Chapter 1: The Return of Darkness

My Little Unicorn: Magic is Believing Redo

Rewrite By: Raising Shadows

Premise: Prepare to enter a world that steps out of the Norm. Ponies, who are able to walk upright like human beings defend themselves from evil beings that wish to destroy their home. As the constant threats of their world increase Grand Ruler Celesto, the ruler of the Planet Nation Unicornicopia, guides his trusted student Lightning Dawn throughout the battles against the Evil Sorcerer Titan and his minions. But Lightning Dawn is not on his own he forms unbreakable bonds with other unicorns, and is guided by a mysterious magical entity known as the Uniforce. But will that alone be enough to help Lightning and his friends save Unicornicopia and the other Planets that Titan hopes to take over? Or will Titan emerge victorious with the entire Equine Universe under his sway? You'll have to read on to find out!

Author's Notes: I do not own the amazing series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It is owned by Hasbro, and is better than the original version of this story and this story itself. I don't claim to be an extremely good writer, but I plan on trying to show some people(I'm looking at you Mykan) how you can write a semi-decent story based on the ideas that were, “Thrown on the Table,” so to speak. The Dakari King Mykan owns the original story and his characters are his, but as an aspiring Riffer and Editor I will not sit by and let this injustice stand. This is an attempt at a retelling of an awful story, and with it will come a chance that the characters will be better than what they originally were. So without further ado, I present My Little Unicorn: Magic is Believing the Redo.

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Chapter 1: The Return of Darkness

Space... An eternal void, ever expanding into eternal nothingness.

It is in this realm, filled with stars and planets that are similar and yet different on their own that makes up the universe. Some planets are hostile entities where lesser lifeforms struggle to survive in the harsh environments, clinging to what little they have. Other planets are hosts to a plethora of beings, each living with each other in a semblance of harmony. But... Harmony doesn't always last forever...

In a particular universe, millenniums ago, there reigned two Deities of Chaos. The first, Discord, a member of the powerful race of Draconequui, ruled the land with an iron fist and a dangerous joke. His power drove the populace insane and terrorized them for centuries. The second, known only as, “The Devourer,” destroyed planets without so much as a second thought and drained their life giving magicks to increase his power. Where Discord was feared as a ruler, The Devourer was feared as a destroyer.

But, the people of the universe were not without hope.

From the despair came three beings, each wielding a power far stronger than any of the Gods of Chaos could hope to achieve. Using their combined power the beings, who were known only as the Alicorn Gods, turned back the stems of chaos and ensured that peace reigned in the universe for all time.

As time passed, two of the three Alicorn gods finally settled down on a small and desolate planet, hoping to find their own peace and place in the universe. The third, leaving them behind to forge their own path, continued to combat the remaining forces of darkness and maintained the peace that beings everywhere now enjoyed.

But... All was not as it seemed. In time, the third member of the Alicorn Gods was challenged to a duel by a wicked sorcerer. Using his dark magics, the sorcerer hoped to destroy the Alicorn God, thereby claiming the universe as his own and allowing the spread of evil to once again reign. The Alicorn God, not willing to see this happen called up everything that he thought he knew about magic to defeat the sorcerer but was unable to land a strike against him.

In his last, desperate hour of need, the Alicorn God called upon all of his strength, summoning a power that was never seen before. This power, fueled by his belief that he would defeat the wizard, proved to be strong enough to destroy him and once again save the universe from a ghastly fate.

But the battle took a toll on the Alicorn God as well, weakening him beyond the capabilities of regular healing magicks. The Alicorn Settled down on a nearby planet, slowly regaining his power and building a civilization there. The Civilization's name: Unicornicopia.

It was there that the Alicorn God would teach his citizens about the powers that he acquired, in a hopes to find someone with a connection to the mysterious power. No one knows if another being has made a connection to this power, and not even the Alicorn God knew for sure if anyone ever will...

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-Present Day-

Unicornicopia, the planet in which the third member of the Alicorn Gods rested to recover his power after using his strength in his legendary battle. It was a generally peaceful place from the vast and extremely tall mountain ranges that swooped down low into humble and gentle valleys, to the emerald forests that dotted the land scape and sometimes extended to the crystal clear sapphire oceans that extended almost out to forever. A singular super-continent sat in the middle of the planet, which from a distance(and with enough imagination) resembled a rhino that looked upward at a white and fluffy cloud that was the planet's northern pole.

It wasn't a sort of place that one would go if they were looking to find constant war and battle, but at the same time it wasn't a place that one would go if they were trying to escape the negative aspects of society all the same. It was a place where all manner of species were welcome, whether their intentions were to be good and decent or not. Unicornicopia was a sort of mixed bag of refugees, natives, and a combination of the best and the worst that the universe itself had to offer. But that didn't mean it imploded on itself.

The many towns and cities that sat on the Planet's surface, and sometimes inside the many cave systems that were within the many mountain ranges, had their own established governments and own set of laws capable of dealing with those that would turn to lawbreaking and general misdeeds. Those who would turn to evil on a much grander scale would have to deal with Unicornicopia's standing military and the personal knights of the Alicorn God himself.

No one being knew what the Alicorn God was like. Some said that he was an extremely fierce warrior from an ancient land, sworn to protect the innocent and defend the defenseless like a knight in shining armor. Others said that he was a powerful sorcerer, capable of moving the stars and the moon into their proper alignment every night and moving the sun into it's proper position every morning. Some even claimed that he wasn't a god at all, stating that he was nothing more than an extremely capable mortal who was blessed by the, “True Gods,” with power. But in whatever way that you looked at it, he was the only one who understood the responsibility of ruling Unicornicopia and he was the only one that could control, “The Power.”

That was another mystery that most of the members of the planet-nation couldn't figure out. What was this power that the Alicorn God, or the Grand Ruler as he was referred to in this case, capable of controlling? Was it dangerous? Was it even real? Or was it just another myth, made up so that those who dreamed of strength could sign up and join the Unicornicopian Military?

To the residents of the small settlement of Whitefall Range, this power didn't really matter to them. They just went about their daily lives; paid their taxes when they were told to, sent in a group of able-bodied warriors when necessary, and drove off the occasional bandit raid whenever it was possible. The Grand Ruler never called anyone from their village anyways, so why should they have bothered? No, life in the small mountain town was normal. And that was the way that they liked it. Well, most of them at least.

In the darkest, most run-down section of town lived Whitefall Range's most interesting curiosity Lightning Dawn. To most of the members of Whitefall Range, Lightning Dawn was just a normal yellow unicorn with an about average build, and a blue mane and tail with blue eyes. However, unlike most unicorns of Unicornicopia, he had no wings.

That's right; Lightning Dawn, a member of the majority of the population of unicorns, had no wings. Unicorns on Unicornicopia were different than most unicorns anywhere else as they had wings that made them capable of flying wherever they needed to go, and magic that they could use to protect themselves and assist them in doing mundane things like pulling weeds and cooking. Lightning was also incapable of most simple magics, only capable of using basic telekinesis to manipulate extremely small objects. No one really knew why the unicorn was so disabled, none of them really asked. And even if they did, they wouldn't get a straight answer anyways.

Lightning, who was presently helping a neighbor get his roof fixed, stood up from where he stood on the roof and looked around. The run-down section of Whitefall Range was always in need of some form of repair, and while most couldn't afford the repair stallions that were prevalent and doing excellent business down on Main Street and in the well-to-do parts of the city, they were grateful that he was at least trying. Most of the houses looked like they were built from the same wood that made the outer wall of the city, and had a darkish brown in color due to the heavy snowfalls that made their way into the area. Overlooking the homes, he could see the pure white stone wall which made the last line of defense into Whitefall standing as tall and as proud as the soldiers that guarded their community.

“Eh? Lightning, are yeh' done up ther?” An old and raspy voice asked from below. Lightning looked down at the dirt pathway and saw the owner of the house Mr. Gragl'nash, a really old and stubborn green-skinned goblin wearing a dirty brown shirt and black pants, looking back up at him.

“Almost Mr. Gragl'nash.” Lightning answered. “I'll need to secure a few things on this section here and it should be good.”

The goblin nodded. “Excellent. You don't know what the last guy charged me for even coming here just to take a look at it.” Mr. Gragl'nash smiled, revealing some of his crooked teeth. “You do great work for a unicorn, great work indeed.”

Lightning smiled a little. “A compliment from you sir? I haven't had one like that before.”

The goblin nodded. “Well, I had better let you get finished. You cain't git any work done withou' any workin.” He said, watching Lightning's tail swish a little as he returned to work. “I'll be inside with'n yer payment as soon as yer done.” Mr. Gragl'nash said before retreating into the shack and letting Lightning work.

Lightning took a deep breath as the front door to Mr. Gragl'nash's home closed shut. Most goblins that the unicorn had heard about were nothing more than sly, evil little creatures that would come and murder you in your sleep if given the chance. However, with the leader of the Dark Specter Alliance defeated several decades ago by the Grand Ruler and his Armies, the goblins had turned to a more peaceful existence amongst the rest of the races on Unicornicopia. The war was decades before Lightning was born, but he remembered reading about something like that at the local library.

It was on that day, while reading about the history of Unicornicopia, that Lightning decided that he would one day try and meet the Grand Ruler at least once and ask him about his wingless problem. The stories that he read about the Grand Ruler were amazing, and surely that if he could lead an army into battle and free a race of goblins who still pledged loyalty to Unicornicopia he could be able to fix his wingless problem.

Lightning wiped the sweat from his brow with a free arm and continued his work, grabbing a hammer from his tool chest and a nail from the box, and secured the last shingle on the roof of Mr. Gragl'nash's home. After giving it a gentle tug, and nodding to make sure that it was secure, Lightning placed his hammer back in the box along with the nails before closing it and carrying it with him down to the street. He calmly set the box down walking up to the older front door before knocking on it, hearing a grumbled, “I'm coming, I'm coming,” from the other side. There was a loud, “click,” as the deadbolt on the front door unlocked before the front door opened wide with Mr. Gragl'nash standing on the other side.

“Well Mr. Gragl'nash, your roof is fixed.” Lightning reported, watching the goblin nod.

“Well so it has.” He replied. “I have your money right here. One-hundred and fifty six gold coins. Right?” Lightning nodded, feeling a little guilty as the goblin passed him the bag. “What's the matter? Take it, you've earned it.”

Lightning sighed. “But what about you? What will you do for the rest of this week? The taxes are going to be due soon, and we all know how high they can be and-

Lissen 'ere Lightning.” Mr. Gragl'nash said, cutting the unicorn off. “You need this money just as bad, if not worse than I do. Besides, I have plenty of money saved up from my days as a soldier so you shouldn't worry yourself over someone like me. Take it, trust me. I'll be fine.” He said before thrusting the money bag at Lightning.

“But-

No buts.” Mr. Gragl'nash said, cutting Lightning off again. “Maybe you can use that gold to get you a nice pair of wings, it seems like you need them if you want to keep up with the unicorn society.” He noticed Lightning flinch a little and chuckled a little. “I'm only teasin' you boy. You shouldn't take things so seriously. Now, go on. Take this money before I change my mind.”

Lightning nodded quietly, taking the bag of gold from the goblin's outstretched hand before
turning to go. “Have a nice day Mr. Gragl'nash.” He said quietly, stepping off of the porch before turning back to him. “And if that roof has any problems, let me know. I'll come back and fix it, free of charge.”

The goblin nodded, showing another toothy smile. “I'll hold you to it!” He said, before heading back inside his home and closing the door.

As Lightning walked away from the house, he felt a little bitter. Why do they always mention the fact that I don't have wings? He thought, finding a loose rock from the street and kicking it with one of his hooves. No, let me rephrase that. Why does it always hurt when they mention that I don't have wings? Lightning sighed continuing his slow walk home and looked up at the sky. He could see several unicorns working with the clouds in midair, it looked like another set of rain clouds were going to come in from behind the Whitefall Peak and that they were practicing for when the storm actually moved in. Heh, I don't envy them. They can fly all they want, I like my hooves on the ground thank you very much. Lightning thought, looking back down at ground level. He could see several small children, most of which were separate races that lived within the poor section of town, all playing a game of ball with each other without any care in the world. One of the older ones tossed the ball into the street in the middle of Lightning's path. With a light smirk the unicorn gently picked the ball up and dusted it off before kicking it back, watching as they all smiled at the gesture. Kids and their games. Lightning thought before walking away.

It took Lightning several minutes to get back to his own home from Mr. Gragl'nash's house, mostly because it was right down the street and closest to the city wall, but also because he avoided the main road that led to the barracks built along the wall. Most of Whitefall Peak's hoodlums from the middle class section of town were known for hanging around there and causing trouble for the less fortunate members of the society. His house, little more than a double roomed shack, stood unsteadily on the plot of land that it was on but it held strong through almost anything. It was a darkish brown, just like most of the houses that were in the poor district of town, and had a singular window to the left of the front door which let in light into the house. Lightning walked up to his front door and set both his toolbox and the payment for his job down by his hoof before nodding. Reaching into one of his jeans pockets, Lightning grabbed a key from it and placed it in the lock before unlocking the door and removing it from the keyhole. After replacing his key and picking up both his toolbox and his money, Lightning's horn flared up with a bright yellow glow as the doorknob began glowing the same color. The doorknob finally turned and the door soon followed, letting Lightning step inside.

Inside the house wasn't any better than outside. A simple wooden stove sat out in a corner of the front room, currently cold and empty save for the ashes that were once logs from last night. To his right was the mattress that he slept on currently covered by a pillow and at least three blankets. Another doorway led into the only other room in the house, and as Lightning set his toolbox down and closed the door behind him, a streak of yellow light flew towards him and nearly bowled him over.

“LIGHTNING!” A tiny voice excitedly shouted, taking the unicorn by surprise.

“Oh, hey Krysta.” Lightning answered, looking down at the ball of light that was clinging to his work shirt. The Ball of light flew back from him before shape changing into a tiny pale fairy with white wings, blond hair, and green eyes. “Is it breezy over there?” Lightning asked, watching as Krysta blushed and immediately snapped her fingers.

“You know, you could have shut your eyes.” She said, keeping an eye on Lightning as a very faded out and tattered dress appeared in front of her with a well kept golden necklace. The dress had many patches and sewing lines for the rips and tears that became apparent across it, but in stark contrast the necklace that Krysta wore was actually well taken care of and shone almost as beautifully as one of the nights in the skies above Unicornicopia.

Lightning shrugged, walking past Krysta as she put her clothes on and flopped down on the mattress. “What were you doing without your clothes anyways?” Lightning asked, hearing a slight cough.

“I was taking a bath you perv.” Krysta said harshly. “That's not something that you ask a lady. Not even if you're married to her, its a personal thing that doesn't need to be discussed.”

Lightning shrugged. “Huh, really now? Even though that we're living together in this hell hole you still think that we can afford a little privacy?” He asked, turning his gaze to the now fully dressed fairy who was flying down to him.

“Now Lightning... I didn't mean to-

Yeah I know that you didn't mean to. You always don't mean to.” Lightning said, cutting Krysta off. “But you have to remember, you could be the last of your kind. No one person knows what happened to the fairies, or even what happened to their attacker. All record of their existence just stops at less than two decades ago.”

Krysta nodded, landing on Lightning's shoulder. “I know. But that's just one of those things that my body tells me that I have to do. I can't stay disgusting like that. Especially if I want to make an appearance tonight.”

Lightning's eyebrow raised slightly. “And why do you want to make an appearance tonight Krysta?” He asked.

The fairy sighed before flying up and above Lightning's face. “Because, Whitefall Peak is going to be hosting the Grand Ruler tomorrow. They're going to be picking the strongest unicorns in the city to demonstrate their strength for his majesty tomorrow, and you're gonna enter.”

Lightning rolled his eyes. “The strongest unicorns huh?” He said quietly.

“That's what I said. The strongest.” Krysta repeated, eyeing Lightning closely.

“Well that's too bad. I'm not interested.” Lightning answered, hearing a groan from the fairy.

“Come on Lightning!” Krysta said, giving the unicorn a pleading look as he rolled over. “It's just a feat of strength, and a few demonstrations! You'll finally get to see him!”

Lightning just shook his head and remained on the mattress. “I don't have the kind of strength that they're looking for Krysta. They want Warriors. Unicorns that can fly, and manipulate the elements and are capable in handling themselves in a fight.”

“But you can do almost all of those things!” Krysta protested. “You're more than capable of handling yourself in a fight. Who was with you when you took down those High Class thugs a week ago? I was! I can testify to the whole thing!”

“But I can't fly or do magic.” Lightning countered. “I repeat, they want someone who can do both. Besides, I'm a member of the lowest class in Unicornicopia. What good can I be when I'm unable to afford all of the supplies that one would need to join the army? It's not like meeting the Grand Ruler is cheap you know.”

“But you-

Sorry Krysta, but we'll just have to find some other way to meet the Grand Ruler.” Lightning answered, hearing the fairy pout.

“Ooooh, you can be just so stubborn sometimes!” Krysta snapped, flying over to the back room and slamming the door of what Lightning assumed was one of the cabinets in the back.

Lighting remained quiet, listening to a gentle clicking sound as he could hear Krysta stamping her feet on the bottom of the cabinet. One day Krysta. I'm just not strong enough, I can't be expected to participate when everyone else is so much better than I am, even if they are normal Unicorns I can't hope to compete. Lightning thought, remaining silent as he stared at the wall before finally falling asleep.

Lightning woke up to the sound of knocking on his front door several hours later, and bolted awake. He didn't own a watch, but assumed that it was late as a gentle darkness took over the impoverished section of town. Lightning got up as the sounds of the front door being knocked on a second time stirred him from his haze of sleep, before opening the door. In front of him stood a dark green Unicorn with a white mane and Tail wearing a deep brown delivery uniform and bag. “Yes?” Lighting asked, completely confused at the sight of the Unicorn.

“From his Royal Majesty's delivery service, I have an invitation for the unicorn Lightning Dawn.” The unicorn replied. “Are you him?” She asked, smiling as Lightning nodded slightly.

“Yeah... Lightning's my name.” Lightning answered, suspicious of the unicorn. “Why are you here, and at this time of night?”

“I'm here on behalf of the mayor of Whitefall Peak. This is an invitation extended to you, Lightning Dawn, for appearing in the competition that is going to be held as a display for the Grand Ruler. He encourages you to attend and do your best for his highness.” The mailmare reported, extending a bright yellow envelope with the mayor's seal on it.

“Sorry, but you can tell the mayor that I'm not interested.” Lightning replied, passing the envelope back to the mailmare. The reaction he received wasn't the one he expected at all.

“Oh... I see...” She said, tucking the envelope back into her bag. “This will make strike three for me.” Several tears escaped her eyes.

“Wait, what? Strike three?” Lightning asked, watching the unicorn nod.

“Yeah, strike three. It means that I failed to deliver the invitation and that I can't be what I was destined to be good at like my Cutie Mark said. I won't be able to provide for my family anymore, and we'll be thrown out into the streets, and my little foal won't be able to learn magic!” The unicorn cried, dropping to the ground and making as much noise as she could with her wailing. Surprisingly, no one else came out to see what was the matter, but the more she cried the bigger the chance there was for someone to investigate.

“All right, All right!” Lightning said, trying to calm the distraught unicorn down. “Give me that invitation I guess.” He said, watching the unicorn's expression do a complete one-eighty, and immediately grabbed the letter that was forced into his hands.

“Great!” The unicorn said happily. “Sign here, and here.” She said, presenting a clipboard and a quill with ink. Her smile grew even more as Lightning signed his name on the board and returned it to her. As she received the clip board and her quill with ink back she smiled even more. “You know, you aren't gonna regret this.” She said, smiling as she put her board back in her bag.

“Why do you say that?” Lightning asked.

“Because, the winds around you are changing. Life is going to be full of surprises for you, and you're going to go on the biggest adventure of your life. Kinda makes me jealous in a way.” She answered.

“Really? Heh, that's not the way I see it.” Lightning replied, causing the strange unicorn to giggle a little. “What's so funny?”

“Well, you are.” The unicorn answered before turning to go. “You have an interesting destiny Lightning Dawn. A very interesting destiny indeed.” She smiled, spreading her wings open wide before taking off, leaving a very confused Lightning standing in the doorway.

“Lightning... Who was that?” Krysta asked from the back room, watching as the yellow unicorn turned around.

“That was... A very strange mailmare.” Lightning replied.

“And what's with the envelope?” Krysta asked, looking down and seeing the royal seal.

“That's...” Lightning paused, cringing slightly at the storm that was about to come from Krysta, “My invitation to meeting with the Grand Ruler tomorrow, and demonstrating my abilities to him and all of the other unicorns in Whitefall Peak.” He said dropping the invitation as Krysta shouted at the top of her lungs, “YAHOO! WE GET TO SEE THE GRAND RULER!”

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The next day, Lighting got up early as Krysta jumped excitedly up and down on him. The Unicorn groaned, getting up from his bed and walking to the back room of his house. The Back room had a smallish bathtub and a cabinet where he stored all of his clothing, but it was also where Krysta slept. “Krysta, did you move your things out of the way for me?” Lighting asked, noticing that a bed that was made for a doll house was moved onto the wooden bottom of the cabinet.

“Yeah, I did.” Krysta replied. “I didn't want you to have to do that, especially seeing as how we're going to meet the Grand Ruler today.” She said, watching as Lightning removed both a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans from the cabinet before getting undressed. Before the door shut, Krysta could see Lightning's Cutie Mark, a bright golden sun rising over a valley with lightning bolts in place of sun's rays, and scratched her head. “Hey Lightning, you think that you can ask what your Cutie Mark Means?” She asked.

From the backroom Lightning shrugged, turning the tap from the bathtub and letting the water run. “I don't think that even the Grand Ruler knows what it means. I mean, I don't think that he's as all knowing as everyone makes him out to be.”

“And why do you say that?” Krysta asked.

Lighting sighed, turning the tap off and slipping into the water in the tub. “Well let me put it this way, if someone had omnipotence wouldn't it all go to their head?”

“Meaning... What exactly?” Krysta asked.

“I mean that wouldn't all of that power that the Grand Ruler supposedly has go to his head? No one is totally perfect you know.” Lightning replied. “I just think that the Grand Ruler knows a lot, but I don't think that he could tell me what I wanted to know.” He sank deeper in the tub, letting it soak his body thoroughly before yawning again.

“He's got a lot more going for him than what you give him credit for Lightning.” Krysta said, hearing scrubbing from the other room.

“Oh yeah?” She heard Lightning ask from the other side. “Is this about your memories Krysta?”

“Well... If you had help with your problems, the Grand Ruler could help me with my problems. I don't know who I was before I met you Lightning. I know it sounds selfish, but I feel like we're in the same boat.” Krysta explained, looking out of the only window in their shack and sighing as she saw several goblin children running around and playing with a couple of elves outside their door. Her heart felt heavy as she saw their smiling faces, enjoying each others company without a care in the world. “I-

I get it Krysta.” She heard Lightning say from the other room. “You and I aren't too different. Where you lost your memories, I lost a family.” He sighed. “I just have a feeling that what we're expecting the Grand Ruler to be capable of is beyond the limits of one being. I don't want to sound like a stick in the mud but unless I see something that could make him as skilled as others claim he is, I'm not going to put all of my faith into him actually being able to help us.”

After Lightning got finished with his bath and changed into a relatively clean outfit he grabbed the only thing that he considered to be more valuable than gold, a black cloak that belonged to his mother. When Lightning was young a planet-wide war consumed his world, ravaging the countryside and destroying everything that he used to know. He barely escaped thanks to a massed teleportation spell, but due to the death of the casters that were involved he lost his wings during the transportation to Unicornicopia. His parents, who were assigned to the defense of the civilians from his home planet, never made it to the other side. The Unicornicopians placed him in an orphanage to keep him out of trouble but when he turned eighteen he just left and set out on his own, taking nothing but the clothes on his back and his mother's cloak. It was used primarily for Lightning and Krysta when he wanted to head into the Main District of Whitefall Peak as a way to keep Krysta out of sight and out of mind from the other citizens that would get suspicious, but it was also used to keep the fact that he had no wings away from the general populace as well. Especially from the upper echelons of the city's society.

“Ready to go Krysta?” Lightning asked, throwing the cloak over himself.

“Are you really going to wear that? How's the Grand Ruler going to see you if you have it on?” Krysta asked.

“Well, do you want to be seen by someone who doesn't understand you?” Lightning asked, watching Krysta shake her head. “That's why I'm wearing it among other things. Plus, it may attract attention, but most of the people here know to stay away from me. As long as I keep my hood down, they'll know that I'm not a general threat.” He answered, watching Krysta nod slightly.

“Well that does make a little sense... But what if someone suspects that you're armed?” Krysta asked, watching as Lightning gave her a serious look. “What? The guards are a little testy with those that wear cloaks nowadays.”

“We're dirt poor, so poor that we can't afford three square meals a day. Does it look like we'll be able to afford so much as a knife?” Lightning asked, watching Krysta shake her head. “I thought so. Now, let's go get some breakfast.” Lightning said, watching as the fairy's expression brightened up significantly before flying over to Lightning and disappearing underneath his cloak. Lightning took a deep breath before looking around their home in case he forgot anything, before heading to the front door, opening it and stepping outside. He quickly closed the door behind him and locked it before heading out into the direction of Main Street.

Main Street was packed with citizens from all walks of life, from the members of the poorest classes in the city to the members of the richer parts of town. The buildings, all of which were made from a form of granite that came from the mines that were near by, shone with a splendor that was only made to happen every once in a blue-moon. And those were few and far between.

Lightning could barely stay on the sidewalks in front of the stores that were trying to sell their goods. The citizens of Whitefall peak were all fighting over an appropriate spot to see the Grand Ruler's procession that was due to arrive in a few hours. “Man... There are a lot of people who want to see the Grand Ruler huh?” Krysta asked from her hiding place in Lightning's cloak.

“Well what did you expect when the ruler of the planet is gonna show up to a small town like this?” Lightning asked, continuing to wander through the crowds that had set up anything and everything to catch a glimpse of the Grand Ruler. He watched as an Elven child nearly fell off of a box that she was standing on, catching her before she fell and helping her stand on the box. The girl gasped at the sight of Lightning, which drew the attention of her mother, before she turned her attention back to the center of the square.

“Hmm... I hope that there's a place to sit down.” Lightning uttered continuing to head to the only place he cared about on the square, the mission that was established to help the less fortunate masses by the town's mayor. Lightning only went there whenever it was necessary, preferring to solve his problems out on his own, but his stomach couldn't take another day of eating what would some consider close to the bottom of the barrel in food.

The building itself was simple, built only with efficiency in mind, it stood tall as one of the many churches built in the Grand Ruler's name as a way for the Unicornicopians to give their thanks to him. At the top and center of the mission's slanted roof was a small tower, which had a yellow sapphire cut into the shape of a sun at the top of the tower, which had a pair of bells ringing which signaled the arrival of the Grand Ruler himself. Lightning snorted a little walking to the front door of the mission and opening it, seeing it surprisingly barren save for a few families sitting in a group of pews that faced a singular stained glass window.

“Ah, I was wonderin' when I'd see you again Lightning.” A voice said to his left.

Lightning turned and saw another unicorn, a bright blue one with a white mane and tail, standing behind a counter, wearing a set of Priest's robes and an apron that appeared to be smeared with a brownish stain of some sorts. “Yeah, well it seems that this place hasn't changed too much Spirit. You still trying to be a priest in this place?” He asked.

“Well, if it gets those without the money fed I'll do whatever it takes. Besides, It's not like you can avoid coming here all the time.” Spirit answered. “Now what can I do you for?” He asked as Lightning advanced to the counter and placed a handful of gold coins on top.

“Just give me something that's filling and gives a lot of energy.” Lightning answered, watching as Spirit took the coins and nodded.

“So just whatever we got huh?” He asked playfully, watching Lightning nod.

“Yeah, whatever's fine.” Lightning answered. I'll be waiting over by the back pews okay?” He asked, watching Spirit nod.

“Okay, I'll have it up in a jiffy.” Spirit answered turning to several metal tables that were behind him still filled with some food.

Lightning turned and walked over to an empty pew in the back, sitting down as Krysta crawled out from underneath the edge of the cloak. “Seems pretty empty today.” She said, looking around and seeing the lack of citizens inside.

“Yeah.” Lightning answered.

They both sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity until Spirit came out into the main hall with a plate filled with eggs, tofu-bacon, and a full biscuit and a carton of milk. It didn't take him a second to spot Lightning and Krysta, before walking over to them both. “Here you are Lightning.” He said, setting the plate full of food down on an empty spot on the pew. Lightning looked up and gave Spirit a grateful smile, before placing the plate on his lap and beginning to eat. “You know, the Orphanage was wondering what happened to you. I didn't expect that you would stop coming to visit so suddenly Lightning.” Spirit commented.

“Work's been picking up a little.” Lightning answered after swallowing a mouthful of eggs. “I... We just haven't had the time to stop by.” He said, cutting off a smaller portion with his fork and passing it to Krysta who took it eagerly.

“I see. Is it really that?” Spirit asked, taking a seat next to Lightning as the pair continued with their meal.

“Yeah, it's really that.” Lightning answered, opening the carton of milk and taking a swig. “I'd be here a lot more, but I have a work schedule to keep. And I can't let my customers down.” He stopped as Spirit chuckled a little.

“Really now?” Spirit asked, calming down.

“Yeah, really.” Lightning answered, setting his fork down and grabbing a piece of tofu-bacon. He snapped a little piece off and passed it to Krysta who was still busy finishing her portion of egg on his shoulder. The fairy looked up, her mouth full of egg, and took the piece of bacon that was in his hand before setting it off to the side.

“Well the word around Whitefall is that you were specifically requested to participate in the demonstrations today for the Grand Ruler by the Grand Ruler himself.” Spirit said calmly. “Any reason why?” He asked.

Lightning just shook his head. “I'm as clueless as you are Spirit. Some random mailmare came and talked to me about it last night. She even gave me an envelope that had a royal seal on it and everything too. I haven't bothered to look at it too much though, I mean I'm just here to make a fool of myself like the world seems to want me to do and head back to my life.” He stopped and turned as Spirit stared at him in stunned silence. “What?” He asked.

“You got a letter from the Grand Ruler himself and you haven't even bothered to read it yet?” Spirit nearly shouted, causing several of the other visitors to look at him angrily. “Heh... Sorry everyone.” He apologized before turning back to Lightning. “You do realize that the letter that he sent you could mean anything right?” He asked. Lightning shook his head.

“And at the same time it could mean that he got the wrong address on the letter.” Lightning replied, hearing Spirit smack his forehead. “Besides, I'm not special. Why would he want to send me anything?”

“If he sent you the letter Lightning, it means that you are really special.” Krysta said, finishing up her portion of the egg that she was given and starting on the piece of tofu-bacon that she was given. After taking a bite from the piece, she looked up at the yellow unicorn. “You do realize that things don't happen without a reason right?” She asked.

“Your little friend is right.” Spirit said. “Do you even still have the letter?” He asked, watching Lightning nod.

“Yeah. It's with me right now.” Lightning answered. “I couldn't leave it behind for some reason, but I still don't feel like I should open it.” He said, passing the carton of milk to Krysta who took a drop -sized swallow.

“And why not?” Spirit asked. “It was addressed to you wasn't it?” Lightning nodded.

“I told you.” Lightning replied. “I'm not that special.” He heard a loud sigh come from Spirit, and looked back down on his plate. “I'm just who I am, and that's who I really am.” Lightning said finally.

“You know that you sound like another person that I read about in the Book of Sol not a couple of weeks ago.” Spirit finally said after a few moments of silence between the two.

“Now Spirit, I don't need a sermon right no-

No, I think that you do Lightning.” Spirit said, cutting Lightning off. “You do realize that there is magic in things that you believe in right?” He asked, watching Lightning roll his eyes. “Well, do you?”

“Yeah, I guess there is.” Lightning answered. “But what's that got to do with anything?”

“Well the way that you are acting reminds me of the great ruler Cystan, in the the Chapter of Dawn.” Spirit explained. “Cystan was a powerful warrior, and fearless on the battlefield in ancient Unicornicopia. When the Grand Ruler arrived, the peoples were all terrified under the rule of Cystan. Families were separated in the night, peoples were all murdered, and cities were ravaged one by one. Now do you know why the people of Ancient Unicornicopia were under this rule?” Spirit asked, watching Lightning shake his head.

“No, I don't really know.” Lightning said quietly. “Please, do elaborate Spirit.” Lightning said sarcastically.

The bright blue unicorn ignored Lightning's comment and continued. “The citizens of Ancient Unicornicopia believed that they were powerless to match Cystan's skill in battle. The Grand Ruler, who didn't want to see anymore suffering, challenged Cystan to single combat to prove a point. Using the power fueled by the belief that he was going to save the people of Ancient Unicornicopia, the Grand Ruler slew Cystan without the need for any assistance. The people believed that if the Grand Ruler was capable of such a feat, then they surely could defeat his hordes with the Grand Ruler's assistance. And it was with that belief that Cystan's army fell, and Unicornicopia was born. He explained that they only needed to find something to believe in, whether it is something as small as their own livelihood to something as big as an ideal like freedom. Belief in something gives its wielder power, and that is the strongest weapon that can be forged.” Spirit said.

“And what does that have to do with me?” Lightning asked, receiving a chuckle from Spirit.

“Well think about it.” Spirit answered, watching as Lightning took the biscuit from the plate and tore a small piece from it. After watching the fairy take the piece and begin to devour it like the egg and the piece of tofu-bacon, he smiled. “You just need to find something else to believe in. If you keep believing that you aren't special, then your life will pass you by-” He stopped, listening at the sounds of blaring trumpets before smiling and grabbing the plate from Lightning. “Well now, it's a little earlier than what the messenger said he would be arriving but that comes as to no surprise. He does like making a great entrance.”

“You sound like you've seen him before.” Lightning said calmly before chugging the milk carton.

“Well, I had to live in the Capital City for a few months for my initial training before actually moving into a mission to continue my studies. And let's just say that the Grand Ruler's entrance is something that you don't want to miss.” Spirit answered, watching as Lightning got up from the pew and stretched. He watched as Krysta disappeared from underneath the black cloak that Lightning wore, and got up as the yellow unicorn got to his hooves.

“Well, I'm off I guess.” Lightning replied, filing out of the pew behind Spirit before turning to go. The bright blue unicorn nodded, heading back to the counter and watched as Lightning made it to the front door. “I'll see you later then I guess?” He asked, turning to Spirit who nodded.

“Just not too soon.” Spirit answered. “And you remember what I said about finding something else to believe in. You'll be better for it. Trust me.” He said, watching Lightning leave.

When Lightning stepped outside of the mission he stopped in awe of what he saw. Hundreds of citizens from Whitefall Peak were all gathered around the small square that sat in front of the mayor's office, staring in awe and wonder at the source of the trumpeting sound. “What in the world...?” Lightning asked, watching the spectacle before him.

In the middle of the square, a small breeze began to pick up and blow the dust that was around like a small tornado. The breeze continued to get stronger, signifying a massed teleportation spell that was in the middle of being cast, until finally a light in the shape of a circle began to brightly glow inside the circling dust. Then, without any sudden warning, a bright column of light shot up from the circle to the heavens as the winds began roaring around the square. Some of the citizens fell over due to the force of the winds, while others were knocked over, as the light got bright enough to force anyone who stared directly at it to go blind. This lasted for a few moments until the column returned back to the pavement, bringing with it an ear-splitting, “KABOOM,” with it. A huge dust cloud washed over the crowds, some choking on it others brushing it away, as the winds died down and the dust settled. Lightning couldn't believe his eyes at the sight.

Where the column of light was, stood what could have only been described as the tallest and most majestic unicorn that he had ever seen. The unicorn righted himself from a kneeling position, standing at least ten or ten and a half feet tall, and observed the scene before him. The unicorn's coat was a platinum-white, which shone as brightly as the sun, and radiated a positive and comforting energy that Lightning could swear he felt from where he stood at least thirty feet away. The unicorn's wings flapped a little to beat away the dust that tried in vain to settle on the black robes that he wore, and even in the blinding light Lightning could swear that the unicorn's mane shifted between three different shades of yellow since he arrived. Another thing that Lightning noticed was the golden horn that shone in the center of his forehead which radiated with magic even though he wasn't concentrating at all. He was surrounded by at least fifty or sixty guards that ranged from unicorns to elves and even some goblins and orcs that all wore bright white armor and carried finely polished halberds with them. The unicorn in the center looked all around at the citizens of Whitefall Peak, who were all kneeling out of respect to him, and stopped at where Lightning was standing.

“Captain tell me, who is that unicorn in the black cloak standing up now?” The unicorn asked, keeping his gentle gaze on Lightning. A charcoal black unicorn stepped forward, his horn flaring up as a panel of magic appeared in between both him and the crowds.

“Your highness, that would be Lightning Dawn. The one that you specifically requested to participate in the demonstrations that would occur today.” The unicorn soldier answered. “It says here that he lives alone and that-

Thank you lieutenant, but I just wanted to know his name.” The taller unicorn replied, watching as several of the citizens of Whitefall Peak managed to sneak a glance at Lightning from their kneeling positions. He smiled, taking a calming breath and cleared his throat before beginning to speak. “Citizens of Whitefall Peak, I thank you all for your kind and most humble welcome. And I also thank you for offering to demonstrate your skills of combat with your fellow Unicornicopian, though I do not think that this is necessary. We are in a time of peace and prosperity, and will only ask that this be done in the name of sport and merriment.” He said, watching from the corner of his eye as the unicorn captain stepped forward.

“So says the word of the Grand Ruler of Unicornicopia!” He said, causing a chorus of cheers to erupt from the crowd.

