A gathering of young individuals suddenly halted their playful actions, staring at the luminous green leaf-shaped phenomenon approaching them from above.

Ponyta hops in place merrily before rearing back, neighing, and lowering herself.

“Oh, wow!” The full-grown Pokemon starts. She’s adamant about making that clear. “It’s been ages since I’ve seen a Dryad’s message.”

“Dryad’s message?” Sweetie Belle inquires nearby, Flurry Heart and Applebloom gazing on alongside her.

“Sounds pretty straightforward to me,” Scootaloo said with a shrug. “It’s just some fancy message from somecreature -- Is that the gist of it?”

“You don’t understand,” Ponyta insisted. “Only other Dryads can read a Dryad’s message. It’s not something that just anyone can pick up and unravel.”

“Woah, really?” Scootaloo questioned, looking around. “Is there a Dryad around here? Hay, what even is a Dryad?”

“There couldn’t be…” Ponyta says with hesitation. “All but one got wiped out a long time ago.”

All eyes suddenly fall onto the luminous leaf’s chosen target. “Hey, uh, Apple Bloom?” Scootaloo voiced. “It’s coming toward you.”

As was appointed by the pegasus crusader, the young Apple Family member remained speechless as the anomaly approached. Apple Bloom’s ears perked up as she could hear… voices.

Ponyta’s eyes widen in realization. “No way… Apple Bloom… you’re a-”

Suddenly, the leaf explodes into a wave of green energy that washes over Apple Bloom’s form. Her surroundings change, completely taken over by spiraling leaves that block out what was formerly NEXUS as she stands within the eye of the vortex.

And not even the voices of her friends beyond the maelstrom could reach her.

The ever-present legion of voices that appeared with the phenomenon continued to grace the young mare’s ears. Yet, Apple Bloom could decipher them all as the world practically slowed down for the filly following the leaf’s combustion.

The life of each voi- no, each Dryad, flashed before her now green-energy-filled eyes, each playing out within the spiraling, magical phenomenon. She saw these beautiful, bipedal entities tending to the very forces of nature.

Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall? They weren’t just seasons; they were actual Dryads. Powerful ones, to boot. Divine, even.

Some Dryads had a variety of flowers in their hair -- not for decoration, these flowers literally grew out of their hair -- while others even grew ripe fruits that begged to be harvested.

Apple Bloom saw elders, Dryads of all genders that radiated wisdom and strength, and oft took on the appearance of an aged tree, overseeing the births of new Dryads before those very same children grew, tended to nature, found a lover, and began the cycle once more.

But then her eyes widened in fascination at what she saw. Although she first questioned it, the voices around her were more than happy to provide answers: Dryad hybrids.

A male dryad with the lower body of a deer was being showered in love by his doe mother and dryad father. A female bipedal fox-like creature was being guided by a female dryad, her mother. As the bipedal fox leaped joyfully, a forest soon sprouted across a barren wasteland.

More and more similar scenarios played out that words couldn’t do them justice. It was wonderful. The apple crusader could get lost in the stories flashing before her eyes while guided by the voices. They offered her context into the windows of life-forged stories.

“Apple Bloom…”

Someone called out to Apple Bloom, shocking her. The voice was feminine and sweet, echoing as if traveling across the planet. And if she didn’t know any better, she thought it sounded familiar.

“Apple Bloom…”

“Who-who’s dere?” She inquired, calling out to the spiral of nature and recollection of past lives.

“You’ve grown so much… your father would’ve been proud…”

A barrage of questions flowed into the apple crusader’s mind.

“We’re all so proud of you… Silva… Big Mac, Applejack… and Celebes.”

“Oh, knock it off with all dat mystery stuff, girl!” An explosion of familiarity ensues within Apple Bloom. “The same goes fer the rest of yas! That’s mah gran’baby -- ya bunch ah hippies!”

“G-granny Smith?!” Apple Bloom exclaimed in shock. “Yer ‘ere too?!”

“Mhmm hmm. Sorry about that, Granny.”

There was that voice again. It- she chuckled, and there was that warmth that consumed the young apple again as they spoke. Suddenly, two equine-shaped entities emerged from beyond the swirling, magical vortex of leaves, each one having been outlined and formed by leaves of different colorations.

