A Warrior Awakens.

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The flames were rising from the buildings outside of the courtyard. The stench of death was so terrible that the soldiers of Equestria were on the verge of insanity. The only thing keeping them sane was being in the presence of Celestia and Luna. Shining Armor was just hoping that his beloved wife and his sister, Twilight Sparkle, would be spared in the massacre that was about to begin. Not even the elements of harmony could save what was left of the kingdom now, because just outside of the walls of the Canterlot Courtyard, which lies in the shadow of the palace, march ten thousand Griffon warriors bent on the annexation of Equestria to the Griffon Kingdoms. The griffons began to thrust the battering ram into the gates of the courtyard and the ponies raised their shields and spears in front of the gate, praying to Celestia that the Griffons would swarm in without caution thus ramming their bodies onto the spears and shields. The gate would soon break and the ponies braced for the worst.

Luna asked her sister "Are you sure he is going to make it here on time?"

The sun-loving Alicorn stared at her sister with calm, reassuring eyes. "Yes sister, I know that he will get here soon. He has to."

The princess of the night was still not satisfied with the response, "Need I remind you that our magic is spent from fighting so many of them earlier in a useless attempt to turn them back!?!?"

Celestia replied "I know sister. Just wait because he WILL get here and when he does, the high king of the Griffon Kingdoms and his army will be in for a brutal fight!"

Princess Luna, who was now reassured about the situation still didn't trust that the warrior would get here on time. Her head was filled with an adrenaline rush, courage, worry, but most of all fear. That's when everyone in the Canterlot Courtyard heard the shout that all of the soldiers, bearers of the element of harmony, and the princesses have been dreading the for the last 15 minutes.

"UNTO THE BREACH! FOR THE GRIFFONS ARE COMING!"

The final stand had begun. The rage of the ponies and griffons seemed unmatched to any battle that ever happened in Equestrian history. The worst of the blood mists happened in the breach. Big mac had been swinging his giant hammer furiously at the hordes of griffons knocking three of them away with every swing. Rainbow Dash's Pegasus Brigade was providing support in the air battle, dropping the last of the bombs into the griffon forces below and cutting off any griffon air attacks. Fluttershy was providing healing to the soldiers with Celestia and Luna. Applejack was supporting the shield wall with her brother who always stood in front of the wall with his hammer and fleeing for medical assistance every time he was hurt, thus leaving the shield wall to do its work. Rarity was leading the archers in peppering the griffons with arrows but they would just keep coming and coming. Twilight was in charge of the battle unicorns who were, like Rarity's archers, firing their missiles over the wall. The unicorns were charging up their magical energy to make exploding fireballs that would kill ten to 12 griffons each hit. You would think that the griffon army would be weak against this pony force but this battle was a game of numbers and once the shield wall breaks, which will be soon, all is lost because the strength of the griffons would cut down the softer interior of the pony force.

The Pony Army could feel Their strength failing. Each time The Griffons struck their shields, it would push them just a little bit farther back. Fear Began to sink in. Celestia could feel the thoughts of her ponies. "We can't hold on!" "They're to strong!" The sight of both Pony and Griffon Dead all around was enough to Damper all of the ponies Spirits. Little by little the wall was weakening. Seeing this as their chance, the Griffons Pushed all the more harder. Harder and harder they struck, until their chance came. One of the ponies Fell, his shield falling down and this gave the Griffons the opening they needed. The Equestrian army scrambled to fix the hole in their wall, but the Griffons pushed in to hard, to fast.

Just when even Celestia herself thought Equestria was about to be swept off the face of the earth and into griffon history books forever, a horn was heard coming from inside the palace. A silhouette of a man holding two blades was rushing into the light where his face could be clear for all to see. Once the ponies saw him a wave of energy was brought to them and they rejoiced. The shield wall started to forcefully push the griffons back into the breach. The griffons had fear come to their minds as they now understood why the ponies were fighting so exuberantly. A griffon would have to be completely insane in order to face this monster without having the slightest bit of fear cross his mind. The mere mention of his name even causes a griffon soldier of any kind to tremble.

"Craigulus Twinblade! You made it through the Canterlot tunnels!"

Luna's fear had been replaced with joy and relief as she embraced the warrior. Craigulus gently pushed her away knowing that the time for hugs and everything else would have to wait, now is the time for battle. Craigulus slowly walked down the stairs leading into the sea of soldiers in the courtyard and gave his command.

"SHIELD PATH!"

The ponies had made a single line of shields for Craigulus to run across so he didn't have to run the risk of getting injured walking straight out of the shield wall and into the griffons and Big Macintosh's hammer. The hero started running atop the shields that stood afloat on the sea of ponies and jumped onto Big Macs shoulders. Big Mac started to get confused and before he had mistaken Craigulus for a griffon battlefield assassin the warrior screamed

"Don't get off your hind legs! Just keep swinging!"

Without thinking twice, Big Macintosh nodded and he swung is hammer. Everything went into slow motion for Craigulus as the hammer swung down. Not only were 3 griffons hit by the hammer itself, but Craigulus jumped onto the hammer and killed 3 more of them with his blades as he rode the hammer like a surfboard. He sprang off of the hammer, onto the side wall, and down onto the unsuspecting griffon below to assassinate him.

Craigulus rose to his feet to view all of the stunned griffons wielding a variety of swords, axes, maces, and hammers. There was five long seconds of silence as Craigulus looked back at the proud faces of the ponies. They all had a hopeful look on their faces, looks that screamed: "I'm ready to fight and die as a true Equestrian!" Craigulus lifted his arm pointing his blade at the enemy Griffons.

"Your time will come!" He said with a Grin. Was it just his Reputation as a warrior or the sheer determination in his Eyes? Whatever it was, it was enough to have all the Griffons Hesitate for a moment.

Craigulus looked back and began a speech.

"Brothers and sisters of Equestria! Look at how the tides have turned! We are now the ones that are thinking that we are going to win this battle and I know that we can! The griffons over there have nothing but fear in their hearts! Everything we have been fighting for shall be decided in this beautiful city today. We can surrender now, or we can fight and die over this entire country! I don't know about you but I would rather die than be enslaved by the griffon king! There is still a chance we can win this battle though and I know we're outnumbered ten to one here, but still I love the odds! Equestrians, we fight now!"

Craigulus lifted his right arm wielding one of his swords. "For Celestia, Luna, and Equestria!
CHAAAAARRRRRRGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Massive surges of courage, pride, and rage filled the minds of the now charging Equestrian force. The princesses magic had been rejuvenated and they could use their powerful magic once again, firing beams of light and darkness at the ranks of griffons. The griffons were trying to stand their ground but despite their commanders whipping them they were trying to run away for the most part. The brave griffons held their ground though as the Equestrian forces began to cut them down one by one, thus sending them off to their gods. Craigulus was turning battle into some sort of art form as he cut down each griffon that got near him ever so smoothly and gracefully. This only served to raise the spirits of the Equestrian soldiers ever higher as everypony was screeching as loud as they could. The battle was now going to go long into the night and through to the day. Rainbow Dash's Pegasus brigade was destroying everything in the air that fought for the Griffon Kingdoms, Rarity's archers were hitting their targets with greater accuracy, Twilight's battle unicorns were destroying most of the tougher griffons with their spells, and Applejack and her brother were making quite a mess out of the battle field with their hammers and axes. The weaker soldiers of the griffons were now being pushed off of the Canterlot cliffs because they were caught fighting against the earth pony shield wall.

"SEND THEM OFF THE CLIFFS!" Applejack screamed.

"DON'T ALLOW THEM TO PUSH YOU! IF THEY PUSH YOU, PUSH THEM BACK HARDER! SEND THEM OFF TO THEIR GODS!!!!!"

Big Mac responded "EEYUP!"

The heat of battle was enough to take all of our hero's concentration, but he could still see something happening above him. In the air, Rainbow dash had begun to see red as one of her old Cloudsdale friends had just been stabbed in the stomach. Dash went on to kill every griffin in her line of sight, thus turning her into a monster of a mare. When her blood lust ended, she had realized what she had just done and she looked at herself in disbelief. She realized that she had scared herself for the first time in her life. That wasn't going to stop her though as she went on to take down the rest of the griffons air support. Meanwhile the battle at the front gate was a bloody mess. Griffon guts were flying everywhere and those lucky enough to retreat before the gates were closed had to hear the sounds of the other griffons as they were butchered against the gates. In the griffon camp, a beast of a griffon emerged from his tent. His name is Griffiam Wallace the Seventh and he is the king of the United Griffon Kingdoms. He decided that it was time to work out a peace treaty with this 'Craigulus Twinblade'. as he marched into the battle field with his guards he could see the Carnage created.. Hundreds if not thousands of Griffons Dead, laying Side by side with Ponies alike. Seeing their General coming up The griffons ceased their attack. Starting from the back of the line until it came to the front, the Griffons just stopped. As he Emerged into the front lines Griffiam could see who he was up against. Craigulus stood, blood covering his face, Dripping down his arm, to rest on the tip of his blades. Hundreds of dead Griffons laying around him.

"Heh" Griffiam Chuckled "I can see that you truly are the man I heard you to be."

"Have you come to join your brothers on the floor?" Craigulus Asked. "Come meet my blades Griffon!"

"Let me Ask you a question hero, " Griffiam Began. "There is a distinctive difference between Griffons and ponies, but what is the difference between them now?" He motioned to the floor where the dead lay. " As their bodies lay cold of the ground, all that was different is gone. The scent of Death, the cold grey eyes, The dirt where their blood dyes. I tell you hero there is no difference."

Craigulus stood up straighter lowering his blades, but keeping his eyes fixed on this general.

"What are you saying?" He asked.

"I have had enough of this Death." Griffiam replied. Then motioning to his guards to remain there, he took a few steps forward. "Come hero, Let us talk an end to this war..."

The two Came together and spoke of a peace Treaty to end this bloody battle. Finally agreeing to terms, peace was brought just as dawn was broken.

What seemed like a never ending night had finally ended. The sun had risen and the griffon king had surrendered. The ponies rejoiced! Craigulus sent the griffons back home. Never to return. When Craigulus turned around he could not believe what he saw. It was the entirety of what was left of the Equestrian army and they were all bowing to him. Even the princesses were bowing their heads in respect of the mighty hero. He stood proudly in front of his pony brethren and was inclined to give a speech.

"My friends! You have done Equestria a great deed today! You fought like fearsome timberwolves against a force that should have won against you. Instead we fought not for just the princesses, but Equestria as a whole! When colts and mares fight like this there is absolutely NO reason that we can't take this army and send them off to conquer our neighbors! Even the Dragon Republic would fall before us as long as we fight and die as TRUE EQUESTRIANS!" At that the whole army cheered in delight and stomped their hooves on the ground in pride. Some say you could feel the rumble of the hooves from Ponyville and even Stalliongrad. Something felt off though, because somewhere in the distance Craigulus heard a familiar buzzing sound.

"OH NO! NOT THAT, ANYTHING BUT THAT!"

He woke up. The Summer heat was radiating throughout his room while he lay in bed. He looked over at his alarm clock that had woken him from his slumber and turned it off with a frustrated sigh.

"Well, time to go play basketball and workout." He had some breakfast. stretched his legs and jogged to the basketball court. While he was jogging he day dreamed about his alternate self. He really did enjoy the idea of being a warrior like Craigulus Twinblade and killing countless monsters but he knew that it would never be a real experience because it would be simply stupid and delusional to think that places like Azeroth, Middle-Earth, Tamriel, and Equestria actually exist. Oh well, at least he had his imagination and that was something nobody could ever take away from him.

A discovery most interesting.

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Craig got back from his daily fitness routine, wandered into the kitchen, downed all the water from the jug in his fridge, walked upstairs, and sat down at his trusty laptop. First order of business was to go to NHL.com and find out if any interesting trades or signings had developed. Since he is a huge Canadian hockey fan this is no surprise because he had been following hockey for most of his teenaged life. He had been a true hockey fan ever since his beloved Vancouver Canucks went to the Stanley Cup Final, only to watch them lose. It is still one of the saddest moments in his time being a hockey fan. After seeing that little to no offseason developments had occured, he hopped onto Facebook to see if any of his friends were up to anything. Nothing. No notifications, messages, or friend requests and their wasn't any interesting conversations going on. There were a few memes that were there but it was nothing special.

Just as he was about to click the sign out button, his friend had messaged him. "Ian? Hmmmmm...... Haven't heard from him in a bit."

"Hey Craig! I need to come over to your place this Saturday so you can help me with this old map I found on my trip to the interior of British Columbia. It's like an old native tribe made it or something I just found it partially buried in the sand."

Craig found that message odd. The map was strange enough but the thing Craig found most unusual was the question of why Ian kept it just because he wanted his friend to look at it? Craig didn't even know about native lore and history, the only history he knew about was the times of the Roman Empire, the Vikings, Medieval Europe, and the Spanish destruction of the Aztec civilization. He would give this his best shot though, seeing as this may turn out to be the most exciting time he has had all summer. And who knows, maybe this will lead to a little adventure? He wasn't counting on it though. In any case he would just have to wait until this Saturday to figure out what the big fuss is over this map.

Saturday had arrived and so had Ian. They went upstairs and examined the map.

"You sure this is authentic Ian?" Craig asked to clear up at least one of his questions about this artifact.

"Yep, had a guy examine it and this has probably been in existence for around 467 years!"

"So this parchment dates back to 1546!?!? Holy crap this is a serious find man!"

"Your mom is a serious find."

"Shut up."

Upon further examination, Craig recognized the area this map was portraying. This was a crudely drawn map of the west coast from Los Angeles to the Interior of B.C! It was probably an explorers map but something is not right about that logic because Europeans never mapped out that much of the west coast until the early 1800's and come to think of it, natives never even mapped out that much of North America let alone the west coast! Something wasn't right about this actually being authentic. Craig was starting to have serious doubt's about this being legitimate. He was about to explain to Ian how he thought it was bull crap until Ian mentioned something that made the puzzle connect.

"On the back of this map is a bunch of old writing coming from a native language. I think the translator said it was the language the Coast Salish used."

Craig's ears perked. He knew that the Coast Salish loved their boats and such but it was kind of odd thinking that a Salish scout would have enough time to map out the entirety of the west coast and to somehow get all the way up to the interior. Whoever that guy was, Craig hoped that the scout did his tribe proud. He always did love to hear about long adventures.

Ian explained that the writings said "The door to the Land of Small Horses lies under the place of Learning on-"

The next few words made Craig's mind explode with excitement and a sense of adventure had ensnared his mind

"THAT'S THE NAME OF THE STREET MY SCHOOL IS ON! Could this mean that there is some sort of underground temple that has been right under my feet the whole time!?!?!?! I have to get to the bottom of this man! Come on Ian! Let's go on an adventure!"

Ian just looked at his friend and said "No thanks."

This answer put Craig in a state of shock. He never thought that his friend would decline something like this! He had to ask why.

"Why?" he said in a soft, but frustrated voice.

"Because it's probably just some mystical and philosophical bullcrap." Ian explained himself

"And even if there was some sort of underground temple or something we would probably have to dig and we don't exactly have machines to do it. We have regular old shovels and that would take weeks, even months!"

"But we could just ask some sort of archaeology tea-"

"Do you know any!?!?!?!"

"..................No."

After Ian left, Craig just sat at his desk to examine the map Ian let him keep. He then came to the conclusion that if he wanted an adventure he would have to find it himself. That adventure lies deep below the school that he knew inside and out. Since his parents were on vacation, he knew he didn't need to ask them for a ride to the school. He had to ask his brother for a ride instead. Who knows how that's going to turn out?

Craig asked "Hey me and my friends are going to camp in the school field for fun could you please give me a ride? we're going to be there for a week and we've got everything in terms of supplies so yea".

"Oh please, oh please, oh please, say-

"Yep!"

That went way better than Craig had previously expected. His brother normally doesn't say yes to things like that so quickly without persuasion. Now was the time to grab the tent that he obviously wasn't going to use from the storage and also he had to grab the shovel. He also thought bringing his pocket knife would probably come in handy as well as a flashlight and extra batteries. He also had the thought of his camera cross his mind as he was digging through the old storage closet. Craig had honestly never thought he would take a small adventure such as this. He truly felt like an explorer potentially heading into trouble. Craig could actually come to the conclusion that this is the first time in his life that he ever truly felt like Craigulus Twinblade. He grabbed his second pocket knife so he could just improve on that feeling. He began to think of something though. What if there was actually something dangerous down there? What if it hurt him, or even killed him?

"Oh well" he thought"At least there will be a hole in the ground so they can climb down and find my body for the funeral."

"Dear lord, that sounded morbid." He continued.

He decided he needed to shave his beard. It didn't even look like a good beard because he was always teased by his family that it looked like a neck beard which it certainly was attracted to the neck other than the chin but he wouldn't go so far as to call it a neck beard. He marched into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. His short, freshly cut, dirty blonde hair was something to be desired. Craig tended to think highly of himself because he was quite popular with the kids at school. Every time he wanted attention he would get it by doing something awesome like scoring a few points in a basketball game or being the life of the party at EVERY school dance throughout the year. He also had a girlfriend and honestly that's not a big surprise because of his striking blue eyes. Anyway it was time to shave and go to bed anyway, so I guess tomorrow i'm going to start my journey.

"I wonder what the door to the land of small horses means? Could it be that it means a portal to Equestri-

".....Naaawww it couldn't be."

Craig still seemed to have a small hope about it though. There is endless possibility of what it could really be after all.

Craig hopped out of the car at the school the next day and he chose a spot to dig. He knew not to dig straight down because if he did he would probably fall down pretty far once he hit the cave if there was one. He would just have to take his Minecraft strategy, make a stairway down! He began to dig on the slope that led down into the school field. He brought a pair of gloves so he could avoid getting blisters. He hated things like that with a passion. As time went on he grew increasingly tired while digging. Good thing he brought his Ipod though. He plugged it in and began to play his music. The particular song he played has got him through some tougher times in his life and it seemed appropriate to the situation he had gotten himself into. It is also a song used in one of his favorite videogame character's games. Music tended to keep him going because he is just one of those people that just moves to the music no matter how weak or tired he is. Food and water also help of course, and he had plenty of that in his backpack. His mind had been racing. He knew that even if he didn't find anything supernatural, he would have probably found ruins to sell to somebody and he would have been in papers across the country! He could see the headlines now:

"16 year old digs out long lost civilization!"

That was the only thing buzzing in his mind all night. Craig just kept digging long into the night stopping only to rest periodically. The next day he finally broke down a dirt wall in front of him and discovered a long cave going deep into the darkness. He pulled out his flashlight and flicked the on switch to find that it is not your everyday cave. It had a few stone pillars on each side supporting it and there was stone floors for the most part. He couldn't believe his eyes, the ruins actually existed! He decided to go deeper into the ruins because he was curious as a cat about it all. The hall was chilly and you could tell it was ancient because on the pillars there was many little drawings of what appeared to be horses and more oddly, people communicating with them. At this point Craig could not control his excitement about this and the more he thought about it, the more he thought that this just might be a portal to Equestria he was dealing with somewhere in this labyrinth. Although he was trying to let his logical side control him, he just couldn't stop his sense of imagination and adventure as he dashed through the caves. On his Ipod the playlist had looped back to 'Endless Possibilities'.

After going for what seemed like an hour, he found himself looking at a giant stone door with many strange markings and writings of some sort. He could not read it. He was in utter disappointment at the fact that this stone door was blocking his way. How could he continue his adventure when an immovable object was standing right in front of his potential destiny? He was about to turn back when he noticed something in the middle of the door. It was the palm of a hand carved into the stone. He put his hand there out of curiosity in case the door opened that way and just as he did so he instantly blacked out. He could see nothingness for what seemed like five whole minutes! It was almost like he died or something. That's probably it. This was the end of him and he felt a wave of grief and sadness wash over him as he thought of his friends and family learning about his disappearance and later, death. Just as he accepted his fate he heard a voice in the blackness.

"You have finally come to us."

Craig was almost startled at the sudden loud booming voice. It sounded like the voice of a girl echoing through his mind. She sounded beautiful.

"God? You're a woman?"

"I am not this God you speak of. Though many of my subjects treat me as one."

"........What is happening? Why am I blacked out!?!?!"

Craig went into a small panic due to the current happenings. This was something completely opposite of the realm of logic and his mind was not prepared for such a thing. He tried squirming but that did not help seeing as he was in some sort of out of body experience. The lady began to speak once more.

"Listen to my words carefully Craig."

"How on Gods green earth do you know my name!?!?"

"All in good time Craig! Please listen! You are going to need to hear this! Just please listen in silence, for I have a story to tell you."

Craig was still reluctant to hear what this voice had to say due to her refusal to tell him what the heck was going on, but then it struck him. This could be the beginning of something great! Something that nobody else would ever get to experience in their entire lives! Why not listen to what this voice had to say?

"Fine, I shall listen."

"Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria. There was trouble brewing in the town of Ponyville because a bandit camp had been spotted just outside the Everfree forest. These bandits belonged to the Griffon known as Iron Claw. One of the most dangerous bandit lords in Equestria today. If you can defeat them, then I have a little more in store for you. Do you understand?

"...........Yes Princess Luna."

"How do you know my name?!?!?"

"All in good time princess, all in good time"

Craig smiled. He now saw his destiny and it was all within his reach.

"Wait a second.........YOU WANT ME TO ACTUALLY FIGHT AND KILL THESE BANDITS!?!?!?!?!??! I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO FIGHT! IT'S LIKE YOU'RE SENDING ME ON A USELESS SUICIDE MISSION!!!"

He snapped out of his black out and was blinded by the midday sun beating down on him. Soon he found that he was lying beneath the treetops.

"This can not be good."

Dear Lord, Why?

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Craig picked himself up and brushed the dirt off his shirt and shorts.

He observed his surroundings, it was definitely morning but the forest was dark. Craig definitely knew where he was though. He was smack dab in the middle of the Everfree forest and the air smelled of the flowers, the fresh morning dew, the sap of the trees, the smell of the fires........

"Why on God's green earth is there a fire?"

Craig noticed some tents not too far from him and they seemed to be cooking some sort of meat. Craig was quite hungry so the aroma was intoxicating to him at the time. He decided to take a closer a look and just to be safe, he pulled out his pocket knives and went in crawling on his stomach because he had remembered what Luna told him about the bandit camp. Upon closer inspection, their was a cage just outside the biggest tent. In the middle of the circle of tents, there was a circle of bandits. The bandits consisted of three griffons, two colts, and a single diamond dog . The largest griffon with the scars and eyepatch started speaking:

"Hey! Listen up you freaks! We need to keep those three fillies guarded at all costs! If you have them escape I will kick your asses so hard you won't be able to sit for a week. GOT IT!?!?!

They shouted in unison. "YES CHIEF!"

Craigulus immediately figured out that was the bandit leader the moment he commanded them like that. He knew he couldn't preemptively strike them, so he would have to crawl silently through the bushes to figure out how to take these filthy bandits down. Noticing the chief stomped into his tent carrying the keys to the cage, Craigulus decided to see who the three fillies were. If he hadn't known any better he would have realized that these three were known as-

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders need your help mister. You may look strange and your certainly no one we've ever met before, but please help us!" Applebloom whispered as quietly as she could to Craigulus as he had just crawled in next to the cage.

"I realize that, Applebloom. You just have to keep quiet while I do this, okay? Can you promise me that?

"How do you know her name?" questioned Scootaloo.

"........Just please be quiet i'll explain later."

"Okay!" They all whispered in unison.

Craig got his priorities straight. All he needed to do was go inside the chief tent, grab the keys, release the CMC, and then hustle out of there. Craig's heart was pounding loudly and he was almost having an anxiety attack. He never thought that doing hero work would be so stressful and tense. He was living the real thing though, and that made him feel pretty awesome! He began to sneak into the tent and once he got in he tip-toed his way around the place, keeping his pocket knives close to him just in case the bandit chief heard him. While he was checking under every mat and checking every drawer, he had began to hear snoring.

"Sweet mother of Celestia, that bandit falls asleep fast! Oh gee i'm starting to use the princess' name instead of God's name. I technically shouldn't be using his name in vain so I guess that's kind of a good thing. I'm already starting to catch on to the customs of this world as well. Wow, that was quick.

Craig snapped out of his thoughts and got back to the task at hand. He hadn't found the key though, so he would have to go a bit closer to where the giant griffon was sleeping. The heart of Equestria's only human was now beating as fast as it ever had and he was actually starting to sweat under the pressure of making as little noise as possible. That's when he found the key. It was to Craig's misfortune, right next to the griffon chieftains head! Craig knew what he had to do though.

"All right. Just have to reach in and grab it.......come on Craig you can do it......almost there.......GOT IT!"

He had gotten the key without any trouble and the further he got back to the cage, the better he felt about just completing his first mission assigned by princess Luna! Technically he wasn't done yet because he was supposed to fight these bandits and dispose of them, but that's not the point! Craig just came to the conclusion that he could get back to town with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, grab some food, then a drink, and then come back when he is mentally prepared to fight! Luna didn't mention anything about that part, did she? Craig got out of the tent and straight to the cage. He got the key out of his pocket and put it in the-

*SLAM*

Craig found himself pinned to the ground by the Chieftain of the bandits. Pain had overtaken him as being grabbed and slammed onto the ground may have almost broken one of his ribs. The giant looked at Craig in a menacing fashion with a look that Craig would describe as the "I'm going to tear your ugly face off" look. The giant began to speak.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here. I've never seen a being like you around here before! What are you? some sort of cross-breed between a diamond dog and a griffon or something totally unique?

Craig struggled to spit out the answer.

"I'm.......*cough*...a human!"

The diamond dog grew impatient. "Just be done with it and kill him! Who cares who he is? For all we know he must be some sort of assassin sent to kill you!"

"SILENCE!!!!!!! I make the orders around here and I say he fights me around the campfire in a fight to the death!!!!

Craigulus heard the three fillies gasp as the Griffon threw him over to the other side of the campfire from him. He was now more scared than he had ever been in his life and he knew that he was about to meet his maker. He unsheathed his pocket knives and prepared to die. Only one thought crossed his mind that stood out among the millions of others.

"I don't think I like it in Equestria anymore.

"What's your wager human?"

"........What?"

"WHAT'S YOUR WAGER!?!?!? If I win, you die and I keep the prisoners. What do you want if you win!?!?!?

"Okay. If I win I want the three fillies to come back with me to Ponyville. I also want your bandits to leave Ponyville alone!" Craig began to feel more relaxed for some reason. He was still in a state of anxiety and nervousness but it was not as bad as before. Something marvelous happened while he was clutching his chest hoping to somehow ease the pain though. It had somehow gone away! Craig didn't know if he was just distracted from it or if it literally just healed but he had a job to do and this job was a fight to the freaking death. He had taken a deep breath and then asked the griffon leader the question.

"Can we fight now please?"

"MY PLEASURE!!!!!"

The giant gripped his massive, two-handed axe and violently knocked the fire out of the way with a terrifying screech. He then charged at Craig and swung the axe at him multiple times whilst he jumped and rolled to dodge the axe. Craig had both his pocket knives in hand but he couldn't seem to get close enough to cut the griffon. He knew he was in trouble when he had been grabbed in the talons of the beast once again. The griffon tossed him right into a nearby tree, thus giving Craig an even bigger pain in his kneecaps. He was in searing pain and he couldn't stand up. Craig began to hear the giant footsteps coming towards him and he knew that he was going to die if the chief got any closer to him. He put his hand over his pain-stricken knee and to his disbelief, the pain had gone away and he could walk again!

"This is impossible!" Craig thought, "Do I have some sort of healing magic? Do I have some sort of natural talent concerning magic here in Equestria?"

Craig's confidence got a much needed boost with that knowledge. He began to stand up, only to be grabbed by the familiar talons once again.

"Oh, that's BULLCRAP!"

The giant griffon tossed Craig back into the middle of the camp and the beast had flown himself right next to him. He raised the axe into the air and screeched. Craig, who knew this was the end of him, put his right palm in front of him in a sort of involuntary reaction while looking away from the griffon. He felt his palm warm up for a split second and he heard some sort of explosion in front of him. He instantly opened his eyes to see that somehow, someway, the tides had turned in his favor. The griffon had minor burn marks all over the front of his body and the spectating bandits jaws were dropped in disbelief. Craig had become a little more tired after he did whatever he just did but it seemed to have worked. He felt the magic energy coming back to him though.