Lightning however could feel something different that emanated from the unicorn known as the Grand Ruler. It was a warm and compassionate feeling, unlike anything that he had ever felt in his life. His body was frozen, basking in the feeling like one would in the sun. He couldn't move even if he wanted to, as if his body was rooted into that standing position and forcing him to stay in that one place forever. Why can't I move? Lightning thought, mentally straining against his body even though the effort was futile. Come on, I don't want to show any disrespect, move it damn it! He thought angrily, watching as the Grand Ruler began walking towards the town hall building with his contingent of guards remaining where they stood awaiting his orders. As soon as the Grand Ruler touched the bottom step of the long house that the town hall was built into, Lightning could feel his body loosen up and fall to the ground which forced him to stop himself in mid-fall. He looked back up, watching the Grand Ruler stop and turn back to where Lightning was now kneeling, and watched as he gave him a confident smirk before stepping inside Town Hall.

“Lightning!” Krysta whispered from underneath the cloak. “Lightning are you okay?” She asked as Lightning shook his head.

“Yeah Krysta, I'm fine.” Lightning replied as he watched the crowd and several of the guards make their way to the arena that sat on the right most side of the city. But what was that thing I felt just now? And why did it feel so good? He thought, standing back up and shaking his head. Pull yourself together Lightning. You look like your going to go crazy. He thought, trembling a little. “Krysta, let's go. He said, looking down at the fairy underneath his cloak who nodded.

“Okay Lightning... If you're sure that your feeling okay.” She said, nervously looking up at Lightning. I really hope that you are.

The arena at Whitefall Peak was significant in the fact that it was the final stand made by the United Defenders of the Unicornicopian Army against the Dark Specter Alliance before the Grand Ruler came to their assistance and drove them all back down to the Seething Black Swamp at the base of the mountains. Now the Arena, a modestly sized circular ring with enough stands to hold the entire town of Whitefall Peak and the next town over, was used more as a form of sport for warriors to go and train themselves and get even stronger than most of the other cities in Unicornicopia. The inside ring was normally filled with scorch marks and magical residue and rubble among other things, but was now instead completely spotless for the demonstration. As citizens continued to file into the Arena Lightning headed to the intimidatingly fierce gates, each of which had a statue of a chimera standing guard on either side of the front gate looking like they were about ready to pounce. A few unicorn soldiers stood in between the statues, their horns creating a sort of magical scanner, as an orcish guard stood behind them and searched those who didn't pass the security field.

“It seems like they stepped up the security huh?” Lightning whispered as he advanced closer and closer to the magic scanner.

“Yeah.” Krysta replied quietly. “It does. Especially if the Grand Ruler is here.”

Lightning nodded as it came to be his turn through the scanner. As he stepped through, one of the unicorn soldiers placed a hand on his shoulder which forced him to freeze. Lightning turned to the soldier, trembling and shaking as the soldier's face softened a little. “I-I-Is there some-something wrong sir?” Lightning asked.

“No, it's just that those who are participating need to go through the Arena entrance.” He said politely, pointing to Lightning's right. He then smiled and released his hold on Lightning, as the orc soldier gave him a map to the Arena's combatant's entrance. Before either Lightning or Krysta could react, they were both walking in the direction of the Combatant's Entrance.

“Lightning... What was that all about?” Krysta asked. “Why did you try to take the Spectator's Entrance?”

Lightning shook his head a little. “I dunno, I guess I must've forgot about participating for a second there.”

“YOU WERE STANDING IN THAT LINE FOR AN HOUR!” Krysta shouted, causing several of the spectators to give Lightning a weird look.

“Easy Krysta, calm down.” Lightning replied, stepping up to the line that was filled with powerful looking unicorns. Each one of them eyed him suspiciously, but said nothing as they all prepared for the demonstrations.

It was another hour before the sounds of trumpeting met Lightning's ears, he had heard from rumors that there were trumpet players in at least every city which were some of the best in the world, trained solely for the Grand Ruler's appearance in their humble villages. The roar of the crowd followed as an introductory speech was given by the Mayor of Whitefall Peak which was soon followed by a speech given by the Grand Ruler himself. But even at the volume that Lightning had originally heard the Grand Ruler speak at, he couldn't hear him say anything. The trumpets blared a second time as the line slowly began to march forward, the sounds of the crowd roaring as the line of combatants moved into the stadium. Lightning was in the very back of the line, and by the time he had gotten into the stadium itself, the crowd had stopped their cheering and had reduced it to little more than a dull murmur.

Tough crowd. Lightning thought, watching as he could see several hundred pairs of eyes give him everything from dirty looks and scowls to callous and mocking glances. He paid them no mind, turning to face the main box where the Grand Ruler was seated, and attempted to focus on the upcoming challenge ahead. He turned to one of the benches and headed over to it and sat down. This is gonna be a long day... He moaned, getting ready for the demonstration.

Much to Lightning's surprise, there wasn't too much in the way of fighting for the demonstrations. Some of the other unicorns flexed their muscles, lifting boulders over their heads and throwing them some distance as the crowd cheered excitedly. Lightning jumped several times as shrapnel from several falling boulders smashing into the ground landed near where he sat, causing several of the other unicorns to give him curious looks from behind colorful shimmering barriers of magic which caused the smaller stones to clatter to the floor.

There also were some unicorns who used their magic to cast magic beyond what Lightning thought was possible. A huge cloud of smoke was summoned by a dark red unicorn as small meteors smashed into the arena floor around him. Another unicorn created a giant block of ice from the moisture in the air before turning it into a dragon which breathed enough ice to cause a hail storm. Another unicorn summoned a huge lightning storm which nearly grew out of control and threatened the crowd with several strikes near the stands. It took the guards a couple of moments to contain the storm even as the unicorn was berated by several soldiers under the Grand Ruler's rule.

As the lightning storm settled down, and the crowd had returned to their seats, Lightning could see that the Grand Ruler didn't even look impressed at all. He was calmly sitting in the throne that was set up for him, a hand holding up his head as the last demonstration didn't seem to impress him in the least.

“And now for our last power demonstration, Lightning Dawn!” One of the Announcers shouted through a magically amplified device to the stadium. Lightning hesitated a little, expecting the silence of the entire stadium, before getting up and walking to the center of the ring. If looks could have killed, he would have been dead at least a hundred times over if not more. A sudden chill ran down his spine as the feeling of nervousness creeped through his body. He could feel them all watching him, as though he was a stallion about to be executed, and nervously swallowed a bit of air before turning to face the Grand Ruler.

“Proceed with your Demonstration please Lightning.” The Grand Ruler said kindly, watching as Lightning nodded nervously.

But what do I do? Lightning thought, a small breeze forming in the arena. I don't know any magic, and I couldn't afford to train in self-defense lessons so why am I here? Lightning concentrated, looking around for something, anything, that would help him get out of the situation that he was in. The crowd continued to stare right at him.

Moments turned into seconds. Seconds turned into minutes. It was at least three minutes before someone said anything. “Oy, wot's all this? The damned unicorn cain't do a thing!” Someone shouted from the crowd.

“Who ever heard of a unicorn who couldn't do magic?” Another citizen shouted.

“Get him outta here and let some real unicorns use their magic!”

“He's nothing but a freak!”

“His parents oughta be ashamed of themselves for making such a mistake.”

The oncoming stream of negative comments were the only thing that Lightning could hear. He could feel his face redden, and could feel tears stream down from his eyes. But even as they continued to insult him, something deep inside him started to grow. It was small at first, barely even noticeable by an infant unicorn, but as the verbal assault continued it continued to grow.

Just as the Captain of the Guards was about to help Lightning out of the stadium, the Grand Ruler raised a hand. “Hold yourself Captain. He's just about to get started.” He said patiently.

The Guard Captain, confused at the Grand Ruler's orders, stopped as he too began to notice something emanate from the unicorn in the black cloak. He turned, and took a half of a step back at the sight of Lightning his brain not believing what his eyes were seeing.

Lighting's horn was glowing a bright gold, pulsating with energy as the verbal abuse from the crowds still continued even though something was happening. Everyone in the Arena stopped shouting for a moment as the magical energy slowly got brighter and brighter as the moments passed. And then without any warning, everyone except the Grand Ruler was forcibly sat down in their seats by a force of magic that they had never seen before. No one could move or get up to run, they were all held in the field's control. At the same time their fear and anger washed immediately away with a positive energy, which calmed them down into an almost bliss-like state. It was nothing that they had ever felt before but they couldn't move or say anything to explain it, not even if they wanted to.

Lightning however was at the center of it all. And while everyone else was feeling good about everything he was struggling to maintain control over his magic. He had never even thought that he had this kind of power, and hadn't especially thought that he had this much power. He continued to struggle to keep it contained, but it was a battle that he was losing and eventually looked upwards to the sky and unleashed a blast of white energy the size of a mountain into the sky. The blast lasted for a few moments, after which the unicorn staggered a little before dropping to his hands and knees. Lightning could hear Krysta coughing from the dust that generated from underneath the cloak, but as he looked down to check on her she appeared to be fine. Lightning then stood up, the crowd in stunned silence except for the Grand Ruler, and staggered to the gates of the Arena and to his home.

----

“Lightning, tell me again why we aren't at the arena right now in speaking with the Grand Ruler ?” Krysta asked, hovering over the stove.

Lightning didn't answer. He didn't say anything since he had left the arena, and night had fallen on Whitefall Peak. He just blankly stared at the ceiling, still in stunned silence.

“Lightning, are you gonna say anything?” Krysta asked with a hint of concern.

What was that? And how did I do it? Lightning thought, bringing his hands to his face and looking at them. “I launched a blast of magic into the sky...” He uttered, his voice sounding like he was in shock.

“Well... Yeah, I was there.” Krysta said, floating down to Lightning's level and landing on his knee. “You probably could have seen it from space.” She said.

“I. Launched. A. Blast. Of. Magic. Me, being able to use magic!” Lightning repeated. “Actual, non-telekinesis magic! I can do real magic Krysta!” He said excitedly.

“Well I don't know about that, after all it was just a big ball of energy.” She said, trying to get him to calm down a little.

“It may have been just a big ball of energy, but it was a big ball of energy that I cast! Maybe I can try to do it again!” Lightning said, trying to focus a second time.

“Hang on a second Lightning, before you blow the roof off of the house.” Krysta said, watching as Lightning's horn charged up a second time.

“What?” Lightning asked.

“Well, why don't you just hold on with the magic works okay?” Krysta scolded. “We don't need the town guard knocking on our door bec-”

There was a loud knocking on the door that cut the fairy off followed by a gruff, “By order of the Grand Ruler, Lightning Dawn is to open this door!”

Lightning and Krysta both shared a glance before Krysta disappeared underneath the blanket on the bed. Lightning walked forward, unlocking the door and gasping as the Grand Ruler himself was standing on his front doorstep. “Hello Lightning, may I come in?” He asked, causing the unicorn to lose all form of speech entirely.

T-T-The Grand Ruler is s-st-standing in f-f-front of me? Lightning thought nervously continuing tremble in the unicorn's presence, nodding slowly as he stepped back for the giant unicorn to enter his home.

The Grand Ruler looked around before holding a hand up to his guards as they tried to follow him in. “You do not need to worry about me, please make sure no one disturbs us.” The guards all saluted as another closed the front door behind the Grand Ruler, leaving him alone.

Lightning remained silent, watching as the Grand Ruler darted his head this way and that, observing his surroundings before sighing a little. “I-Is there something wrong your highness?” Lightning asked.

The Grand Ruler said nothing, concentrating only for a second as his horn lit up with a brilliant and blinding white light. After the light died down, he smiled, taking a seat in a large wooden chair that had appeared from out of nowhere. “I hope you do not mind. I did not expect to be meeting with you in such a... Humbling home. Now, why don't you take a seat, so we can get started.”

Lightning shook his head. “N-No it's fine sir, you go ahead and make yourself at home.” Lightning said nervously, walking over to his bed and taking a seat. He could feel the Grand Ruler's eyes on him the whole time, and felt nervous even as he sat down.

“Now,” The Grand Ruler began, watching as Lightning began to pay attention to him, “I think it's safe to assume that you are wondering why I am here?” He asked, watching Lightning nod his head slowly. “Well Lightning, I am here because you demonstrated an ability that I haven't seen in a century. An ability that very well may change the course of fate itself.”

The course of fate? Lightning mentally asked, continuing to pay attention.

“Yes, the course of fate.” The Grand Ruler answered, surprising the yellow unicorn. “And before you ask, yes I can read your thoughts. Even through some of them are exclusively private and I won't ask you to share them with me. It comes with the abilities that you have.” He said.

“What abilities?” Lightning asked. “I'm not really special, that whole thing earlier was a-

A fluke?” The Grand Ruler questioned. “No Lightning, that was no fluke. That was the awakening of your powers, your connection to the Uniforce.”

Lightning blinked almost stupidly. It was like he was speaking in a different language. “The... What?”

“The Uniforce.” The Grand Ruler repeated. “It's a mystical power, ancient in its design and primal in nature. It is the source of ultimately all good magic in this universe of ours.”

“I don't get it.” Lightning said, continuing to remain confused. “What is it exactly?”

The Grand Ruler nodded. “There are three cosmic forces for each spectrum of magic. Each powered by a single, “belief,” if you will.” He explained, watching as Lightning still remained silent. “These cosmic forces have always been at constant war with each other at some point in time, and will always be at constant war at other points in time, fighting for dominance in this world. The cosmic forces do die down into moments of peace, but only when one side is victorious.”

“Well what's this have to do with me?” Lightning asked, watching The Grand Ruler adjust his position in his chair.

“My boy, you have been the one that I have been searching for.” The Grand Ruler began. “You see, I fear that war may plague our planet. A dark power will soon be on the rise, and if there is no one to combat it then I fear that the universe itself may be lost. It is your connection, and a close one at that, to one of these Cosmic Aspects that will help prevent the coming catastrophe.”

Lightning remained silent, listening to the Grand Ruler's words. “I still don't understand.” He asked. “Why me? And what am I connected to?” He asked.

The Grand Ruler simply shook his head and stood from his chair. “It appears that I must show you why you are needed rather than explaining it.” He said, his horn flaring up a second time. Lightning braced himself, shielding his eyes from the white light as it enveloped the room. A few moments passed before Lightning opened his eyes again only to stare in stunned disbelief at what he saw.

The world around him had taken a turn for the color white as everything around seemed to be white washed. He could see streams of magic, each of different colors of the rainbow, focusing in on a central point some immeasurable distance above him. A stream of silvery magic was flowing from the Grand Ruler to the central point, just as a stream of golden magic was flowing from him to that same point. Even Krysta had a stream of Pink magic that was being drawn into the mass of colors. “What is this?” Lightning asked, hearing his voice echo as if he were in a cave.

“This is the Uniforce Lightning. It is one of the three Cosmic Aspects in our world, and it is fueled by our beliefs.” The Grand Ruler answered.

“Beliefs?” Lightning asked. “Beliefs in what?”

“In anything that exists.” The Grand Ruler answered. “I find it simple to say that you can believe in anything and it will make you stronger. As you can see, whatever we believe in is going into the Uniforce as a form of magic. Any magic really has to come from the belief that it will work.” The Grand Ruler concentrated for a second, and watched as the streams of magic now appeared to flow to them. “The Uniforce then returns those beliefs into the form of power. The more something is believed in, the stronger the return. But it works in just the same way in the opposite direction, the lesser you believe in something the harder it becomes to make a spell work.” He said, concentrating a second time before making the scene vanish.

Lightning rubbed his forehead a little and turned to the Grand Ruler. “So, that thing I did there in the Arena... What was that?” He asked.

The Grand Ruler just smiled a little. “That was a release of all of the magical energies that the Uniforce gave you from being stored up all at once.” He answered. “You aren't really good at magic are you?” He asked, watching Lightning shake his head.

“I... Can't even do anything beyond basic telekinesis your highness.” Lightning answered, feeling ashamed of himself.

The Grand Ruler smiled. “Just to let you in on a little secret, that was my first time casting a teleportation spell earlier today. You see with those of us who are directly connected to the Uniforce, even though we have access to all of the beliefs and all of the powers of everyone in the universe, we aren't exactly skilled in normal magic that could be taught in school.” He said, watching as Lightning stepped back in surprise.

“Wait,” Lightning stopped, casting a glance outside to make sure that no one was listening in before continuing quietly. “You mean that you can't do magic too?” He asked, watching as the Grand Ruler shook his head.

“I didn't say that.” He said. “I said that we aren't skilled in normal magic that could be taught. The magic that we are skilled in comes from instincts, spells that can only be generated in the heat of battle. Which brings us to why I'm here again.” He stopped, watching as Lightning remained silent before continuing. “Lightning Dawn, I am here like I said because Unicornicopia needs your help. You have a connection to the Uniforce that's so great that could save this world from the coming threat. I am here to extend an offer, an invitation if you will.”

“What's the offer?” Lightning asked, stopping as the Grand Ruler smiled a little. “I-I-I, uh, mean what's the offer your highness?” He corrected.

“I am offering you to be my personal student. I will teach you everything I know about the Uniforce and its powers, and you will learn how to control them. And when the time comes, you will be able to defend yourself and Unicornicopia from incoming threats.” The Grand Ruler answered. “And in time, I hope to be able to help you recover most of what you lost.”

Lightning froze, the Grand Ruler's words shaking him to the core. So I might be able to fly like the other unicorns? He thought, gulping nervously. He looked at the Grand Ruler straight in the eye and blinked. “What about this threat? You haven't really mentioned anything about it. If it's okay with you your highness, I'd like to know what I'm getting into.”

The Grand Ruler remained quiet before nodding. “You have a lot of intelligence for a unicorn of your age Lightning. Very well, I hope that this does not detract from your decision though.” The Grand Ruler said, his horn flaring up again. In a bright flash of light, the room changed again only disappearing from sight entirely. What Lightning saw next terrified him.

The clouds in the sky above were black and ominous, rumbling over the plains that he and the Grand Ruler were now in. Off in the distance Lightning could see a volcano, its top bright red and orange with fresh red-hot magma bubbling from its center. Lightning looked down and jumped, seeing the slaughtered remains of soldiers lying facedown in the mud as arrows and swords and all sorts of other killing implements remained in their lifeless bodies. Suddenly, an arrow whizzed by his head which forced him to turn. An army, bigger than any one that he had ever seen and wearing dark armor, was perched on a hill side as archers rained down arrows on their position. Lightning looked up, seeing the arrows disappear into the clouds before landing into a line of soldiers charging at them in Unicornicopian armor. Lightning turned and stepped back at the sight of a figure, wearing an all black hooded robe with a black breastplate with red trim and spiked pauldrons that looked like they were dipped in blood. The figure was riding what appeared to be a wyvern, but unlike everyone else in the line he carried a scepter which had the stinger of a wyvern's tail wrapped around a central shaft, and had giant fangs built into the staff itself like scythe blades. The figure hefted his staff high, which caused black lightning bolts to rain from the clouds above, punching even greater holes in the Unicornicopian lines, before leading the army behind him into the battle. Before the resulting clash, The Grand Ruler concentrated a second time and made the images disappear.

Lightning remained silent. He hadn't seen anything like whatever that thing was before. It was terrifying, and the army behind it was no slouch either. How was he expected to fight that thing?

As if he were sensing Lightning's doubt, the Grand Ruler sighed. “That was Titan.” He finally said, which snapped Lightning's attention back to him. “He was an enemy that I had originally thought I had defeated. After facing him in single combat I imprisoned him on the remains of his homeworld, the deserted planet of Doric, and had hoped that he would remain there for all of eternity.” The Grand Ruler took a deep breath, looking back up at Lightning with somber eyes. “But this is not the case anymore.” He said, watching Lightning closely.

“What's wrong?” Lightning asked.

The Grand Ruler shook his head solemnly. “The seal on the Planet is weakening. I do not know if it is by his doing, or the ones who call him, “master,” but even as we speak I can feel it getting weaker. It is why I am in need of your help. It is why Unicornicopia is in need of your help Lightning. You may be the only one in this corner of the universe that can stop Titan from destroying the universe.”

The Grand Ruler seemed to be serious. He almost looked like he was about to cry, and was trying his best to keep himself together. Lightning looked around, keeping his calm as best as he could before nodding. “Okay.” He said. “You can count on me.”

His answer seemed to brighten the Grand Ruler's face significantly as the bigger unicorn nearly leapt in the air. “Lightning my boy, you are doing the planet a great service. You may have very well saved Unicornicopia by your self with those words. And even before you ask, Krysta is allowed to come with you too.”

Lightning smiled even as the fairy crawled out from underneath the blanket. “Thank you your highness. I don't know if I could do this without her.” He said, watching as Krysta blushed.

“You two won't be alone though. There are other unicorns who have connections to the Uniforce, even though they don't know it yet.” The Grand Ruler said before taking a gentle, but serious look on his face. “Now, before I take my leave there are a few things that we need to address. First things first, we're going to have to find you a place in the Capital to live, along with something to do when you aren't learning from me. Then there is the matter of getting you to the Capital, as it would take a week's flight over there for a normal Unicorn. That isn't to say that you aren't normal Lightning, you are just as much unique as you are normal.”

Lightning smiled. “Well your highness if I may, I think I should decide about what I'm going to do when I get there.” He said, watching as the Grand Ruler nodded.

“Well said.” The Grand Ruler said, standing up and nodding in Lightning's direction. “Okay, now for your first assignment you need to get to the Rainbow Capital. Show the guards at the front Gates that you are my personal student thanks to that letter you have in your possession, and come to the Temporal Palace. I will be waiting for you there for your next set of instructions. Is that understood?” He asked.

“Yes your Highness.” Lightning answered, watching as the Grand Ruler waved his hand and made the chair he sat in disappear before opening the front door himself.

“Good.” The Grand Ruler Replied. “Well then I hope to see you at the Temporal Palace as soon as you can get there. Farewell until then Lightning Dawn. Farewell until then.” He said, disappearing behind the door. From the window Lightning could see the Grand Ruler walk a distance away from his home before disappearing in a flash of light conjured up by the unicorn guards that walked with him. Lightning then turned to Krysta. “We need to get ready to get over there.” Lightning said, watching the fairy nod.

“Right. Well let's not waste any time, come on we have a big week ahead of us!” She exclaimed.

----

Meanwhile out in space, far beyond the reaches of the Unicornicopian sun, there sat the remains of a dead world. A cloud of black smog covered the surface of the planet as several golden statues floated around the planet. These statues appeared to be heavily battered and beaten through time's advance, but it didn't appear that they would last much longer. The planet, who was under their protective spell, was once the great planet-nation of sages called Doric. The planet itself was once a great center of knowledge and learning, as the sages of the planet were the best of their race. But even now, the name of Doric was uttered only in whispers and fear.

The surface of Doric was covered in volcanic crags and craters, anything that once resembled the peace-loving planet was either long since destroyed or burned to the ground. Mighty trembles not shook the land as the planet was on the verge of collapse, and for good reason.

Doric was the prison of the most vile sorcerer in the universe, Titan. A vile monster with no remorse for his deeds, he was imprisoned on the planet which he once called home. The statues that now currently surrounded the dying world were the only thing that kept him on the planet's surface and kept him from spreading his evil.

The barrier that contained Titan had long since weakened, allowing minor parts of his power to slip by unnoticed. However, there was something else that sat just outside the barrier around the planet. A ship, taking on the appearance of a winged serpent, sat just outside the barrier around the planet and did not move.

Standing on the bridge of the ship, which was on the top of the serpent's head, stood an all black centaur. The centaur had no features to describe of, due to the blood red plate armor that he wore, but could see the state of Doric from the window itself. The centaur's red eyes narrowed before he cast his gaze on a creature that looked like a cross between an alligator and a goblin. “Scanning Officer, what's the status on the surface of Doric?” He asked, watching as the creature turned.

“The planet looks like it could implode at any time now.” It said. “There is no way to tell when exactly from the looks of these charts, but it could-

Stop your sniveling and get on to it worm.” The centaur snapped, glaring angrily at the creature. “How long do we have?”

“A-About t-t-two to three weeks General.” It said, cringing at the centaur.

The centaur scowled before glaring at one of the many statues that drifted by. “Ready another shot at that statue there.” He ordered. “I want all weapons targeting that statue.” More of the creatures rushed on by as his orders were rushing about, relaying his commands to the other areas of the ship and doing whatever they could to make themselves scarce.

With a great, “WHOOSH,” from behind the centaur, an elf with skin as pale as the moon and hair as black as her robes which were modeled after space itself stepped forward. “I see that you are planning another barrage against the Grand Ruler's barrier Relicourse.” The elf commented, staring at the darkened form of Doric from the right of the centaur.

“My dear Lady Coristia, why are you on the bridge?” Relicourse asked, casting a glance at the elf.

Coristia chuckled a little. “I am just here to witness another foolhardy attempt at destroying one of those Warding Statues. You've spent enough time with your toys, I believe that it is my turn to have a shot at releasing our master?” She asked, watching as Relicourse said nothing. “Of course should our master die because of our lack of initiative, then the blame will shift to you. How can you handle it?” She asked.

Relicourse turned to Coristia, watching as she walked calmly over to where the weapons officer sat. “What do you intend to do?” He asked, watching as the officer stepped back and let her sit down.

The elf's pale eyes began to glow with a black light as her hands danced over the touch screen. The sounds of plasma discharging from the main cannons could be heard from the outside of the ship as she worked, and as the centaur turned, he could only see the streaks of green energy slam into and effectively shatter a small piece of the now visible golden barrier that was around the planet. The elf then got up from the chair and turned to Relicourse. “Your attacks on the statues weakened them, but they couldn't have destroyed them. They are forged from ancient spells that cannot be broken by your weapons.”

“Well then how did you manage to do that?” Relicourse asked.

Coristia smiled wickedly. “Oh ye of little understanding.” She said, turning to see the planet from the front window. “It was like punching through a window of glass. You just needed to hit the correct point. And I would recommend that you take us in before we get noticed.” She explained, turning to leave. “After all, we did release one of the most feared beings in the known universe. And someone's bound to notice the change on Doric.” She said, watching Relicourse closely as he turned back to the window.

“Yes, you are right. Helmsman, take us to the surface.” He ordered as the ship began to head to the planet.

A few moments passed as the ship moved closer to the planet as ordered when a surge of dark energy erupted from the hole in the golden barrier that surrounded it. Coristia gasped, staring at the sight as the dark energy began to coalesce into a singular ball about the size of a small star. The ball of energy then began to approach rapidly at the ship, and seemed to grow larger in the passing seconds. “What is that thing?” Relicourse asked, listening as Coristia stepped forward and began to bow low.

Before anyone could answer, the ball of energy passed through the window and stopped in the middle of the bridge. It was at least ten feet tall and seemed to suck out all of the light from the room. As it hovered there, no one dared to make a move or a sound until the sphere began to slowly change shape. The sphere changed into the shape of a very muscular humanoid that appeared to be clothed in black robes. It also wore a black breastplate with red trim and enormously large spiked pauldrons that covered his massive shoulders. A necklace that carried an all black orb dangled from the being's neck as a staff that appeared to be made from a wyvern's stinger appeared in his hands. A pair of all blood red eyes observed the bridge of the vessel before a flash of dark energy forced everyone on board except for Coristia to bow before him. “I... AM... FREE!” The being roared as a smaller bolt of energy left one of his hands and entered his staff.

“My lord Titan, It is an honor to finally be under your servitude again.” Coristia confessed, her head low to the ground.

The being known as Titan turned to the elf and raised a free hand. The energy that was keeping her in her kneeling position was released, allowing her to stand. “An honor with which you most assuredly owe me lich. You must have been the one to release me from that prison correct?”

“Yes my lord. Though I could not have done it without assistance.” Coristia answered, motioning towards Relicourse. “Your most loyal General was essential in freeing you.”

Relicourse winced a little as the energy that was binding him to the ground was now released on him as well. The centaur stood up and gave a curt nod towards Titan. “What the lich says is true my lord. Though I was able to weaken the barrier, it was she that ultimately opened the way to your freedom.”

Titan gave a nod before looking around the bridge. “I see that Callenfir is not here. Where is he?” He asked, watching as Relicourse nodded.

“Callenfir is currently on the planet of Unicornicopia and is keeping tabs on the surface until we return.” Relicourse answered, watching as Titan began to flex his hands.

“I see.” Titan said, taking an uneasy step. “I do believe that it is time for a visit to that vile planet. After all, it was their leader who so foolishly imprisoned me on my own home world.” He snarled.

“My lord, might I suggest that we stop at another world first?” Coristia asked. “Your powers are still weak and-

I am not without my powers Lich.” Titan snapped. “I will have enough strength to make the journey and destroy that pathetic Grand Ruler and then All of Unicornicopia all at once! Is that clear?” He asked, watching as Relicourse and Coristia bowed before him.

“Understood my Lord.” Relicourse replied. “Helmsman, plot a course to Unicornicopia. By the will of our master Titan!” He said, watching as the black robed humanoid took a seat on a throne behind him made out of bones.

“First Unicornicopia, and then THE UNIVERSE!” Titan Roared as the ship left Doric's orbit.

----

It had been a couple of weeks since Lightning and Krysta had left Whitefall Peak. Their journey to the capital city of Unicornicopia was not an easy one, with them not having enough money to take the train they had to walk to the Capital by themselves.

The Rainbow Capital sat amidst the Emerald Plains, a vast sea of grasslands in the center of Unicornicopia. Though there were many towns and cities along the way, none of them compared to the sight of the Capital. A massive, bright white wall towered in the center of the city which led to a majestic palace that Lightning could only assume was the Temporal Palace. The streets were all paved in a sort of stone that seemed to shift to and from all of the colors of the rainbow. The houses that were all around the outside of the central wall appeared to be all made of pure white marble which shone with the brightness of Unicornicopia's own sun. The houses that were close to where Lightning and Krysta stood were much larger than their own, and were a lot cleaner than what they were used to living in.

“So this is the Rainbow Capital huh?” Lightning asked, looking around on the side of the main road that led into the capital. He could see a constant flow of traffic coming from the main gates of the city, ranging from elves and goblins and orcs to unicorns of all sorts of sizes. Lightning was staring in awe at the sheer volume of the number of people that went in and out of the capital everyday and couldn't help but be amazed.

“Wow. This place is huge!” Krysta exclaimed, staring at the sights from her place under Lightning's cloak. “How are we going to get to the palace?” She asked, looking up at the unicorn.

Lightning shrugged. “We won't be able to by just sitting around here now, will we?” He asked, watching as Krysta shook her head. He smiled, adjusting the pack that was on his back before beginning the trek to the palace.

It didn't take the pair long to get lost. Lightning had tried to ask for directions from some of the local citizens in the area, and got nowhere. He was nearly shaken down by a couple of guards after attempting to ask them, they thought he had a weapon underneath his cloak and came close to attacking him, and had fled after they were let go.

“Man, people sure aren't friendly here.” Krysta commented quietly, as Lightning sat down on a bench some time later. “You'd think that we were treated as some common criminal or something!” She snapped as Lightning continued to try and catch his breath.

“You... Can... Say... That again.” Lightning said, taking a deep breath and wiping the sweat from his brow. He stopped though and began looking around, feeling as though he was being watched.

“Lightning, what's wrong?” Krysta asked.

“Somebody's watching us.” Lightning answered, continuing to look around. He turned around, nearly jumping from out of his seat as a very grimy-looking dark green unicorn with a brown mane and tail with a very veiny looking red t-shirt and brown pair of shorts appeared behind him. His wings appeared to be made from the leaves of extremely healthy trees, as most of his feathers took on more of an emerald hue. In his hands was a potted plant, a bright red rose that appeared to have bloomed just recently, and a small watering can.

Silence took the initiative as no one said a word, or made a move. The strange looking unicorn made the first move by setting the rose and the watering can down before smiling. “Hi, I'm Buddy Rose!” He said, extending his hand out to Lightning.

“Uh... Hi?” Lightning said, giving the unicorn an awkward glance. “I'm Lightning Dawn.” He said, continuing to look suspiciously at the unicorn.

“It's called a handshake.” Buddy Rose explained. “You know, something one does when they meet someone new for the first time?” Lightning still remained unconvinced. “I'm not going to hurt you silly.” He said, watching as Lightning nervously extended his hand. After shaking it once Lightning quickly withdrew it and watched Buddy Rose nervously. “You... Aren't from around here are you?” Buddy Rose asked, watching as Lightning shook his head.

“I just got into town today, and I think I'm lost.” Lightning answered, watching Buddy Rose smile a little.

“Well if your lost, maybe I can help you.” Buddy Rose offered, watching Lightning's face brighten.

“Well I was wondering if you knew how to get to the Temporal Palace.” Lightning said, watching Buddy Rose step back.

“You're going to the Temporal Palace?” He asked, watching Lightning nod nervously. “Oh man, how I wanted to go there at least once! You have no idea how lucky you are!” He stopped before giving Lightning a quizzical look. “Why do you want to go there? Only royalty and nobles are allowed even a temporary peek inside.” He asked.

“What's with the twenty questions?” Krysta snapped from her spot on the bench. Buddy Rose looked down on the fairy and did a double-take.

“Krysta, that was rude!” Lightning snapped, before turning to Buddy Rose who appeared to have a hard time dealing with seeing Krysta. “But she does have a point. Why do you want to know?”

Buddy remained silent before mouthing, “She's a real fairy?” At Lightning. Lightning nodded, watching as Buddy rubbed his eyes for a second and shook his head. “I just wanted to know, only because of what's going on down here.” Buddy answered.

“What is going on down here?” Lightning asked.

Buddy Rose took a deep breath which seemed to calm him down. “In case if you haven't noticed, you're standing in the poorest district of town. It's a place where those that aren't really cut out for living in some of the smaller cities in the nation can go to actually try to move up in this world. But it doesn't work out that way.” Lightning and Krysta shared a grim look before Buddy continued. “I came here from a small settlement known as Redwood Pines. It was a nice place for one to raise a family, and get started in living with their life. I really don't know why I moved to the city, if you couldn't tell already I'm a gardener and plants can't really grow here. However, I felt like something was calling me here, something that wanted me to be here but I haven't figured out what it is yet.”

“Why are you here?” Lightning asked.

Buddy shrugged. “Well, I'm here to brighten the lives of those that live here.” He answered. “I grow flowers and plants like this rose here to brighten the city, and I hope that the whole rest of the world can see that we aren't different from the higher classes of society. I heard that the Temporal Palace has access to the best garden on this planet, and I hope that one day I get to help take care of it.” Buddy Rose smiled, even as Krysta flew up to the daydreaming unicorn's face.

“Well, I don't mean to sound rude Mr. Rose, but we still need to know how to get to the Temporal Palace.” Krysta said, causing Buddy Rose to snap out of his daydream. “You know how to get there right?” She asked.

“Oh yeah, of course I do.” Buddy Rose said, watching both Lightning and Krysta's faces brighten up. “Right now we're in the Lower District of the city. Essentially it's the biggest part of the city as it surrounds the whole Middle and Upper Districts.” He explained, his horn brightening a little with a green light as a map appeared from out of nowhere. “I would help you get there myself, but this rose needs to be re-potted. So, here's a Map of the city. I wouldn't suggest that you take the main road because of the traffic, but if you take Ocean street all the way up to the western gate you can get there in less time than if you went to the front gate.”

Lightning looked over the map after taking it from Buddy's magic and studying it. From the map, the city looked just like a giant circle with three more circles inside it with lines that were labeled as streets extending out from the center of the map like a spiderweb. He could see the western gate that Buddy mentioned on the map and saw that Ocean Street was not only clearly labeled on the map, but was also not that far away from where they were, before smiling in Buddy Rose's direction. “Thanks, this will help a lot.” Lightning said.

“Don't mention it. Now, I'll see you guys around I guess?” Buddy Rose replied, watching Lightning and Krysta nod. “Okay, I'll see you later then!” He said, picking up the watering can and the potted rose before leaving Lightning and Krysta alone.

“He seemed like a nice guy.” Krysta commented, watching as Lightning nodded.

“Yeah, but we need to get going. I bet the Grand Ruler is expecting us.” Lightning said, picking up his stuff and heading towards Ocean Street.

Lightning and Krysta arrived at Ocean Street a couple of minutes later thanks to Buddy Rose's map. The street itself cut past a well kept park that was filled with children of all types playing and enjoying each others company on the bright and sunny day that was being provided. Lightning smiled, turning and continuing to head towards the western gate until, “Lightning look out!” Another Unicorn walked right into him. There was a loud crunching sound as Lightning got up, and gulped nervously as the shattered remains of a clay statue rested underneath his hoof.

“Oh, no...” The unicorn that had walked into him moaned, staring at the remnants of the destroyed statue. “That was supposed to be a statuette of the Grand Ruler, made to be displayed at the Memorial Reflection Art Gallery this afternoon...”

Lightning slid back staring at the now horribly distraught dark blue unicorn, before sweeping up the pieces. “Here, maybe we can fix it?” Lightning asked.

“Fix... It?” The dark blue unicorn repeated, as though it were a disgusting swear word. The all white button down shirt he wore appeared to have already dried clay on some spots that slowly baked as his anger began to rise. The feathers from his wings appeared to be significantly ruffled as his anger rose. The jeans that the unicorn wore began to rip and tear a little as those that witnessed the accident began to back away slowly. The unicorn's white mane and tail began to whip about wildly on their own accord, as he slowly rose before giving Lightning a death-glare. “Oh... There won't be any fixing it now... Especially after I'm finished with YOU!” He roared, leaping at Lightning.

Lightning leapt back, only to see the crazed unicorn lunge at him. Lightning leapt away from the unicorn a second time, tripping on the sidewalk as he did so, and fell to the ground again. Just when Lightning thought he was about to be done in by an insane unicorn, there was a loud, “STOP!,” which caused the unicorn to freeze in mid-leap.

Krysta was fluttering in between both unicorns, holding her hands out to her sides and acting as a shield in between both Lightning and the unicorn. “Look, Lightning is very sorry that he destroyed your statue and even though we can't pay for it we will be willing to help pay you back some how. Isn't that right Lightning?” She asked, watching as Lightning nodded.