Apple Bloom shifts her gaze between the two equines. The one on the left is made of green leaves, with their companion to the right being comprised of light-orange foliage.

The leaves surrounding the green individual suddenly fall to the ground, and what’s revealed leaves Apple Bloom in shock and awe. The Apple Family’s photo album didn’t do it justice, and a much younger Granny Smith now stands before the filly.

“‘Ey there, Apple Bloom,” Granny Smith began, although the name wasn’t currently accurate. “Now ah know that ya got a lot o’ questions, but we haven’t got much time.” She shifts her gaze to the other equine while Apple Bloom is stunned.

“What you got to be shy fer, Pear Butter?! Get on outta that them leaves -- yer baby’s wait’n fer ya.”

“I- I know, it’s just… I’ve been preparing for this moment… for so very long…”

The leaves surrounding the aforementioned equine fell, unveiling a pale gamboge-coated earth pony mare with a brilliant gamboge tail and mane. Her turquoise eyes rested lovingly on Apple Bloom, who stared dumbfounded. Still, the gears in her head began to work overtime when the name Pear Butter was first dropped.

And that wasn’t even including their appearance, which matched up with…

“Hello, my sweet little apple,” Pear Butter said with an infectious smile. “You… probably already know this, but my name is Pear Butter. Goodness -- forgive me, I’m just amazed by how much you’ve grown.”

“Heh heh,” Granny Smith chuckled. “Well, that tends tah ‘appen with them years goin’ by.”

Pear Butter rolls her eyes with laughter. And as for Apple Bloom, tears began to form in her eyes as her lower lip trembled, her state garnering the attention of the two mares before her eyes.

Pear Butter chuckles. “I see you figured it out?”

“Y-you’re…” Apple bloom’s tears flowed unhindered, eyes barely able to stay open.

Pear Butter closed her eyes pleasantly. “That’s right~ I’m your-”

The small presence ran towards her, cutting off her words as Apple Bloom soon reached the earth pony, reared up, and tightly embraced them with wrapping forelimbs, her head pressed against the chest region of…

“I-I w-wanted,” Apple Bloom managed, her tears dampening Pear Butter’s fur, “I wanted t-to meet ya fer so long… mm-mom.”

With a content smile and tears of her own, Pear Butter wraps a forelimb around her weeping child.

“Shhhh. I’m here now, Apple Bloom… and it’s all thanks to your father.”

The GrimDark. A culmination of many different realms, all intertwined yet separated by a horrifying darkness that constantly seeks to consume and destroy. Like the Underworld, it too was a place of uncertainty, inhabited by those who called the twisted creation home, often being equally as twisted themselves.

Amongst these realms, one possessed a particular individual -- a captive, as Starlight Glimmer is curled up on a somewhat comforting bed set and intakes the surroundings of her stony cell with hardened bars acting as her only window to freedom.

It also didn’t help that this cell was more than adequate in sealing off her prowess. In fact, she basically escaped from one ‘Tartarus’ and was thrown into another. Hay, she hadn’t even seen the outside world for as long as she had been here.

Ever since her capture, It was always the same routine with the Pony of Shadows, who often visited her, checking on her condition and seeing to her every need before disappearing into whirlpools of darkness.

She wasn’t in terrible shape, all things considered, even dedicating herself to ‘push-ups’ and other stationary exercises. But one could tell that she hadn’t been out in the sun for quite some time.

Her pale, light grayish heliotrope coat was definitely paler than before.

Something constantly rattled the unicorn’s mind -- why was he doing this? Why does he ensure her well-being despite blatantly showing his distaste for her? Of course, she knew the answer -- it all went back to one thing:

Shadow Thunder. Even so, wouldn’t the perfect vengeance be to simply kill her? And… a-and…

Movement near her stomach region garners her immediate attention. Starlight rests her eyes on two slumbering fillies, a pegasus and a unicorn, each enjoying the other’s warmth as they cuddled closely together.

They each had black fur, but unique factors differentiated them: the pegasus had yellow stripes going through her tail and mane. In contrast, the unicorn had Starlight’s purple coat intertwining with the blackness of Shadow’s, almost similar to Yin and Yang.

A smile adorned Starlight’s features as these two were the only things keeping her going in this place.

