Moments later, after agreeing with Zjhiben on what she should do with Lothor while keeping Sol's words in mind, Sarah and Teen Race apparated everyone to Dragonstone Kingdom, leaving the Berk Vikings and their dragon companions, the Quest Team, the Cat Pack, and Lily, R.J., and Dom fascinated by the kingdom's immense geography. But, there was another surprise waiting for them there when out of nowhere, and when everybody least expected...
"SARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Sarah jumped and reeled around to the source of the voice calling her until let out a pained yelp and groan she was wrapped in a bear hug courtesy of the energetic happy-go-lucky unicorn that is Izzy Moonbow, joined by the rest of the Mane Five, their Pokemon companions, and Ryu, Tamu, Sefu, and Drake (the Mighty Ones) as they came to them. The sight of the five ponies, their Pokemon, and the four Kumandra-like dragons further left the Berk Vikings and their dragon companions in shock as they tried to wrap their heads around the new party.
"IZZY/IZZY/IZZY!" gasped a majority of Sarah's Pokemon and dragons in shock and surprise.
"Sarah, guys!"
"Sarah!"
"Race!"
"It's really you!"
"You made it!"
"It's so good to see you!"
"Hey!" Sunny, Hitch, Pipp, and Zipp cheered in greeting, prompting Sarah's family to happily greet them in turn amidst their abrupt and unexpected reunion.
"Uh, Hiccup, are you seeing what I'm seeing...?" gulped an overwhelmed Zenna, eying the reunion and the new creatures.
"Flying horses, two ponies, and a little horse with a horn? If I'm dreaming, somebody pinch me," Hiccup replied blankly, too shocked to move until Toothless curiously obliged his earlier request as he poked his partner and got a yelp from him. "Ow! Uh, ok, now I KNOW we're not dreaming."
"No way, are those dragons?"
"They don't have wings and they look like giant noodles," Tuffnut and Ruffnet quizzed, they and Barf and Belch all staring at the Mighty Ones in wide-eyed shock.
"Are you kiddin', they even have their own Pokemon just like Sarah and her puny friends!"
"Yeah, check it out! One of them has three Galarian Rapidash, another has a Hawlucha, and there's also a Maractus, a Bounsweet, and a Swanna!" Snotlout and Fishlegs remarked, also left in shock along with their dragon friends.
"Izzy-Urgh! Ngh-I-I'm glad to see you b-b-but-ugh-air, air! I need air-ug-I, I need to b-to-to breathe!" Sarah spluttered, starting to suffocate from Izzy's bear hug.
"Uh, Izzy! Izzy! I think she got the message! You can let go, now! She's starting to turn black and blue," Sunny called to Izzy as she joined the pair, thus getting the energetic unicorn to realize what she was doing and let her go, the little princess breathing heavily as she tried to get her bearings.
"Hitch!"
"Sunny!"
"Miss Pipp, Miss Zipp!" James, Nikki, and Tsukumaro cried in surprise.
"Hey, guys, heh! Hope you don't mind us dropping in," Zipp joked as she, Pipp, and Hitch finally came over along with Swanna, Bounsweet, and Hawlucha.
"What's up, fuzzy-buddies?" Pipp snarked playfully.
"Sunny, look, I know you want to help save the world again but this sort of thing is way too big for us to tackle alone. I mean, restoring harmony to Equestria before I totally get but taking part in a war, here?" Hitch griped worriedly to Sunny as he came up to his best friend.
"Calm down, Hitch, you know why we had to do this. You know somebody warned us about what'll happen to our friends so we have to do it," Sunny retorted before she turned to Sarah and helped her up once she got her breath back. "Hey there, Sarah, sorry about earlier. I guess you can say we weren't expecting you here just as you weren't expecting us."
"Heh, what else is new? It's good to see you guys again, Sunny," Sarah smiled, sharing a hug with the earth pony until she noticed the rainbow strips in her mane. "I guess the magic's still running through you, huh?"
"Yeah, pretty much but I'm used to it now."
"...Uh, who are you?" Skiddo asked as he, his fellow baby and younger Jungle Pokemon, and the Jungle Guard approached Sarah's friends from Equestria with confused faces.
"Princess, these creatures with you just now, none of us have seen anything like them in Cyberspace," added a stumped Umbra as he and his pride looked on in bewilderment.
"Master, what are they to you?" Wang Lun added, just as confused.
"No offense, Lass, but you seem to have lost us as well," agreed an equally baffled Gobber.
"I guess I should tell you..." Sarah sighed, knowing what they were thinking and she had a lot of explaining to do.
"Everyone, meet my friends from the world known as Equestria. This is Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, Hitch Trailblazer, Zipp Storm, and Pipp Petals; my parents met the latter two's friends, the dragons here called the Mighty Ones: Ryu, Drake, Tamu, and Sefu, and were in contact with their world long before I came into their lives. Guys, you already know my family; now meet my other friends: Ash, Pikachu, Kiawe, Turtonator, Pyroar, Lana, Brionne, Sophocles, Vikavolt, Togedemaru, Mallow, Tsareena, the Vikings of Berk and their dragon companions including Hiccup and Zenna and their Night Furies, Toothless and Stryka, my Winged Grey Wolf Raven - leader of her wold pack - whose also goes by the name of Twoie, the Teen Titans; Robin, Cyborg, Beast Bot, Starfire and their Raven, the Quest Team and the Cat Pack, the Power Rangers Jungle Fury and their masters-Master Phant, Master Finn, and Master Swoop, my real grandparents, and my boyfriend: Race. The small group of Dinosaurs, Smilodons, Lions, and Winged Wolves are rescues Race and I took under our care and Mythical Creatures are one we've adopted."
"No way... These are all your friends?" Sunny breathed in awe and amazement, looking over the entire party with Sarah's family.
"Stunni-i-i-i-i-i-i-ing!" Pipp sung in fascination.
"Whoa, way past cool," Zipp admitted with an impressed whistle. "'Sup, fellas?"
"WOW! New friends, new friends, tons of new friends to play with! How did you get so lucky? You must really have a thing for friendship as we do!" Izzy chirped ecstatically, swiftly zipping from the Vikings to the Quest Team and the Jungle Fury Rangers and Teen Race and his Pokemon. "Real grandparents, I didn't know you have these guys! You even got your own pets! New pets, Pokemon, and dragons, oh my! EEEEEE!"
"Uh, hey there, nice to meet you. My name's Detective Hitch Trailblazer, it's an honor to meet you and-" Hitch began nervously before Sunny came to him and remarked, "Oh, come on, Hitch! Ditch the intro, Sarah's got it covered for you. Besides, do these guys look like they're gonna hurt you?"
"...I hate it when you're right sometimes," Hitch grumbled knowingly.
"...HI!" Izzy peeped to Teen Race as she popped up next to him, startling the BF champion and his team as they looked at her awkwardly. "Are you really her boyfriend? Tell me, husband, hmm?"
"W-W-Wha-?!" Teen Race spluttered, blushing as he felt even more awkward.
"Nonsense, he doesn't have a you-know-what on him for her yet!" Robbie butted in, wanting Izzy to not probe about his trainer and Sarah's romance.
"Has she...always been like that?" David questioned his granddaughter, feeling just as awkward as Teen Race was as he and an equally-awkward Donna (former queen) watched.
"Sunny and the others will tell you the same; she's always a unicorn full of boundless optimism and doesn't know the meaning of 'angry' or anything too negative," Sarah replied.
"Try asking her to be angry and she'll just give you that creepy smile of hers nonstop and know nothing about being angry or mopey or any other emotion besides happy," Tsukumaro added.
"That said, baby, your mother and father did mention their last encounter with some friends of yours from that curious world after dealing with this Scarlet Nightmare character and her minions," Donna said, now growing curious.
Ryu turned to the older royal couple and nodded, "Yes, but after that, they suddenly disappeared after they've beaten them and because of your enemy named Lothor, our ponies gave into their fears, their paranoia, and their mistrust of one another. We were forcibly exiled along with our fellow dragons and the Pokemon for many moons after Ponykind was unable to come to terms with their misdeeds and split apart since then."
"We and our partners were forced to sacrifice ourselves to put an end to Scarlet's tyranny the first time and leave the rest to your children with our Crystals of Unity, Your Majesties. We thought our world would be doomed to suffer from a lack of friendship and the after-effects of that witch's treachery since she took advantage of the paranoia and fears of our pony friends to resurrect herself and her minions from the shadows but thanks to your granddaughter and your family, they managed to right the wrongs made before, and now, we are one," Tamu added.
Tamu's praise left Sarah blushing again but barring Sarah's family and her friends (since the latter group was told about their adventure in Equestria prior), the others were left in shock, awe, and amazement over what the little princess and her family had accomplished. Even Toothless, Stryka, Hiccup, and Zenna couldn't get over the fact that their friend and her family's misadventure paralleled to the one they had with her concerning their dragon companions and the Vikings months prior.
"But, what are you all doing here?" Theo questioned. "We weren't expecting you all to pop up now, did we?"
"...Wait, Theo's right. Sunny, why are you and your friends here at Dragonstone Kingdom? And, more importantly, how did you get here in the first place?" Sarah inquired to her earth pony friend.
"We thought you were still in Equestria after our little adventure together," Kaji put in.
"It's strange and I don't know how it happened but our Unity Pins started glowing and blinking like crazy," Sunny began.
"It was like a wild light show when they started going 'blinky-blinky-blink-blink' like they were doing party lights but without all the fun and decorations and the balloons and stuff!'" Izzy chirped.
"But then, we all felt a pain in our hearts through them as they blinked on and off faster and faster, like they were giving us some kind of warning about you and whatever danger you're in," Zipp continued.
"We also felt a disturbance in the dimensions as we were going about our business and while Big Brother was meditating in the mountain peaks of Zephyr Heights and we realized something was wrong in your world."
"Realizing that we need to help you deal with this matter as soon as possible, we tapped into the power of the Unity Pins and used it to warp ourselves, our companions, and our Pokemon to your current location. And, thus, we ended up here," Drake finished.
"Ditto with a capital D~!" Pipp sang in agreement.
"Meowza-Powza! Real live unicorns, pegasi, and ponies with super strength!"
"Like in those stories Race always read to us when we go to sleep at night!" Wild and Rory gasped in awe.
"Are you two princesses like Sarah?" Shade asked Zipp and Pipp.
Zipp flushed in embarrassment over being recognized by her title as she told Shade, "H-Hey, look, there's...no need for that. Just, just call me, Zipp, okay? I'm, not really one who digs all that royalty junk all the time, got it?"
