(Flashback)
"You what?!" the king roared. "Are you talking about conquering Equestria?! I will no part in this!"
"Oh but, sire," Grogar said, "It's to give strength to Tambelon. Some of the other kingdoms are calling us weak for the fact that we're befriending ponies; but we will show them we're not weak!"
"That's an their own opinion," the king argued, "that is no concern to me!
"I am only looking out for the welfare of the kingdom!" Grogar said.
"And it is appropriated, but that is my burden, not yours!" The king yelled.
"But, your majesty!" Grogar exclaimed.
"Enough!" the king roared. "Equestria has been our strongest supporter for years now; and I will not betray the princesses."
"You can't be serious!" Grogar yelled.
"You will not speak out of turn, Grogar," the king said. "I have spoken! You are dismissed, Grogar."
Grogar growled in rage as he storms out of the throne room. It was clear that through his eyes, the king was soft and weak. He decided to take matters into his own hooves. It was time for Tameblon to have a new king. Grogar slipped in a poison into the king's drink while no one was looking. Grogar was successful in the murder,so Grogar was crowned as the new ruler of Tambelon. His first order of business was to get the royal pony sisters to surrender to his rule.
Grogar entered the throne room with both Celestia and Luna sitting in their thrones. It was no surprise to them that Grogar assumed the throne shortly after his predecessor's death, but they had a grave suspicion that he intends to demand that they submit to his whims; but they knew better than to negotiate with tyrants. They kept their straight faces as he approached the alicorn princesses.
"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," Grogar greeted. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances at last."
Celestia and Luna weren't buying it, but they had to play along.
"The pleasure is all ours," Celestia said with a fake smile.
"We heard of the passing of your previous king," Luna said. "You have our deepest condolences."
"I thank you both for consideration, your highnesses," Grogar said. "I have only been in your kingdom for a short time, and I will say you have done an excellent job at ruling it."
"Um... thanks?" Luna said unsure.
"My sister and I assume that you have a matter of business you wish to discuss with us," Celestia stated.
"Of course," Grogar said, "and I believe that it will benefit for both of our kingdoms; that is if you are alright with my proposition."
The two sisters shifted their eyes to one another, both silently agreeing that Grogar had malicious intent, but they kept their cool not wanting to alert their visitor.
"Perhaps you should tell us about your proposition," Luna started.
"And you can tell us how it will benefit our two kingdoms," Celestia funished.
"Of course, my dears," Grogar beamed. "I propose..." and that was the moment of truth, "that you surrender Equestria to me!"
"WHAT?!" the two alicorns exclaimed using the royal Canterlot voice.
"It shall benefit Tambelon and Equestria that I rule two kingdoms instead of just one," Grogar said. "Now, do as I say and surrender your kingdom or we shall go to war."
"Never!" Celestia declared.
"We will not submit to tyrants such as yourself, monster!" Luna said.
"If that's how you want it," Grogar growled, "then I'll going to take Equestria by force!"
The goat charged at the alicorns with a ferocious rage and strength. Celestia and Luna dodged with speed on their side. Grogar attempted another frontal assault, but only towards the sun princess, but she fired her magic into Grogar's face making him fall on his side. That only infuriated Grogar further, his roar caused both his horns to give off a dark aura, before he fired at Celestia again. Celestia used her magic again, but this time as a shield. She held on for as long as she could before the shield shattered, striking her in the chest.
"CELESTIA!" Luna cried out. "YOU FIEND!"
The night princess charged at Grogar to avenge her sister, but her efforts were in vain as Grogar struck her with the same dark magic. Grogar roared with laughter as he is besting both alicorns at once. But neither one of them wasn't gonna throw in the towel just yet. They slowly stood up, both are injured, but still able to fight.
"Oh come now," Grogar said, "you cannot still be trying. You may have defeated Discord, but he is nothing compared to me!"
Grogar charged again, only to have both Celestia and Luna fire their magic at him right at the same time, but stronger than before. The force of the magic was too much even for Grogar, so it sent him against a wall. Grogar slowly stood up, still hurting from the blast. That did a real number on him.
"You may won this round, Princesses," Grogar stated, "but you will not win the next one."
