//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: Flash Sentry Chronicles: Jakhowls Rising 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

Springer and his friends were in absolute shock, as they made their way through the underground biome full of jakhowl. Sirius and the others had led them down a path to the village surrounding the giant tree in the center of the chamber, all the while the newcomers looked around as they tried to take in every detail of the place. And they weren't the only ones in shock.

As they got closer to the village, they passed the farms, the training grounds, and the occasional random jakhowl who spotted them. Whenever the jakhowls saw the ponies, dragon and new jakhowls, they were in absolute surprise. "Why are they staring at us?" Spike asked when one jakhowl dropped a water jug at the sight of them.

"Wouldn't you?" Twilight asked, "We're the first ponies they've seen in...who knows how long."

"Ever," Mirage chimed in, "You are the first ponies we've ever seen. We were all born here. Even my father and the rest of the elders have known no other life except the one we lived in this place. This has been our home...but also our prison."

"How long have the jakhowls been down here?" Flash asked.

"One hundred and fifty years," the teal one replied, "Back when our grandparents were young."

The newcomers all frowned and shared glances at this, knowing that didn't sound right. But before they could say anything, they reached the main part of the village, now seeing that many of the houses were little more than wooden huts that looked like they wouldn't be able to stand up to a strong breeze. This made sense, mainly due to this enclosed environment, they probably wouldn't need much protection. The air was also fresh, but there was no wind. Rain, snow and other forms of weather likely never appeared here.

"How the heck are you growing anything in here?" Flash asked, the jakhowls turning to him, "I mean, this place is obviously very fertile, and you've obviously got plenty of water. But don't plants need sunlight?"

"They do?"

Twilight nodded before looking up at the crystal glowing up above them. "Unless that crystal is giving out ultraviolet rays."

"I'm not sure what that means." Mirage replied, "But that crystal glows like that for roughly twelve hours, then it dims for another twelve hours. That's when we sleep."

"Amazing," Twilight whispered, "Could it somehow be reacting to Celestia and Luna's movement of the sun?"

This made the jakhowls all tilt their heads at her, confusion on their faces as they reached the giant tree. As they got there, Sirius spoke up, "Welcome, to the Tree of Ancients. The tree that has stood since the first jakhowls found this jakhowl haven."

They began to walk up the roots at this, only to find a hole in the side that they were able to step through. Doing so brought them to a round wooden chamber the size of an average house. The elders all moved to the back of the chamber, where five cushions were located. Sirius sat in the middle while the other four sat on either side of him. Mirage, Razor and the other jakhowls stood around the edge of the room, while Springer and his friends remained standing in the middle.

"Please," Sirius gestured to the floor, "Sit." They did so and all stared at one another. "So...Springer, was it?" He nodded, "Are you really the only fully grown jakhowl left in the outside world?"

"I am," Springer nodded again, only to hear movement. He glanced back at the entrance and saw a bunch more jakhowls step into the room and stand around the edge, along with even more outside, all of them looking in. "I...it's hard to explain everything that's happened, but until today, the three of us thought we were the only jakhowls left. Then we got your message."

"Yes," Sirius nodded, "We did that hoping to connect to more jakhowls out in the world. We hoped that a time of peace had befallen this land and the jakhowls could return without needing to fear anything."

"But you can," Twilight spoke up. The other jakhowls glared at her, Twilight almost flinching before shaking her head, "Sorry for speaking out of turn, but I am Princess Twilight Sparkle. One of the four alicorn leaders of Equestria."

"What is this Equestria?" The green Jakhowl elder asked, making the group exchange glances before Flash took the lead.

"Well...everything. You're in Equestria." The jakhowls frowned at that, "You said you've only been locked away for a hundred and fifty years." They all nodded, "well...Equestria has been around for over a thousand years. This area has been part of Equestria since the beginning, so how do you not know what Equestria is?"

The jakhowls all glanced around at that, the elders showing nothing but confusion on their faces. That is, till Twilight took out the piece of rock she had picked up, Springer noticing this. "You thinking of something?"

Twilight nodded and showed the elders the rock. "This rock was part of the wall that held the seal, right?" They nodded. "Well, the erosion on one side isn't equal to the erosion on the other."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The brown jakhowl next to Mirage asked.