“By the Grand Ruler... A fairy! Inspired! Oh this gives me a wonderful Idea!” The unicorn said, the rage from earlier almost completely disappearing. “My dear, forgive me for my past actions and allow me to introduce myself. My name is Drawn Out, and I would be ever so honored as to painting your portrait.” He said, taking both Lightning and Krysta by surprise.

“You want,

To paint my portrait?” Krysta and Lightning both asked at the same time.

The unicorn nodded. “Yes, well of course I do!” He said. “It would mean the world to me if I could Miss-

Krysta. My name is Krysta.” She said, watching as Drawn Out nodded. “And if it will make up for the statue, then of course you can!”

“Oh, that old thing? It's no problem at all. I don't even know what I was thinking in taking that to the Art Gallery.” He said, smiling as he rushed past Lightning and grabbed an art bag that he appeared to have been carrying. “No, this... This will be my masterpiece. If you two would just follow me please. And let's hurry, I don't want to be late.” He said, scooping Krysta into his arms and taking her into the park with Lightning following close behind.

“Uh, come on you guys wait up!” Lightning shouted after them.

After picking the perfect spot, a decently sized maple tree right next to a small pond in the farthest corner of the park and picking the perfect pose for Krysta, Drawn Out began to paint.

And paint.

Every now and then the artist would look up at Krysta and give her pose a hard look before continuing to work on the canvas, until finally-

“Done. I have done it!” Drawn Out exclaimed. Lightning and Krysta looked over his shoulder and gasped seeing that the shades and hues of the entire scene, Krysta was sitting on a smooth pebble with her feet dipped in the water and looking out into the sky, appeared to be the real thing.

“Oh wow! That's amazing Drawn Out!” Krysta exclaimed.

“Huh. I have to say, that's the best painting that I've ever seen sir.” Lightning commented, watching Drawn Out nod.

“It is good isn't it?” Drawn Out said, feeling contented. “But I know that I can do better. It is what artists strive for all over the world isn't it?” He turned, smiling at Lightning and Krysta. “The both of you, who are you? And where are you from?” He asked.

Krysta and Lightning both shared a glance before Lightning began to speak. “My name is Lightning Dawn, and this is Krysta. We're both from Whitefall Peak.” He answered, watching as the unicorn nodded.

“I see, we don't get many visitors from Whitefall Peak... Why are you two here?” He asked curiously.

“Well, we were summoned here by the Grand Ruler and are on our way to-

You were summoned by the Grand Ruler?” Drawn Out said incredulously. “Why, that is the greatest of honors! You don't know how lucky you two are! Oh, if only I were in your shoes right now... I envy the both of you.”

“Why is that?” Krysta asked.

“Well, It's because the Grand Ruler is the only one who can knight a Unicornicopian. And it's been my dream ever since I was small to be a knight, just like my father.” Drawn Out replied.

“Your father was a knight?” Lightning asked, watching as Drawn Out nodded.

“Yes, my father was a knight during the times of the Black Tyrant Gorgolith and helped launch a campaign that would release the metallic unicorns from their bonds of slavery. If only he could see me now...” Drawn Out replied.

“Well if you want to be a knight, why are you an artist?” Krysta asked. Drawn Out chuckled a little.

“Well my dear, I find that being an artist will help me in achieving that goal. Not all knights are all about slaying the dragon and saving the princess you know.” He said, watching the fairy nod. He then took a look at his watch and nodded. “Well I must be off. I still have a gallery to get to and everything. I shall hope to see the both of you around?” He said, waiting on Lightning and Krysta.

“Yeah. We'll be around.” Lightning replied.

“Of course we will. But what about your painting? Won't it be ruined?” Krysta asked as Drawn Out picked up the canvas.

“Not if your paint is enchanted to dry instantly when touching the canvas.” Drawn Out replied. “I'll be off now. You two stay out of trouble now, okay?” He asked, watching as both Lightning and Krysta nodded. Drawn Out then smiled before leaving the two alone.

“I think that we need to get moving too.” Lightning uttered, watching Krysta nod before flying underneath his cloak. He stopped to observe the scenery one last time before heading towards the western gate of the city.

After dealing with the guards, who weren't surprisingly suspicious of Lightning's claim's that he was trying to get to the Temporal Palace until he showed the papers that were in the envelope that he had received from the envelope the Grand Ruler sent him, Lightning found himself in what was apparently the Middle District of the Rainbow City. The homes and businesses appeared to have a more natural look, the marble and stone that they were made from was complimented by the wooden timbers that was chosen to make them look a little more extravagant and homey than those houses of the Lower District.

Primarily there were more unicorns in this section of the city than the Lower district, but there were some elves, even an orc or two, but the entire section was dominated by the unicorns.

Lightning had to be stopped by several approaching guards several times as he headed closer to the Temporal Palace. After showing them the invitation from the Grand Ruler, they eventually made it to the front gates of the Upper District. It was there at the Upper District front gates that things seemed to take on a drastic change. While there weren't really any gates that led directly into the city, and that the gates that led into the Middle District were made out of heavy oak, the gates that led to the Upper District appeared to be made of either silver or platinum.

Lightning felt a little bit disgusted, but stopped as a commotion was brewing right in front of the gates. There, a bright pink unicorn with a green mane and tail wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and jeans, was shouting at one of the guards at the front door.

“Whaddya mean that I'm not allowed to enter? I Belong in there! I was born in the Upper District!” The unicorn shouted.

“I'm sorry sir, but you don't have the proper identification to move on. Unless your parents come to pick you up, you'll just have to wait here.” A stony-faced Unicorn guard wearing golden armor reported.

Lightning stepped forward and coughed a little. “Uh... Excuse me, but I'd like to get through the gate please.” Lightning said, holding up the papers that he was given to the guard. The guard took them with his magic and scanned through them quickly.

“Hey! What Gives?” The unicorn asked angrily, glaring at the guard. “I was here first!” He snapped, watching as the papers were passed back to Lightning.

“Everything's okay Lightning Dawn. We'll open the gate for you.” He said, clicking the butt of his spear into the ground. Lightning coughed a little which seemed to get the guard's attention. “Is there something wrong citizen?” He asked, watching Lightning nod.

“Yes, well is It all right if I take this guy with me through the other side?” He asked, watching from out of the corner of his eye as the unicorn glared at him. “I mean, would it matter if he passed through the door with me and headed home on the other side?”

The guard shook his head. “Unfortunately I can't allow that sir. Though there is some way we can... Come to an agreement?” He said, extending a hand out to Lightning discreetly. Lightning searched his person for a few seconds before finding the left over coins that he had from his last job and passed it to the guard.

“Will this be enough?” Lightning asked, watching as the guard nodded, stuffing the coins underneath the counter.

“Yes actually, that will be enough. You lucked out today Ottavo. I just hope that your new friend here will be there whenever you lose your identification again.” He said, giving a smug smirk as Lightning led the pink unicorn away and through the gates. As soon as they were on the other side and the gates shut, Lightning felt the unicorn's hand smack the back of his head.

“Hey! What was that for?” Lightning snapped.

“I could have gotten through myself.” The unicorn countered, glaring at Lightning. “If the guy wasn't going to let me through, I would have just flown over. And before you ask, yes I know that there's a magical barrier over the top of the city walls.” He snapped, his wings spreading wide and beating proudly once before settling down. The unicorn was beginning to get on Lightning's nerves before looking him over. “Who are you anyways?”

“You first kid, you owe me.” Lightning countered, glaring down at the unicorn.

The pink unicorn smiled before looking back at Lightning. “So you want to play it that way huh? That's not too shabby for a newcomer here into the city.” He then tossed some of his mane out of his face before grinning. “The name's Ottavo. Ottavo Rima. And I'm going to be the world's best poet ever!”

Lightning blinked at Ottavo's proclamation. “Ottavo... Rima? What is that, Orc or something?” He asked, watching as Ottavo shook his head.

“Heh, you don't know old languages from the universe when you see them do you?” Ottavo asked. “It means eighth rhyme, as in a style of poetry that has eight lines in it?” He asked, watching as Lightning shook his head.

“Sorry, but I'm not into the complex poetry rules.” Lightning apologized.

Ottavo's smile shrank for a moment. “Oh, it's good. It's just what I do. Something I'm good at, besides doing my own stunts of course.” He bragged.

“You do your own stunts?” Lightning asked, watching Ottavo nod.

“Yeah, it's what I do to think for my poetry. Like last month, I got shot out of a cannon and came up with an entire book of poetry. Didn't publish it though, only because it was complete crap.” He paused. “That and I nearly vomited on it with the hospital food that I had while in the emergency room.”

Lightning stared dumbfounded at Ottavo as the unicorn turned to walk away. “Hey, you're pretty cool Lightning. Though, I have to say next time don't give the guards so much. I'll see you around.” He said, walking away.

Krysta crawled up from the cloak and watched Ottavo disappear from sight. “Lightning, who was that?” She asked.

“A poet... That apparently shoots himself from cannons.” Lightning replied quietly, walking down the path ahead of him.

The Upper District of the Capital put the Upper District back in Whitefall Peak to shame. The streets leading up to the mansions were paved in gold, and in some places Lightning couldn't even see the mansions themselves. Some of them even looked more like small castles than anything else, and had towering spires and more windows than anyone could count.

Then there was the tower in the center of it all. Lightning looked up and saw the all-white structure tower over him, leading up to the underbelly of the castle above. He could feel the magic generated from the building, and almost tripped at the front gates as he continued to stare at the palace above. The guards at the gate eyed him curiously as he approached, and moved their spears to block Lightning's path to the Gate.

“HALT! No one is allowed in the Temporal Palace except the Grand Ruler and his personal guests. State your business.” One of the guards ordered.

“My name is Lightning Dawn, and I am the personal student to the Grand Ruler.” Lightning answered. “My companion Krysta and I have come a long way, and have these papers that were sent to us from the Grand Ruler himself.” He said, passing the pages of paper to both guards.

They both nodded, before walking over to the front gate and opening it. “There are two for transport. Prepare to receive.” The other guard said into a small microphone that was built into the wall. A bright light appeared on the surface of the wall and caused it to turn into a doorway which revealed a smaller, raised platform.

“Mind your manners in the Temporal Palace. One wrong move and you will be seein' the business end of this. Is that clear?” One of the guards asked, flashing the broad bladed end of his spear and watching Lightning nod. “Good, now you may enter the Temporal Palace.”

Lightning dusted himself off and helped Krysta out of his cloak, surprising the guards, before stepping onto the platform. He shielded his eyes as a blinding flash of white light consumed everything that he saw, until it died away moments later. Lightning found himself standing on a platform in the middle of a large lake that was surrounded on all sides by brilliantly white walls. He blinked nervously, watching as lily pads floated in the middle of the lake as fish and frogs swam around in it.

Lightning stepped forward, walking down the path that was laid out for him until he came across a magnificent entrance hall. He could see a set of large oaken doors sitting at the base of brilliantly polished steps as they split off into two separate hallways. Lightning could see the Unicornicopian banner, a symbol of two infinity signs at an angle that stood against a peculiarly shaped star-like object in the background, hanging from flag poles and all sorts of devices that decorated the room. The symbol was even on the door as Lightning approached it.

Lightning looked around, wondering what he was supposed to do, before knocking on it gently. He heard the knock echo throughout the chamber before waiting patiently for a response. A gentle, “Enter please,” boomed from the other side of the door, which took Lightning by surprise, before he opened the door all the way. The unicorn stepped forward, unsure of what to expect next, before closing the door behind him.

The throne room that was laid out before Lightning was huge. The setting sun shone through the windows that lined what was in essence an extremely long corridor, and at the end sat the Grand Ruler wearing a set of royal blue robes as his mane and tail began to shift from yellow to orange as Lightning approached.

“Ah, Lightning Dawn. It is good to see you again. I trust that you found your way okay?” The Grand Ruler asked.

“Yes your highness. Though I had a little help from someone when I got here.” Lightning answered, watching as the Grand Ruler smiled.

“I see... Well now Lightning, now that you know a little about the Rainbow Capital I would like your input. How does she look from the eyes of someone new?” The Grand Ruler asked.

“Well... The people here are different, they're nice and very helpful, but it seems like nothing's really changed on the outside. What I mean is that it feels like Whitefall Peak on the outside sir.” Lightning answered.

This caused the Grand Ruler to raise an eyebrow. “And what does it feel like on the inside Lightning?” He asked.

The unicorn took a deep breath before smiling. “It feels like I'm at home.” He answered, watching the Grand Ruler nod.

“Well then, you did a fine job in getting here then. I have the address to where you will be staying for your time here, should you wish to leave afterwords though I hope it won't be the case, and you might be surprised at who you meet there. Our lessons will start tomorrow, so get plenty of rest and meet me in the Middle District where we will begin okay?” The Grand Ruler asked, watching Lightning nod.

“Yes your highness.” Lightning replied, bowing to the Grand Ruler before turning to go.

“Oh and Lightning, I am glad that you're finally here.” The Grand Ruler said, watching as Lightning smiled.

“I am too your Highness.” Lightning replied before leaving the throne room.

Lightning found the address of the new house that he would be staying at in the Middle District of the city. It wasn't too bad of a house, smaller than some on the block and almost all black from the paint to the shingles on the roof, but it was actually better than what Lightning and Krysta used to call home. As Lightning approached the building, he could see that there was some movement on the inside even though the lights were off. Quietly he looked down at Krysta. “If there's trouble, get outta here.” Lightning said calmly.

“Right.” Krysta replied, tensing up as Lightning walked up to the front door and unlocked it with the key he had. After stepping across the threshold, he was met with a loud, “SURPRISE!,” which nearly sent him back outside. At least twenty to thirty unicorns appeared in his field of vision when the lights of the living room were flipped on with Buddy Rose, Drawn Out, Ottavo Rima, and a pale white unicorn with a pale yellow mane and tail with wings that seemed to glow with a pale light that wore a dark blue skirt and a white t-shirt stood to greet them both.

“W-What is this?” Lightning asked as he was ushered inside.

“Oh it's nothing, just a little get together that Buddy created to get the neighborhood to know you and Krysta better.” Drawn Out replied as Lightning and Krysta were ushered into the main room.

“Heh, I couldn't have done it without your help Drawn Out.” Buddy replied. “I mean, we did do this together, didn't we?”

“Hey, what about me and Moonbeam here? We helped out too!” Ottavo snapped, pointing at the pale white unicorn behind him.

“No... It's fine. If Lightning feels welcome, then I'm glad that I could help...” Moonbeam said softly, causing Drawn Out to turn to Lightning.

“Oh, it seems that you two haven't met yet. Lightning, this is Moonbeam Mist. Moonbeam Mist, this is Lightning Dawn.” Drawn Out said, letting the two unicorns shake hands.

“It's nice to meet you Moonbeam.” Lightning said with a smile. Wow she's cold.

“Likewise.” Moonbeam replied quietly.

Lightning stared quietly at Moonbeam for a few moments before letting go of her hand and taking a few steps back. The unicorn turned and walked away from him, leaving Lightning alone with Buddy Rose and Drawn Out. "Was it something I said?" Lightning asked.

"Nah, don't worry about her Lightning." Drawn Out replied.

"Yeah, she's just now waking up. Moonbeam's kind of an odd one." Buddy Rose explained.

"Odd in what way?" Lightning asked.

"Well, she's more of a, "Nocturnal Type," as it were." Drawn Out explained. "She's adjusted her internal clock and her sleep schedule so far that there really isn't any other time that you would see her."

"Plus she doesn't really talk too much. That's actually the most I've heard her say to someone else that wasn't the Night Watch or the members of the Astrology association." Buddy Rose added, watching as Moonbeam stepped outside with a small glass of water with her.

"Why is that?" Lightning asked.

"Well, the word is that Moonbeam-" Drawn Out looked back to the pale white unicorn before turning back to Lightning. "The word is that Moonbeam isn't really social. Even though she's a member of the Astrology Association, she doesn't really talk to the other members.much, and has this crazy theory that all of the stars in space are actually created by another unicorn."

"Maybe the unicorn is extremely gifted with magic?" Lightning pondered aloud, getting looks from both Buddy Rose and Drawn Out.

"Lightning, I don't think that you understand." Drawn Out said gently. "Magic isn't capable of creating something in that magnitude. Even the Grand Ruler himself couldn't make the stars with his magic, and he created Unicornicopia."

Lightning only nodded simply, looking out on the back patio as Moonbeam was gazing through a telescope with a book nearby.

"HEY! What're ya old fogey's sitting around here for? This is a party!" Ottavo snapped from the crowd of party-goers as they began to dance. "Get on over here and let's rock this thing!" He shouted excitedly, causing Drawn Out and Buddy Rose to shrug before taking Lightning into the middle it.

Lightning found that he was good at a particular set of dance moves after removing his cloak and joining with everyone else. The moves in question, which made them all look like they were about to lasso in something like cowponies along with riding another object, was very energetic and caused the unicorn to get worn out really fast. He quickly excused himself, saying that he needed a break and left the crowd. Calmly he headed for the only place that his friend Krysta could be.

Lightning found the fairy sitting alone at the small snack table with a smile on her face. “Hey, what are you doing here?” Lightning asked.

“Well, just hanging around. I've never even felt so welcome before. Besides being with you of course.” Krysta replied.

“Well I guess that it's something that we had better start getting used to. Especially if we're going to be living here from now on.” Lightning said, watching Krysta nod. “Now let's party!” He said, taking the fairy out into the dance floor.

Some time later, everyone was nearly worn out as the party was winding down on it's last legs. The number of remaining unicorns had dwindled down to at least ten to twenty including Lightning and the hosts of the party, but Lightning was standing outside at the moment with Moonbeam.

“So I hear that you like the night sky.” Lightning said, watching the pale unicorn nod.

“Yes. I heard that there was a being like us who makes it so beautifully every night, whenever night falls on different worlds. I would love to meet her one day, just so I could let her know that her work is appreciated.” Moonbeam replied.

“How do you know it's a female behind this work of art?” Lightning asked, watching as Moonbeam closed her eyes and smiled, cupping her hands as through she were praying.

“I have a feeling. That's all I need for proof.” She said, opening her eyes and looking to he heavens above them. She stopped and gasped however as something appeared to be moving across the sky.

“Moonbeam, what's wrong?” Lightning asked.

“There isn't supposed to be an all black comet shooting so close to our atmosphere.” She said, watching as the all black streak had turned direction and began to get bigger. “It's coming right for us!” She snapped, taking several steps back.

“What do you mean? It's no where near us.” Lightning scoffed a little, watching as the black streak got even bigger as they spoke. “Okay, so maybe it's getting a little closer, why would it do that?”

Moonbeam shook her head. “I don't know, but it is something that doesn't bode well for us.” She said.

However, right when Moonbeam finished her sentence, the black streak got close enough for them to see through a telescope that she summoned with her horn. The unicorn gasped as she looked through it, taking several steps back. “It can't be...” She whispered.

“What is it?” Lightning asked, walking over to the telescope and giving it a look. He nearly jumped at what he saw. The yellow unicorn looked up, gasping at the sight of a mechanical flying King Cobra with dragonic wings approaching rapidly to the surface of the planet. The Cobra fired several blasts of energy, which struck the dome before an all black ball of energy pierced through it and landed in front of Moonbeam and Lightning with a loud explosion. Krysta and the other unicorns rushed out to see what was going on only to shriek in terror at the sight. Of the impact.

A humanoid creature, donning an all black robe and a breastplate with a blood red trim and spiked pauldrons, stood tall from within the crater. He carried a staff with him that appeared to be made from a wyvern's tail which had blades that appeared to be made from a hydra's fangs. An all black orb hung from a necklace around his neck as blood red eyes scanned the small crowd. With a Booming And powerful voice he shouted, “TITAN. HAS. RETURNED!”

-end of chapter 1-

Chapter 2: Episode 2 Part 1: The Return of Darkness Part 2

View Online

My Little Unicorn: Magic is Believing Redo

Rewrite By: Raising Shadows

Author's Notes: Well. Here we are with the second chapter. No turning back now. I'm in this thing for the long haul. As I have stated before, I do not own any of either the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or My Little Unicorn: Magic is Believing fictional works and I don't intend to. This is my take on a crappy story that I thought needed to be changed and worked on to be made better. Thanks for reading and on with the fic!

----

Episode 2: The Return of Darkness Part 2

“TITAN. HAS. RETURNED!”

Those three words seemed to silence the entire world, even as the robed humanoid scanned the crowd with his menacing red eyes. The sound of his voice seemed to wake the neighborhood from its slumber, as more and more unicorns and other citizens began to come from out of their homes to see what all the fuss was about.

“Uh... Did that guy just say what I think he said?” Someone asked from the crowd.

“There's no way that he's here.” Another voice commented.

“This guy's a fake!”

“There's no way that-

SILENCE!” The humanoid snapped, striking the ground with the butt of his staff with such a force that it caused a shock wave which knocked the Unicornicopians to the ground. “You are all fools to believe that your precious Grand Ruler's seal on my home planet would hold out forever. My will is absolute, and cannot be crushed by your ruler's foolish notions of justice.”

“Hey, No one talks about the Grand Ruler that way and gets away with it!” One of the first unicorns on their hooves snapped, glaring at Titan. Several others nodded in agreement before leaping into the air at the sorcerer.

“Hah, you think that you can honor your pathetic ruler? Fine, come at me fools.” Titan snapped, watching as the lead unicorn, a light blue one with a brighter blue mane and tail concentrated as his horn flared up with magic. After a few seconds his entire body was covered in a liquid-like armor that surrounded almost all of his entire body. Titan didn't blink, nor did he move as the other unicorns that followed him changed into suits of armor of their own as they closed the distance.

“You're gonna rue the day that you insulted the Grand Ruler!” The lead unicorn snapped, reeling his right fist back as a ball of water began to form. He then punched the ball, it turning into a huge cylindrical wave that washed over Titan. The other unicorns followed suit as they launched orbs of magical energy in a small plethora of colors which collided into the swirling aquatic vortex before exploding in a flash of bright light. As the display of magic from the attacking unicorns ended, it appeared to where Titan stood was only a cloud of smoke.

That was too easy. Lightning thought, getting to his hooves at the same time that everyone else did. The unicorns that went in for the initial attack calmed themselves down, looking confident that the threat had been neutralized. One even kissed the lead unicorn on the cheek, causing him to go bright red for a moment before smiling goofily.

“You do realize that this isn't over right?” Buddy Rose whispered in Lightning's ear from behind him. “If that guy was really Titan, then he's probably got something up his sleeve.”

Lightning nodded. “Yeah, we need to be ready for anything.” He said.

No sooner than when the attacking unicorns started celebrating, did a cold and heartless laugh bellow from the smoke cloud. It started low, barely loud enough for anyone that wasn't within a foot of the cloud to hear, and then it grew into a sort of demonic wail. As the laughing continued the unicorns both in their armor and closest to the house all tensed up and attempted to prepare themselves for anything.

Just then, a wave of unbelievably black energy came from the cloud of smoke and slammed into the attackers, knocking them out of their armor and onto the ground with a set of heavy thuds. Several unicorns in the group in front of the house immediately cast spells that would generate a barrier as the wave slammed into their position before dissipating as quickly as it came.

“No way...” The lead unicorn gasped. “We hit you with our best attacks...”

The cloud of smoke finally faded away, revealing Titan to be completely uninjured from the combined assault of the Unicornicopians. “Pathetic.” He scoffed. “You think that display would harm me? I am a master sorcerer who wields the very Essence of Darkness itself! What you called an attack was merely child's play.” He then raised a hand of his own, as the orb that hung from his neck began to glow and radiate with a black light. The unicorns all struggled to get up to defend themselves, but were too late as beams of dark energy surged from the orb and enveloped their bodies before causing them to disappear before shooting back to the orb. Their cries for help were silenced as the orb stopped glowing, only now containing a mist-like fog that swirled around inside like a storm. “Yessssss... Give me more... Give me more!” He moaned, his body beginning to radiate with a dull purple light.

Lightning stepped forward, glaring at Titan. “What did you do to them?” He snapped.

The dark wizard raised his staff as the orb around his neck began to glow again. “The same thing that I'm going to do to you and everyone else in this pathetic city! The Rainbow Capital shall fall and all will know the true name of Titan!” He bellowed, raising the staff higher into the air. The mechanical serpent that had remained stationary high above their heads roared to life as several beams of white-hot plasma shot out from its sides, striking and shattering a now visible golden barrier that once hung over the city. The serpent then began circling the skies, firing plasma bolts in seemingly random directions from the ground, causing the spectators to look on with horror. “Your threat is not with the beast in the sky, but with me!” He snapped, causing the unicorns to look back at him before getting blasted by a barrage of black lightning that erupted from his staff. The lightning cleared the distance between himself and the crowd that it didn't give the unicorns time to throw up another shield to block it.

A violent explosion knocked Lightning off of his hooves and into the living room of his new home. He heard a voice shriek, “LIGHTNING!” From above him, and weakly got into a sitting position. “Kry... Krysta?” He asked, seeing the fairy hover above his head.

“Yes Lightning, I'm here.” Krysta answered, fluttering down to the unicorn's face before turning around. “What's going on?”

Lightning, who was shaken from Titan's spell, unsteadily got to his hooves. “I don't know... But apparently Titan has returned.” He said, watching as several other unicorns got back up or helped others up as the sorcerer began laughing a second time.

“I'm glad that you are squirming like the vermin that you are, but it is now time to end this. Your magic, what it is was or will be, shall now be all mine!” Titan cried as his orb began to glow a second time. The orb around his neck then began to resonate with the staff that he carried as another wave of dark energy beams shot out from it and started picking out unicorns from the crowd. Those that weren't caught watched as some struggled, and some were being dragged, by the beams of energy to Titan. After they got a reasonably close distance to him, the beams of energy consumed their victims, their screams resounding throughout the night as they too were sucked into the black orb.

Lightning couldn't believe his eyes, watching as the dark smoke that was in Titan's orb now grew in density. Something snapped inside the unicorn that had never been released before, and without thinking he charged the sorcerer. Lightning had never run so fast in his life, but something deep inside him wanted to make him end Titan. Closer and closer the unicorn ran, until he leapt right at Titan with his left fist reeled back. It didn't even make halfway as Titan stabbed him in the left shoulder with the stinger from the wyvern's tail about halfway into his jump. Lightning let out a horrified scream, as a healthy spurt of blood escaped from his lips, before he was reeled back and launched back to the crowd of unicorns.

“FOOL! Did you really think that you could face me on your own?” Titan shouted, watching as Lightning bounced like a ball on the hard concrete patio before skidding to a stop. The sorcerer smiled as a puddle of blood began to form from the open wound even as several other unicorns tried treating his injury.

“What... What are you... What are you going to do with them?” Lightning asked, holding a hand to his open wound as he struggled to get back up.

“You should just stay down. It will mean your end all that much easier when your turn finally comes.” Titan scoffed, glaring at the struggling unicorn in front of him. “As for your question, I do not believe that you are in the position to be asking that. Especially when you are next!” He said, holding his staff up at Lightning and readying another shot. Before anyone had too much time to react, the spell was released as Titan took dead aim at Lightning.

“LOOK OUT!” A voice cried to Lightning's right. He turned, watching as Krysta flew as fast as she could before slamming into his body, moving it just enough to avoid an impact with the beam of magic before getting hit herself. The fairy struggled against the beam of magic for a few moments before she too was dragged and absorbed into the orb around Titan's neck.

“KRYSTA NO!” Lightning cried, listening to another howling laugh that came from Titan. He turned to face the sorcerer, rage and hatred in his eyes, as the staff charged up for another spell. Before it could be cast however, several bolts of golden energy streaked down from the heavens and struck near where Titan stood. The impact knocked the sorcerer back, sending him skidding heavily along the ground, before he came to rest at a clump of trees that were behind the house.

“WHO DARES STRIKE ME?” Titan roared, looking up from above and taking a step back.

Flying high above him, in all his regal majesty, was the Grand Ruler himself. Titan snarled as the Grand Ruler descended from his lofty perch in the air, flanked by several unicorn guards, and glared at the alicorn. The Grand Ruler's mane had taken a shade of vibrant red, which seemed to whip about violently like a solar storm. His attire was different too, instead of the black suit or royal blue robes that Lightning saw him wear when they first met he now wore a bright bronze breastplate that left his wings exposed. A skirt made from long metal plates went down to about his knees as his arms and legs were covered in guards of a matching color. Even the helmet that the Grand Ruler wore was intimidating as it concealed most of his face save for a slot that was made for the horn on his head and a piece cut out for him to look and breath in. “I thought I had sealed you away... You'll never learn.” The Grand Ruler snapped, glaring at Titan.

“Time hasn't been kind to you or your pathetic seal Celesto.” Titan countered darkly. “But that's what you get when the one who put you inside is a ruler of weaklings. A pathetic excuse of a defense, and a true chance at revenge.”

The Grand Ruler shook his head. “It doesn't have to be this way Titan.” He said, giving a stern look at the sorcerer from underneath his helmet. “Release all of the citizens that you have captured and return to your prison where you belong. I am only going to say this once.” The Grand Ruler's words sounded like they were full of hate and malice, almost like Titan's.

“Hah, try as you might you still believe that you can change me. Even after all of these years you still have that soft and weak heart that tries to see the good in a being.” Titan scoffed. “It's time that you met your end!” He roared, firing a blast of magical energy at the Grand Ruler. His blast was cut short from it's target by a golden barrier that blocked the attack. Furious, Titan unleashed several blasts of energy in an attempt to bring the Grand Ruler's barrier down.

“And that is where you are wrong Titan. Your destruction and tyranny over those who are weaker than you is your weakness.” The Grand Ruler countered, the barrier that had protected him faded for a split second as he raised his hand an fired a stream of white energy at Titan. Titan snarled, throwing up an all black barrier with his staff, but staggered backwards at the impact of the Grand Ruler's spell. The Grand Ruler kept up with his magic for several moments before shattering Titan's barrier, knocking the sorcerer backwards and through a tree.

As the stream of light died down, Titan staggered to a standing position and gave a death-glare at the Grand Ruler. Most of his left arm was missing, and the stump began leaking what appeared to be black oily blood. “An impressive hit Celesto... I didn't think that you would have the will to strike with such force...” Titan complimented, his breathing getting slightly shallow as his arm began to slowly reform. “But for now I shall withdraw. You may have won this field, but you will not be so lucky when I return!” He roared, raising his staff high into the air once again.

The serpent stopped its circling, coming to rest directly above Titan's location. A beam of dark energy descended from the belly of the serpent, landing on top of the ground in which he stood. Titan's gaze turned to the yellow unicorn that he had stabbed with his staff, as he struggled to walk over where the Grand Ruler was standing.

“Where do you think you're going?” Lightning asked, his body beginning to give out on him.

“Hmm... You have spirit boy. Too bad that it will all go to waste. Remember my name, as it was I who gave you to the emissary of death.” Titan declared, continuing to rise from the battlefield until he disappeared into the belly of the mechanical serpent. It fired one more shot of plasma at Lightning and the Grand Ruler, which was deflected by a barrier spell, before taking off into the night.

It was then, standing right next to the Grand Ruler, that Lightning could feel his body collapse. He felt faint, dropping to his knees before collapsing on the ground in front of the Grand Ruler and everyone else. Before he passed out he could hear the Grand Ruler shout at him, “Hold on Lightning!” Then everything went black.

----

“I hope that Lightning's okay.” Buddy commented, standing outside the healer's circle room that was in the only hospital that wasn't hit during Titan's attack. The hospital was as close to the Temporal Palace as one could get without being treated by the Grand Ruler's personal staff. The all white tile floors were positively sparkling as luminescent electrical torches flickered in the halls, giving the walls a pale and calming look. There were chairs that were lined against either side of the hall, which were mostly vacant save for Ottavo and Drawn Out, that sat next to a set of end tables which were covered with a stack of books.

“Are you kidding?” Ottavo asked. “These are the best healers on the planet, save for the ones who treat the Grand Ruler's injuries. Lightning's going to be fine.” He said reassuringly. “Trust me I know, I've been here a few times.”

“We know Ottavo, you've said that at least a thousand times.” Moonbeam said calmly. “I just don't understand why we couldn't have gone in there too.” She said.

Ottavo shook his head. “It's standard Healer's procedure. Only those who have a close enough magical signature can enter the circle with the one being treated. It prevents mana contamination, especially from those of different species that aren't related by blood.”

“You know your stuff.” Drawn Out commented. “How did you learn so much about the procedures anyways?” He asked.

“My mom and dad are both professional healers.” Ottavo answered. “While my dad isn't at the top of his game any more, and takes to seeing patients with minor injuries, my mother still works as a member of the Healer Circle Corps. She's one of the Elite Members, and guides the ways the spells are cast to treat standard injuries that on would see in there on a daily basis. Heh, she's even led a surgery spell on me once.”

“What happened?” Buddy asked, sounding concerned.

Ottavo shrugged, smiling confidently. “I was trying out a new stunt, I had the bright idea to roll a cannon down a ramp and shoot myself out of it as it reached the end of the ramp, and well... It didn't turn out to well. I was put on forced bed rest for weeks. Plus I wasn't allowed near another ramp until I completed a stunts safety course. It was my fault of course, I was acting like a complete idiot, but at least I'm not dead.”

The other unicorns remained silent, waiting for some sign of either the Grand Ruler or Lightning to come out from the Healer's Circle okay. This went on for another agonizingly long ten minutes before the Grand Ruler stepped out, his face looking absolutely anxious, before seeing the other unicorns waiting at the entrance to the Healer's Circle.

“Your Highness!” Drawn Out exclaimed, bowing low as everyone else did so. “Is Lightning going to be okay?” He asked.

The Grand Ruler took a deep breath before nodding calmly. “Of course young one. The wound he suffered from Titan was great, but he will be making a full recovery.” He smiled, watching as everyone breathed a sigh of relief before giving him their full attention again. “This is a terrible time indeed. With Titan on the loose, I fear that war may spring up again in Unicornicopia soon. If not as soon as the next sunrise. He was not known to ever be patient in his attacks.”

“Your Highness if I may-

Don't worry about it your highness.” Ottavo said, cutting Drawn Out off. “If Titan shows himself here again, I can handle him by my self. He'll be gone just like that!” He snapped his fingers to emphasize his point, only to watch as the Grand Ruler shook his head.

“Titan isn't so easily defeated young one. He is as powerful now as he was when I faced him one-thousand years ago. Maybe even stronger.” The Grand Ruler said calmly. He then placed a hand to his ear as his horn flared up before speaking again. “Captain, report.” He barked, his change in voice startling the unicorns in front of him.

A small screen appeared in front of the alicorn's face as an all gray unicorn appeared in the middle of it. The scene behind him was that of a hurricane as several armored unicorns and orcs were rushing here and there in between burning buildings and rubble escorting civilians to safety. “Your highness, that attack wasn't random. It's like they knew where our garrisons and hospitals were. Our defensive strength has been cut in half and the barrier is going to be out of commission for a while.”

The Grand Ruler's eyes narrowed. “What about the civilians? Any casualties?”

The unicorn on the monitor shook his head. “None your highness. We had a few close calls, but there wasn't anyone we couldn't rescue from some of the places hit. Thank the heavens that we have magic on our side.”

“You've done well captain. Keep the situation under control, I will be there shortly to monitor the extent of the damage and see what can be done.” The Grand Ruler replied, watching as the unicorn bowed before the screen disappeared. His horn continued to grow as another screen appeared in front of him, with a red haired elf with pale skin and plate-mail in the middle of the forest appearing in it instead. “Star'len, report.” The Grand Ruler ordered.

“Your highness, I am currently tracking where the enemy warship's heading. They appear to be heading towards the Chromatic Highlands, staying above the clouds enough where it wouldn't be safe for my sky-riders to close in without engaging them. There was a pick up made about an hour ago, the one appeared to be dragonkin but I cannot say for sure.” Star'len reported.

“What makes you say that?” The Grand Ruler questioned.

“Because my lord, he was missing a tail and that his armor looked different than what normal dragonkin wear.” The elf explained. “Also he appeared to be heavily guarded, bringing with him at least a full battalion of Kobolds and at my count seven or eight trolls.”

The Grand Ruler's face paled at the news. “Captain Star'len, halt your pursuit and return to the capital. Do not engage with the enemy stragglers, and under any circumstances are you to engage with the main force. Is this clear?” He asked.

“Yes my lord. I'll meet back up with you at the city.” Star'len replied before he too disappeared with the screen.

The unicorns all exchanged looks, staring at each other nervously. The Grand Ruler calmed down a bit before Ottavo spoke up. “I have to ask your highness, but why did you call the Sky-riders back to the city?”

“Didn't you hear Captain Star'len?” Buddy Rose asked. “They have a full battalion of battle-hardened kobolds with them. There was also trolls from what I heard, and trolls are capable of wiping a division of soldiers out on their own.”

“You also forget that the Sky-riders are a group of scouts. They aren't meant to attack the enemy, they're only meant to gather intelligence on the size of the enemy so the main force can be better prepared to deal with the threat.” Drawn Out explained. “Plus where there's one kobold, there's at least thirty to forty more waiting underground to surprise you.”

Ottavo nodded, understanding the situation as the Grand Ruler remained silent. He looked up at the alicorn, stepping back as his eyes snapped open before he began to head down the hall. “Your highness! Where're you going?” Ottavo asked.

“My country is in peril, and it's capital has been attacked in a blatant declaration of war. Unicornicopia needs it's ruler and I need to be there for it.” He said in a rather unpleasant tone, taking the younger unicorns by surprise.

“What about us your highness?” Buddy Rose asked, jumping behind Drawn Out as the Grand Ruler turned on them all.

“Your task is to stay with Lightning. He needs the support of someone else now more than ever, especially until Krysta has been returned safely to him.” The Grand Ruler answered.