The guards entered the room hearing the commotion from outside, unicorns charging their horns, while earth ponies and pegasi pointed their spears at him.
Grogar made a break for it towards the wall, "Equestria will be mine!"
Grogar charges back to Tambelon despite his injuries. He eventually makes it back to his kingdom. A soldier approached him with concern on his face.
"What happened to you, sire? " he asked. "Didn't your meeting did not go so well?"
Grogar did not answer, he just ignored him and kept staggering to his castle. What seems to be hours Grogar sits in his new throne, enraged over his failed attempts to take Equestria. But he was far from giving up the prize, but then... A guard comes barging in and kneels to Grogar.
"Lord Grogar!" the guard called out, "the Princesses of Equestria have come barging into Tambelon!"
"Is that so?" Grogar responded unsurprised. "Let them come here."
After a few minutes, the princess alicorn sisters burst their way in.
"So you've come," Grogar said.
"Grogar," Celestia started, "we are going to give you a chance to abandon your desire to conquer Equestria and we will leave peacefully."
"I will not," Grogar refused. "I told you that Equestria will be mine and I will do what it takes to have it!"
Celestia sighed, "Then it is clear that you have made your choice. So be it."
Celestia and Luna's horns began glowing, wind began blowing around them. Grogar didn't understand what they were doing, but he began to fear that it wasn't to be good for him.
"What are you doing?!" Grogar roared. "STOP!"
The royal pony sisters didn't listen to a word he said and cast the spell around the castle. A purple void began opening up and it slowly began consuming everything around it.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Grogar demanded.
"We have cast a banishing spell," Luna explained.
"Starswirl the Bearded has taught us this spell," Celestia added. "You and Tambelon will never be a threat to us again, so we are banishing you to the Dark Realm. Now you have no way of getting out."
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"Grogar fired his dark magic at the void in an attempt to stop it, but it was in vain as the void began growing bigger faster. Celestia and Luna teleported out of Tambelon before the void can swallow them up as well. Soon all of Tambelon was engulfed and sent into the Dark Realm.
Grogar roared with raged as he began ramming into everything in sight. Bray, his most faithful servant came into the throne room.
"Lord Grogar!" Bray called out. "Tambelon is in peril!"
"I know, you fool!" Grogar yelled. "We have been banished into the Dark Realm!"
"What will we do?!" Bray asked.
Grogar didn't answer the donkey, but fortune did provide him with the answer. A tablet from the early days of Tambelon. Grogar looked at the tablet very carefully and smiled.
"Why are so happy all of a sudden?" Bray asked not understanding.
"Because I have found the solution to the problem," Grogar said. "It contains a spell that we can use to get in and out whenever we wish. But I won't be able toto get out since I cast the spell, but that isn't going to be a problem. Now leave me! I need to work."
"Of course," Bray said as he left the throne room.
(Back to the present)
"If I can't have Equestria for myself," Grogar said to himself, "then I'll have your subjects as my own."
Meanwhile, in the Tambelon dungeons, the imprisoned ponies hear of the news that came from Equestria, stating that there are now four rulers of Equestria.
This surprised Bright Macintosh and Pear Butter, stating that they HAVE been gone too long.
It didn't take long until Bray came in with the daily gruel and delivered it to the prisoners.
"Alright ponies," Bray stated, "your daily gruel is brought to you. DonDon't like it; not my concern."
The donkey cackles cruelly just he us about to take his leave, but he quickly notices something was amiss. He quickly turned back and went over to the cell and he looked inside.
"Is there something you want to rub in oir faces already?" Bright Macintosh questioned.
"Quiet you!" Bray demanded. He looked around and noticed that there is one pony missing from this cell. "THERE'S A PRISONER MISSING!"
Bray gasped as he knew that his master will be very displeased with this new bit of information, so he went to inform him.
Bray thought out loud," I just have to tell him easy, there's no telling how he will take it. But I know that he'll never take this too lightly; he will surely blame me for this, it's always MY fault. Okay, Bray, calm down. You're probably overreacting. It probably won't be as bad as you think it is."
The donkey swallowed a lump as he entered the castle, shaking like a rattle.