"It means that one side of the rock aged more than the other side," Mirage replied, "That can only mean that time was moving differently on each side of the rock."

"Exactly," Twilight nodded, "I'll need to do some tests, but I'm willing to bet the magic used to seal you away also changed the flow of time for you. One day in here during the sealing could have been decades out there. So while only a hundred and fifty years have passed in here...thousands of years could have passed. That's why you don't know about Equestria. It was founded after you were sealed up."

"Seriously?!" Flash asked, "What is it with jakhowls and getting locked out of time?!"

"Come again?" The orange jakhowl elder asked, Flash flinching at the question.

"Uh..."

Springer let out a long sigh at that, "That's a long story." The jakhowls turned back to him, "Actually...the reason why I'm all that's left is a very long story."

Hearing this, Sirius stood up. "I think words will not be enough to understand this story." He moved over to Springer as he and the others stood up as well. "The best way to truly learn about them is to see through their eyes."

"What are you talking about?" Ace asked.

"My father has a very rare ability," Mirage chimed in, "Aura-scaping."

"Aura-scaping?" Mira asked as Sirius held out his paws.

"Through connecting our auras, I can see into your mind and view your memories. What's more, I can show those memories to others jakhowls I am connected to, or show you my own memories." Springer's eyes widened at this, unable to believe such a power existed, only to remember the time loop using the memories of everypony in town. "With this ability, I will be able to learn about you and your children and see how the world has changed."

"They're not my kids, per say..." Springer slowly replied, his eyes darting back to Ace and Mira for a second. And as he looked back at the elders, he added, "I don't mean to sound negative, but what you'll see won't be exactly pleasant."

"What do you mean?" Sirius responded.

"I...let's just say, my memories will show you a lot." Springer looked back at Ace and Mira again, only for a certain fox to appear in his head. And then it switched to when he had shown them his history in the crystal room, the shock and sadness on their faces as they saw the truth. The duo stared back at him, knowing what he was thinking as he muttered out, "Some things you jakhowls might be better off not seeing."

Sirius shook his head at this, "That does not matter. You hold what we need to see."

Springer glanced back at the elder, now seeing a firm look in the jakhowl's eyes. It was one he had never seen in a jakhowl before. Springer bit his lip at this, still feeling the hesitation as he closed his eyes, "Alright. I'm warning you though...its not pleasant."

And as he reopened his eyes, the elders stared at Springer, only to see something they all recognized. It was the look of age, one that had gone through tons of trials and tribulations. Something the others around them didn't see, even Mirage as she stared at him with eyes of curiosity.

It was here that Springer took a deep breath and asked, "So...how does this work?"

The other jakhowls moved over to circle them as the ponies and Spike moved to the side. They each began to link arms while Mirage and the green elder held onto Sirius' shoulder, the ponies and dragon now seeing this also happening outside. Springer then looked down at the leader's paws, which were beginning to glow as he lifted them up to Springer's face.

Ace and Mira grabbed a paw and connected their auras to him as Springer took another deep breath. "Let's do this." Sirius nodded before his paws moved closer and touched Springer's temples. And in that moment, Sirius' eyes went wide along with Springer, Ace and Mira as their eyes glowed white.

Their friends all flinched at this as the rest of the jakhowls followed suit. Even Razor, who was lazily holding onto some jakhowl's shoulder at the back went wide-eyed. Each of them were mentally linked and in a flash of light, they were no longer in the tree anymore. Instead, each were suddenly flying through their own personal corridor of white light. Within this corridor, multiple still images were flying toward them. And as they flew into them, they would experience the memory that made it as if they were Springer.

Everything. Springer's first memory of wandering through the Everfree Forest, alone and scared, only to be attacked by Timberwolves and saved by Flash. Being taken in by the ponies, taught everything he knew, learning the truth of his species and how he might be the only one left alive. The jakhowls saw Celestia for the first time, shocked at what ponies could look like with her long rainbow-colored mane as she told Springer about what had happened to the jakhowls.

And then the rest of Springer's memories followed. All Springer's little adventures with the ponies, making friends with them, showing him fight others and learn new abilities. But then it switched to Springer meeting Luna in a dream, telling him of another jakhowl. This was followed by confusion for all the jakhowls, only to turn to fear as they saw Springer meet an imposter jakhowl. The Trickster Shade, who showed just how dangerous he was by taking over a town until Springer fought him.

