle one, and Sunset quietly waited for her friends to get their usual orders and join her. “Thanks for holding the booth for us, Sunset!” “Hey, no problem. The sun certainly helped to keep me awake. And thanks again for helping me and Vinyl out on Saturday.” “No problem! It never hurts to help a friend, especially when they have religious stuff going on.” Once again, it was the Monday morning before the start of another week of school, and the group of friends started it with drinks and a gathering of

Chapter Three: Favor the Brave The halls of the castle never lost their awe no matter how many times Twilight made her way through them. She suspected it was much the same for her friends, though in their cases, they likely didn’t pass through them nearly as often as she did. A part of her wondered if she should envy them, given the number of times she’d walked these halls due to a crisis facing Equestria. This time, at least, was for now a much more pleasant affair. The doors to the throne room swung open before their party, and a fanfare sounded before a mare clad in the armor of the Night Guard called, “Presenting Princess Twilight Sparkle and her party.” “Thank you, Lieutenant.” Celestia stepped down from her throne and approached them, with Luna at her side. “It’s good to see you, all of you.” Her gaze focused on the two unicorns. “Lyra Heartstrings, Moondancer, you have our thanks for lending your assistance to these efforts.” “Indeed.” The Princess of the Night

Chapter Four: Hold Onto Hope The journey from Cloudsdale to New Anugypt was a long one, something that weighed heavily on Stygian’s mind as the party continued on its way. Those thoughts gained even more weight, however, due to their newest party member. “If it’s so important that this Siren be defeated, then why aren’t we going after it now?” Flash Magnus had deigned to walk among them rather than fly, though he was doing a poor job of hiding his frustration. “I think that between the four of us, we can defeat it.” Stygian frowned as he led the party onward. “As much as I want to save my home and my friends, I don’t think that we should rush into this. If we only go in half-prepared, we might fall under Basso’s spell as well. And if that happens, who will save us?” “Lad’s right, fancy feathers.” Rockhoof’s tone was firm as he explained, “I’ve learned time an’ again that thinkin’ things through and takin’ your time to do the job right is always the best course of

Chapter Two: Seek the Strong, Hunt the Healer Stygian had expected to take weeks, perhaps even months to reach his first destination. He wasn’t looking forward to that journey, but if he was going to save his village, he was going to have to brave it, and hope that the stars were in his favor. The stars, however, appeared to not be in his favor. Barely an hour away from his village, a dark shadow swooped over him. Stygian paused and looked up. The good news was that this wasn’t Basso Profundo. The bad news, however, was that this was a different creature, and one dangerous for other reasons. This was a dragon, with a wide snout and scales of varying shades of green, with a pouch slung about his neck. The dragon landed before him, deep blue eyes locked upon his own, and spoke. Stygian swiftly dug the beeswax from his ears. “I’m sorry sir, I was trying to block out the sound of a creature in my village! It’s hypnotic singing…!” The dragon raised a claw. “You needn’t say any more

Chapter One: The Vision of the Scholar Golden Oak Library was rarely a place without some research being done by its occupant and proprietor. Today was no exception, as Princess Twilight Sparkle found herself going over one of her many tomes in the hopes of finding some nugget of knowledge to aid in her research. She groaned as she put aside her latest volume and looked to her friends. “Any luck?” Quiver Quill looked up from the volume before him and shook his head. “Afraid not, Twilight.” He gently moved the book aside as a fresh cup of tea was laid out for him. “Thanks, Spike.” “Hey, no problem. I know how to handle things for long study sessions.” The young drake looked at the growing pile of discarded books and grumbled, “Kinda wish this one wasn’t going nearly this long, though.” Several of the volumes were enveloped in magic as Sour Sweet approached him and grinned. “Good thing you’re not the only one doing the cleanup now, isn’t it?” Spike gave an