“But what about the enemy?” Ottavo snapped, getting shocked looks from everyone including the Grand Ruler. “We can fight too! We're a part of this country just as much as your highness is, and you're needed a lot more than-

SILENCE!” The Grand Ruler shouted, causing Ottavo to leap back and trip over his own hooves. The other unicorns gave the alicorn looks of near-pure terror, as his rage seemed to start boiling over. He stopped, realizing the tone he had just taken with one of his subjects, and calmed down. “Young one, I understand that you want to help me drive away this threat. I really do, I can even see it in all of your eyes. The spirit of our race lies well within each and everyone of you. But you must understand, Lightning Dawn may need your protection more than I do. And there will come a time when his fate will come to meet him.” The Grand Ruler paused, calming down even further. “You are needed when that time comes, to be there for him when no one else can. To be his allies, his friends. That's what he needs more in the world, no the cosmos even. His life has not been anything but bleak ever since he came to this world, and that is why I must ask you – no beg you to stay here with him. You are his only hope.”

The Unicorns remained silent, the Grand Ruler's weighing hard on them. Buddy Rose helped Ottavo to his hooves, remaining silent as Drawn Out and Moonbeam Mist had respectful looks in their eyes. They all cast a glance at each other, recognizing the responsibility that they were given from the Grand Ruler before bowing before him.

“I'm sorry for shouting at you all young ones.” The Grand Ruler apologized, returning the bow with a curt nod of his own. “Now, I must be off. I shall be back after assessing the situation to check on Lightning, but it will only be for a moment. I can not stress enough how important it is that you all stay by him. The actions that happen now and in the future could change Unicornicopia as we know it.” He turned to leave, hearing the sound of hands touch the the floor.

“Your highness, forgive me. I was out of line and-

All is forgiven.” The Grand Ruler said calmly, as small smile gracing his lips. “Just try to not let your temper cloud your judgment.” He said, before leaving them all in the hallway.

Ottavo got up from the floor, receiving curious looks from Moonbeam Buddy and Drawn Out before scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “I guess I went a little far huh?” The only thing he received was silence from everyone else as they went to staring back at the healer's circle door.

----

Pain. That was all that Lightning could feel at the moment, with the occasional numbness setting in a couple of times but all there was was pain. His body refused to move, to do what he commanded it to do.

He had ran the situation over with Titan several times, and each time it ended up with being stabbed and either Krysta or himself captured or both. He was right there, his best friend was right within his grasp and he did nothing. He couldn't do anything, Lightning was just as weak and powerless as he thought. And it was his lack of power that got Krysta captured.

But it wasn't your fault Lightning. A voice in his head whispered. Krysta was doing what anyone would have done. She'd be feeling the same way if you had gotten captured by Titan instead of her.

“At least she wasn't stupid enough to rush at the guy who was using nigh invincible dark magics to capture people.” Lightning snapped bitterly. “If only I were stronger I would have-

But you are strong Lightning. The voice interrupted in an attempt to reassure the unicorn. You are stronger than you even realize. How did you even get to the Temporal Palace in the first place?

“ I got there because Buddy Rose helped me get there. He showed me the way.” Lightning countered.

No, you got to the Temporal Palace because you are strong. The voice corrected. Your inner strength was what caught the Grand Ruler's eye.

Lightning felt unconvinced, but felt a soothing aura wash over his body. “My inner strength? Please, don't make me laugh. I'm just Lightning Dawn, a handy wingless-unicorn that can't even hold his own in a fight.”

You know that isn't true. The voice said. It was your inner instincts that took over. Titan wouldn't have stabbed you with his staff if he didn't feel that you were a threat. Plus, he didn't launch his spells at you until you made an attack at him. He must've seen something in you that would make him do that.

Lightning would have shook his head if he could, but he still couldn't move. “So you're saying that because you think that I may have gotten lucky that Titan was afraid of me and stabbed me because of it?”

Well, in a way that's right. The voice answered.

Lightning laughed. “Yeah, me taking on one of the oldest evils that this universe has ever known. That will be the day.” He said sarcastically.

You never know. The voice replied as the soothing sensation was replaced with the feeling that Lightning was now lying on something soft. I think that they're done. The voice said quietly.

“They? Who's they?” Lightning asked.

Why don't you open your eyes and look for yourself silly. The voice teased before fading away. Lightning blinked before calming down, opening his eyes to see a blinding light in front of him.

“-ey he's waking up!” Lightning could hear Buddy Rose's voice say as he opened his eyes. The room that held the bed he was lying in was extremely surprising.

The walls were a pleasant peach color as was the ceiling. A set of electrical torches were on at full power, giving the room a comforting feel. There was a window with a view of the Rainbow Capital's Upper District on one of the wall to Lightning's left, and from it he could see huge plumes of smoke that rose up from the Lower and Middle Districts. The floor that the bed was resting on was carpeted in a royal blue that matched the extremely comfortable comforter that Lightning was lying under. An I.V. Bag hung on a stand off to Lightning's right that was connected to one of his arms with a hose that led to the arm. Buddy Rose and Drawn Out were standing on the side of the bed opposite of where Lightning lay as Ottavo Rima and Moonbeam Mist came from a door that was on the wall behind him from the left.

“How're you feeling Lightning?”Buddy Rose asked as Lightning attempted to sit up.

“Sore. Really sore.” Lightning replied. “Where's the Grand Ruler? Where's Titan?” Lightning asked, watching as the other unicorns exchanged looks.

“Well the Grand Ruler is assessing the extent of the damage to the Rainbow Capital. Plus he's looking at how many soldiers that he can round up so that they can go after Titan.” Drawn Out replied, watching and leaping to restrain Lightning as he tried to get out of bed. “Whoa, easy there buddy. You just got out of the healer's circle. You can't get out of bed yet. Not until the doctor says that you're clear to go.”

“But Krysta's in danger! And so are those unicorns that were captured!” Lightning exclaimed. “I can't just sit around and do nothing!” He continued to struggle, forcing Buddy Rose to assist Drawn Out in restraining him.

“Easy there Lightning! You're going to open the wound again, and the spell hasn't finished fixing it!” Buddy Rose cried. “You don't want Krysta or the Grand Ruler see you in a puddle of blood again do you?” He asked, watching as Lightning calmed down before he released him. Drawn Out did the same thing, eyeing Lightning suspiciously.

“The Grand Ruler's not really in the mood to find out that you did something stupid either Lightning. Trust me on this one, you're better off staying in bed.” Ottavo commented, getting looks from everyone else. “What? I'm just telling him the truth.” He said.

Lightning remained silent, burying his agitation for the time being. I wouldn't want to upset anyone here, especially the Grand Ruler... He thought, staring at the comforter that was draped over his body. But Krysta's in way too much trouble for me to be worried about sitting around here. I need to help her somehow.

“Hey Lightning look, we know that Krysta's the only being that you can trust right now but we're here too.” Drawn Out said.

Lightning sighed before laying himself back down. Well I might as well stay here for a bit, at least until I can think of something to get me over there... He thought, closing his eyes a second time.

It was a few hours when the head physician on the current staff walked into Lightning's room to monitor his health situation. It didn't take them too long to check up on how the injury closed up, and after another hour and a half of signing paperwork Lightning was walking out of the front door of the hospital. Dawn was quickly approaching the Rainbow Capital and Unicornicopia, but he still had no idea of how or where he could find Krysta or Titan. His worries were put aside however as Drawn Out had led their small group to a restaurant in the middle district. It was a small place, seemingly out of the way from most of the city, and it had an air of nostalgia for the others about it.

The restaurant, a two storied log-cabin with a smoke stack built into it's right side and a black shingled roof, stood nestled in a small grove of oak trees and appeared to be peaceful even though Titan's attack had ripped through the city. The front door of the establishment was flinging itself open and shut over and over again as everything from soldiers to medical crew members rushed in and out, some only stepping inside for a few moments while others emerged fully energized. But that wasn't the thing that got Lightning's attention the most. He noticed an odd set of machines leaning in front of a railing that was near the front door which caught his eye as they approached.

The vehicles, all of which were painted black save for one on the furthest end which was all rusted and beat up, were fierce-looking. They all had the appearance of chariots that were modeled in the shape of dragon's heads, with a place for the rider to sit down in. Each of the vehicles had a pair of folded sails that looked like wings which rested on either side of the main body, as a set of blaster cannons were extended from the front of the central hub of the machine and made the snouts of the dragon's heads look even more pronounced. An engine sat behind the rider, back just far enough for a second passenger but only if they weren't really big.

Buddy watched as Lightning continued to stare at the machines before coughing a little. “You know that we came here to get something to eat right?” He asked, snapping Lightning out of his trance-like gawking.

“Oh... Yeah, sorry about that.” Lightning replied, heading up to the front door of the establishment where Buddy was standing. He stopped, getting one last glance at the machines before being stopped by Buddy. “What?” Lightning asked.

“Sorry Lightning, but those are out of your league.” Buddy said calmly.

“What are they?” Both unicorns heard a laugh as a very old and heavily set orc began laughing. He wore all black leather armor, it looking more demonic than any armor that Lightning had ever seen save for Titan's, with an all black riding helmet that looked like it was made with a pair of bat wings sewn into it. The armor was heavily spiked, but only to add to an extreme intimidation factor that made Lightning and Buddy nervous.

“Those are Solar Fliers. And they're some of the best in all of Unicornicopia.” The orc said, calming down and giving Lightning and Buddy a once over. “And your friend there's right, these babies are built for the Grand Ruler's Elite Knights, soldiers that have survived more battles than you can possibly think of. These things are faster than you can even imagine, all you need is a location and they'll get you there in no time. They'd be wasted at the moment on a greenhorn like you. No offense.”

Buddy shook his head as Lightning was unfazed by the orc's comment. “None taken sir.” He said before whispering into Lightning's ear, “Hey... We need to get inside, everyone else is waiting.”

Lightning didn't say anything, he was locked in the gaze of the orc's amber eyes. Something about the orc was wild, but it was a friendly kind of wild that Lightning seemed to trust. “Yeah... Let's go.” He said, turning to leave as the orc nodded behind him.

As the pair of unicorns stepped inside, the orc placed a finger to his temple and concentrated. After a few seconds, a magical screen appeared in front of his face as the Grand Ruler appeared on the other side. “Grubble, what's your report?” He asked.

The orc smiled. “Well your highness, he's interested in a Solar Flier.” The Grand Ruler fell silent, his eyes shutting for a moment before he took a deep breath. “Should we continue the operation? Or do you want to abort?” He asked.

The Grand Ruler shook his head. “No. We're not going to abort this Grubble. You and your squad of knights know that it's worth the risk. And I am well aware of the replacement costs and repairs that it will take to restore Sheila back to fighting strength for when the time comes. Continue with the operation, and make sure that Lightning gets a Solar Flier.”

Grubble nodded. “Understood your highness.” He said. “May I ask something before we break contact?”

“Is this a question or a comment?” The Grand Ruler asked.

“More along the lines of both.” Grubble answered.

“Well then, ask away.” The Grand Ruler replied.

The orc smiled before turning back to the rusted out Solar Flier. “Your highness, I understand that you love all of your subjects on this planet. And you treat all life like a shaman back on my home world would, with as much respect as one would with a person of your station. But I must ask you, is this necessary?”

The Grand Ruler sighed as Grubble turned back to face him. “Sometimes I wonder that myself.” He answered. “Though I didn't want this to happen so soon, Lightning Dawn's bonds with his other friends are starting to form, the bond that he and Krysta both share will force him to stop at nothing to save her. I fear that the only thing that would stop Lightning would be to silence him forever. But I cannot do that to them. They are too close together, you could even say that they are family. If only I had more time to train him, then he could be more prepared-

You were dealt the cards that you were given your highness. And you're making the best of it.” Grubble reassured, interrupting the Grand Ruler. “Yes it would have made a difference if you had gotten to train him sooner, but this may prove to be more beneficial to not only him but the others that will ally with him. I don't know what I personally would do in this situation, but you are handling it well.”

The Grand Ruler smiled. “And that's why I appointed you as the head of the Black Knight Squad. I thank you for that.”

Grubble smirked. “Heh, I'm just a humble unicornicopian doing a friend of my old homeworld a favor. It's the least I can do.” He then turned, seeing a thumbs up given by another orc in black armor by the last of the Solar Fliers before turning back to the screen. “Looks like I have the all clear from the boys. I'll let you know which signal to follow once he gets out of the city. Until then your highness.” He said before giving a polite bow.

“Until then Grubble.” The Grand Ruler replied before vanishing with the screen. Grubble stretched a little before smirking again. Heh, Lightning Dawn huh? You may just be that diamond in the rough that his highness was looking for.

The inside of the establishment was just as rustic looking on the inside as it was on the inside. All of the furniture was made from the same wood that the building was made from, tables draped with fresh white linens were placed here and there in the first dining hall as heavily armored soldiers chatted amongst themselves or hastily scarfed down plates of food before leaving in a hurry. There were heads of slain beasts mounted on the walls that Lightning had never even seen before, most of which appeared to be more reptilian in appearance than anything else.

“This is the Dragonslayer Hall, as it's known to the sky-riders.” Buddy explained, guiding Lightning to a table where Moonbeam, Drawn Out, and Ottavo were seated. The table was off in a corner, next to a fireplace that contained a flame that was almost reduced to embers when Lightning sat down.

“What took you guys so long?” Ottavo asked. “We've already ordered for you.”

“It was the Solar Fliers that did it.” Buddy replied. “Lightning got attracted to them, and... well-

That really doesn't excuse the fact that you both arrived after we ordered for you.” Moonbeam said coldly. “That was a little short of being rude.”

“Moonbeam has a point.” Drawn Out said. “You should have been with us the whole time. Even those that have already informed their friends that they were going to be late can get away with that but...” Drawn Out stopped, watching Lightning closely. The unicorn seemed to be making a plan up in his head, and it distracted him. “Lightning... Is there something you need?” He asked.

“Oh, no it's nothing. I'm just thinking of something, that's all.” Lightning answered, giving a fake smile.

“Dude, you don't have to worry.” Ottavo said confidently. “The Grand Ruler and his armies will get Krysta and the other unicorns back and show Titan whose boss. So take it easy and relax.”

Easy for you to say, especially because you don't have to worry about losing anyone. Lightning thought.

“Let's not let all of this rescue business keep us down, come on you guys. It's my treat.” Drawn Out said, watching as both Buddy Rose and Lightning's faces lit up.

The meal was amazing, to say the least. Lightning had never even seen so much food, as each plate at their table had at least a stack of ten pancakes that oozed with cool raspberry syrup and melted butter that was lighter than air. Several smaller trays were covered in magically converted sausages and bacon, something that everyone except Lightning avoided only because it was something that the orcish soldiers ate and referred to the sight of the meat as, “barbarism at its finest.” There was also an equal portion of tofu-converted meats, which the other unicorns devoured, and made them nearly sick to their stomachs when they were finished.

However good the food was though, was put aside as Lightning got up from the table. “Uh... Drawn Out, where's the restroom?” He asked.

“What, you tryin' to make room for more?” He asked, watching as Lightning gave a half-hearted chuckle.

“Uh... Heh-heh... Yeah. Something like that.” Lightning lied, watching as Drawn Out pointed to an entrance way that stood across from the front door.

“The bathroom's that way, first door on the right. You can't miss it.” He said, watching as Lightning nodded before slipping off. As Drawn Out returned to the conversation, or more like an argument that Ottavo and Moonbeam were having with each other, a second pair of eyes on the furthest side of the Dragonslayer Hall followed where Lightning went.

“Commander... I think he's going for it.” The owner of the eyes, another orc in a black cloak whispered.

“Hmm... A little early, but I'll let the higher ups know. You left the ignition system where it was supposed to be right?” A harsh voice asked on the other side.

“Yeah, and the Solar Flier is parked where it should be. She'll be fine won't she?” The orc asked.

“His highness assured me that it will. Now, meet up with the rest of us. We're in the barracks at the northern entrance of the city.” The voice ordered.

“Understood commander.” The orc whispered, getting up from the chair quickly before walking out.

Moonbeam's eye's narrowed however as the orc left the restaurant. “There's something suspicious going on here...” She uttered, gaining attention from Buddy Rose.

“So, you weren't the only one who saw that?” He asked, watching as Moonbeam shook her head.

“No, I don't believe that she was.” Drawn Out said darkly, looking over to where the orc sat. “Someone has it out for Lightning, and we need to watch out for him.” He added, getting nods from the others.

Meanwhile as soon as Lightning was finished using the restroom, after flushing and moving to the sink, he spotted something. A small crystal that appeared to be in the shape of a key was patiently sitting on the floor. Something in the back of his head told him to take it, while another part of him said to leave it there and let it be someone else's problem. As he turned to leave, he stopped and got an idea. What if... He paused, turning to the crystal and stared at it. What if that gets me to where Titan's gone? He stopped before looking out the window. He played around with the idea in his head, sure it would be stealing but he had to do something. Krysta and the unicorns were captured and it was all his fault. But he didn't even know where to begin looking for her. All he had to go on was that Titan's ship could fly and shoot plasma. He had nothing, and that wasn't going to help him save her.

That's not true. Remember what the Grand Ruler did when he first met you two? The little voice in his head asked.

When he showed us the Uniforce? I don't even know how he did that. Lightning thought mentally.

Just concentrate. Baby steps. The voice encouraged. You don't control the magic, the magic of the Uniforce is just something to be guided.

Lightning closed his eyes before concentrating on performing the same spell that the Grand Ruler had done. Taking a deep breath Lightning could feel his horn flare up with a small amount of power, barely noticeable even by his standards, but as he concentrated so did the power. After a few moments and a bright flash that nearly pierced through his eyelids, Lightning opened his eyes and looked around. The entire world around him appeared to be doused all in white as streams of colored magic from everywhere led up to a singular focal point.

There we go. Now, you have the path. All you have to do now is follow it. The voice said, watching as Lightning began to scan the skies above him.

Something was different than the last time that Lightning was seeing the world this way, he could feel it. As he looked above, he could almost feel the different hopes and dreams of the citizens and peoples of Unicornicopia. Some were good, others were bad, and others still were worse. So this is what he was doing... Lightning thought, scanning the skies until something odd caught his eye.

Far above where he stood, and leading in a northwesterly direction was a stream of black magic that had a malicious aura that Lightning had never felt before. It was sickening, almost to the point of making him lose focus of the connection, but at the same time he could feel the streams of magic that were intertwined with the black stream. That must be the direction of where Titan is. Lightning thought, nodding a little. Well then that's where I have to go. He said mentally, concentrating a little as the spell was released. He looked back down on the crystal before walking over to it and picking it up. And you're my ticket to getting to Titan. He thought, stuffing the key in his pocket. The door to the bathroom opened, causing Lightning to turn as Ottavo appeared on the other side.

“Hey Lightning, I'm just checking up on you. Is everything okay?” He asked, watching as Lightning nodded.

“Yeah, everything's going to be just fine.” Lightning answered, turning back to the sink. “I'll be out in a second, don't worry about me.” He said, giving Ottavo a fake-ish smile before beginning to wash his hands. I can't let them know what I'm about to do here, especially because it's the stupidest thing ever. This crystal has to be a Solar Flier key, and a Solar Flier is going to take me to Titan and help me get to Krysta.

“Okay, well don't stay in here too long.” Ottavo said, turning to go. “We're going to have to stay in a group for a bit until Titan's caught okay?” The Grand Ruler's just made the announcement, and he says that it's for the safety of everyone. Plus, Drawn Out's already paid and Moonbeam's getting antsy. So, before we decide what to do we need you there too.” He said, watching Lightning nod.

“Okay, I'll be there. Just wait a second.” Lightning answered as Ottavo disappeared from behind the bathroom door. I'll have to lose them here, otherwise they'll try and keep me from risking my neck like this. But if it's all the same, I need to do this. Lightning thought, leaving the bathroom.

As Lightning met up with the others at the front door of the Dragonslayer Hall, he knew what his next move was. “Uh yeah, guys?” He began, as they all turned to him. “Yeah... It's been great hanging out with you all and, well... I just remembered that I need to head back to the house that the Grand Ruler gave me. You know, to check the extent of the damage?” He hoped to sway them all with just his words, as his expression wasn't the best in the world.

Moonbeam's eyes narrowed as did Drawn Out's. “Oh sure, go on ahead. We'll meet back up with you later okay?” Drawn Out said earnestly, smiling as the other unicorns all gave him a look of confusion.

“But what about what the Gr-

Easy there Ottavo, we need to give Lightning his space.” Drawn Out interrupted, as Moonbeam seemed to catch on and elbow him in the shoulder. “How about this, we meet up at the Crown Royal Park at around three-ish, and enjoy a nice game of Stormball?” He asked.

Lightning nodded, watching as his new friends' mood changed. “Sure, I'll see you guys then.” He said before running off, he was stopped by a hand that was placed on his shoulder and turned to see Moonbeam glaring at him.

“Please Lightning.” She said, continuing to glare at him in an attempt to hide her nervousness. “Don't do anything stupid.” She said, watching Lightning smile.

“Eh-heh-heh-heh... Yeah, that won't be a problem.” Lightning lied, smiling as Moonbeam released her hand from his shoulder. “All right, I'll see you around.” He said, dashing off down the dirt path that was off to the right of the road that they were on and out of sight.

“You guys noticed how Lightning was acting all morning right?” Drawn Out asked, watching as everyone except Ottavo gave him a nod.

“He's probably going to get a Solar Flier from somewhere. If what we heard from what the Grand Ruler's communication was true, then Lightning's going to head to the Chromatic Highlands.” Moonbeam answered.

“But how's he going to do that without a key?” Ottavo asked. “And isn't that like, the most dangerously stupid thing ever?” The other unicorns looked at him incredulously. “What? I'm a Daredevil, not a suicidalist.”

“You know that's not a word right?” Buddy asked.

“Of course it's not...” Ottavo groaned, before turning to Drawn Out. “What do you think we should do?” He asked.

“Follow him of course.” Drawn Out said, stretching his wings before taking to the air. Ottavo made an, “O,” with his mouth before following his example with Buddy and Moonbeam. The four Unicorns were already high enough in the air that they could see Lightning make his way to an inconspicuously parked Solar Flier. They watched as he casually approached it, before flying over to the site as he mounted the machine.

Lightning could feel his guilt playing against him as he sat in the rider's seat of the Solar Flier. An all black panel was mounted on the other side of the dragon's crown as a pair of handle bars extended from the front. They'll understand, I'm sure of it. He thought, digging out the key from the depths of his pocket and staring at the panel. A small slot, cut into the shape of the key he was holding was visible. Lightning smirked a little as the key and the slot matched up perfectly before quickly inserting it.

The result was automatic.

The panel in front of him sprang to life and began radiating colors of multiple hues as the engine roared to life from behind him. The sails that were on either side opened up into the shape of dragonic wings as the Solar Flier began to hover on his own. Greetings, this is the launching key system for His Majesty's Sky-riders. This announcement is a safety-feature that is installed on all Solar Fliers when a new rider first climbs aboard the Flier's seat. Please hold onto the handlebars while I adjust the arrangements to ensure maximum comfort. A digitized voice said from somewhere. As it did so, Lightning could feel the seat from under him move up closer to the main panel, and move up a little higher as the handlebars were locked in place. Because this is your first time flying a Solar Flier, the settings for this flight will be on Auto-Pilot. All commands will be accepted through the sound of your voice, and will be registered as a location on the map of unicornicopia. Now, where would you like to go?

Lightning thought about where Titan could have gone for a moment before looking down on the console. “What's the most important, abandoned structure in the Chromatic Highlands?” He asked, watching as a map appeared on the main panel.

The Temple of Unity, dedicated to the Grand Ruler of Unicornicopia himself was the site of Grand Ruler Celesto's battle with the Dread Sorcerer Titan. The computer explained. Is this where you would like to go? It asked.

Lightning immediately jumped as he heard the sound of unicorn wings descending from above him. “Yes, go now!” He shouted, listening to a beep before the sounds of the engine behind him letting out a loud roar. The force of the Solar Flier's initial acceleration sat the unicorn down in his seat and held him there even as the sounds of Drawn Out and Buddy's voices all tried to reach him.

The Solar Flier's engine let out a roar just as Drawn Out and Moonbeam got within a foot from it. Buddy Rose had to restrain Ottavo as a blast of orange flame erupted from the back of the Solar Flier, causing it to rocket forward. It rounded the corner once, then twice, before disappearing behind another building. They all shared a glance with each other as the smoke trail disappeared from sight, each knowing what the others were thinking.

“We have to go after him.” Ottavo said finally, breaking the silence as the other unicorns nodded.

“I heard the computer mention something about the old Temple of Unity. So that's where we need to go.” Drawn Out said, getting nods from everyone else. “Let's go then.” He said, flying off with everyone else in pursuit.

-Continued in the next chapter-

Chapter 3: Episode 2 Part 2: Return of Darkness Part 2

View Online

-Continued from Chapter 2-

----

The Chromatic Highlands had some of the most amazing sights to a normal traveler on the surface of Unicornicopia. A vast expanse of multi-colored shimmering field of grass extended from the base of a brown and stony cliff side. The tops of emerald trees were scattered in small patches here and there as the highlands were broken off in steep cliffs from the top most points in the area. As one of the snow-capped mountains of the Silverback Mountain Range was visible from behind the top most plateau, a flying object could be seen over the dark blue horizon.

The object, an all black hexagonal shuttle craft, was flying low on the horizon. Four thruster engines were roaring from the outside of the craft as a pair of metallic dragon wings extended from it's middle. A cockpit extended from the front, but it's pilot and co-pilot could barely be seen from the black tinted glass.

Inside the cockpit, as smashed an riddled with holes as it was, sat a vicious looking dragonic humanoid with dark gray scales and black plate-mail. His wings, which appeared to had seen better days, were folded tightly against his back as a row of razor sharp spines descended from the top of his head to the top of the stump of his tail. A pair of piercing, white, slitted eyes scanned the heavily damaged console as one of the screens blinked to life revealing the face of Relicourse.

“Callenfir, report.” The centaur barked.

The dragonic humanoid rolled his eyes before glaring back at the console. “You know, now that Titan's back in black you don't have any authority over me.” He sneered.

“Well then, you shall give your report to me.”

The screen changed as the familiar red eyes of Titan appeared before Callenfir. The dragonic humanoid smirked, before bowing as low as he could while in the seat.

“My lord Titan, I have done as you requested. We have at least another battalion of soldiers ready and waiting for your commands.” Callenfir replied.

“Is the device ready?” He heard Titan ask from the other side.

“My lord, the interplanetary gate's link up with Doric will be ready in another few minutes.” Callenfir heard Relicourse say. “Coristia has assured me that she will personally see to it that the gate is completed by the time you are ready to begin your plans.”

Callenfir looked up and watched Titan nod. He saw the sorcerer's gaze turn back to him before smirking. “I'm just waiting until we get to slaughter those citizens. We are going to do that right?” He asked, watching Titan nod.

“Yes, but only when I've personally seen to it that Celesto's head has been placed on a pike in my throne room. You will get your chance Callenfir, as will all of those who are loyal to me.” Titan answered.

“I thank you my lord.” Callenfir replied. “It has been a while, and my blade still thirsts for blood since our last arrival.” A gentle pinging began to emit from the console as the dragonic humanoid looked up, and snarled.

“What's wrong? You weren't followed were you?” Titan asked, watching from the screen as Callenfir began to bang his fist on the console.

“No my lord, it's just this piece of junk that we salvaged from the warship is acting up.” Callenfir replied. “It says that something's following us, but I have the other sensors working at maximum capacity and they say that there's nothing there.”

“Ignore it for now and return to the temple.” Titan ordered. “I want all of my army present when I open the path to Doric.” He said, watching Callenfir nod.

“Yes milord. Starting the final approach now.”

The shuttle that Callenfir was piloting began it's descent into a large ravine that separated two plateaus. The dragonic humanoid couldn't see anything within the ravine, he assumed that it was Titan's darker magics at work, as he flipped on a switch that generated a spotlight from underneath the cockpit. Down below he could see the effects of Titan's release on the planet, a forest that once stood ahead of them was now in shambles reduced to nothing more than sticks and barren earth that resembled a skeleton of what it once was. Ahead of the forest was the skeletal remains of a grand temple.

The temple, from a distance, appeared to be made out of onyx but in actuality it was made out of solid granite. Titan's darker magics affected and warped the stone in such a way that made it a lot more sinister than it really was. There were holes in the ancient wooden roof of the temple where Callenfir swore he saw clouds of smoke billowing from the top, as several of the Temple's tower spires were already crumbling and rotted away.

He could see the ship in the back behind the Temple, coiled around itself like an actual serpent as the machine's wings were already folded up to look like the cobra's, “hood.” There was a loud rattle from behind the door that was behind Callenfir as he began the final descent into the clearing inside the serpent which caused him to turn around. “Aw shaddup you frickin meat stains. You'll be back in solid ground in a few moments.” He snapped, smacking his fist into the door. The rattling retaliated viciously which distracted the dragonic humanoid for a moment before he wheeled around again. “Do that again and I'll come in there.” He snapped. “You don't want me in there. I don't care if Lord Titan vaporizes me for it, I'll call it a last meal.” He said, listening as the rattling finally stopped. “That's better.”

The shuttle craft made it's final descent a few moments later, much to the surprise of both Coristia and Relicourse. The Centaur and the Lich both braced themselves mentally as a hatch opened on the back of the craft. Neither one of them could see anything inside, but waited with anticipation as a pair of bright amber eyes began to glow from within. Both of them did not say a word, watching as the owner of the eyes step forward, shielding itself with a bony claw. “Kobolds.” Relicourse scoffed.

“The bane soldiers of the day, and the slaves of the master's Gnoll workforce.” Coristia said coldly.

The Kobold that stepped forward was, simply put, an abomination. It was a hairless beast, standing about half as tall as an average humanoid with putrid yellow skin and lanky limbs. The kobold didn't wear much save for a dirty brown but flap that it had wrapped around it's waist, and its limbs appeared to be more suited for digging than anything. The kobold continued to walk forward as more of the vile creatures stepped forward, each shielding their eyes from the sun even though it wasn't visible, before forming a small group of close to five hundred in total. Neither the Lich nor the Centaur reacted to the smell of decay that wafted from the soldiers, and only raised an eyebrow as Callenfir stepped forward.

“Well now ladies and -” Callenfir kicked a kobold to the side out of his way, smirking as he did so, “- germs, I'd say welcome to the rest of your pathetically miserable lives but hey, you're slaves. You might as well get used to this life.” He said, walking through the crowd of kobolds towards Relicourse and Coristia. “You're friendly neighborhood Dragonkin has returned.” Callenfir said to them, smiling as the others shared a look.

“That brings the strength of our forces to at least a thousand, if not more Callenfir. You did manage to not kill their leaders right?” Relicourse asked, breaking the silence.

“Oh, I wouldn't kill the Gnolls if that's what your asking.” Callenfir said confidently. “You should see some of the stuff that they put on their blades, It could tear through Unicornicopian hides like they were nothing! I swear, you have to take me to their home planet one of these days. I want to know what it feels like to kill something with Gnoll steel, that's the stuff there.” He said as Relicourse walked past him and stepped in front of the kobolds.

“All of you, listen and listen well.” Relicourse began powerfully, glaring at the kobolds that were around the area. They all began shooting him dirty looks as he began to step forward. “You are all scum. The lowest forms of life imaginable. You have no free will. You have no other desires. Whatever we say,” Relicourse pointed at himself, Coristia, and Callenfir, “Is the law passed down from the Lord Titan. You will fight as ordered, you will win, and you will not show mercy. Mercy is for the weak, and weakness will not be tolerated. If you want your freedom, you are welcome to take it. But you have to kill your master for it, and that is an impossibility.”

The kobolds all looked at each other nervously before one let out a shrill cry. Before anyone could react, one of the healthier-looking ones leapt at Relicourse with the intention of killing him. Relicourse snorted, smashing his left arm into the charging kobold's chest and knocking it to the ground. Then with a vicious stomp of his front hoof the kobold was silenced, his head smashed underneath the massive hoof of the centaur. “Anyone else wish to try me?” He asked, watching as none of them reacted. “Good. Now, get on board the ship. You will be outfitted with the arms and armor that you need.” He said, pointing to an open hatch on the main ship.

The kobolds all exchanged miserable glances before turning to the open hatch and marching towards it. As they did so, Relicourse turned to Callenfir and Coristia. “Lord Titan is expecting us. Is the Interplanetary Gateway loaded on board Coristia?” He asked.

“Yes General.” Coristia replied. “We must hurry now, Lord Titan does not like waiting.” She said heading towards the Temple, with both Relicourse and Callenfir in pursuit.

When the three got inside, they found themselves in the remains of a grand hall. The remains of pews were all scattered, almost to the point of being dust as patches of corrupted black earth could be seen from the marble floor that they were standing on. Titan was standing in front of a massive black sphere of energy, the bodies of the victims that he had captured earlier were floating in a sea of black miasma with lightning of the same color extending from their bodies to the outer portions of the sphere.

“Your generals are here to serve you,” Relicourse said, getting down on his front knees.

“In this life and the next,” Callenfir added, dropping on one knee as well.

“So that your reign of darkness may be eternal.” Coristia finished, getting on her hands and knees.

Titan turned away from the sphere, seeing the three generals before acknowledging them. “Your Lord of Eternal Darkness acknowledges you.” He said, watching them rise. “Reports. Now.”

“Our manpower's size has increased by well over half of a battalion.” Callenfir reported. “The tribes of Gnolls on this planet have all promised to side with you when the fighting begins my lord, and will send in soldiers when requested.”

Titan nodded, blinking calmly. “Yes, that is good news. We will need them soon I believe. If that fool Celesto thinks about coming here, then we'll need an army to match him.”

“Milord, we have finished moving the interplanetary gate onto the ship and are continuing to prepare it as instructed. It will take a little bit longer than expected, but the increase will be of no consequence to the plan for what little my eyes can see of it.” Coristia reported.

“I see...” Titan replied. “How much longer? You know that time is not a thing that we can afford Lich.”

“A day at the most my lord. I can speed up production if you wish.” Coristia said, watching Titan shake his head.

“No, that will not be necessary.” Titan said. “A day is all you have. Nothing more.”

“Thank you my lord.” Coristia replied.

“And you Relicourse what of the scouts? Have they reported in yet?” Titan asked.

“Yes milord.” Relicourse said calmly. “With the simultaneous attack on all of their medical and military facilities, we left the capital city of Unicornicopia defenseless. Also, in the attack we have managed to wipe out eighty-five to ninety percent of said facilities when the attack happened. With the few standing only to be accounted for on board errors in the system.”

Titan nodded at the news. “I see... And what of the rest of the fleet? Where does it stand now?” He asked.

“The rest of the interstellar fleet lies also within a day of travel to Unicornicopia. They will meet up with us the moment we begin the invasion. Forgive me for endangering the capital ship like this to retrieve you milord, but it had to be done I-

There is no need for your groveling Relicourse. Your assault on Celesto's barrier is what brought me here in the first place.” Titan snapped, cutting Relicourse off. “I wouldn't be here if you did not do as you were bidden. You three are bound to me, always and for eternity.” He said watching Coristia closely.

Coristia's eyes were glowing a dark green as her hair began to whip around in a gentle wind. Callenfir stepped back a little as the Lich spread her arms out wide and levitated for a few moments. The spectacle lasted not a second longer as Coristia descended, her eyes no longer green, as she bowed low a second time.

“What is it Lich?” Titan asked.

“Milord, it seems that we have a pursuer.” Coristia replied. “A lone rider on a Solar Flier is approaching from the south, and is approaching fast.”

Titan took a deep breath before lifting his hands out in front of him. As lightning began to crackle in between his fingertips, a small disk of black light appeared and began to materialize until it got to the size of a small table. It floated in between the sorcerer and his generals, as a picture fully materialized, revealing a yellow coated unicorn riding a chariot in the shape of a dragon's head.

“You want me to take him out milord?” Callenfir asked. “It could be easy, I could just end it right here, put a blade right in his throat and you'd have one dead unicorn. I'd even bring you his-

Enough.” Titan said, glaring at the unicorn on the image. He then turned to the sphere behind him, looking around until he saw the floating body of a small fairy in a tattered dress float somewhere in the middle of the sphere. “I believe that is the unicorn who was foolish enough to survive one of my capture spells.” Titan replied, turning back to his generals. “He's probably looking for the fairy that I captured in his place.”

“Such foolishness...” Coristia commented, seeing the unicorn continue to ride the Solar Flier.

“Oh that is foolishness.” Titan said. “But one on the other side would call it bravery. Though I doubt those two mean the same thing.”

“Is there something that you want done milord?” Relicourse asked.

“Yes... Send a few squads of kobolds after this unicorn, see if he's really worth my time. Do not engage with him directly, but make sure that he will not make it back to the capital as easily as he came here.” Titan answered, staring at Callenfir. “And make sure that he is disposed of if he does happen to fall.” He said, watching the Dragonkin bow.

“It will be done milord.” Callenfir replied, before turning to leave.

“You two will continue with your tasks until I have need of you.” Titan said, turning his gaze on Coristia and Relicourse. “Should our guest manage to make his way here, you will provide him with a second examination. And do not hold back.”

“Your will is my life.” Coristia replied.

“I will do as you wish Lord Titan.” Relicourse said with a bow.

Titan watched as both of his remaining generals left before turning his gaze on the image in front of him. Something was off about this unicorn. He didn't know what, but this unicorn was nothing like the others. He would have to watch him for the time being. “Especially if he survives the encounter.” Titan thought nastily.

----

Riding the Solar Flier was an exhilarating rush. Lightning got several glances from the populace as he rushed through the streets of the Rainbow Capital, and had found that the Solar Flier was even fitted to outrun several militarized Solar Fliers. By the time that he had gotten to the gates of the upper class section of the city he had almost gotten the hang of the machine.