And as the fox got away, it began to show everything else. Springer had his adventure in Omniara, Shade reappearing, only for Springer to confront him again. But as this confrontation happened, they saw Springer see his father fully for the first time. The jakhowls watching could feel the power from Sharp Paw, even in this form in Springer's mind. But it was what Sharp Paw said that gave many pause, as the former chief declared Springer to be the future of the jakhowls, and his destiny to both lead them and defeat the Trickster. The memory made Razor growl, almost disconnecting himself before the memories began to flow again.

More and more happened next, all watching Springer's life continue, only for Shade to appear again. And this time, every jakhowl was in fear as they watched the fox unleash the true story of what happened to the jakhowls. They watched as Shade declared that the Tricksters exist to torment the jakhowls, and showed how Dark Mist and Vile Rune destroyed two species in a lust for power, along with Sharp Paw's final battle with Dark Mist, a display of true jakhowl might. This was followed by Springer fighting the fox, a battle that shook the room, watching Springer bleed as he fought tooth and nail against the fox. Many gasped as they watched Springer get beaten, only for his friends to come through, giving him their power so he unlock his Mega Mode for the first time and beat Shade once again.

After this, the jakhowl was summoned to the Lost City, a place where he awakened as a fully-fledged adult jakhowl and gained both his permanent Mega Mode and the eggs of the two younger jakhowls. New memories started joining Springer's, including Ace and Mira's first few days of life and everything after. Shade appeared yet again, only to show how weak he had become compared to Springer. And as more memories came to pass, they reached Springer's final battle against Shade. The fox showed he had lost all sanity as they fought, only for Springer to quit. The sight was shocking to all of them, the elders in particular as they watched Springer walk away from the fox, declaring the feud to be over. And as Shade leapt off the prison roof and into a blizzard, it then showed Springer go and tell everything to Ace and Mira, declaring he would devote everything to them now.

But this was followed by Ace and Mira saving all the magic in Equestria, an event that Springer was proud of them for, only for it to show them now seeing the elders before coming here. And as it came to a close, it seemed like hours of watching these incredible events, but for those outside the vision, it was only a minute or so.

Spike and the ponies watched as Sirius pulled his paws away and they all returned to normal, but they no longer seemed wary of the newcomers. "Well..." Sirius was barely able to say, "You...you've certainly been through a lot."

"Yeah," Springer felt a little off after seeing all his life's highlights flashing before his eyes. "I uh...I hope what you saw has convinced you that you don't have to be mistrustful of ponies."

"Indeed," Sirius nodded as he turned to Springer's friends. "I can see that there are many good ponies out there." They all smiled as they once again sat down, Sirius taking in everything he had just learned. "So, we may be the last jakhowls in existence. What's more, in the time we've been gone, the surrounding area has been claimed by the ponies."

"Yes," Twilight nodded, "But you don't have to worry about us telling you to leave. This area of Equestria has gone mostly untouched. I'm sure Princess Celestia would be happy to make it yours."

"So, we would become citizens on your kingdom?" The blue elder asked next.

"That would be your decision to make," Twilight replied, "You can become citizens of Equestria and have all the privileges that citizenship affords you. You could even join our United Federation as official members. Springer already joined since we thought he was the only one left, but I'm sure we can rework it so you all can join."

"And what would that do to us if we did join?" The green elder asked.

"It would mean we're friends," Flash chimed in, "Ponies, jakhowls and all the other members of the Federation. Griffons, hippogriffs, changelings, yaks and dragons. The seven species would all be united, learning from one another and offering help whenever it's needed."

"So...we would have to help you whenever you get in trouble?" said a voice that was not an elder. It was Razor, who growled as he pushed his way up to the group, "You think you can use us as your own personal shields, all because you're too weak to protect yourself?!"

"Razor!" Sirius exclaimed, "That's enough!"

"NO!" Razor spat as he pointed at the ponies, "You can't actually be listening to this! Don't forget what these ponies did to us! They attacked us because they were scared of the prophecy. They tried to destroy us, and when they realized they couldn't, they trapped us away. And now that we've returned, they want to turn us into their personal army so they don't have to fight their battles."