"He can use magic!" exclaimed the red colt

"Thanks captain obvious." replied the blue colt in a mocking voice.

Craig had discovered his special talent that could very well win him the fight. He stood up and smirked at the griffon. The combatants engaged in hand to hand combat once again and as the battle went on, Craig found that he was getting the hang of this whole combat thing. The griffon was cursing as he just couldn't seem to catch his enemy in a bad spot. Craig just kept dodging the swings of the axe and every time he did, he found an opening and proceeded to run past the griffon and cut him up with his knives in the process. Fifteen minutes of fighting had passed and both fighters were still fighting. Craig had been hit with the side of the axe which sent him flying into the chieftain's tent which sent it tumbling down and Craig just stood back up again and smiled a cocky smile.

"So, are you ready to give up yet? I mean look at you. You have cut's all over you and I've never seen so much blood rushing down anyone's face before. You might as well surrender so you can escape with your life."

The griffon had a look of pure horror on his face. He had been coughing and wheezing out of pure exhaustion for the last four minutes of the fight and he didn't know what else to do. That's when he had began to resort to something only a madman would do. He grabbed a mushroom plant out of the ground and proceeded to eat it. His rage had once again come to him and he went into a full berserk mode. He began to charge at the human who was now stunned by the screeching griffon adversary. Craig just got out of the way in time as he began to throw three energy bursts at him. Craig found that in Equestria, the way he controlled magic was similar to how the princesses controlled their magic. Craig didn't know how much cooler this whole experience could get but all he knew about was that he was going to win this battle and it was going to be sweet! He began to get a sense of how to control the magical energy and found a healthy balance of how and when to strike his magic down upon his foe. After a while, the griffon had become tired once again and collapsed from exhaustion. He was coughing up blood as he spoke.

"Fine.......*cough*......I surrender. Take the fillies and leave. My bandit brothers and I will pack up and head north to the Griffon Kingdoms. It is then that we shall find another village to terrorize. Pack up your things brothers! We're heading north!

The warrior proceeded to jaunt down the path with the three young ponies in tow. He had so many questions, such as how was he going to meet the rulers of Equestria? How was he going to introduce himself to the mane 6? What could the princesses possibly have in store for him?

"Hello Mister human!" Sweetie Belle began. "Is human your name or is it your type of species or whatever they call it.?"

Craig responded with a smile. "Actually a human is someone who looks like me. They're all different and have their own unique physical and mental features and they all live in a world called Earth."

"Do you have a name?" Scootaloo asked.

Craig knew that the question he was just asked had an obvious answer to it. He wasn't going to pass this one up.

"My name is Craigulus." He responded.

"Craigulus Twinblade."

Meeting the real heroes.

View Online

Craigulus Twinblade and the three youngsters had finally stepped out of the forest. As always, the view from the exit of the Everfree Forest was amazing! The sun was shining down on the town of Ponyville and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Everything seemed so majestic so this seemed like an appropriate time to take a deep breath of the clean and pristine Equestrian air. Craigulus breathed in and out and it was the most amazing air he had ever smelled. No pollution, no chemicals, and none of Earth's garbage problems were present in this world. The air was so great that Craig's sinus' had totally cleared. Craig began to sing and dance his way into Ponyville to one of his favorite songs from season three.

"Morning in Ponyville shimmers!
Morning in Ponyville shines!
And I know for absolute certain,
That everything is certainly fine!

That certain Equestrian happiness had just entangled Equestria's newest inhabitant. Sweetie Belle had joined him in singing a duet. They began to sing,

"There's the mayor, en-route to her office.
There's the sofa clerk selling some quills!
Yea, Ponyville is so gentle and still.
Can things ever go wrong? I don't think that they will!"

The populace of Ponyville had begun to join in on the festive dancing and singing. nobody really knew who this newcomer was or what his intentions were, but if he was singing and dancing they might as well join in! Just as the party kicked into full gear the mane six had all come in to see what all the fuss was about. They saw Craigulus atop one of the tables doing some sort of crazy dance with his legs. He appeared to be shuffling his feet and running on the spot at the same time! The ponies watched in awe as he was showing them a dance that nopony knew existed. He stopped and looked at all the staring eyes as the music came to a screeching halt.

"Back where I come from, we call that dance move the shuffle! I might just teach you all how to do it sometime if I have time." Craigulus explained.

"Ooohhhhhh." the townsfolk replied who then got on with their days.

Craigulus hopped off the table to meet with the mane six. He had never felt so excited in his life! Who else would have an opportunity like this one to meet his favorite fictional characters? Nobody, that's who! He put on his most kindly expression and strolled on over to their warm and welcoming demeanor's. The purple unicorn began the welcoming.

"Hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle! You must be-"

"Craigulus Twinblade, at your service." He proceeded to bow in respect of the newest princess of Equestria.

"There's no need to bow, Craigulus." Twilight blushed

"But you are a princess! A leader figure in this land! Why shouldn't I bow?" Craigulus rose to his feet.

Twilight pondered the question for a few moments. She was still getting used to the whole princess thing since the coronation that happened a few months ago.

"I don't really think I have done anything as princess that would-"

"You turned Nightmare Moon back into princess Luna! Well, you did it with the help of your friends of course. You also defeated Discord when all seemed lost! Heck, you beat up an entire regiment of changelings! You are all practically heroes, and one day I hope to be like the six of you."

"You're certainly a very nice young.....errr...What are you exactly?" Rarity pondered.

"I am a human! I hail from another world in a kingdom called Canada!" Craigulus tried to make the human race sound cooler than he thought it was.

Twilight Sparkle's ears perked at the mention of him being 'human'.

It's him! Twilight thought, "This is the one that Celestia and Luna had told me about! I have to get him to Canterlot right now!

"Okay everypony! We need to travel to Canterlot right now! We can talk on the train on the way there! Spike, I want you to stay here and look after my library. This is really important business!"

Spike appeared annoyed and began to complain. "Twilight, I want to come with you!"

Twilight shot Spike an annoyed glare.

"Okay......."

Spike proceeded to walk down to the library mumbling under his breath in frustration.

"Well, this is a big surprise. Won't I have a place to stay at all?"

"We'll get to that soon enough. Right now though, we have an appointment with my ex-teacher, princess Celestia!"

Pinkie began to speak "Oh well, I guess we're going to have to hold off the Ponyville welcome party until further notice!"

Craigulus loved the idea of partying and dancing. He also knew that he was going to become good friends with the mane six. Pinkie Pie seemed even more awesome in person than through the computer screen too! Parties would have to wait though because of this so-called 'important business'.

The train ride was extremely eventful in terms of being social with everypony. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Craigulus were having a lively talk about sports in Equestria and Earth, Rarity and Fluttershy were having a pleasant talk over tea, Twilight was reading a book given to her by princess Celestia entitled "Ruling Equestria for Eggheads", and Pinkie Pie was.......well, being Pinkie Pie.

"HEY CRAIGULUS! YOU LOOK KIND OF FUNNY, WHAT MAKES YOU LOOK LIKE THAT? WHAT ARE THOSE? THEY LOOK LIKE A GRIFFONS TALON BUT THEY ARE SOFTER AND A LOT SMOOTHER! ARE THOSE WHAT YOU CALL FEET? NICE FOOTWEAR BY THE WAY! WHAT ARE THOSE CALLED? I'VE NEVER SEEN THEM BEFO-"

PINKIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! screamed a certain extremely annoyed purple princess.

Craigulus held his hands to his ears. He never could have imagined how loud that scream actually could be in real life. He got back to talking with Rainbow about sports.

"So, now that that's over with I have to talk about my favorite sport to you. It's called hockey! It's a game played with ice skates and you hold a stick in your hands so you pony folk would have to stand on your hind legs to play it."

"So it's just a regular old stick?" Applejack intervened.

"Actually no! It is a finely made, well crafted, straight stick with a curve on the end to handle a puck. When your team has the puck, the objective is to find a way past the two defense-men with your three man offensive team and to shoot the puck past the opposing goaltender and into the net. Be careful though, because the other teams offense can step into the defensive game as well and they can attempt to knock the puck off of you. They can even slam you into the side boards if you aren't careful. Back home, we call that body checking. We also just simply call it checking."

"That sounds awesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"That sounds like a mighty respectable sport." Applejack concurred.

"It certainly is! You know what? We should definitely introduce Equestria to the sport of hockey. I'm sure it would be an instant hit among the populace of major cities like Canterlot, Stalliongrad, Manehattan, Fillydelphia, Detrot, and especially the Major Cities of Canida! If it got even more popular, we could start a professional hockey league!"

"Could Ponyville have a team?" Applejack wondered aloud.

"That depends on whether people like it enough and are willing to pay to see every single game in the arena. It is certainly possible though! It is just a lot harder to maintain a professional franchise in smaller towns."

"Hey everypony! We're here!"

Craigulus looked out the window and couldn't believe his eyes. He knew Canterlot looked neat in the show, but he never could imagine that it would surpass the city of Vancouver in terms of beauty! He saw the guard ponies patrolling through the sky, the crowds of people entering and exiting Canterlot's main gate, and everything else he had always envisioned Canterlot to be was all right in front of his eyes! It was all so refreshing and the way he felt was incomparable to any other emotion that he had previously felt in his life.

"The best part about it all is that it never gets old." Twilight explained as she trotted to Craigulus's side.

"It doesn't?"

"It never does." Twilight chuckled.

"I can understand why." Craigulus began to smile. "I guess it's a mixture of both the feeling of history, and the feeling of harmony. It's quite.....unique.

The train had stopped, thus it was time to enter the city station. It was awfully busy that day and big crowds often made Craigulus slightly uncomfortable, but this time the feeling never came at all because everypony seemed so welcoming and polite to each other. That was for the most part anyway, as some grumpy mares and colts were still thrown into the mix.

"How far to the palace?" wondered Craigulus

"Not far darling." Rarity answered.

Before long, they had made it to the courtyard entrance. Craigulus examined the place and to his surprise, it looked exactly like it did in his dream. He started feeling strange though, because his head started to feel wierd. Largely ignoring it, he proceeded through the courtyard observing more of his surroundings. He noticed the statue of Starswirl the Bearded whose spells are still used far and wide even after countless years, the statues of the princesses, and another statue of some pony whom he couldn't recognize.

"Twilight, Who's that?" Craigulus asked, pointing his finger to the statue.

"That is sir Canter. He was an earth pony that lead the resistance during the Discordian Era. He founded the original fortress of Canterlot. He also lead the resistance in the final fight against Discord with the princesses at his side! He was killed by Discord himself but his defiance toward Discord was legendary! He never feared the wrath of Discord and put himself in harms way so that the princesses could strike Discord down while sir Canter distracted him. Some say he even spit in Discords face while he was pinned and said these exact words:

'Discord, you were a worthy foe. My life will be taken by your decision but the exact moment you decided to usurp the throne was the moment you asked for death. Now you shall receive death!'

Canter's throat was then slashed open by one of Discord's talons. Now he lives as a spirit in the Kingdom of Haven!"

"What's the Kingdom of Haven?" pondered Craigulus.

"It's a place where all heroes go to live when they die." Fluttershy intervened.

Craigulus instantly made the connection between the Heaven of his world, and the Haven of Equestrian lore. He couldn't help but wonder if their was an equivalent to hell, but he refused to ask because that question sounded kind of odd in his head. As Craigulus and the Bearers of Harmony had reached the top of the steps of the palace, Craig looked back and saw the surrounding lands of Equestria below Canterlot. He was calm and it all seamed so peaceful. Then a violent pain had suddenly began to linger in Craig's head. He fell to his knees and prayed to God to make it stop but it didn't. The scene of peacefulness had rapidly changed all around him and buildings started to tumble down everywhere in Canterlot. He looked up to see a colossal entity of fire and darkness hovering in front of the city of Canterlot. It's features were horrifying to him and the longer he stared at it, the more frightening it became! It's massive fiery eyes shook Craig to the bone. The left eye had a massive fiery scar that had a dark cloud representing it's eye in the center. It definitely didn't have legs though, it was just a massive upper body resembling that of a human and it had a single wing on the right side of his body. The wing appeared to be made of gold and was emitting a dark aura about it. The entity began to speak in a deep, dark voice that made the ground vibrate when it spoke.

"Not even your God can save you now."

The entity began to laugh an insane, fear-inducing laugh as Craig started screaming at the top of his lungs.

DEAR GOD, MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE IS THERE ANYONE WHO CAN MAKE IT STOP!?!!?!?!? I DON'T CARE WHAT KIND OF SPECIES YOU ARE BUT PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!!!!!!

Craigulus Twinblade's mind had suddenly cleared as if someone had actually stopped it. He thought it was over but he opened his eyes only to see that the entity was still there. The alicorn sisters had come to his side.

"Oh thank you Celestia and Luna! Please help us all! Kill him before he crushes Canterlot! Please!?!?!?!"

The princesses only looked at each other, shook their heads in sorrow, and left Craigulus for dead. As they walked away, they slowly turned to ash from head to toe. Craig started sobbing from the amount of insanity and burning corpses that lay before him. The entity simply put off a sinister smile.

"All your friends will betray you and die, Craigulus. It is no use to trust these ponies you call heroes because they aren't even truly powerful. If they were truly powerful they would've been able to stop ME!"

The giant raised his palm and smashed the Canterlot tower down upon Craigulus. He was convinced the last thing he would ever see was a giant piece of debris falling on top of him and just as his worst fear was confirmed he had blacked out again.

He began to open his eyes. He first saw what appeared to be a white, stone ceiling followed by the silhouette of a dark blue horse head with a sparkling, flowing mane.

"P-Princess Luna?"

His vision had become clear to him again.

"That is correct, Craigulus. It is great to see you awake and well."

"Where am I?"

"You are in the room you will be staying in for the rest of your days here in Equestria. Get comfortable here if you haven't already because you are going to spend many nights studying magic in here."

Craigulus looked around. It was a nice little room with a desk and candles to light up the night. The place also had a balcony he rose from his bed in a panic to view the damage that had befallen Canterlot. He burst the sturdy stain-glass doors open to find that Canterlot was completely fine and that it was night time. Craig breathed a sigh of relief.

"I looked into your vision so I know what happened." Luna explained

Craigulus let out another sigh. "It was terrifying........wasn't it?"

Celestia had been in the room without Craig knowing it. "What my sister described was certainly alarming."

"I wonder what that was all about?" Craigulus wondered aloud.

"We know what that was all about. It is best to get rest for tomorrow though because we have a lot to do in the coming months. Just so you know, Your new friends have been given rooms for the night as well. By the way, I want to take you in as my new student. I know it's kind of sudden but I require you to be a student of mine for the upcoming months and I need to enter you in as an official subject of mine so it's legal for you to stay here. I wouldn't want to be breaking my own law so you get it." Celestia chuckled.

"That's quite alright with me princess." Craigulus confirmed with a smile as he hopped into bed and blew out the candle that had been lighting up the room with a warm glow.

Celestia and Luna had began walking out.

"Celestia? Luna?"

"Yes?" they said in unison

"Why is it that, when I fought the bandit chief, I was already adept in the use of magic and combat?"

Celestia stepped forward, ready to educate her new student.

"It is your special talent as a hero. Every hero who comes into this world has a special talent with something."

Craigulus's ears perked up in excitement.

"A hero!?!?!?!"

Luna began to speak. "We will explain more tomorrow. For now, you need your rest."

The door closed and Craig quickly drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Origins

View Online

Craigulus awoke with a sudden gasp.

"Show yourself!" he screamed whilst frantically pulling his pocketknife off the crimson counter next to him.

"There is nothing to fear, Craigulus."

Craig looked over to the entrance where an empathetic princess Luna stood whilst drinking her morning tea. Twas the finest, most expensive tea in Equestria.

"Craigulus, I made tea for you. Do you want a drink of it?"

The human didn't really enjoy tea all that much, but out of respect to his superior he grasped the handle of the cup and began to drink. It was a truly amazing beverage and if he didn't think tea tasted good before, he did now. Turning to the princess, he gave his thanks.

"Thank you my liege, I am truly grateful for this."

Luna remained in silence. Bowing her head, a single tear ran down her cheek. Craigulus began to wonder if his awakening had upset the princess and he began to feel terrible about the way he handled his dreams. The funny thing is that he didn't even see his dream because it past by his mind so quickly but he still felt the emotion of it. Craigulus started to question if she had been able to see the dream herself.

"My liege, please forgive me. I did not mean to upset you."

Luna looked up at the human, then back down to the floor.

"It is alright, you're sudden awakening just reminds me of the days before becoming Nightmare Moon."

A sudden chill crept into Craig's bones. Could this mean something for his future in Equestria? Is it a sign of something terrible coming his way? Millions of thoughts circled around in Craig's head.

"Before I descended into darkness, I kept waking up in the same fashion you just did. I couldn't even see my own dreams those days. I'm just worried about you and your future here in Equestria. I'm afrai-, afraid you might....."

Not being able to control it anymore, Luna burst into tears. Her past was emotionally tough for her to even chat about and it seemed that every time she did talk about it, depression would set in. Craigulus rose from his bed and began to slowly drift to the alicorn.

"Everything is okay, Luna"

Luna felt the embrace of her new student. It was a slow warm embrace that she had never experienced before. It seemed as if time stood still to her, but to her disappointment it ended. The embrace slowly loosened and Craigulus placed his arms at his side.

"Feeling better?"

"Yes. Far better than before. We should make our way to the library though, because my sister awaits our arrival."

Craigulus nodded in approval and joined Luna in the walk through the palace. They left the bedchamber and entered the hallway, slowly drifting by the various paintings and stained glass windows. It was almost uncomfortably warm in the hallways because there was a lack of open windows. Reaching the end of the hallway, the princess opened the door to the foyer. They began to ascend to the top of the main stairs and once they reached the top, they climbed a spiraling staircase. Atop the spiraling staircase was the library, where the princess of the sun was writing in a notebook.

"Sister, our student is ready for the history lesson." Luna informed Celestia.

"Craigulus Twinblade." Celestia closed her notebook and turned to face her student.

"My sister and I have to explain to you why you're here."

Celestia's horn began to glow, as did Luna's. Craigulus looked around the room bracing for it to change and sure enough, it did. The room started glowing brighter and the light began to blind Craig so he immediately covered his eyes. Confusion clouded his mind as the princesses began to shout in unison.

"MAY THE SECRETS OF EQUESTRIA, DARK AND BURIED BE REVEALED TO THE KEEPERS OF FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE!"

Craigulus opened his eyes and noticed that he was in space! It was similar to the Magical Mystery Cure episode where Celestia sang to Twilight but this time, things seemed a bit different. There were many glass bookshelves and paths around this place. Luna glanced at Craig and spoke.

"Welcome to the secret library, my subject."

Celestia levitated a book toward him and he opened it cautiously. A bright flash of light occurred and the scene had changed yet again upon the opening of the book. The alicorns and the human were now floating above five islands.

"Craigulus, welcome to the dawn of world history. In the beginning, two beings were trapped underneath the island of Eden. One was an alicorn known as Galaxia, whose use of the worlds energy was unstoppable. The other being had no name but was a centaur whose physical might was unmatched. With Galaxia's energy and the centaurs might all in one chamber, the earth gave in and a massive earthquake ripped open a path into Eden."

Celestia once again used her magic to reveal a different scene. The centaur with his long black hair and his blue eyes, and the alicorn queen with her extravagant crown and starry mane, were now sitting atop a golden monument which resembled that of a Mayan pyramid. The monument had always been surrounded by thousands of their offspring, which were alicorns and centaurs. They danced and prayed to queen Galaxia and the centaur whom was now reffered to as 'The God King'.

"They all look so happy and comforted." Craigulus spoke in a calm, but joyous manner.

Luna's voice switched to a much darker tone.

"Yes, but it would not remain this way. Over the thousands of millenniums of co-existing with each other, the centaurs grew jealous of the energy that their alicorn counterparts used. This energy, which was now referred to as 'magic', had paved a path of jealousy in its wake so strong that even the rulers of Eden themselves were fighting over whether magic or pure strength was better. One day, the God King decided to embrace the magical energies for himself out of pure hatred and desire for power. This is the origin of the dark side of magic."

Luna had taken the honor of changing the surroundings again. The God King was now delivering a speech to the centaurs. Certain features the centaur had were rather unnerving. His eyes had gone black as the night sky and a vertical red scar had been marked on his left eye. The sky was filled with black clouds as well.

"Centaur brethren! Bow down and listen to your king!"

He began to raise a black spear and shield to the sky as the centaurs chanted 'God King' for a good 2 minutes until they were silenced.

"I have found a way to slaughter the alicorns! I have unlocked a whole new level of magical energy that is black as smoke and as terrible as the monsters in the sea! It is a power I wish to bestow upon any of the centaurs that will join me in the great purging of the alicorn race. Join me or die, the choice belongs to you and you only!"

The army of human-horse hybrids screamed and as they did their eyes began to emit a blue haze. This seemed to indicate that the newly found dark magic had been delivered to them. The God King smiled devilishly and rose his spear once more before trotting into his palace.

"What happens next!?!?" Craigulus frantically questioned Celestia.

Celestia sorrowfully bowed her head and spoke.

"The 'First War' began."

The scene was changed yet again. The sky was divided between light and dark as if the night and the day were fighting each other. The flames of war had spread across Eden and the other four islands as the centaurs and alicorns were now engaged in brutal combat which went on for thousands of years. Magic had been slowly destroying the islands little by little as no living creature wanted to let their enemies win. Craigulus watched as one centaur had used his sword to cut an alicorn's stomach open, thus letting her insides spill onto the grass below her. There was also a centaur who was set on fire from an alicorn spell and he ran around screaming in pain as he burnt to a crisp. Meanwhile, the God King and his wife were circling each other atop the old, golden monument. The centaur king had another new feature about him because he had grown a single golden wing which emitted darkness. Craigulus recognized the wing instantly and his mind developed a brief flashback to the vision he had in the canterlot courtyard.

"Oh my God, it's him!" Craigulus whispered in horror.

Neither Celestia or Luna responded. Instead, their eyes were focused on the rulers of Eden who were staring each other down whilst walking in a circle atop their monument.

"Galaxia, this is where I win. THIS IS WHERE YOU DIE!"

The centaur charged and thrust his spear toward Galaxia's neck only to have it blocked by her horn.

"I am with child and yet you rebel against me? You are nothing but dishonorable scum, you traitor!"

With that, she used her mighty wings to lift herself into the air and send a beam of pure energy down upon her foe. The corrupt king retaliated by pointing his spear toward the queen sending a wave of black magic to hopefully, overpower his adversary's attack. Both waves collided with each other, thus sending the islands into chaos. The islands began to shake and crumble, thus sending many alicorns and centaurs to their watery graves. The epicenter of the two magical energy's had been blasting waves of raw power to cause this mega-disaster.

"Such immense power." Craigulus marveled under his breath.

The God King's power began to overtake Galaxia's beam. Black magic began to consume everything in the surrounding area as his wife's power slowly diminished. Her eyes were sealed shut as she braced for the inevitable ending of her life. The king thought that his victory was secured.

"You're absolutely nothing to me now! Are you ready for your demise, my love?"

Celestia then smiled as she began to speak her next words.

"Then, something beautiful happened.

Galaxia opened her eyes that began to glow a bright, golden light. This almost blinded the God King who was clearly surprised at this new level of brightness that had been brought into the world.

"You.....have no idea.....WHO YOU'RE DEALING WITH!"

Galaxia had sent a shock-wave that ripped right through Eden which disabled all magic usage for a full five seconds, thus stopping both energy beams.

"Wake up, my children!"

The sky flashed violently for what seemed like a minute and after the light show, two round objects appeared in the sky. One of the objects was hard to view, as it shined brighter than any mineral known to Eden. The other object was white with dark spots riddled all over it and the glow of the object seemed to emit a mysterious vibe.

"Sun! Moon! Grant me the strength to destroy my enemies and bring balance back to the world. Deliver unto me the power of your ECLIPSE!"

Magic had once again lingered through the God King's veins and his expression turned from surprise to pure rage.

"I don't know what you just did, but I've had enough!"

The fallen king charged his attack. Black strands of energy poured through his fingertips and the tip of his spear began to surge with energy.

"Goodbye, idiot!"

Pointing his spear in front of him, he unleashed his attack. All the darkness in the world had been unleashed toward Galaxia but due to the energy shield she conjured up, the darkness deflected into everything else thus destroying even more of Eden.

"Damn you!" The God King screamed at the top of his lungs.

Light enveloped the queen and lightning began pouring into her horn as the worlds first eclipse had begun.

"What the hell is happening here? Please explain this to me!?" Craigulus pleaded to the Equestrian alicorns.

Celestia turned her attention to Craigulus and began to explain these happenings.

"This is what happens when your relationship with magic becomes extremely deep and emotional. Only a select few have been able to reach this level of magical mastery and those who do are destined to do amazing, heroic acts! Saving entire countries, even the entire world as we know it!"

Craigulus's eyes widened.

"what do you call it?"

Luna stepped in and her eyes began to glow as she spoke in the royal Canterlot voice.

"Inner Eclipse form!"

After a long transformation, the lightning ceased along with the noise. Those who were still alive now had their attention set on the summit of the monument. Galaxia's mane was glowing gold and she had a bright aura surrounding her as she death stared her husband. The centaur began to back away slowly, stuttering as he spoke to the queen in disgust.

"Y-You're a f-freak, you know that?!?!"

Galaxia spread her wings and lifted herself into the sky one last time. She began to glow brighter as her horn began to spark fiercely, she immediately began to smile.

"I'm aware of that, my love."

In that moment, Galaxia poured everything she had into her attack and unleashed the most devastating energy that the world had ever seen. Gigantic beams of light tore through the God King as he screamed in pain for the last time in his life. The hills and mountains of the islands crumbled and destroyed everything under them. The earth cracked open violently and killed many more of the alicorns and centaurs.

"Our mother was a great leader." Celestia smiled.

Craigulus wasn't surprised about the new information. Galaxia literally created the sun and moon so why can't she be the mother of Celestia and Luna?

"So, I guess that makes you two the daughters of the God King as well?"

"Yes, but we aren't exactly proud of it." Luna scoffed.

The beam died down and so did the inner eclipse. Galaxia used her power to sense how many were still alive but to her dismay, only a small handful of alicorns survived. The centaurs had gone extinct and it was mostly her fault for destroying them. She set herself down next to her husband, placed her head on her husbands cold, lifeless torso and wept. Eden was now a lifeless wasteland aside from a few surviving trees.

"Why did this have to happen? I loved all my children and you, but the very energy that held this world in harmony has destroyed an entire race and endangered my own. I should never have been created!"

The queen sobbed and as she did, her tears began to mix with the flesh and blood of her husband. Using her magic, she created a knife which began to emit the same blue haze that the God Kings minions had about them.

"I shall create three new species so that they can share it with my children, and my children can share it with them."

Galaxia then cut her leg wich bled a sufficient amount for the task at hand. She began to make the three variations of the equine race.

"There shall be two genders, colts and mares. The first of the three species will be known as earth ponies, whose strength will be unmatched among the equine race. The second of the three species will be known as the pegasi. They will be able to fly and also be swift on their hooves. The third and final species will be known as the unicorns. The horns on their head will allow them to channel magic, thus unicorns will be great thinkers and they will be able to continue the use of magic in the world."

Deep down, Galaxia knew that she would be leading her race to disaster if she tried leading them. In her wisdom, she decided to let her species learn to survive while they were divided. One day, when they unite they will be stronger than ever and her children will lead them to glory. This was her ultimate plan and she knew that it would succeed. Sure enough, it did.

"Later, she let her species thrive in the old lands of the pony kingdoms. Since then, our mother has been watching the world from the kingdom of Haven. Haven is the home of the two gods known as Galaxia and Griffthor, the god of the griffons. Haven also houses the great heroes of history, such as Starswirl the Bearded, Commander Hurricane, Chancellor Puddinghead, and princess Platinum." Celestia concluded the book.

"I guess sir Canter is there too, right?"

Celestia's ears flickered a little and she spoke again. "Actually, his soul hasn't ascended to Haven yet. His business as a hero isn't done yet."

A single flash of light occurred which blinded Craigulus for a short period of time. Upon being able to see again, he realized that everything had returned to normal. He was back in the same library where that crazy history lesson started. Celestia and Luna turned to him and they both firmly approached him. Celestia began to speak.