"And, why would it still bother you when you're clearly part of the royal family?" Pipp snarked to her sister.
"Enough, we know how you both feel about that, girls. Forgive them, my sister's a little sensitive about her family's lineage and she's never accepted such a life for her, something their mother sometimes failed to realize when she tried to tell her that she's not meant for the throne despite her insistence given that she's the eldest of the two," Ryu explained.
"And, she's the heir to her throne despite our pleas to her to not subject her daughter to such a position so hastily. Zipp has tried to tell her but either she wouldn't pluck up the courage to tell her herself or Haven didn't have time to or didn't want to hear of it," Tamu sighed with a twinge of sorrow for Zipp.
"Come on, you guys! Really, I'll tell Mom...eventually," Zipp pouted to the pair.
"Heh, talk about working in a magical zoo. You never cease to amaze us, huh, Sarah?" Adult Race chuckled.
"I quite agree, Race. Heh-heh, Sarah, you really are full of surprises," agreed an amused Dr. Quest.
"Gosh, I never thought you'd stop when you start having mythical creatures and dragons but this is the bomb."
"Those dragons do have some sort of Asian physiology akin to that of the gods of my own India with their magic and power akin to the weather from Asian and Chinese folklore, no?" Jonny and Hadji questioned in awe and fascination while a curious Bandit waddled up to Hitch and started to nuzzle him while giving happy whines.
"That's right, the four of us are like that but you can also say Zipp, Pipp, and the rest of the Pegasi share those folklore roots as well," Ryu nodded in confirmation.
"Ha! Big deal, you guys control the weather? There's no such thing! Why, I bet you couldn't even lift a single drop of water whenever it rains Night Furies and Zipplebacks with a single wave," Snotlout scoffed as Hookfang also gave an arrogant smirk and stink eye at the ponies and Zipp and Pipp's dragon family.
Zipp and Pipp were offended as they both threw harsh glares at Snotlout and Hookfang for their mockery but Ryu, Tamu, Drake, and Sena just winked at each other as they shared knowing smirks. Ryu was the one to turn their arrogance upside down on them as he slyly summoned a small rain shower in the middle of the day and proceeded to demonstrate his and his brother and sisters' potential by creating small platforms from the raindrops and "flew" his way across, Tamu, Sena, and Drake joining him to further hammer home their true power.
The Vikings, their dragon companions, the Quest Team, the Cat Pack, the Jungle Fury Rangers, the Teen Titans, the Six Spirits and their rescues, and Marena, Stormcloud, and Balerion couldn't help but watch them in shock, fascination, awe, and amazement, nobody having any idea what to say next until the Mighty Ones returned to terra-firma and Ryu dispelled the sun shower.
"Whoa," Raven gasped with widened eyes, speaking for everyone.
Pipp and Zipp, getting the idea from their family's demonstration, proceeded to show off their flight skills as they took to the skies and flapped their wings before they stood on the clouds along Berk's mountain peaks and turned some of them into storm clouds before returning to the group, confirming that even after the events of A New Generation, they and the rest of their friends and fellow ponies in Equestria still had their magic.
"Dude, storm chasers know what's up," Beast Boy commented, lost in his fascination.
"I guess you still have your magic after all this time, huh?" Sarah quizzed the ponies.
"You got it, although I can't say the same for my horn and wings," Sunny nodded before she gestured to her bare mane and back where her wings and horn once were. "My wings and horn, they were only temporary after a while. But, oh, well..."
"As you can see, every pony has their own unique capabilities concerning their own individual power and magic," Drake put in. "No two talents and abilities are the same which, in turn, makes us and our companions and friends in Equestria diverse and varied as you all are in your world."
"Wow, that'll really flip the lid off of Team Eclipse when they catch you screwing around with them," Jonny breathed in awe.
"Where did you ever get such wild and crazy powers, Ryu?" Adult Race questioned in fascination.
"We're not sure we can answer that for you but let's say the heavens granted us our abilities to help the people and Pokemon in our home world," Ryu smiled.
"That's for sure and I'll bet those jokers who gave you your gifts sent them C.O.D.," Adult Race chuckled, deciding not to question further out of respect for the group's new friends.
"Gee, guys, this is really something. I appreciate you all coming here and giving us a hand, we all do," Sarah thanked.
"Hey, like, we really owe ya and your family for what you did to save us all back in Equestria. We had to return the favor somehow," Zipp smiled back knowingly.
"Yeah... I guess you can say, it's our turn to help you now," Hitch admitted, giving a shy smile as Bandit continued to nuzzle him before Sunny's Cutie Mark glowed and her horn and wings reappeared, further throwing the rest of the heroes off.
"My horn and wings!" Sunny gasped in surprise.
"I thought you said those things were temporary!" Sarah blinked in bewilderment.
"It's on account of her new Alicorn magic from the Unity Crystals," Tamu explained. "We've been trying to help her train with her new Alicorn form but she can't always control it when it happens, she's still learning how to use it."
"Either way, your war with Lothor started when he attacked your family and home 500 years ago and he kickstarted it again when you both and Team Eclipse came back into the fray so we're helping you finish what you started. No matter what happens, we'll be there to face what's ahead of us, together," Sunny replied, the others nodding in agreement as they came together and brought their hooves together.
"Hooves to heart, YEAH!"
That wasn't the end of it, however; upon reaffirming their unity, Sunny, Hitch, Pipp, Zipp, and Izzy's Cutie Marks began to glow along with Sarah's Unity Pin (attached to the sash on her scepter), the pin latching itself off and absorbing the magic coming off of the Cutie Marks. The ponies gasped in surprise as they and everyone else saw the Unity Pin glowing at its brightest before it eventually summoned a sight that nobody was expected: a holographic projection of a much-older lavender female Alicorn who was actually Equestria's former ruler and former Princess of Friendship from ages and moons long past, Twilight Sparkle.
Everyone gasped in shock and surprise as they tried to take in the sight of the holographic projection of the deceased Princess of Friendship and even Sunny and her party were all left reeling as the projection of the former ruler made itself known but it looked as though she was badly wounded from a horrible fight.
"...Twilight?" breathed a stunned Sunny, seeing the holographic Twilight frantically preparing to record a message before she would be finished.
"...I haven't much time, I pray for all our sakes that this message somehow survives! If you are watching this, please listen to what I have to say!" Twilight began, panting as she started to become stressed from whatever was pushing her to her breaking point.
"Magic in Equestria and beyond is more powerful than ever before and our allies have returned since the ancient battle. Magic is alive; it is always changing, growing stronger, but it also brought along with it dangerous enemies from beyond and within, all wanting to exploit it for one reason or another... I've ruled this land for years ever since Celestia and Luna, my old friends, retired, and even though things back then seemed peaceful ever since, I was afraid that there will come a time when the peace my friends and I have worked so hard to maintain will be destroyed and we will eventually fall. My worst fears were finally realized as a pony tried to steal all of Equestria's magic for herself, creating a dark being of shadows and malice and her minions-Scarlet Nightmare and her Shadow Pokemon and Shadow Dragons-to destroy all of pony-kind and nearly succeeded. That was until she was stopped by myself, my friends, the Mighty Ones, and our beloved allies, King Doug and Queen Delilah from another world."
Everyone was left in stunned silence and shock as they continued to watch the holographic Twilight relay her message to anybody in the future who would find it and answer it before her time was up, the hologram starting to fizz, "We've done all we can to protect our home, our subjects, and our magic; we've summoned all of our strength to achieve this by transferring the magic into the new Unity Crystals the Mighty Ones created-before she destroyed my friends and I... But, the spell's broken and you're exposed to the world once more-!"
The hologram continued to fizzle in seconds as the message was nearly over and Twilight was becoming more and more frantic as she spoke, "Y-Y-You're no longer safe as long as she's back! You must watch out for Op-before she-op-! I'll be with you, always... We feared that nothing in Equestria that we strove to protect and maintain will no longer last forever as we hoped should the Magic of Friendship be exploited and abused beyond our control, and we were right..."
Then, in the midst of a terrible explosion from the vicinity of when the message was being recorded back then, the hologram fizzed some more and it suddenly vanished before the Unity Pin's glow died down and it latched itself back onto the Dragon Heart Scepter's sash.
"What, was, that?" Andres asked on everyone's behalf, completely baffled.
"D-D-Do it a-again, I wasn't e-e-e-expecting t-t-that!" Donkapa remarked, still trying to wrap her head around the frantic message from Twilight in her final moments.
"Sunny, was that...Twilight, THE Twilight Sparkle whose lessons you kept on preaching about?" Hitch asked his best friend, stunned beyond belief.
"That's her, it's definitely Princess Twilight from the old Equestria but what happened? It sounded like she, along with the Mighty Ones and Sarah's real parents, were the ones responsible for sealing away Scarlet Nightmare, her minions, and what sounded like her creator," Sunny pondered, trying to comprehend what she and everyone else just found out.
"If I have to guess, Princess... When Ryu, Tamu, Drake, and Sena created the Unity Crystals, your father and mother and Twilight Sparkle sealed away all of Equestria's magic within them in the midst of a war going on between them and their allies-her friends-and Scarlet Nightmare and her minions," Zeraora theorized.
"But, what's this about a broken spell?" Ella interjected.
"She also mentioned the ponies being exposed to the world again but what?" Kit questioned thoughtfully.
"...I don't know," Sarah admitted after thinking for a moment.
"...So melodramatic that Twilight is, not bothering to leave anything else other than a cryptic message that's no fun to deliver... But, who am I to gripe after losing everything to that witch who destroyed us and our home including my dear Fluttershy?" moaned a voice with a sigh that sounded sorrowful before everyone (taken by surprise by the new voice as they looked around for the owner) was caught in a flashback illusion.
"Hey!"
"What-?"
"What's going on?!"
"What is-!?" Izzy, Pipp, Hitch, and Zipp cried, flabbergasted as they and everyone else saw a scene that showed the original Mane Six and a young winged purple dragon by the name of Spike along with a creature called a Dragonequus by their side, at least a month following the end of the Legion of Doom.
"Discord?" gasped Sunny, further taken aback as she recognized the Dragonequus (who was slowly being forgiven by them, Equestria, Celestia, Luna, and their allies for his deception as the Necromancer of Tambelon, Grogar the Demon Ram, and his machinations throughout Twilight and her friends' escapades).
[Flashback (Discord POV)]
"Back then, it was myself, Princess Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and my dear Fluttershy along with our beloved dragon, Spike, all fighting the good fight," Discord began, adding himself into the mix showing that despite his tendency to make mistakes (his greatest sins from Season 9 and the ramifications from them still weighing him down above everything else he did), his friends (but most of all, Fluttershy) still cared for him.