"Hey!" Flash stood up, "We don't use anybody. All we want to do is make friends with the jakhowls and help them stay safe. And we don't go looking for fights."

"Yeah," Heart added, "We only ever fight in self-defense."

"Yeah right!" Razor growled as he turned to the other jakhowls. "You all remember the stories we were told as pups. How the ponies attacked in the dead of night, turning into clouds of smoke to attack. How they used their red horns to put jakhowls into trances and suck the life right out of them. If we let them stay, they'll turn on us and try to enslave us."

"Razor!" Sirius roared, "Enough!" Razor turned to glare at him. "You forget yourself."

"No!" Razor pointed at him, "You forget the prophecy. My destiny. I'm supposed to protect us from our greatest threat and bring us into a new age. That's what I'm doing." He and Sirius glared at one another as Mirage moved in front of her father as if to say 'you want to get to him, you go through me.' Razor hissed at her for a moment, then turned to leave. "Don't come crying to me when these things try and turn you into mindless zombies."

As he said that, he pushed his way through the crowd, growling as several watched him leave. "I apologize for him," Sirius sat back down. "He's been eager to find something to fight since he awakened his ability to transform."

"His Mega Mode?" Springer asked.

"If that's what you call it," Mirage replied, "He calls it his King Form, since he thinks it means he'll one day be the king of the jakhowls due to the prophecy."

"What is this about a prophecy?" Twilight asked. "He kept talking about it, but what's it about?"

The purple jakhowl, a female, spoke up. "That would be the Great Prophecy my ancestor once foretold."

Sirius then pointed to her, "This is Crystal Clair. Her family has a particularly rare skill, even rarer than my Aura-scape ability. The power to look into the future."

The group all went wide-eyed at this, only for Clair to add, "My great grandmother was the most powerful future seer of all time. And one day, she foretold the eventual arrival of a jakhowl like no other. One that would awaken a form greater than any other jakhowl, and would use it to defeat the greatest threat the jakhowls had ever faced and lead us into a golden age."

"And Razor thinks he's the jakhowl in this prophecy?" Twilight asked while tilting his head.

"He does," Sirius nodded. "He's always been different. Even when he was a pup, he believed he was destined for greatness. The color of his aura set him apart from others of his age, along with his skill at learning any attack he tried to learn. It took him only three years to attain his adult form and another four to maintain it permanently."

"Seven years to get into his adult state?" Flash smirked before nudging Springer, "You got him beat there." Springer blushed at this as the other jakhowls turned to stare at him, remembering what they had just seen.

"Last year when he obtained the form you call Mega Mode, he was sure it meant he was the jakhowl in the prophecy. Alas, that caused his arrogance to skyrocket. He now thinks he can do no wrong, so keeping him in check has become difficult."

Mirage let out a long sigh and shook her head, "I must say, I had hoped seeing you in that form would quell some of his arrogance. After all, it's clear now that that form isn't the one that no other jakhowl has obtained."

"I'm more worried about this threat the prophecy spoke of," Twilight chimed in, "If this jakhowl is supposed to show up, that means something bad's gonna happen that they have to beat. Even if he can, who knows what damage that could incur."

"Maybe we don't have to worry," Soul added, the other turning to her, only to see her shrug, "Maybe the threat's already passed. Springer's fought a bunch of bad guys. Heck, it sounds like Shade would be the big bad."

"I...guess that could be true." Springer sighs, "I mean, we all saw what he did, along with his master."

Soul nodded at this, "Yeah! You all said Razor didn't get his Mega Mode until last year, right?" The jakhowls nodded back, "Well, Springer's had that form way longer. So if he beat this threat between getting it and Razor getting it, that means he had a form no other jakhowl has ever reached. So the prophecy could have already been fulfilled."

The elders all exchanged glances at this, Sirius speaking up again, "I suppose that's possible, but we can't know for sure. All we know is that because of that prophecy, we were sealed away due to our enemy's fear that they were the great threat destined to be destroyed...but now we have returned."

"And Equestria welcomes you," Twilight adds, "Like I said before, Celestia would be happy to give this land to you. We can send her a message right now and let her know everything that we've discovered."