"Craigulus Twinblade, you are the hero that Equestrian prophecy's have been speaking of for the past five hundred years. You must learn more about the ways of magic and unlock your full potential, for the spirit of the God King is soon returning with an army that will be bent on destroying the world as we know it. He will come in the form of the spirit you saw in your vision yesterday. Fear not, for he is only the size of a regular human. I don't know why he seemed so massive in your vision though, it was probably a false intimidation tactic to strike fear into your heart."

Craigulus was frozen. Not knowing what to think, he started having a small panic attack. This seemed to be the only way he could express his feelings before Luna cast an emotion altering spell to calm him down.

"Come, we must show you the armor and weapons you must use."

Luna cast a spell to transport the group to a grand hallway. The red carpet rolled down to an altar made of gold surrounded by diamond pillars. Stain glass windows lit up the hallway and made it glisten gloriously. Upon closer inspection, Craigulus noticed two identical swords propped up on top of the altar. Celestia raised her hoof.

"These weapons were forged by Starswirl the Bearded for Sir Canter to use. They are capable of holding the souls of fallen enemies and channeling magic. Go forth and claim your weapons to begin the path to your destiny!"

The human began the long walk toward the weapons and as he got closer, he realized the shape of the swords. Each sword had been split into to halves at the blade and there was strange markings inside the uniquely shaped weapons which Craigulus couldn't make sense of. Raising his hands, he began feeling the power encased in these swords at his fingertips, and upon touching the handles he saw flashes of history pass before his eyes. The only vision he could really make out was that of Discord staring him down, then screaming in pain as he was turned to stone. It seemed to be a vision from the perspective of Sir Canter. Snapping out of the hallucinations, Craigulus noticed Luna standing at his right side.

"The writing on the blades say, 'Ye who holds these blades also holds the soul of Canter, whom was the greatest general of all'. The language is a peculiar mix of old Equestrian and Griffon. Sir Canter did use these blades before you and his own soul was trapped inside the pommeled sapphire. The other pommeled mineral is a clear crystal which you have to trap the God King inside of. It will turn the crystal red once you do so. These blades also contain the memories of every pony who previously used them. To see the memories more clearly, you have to meditate with the swords in hand."

Celestia stepped forward and added something to the lesson.

"Sir Canter will be able to hear you if you call for his help. He will help you in times of need, but only to a certain extent. One thing he can do for you anytime and anywhere is provide you with a suit of armor. I want you to test this out for yourself."

Craigulus closed his eyes tight and even though he was skeptical, he just thought that this was just another crazy thing that could happen in Equestria so he just rolled with it. If ponies were sentient beings in this world then speaking with the dead should be in the realm of logic.

........Right?

He began to speak to Sir Canter.

"Sir Canter, please heed my call! Grant me a suit of armor that can protect me from the dangers of war!"

The human, with blades in his hands spread his arms and lifted them to the ceiling. A deep, proud voice ran through his head in response to his plea.

"I, Sir Canter will provide this for you and you only!"

A blue orb zoomed out of the sapphire and began to rapidly circle the human warrior. It spiraled around Craigulus from head to toe revealing a suit of armor as it went. The orb dashed into the sapphire once again and Craigulus turned his head to see his faint reflection in one of the stained glass windows. Sir Canter's magical armor looked similar to that of chain-mail in medieval days with plate shoulder armor. A large, red cape completed the suit of armor which Craigulus thought looked freaking cool!

"On the cape rests a crest which depicts an alicorn with her wings spread. The right wing has the symbol of the sun while the other wing has the symbol of the moon. Also, regarding the blades. If you meditate on the memories within them, you will be able to see those memories more clearly. I think that is all for now so your lesson is over." Celestia concluded.

His mind began to race. It seemed that he had just put the world upon his shoulders by laying his hands on those blades and it somehow felt good to him in a peculiar and mysterious way. Knowing deep down that this was something that he always dreamed of, he had to say something completely epic to top this all off! Turning to Celestia and Luna with pride in his eyes, he spoke with confidence.

"By the end of this, even the gods themselves will know that a human can make them bleed!"

Craigulus began to run whilst thrusting his blades into the scabbards which hung from his back. Swinging the golden doors open, he left the room.

"Sister, it appears we have not made a mistake in finding our savior." Celestia chuckled.

Luna began to blush. "We have not sister. We definitely have not."

Craigulus ran through the palace and out the front gate smiling as he entered the courtyard. The mane 6 started chasing him wondering what was up with him and Twilight Sparkle flew next to him to speak with him.

"So, you seem awfully excited about something! How was your first lesson?"

Craigulus looked at her with a joyful look on his face.

"It went amazing! Apparently, i'm the next hero of Equestria and-"

"I know, I know. The princess and I talked already!" Twilight laughed.

Rainbow Dash flew to the other side of him.

"So your going to be staying here for awhile? Cool! Now I can learn more about hockey!" Dash started to spin through the air in excitement.

"Maybe you would like to go to Ponyville again and visit my boutique? Maybe I could make you some nicer clothing!" Rarity smirked.

"Maybe you could come to my place and visit my animals? I mean, if that's alright with you......." Fluttershy softly added.

"I could use some help on the farm!" Applejack hinted at Craigulus.

OH BOY! WANNA HAVE A PARTY SOMETIME!?!? I WOULD LOVE TO PARTY WITH A HUMAN! Pinkie Pie shouted in excitement, bouncing on all four of her hooves as she went along with him.

The ponies all stopped as he began running to the top of the stairs adjacent to the courtyard walls. They all kept staring at him, growing happier as they thought about all the fun times they were about to have with Equestria's newest inhabitant.

Craigulus began to talk to himself.

"This is it! The beginning of my adventure and the start of my new life in Equestria! And I know deep in my heart that it's going to be something that will ring out through the ages once it's all said and done. This is my story, the story of-"

Craigulus stopped atop the Canterlot courtyard gates and unsheathed his blades.

"The legendary human, Craigulus Twinblade!

An Epic Training Session.

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He woke up from another nightmare. The one thing that crossed his mind went a little something like this:

"Thank God. Now I can just calm myself down with breakfast."

Snatching the sheathed blades off the counter and equipping them on his back, he wandered into the hallway to go to the kitchen where they had been preparing him breakfast. To Craigulus, it was a pretty sweet deal to have this sort of hospitality. As he approached the kitchen, he could smell the pancakes being cooked on the stove. The aroma was intoxicating and his tired self woke up a little the more he could sniff the breakfast. Opening the door to the foyer, he just couldn't stand it anymore. Beginning to walk faster, he easily found where the dining hall was and he burst through the entrance to see an extremely long table. The princesses had been sitting at the head of the table while his other friends were sitting across from each other on the ruler's side of the table. Smiling, he grabbed a chair next to Rainbow Dash. Everyone noticed his presence and Celestia was the first to speak to him.

"Good morning, my subject! How was your rest?" she joyfully asked.

"Well, I think I had more nightmares. Aside from that though, It was good." Craig smiled at the end of the sentence.

Luna sipped her tea and let out a small breath as she put it back on the saucer.

"Today in your training, I will be teaching you how to channel magic through your blades as well as gather the energy that helps you use it. After that, you will be boarding the train back to Ponyville tonight with your friends to practice what you have learned. You will return to Canterlot once a week for additional training instructions." Luna informed the warrior.

Craigulus enjoyed that plan because not only will he have time to meditate on his teachings and the memories within the swords, but he will have some fun with the citizens of Ponyville as well!

"Seems legit." Craigulus quickly answered back to Luna.

Before Luna could ask what 'seems legit' meant, the kitchen workers came out with the food. Craigulus took a gander at the food and it was everything he loved at breakfast. Fruits, pancakes, sausages, eggs, and everything in between seemed to be handed to them on a silver platter.

Literally.

"Oh boy! Craigulus, doesn't this look amazi-"

Craig rose his palm toward a certain pink pony.

"Pinkie Pie, i'm sorry but it's way too early. Please try to be a little quieter, okay?"

Pinkie Pie made herself smaller and spoke in a whisper.

"Okay."

The rest of the meal was quiet. Everyone silently enjoyed their meal which was an all-you-can-eat affair. After 15 minutes of eating, Luna spoke to Craigulus.

"So, are you ready to learn more about the magic of Equestria?"

"Heck yea!" Craigulus raised his voice enthusiastically.

They lifted themselves from their seats and entered the foyer. With a turn to the right, they opened the door to an empty, closed off courtyard. The courtyard was never open to the public this early so that left tons of room for training. Craigulus stopped to take a whiff of the clean Canterlot air.

"First off, let's see what you already know."

Craigulus nodded and smiled a cocky smile. He unsheathed his blade and cut his right arm with it. Thus, letting out a small grunt at the sting of the wound. Luna gasped as her eyes widened.

"What are you doing!?!?" She raised her voice.

Craigulus then raised his left arm and placed his hand over the wound. His hand began to glow yellow as he aggressively brushed his hand down the cut. To Luna's surprise, the injury was gone!

"You posses healing magic? Nobody in Equestrian history has been able to pull that off! Only Galaxia knew how to do that, but she wasn't even good at it!."

Luna stopped herself and smiled whilst talking to herself.

"You truly are special, Craigulus." she began to blush.

Craigulus put his blade back into the scabbard and clenched his fists tight. Immediately, orbs of raw magic expanded within his fists, thus spreading his fingers apart from one another. He vigorously launched orbs of energy out of his hands which exploded on impact with the ground. Luna admired his natural skill in the art of magic.

"It appears you have already learned how to use some magic. That is an absolutely great start! One thing you should know is the art of gathering energy. When you use magic, you begin to drain your energy levels and as that happens your spells become weaker and weaker. Your energy naturally comes back over time, but in battle it is quicker to do forced energy collection. To do this, you must focus solely on your own energy and flex every muscle in your body. Try this out for yourself."

The more Craig listened to this, the more he kept on thinking about Dragonball Z. So, he got into the mood and began focusing on his energy levels. Standing in the way Goku did, he flexed every muscle in his body and to his misfortune it wasn't as easy as he thought it would be. Luna cheered him on.

"Come on! I know you can do it! The first try is tough for every pony but after that you can easily do it again, and again, and again! Power up Craigulus!"

As time went on, the human began to feel a strange warmth crawl through his body. It coursed through his veins from his heart to the rest of his body and before long, a dark blue aura that appeared similar to Luna's mane exploded into existence around him. Luna began to think to herself.

"So his first eclipse magic will be Lunar magic. That's something I can work with." She smiled on the outside as she watched Craigulus.

Clouds began to roll in seemingly out of nowhere and they slowly began to circle around the sky as the wind became slightly more violent. Luna became confused, this never happened to any being who merely powered up normally. Craigulus began to be lifted into the sky and he began to look around, he developed a look of concern on his face.

"Luna? Should I stop? Am I doing something wrong?"

Luna didn't know how to respond, she became so confused at the developing situation and just before telling him to stop, Celestia and the bearers of harmony burst out of the gate.

"Craigulus! Keep focusing! Don't let anything distract you and just keep powering up your magic!" Celestia yelled toward Craigulus.

Giving a thumbs up, he continued his training. Developing more and more power began to feel stressful to the human who was not yet used to the ways of magic. It felt so good to feel so powerful though and, after awhile it began to hurt. Craigulus let out a series of loud screams. The clouds began to flash with lightning and the wind had become so powerful that you would think a hurricane had begun. The ground had started to shake, but it wasn't enough to damage any buildings. Outside the courtyard, the citizens of Canterlot had taken to the streets to see what was happening. All the attention was on the human in the sky. Craigulus's pupils had disappeared as he began to glow brighter. Screaming and grunting even louder than before, he involuntarily unsheathed his blades and pointed them to the sky. A dark blue beam descended from the center of the swirling clouds and straight into the aura-covered swords. The colour of his cape turned to the colour of the aura and so did his hair. Dark blue aura swirled around him and he saw a vision of a wolf. The wolf was running through the forest, jumping over any obstacle in his way. It began to develop the colour of Luna's mane and as the wolf reached the top of a giant boulder, the animal howled towards the moon. The warrior, whom had snapped back to reality, noticed the energizing beam had been fully consumed. Feeling a sudden pain on his back, he turned his head as far back as it could go. To his surprise, the cape began to morph into something different. First, he saw that feathers started to appear on it. Next thing he knew they became attached to his shoulder blades. That hurt ALOT and Craigulus let out another ear-piercing scream. Twilight grew noticeably concerned on the ground below.

"Celestia! I think he's going to cripple himself if he keeps doing what he's doing! Tell him to stop!" Twilight demanded from her fellow alicorn and former mentor.

Celestia turned to Twilight and smiled proudly.

"There is no need to fear Twilight. Right now, Craigulus is discovering the current extent of his power." Celestia reassured her ex-student.

Twilight's eyes widened. She couldn't believe her eyes and ears because she had never seen any being generate so much magic before. Previously, she thought this was impossible. Luna explained even more, now that her thoughts were set back on track.

"This is the pinnacle of the magic that I use which is called lunar magic. My sister uses solar magic in response to my magic. Only alicorns have their own brand of magic but this is something none of us can do."

Luna turned toward the direction of Craigulus and looked at him.

"This is what we call an eclipse form. Lunar eclipse form!" Luna proudly exclaimed.

In the sky, Craigulus swiftly pointed his swords to either side of him and a bright flash of light occurred which temporarily blinded those staring at him. As the brightness faded, the lunar eclipsed human was revealed. Craigulus donned a subtle look of anger and his eyes glowed white. The hair on his body was similar to the colour of Luna and his wings were keeping him afloat. His armor barely changed. The shoulder armor donned spikes and it was emitting a blue haze but aside from that, it was all the same. He hovered there, motionless.

"My subject, how do you feel?" Luna tilted her head in curiosity.

Craigulus looked deep down inside of himself and answered as honestly as he could.

"To be honest with you,-"

Craig looked down on his friends and teachers.

"Absolutely perfect!"

Everyone stood in awe while Celestia and Luna looked at each other and smiled. They both knew that they had both just helped their student ascend to greater heights and they were proud of it. Rainbow dash broke the silence that was blanketed over Canterlot.

"SO AWESOME!" she said in a high pitched voice.

Shortly after breaking the silence Canterlot exploded into applause. Word had already spread through Equestria about a human in existence but no pony knew that it would be able to control magic. The crowd shouted various questions toward the human but Craigulus couldn't even hear them because of the overall volume of the crowd. They started chanting his name over and over again, as if he had already saved the world. The human rose his swords into the air and crossed them over his head.

"We should probably tell him to avoid letting all this fame get to his head." Celestia became displeased at how her student was handling attention.

"No, let him be cocky. He deserves it!" Luna began to giggle.

Suddenly the crowd began screaming. Craigulus was confused as nothing had gone wrong around him.

"WATCH OUT!!!!!" Luna screamed at the top of her lungs.

"For wha-"

*BOOM*

Craigulus was hit by a massive fireball from his left side, thus smashing him into the ground below. Rage built inside him and he powered up once more.

"What the hell just did that to me!?!?" Craigulus bellowed.

"A big s-s-s-scary d-d-dragon!" Fluttershy squeaked.

The eclipsed human looked to the sky and saw the black dragon circling around the sky, torching the various buildings and ponies that stood below him. The streets burst into panic and ponies were trampling each other just trying to hide inside their houses. Craigulus rose to his feet and he immediately burst into the sky, flying as fast as he could. Knowing that this was his time to prove his worth he prepared to attack.

"Craig! Don't do this! Your not prepared to take on a dragon yet! I know you feel really powerful, but you don't even know how to maintain this power properly! Stop!!! Luna pleaded to him.

Craigulus stopped and looked back at her. He smirked and began to talk in a deeper voice than normal.

"Don't worry princess, I'm fireproof!" Craigulus began to laugh at his own joke and blasted toward the dragon who was still in a rampage.

Flying by the dragon at top speed, he tried slicing him up with his swords. It wasn't the best way to kill it because every time the blades made contact with the scales, it would be like hitting a titanium wall. Even when he found the weakness was its soft underbelly, the dragon would just start evading him almost every time and that would continue for fifteen minutes . Craigulus grew tired of it so he sheathed his blades and created two energy orbs in his hand, then combining them to make a larger, more powerful bomb. Throwing it he screamed at the dragon to get his attention.

"HEY! Big teeth! Try to fight me, I dare you too!"

The dragon roared and breathed fire towards it's adversary, only to have the attack fail as the eclipsed one dodged it.

"CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!" The dragon roared.

Craigulus began to use his magic instead of his swords because he really wanted to test his limits in this new body he had given himself. He threw dozens of his orbs at the dragon but that didn't seem very effective against him. There needs to be some way he can manipulate magic with his swords though. Craigulus didn't hear about how to do that as he was rather rudely interrupted by the large, fearsome creature. Deciding that he was more comfortable using his bare hands, he forgot about the blades. He charged up for another attack and as he was building up his magic, the dragon breathed fire toward him. Craigulus crossed his arms bracing for the inevitable but instead of being burned, the flames separated before hitting him. The dragon stopped to hover in place, surprised at the humans resistance to his fire.

"Well, now I know how to use a magic shield." Craigulus thought to himself in relief.

Craigulus heard a voice run through his head. Recognizing the voice, Craigulus responded.

"Sir Canter, can you help me?" Craigulus asked aloud.

"Yes, do you know how to use an energy beam?" The deceased general asked him.

"No! Why is that important?" Craigulus wondered aloud.

"It is a known fact that it is a dragon's biggest weakness! All you have to do is channel the energy you have gathered through your arms and just as it reaches your wrists,lay both your palms flat in front of you!" He instructed the bearer of his soul.

Craigulus had become confused. How did a pony know how a human used magic? He grew skeptical.

"How do you know how a human uses magic?" Craigulus asked the soul.

"Long story! Just power up a little more and let that beam rip!" He yelled.

Dark blue aura exploded around Craigulus once more. He had begun to scream due to the sheer amount of magic that he generated. His veins began to visibly show and the dragon dove down on him from above. Noticing the danger, the warrior dodged and continued pouring magic into his heart. The dragon slammed into the ground, but immediately got back up. The human felt that he was ready to send the dragon to it's death and capture his soul. Craigulus put his hands together and well, he just had to make a Dragonball Z reference. The inner nerd in him rejoiced!

"KA-ME-"

"What is he doing?" Luna looked completely lost

"HA-ME-"

Celestia didn't even know what was going on.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Craigulus unleashed the gigantic wave of magic down upon the dragon. The beam was Luna coloured and emitted a white haze. Upon impact the dragon screeched in agony as the beam began to rip the beast apart. It frantically flailed its arms and legs every which way as the beam crushed the beast in the Canterlot main street. The beam slowly died down, and so did the noise. Craigulus took a deep breath and unsheathed his blades.

"Canter, how do I encase a soul within these blades?" Craigulus spoke calmly at this point.

"Easy, all you have to do is point the swords toward your fallen adversary and the soul will be guided in." Sir Canter explained.

Craigulus landed next to the dead dragon and unsheathed his blades. Instead of pointing them toward the dragon though, he pointed the swords skyward. Dead bodies were lying across the city and he wanted to make sure the souls could rest somewhere. As the ponies exited their houses, so did all of the souls. The souls were beautiful, as they seemed to travel through the air ever so gracefully while leaving a faint, white trail behind it. As they entered the blades, a wave of sadness entered the fortress-city. Mares and colts alike had began weeping as their loved ones had been killed. Celestia and Luna began to weep as well as they trotted next to Craigulus. Letting his lunar eclipse form subside, he sheathed his twin blades and put his arms around Celestia and Luna.

"Did I do good?" The hero asked somberly.

Celestia spoke up as she cried. "Yes you did, student. You did much better than expected."

The rest of the day was uneventful aside from learning how to channel magic through the swords. All you have to do is imagine that the weapons are part of your arm. Nothing that special really.

Galaxia looked through the universal mirror. Watching as Craigulus packed his belongings in preparation for the trip back to Ponyville. Griffthor entered her presence and looked through the mirror.

"The hero has arrived in my daughter's kingdom. I must say, he really does learn magic rather quickly!"

The god of the griffon race began to smile.

"That human is going to be quite the story once his destiny is fulfilled, eh?" The griffon laughed as he took a huge bite of the boar meat that lied in his arms.

Galaxia looked down to to the stone floor.

"I just hope he truly can defeat the God King, for he is almost finished gathering the un-dead centaurs and alicorns to his banner."

The griffon, with his mighty orange beard, laughed at Galaxia's worrying.

"Oh come on, he is the legendary human! There is no way he can possib-"

"HERO'S HAVE FAILED BEFORE!" Galaxia's shout caused two lightning strikes to pummel Mount Haven. "I do not want the same thing to happen to him as Sir Canter." Galaxia's tone grew saddened at the thought of the failure of Sir Canter. He was never meant to perish in the fight against Discord, whom has now embraced the magic of friendship.

"Oh yea, that's true. You know what? I don't understand why you didn't just destroy the centaur's evil soul when you had the chance. Did you even know what you were doing?" Griffthor wondered.

"Just because we are gods, doesn't mean we know what the future holds. We can manipulate what we want it to be but that doesn't mean we can't make mistakes while doing so. I didn't know the way souls work back then, with one part of a soul being good and the other part being evil." The Queen of the Universe grew impatient with the griffon.

Griffthor simply left the room while grunting in annoyance. Galaxia ignored him and kept looking into the mirror.

"Whatever happens on your journey, I hope that you end up being the victor Craigulus."

As he finished packing, he began hearing a melody from down the hall. Walking out of his room, he noticed it was coming from Luna's room which had the door slightly open. Craig sneaked down the hall ever so stealthily. Knowing he would be invading his teachers privacy, he prepared for the worst in the event of being caught. Graceful singing had been heard though, and it was the most beautiful thing to ever grace his ears since some of the music he heard back in Ponyville the first time he was there. Luna began to sing.

Come Little Children, I'll Take Thee Away
Into A Land Of Enchantment
Come Little Children
The Time's Come To Play
Here In My Garden Of Shadows

Goosebumps crawled along the skin of Equestria's newest hero.

Follow Sweet Children, I'll Show Thee The Way
Through All The Pain And The Sorrows
Weep Not Poor Children
For Life Is This Way
Murdering Beauty And Passions

Hush Now Dear Children, It Must Be This Way
To Weary Of Life And Deceptions
Rest Now My Children
For Soon We'll Away
into The Calm And The Quiet

Come Little Children I'll Take Thee Away
Into A Land Of Enchantment
Come Little Children
The Time's Come To Play
Here In My Garden Of Shadows

Craigulus just had to talk to her. He had never heard such a magnificent voice in his life. He knocked on the door and before he could say anything, Luna spoke up.

"I know it's you, Craig. You may enter." Luna sounded depressed.

Craigulus opened the door and embraced Luna. Beginning to speak, he looked into Luna's eyes.

"Your voice is absolutely beautiful." The human began awkwardly.

Luna began to smile, then blush. It wasn't often that she had time alone with someone she liked.

"Thank you so much, you're so sweet." she complimented.

After that, Craigulus released his teacher from the embrace and they stood there awkwardly for what seemed like five minutes. Craigulus decided to set things straight.

"Luna, just so you know. I have a girlfriend back home and I don't really want to get in a relationship with an equine creature. You are a nice ruler, but I just can't see myself dating a pony. Sorry if i'm coming across as a jerk, but this is the only way I can avoid letting things get weird between us." Craigulus explained himself.

The princess of the night nodded and fully understood him.

"I knew you would catch on to my behavior. It's quite alright, my student. It would be quite strange for such different species to be in a relationship when you think about it." Luna chuckled.

"Glad you understand. I would love to talk more at the moment, but I have a train to catch."

Craigulus ran to the doorway, stopped, turned his head back, and waved.

"See ya next week!" The hero concluded, smiling.

"Goodbye, my student."

The truth was that Luna did not understand. Who would turn down the co-ruler of the most powerful country in the world? Her heart had been shattered that night.

Luna was still madly in love with Craig.

Craigulus made it to the station just minutes before departure. It wasn't a very busy train that night as it seemed his friends were the only passengers at the station that day.

"Hey! Where have you been!? The train leaves in two minutes! We were worried sick!" A certain cyan pegasus pony lectured.

Craigulus was annoyed and tired. He didn't want to hear about how he was late or anything so he just pushed Dash aside and hopped on the train. Following his lead, the bearers of harmony hopped on as well. The conductor yelled 'All aboard!' and the train left the station. The warrior was now deathly tired, so he shut his eyes, sunk into his chair, and slowly drifted off into his dreams. Hoping that Luna was truly alright.

Music Festivals And Forgotten Memories.

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"Umm. Excuse me, Mr.Twinblade? We need to get off the train. I mean, if that's okay with you...."

Fluttershy had gently shoved her hoof into Craig's arm so that she could wake him up as peacefully as possible. It didn't seem to be working though, as the train conductor began to get annoyed.

"Okay, look here fella! Unless you want to go all the way to Fillydelphia, I suggest you get off this train right now!" The disgruntled conductor growled.

Craigulus slowly left his seat and stumbled his way off the train. Sleeping on a bumpy train ride was never an easy task and his nightmares didn't help either. Upon opening the doors he was bombarded by the flashing of cameras. Dazed and confused, he shielded his eyes with his arm. Twilight began to guide him through the crowd of ponies.

"What in the name of Celestia is happening here?" the human yawned.

Twilight gave a slight giggle.

"Well, there are two things happening here in Ponyville this week." Twilight began.

Craigulus's interest levels began to rise.

"What is happening that's so special?" He questioned the purple alicorn.

"First off, the Equestrian music festival is happening this week and Ponyville has been chosen to host the event! It's one of the loudest, most radical events of the year! So that's why we have all this riff-raff. Also, Vinyl Scratch is playing in her own hometown with her biggest hits!" Twilight went on.

Rainbow Dash overheard the conversation and landed next to Craigulus.

"Rumor has it, Vinyl has a new hit single to premier at the festival!" The rainbow haired pegasus grew excited.

Craigulus got a little excited from this hype. He didn't even know if Equestrian music would appeal to him, but he wanted to go to the festival!

"We should go there!" The warrior became enthusiastic.

"We definitely should! The citizens of the host city get free admission on the night when local artists play so why not?" Pinkie Pie's party withdrawal was getting serious!

Before Craigulus even realized it, they had gotten to the front door of Twilight's library. They opened the door and dashed inside quickly as not to let anyone in with them. But as they sat down on the couches and chairs, they noticed two ponies by the name of Lyra and Bon-Bon had sneaked in behind them!

"OH MY GOODNESS!!!!! A REAL HUMAN! Please let me interview you!!!" Screamed the conspiracy theory crazed Lyra, whom had been known her whole life as the one pony whom thought humans actually existed.

Bon-Bon rolled her eyes "Please don't mind her. She has been waiting for this moment her entire life. You wouldn't believe how much bragging she has been doing lately about how she was the only one who truly believed in humans before your arrival."

Craigulus now understood what the 'second thing' was about Ponyville this week. It was that he was here! In a split second, Craig's ego grew five sizes that day.

"Sure! Just grab a quill and paper and we'll begi-"

Before he knew it, Lyra the unicorn was sitting right in front of our hero as she used her magic to use the quill and paper. Beginning to speak, she began writing as well.

"What is the name of the world humans live on?" She began the question and answer session.

"Earth! I come from one of it's one hundred and ninety six countries, called Canada!" Craigulus answered with pride.

"Is it true that you guys don't use magic at all?" Lyra raised one eyebrow.

"Well, yes! We rely solely on technology to allow us to do some of the things we can't normally do with our natural abilities. One of those would be flying." The human explained.

"Is it true that you have multiple beliefs where you come from? In Equestria, there is only one belief called 'Galaxianism' where every sentient race has their own god to worship. For example, if you are a pony or cervid of any type you worship Galaxia. If you are a griffon, you worship Griffthor! Sure we have our fair share of cults like the 'cult of the draconequus' where Discord is worshipped, but that one is slowly dying since Discord is now into the Galaxian teachings of friendship. And, well...."

"Well, what?" Craig tilted his head after a small pause.

"There is also the God King cult. I can't believe ponies actually dabble in that sick, disturbing stuff!" Lyra was clearly disgusted.

"Hmmmm, sounds like the equivalent of a satanist cult to me." Craigulus thought out loud.

"Interesting." Lyra replied.