The gate's themselves provided Lightning with the most difficult problem yet, as there were no ways that he could think of to get away cleanly without having to destroy the gates. That plan was quickly tossed to the side as the gates were opened wide enough for a group of soldiers escorting a group of wounded civilians to the hospital. There's my chance... Lightning thought, revving up the engine again and taking off. The soldiers all stopped to watch as he erupted from the brush and cover that he hid behind near the gate, before shouting at him as he sailed on by above him.

That was hours ago however.

Lightning was now following the stream of black magic that streamed from the source of light to a ravine that appeared to be several miles away on the Solar Flier's Map. He glanced at it occasionally, making sure that there were no obstructions in his path as the spell that he was using continued to guide him to his destination.

He rode in silence, only being concerned with his objective. His eyes scanned his surroundings every now and then, in an attempt to pick out movement from area as he neared closer to his destination. He didn't care too much about anything except what was in front of him.

He was not alone however. Lightning didn't notice the long trails of dirt mounds that seemed to be keeping up with the Solar Flier, and didn't realize what was happening until it was too late.

With a loud shriek and a scream, Lightning looked over his shoulder as the most repulsive looking being seemed to appear from out of nowhere on his left flank. The creature's skin was putrid yellow mixed with a very faint gray tinge; and it had long and extremely sharp razor-like claws on the ends of it's lanky limbs. The beast was wearing an all black metal breastplate and a black helmet, and save for the but flap that it wore it didn't wear anything else.

The creature leapt onto the Solar Flier with relative ease as several more followed suit. Quickly, Lightning punched one of the creatures, knocking it off as it's comrades began to slash at him with their claws. The unicorn was pinned down where he sat, knocking as many as those that leapt on board. He knew he couldn't fight them all off while on the Solar Flier, and without any hesitation he leapt off the machine and took several with him.

The initial impact with the earth stung, but Lightning expected it. The sound of a loud explosion rocked the plains as the Solar Flier smashed into a column of Earth some distance away. That wasn't what bothered Lightning as he got to his hooves. The creatures were surrounding him, and he was out numbered.

Great... What now? Lightning cursed, bringing his hands to defend himself. He heard a loud screech and braced himself as they charged.

The screech came from his left as one of the creatures leapt at him. Lightning avoided the incoming charge, burying his fist into it's chest. He recoiled, clutching his fist as three more leapt at him like vicious beasts.

The claws of the first two narrowly missed as Lightning evaded, only to have the last set rake his back with all of the gentleness of a pissed off bear. The unicorn turned, delivering a swift kick to the offending creature to it's face.

The beast he had struck initially leapt up at him as the recipient of his hoof staggered backwards in pain. Lighting caught the assailant with another blow to the face with one of his fists, receiving a set of slashes to his own face too. Three more creatures leapt at him, their eyes filled with blood lust.

Lightning turned, ducking the incoming creatures before picking the one in front of him up and tossing it over with the others. The other creatures snarled, stepping over their comrade in a frenzied attempt to get at Lightning. Six sets of claws all reached out at the unicorn, their owners filled with the intent to kill.

The unicorn leapt back, watching three bodies fall to the ground where he was originally standing. The owners of the three remaining claws landed on the ground with a sense of grace, before swinging their claws wildly at him. The unicorn blocked two swipes from the creature directly in front of him, retaliating with a punch of his own. One of the creature's claws caught Lightning's right arm just as he was about to throw another punch as the creature's comrade slashed his chest.

The force of the attack knocked Lightning backwards, throwing him to the ground with a force that he didn't expect. The unicorn struggled to get up, bringing his arms close to his chest in an attempt to close off and clutch his open wounds. Dammit, what the heck are these things? Lightning thought, backing up slowly from his adversaries. The creatures advanced slowly, acting like beasts ready for the kill. I still have to save Krysta though, and if it means beating these things then so be it! Lightning thought, leaping at the same time as the creatures.

Before either side could reach each other, the group of creatures were stopped with a hail of explosions, each of them bright and spectacular. Lightning had to stop, before rubbing his eyes.

On the top of a hill that Lightning was facing, stood Ottavo. His left arm was extended as his horn was radiating a bright pink aura. A set of fireworks were hovering on either side of his body, each surrounded by the same pink aura. On either side of them stood Moonbeam Mist, Buddy Rose, and Drawn Out, each with serious glares on their faces. But that wasn't what surprised Lightning.

Are they wearing what I think that they're wearing? Lightning thought, watching out of the corner of his eye as the creatures got up and growled at the other unicorns.

The outfits that the unicorns wore were different than what they wore when Lightning met them. Buddy Rose was wearing an entire suit of knight's armor, only it appeared to be made of wood. Drawn Out appeared to be wearing a set of dark blue robes that appeared to take a liquid-like appearance, and was carrying a sketchbook in his hands. Ottavo was wearing an all black trench-coat with black pants and boots, and had a visor covering his face that wrapped around his face. And finally Moonbeam wore a small white dress with a pair of unattached white sleeves and a pair of silver long boots.

“Lightning, you need help buddy?” Ottavo asked.

The unicorn stared, bewildered for a moment before nodding slowly. “I... Guess you can say that.” He said.

“All right, let's get to work you guys.” Ottavo said, snapping his fingers. The fireworks all screamed towards the crowd of creatures before smashing into the group that was away from them. The creatures roared and screamed all at once, before leaping at the now flying unicorns.

Lightning hadn't seen a battle go so quickly. Two of his assailants leapt at Ottavo, before being struck down and smashed into the ground by a flash of energy from his fists. The pink unicorn then stopped flapping his wings, smashing into the ground with his elbow from what Lightning guessed was a distance of thirty to fifty feet.

The solitary creature that attacked Buddy Rose never made it up to him, a gigantic plant erupted from the creature's body which caused it to cry out horribly. Ottavo looked up and gave Buddy a smile before the unicorn landed down on the ground with him.

The pair of creatures that leapt at Drawn Out seemed to be having more of a dance with him. The unicorn was busily sketching something in his sketchbook, deftly dodging the incoming strikes as they all landed on the ground, before he smiled and let his horn flare up. The creatures glanced at each other for a few moments before letting out horrible screams of pain, their bodies slowly turning to stone from the inside out.

Moonbeam however just remained quiet, her hands and horn generating a white energy field which she used to beat the creatures with like a whip. As she and her assailants touched the ground, Lightning noticed that the creatures skin changed in color from yellow to blue before turning a sickly black. With a silent gurgle, they both collapsed, the energy from Moonbeam's attacks disappearing as they did so.

“Heh, great job you guys.” Ottavo said, watching as one of the creatures left alive got up. The four unicorns gave it a glare, forcing it to take a tentative step backwards before running like a maniac as far away as it's legs could carry it.

Lightning got to his hooves and staggered over to his, “friends,” amazement on his face. “What... What are you guys doing here?” Lightning asked the first thing that came to his mind.

“We were about to ask you the same thing.” Moonbeam snapped, jumping a little at the sight of Lightning. “Hold still, this might sting.” She said, her horn flaring up a second time.

Lightning cringed as a trio of magical snowflakes appeared over where he was injured and began healing him. “Well I couldn't sit in the city and do nothing. Krysta's family, and I'm not losing someone else.”

“Someone else?” Drawn Out asked.

“Yeah, someone else.” Lightning repeated. “Look, this isn't important now. What matters is that I get to the Temple of Unity before Titan attacks again so I can rescue Krysta.” He said.

“You aren't doing that alone Lightning.” Ottavo said sternly, shocking the wingless-unicorn. “Not with the condition you got yourself into from fighting a couple of Kobolds.” He said.

“Those were Kobolds?” Lightning asked. “They looked different than from what I heard of what they originally were.” He said, before snapping to his senses. “Wait a minute, why are you acting like you're in charge here?”

“Well out of all of us, Ottavo went into Military School for a few semesters.” Drawn Out explained.

“Yeah, and I got top marks in school even though my uniform was always missing something.” Ottavo replied. “That means I have the most book sense, but I know that book sense isn't the best on the field of battle so I kinda dropped out. I would have been a Minor Captain in the guard if I had stayed the full time.”

“In effect, we're stuck listening to the psycho.” Buddy Rose added, getting a glare from Ottavo.

“Hey, it's not my fault that I love doing stunts and poetry!” He snapped. “It's my special talent and-

You guys are acting immature.” Moonbeam said coldly, the light around her hands and horn fading into non-existence. The snowflakes that surrounded Lightning's injuries melted into water as the injuries he received earlier were gone.

“That's good snow.” Lightning commented, looking down his once injured arm. “Anyways, I'm heading to the Temple of Unity and you aren't going to stop me.” He said, turning to leave. He stopped as a heavy hand was planted on his shoulder, forcing him to turn around to see Buddy Rose glaring at him.

“Look Lightning, we know that you want to save Krysta.” Buddy began. “But you see, you can't do that alone.”

“Buddy's right, you didn't even have any armor on. You barely held your own against a few Kobolds and would have gotten killed by them if we hadn't been there.” Ottavo snapped. “We just need to head back to-

NO!” Lightning shouted, startling them all. “Krysta never gave up on me, and I won't give up on her.” He paused, turning away from the group before taking several steps away from them. “She and those captured unicorns don't have much time. And even if the Grand Ruler's army makes it on time, Titan could have drained their powers by now for all we know.”

“How do you know that?” Drawn Out asked.

Lightning shook his head. “I know because I can see it.” He said, concentrating a second time. His horn flared up with a flash of white light forcing the unicorns to shield their eyes. When they opened them, they could see their world as if it were washed in white, with streams of color focusing on a single point.

“What is this?” Moonbeam asked, watching a stream of sky blue magic leave and return from her body.

“It feels warm.” Ottavo commented as a stream of pink magic left and entered from his body.

“This is the Uniforce.” Lightning answered. “Or at least that's what the Grand Ruler told me what it was.”

“The Uniforce?” Drawn Out and Buddy Rose repeated, as streams of yellow and dark blue magic entered and left their bodies.

“Yeah.” Lightning replied. “This is what's been leading me in this direction.” Lightning replied, seeing an extremely large stream of black magic descend from the point of light into the ravine that was nearby. The other unicorns gasped as there was several other colors mixed in with the black stream, but they were all being drowned out by the black stream. “That's Titan's magic, and that's where Krysta and the captured unicorns are.” Lightning replied, concentrating a second time as the color returned back to the world.

“And that's where your going to go...” Ottavo said, watching Lightning nod.

“Yeah, and there's no stopping me.” Lightning replied, not looking at the other unicorns.

“Heh, I figured as much.” Ottavo replied, taking several steps forward. “Well then, I'm coming with you.” He said, shocking everyone.

“Ottavo, wh-what are you doing?” Lightning asked.

“I'm helping you out.” The pink unicorn answered. “Is there a problem?” He asked, turning to the other unicorns. “Besides, I owe you one from the other day.” He said.

Buddy Rose shook his head before stepping forward. “I'm only going because someone's got to watch out for you so you don't get killed.”

“Buddy Rose!” Moonbeam exclaimed. “What are you doing?”

“A daring task of great chivalry, with no guarantee that we'll be returning?” Drawn Out replied, stepping forward. “Sign me up sir.” He said, shocking Moonbeam.

“You all do realize that this is suicide at best?” She asked finally, watching Lightning nod.

“Heh, I may not believe in my chances,” Lightning paused, turning back to Moonbeam, “But I have to try nonetheless. Besides, Krysta wouldn't forgive me if I just left her and the other unicorns trapped like that.”

Lightning's words were firm, but Moonbeam's will was stronger. They remained silent for a few moments before the pale white unicorn sighed, gritting her teeth angrily. “Someone has to say, “I told you so,” I guess.” She said, stepping up to Lightning until she got up to his face. “But if we die doing this, you can bet I won't regret haunting you in the next life. You get me?” She snapped, watching Lightning nod.

“I understand totally, now let's go...” He said, stopping again. “But my ride's trashed...” He said, sighing angrily.

“Don't worry,” Buddy Rose replied pointing to a bright red Solar Flier with five seats in the basket that sat on top of the hill, “We've got room to spare thanks to Ottavo's ride.”

“Yeah, she's my baby.” Ottavo replied. “Now let's get going, Titan could be leaving any moment!” He said as they all rushed to the vehicle. Moonbeam stopped, a chill rushing down her spine as she looked around at her surroundings.

“Hey Moonbeam, you aren't getting second thoughts are you?” Lightning asked.

Moonbeam shook her head. “No... No it's nothing.” She said. “Let's go already.” She replied, following the guys up to the Solar Flier before mounting it.

Little did the unicorns know as the Solar Flier sped off with them in tow, a pair of draconic eyes were watching them. Hmm... This is an interesting development. Need to tell Lord Titan about it. The owner of the eyes, Callenfir, thought before pulling out a smaller black orb from the body of the remaining Kobold that survived the encounter. Titan appeared in the orb after Callenfir concentrated, which caused the Dragonkin to bow low.

“Callenfir, Report.” Titan ordered.

“Milord, Lightning Dawn survived the initial skirmish. But it was not of his own accord.” Callenfir answered.

“What happened?” Titan snapped.

“Milord, several other armored unicorns followed him and assisted him in handling the squad.” Callenfir replied. “Should I engage them now?”

Titan shook his head. “No Callenfir, do not engage them. Return to the temple. We must prepare an extra surprise for our extra guests.” He said wickedly.

“As you wish my lord.” Callenfir replied, watching the orb return to solid black before smiling. He concentrated a second time as a small vortex of magic opened in front of him before stepping inside and disappearing with it.

----

The unicorns had reached where the Temple of Unity was supposedly located in a relatively fair amount of time. Compared to the Solar Flier that Lightning technically stole, Ottavo and Drawn Out were arguing with each other about whether it was considered stealing within the confines of the law until Moonbeam shut them both up, the ride was actually pleasantly faster than the speeds that Lightning was going originally.

“Damn... What's that smell?” Ottavo commented as the Solar Flier slowed down immediately before setting itself back down on the ground and stopping.

“Death.” Drawn Out grimly replied, dismounting from the Solar Flier before helping Moonbeam from one of the rear passenger seats.

“There's a lot of necromancy in this area, stay sharp everyone.” Buddy Rose commented, before turning to Lightning. The unicorn's coat was significantly paler than normal, and it looked like he was going to blow groceries as he sluggishly got up from his seat. “Lightning... Are you okay?” Buddy asked.

Lightning nodded uneasily. Something was in the air that felt like it had a tight grip on his throat and was squeezing hard. “It's getting a little hard to breath.” He said, stepping out onto the dead-looking black stone and tripping on his hooves. Buddy caught him half way and helped him up, but gave him a look of honest concern.

“Hey Lightning, how come you aren't wearing your armor?” Ottavo asked, leaping from the driver's seat of the Solar Flier.

“Excuse me?” Lightning asked, surprising the other unicorns.

“Your armor. A basic type of spell that is connected to your soul and your beliefs?” Drawn Out asked, watching Lightning shake his head.

“The stuff we're wearing now, which makes our attack spells practically lethal?” Buddy Rose asked, receiving the same response.

“You... Haven't found out what your armor is yet... Have you?” Moonbeam asked curiously.

Lightning shook his head and hung it low. “Is this something that you learn in basic magic school?” He asked. The other unicorns shared a nervous glance.

“Well... It's kinda the first thing that your parents should have taught you right after you got your Cutie Mark.” Ottavo said gingerly, watching Lightning shake his head.

“Well then I don't know what my armor is, and I don't think that I ever will.” Lightning replied, looking up. “I lost my parents when my home, Tiberius 5 was destroyed by a powerful sorcerer leading a planetary war on itself. I was on an Escape Portal that was linked here in the last battle that our side fought in, but it was destroyed as soon as I arrived on this planet. My parents died in the defense of the portal, and I lost my wings half-way through the transport process.” Lightning said bitterly.

“So that's what you meant by-

I don't want to talk anymore about it.” Lightning snapped, cutting Moonbeam off. “I'll be fine, we should get moving. The Temple of Unity isn't very far off.” He said, marching forward into the darkness.

The remaining unicorns all shared a concerned glance, Moonbeam's mood changing slightly but visibly, before chasing after Lightning through the veil of black fog.

After wandering through a vast black expanse at the bottom of the ravine through what Lightning assumed was a forest at one point, Lightning stopped as the effects of whatever was in the air suddenly released it's hold on him.

“Lightning, what is it?” Buddy Rose asked.

“That thing that was bugging me, making the air hard to breathe, it's gone now.” Lightning answered.

“Something isn't right here.” Drawn Out said calmly, staring at the now mostly destroyed Temple. His keen eyes could tell that an entire wing to the T-shaped building was missing, as was the whole of the roof and half of the remaining wing was starting to rot away. Behind the Temple sat the gigantic mechanical cobra that attacked the Rainbow Capital, coiled up and remaining still.

“So, Ottavo... What's the plan?” Buddy Rose asked, watching the pink unicorn closely.

“I think that we shouldn't rush inside, especially since there's-” He stopped, his face grim as Lightning wildly charged the front door. “Of all the... Come on!” He snapped, taking off and flying after Lightning as the others followed in pursuit. The yellow unicorn didn't get halfway before he was tackled to the ground by Buddy Rose and nearly dragged back to where they started.

“What the... Lemme go!” Lightning snapped, continuing to struggle against Buddy's grip.

“Now why would you go and rush off like that? You want to go and get yourself killed?” Moonbeam asked crossly.

“There's only one of him and five of us. We have the advantage, there's no need for a plan so let's go!” Lightning snapped.

“Oh, I think that you should recount the fact that there may be a small army inside the church plus whatever's inside that ship of Titan's.” Drawn Out replied.

“Simply put, we're not gonna go in until-” Ottavo was cut off as a blast of cold, black air knocked the ancient doors from off of their hinges and onto the ground in front of them. Off in the distance, they all could see a black ball of energy just floating at the top of an altar before them at the other end of the temple.

“There's no time for this!” Lightning snapped, managing to wrestle himself free. The yellow unicorn charged a second time, much to the annoyance of the others, but stopped at the entrance to the temple. Something's wrong here... He thought, glaring at the orb of energy. Why am I just blindly rushing into this? Think about it for a second, it could be a trap.

“Why did you stop Lightning?” Moonbeam asked.

“I dunno, but something's... Affecting my head...” He said, placing a hand to his forehead. “We need to be careful, something's not right here.”

“And for once we agree on something.” Ottavo said, throwing his arms up into the air.

“Stay sharp everyone.” Drawn Out said finally as they all entered inside.

The state of the temple was getting worse and worse as they advanced closer to the ball of black energy. Lightning could have sworn that he saw bubbling pools of purple ooze frothing on either side of the main path that remained, and nearly jumped at the sight of what he thought were eyes on the inside.

“I don't like this...” Lightning said, his senses slowly coming back to him. I should have stayed back and thought of a plan... I should have listened to what Ottavo had as an idea for us... Lightning thought as the small group advanced within a reasonable distance with the altar. They all stopped as a loud, booming voice echoed from throughout the shambles of the temple,

“FOOLS, YOU HAVE WALKED BLINDLY INTO MY TRAP, CAUGHT LIKE THE VERMIN THAT YOU ARE!” The voice echoed, until the sorcerer Titan materialized right in front of them all, in his malevolent glory.

“Titan...” Moonbeam whispered as she and the other unicorns took an aggressive stance.

“All right, I'm giving you one chance Titan.” Lightning snapped, attempting his best intimidating voice. “Surrender and release the unicorns right now, or you'll have to answer to me.”

The sorcerer laughed, the sound bellowed off of every wall inside the temple and ravine until it made it seem like there was more of him there than there ever was. “You? What do you think that you can do?” He asked, glaring at Lightning.

Lightning wanted to say that he could stop Titan, but even that was a stretch. The sorcerer continued to glare down at them all, waiting for a response from him until,

“He can do plenty.” Ottavo snapped boldly.

“Really?” Titan asked, his attention turning to the pink unicorn. Well then, let's see what you've got.” He snapped, lifting one of his hands as it fired a stream of black energy at the unicorns. Most of them moved out of the way, with the exception of Lightning as he took a direct hit from the blast and was sent flying backwards several feet.

“You leave him alone!” Buddy Rose snapped, leaping into the air with a ball of energy of his own. He was intercepted however by a shadow that took the shape of a red armored centaur which struck him with the butt of the axe that it was carrying. Buddy Rose was knocked back to the ground, before being helped up by Drawn Out.

“Are you okay?” Drawn Out asked.

“Yeah I'm fine.” Buddy Rose replied, looking over his shoulder as Lightning was getting up to his hooves.

Two more shadows appeared on the right side of Titan; one taking the form of an pale-skinned elf in a black cloak while the other took the form of a gray draconic humanoid with black armor. They both were also carrying weapons as several hundred shadows all formed around them all, taking the shapes of Kobolds.

“Now what do we do?” Moonbeam asked quickly.

“That's an easy one my dear...” The draconic humanoid hissed. “You will all die.” He said, drawing a pair of very wicked looking curved swords.

Buddy Rose shook his head, glaring in the draconic humanoid's direction. “I think that you underestimate us.”

“And you underestimate your chances unicorn.” Titan countered. “Relicourse, Callenfir, Coristia, show these foals what they're dealing with.” He ordered coldly.

“Yes milord.” Relicourse replied. “All of you, get them now!” He shouted before charging forward.

“Let's go guys!” Ottavo cried, leaping into the fray with Buddy and Drawn Out as Moonbeam remained close to Lightning.

“Stick close to me!” Moonbeam shouted, her hands and horn flaring up with white magic.

Lightning nodded, watching as the ground that they both stood on immediately got colder until snow began to form. He turned, evading several swipes from the claws of the shadowy kobolds as the elf began to face off with Moonbeam.

A ball of snow formed in the unicorn's hand as it began to pulse with light. Moonbeam tossed the glowing snowball at the elf, who blocked it with an all black barrier. “You think a little frozen water will hurt me girl?” Coristia snapped.

“It'll do more than that fool.” Moonbeam snapped, racing forward and throwing a punch at Coristia, who blocked it easily.

“Fool? You don't know who you're dealing with. You are the fool for serving that insolent whelp Celesto!” She snapped, retaliating with a strike of her own.

The unicorn and elf traded blows, each one trying to land a strike against another until Lightning let out a yelp. Moonbeam turned, watching as several kobolds had surrounded him, before focusing her magic to generate icicles that erupted from the floor underneath where the kobolds were. Lightning turned, giving Moonbeam a thumbs up in thanks before snapping off a chunk of the ice to use as a club before more kobold's came at him.

“Your distracted!” Coristia declared, a black billowing smog erupting from her hands which knocked the unicorn back.

Buddy Rose and Drawn Out were having their own problems with Relicourse however. The tremendous double-bladed axe that he carried was keeping them back and nullifying their magic with each stroke.

“You two are honestly pathetic.” Relicourse snapped, firing a blast of energy at the pair before they could get another spell off. Both unicorns rolled out of the way before charging up their magic only to break their concentration to avoid another blast. “Only the weak rely on magic like you. Strength comes from raw power!” He said, managing to corner Buddy with several Kobolds before attempting to bring down his axe on his head. There was a loud, “CLANG!,” as a long, slim blade of a sword blocked and held back the axe's attack.

“You lay a hand on my friend and it's game over.” Drawn Out snapped, pushing the axe off of Buddy Rose before getting the centaur to face him. “My Imagine Blade will see your axe for what it is. Come.” Drawn Out demanded as Relicourse raised an eyebrow.

“You're not doing this alone!” Buddy shouted, throwing several kobolds off of him. In his hands was a massive brown flail with an all black chain and spiked ball on the end of said chain. “Let's do this!” He shouted, swinging the flail at Relicourse and inadvertently taking out three kobolds behind him.

Relicourse blocked the incoming attack with his axe as best as he could, and drew the zweihander that was sheathed on his back to block the incoming strike from Drawn Out. He smirked confidently, pushing Drawn Out aside and throwing Buddy Rose next to him. “It looks like things got interesting.” He said, charging back at the unicorns.

The draconic humanoid laughed maniacally, running one of his razor sharp swords through several kobolds in an attempt to get at Ottavo. The unicorn concentrated, several spheres of pink energy flung themselves at him before they were blocked by their targets.

“You aren't really good at this game are you pinkie?” He asked coyly. “You do realize that you're gonna die right?”

“Sorry, but I don't plan on dying today.” Ottavo snapped, catching and blocking several Kobolds attacks before throwing them all at Callenfir who quickly slashed through them all. “Especially when there's a pile of crap that needs to get thrown to the trash, and-” He stopped, slapping his face for a second.

“What's the matter pinkie? You realizing how bad it is to make a Dragonkin wait for it's dinner?” Callenfir asked.

“No,” Ottavo snapped, firing several blasts of magic at the Dragonkin which were blocked, “I just know that you've thrown me off of my concentration and that comeback was totally uncool.” He said before smiling. “But I do think that you have a little problem now.” He said, pointing at Callenfir's swords.

The Dragonkin looked down at his blades and saw that they were covered in a dark blue glue down their lengths. The glue dripped down to the ground beneath his feet, and it made the blades impossible to move. “What the... You little ankle trash piece of-”

He didn't get to finish his insult as Ottavo's fist smashed powerfully into his face. The Dragonkin was knocked flying back several feet, before he smashed back into the ground.

Ottavo smiled, easily pulling the blade out from the glue with his magic before turning to Lightning. “Yo' Lightning, here!” He said, using his magic to toss the sword back to Lightning.

The yellow looked up after bashing another kobold skull in with the icicle and caught the black blade by the hilt. He looked back at Ottavo curiously who smiled back at him.

“Consider it a gift!” Ottavo said, watching Lightning nod before running a kobold through.

“Thanks!” Lightning replied, before both unicorns returned to the fight at hand.

Callenfir however was furious, getting up onto his feet he glared at Ottavo. “You're going to wish you were never born fool.” He snapped, concentrating as a black vortex opened up by his feet. The Dragonkin then grabbed the hilt of a claymore that was about as big as he was before charging Ottavo.

“Heh, bring it scaly!” Ottavo snapped, readying another shot.

The battle continued for several minutes, and it appeared to Titan that Lightning and his friends were winning. He could see Coristia get flung backwards by a blast of ice and light that erupted from her opponent's hands. The elf was knocked backward to his feet, her body emitting smoke.

Relicourse was also having some trouble with the unicorns that were his targets, their continued combination attacks were wearing the centaur down until the dark blue unicorn held the centaur off enough with his blade as the green one blasted him backwards with a barrage of explosive seeds. Relicourse didn't fall, but he appeared to be leaning heavily on his zweihander as the results of the battle were taking their toll on his body.

Even Callenfir's combat effectiveness was being affected by his rage, his wild swings of the claymore were batted away by a hammer that his adversary summoned with his magic. The Dragonkin wasn't getting anywhere, and after a few swings his efforts were met with a giant firework being launched at him from point-blank range before said firework exploded in front of where Titan stood even making him cringe slightly.

As the Dragonkin struggled to get to his feet, Titan watched with an inherent curiosity as Lightning finished off the remaining kobolds with assistance from Ottavo and Moonbeam. The sorcerer heard an inhuman roar erupt from his feet and watched as Callenfir got ready to charge a second time.

“You will be silent Callenfir.” Titan barked, walking down onto the floor in front of the altar.

“But milord! They need to be punished! They-

ARE YOU CHALLENGING ME DRAGONKIN?” Titan roared, catching the attention of the other unicorns. Callenfir shook his head and fell silent, uttering a silent apology and bowing before Titan as the sorcerer turned back to Lightning and his friends.

“It's all over now Titan.” Ottavo said confidently. “Your soldiers and Lieutenants have fallen. Give up now and we'll make your trip back to your prison nice and easy.”

“Oh is that what you think?” Titan scoffed. “You may have bested my lieutenants, but I am far stronger than them. BEAR WITNESS TO THE TRUE POWERS OF DARKNESS!” He shouted as several tendrils of black energy erupted from the orb from behind him.

The unicorns all braced themselves as the energy violently knocked them all back before causing several explosions where they were standing. Titan's eyes narrowed as the smoke cleared after a few moments, the unicorns were struggling to get up and help each other up even though they were badly hurt. Another barrage of energy erupted from the sphere from behind him, slamming into the unicorns a second time and sending them flying backwards again.

Lightning's body was wracked with pain. It was as if every one of his nerves were screaming against him trying to move, but he still thought that he had to try. Slowly, and painfully, Lighting fought to stand up right again, followed closely by Moonbeam, Buddy Rose, Drawn Out and then Ottavo.

“You would still stand? Even at the precipice of your defeat?” Titan snarled. “How very foolish of you all. I hope that you've enjoyed these last precious moments of existing, because this will finish you all,” The orb behind Titan began to charge up for another shot as he paused, smiling wickedly at the injured unicorns. “It's a shame too. Your magic would have been an asset to strengthening the most powerful sorcerer in the universe. Too bad though. I bid you all farewell.” He said, the orb behind him firing the energy that it had stored from within.

No... Lightning thought, the streams of magic racing towards them. I can't let them die, I don't want to lose here... No I cant! I've got so much left to experience! He thought, his resolve hardening to steel as he stepped forward. A golden energy enveloped his horn starting off as a small ember, before erupting into a mighty flame.

“What's he doing?” Moonbeam asked, watching as the golden flame grew.

“Lightning, get out of here!” Drawn Out cried.

“We can handle this!” Ottavo shouted.

“Are you crazy?” Buddy Rose asked.

There's too much at stake here. Lightning thought, the magical flame that he generated getting big enough to consume his body. “And I'm not going to let you win here, not when so many lives are at stake!” He shouted, glaring through the flame at the blasts of energy that continued to fly at him. I can do this... I can do this! Lightning thought, his body surging with power as the magical energy around his body exploded in size, getting large enough to form a column of golden light which shot to the heavens as it appeared to be big enough to fit more than five unicorns standing hand in hand in a row. The blasts of black energy slammed into the barrier and fizzled out immediately. There was a loud roar that emitted from the golden column as a pair of bright blue, dragonic eyes shone from the column of light.

“Wh-What is this?” Titan gasped, taking a half step backwards as whatever was in the column of light let out another roar.

The golden column of energy exploded in a flash of light with a loud, “KABOOM,” knocking those that were standing to the floor save for Titan. As the light died away, everyone gasped in shock.

Lightning was standing calmly in between the claws and wings of a massive golden dragon made of the same energy that he had generated. The dragon's eyes gazed down on Lightning in almost like a motherly fashion, as it's front claws and wings moved back. The beast's golden tail swung out of the way, giving Lightning's friends a good look at his new attire. Lightning, whose eyes were currently closed, was now wearing a bright yellow and blue battle-suit that looked like it was made from dragon scales. A pair of golden dragons wings appeared to pulsate from his back, made from the same magic that the dragon that was standing over him was made from while a dragonic helmet covered his head save for his horn. His hands and hooves were covered in dragonic claws, completing the look.

“T-This cannot be! That's impossible!” Titan gasped, stepping backwards. “You can control the power?”

Lightning's eyes opened, a confident smirk gracing his lips. “Yeah, it's possible. But me controlling the Uniforce? Please, I'm just helping it destroy something that it detests.” Lightning replied, his horn flaring up again. “Namely you.”

Titan took a step backwards as a bow about as large as Lightning was formed in his hands. The Dragon that was around Lightning let out a roar before changing the bow into a blaster of sorts. The head of the dragon rested above where Lightning's right hand was, as the wings and body formed the rest of the body. Lightning lifted the weapon with ease and pointed it at Titan, the eyes of the dragon's head glowing a bright gold as a stream of magic formed into an arrow which knocked itself onto the bowstring.

Titan roared, his hands generating a barrier that he thought would be big enough to protect him. As the arrow was pulled back on the bow, even through his barrier of black magic he could see that it continued to glow with a radiant energy. He stopped, feeling the barrier strengthen as Coristia stood with Relicourse and added their power to the shield, making it big enough to protect them all.

“What do you think of that?” Callenfir asked, watching the armored unicorn closely.

Lightning just smiled as the dragon head roared. “That barrier's not going to protect you. And this will prove it!” Lightning snapped, pulling the bow back to it's maximum extent. Let this purify the darkness, and release those that have been captured, fly now! Lightning thought, releasing the arrow.

What happened next surprised everyone in the room. Instead of an arrow of magic, the dragon's head unleashed a stream of golden flame, large enough to consume a small enough building and powerful enough to vaporize an entire forest. Titan and his minions held off for as best as they could, the golden stream of flames getting more and more intense by the second until finally they broke through the barrier. The stream of fire drowned out the sounds of the screams from Coristia and Callenfir as it washed over the sphere behind Titan before dissipating. As the stream of fire faded, all Lightning could see was a cloud of smoke that rose from where Titan once stood.

Did I do it? Did I get him? Lightning thought, watching the smoke slowly fade. On the ground and around the altar were the captured unicorns and Krysta, all of them laying on the ground, unconscious.

“You did it!” Lightning heard Buddy Rose shout as he staggered a bit.

“A little bit showy, but yeah that was awesome.” Ottavo added as Lightning turned to face his friends.

“A little?” Moonbeam asked curiously, watching from the corner out of her eye as the color returned to their surroundings. “And this is coming from the Daredevil?” She asked.

“Yeah? And what's your point?” Ottavo snapped, glaring at Moonbeam.

“Uh guys?” Drawn Out began.

“My point is that you're being a hypocrite.” Moonbeam countered.

“Guys.”

“Hypocrite? And what about you?” Ottavo asked. “You were the one who was trying to keep us from coming here, but at the first notice you charge right into battle! Lightning could have gotten killed!”

“GUYS!” Drawn Out shouted. Ottavo and Moonbeam turned to Drawn Out who then pointed at the door to the Temple of Unity. The five unicorns turned and immediately bowed as the Grand Ruler stood at the entrance, his face a mix of emotions ranging from rage to relief, staring at the sight of Lightning and his friends.

“Y-Y-Your highness!” Lightning stammered, rushing past his friends and bowing low before the Grand Ruler. “I'm sorry, I had to! I couldn't just sit by and wait, Krysta was my family and-”

Lightning felt the cold armored backhand of the Grand Ruler strike him before he could finish his explanation. Lightning fell to the ground from the force before looking up at the Grand Ruler. His face was filled with fury, anger was visible in his eyes as the older unicorn removed his helmet.

“And did it occur to you that you were doing something stupid?” The Grand Ruler asked. “That not only were you endangering your life but your friends lives as well?” He asked, watching Lightning remain silent. The armored unicorn looked away from him, a clawed hand reaching to his face as he felt the strike. The Grand Ruler's face softened before he knelt down to Lightning's level. “Look, Lightning you were doing something against my orders whether you knew them or not.”

“Wh-What did I do wrong?” Lightning asked, the sting of the strike feeling fresh in his mind.

“You were endangering the lives of the citizens of Unicornicopia, namely your friends and Krysta along with the captured unicorns in pulling this stunt.” The Grand Ruler explained, his temper falling before extending a hand to Lightning. “I understand the why, but you need to understand that I could have handled it without you getting hurt. And that's something that I want to avoid for my subjects.” He said.

Lightning nodded before taking the Grand Ruler's hand before getting back to his hooves with him. “I apologize your highness. I didn't know what I was thinking.” He said, watching as the Grand Ruler nodded.

“You are forgiven Lightning. As are the rest of your squad.” The Grand Ruler said, shocking the other four unicorns.

“What,

Did he,

Just say?” Moonbeam, Drawn Out, and Ottavo all said while Buddy Rose remaining silent.

“I said that from this point forward, the five of you are going to be a part of a special squad, with my personal student at it's head.” The Grand Ruler replied. “And before you all jump to conclusions, commander!” He barked, as an orc in bright white armor appeared from the entrance behind the Grand Ruler.

“Yes your highness?” The orc asked.

“You have all of their school records right?” The Grand Ruler questioned.

“Yes your highness.” The orc replied, as a screen appeared in front of the Grand Ruler. The alicorn nodded, looking over the screen before it shut off again.

“That will be all commander, tell your men to be careful.” The Grand Ruler said, giving the orc an encouraging smile. The orc saluted before rushing off, leaving the unicorns alone. “Now everyone, because you all attended class and Lightning couldn't due to his special circumstances you will all be assisting him in his studies.”

“Wait, what?” Ottavo asked again.

The Grand Ruler smiled again. “You heard me Mr. Rima.” He said. “Though I will be teaching him how to control his powers which he demonstrated for you and Titan, you will all be helping him understand the tactics that the members of the Unicornicopian Army uses. I expect that you can understand what I say when I mean that he is in dire need of it.” He said, watching most of the unicorns exchange a glance.

Buddy Rose smiled before bowing low before the Grand Ruler. “It would be my honor to help train Lightning your highness.” He said, feeling the glares from the others. “Besides, it would help if we all got to know each other better if we're going to be a squad together.”

Drawn Out nodded, following Buddy Rose's example. “I agree with Buddy. I'd be glad to help in any way that I can.” He said.

Both Moonbeam and Ottavo glanced nervously at each other before following their example, kneeling before the Grand Ruler humbly. “We'll all help out your highness.” Ottavo said calmly.

“It's something that I'll look forward to.” Moonbeam said confidently.

The Grand Ruler nodded, finding their answers acceptable. He then took a moment to glance at his surroundings before sighing. “I should have figured that he would use this place to hide here. It is where I defeated him all those years ago...”

Lightning tilted his head sideways. “Is there something wrong?” He asked.

“No Lightning, It's something that you don't need to worry about.” The Grand Ruler replied before raising his right hand. Suddenly a horde of Unicornicopian soldiers flooded the ruins, some bearing hospital crosses while others bore crossed swords on their armor, until it got uncomfortably cramped inside. Lightning could have sworn that several Doctors and Nurses were looking him over as soldiers continued to move to the serpent mech that sat behind the temple. Lightning only watched as a soldier whispered something in the Grand Ruler's ear which caused his mood to decrease slightly. “Is there something wrong your highness?” Lightning asked.