After a few seconds, we see a shot of the castle, WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT ONE OF THE PRISONERS HAS ESCAPED?! WHY DIDN'T YOU INFORM ME OF THIS BIT OF INFORMATION TO ME SOONER, YOU IDIOT?!"
I-I-I-I-I j-just found out, my liege?" Bray smiled nervously, Grogar looked at him angered by Bray's obliviousness of the escape. The good news is that he took better than he expected.
"Just when I was beginning to have faith in you, you throw it out the window in an instant!" Grogar yelled.
Bray was now paralyzed with fear. He couldn't believe this happened right under his nose. He didn't understand how he did it. There was way he could have gotten out, unless he had help. Then he remembered his encounter with Tempest and the brown stallion. He should have realized it sooner. Acorn escaped and Bray saw him.
"Ooh, why didn't I recognize him sooner?" Bray whined.
"Recognize who?" Grogar demanded.
"I think that broken horned unicorn I told you about may something to do with this," Bray reasoned. "I suspect that she used her magic to teleport him out."
Grogar looked at the donkey shaking his head at the ridiculous theory, "My dear Bray. If that broken horned has broken him out... THEN EXPLAIN HOW SHE ENTERED INTO THE DARK REALM WITH THAT BROKEN HORN OF HERS?!"Bray was really in a sling now. He didn't know how to answer that. Before he could come up with an idea Grogar stomped his hooves on the ground to silence him.
"I will not hear your poor excuse," Grogar said. "I should never have cast that immortality spell onto you."
But, Lord Grogar," Bray pleaded. "Please! Give me another chance to redeem myself again. I'll find this unicorn and bring her to you."
"Very well," Grogar said. "But keep in mind that this is your last chance. I gave you your immorality, but I can still kill you with a single stomp."
"Y-Y-yes," Bray said before he took off for Equestria, but he is stopped by Grogar one more time.
"And one more thing," Grogar said gaining the donkey's attention, "you will do this alone."
Bray didn't like where this going, but he accepted that term and took off. He opened the portal so that Bray can enter Equestria. Grogar didn't expect for the donkey to succeed, but he had to focus at the task at hand. First up, was doubling the guards so that nopony would get any ideas about escaping again.
With the guards doubled, Bright Macintosh and Pear Butter knew that Grogar has learned the news. They grew increasingly worried about Acorn.
Bright Macintosh held his wife close to him.
"Do you think that the princesses knows about us by now?" Pear Butter asked.
"I hope so," they all turned to Silver Stone who spoke up. "I know that they're already working on a plan to free us right now. Equestria has been through some dangers before, but I know that they can overcome this one."
Bright Macintosh and Pear Butter nodded with agreement. Pear Butter smiled knowing that she'll see her kids again and soon.
Meanwhile, in the Crystal Empire, Sunburst was looking over some ancient spells that he had uncovered, even before Starswirl's time. A knock came at the door, so Sunburst answered the door and found Princess Cadence standing outside.
"Princess Cadence," Sunburst said. "I'm sorry that I couldn't attend Canterlot with you; I have discovered ancient spells and I couldn't just walk away from it."
"That's not why I came here, Sunburst," Cadence said to him. "I came over to tell you something absolutely important."
Cadence explained to the unicorn stallion about Grogar and Tambelon, and about ponies disappearing without a trace. She told him that it was because of a pony named Acorn had escaped and informed her aunts and Twilight about this. Sunburst couldn't believe what he heard, but he was determined to help anyway he can.
"I'll head down to Ponyville and assist Princess Twilight on how we can to the Dark Realm. In my experience it may take years, but knowing her she'll have this figured out in less than that," Sunburst said.
"I knew I can count on you," Cadence beamed with confidence.
Shortly after Cadence left, Sunburst started to pack all the books and research materials he needed, hoping that one of them might provide a clue. Once he had everything he needed, he headed out to the train station to catch his train.
"If Tambelon is at work here," Sunburst thought to himself, "Equestria may have been in trouble far longer than as I thought it was before."
Sunburst boarded his train. As he rode the train he read over some of the books, hoping that he can have a clue he can deliver to the lavender alicorn before he got there and at the same time, ignoring the looks of some of the other passengers.
To be continued...