"Oh, yes... We were the best back in the day, everybody called us: the Mane-Ifcent 7."
As Discord continued his vision (cheekily adding himself more into it to emphasize his true change of heart since Season 9), he showed more scenes of the Mane Six as they grew older while Twilight shoots rainbow magic from her horn during a fight.
"We did everything heroes do but ever since Twilight took over as Supreme Princess and Ruler of Equestria after Celestia and Luna officially retired many moons ago, there was very little for us to do. Everything became peaceful, too peaceful for my liking; throughout her rule, Twilight always made sure that everypony felt respected and equally cared for, and during that time, we all lived in... Hmm, I know I'm forgetting something, what's the word? Let me guess, the opposite of chaos, mm-? Ah, yes, harmony..."
Discord emphasized this by showing scenes of Twilight's golden era of peace since she took up the throne full-time for her former equal and teacher and her sister where Equestria lived in harmony with the other kingdoms of the world including the Dragon Lands, Yakyakistan, Griffinstone, the Badlands, and Mount Aris/Seaquestria. There was nothing but long-lasting peace and there were very few (if not) no villains left that threatened to shatter the dream that Twilight and her friends all kept alive, much to the Dragonequus' slight dismay since he longed for what he sees as excitement despite having fully turned over a new leaf after his careless masquerading as Grogar.
"The years rolled by and after making amends with Fluttershy, we got together and started to realize her dream of running an animal sanctuary, taking the time to take a few proteges under our wings to show them how to care for her beloved creatures," Discord went on, showing scenes of him and Fluttershy being together and working in her new animal sanctuary while teaching some ponies how to care for them and show kindness to others. "We taught them everything she knew; how to care for and love all of the creatures in the Everfree Forest, how to live in harmony with the creatures of Mother Nature, to be one with the animals surrounding us. It was paradise, pure and utterly blissful paradise, one that I'd long taken for granted until I finally learned the error of my ways."
Unfortunately, as Discord knew very well (given his immortality/longevity and having been in supposed self-imposed exile for who-knows-who-long between G4 and G5), nothing last forever. For he then showed a scene in his illusion that featured a fully-grown unicorn mare that had a solid, saturated eggplant coat, a chest that is a slightly lighter shade of purple, and hooves and inner ear tissue of a very dark shade of indigo.
The mare had a very frightening figure that would strike fear in even the most civilized and pacifist of peaceful ponies, having dark blue eyes, angled mascara, glittery blue eyeshadow, thick eyebrows, and a long yet slightly curved horn that looked paler near the tip. Her mane is a pale white akin to bleach with various thin streaks of light cyan and it was parted in two side sections with thin braids that are wrapped around her ears and yet, the parts of her mane that were left down formed a tapering spiral pattern, looking thicker by her shoulders.
"Until, she came... That wicked she-demon of a pony named Opaline, the Fire Unicorn, came into the picture and ruined everything," scowled Discord, his voice starting to seethe as the unicorn mare, Opaline, came into the picture. "She utterly despised the idea of unity and equality to the core and thought that nobody but the unicorns were more deserving to be at the top, even above the Pegasi and Earth Ponies."
"She would always vouch for unicorn supremacy and to have everyone else be tossed aside or done away so that unicorns would rule over all with an iron fist for what she sees as 'perfect harmony' by the unicorns' hooves. Nobody cared about what she preached and carried on, as usual, leaving her to be so selfish and bitter until she eventually became a monster of the worst kind. In her growing lust for power, she caused mass pandemonium that started to undo everything my friends and Fluttershy worked so hard for, getting the ponies to despise, fight, and hate each other..."
Discord then showed a scene that showed Opaline snootily and smugly cutting in front of Fluttershy and a pony next to her when they went off to buy some flowers, much to the shock and disgruntlement of the other ponies as he spitefully continued, "It all started when she pulled off something that started to break my Fluttershy when she went off to buy some flowers for our garden, the start of her false promises and ideas of what she sees as a 'Perfect Equestria'. Everyone who had foolishly listened to her dribble started to believe that some pony races were better than others on the bare-bones excuse of the magical abilities they each possess."
Fluttershy and the pony with her didn't take too kindly to Opaline's actions as they gave her a small glare. "I'm sorry, Opaline, but what you're doing is wrong. You'll need to wait your turn to get some flowers like everyone else," Fluttershy admonished softly. Opaline glared back at Fluttershy as she snarled, "I'm a unicorn and I have better things to do than to wait in line, Miss Prissy-Pants." She then proceeded to shove Fluttershy harshly to the ground and her flowers ended up being ruined.
This shocked everybody watching before the stunned flower stand owner glowered harshly at Opaline and fiercely pointed her right hoof in another direction, mentally demanding that Opaline leaves while denying her any flowers. The Fire Unicorn was shocked by this rejection and she huffed before she stormed away, leaving some still-shocked and now-angered ponies glaring and staring at her in her wake while Fluttershy was left to sob as Discord arrived. He had seen everything while he was out on an errand for his first-ever friend and even he was shocked by what Opaline had done to the Element of Kindness, seeing it best to comfort her as he gave her a sad frown and offered to hug her. Fluttershy just sobbed as she complied and let out all her emotions while everyone else stared sorrowfully and pitifully at the broken Pegasus pony.
From wherever he is, Discord gave a mournful sigh as he continued, growing more and more solemn as he recounted the downfall of Equestria by Opaline's hooves, "But, it didn't just end there... One incident such as that followed another since Fluttershy's terrible encounter with Opaline and once again, Ponykind found themselves divided. All because of Opaline's lies roping them into believing some things that were never true, at all..."
"Sorry, fella. I hate to disappoint you but from now on, this joint is for Earth Ponies only," a baker stallion told a unicorn foal as he showed a "No Unicorns allowed" sign that he hung on the front of his bakery, much to the foal's dismay.
Things had gotten so bad that after Opaline spitefully kept on preaching her lies to everyone else following the bad rep she had gotten, the ponies started to believe her talk and were now outright fighting as they glared hatefully at one another and occasionally got into some scraps that none of us, not even our friends, could stop.
"Hey, bucko! Watch where you're flying with that feathered baggage of yours!" snapped an Earth Pony stallion with an Earth Pony mare towards a male Pegasus as he passed by.
"Hey, pal! You want to try flying to get out of my way, be my guest!" the Pegasus spat back.
"Ooh, the nerve of that flying death-trap! These Pegasi are becoming nothing more than nuisances and hazards!" snarled the mare in disgust.
"Even our filly proteges stopped attending our sessions after they were brainwashed or coaxed into believing the garbage that she-demon spat out," Discord added, showing his and Fluttershy at the latter's sanctuary called the Furry Friends Sanctuary seeing that they lost their proteges to Opaline's lies.
"Are you sure there's nothing we can say to make your parents change your mind?" Fluttershy begged a sad Earth Pony filly.
"I'm sorry, Teacher. But, my parents said there's nothing for me to learn from a lowly Pegasus who can't levitate an apple."
And, with that, the Earth Pony filly sadly walked away, the harsh words of her own parents ringing in her ears and feeling dismayed that she was forced to part ways with her teacher. Fluttershy was distraught by what the parents had cruelly told her student behind her back and that they forced her to no longer attend her and Discord's lessons based on their own fears but she had to stay strong and hope that things would change for the better for her and the filly. Discord, on the other hand, was distraught as he began to wail mournfully, letting out all of his tears as Fluttershy did her best to comfort him just as he did with her since her run-in with Opaline.
"It was harsh and it was very upsetting when she told us but I had to stay strong for Fluttershy," Discord lied, failing not to sniff as his sorrow and despair can be heard in his voice, making everyone feel sorry for him and Fluttershy in the illusion.
"It's okay, Discord, I'm sure she didn't mean what her parents said. Even she was sad about no longer being allowed to attend our lessons," Fluttershy comforted the broken Dragonequus as he continued to sob loudly and she went on hugging and rubbing him gently. "Her parents, they're scared and their fears are making them difficult to comprehend and think irrationally, that's all..."
Unfortunately, contrary to Fluttershy's hopes, things went from bad to worse; the scene changed to find her, Discord, and a couple of ponies in a panic and screaming fearfully, trying to outrun or out-fly a dark thunder cloud that was attacking Equestria. All the while, Opaline watched from the shadows with a menacing sneer as she smirked darkly from her lies being bought by the ponies and her plan for a "Perfect Equestria" in her mind playing out as she intended.
"But, nay... Opaline was cunning and she responded with an attack on us all beyond our imagining, doing horrible things, unforgivable things much too painful to describe," Discord shuddered fearfully.
While she was causing chaos and civil war of unimaginable proportions and started plunging all of Equestria into ruin through her preaches and lies, she then made her next move. Opaline attacked Equestria's Ancient Fire Dragons in the Dragon Lands as she ambushed them without warning and started draining them of their firepower and their lives, gaining more and more power from them as they futilely tried to fight back but to no avail. Even Ember, the last Dragon Lord, didn't stand a chance against her as she was the last one to die which left the fate of the Last Dragon, Spike, unknown as he wasn't with her when the Ancient Dragons were attacked.
After killing off the Ancient Dragons, the power she had stolen from them had given her a pair of retractable feathered wings that had a violet-to-magenta color gradient that reached her wingtips and her teeth had now grown fangs. Even her metallic hoof cuffs she was wearing turned a vivid matte shade of cyan. Opaline took a look at herself and she cackled with murderous delight from the power she obtained as she moved on to the next phase of her plan, one that even the ponies themselves didn't realize until it was too late when she made herself known and addressed to everyone what she wanted to do.
"Yes...The power, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I LOVE IT! Soon, Princess Twilight Sparkle, your precious Equestria will soon be mine and I will be the only pony in existence to have magic!" she cackled madly, much to the growing horror and shock of the audience of ponies that had foolishly bought into her lies and saw her as she is now.
"Ponies of Equestria, the time has come for me to take my rightful place as the new ruler of Equestria! I've taken out the Ancient Fire Dragons as they planned to stage a revolt against us and I've killed him for all of you so in hindsight, I've done you all a favor! If you want to live peacefully and without fear, I suggest you follow me and you'll all live happy lives forever!"
"You vicious witch! You killed all those dragons including Dragon Lord Ember, what did they ever do to you and us in recent years?!" snapped a Pegasus stallion in shock and renewed spite aimed at the power-hungry and mutated unicorn, causing Opaline to look on in shock and glare back at the glowering Pegasus.