“Well, that ship out there Is vacant and nothing more than a shell.” The Grand Ruler replied. “Meaning that Titan's soldiers escaped.”

“What about Titan?” Buddy Rose asked as he and the other members of the newly formed squad stepped forward.

“Titan is a lot stronger than he appeared today.” The Grand Ruler replied somberly. “I fear that this isn't the last we've heard of him.”

Ottavo smiled. “Well we'll be there to kick his tail back to where it came from!” He said, getting a laugh from everyone else.

I hope so Ottavo. Lightning thought nervously, watching as several doctors carried Krysta on a medical bed made for her. I hope so.

“Don't we all Lightning.” The Grand Ruler said, looking up to the heavens. “Don't we all.”

-End of Episode 2-

Chapter 4: Episode 3 Part 1: The Dawn of the First Lesson

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My Little Unicorn: Magic is Believing Redo

Rewrite By: Raising Shadows

Author's Notes:

Hey there everyone! It's just me, letting you know that I don't own the original story or the characters that are within it's confines. However I do own this version of the story, and everything that wasn't in the previous version is mine and mine alone. Now, with that out of the way, I hope that you're ready for a (Hopefully) action packed episode! I know that I sure am. Let's get on with the fic!

----

Episode 3: The Dawn of the First Lesson

“Energy readings at thirty-five percent and holding.”

“Course of the signature hasn't changed.”

Commander Star Voyager of the Unicornicopian vessel Liberator nodded. The scanners of the Heavy Cruiser had picked up an unusual energy trail that had been seen leaving the Klaatun Nebula for some time now. Even as they pursued the signature, the dark gray unicorn couldn't help but shake the feeling that something was wrong.

“Communications Officer, have you had any luck in making contact with whatever's generating that signature?” Commander Star Voyager asked.

A goblin that sat off to his left in front of him spun around and shook his head. “Not yet sir, I've bin' tryin ta make use of'n every channel that we got, but she's not responding.”

The commander nodded his head. “Tactics Officer, what's the read out on the scanners?”

“The scanners are not picking up anything Commander Voyager.” An orc that stood behind Commander Voyager's chair replied, turning from the screen in front of him. “It would seem that there is some sort of energy field that is blocking any attempts to determine what the energy signature really is. Shall I keep trying?” He asked.

“Yes, keep it up. I want to know what that thing is, and why it's out here in the Forbidden Quadrant.” Commander Voyager replied.

The bridge of the Liberator remained silent as they all continued their work. Something's not right about this... Thing that's here. And I don't like it. The Commander thought, scratching an itch with a free hand on his back underneath his black uniform.

----

The Liberator continued to pursue it's query in unending silence. The golden swan-like vessel continued to glide silently through the black void as small specks of space dust and the glow of nebulae passed on by. Nothing was halting it's advance, and nothing seemed to want to.

Calmly and silently on it went, before several more ships in a similar shape appeared around it, materializing from giant blue disks of light that were from either behind, in front of, or beside the Liberator. Almost twenty of them all had formed up around the main vessel, and began to create a tight formation around her.

----

“Commander Star Voyager, I hope that you realize that you are out of your designated patrol area right?” An orc asked, appearing on the main screen of the Liberator's bridge. Unlike the unicorn commander, he wore a suit of black leather armor that seemed to have a faint glow about it. From what the Commander could see, he was extremely furious.

“Look, Rear-Guard Captain(1) Tar-ke I know that I am breaking ranks by getting out of my patrol zone but-

No buts Commander. The Grand Ruler isn't one who likes deserters. Especially ones who have been known for doing this sort of thing.” The Orc's eyes narrowed. A bright blue unicorn was whispering something in his ear and from what Commander Star Voyager could see, it wasn't good.

“Is there something wrong Rear-Guard Captain?” Commander Star Voyager asked.

“It's nothing that you should be concerned about, but-

If it involves the energy signature that we've been tailing then yes it's something that I should be concerned about.” Commander Star Voyager said quickly, cutting the orc off. “It came from the Klatuun Nebula, and had slipped past our flagship's sensors.”

The expression on the Rear-Guard Captain's face went from bitter to grim in less than half a second. “You were assigned to the same fleet as the Excelion? And this signature got beyond even it's scanners?” Tar-ke asked. He began to sweat as the unicorn nodded grimly. After a few moments he turned his attention back to the unicorn on his right. “Send a transmission to Unicornicopia. The Grand Ruler needs to know about this, this is a Level Five Alert. All hands prepare for combat. This is not a drill.” He ordered, taking the Commander by surprise.

“What's wrong?” The unicorn asked. Just as he did so, the sound of a loud explosion broke the silence of the Liberator as everyone was violently rocked from their stations.

“Commander! We just took a hit from a torpedo, it pierced right through our shields and inflicted heavy damage to the hull just below the main cargo deck!” The Tactical Officer shouted over his shoulder.

“What hit us?” Commander Voyager asked quickly.

“Damage Control teams are reporting that it was of Gnoll make.” Another officer reported. “The heavy concentrations of Dark Magic allowed it to pierce through our shields, we can't defend against it!”

There was another loud explosion which caused everyone on the bridge to look up at the screen. Everyone on the Rear-Guard Captain's bridge that was visible was sent flying as bolts of black electrical energy streaked through their consoles. “I need eyes people, what in the void of space is hitting us out there?” Commander Voyager snapped.

“Sir... You may want to look at this...” The communications officer replied, looking up at the unicorn.

“Well?” Commander Voyager snapped. “Put it on screen!”

As the image of the bridge from the Rear-Guard Captain's ship disappeared, the sight that Commander Voyager and his crew beheld was horrifying. As far as the eye could see were ships, hundreds of them maybe even thousands of them, all colored in a sickly green and shaped like dangerous looking blade-like closed flower blossoms. They all gave off a dull, gray aura which radiated from every ship that they had seen and were as intimidating as staring at a wall of pike-men on a battle on a planetary surface.

“Gnolls...” Commander Voyager heard the Tactical Officer whisper grimly.

“And they were luring us right into a trap. One that we fell right for.” Commander Star Voyager growled. I didn't know that they were capable of cloaking technology though. Bastards... “All hands, go to Red-Alert! I repeat, go to Red-Alert! This is not a drill!” Commander Star Voyager ordered, the red alert siren beginning to blare from the speakers as the bridge began to take on a dull red color.

“Sir, we're being hailed. It looks like it's coming from the Gnoll Fleet.” The Communications Officer reported. “Should we respond?” He asked.

“Gnolls don't wish to talk.” Commander Star Voyager Growled again. “They only wish to spread dissent in the ranks of their foes, and effectively destroy them from the inside out. They're going to try and strike fear into us all, and it isn't going to work.”

“Ahh... What a touching speech Commander. It is a shame that your fellow fleet-mates don't feel the same way...” A voice, cold and harsh, whispered from behind the unicorn Commander. Commander Voyager stood, taking a few steps towards the viewing screen.

“Wondering who I am? It's no wonder that you were chosen to be a Commander in the Unicornicopian fleet. You are curious. Very curious in deed... Hehehehe. It is too bad that you will only know the name of your destroyer though. Especially when you have so much to live for.” The voice taunted, chuckling as the unicorn could feel a cold sweat beginning to form on his body.

“Who are you? And what do you want?” Commander Star Voyager asked, taking a nervous gulp. He could hear a rapid set of breathing in his ears almost as if someone or something was standing right next to him as he spoke.

“It won't matter in the end.” The voice taunted it's volume getting to the point of being barely over a whisper. “Lord Titan has promised us years of plenty for our generations to come. By feeding off of your corpses, we will never have to go hungry. Yes... Hunger is something that no race wishes to experience... But that is not what you asked me. You asked my name. Well I shall let you know, I am known as Thuroroq the leader of the Hedgeslayer Gnolls. And now it is time to die.”

The last words of the voice continued to echo in Commander Star Voyager's mind as everything seemed to slow down. Everything around him shook violently, but it was reduced so much that his mind barely had time to register hitting the floor of the bridge. A few moments later a bright ball of fire consumed the bridge of the Liberator, ending the lives of everyone on board.

----

From a different bridge across the void of space sat Thuroroq, one of the many lesser commanders of Titan's army. The gnoll was proud of his rank, and was proud of his position as all gnolls were. He was in a league all of his own as he commanded Titan's Hedgeslayer Gnolls, his group of blitzkrieg soldiers that were the first into battle and the last ones to leave. His father, Ekridias, would have been proud of his recent streak of victorious raids on the lesser moons from within the Klatuun Nebula if he hadn't been slain by a would be assassin.

“Milord Thuroroq, His Highness of the Dark Mastery Titan has unleashed a summons to all of those loyal to him to come to his side at Unicornicopia.” A gnoll replied, his hyena-like snout dribbling on the earthen floor of his master's vessel.

“Have a small scavenging party mop up what's left of that Unicornicopian Fleet. About Twenty to Thirty Ships ought to do it.” Thuroroq replied, watching from the view screen as several hundred torpedoes continued to bombard the shattered remains of the Unicornicopian ships. “Then answer Lord Titan's summons and set a course for Unicornicopia. With our skills, he will drink the blood of the innocent from the Grand Ruler's skull yet!”

“Of course milord. Setting course for the planet of Unicornicopia.” The gnoll replied before disappearing into the shadows.

“So our master has finally been freed hasn't he? I feel sorry for them already. Once Lord Titan starts something, he won't stop until his goal has been accomplished. Even if that means eliminating an entire race of beings to do so.” Thuroroq thought nastily as he waved an empty claw before grabbing a wooden chalice filled with a blood red liquid. “To Unicornicopia!” He ordered, hearing a roar of approval in response.

----

-The Rainbow Capital, A Week after Titan's initial attack on Unicornicopia-

The days that followed after Titan's release and initial attack on Unicornicopia were some of the most nerve-wracking on the population that Lightning had ever seen. Parents were escorting their children everywhere, looking over their shoulders as though Titan would jump out to attack them at any moment. There were guards and watchmen posted at ever corner and along the walls of the city everywhere, asking for anything and everything that proved one's residence even if they had lived their whole lives in the city.

The magical shield that protected the city streets below was still in need of repairs, one of the generators had been completely knocked out in the initial attack and was running on minimal power, as was most of the hospitals and main garrisons in the city.

But for the most part, Titan's craft wasn't aiming to seriously cripple the Unicornicopian Military from what Lightning was told. Or at least that was what it was to led be believed by the civilians from the upper ranks of the military. They themselves said that what transpired a week ago was nothing short of a small bandit raid that got lucky, and weren't going to let anyone tell them otherwise.

“Bandit raid my left flank...” Lightning uttered, glaring down at the morning's news reports as he read up on what happened. His mind was still thinking a mile-a-minute, as hundreds of questions continued to pour in and out of his mind but it all stopped at one question: “Why?”

“Is something wrong Lightning?”

The unicorn looked down, seeing Krysta standing on their dining room table in the house that the Grand Ruler had given him. The fairy was clutching a small piece of toast that Lightning had given her to share, and had her head tilted sideways a little bit.

“Heh, it's nothing really.” Lightning answered, setting the report down off to the side and picked up a piece of toast. “It's just that the military is trying to keep the citizenry out of a panic when they know that Titan's armies are outside of our atmosphere, waiting to strike.”

Krysta watched as the unicorn took a bite from his piece of toast. “Wait, didn't you destroy Titan with the Uniforce at the temple?” She asked.

“Unfortunately no.” Lightning replied. “What we saw at the Temple of Unity was actually a projection of Titan, meant only to transfer all of the magic he stole to whatever part escaped from the prison on his home planet.” He paused, casting a glance at the news report on the table. “We're really fortunate that he didn't get more than what he stole. Otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation right about now.”

Krysta shivered, the recent memories of Lightning standing watch over her as she woke up threatened to torment her. When she had came to, the battle was already over and Lightning looked like he was about to lose everything. Ever since she had gotten out of the Unicornicopian Hospital, Lightning had kept an even closer eye on her. So much to the point that it made her a little nervous.

“Well, at least everyone's safe.” Lightning finally said, finishing his toast before getting up and heading to the kitchen. “And that's what matters.”

Krysta hovered off of the table, her wings fluttering gently as she flew over to where Lightning stood. “Are you okay?” She asked, watching Lightning gaze out into the blue sky from the window in his kitchen.

“Yeah. I'm just glad that you're okay.” Lightning replied, turning to Krysta and smiling. The fairy's restoration of her own personal magic was remarkably fast, it took her a day after the initial battle with Titan to recharge her magic reserves where it would have taken a normal unicorn at least a week, and was taken out of magic intensive care the next day so she could rest. According to the doctors at the hospital, who were still baffled about how her recovery was progressing, she was ready to leave after the third day but was preventing from over-exerting herself. “Now Krysta, you remember what the doctor said right? No over-exertion?”

Krysta nodded as Lightning extended a hand for her to land on. “I know, but I can't just stay down forever. I mean, you've got your lessons with The Grand Ruler and everyone else and well... I just don't want-

“You're not going to be a burden Krysta.” Lightning said with a reassuring voice. “You saved my life against Titan, and I did the same for you. Had our roles have been switched, nothing would have really changed.”

Lightning's word's brought a smile to Krysta's face. “Yeah... Yeah you're right. I guess I did save your flank back there huh?” She said.

“Yep, and I'm glad that you did. But now's not the time to think about that.” Lightning said, watching Krysta's face brighten. “We need to finish getting ready so neither of us are late for the Grand Ruler's lesson.”

----

After a quick shower and change of cleaner clothes, Lightning and Krysta had set off for the main square in the Middle District. It wasn't too far of a walk from where he lived, at least fifteen minutes from his home, and when he arrived he could see the Grand Ruler from the northern side of the square.

The main square had suffered minimal damage from Titan's attack, as there were no military units garrisoned in the immediate area, but Lightning could still see the impact from the attack. The mood of the shopkeepers and citizens that were in the general area had been testy at best, and horrified at the worst, as the attempts to play off the arrival of the most dangerous being in the universe had failed in Lightning's eyes.

Several heavily armored soldiers were standing close by at the cafe that the Grand Ruler was at, when Lightning approached. It was a real modest place, the marble of the building being outclassed by the wooden accents of the structure that made them look brighter than what was intended. Several tables and chairs were sitting out in the front of the cafe with several other customers silently trying to enjoy their morning coffee, acting as though their lives might end at any second.

“Hold it right there buddy.” One of the guards, an orc, snapped at Lightning before lowering his spear at him. Lightning was still some distance away from the table where the Grand Ruler sat, close to the outer most point in front of the cafe so as to not detract from their business, but he couldn't exactly avoid a full spearman's charge. Especially from an orc wielding said spear. “You just turn right on around and go back to wherever it is you came from. Go on now, shoo.” The orc commanded, glaring at Lightning.

“Don't let the soldiers bother you Lightning.” The Grand Ruler said, picking up what appeared to be a very well decorated cup of really black coffee from the table and take a sip. “They're just doing their jobs.” He said, setting the cup back down.

Lightning blinked nervously before taking a step forward, watching as the orc dropped his guard, and returned to standing still like a statue. He found an empty seat close to the Grand Ruler and pulled it out, sitting down before casting a nervous glance at several of the soldiers around him.

“Something bothering you Lightning?” The Grand Ruler asked.

“Well... Yeah.” Lightning answered. “I'm sorry your highness, but how did you know that it was really me?” He asked.

The Grand Ruler chuckled a little. “My boy, you have so much to learn about your gifts.” He said taking another sip from his coffee cup. “You see... Those with a connection to the Uniforce are able to read each others thoughts. Had you been an imposter, I would have known because I wouldn't have been able to know that you happen to be really excited about today's lesson.” He said, taking another sip from his coffee. “That and Krysta's with you too, so that is also a dead giveaway that you aren't an imposter.” He said, smiling as the fairy climbed out from Lightning's mother's cloak.

“He's good...” Krysta said quietly, watching Lightning nod.

“Yeah, real good...” Lightning replied, watching the Grand Ruler chuckle.

“Oh, well I'm glad that you feel that way Lightning.” The Grand Ruler replied. “Now, before we get started, I am going to give you fair warning.” The Grand Ruler's mood instantly changed. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't frowning at him either. His face became unreadable, almost like a perfect mix of gentleness and seriousness all wrapped into a single glare. “I am training you because I have faith that you will be responsible in your use and connection with the Uniforce. I am placing my trust in you that you will not use these abilities in a selfish manner, that you will not use these powers for anything but the defense of your fellow being be they Unicornicopian or not, and above all you will not give in to anything that would follow the path to your ultimate destruction. These powers are not a toy, when used properly they can do amazing and wonderful things, but be warned,” The Grand Ruler's face turned grim, “When used in the wrong ways, the worst of things will happen. I am putting my trust in you that you will make the right decision in using these powers the right way. Break that trust, and I will break you. You will have become my enemy, and that will be something that I cannot forgive. Is that clear?” He asked, watching Lightning nod.

“Of course your highness. You can count on me.” He said, with a little bit of nervousness in his voice.

The Grand Ruler smiled, downing the remaining coffee in his cup before placing several gold pieces on the table, and rose from the table. “Okay now, if you would kindly follow me Lightning, we can finally get to your first lesson.” He said before turning to the soldiers surrounding them. “You men can take your leave, I'm sure that there's something better for you all to be doing than watching us practice magic.” He said, watching the awkward glances that were exchanged in between them. The soldiers then bowed slightly to the Grand Ruler before leaving, which left Lightning and Krysta the only other ones remaining there. “Now... Let's be off, shall we?” He asked, watching Krysta climb back into Lightning's mother's cloak before disappearing under it. And with that, both the Alicorn and the Unicorn set off.

A number of emotions tumbled and swirled about in Lightning's mind as he walked alongside the Grand Ruler. He could see all the looks that he was getting as they meandered through the crowds, some jealous looks others full of respect, and was conscious of the ones that stared behind him. The Grand Ruler told him not to pay them any mind, but it was getting hard to do so even as the crowds dwindled down the further they got from the main square.

As the walk continued, Lightning noticed that where they were heading was one of the smaller parks on the right hand side of the city. It looked like a relatively clean place the paths were kept neat and clean with only a few leaves covering the stone paths, several overhanging trees tinted the sunlight green as it shone through their branches in some areas, and flowers of every color of the rainbow were blooming from bushes all over the place. Lightning followed the Grand Ruler as he headed over to a blocked off section of the park, one close to a modestly sized lake, before stopping.

“Ah, now here we are.” The Grand Ruler said, looking around. “Lightning, I'd like to welcome you to Sunlit Springs Park, where our first lesson will begin.”

Lightning smiled before taking off the cloak he wore. He set it down on a small stone nearby, watching Krysta climb out of it, before giving the Grand Ruler his undivided attention. “I'm ready when you are your highness.” Lightning said.

“That your highness stuff won't be necessary Lightning.” The Grand Ruler replied. “I have millions of peoples, from hundreds of planets in the known galaxy call me that but I would prefer to be on at least a first name, title and name basis. It will make this hopefully a little bit more comfortable.” He said, watching Lightning nod.

“Okay you- I mean Grand Ruler Celesto.” Lightning replied.

“That sounds a lot better.” Grand Ruler Celesto replied, taking a deep breath. “Now, I must ask you Lightning before we do anything, what do you know about magic in our world?”

“Well... I know that magic is what gives a Unicorn their abilities...” Lightning's voice trailed off. “I'm sorry Grand Ruler Celesto, I didn't get to really learn much in the school that I went to when I was young.”

Grand Ruler Celesto nodded. “I see... Well then I guess it's time to give you, as they say, a crash course in magic.” He said, watching Lightning take a seat on the grass. “All right now, there are three things that you need to know about magic in general. One it draw's its power from Mana, the primal energies of this world in an extremely raw form. Mana is a source of creation and destruction, powering magics that would cause change to the environment also known as spells. Anything can be influenced by Mana, either through the energy itself directly or through the spell that it's powering. Mana cannot be directly controlled without dire consequences if not done properly, as it is like I said the pure unrefined energy of the world. One wrong mistake in it's control and you could wind up like a smoldering crater or far worse.” Grand Ruler Celesto watched as Lightning appeared to drink in all of the information like one would if they were without water for a couple of days. After a few moments, he cleared his throat and continued, “Now, there are other things and factors that we can use to relate to the study of Mana but right at the moment I'm just giving you a crash course on it. Are there any questions so far?” He asked, watching Lightning shake his head. “Okay, now the next thing that you need to know about magic is that there are two different types of magic. These are known as, “Sources,” and these are what we can use to draw Mana from. These, “Sources,” are opposite of each other but need each other to survive. Do you know why?”

Lightning stopped for a moment before he shook his head. “No, I'm not exactly sure.” He replied.

Grand Ruler Celesto nodded before continuing. “They need each other to survive so as to control Mana. Let's look at it this way, if you were out on a trip somewhere but you had no other means of travel other than your own two hooves and could only carry a weeks worth of two provisions, what would you bring?”

Lightning remained silent for a moment before realizing that it was an actual question. “Oh, well I would bring food and water.”

“But you could just as well bring other things though. Things that you didn't need to survive.” Grand Ruler Celesto countered. “But, you would bring those to counter your hunger and thirst right?” He asked, watching Lightning nod. “Now, let's say that you didn't need to be hungry or thirsty. But you brought those supplies with you anyways? What happens?”

“The supplies would possibly spoil... I think?” Lightning replied.

“It would get stagnant at the very least wouldn't it?” Grand Ruler Celesto replied, watching Lightning nod. “Now, while you wouldn't mind your supplies getting stagnant, that's something that cannot be allowed to happen to Mana. Mana is always changing, always doing, always reacting to something. If the Mana gets stagnant from overuse of one Source of Magic, then it is the job of the other Source to eliminate that stagnation. Otherwise, destruction will follow. It's a system of how the universe balances itself.”

A small breeze blew through where they were as Lightning seemed to grasp what Grand Ruler Celesto was saying. He looked up, processing the information in his mind before nodding slightly. “I think I get it...” Lightning replied.

“We'll go over this more into detail later.” Grand Ruler Celesto replied, watching Lightning nod before continuing. “Now, this is the confusing part so bear with me. These Sources are divided into three separate aspects each, general states of Mana that has been refined for us to use. From the two Sources, which we are going to call Light and Dark for now, we are given the forms of Life, Death, Belief, Doubt, Harmony, and Chaos. These are the six aspects of magic, and it is from these six that spells come from. Each of these aspects are the ways that we manipulate Mana, from growing the smallest seed into a mighty forest to tossing a ball of flame at an adversary. However, and this is important, the differences between these magical aspects will determine whether you are manipulating Light or Dark Magic.” He stopped, watching the information go right over Lightning's head for a few moments before smirking a little. “I see that you need a demonstration.” Grand Ruler Celesto said, watching Lightning nod.

“Well, that would help things.” Lightning replied, sharing a glance with Krysta.

The Grand Ruler smiled, before closing his eyes and beginning to concentrate. His horn flared up with silvery magic as six spheres of light appeared in front of them, each with a different color ranging from a bright yellow to a deep black. “Okay, now let's say for a moment that these are the aspects of magic. Each one has a specific purpose, and as such they all have different rules about them. Life is the most powerful aspect in the Light magic category,” He began, pointing at the bright yellow sphere to Lightning's left. “It's opposite is Death,” he motioned to the ball of black energy on his right, “And as you can obviously figure out they govern the way that Mana affects Life and Death. These two are always in balance with one another, if there is a place with no Death, then Life itself cannot truly exist. Sure there are higher planes which are exceptions to this rule, but for our argument's sake without one the other cannot exist. Life and Death are also the foundations for basic magic, whether they be for healing or attacking you are either bringing the spell to life or killing it with your magic whenever you cast a spell. Almost all of healing magic forms a base in this aspect of magic, as it is calling on your powers to reverse the effects of death upon something.” The Grand Ruler explained, looking down at a fallen tree branch before levitating it back to one of the trees above him and reattaching it with the sphere of energy.

“Excuse me... Grand Ruler Celesto?” Lightning began.

“Yes Lightning? What is it?” The Grand Ruler asked.

“Well... If the aspect of Life is used to reverse the effects of Death, than can we bring back the dead with it?” Lightning asked, watching the Grand Ruler shake his head.

“Unfortunately we cannot.” He answered somberly, casting his gaze at the sphere of black energy. “You see, even though Life can reverse the effects of Death, it only works in small quantities. A small cut, for example, is easy for the magics of Life. But as the injuries get more and more severe, so to does the amount of energy required to reverse that effect. To reverse the Death of something or someone is to go against the laws of nature itself. Not to mention that there's no guarantee that it will work.”

“But why though?” Lightning asked. “Why can't we bring back the dead?"

The Grand Ruler shook his head somberly. “It's just one of those things that only the universe has control of. Trust me Lightning, if there were any way to bring those that we loved back from the dead, then it would have been found already.” He stopped, watching Lightning's face fall for a moment before returning to normal. “Death magics are used to form spells that are solely used to harm or kill a magician's opposition, or destroy their targets. Sorcerers that use this magic let its power corrupt and twist their minds, and no matter their reasons, they use it for evil purposes.” The Grand Ruler said, levitating the ball of black energy towards several fallen leaves as they withered down into dust before the ball itself disappeared.

“Like Titan huh?” Krysta asked.

The Grand Ruler looked up. “Yes Krysta, like Titan. Though he believes that he has thorough control of Death magic, Titan is no more a puppet of Death as I am. We are all it's servants, just as we are all servants of Life magic. It all depends on which sides that we take.” The Grand Ruler calmed himself down before bringing the next brightest yellow orb, and the next darkest black orb and floated them together. “These are Belief and Doubt. These are very fickle parts of magic as where Life and Death govern when magic activates or not, Belief and Doubt govern how much power is put into a spell when it's cast.”

“Ooh, I know!” Krysta said excitedly. “This is where the Uniforce comes from?” She asked.

The Grand Ruler smiled, nodding in her direction. “Yes, this is where the Uniforce draws it's power. Simply put, the more belief that you put into your magic the stronger the spell becomes. However the reverse is true with doubt. The more that you place doubt in the spell that you're trying to cast or receive, the less effective it will be.” He said, concentrating as his horn flared up a second time before the yellow orb began to grow bigger. After a few moments, he concentrated again and caused the first orb to shrink and the second orb to get bigger. After a few more moments, he waved his hands and caused them both to disappear. “These don't have as much a visible impact as the aspects of Life and death, but they have great effects nonetheless. Don't push them aside so easily.”

“And the last two?” Lightning asked, watching the Grand Ruler smile.

“Ah, now these last two aspects here are some of the most interesting that magic has to offer. These aspects, known as Harmony and Chaos, draw mana and their powers from how well the source or sorcerer is in tune with his or her surrounding environment. Chaos magic is wild, untameable in most cases, and is strictly avoided because one will never know what would happen. But, just as Chaos is uncontrollable Harmony will do anything to maintain a proper order of an area.”

“So is having only Harmony a good thing?” Lightning asked, watching the Grand Ruler shake his head.

“Not Necessarily.” He replied. “Think of all of the things that wouldn't exist without Chaos. Laughter, Surprises, Humor, even things like Romance wouldn't exist in someways because having Harmony would only make things perfect all of the time. But just like needing Chaos, we need Harmony to counterbalance that fact. If there was no Harmony, then the universe itself would go back to the days when Discord ruled...” He paused, his face going very dark very fast.

“Is there... Something wrong?” Lightning asked.

“It's nothing. Just remember that we need as much Harmony and Chaos as we do for the other aspects.” The Grand Ruler replied, waving his hands as the two energy orbs disappeared. “Now that all of that's been covered, we're going to see if we can put some of that into practical use.”

Lightning's face immediately lit up, his mood visibly improving. The Grand Ruler smiled, before turning to the small pond that was nearby. With a smile he picked up a relatively smooth stone, barely small enough to fit in his palm, and turned back to Lightning. “Now, for our first live practice portion of this lesson, we're going to start on the basics: Telekinesis.” He said, watching Lightning nod even though it was a little half-hearted. “What's the matter Lightning?” The Grand Ruler asked.

“Well... You see...” Lightning began, his voice dropping off. “I was hoping we'd start off with something more than just basic Telekinesis. Something a little more exciting, you know... Like how I can actually use the Uniforce or something.”

The Grand Ruler's smile never faded as his horn flared up. “Hmm... Well when you put it that way, basic Telekinesis is beneath this kind of class...” He paused, looking around before getting a devious smirk. Suddenly at least a hundred stones erupted from the pond, all circling and orbiting the Grand Ruler like he was a small sun. “Here's the thing, without the basics you won't know how to do any of the advanced material. And I don't want you to go into battle ill-equipped to defend yourself.” He said gently, watching Lightning back up slowly. “Could you break through this line, without getting hit by a stone without your telekinesis?” He asked, watching as Lightning appeared to weigh his options before shaking his head.

“I don't think that I could.” Lightning replied.

“Then we need to get your foundation built up better.” The Grand Ruler replied, levitating a stone from the ones orbiting him to Lightning before letting it drop in his hands. The Unicorn looked up, which caused the alicorn to smile encouragingly. “This is the first thing that I want you to do: For at least an hour each day, you are to keep that stone that you are holding in an orbit around you. This is what helped me build up my magical strength when I was younger, and it will help you build it up too.” He said, watching Lightning blink.

“But Grand Ruler Celesto... I haven't held anything with my magic for more than a half a second before needing to drop it. How am I supposed to hold it for an hour?” Lightning asked, watching the Grand Ruler smile.

“Remember what I said about Doubt and Belief?” He asked, watching Lightning nod. “Well then, you must believe that you can. Concentrate, and let your connection to the Mana help you move that rock and keep it moving.” He said.

Lightning nodded, keeping what the Grand Ruler said in his head as he began to concentrate. His horn began to radiate with a bright golden energy and after a few moments, the stone began to radiate with the same energy. The stone then floated off of his hands and hung in mid-air for a few moments before dropping to the ground. The yellow unicorn glared at the stone for a second, before picking it up and trying again.

----

-Almost an Hour and a Half later-

Lightning was collapsed on the clearing, his mind and body worn out. He had tried at least fifty-and-a-half dozen times by his count and could still only maintain the levitation for a couple of minutes. His breathing was hard and labored, and he could feel sweat running down all over his body. The Grand Ruler sat close by in a chair that he had conjured up with his horn, and watched as the unicorn grabbed the stone from the ground at his side before staggering to his hooves to try again.

“Okay now Lightning, I think that you've had enough.” The Grand Ruler said, watching Lightning continue to stand uneasily on his hooves. He got up from his chair, it disappearing in a flash of light and a puff of smoke, as he calmly walked over to Lightning.

“One-huff-more-huff-time.” Lightning replied, using the branch of the tree that Krysta was sitting under as a support.

“Lightning, your magic is exhausted.” The Grand Ruler said calmly, watching the unicorn slip but catch himself before leaning on the tree again. “There is always later on in the day for you to practice, and the next day to be practicing as well. You still have a ways yet, but you did well for your first day.” He said, watching Lightning smile before exhaling deeply.

“Thank you your highness.” Lightning said, listening to the Grand Ruler chuckle a little.

“Now, our next lesson will begin as soon as you are able to keep that levitation up for at least an hour. Until then, I would suggest that you return back to your home and get cleaned up as your fellow squad mates and friends are there for your other lesson today.” He said, watching Lightning nod.

“Okay, I'll do just that.” Lightning said, calming down as his breathing got more and more under his control. “I'll see you when I have it done right.” He said watching the Grand Ruler nod before picking up his mother's cloak, helping Krysta into it as he did so, before leaving the park and heading home.

“He has more untapped magical stamina than what I first realized.” The Grand Ruler thought, watching Lightning disappear from sight. “He'll probably have it done before the week's out. That is if his friends don't wear him out first.” He said mentally, walking out of the clearing before heading back towards the Temporal Palace.

----

Lightning and Krysta arrived back to their home a few minutes later, though it was still an agonizing few minutes as he was still recovering from his lesson with Grand Ruler Celesto. His friends were already waiting outside when he walked up to the house, waiting for him to show up. Ottavo was the first to reach him as Lightning approached.

“By the Grand Ruler, Lightning you look like hell!” Ottavo exclaimed, getting whacked in the head by Moonbeam. “Hey! What was that for?” He snapped.

“Cursing.” Moonbeam answered, glaring at the pink unicorn.

“But-I- never mind.” Ottavo said before turning back to Lightning. “What happened?” He asked.

“I had my first lesson with the Grand Ruler today. And we practiced telekinesis of all things.” Lightning answered, wiping some sweat off of his brow before walking past the others. “He wants me to practice it for a while. At least until I can orbit this rock-” He held up the smooth stone that he practiced with in the park earlier, “Around my body for an hour.”

“Wow, so he's reteaching you the basics. The Grand Ruler must be really thorough in his studies then.” Buddy commented as Lightning opened the front door to his and Krysta's home.

“No that's not it.” Lightning answered, walking inside with his friends following close behind before sitting down on the living room floor(He had no furniture yet besides his own bed, and wouldn't get any until he had a job of his own to pay for it.) as he disappeared in the back. When Lightning came back out, Krysta was perched on his shoulder with her legs crossed over one another as Lightning sat down beside them all.

“It's not?” Drawn Out asked, watching Lightning shake his head.

“No, It's just that... I'm not formally educated on magic. And I was only barely able to keep a magical hold on somethings, though I would get in some minor practice every now and then.” He explained, hearing audible gasps before looking down at the floor.

“But magical education has become mandated by the Grand Ruler and his governing council! There's no way you couldn't learn anything about magic, especially if-

What if my home planet was blown up, and the way that the unicorns learned magic from said home planet was totally different than Unicornicopian standards?” Lightning snapped, cutting Drawn Out off. The yellow unicorn shut his mouth for a second before calming back down. “I'm sorry you guys, it's just that I wasn't able to understand Unicornicopian concepts of magic like you guys were. After the first few weeks I was removed from the system as the orphanage I was at saw that I was having a hard time with my magical education. I did go to non-magical school though and did all right there, but...”

“It's all right Lightning.” Buddy Rose said, placing a hand on Lightning's shoulder. “You don't have to feel bad about not being able to do magic well. Heck, We all learn magic at different paces. Yours is just coming out later than ours.” He said reassuringly. “I wasn't the best in my magical class either, but it was because the teachers I had went over my head when they taught us.”

Moonbeam seemed to smile for a moment before she spoke. “The elvish instructors who taught me were more of a theory-than-practice group. They preferred to talk about the magic that they used, and kept the demonstration to a minimum. I had to figure everything out on my own half of the time.”

“Magic was always something that I had fun trying to learn.” Drawn Out said quietly. “One of my instructors said that I was, “Too creative in the way that I acted with mana,” that was before I got an A for producing a water fountain in front of the school I went to when my magic went out of control. I still think that he's a little afraid of me from it.”

Everyone remained silent, looking back at Ottavo who glanced around. “What? Did I have problems in school? No, not really. I was too busy, “burning it down,” to really get into it. The teachers didn't mind after the first attempt, though I think it was because they were bought off to keep quiet, but after the fiftieth I think that they kept me away from the magical experimentation labs.”

“What were you doing in the labs?” Buddy Rose asked, watching as everyone gave Ottavo a curious glance.

“What does every foal or filly at that age when they're the last one in their class who doesn't have a Cutie Mark?” Ottavo asked, getting incredulous stares from everyone in the room.

“You blew up your school's magical experimentation lab?” Buddy repeated.

“Yeah, but after the fact I wanted to say that I was really sorry. So I wrote an apology poem, and this,” Ottavo lowered the pants he was wearing to flash a Cutie Mark that depicted an ink pen with an unfinished poem on the surface of the paper that was behind it, “Was a result of it. I loved the poem so much that I wanted to write more and more until I handed in almost a book's worth of poetry to the Principle's office. I think they still have it even though it's not very good at all.”

They all shared a laugh before getting quiet again. The day was still far from over, and they knew that the training that they had planned for Lightning to get him up to speed with Unicornicopian Military Tactics was still looming in front of them. Lightning was the first to speak as he cleared his throat. “So... What's the plan?” Lightning asked.

“You mean how to train you right?” Moonbeam asked, watching Lightning nod.

“Yeah. How're you going to do it?” The yellow unicorn asked.

“Oh, well we've all decided to judge that based on how well you do in The Pit.” Ottavo replied, causing them all to shudder except Lightning and Krysta.

“What's The Pit?” Krysta asked, getting a smirk from Ottavo.

“Well, it's something that me and my Military School buddies came up with. You're gonna love it so come on!” He said excitedly, leaping to his hooves before lifting Lightning up and walking him out the door. The remaining unicorns shared a nervous glance before giving a nod and following Ottavo and Lightning out the door, locking it afterwards.

----

“This... Is The Pit?” Lightning asked, looking down at the scene from the hill that he and his friends stood on. He expected a crude ring made from bloody piles of twisted scrap metal and burning piles of rubber. What he got instead was a sort of magically altered obstacle course, complete with a maze-like section of ruined houses and a wall with a rope for him to climb with. There also was a set of handlebars dangling across a deep looking hole before the house maze, and at the end sat a red buzzer on a pedestal high on top of a metallic mountain.

“Yo' Ottavo, we got The Pit all nice and ready for the rookie. Is he here?” A burly looking orc in an all black junior Star Officer's uniform said, walking forward with several unicorns and a few goblins.

“Yeah he's here Cleaver.” Ottavo replied, spitting into his hand and shaking it with the orc. “This is Lightning Dawn, you know the guy I told you about? The one who chased off Titan?”

Cleaver nodded, casting a glare at the wingless unicorn. “Hmm... He seems like he's been workin' out all ready. You think he's gonna make it through The Pit?” He asked, watching Ottavo nod.

“He'll get as far as I think he will that's for sure.” The unicorn replied before turning to Lightning. “Lightning, this is the constructor of The Pit and one of my Military School buddies, Augustus Cleaver, First Lieutenant of the Junior Star Officer's division in the Grand Ruler's Interstellar Navy.” The orc gave Lightning curt nod before extending him a clean hand.