Craigulus straightened himself up in his seat and continued being interviewed.

"We have tons of different things we call 'religions' back where I come from. There is Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and so many more. I just so happen to be a christian! Although I do like the way you have organized yours over the centurys. Back where I come from, some people kill each other over their beliefs. The way you've set it up is genius though, because when the gods live together, there is no reason for the believers to hate on one another." Craigulus explained.

The room was in shock. Everyone's jaw had dropped so hard you probably could have heard some sort of sound effect from it.

"Y-you guys kill each other over your beliefs?!" Lyra stuttered.

Before things got a little more strange, Craigulus continued the subject of humanity.

"It is an extremely sad reality, but it's true. Throughout human history we have taught ourselves that when we want something such as land, food, gold, or simply to convert people, we go to war over it. It really sucks being human sometimes. At least you Equestrian folk aren't driven to war by greed most of the time." Craigulus bowed his head in shame.

Twilight placed her hoof on the human's shoulders.

"It's all okay. Not every species is capable of peace-making!" Twilight gave him a reassuring smile.

Suddenly, a knock came from the door. Craigulus had taken the honor of seeing who it was. Upon opening the door, a certain white coloured, blue-maned, purple sunglasses wearing unicorn mare barged in and shut the door behind her to avoid letting any riff-raff follow her in.

VINYL SCRATCH!?!?!?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?!?! Everyone shouted in unison.

"Yep, that's right! Ponyville's very own DJ Pon3 is in the house! Radical, isn't it!" The musician introduced herself rather casually.

Applejack unleashed her inner fan girl.

"Howdy there, Ms. Scratch! What brings ya here? I love yer music so much!" She shook her hoof frantically.

"Well, I heard the human was here. I took the liberty of just walking in here to ask him if he wanted to play in my show! It would really draw the crowd and really, who wouldn't want to see a human perform? Apparently he knows a dance move called 'the shuffle' or something crazy like that! I really want to see if he can help me with my new song today so i can perform it properly tomorrow!" The DJ pony ecstatically explained.

Craigulus couldn't turn this offer down. There was only one problem though, he didn't know any of the songs! How could he possibly do the performance when he doesn't know any lyrics?

"Vinyl, I don't know any of the-"

"Lyrics? That's okay! I can hook you up back at my crib! Let's rock!"

The unicorn and the human nearly walked out the door before Twilight stopped them.

"Umm, Wouldn't you two like to just teleport to the place instead? It'll save you the hassle of fighting the crowds." Twilight offered.

The duo nodded and in a flash they were in DJ Pon3's basement recording studio. It was a sick set up! Alot of the technology looked similar to what Craig saw back home. Sitting by the laptops preparing the sounds for the show were two zebras.

"We're back!!!!" Vinyl Scratch signaled.

"Yo wassup, Vinyl?" The zebra with the gold chains and sunglasses greeted her with a dash of swag.

"Not much, Zanye West. Aside from bringing the human here who has agreed to perform for us! YYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAA!!!!!" The DJ pony shouted in excitement.

The zebra with the cigar in his mouth and a 'Manehattan Nets' hat, known as 'Jay Zebra' looked at the human and nodded his head and smirked.

"Wassup, man? The name's Jay Zebra. You can just call me Jay-Z." The rapper greeted the new kid.

Craigulus put his chill factor on.

"My name is Craigulus Twinblade! Nice to meet a successful musician such as you!" Craigulus introduced himself, failing to be chill in every way possible.

Vinyl Scratch approached the laptop and handed Craig some huge headphones.

"Here, just keep listening to the set playlist repeatedly until you've memorized the lyrics. It shouldn't be too hard right?"

Craigulus heard the first song which was set to be the opening song. To his surprise he had heard this song back on earth! Some of the lyrics had just been modified and that was the same for the rest of the songs too! Forty-five minutes of listening later, he had memorized all the songs. It was an easier task than he thought. Seeing as all of the songs were just modified versions of songs from earth. Craigulus jumped to the conclusion that some things that were made on earth were somehow copied in Equestria! That would explain some of the city names being puns.

"Okay, I can do this." Craigulus took a deep breath, getting butterflies in his stomach.

Vinyl Scratch got a huge smile on her face, completely hyped about Craig's decision.

"What's your stage name?" she wondered.

Craigulus never thought of that before, what is his stage name? He had a long pause.

"Well, what is it? Don't be shy about it!" DJ Pon3 teased.

"My stage name is 'Berzerker'. I just made that one up so forgive me if it sounds lame." Craigulus made himself smaller.

"IT'S AWESOME!!!! You should go home and rest for the day though, because the concert is tomorrow!"

Craigulus and Vinyl bumped fist and hoof as Craigulus left. As he fought the crowds outside, he noticed that he had his blades on the back of him that whole time! That reminded him about the meditation the princesses told him to do. He swore to himself that after he got through the crowds, he would sit down and meditate on the thoughts in those swords!

Twilight was writing a letter to the princess concerning the recent decisions Craigulus had made. It didn't seem right that he would just go with Vinyl Scratch to do a concert other than train. So far, the next hero of Equestria didn't seem all that committed to training. The whole table shook as the door slammed open and shut again. Twilight had been strartled.

"Craigulus!?!? Could you please knock before you enter?!" Twilight was clearly annoyed.

"What would you rather? A quick entrance to keep out this crowd, or a polite and slow entry where hordes of ponies have the chance to invade this library?" Craigulus asked with his arms crossed.

Twilight didn't know what to say.

"I, ummmm....."

"Exactly. Anyway, i'm going to the guest room so I can meditate. Please tell Spike that i'm in there so i'm not interrupted?" Craigulus began walking up the stairs.

"Okay then!" She began writing more of the letter,

Walking up the steps, Craigulus unsheathed his blades and began to speak to Sir Canter.

"Sir Canter? Could you please tell me about your knowledge of the way a human uses magic? I just remembered how strange it was that you knew how to teach me that energy beam attack." Craigulus began.

"Well, It's a long story so here we go! Back in the days when I still had a body, I knew a unicorn by the name of Starswirl the Bearded. You must have heard of him, a lot of his spells are still used to this day. A colt of many secrets is what the ponies of that time describe him as, and they had a right to describe him as such!"

At this point, the human sat on the bed in the guest room.

"It is common knowledge that he only had one apprentice, and that is me! What people don't know, is that he actually had a secret apprentice that only I know about! An in your face, fedora-wearing, long haired human with an accent he called 'Australian'. He would play mind games with his opponents, getting under their skin. The tactic actually worked in most cases. I watched as Starswirl the Bearded would teach him how to use magic. He was like a brother to me."

Craigulus's mind began to race again. Another human in Equestria before him? That was surprising.

"So I guess he died a long time ago right?" Craigulus searched for confirmation.

Sir Canter paused for a second.

"Yea, he went down with a manticore in the battle against Discord shortly before my mortal body was destroyed by the princesses own magic beam." Sir Canter explained.

Craigulus had even more questions. "What happened to Starswirl?"

"Well, apparently he failed princess Celestia's lessons because he couldn't get past his personality flaws. You see, he was extremely racist. He hated everything that wasn't of the equine race, so he failed in his quest of becoming an alicorn. He commited suicide shortly after and ascended to Haven. To think, if he just put aside his hatred and fully understood the magic of friendship things would have been so different." Canter ranted.

"Wait a second, how do you know about the way Starswirl died?" Craigulus grew curious.

"My soul was in the blades when it happened, and he had them at the moment. When the ponies found him, they gave the blades to the princesses. That is when they propped up the blades on the altar. My whole existence in these blades has been miserable since I was told by Galaxia herself that I had to wait for you to use these blades, and that I could go to Haven when you finally killed the God King. That was originally my destiny and you know what? I think it still is. Why else would she keep me in these things for so long?" Canter concluded.

Craigulus thought about any other possible logic holes in his explanation.

"What was Starswirl's destiny?" he wondered.

"It was simply to forge the twin blades and to train Jebediah and I. And before you ask, yes that was the human's name. Jeb's destiny was to help me defeat the God King but I guess since he died, it was pointless for me to live on in my mortal body."

Everything seemed to fit so well, so Craigulus stopped the questions and began meditating. It seemed to go on forever until he finally found a memory. The memory appeared to be from the perspective of Starswirl the Bearded who seemed to be having an angry moment inside his log house. He slammed his hoof on the table.

"DAMMIT ALL CELESTIA!!!!! Why in the hoof would you do this!?!?! Why would you give him permission to leave? It doesn't make any damned sense! First you tell me I've failed your test, now you let him go to Cervidas!!!! My apprentice Sir Canter is dead and this is how you treat me!?!?! I'VE HAD ENOUGH! I'LL BE SURE TO TELL YOUR MOTHER IN HAVEN HOW YOU HAVE DISGRACED ME AND THIS COUNTRY OF EQUESTRIA!!!!!

Starswirl used his magic to place a blade against his throat.

"Goodbye, fair Equestria."

Those were his last words as he slit his throat open. Blood gushed out of his throat in large quantities as he fell to the floor and that was where the memory ended. The blades were clearly on him, as Craigulus saw a mirror in his house that showed a reflection. The current hero of Equestria threw up in his mouth a little as he saw the death of the old unicorn. He began to think about the pony Starswirl had been yelling about. Who was he and why was the old wizard so enraged about him leaving? It couldn't have been Jebediah, he was killed in the battle earlier! Placing the thought in the back of his head. He meditated a little more and after fifteen minutes of concentration, he saw another memory begin. It was from the perspective of a much younger Starswirl. It was night time and he was staring at his reflection in the waters of a still river. Levitating a lamp at his side, he began to cry.

"Why? Why did they kill my parents? Griffon bastards! How dare they attack Equestria! One day I will avenge my parents!"

The unicorn stopped for a moment. His face went from rage, then to sorrow.

"But, I'm so weak. I'm failing magic school and I've been stuck in the eighth grade for two years now. I'll never be strong enough, especially with those blasted Ziggers beating me up!" Starswirl began to cry even more.

Craigulus was shocked at how unbelievably racist this unicorn was! He used the freaking 'Z' word for goodness sake! Craigulus began to guess that this unicorn had been growing up in a time where basic huma-, or.....pony rights Craigulus guessed, had not been thought of yet. Suddenly, a massive noise knocked the young unicorn down and he looked off into the distance. It appeared that an explosion had went off, so Starswirl was going to check it out! The scene changed and it appeared that the explosion was from a small asteroid. A crater was surrounding it and as Starswirl approached the asteroid, he saw two small alicorn foals slowly crawling out of the asteroids. One of them was a dark blue colour with a sparkling dark blue mane. That one had a crescent moon as it's cutie mark. The other one had a sun as its cutie mark. It was coloured white with a flowing pink mane.

"Oh my, this is odd!" Starswirl lifted his eyebrow.

The white one began to speak.

"I'm Cewestia! Awe you Stawswirl?" Celestia spoke for the first time.

Starswirl was dumbfounded.

"Y-yes, why do you ask little one?" he asked with an awkward smile.

"Momma said that me and Woona should be taken care of by you!" the baby alicorn smiled in a cute way.

Starswirl could not believe this. Beginning to grow dizzy, he heard a voice in his head and it sounded so crystal clear.

"Starswirl, their name shall be Celestia and Luna. They shall lead Equestria into a golden age and they will teach you how to become more powerful than you could ever imagine!"

The blue unicorn in the starry cape and wizard hat looked all around him, confused.

"Who said that? Who is it!?!?!"

"I am the one they call Galaxia! Ruler of the universe! I command you this night to master the ways of magic within your life. If you do this and create two magical blades, you will be granted a home as a hero in Haven. The rest will be revealed to you in good time. Farewell, Starswirl the Bearded." Galaxia concluded.

Starswirl let the two alicorns climb onto his back with a smile. He stood up and began walking home while speaking to himself.

"So, I am destined for greatness! Thank you Galaxia, thank you so much."

The memory ended. Craigulus opened his eyes, sheathed his blades, and fell back on his bed. The first thing that came to his head was the fact of how awesome Equestrian history was so far! The way this whole buildup toward his arrival worked was just so interesting. Destiny seemed to be a huge thing to the heroes of history so far. The second thing that came to his head was how strange the first memory was. Who was the pony who left for Cervidas and why was he so important to Starswirl the Bearded? The obvious choice would be Jeb, but he died in the battle! Unless......

"Sir Canter? Are you sure that Jeb died?"

"Of course I am!" Sir Canter's voice sounded irritated. "That Manticore clawed him open! I saw it with my own eyes!"

Sir Canter did sound honest enough, so the hero believed the fallen general. Looking out the window, he found that the sun had just set on the town of Ponyville. Astonished at how long a meditation session lasted, he left the room and marched downstairs to find the bearers of harmony, minus Rainbow Dash and Applejack, drinking tea and conversing.

"Why is it always tea?" Craigulus wondered in his head.

A certain yellow pegasus began to speak.

"Good evening, sleepyhead." Fluttershy began. "Would you like some?" She raised a full cup to Craigulus.

"Sure, and by the way, I was meditating that entire time!" Craigulus corrected the shy pegasus.

Twilight liked to hear that news. She had been instructed to keep an eye on him so the princesses had eyes in Ponyville as well as Canterlot. The fate of the world does rest in his hands, and it would be a huge shame if he failed.

Rainbow Dash entered the room with Applejack in tow.

"Hey Craigulus! We made these hockey sticks for you! How do you like them?" Rainbow Dash pulled a wagon-full of them in with her.

The human examined the sticks and to his surprise, they were really smooth and well made. Some of them were taller than others and the blades of the sticks were sometimes misshapen but aside from that, they were great!

"Good work you two! We're getting one step closer to hockey in Equestria! When's the winter coming anyway? We need an ice surface!" Craigulus enthusiastically bumped their hooves.

"The weather ponies are instructed to bring the first snowfall at the beginning of next month." Applejack answered Craigulus's question.

"Good, Good....."

Rarity sipped her tea and put it down on the saucer.

"Well, it is getting rather late and we should all be going to bed. I met up with Vinyl Scratch today and she told me to tell Craigulus that sleep is always the best thing you can get before a performance and I think that goes for the fans attending the concert as well. Good night everypony!" the purple-maned unicorn concluded elegantly.

The group of friends said their goodbyes and left. Craigulus Twinblade, Spike, and Twilight were left.

"I think we should go to bed too!" requested a smiling Spike the Dragon.

They all agreed and left for bed. Craigulus would just have to sleep on the memories the blades had shown him. It was no use to let them bother him tonight anyway. Taking the scabbards off his back, he placed them on the floor next to the bed. He needed to get all the sleep he could and he wasn't going to be woken up by a nightmare, or at least he would try not to be. Laying down in his bed, he blew the candle out and drifted to sleep.

Concert Time!

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Authors note: during the songs, each singer/rapper will have their own coloured text to indicate who is speaking. You do not need to read the lyrics if you don't want to. Just skip to the end of the third song to see how the chapter ends.

Craigulus (a.k.a Berzerker) is red.
Vinyl Scratch (a.k.a DJ Pon3) is blue.
Jay Zebra is green.
Zanye West is brown.

The big day is finally here! Rushing out of bed, Craigulus equipped his swords and ran downstairs to have breakfast. As he made it half-way down the stairs he smelled the refreshing scent of-

"Tea? Again!?!?!?" Craigulus sighed in utter disappointment.

Twilight rolled her eyes.

"You know, if you want something different you could just ask. There's no need to be rude." Twilight retorted.

The hero closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Opening his eyelids again, he apologized.

"Sorry, it's just that everywhere I turn there is tea being waved in my face. Either it's just pure coincidence, or everypony in Equestria is trying to drive me insane!" Craigulus explained himself.

Twilight laughed.

"It's quite alright! I have moments like that with my studies sometimes. It's hard being a princess, you know?"

"I find it hard being a hero sometimes...." Craigulus threw his arms up. "May I have some tea, please?"

Sitting down on the couch, the human received the cup of tea from Twilight and took his first sip. Once he got the warmth of the tea down to his stomach, he thought about Starswirl the Bearded.

"Sir Canter?"

"Yes, mighty warrior?"

"When did Starswirl find Celestia and Luna?"

Craigulus had grown curious as to how long the period of time was between the asteroid hit and the death of Discord.

"1229 years before Discord's death." Sir Canter educated.

"What!? How did Starswirl live for so long? Isn't he a regular unicorn?" Craigulus grabbed his head.

Sir Canter paused for a moment.

"Galaxia grants certain beings the ability to live forever. You can still get killed, but time does not effect these people. That is the perk of being a hero. The gods give us heroes this gift because it enables us to take as much time as we need to fulfill our destinies. Starswirl's destiny had already been fulfilled because he had done all that he was instructed to do by the time he committed suicide. That is why his spirit was brought home, to Haven."

"So that's why you are still trapped in the blades right? Your destiny is to help kill the God King with me!" Craigulus figured everything out.

"I did technically explain that part to you already, but yes."

Sir Canter groaned in his mind. The old general hated hearing about his failure to survive in his mortal body, but what he did was for the good of all Equestria, not just him. Meanwhile, Craigulus finished his tea.

"Thank you Sir Canter." Craigulus smiled.

"No problem." Sir Canter finished.

A knock was heard on the door, Twilight took the initiative and opened it up to reveal Vinyl Scratch wearing her sunglasses.

"Morning princess Twilight! Is Berzerker around?" The DJ looked around.

Twilight looked around in a state of confusion. Who is Berzerker?

"Hey you! Are you ready for the biggest night of your life!?" Vinyl Scratch shoved Twilight aside and galloped toward Craigulus.

"If you mean the biggest night of my life so far then heck yea i'm ready!" Berzerker bumped DJ Pon3's hoof.

Twilight just realized what Berzerker meant. It was his stage name! The purple alicorn wasn't all that familiar with street talk.

"I just came by to ask if you could help us set up the performance tonight. Apparently the princesses are coming so I guess you could say things are getting pretty serious." Vinyl scratch was clearly stressed out.

Craigulus didn't know if he really wanted to help. Originally, he was planning to meditate on the memories within the ancient swords, but if he did that the whole concert might be ruined because of him!

"Well, I guess I could help." The human sighed.

Vinyl Scratch dragged our hero outside and shut the door behind her. Twilight brought out the letter that she had been writing and continued on with it.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Let me just start this letter off by telling you how great it is that you and Luna have decided to attend! That way, we can talk before the show begins about what progress Craigulus has made. Meditation takes a lot longer than previously predicted. Shortly after lunch, he went upstairs to begin the session and it ended about two hours after the sun had set on Ponyville. I would also like to know if you have had any hints as to when the God King will return.

Your faithful princess,

Twilight Sparkle.

Backstage at the festival, Jay Zebra had been discussing the order of performance to the rest of the gang. Vinyl Scratch would be working the lights and beats as always during the first performance featuring Berzerker, Jay would come out for the second song to perform a in a surprise appearance, then he would stay onstage to welcome Zanye in a performance of 'Ziggas in Pearis'. The buzz around town was tremendous because this was the first time that the princesses themselves were coming to the music festival! Rumors were spreading around Equestria that Craigulus Twinblade was going to perform onstage with DJ Pon3 herself! Hype was building in the heads of concert goers throughout Equestria and the grounds were going to be packed for sure!

"How many hours do we have until showtime?" Craigulus pondered.

Vinyl Scratch threw her right hoof in the air and pumped it.

"Seven hours! WOO WOO WOO!!" Vinyl howled.

The perfect opportunity to meditate.

"I'm just going to be sitting in that chair in the corner facing the wall, just for some pre-show meditation." Craigulus began to waltz over to the chair.

Vinyl Scratch raised an eyebrow and smiled at how unusual that was. Normally, she would just have a few cans of Budcider and she's good to go. Well, he is a human so she would just go with the flow.

"Yea okay whatever. Do your thing over there, Berzerker."

As the DJ galloped over to the rapping zebra duo, Craigulus sat in the chair and unsheathed his blades. Firmly grasping the handles, he shut his eyes. It didn't take long for the first memory of the day to become clear to him. It would appear he was standing in the middle of a muddy combat ring on a cold, rainy day. Facing an opponent that was just as large and muscular as Big Macintosh.

"Come on! Break his skull, Canter! We never told you the Equestrian Resistance Army was going to be a cake walk!" screamed what looked like an earth pony drill sergeant.

Craigulus realized this was from the perspective of a young Sir Canter. Canter's spirit began to speak with the human.

"Ah yes, this is the place where fate first found me." The soul would've smiled if he had a face.

Private Canter attempted to kick the larger stallion in the face, only to have his hind legs grabbed by the teeth of his opponent. The ginormous stallion proceeded to toy with his adversary as if he was chewing on a rag-doll and, after about six seconds of utter embarrassment, Canter had been thrown into the mud.

"That's enough, private Wrath! Leave that worthless soldier where he is and report to your tent! Training is over, everypony!" The rugged leader figure growled.

Letting their stance go casual, they left for their tents. All, except for the commander and Canter. The commander galloped toward the young stallion and pinned him to the ground whilst staring into his eyes. A type of burning fire within the eyes of the commander stunned Canter.

"What in the name of actual GALAXIA are you doing here!?!?!?! I bet you couldn't even fight a chicken if it began to peck you! You probably would just run away, screaming 'oh no! My glorious brown mane might get dirty!' Well you know what!? You're probably the worst soldier in the Earth Pony corp and I can't stand the sight of you as a commander, AND as your father!"

Tears began to rush down Canter's face as the flash of lightning and sound of thunder burst through the camp.

"But fathe-"

NO! Consider yourself discharged, disgraced, and DISOWNED!!! Canter's father began to rise to his hooves.

"Get out of my sight, pack your bags, and go home Canter." he concluded as he slowly walked away.

Craigulus couldn't believe what had happened to Canter. He began feeling sympathetic for Sir Canter and a single tear rolled down our hero's eyes as private Canter lifted himself from the mess of mud. Beginning the walk to his tent, Canter began mumbling suicidal thoughts. It was clear that he had been just plain sick of life in general. As he entered his tent, he sat down on his cot.

"I want to show them all my true power, but I just can't now that my own father has disowned me. I should never have been born!"

As Canter started to reach for his knife, his tent entrance was forced open by a bearded unicorn wearing a starry cape and a wizards hat. At the side of the unicorn stood a creature wearing a dark hood. Craigulus couldn't see his face, but it would have to be Jebediah.

"Are you the one they call Canter?" the wizard asked in a demanding voice.

Canter was slightly startled at the sight that lied before him. After processing the question, he looked at the ground and became angry with himself.

"No, i'm just a colt who has shamed his family. That is all I am, or ever will be." Canter slammed his hoof into his pillow.

The old wizard smiled at the cloaked figure and looked back at the depressed soldier. Trotting forward, he lifted his hat to reveal his identity.

"Then you are the colt we've been looking for!" Starswirl the Bearded breathed a sigh of relief.

Canter was in shock, why was Starswirl the Bearded inside his tent? Of all the pony's in Equestria, why was the most powerful unicorn in history talking to him?

"Follow me Canter, for you have a long journey ahead of you!"

The memory skipped onto a later time that day. Now, Canter had been talking to Starswirl inside of his log house. The rest of the memory was just Canter being told about how Galaxia had chosen him to kill the God King with the help of Jebediah. Craigulus also learned about where the princesses were in all of this.

"So let me get this straight. Galaxia herself has chosen me and Jeb to slay this 'God King' and trap his soul within these blades that you made?" Canter questioned.

"Yes." The bearded unicorn spoke.

"And these 'daughters of Galaxia' are supposed to come out of hiding when we fight Discord?" Canter tilted his head.

"Yes." Starswirl confirmed.

Canter rose his hind legs and walked over to the window, staring through it as he spoke.

"And you are supposed to train me?"

"Spot on, Canter."

The memory ended there. Finding it odd that Jebediah wasn't in the log house with Starswirl, Craigulus opened his eyes and spoke to the trapped soul.

"Where was Jebediah when you learned about your destiny?" the human demanded.

"He was off in the other log house, sleeping." Sir Canter explained.

Our hero felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Zanye, holding what looked like a Budcider can in his hoof.

"Yo, just to let you know, you and Vinyl are on in ten minutes! Can't wait to join you for the 'Ziggas in Pearis' performance!" The zebra was clearly tipsy as he trotted back to the stage lighting control panel.

Craigulus began to get his blood flowing. Jumping up and down in place as he hyped himself up. DJ Pon3 galloped to him, obviously under the influence. It wasn't enough to have her stumbling around, but it was still pretty noticeable.

"Hey Berzerker! How's it going hot stuff!" Vinyl Scratch flirted with our hero.

Craigulus played it cool.

"Just getting hyped! It looks like you're ready." Craigulus laughed uncomfortably.

Vinyl called for another can of apple cider and tossed it to Craigulus.

"Looks like you could use some help loosening up! Drink some of this, dude." the DJ recommended.

Craigulus looked at the can for a second, contemplating whether or not an alcoholic beverage would be a wise idea. After a small bit of thinking he made his decision.

"YOLO!"

He decided to down the whole can in one go after he screamed that stupid phrase that he never, ever thought he would use. Vinyl was in awe as he kept on drinking that single can continuously. When he finished, he crushed the can on his forehead.

"Let's do this!" our hero grunted.

Show time had come, and so had a huge cloud of smoke on the stage. A constant cheering had been heard from the crowd all night long and now it became louder than ever before. A constant rumbling of bass had begun as DJ Pon3 had trotted over too her turntables.

"Mares and gentlecolts! Are you ready!?!?!?!" The unicorn DJ's voice echoed throughout the grounds as the crowd cheered. Vinyl Scratch wanted the volume of the crowd even louder!

"I said, ARE YOU READY!?!?!?!"

The Equestrian crowd screamed as loud as they could. It was a deafening noise and Craigulus was loving every second of it.

"You guys wanna hear my new single, don't you?!?!"

The crowd began chanting 'yes' over and over for thirty seconds before the pyramid rose above the slowly evaporating smoke. DJ Pon3 and her set up stood atop the lit up pyramid.

"Everypony! Put your hands together for 'Berzerker'! Equestria's newest hero!"

The crowd had gone beyond crazy at this point as Craigulus pushed the clouds away from him with a small energy surge. A microphone was in his left hand that he began to speak into.

"Let's go berzerk!"

There was only a slight delay before the track started. Vinyl decided to start the first verse whilst our hero hyped up the crowd.

Now this concert's 'bout to kick off, this party looks wack
Let's take it back to straight hip-hop and start it from Scratch
I'm 'bout to bloody this track up, everybody get back
That's why my pen needs a pad cause my rhymes on the ra-hag
Just like I did with addiction I'm 'bout to kick it
Like a magician, critics I turn to crickets
Got 'em still on the fence whether to pick it
But quick to get it impaled when I tell 'em stick it
So sick I'm looking pale, well that's my pigment
'Bout to go ham, ya bish, shout out to Rainbow
Let's bring it back to that vintage Scratch, yea!
The art of MCing mixed with da Vinci and MC Ren
And I don't mean Stimpy's friend, yea!
Been public enemy since you thought PE was gym, yea!

Take your shoes off, let your hair down and (go berserk) all night long!
Grow your mane out, just weird out and (go berserk) all night long

We're gonna rock this house until we knock it down
So turn the volume loud, cause it's mayhem 'til the a.m.
So baby make just like K-Fed and let yourself go, let yourself go
Say buck it before we kick the bucket
Life's too short to not go for broke
So everypony, everypony (go berserk) shake your body

Guess it's just the way that I'm dressed, ain't it?
Khakis pressed, Nike shoes crispy and fresh laced
So I guess it ain't
That aftershave or cologne that made them just faint
Plus I just showed up with a coat fresher than wet paint
So if love is a chess game, check mate
But girl your body's banging, jump me in, dang – bang-bang
Yessiree Bob I was thinking the same thing
So come get on this. Let's rock! baw-wit-da-baw dang-dang
P-p-p pow-pow chicka-chicka wow-wow
Catch a cab, I wanna go down b-b-bow, bow
Slow it down, throw in the towel, t-t-towel toww
Dumb it down, I don’t know how (huh-huh) how-how
At least I know that I don't know
Question is are you bozos smart enough to feel stupid
Hope so, now ho...

Take your shoes off, let your hair down and (go berserk) all night long!
Grow your mane out, just weird out and (go berserk) all night long

We're gonna rock this house until we knock it down
So turn the volume loud, cause it's mayhem 'til the a.m.
So crank the bass up like crazy and let yourself go, let yourself go
Say buck it before we kick the bucket
Life's too short to not go for broke
So everypony, everypony (go berserk) Scratch those vinyls Pon3!

