The old gardener Toggam inspected a large bush in the middle of the path that crossed the hill. It was a routine task he performed every day. Inspecting the size of the new mushrooms, checking for possible pests, collecting fallen leaves and branches, watering, and cleaning—these were tasks more demanding than most could imagine. Toggam knew this and chuckled to himself every time a pony made jokes about it.
After studying an ornamental bush shaped like bears for several minutes, which could simply be described as perfect, he proceeded to cut a couple of twigs that protruded from one of its ends.
"PERFECT!" exclaimed Toggam, now convinced and filled with pride, in the middle of the path.
But there was no response to his success. There was no pony nearby to admire his work, and none were expected to arrive for the rest of the morning.
Toggam sighed, exhausted after weighing the immense silence around him. He knew he wasn't the only pony working that morning. Others had risen even earlier than him to start their tasks. The mayor, the messenger service, the impeccable Headmare Starlight... Toggam was not alone.
Still, he longed for someone's company. Someone he could call a work companion, or even an apprentice would be enough... someone to whom he could show the life he knew and loved.
Another sigh. The lonely Toggam adjusted his hat and began to whistle. There was no point in dwelling on the matter in his thoughts. Soon, he would finish his morning duties and return home to his family. After all, it was a holiday.
As the old gardener cheerfully arranged the cut leaves to load them into sacks, a faint glow came from the other side of the horizon.
"Uh?" Toggam stopped his whistle and looked confusedly towards the castle in the distance. But he found nothing unusual. The building looked as magnificent as ever. So... had he imagined it?
A gentle breeze passed around him.
Toggam, an earth pony ignorant of magic but an expert in plants, noticed something unusual and went on alert.
The plants had fallen silent.
Toggam stood still in the middle of the path, surrounded by an abysmal silence.
Seconds passed, minutes passed.
Finally, Toggam moved. The sky, the plants, nature in general seemed to regain their daily rhythm. Even the sun, which timidly peeked through the clouds that morning, seemed to regain its true shine.
What was that? Toggam didn't know, but he had a bad feeling. Amazing and dangerous things usually happened in those places.
With renewed urgency, Toggam gathered the leaves and other plant debris. But when he went to open the sack where he would put all that waste, he found something unusual inside... a pink flower.
"Hey, little one, how did you get here?" jovially spoke Toggam to the flower, leaning his head closer to take a better look.
The flower's response was swift.
Toggam's body, which had leaned into the sack, twisted, and began to roll on the ground. Gradually, the figure of the pony sank into the sack that devoured him until he finally disappeared among the pile of leaves and branches he had gathered.
No one heard his last desperate scream in the middle of the path.
------------------
It was a wonderful day for a stroll on the outskirts of Ponyville, especially on a special occasion like the Festival of the Two Sisters. Sandbar, who was admiring the beautiful meadow in front of him, couldn't help but wonder how the morning was unfolding for his family, who were undoubtedly getting ready to travel to Canterlot and participate in the festival.
During these times, he used to wake up early to prepare lunches for his parents, uncles, grandparents, and other relatives who came to visit for the traditional family trip. He always took enough care to ensure that each one received the right food.
"I hope mom didn't make a spinach sandwich for grandpa; he's very allergic to spinach..." Sandbar worriedly recalled while sitting in his wheelchair.
Suddenly, a delicate tea cup on a saucer appeared in front of him, with a delightful aroma indicating it was ready to be sipped immediately.
"Thanks, Yona. That's very generous of you," said Sandbar, more uplifted, taking the tea cup. Behind him, Yona held the wheelchair he was sitting in.
"Yona here to help kind friend Sandbar recover. Sandbar helps friends when they're in a tough spot. Yona doesn't forget and helps now," Yona responded with a big smile.
"I really appreciate this gesture, Yona..." Sandbar replied, taking the tea.
"Please, guys, don't continue; I'm going to cry," a voice said behind them. On the other side of the path crossing the meadow, Gallus with his characteristic sharp eyebrows was approaching, not far away was Ocellus reading a book while walking.
"Yona, you should be more careful pushing Sandbar's wheelchair. It's a very delicate piece of hospital equipment," Ocellus scolded without looking up from her book.
"Yona got a little too excited leading the way on the stroll with friend Sandbar," Yona responded somewhat concerned.
"Don't worry, everything is fine, Ocellus," Sandbar added.
"Do you care more about the wheelchair than Sandbar? He could have fallen off the chair, you know?" Gallus remarked, as biting as ever.