"They've been living side by side with us peacefully for many years thanks to Princess Twilight and Spike and they would never betray us given the trust and the peace treaty they've agreed upon!" agreed a unicorn mare. "Spike has been friends with Dragon Lord Ember, for crying out loud! How could you do this to them and us?!"
"So, it was you behind all of those lies and fears you've burrowed into our minds with! We should've known you would be responsible for all of this! All of those fights, all of those unwarranted fears, all of our grudges, I can't believe it took us this long to realize that the real culprit is you!" an Earth Pony stallion shrieked in shocked realization. "You've killed all those dragons without remorse for your own actions, did you really do all of that just for your own selfish greed?"
"Huh, yes, I did," Opaline scoffed indifferently.
"Now, listen, the princess has made things in Equestria way too peaceful for my own liking. I hate the thought of having to live with several lesser creatures and ponies such as those sea squirts, bird brains, pea-brained stompers, brainless insects, and taloned demons from the other kingdoms along with the likes of hoof-headed knockers and fly bits such as you Earth Ponies and Pegasi and those miserable magic-wasting louts for unicorns as a pony capable of so much more while on a leash of harmony. And, I intend to make sure that as the new ruler of Equestria, I'll be the only one with magic the way the Alicorns were meant to!"
"You monster, you'd even kill your own ponies to make your 'Perfect Equestria'?! Well, I'll fix you here and now!" snapped the Earth Pony stallion as he prepared to charge.
"HOLD IT!" Opaline bellowed, stopping the Earth Pony stallion in his tracks as she glared harder and gnashed her teeth in fury at his defiance. "Just you and everypony else get out of my way, peasant! I want my 'Perfect Equestria' and all of your magic, ha-ha, AND NOPONY IS GOING TO STOP ME!"
She prepared to leave to continue her plan but the Earth Pony stallion, now foolish and guilty for believing Opaline's rubbish that spread like wildfire that led to the extinction of Equestria's Fire Dragons and Dragon Lord Ember, wasn't going to take her actions and her smug arrogance lying down. Without any regard for his safety and wanting to repent for his sins, he charged at her again and tried to attack her. But, no matter how hard he bucked, no matter which direction he turned to attack, no matter what he did to get the drop on her, Opaline just smirked as she dodged every last one of his blows before she knocked him back with a hard right hoof hook.
The stallion wasn't done yet as he snarled at her and tried to go at her again; however, Opaline was growing tired of his resistance and decided to put an end to his futile efforts and show everyone what happens when they cross her. While he was carrying out his rage-filled assault on her, she glared at him and struck her right wingtip at him as she hit the middle of his chest where his heart was, the poor stallion letting out a cry of pained agony as he was hit hard and causing a particular Earth Pony mare and a familiar Earth Pony filly to scream in terror.
"DADDYYYYYYYYYYY!" shrieked the horrified Earth Pony filly (akin to Alyssa Callaway's scream in the film, "It Takes Two") as she and the mare tried to reach their deceased husband/father, only to suffer the same fate as Opaline cruelly killed them off the same way he did the stallion which drew the attention and horror of Fluttershy and Discord (the pair being amongst the horrified and shocked spectators in the audience during Opaline's stunt).
"TWISTIE/NO!" the pair screamed, both terrified as the filly in question (who was supposedly one of Fluttershy's students), Twistie, and her parents (the same parents who once forced her to stop attending Fluttershy's lessons) died from Opaline's attack on them.
The rest of the ponies were also greatly horrified by what had just happened as Opaline leveled her glare at them and they shirked back, terror brewing within them as the power-crazed and mutated unicorn slowly made her way to them. None of them knew what to say or do let alone stop her and her rampage in fear of losing their own lives despite now realizing that everything that led to this point was all done by her in her crazed pursuit for what she saw as a "Perfect Equestria". Fluttershy and Discord, despite their own fears, suddenly found themselves becoming outraged and incensed over Opaline's crimes with Twistie and her family's deaths being the breaking point for them. But, they held themselves back, knowing fully well that they can't do anything as long as she was in their sights and they were in hers.
"Hmph, this peasant and his family cheated me when he tried to hurt me and he would've destroyed my chances to rebuild Equestria with your magic so they had to die!" she spat indifferently.
This was the final straw for Discord and Fluttershy as they made their way to the front of the audience, their fears were now gone and their hate for Opaline as well as the need to save everyone under threat was growing. Nothing else mattered anymore, what mattered to them now is everyone's safety as well as their need to avenge Twistie and her parents (even if they were the ones responsible for forcing Twist to end her lessons with them in the first place).
"Opaline! Though you do have big dreams for Equestria, what you did with your plots and killing off Twistie and her parents is against everything my friends and I fought for! We have to take you to Twilight for punishment!" Fluttershy snapped furiously.
"She's right, you devil! You've gone too far this time and we'll see that justice is done for everyone, especially poor Twistie and her parents, whom you've just murdered in cold blood all for your 'Perfect Equestria'!" Discord agreed, snarling dangerously at Opaline.
Opaline just cackled (once again striking fear into the audience behind the three of them) before she eyed Discord and Fluttershy again and glared defiantly as she scoffed and bared her fangs with a smirk, "Try it!"
Discord and Fluttershy seethed with fury, unfazed by her mockery and unintimidated by her power; they knew Opaline was trying to bait them into fighting but they didn't want to drag the other ponies into the mess they've gotten themselves into and they didn't know what to do as they glared back at the mad unicorn. Just when it seemed like all hope was lost and things would ultimately go down the path of no return, salvation came in the form of two Patronus Charms roaring and charging at Opaline, the mad unicorn unable to react in time as she was bashed and slashed away before she landed on the ground hard, a short distance away from Discord and Fluttershy.
The mad unicorn groaned and growled as she tried to spot her attackers, only to find Delilah and Doug from Sarah's home world (both of them in their Alicorn forms), glaring defiantly at her with the Sun Sword and Moon Shield at hand in front of the aforementioned pair. But, they weren't alone in that sense as whatever allies they had along with Twilight, her friends, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence (all of whom had been fighting Opaline since she carried out the most extreme stages of her plans) appeared, all of them glaring angrily at her in turn.
Opaline gasped in shock before she turned to Twilight and seethed, "Twilight Sparkle!"
"Opaline," Twilight spat back simply and calmly, maintaining her glare at the mad unicorn.
Opaline seethed again before she snorted, "I should've known you'd follow me here, you stubborn little princess!"
"And yet, here you are, a unicorn committing First Degree Murder to three ponies and an entire dragon race, all for your own selfish gains," Delilah scoffed back, angered and disgusted by Opaline's crimes. "Your crimes have warranted our coming here since you've been on the run from all of us when we heard of your plans and discovered what you wanted to do with all of that magic you stole from the Ancient Dragons."
"Opaline the Fire Unicorn, you're under arrest for conspiracy, disruption of the peace, stealing magic you have no control over, and First Degree Murder," Doug added, equally disgusted and outraged over Opaline's actions. "Even now, with what you have done to our friends and their home with your plots, death is just too good for you! We'll give you one chance, leave Equestria and never return!"
"You will not take Equestria from me!" roared Opaline in defiance.
"Your lies, your deceit, your anger, your lack of compassion and friendship, and your lust for power have already done that," Celestia shot back, the former sun princess glaring at the mad unicorn as the latter paced from side to side, eying her foes dangerously. "You've allowed the darkness in your heart to twist your mind until eventually, you've become the very thing we've all sworn to destroy."
"Don't lecture me, Celestia! I've seen through the lies Princess Twilight and her 'friends' preached, I don't feel content with letting friendship ruin me just it has with you all," Opaline sniffed pompously as she turned her back to her enemies. "I am on the road to bringing peace, freedom, justice, security, happiness, and prosperity to my new Perfect Equestria!"
"Your 'Perfect Equestria'? Are you still going on about that?" quizzed Cadence, Twilight's sister-in-law and co-ruler of the Crystal Empire, in disbelief.
"Don't you dare, Princess Cadence..."
"Opaline, you fool, don't you understand? Our allegiance is to Twilight's empire, to friendship and democracy!" Luna barked incredulously.
That was the last straw for Opaline as it was clear to her that she was never going to get her way as long as her enemies stopped her at every turn, leaving her to growl in turn, "If you're not with me, they're you're my enemies..."
The heroes were all forced to realize that Opaline is too far gone to listen to reason and that there was no hope for her to redeem herself as she truly has lost herself to her own schemes and dreams for unlimited power. Twilight sighed heavily before she said, with a hardened glare, "Only a monster such as you deals in absolutes, no matter how great or small they are... My friends and I, we'll all do what we must."
"As will we," Doug agreed, he and Delilah getting into position to fight the mad unicorn as well.
"You will try," replied Opaline smugly before she attacked with a fire blast shot direct at the heroes as she turned back to them, only for Doug to hold out his Sun Sword, absorb the blast, and redirect it back to Opaline who was forced to knock it back in shock and bewilderment.
Thus began the Duel of the Three Ponies with Opaline in her power-crazed and mutated state against Doug and Delilah with only their own magic and weapons at hand to protect them. The fight raged on as everyone else watched, Twilight, her friends, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Discord standing back to safeguard the audience so they wouldn't get caught in the crossfire by accident. At first, the three ponies appeared to match each other in terms of magical strength and combat as they all fought tooth and nail but despite having garnered so much power from the deceased Fire Dragons, Opaline slowly found herself wearing down as Doug and Delilah started to gain the upper hand on her.
Finally, at one point, she let her guard down as exhaustion and the full extent of using her stolen power at full capacity started to kick in, leaving Doug to slash her with the Sun Sword one last time and knock her down to the ground as he and Delilah pinned her.
Opaline groaned as she did her best to glare at Doug and Delilah but she noticed something was off as she was held at blade point by Doug and Delilah still had her Moon Shield (in Crossbow Mode and with an arrow at the ready) pointed at her but they didn't fire or made the final blow to finish her off as she intended.
"Why...? Why didn't you finish me off, you cowards?" she grumbled pitifully through her pained groans.
"If we did run you through, we'd be no better than you. We've beaten you and it's all over," Doug scoffed in response.
"Since death is too good for you given what you've done, we'll spare your life and leave you to a fate worse than death," Delilah agreed, sharing her husband's sentiments. "Don't you see, Opaline? We didn't do it for you, we did it for everyone you've toyed with and killed!"
"But, how...? Why, I had it all, how...? How could this happen? I had all the magic in the world from those lizards after I killed them off, I was unstoppable, I wanted my own world and I've never regretted my choice. How, how could you do this to me?" Opaline grunted, now starting to sob but not wanting to back down from her ambitions.