Vinyl Scratch had a look of pure concentration on her face as to not mess these scratches up! The crowd was moving with the beat the entire time and they cheered as Craigulus did the shuffle near the edge of the stage.

They say that love is powerful as cough syrup and Styrofoam
All I know is I fell asleep and woke up in that Monte Carlo
With the ugly Zardashian
Zamar, oh sorry yo, we done both set the bar low
Bars hard, drugs hard, though that's the past
But I done did enough codeine to knock Future into tomorrow
And girl I ain't got no money to borrow
But I am tryin' to find a way to get you alone, car note!
Oh, Craigulus Twinblade shouldn’t everybody know
Get the bar soap lathered, Kangols and Carhartt-less Cargos
Girl you’re fixing to get your heart broke, don’t be absurd man
You bird brained baby I ain’t called anybody baby since Birdman
Unless you’re a swallow
Word, w-word man you heard, but don’t be discouraged girl
This is your jam, unless you got hoof jam

Take your shoes off, let your hair down and (go berserk) all night long!
Grow your mane out, just weird out and (go berserk) all night long

The song ended and the crowd was bumping! Vinyl smirked at the crowds reception to her new song.

"WOO!!!! How'd y'all like that beat?!" Berzerker shouted into the mic and stared into the crowd.

Noticing that the princesses were in the tower in the back, he gave them a bit of respect.

"Mares and gentlecolts, I would just like you all to pause for a moment. I think we should all give a round of applause to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna for all the daily work they do for this country. They go through-"

He was cut off by the roar of the appreciative crowd. After a few moments of waiting, our hero continued.

"They go through so much hardship to do what their mother in Haven called them to do all those centuries ago. I would also like a moment of silence for those ponies lost in the Canterlot dragon attack just two days ago now. So remove your hats and close your eyes please."

Everyone was silent. This was probably the most peaceful this crowd has been since the beginning of the festival as nothing and nobody could be heard. It was almost scary. The music began again and as a result, the crowd began to scream! Craigulus began a soothing melody that he previously could not do on earth. Wondering how he was singing so beautifully, our hero came to the conclusion that it was a side-effect of living in Equestria. The unicorns began to light their horns, waving them in the air as the melody went on. Jay Zebra stepped on stage and the crowd exploded in applause. This was obviously a surprise appearance to the crowd. Craigulus stopped the random notes and began to sing.

You'd take the clothes off my back and I'd let you
You'd steal the food right out my mouth and I'd watch you eat it
I still don’t know why, why I love you so much, ohh
You curse my name, in spite to put me to shame
Have my laundry in the streets, dirty or clean, give it up for fame
But I still don't know why, why I love it so much

And baby, it's amazing I'm in this maze with you
I just can't crack your code
One day you screaming you love me loud
The next day you're so cold
One day you're here, one day you're there, one day you care
You're so unfair, sipping from your cup 'til it runneth over, Holy Grail

Blue told me remind you ziggas
Buck that stuff y'all talking 'bout, I'm the zigga
Caught up in all these lights and cameras
But look what that stuff did to Hammer
Celestia dammit it I like it
Bright lights is enticing but look what it did to Tyson
All that money in one night, thirty mill for one fight
But soon as all the money blows, all the pigeons take flight
Buck the fame, keep cheating on me, what I do, I took her back
Fool me twice, that's my bad, I can't even blame her for that
Enough to make me wanna murder, momma please just get my bail
I know nobody to blame, Kurt Cobain, I did it to myself

And we all just entertainers
And we're stupid and contagious
And we all just entertainers

Now I got tattoos on my body, psycho bitches in my lobby
I got haters in the paper, photo shoots with paparazzi
Can't even take my daughter for a walk, see 'em by the corner store
I feel like I'm cornered off enough is enough, I'm calling this off
Who the buck I'm kidding though, I'm getting high, sitting low
Sliding by in that big body, curtains all in my window
This fame hurt but this chain works, I think back you asked the same person
If this is all you had to deal with, zigga deal with, this stuff ain't work
This light work, camera snapping, my eyes hurt
Ziggas dying back where I was birthed, buck your IRIS and the IRS
Get the hell up off your high horse
You got the things that ziggas die for, dry yours
Why you mad, take the good with the bad
Don't throw the baby out with the bath water
You still alive, still that zigga
Zigga you survived, you still getting bigger zigga
Living the life, Vanilla wafers in a villa
Illest zigga alive, Michael Jackson's Thriller

You get the air out my lungs whenever you need it
And you take the blade right out my heart, just so you can watch me bleed
And I still don’t know why, why I love you so much, yeah
And you play this game in spite to drive me insane
I got it tattooed on my sleeve forever in ink with guess whose name
But I still don't know why, why our love is so much

As the melody slowly faded, Luna began to marvel at just how amazing Craig's singing voice was. She trotted up to the window and placed her elbows on the sill, putting her hooves on her face.

"Craigulus, you are so good at everything you do." Luna spoke out loud without even noticing it.

Celestia heard her sisters ramblings.

"Luna, you must not distract our hero in his quest remember? If you do, that may result in his failure." Celestia promptly stated.

"I know sister. He has rejected me already anyway." the princess of the night bowed her head in sorrow.

Back on stage, Berzerker raised the mic to his lips.

"Ya'll ready to leave?" Berzerker asked his new buddies through the mic.

"Well I'm not ready to leave!"

Zanye walked out from backstage.

"And I ain't ready leave!"

"I guess there's only one thing left to do! AGAIN!"

"Ball so hard motherbuckers wanna fine me!"

"LET'S GO!" the musicians yelled in unison as DJ Pon3 dropped the beat.

Even the princesses got into it. This was probably the most exciting concert in Equestrian history! The biggest stars in Equestria were all on one stage performing together! Twas truly the greatest thing ever!

So I ball so hard mothabuckas wanna fine me, first ziggas gotta find me
What's 50 grand to a mothabucka like me, can you please remind me
(Ball so hard) This so crazy, y'all don't know that don't this faze me
The Nets could go 0 for 82 and I'd look at you like this so gravy
(Ball so hard) This so weird, we ain't even s'posed to be here
(Ball so hard) Since we here, it's only right that we'd be fair
Psycho: I'm liable to go Michael, take your pick
Zackson, Zyson, Zordan, Game 6
(Ball so hard) Got a broken clock, Rolleys that don't tick tock
Audemars that's losing time, hidden behind all these big rocks
(Ball so hard) I'm shocked too, I'm supposed to be locked up too
If you escaped what I've escaped, you'd be in Pearis getting bucked up too
(Ball so hard) Let’s get faded, Le Meurice for like 6 days
Gold bottles, scold models, spillin’ Ace on my sick J’s
(Ball so hard) Mare, behave, just might let you meet 'Ye
Chi town's D. Rose, I’m moving the Nets to MH

Ball so hard mothabuckas want to fine me
(That so cray, that so cray, that so cray)

She said, "'Ye, can we get married at the mall?"
I said, "Look, you need to crawl 'fore you ball
Come and meet me in the bathroom stall
And show me why you deserve to have it all."
(Ball so hard) That so cray, ain’t it Jay? What she order, fish filet?
Your whip so cold – this old thing?
Act like you’ll ever be around mothabuckas like this again
Bougie girl, grab my hand, buck that mare she don’t wanna dance
Excuse my Prench but I’m in Prance, I’m just sayin'
Prince Williams ain’t do it right if you ask me
Cause I was him, I would have married Kate and Ashley
What’s Gucci, my zigga? What’s Louis, my killa?
What’s drugs, my dealer? What’s that jacket, Margiela?
Doctors say I’m the illest, cause I’m suffering from realness
Got my ziggas in Pearis and they going gorillas, huh

I don't even know what that means
No one knows what it means, but it's provocative
No it's not, it's gross
It gets the ponies going!

Berzerker lowered the mic from his face and took in the cheers of the crowd. If his ego was a person, he would be able to destroy Equestria! Vinyl Scratch dropped the bass in a magnificent light show whilst our hero raised the mic to his face once more.

You are now watching the throne, don't let me get in my zone
Don't let me get in my zone, don't let me get in my zone
These other ziggas is lyin, actin’ like the summer ain’t mine
(I got that hot mare in my home) You know how many hot ponies I own?
Don't let me get in my zone, don't let me get in my zone
Don't let me get in my zone, don't let me get in my zone
The stars is in the building, they hands is to the ceiling
I know I’m 'bout to kill it, how you know? I got that feeling
You are now watching the throne, don't let me into my zone
Don't let me into my zone
WE DEFINITELY IN OUR ZONES!

The last line echoed throughout the festival grounds. The heavy beat had turned into a soft piano rendition as the crowd began to calm down. Zanye lifted the mic to his lips.

"Rockapony records, it's a glorious occasion!"

"Yea." Jay Zebra acknowledged.

Craigulus returned backstage with his musicians in tow. Vinyl Scratch developed a mischievous grin on her face and our hero was curious as to what she was thinking about.

"After party! Bring out the cider!"

The human decided to join in on the affairs. Who was going to get him in trouble for it? Nobody, that's who! As the night went on, the drunkenness got worse and Craigulus eventually blacked out. The last thing he remembered was Vinyl Scratch escorting him into a carriage with her and taking off. Craig came to the conclusion that he was being taken back to Twilight's place, so he just rolled with it.

Oh Dear.

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Another sweet morning in Ponyville. Our hero slowly opened his eyelids as he rejoiced in his mind about the lack of nightmares. Incredibly tired, he looked up to the ceiling.

"Wait a second, this isn't a familiar roof colour!" Craigulus thought.

Looking around the room, he began to see all sorts of differences. This wasn't his room at all! The bed sheets were WAY to comfortable to be the bed that Twilight let him sleep in! Turning his head, his eyes widened and a look of pure horror developed on his face. He felt completely violated.

"Hey Craigulus. Thanks for the best night of my life yesterday. ha ha!" Vinyl Scratch lustfully laughed.

Craigulus began twitching in a strange manner. Did he seriously just do that?

"OH DEAR CELESTIA, WHY!?!?!?!?!?" the human screamed in a mix of horror and disgust.

He began picking up his clothing and twin blades. Beginning to equip his clothing, he began to stutter as he spoke to Vinyl.

"O-Okay, you m-must know that I d-didn't mean for it to be like this! All I wanted was for this t-to be a professional co-workers relationship! I really don't th-think this would work between the two of us!" Craig finished sliding on his pants.

DJ Pon3 looked down at the floor. She began to feel guilty about getting this human drunk and bringing him home with her. This probably was going to be the most awkward moment in her entire life.

"I'm sorry Berzerker, but you know what? This is just a natural part of life! Everypony gets into it someti-"

As Vinyl tried to play it off as a normal occurrence, she was cut off.

"NO, NO, NO, AND NO! I actually feel extremely violated right now! Put yourself in my shoes for a second please! If you were a human in a land full of mystical creatures, would you want to get nasty with any of them? NO! Especially if you already had a girlfriend back home! Oh dear god, i'm getting out of here!"

Our hero proceeded to run out of Vinyl Scratch's house faster than the Usain Bolt. It didn't take him too long to find Octavia drinking a cup of T-

"OH, COME ON!!!!!!" Craigulus threw his arms up in annoyance.

"What? Do you not like tea?" Octavia questioned in her British accent.

Craigulus just ignored it and ran out of the house. Upon marching halfway to Twilight's house, our warrior was ambushed by the paparazzi. Asking him tons of questions about why he decided to perform and why he went to Vinyl's house, they kept on flashing their gosh darn cameras every freaking second! This celebrity was definitely not in the mood for it.

"As the hero of Equestria, I command you to step off!" Craigulus pushed his way out of the crowd and sprinted to Twilight's house.

As he approached his destination, he noticed that Celestia and Luna were waiting for him outside the front door. Taking this opportunity to get the reporters off his back, he opened his mouth and spoke.

"If you want to take me to Canterlot, please do it now!!!!!"

Their horns began to glow and they were suddenly smack dab in the middle of a closed off Canterlot courtyard with their student. Luna began to giggle.

"It appears that this fame has got you into a jam. I know what happened last night, too! hahahahaha!" Luna nudged him in the arm.

Our hero became irritated.

"Just so you know, what happened last night was-"

"Not your fault. Trust me, this happens to everypony who gets involved with Vinyl Scratches antics. It's okay if it happened." Luna interrupted with an aggravating smirk.

"It's NOT OKAY!!!!! I GOT VIOLATED BY AN EQUINE! THAT SCARRED ME FOR LIFE!!!"

Craigulus got in such a rage, that the blue aura entangled him and his lunar eclipse form had exploded into effect. Celestia decided to calm her student down.

"My subject, do not get so worked up about this. We will not speak of it ever again, right Luna?" the princess of the sun glanced at her sister Luna with disapproving eyes.

"Of course not sister" Luna smiled awkwardly.

Celestia turned back to our hero with the tone of business in her voice.

"As the scholars at Canterlot University examined the body of the dragon you killed, or what was left of it. They discovered an odd magic emitting from its heart. The heart was unusually black with red stripes on it, and that means the dragon was under some sort of control spell. No being has ever been able to control a dragon before so this may have something to do with the God King's return."

Celestia turned to the dark blue alicorn and let her speak.

"We have called you here to introduce you to some new attack spells. As you probably already know, the magic you posses can be experimented with. For example, remember when you created the two orbs in either one of your hands and you combined them to make a single, larger orb? You could probably make that orb larger with your energy beam! It is actually good that you have your lunar eclipse form ready for this because that was going to be part of the training." Luna explained.

Luna backed away slowly with Celestia. She assumed that the first try would probably backfire on her student.

"So when the two orbs are combined, you have to get that magic flowing through your arms like when you pulled off your first energy beam. Once you feel the energy in your wrists do not unleash it violently! All you have to do is let the energy slide into your hands and gently out of your palms. That way, the magical energy will pour solely into the orb. I don't know how stressful it will be for you, but keep going until you can't take it anymore! By the way, you should probably power up before hand so you can pour everything you have into this. Push your limits because it is the only way you'll get stronger!" Celestia explained as thoroughly as she could.

Nodding, our hero unleashed his lunar aura and began pouring up. Every time he powered up it was easier on his body. Same goes for his lunar eclipse form because he only had to be irritated, not be in pain or angered, to go lunar. the first minute of powering up was fine, but he began to feel the stress after awhile. Feeling the pressure on his body, he began grinding his teeth in frustration. After a few more seconds it became so intense that he began grunting in pain.

"You're doing great! Just keep going! I BELIEVE IN YOU!!!!!"

Luna cheered on her dearest student, hoping that her words would reach Craigulus Twinblade so he could continue powering up. It had seemed to work like a charm.

"You're right! I need. MORE. ENERGY!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Beginning to scream, he realized that he was beginning to see some sort of vision. It was the wolf again! This time, he finished howling at the moon and jumped off the rock. The wolf began running through the woods again, except the whole scene was now disappearing! The woods began to grow brighter and brighter and after a while all that was left was the dark blue wolf. The warrior snapped out of it once again, realizing that the dark blue aura had grown stronger. Thinking he had reached his limits, he stopped powering up. Flying up to a nearby window, he examined himself in its faint reflection.

"Wow! Somehow, I've reached another new form! It isn't entirely different though, its just that my hair and some other features look full of this awesome energy!"

Luna smiled as she began to explain to her student.

"Well, it is still lunar eclipsed. What you are experiencing is the fact that you are fully powered up! Congratulations! You have already set the new limits of your power! I'm so proud of you!" Luna swooned.

Our hero's eyes widened. Never feeling so powerful before, he began the second part of his training. He flapped his wings and ascended high into the sky whilst preparing the two magic orbs the size of a basketball. The warrior came to a sudden halt mid-air and combined the two energy orbs, holding it high above his head.

"Now pour everything you have into the orb!" Celestia asked in a surprisingly demanding voice.

Acknowledging the command, our hero began the next step. Feeling the energy run through his arms, he slipped the energy into the orb as much as he could. The ball grew much bigger every second and before long, it was probably as tall as the Canterlot Palace and as wide as, something! It actually was tiring letting the energy go into the orb as Craig began to feel and look weak.

"Are you okay up there, Craigulus Twinblade?" Luna looked concerned.

Craigulus looked down on the princess of the night.

"Yes, i'm fine but I think i'm getting rather weak so I think it is time for me to stop!" Craigulus lowered his arms as he spoke.

The citizens of the city looked up at the massive, dark blue energy that permeated most of the sky. Craigulus looked at the rulers with a face that screamed, 'what now?'

"You can absorb that ball back into you, or you can throw it at your enemies!" Exclaimed Celestia.

Craigulus got confused. Why would you want to put out so much energy, then absorb it again? It seemed like a big waste of time to the human.

"Why would you just put out energy preparing for an attack, then absorb that same energy again?" Our hero asked the princesses.

"If you leave that orb in the sky, no one but you will be able to touch it. It burns anyone that touches it! So if you keep it there and generate more energy, you could use the new energy and absorb the old. Thus, creating a powerful 'Destruction Beam'!" Celestia educated her student further.

Craigulus was completely astounded as he imagined how much destruction he could deliver to his enemies! It all seemed so amusing that he could get this powerful! lifted his hands back onto the gigantic orb, then absorbed it with ease. It felt good to feel so powerful again! Sadly, all good things must come to an end as he began to descend to the ground and let his lunar eclipse subside. Celestia and Luna bumped hooves as a way of complimenting each other on teaching and Celestia turned around to walk toward the palace. As the front doors were shut, Craig's stomach began to growl.

"Luna? Could I get some food around here? I'm absolutely starving!" Our hero grabbed his stomach.

"Sure! Would you like a meatball sub with a glass of imported wine from Prance?" Luna offered.

Our hero's face brightened up at the sound of a meatball sub.

"Heck yea! Wait a second, how do you know meatball subs are my most favorite sub ever?" Craigulus asked as they began walking to the kitchen.

"Last night you dreamed about them and how good they were." Luna giggled slightly.

"I guess that's another way of doing it." the human shrugged.

Craigulus then thought about the wine. What did that mean?

"Oh and about the wine-"

"Don't worry, i'm not Vinyl Scratch!" Luna inturrupted.

Laughing, they both entered the front doors and proceeded to the kitchen to eat their lunch.

"How is he becoming so much more powerful so quickly?" Galaxia whispered in awe as she looked into the universal mirror.

"I don't know, my Queen. This is really good for his chances of beating the God King though!" the griffon god smiled.

"Well, I suppose your right Griffthor." Galaxia turned to the all-powerful griffon and smiled nervously.

Suddenly, a sharp pain struck Galaxia down. As she hit the stone floor, Griffthor helped her back up and supported her until she could stand properly again.

"What just happened, my Queen?" Griffthor grew concerned for the queen of the universe.

Coughing violently, she turned and stared at the griffon with horror in her eyes. Griffthor immediately knew what she was about to say.

"The God King has gathered his army. He is on his way to Equestria as we speak! I must alert Celestia, Luna, and Craigulus Twinblade at once, for the darkest storm in history is soon to be on their doorstep!"

Griffthor was struck with pain immediately as Galaxia finished her warnings.

"NOOOO!!!!!! HE IS SENDING HIS ARMY TOWARD THE NORTH OF THE GRIFFON KINGDOMS! HE IS GOING TO TEAR RIGHT THROUGH TO EQUESTRIA FROM THERE! I MUST SEND A VISION TO KING GRIFFIAM AT ONCE!!!!

As Griffthor yelled, the lightning struck mount Haven with such force that the ground shook violently.

Craigulus and Luna were sitting in the princess of the night's bedchamber having lunch. Discussing various things such as the way humans worked in their society, Equestrian history, and what the various meditation sessions have shown to our hero. As Craigulus gulped down some of his wine he began to feel strange. Luna took notice of this.

"Are you okay?" she tilted her head.

Craigulus fell out of his seat and blacked out. The next thing he saw made him shake in fear. He was standing across from the one-winged God King in the middle of a burning Ponyville. In his hands rested his spear and shield.

"Here I come, Craigulus Twinblade! The beginning of the end of the world is right on its way! My army will crush any and ALL opposition that dares challenge my supreme power! the God King spoke in a deep and rough voice that echoed throughout the burning town.

Craigulus regained his composure and addressed the God King with a threatening roar.

"My destiny is to slay you! You aren't meant to win because I have embraced a magic known as the-"

"THE LUNAR ECLIPSE FORM IS NOTHING COMPARED TO HOW POWERFUL I HAVE BECOME, MORTAL! BY THE WAY, NOT ALL HEROES ARE DESTINED TO SUCCEED. SIR CANTER DID NOT DIE BECAUSE IT WAS PART OF HIS DESTINY! GALAXIA'S PLAN HAD FAILED AND SHE NEVER TOLD HER CHILDREN OR THE HEROES THE TRUTH! SHE HAS BEEN LYING THIS WHOLE TIME, IDIOT!

Craigulus didn't believe a word he was saying. Our hero unsheathed his blades and began to sprint toward his adversary.

"Shut up, right now!"

Just before the swords hit the God King's neck, he disappeared into thin air. The entity of the King began to laugh.

Fool. You won't even listen to the truth anymore. You've been brainwashed, human. Simply brainwashed.

Just as darkness closed in on Craigulus, he awoke in his bed with a gasp. Luna had been watching over him the whole time. Craigulus felt a wave of raw emotion wash over him as he arose to hug Luna. Our hero began to cry in the arms of the dark blue alicorn.

"Do not worry, my student. We will figure something out."

A single tear rushed down Luna's cheek and dropped to the floor.

The Griffon Council

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The next day, Craigulus Twinblade, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Shining Armor, and the bearers of harmony were summoned to an emergency meeting in the griffon city of Gryphus. Upon arrival, our hero noticed the striking similarities the griffon culture had with Norse mythology. Griffons seemed to believe that their god had a hammer just like Thor, the Norse god of storms. Their soldiers also donned the same armor that the viking warriors of old used. Weapons of choice seemed to be a mix of axes and swords. As Craigulus and the gang approached the entrance of the city in their carriage, they heard the sound of a horn. The horn was low-pitched and it seemed to vibrate in ones ears. The city seemed to bear some resemblance to the city of Erebor from the Lord of the Rings series. Craigulus was in awe at the sheer size of the entrance alone. As they touched down in front of the city, a giant griffon with a mighty black beard and a crown on his head greeted the Equestrian representatives.

"Celestia! You made it, and you brought the Crystal princess and her husband! Cadence and Shining armor, may the blessings of Griffthor be upon you all!"

All of the leaders and heroes had began bowing to each other in respect. Celestia knew that this was the first real meeting between Equestria and the Griffon Kingdoms since the 'Griffon Aggression War' thousands of years ago, so she really didn't want to make a bad impression. Especially in a time where the whole world was at stake!

"And may the love and friendship of my mother Galaxia protect the Griffon Kingdoms, King Griffiam Wallace the Seventh!" Celestia bowed.

The griffon king looked over Celestia's mane and spotted the human he had been hearing about. A look of anger had developed on his face and he stomped over toward Craigulus, grasping his massive axe. Our hero was stunned as the king looked him in the eye.

"Y-You! Do you know anything about my grandfather? Do you remember killing him!?"

The human didn't know what to say. He just stood there, stunned.

"Griffiam, It couldn't have been him! He only just arrived a week ago!" Luna stepped in front of our hero to protect him.

The griffon king calmed down and stepped away from our hero. He turned around and pointed forward, signaling for the leaders and heroes to follow him to the grand hall. He never said another word for awhile. Craigulus shook his head over how bizarre that was. As they all began walking, our hero nudged Luna to get her attention.

"Yo, what's up with him?"

Luna turned her head back at Craig as they walked through the semi-crowded mountain city.

"King Griffiam's grandfather was apparently killed by a human. Since then, the royal family has been hunting for him. No one is even sure that it was a human though, it could have been something else. King Griffiam's father was the only witness that claimed it was a human."

Craigulus nearly stopped at that. Is he the third human in Equestrian history now? Whatever, he couldn't think about that right now. He had a meeting to think about.

Haven was having it's own meeting at the moment. Galaxia was speaking to the heroes about whether or not to help Craigulus develop enough magic power within a week to defeat the God King. Commander Hurricane spoke out against Galaxia's proposal.

"Your godliness, wouldn't this technically be breaking the rules that you originally made? No one in Haven is aloud to go back to the mortal world and that includes you and Griffthor! Isn't the human supposed to win anyway?" The old pegasus pointed out.

Princess Platinum, the deceased unicorn co-founder of Equestria, acknowledged the commander.

"Yes, he is supposed to win! There is no need to worry because this is all part of your big plan Galaxia! Isn't it?"

The universal alicorn stood in place, frozen. She had been keeping secrets for so long and she knew that if the truth got out, many would question their loyalty to her. The consequences could be catastrophic! She began to stutter as she spoke. Their was only one answer that she could give.

"W-well, I guess your right. This meeting is officially adjourned!"

As everypony left the room, Galaxia and Griffthor returned to the universal mirror. Watching the meeting in Gryphus, the all-powerful mother began to speak to herself.

"I can't do anything to help you. I just hope that you can do this all yourself, Craigulus Twinblade."

"I received a vision from mighty Griffthor. He told me that we have five days to prepare for the God King's onslaught."

Griffiam pulled out a map and placed his talon on the shore north of the Griffon Kingdoms.

"An army of un-dead centaurs and alicorns will rise out from under the water there and once the God King has prepared his battle formations, he will proceed destroy every village, town, and city that his army comes across. Eventually, he will choose to move on and go south through the wilds and into the small pass separating the Drackenridge Mountains to prepare his assault of Equestria. Griffthor also told me that he would consider bypassing Gryphus. I propose that we evacuate all the places up north of Gryphus and send all the women and children into the deep catacombs of Gryphus to protect them. During the evacuation process, the combined forces of Equestria and The Griffon Kingdoms will prepare for a defense of this fair city. We just need to find out how to attract the God King here, are there any suggestions as to how we can do that?"

Every griffon and pony in the room looked at each other, hoping someone would come up with something. It was a long, precarious silence. Everyone began to stare at our hero for guidance.

"Craigulus Twinblade, you have not spoken this entire meeting! Do you have something to contribute?" Griffiam pressured.

Craigulus knew deep down, that he was number one on the God King's hit list. Knowing that the evil god would stop at nothing to eliminate him, the human rose to his feet and slammed his palm on the table.

"I have already seen the face of the enemy. He knows that I am the one who is supposed to kill him and he is probably watching me as I speak. In order to attract the God King to this fair city, I will have to join you in it's defense! It wouldn't hurt to have the bearers of harmony and the princesses suit up for battle either!" Craigulus declared.

Without thinking twice, King Griffiam Wallace the Seventh rose to his feet and placed his talons flat on the stone table.

"If he is sure about this, then let it be! All leaders and heroes here today say AYE!"

A chorus of 'ayes' traveled throughout the group and they all put their talons and hooves on the table as they concluded the meeting. Shining Armor turned his eyes to the king.

"My wife and I would be honored to provide you with our services during the fight. We can also provide the entire army of the Crystal Empire as reinforcements!" the brother of Twilight insisted that he would help.

Every being in the room nodded and returned to their business. It would appear that Craigulus would have to use his time wisely and prepare for the fight of his life! As he proceeded toward the carriage that would take him and his friends back to Canterlot, only one thought crossed his mind.

"I may not be ready to fight you God King, but you can damn well count on a fierce fight."

Later that night, the carriage was set down in the closed off courtyard. Only the princesses, and the human were left on it.

"Celestia, will we have a training session tomorrow?" Craigulus asked, hoping that the answer would be what he wanted to hear.

Celestia turned to our hero and nodded with a smile.

"Yes, we will. Do not worry." Celestia and Luna walked into the palace as she confirmed the answer.

The human sat down on the steps of Canterlot and unsheathed his blades. The visions were becoming a drug to our hero, he was absolutely addicted to it now! The first order of business, get Sir Canter to confess to who killed that griffon king.

"Okay, Canter. Spill out the truth! I know that Jebediah is still alive and I bet you know too!"

"He is dead! Okay!?!?! Do I have to explain it further? He was ripped apart by a manticore! There is no way he can be alive!" Sir Canter enforced his beliefs.