"I don't think so, Gallus. Knowing Sandbar, he must have reminded Yona of all the preventive measures for properly transporting a pony wheelchair, so I'm sure he wouldn't have fallen. On the other hand, it's very sweet of you to care so much about Sandbar as Yona does for him," Ocellus replied with a little smile, closing her book abruptly and returning it to her saddlebag.
"Thank you! It's what I always do for my loyal friends. Where are those turtles?" Gallus asked, turning around.
"AAAAAAH!" Silverstream screamed in the air, being chased by Smolder. Both flew in from behind and started circling around their other companions. Smolder was teasing her friend with a rod that had on one end a Fried Octopus Orchid bathed in mayonnaise. Unable to shake Smolder off, Silverstream hid desperately behind the towering Yona.
"Oh come on, that's not fair!" protested Smolder, unable to continue chasing her friend.
"Of course, it's not fair! I'm not playing! Get that monster away from me!" Silverstream pleaded behind Yona.
"Stop that. Friends scare Sandbar," Yona complained, covering Sandbar in his wheelchair.
"I'm just playing with Silverstream, Yona, really!" replied Smolder, waving the rod with the exotic snack.
"I'm not playing with you!" Silverstream grumbled.
Seeing that her friends' argument was getting nowhere, Ocellus decided to intervene.
"Smolder, stop playing like this. Remember that the doctor recommended keeping a calm environment around Sandbar," reprimanded Ocellus, pointing out the growing panic in Sandbar, who couldn't take his eyes off the Fried Octopus Orchid that Smolder held.
"Well, well, alright, but I think he'll overcome his trauma faster by facing it," said Smolder, taking a hearty bite of her crispy snack.
"Do you have more of those?" Gallus asked with interest from the side.
"Yes, here you go," said Smolder, pulling another snack from somewhere behind her wings and giving it to Gallus, who wasted no time and also began to joyfully enjoy the delicious fried octopus.
Ocellus and the rest of her companions just shook their heads disapprovingly. On the side, Sandbar still trembled.
"Yona take care of Sandbar. Ugly spiders never hurt friends again," said Yona with a determined look, hitting the ground with one of her front hooves.
"Yes, Sandbar, it's all over. All the Octopus Orchids have been eliminated from the school and the town! They won't crawl into your head again and force you to do bad things. You just have to leave those ugly memories of how they crawled over you with their sticky suckers and tried to insert their tentacles into every one of your body's openings in the past."
Sandbar closed his eyes and swallowed. After a few seconds, he could only respond, "Let's just continue..." with a forced smile to appear better.
"I agree, we should hurry. The morning is ending, and we're almost there," nodded Ocellus towards her friends. On the horizon, the magnificent crystal castle was already visible, shining bathed in sunlight.
Without wasting any more time, the Young Six continued their way to Twilight's castle.
***
Twilight's castle, born from a seed-chest, was a castle with a design particularly different from any other known. It had towers, windows, a grand door, and many rooms inside like any other castle, but its structure made of a single magical crystal and a base that rose from the ground like a tree gave it a unique appearance.
Its entrance featured steps, also made of crystal, gradually ascending to its grand door.
At that very moment, Sandbar, Yona, Gallus, Smolder, Silverstream, and Ocellus were climbing those steps to meet with Headmare Starlight.
"Do you really think it's okay to do this?" Silverstream asked somewhat worried when the group finally reached the castle's grand door.
"What do you mean, Silvi?" Sandbar replied.
"To ask Headmare Starlight again to allow us to go on a graduation trip..."
"To allow us, you say!" Smolder protested. "We are the best students of the first graduating class of the School of Friendship. At the very least, she should allow us to travel to the far north."
"That's true! We deserve more than just a graduation ceremony or a trip. After all, with what we had to deal with during the brain-eating squid plague that attacked the school, they should build us a monument," Gallus responded, puffing out his chest.
"We didn't go to school to learn how to become heroes, Gallus. We went to school to learn about friendship," Ocellus said firmly, turning to face her companions. "But you're right. We've been through a lot in the past year; we deserve a genuine special activity to commemorate our friendship and our time at school. We must convey to Headmare Starlight how important this trip is to us and how it would help us conclude this valuable phase of our lives."
So said Ocellus, seeking to instill enthusiasm in her friends, but not everyone shared the same excitement...
"Headmare Starlight not agree with big graduation trip of friends," Yona pointed out with a worried expression.
"I know, Yona. That's precisely why we're here. I think she's making a mistake. The trip is important to us and is the rightful conclusion of our studies. I understand that the school is going through a tough time after the recent disaster, but that shouldn't deprive us of this opportunity..."