“Oh, Shadow… I wish you could see them… our children…” She sighed, “I’m so sorry that we couldn’t name them together… but after two years-”

The unicorn paused at that. Two years. Two whole years have passed in this mysterious realm. World? Dimension? Of course, she didn’t entirely know due to her ‘cell living space.’ According to her monstrous ‘brother-in-law,’ time here flowed differently than in Terraria. But he purposely avoided giving her the specifics.

Was time slower here than it was there? Faster, perhaps? Starlight shuddered to think of the worst-case scenarios… Because of that, she couldn’t just leave the two fillies nameless.

Suddenly, Starlight’s ears perked up as a commotion brewed outside of her cell. He was coming. A circular vortex of pure blackness with wriggling energies is formed in the stone ground, and a familiar behemoth slowly emerges with cackling laughter. And once the being fully manifests itself, the dark vortex ceases to exist.

“Good morning, Starlight Glimmer. Mwahahaha!” An eerie light comprised the entity’s eyes and even the inner portions of their maw, almost as if darkness itself had swallowed the light.

“Oh! And, of course, how can I forget my dear nieces? Tell me, Starlight, how are they doing today?”

“Stay away from them!” Starlight cried out in defiance, although one couldn’t help but credit the deep slumber of the fillies. “Please, just let them go! You can have me; I’ll stay here for as long as you want, but th-they,” Her eyes rested on her children before returning to the dark being.

“They don’t deserve this…”

“You’re quite right; they don’t,” The beast suddenly slams his head into the bars, denting them in the process, which causes the slumbering fillies to awaken in horror.

“BUT THAT TRAITOROUS BROTHER OF MINE DOES!!” His outrage echoed down the halls of whatever structure they inhabited.

“M-momma!” The fillies cry out in unison upon noticing the Pony of Shadows -- fleeing and hiding behind their mother’s frame before peeking out on either side.

Despite his form, the titanic shadow equine breathes heavily in anger, chest rising and lowering, before he attempts to recollect himself. He closes his eyes and performs a breathing exercise.

“Collect yourself, Stygian,” He raised his head up high with closed ‘eyes,’ “You must have patience. The time to exact your vengeance shall come, but you must remain calm.”

Having seemingly collected himself, the terror gazed into the cell -- specifically at the two fearful fillies.

“Ah! Please excuse your uncle Stygian, my dears.” He chuckles. “He has a tendency to have… violent outbursts.”

The young duo cowers further into Starlight’s fur.

“That’s enough!” Starlight declared, protectively shielding her daughters. “What do you-”

“Yes, yes, the good old ‘What do you want from us?’ question.” Stygian mockingly retorts, lowering his voice to imitate Starlight’s before returning to normal. “As if you didn’t spend the last two years rehashing that exact Abaddon-damned phrase.” He finished, rolling his eyes. But a devilish grin adorns his ‘features,’ evil thoughts flowing through his mind.

“But I tell you what, Starlight. How about I give you… a reward?”

Starlight scoffs. “The only award I want is for you to either A) return us to Terraria. Or, B) kill yourself.”

“Ohohoho~ I like your spirit. You know, you’d make a great GrimDark if you’d just allow its’ touch to ensnare you.”

“I’d rather let myself get eaten by a giant flesh monster, thanks.”

“Careful, we have some GrimDarks here that can arrange that.” Stygian chuckles, shifting his stance as if to make a proclamation. “My reward is simply this: the truth.”

“Pfft, yeah, right.” Starlight distrustingly dismissed. “And I’m an alicorn. Look, pal, what makes you think I’d ever believe a single word you said?”

A moment of haunting silence takes hold as the dark entity mockingly stares into the cell.

“Because it involves those little bundles of joys hiding behind you.”

Starlight’s eyes shot wide open. “No!” She grabbed onto her daughters as if her very life depended on it, tears forming in her eyes as the young duo began to wail. “No! You leave them the fuck alone! Do you hear me?!”

Her time spent with Terraria’s inhabitants certainly changed her vocabulary.

Stygian feigns hurt. “Ack! Starlight,” He said in a near Rarity-like fashion. “Such foul language -- there are children present. Shame on you, truly.”

