"Well, these gems certainly suit my taste." Golden Cheese Cookie whistled as she eyed a handful of rubies splayed out of a stone wall.

C/N Cookie threw a glance at her, smiled, but didn't say anything and kept on walking ahead. The other Ancient Heroes were close behind, on their guard despite knowing they'd be safe in her domain.

They had convinced her to try to awaken her kingdom, currently on their way to there. All of them were positive she could. After the Dark Flour War, she'd hid away all this time. Many, many times had she thought about her kingdom. But she never tried to see how it was, never gave herself a view on its state. It pained her. Perhaps she could've saved her people if she was there, if she hadn't been focused on wiping out enemies that would win anyway.

What would she be met with? What would be the Cookies' reactions? Anger? Misery? Disappointment? That wasn't for sure, but she was too afraid to see it anyway.

C/N Cookie was a coward, and she knew that too.

She didn't really say anything to the others the entire walk, which of course concerned them. White Lily Cookie and Pure Vanilla Cookie shared a glance. They both wanted to open their mouths and ask for their friend's wellbeing.

A faint glow of what seemed to be fire caught everyone's eyes.

White Lily Cookie stopped. "Oh."

C/N Cookie's breath hitched, her eye shining with recognition and what looked like unshed tears. "My kingdom."

It was majestic.

Villas, a statue in the middle, a small palace, and much more that somehow fit the underground. Some buildings bathed in the faint glow of torches. Everything looked untouched, like a precious piece of glass that you never wanted to break. All in all, it was absolutely stunning.

Pure Vanilla Cookie almost wanted to comment on that, before he noticed a variety of clumps lying on the ground. Or, to be more specific, what seemed like the bodies of Cookies.

"Are those corpses?" asked Golden Cheese Cookie.

C/N Cookie's eyebrows furrowed in concern as she went over to them. They were indeed Cookies, but they didn't give off all that dead vibe. Their faces looked so peaceful, as if blissfully unaware of the wreckage and war that their long slumber was brought by.

C/N Cookie wasn't sure whether to be relieved of wistful by that fact.

"Alright, guys." She sighed. "Time to bring back my people." Stepping away from the sleeping Cookies, she drew her sword and began carving a giant circle into the ground. The Ancients stepped back cautiously, yet with curiosity too.

"Do you... need our help?" Hollyberry Cookie wanted to know.

The Light of Harmony shook her head. She drew yet another smaller circle with odd letters. White Lily Cookie thought she might've read something about a spell like this, but even she struggled to interpret their excact means.

Once C/N Cookie was done with her markings, she placed herself in the middle and dug her blade into the dirt. She looked back at her friends for but a moment and then took a deep breath. As she clasped her hands together, incoherent mumbling came from her lips that seemed to be some sort of magical chant. Not much a fan of magic, Dark Cacao Cookie nearly thought the sight was quite comical if the situation wasn't so serious.

The circle started glowing, and the ground rumbled just so slightly. A light flashed and suddenly everything looked twice as good, with the exception of the denizens slowly getting up. They rubbed their eyes, ran into their loved ones' arms, jumped about. They seemed to realize they had been saved.

C/N Cookie stumbled slightly.

"It worked! It actually worked!" She shouted in glee, taking Pure Vanilla Cookie's hands and capturing Dark Cacao Cookie in a bone-crushing hug next.

Everything seemed to be fixed, except...

"Over there." White Lily Cookie's voice rang out. C/N Cookie's joy quickly died down and she turned to see five little figures cowering against the wall of a house, some women trying to pry them to stand up.

One of the women turns to C/N Cookie as she approaches, a helpless look on her face. "Please, help us! The children..." She trailed off.

"No!" The little boy shook his head furiously, his lip trembling. "I-It was dark... so dark." His face was sickly pale, all of them were. As if they were just a scared little shadow of themselves.

Golden Cheese Cookie frowned. "Why didn't it work for them? Are they supposed to be like this?"

"Children brains work differently in terms of harmony." C/N Cookie explained. "They are quicker to be pleased, but can also drop that happiness just as quick." She looked as though she had to swallow a stone. "I'll have to heal them with a spark of magic. Otherwise they'll be caught in madness and... won't really eat, sleep, or any of the sort. But I need their permission."

A girl rubbed her arm uncomfortably. "Dark Enchantress Cookie will put our kingdom into a sleep again. We were all alone. Nobody protected us."

Ouch.

Hollyberry Cookie cast a careful glance over at C/N Cookie with concern. The Light of Harmony's face was neutral- a thin frown, but her eye showed pain that she didn't want anybody else to see.

She goes to kneel in front of the kids. "I'm sorry, children." Was all she said. "I know I abandoned you, and I'm sorry. All this time, I was incredibly scared of facing your fear, anger, whatever it would be. But now I know that you're way more important than that. I need to try all over again, and I brought help this time." She vaguely gestured to the heroes behind her. "I-I was a terrible ruler, and I'm not asking for forgiveness. But please let me try to help you. It won't happen again. You will never be alone again."

The young girl sniffed. "Pinkie promise?"

C/N Cookie had a soft grin on her face. "Pinkie promise."