"Even though we've asked her many times since she canceled it... maybe this time she'll be a bit more annoyed than the last time," Silverstream replied, visibly nervous.
Everyone was aware that the last meeting with Headmare Starlight had been tense regarding this matter. She had asked them herself not to insist further until after the Festival of the Two Sisters. However, the Young Six had heard rumors that the director had already finished preparing the school budget for the next year, and it did not include the long-awaited trip.
Concerned about what might be happening, the group of friends decided to gather and present themselves to the headmare to "request" that the trip not be canceled.
Of course, acting in this way went against the previous agreements they had had. Moreover, they were acting based on only rumors. Ocellus understood this very well but felt that they had no other option.
"We must take the risk," Ocellus declared with determination to her companions.
At that moment, the castle doors began to swing open wide.
It was sudden; Ocellus startled, and the rest of her companions, in panic, tried in vain to hide behind the imposing figure of Yona. Up until that moment, they hadn't exactly coordinated what they would say to Headmare Starlight during this unexpected visit.
But that no longer mattered. The castle doors finished opening, revealing the figure of a unicorn.
The headmare of the School of Friendship, Starlight Glimmer, gave them a long look. She didn't look upset, but she wasn't happy either. Her mood seemed as calm as thin ice in spring.
"All right, what do we have here? A changeling, a hippogriff, a dragon, a griffon, a yak, and a pony... Definitely not the guests I was expecting," said Starlight, tilting her head toward them.
Ocellus cleared her throat with a big smile, trying to stay calm. It was strange that the headmare called them by the name of their species, but given the circumstances, she could sense that the situation was not as favorable as it appeared.
"Good morning, Headmare Starlight. We apologize for disturbing you so early, but..." Ocellus began, trying to choose her words as carefully as possible. "...we would like to talk to you about some school matters..."
"What matters?" Starlight asked sharply, eyebrows tilted.
That wasn't a good sign. Ocellus gathered all the courage she had within her and resolved to say what she had come to talk about with her friends.
"The matter concerning the current status of the graduation trip for the first graduates of the School of Friendship next year," Ocellus replied firmly.
Behind her, the rest of her companions seemed to whisper things like, "Well said, Ocellus! That's how you talk!" etc.
Headmare Starlight seemed to grasp Ocellus's determination and, after a few seconds of exchanging looks with the changeling, finally averted her gaze.
"Well, fine. It's not a good time, but I'll hear you out. Come in and join me in the meeting room," Starlight said with evident disinterest and started walking back into the castle.
"Thank you, Headmare Starlight, this opportunity is..." Ocellus replied gratefully but suddenly cut off her words.
Something abnormal began to happen to the figure of Headmare Starlight. Her body, which until that moment looked solid, started to fluctuate as if it were a reflection in a mirror, becoming translucent at times. The puzzled Young Six exchanged looks of strangeness at this phenomenon.
Ocellus, who had studied the fundamental concepts of magic, quickly understood what was happening.
"An illusory projection," she involuntarily murmured.
The hologram of Headmare Starlight then noticed the surprise of the group of young ones and turned with a smile.
"Yes, that's right, Ocellus. This is an illusory projection. Don't worry, as I told you before, it's not a good time. Right now, I'm too busy to even answer the door, so I sent this illusion. That doesn't bother you, does it?"
"No, not at all, Headmare Starlight. It's us who should apologize for interrupting you on a day like this..."
"Perfect! Come on, what are you waiting for? Enter," said the animated hologram of the headmare, and with a quicker pace, she advanced through the main hallway of the castle.
Behind, the Young Six set aside their doubts and finally entered the castle as well.
***
The hologram of Headmare Starlight faded away in front of one of the numerous doors along the long hallway where the Young Six were standing. If any of them thought that the castle was larger than it appeared from the outside, they would certainly be correct, but at that moment, none of them was thinking about something like that.
Ocellus sighed, trying to clear her thoughts. She used to get very nervous before a meeting, and although she had learned to handle it during her studies at school, there were still moments when it was difficult for her to concentrate due to anxiety.
"If only I had a cup of tea..." Ocellus thought nostalgically, remembering the spiritual peace classes with Professor Fluttershy.
Suddenly, a miraculous cup of tea appeared in front of her.
"Thank you, Yona, you read my mind!" Ocellus exclaimed gratefully to her friend and, without wasting a second, began to drink the tea.
"Don't be so nervous, Ocellus, we're with you," Sandbar encouraged her alongside Yona.
"Which means we'll just watch while you present," Gallus replied, shrugging his shoulders along with Smolder.