Craigulus began meditating and before long, he was inside the log house of Starswirl the Bearded. It would appear that this was near the time of his death, seeing as Starswirl's breath was heavy and aggressive. In walked Jebediah and finally, he was fully noticeable. Long hair, some sort of club hanging from his back, a type of fedora made of straw, and a heavy Australian accent.

"Okay mate, I'm tired of you and your obsession with Equestria! I'm leaving to help the entire world instead of just these equines!" Jebediah sounded tired of doing his master's bidding.

The unicorn slammed his hoof against the table.

"You're just going to leave me!? I bet you don't even have a signed paper from Celestia!"

Jebediah reached into his pocket and unfurled the scroll containing the permission to leave.

"Sorry mate, don't take this personally but I'm tired of your constant racism! There are other countries in need of saving too, you know that? Maybe if you had just put that hatred aside, you would've been able to pass Celestia's tests." Jebediah walked out the door and slammed it behind him.

The memory ended there. Astonished, our hero fell back on the stone ground.

"Oh my god. He's alive!"

"So you know the truth then, eh?" Sir Canter sighed with guilt lingering in his voice.

Craigulus didn't respond. He didn't want to waste precious sleeping time.

Training still had to be done.

"Celestia?"

"Yes, Luna?"

"Are you sure that this whole defense of Gryphus is going to work out according to plan? Craigulus isn't even powerful enough to take on such a powerful being like the God King."

Celestia looked out of the window of her bedchamber, thinking about the lives that were going to be lost in this coming war. Equestria had not been in a fully blown war since the day's of Discord, so she honestly didn't know what was going to happen.

"I cannot guarantee what will happen sister, all I know is that Craigulus is more powerful than either of us. I believe he will be able to unleash his full potential though." Celestia began to smile with hope in her eyes.

Luna's face brightened up. It was always refreshing to hear her elder sister's positiveness.

"I guess you are right, Celestia."

Luna then thought about how he would unleash his full potential and she came to the conclusion that since this was predestined to happen, Craigulus would just force himself to become even stronger than ever! He needs to ascend to the solar eclipse form soon, or he is never going to defeat the fallen centaur.

The next morning, Craigulus began training early. With a book at his side, he began his studies of magic with a way to trap an enemy within a force field. Attempting to trap the blades, he began grinding his teeth.

"I have to do this!" the hero screamed in pure concentration.

The stress of learning a new spell never got easier as time went on. It just kept on getting harder as time passed! Craigulus had been testing this new spell for what seemed like ages and he was finally on the verge of learning it. The force field spell had almost taken effect on the blades at this point, our hero just needed a little more energy put into it.

"Come on, come on, come on....YES!"

Craigulus placed his hands at his sides. He had made a bubble shield around his swords and it wasn't collapsing on him this time!

"Okay, time to test its durability!"

The human unleashed a barrage of energy orbs upon the magic shield. Surviving the barrage for fifteen seconds, the energy shield finally broke.

"Okay, now to power up to lunar eclipse form and do a power-up endurance test!"

Just as the blue aura entangled him, Craigulus saw Luna enter the courtyard. She was carrying with her a tiny notebook with a quill.

"Good morning, Craig! It seems your dedication to your studying has risen quite a bit." Luna acknowledged.

Craigulus looked at the alicorn and gave a slight laugh as he transformed in a flash. It had become extremely easy to maintain the lunar eclipse form as of late but he found it impossible to ascend to the next level. He knew there was something beyond lunar eclipse, but he couldn't seem to reach it. As he continued powering up, Celestia made her appearance next to Luna.

"Keep powering up Craigulus, your going great!"

Craigulus wasn't even breaking a sweat, he was already used to powering up. Before long he reached full power and couldn't power up anymore.

"Can you go any farther than that?" Celestia raised an eyebrow.

Craigulus bowed his head.

"Sadly, no. If I try to go any farther, it won't let me for some odd reason." Craigulus shrugged.

Luna started to jump up and down, encouraging Craigulus to continue on.

"Come on, student! You can do this! I believe in you!" Luna screamed in joyous encouragement.

Craigulus looked deep down inside himself and made the decision.

"Sure, why not?"

Getting into the pose he needed to be in, he began trying his hardest to power up. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't ascend. Sometimes he would be teased when his visions would slightly appear before him only to be cut off. Sometimes his hair would begin to change colour as well, but it would never fully develop into the solar form that he was aiming for. Our hero felt as if something was missing from the process, he felt needed an extra push to be more powerful than ever before. He descended from the sky, let his lunar form subside, and shook his head in disappointment.

"Darn it! I'll never reach the solar form! I need to get there though or else my chances at victory are slim to none!"

Our hero became frustrated and he proceeded to teleport to his room. He needed some time for meditation.

"Sir Canter?"

"Yea? What do you want?"

"I'm sorry for asking you about Jebediah so much. I know he was dead from your perspective but I was just so obsessed with fitting all the missing pieces from these visions together that I had disregarded your feelings on the subject. I know he was a brother to you and it must have been tough recalling your last moments of seeing him."

After apologizing, Craigulus unsheathed his blades and closed his eyes.

"It is okay, warrior. I guess the question now is, how did he survive that manticore?"

"I guess we'll never know." Craigulus threw his arms in the air.

This time it took a longer time than usual to pull a memory from the swords but it was worth the wait as Craigulus could now see out of the eyes of a certain unicorn wizard. Who was currently speaking to a young, pink haired Celestia.

"So you and Luna are just going to arrive at the battle against Discord?"

"Yes, our mother commands it! And besides, she also thinks that this is the best way to introduce ourselves to the Equestrian ponies as their leader."

"Where will you be?"

Luna gestured toward the forest.

"Oh, I see." Starswirl the Bearded smiled.

The memory ended there. Maybe it wasn't worth the wait. Oh well, it could have been worse.

A Week Has Nearly Passed......

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"My liege, your forces have all marched out of the water and onto this frozen beach. When shall we advance through these pitiful Griffon Kingdoms?"

Deep in thought, the God King turned to his most trusted servant and gave his command.

"We must give them a little more time, Iskandar. I know it sounds strange at the moment, but I don't think we need to go just yet. I still have to wait about a day or two so I can prepare myself for my own personal battle."

Iskandar was, and still is the greatest commander in the ranks of the God King's armies. The un-dead centaur had been fighting on the island of Elir at the time of his master's death. When he heard his master's commands he would normally follow them without question, but this time he was a little curious.

"Master, with all due respect I must ask. What is this 'personal battle' your talking about?"

The fallen king of the Centaurs would have snapped if he didn't have so much respect for the commander. Turning to Iskandar, he began to speak.

"I have been watching Craigulus in my meditations and it seems that he has planned to make a stand in the city of Gryphus. As you probably know, I was going to forget about that city and march straight into Equestria. The plans must change though, I cannot pass up this opportunity to destroy the so-called 'hero' of Equestria!"

The God King turned around to view his massive army and a long, precarious silence began. Two minutes passed and Iskandar broke the silence.

"I will tell the troops we will leave in the morning. If you want, you can take over and command the troops yourself."

A spear was suddenly pointed toward the commander's neck.

"Do you really think I need permissionto take over?!" The scar-eyed spirit bellowed.

Iskandar with his mighty white hair, shook his head.

"Good...Return to your duties!"

As Iskandar left, the God King closed his eyes and returned to deep thought. The more he thought about the human, the more the God King laughed. Does this sixteen-year-old boy really have what it takes? Does Galaxia even know what she is doing? Is the hero even capable of ascending to solar eclipse form?

"HA! I think not!"

In Ponyville, the human was wrapping up the first ever hockey game in Equestrian history. To our hero's pleasant surprise, the game was an instant hit with the citizens! It was refreshing to feel like he was back home in Canada, even though the players were clearly not humans. As everypony trotted home, Luna flew into the scene.

"Craig, we need to go to Gryphus and prepare for the assault! The God King is marching his army tomorrow morning and the forces have all gathered there just in time!" Luna was extremely anxious.

Craigulus nodded and ran around town gathering the bearers of the elements of harmony. After gathering his friends, Luna transported them to Gryphus by carriage. By the time the sun rose into the sky, they had arrived.

"How are the refugees? Are they all inside of the catacombs?" Twilight questioned the princess of the night.

Luna responded with a hint of urgency in her voice.

"Yes, but right now we need to prepare the troops. Equestrian soldiers aren't used to defending griffon cities, so we must learn from Griffiam's armies about how they fight."

As they proceeded through the city, our hero noticed how frantic the soldiers of the triple-alliance were. Every pony and griffon was doing some sort of training. The shouting of the commanding officers rang through the halls of Gryphus and eventually, our hero began getting nervous.

"How much farther until we reach the meeting room?" Craigulus asked with butterflies in his stomach.

Luna turned her head back to the human.

"Not much farther. In fact, it is just around this corner."

The alicorn, the human, and the bearers of harmony turned around that corner and entered the steel doors. Celestia, Griffiam, princess Cadence, and Shining Armor all sat around the table. It appears they were already talking amongst themselves.

"Ahh, it appears the rest of the group has arrived! Take a seat so we can discuss this coming defense!" Griffiam spoke in a joyful tone.

The whole gang proceeded to sit down and let the meeting continue. Celestia was the first to speak.

"We have two full days to prepare for the God King's arrival. The entirety of all our armies have arrived here so we can not lose. If we do lose, then we have failed to save the world." Celestia fearfully spoke.

Craigulus then rose to his feet.

"We can't lose though! I'm destined to save everybody, right? Why fear the loss if we are destined to claim victory!?"

This sounded logical to the council, but in Haven Galaxia shook her head in frustration.

"No!!!! Curse me and my eternity of lies!" She thought to herself.

The council looked over at Craig and disapproved his comment.

"The prophecy may say that you are destined to win, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be prepared!" Celestia objected.

Our hero knew his teacher was right. Nodding, he sat down slowly. The room went into a state of silence once again and after a long period of time, Rainbow Dash stood up.

"Well, I don't know about you guys but I love Craigulus's enthusiasm! I have plans myself for this defense strategy! What needs to happen is that the Canterlot guards need to form a shield wall in front of the closed iron gates. Once the gates are finally torn open, the Crystal Empire's archers in the back will send a massive wave of arrows down upon the enemy. The Equestrian shield wall is one of the most efficient, deadly, and well thought out battle strategies in history!"

The whole room had began to listen to the rainbow-maned pegasus. Griffiam stood up and spoke in a rough tone.

"What about magic? Can your shield wall hold out against that?" Griffiam Wallace slammed his axe onto the table.

"Yes" Celestia spoke. "But when it comes down to it, our soldiers can only withstand the barrage for so long. I do understand that you have your griffon berserks willing to enter the fray, right? We could always have them burst forth from the shield wall every so often during the battle to send a wave of fear and death over our enemies!" Celestia began to smile at her own brilliance.

"Good idea! But my only question to you is, can the dead sense fear?"

After Griffiam's question, Celestia didn't feel so brilliant.

"I do not know." she whispered.

Luna and the human rose to their feet and roared in unison.

"Then we shall teach them to sense fear!"

The entire hall looked at the duo with proud smiles on their faces. Griffiam began to speak.

"If the need to withdraw arises, we shall defend the town square!"

Twilight began to stutter as she began.

"Wh-What if the defense of the town square fails?"

Fear overtook the room once again. Before the silence could go on too long, Luna broke it.

"Then we shall fall back to the entrance of the catacombs and use a teleportation spell to bring the survivors to Canterlot."

Griffiam had a look of frustration on his face.

"What about my people?!?!"

Celestia bowed her head in sorrow.

"I'm sorry, but if the need arises we can only teleport the remaining troops. We could never save the entire griffon race that quickly. We could probably save a few though."

Those last few words put Griffiam's mind at ease. He knew that if he failed his species, the princesses would always be there to save them from extinction. Sure they would be endangered, but that's better than being dead!

"We shall fight then."

The company of leaders and heroes raised their fists and hooves to the air as they began to proudly chant the battle cry of the triple alliance.

"For Equestria, The Griffon Kingdoms, and the Crystal Empire!"

Night had fallen upon the mountain of Gryphus. Craigulus Twinblade made his way out of the giant entrance and sat in the thin layer of snow. As he looked out over the valley below, he began to think about the battle plan he learned that day. If things got out of control during the battle at the front gates, They would have to retreat into the city square. If that would fail, then they would have to fight for their lives back in front of the small catacombs entrance where the refugees were currently living. Celestia and Luna would have to charge up a huge teleportation spell that would spare the remaining soldiers. Deep in his heart, our hero knew that it wouldn't come to that because he would find a way to destroy the God King right then and there! While deep in thought he heard a familiar voice.

"Hello, my student."

Luna stood with her head in the moonlight. Her mane was flowing so gracefully that Craigulus just sat in awe. As Craigulus came to his senses, Luna glanced at him and laughed.

"Enjoying the view I see? I have been told before that I look the most beautiful at night, you know?"

Craigulus looked back down on the country.

"Yea, I guess they're right." Craigulus's tone was softer.

Luna blushed at her crush's compliment. A silence ensued before Craigulus spoke in a worrisome manner.

"Luna? What if something happens to somepony during battle? What if one of my friends.....What if they?- What if?"

Luna wrapped her student in her wing, thus interrupting him.

"Death is something we all endure. I've been around for thousands of years so of course, I know the pain of loss all too well. I once knew a young, blind pegasus who showed the world that the winter season is useful. Her point was that no matter how dark or cold it was, it was still a beautiful thing. I cried so much when she passed on, but I know that there has to be a special spot in Haven for her." Luna let a single tear drop from her eyes as she reminisced.

Craigulus instantly knew who she was talking about and rose to his feet.

"Luna, I've heard about her before. I would have to say that if Galaxia never let her into Haven, she would be insane!" Craigulus embraced the princess of the night.

"Craigulus, if any of us die in this coming battle then I will take revenge on the murderer no matter who he is." Rainbow dash surprisingly soared next to him.

Craigulus began to laugh.

"Oh, Dash. Your freaking cool, but I know that you already know that!"

As they all laughed, they turned to walk back to their living quarters. Luna and the rest joked and laughed long into the night. Not all was well in the blue alicorn's mind though, as she thought about another horrid possibility.

"What if you die though, my love?"

The God King opened his eyes.

"Hmmmm, so you would be affected if one of your friends died? This could prove to be a nasty weakness for you then!"

The God King turned around to view his massive force.

"ONWARD, TO GRYPHUS! LEAVE NONE ALIVE! TO WAR MY BROTHERS!"

The entire force stretched as far as his eyes could see. They all continued the grand march to the griffon capitol. The fallen king turned forward with a look of hatred in his eyes.

"Craigulus, from the very moment you set foot in this world your fate was sealed. You cannot compare to the likes of the God King!"

Galaxia averted her eyes from the universal mirror. With fury in her eyes, she grew confident in the human.

"You have no idea who you're dealing with, my love."

The Storm Is Coming!

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Everything seemed like a blur to Craigulus. It seemed that it was just yesterday when he found out he was a hero, but now he was standing as a pillar of inspiration to all Equestrians. On the day before the attack, Our hero was made into a commander, and was assigned to lead the training sessions. The day was long, and hard. Teaching the regiments of ponies and griffons was costly to his energy and, after a long day, Craigulus finally gathered the entire army of the triple alliance into the vast town square. Looking out from atop the steps of the king's hall, he began to lead the chant.

"Ponies! Griffons! Why do you fight?!"

The zealous soldiers erupted into a unified chant.

"TO PROTECT THE WORLD!"

"Who do you fight for!?"

"THE PRINCESSES, THE KING, AND THE UNIVERSAL QUEEN!"

The human took a deep breath.

"WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSION!?!?!?!"

"WAR! WAR! WAR!"

The echo of the chant rung throughout the underground city. Our hero smirked and turned to face the rulers and heroes behind him.

"How do you like the chant, my friends?"

A series of nods came from the rulers and heroes of the world. Without wasting time, The dual-wielding warrior faced the force of ten thousand fighters. After clearing his throat, he began his speech.

"My friends, tomorrow is the most important day in not just Equestrian history, but world history as well! When the sun rises tomorrow, we will be standing as brothers and sisters in arms!"

The crowd cut off our hero as they cheered throughout the halls of Gryphus. Our hero raised his right hand to signal for silence.

"In my studies as the apprentice of Celestia and Luna, I have noticed that there has always been a certain degree of hostility between ponies and griffons. As I kept on learning about the battle tactics of both cultures, I started to imagine what would happen if we all joined forces. In the recent turn of events, we are forced to become a unified army! As I look out on the various friendships that bridge the gap between cultures, I think about how sweet it will be when we win against the worlds biggest threat!"

Craigulus unsheathed the soulless blade and raised it to the stone roof of the city.

"My friends! Tomorrow, the soul of the God King will rest in this blade! Go rest, for when we rise, we shall fight and die as true warriors!"

The army let out an uproarious applause as our hero and his friends proceeded into the meeting hall. The human was the last one in, so he shut the door behind himself.

"Well then, how was that for a morale boosting speech!?" Craigulus smirked in a cocky manner.

Celestia was not impressed by the egotistical manners of her student. Turning her head toward Craigulus, she shot a disapproving glare.

"Craigulus Twinblade! Stop letting your ego control you and take things seriously! We could all die tomorrow!"

Our hero was surprised by Celestia's sudden change of moods. Normally, she would be way nicer to him but that was way out of the ordinary to him.

"Sorry. I should think before I speak, I guess."

Feeling clouds of anger in his head, the human almost said something a little more aggressive. Instead, Luna stepped in to defend her crush.

"Sister, just because you don't like his personality, it doesn't mean you should speak to him so unprofessionally! Show some respect to the hero!" Luna stomped her hoof.

Tension rose in the room. As the elder sister and the princess of the night stared each other down, everyone else in the room watched it. Griffiam Wallace the Seventh interrupted the stand-off to try and calm the sisters down.

"With all due respect, we have some last-minute preparations to-"

"Silence, griffon! This is an Equestrian matter here so it has nothing to do with the likes of you!" Celestia snarled.

"Umm, could everypony please stop yelling? I mean, if that's okay with you?" Fluttershy squeaked.

Soon enough, everyone joined in the argument. Everyone, except for Craig. The bearers of the elements of harmony had began to complain among themselves about various things, the princesses and the king were complaining about Celestia's behavior, and the Crystal princess and Shining Armor were having a couples argument. Craigulus concluded that he needed to stop this because it clearly wasn't going to help in the task at hand. He tried getting the attention of his comrades, but every time he tried, he would just be interrupted or ignored all together. Anger took over his mind.

"EVERYONE SHUT YOUR MOUTHS!!!!!!!!"

In an explosion of light, the magical aura returned to him and lunar eclipse form helped grab everyone's attention. The whitened eyes stunned those who looked into them.

"Well then, now that I have everybody's attention, I can speak."

The lunar eclipsed human let his form subside and continued on.

"I have never seen so much division among you guys! What is your problem? I can't help it if I go on and say my own cocky stuff, but why would you get so riled up about it, Celestia!?"

Guilt took the solar princess by storm and she bowed her head in shame.

"And Luna, why did you talk back to your elder sister? Last time I checked, you didn't have the right to tell her to respect people! You are the younger sister so she doesn't necessarily need to listen to your orders!"

Luna closed her eyes and frowned.

"I'm sorry for my own shenanigans too, but Griffiam is right! We need to prepare for tomorrow or the world will be destroyed! I did not come all the way to Equestria and become a hero just to fail in my quest!"

The room was completely silenced once again. Craigulus had done his job as Celestia came forward and apologized for her antics.

"I'm deeply sorry for how I acted. I know the time of battle is near, but I have just been so stressed the past few days and I just couldn't hold it in anymore."

Craigulus marched forward and gently placed his right hand on Celestia's mane.

"You are forgiven, princess."

The rest of the meeting wasn't all that eventful, it was mostly going over the same battle-plan and assigning everyone to their roles in the battle. Craigulus was in charge of fighting on the front line with the Equestrian shield wall, Griffiam Wallace was in charge of fighting alongside the griffon berserks, Shining Armor was in charge of leading the swift soldiers of the Crystal Empire in the event of a quick hit-and-run, and the bearers of harmony were supposed to stand atop the hammer on the monument of Griffthor preparing their big magic attacks. The three alicorns would stay in the battle with the archers, firing magic as time went on. Everything seemed to be in place, so the meeting concluded and everyone left. Before Craigulus proceeded to stroll to his temporary chamber in Gryphus, he saw Rainbow Dash crying in a corner of the meeting hall. Feeling sorry for her, our hero slowly approached the rainbow-maned mare.

"Dash, are you okay?"

Noticing the voice, Rainbow rose to her hooves and put on a fake expression of determination.

"Ohh, I'm fine! What makes you ask? I'm completely okay, trust me!"

"Then why were you crying?"

Rainbow Dash knew it was impossible to fake her emotions now, so she sat back down and let the tears flow once again. She began stuttering as she explained herself.

"i'm crying because- because I- I'm afraid of dying!"

Craigulus, who knew all to well the fear of death, attempted to calm the mare with a smile.

"Well, let me tell you something. I'm afraid of that too!"

Dash looked up and wiped the tears from her eyes while sniffling just a little bit.

"Really? I thought I would've been the only one in the group aside from Fluttershy!"

Craigulus looked away.

"Nope, your not the only one. I guess it feels better to be aware of other people afraid of death, huh?"

Rainbow dash lowered her head and stared at the ground.

"I guess, It still is really scary to me though. I wish I would be protected by someone or something during this fight."

Craigulus knew what she was hinting at, but would it be wise to do that? Knowing he might die if he were to constantly protect one mare, he decided that he should do it anyway. Proceeding to go on one knee to be level with Rainbow, he put his hand on her head.

"Rainbow Dash, if you are put in harms way, I will save you. If you want, you can stand at my side the entire battle. You will not die in this battle Dash."

The pegasus began to embrace the hero.

"Thank you, Craigulus Twinblade. You really are one of the most honorable beings I've ever known!"

Rainbow Dash and our hero made their exit out of the meeting hall. Their chambers were in opposite directions so they had to leave each other immediately.

"Craigulus?"

"Yea"

"If you so much as hint to this happening ever again, i'm going to kick you in the face with my hind legs so hard that your jaw will break."

Craigulus should have known she would say something.

"Okay Rainbow Dash!"

Laughing, the human gave her a salute as he walked away. This was a night that he needed to get some sleep because tomorrow was going to be the greatest day of his life. Tomorrow, his destiny as a hero was going to be fulfilled!

The God King hovered over the ground in his legless incarnation, bent on reaching the city of Gryphus by dawn. Iskandar had been trotting next to him, his guts slightly hanging out of his un-dead body. The God King glanced at him while deep in thought.

"Iskandar!"

"Yes, my master?"

"I am feeling particularly generous. Tomorrow, I want you to kill the human for me. Just remember that, before killing him, you need to kill the rainbow-maned pegasus next to him. While I was watching him just now, he swore protection to Rainbow Dash. Can you imagine the emotional torment he would suffer? I bet he wouldn't be able to fight! I want you to kill them both ever so painfully!"

Iskandar was about to question his commander yet again, this is the first time in his centuries of existence that he actually disagreed with his master's tactics. He had to disagree with him.

"Master, with all due respect, Shouldn't we just kill her quickly and painlessly? We shouldn't put the kid through more torment than he has too, it's kind of barbari-"

The black, flaming hand of the fallen god grasped the neck of the commander.Proceeding to raise his servant into the air, the God King threw his fist into Iskandar's face, thus asserting his dominance.

"Ohh, Iskandar. Why oh why would you be questioning me? You have been my most trusted servant for centuries and just now you start questioning my orders? You better keep your mouth shut and do as I say, GOT IT!?!?"

Iskandar, whom was forced to agree with his master, was thrust down into the dirt.

"By the way, if you fail in killing them tomorrow, consider your life forfeit!"

Iskandar lifted himself off the snow-covered ground as he watched his superior go on without him. Deep within his mind, he cursed at his king. He had been taking his nonsense for centuries and he almost had enough, but now was not the time for hatred, he had a fight to prepare for.

The morning sun rose and the light permeated the mountains of the Griffon Kingdoms. Luna woke up Craigulus frantically and our hero rose from his bed and equipped his twin blades without hesitation. Beginning the long walk to the entrance hall, our hero began asking questions.

"Are the soldiers in position?"

"Yes!" Luna replied.

"Where is the God King's army?"

"They should be here within an hour."

"Good, now go make sure everyone is ready for the assault! We need to be fully prepared! A storm is coming!"

Craig ran toward Rainbow Dash's bedchamber to alert her. This was going to be the most important battle in history, not just for the world, but also for himself.

And so, Our hero is caught on the brink of his first fully fledged battle. This situation comes with many different objectives. First: kill the God King. Second: protect Rainbow Dash from death. Third: find a way to ascend to solar eclipse form. Will Craigulus be able to balance the three objectives and succeed in doing so? Will Iskandar follow orders, or break his pact with his master? Will Griffiam prevent his worst fear of being the last of his line? Will princess Luna be able to control her feelings for Craig in the heat of battle? Will Rainbow Dash be able to put her fears aside and fight with her pegasi brethren? Can the combined armies of Equestria, the Griffon Kingdoms, and the Crystal Empire be safe from the wrath of the God King? Find out on the next exciting chapter of Dragonba- Oh, I mean, Twin Blades!

The Battle For Gryphus. (REVISED)

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As Craigulus and the rainbow-maned pegasus entered the entrance hall, they saw that the large, iron doors of Gryphus were closed shut. The Equestrian shield wall was lined up in front of the gates, the griffon berserks were perched on the monuments ready to swoop down on their enemies, and the Crystal archers were ready to fire their arrows upon the breaching of the gates. Aside from the pounding on the doors, the room was blanketed in an eerie silence. Craigulus and Rainbow Dash took their place next to the griffon king, whom grasped a sword and an axe within his talons, and awaited the inevitable.

"So, how do you feel about being on the verge of your destiny, human?" Griffiam asked whilst grasping his axe.

Our hero pondered how to answer the question as he was experiencing a wild mix of emotions: fear, hope, and pride.

"Well, I can't quite put my finger on it. It just seems so unreal that my story is already closing in on its final chapter." Craigulus replied with a hint of sadness in his voice.

The mighty griffon looked down on the hero and gave an encouraging smile.

"The final chapter? No, it is only still in the beginning!"

Craig was obviously confused. Why did the king think that it was only so early in the story? Griffiam Wallace the Seventh elaborated on the subject.

"Craigulus, you are a hero! Your kind lives on forever and, even when you are called home to Haven after your destiny is fulfilled, you have a whole eternity to explore an entire kingdom!"

That wasn't exactly what the human wanted to hear. He didn't want to have his destiny fulfilled so soon and, most of all, he wanted to go back to his own world. Our hero didn't like the thought of being stuck in another world and leaving his family behind.

"HERE WE GO, CRAIGULUS! ARE YOU READY!? The gate is almost down!"

Dash shouted into Craig's ear to pull him out of deep thought. Looking at the massive iron doors, his mind was struck with a state of shock.

"Oh sweet mother of Celestia, I can see in-between the doors!"

What he saw made him groan in his mind. Not only could he see the God King floating above the ground slamming his shield against the door to knock it open, but also the seemingly endless sea of undead centaurs and other creatures. Unsheathing his blades, he bared his teeth.

"Soldiers of the Triple Alliance! This is it! Today, you shall all fight to the death for your countries and rulers! Today, the God King will be sealed within the clear crystal in the pommel of my sword! God King, HIT US WITH ALL YOU'VE GOT!"

The God King laughed as he charged into the gates.

"KNOCK, KNOCK! HERE COMES THE NEW KING!"

With a mighty crash, the iron doors swung open.As the God King fell back to Iskandar, the Equestrian shield wall braced themselves as the hordes of zombified centaurs, wielding vast varieties of magically conjured weapons, crashed onto them. Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie began conjuring their own armor swiftly to prepare for the onslaught. With a simple pointing of the index finger, Craigulus signaled for the berserks and the pegasus brigade to attack from the air. Griffiam, whom just placed his helmet upon his head, roared the traditional battle cry as he led the air force into the battle.

"SWORD IN OUR HAND, AXE AT OUR SIDE! HAVEN AWAITS US WHEN WE DIE!"