Doug shook his head "Don't you understand, Opaline? Magic is a powerful thing but if there's one thing anybody like you should know, it's that it can't be used for personal gain nor can it be used to hurt others weaker than yourself. It can only be used to heal, to protect, to defend, to look after those who needed it the most when they're at their lowest and they feel they're not worthy of such a gift that many of us have... You wanted Equestria for yourself because you felt cheated when Twilight ascended to the throne after everything she's been through with all her friends and you sought to turn everybody against each other just so you can get what you want. For that reason and more, we've decided that you're too dangerous to remain in Equestria so on that note, it's time for you to say goodbye, forever..."
Bringing their heirlooms together, Doug and Delilah combined their powers and blasted the beaten and now-unconscious Opaline out of Equestria and into the horizon, hopefully, to never be seen again (but not before Twilight took back the magic she stole from the dragons).
With Opaline gone and her terror at an end, the pair made their way back to their friends to begin the recovery operations and to help the traumatized ponies recoup themselves from the entire ordeal that led them to such a critical point and arrange a funeral and burial service for Twistie and her parents as well as a memorial for the deceased Ancient Dragons and Ember. But, Doug and Delilah knew that it won't be long before Opaline would recover and figure out a way to get her revenge one way or another and they knew they and everyone else had to be ready.
"After she was kicked out following the duel, we all agreed that Opaline was down but not out and it will be a matter of time before she would return to get her revenge," Discord continued sadly. "We paid our respects to Twistie and her parents as well as Dragon Lord Ember and the dragons, the poor souls, and started to work out what can be done to ensure that what Opaline had done will never happen again."
The scene changed to when, during the recovery operations, Discord, Twilight, her friends, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Doug, and Delilah (after paying their respects to the deceased Ancient Dragons and Twistie and her parents) tried to brainstorm ideas on how to prepare for Opaline's return should she come back for revenge and how to heal the wounds that Equestria as a whole had suffered from. At one point, Discord came up with an idea that would at least give them a headstart in the process even if it was not much for them to make do with: create Pokemon and the new Equestria Dragons (the new descendants of the late Ancient Dragons) to help rekindle the lost Magic of Friendship in the ponies, their numbers growing as the months went by.
"The next three months were relatively peaceful even though we were all still shaken by Opaline's crimes. Even the hippogriffs, the seaponies, the yaks, the griffins, and the Changelings were also rattled by the extinction of the dragons by one of Equestria's own ponies and even they agreed to join forces with us once again to stop this tragedy from happening twice. We were right to be worried and be prepared for the worst because three months later, after her plans failed the first time and seeing Doug and Delilah match her in magical strength, Opaline did make good on her promise to return and get revenge. Only this time, she brought in some help in the form of the late Scarlet Nightmare, the Nightmare Alicorn, and her Shadow Spawn of Pokemon and dragons to help her tear everyone apart and create the 'Perfect Equestria' she lost."
The scene changed once again but now it showed the war between the heroes and Opaline and her minions as the mad unicorn did return and unleashed her wrath on her former homeland. The heroes fought valiantly against them with everything they had with the assistance of the new Water Dragons and the Pokemon but despite their efforts, it wasn't enough as many of them were destroyed by Scarlet or Opaline or turned into stone by the latter's Shadow Spawn. It was a losing battle for them as the Mighty Ones along with Zipp and Pipp's Helioseon, Thundereon, Freezeon, and Seleneon along with Discord, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Twilight and her friends (the princesses and original Elements of Harmony in their final moments as they were mortally wounded but still standing) were left.
Even Doug and Delilah were bunched up with them as they were all surrounded and left on their last legs, seeing how much Opaline had improved on her dark magic during her short time of exile. Things seemed hopeless until the Mighty Ones were forced to make a last-ditch effort to save all of Equestria and their friends with one last Hail Mary: the Unity Crystals.
Ryu, Drake, Sefu, and Tamu managed to create the Earth Pony Hope, the Wings of Loyalty, and the Unicorn's Eye and charge them up with their own magic but to ensure that Opaline will never harm the ponies or anybody else ever again, Twilight, Doug, and Delilah were forced to gather all of their magical strength as well and implant all of Equestria's magic into them. The process was time-consuming as this allowed Scarlet Nightmare to attack them but in an effort to give the trio and the Mighty Ones along with Zipp and Pipp's Partner Pokemon and Discord (who was doing everything he can to stop Opaline by himself) more time, Celestia, Cadence, Luna, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy were forced to sacrifice themselves as Scarlet killed them off and their pained screams echoed around.
Fluttershy's agonizing scream, as she was destroyed, caused Discord to look back and saw his first friend and the one pony he loved die by Scarlet's hooves as he let out a horrified, "NOOOOOOO!"
Twilight, seeing how futile and helpless she's being with her closest friends being picked off and Discord when Fluttershy's death caused him to lose focus and get rag-dolled by Opaline, was forced to leave the rest of him, the Mighty Ones, their Pokemon, and Doug and Delilah as she also gave her life to save everyone.
"TWILIGHT!"
"Princess!"
"Princess, no!"
"Princess Twilight!" Discord, Sefu, Drake, and Doug screamed in alarm, seeing Scarlet run Twilight through with a shadow whip as she made the ultimate sacrifice.
However, Twilight just groaned and looked toward her remaining friends and gave a hopeful smile and a final chuckle before she fell limp and died, leaving the aforementioned four, the Pokemon, Delilah, Tamu, and Ryu as the only ones left standing.
"Despite our best efforts, we were no match for them. Not even my magic can do much against them, Scarlet Nightmare especially as she took their souls and grew stronger as she consumed them."
Anguished by the loss of all his friends and now, with nothing left for him to fight and live for, Discord suddenly snapped; he charged at Scarlet Nightmare and unleashed the full extent of his Chaos Magic to do everything he can to avenge Fluttershy and his lost friends and to give his remaining friends more time to finish things off, trying to defend Equestria's last hope as best he could. All the while, the smug and seemingly victorious Opaline looked on as she reveled in being so close to victory and finally getting her revenge on all those that humiliated her and sent her into exile.
Sadly, because she had taken the souls of his friends after he killed them, Scarlet became much more powerful and she was proving to be more than a match for him as she pummeled him with her charged-up Shadow Alicorn Magic. She mortally wounded the Lord of Chaos and once she was done with him, the Shadow Alicorn banished him into the horizon, to a place where not even the remaining Pokemon, Dragons, and ponies in Equestria know anything about can find him.
But, Opaline and Scarlet Nightmare's impending victory and the work they did to achieve it was eventually all for naught; the Mighty Ones, Doug, and Delilah had managed to complete their task thanks to Discord's sacrifice and Ryu decided to entrust the crystals to Doug and Delilah as they also gave themselves up to Scarlet and Opaline's Shadow Spawn, turning to stone in the process. Now, with the fate of Equestria and everyone else living in the world they're in resting on their hooves, Doug and Delilah manage to tap into their combined power and used their magic to seal away Scarlet Nightmare and kick Opaline out of Equestria, but this time, permanently.
"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" Opaline screamed as she was blasted with the full power of the Unity Crystals and sent flying out of Equestria and Scarlet Nightmare was sealed off while her Shadow Spawn were all destroyed. "YOU HAVEN'T THE LAST OF MEEEEEEEEE!"
The battle was over and in the end, justice favored Equestria to live for another day. But, as Doug and Delilah know, their victory in a war of such magnitude including the one they had against Opaline and Scarlet Nightmare came at a hefty cost; their most-trusted allies and best friends were all lost, Equestria was now ravaged and the battlefield they're on was now bare no thanks to Opaline and her Shadow Spawn's merciless assault, and worst of all, Discord was nowhere to be found. The worst part was when they saw the Mighty Ones and their Pokemon partners turned to stone for who-knows-how-long and there was nothing they could do to bring them back.
There was no time for them to further grieve after they paid their respects to their fallen friends and teleported them to the old Zephyr Heights airway station, hoping that they would be safe until the day would come when Equestria can be restored once more. It was hard for the duo to part ways with their petrified friends but they knew they still had work to do before they would return home.
One of the things they did was to find Spike (who was ordered to stay in the Castle of Friendship for his own safety prior) and tell him about the loss of Twilight and all of his close friends. When they did find him at the Castle of Friendship, they told him about Scarlet and Opaline killing them off and how they made the ultimate sacrifice as well as the extinction of the Fire Dragons including Ember. Spike was crushed and he sobbed heavily as they held him, his emotions being allowed to run loose as he grieved for the loss of his mother figure, his pony family, and his entire species; he truly is the Last Dragon.
The remaining Yaks, Changelings, Seaponies, Hippogriffs, and Griffins that survived were just as devastated when they were told. But, after some reassuring, they and Spike were told to seek refuge with the Kirins at the Peaks of Peril and keep the Magic of Friendship alive through them, to which they all agreed.
Finally, the pair made their way to the Crystal Empire, where Cadence's husband and daughter, Prince Shining Armor and Princess Flurry Heart, and their subjects, the Crystal Ponies, were waiting for them. They wanted news as to Cadence's ultimate fate after she left them to fight in the war for their own safety but when they were told that Cadence died for Equestria and them, they were greatly heartbroken by the loss of their reigning princess. Shining Armor and Flurry Heart were hit the hardest as they knew they had lost their wife/mother to Opaline, her Shadow Spawn, and Scarlet Nightmare and that they'll never see her nor Twilight and her friends along with Discord, Celestia, and Luna ever again.
They were even told that Spike had to leave with the Changeling, Yak, Hippogriff, Seapony, and Griffin survivors to live in the Peaks of Peril with the Kirin, and while they and the Crystal Ponies were indeed crushed that they didn't have a chance to say goodbye to him, they knew that he had to leave so that he can survive. One thing that did help to soften the blow was that before he left, Spike asked Doug and Delilah to tell them, on his behalf, that he'll always think of them and the Crystal Empire along with Cadence and Twilight and that he still loves them no matter what.
The loss of their hero and Princess Cadence was more than enough for the Crystal Ponies to lose hope for their future as their drained spirit and the loss of the happiness, love, light, and joy they once had caused the lifeblood of their kingdom, the Crystal Heart, to slowly lose its power.
Seeing as there was nothing left for the residents of the Crystal Empire to live for as well, Doug and Delilah told Shining Armor that they would be forced to use their heirlooms and their magic to put them and the entire empire in an eternal slumber for their own safety and take the Crystal Heart with them to safeguard it themselves (along with the spirits of Twilight and their lost friends they retrieved).