Ocellus frowned at that indifferent comment, but let it slide. Gallus was right in a way. Since the meeting was about convincing the headmare not to cancel the graduation trip, Ocellus had planned to make a presentation showing a self-financing plan to cover possible travel expenses. Although she had prepared this plan with her companions days ago, only she had a complete understanding of everything it involved.
Asking her friends for help in the presentation would probably only make the task more cumbersome and increase the chances of something being said wrong or not understood. On the other hand, if the trip's cancellation was due to non-economic factors, then it would be time to shine for her friends.
"That's not true, Gallus. We're all in this together!" Silverstream exclaimed excitedly.
Ocellus smiled; that was exactly what she wanted to hear.
"Alright, let's do this," Ocellus told herself and the others. With nothing more to add, she returned the tea cup to Yona and opened the doors to the room.
A large oval-shaped room unfolded before the Young Six. It wasn't as large as the Map Room, but it was extensively filled with bookshelves at its ends, and in the center were four large tables cluttered with work documents. This room was Headmare Starlight's private library, which had been adapted for her personal use shortly after moving to live in that castle.
Precisely in front of one of the less congested tables, the headmare herself lay on an elegant sofa, thoroughly reviewing some documents.
Ocellus and the rest of her friends moved toward the headmare's table, but before they could say anything, she spoke:
"Wow, you really take this friendship thing seriously. If you wanted to meet with me to talk about the graduation trip, one of you would have sufficed," said the headmare with a strange smile without taking her eyes off the document.
The Young Six looked at each other. Then, Ocellus was the first to respond.
"We're sorry if we're bothering you, but if you prefer only one of us to be present..."
"No, this is fine. I just hope you don't play foolish and start singing while holding each other's tails to try to convince me not to cancel the trip."
"Huh?" was the abrupt response from everyone to the headmare's 'unexpected' comment.
An uncomfortable interval of silence filled the room. From her seat, Headmare Starlight seemed to care little about the reaction her guests were having. On the other hand, the Young Six, still taken aback by the previous statement, didn't know how to respond, even Gallus looked surprised.
"Is she upset or something?" Ocellus thought, concerned. She couldn't remember the last time the headmare had spoken to them in that manner; definitely not the good start she was hoping for.
Headmare Starlight finally set aside her scroll and settled even further into her sofa. After giving them a long look accompanied by a mischievous smile, she said, "What's going on? Why so serious? Don't you like jokes?"
"Haa, it was a joke! ... good one, Headmare Starlight," Silverstream suddenly replied, as if coming out of the shock she was in. The same happened with her companions, who suddenly agreed with her too.
Ocellus sighed, exhausted.
"I hope that broke the tension you had. You don't have to be so formal with me now; we're not in school. Besides, you're hardly my students anymore..."
The Young Six showed mixed expressions of relief. School would soon be over for them... and then...
"... Leaving that aside, I think I can guess that you're planning to propose something to me. I also have a proposal for you, but I want to hear from you first. Alright, who wants to start?" Starlight asked straightforwardly.
Ocellus confidently stepped forward ahead of her companions. She had to thank Headmare Starlight's good judgment; her earlier comment had helped her relax more than Yona's tea had. Now she was clear on what she had to say.
The doors of the room closed, and the decisive moment that Ocellus had been waiting for all morning began.
***
The doors of the large room where Headmare Starlight was located closed again, leaving the bewildered Young Six outside.
Had they been successful or not? Ocellus stared at the door with a sense of bewilderment.
"Is the headmare always so busy on holidays?" Silverstream asked.
"Not really, I've seen her lazing around on several occasions. Anyway, it's a good opportunity for us, don't you think?" Smolder responded with a smile to her friends.
The group of young ones nodded enthusiastically at the unexpected turn of events.
After hearing from Ocellus about the group's concerns and the proposal regarding the graduation trip expenses, Starlight concluded the meeting with a big "we'll see." This obviously proved to be insufficient for all of them, so the headmare proposed something else: she was willing to give them a final decision on the graduation trip later that night, provided they did her the great favor of taking care of the castle for the day. This was because she would have a very important meeting with Chancellor Neighsay for the remainder of the morning and needed to ensure that no one would interrupt her (especially a certain student counselor).
It was a somewhat strange request, but considering there were no security guards available and none of them had plans for the afternoon, they agreed without thinking too much about it.
Headmare Starlight never failed her word, and the window for their grand graduation trip was still open.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's test this place for invasions right away!" Gallus proposed cheerfully, rising into the air.
"For invasions?" Ocellus replied, coming out of her thoughts.