Griffons and pegasi swarmed outside and began slicing and punching the enemies below as they swept down and back up again. Our hero admired the tactic, as it seemed to be a great way of avoiding being killed. Mists of blood began to emanate from the battlefield and the occasional limb would be tossed up in the air as well. Craig would've join them by going lunar so he could fly, but he still needed to provide the morale boost for his troops on the ground. Watching as the shield wall was still sliding backwards from the endless bashing of weapons, he decided that he needed to teach them something that he saw in a certain movie back home.

"EQUESTRIANS! MAKE THIS BATTLE YOURS BY GRABBING A STEADY FOOTHOLD! PUSH THEM BACK AND STAB THEM WITH YOUR SPEARS!"

The soldiers heard the hero's command and, using their hind legs, began getting some traction. Little by little, the shield wall stopped moving backwards. Craigulus just waited for the exact moment when he knew they established the foothold. Focus was of prime importance, and he couldn't screw up now. If the movie '300' taught him anything, this would have to be the correct tactic.

"Just a little bit more guys. You can do it." he said under his breath.

That's when it happened the whole front line came to a screeching halt. Without hesitation, our hero screamed to the soldiers.

"PUSH, NOW!"

Shields slammed into the centaur force and, as a result, the Equestrian spears were able to gut their opposition. The zombified centaurs were weak. Craigulus wondered why the heck the God King would bring such a weak force so he approached Celestia looking for information.

"Celestia? Why are these centaurs so weak? I know they are magically kept alive, but aren't they gods?"

Celestia looked down on her student and explained.

"They no longer posses the power they used to have because their soul is not within them. In the mortal world, a god is weak when their soul is not fused into a mortal body."

Craigulus nodded. It made sense, but their was something wrong with that logic.

"Wait a second!?!? What about the God King? Isn't he technically a spirit? How come he isn't using a mortal body?"

Celestia couldn't provide an answer. This is a rare case in her life where she is totally unsure of an answer to a question. Turning her head back towards the carnage of the battle, she let out a sigh of frustration.

"I do not know Craigulus, but I bet you could probably find out from the God King himself."

Craigulus just forgot about it, for it was but a distraction to the objectives at hand. Our hero looked into the sky and, to his surprise, Rainbow Dash was killing many enemies as she swept down into the sea of zombies and back out again. The rainbow mane was covered in the blood and guts of the enemy and she definitely wasn't going to stop.

"I thought she was afraid to die?" Craigulus wondered to himself.

In a flash, our hero powered up into lunar eclipse form and took to the skies above the battlefield. As he looked around, he noticed a bolt of magic coming straight out of the staff of a centaur and it was heading straight toward his objective.

"DASHIE!"

Rainbow Dash looked to her left and put her hooves in front of her face, bracing for the impact. After a moment, she noticed that nothing happened. She heard an explosion, but she didn't feel pain. Feeling a gentle hand on her head, she opened her eyes to see the human smiling at her.

"W-What happened?" The cyan pegasus asked.

"I took the bolt for you. Wait a second, why are you so good at fighting all of a sudden? I thought you were afraid of dying?" our hero asked as he healed the massive cut on his arm.

"DAMMIT ALL!"

Iskandar failed in killing his target. The God King, whom stood at his side, was clearly not amused.

"YOU HAVE TO PIN HIM DOWN SOMEHOW TO KILL HER, IDIOT!"

Iskandar complained on the inside, but on the outside, he agreed.

Rainbow Dash laughed at the stupidity of her comrade.

"Just because I'm afraid of death, that doesn't mean I suck at fighting! I can use my bare hands, unlike you!"

Craigulus was just a tiny bit insulted.

"At least I can use magic! Ha!"

Rainbow Dash and the human began a contest where they had to kill a centaur as brutally as possible. Craigulus started the competition by grabbing the back of a centaur's head and ripping it's head off slowly as it screamed in pain. The spine went with it as he whipped the head toward another centaur with all his might, thus breaking the neck of that zombified centaur.

"How's that for brutal!?"

Rainbow Dash stood with her mouth dropped and her eyes wide open. Snapping out of it, she put on a cocky grin.

"Not bad, but I bet your going to throw up when I do this!"

Swooping down, Dash picked up another one of the God King's soldiers by the head with her hind legs. She slowly began grunting as she squeezed the head of her enemy with all her might and soon enough, the head exploded like a balloon full of brains and blood.

"OH THAT'S JUST NASTY! I DIDN'T THINK YOU HAD IT IN YOU!"

"Wow! These warriors fight with the ferocity of a dragon! No, not even a dragon!"

Griffthor, Galaxia, and the heroes of Haven all surrounded the universal mirror. They stood in awe at the sheer power that Craigulus developed. Galaxia had grown confident in Craigulus and was cheering him on already.

"Come on, Craigulus Twinblade! I believe in you!

The queen of the universe looked down at the floor and smiled.

"We all do."

The contest had been going on for two hours and there was still plenty of the God King's forces to go. As Craigulus fought with sheer determination, he noticed that the soldiers behind the shield wall were becoming tired.

"Hold on a second, I just need to go and fix this problem!"

Craigulus began powering up, he couldn't just let the same soldiers work the shield wall forever, so he decided it was time to switch to some fresher soldiers. Sweeping down in front of the shield wall, he unleashed an energy push and let the entire centaur force fly backwards a good twenty feet.

"SWITCH LINES!"

As the soldiers replaced each other, A voice rang out from the crowd of centaurs.

"STOP!"

Our hero was dumbfounded. This wasn't the voice of the God King, but a rather higher pitched voice. Looking onward, he saw a strong looking centaur trot out of the force. His hair was short and black and he was wielding a combat staff. Upon further examination you could see some of his intestines hanging from his lower stomach. The centaur eyed our hero and let out a laugh.

"So you are Craigulus Twinblade? Ha! My master made you sound a lot worse than you look!"

Craigulus grasped his swords tightly.

"Who the hell are you!?!?"

The commander responded with a scream as he charged our hero.

"I AM ISKANDAR!"

Craigulus engaged in combat with the staff-wielding centaur. Trying to slice Iskandar was clearly not an easy task. Every time our hero attacked with his blades, Iskandar would just parry the attack. Noticing the troops were still standing there, Craig signaled for them to fall back to the town square.

"GO! FALL BACK TO THE TOWN SQUARE! I CAN DEAL WITH HIM!"

Iskandar struck Craigulus in the head and he fell to the ground like a pile of rocks. Jumping back to his feet, Craigulus noticed that his army had already retreated back into the city with the God King's forces following them. This was good because for all he knew, they could have been in a bad situation if they stayed. He began fighting again, but he just couldn't hit the opponent. After a while, neither combatant could hit each other.

"You surprise me with your strength, human. I was expecting a much easier fight!"

Craigulus had finally found an opening and slashed the torso of his opponent who let out a scream of pain.

"Clearly you don't know me then!" Craigulus taunted.

Rising into the air, Craigulus formed orbs in his hands and combined them, thus making the larger ball. He began channeling his magical energy into the orb and slowly it became even larger and more monstrous. Running out of energy, he put his hands down and began powering up just a little bit more.

"NO! YOU SHALL NOT BEAT ME THAT EASILY!!!!!"

Iskandar, to Craig's surprise, began sprinting upward toward him. Our hero grinned in admiration.

"So, you can conjure an energy path? Interesting, I thought this was going to be easy as well!"

Both the staff and the twin blades collided with each other in a flash of blue and black aura. The weapons seemed to move at lightning speeds to any of the other zombies below. Craigulus began a conversation mid-fight.

"Hey, why are you stronger and more functional than the other zombies? Didn't every one of the centaurs die?"

Iskandar began speaking as his staff was parried again.

"Let's just say not all of us died at the end of 'First War'! I was left alive and I found my master's soul hovering above his corpse. I could not bear that I was the last one left, so I practiced magic for years, trying to find a way for my master to be alive again!"

Craigulus came to the realization and it was evident in his facial expression. His eyes had widened and his jaw dropped. Iskandar chuckled at this as they continued fighting.

"That's right, Craigulus. I am the reason the God King threatens the world! I didn't exactly manage to place him in his mortal body, but I turned him into a spiritual entity! That means he is slowly becoming complete again and he will soon transform back into his complete self! My antics are the reason why he is still an almighty god! The best part about it is that, even though he hasn't become as strong as he once was, he can still easily kill anything this world has to offer. That includes you and I, Craigulus Twinblade!"

The fight continued and now that the question was answered, Craigulus could fight with no distractions. He began finding even more openings to stab Iskandar through and it seemed that he was on the verge of killing him. Planning on killing two birds with one stone, our hero gathered enough energy to add more to the giant energy bomb.

"Take this!"

Craigulus disarmed his opponent and evaporated the staff. Our hero then grabbed the back of Iskandar's head and tossed him into the ground far below at supersonic speeds. It was finally time to wipe out the God King, Iskandar, and his army as well.

"YOU'RE FINISHED!"

The giant energy bomb slowly descended upon what remained of the sea of centaurs. On the ground, Iskandar watched in horror as the energy began consuming everything it touched. It got closer and closer to him as he lie on the ground in front of his forces. Even though he was facing his inevitable demise, he found happiness in the fact that he was finally going to be free from his master's chains. With the emotions that ran through his head came a sense of thankfulness toward Craigulus. He closed his eyes and smiled as a single tear ran down his cheek.

"Thank you, hero."

The top of the mountain was blown off, thus revealing the city inside. The God King raised a shield around his forces and, to his surprise, he felt stress from trying to keep the shield up. It would not break though, as the energy was eventually consumed by Craigulus. Our hero didn't want to destroy too much of the countryside so he showed restraint in his actions. The two enemies made eye contact and a long, tension-filled stare down commenced. Both the human and the fallen king remained silent for what seemed like ages but, after a while, the God King began to smirk.

"Your attack actually gave me a small bit of trouble, human!" The God King taunted Craigulus as he rose to his level in the air and the dust settled.

"You know what? Thank you! That means a lot coming from the most powerful being who ever existed! Does it make you a little bit uncertain about fighting me?" Craigulus countered his taunt.

In a split second, Craigulus witnessed the centaur disappear and reappear. Our hero couldn't follow the lightning-quick movement of his adversary and, before he could understand what was going on, was being held by the neck in the cold hands of the God King.

"Not a single bit, fool!"

The twin-bladed one was then thrown toward the ground at remarkable speeds. Craigulus couldn't seem to catch the wind with his wings so, as a result, he felt the bone-jarring impact of the stone floor of town square. Our hero slowly lifted his head whilst grunting in pain. His vision was blurred and, as it slowly came back to normal, he could make out the certain pegasus friend that he still needed to protect.

"Craigulus! No!"

Our hero was then raised into the air by the fallen king's magic, he knew that this was not the way it was supposed to be. Why was he on the verge of death? Why could he feel his destiny slowly slipping away from him? As he looked downward toward his comrades, he noticed their numbers had decreased significantly and they were slowly but surely being killed. His close friends were still alive, but soon they would die if the teleportation spell wasn't used. Lifting his eyes he saw, to his horror, the God King pointing his spear toward his neck.

"You know, Craigulus? I was hoping that it wouldn't end this way. I was hoping it would end with a burning Canterlot being the last thing you ever saw!"

The God King maniacally laughed and just as Craig accepted his fate, a cyan blur knocked the God King in the side. The enemy was sent flying and Craigulus was free from the magic of the evil centaur. Looking in front of him, he noticed the God King was in the presence of Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow Dash! What the hell are you doing here!?!?!?! Get away, NOW!!!!!!"

It was too late, the God King had pinned her in place with his magic and stabbed her through the stomach. The blood trickled down the spear as it was pulled from her stomach. Plummeting toward the ground, Dashie was then caught by the lunar eclipsed human and safely brought into the circle of what remained of the Triple Alliance's army. The sounds of clashing steel and magic filled the air as Rainbow and Craigulus held each other and engaged in one final conversation. Our hero was holding back the tears of his failure.

"Dashie, please don't die. I tried my best and I'm sorry I failed you! Just please take my apology!" Craigulus begged.

Rainbow Dash coughed up blood as she began to speak.

"You know, dying isn't so bad! It hurts really bad, but at least I can find comfort in the fact that I can finally go to Haven as a hero." The rainbow-maned pegasus smiled.

Craigulus let the tears flow as he couldn't contain them anymore. Possessing the knowledge that his friend found comfort in death, he felt a little bit better inside. Our hero closed his eyes and, whilst weeping, he heard the sound of jewelry being handled in Dash's hooves.

"I want you to use this, Craigulus. Please use it if you can. Spread hockey around Equestria when this is all said and done, okay?"

Our hero opened his eyes to see the element of loyalty being placed in the palm of his hand ever so slowly. With that, Rainbow Dash, whom was loyal to her friends until the very end, let out her final breath and let her soul ascend to Haven. Craigulus proceeded to lay her body down on the stone floor and place the element of loyalty around his neck. Wiping his tears away, he slowly let magic course through his veins to heal as much of his injuries as he could. When he had finished, he wrapped the element around his neck, feeling the power jolt through his very soul. The feeling of having that sort of power rush through your veins, the very power that has saved Equestria countless times, the very power that represented all that Rainbow Dash was, it felt glorious! As the human flapped his wings to ascend to the dark one's equal height, a sudden burst of rage shocked Craig's feelings.

"You are truly honor-less, aren't you?" Our hero asked his adversary in a dark, yet calm voice.

The God King simply nodded and chuckled.

"You're a worthless, heartless bastard!" Craigulus roared.

His vision faded to black and he felt a breeze hit his face. Everything started to become clear to our hero as he could make out the forest, the small hill, the surrounding mountains, and the blurry shape in front of him.

"Y-You again!?" Our hero exclaimed.

The wolf, who was eyeing Craigulus with fiery courage, proceeded to run to the top of the small hill and let out a proud howl as the sun rose over the mountains. The rays of light forced Craigulus to shield his eyes in an attempt to prevent the loss of his vision.

"What is happening?" Craigulus thought aloud. "What are you?"

The animal simply stared at Craigulus for a moment and, with small silences in-between words, began to speak.

"I am courage."

The wolf then let out a long, glorious howl. It echoed through Craig's head as his vision slowly faded once again. In a small moment, Craig was conscious again. Once he set eyes on the God King again, rage clouded his mind.

"I'm going to kill you!" Craigulus screamed.

Craigulus's element of loyalty began to glow bright as the aura around him started to flow ever so gracefully. The feeling of power started surging not only through the heroes' body, but through the body's of the alicorns as well. The God King began to feel a burning pain in his head that made him cringe and grunt in pain. Craigulus had began to scream so loud that it would damage the ears of the nearby soldiers.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THE CRIMES YOU HAVE COMMITED! I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER!"

An explosion of light engulfed our hero that blinded everyone. It possessed a magnificent power within it that only the greatest warriors have ever achieved. Sparks of lightning shot out from Craigulus as his transformation nearly ended. The long scream slowly went quite and he could finally be seen by the God King. The king looked on, seeming a slight bit nervous. Our hero decided to put his smirk on.

"What's the matter? Have you never experienced the pure, unadulterated, badass sight of a solar eclipsed human before?"

The fallen king stood there motionless. He didn't know what to say after watching his opponent ascend to greater power.

"Well, let's just get this over with. I want to kill you before I get bored!"

The human flew toward the king at supersonic speeds.

"THIS IS FOR YOU, RAINBOW DASH!"

Letting out one final scream, Craigulus grasped his swords and immediately began fighting the God King. His armor had changed dramatically, plate armor replaced the chain-mail and the armor was covered in small designs. His blades had also grown about two feet longer, making them four foot long blades! The God King was having slight difficulty withstanding the constant pounding upon his shield. In due time, the strikes of the blades were like sudden impacts of an energy beam, producing large sparks of energy as they struck the metal of the shield. In the battle below, The soldiers were inspired to fight just a little bit longer as their princesses prepared a teleportation spell. The bearers of harmony, Griffiam, and Shining Armor stood in awe as they experienced the combined power of the element of loyalty and solar eclipse form.

"I CAN'T LOSE NOW!!!!!!!" roared Craigulus.

The God King began morphing his weapon into a sword as he thought it would be better to fight the hero with. He did put up a much better fight than he did wielding a spear. Both combatants struck each other over and over again until they both parted from each other.

"You are mightier than I expected Craigulus." The God King mumbled in disgust at his current limitations.

Craigulus wasn't going to talk with him anymore. Being completely done with the antics of the fallen god, he powered up his magic once again. The energy he had stored up was tremendous, seeing as he still had most of the energy from the orb bomb within him. Our hero now knew what he had to do, but just to be safe, he had to wait until he was fully powered up. Charging the God King and powering up at the same time, he developed a fierce look in his eyes. The impact of his twin blades and the God King's massive sword produced aura sparks of all kinds, thus sending the surrounding area into chaos.

"Answer me, God King! Do you know what fear is like?"

The God King had began to recall the end of the first war and his eyes widened at the thought. Obviously frightened, he decided to lie, for he knew something Craigulus did not.

"N-NO! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I KNOW WHAT THAT IS LIKE!?!?!? I, THE ALMIGHTY GOD KING, DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT!"

"Well, allow me to teach you then!"

Craigulus backed away and charged the spiritual entity once again. This time, he broke the shield in half and sent his adversary crashing into the side of the mountain and, almost immediately, the human grabbed him by the neck.

"FAREWELL, SCUM!!!!!"

The hero flew at lightning speeds whilst grinding the God King's body against the stones of the mountain. He then threw his opponent toward the sky and slashed the entity at lightning quick speeds. Sheathing his blades, Craig threw endless amounts of energy orbs at his opponent in a display of pure, unadulterated, skill. The multiple explosions were deafening and no one could hear each other on the battlefield below. After the seemingly endless barrage of magic, Craigulus grabbed the neck of his opponent one last time and smashed it against the boulders of the mountain. Deciding that enough was enough, Craigulus unleashed a monstrous energy beam. The glow of the beam could probably be seen around Equestria because it was so bright that all the soldiers were blinded by it.

"He did it! The God King is dead!" Rainbow Dash cheered.

The party in Haven had began. The rulers of the old pony tribes danced with their servants, Griffthor embraced Galaxia, and even Starswirl the Bearded attended the party. Galaxia looked through the universal mirror with glee, the weight of an eternity of lies slowly sliding off her shoulders. taking a deep breath, she decided to confess to her own dishonesty after all these centuries.

"Fellow gods and heroes, since it is finally over, I must apol-

She was interrupted, not by the nervousness, but by a searing pain. Letting out a loud scream, Galaxia fell to the stone floor.

"My queen! What is wrong?" Griffthor worried.

"I-I hate to spoil the party, but-"

"WHAT IS IT!?!?!?!" Commander Hurricane demanded.

"He's still alive."

The beam began to die down. Craigulus felt his energy drain and he was about to let his solar eclipse form subside, but then he felt a palm violently grasp his throat.

"WHAT!?!?!"

The dust settled and the God King was still there, grinning as he blasted into the air with Craigulus.

"DO YOU THINK THAT I WILL DIE THAT EASILY!?!?!?!? HA! THAT IS A GOOD JOKE! THE TRUTH IS, I HAVE BEEN GOING EASY ON YOU THIS WHOLE TIME, IDIOT!"

The fallen centaur tossed Craigulus back into the crowd. He felt weak, so weak that he could barely move. Our hero had used up so much of his energy in the final blow that he lost all feeling throughout his body. The God King decided to leave him alone though, as he knew that it was only a matter of time before he would be able to kill him in the Canterlot square in the style he wanted. As our hero watched the evil king turn his back and slowly disappear into the blizzard, he screamed in pure hatred.

"I HATE YOU!!!"

Craigulus, still lying on the ground, unsheathed his swords and pointed them toward the sky to attract the free souls into his blades. As Craigulus did this, he noticed Griffiam looking at the surrounding soldiers. They were totally disheartened and they began to falter under the pressure of the weapons constantly banging on the shield wall. Griffiam knew that the princesses would never be able to save his people, so he grabbed his axe and jumped straight into the sea of enemies. This was the only way he could die with honor, to go down as the last true griffon king.

"Go on without me! Save what remains of my own soldiers and your own friends! I must fight on my own! For my people!"

The aura had flashed once again and they were safely back in Canterlot. Craigulus looked around at the defeated soldiers and screamed at the top of his lungs in pure anger. This was not how it was supposed to end and, after he let out his last bit of screaming, he let his solar form subside and blacked out.

The King of the Griffon Kingdoms fought with the heart of a hero. Killing everything that approached him was tough work, but the one thing that kept him going was the thought of the griffon women and children. This was his last act of service to his people and it felt good.

"COME ON! TRY TO KILL ME, YOU UN-DEAD BASTARDS! I DARE YOU!"

Blood was sprayed all over him and that only served to help him fight. After a while, the enemies stopped fighting him and he simply stood in a circle, surrounded by his enemies.

"Are you all too afraid? What is holding you centaurs back!?"

The God King slowly emerged from the crowd, bearing a look of rage with him as he went. Griffiam trembled at the thought of his oncoming fate. The fallen god placed his sword on his neck and cut it wide open. Everything went dark for the King of the Griffons and, to his surprise, he woke up in front of massive pearly gates. A large, beautiful alicorn with a nebula-like mane approached him.

"Welcome to Haven, hero!"

Two Visions

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"Please sister, let me speak to him! He has been sitting in his bedchamber since we got back here ten days ago!"

Luna and a disgruntled Celestia found themselves trotting around the courtyard in the cold, breezy night. Ever since the Gryphus massacre, a dark cloud had been hanging over everypony's heads. Failure is not taken lightly in Equestria these days and it shows quite majorly.

"Fine, you can go check on him. He may be upset but he needs to have some social interaction!" grunted Celestia.

"Why?"

That is the only word our hero has been able to speak for the past ten days. His mind was beaten, shattered, and brought to the brink of insanity wondering why he had failed in his quest. Destiny was right there in front of him and, to his dismay, it slipped away from him. Meanwhile, Sir Canter was trying to think of something to say that would probably cheer up the sword-bearing human.

"Hey! I faced hardship too! But I killed my enemy in the end, didn't I?" Sir Canter halfheartedly asked.

"Yes, but at the cost of your own life. Plus, we are dealing with an entirely different type of God here.... We are facing the KING of the Gods." Craigulus let out a depressed sigh.

Craigulus then rose from his bed, sulked toward the window and stared longingly into the streets of Canterlot. The streets where lit up in a warm, welcoming fashion. Just as thoughts of this beautiful city's destruction began to creep into his head, our hero heard a knocking on the door.

"Craigulus? Are you okay?"

The voice was soothing to Craig's ears. So soothing in fact, that it offered some much needed peace and sanity to an already grief-stricken mind. Craigulus continued to stare down at the streets of Canterlot for a few moments before answering Luna.
"As long as your not giving me another quest, that'd be okay if you could come talk to me."
The door creaked open, although it wasn't an obnoxious noise. The creaking was quiet and smooth like something out of a Disney movie. Our hero, whom longed to be back home watching one of those movies, dragged his tired, depressed self to his bed and sat down on the warm mattress.

"Luna! Why are you here!?"

Luna took a grain of offense to the way Craigulus demanded to know why she was present in his chambers.
"I'm here to help out, for your information." Luna grumbled.

There was a certain feeling of intensity between them now. The combination of the princess's concern and our hero's emotional drain was clearly not a good combination. There was a long silence, the feelings Luna had for Craig seemed to be the only reason why she didn't turn herself and walk out the door. Everything seemed tense for the longest time, but Luna just couldn't take it anymore. She had to say something, even if she had to blame the tense vibes on herself. Luna began to trot quietly toward Craig with sorrowful eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Craig."

Craigulus lifted his head to see the eyes of the princess filled with tears. He didn't like to see women cry, even if this particular one was an equine.

"Don't be sorry, okay? It's my fault."

Craig wrapped his arms around her and they would cuddle together. Normally, our hero wouldn't allow such blasphemy.

"Luna? I know this isn't like me, but at the same time I always do this with crying women. Some of the people back home said that it was because I wanted to 'get in their pants', but I just do this cause I'm weak to girls."

Luna dried her tears and laughed. "It's not weakness! It's called sensitivity and being a gentleman!"

Craig and Luna looked at each other and developed the biggest smiles.

"Craigulus? May I view some visions with you?"

Craigulus was confused. "How are you gonna do that? Don't you need to grip the handles of the swords?"

Luna put her hooves on our hero's shoulders. "To share a vision, all you have to do is place your hooves on the receivers body, then close your eyes and meditate with him." Luna smiled.

Craig hesitated a moment. He needed to make himself clear that it would never work out between them but at the same time avoid being rude.

"Fine! You can meditate with me! Don't think this means anything weird though, okay princess?"

Luna was surprised to hear his suddenly firm, strengthened voice. She then let it sink in that this couldn't mean anything. "Okay, it doesn't mean anything." Luna sadly breathed.

Our hero and the princess of the night both closed their eyes and began meditating. It only took a couple minutes to receive a vision. The vision became clear to Craig and Luna as they appeared to be looking out of the eyes of Sir Canter, who was sitting in a corner at the dinner table. The wizard's cabin seemed smoky, as if it caught on fire.

"Jeb! Sir Canter! your weapons are finished!" His proud voice seemed to echo as a proud smile settled on the bearded pony's face.

In the corner of the room, Sir Canter and Jeb arose and hastily made their way to the anvil which two identical blades sat on. Both of the blades had sapphires placed in their pommels, both of which were colorless and empty. Starswirl's horn began to glow just before he raised the two blades to the heroic duo.

"Jebediah, Sir Canter, these blades are my gift to you. The most precious, magic conducting metals were used to create them. These are probably the first blades to be able to let magic flow through them. So be careful! You do not know what you are tampering with!"

Jebediah, whom let out a grunt of disgust, grasped the sword as his partner did the same.

"Bloody hell, Starswirl! Why do these two blades look identical!? Why are the gems on these things so empty looking!? Did you get lazy, mate!?"

Starswirl gently brought his right hoof to cover his face followed by an annoyed sigh. Starswirl was clearly fed up with his apprentice. Sir Canter proceeded to roll his eyes and sheath his new blade into the scabbard which was also given as part of the sword package.

"Jeb, why must you pester me! I'll have you know that i made those blades similar because the last time i made two different weapons, you complained about how much cooler Sir Canter's was! Oh, and about the gems, those are able to trap souls within them. I didn't think of it at first, but while I was sleeping i received a vision from Galaxia herself telling me to! I must admit though, the vision didn't explain why."

Jebediah proceeded to sheath his blade and turn toward the door, stomping as he went.

"Ugh! I didn't ask to have this superstitious old idiot as my master! I'm going out to test this blade! If it can't cut through a Hydra's scales, it's useless to me!"

The door was slammed shut, leaving a bearded wizard and a muscular captain to wonder what was wrong with the apprentice. There was a silence for a moment as Starswirl opened his books and started reading. Sir Canter would start the conversation off with the question that was on both of their minds.

"Why is Jeb acting up so much lately? I mean, he has always been kind of 'in your face', but now he just gets straight pissed with us. I can't help but think that he hates you, Starswirl."

The old wizard closed his book and, with a somber look on his face, drifted toward the window. He saw Jebediah running as fast as he could down the path toward the Everfree forest, assuming that he had the same fire in his eyes as always.

"Jeb is a strange personality, Canter. He is always looking to be the best warrior he can be. Ever since I found him he has been like that. Perhaps, he thinks i'm holding him back."

Sir Canter turned his head to face the pony that took him away from the resistance camp.

"Well, are you holding him back?"

Starswirl turned to face Sir Canter. The old wizards eyes glowed white and his horn overpowered for a split second. The room seemed to turn dark as all the fires had dimmed. Sir Canter, frightened, backed away into a corner. Sir Canter, whom had faced many mighty beasts and other-worldly oddities, realized that this was the first time he had been this fearful his whole life.

"OF COURSE I AM! IF THAT HUMAN WERE TO DISCOVER JUST HOW POWERFUL HE COULD TRULY BECOME, HE COULD VERY WELL JOIN THE FORCES OF OUR ENEMY! THE ONE WE KNOW AS DISCORD COULD VERY WELL DESTROY THE WORLD IF HE UNLOCKED JEB'S TRUE POTENTIAL!!!"

His rage was calmed as quickly as it came. Sir Canter arose from his feeble position and tried to build his sanity once again. It is always disheartening to see your own master lose control so quickly. The bearded one closed his eyes, then re-opened them as he explained further.