“It's a pleasure to meet freshies. Especially ones who already have a reputation like yours Lightning.” Augustus Cleaver said, releasing Lightning's hand.

“Same here, but what's a freshie?” Lightning asked.

“Someone who's in the Unicornicopian Military, but who's had no formal training.” Moonbeam answered, watching Lightning nod.

“Well now, ain't she smarter than a bookworm after its eaten a dictionary? Ottavo you done got yourself a good bunch of squad mates.” Augustus said.

“Yeah, we kinda are.” Drawn out said, watching as the orc nodded.

“Well, the course is set up for you all. Hopefully you can get the dynamic for your squad down before the fightin' starts.”
He said somberly. “Because you'll need it. Lock'er up after yer' done and clean up as soon as yer' finished, we don't want her to look like last time now do you?” The orc asked, watching Ottavo shake his head.

“Don't remind me.” He said, catching the keys from the orc in mid toss before he and his group walked past. “She'll be in better shape than when you let us use her.” Ottavo finished, watching Augustus nod.

“Good, because if she ain't yer head's gonna be seein stars.” Augustus finally said before he and the other soldiers disappeared around the main building's corner.

Ottavo chuckled a little before leading everyone inside, guiding them to a small control box near the start of the course. As everyone got comfortable he smiled. “Now, let's see what we've got shall we?” He asked, watching everyone exchange nervous glances.

----

According to Ottavo, The Pit's layout was simple: get to the buzzer at the top of the tower before your physical strength ran out. Doing it was the hard part according to him. Only one unicornicopian in the history of the military managed to complete the course, and it was the one who made it: The current Master Guardian of The Interstellar World. Not even the Grand Ruler was able to finish as his own haste and over-correctiveness managed to force his own physical strength to wear out by the time he got to the half-way point on the tower. That and he didn't want to cheat and use his powers on something that a good friend of his challenged him to overcome without his powers. They had a playful bet to see if he would finally ever reach the top, but it still went unsettled to this very day.

Ottavo explained that he had only gotten to the houses before he ran out of time when he first ran the course, but he always kept at it. The layout of the course itself, seven sections in all, was designed to teach a soldier or hopeful where their weaknesses were and how they could use their teammates to help them overcome those said weaknesses. It was one of the reasons why the Master Guardian built the course in the first place.

“Well then you could say that the Master Guardian is absolutely perfect on the battlefield?” Lightning asked as Ottavo readied himself for the course.

“Nah, the Master Commander may be good but he can't exactly be the best on the battlefield. Not even the Grand Ruler can do everything on the field of battle all at once.” Ottavo replied. “I heard that the Master Commander just got lucky.” He said, watching the others stare at him in disbelief.

“Then how is Lightning supposed to complete the course?” Krysta asked.

“Apparently he isn't.” Drawn Out replied, watching the fairy cast Lightning a nervous glance as he appeared to prepare for the course.

A buzzer blared as Ottavo took off, nearly leaping through the Pit as if he were making it look easy. He stopped on an inverted climb halfway through the course, waiting to gather up enough momentum before grabbing the top on the second try, and made it to the house maze. He exited and started the ascent up to the mountain tower of pipes just as the timer rang out, sending the pink unicorn crashing into the water below. A few moments later, a very drenched Ottavo Rima stepped into the console room and was steaming. “Who's up next?” He asked, picking up a towel.

Buddy Rose was next and he did well on everything except the, “Warped Wall,” as it was called, he ran out of time before he could get up on to the ledge in time. Moonbeam made it to the first wall and climbed it quickly, but nearly broke her neck by slipping and falling into the water below. After being helped out and checked on, she returned to the console room with nothing hurt except her pride. Drawn Out never got to the first wall as he tripped over his own hooves on the trampoline jump before the wall and landed with a hefty belly flop into the pool of water below.

Then it was Lightning's turn.

The yellow unicorn seemed to have a combination of excitement and nervousness flow through his body as he stepped out onto the initial start platform. His first obstacle, a set of five slanted ramps that made a path across the first pool of water. That was followed by several hurdles made from the same heavy oak that the first wall was made from, then the trampoline. “I can do this... I think.” Lightning thought nervously before hearing the start siren blare. “Let's go.”

The first gap was easy enough, Lightning had seen the others clear it and mimicked where they landed in their runs. Even the wall hurdles were no trouble, Lightning blazed through them faster than he thought was possible. Then Lightning got to the trampoline jump that ended Drawn Out's run and leapt onto it, making it across the gap and grabbing the climbing wall's rope. He struggled with that section, his hooves made it nearly impossible for him to find any traction on the wall's surface as he climbed up it, and it was just as unforgiving on the way down which ate away at his time. Lightning was now at the same obstacle that ended Buddy's run, the Warped Wall, and ran at it at a full charge. However, as he made his way up the wall he heard the loud finish siren and stopped in mid grab, sliding down the surface of the wall.

“Not bad Lightning.” Ottavo commented as Lightning entered the console room. “I think we've got something to work with, and that's saying something coming from me. I didn't have much to work with from the first time I ran the course.”

“What do you mean?” Moonbeam asked, tossing Lightning a towel.

“I fell on the first obstacle every time.” Ottavo replied. “Now that the preliminary exam that I gave has been done, let's get everyone else's taken care of.” He said, receiving nods from everyone else.

----

By the time Lightning was done, he had taken and most certainly failed, four fully standardized military exams. But he knew that he had truly tried his best on them. As soon as the last one was finished, they all tried The Pit once again but made no progress than what they made earlier before, before cleaning it up and heading back to Lightning's home. Ottavo had given Lightning a book on basic military tactics for him to read as they all hung out for a while longer, while Drawn Out and Buddy Rose were giving him tips for the course in the future. Krysta and Moonbeam were busy chatting about something, and before long the group left leaving Lightning and Krysta alone.

“I just hope nothing too terribly dangerous happens.” Krysta said, looking into the starless sky from their bedroom window.

Lightning snorted, looking out of the same window from his bed. “Well if it does happen then we need to be ready. Who knows when Titan will strike, and how he'll do it?”

“You can't expect to be literally ready for anything can you?” Krysta asked.

Lightning shook hid head. “No, but I can try.” He replied before closing his eyes and going to sleep.

(Continued in the Next Chapter)

Chapter 5: Episode 3 Part 2: The Dawn of the First Lesson

View Online

(Continued from the last Chapter)

----

As Lightning slept, high above the Unicornicopian surface and just past one of the Planet's moons, sat Titan's ship, Lying in wait on the its dark side. As the battle station seemingly drifted in the shadows of the moon, Titan sat calmly on the throne of bones that was made out for him.

There was something off about that unicorn that the copy he made from his dark magic faced earlier. Something that he couldn't quite place that made him uneasy. “That was no ordinary magic...” Titan thought as he stared out into the endless void from the bridge. “That force that the unicorn used... That was something brought back from a long and forgotten age. The time when Darkness and Evil was at its peak.”

The sorcerer couldn't believe that what was in essence a lesser clone of his own body would be destroyed by someone so weak as the unicorn. And even as he replayed the thoughts out in his mind, there was something that always seemed to keep him from making a connection. “Why?”

One of the entrances opened up from behind Titan as the sound of hooves trotted across the blood red metal floor. Titan cast a glance to his right as Relicourse walked from behind Titan and turned to face him before bowing low. “Yes? What is it?” Titan snapped, watching as Relicourse rose from his bow.

“My lord, I have just came to report that the Hedgeslayer Gnolls have just arrived.” The centaur replied. “Their leader, Thuroroq has requested an audience with you.”

Titan nodded before waving his hand off in Relicourse's direction. “All right, let the Gnoll speak.” He said, watching Relicourse nod.

“Bring the view screen up.” Relicourse commanded, watching several of the mutated Kobolds began working on the panels down below them. After a few moments, a black screen appeared in the middle of one of the windows before it revealed the deck of a ship on board in less than half a second. Instead of seeing metallic computer panels and glass screens from the main deck, Titan could see that the deck of the ship was more like a forest clearing. Several columns covered in tree bark disappeared from the top of the screen as several branches darted this way and that; a dull green glow could be seen emitting from the rocks that lined the walls and a tall oaken throne, smaller than the one Titan currently sat in, stood proudly in the middle of the deck.

The natural feel of the deck wasn't the thing that surprised Titan. It was the Gnolls themselves that surprised him. They were like tall hyena-like humanoids, standing close to his shoulder and had varying coat colors of dark murky brown to gray. They all had on suits of metallic armor that looked like it was made from wood that covered up most of their bodies save for what he could see, and they all had maniacal but respectful grins on their faces. Their leader, a dark brown coated Gnoll wearing a bloody black set of armor with a robe made of pelts bowed low as his servants did so.

“My Lord Titan, It has been a while since my people have served your dark cause. We are honored to be able to serve you again.” The leader of the Gnolls said as he remained low.

“Your tongue is as sly as your loyalty is fierce, Son of the Cunning Deceiver.” Titan commented, waving his hand to let the Gnolls to stand. “Though I hope for your sake that you keep your end of the bargain that he and I struck.”

Thuroroq nodded. “Of course Lord. We are not without our honor, and you have honored us with conquest after conquest.” The Gnoll smiled devilishly. “I humbly and most sincerely apologize for being late to your call as we met up with a small group of Unicornicopian ships that attempted to stop us. They are being scavenged for parts by our ships even as we speak.” He said, bowing low again.

“There is no need to apologize.” Titan replied, waving a hand at Thuroroq. “You are the first ones to arrive as always. And you are the first ones to begin my invasion of Unicornicopia itself.”

The Gnoll smiled. “I humbly thank you milord, you have given us a task with which we have more than the power to accomplish.” He then turned as a Gnoll in dark green robes appeared from the ground beside him. After whispering something in his ear Thuroroq's ears perked up as a very toothy grin graced his lips. “It is ready then?” He asked, casting a glance at the Gnoll but never turning his attention away from Titan.

The robed Gnoll nodded, giving Thuroroq a glowing green basketball sized seed. The sight of the seed caught Titan's attention, which Thuroroq noticed. “Milord, allow me to present to you the first of our many gifts. The Vein Harvester.”

“What is it?” Titan asked, watching the seed closely.

“This, my lord is something that we've perfected in our time separated from your grace.” Thuroroq replied. “Simply put, The Vein Harvester is meant to destroy and devour all of our enemies crops thus rendering the enemy's standing force unable to mobilize. With it's abilities we will crush those Unicornicopian fools, and exterminate the vermin that stand in your way. If using it is to be your will that is.”

Titan nodded, his dark mind mulling over the idea. He then looked back up and nodded. “Go ahead and prove yourself to me Gnoll. If your gift is as worthy of what you claim, then Unicornicopia should be crushed within a day.” He then smiled though it couldn't be seen from underneath his hood. “Though I am going to send my general Callenfir to oversee the operation. I do not tolerate failure, as I am sure your father had warned you. Fail and I will see to it that you burn in your throne of wood and stones.”

The Gnoll gulped nervously but nodded all the same. “Of course milord. We will not fail.” Thuroroq finally said, giving another bow to Titan.

“Then begone from my sight. I have much to think about and do not wish to hear anything until your success.” Titan replied, watching Thuroroq give another quick bow before the screen cut to black. Titan watched as Relicourse turned to go and glared at him. “Is there something that you do not like about my course of action centaur?” Titan snapped.

“No milord. I would have done the same thing myself if I were in your mighty position.” Relicourse replied, watching Titan nod.

“Well then, see that Callenfir is notified that he is to meet up with the Hedgeslayer Gnolls on the Unicornicopian surface. I expect no mistakes, is that clear Relicourse?” Titan asked.

Relicourse nodded. “Of course milord.” He gave a quick bow to Titan. “It is your will, and your will be done.” He said, watching as Titan waved him away. The centaur left quickly, leaving Titan back to thinking about that strange unicorn.

“Now the stage is set Celesto... What will you do?” He thought, continuing to view the interstellar void from his throne in silence.

----

Sometime later, close to dawn on the Unicornicopian surface, a group of smaller vessels in the shapes of dagger-like leaves from the Gnoll fleet were flying through the cloud cover that was beginning to roll in from the west. They were headed towards a smaller settlement than the Rainbow Capital, a town known as Redwood Valley.

“It doesn't look like much.” Callenfir commented, looking over a heads-up display map that was on the lead craft's central monitor. At least a hundred Gnolls all sat underneath him in black metal armor, readying themselves for the coming battle.

“General Callenfir, I assure you that the Vein Harvester will do it's job as promised.” One of Thuroroq's lieutenants, a dark brown coated burly Gnoll replied.

Callenfir shook his head before turning to the Gnoll. “That's not what I meant.” The dragonkin snapped. “Of course your Vein Harvester thing is going to do it's job. What I don't get is why we're attacking this backwards town here and not going for the capital.” He snapped.

“It is simple strategy that Lord Titan has embraced when he admitted us into his armies.” The Gnoll replied. “An opposing force cannot hope to defend themselves on an empty stomach. And without a source of food, the enemy will be slaughtered or surrender.” Callenfir nodded, but his scowl was still visible.

“I just hope that it doesn't finish the fight before it starts...” The Dragonkin grumbled.

“General, we're now approaching the settlement.” Another Gnoll reported, catching Callenfir's attention.

“Take us down outside the village, and remain near the ships until I give the order.” Callenfir barked as the ship began to descend. He could see the small sprawling hamlet from the cockpit as they broke from cloud cover, the city itself was dark but surrounded by fields as a huge redwood forest took up most of the surrounding area.

After a few minutes, Callenfir could hear the ground touch the, “legs,” of the ship and got out of his seat and made his way to the back. After a few moments, he climbed out and stepped back as a rank earthy scent met his nostrils which almost blocked out anything else. “What in the name of darkness is that?” The Dragonkin asked.

“Pardon my rudeness General, but that would be the nature of this world that you are currently smelling.” The Gnoll Lieutenant replied. Callenfir turned sharply, about to take the Lieutenant's head off only to find the Vein Harvester clutched in his claws.

“You got lucky this time Gnoll.” Callenfir said quickly, walking off as the Lieutenant began to follow.

At Callenfir's first glance, he appeared to have only Gnolls in his ranks. But after a quick head count, he could see that he only had a small battalion of Gnolls(at least three-hundred and fifty of them) while he had at least two thousand Kobolds at his disposal. “Great... Just what I need to lead into battle, cowards and backstabbers.” Callenfir thought angrily before the soldiers behind him lined up in formation. “All right meatsacks, listen up. Our goal is simple, get this-” He turned to the glowing green seed with disgust, “-Vein Harvester into the fields of our lords enemies. After it get's to working, we don't stop until every last part of their food supply is effectively destroyed. Is that clear?” He snapped, watching as they all gave loud roars of approval. “All right, we approach from the south. If there's any resistance, kill'em.” He commanded, walking past the columns of soldiers before drawing his sword. “Just let me find a Unicornicopian soldier, I want him to see death before it claims him.” The Dragonkin thought nastily.

----

Down at the town below, several families were just now beginning to wake up as their work days had begun again. They knew that Redwood Valley was one of the most important towns in Unicornicopia, and they wanted to keep the importance alive. As the groups of farmers that ranged from unicorns and Orcs and some Goblins all got ready to start their day, one of them saw something. A glowing red mass that approached their town.

“What's that?”

“Never seen somethin' like that before?”

“Is it dangerous?”

Before any of them could react, a loud screeching roar pierced the night which chilled them to the very core. From out of the forests that surrounded them, a huge column of what only could be described as death descended from the trees, guided by what appeared to be a winged demon and a glowing green orb.

The farmers cried out in terror as the column advanced, at an almost monstrous pace, and didn't stop until they were all at the square. More and more civilians came out to see what was wrong, only to look on with horror as smoke plumes rose from the fields. Some tried to rush over to the fields, but were stopped at the warnings of the danger. All they could do now is wait for the soldiers from the Grand Ruler's army to come.

----

At the center of the destruction was not Callenfir, no it was the Vein Harvester who had taken on a monstrous human-like appearance with a pair of vines for arms and legs, both of which were covered in dark brown bark. The central seed was now covered in the same bark, and at the top of the head there appeared to be a demonic looking crown that was made from branches sitting on the top of the beast's head. The Vein Harvester flailed and swung it's arms wildly, cutting down swaths of the crops that were in the fields as they began to become blackened and filled with decay.

“So... This is it?” Callenfir snapped. “This is your big Vein Harvester?”

“Patience General. We still haven't tested it on non-plant matter.” The Gnoll Lieutenant replied.

Just as Callenfir was about to say something else, a loud trumpet began to blare out from the heavens as several hundred unicorns in white armor could be seen flying over head. As the column of his troops began to leave the first field, another group of Goblins, Orcs, and Elves were standing in the middle of the road that led into the next field. “Well then... Perfect timing.” Callenfir commented mentally before grinning.

“I hope you are prepared for Tartarus Dragonkin.” An orc in a very regal looking suit of white armor with golden trim snapped before drawing a battle-ax. “You can take your abomination there with you as you send your cries back to your master Titan.”

“Heh we'll see about that.” Callenfir scoffed. “Vein Harvester, let's see you do your thing.” He ordered.

The next few seconds were some of the most intimidating of even the Dragonkin's life. The armored orc charged, letting out a mighty roar as the Vein Harvester did nothing but step forward. After the commander got a few steps, a sharpened wooden spike erupted from the ground underneath the commander, impaling him. But even as the commander struggled against the pain, his body then began to wither away just like the crops that Vein Harvester previously destroyed before it was finally reduced to nothing. The wooden spike then disappeared back underground, which caused the body to drop and be reduced to dust.

“Oooh... Very nice.” Callenfir commented, giving a demented cackle towards the enemy soldiers. “All units, CHARGE!” The Dragonkin ordered before leaping at the intimidated Unicornicopians.

----

What was left of the Unicornicopian military at Redwood Valley was reduced to several soldiers scattered across the ruins of the city, fighting for their lives. Titan's forces suffered minimal losses, the Vein Harvester saw to that as none of them could get close without meeting a branch or a poisonous bush halfway into their charge, and had spent the early morning rounding up the villagers of the community.

The Vein Harvester, under heavy guard as instructed by Callenfir, was busily finishing off the crops from the farms around the main portion of the city as the main fighting force for the Hedgeslayer Gnolls were busily fortifying the area.

“Are you quite pleased with the results General?” The Gnoll lieutenant asked, watching the Dragonkin turn to his direction.

“Actually yeah.” Callenfir replied. “This went a lot smoother than I could have hoped. Now what's the status on the fortification of this backwards place here?”

“We've almost finished with the inner defensive wall General. There are patrols that are scouting the area for more resistance, but half of the battalion is still within the walls ready to defend our position should there be a need for it.” The lieutenant answered. “Then there is the Vein Harvester itself, which can wipe out the enemy when we call it to battle, but it's recharging its powers at the moment and will be in fighting form momentarily.”

Callenfir nodded, before heading to a small communications array that was being loaded off of the ship he arrived in. “Set that down, I need to make my report to Lord Titan.” He barked at the struggling Kobolds. They did as they were bidden, stepping back as the Dragonkin pulled an all black crystal from his armor and placed it into the flying saucer-esque device. The machine roared to life for a few moments before a hologram of Relicourse appeared above the device.

“Callenfir, your report isn't due for another ten minutes.” The centaur said. “You can't have taken your target already.”

The Dragonkin smiled. “Oh well that's where that Vein Harvester came in handy. It cut through their numbers like butter.”

“I see. Well then I-

I would like to report this to Lord Titan himself.” Callenfir snapped, cutting Relicourse off. “It's my victory, and I would like to let him know personally. Though I couldn't have done it without the Gnoll tech we received.” He said, watching Relicourse nod.

“Of course Callenfir.” Relicourse replied, his hologram disappearing as the Dragonkin bowed low.

“I have heard that you met with success in your first encounter with the Unicornicopian scum Dragonkin. You have done well.” Titan's voice said coldly as his hologram appeared before them.

“There wasn't too much resistance milord, only about a full battalion met us here and they didn't look like they were properly trained.” Callenfir replied. “Heh, I could've possibly taken them on without the Vein Harvester. But that's hearsay, I'm just here to report that we have a beachhead on the Planet's surface.” The Dragonkin watched as Titan's eyes narrowed, appearing to think hard about something. “Is there something the matter milord?” Callenfir asked.

“Yes...” Titan said, rising from his throne in the hologram. “Continue to hold and fortify your position, and bring the Vein Harvester in once it has fully received a charge.”

“Begging your mercy, but this doesn't seem to make any sense. Why do you want me to pull them back no-

Because imbecile, you will be horribly out numbered once Celesto get's wind of this. Unless you want to lose the advantage we already have?” Titan snapped, watching as Callenfir shook his head. “Good, then do as I command. I will send you extra assistance to hold that position until the time is ready for my next move.”

Callenfir nodded. “It will be done as you command milord.” He said, bowing low.

Titan then sat back down on his throne, disappearing from the hologram before Callenfir rose. The Gnoll lieutenant stepped forward only to stop as the Dragonkin rose his hand to stop him. “Pull everyone back inside, and get everyone working on the defenses. They complain, kill'em.” He commanded.

“Of course General.” The Gnoll lieutenant replied before scampering off. Just as soon as the Gnoll was gone, Callenfir gave a confident smirk. “All right you Unicornicopian dogs, let's see what you've got.”

----

The Rainbow Capital had not heard of Titan's move against Redwood Valley early the next morning. None of them had figured that the sorcerer would be bold enough to wage a direct attack on the planet so close after being chased off-world by the wielder of the Uniforce. But they were proven wrong.

As the Unicornicopian sun began to break out from the horizon as the city was still wrapped in a somewhat peaceful slumber, a hand full of survivors -both soldiers and civilians- staggered into the city, their faces appearing visibly shaken and some were carrying wounded.

Lightning had only just heard about the attack after he had gotten up a few hours later. “Titan's already made landfall onto Unicornicopia?” He thought, rushing to the field hospital that was made out for the survivors of the attack in the main square of the Middle District. He stopped, as the crowd of injured and near-dead were all being treated by some of the best that the Rainbow Capital had to offer. In the near middle of the square he could see that Buddy Rose and the rest of his squad mates were all around the front, the dark green unicorn was trembling in pure anger. Lightning approached cautiously as the others saw his approach.

“Titan's forces attacked Redwood Valley. Buddy's taking it personal because he was born and raised there.” Drawn Out replied quietly as Lightning approached. “He wants to head in there himself and take out all of the Gnoll soldiers that are supposedly in the area. The survivors from the attack said that their powers had something to do with it being so easily captured.”

“You would be pissed too if the place where you grew up was now over run with blood thirsty slaves to Titan's war machine.” Buddy Rose said coldly, causing Lightning to jump.

“Whoa... That's a little harsh don't you think?” Lightning asked.

“You don't seem to get it do you?” Buddy snapped, rounding on Lightning. “Those Gnolls are nothing but a bunch of bloodthirsty savages who will kill anything that they themselves can't rule over. And if there is anything that's more powerful than them, they will kill for that thing until they get stronger themselves. Gnolls show no loyalty to anyone except themselves, and are complete and utter scum.” Buddy paused, releasing his clenched fists before clenching them again. “I'm just waiting for his highness to give the word and I'll take back my home himself.”

“Buddy's family have been sworn to exterminate every last Gnoll who's pledged their allegiance to Titan.” Drawn Out explained. “It's really scary when you think about it, as when they hold a grudge they won't let go of it until they pass on to the next world.”

“And I thought I was the crazy one.” Ottavo commented before cringing as Buddy rounded on him. “I'm just saying that if a full battalion of Gnolls and Kobolds could do this-” He motioned a hand towards several groups of injured Unicornicopians; including a soldier who was bleeding out profusely from his lower chest, a pale pink unicorn with her right wing missing and most of her left arm and leg torn off, “-Then there's no way one guy's going to be able to take on a bunch of Gnolls alone.”

“As much as I loathe to admit it, but the firecracker has a point.” Moonbeam said, watching Buddy's anger continue to visibly rise. Ottavo made a face behind her back which promptly caused her to smack the unicorn in the back of the head before she continued, “Even if you were somehow able to cut through the now legion-sized army that sits at Redwood Valley now, they still have that Super Weapon of theirs plus they have at least two enemy Generals on the front lines. You wouldn't make it.”

Buddy growled in frustration and began to say something in protest but felt Lightning's hand on his shoulder. The unicorn turned, seeing Lightning's gentle smile and calmed down a little before unclenching his fists again.

“I may not know exactly what you're going through Buddy, but don't worry about it. I'd back you up on that Suicide mission any day.” Lightning said encouragingly.

“Thanks Lightning.” Buddy replied.

“So where's Krysta?” Drawn Out asked, looking around for the fairy.

“She said that she'd stay behind.” Lightning replied. “Something about something telling her that something dangerous was going to happen.” He said before turning back to Buddy. “Anyways, who all's here?”

The dark green unicorn scanned the crowd, cringing at the sight of his neighbors and friends all in intense pain. “Some of the local community are here, but no-one from my family's here. I just hope that they got out okay...”

“I'm sure that they did Buddy.” Lightning replied, catching the Grand Ruler head to a closed off area from out of the corner of his eye before beginning to look in that direction. “It looks like the Grand Ruler's already going to handle it though...” Lightning said, watching as the Grand Ruler appeared to be in a five-way conversation with several Unicornicopian soldiers at once. He stopped only once, looking down on the goblin before telling him something, watching him bow to the Grand Ruler before running off. The Grand Ruler then turned to Lightning and his group before striding over to where they were standing.

“Hello Lightning, how's your practicing coming along?” The Grand Ruler asked, watching as Lightning and his friends bowed.

“I know it's not much your highness, but I've been able to move that rock for at least a few more minutes now.” Lightning replied. “Krysta watched me herself.”

“I see... Well that's good to hear Lightning. You keep up with your practicing and you'll be there in no time.” The Grand Ruler said before beginning to stride off. He was stopped however at the sound of Buddy Rose clearing his throat. “Yes Mr. Rose? What is it?” He asked.

“Well your highness... I was wondering, is there any chance that you could let me in on the retake of Redwood Valley?” Buddy Rose asked. One of the Grand Ruler's eyebrows rose as he gave the Unicorn a curious glare.

“And what makes you think that I wouldn't?” He asked, watching the mixed reactions of Lightning and his friends range from confusion to shock and awe. “You see, I've had scouts report to me about how the situation is in Redwood Valley, their structure is crude but the defenses will hold long enough for Titan and his forces to arrive. However that's not the problem.”

“What's the problem your highness?” Lightning asked, not liking the sound of the Grand Ruler's change in tone.

“The problem is that there's a weapon of Gnoll construction that devastated the soldiers garrisoned there.” The Grand Ruler answered. “It's apparently capable of draining the magical energy from those that are struck by it's roots, thus killing them on the spot if one is unlucky enough. However, from what I can understand the weapon is not without flaws, as at the moment it is in it's infantile stages.”

“Pardon me for being rude your highness, but are you asking the five of us to eliminate this weapon of theirs?” Drawn Out asked, watching the Grand Ruler nod.

“Yes Drawn Out, but you won't be going in alone. Battalion Commanders!” He shouted, turned to the now at attention Unicornicopian Soldiers that stood behind them. “I have an idea, but you need to work with my extra squad.

“We will do as you command!” They all replied, as the Grand Ruler revealed a map of the area; a huge farming community surrounded by a massive redwood forest on all sides.

“Now, we need to crush their position as quickly as possible but we also need to time this right so here's what I need you to do...”

After the Grand Ruler explained their tasks for the coming battle; one of the commanders, an elf with red hair and pale skin, approached Lightning as he was being fitted for a suit of his own plate-mail. “I see that you are readying yourself for battle.” The elf said, watching as Lightning cast him a glance.

“Yes commander, is there something you need?” Lightning asked.

“Actually, I know that you aren't exactly the best with magic abilities. I've come to offer you some back up.” The Elf replied, watching Lightning smile a little, relief washing over his face.

“Well I don't know you too well,” Lightning said as the last piece of his armor, the bottom leg guard, was fit into place, “But you have my attention. What do you want me to do?” He asked as the elf laughed a little.

“Simple my friend, I just need some of your mane and I'll be all set.” He said, pulling out a small knife. Lightning took a nervous step back, but watched as the elf smiled again and lowered the knife. “It's okay Lightning, if I were to hurt you I would have done it already.” He said.

“Well then why do you need some of my mane commander-

Star'len. My name is Star'len.” The elf commander replied. “And I need it to make an illusion that will make me look like you.” He explained, watching relief return back to the unicorn's face before confusion reappeared on top of it.

“Why do you need to do that?” Lightning asked.

“Because from what I understand, your gonna need all the help you can get. And I'm here to help.” Commander Star'len answered, watching Lightning nod again.

“Here, but don't take too much.” Lightning said, tossing the end of his mane over his shoulder before Commander Star'len lifted it. The elf then took the knife and cut only the smallest end from it before grinning. “You get what you need?” Lightning asked, watching the elf nod.

“Oh yeah, that's exactly what I need. Thanks Lightning, and be careful out there.” Commander Star'len replied before walking off, leaving Lightning confused again.

“What a strange elf...” Lightning thought. “But hopefully his illusion works. I need my armor to be summoned without too much interruption. I'm not too good with it right now...” He thought before heading off as well.

----

From the eastern most point of the forest surrounding the city of Redwood Valley, Lightning and his friends were keeping themselves hidden as best as they could as the target would be approaching soon.

The Grand Ruler's plan was simple: While the main force went to take on the garrison that was stationed at the city of Redwood Valley, a smaller force went with the Grand Ruler's special squad to take out the weapon that Titan was responsible for. From where they were sitting in the brush, Lightning could see that Buddy was ready to pounce like an animal. Lightning however wasn't feeling the same way.

“Hey Lightning... You nervous?” Ottavo whispered behind him.

“Yeah... I just haven't really fought this kind of battle before. It's nerve-wracking.” Lightning replied as butterflies got into his stomach.

“Well I feel the same way.” Ottavo replied before glancing over at Buddy nervously. “And I bet Buddy does too.” He said.

“Yeah, but you guys have had more training than what I've got. What if I get caught by that thing's roots or something?” Lightning whispered.

“Don't worry, we've got your back.” Drawn Out replied.

The sounds of battle could be heard moments later as they all waited with their extra help. Quietly, they listened and waited until they could hear the sounds of rumbling footsteps approaching their position. Each step sounded like wood striking the earth, along with a gentle padding of something that Lightning hadn't heard before, and it blocked out all of the other sounds that Lightning had heard even as he jumped forward with his friends.

The owner of the footsteps was massive, over seven feet tall by Lightning's count with a huge layer of wooden bark covering it's massive body. It's arms were about the size of some of the biggest branches of the trees in the forest that they were currently standing in, and it's legs were about the size of those trees. There was an extra limb that looked like a wooden scorpion's stinger, which dripped a liquid from the end of the barbed tail that decayed the forest floor below. Surrounding the great beast's feet were at least thirty to forty Kobolds and a handful of what Lightning could only assume were Gnolls in black armor.

“Oh great just what we need, more enemy...” The voice of the Dragonkin Callenfir met Lightning's ears as the ringing stopped. Lightning met the Dragonkin's gaze, and blinked only for a second before tensing up as the Dragonkin charged. “I'm going to make you pay for what you did to us back at that crummy temple of yours meat sack!” He heard Callenfir roar as both sides clashed.

Lightning immediately leapt at the Dragonkin, evading the initial swing of his sword before smashing his face with a punch of his own. The Dragonkin staggered backwards for a moment before leaping at Lightning with the intent to kill, taking him to the ground and raking his claws across Lightning's face. The unicorn held up his hands to defend himself, but found it useless as the Dragonkin was met with a blast of white light. He looked up, seeing Moonbeam wearing her armor and wielding what he assumed was a beam of sunlight like a whip in her hands. “Thanks Moonbeam.” He said, watching her nod before leaping to his hooves to reengage in the fight. From out of the corner in her eye she saw a second yellow unicorn begin to chase after Callenfir and did a double-take, but put the thought out of her mind as the second unicorn disappeared.

Drawn Out was crossing swords with several Kobolds at once, watching out of the corner of his eye as some of the Gnolls appeared to be just observing the fight. “Something's not right here...” He thought, his sword breaking the guards of two Kobolds before running through them without a second thought. “They're up to something...” Drawn Out thought, blocking another attack from a Kobold before taking it's head on the back swing of his sword.

Several explosions rocked the area as Ottavo summoned fireworks to his side with his magic. His horn lit up with magic, causing them to fly at several Kobolds like ballistic missiles. Their ranks fell even before they got to the unicorn, who leapt into the air before eliminating the others that charged at him. “Weren't there more than just a handful?” He thought, looking at the Gnolls that were standing around the giant beast looking like they were waiting for something.

The only one who didn't notice, and was causing the most damage to the Kobold ranks, was Buddy, who was swinging his flail around like a demon and smashing in skulls faster and wilder than anyone could react. As the bodies finished piling up, he stopped and glared at the Gnolls who now had his attention. “Your next.” He snapped, charging at them angrily.

“Buddy wait!” Drawn Out snapped, tackling Buddy Rose from the air before he could get close. As both unicorns were sent to the ground, the missing Gnolls leapt out from underneath the earth with the creature's roots in an attempt to surprise them. “You would've been their next victim if you did that.” Drawn Out said, helping Buddy up.

“How did you know that we were coming up from underneath?” One of the Gnolls growled.

“Gnolls don't like to attack unless they have a tactical advantage.” Drawn Out explained. There was only a handful of you, so you wouldn't strike until the scale was majorly skewed into your favor.” Drawn Out explained. “The injuries that some of the survivors had from your attack looked like they weren't made from your big beastie there, so I figured that it isn't complete yet. Otherwise you wouldn't have had any survivors.”

“It doesn't matter... We're still going to kill you all.” The Gnoll snarled, raising a very jagged blade at both Buddy and Drawn out before charging with the other Gnolls. Their weapon let out an ear-splitting roar before lashing its tail forward, striking the ground as the unicorns rolled out of the way. They then both leapt to their hooves, ready to charge as several explosions and shards of ice knocked the beast back.

“We'll hold the big guy off!” Ottavo shouted, flying overhead with Moonbeam.

“You take care of those guys first!” Moonbeam added, throwing another shard of ice at the giant creature.

Meanwhile Lightning and Callenfir were both trading blows with one another, each of them not giving an inch. The Dragonkin had forgotten his sword even as they fought, it's blade speared into the ground several yards back from where they were fighting out in the open.

“Your okay for a rookie,” Callenfir snapped, catching a punch that Lightning threw at him, “But you'll never be able to beat me. Not at this level kid.” He added, throwing Lightning off-balance before slashing him with his claws. He then planted a kick on the unicorn which sent him back for a bit before grinning maliciously.

“I dunno why you're so happy for.” Lightning snapped, charging at the Dragonkin and readying another punch. Callenfir made to block it, only to be taken by a slight surprise as Lightning instead went low and swept him by the legs. The Dragonkin attempted to slash Lightning with the claws on his feet, only to have them meet air as he got up before glaring at Lightning. “Especially when you're losing this fight.” Lightning added, watching Callenfir growl angrily.

“What the hell are you talking about?” He snapped, watching as Lightning pointed in the direction of the weapon that the Gnolls had given his master. “You're supposed to be a diversion?” He snarled though he really appeared to be confused.

“Well, I figured that you wanted to have a little revenge so I gave it to you.” Lightning said confidently. “But, that little squad that you had guarding that weapon of yours is probably all gone by now so... Yeah. I guess that I would say that I'm a diversion.” He said before charging up his horn. Several small rocks began to levitate as they were enveloped within his glow before pelting the dragonkin as he realized what was going on.

“Hmm... Clever, but that's not smart enough to beat me!” He snapped, charging at Lightning through the rocks. He stopped however as the unicorn then evaded his initial attack, and growled angrily. “You're not the one who I owe...” Callenfir growled, turning angrily at the unicorn. “You're a fake!” He snapped. The dragonkin leapt at the unicorn, only to get thrown back by a blast of green energy as Lightning disappeared to reveal an elf in white plate-mail.

“That I am.” The elf replied, concentrating as a spear appeared from the ground. “I'm sorry sir, but I'm afraid that your invasion plans have been put on hold for today.” He said, watching the Dragonkin smirk.

“Well then in that case... DIE!” He roared, letting loose a stream of flames at the elf angrily.

“You're gonna have to do better than that!” The elf taunted, charging at the Dragonkin.

“Oh don't worry, I will.” Callenfir retorted.

Back in the forest, Lightning's friends were already having a tough time dealing with the beast that the Gnolls had brought with them. The armor-like shell was giving them trouble as it was hard to break, and the Gnoll soldiers weren't making things easier either.

“Damn pieces of hell-spawn!” Buddy snapped, swinging his flail at the Gnoll only to have it miss completely. “They're just too fast!” He shouted, getting knocked back by a dark blur. The Gnoll stepped over him, grinning at what appeared to be his first kill until-

“BUDDY WATCH OUT!” A loud cry was heard, as Lightning buried his left hoof into the Gnoll's skull, dropping its owner like a stone. Lightning was currently wearing his armor, and was looking like he could take on the world as he extended his hand. Buddy took Lightning's extended hand and stood up before wiping his face.

“Glad you showed up Lightning. So, you think you can handle this thing?” He asked, watching Lightning nod.

“Yeah, but we need to clear the field some.” Lightning replied. “You think that you can do it?” He asked, watching Buddy nod.

“Yeah, just watch.” Buddy replied, his horn flaring up with a green energy.

Just then, a breeze began to form as Buddy's eyes went all white. His hands became engulfed in green magic as slowly but surely a ring of water began to form around him. The wind then began to pick up, getting stronger and stronger as the Gnolls stopped fighting with the unicorns for a moment to watch the now growing spectacle. Their weapon did the same thing, watching as the ring of water and wind eventually turned into a swirling vortex that surrounded Buddy, who was glowing in a green aura.