The former captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard/Crystal Prince was initially hesitant about the plan but since Cadence and Twilight are gone and there was really nothing else for him, Flurry, and the Crystal Ponies to live for or do, he eventually gave in and agreed (on the condition that they would somehow be brought back should peace finally be affirmed in the near future). And so, saying goodbye to Equestria's last royals and the Crystal Ponies, Sarah's birth parents carried out their final duty and placed them and the entire empire in an eternal slumber through their magic and their heirlooms, keeping their promise to reawaken them in a new and much more peaceful era.
With the Crystal Heart at hand and Twilight and her friends' spirits and those of Cadence, Luna, and Celestia placed in it, Doug and Delilah left the Frozen North and Equestria for the last time, hoping that the troubled and war-torn land would eventually be restored and the Magic of Friendship will soon make its way back in a new era of peace and hope. But, not before they would make some last-minute preparations to ensure that Equestria would be safeguarded from any outside threats and a possible second return by Opaline should she rear her head again.
Discord sighed mournfully as he reached the end of his flashback illusion and explained the rest, "Before leaving, the pair conjured a powerful invisibubble enchantment that blanketed the entire continent with the Unity Crystals so that the land would be protected from Opaline's impending return in the near future along with any outside threats that would do the Kingdom of Ponies harm now that it's destroyed. After that, they disappeared and Equestria began to suffer a serious decline."
The scene changed one last time as if to answer the lingering quest in everyone's minds as Discord continued, "As for me, I had been blasted far away from my home and I would've died had it not been for a particular somebody who's really my counterpart."
The scene showed the mortally-wounded Discord on his last legs on a faraway land that's nothing like Equestria, being so close to death's door as he couldn't find the strength needed to go for help. In his current state, he saw no point in living anymore; his fatherland was ravaged by Opaline, Fluttershy and the rest of his friends were all dead thanks to Scarlet Nightmare, he had nowhere else left to go, and he lost the drive to live now that his first-ever friend and love was gone forever.
But, just when it seemed like his story would finally be over, a familiar female griffin currently out on a stroll in the land suddenly came across the broken and wounded Dragonequus and rushed over to him. The griffin revealed herself to be none other than...
"Ashia..." Sarah breathed, stunned.
"Whoa...!"
"No way!" Sunny and Izzy gasped.
"Is that-?"
"It is...!" Pipp and Zipp breathed in astonishment.
"Dragonstone Kingdom's Spirit of Order," squeaked a quiet and shocked Hitch.
Ashia checked Discord all over and was aghast when he saw his wounds and wondered what could've been responsible for hurting him so badly. But, she couldn't think about it further; the creature was on the verge of death and even though she despises chaos after seeing his jigsaw of mismatching animal body parts and getting an idea of what he is and what he does, she couldn't find it in her to leave him to die. Hoping that she made the right choice, the Spirit of Order took Discord back to Dragonstone Kingdom to get him healed up and live out the rest of his days with them, hoping to repay them for their kindness and compassion while holding out hope for Equestria.
"I owed Little Ashia my life; but, after everything that's happened and losing Fluttershy, I knew that I could never again return to Equestria. All I could do was hope that the Magic of Friendship can bring Ponykind, the Pokemon, and the dragons back together and finish off Opaline. The rest, as they say, is history..."
[Flashback End (End Discord POV)]
By the time Discord's flashback illusion had ended and he had finished his story, everyone was left in total shock, awe, and horror as they didn't know what to say concerning the final fate of Equestria and where it ended up now with Sunny, Hitch, Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp's adventures after Opaline destroyed the Equestria that the Dragonequus once knew. The Mane Five were shocked and humbled from seeing the tragic end to the old Equestria and the ponies responsible for the Magic of Friendship brought about by a single unicorn that went mad with power and wanted nothing but to create a "Perfect Equestria" where only she would have magic power akin to that of the Alicorns and everyone else was the dirt under her hooves.
The raw emotion from Discord's heartbreaking story that ended his tale and adventures with the loss of Fluttershy and all his friends was mutual as everyone started to cry or did their best to hold back their emotions but not by much. The sorrow they felt for the broken Dragonequus and what became of his old home was plain for all to see as he finally appeared and made himself known; he had indeed grown old since he was forcibly exiled from Equestria by Scarlet as his mane, beard, and tail fluff are all a pale snowy shade of white, his wings were badly tattered, his ears looked a little torn up, and his left horn was broken as the top part (that hung by a thread since he was found) had broken off over time.
Nobody knew what to say that could help him and heal the wounds that had been left in his heart but unable to stand back and watch him continue to suffer, Wooloo, the younger Pokemon, and the baby Pokemon toddled up to him to offer their sympathy and comfort as best they could. It was all Discord needed as he cuddled them close to him as best he could and quietly sobbed, doing his best to let his emotions out over the loss of his home and his friends including his one and only pony love.
"So, that's it," sighed a heartbroken Shadow as he and Winter nuzzled each other for comfort, tears of sorrow flowing down their eyes.
"Who'd thought that the Princess of Friendship, her friends, and all of the creatures with them would've been betrayed and killed off by one of their own?" remarked Dawn (Deathgripper) in terrified disbelief as he held his head with one of his paws.
"And, all for what she wanted out of a stupid and selfish pipedream which as a 'Perfect Equestria' in her eyes," Twilight agreed, unsure of what else to think from the horrors she and her family saw.
"...Oh, Dusky," cried Misa, burying her face in Dusk's chest fur as she tried to block out the horrors she witnessed but failed as she sobbed and he gently nuzzled her for comfort.
"I guess this gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, 'Heroes do not shed tears easily'," Luna commented solemnly.
"So, the destruction of Equestria wasn't by accident or from a random mishap," Amber breathed.
"It was that witch, Opaline, and her stupid dreams of power and magic all to herself and leaving her fellow ponies and the other creatures living alongside them in Equestria and its neighboring kingdoms in the dust," scowled Nyasi, hating Opaline more than he already had.
"And, she might've gotten away with her crimes if it wasn't for Discord, his friends, Doug, and Delilah along with the Mighty Ones when they did battle with her both times," Reignstorm noted, seeing how deadly serious things would've been if Opaline had done the impossible and got her way after all.
"...I, I never knew how badly Twilight and everycreature else back then went through because of her," Sunny finally spoke up.
"We all didn't," Hitch sighed, realizing how bad things had truly been which led to the events of A New Generation. "Sorry Sprout and I ever doubted you about the old legends and what became of all of us and Ponykind back then, Sunny."
"Apology accepted," Sunny smiled sadly.
"Oh, Sunny, guys... W-We're so sorry," Astrid replied sadly, she and the other Vikings and their dragon companions feeling sorry for Sunny and her friends over what they've learned about the downfall of Equestria.
"I-It's okay," Pipp squeaked as she and Zipp came together for sisterly comfort.
"At least we now know, what happened to Equestria back then," Zipp agreed with a sad smile as they continued to embrace each other.
"I guess we all learned something about the dark side of magic; it can easily kill and let you go astray if you let the prospect of having such power take hold of you," Hiccup sighed sorrowfully, he and the others now wishing they didn't need to learn of Equestria's tragic end.
"That's worse than anything that our old foes such as the Brain, Trigon, Slade, and even Commander Daizo had done with their schemes," Robin admitted.
"My father was a monster but Opaline surpassed him on that with everything she did to Equestria and Discord's friends and the rest of Equestria," Raven frowned solemnly.
"Sounds to me like Opaline failed to keep herself in check when she started flouting her ideas of being superior to other pony races and the other creatures as a unicorn and she paid the price when she killed off those dragons, that filly and her parents, and everyone else that fought against her when she declared war on Equestria after returning," Cyborg noted grimly.
"So, that spell that was left in Princess Twilight's message before; Princess, if I may say something about that," Virizion requested to Sarah before she gave his thoughts on the matter. "The broken spell that she mentioned before she got cut off, it must be the invisibubble enchantment that your parents placed around the region."
"Virizion! You don't think-?" gasped Sarah before the Grassland Pokemon nodded grimly and with worry.
"That must be why Twilight told anybody in her homeworld that found her message that Ponykind would be exposed to the world once again."
"I never knew that anybody else would know about Equestria after so long," Izzy said in stunned disbelief before she turned to the Six Spirits. "Did you party animals know about Equestria already?"
Sol nodded with a heavy sigh as he told her, "*Our parental figures did create us to be more in tune with the balance of nature compared to most creatures, don't you forget. But, as the years went by and centuries flew past, our magic allowed us to eventually sense abnormal disturbances in other worlds. Equestria was no exception when we felt a powerful flux of energy that came from the old kingdom of your ancestors and the great tragedy that befell it.*"
"We arrived too late to do anything to save you all but we did manage to preserve what was left. The ancient wildlife left in Equestria was salvaged and I took them through a large cavern system that I've created below the Castle of Friendship, safely hidden away somewhere within the old site of Ponyville where Maretime Bay now stands," Rajhu added.
"The magical artifacts that survived the war were also left intact and I took them to Dragonstone Kingdom to protect them as was the Crystal Heart. Your parents did their best to look after it ever since they brought it to your homeland but when the Ultra Beast War broke out, it was lost to them and it found its way back to Equestria where I found it and took it with me to safeguard it. I was surprised to find the souls of everyone Discord had lost in it but when he told me everything, I was relieved to see that they had been spared and are now at peace," Nuraiah finished.
Sunny and her friends were surprised when they heard Nuraiah mention the Crystal Heart as they quickly approached her and Sunny questioned, "Y-Y-You still have it?"
The female ShiShi nodded with a soft, reassuring smile as she conjured up the very same Crystal Heart she came across during her search for any surviving magical artifacts with the spirits of those closest to Discord still inside it.
"Even though Twilight and her friends as well as Doug, Delilah, the Mighty Ones, and Discord were able to beat Opaline and banish her, I have a feeling she'll be back," Hitch said, a feeling of dread brewing in his stomach.
"Guys, what are we going to do?" Sunny asked worriedly. "If Opaline does return and she has another plan to destroy Equestria and prove her dominance to everypony back him, there's going to be trouble."
"Not with you looking like a bunch of sad sacks, you're not," Ashia remarked.
"That attitude won't allow you to win against that monster if you focus on the worst that can happen should she eventually return, Little Starscout," Rajhu gently encouraged. "Try to focus on the present and try not to dwell too much on what lies ahead of you and your friends. There will come a time when you'll have to deal with that monster but always remember that you're not alone against her."
"You all have each other and together, you're stronger," Jhayli agreed.