"I...would like that," Sirius replied, "I have seen how trustworthy you ponies are, so I would very much like to meet with this Princess Celestia. I would have to put it to a vote about officially joining your kingdom as citizens, but I'm sure the rest of my tribe will see the benefit of it." Several jakhowls nodded, while others frowned and looked away, "For now, you will be honored guests in Aurarora. I'll arrange some housing for you to stay in while you're here. In the meantime, feel free to look around and experience jakhowl life." He focused on Springer and the pups, "I'm sure you're all eager to learn more about your heritage."

The three smiled as Sirius called the meeting to an end, the jakhowls leaving until only Sirius, Mirage and the newcomers were left. Sirius turned to his daughter. "Show them around. I'm sure they would like to get to know the you that isn't trying to kill them." Mirage blushed at this and nodded, the group heading out of the tree and once again looking out at the village.

"Well..." Mirage glanced away while holding one of her arms, "What would you like to see first?" They all shared a glance and shrugged.

"We'll leave that to you," Twilight told her. They all nodded and Mirage sighed before walking down the roots, her guests following her.

"I...I just wanna say I'm sorry. I know I didn't take your arrival to kindly."

"We understand," Springer nodded, "You were just trying to protect your home. I might have done the same thing if Ponyville had been sealed away for centuries." Mirage bit her lip at that, only for the group to pass by a rather poorly constructed house, which a jakhowl was trying to keep from falling over.

Twilight used her magic and the tilting structure straightened up, the jakhowl gasping at this before turning to her in fear. The princess frowned at this, making sure the house was stable before letting it go. "Don't take this the wrong way, but your houses are a little..."

"Terrible?" Mirage asked, the ponies slightly nodding, "We know. Building isn't really the jakhowl's strong suit. Also doesn't help that our only source of wood is the Tree of Ancients. We have to wait for its branches to grow before we can repair or rebuild anything."

"Shouldn't be an issue anymore," Spike chimed in, "There's a whole forest of wood just outside that you can use."

"And maybe some ponies could come and help build them," Mira added, "You saw how good they are at building stuff. Maybe they can teach you." Mirage glanced away at this as they got to the village, Ace and Mira now instantly drawn to the training field where many young jakhowls were working on their fighting skills.

Spike and the ponies could tell how interested they were, Flash speaking up, "Tell you what, why don't we fly around and see what this place has to offer from above?" They all spread their wings, "You all have fun with your guided tour." They shot off before the jakhowls could say anything, Mirage frowning.

"Impatient ponies, aren't they?"

"You have no idea," Springer chuckled as they headed down the path and arrived at the training field, spotting several older jakhowls teaching the classes. One group was practicing simple paw to paw combat, the youngsters all in a line and mirroring the teacher's punch and kicks. Another group was practicing with Steel Paw, slashing at straw dummies and rocks. Another group was doing target practice with their Aura Blasts, launching them at large rocks that had been painted with targets. One blast hit a rock and exploded, but the rock didn't seem even remotely damaged. Then there was a group practicing with Bone Breakers, which Ace and Mira noticed.

"Awesome," Ace smirked as he formed a Bone Breaker and ran up, the group surprised by his sudden arrival, but seeing him getting into his normal stance made the teacher flinch and rush over to correct him.

"Maybe you should take some lessons," Mirage told Springer. The older jakhowl frowned at her and simply walked over to watch the martial arts training while Mirage turned to see Mira staring at the Bone Breaker class longingly. "You can join if you want."

Mira shook her head at this, "I can't." She formed an Aura Blast and tried to reshape it, only for it to puff out of existence. "For some reason, I can't do it. Springer's tried to teach me, but it just doesn't work."

"Ah," Mirage replied, "So you can't use it either. That's alright." Mira glanced back up at her, "Don't worry, I can't use that move either. A lot of Jakhowls can't." Mira's eyes fully went wide at this, "The only move all jakhowls can use is the Aura Blast. For every other move, it depends on the jakhowl's family line."

"R-r-really?" Mira asked, "Springer never told me that."

"From what I saw in his memories, he doesn't know. His tribe probably all had the same abilities. But that's alright. There are lots of attacks that you could possibly learn, ones that Ace and Springer can't use."