"Haven't you heard the headmare? She doesn't want any interruptions, so let's make sure of that. Let's go to the security post and activate all the castle's defense layers," Gallus continued, clearly excited.
"Do you know where it is? I heard you can put a magical barrier around it and also deadly traps!" Silverstream said, also excited by Gallus's idea.
"That's not all, it also has security cameras implemented throughout the place. And a food storage in case of emergency, maybe we should check how it's doing..." Gallus continued talking, thinking about the strips of jerky he had seen in the storage the last time he had visited the castle. Behind him, the rest of his companions followed eagerly to learn more.
Only Ocellus stayed behind, still thoughtful about what had happened...
("Am I imagining things...?") Ocellus thought, recalling Headmare Starlight's unusual behavior during her presentation. ("It was like she was improvising, like she wasn't herself...")
"Ocellus, don't lag behind!" Silverstream exclaimed.
"Wait, guys!" Ocellus responded startled, leaving behind her concerns and preparing to catch up with her friends. Perhaps she was just overthinking it...
------------------
The body of the old gardener Toggam crossed a bridge on the way to Ponyville.
Yes, it was only his body; the rest of his consciousness was isolated in a dark corner of his mind. A hostile and parasitic entity had taken control of him.
A Royal Orchid Octopus, but if Ocellus were present and examined it more closely, she would add that it was a highly developed adult specimen of a superior rank in its species. It would be correct to call it Royalnopsis Orchid Octopus, also known as Royalinda.
Royalinda cared little about the names given to her; she only had one goal...
"BRAIN... PONYVILLE... BRAIN... PONYVILLE..." mumbled the zombified Toggam with foam at his mouth. Behind his head, the cephalopod pressed its suckers against the pony's head. Soon, its sharp beak equipped with a suction spike would reach the brain of its prey, taking complete control of that body.
This improvised meal was just the first step for her. Weeks ago, all her colony members had been eradicated by the ponies during the initial invasion of her people. She, who had a slower development but very superior intelligence, had stayed on the sidelines, observing from the shadows. Now, with the ponies having lowered their guard and having gathered enough information from their leaders, it was the opportune moment to start a new invasion plan.
She would take control of the mayor that night, then, in the following week, of Sweet Apple Acres and its inhabitants. Gradually, she would spread undercover agents in all the families of the town by selling apples. In just a month, Ponyville would be under her control; then, she would repeat the same steps in the capital and nearby cities. Finally, before the year ended, all of Equestria would be hers.
These were the dark and ambitious plans that the tiny but malevolent Royalinda had devised.
Thus, with the clumsy but unstoppable steps of her captive host, she would soon cross the bridge and reach a peaceful world that she would plunge into an era of shadows and slavery.
"No one in Equestria can stop me! Not the ponies, not the dragons, not any other race! The whole world will bow before its new supreme ruler! I will be unstoppable! HAHAHA!"
"MOVE ASIDE!" a shout was suddenly heard. Trixie, running as fast as an uncontrolled cart, rushed past, sweeping everything in her path on the bridge. The zombified Toggam was left behind, twirling from the impact until he finally fell into the river like a discarded puppet.
"What was that?" Royalinda wondered to herself, not understanding what had happened. A moment ago, she was at the height of her conquest dreams, and now she was soaked under the bridge.
Without wasting time, Royalinda began to explore the mind of the zombified Toggam. The image of a face and silhouette perfectly recognizable came to her thoughts. Immediately, an emotion filled her entire body; her pink and fuchsia capillaries swelled in a bluish and purple tone that pulsated in waves all over her gelatinous skin.
Fury... a lot of fury flooded the cephalopod Royalinda.
The face of the unicorn who had collided with her was the same she had glimpsed the first time she emerged into the world. It was the pony who had cared for her with so much love since she was just an egg. The same pony who had promised her a great destiny and sworn that they would be together until the end...
The same one who would abandon her and her siblings in a swamp, at the mercy of beasts, cold, and loneliness.
It was that despicable unicorn...
A scream, almost a shout that only fish could hear, echoed under the bridge.
World domination plans could wait.
There was a more important personal goal she had to fulfill first.
Royalinda abandoned Toggam's body with a leap similar to that of a predator pouncing on its prey. The pony remained in the river, now just a hindrance. Hissing and with eyes injected with purple ink reflecting the anger and thirst for revenge dominating her, she ran among the plants using all her limbs, much like a spider would with its legs. Fleetingly, she disappeared into the foliage.
A tiny and unsuspected shadow crossed the peaceful meadow by the roadside heading to Twilight's castle.