"Sunny, don't worry. I'll come and help you all deal with Opaline and figure out a way to bring back Twilight and the others once Lothor is done for," Sarah reassured her enchanted Earth Pony friend. "But, if Twilight and everyone else that Discord lost can't be brought back, I'll gladly let them rest in peace and no more can be done about that. If they don't want to come back, I'll respect that."
"But, Sarah, you and your family are going to be in charge of two kingdoms once this is all over. How are you going to juggle watching over and protecting them while restoring another one from our world and a broken Equestria on the verge of exposure from the rest of Sunny and her friends' world?" Astrid questioned worriedly.
"Yeah, who's going to help you guys should you be crunched for time and what not?" Hiccup pondered.
"You're crazy to think you can pull all that off," remarked Zenna, perplexed.
"I know but this is the only chance we got unless we've any other ideas," Sarah replied knowingly.
"Just remember not to abuse the power of destruction and rebirth for your own selfish gains, Princess," Sol warned gravely. "Life and death is not in our control and if you meddle with the borders and powers of those two forces, who knows what will happen to you?"
"You rescued your grandparents that way but it won't work a second time even if you should try," agreed Jhayli with a shy nod.
"One hopes that no reckless actions such as your plan to revive Discord's lost friends should be attempted given that it would disturb the natural order of things and throw the balance of our world out of whack," replied Ashia knowingly but firmly. "The consequences of such actions imposed by someone such as you would be...severe."
Everyone was silent when they heard this and even Sarah didn't expect to hear of whatever potential ramifications that would come from her choice to resurrect Twilight and her friends for Discord and the Mane Five and all of Equestria. The princess didn't know what to think until...….
"...Alright, then I won't take any chances should anything that bad happen," Sarah sighed reluctantly after a moment of thinking on the matter, realizing that they're right and admitting defeat before she turned to Discord as he was clearly distraught over what could happen despite his dying wish to have Twilight and her friends and Fluttershy back in his life.
"I'm sorry, Discord, but Sol, Jhayli, and Ashia are right; the dangers that would be involved in all of us bringing back your friends after their time are just too great. I don't want us to be responsible for throwing the natural order of my world and Equestria off-balance and destroy them just for this one chance for you to have your friends back from the dead. Please understand that I don't mean any harm to you by telling them that it would be impossible at this point and that Twilight and the others wouldn't want such a thing for you given how you're still begging for them to come back."
Discord stayed silent as he tried to wrap his head around the impossible fact that bringing back his friends from the dead and the ramifications or consequences that would follow could result in the destruction of Sarah's world, Equestria, and the natural world order. He didn't want to admit it but he knew that if Fluttershy, Twilight, and the rest of his lost friends all found out that he tried to bring them back into the waking world after dying with the help of the little princess and her family to mend his broken heart, they would be greatly disappointed in him for not respecting their greatest wish for him: to be happy and live on for them in their memory and the happy times they once had with him.
Eventually, despite still holding out hope that he wanted to have everything he lost because of Opaline back, he relented and agreed with a simple nod. Sarah could see that he was still disappointed that he would never get his friends and Fluttershy back again after Sarah took Sol, Ashia, and Jhayli's advice to heart but understood that such an idea coming from her would be too risky for anybody, even her, to take given the severity of the consequences that would follow suit.
So, to make it up for him, she decided to make him an offer, "If you want, my family and I can take you in, for Fluttershy's sake...….."
Discord was surprised, seeing how far the little princess would go to cheer him up as he slowly broke from the younger and baby Pokemon's comfort and approached her before asking, "...Y-You, you'd do that, little girl?"
Sarah just nodded as she continued, "My family and I may not give you back your old life or bring back your friends given the dangers involved but we can give you something that you lost when Equestria was decimated and Opaline left her mark on the kingdom."
"...What's that?" Discord asked, feeling elated but not getting his hopes up too high.
"...A new future to call your own but without too much of your chaos, that is..."
Discord, hoping that what Sarah said to him wasn't a lie, looked deeply into her eyes through his, and through them, he saw the very same eyes that his one true love once had while Sarah held out her right hand for a handshake. Maybe, he thought, the is a chance for him to regain what he had forever lost since Opaline's attack and defeat; sure, he may not have his friends and Fluttershy back ever again but at least, he gained something more and he found a piece of his love through her. Slowly, but surely, Discord raised his right eagle's claw and took her hand before he shook it, giving her something of a small smile and a kind nod, accepting her offer and her friendship in Fluttershy's honor and memory.
"Princess, will you still be alright with ruling Dragonstone Kingdom?"
"Don't you know you and your family will be alone in holding that mantle?" Stoick and Gobber inquired, concerned.
"Do not fear, young men. Aside from you and your people, there are six other tribes thriving in the Barbaric Archipelago as of late and that includes those ghastly Dragon Hunters still roaming around," Sol informed, speaking on Sarah's behalf. "Once the Dragon Hunters are found and dealt with, we will have only your tribe and the rest as the five remaining clans left in this world, some of them already thriving side-by-side with dragons long before you lived in harmony with them despite being so small."
"Our last hope and her family will rule over much of nature and the dragons so it won't be a problem for us to aid her and keep her out of trouble, allowing her all the time she needed to focus on her family and her personal life away from the throne," Nuraiah added.
"Just make sure you hooligans reign in your pride and your stubborn streak so you don't impede her progress on restoring our kingdom and make her job twice as hard for her to deal with," Zjhiben warned.
"With fewer tribes now, each victory is essential to Dragonstone Kingdom's rebirth," Tai Lung nodded.
"Of course."
"As you wish," the two Vikings relented, their fears for Sarah absolved.
"But, what are we going to do about Team Eclipse and Zin should they strike again? They did say that we have three days from now until they would eventually attack Alola with their army and even with the setbacks they endured, they're not going to change their minds about ambushing the region," Wildfire warned.
"And, I have a feeling those dorks won't play fair, as usual, should they play us for fools with that offer," Piplup nodded, growing suspicious of their enemies.
"Let's get 'em and fight it out!" Pyre replied, eager to stop Team Eclipse and Zin.
"...Brain blast! I got it; I just got a killer hooftastic idea! Hey, Sarah, you know your uncle put out a warning that those baddies will screw with Alola in three days, right? Instead of waiting for them, why don't we take the fight to them and take them by surprise?" Izzy suddenly suggested, turning to Sarah as the princess grew baffled.
"Izzy, what are you talking about?" Nyasi quizzed in confusion.
"Okay, Discord has Chaos Magic, and Sarah now has Animus Magic, right? Plus, she has all of us with our own magic-Pegasi, Unicorn, Earth Pony-to back up on! So, why don't we storm the baddies base and leave them with no defense to back them up like those new dragon buddies of ours? Go nuts on them and leave them with no chance to counter our assault, huh?"
"Hang about, Young Izzy, there's one problem with that. If Lothor and Zin found out that we're going to ambush them, Katzenberg, Melania, Ivanka, and their armada at their base, there's going to be trouble," Calyrex warned, realizing a major hurdle in Izzy's plan. "I'm sure of it, they'll most likely have their armada waiting in the wings and ready to turn the tables on us at a moment's notice the moment barge in."
"We can fight it out as Big Brother Pyre said!" Poipole vouched, her drive to return home and figure out how to save her homeworld rekindled.
"...Against thousands of those soldiers in their armada, one human, one Pokemon, one dragon, or one pony can do nothing when his or her back is against the wall. It's useless unless we have some sort of plan to draw their attention to us alone and not the rest of the world and Alola," Virizion retorted grimly in reminder as she thought about Izzy's plan.
"But, despite that, it's not too far a stretch now that I think about it. It's common knowledge that villains of any and all sorts won't resort to playing fair if they wanted to play this game by their own rules and we don't know what else they have up their sleeves until they ambush us themselves or if they should arrive on that fated day, two days from now, should we be forced to return home and postpone our search for King Doug and Queen Delilah. I think...We'll have one group deal with the armada itself while the rest of us take on the remaining Sins and Zin alone so they don't pull any fast ones on us."
"My thoughts exactly, Virizion," nodded Cobalion in agreement.
"In fact, one party should be the ones to deal with Lothor and his remaining forces and Dr. Zin while the rest takes on and destroys their armada. Group 1 will go first and try to put off the scent, divert their attention, and have them try and get them first. While they're occupied and they fight us instead, they won't be able to assist their armada and it'll be left alone for the others to destroy and put on the scrap heap. Despite our improved morale and everything we've been through by now, they still think they can beat us and Lothor still believes he will finally get his revenge once he takes down the princess and all reminders of his suffering so if they try to take us down so they might get careless as a result."
"...So, what you're saying is that we shouldn't show our hands and hooves to those bad guys too soon and we should let everything we have now come to them as a surprise?" Hitch clarified to the pair.
Discord's eyes widened as he snapped his right eagle's claw in realization, "That's it! There's nothing that madman of an uncle wants more than to destroy his very niece that ruined his life so if that wanna-be king keeps his eyes on the prize and everything else no longer matters to him, we'll pull him away and lead him off into a trap with no hope of getting back to his, Zin, and Team Eclipse's armada to help them."
Virizion and Cobalion nodded in confirmation but Ash shook his head as he retorted, "Lothor's way too smart with all the experience he has, he'll see that coming from a mile away and he doesn't use the same tactic twice as I'm sure we all know."
"He's right, guys. Even if we could get the drop on him and the other baddies against us, we need to figure out what he doesn't know to beat him," Mallow agreed knowingly. "Surprise isn't enough; we need to have something that he has no clue about, something that can head him and the rest of Team Eclipse and Zin off so they don't regroup with their armada and give them some help."
"And, Darkrai's Dark Mega Evolution?" Lana inquired.
"I think that's meant to be a last-ditch solution against us because Lothor's getting desperate to kill us now even if he didn't show it," Kiawe pondered, scratching his chin thoughtfully as he thought back to when Darkrai first revealed his new power.
"Hey, I couldn't help but butt into your little huddle and I just realized something about that wanna-be king. Since he's bent on pummeling his 'niece' to kingdom come, perhaps you can take it as an opportunity to drive him bonkers and further drive him and his puppets away so you guys can finally settle things with them once and for all," Discord suggested, quickly getting into the conversation with an idea.
"So, what you're saying is that Sarah should take on Lothor, the remaining Sins, and Dr. Zin all by herself while the rest of us deal with the Armada when we ambush them?" Sophocles clarified, curious about Discord's plan.
Discord nodded as he conjured a boxing ring bell that rang akin to a gameshow winner's victory tune, "Ding-Ding-Ding, we have a winner!"