"Like what?" She asked, Mirage then pointing to another group of jakhowls. Mira turned and saw one of the jakhowls form an Aura Blast that then began to reshape into a star, which they threw at a wooden target. It struck and exploded, knocking the target down. They repeated this process, only this time, a jakhowl threw the target into the air. The star was sent flying and it quickly curved toward the target, acting like a heat seeking missile that struck the target and exploded.

Another jakhowl suddenly coated his hands and feet with aura before rushing forward, karate chopping one rock and smashing it in half before spinning around to kick another rock, shattering it to pieces. Then, one leapt into the air as their tail glowed with aura. She spun around and struck another rock with it, breaking it apart.

"Wow..." Mira whispered, "That's amazing!"

Mirage nodded. "Just because you can't use one ability doesn't mean you're weaker than those that can. If I'm correct, the move I saw you use aside from Aura Blast is Steel Paw, correct?"

"Yeah," Mira nodded "I also used Velocity Strike. Or a weaker version of it."

Mirage nodded again, "I saw that. But I don't think it was that move." Mira blinked at her at this, "You're way too young to use Velocity Strike...and if I'm honest, I'm not sure many here could. When I saw that move in Springer's memories...I can see why he probably doesn't want you using it. But, there are other abilities that require large amounts of speed to use. For instance..." She crossed her arms as she glowed, the light flying off of her and taking shape besides her. Eventually, another Mirage appeared beside the first and Mira couldn't tell the difference between them.

"Wow," she whispered at seeing the two jakhowls standing side by side and moving differently to show they weren't a speed illusion like Flash could do. "What do you call that move?"

"It doesn't have a name," Mirage moved over to a rock and picked it up before throwing it at her copy. The fake caught it and tossed it to Mira, who caught it as the fake vanished. "We don't actually give most of our abilities names. The Aura Blast and Aura-Scaping are the only ones. But I gotta admit, the names you called them are interesting."

"So it doesn't have a name?" Mira asked, the older jakhowl nodding. "Well...why not call them Aura Mirages? That's what they are, aren't they? Mirages made of aura. Plus, you can say they're named after you." Mirage let out a laugh at this, only to pat the young jakhowl's side.

"I suppose so. Come, let's see if you can learn this move."

And as the two walked away, Mirage had to admit that despite having just met this young jakhowl, she liked her.





Up in the branches of the tree, Razor was watching as Springer and his friends seemed to be settling in. He growled at the sight, "Those idiots! Letting those outsiders pull them in so we'll lower our guard and they can betray us." He created a Steel Paw and used it to pick at his teeth, "I've gotta find a way to make them realize these ponies are nothing but trouble." As he said that, a small green jakhowl climbed up the side of the tree using his claws. "Snivel."

"Boss," the jakhowl pulled himself up onto the branch next to him. "What are we gonna do? We need to stop those ponies before they pull something, just like you said they would."

"I know that," Razor hissed, "But the rest of these idiots seem to think we can trust them."

"Right," Snivel nodded, "Sure, that Aura-Scape showed a lot of good things, but you're the jakhowl of prophecy. They should listen to you."

Razor slowly nodded back, only to feel himself more stuck than ever. He glared at the training ground, watching Springer spar while Ace continued to practice his Bone Breaker training and Mirage started teaching Mira something. Then he watched the ponies and their dragon friend as they continued to explore the area. "I've got to prove they're dangerous...but how?"





The ponies and dragon soon landed, all now walking through the farmlands, where multiple jakhowls were working on their crops. There were tons of vegetables being grown: Carrots, peas, potatoes, avocados and cabbages all growing quite plentifully in the soil.

"Wow..." Spike checked the leaves of a cabbage, "This looks amazing. My friend Applejack would probably be jealous of how well this turned out."

"Thank you," a light green jakhowl female bowed, "We work hard to make sure these crops grow well, but it is the soil that is truly to thank. It is excellently fertile."

"Yes," Twilight touched the ground and used her earth pony magic to sense it. The ground instantly responded, making her gasp, "It really is amazing. Not a single contaminant to be found. Considering the state of the land outside, this place being so lush is even more amazing."

The jakhowl nodded, "My great great grandmother was a farmer in those days, and her stories of the land back then spoke of the mountain being surrounded by lush terrain. However, it appears that the time we spent here has caused that land to lose its fertility."

"Time can do a lot of damage," Flash replied, "But it doesn't mean the place will always be like that. I'm sure with a little hard work, you could turn it back into a green paradise."