The captive unicorn rapidly lunges off of the bed, being doubly sure to avoid accidentally harming her fillies, and charges at the still-dented bars of the cell.

“Listen, you,” She growled. “When this is all over, when I find a way out -- and trust me, I’m a very determined mare -- I’ll kill you with my very own hooves and watch you take your final breath!”

In that instance, the pure rage emanating from Starlight’s form resembled who she was before Twilight and the other element bearers visited Our Town. Back when she still stole cutie marks and terrorized time itself.

Starlight was currently powerless, but she didn’t care as she was, in fact, a raging mother trying to protect their young.

Stygian simply smiled in the face of the angered and growling mare. “Now that’s the spirit.” He cleared his throat. “Now then, as fun as this has been, I must take my leave,” The shadow titan leaned sideways to get a clear view of the two fillies on the bed, both hugging each other in fear.

“Tata for now, lovelies,” He menacingly waved a forelimb. “Uncle Stygian can’t wait to start your… conditioning.”

The dark equine laughed and laughed as Starlight, having been reinvigorated by those harsh words, roared out and antagonized the cell itself to break free, but to no avail. Stygian soon melts into a pool of liquified darkness throughout Starlight’s rampage until he finally disappears from view, and the last ounces of black liquid sizzle away.

And, as if to add last-second salt to the metaphorical wound, the dented cell bars repair themselves to a state before Stygian’s collision.

Soon, Starlight weepingly relents, leaning against the bars and sliding down to her stomach region in defeat, digging her face into her forelimbs while sobbing. Hoof steps then sound off behind her, following a commotion on the nearby bed.

“Momma…” The young black unicorn began. “I-it’ll be ok.”

“Y-yeah,” The dark pegasus sibling agreed, both fillies placing a comforting forelimb onto their weeping mother. “Papa’s with some really, really, strong people and ponies. Just like you always told us.”

Their voices drew Starlight out of her sorrowful state, looking back at them before hurriedly shifting her body to hold them. There the family stood in the darkness in silence that felt like an eternity.

That was until the sound of clapping hooves from beyond the cell presented itself.

“I gotta admit, this Starlight’s got some serious guts.”

Starlight’s ears perked up in response to a familiar, raspy voice.

-W-wait… was that, Rain--

“Yes, well, she certainly left a good impression on me, that’s for sure.” A new feminine voice filled with silky smooth beauty cuts off the unicorn’s inner thoughts, all while Starlight’s daughters look around with raised ears of their own.

Two individuals emerge from the hallway’s darkness, their hooves clopping and echoing until they finally stand before the containment.

Starlight’s eyes widened with a sense of familiarity. “R-Rainbow Dash?”

“I’m a Rainbow Dash, you milf. What? Did the labcoat not give you any hints?”

“Now, now, Rainbow Factory.” Starlight’s eyes ventured toward the other mare present, looking eerily like a mare version of King Sombra. “Manners before threats, my dear. It makes the threatening part far more effective than blowing your horror-filled load so soon.”

Factory Dash rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Now hurry it up, will you? Who knows when ‘Edgy-Darkness-Mcgee’ will be back.”

“Tch. Honestly,” The female Sombra rolled her crimson pupils within green eyes, a wave of dark-purple energy continuously fluttering at the edges. “I know we’re GrimDarks, but try to have at least some class, would you?”

She then turned to Starlight, looking the mare over before forming a toothy grin.

“Well, well. My son certainly got himself a looker. First was Sombra with Radiant Hope; now it’s Shadow Thunder with you. I guess it’s safe to say that my line is secured.”

Starlight’s throat had long gone dry in shock, her daughters having shied away and retreated behind her.

“Who… are you?” The imprisoned unicorn asked.

“Why, I’m Queen Umbra, dearie. An esteemed member of the Resistance Faction. Mother of Sombra, Shadow, and Stygian -- my admittedly most troubled child of the batch. And, if those two adorable balls of fur behind you are of any indication, their grandmare and your mother-in-law. So, with all that in mind,” Umbra rests a forelimb beneath her chin, fluttering her eyelashes.

“Are there any more questions, daughter dearest?”

Man, it's been several months since my last Terraria upload. There are reasons for that, of course, but nonetheless:

Terraria has returned from its hiatus!