The others were surprised but still confused until Discord continued his explanation, "Think about it; you and your friend gained powerful allies in the form of your strange prehistoric lizards and after feeling energy radiating off of your Ms. Pretty Pants, she seems to be half-angel now with her new magic, something Grumpy has yet to learn about. It means that he can no longer touch her and what she decides to do with him and his pawns after they're beaten will be entirely up to her although we all know where she'll be going with Lothor. Meanwhile, you guys can rumble with the armada as much as you want, dig?"
"Stop the presses, Operation O-Face!" Teen Race objected, giving a warning glare to the spirit of chaos as he joined Sarah's side. "If you think I'm leaving Island Girl to tango with her bastard uncle and his dorks along with the Mad Doctor mono-e-mono, you got another thing coming."
"Count us in!"
"We're going with her!" Falcon and Ella chirped firmly.
"It's not even a question," agreed Kit, giving a determined look on his face as the rest of Teen Race's team nodded.
"Perhaps you didn't learn the first time given what we've seen from the show featuring you and your friends, Discord, but you should remember, 'There's no I in Team and Teamwork'," Thunder retorted in agreement to the Dragonequus.
"Okay, okay, it was just an idea but whatever floats your goat," Discord relented, moving on to the rest of his plan. "And, what's more, the Six Spirits told me, and as I'm sure you all know now, that they can only be seen by those who are pure of heart and they're invisible to those who've given themselves to darkness."
"Which explains why they were able to sneak into their base undetected and not only steal all that equipment but also save all those Pokemon, dragons, and dinosaurs," Lily recollected.
"I get it; Sarah and Race are going to offer themselves as bait this time to lure Team Eclipse and Dr. Zin away into a trap. Then, while they're distracted, the rest of us will sneak into their base of operations with the Six Spirits and destroy the Storm Bird Zord and their armada before they have a chance to deploy them and leave for Alola," Hitch recounted, starting to see the logic behind such a whacked-out plan.
"I don't like it on one hoof but it's the best chance we got if we're to put an end to these guys and Lothor as well as this Dr. Zin creep," Pipp replied, agreeing to the idea.
"We will need her help at some point back in Equestria after these bad guys are cleared," Sunny noted.
"And, I don't plan on having my wings trimmed and dying before we live out our lives," said Zipp, concurring with Sunny.
"And, what about those nefarious tricks, these fast ones, as you said, should Lothor have up his sleeve against our baby?" David questioned, concerned about the high level of risk involved in Sarah and Teen Race's part of the plan.
"We got it all worked out; we taught your granddaughter a few things to prepare her for his dirty fighting," Teen Titan Raven reassured with Wolf Raven giving an agreeing nod.
"And, another thing, I took the liberty to call in some backup to help us with the plan," Robin informed, bringing out his communicator. "They'll be with us at their base once we tell them everything that's going on if they're not busy at the moment."
"And, we'll do the same with Lillie and the others at Pine Ridge," Ash nodded, activating his Wrist Com to ring the Vulpix Ranger and their allies in time beforehand.
"Alright, people, it's crunch time! This is gonna be a doozy so no matter what, we've got to stick together through thick and thin," Zipp smiled, clicking her hooves together and giving a determined smirk.
"This is gonna be fun." "Yeah! Let's get this party started!" Izzy buzzed, eager to start.
"Then, I suggest we make the best of whatever time we have left to be ready for what was to come," Ryu suggested.
"Capital idea, it's best if we prepare for the worst should our plan fold and we'll be forced to improvise along the way," Sol nodded in agreement. "It's still early dusk so we'll have to start early tomorrow."
"Yeah, baby! Let's get it on!"
"Party Time!" Kovu and Simba smirked as they poorly tried to tussle with Kommo-o before he forced them back.
"That's not right, you fools. Start over again," the Scales Pokemon admonished, unimpressed.
"Oh, yeah, that a challenge?" Kovu snorted indignantly.
"Tell you what, Scales, in three months, we'll finally pound you," added an equally indignant Simba, only to get an amused scoff from Kommo-o as he turned away with a smirk, irking the two male Pyroar. "You-!"
Everyone chuckled in amusement before Dusk, Luna, Dawn (Midday Lycanroc), and Misa kickstarted their training, prompting everyone else to give them some room to work with while the quartet drew Simba and Kovu's attention.
"Hey, they ain't half bad."
"Yeah, we should try that," they remarked, impressed.
"Boys," Totem Luxray warned, giving a warning glare towards the two male Pyroar. Kovu and Simba flinched from their old leader's fatherly glare before they recomposed themselves and prepared to train as well with the latter declaring, "Alright, we'll practice our style, come on!"
With all that said, as the two Pyroar decided to duke it out with Kommo-o again, everyone started to train and take what time they had left in between sessions to connect and know one another on a more personal level while pointing out some tippets here and there on how to be ready for Team Eclipse and Dr. Zin and their armada the following day.
To the background music of The Lion Guard's "On The Last Night", a training montage began with Marena first taking the Vikings, the Quest Team, the Cat Pack, David, Donna (former queen), Nikki, James, and Tsukumaro to the side so she can give them a crash course on dragon riding with help from a group of dragons that resided with the Seven Queens, the Six Spirits, and their subjects at Dragonstone Kingdom called the Elder Western Dragons (adult dragons that lived up to 500-1000 years at a time and never stop growing, reaching a length of approximately 249-500 ft. long, stood four meters high by their back paws, and had a wingspan at about 453-800 ft. in length). They were even joined by the Mane Five, the Mighty Ones, and their Partner Pokemon to offer moral support and to give them some tippets of their own in the process.
- With Nikki, she became close friends with a female dragon nicknamed the Red Queen by the Elder Western Dragons (officially named Meleys and easily denoted by her red scales)
- James developed a strong bond with Dreamfyre, a slender female dragon that had a pale blue coloration, silver crests, pale blue wings, and silver markings
- Tsukumaro partnered up with a pale silver-grey male dragon named Seasmoke
- A cornflower blue and gold marked male dragon named Vermax became David's dragon partner
- Caraxes, nicknamed the Blood Wyrm (as denoted by his red scales, yellow eyes, horned beard, and wing-like membranes on his legs that support his body's complex aerodynamics), chose Donna (former queen) to be his human rider
- With the Vikings and their own dragon partners (barring the teens with their own dragons), they managed to gain the trust of the Mighty Ones and the Elder Western Dragons, the latter group equipped with saddles designed to the design Sarah used for her dragons but much larger.
In the limited time they had, they did a training flight at a large remote island to practice flying maneuvers as the Elder Western Dragons demonstrated their prowess in flight combat and Drogon's trademark flight technique: the Dragon Dive-Bomber.
Marena took it upon herself to lead the charge in the training regime, riding on Stormcloud and signaling the older dragons to finish off their demonstration by shouting a phrase in the Valayrian dialect once they reached the end, "Daraceys!"
At that command, all of the dragons then unleashed their flames, mixing them in a kaleidoscope of colors akin to those of the dragons from Avatar: The Last Airbender, most notably: red, white, and blue, before they shot them toward the sky, leaving everybody impressed.
"Cool...!" Izzy cooed, her eyes twinkling.
"That stuff's hot, hot, hot!" Zipp smirked.
"So going for the viral hot stuff," agreed Pipp.
When they had finished, the dragons returned to solid ground and roared as one, their alliances with their new permanent and temporary riders sealed.
Meanwhile, after getting Robin and Ash's message concerning the imminent final showdown against their enemies, Lillie arrived at Berk along with Gladion, their Pokemon, and Bones, joined by Zayto, Devon, Tyler, and their respective Power Ranger teams (much to the shock, surprise, and delight of some of the other heroes). But, they weren't the only ones that came with them; all of Robin, Beast Boy, Teen Titan Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg's friends (the Honorary Teen Titans) arrived on the scene (which notably included the Titans East group from Steel City and the Junior Titans: Melvin, Timmy, Teeter, and their giant stuffed bear friend, Bobby). Once reunited and introductions were made, they were informed about Izzy and Discord's plan to storm their enemies' base of operations and lure Lothor, Katzenberg, Ivanka, Melania, and Dr. Zin into a trap, thus preventing them from assisting their armada and utilizing the Storm Bird Zord.
Discord then proceeded to demonstrate his magical talent to prove his usefulness to his new family and friends, infusing the rescued dinosaurs with their respective powers from Sarah and Teen Race's Elemental Stones and creating new Move Cards from them along with their own Elemental Armor Boosters (barring Zalkia as she had already bonded with the Fire Stone).
Seeing that they also need to prepare for what was to be the potential last battle with Team Eclipse until something else after Lothor, his forces, and Dr. Zin occurs, Ash, Kiawe, Mallow, Sophocles, and Lana along with their Pokemon decided to train as well. Lillie demonstrated what she learned from Zayto and Casey and through the duo's tutelage along with Theo's coaching, they were able to make some improvements to their battle skills and their fighting forms. Even Bones was able to drill the five's partners with his battle expertise and even their human partners couldn't believe their eyes and ears when Lillie told them he was actually Mohn's old partner (which motivated them to train harder).
Finally, Marena and Sarah made some improvements on the Vikings' armor while they created five new sets specifically for Sunny and her friends, the former's clan having numerous designs attributed to the Ancient Dragons. The armor was silver and made out of Gronckle Iron but the new sets it came from were shaded in different colors to match the pony that wore them as follows: Sunny - Orange, Hitch - Yellow, Zipp - White, Pipp - Pink, and Izzy - Blue.
The night dragged on as they continued to train with only tea breaks and a moment for dinner in between so they would have some of their strength ready for the following day (even the Teen Titans were training hard on their end). It was a lot of hard work but everyone did their best to press on, knowing that the hour of the Duel of the Fates is fast approaching. What they had planned was risky but regardless, they knew they had to be ready, no matter what the cost.
Occurred Events
- Sunny, Hitch, Izzy, Pipp, Zipp, the Mighty Ones (Ryu, Tamu, Sefu and Drake) and Zipp's Helioseon, Seleneon, Freezeon and Thundereon return surprisingly and agree to aid her against her Uncle and Zin
- Discord is revealed to have survived Scarlet's attack, thanks to Ashia and recalls what happened to Equestria long ago; the fate of Twilight and the Guardians of Harmony and the origin of Scarlet Nightmare making everyony realize the danger Opaline poses to Equestria in the past and now
- Sarah decided to aid in restoring Equestria to its former glory alongside the Dragonstone Kingdom
- Sarah adds the Lord of Chaos to her family (to Ashia's dismay)
- The heroes plan to attack Team Eclipse and Zin before they can attack Alola, to end the war once and for all
Author's Note: After this there is one more part before the epilogue since this special as gone on for long enough and Quang and I don't wanna drag it out too much for the readers