The jakhowl smiled at this as they continued to search through the place, Soul commenting, "I can't believe this place has been hiding here this whole time."

"It is amazing." Twilight added as they passed a trio of jakhowls playing hopscotch. "And now Springer doesn't have to worry about being the last of his kind. He, Ace and Mira all have a place they can feel at home in."

"I thought they did feel at home in Ponyville?" Heart asked, the group turning to him and saw a low serious glare on his face.

"Of course they feel at home there," Flash added, "But you felt at home in the Lost City until you came to Ponyville. That's probably how Springer and the others are feeling right now. They might have been happy where they were, but now they have a place they can truly be themselves."

Heart frowned, Flash's statement making him look worried. "Does that mean Ace and the others are gonna stay here?"

That question made them all come to a stop, their smiles vanishing at the thought of Springer, Ace and Mira not returning to Ponyville with them. But they knew if they did choose to do that, they had no right to get in their friends' way. "Maybe," Twilight told them, "But that'll be their decision to make. If they want to stay here, we'd have no right to stop them."

Heart just glanced away at this before spreading his wings and flying off. "Heart!" Flash yelled, but didn't go after him. He knew it wouldn't matter. As for Soul, Twilight wrapped a wing around her as they continued to explore the place, eventually arriving at the edge of the giant biome. Here they found several jakhowls hanging around this area, one being the blue elder that was standing next the large wall that covered the village.

As they got closer, they noticed the wall had been painted on. A bunch of images were scattered all over it, though the differing skills of each painting showed they were not all done by the same being. Most depicted images of jakhowls, along with many other creatures.

The jakhowl elder turned to them at this and smiled. "Ah. Enjoying your exploration of our humble home?"

"Yes," Twilight nodded, "It's a very nice place. You've taken great care of it."

"Well, it's not like I've had to do much," he slowly walked across the ground toward the wall. "As much as I hate to admit it, very few issues have occurred here during my tenure as an elder. I've gotten to add very little to the wall of memories."

"Wall of memories?" Twilight asked as they stared at the images.

"Indeed," he nodded, "This wall is the history of our tribe since we first came here. Every important moment has been added to it so that we won't forget anything." He showed them the latest image, one that still looked wet, and saw it was them. "I'm sad to admit that since being trapped within the seal, there hasn't been much we've got to enjoy."

"Well, the images look great," Soul added, "You're really talented Mr..."

"Chrome," he replied, "My name is Chrome. And thank you, my dear. If you have any questions about these memories, feel free to ask."

They nodded and looked back at the wall, only to see the image of a jakhowl they all recognized. "Is that Razor?" Flash asked, pointing at the image of the jakhowl in his upgraded form.

"Yes," Chrome nodded, "He demanded that I add him to the wall when he unlocked that form. I would have anyway, but his insistence didn't make it very fun for me."

They grimaced at that before continuning to inspect the painting, only for Flash to come across one that made him stop and do a double-take. On the wall was an image of the mountain outside with a bunch of tiny jakhowls inside of it. And surrounding the mountain were a bunch of creatures Flash didn't expect to see on a jakhowl mural. "Umbrum." Twilight heard this and sprinted over, seeing the images of creatures she had only seen from Sombra back when he was in his evil days.

"No way," she whispered as Chrome stepped over to them. "What does this picture depict?"

Chrome stared at it and sighed. "That image is of our sealing. It's not a pleasant memory we like to remember, but those that fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it."

"You said ponies were the ones that sealed you, right?" Flash asked as Chrome nodded, only for the defender to point at the painting, "But these creatures aren't ponies." That made Chrome tilt his head, Flash then repeating what Razor Fang had said before. "Attacking in the dead of night. Turning into clouds of smoke and using their red horns to put jakhowls into trances. Sucking out their spirits and sealing their enemies away for hundreds of years. I can't believe I didn't see it before."

"See what?" Soul asked, Twilight also making the connection.

"The enemy of the jakhowls from all those years ago. They weren't ponies. They were umbrum."

"What are these umbrum?" Chrome asked with a raised eyebrow.

Twilight turned to him. "It's hard to explain. Umbrum might look like ponies, but they're our exact opposite. The same way ponies descend from the original alicorn, the umbrum descend from the original umbrum." Chrome just blinked at her at this, Twilight sighing as she tried to think of a way to explain it.