"Jebediah has talent for combat. This talent could turn him into a renowned hero, or a destructive servant of the enemy. He should be the hero that will defend Equestria for the rest of time, and if he turns his back on Equestria we are all going to die." His voice became dark and foreboding.

Sir Canter had trotted to his master's side as the vision faded into darkness. Craigulus and Luna began to wonder about the fedora-wearing Australian boy. His long, brown hair flowing in the wind as he ran. The most interesting part was the origin of the blades. It wasn't the biggest surprise that Starswirl the Bearded was the creator, the big surprise was that the weapons were meant for two separate warriors. After a moments silence, our hero looked Luna in the eyes and developed a silly smirk.

"Well, I must say this cleared up a lot of stuff. No big deal right?"

The both of them shared a good chuckle, then closed their eyes again to induce another vision. They only had to wait for 30 seconds before seeing blurred glimpses of what the vision had to tell them. It was hard to make out where they were, or what was happening. All of a sudden, there was screaming. Craigulus and Luna began to cringe in fear as the visions became more clear.

Bodies. Piles of bodies of every type of creature reaching just a little higher than Canterlot. The grotesque faces of the dead were mangled and ripped apart. Craigulus felt extremely ill at the sight of this atrocity, but to his dismay, things only got worse. Every city in the world lay in ruins, the landscape was burnt black with hellish fire, and black, fiery smoke permeated the sky. It seemed that every square mile or so was covered in corpses. Luna, whom had never seen something so barbarous in her life, cried like an infant at the sight of the dead fillies whom she had been running away with in the night sky for years.

"This." Craigulus whispered. "This is......"

Our hero suddenly felt overwhelmed with sorrow and rage.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?!?!"

His voice echoed through the mountains of bodies that continued to destroy the sanity of the two all-powerful creatures that stand beneath them. This was no ordinary vision from the blades, no, they had full control over themselves. It felt real unlike the first vision that taught Craigulus about the beginning of the First War.

"Why?" Luna began in her tears, "Why is this vision happening? This isn't from the past! Sir Canter!? What is happening!?"

Sir Canter began hearing the cries of Luna, and he cleared his voice firmly as if he was about to calmly explain what was happening in this vision.

"WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME!?!? I'M A GODS-DAMNED SPIRIT IN A JEWEL THAT IS POMMELED IN A SWORD, NOT A MIRACLE WORKER! I'M JUST AS DISTURBED AS YOU ARE, M'LADY OF THE NIGHT!"

As Craigulus regained composure and just began to fix his thoughts, he began to feel paranoid, as if someone, or something, was watching him. He unsheathed his twin blades and examined the area frantically, his breath getting faster as if darkness was closing in on him which he could not escape from.

"Come Little Children, I'll Take Thee Away
Into A Land Of Enchantment
Come Little Children
The Time's Come To Play
Here In My Garden Of Shadows"

That voice was all to familiar to the ears of the three protectors of Equestria. To there dismay, the enemy had begun his mind games.

"Follow Sweet Children, I'll Show Thee The Way
Through All The Pain And The Sorrows
Weep Not Poor Children
For Life Is This Way
Murdering Beauty And Passions"

The scene began to change. Clouds of fog began rolling through the valleys between the corpse piles, and the atmosphere became much more ghoulish than before. The alicorn and the human now stood in the valleys, expecting something to jump out at them. What they got was not what they expected. Out of the thick fog they heard chains dragging against the scorched ground.

"Hush Now Dear Children, It Must Be This Way
To Weary Of Life And Deceptions
Rest Now My Children
For Soon We'll Away
into The Calm And The Quiet"

Figures had taken form in the fog. They slowly drudged their way through the valleys of the dead, and soon enough the gruesome features of the slaves showed themselves to the already insanity-driven duo. They were all dead fillies, some with their insides spilling out of their stomachs, some with no heads, some just bloody and screaming, and some just bare skeletons. All screaming curses to Galaxia and the rest of the gods and heroes of Haven.

"Come Little Children I'll Take Thee Away
Into A Land Of Enchantment
Come Little Children
The Time's Come To Play..."

Luna was gone, his armor and blades were gone, and his sanity went with it. Craig, whom was stunned with fear, felt a cold breath on his neck. Upon twisting his head backwards, he saw the dark, twisted king of the gods. With an insane, twisted, wide-eyed grin, the God King seized his adversary by his neck and screamed the last line of the song.

"HERE IN MY GARDEN OF SHADOWS!!!"

Craigulus opened his eyes. His breath loud, and his eyes heavy from witnessing the potential horrors of the future. The mountains and mountains of corpses, the zombified fillies, the hellish Equestrian country was too much to bare.
Luna lay hugging Craigulus tightly, her tears streaming down like a waterfall. Nothing seemed right with anything anymore in the minds of the two powerful individuals who lay clutching each other in fear.

"Luna." Craig began. "I understand why you would let go of me and keep your eyes open."

Luna just stared at him with the eyes of a frightened filly. She sobbed so violently that it was nearly impossible to make out her speech pattern.

"Let me sleep with you tonight!"

Craig immediately backed away in disgust. He couldn't believe the princess requested such blasphemy.

"Luna! I can't! I'm a human, and your an equine creature! How would doing that even work!?"

Luna developed a look of utter confusion but then broke into laughter at the realization of what Craigulus may have been thinking.

"No, we are not going to have a 'Vinyl Scratch incident' Craigulus, I just feel scared. I know it's childish for an alicorn to be afraid but I just witnessed my burning kingdom!" Luna's voice turned darker.

"Ooohhh" Craigulus acknowledged. "Well wouldn't Celestia think it's blasphemy for us to be doing such a thing? And who knows what the others would think?" Craigulus was utterly disgusted even thinking about it.

"But, I guess we can hug."

Luna and Craig fell back onto the the soft blankets, ignoring the previous question and still in a seemingly eternal embrace. Luna needed to leave. She couldn't take any of this anymore. The princess of the night climbed onto her hooves with what little strength she had left and just as she began walking towards the door, she had the urge to stop and turn her head to Craigulus.

"Goodnight." She whispered.

Before our hero could say goodnight back, Luna planted a kiss on his forehead. She smiled a slight bit behind her tears as she turned and swiftly galloped out of the bedroom.

"Oh Luna, why can't you be a human girl?" he sighed.

Craigulus lay there thinking about it. He missed his girlfriend so much, and he couldn't even imagine her sorrow upon hearing about his sudden disappearance. Our hero pushed those thoughts aside though, as there was much more important stuff to worry about.

"I can't let that happen to Equestria. I can't." Craigulus spoke into the darkness of his room.

The human turned to the table and set his eyes upon the element of loyalty. Memories of Rainbow Dash began to flood his mind as he gently lifted it into the palm of his hand.

"Rainbow Dash, Equestria will be saved. I will find a way to save it."

He closed his hand and squeezed the element of loyalty in his fist.

"That's a promise."

An Ancient Hero Returns

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Author's Notes:

Hello people :)
I feel that it is my duty to let you know that my close friend who goes by the name "Jebediah" is now the main writer for the coming chapters from here on out! Do not worry about a decline in story quality because his ability to write is very close, if not, ON PAR with my ability. With this new turn of events you all can expect a rise in new chapters throughout the summer. Except in August when we are both away at camp.
I will not be abandoning the story, however, as I will continue talking with Jeb about the direction of the story. He has provided me with many, many ideas over the time we've been working together and he has been the main reason why I haven't given up on Twin Blades.
Other things I will be focusing on is proof-reading, editing, and overall making the best final product i can every time a new chapter is released.
I'd like to thank you all for your continued support. Have a good summer everyone!
Craigulus, out.

edit: I guess you could just call this a collaborative effort from here on out.

Ashes, fire, and ruins. These things have been the most common components of Craig's nightmares, but he could never, ever get used to it. One night it would be a dying Ponyville, the next night it was a burning Canterlot, and then the next night it was just a giant mountain of dead soldiers. These dreams seemed to posses everything that was evil and destructive, this means that sanity was definitely not included. Tonight would be a dream where he simply could not move and was forced to watch the princesses, the Mane six, and even himself get tortured by endless amounts of sharp objects. Knives, swords, daggers, rusty nails, everything sharp. The last thing the human saw was a knife flying toward his left eye. He felt the fear overtake him. He couldn't fight it, he just braced for impact and tensed every muscle in his body preparing for the bloody pain he was about to endure.

Our hero burst back into reality with a gasp, relieved that the dream world had been left behind for now.

"Dear Galaxia!" Our hero shouted to the all-powerful deity in the recesses of his mind. "Why must you let this centaur toy with my visions, and my dreams!? I can hardly catch any sort of sleep when these nightmares are getting worse and worse and I can't do anything about it!"

After a minute of expecting a response, Craigulus Twinblade merely sighed and rolled onto his back to stare at the ceiling, figuring that he would have an easier time resting in a changed position. Turning over his pillow to avoid resting his head in a pool of cold sweat, he closes his eyes and drops his head back onto the soft, feather-filled mound of comfort.

"I should really get back to sleep." he whispered to himself.

Little did he know, sleep would continue to elude him. The ears of the human began to perk as he heard a faint tapping noise outside of his chamber door, growing louder and louder as time moved on. Craigulus tensed up as memories of certain video games crawled into his head.

"This is very Amnesia-like." he thought nervously.

The tapping became more and more audible, but it wasn't tapping upon his chamber door, no, it was tapping on the floor of the hallway.

"Footsteps." he concluded. "Must be the night watch."

Breathing a sigh of relief before his eyes closed, Craig saw the shadow of the the guard in the light protruding from the crack in his door. This was no pony, as the shadow quickly came and went as the unknown assailant passed.

"Dammit! Where in the blue blazes is Celestia!? I swear i'm going to find her-.....and-.....kill-...."

Craigulus's heart stopped. That was an Australian accent.

"Oh dear gods." was the only thing that came to mind.

"Is that.... Jebediah!? He is going to kill Celestia! I have to save her!"

The footsteps began to grow quieter as the whispers went with it. Craigulus listened closely as he slowly rose from his bed and grabbed all his weapons, including the knives which he brought with him to Equestria in the first place.

"You never know when you'll need a little extra weaponry." Craigulus whispered to himself frantically. "I should probably catch him off-guard too, I just have to get close to him somehow."

Then it dawned on our hero.

"Lunar Eclipse! I should hover close to him under the cover of night! That way i'll surely be able to dispatch him without any trouble."

He powered up quickly but discreetly, trying to keep himself quiet. If he gave himself away, he would have to preemptively strike him. It is best not to give a warrior who has been around since Starswirl's time a chance at a fair fight. The fighting style could very well be completely different and other-worldly.

Our hero gently transitioned into his Lunar form and gently opened the door of his chamber, looking down the hallway as the figure of the Australian shrunk. Gently flapping his wings, he began to hover his way to Jebediah. He was adorned with an interesting set of clothing consisting of a white t-shirt with a light brown vest over top of it. His shorts were Khakis and he wore sandals on his feet.

"I really should wait until I get to a more open area." Craig thought. "Just in case a stand-off does happen."

For what seemed like hours, Jebediah had been pursued by our hero. Almost every single hallway had been passed through, every single stair climbed, and every single floor walked upon. Finally, Starswirl's old student stopped abruptly at the side of the dining hall's table.

"Did you really think you were being sneaky, mate?"

Jebediah K. Mundy immediately turned and threw some sort of curved object at Craigulus. Our lunar eclipsed hero had no time to react before the object clipped his right wing. A shock of violent pain ripped through Craigulus as he found that trying to stay airborne became much harder than before. Trying to regain steady flight with his injured wing, he had the same object that clipped his right wing before, clip his left wing and, with a shock of pain, he crashed to the floor with a loud thud.

"Cause you weren't." Jeb finished with a soft, almost sinister tone and caught the object out of the air with hardly any effort.

Craig jumped to his feet and drew his blades. "What are you doing here, Jeb!?" Craig asked, shifting himself into a battle stance.

"Oh, so you know who I am? Tell me, Craigulus Twinblade, did Celestia tell you about me?" The Aussie let out a small, aggravating chuckle. “Or was it the visions from the sword’s that gave it away? Either way, both scenarios make sense to me, mate!”

Craig launched himself at Jeb, swords raised. When he got to Jeb and brought his swords down upon his head, he had already vanished, thus striking the stone floor beneath where the Aussie's feet once stood. "You're too slow, mate!" Jeb taunted him. Craig turned to face Jeb once more. He was on the other side or the dining hall. “He must be able to use teleportation magic! I'm gonna need to be careful.” Craig thought to himself.

Our hero needed to be quick to hit Jeb. Spreading his wings again, he burst towards Jeb at lightning fast velocities. The Australian threw two more objects at Craig, clipping his wings yet again. The winged human hit the ground but quickly recovered and began to swing his weapons fiercely in Jebediah’s direction, but he was gone again. It seemed that he had teleported once more, but this time he hadn't gone far because he immediately, and without warning, kicked Craigulus Twinblade in the back. The winged human, who felt his spine bend unnaturally, stumbled and turned again.

"Fight with some bravery and fairness, you coward!" Craig screamed at Jeb, clenching his fists.

"Why? I didn't come here for a fight. I came here to as-"

"To assassinate princess Celestia!" Craig interrupted.

"What?" Jeb asked.

Charging up magic, Craig fired a beam at Jeb. Jeb drew his weapon off his back hastily and deflected the spell away. The magic beam hit the dinner table and destroyed it in a fiery explosion.

"Are you trying to kill me, mate?!" Jeb threw his arms in the air in disbelief.

Ignoring Jebediah’s comment, he fired two more beams in Jebs direction, but again, the fedora wearing Aussie deflected both beams away. This time they blew out a few windows. Jeb just stared at Craig shocked.

"I'll take that as a yes." Putting his weapon back on his back, he bolted towards Craig, throwing those same objects that started this whole brawl. Craig also began to advance frighteningly towards Jeb. Dodging the objects was no problem this time but they went straight back to Jeb. When he finally was within range, Craig thrust the twin blades down on Jeb, but he blocked them with the objects. They were more visible to the winged hero now, as he began to see that the objects were boomerang's studded with small razor sharp blades on the edges. Craig kept slashing at Jeb, and Jeb kept blocking every strike with perfect timing and precision. Until eventually Jeb jerked forward and kicked Craig in the stomach. Craig fell to the ground again, this time he felt like he was about to throw up.

“Well. I knew this wouldn't be easy. Craig thought. But I didn't think it would be this difficult either.” Rising to his feet, he charged at Jeb once more.

"I don't think its smart to attack a armed foe while unarmed, don’t you think so, mate?" Jeb laughed. Confused, Craig stopped.

"What?" Craig almost whispered, narrowing his eyes and staring at Jebediah in confusion. Jeb simply began smiling in a sinister manner.

"Well, you don’t really have these anymore now do you?" Jeb held up the twin blades. "Now then, can you take me to princess Celestia? I need to talk to her."

Craigulus Twinblade just stood there, mouth agape, not having a single clue as to how Jebediah stole his weapons. It must have happened so quickly! Wondering at what point he could have seen a blur or even so much as felt his weapons get taken straight out of his fists, Our hero snapped out of it and re-focused himself to deal with the task at hand. Craigulus looked around the room for something he could use as a weapon; it was at this point that he remembered.

“My pocket knives!” He reached into his pockets and grabbed his knives.

Jeb lowered the twin blades. "Do you always carry weapons in two's?" Jeb mockingly asked. Suddenly the sword with the blue gem lit up. "Of course he does!" said a familiar voice.

Jeb dropped the sword and took a step back, obviously shaken by the voice of the other half of Starswirl’s apprentice duo. "What in the world?!" Jeb asked, mouth agape and eyes wide open.

Craig wasted no time to attack. He couldn't get too close, so he ran forward and threw one of his knives at Jeb with ferocity in his scream. The blade soared through the air, spinning until it stopped inside Jebediah’s chest. The ancient Australian staggered backwards from the impact of the hit. Blood almost instantly began to pour from the wound. Gripping the knife, he pulled it out of the wound.

"Good shot, mate." Jeb complimented Craig as as he fell to the ground. He didn't even seem to show pain or shock, which to Craig, was extremely unnatural and in a way, frightening as well.
Just before Jebediah hit the ground, Craig heard the doors crash against the walls as they had been swung open with force. Looking back at the entrance, both of the heroes saw princess Celestia and Luna run through the doorway.

"Craigulus Twinblade, what is the meaning of this!?" Celestia asked in annoyance as she looking around the destroyed dining hall. Craig pointed at Jeb. "He is the meaning of this!" He explained, still panting from the fight he had just had.

Jeb, still coughing up blood, weakly got to his knees and placed his hand over his wound. His hand began to glow. Looking up he let out a sigh. "G'day Celestia, I'm back!" He re-introduced himself between coughs.

Celestia gasped, her eyes were as wide as Luna’s moon. "J-Jeb? Y-your back!?" Celestia stammered. She turned her attention to Craig. "Craigulus, help him up and take him to the medical wing."

Jeb, having recovered began to walk towards the group. "No, it’s okay Celestia. I'm fine. Nothing a little healing magic can't fix." Jeb winked and grinned, moments before being stopped by an overly-cautious Craig.

"Stay away from her! I will not allow you to assassinate princess Celestia!" Our hero grabbed the mysterious Aussie by his white t-shirt.

Luna's eyes became wide with surprise and horror. "Assassinate!?" Luna gasped.

Jeb let out an annoyed sigh, "This nonsense, again!?" Jeb spoke while beginning to pace around walking in a circle. "Now why the hell would I assassinate a princess!?" Jeb asked, throwing his arms in the air.

"Same reason you assassinated the King of the Griffins!" Our hero boomed as he let lunar eclipse form subside.

Jeb stopped in his tracks. "That wasn't an assassination!" he objected as he began advancing toward Craigulus with a fiery attitude and a stomp in his step.

Celestia stepped in between the two feuding heroes. "Enough!" She yelled, stomping one hoof on the ground. "Craigulus please, go back to bed. Tomorrow we continue your training. Jeb, come with me, we have much to discuss. I want you to come with us too, Luna!"

Celestia began to walk to the doors. Jebediah followed her, but then stopped, turned around, and held one of the twin blades out to Craig. "I believe this is yours. The other is over there." He pointed to the sword on the ground. Craig ripped the sword out of Jeb's hand. "So I noticed." Craig mumbled as he walked towards the second blade.

Jeb walked out the door leaving Craig alone in the dining hall. Picking up the sword, Our hero sighed. "Well, this has been an interesting night." Without hesitation, Craigulus spoke to Sir Canter. “Sir Canter? I just want to thank you for distracting him. I heard your voice answering his question about me carrying the twin blades around all the time.” Our hero's voice was filled with utmost gratitude.

With the gem flickering as the soul spoke, Sir Canter replied with a tiresome tone. “It’s no problem at all, he tends to overreact when he is surprised. I mean, I knew he wouldn't have known I was trapped in this damned thing. You need sleep though, master Craigulus.”

Craigulus acknowledged the old commander’s advice and began climbing the stairs to his chamber. Tomorrow was going to be a new day, a day when he would finally be able to sort things out and get more information out of this other human that dared to walk into his legend. It was obvious that this fedora-wearing, aggravating, over-confident Australian boy was just being an idiot, because Craig knew that he is the strongest and best warrior in Equestrian history. It just has to be that way, because that is part of his destiny!

…..right?

The next morning went as it normally did. The morning routine, as usual, included a rejuvenating bath, a brutal shaving which did not include shaving cream, and after freshening up came the morning magic studying and small scale practice. Small scale practicing was meant for inside smaller spaces and the magic would include charging up power, creating energy orbs and absorbing them, self-harm which would lead to practicing healing magic, and conducting magic through the twin blades. If there was time, Craigulus would be able to quickly converse with Sir Canter and focus on the memories of the ancient swords. Today was one of those days.

"Sir Canter?" Craig began, "Can you explain to me where Jebediah came from? Like, how did he come to Equestria? Has he ever talked about that with you?"

Craigulus had to wait a few moments to get a response. The feeling of contemplation was so obvious coming from the previous commander of the Equestrian forces. The set of human ears perked as Sir Canter inhaled to speak.

"I do not know. I am sorry but he never talked to me about his origins. The only thing I've ever heard of his past is that he is from Earth, and that he comes from a 'British colony' called 'Australia'. It's weird, but I have to believe him because he has only ever told lies to the enemies he has fought over the centuries."

Craig began to question him further because that last statement seemed odd. "Are you sure he has never lied? It doesn't seem possible Sir Canter, I can't believe that. I don't trust that slimy kid anyway."

Sir Canter began to chuckle. "Oh, Craigulus Twinblade. Just wait and see, the more you get to know him, the more you'll realize just how annoying the guy can be. Don't fret though, despite him having a knack for getting on pony's nerves, he can teach you a lot of things. He is thousands of years old and he is a hero. I wouldn't be surprised if he is much more skilled than you, he must have reached or at least gotten close to his full potential. You may be powerful, but you still have much training to do before you can hope to surpass him."

Craig stomped his right foot on the ground in frustration and disgust. "First it was the God King, now Jebediah is more powerful than me too!?!?!" Dammit! I swear i'm gonna freaking smash something!"

Much to our hero's shock and awe, he felt a blistering pain shoot up his arm and into his brain. The pain lasted only a few seconds, but it was a pain that seemed to combine the effects of brain-freeze and a migraine headache. Our hero collapsed to the ground and struggled to catch his breath. "What the hell?" he struggled to deliver these words.

Sir Canter began to speak at a calm, yet stern volume. "I just shocked you. Don't think for a second that I can't do anything aside from grant you the armor you use everyday. I can attack anyone who dares touch the handle of my blade. I didn't want to do that to Jebediah last night cause I knew it wasn't necessary. it was at this moment though."

Craigulus violently crawled toward the pommeled blue gem and screamed at it. From any other angle, he would've looked like he completely lost his mind. Screaming at a sword while on your hands and knees was not common, not even in Equestria.

"Are you freaking INSANE, BUD!? I think your forgetting who is in charge of you! Let me give you a hint, he is a GODS DAMMED HUMAN AND HE IS PISSED OFF AT THREE THINGS RIGHT NOW! ONE OF THESE THINGS IS YOU, AND THE NEXT THING IS A-"

"You okay, mate!?" Jebediah made his presence known as he broke up the tension in the room with a hearty, uncontrolled laugh. He was leaning against the side of the door frame, his eyes being virtually invisible under the shadow of his fedora.

"Freaking Australian." Craig finished his sentence in embarrassment and shame. The realization came to his mind that screaming at a sword on your hands and knees was definitely not normal.

Breakfast was slow and awkward, even the princesses, whom had much experience in many social endeavors across the kingdom, were afraid to speak and break the most uncomfortable silence that had come to the dining hall since that time Luna had gotten a little bit too drunk and lost control of the moon. The two heroes sat across from each other and it was the blond-haired one that was trying to avoid eye contact with the other human, and both princesses. There was something different about the dining hall though, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Wait a second, didn't this place get destroyed?

"How in Galaxia's green world did the dining hall get cleaned up after last night's debacle!?" Craigulus began to chuckle.

"I took responsibility, unlike some ponies around here. You should really get some better servants, Loonie." Jebediah poked fun at Luna's nighttime servants and her name. Luna just simply glared at the Australian agitator.

"So." Craig began with a slight hint of caution to change the subkect. "What brings you back to Equestria, Jebediah?"

Jebediah's face lit up and he smiled. Craig had instantly compared it to a kid on Christmas morning, except this kid was one of those kids he continued to be thoroughly annoyed by, also a little jealous.

"Glad you asked, mate!" Jebediah tipped his straw fedora down slightly and then reached to his feet. The next thing our hero knew, a large book was slammed onto the table. Craigulus's curiosity peeked, as he stood up to see what this book was all about. Jeb cleared his throat and began to explain.

"What you see here, is something I bought from a travelling merchant with weird, small glasses. Had a strange, mysterious tone in his voice and wore a hat that somewhat resembled a fez, but that's not the point. The point is that he had this on sale for a price that i seriously can't believe i payed for. Rumor has it that he recently set up shop in Ponyville and his featured item is an 'Alicorn Amulet' or something. I really don't think any pony would by it, it's worth 500 gold bits or something ridiculous like that, and the merchant apparently keeps saying its dangerous to possess it. Enough with the bumbling gossip though, take a look mate!"

Jebediah turned the book around and pushed it toward Craigulus. The book seemed very well preserved.

"Huh." Craigulus began as he ran his hand over the hard-cover tome. "How can a book be so well-kept after so long? Isn't that, like, more than a thousand years?"

Luna shot her right hoof in the air and proudly shared her knowledge with her student. "Preservation magic! It is one of the rarest types of magical teachings. It was invented across the sea in the country of Cervidas. Speaking of Cervidas, a civil war happened between the Concordians and the Westerners in that country two century's ago. A lot of healing magic textbooks were destroyed in the burning of the Giant's Tree."

Craigulus's ears perked. Listening to a history lesson has always been fun. He hadn't been educated on much aside from magic since the beginning of his time in Equestria. The only history he had learned had been taught by the visions from the swords and from the book in Celestia's private library. Jeb just sat there, listening intently to what the princess of the night ranted on about.

"Well? Are you gonna tell me more?" Craigulus pleaded to quench his thirst for knowledge.

"Well don't ask me for any more information! It was my sister who told me all this, for at the time the actual events were unfolding i was banished to the moon!" Luna explained herself, eyes closed and hoofs crossed in spite of missing so much in her thousand-year absence.

Every human ear perked and every pony ear flickered to hear if Celestia would continue the story. The princess of the sun, who glowed brightly in the morning sun rays which poured through the windows, inhaled to begin the rest of the lesson.

"The world tree lies in Concordia, which is the largest city in Cervidas. Cervids have a special connection with the natural world and they worship a plethora of different gods and deities."

Celestia stopped and her smile turned to a frown. The tone of her voice went somber and dark, as did the mood of the story.

"They used to, anyway. You see, in those days there was a troubling controversy plaguing the land. The eastern half of Cervidas clung to the old ways and worshiped the gods of old. They used to call their kings 'vessels' because each new ruler would be chosen by the holy leaders to become a vessel to one of the four 'Elemental Beings'. The four were simply known as Earth, Fire, Air, and Water. Each king would be chosen to be a vessel of one of these four depending on the outcome of the tasks they were given as heirs to the throne. They even had four different crowns, each with their own style depending on which Elemental Being they were chosen to represent. Of course, all of this was largely superstition. That's what the Westerners of Cervidas proclaimed. Those Cervids wanted to follow the teachings of my mother. Those teachings are known by the commoners as the ways of 'Galaxialism'.

"Ah yes. I remember that final battle in Concordia like it was yesterday." Jebediah interrupted.

Craigulus, along with every pony else in the room, was shocked. Each princess was staring at Jeb like they just saw him kill a filly.

"Yep, I might get a lot of heat for this, but i was kind of supporting the Old Cervid ways. I didn't believe in them, i just thought it was unfair to force a new culture upon a group that has been doing the same rituals and magics for so many centuries. I didn't kill anyone in that hell storm that was the burning of the Giant's Tree, I just tried to save as many of the peasants as i could."

Celestia quickly rose to her hooves to defend the Australian fedora bearer. "You did the right thing, Jebediah. No matter who you are, you should never be deprived of everything and everyone you've ever believed in."

Jebediah then became very closed off, as if he had remembered something horrible. "Yea, I've been deprived of some pony I believed in. It isn't fun, mate."

The mood in the room became somber and dark, both princesses looked at each other with sad looks, as if they both knew they said something wrong. Craigulus Twinblade noticed this, and just as he was about to ask what they all meant by Jebediah being 'deprived of some pony', he heard Sir Canter's voice.

"Don't say a word, it will get ugly if you do. I will explain all of this later."

Craigulus listened, and instead of asking this forbidden question, he changed the subject. "Hey, are we gonna go train or sit here and let the God king prepare his forces for the siege of Equestria!? The clock is ticking, let's go!"

Celestia, Luna, and Jeb all agreed with our hero's proposal and began leaving the dining hall. As Craigulus rose to his feet and requested the armor from Sir Canter, he could not help but remain curious as to what Jebediah was referring to. It couldn't be Starswirl's death, seeing as he hated the old pony. Sir Canter was still alive.... In a way..... and he was re-acquainted with the alicorn monarchs. Why in the world did he become so closed off?

"Oh well." Our hero thought to himself. "If there is one thing i should be worrying about right now, it's learning new techniques from him."