Meanwhile...

Springer was now watching his pupils being taught the correct way to fight. A part of him said he should be annoyed that all his training with them were being undone, but an even larger part of him was happy. He had always known that being taught by him would leave Ace and Mira's training unperfected. Springer was strong, but he was entirely self-taught. All he could do was teach them what he knew and from what he saw of Mira's training with Mirage, she was clearly more comfortable with the style the older female jakhowl was showing her than his.

Springer continued to glance around, seeing all the different styles of training the young jakhowls were learning. No doubt, Ace and Mira would find a style that best fit them. He had always feared that when he was gone, the future of the jakhowls would be in danger. But now the traditions of the jakhowls were secure, so long as this place remained safe.

"Try again," Mirage told Mira, the yellow jakhowl taking a deep breath before summoning her aura, then rushing forward as fast as she could. Her speed increased, and as it did, she started jumping from side to side. The speed of her movements were so fast that she was creating an after image of herself, and within a few moments, she looked like she had a perfect twin that was moving just like her.

The two young jakhowls leapt at Mirage, one throwing a kick and another throwing a punch. Mirage smiled at this, but that wasn't enough for Mira to land a hit on her. She easily deflected one of the punches and struck that Mira in the chest, causing it to vanish and allowing her to focus on the real one. She sidestepped the flying kick and grabbed her by the ankle, then swung her around until she slammed into the grass.

"Ahh!" She cried as Mirage pulled her fist back before throwing it forward. Mira flinched, but felt nothing. She opened her eyes and saw the fist was hovering inches from Mira's face, Mirage smirking as she pulled away.

"Not bad," she helped Mira up, "You've picked it up quite quickly. But it'll take a while before you can form the fakes without incredible movement. For now, you should focus on increasing the number you can make."

"Got it," Mira nodded as Mirage moved over to a rock and sat down. Mira sat beside her and smiled, "Thanks. I know you didn't have to help me, but I appreciate it."

"No problem," Mirage chuckled, "You obviously haven't had any female jakhowl influences. It'd be a crime to let you go without any. Besides, we both have similar names. That might be a silly reason to help you, but who cares."

Mira laughed at that. "Well, that's not my full name." Mirage tilted her head at this, "My full name is Miracle. My friend Soul gave it to me."

"Really?" She asked, Mira nodding.

"Yeah. Before me and Ace hatched, she and Heart talked to our eggs. She said that us being alive was a miracle. That was one of the first things I ever heard."

"You heard her from within your egg?" Mira nodded again, making Mirage blink. "I've heard of that happening, but I didn't think it actually happened."

Mira shined a big grin at this, "We only heard them because our auras are in tune with them. Same with Springer and Flash." They turned to the older jakhowl, who was watching an Aura Star class. "Flash and Springer are so in sync that Flash could understand him before Springer was able to talk to others. They were even able to see through each others' eyes."

"A jakhowl and a pony were able to be that much in sync?" Mira nodded, "Amazing. This Springer certainly is a mystery. Even after seeing everything he's been through, it's still hard to believe just how many insane things one jakhowl can experience in a single lifetime."

"Well, the world's unpredictable," Mira giggled before gesturing to everything around her, "We never thought we'd find an entire kingdom of jakhowls, but here we are."

Mirage nodded at this. "I've seen that there are many good things in this world. But I'm still unsure about what the world outside this mountain is like. So many dangers that could cause my tribe harm."

"But the good things are still worth the risk," Mira chimed in, "If you spend your life hiding away, fearing the unknown, then you'll have never truly lived. It's only by exploring the unknown that you can truly decide what kind of life you want to lead."

Mirage smirked at that, impressed by the wisdom. Despite being the older jakhowl, Mirage could see Mira's time on the surface had given her much. And it was at that moment that the light coming from the crystal began to slowly dim. "What's going on?"

"That would be dusk. The light of the crystal will dim until it's just bright enough for us to not be in total darkness so that we can sleep peacefully." Mira nodded and noticed the jakhowls were all starting to head back toward the village, Mirage heading in that direction as well. Mira followed and couldn't help but smile at how tranquil the place was. She couldn't wait to see more of it.