The Gnolls, who became intimidated by the sight, stepped backwards as the vortex got consecutively larger as the seconds passed. Then, without warning, Buddy's hands thrust forward as a cyclone of water surged out from in front of him, washing everything away that didn't get out of the way in time, or was the Gnoll's weapon.

“Well that made things a little bit easier.” Ottavo commented, flying down closer to Buddy and Lightning with Moonbeam, and Drawn Out. “But all you've done is soaked it's armor. You didn't exactly kill it.”

“I've got this.” Moonbeam snapped, stepping forward and readying a spell. The Gnoll's weapon let out a gurgling roar as the stinger approached her, but it was stopped halfway by a combined shielding spell from everyone except Lightning. “Thanks you guys.” She said, her horn igniting with magic as a basketball-sized ball of snow began to form in her hands. After a few moments of waiting, Moonbeam threw the ball, evading the stinger with a roll as the barrier fell, and watched as the snowball made impact.

The effect was immediate, as the beast let out another gurgling roar before the snow immediately turned into ice which coated the creature and shattered its bark-like armor. Lightning stepped forward, his bow in hand as the beast staggered backwards, before drawing the bow-string back as the arrow formed. Lightning's horn was ablaze with magic as he held the creature in his sights, before he loosed the arrow, watching as it turned into a stream of fire once again and engulfed the creature, even as it tried to defend itself with it's roots.

As the stream of Golden flames erupted from the forest near them, Callenfir was flung back by the elf's spear. He glared angrily, staggering to his feet before opening an all black portal behind him. “You may have won this round... But we'll be back. And we will not lose again.” He growled, stepping backwards into the portal.

The elf smiled, turning to the now gaping hole in the forest and saw Lightning lower the bow that he had in his hands. The Gnollish weapon was no more, and the soldiers were running by him to get back to their ship. “Great Job, wielder of the Uniforce.” He thought before turning to the sight of fleeing ships from the main square of Redwood Valley.

----

A few hours later, Lightning was standing in the middle of the unfinished base that Titan's forces attempted to build. Underneath all of the blood colored steel that was used to form the walls of the fortification, the town didn't appear to be too terribly bad. The Town Hall sat off in front of him, were healers from several squads were treating the injured civilians that
were inside as that was considered to be the prisoner camp of the facility. The rubble of several destroyed buildings was scattered in the fighting, and the only thing that Titan's soldiers left behind was a box full of weapons that were either broken or misplaced somehow.

Buddy had been relieved to find out that his family, a group of unicorns that were in different shades of green in color, was safe and sound hiding in an underground complex that had been apparently been built back before the town was even constructed. Though they had to fight to get to the complex, they were almost not any worse for wear.

“It seems that you have successfully drove off those invaders.” Lightning turned and bowed at the sight of Grand Ruler Celesto “It also seems that you've gotten stronger Lightning. Though I wouldn't say that you're quite there yet.”

“Excuse me your highness? But what does that mean?” Lightning asked.

“It means that you still have a while yet to go.” He said, before patting Lightning on the shoulder. “Though, with today's battle I should hope that you should be able to complete your assignment in less than a few days.” Grand Ruler Celesto replied before glancing at his surroundings. “Well in any case I expect you to get rested up, this battle's only just beginning.”

Lightning nodded before turning to go. He stopped however, something still on his mind. “Your highness, why-

Why did I want you to levitate that stone until you could do it for an hour?” Grand Ruler Celesto finished his question for him, turning to face Lightning. “It's quite simple really, to build your strength for your use of the Uniforce. It takes you a while to get into your armor right?” He asked, watching Lightning nod.

“It didn't take as long as it did the last time I changed into it.” Lightning replied, watching the Grand Ruler nod.

“Yes because not only did you know how to bring it out now, you are stronger than when you first used it. You keep practicing with that task, and eventually you'll be able to armor up with the rest of your squad. I believe that Captain Star'len noticed this and entered the fight as you if only to keep the enemy distracted while you change?” Lightning nodded as Grand Ruler Celesto smiled. “Well then, I'm glad that his plan was a success. I'll need to congratulate him. Anyways, keep up with your practice and I will see you when you are ready to move on.” He said, watching Lightning run off. “You'll be stronger sooner than you think. Just be patient my student.” He thought before walking off.

----

Callenfir staggered backwards as black lightning surged through his body, the dark magic tortured every part of his being. Titan's red eyes narrowed as everyone watched with grimaces. The Dragonkin cried out in pain, writhing violently as the stream continued for a couple of moments before ceasing entirely.

“I hope that you have learned your lesson Dragonkin.” Titan said coldly, glaring at Callenfir as he coughed up a bit of blood. “Not only did you cost me the Vein Harvester, but you lost our foothold on Unicornicopia. I hope that we do not have a repeat of this catastrophe again.” He said coldly, watching the Dragonkin drag his body away to a corner.

“Milord, I am partially to blame.” Relicourse said, walking in front of Titan and bowing low. “If my transport had gotten there in time I-

It wouldn't have made any difference.” Titan snapped, cutting the centaur off. “They had Callenfir's forces outnumbered four to one at least. There would have been no need to reinforce if I had known that Celesto was going to send that size of a force to attack us. Though the strategy he used to destroy the Vein Harvester was careless...” Titan paused, narrowing his eyes as he sat down on the throne.

“Is there something troubling you milord?” Coristia said quietly, receiving a wave of the hand from Titan.

“It is nothing of your concern Lich.” Titan replied, glaring out into space as he did so. “Though it does give me another idea.” Titan's smirk was invisible, as everyone else on the bridge shared a nervous glance. “And it is something that you won't be able to defend against Celesto. Your precious Unicornicopia will fall and your head will be mine!” He thought wickedly, continuing to glare at the blackness in front of him.

-end of chapter 3-

Chapter 6: Episode 4 Part 1: Painted Dreams of the Ocean's Sorrow

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My Little Unicorn: Magic is Believing Redo

Rewrite By: Raising Shadows

Author's Notes:

Hello there all! And welcome back to another exciting(I hope it's exciting at least) episode of my version of My Little Unicorn. I've taken a quick break from the series just to get out and enjoy life for a bit, and now I'm back and recharged and ready for more. So I hope that you're as ready for this as I am! Because here we go!

----

Episode 4: The Painted Dreams of Ocean's Sorrow

-Twelve Years Ago-

“Easy... Keep it level with your target.”

“Okay daddy.”

A bright red target stood down at least a hundred yards from a pair of unicorns, one with a bright yellow coat with and a blue mane and tail standing next to a silver unicorn with a bright green mane and tail. The yellow unicorn held a small bow in his hands, drawn back as far as he could bring it back to as a practice arrow was nocked into the bowstring. Sweat ran down the younger unicorn as he continued to hold the bow as steady as possible, trying with all of his might to keep the target in his sight.

“Steady now Lightning. We don't want anything bad happening right?” The Silver unicorn asked, watching the lack of reaction on the yellow unicorn's face as he continued to hold the bow in his hands. “Well I'll be. He's got the hang of it finally.”

The unicorn released a gentle breath, before looking slightly up at the silver unicorn standing next to him. With a nod from said unicorn Lightning let the practice arrow fly, causing it to strike the second ring from the center.

“What! Come on!” The young unicorn snapped, lowering the bow and glaring at the sight. “I was perfect with everything too!” He heard the light chuckles from the unicorn that stood above him and turned angrily on him. “What's so funny Daddy?”

The silver unicorn ran a hand playfully through the colt's mane before getting down to look at him in the eye. “Well, it's your reaction. You've had everything almost right, it just wasn't time for a bullseye yet. You'll get it eventually.”

“But the other kids will laugh at me if I don't get one now!” The young Lightning wailed, turning back on the archery range and looking at all of the failed shots that were scattered along its length. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes as the frustration of only getting one out of what seemed like a hundred shots even close to the bullseye was near impossible. “It just isn't fair!” The unicorn finally said, dropping to his knees and letting go of the bow that he had.

“What isn't fair son?” The silver unicorn asked, sounding slightly concerned.

“I try and I try and I try, and I'm not even good at half of the things that other kids are. Like last week, Gem Cutter got her Cutie Mark in our school's talent show and all she did was juggle!” The tiny unicorn was shuddering, almost like he was sobbing slightly. He stopped, feeling a gentle hand on his shoulder and turned to see the smiling face of the silver unicorn, his tears almost stopping as instantly as they came.

“Well, answer me this.” His father asked, the same smile never leaving his face. “Do you want to find what makes you special? Or do you want to be like everyone else?” Lightning remained silent for a moment as he shook his head, looking away in disappointment. “I want you to remember something Lightning. Promise me, that you'll never forget this okay?” He asked, watching as the colt looked back up at his father.

“What do you want me to promise?” Lightning asked.

“That you are special, no matter what anyone else says.” His father replied gently, pulling the young unicorn into a hug. “Whatever happens, even if you don't have a Cutie Mark, you will always be my little colt. You have limitless potential, and right now you can be good at anything that you want to be. Don't let the fact that you have a Cutie Mark discourage you son. You'll get one eventually. Promise me that you won't forget that.”

The unicorn colt nodded into his father's shoulder, feeling the feather's of his wings tickle his snout. “I promise I won't forget that daddy.”

“That's good Lightning. That's really good.”

-Present Day-

It had been a week since Titan's forces launched an attack on Redwood Valley. The damage to the city itself wasn't too bad, nothing serious was hit in the initial attack and occupation. And due to the fact that there were Gnolls involved in the battle, most of the architecture from the cities building's was still intact long after their makeshift fortification was brought down by Unicornicopian forces. But that wasn't the problem that was plaguing the nation at the moment.

Titan's Bio-weapon had seemingly successfully done its job. The attack, according to some of the Unicornicopian Generals that were involved in the war-effort and those that were called out of retirement said that it wasn't a random attack. It had initially appeared to them that it was just another raid on one of the smaller settlements in the area to gather a foothold on the planet's surface, when in all actuality the crops that were being grown by the farmers in the area were almost wiped out in most cases. This coupled with the fact that it was the major breadbasket in the entire nation, made it out to be a critical attack that had gone off with relatively fewer problems.

Lightning hadn't spoken with Grand Ruler Celesto since he helped the military repulse the attack on the city, and he understood why. Sure, there were plenty more places that would need to process more and more food for the army if their defense of the planet was to continue, but it seemed like this hit the Grand Ruler personally.

He also could see that Buddy Rose was taking it particularly hard, whenever he saw the earthy unicorn his gaze was filled with a hidden rage. He still had the same friendly look in his eyes, but Lightning could tell that there was something deep inside the unicorn that made him want to punch someone's lights out. No one could even get him to give a straight enough answer, making it impossible to guess about how he was feeling unless they looked directly into his eyes.

Ottavo was busy all that week, saying something about getting, “Inspired,” by the way they handled the battle that day and had almost disappeared and hadn't said anything to anyone else. Moonbeam was also missing as she had tried to make it so that the Astronomy Association would help the Unicornicopian Military track Titan's movements. Apparently according to her, none of them wanted to even comply with her requests in the first place and had to fight to even get them to listen to her proposal.

Drawn Out was officially indisposed as well, stating something about, “Lightning's training will need to be prepared better,” before he too disappeared for the week. Lightning was curious as to what that entailed, but the dark blue unicorn wouldn't say as to what exactly, and gave Lightning a look that said that it wasn't a matter that the yellow unicorn shouldn't be pressing at the moment.

It was a couple days after the battle that Lightning found himself practicing his telekinesis on heavier objects, starting with books as a supplement to his practice with the Grand Ruler, and found that they were a lot harder than that of a simple stone found at the bottom of a pond. However Lightning was stubborn, keeping up at the practice until he was able to lift at least one of the books on telekinesis that he borrowed from the local library. By the end of the week, his goal of reaching an hour on his telekinetic levitation was in-sight and closing in fast. Krysta had thoroughly demanded that they get a stopwatch to time the unicorn as he practiced, as most of the time he had stopped after the first or second passes. There was also some furniture window shopping that the fairy had done while they were out the day before, and thanks to Lightning's newly recognized position in the Unicornicopian Army, they were able to look around at the potential candidates for their home.

“Come on Lightning!” Krysta cheered, watching as the yellow aura around the book that he was reading and the stone that orbited him began to fade. “You have just five minutes to go! You can do it!” She said, keeping a close eye on the minute hand of the watch.

“I-huff-don't-think I can-huff-make it-huff-Krysta.” Lightning said, feeling the strain of his magical reserves beginning to pull on his body. Sweat ran down his face as he reached out and turned another page in the telekinesis book in front of his face.

“You can make it Lightning! You can and you will!” Krysta replied, staring at the watch as it passed the fifty-sixth minute mark. “Four minutes to go! You're gonna beat your record!” She said excitedly, her voice sounding like someone at a racing derby. She looked up from the watch, seeing the visible strain and the flicker of Lightning's magical aura on the objects that he was manipulating with his magic, but she could see his determination burning deep within his eyes. The unicorn was simply refusing to give up even though his body was telling him to do so. She watched as he reached for another page as several large drops of sweat landed in an ever-growing puddle on the floor beneath his hooves, turning said page and taking several deep and harsh breaths.

“What're-huff-we lookin'-wheeze- at for time?” Lightning asked, continuing to strain at the levitation that he was performing. The unicorn stole a glance at Krysta as she stared at the watch before looking back up at him.

“You've got about two minutes Lightning. This is the closest that you've ever been, you can do it!” The fairy said encouragingly, watching as the unicorn started wobbling slightly. The fairy then leapt into the air, only to have Lightning stop her, as she looked on with concern.

“Don't-huff-huff-worry about me Krysta. I'll-huff-huff-huff-be fine.” Lightning said through labored breaths, his entire form shaking and trembling as though his body were going through an internal quake. The unicorn watched as Krysta dropped back to the ground, staring at the stopwatch before counting under her breath, before he smiled with accomplishment. “Great, I'm almost there. I can do it! I can do it! I can-”

The thought was never finished. Just as Lightning saw Krysta leap up in victory after stopping the timer, the unicorn felt both the stone and book release from his telekinetic grip. The next few moments seemed to move in slow motion as Krysta flew out of the way from the heavy hard-covered book and watched with slight-horror as Lightning collapsed, landing on the floor with a heavy thud.

“LIGHTNING!” Krysta shrieked, flying over to the trembling unicorn and shaking him as best she could. Lightning's body was covered in sweat which forced his jeans and t-shirt to cling to his body as though it were caked in glue. His breaths were extremely heavy, especially after what he accomplished, and it masked the sounds of knocking on the front door. Krysta looked up, seeing that Drawn Out had shown up first, and immediately flew to the front door in a panic.

“Hey there Krys-

No time! Lightning's on the floor, and I don't know what's wrong, and you've gotta help him!” She exclaimed, flying out of the way as Drawn Out stepped past her and the front door before closing it. The dark blue unicorn stepped to Lightning's collapsed body and got a closer look, placing one of his hands on his shoulder. The paranoid fairy fluttered over the artistic unicorn's shoulder as he gently laid Lightning down onto his back before letting his horn flare up with a darker blue aura which summoned a glass from out of nowhere. The unicorn then calmly walked over to the sink in the kitchen, turning the faucet on and filling it up all the way before walking back to where Lightning lay and steadying him as he tried to get back to his hooves again.

“Easy there...” Drawn Out replied, passing the glass to Lightning's waiting arms as he guzzled the glass greedily. “Not too fast now.” He said, pulling the glass back as the unicorn took a deep breath and grabbed the glass again. He smiled as Lightning downed its contents before sitting up. “Feel better?” Drawn Out asked, watching Lightning nod.

“Yeah... Hoo, what the heck happened?” He asked, as Krysta landed back to where the watch was.

“I was about to ask the same thing myself Lightning.” Drawn Out replied. “You wore yourself out pretty quick. How'd it happen?”

“Eh heh heh heh... That's my fault.” Krysta confessed sheepishly, looking away as Drawn Out and Lightning looked down at her. “I said that Lightning was almost at his target of what the Grand Ruler set for him, and well...

It's okay Krysta.” Lightning said as he put a hand to his head. “You were just trying to help me get better with my training. I should have stopped before it got out of hand.” He said as Drawn Out chuckled a little.

“It looks like it got out of hand sooner than what you originally had expected.” Drawn Out replied, helping Lightning to his hooves. “It seems like you experienced a magical burn out. It's really common when first time magic-users try to do way too much way to fast.”

“Magical burn out?” Krysta repeated, watching Drawn Out nod.

“Yes, magical burn out.” Drawn Out replied. “Like I said it's something that's prevalent with magic-users, primarily with unicorns.” The dark blue unicorn explained, pointing to the horn on his head. “Unlike most users of magic, like elves or orcs, this is the source of our power. The horn on our heads allows us to do anything from basic telekinesis to summoning a hail of meteors on our enemies. But, even though it's the source of our power it is also one of the most vulnerable points on our body. It's the only point on our bodies where the bone is easily exposed, which covers what generates the powers for our magic.”

“Really, I never knew that...” Krysta replied before looking up at the dark blue unicorn. “Is there anyway to make it so that Lightning doesn't burn out again?” She asked, watching Drawn Out chuckle a little.

“Yeah, don't let him over-exert himself.” Drawn Out replied before looking at the puddle of sweat that Lightning was presently now sitting in. “I stand corrected, it seems like you really pushed yourself beyond your limits. Did you even take a break before you kept going with practice?” He asked, watching as Lightning remained silent. “You didn't... did you?” He asked, watching as Lightning nodded again. “Look Lightning, I know that you want to get stronger but it isn't going to help anybody if you are worn out even before the battle begins.” He scolded before smiling again. “Don't worry though, you have plenty of magic at your disposal. Just don't use it all at once.”

“I'll try not to.” Lightning replied, finding his hooves and getting up with help from the other unicorn. “So, why are you here Drawn Out?” He asked, watching the unicorn chuckle a little.

“Oh, well I was here to pick you and Krysta up for another training session today.” Drawn Out replied. “Though we may be running a little late... I mean with what happened here and everything...

I get the picture Drawn Out. I'll get myself cleaned up so we can meet with everyone else.” Lightning said, before heading to his bathroom. Krysta smiled, flying up to eye level with Drawn Out before the unicorn turned to her.

“So... Care to spill on what you're going to be teaching Lightning?” Krysta asked, watching as the unicorn shook his head.

“Sorry Krysta, but that's top secret.” Drawn Out replied, walking back into the kitchen and grabbing some towels. “But what I can tell you is that we can get this cleaned up before we leave.” He said, watching the fairy groan before beginning dry up the puddle from the middle of the floor.

----

Between Krysta and Drawn Out's work on the mess that Lightning made during his practice, and the shower that Lightning had taken, they were gone and out of the house in less than fifteen minutes. Drawn Out had suggested that they stay away from the main road into the capitol, as the traffic to and from Redwood Valley was still extremely heavy and would've made their trip five times longer.

An hour passed as they finally made it to the eastern gate of the city, passing it with relative ease before entering the Outer District. Even though they were in the poorest section of the Rainbow Capital, Lightning noticed that the eastern part of the Outer District was even more well kept than that of the southern or western portions of the city. The buildings seemed to be a little bit more evenly spaced out from each other and while there were still repairs going on from Titan's first attack from over a week ago, most of the District looked relatively unharmed.

“Uh, Drawn Out... Where are we going?” Krysta asked from underneath Lighting's mother's cloak. The dark blue unicorn smiled a little before pointing ahead.

“We're going to get Lightning outfitted for battle Krysta.” Drawn Out replied as both the fairy and yellow looked to where he was pointing. They could see that Buddy Rose, Ottavo Rima, and Moonbeam were all standing in front of a dark gray, but almost black, building that stood closer to the outer wall. It had the appearance of a fortress that one would see on the drawing of one who went to school, but the top of said fortress was lined with menacing stone beasts that gazed down on them as though they were in thought. Lightning was slightly intimidated by the sight, staring at the beasts with both curiosity and wonder until Drawn Out cleared his throat.

“I'm sorry, were you saying something?” Lightning asked, watching the unicorn shake his head.

“So you are awake.” Drawn Out replied. “For the most part at least. You've gotta love the orcish architecture. Simple, yet fierce. Effective, yet it has a source of elegance. Plus, it's where we're going to give you the chance to hold a real weapon in your hands.” He said as they finished making their way over to the heavy oaken doors of the fortress.

“Geez, what in the hay took you guys so long?” Ottavo asked. “My legs are killing me!” He said angrily.

“You could have sat on the bench you know.” Moonbeam said, pointing to the heavy wooden bench that was off to the door's right. “It's actually quite comfortable once you sit down.”

The pink unicorn shook his head. “Uh huh. Right. And so are the splinters that you can get from sitting on that rotten thing? No thanks.” He snapped back.

“I've told you this all ready Ottavo, the bench is fine. You don't need to worry about splinters.” Buddy replied, getting up from the bench and walking over to the group. “I am the expert on things that come from Nature you know.” He said, as the pink unicorn steamed a little.

“If you two are quite finished, we need to see if Lightning can get himself armed before Titan launches his next attack.” Drawn Out replied. “Of course, if you want him to go ahead and fight barehanded...

We get it Drawn Out.” Moonbeam said, speaking for the three of them. “Anyways, so did you fill him in on what this place was?” She asked, watching as Drawn Out shook his head.

“Well I was about to, but I figured that we would let what was inside do it for ourselves.” Drawn Out replied, watching Moonbeam sigh a little.

“Well all right.” Moonbeam said, turning to Lightning. “Shall we then?” She asked, her mood seemingly improving a little.

Lightning nodded to the white unicorn, stepping forward to the heavy door before knocking on it. His friends remained silent, watching as nothing seemingly happened for a few moments before the door swung inward and revealed nothing but darkness. As they stood there, their eyes seemed to adjust to that darkness as a humanoid shape rose in front of them, appearing to be able to tower over even the Grand Ruler himself. In the expanse of the darkness it boomed:

“WHO DARES DISTRURB THE SLUMBER OF THE GREAT GIANT SMITH! SPEAK AND BE RECOGNIZED!”

The force and volume of the voice was enough to bowl the small unicorns over, knocking them into a heap. Lightning quickly got back to his hooves again and stared at the figure that now stood in the doorway. “My name is Lightning Dawn, personal student to Grand Ruler Celesto, and member of the Unicornicopian Military,” His voice sounded as firm as he could make it, even though he was almost absolutely terrified at the figure which he presumed was the owner of the voice. “I was told that by my friend Drawn Out that I could be properly outfitted here so that I could do my job to better defend the kingdom from Titan.”

The voice's owner fell silent for a moment before the figure stepped to the side. “Well why didn't you say so in the first place?” A gentler, and more friendly voice asked as a light sprang to life on the inside of the building. “Come in, Come in! Any humble servant of Unicornicopia and her Majesty is a friend of mine!” Lightning's friends got up as soon as the voice changed tones, most of them save for Drawn Out were incredibly nervous before following both the yellow and blue unicorns inside.

They surveyed the room that they now stood in, a simply built reception area that looked out of place in something that involved the military. There were a few couches, and a smaller door off to the right and in front of where Lightning and his friends were standing, waiting to be used for those that would be waiting on someone that might have been deeper in the complex. A small end table sat in between the pair of couches as a coat rack sat in the furthest corner from the room next to the receptionist's desk that appeared to be little more than a used judges platform. The unicorns watched as the owner of the voice strode past them before tossing the huge black cloak that he wore and sat down before them in the massive chair that was behind the desk.

“Whoa...” Was all the sound that could be heard from what the unicorns beheld at the sight of the receptionist. He was tall, standing near eleven feet tall with huge bulging muscles and dark forest-green skin, and had a massive scar that ran down across his left eye. One of his lower fangs was missing, as a recently healed stump was in its place, as the giant's red eyes scanned the crowd of unicorns. His clothing appeared to be tailor made for his sheer size, appearing to be no more than a small purple circus tent that was sewn together into a one-piece suit which seemed to blend seamlessly with the militaristic half-cuirass that made up the entire left hand side of the suit. The giant seemed to take their silent reverence as a compliment before clearing his throat.

“I see that you are all here precisely twenty minutes later than what I would have expected.” The giant said, pulling out a pocket watch the size of a dinner plate and opening it before examining it. He closed it again before turning to his attention to Drawn Out. “Surely you know the importance of time Drawn Out? My superiors do not like it when I keep the office open like this. It attracts unwanted attention from those that do not work for our Majesty and the nation's best interests.”

“My dear friend Goliath,” Drawn Out began, taking several earnest steps forward before getting on one knee as though to show the giant respect, “You must understand that I was on my way here. But there were... Some complications that arose when I arrived to pick Lightning up for today.”

“And what would those... Complications be Drawn Out?” Goliath asked, raising a massive eyebrow.

“I can answer that one sir.” Lightning replied, stepping forward and watching as the giant's gaze turned to him. “I was practicing my magic, and it got out of hand. So much so, that I wore myself out. It took me a bit to get cleaned up and we were met with traffic on-

AH HAH!” Goliath shouted happily, knocking the unicorns to the ground unintentionally. “My apologies. I need to learn how to control my voice. Especially in the presence of new guests.” He said as the unicorns picked themselves up from the floor. “Now, you say that you were making yourself stronger and after getting a little carried away you drained your reserves up. I like you Lightning Dawn, nothing says anything better about a man than training like they have nothing left to lose. And for that, I may overlook this late oversight.” Goliath said, watching as the other unicorns smiled. He then reached under the desk, pulling out a clipboard that looked microscopically small in comparison to his great size and passed it down to Drawn Out who took it willingly. “I need you to sign this form here, stating that you arrived here a little later than the expected time. Don't worry about the Quartermaster, I'll deal with him before the day is out.” Goliath replied, watching as Drawn Out signed the form he was given before passing it back to the giant. The giant's eyes narrowed before nodding. “Okay, now there's one more thing that we need to clear up with and that's your cloak sir. We can't have you walking around the facility while concealing a weapon that could devastate our offensive capabilities now, could we?” Goliath asked, watching Lightning nod quietly before slowly taking the cloak off. His eyes spotted Krysta and narrowed slightly as she leapt onto Lightning's shoulder from within the cloak before the unicorn passed it over to the giant.

“Is there something wrong sir?” Lightning asked as Krysta got comfortable on his shoulder, watching the giant place the cloak on the coat rack.

“No... Everything's fine, just make sure that she stays out of trouble.” Goliath replied, before turning to face them all. “Now, you all are about to enter an area where we make our weapons to end the lives of those that would do us harm. As soldiers of the Unicornicopian Army, it is your duty to never use these weapons on the innocent. It is your duty to never turn them on those who cannot defend themselves. And it is your duty to bring your sword to defend this nation and Grand Ruler Celesto should the need arise. Do you swear to uphold these duties to the best of your abilities or until the Angel of Death takes you to the next world?” He asked solemnly, his glare piercing them as though he was staring into their souls.

A chorus of six shouts rang out in the receptionist's office as the smile of the giant returned to him, “We so swear!”

“Very well.” Goliath replied, gesturing to the door that led deeper into the facility. “Then proceed into The Forge. Unicornicopia's central-most authority on weapons and weapon making.” He watched as the five unicorns and the fairy walked towards the only other door that they had not been through before opening it and disappearing behind it. The giant smiled as the tail of the last unicorn disappeared before the door shut, and popped a joint in his neck. “They all seem pretty good together. I wonder how the Quartermaster is going to react, especially when the personal student to Grand Ruler Celesto is completely green in the ways of combat?” The giant thought before grabbing a stack of papers underneath his desk. “Heh, it really shouldn't matter. The guy owes me in the first place.” He scoffed mentally before picking up a pen the size of a telephone pole cut in half and beginning to write on the papers in front of him.

----

As the unicorns stepped into what was a simple stairwell that seemed to cut itself off from the rest of the top part of the complex, one couldn't help but notice how Drawn Out was going on about the architecture of the area. The stairs themselves appeared to be cut from the same stone, as if they were standing inside a naturally made cave, and as their descent continued said cave looked more and more natural as they went down. Several liberties had been taken, according to the artistic unicorn, to ensure safety for any unicorn that went down the steps that they were currently on especially if they were in the middle of the rainy season for the Rainbow Capitol. Metallic railings were put into place, almost seamlessly blending in with the stone walls as they continued their descent deeper into the rock. Krysta didn't want to see Lightning break his neck during their descent and had shouted at him twice unintentionally when he had let go of the railings to move around some boulder that was blocking the way.

“Is it just me... Or is it getting hot in here?” Ottavo asked as they continued their descent downwards.

“No, it's not just you,” Drawn Out replied, continuing to lead the group downwards before stopping at a heavy metal door, “This place is going to be extremely hot. Especially now that War has been officially declared against Titan. The smiths here are working extra hours to get our soldiers well armed.” He said before stepping towards the door. The other unicorns followed inside the small area behind him, watching as Drawn Out grabbed a black leather protective glove from the left hand side of the door and put it on before grabbing the black iron door knocker on it's face and banging it several times against the metal.

The next few moments were met with silence, as the unicorns watched Drawn Out replace the glove on its hook where it belonged. He then stopped, just as a small slot above the knocker opened up and revealed a pair of golden eyes. “So... ye've finally came. I though' fashionably late meant five minutes, not almos' an hour.” The owner of the the golden eyes said through a snarl, glaring at Drawn Out.

“Quartermaster Tall-ek, it has been a while.” Drawn Out replied, almost with as much respect as one would when speaking to the Grand Ruler himself. “I apologize for us being so tardy, my friend here was bettering himself a little too much and-

Save yer excuses Drawn Out.” The voice snapped, sounding a little bit gentler than before. “It don' matter why you were late. Yer' here now ain'tcha? Gimme a minute and I'll letcha in.” The slot then closed shut as the sounds of heavy metal grinding against the stone of the floor in front of the unicorns caused them to shield their ears. They all stepped back as the door swung out, revealing the Quartermaster and the massive workshop behind him. Lightning and Krysta were the only ones to stare in awe with the size of the workshop behind the Quartermaster, but that wasn't the only thing that impressed them.

Quartermaster Tall-ek was massive, almost as tall as Goliath with about just as much bulk. Where Goliath appeared to be more of a refined or retired warrior, Tall-ek was savage looking enough for the both of them. The Standard Unicornicopian Officer's uniform that he wore, which was normally a bright white and had the emblem of the country on the bearer's shoulder, was covered in black dust from what only Lightning could assume was the forges behind him. His dark green skin made him look like he lumbered out from a forest, as an even wilder mane of hair appeared to be hastily styled into a braid. A massive saber the size of a normal Claymore rested at his side, and appeared to be capable of cutting a boulder or two in half, as the iron gloves that he wore appeared to be the only thing that looked like they were taken care of besides the saber.

“Well, let's get this over with.” Quartermaster Tall-ek grumbled, stepping aside as the unicorns followed Drawn Out into the complex. From what Lightning could see, he appeared to be stepping into the core of a volcano, or of the planet itself, and stared in wonder as more giants appeared to be hammering out gigantic versions of Unicornicopian arms and armor. Several Unicorns and Orcs were down on the ends, shrinking the weapons down to a usable size as Goblins ran about as fast as they could, with completed weapons clutched in their claws, as they stacked them onto an ever-growing pile of weapons which would eventually be either carted off somewhere or stored in a cave that lead off from the main entrance.

“Yeh must be really green if'n you think this is somthin' special.” Quartermaster Tall-ek said quietly, stepping past the unicorns and heading towards a guided walkway. “It's like all I git now are green unicorns who don' know a thing about fightin' at all.”

“I know some things.” Lightning replied, in spite of himself. He watched as the giant stopped in front of him and gave him a curious look. “I know some of the basics and-

Basics! BASICS!” Quartermaster Tall-ek bellowed, causing everyone in the area to stare at the yellow unicorn. “Yeh think that blindly chargin' inta battle jes' because yeh can is knowin' the basics?” The giant asked, doing nothing short of letting out a huge guffaw. He stopped before turning on Lightning and getting down on one knee, almost as if to talk to him like a child. “Lissen ere' yer' a newcomer to this'ere game. These're the rules, you learn what you're gonna learn an' survive to the next engagement, or you lose an' you die. The basics I know and the basics you know are two different things son. You need to have instincts afore' you go an' hit the enemy with what yer' made of. It's the same thing that I told yer' friend that brought you here.”

Lightning turned as Drawn Out nodded earnestly. “Lightning,” Drawn Out began gently, “Fighting one-on-one is totally different than fighting in a war. You can't just look out for yourself and expect to survive. Everything that was taught to those of us who went into Military School was made so that we can understand how to think like a unit.” The unicorn stopped, waiting as the information tried to sink into Lightning's brain.

“As much as I'd like to disagree with Drawn Out, it actually is the truth.” Ottavo replied, watching as Lightning turned to him. “The whole point of Squad Tactics is just to make sure that as many soldiers survive the battlefield as possible. Everyone contributes a part to the squad no matter how small it is, and everyone is a small component in the machine.”

“It sounds like you memorized the whole introductory speech.” Drawn Out replied as Ottavo nodded. “Anyways, Lightning what we're here to do is get you your own personal weapon to use when we're out fighting Titan's forces.”

“And yer' not gonna be gettin' one standin' out here all day, so let's get on over to the armory.” Quartermaster Tall-ek said, lumbering on ahead of them and down the massive corridor in front of the main entrance. The unicorns all followed as close behind as they could, seemingly slowing down due to the heat of the forges, as the giant continued his march forward.

It only took them a few moments as the temperature went back to bearable levels to get to the armory. Lightning had to stop and shield his eyes for a moment as weapons of all kinds could be seen on hundreds of weapon racks that seemed to stretch on forever. There were swords that had blades polished enough to look like blades of light, Axes that were a size too big for any of the unicorns, spears that looked more like longer handled swords than anything, and all sorts of other weapons that would make even the most battle-hardened soldier cry with glee.

As Lightning and the unicorns stepped forward into the armory, Quartermaster Tall-ek moved one of his gigantic hands in front of Lightning as if to stop him. Lightning looked up at the giant and blinked nervously. “Is there something wrong?” He asked, watching the giant look down on him.

“I'm only going to tell you this once seeing as how yer' green. But civvies aren' allowed in th' armory.” He said, using a massive finger to point at Krysta. The tiny fairy looked like she was about to pass out, but appeared to be hurt at the same time. “She can wait in th' lobby here and cool off. I'll have someone come'n watcher for yeh.” Quartermaster Tall-ek said as gently as he could, pointing at a small office that sat to the right of the armory entrance almost a yard away.

Krysta looked up at Lightning, who nodded reassuringly at the fairy, before leaping down into the Quartermaster's open hand. It took the giant almost two and a half steps before he knocked on the door of the armory's lobby, passing the fairy to a waiting elf from the other side of the open door before returning to their group. “She's gonna be fine. Though I am going to have a talk with the receptionist about getting his eyes checked.” Quartermaster Tall-ek said, before watching Lightning follow his fellows inside. “Now, yer' mission is the find you somethin' that'll help provide yer squad somethin' that'll make them survive a lot better. An' don' come out til' you find somethin'. If I don' like it, You'll be sent back. Is that clear?” He asked.

“Yes sir!” The unicorns shouted before watching as the giant lumbered over to a chair near the armory.

“Come on guys, let's get this going. Lightning isn't going to find the weapon meant for him and for our squad by us not doing anything is he?” Drawn Out asked, grabbing Lightning and dragging him deeper inside.

“Uh... Is the Quartermaster not going to come with us?” Lightning asked, stealing a glance at the giant who appeared to be reading something in a manilla folder.

“Tall-ek's found out that if he just assigns soldiers weapons that they're not good with, they'd be a waste on the battlefield.” Drawn Out replied before stopping past the racks that carried the swords. “Besides, he has a hundred different things to do in running The Forge down here, and I don't think that helping new recruits or military students pick out their weapon is high on his list of things that needs to get done.”

“Why's that?” Moonbeam asked.

“Well... For one thing, a lot of recruits want to get swords or axes, or weapons that take years of practice to get the basics and master. Certain weapons that are handy, like a spear or a bow, get over-looked by unicorn or orcish soldiers. Elves from what I understand have incredibly picky tastes when it comes to weapons as if the materials aren't absolutely perfect they won't use them or sometimes can't use them. Goblins are also incredibly hard to give a weapon as they're noticeably smaller than any other soldiers in the military, but that doesn't mean much when one has your back.” Drawn Out explained, watching as some of it was understood.

“It's like dealing with different plants I guess.” Buddy Rose said, as the others turned towards him.

“How do you figure?” Ottavo asked, watching as the green unicorn smiled.

“Well, with different plants you kinda need to know how much sunlight one needs over another, how much water one can take, and when and how the flowers will bloom if any.” Buddy replied. “Plus, if you did measure them out all the same way, not all of them would grow the same way.”

“Right.” Drawn Out replied. “But another factor into why he doesn't watch those that enter the armory are the trained soldiers-” The unicorn pointed at three of what seemed like a group of heavily armed giants clad in full black versions of Unicornicopian armor march past them, giving them intimidating looks as they went past, “That can very easily and very mercilessly take your hand off should you so much as think about stealing a weapon here.”

“That's... Kinda scary...” Lightning said, gulping a little as the soldiers continued to march past.

“Oh, they're really friendly.” Drawn Out said quickly, in an attempt to reassure them all, “They'll tell you where everything is from where the maces and siege equipment is to where the nearest bathroom is. However they don't like it when you take their stuff without actually being a member of the military. Trust me, you don't want to piss these guys off.”

The other unicorns all shared a glance before being led by Drawn Out deeper into the maze of what was the armaments of the Unicornicopian Military.

----

Lightning really wasn't sure where to begin. With the hundreds of thousands of weapons that were there for him to choose, he was dumbfounded with all of the options that he could use to provide support and help his friends in the coming battles as his magic was still developing. The soldiers that were guarding the place were incredibly helpful, just like Drawn Out had said that they were, and in what seemed to be less than an hour they had assembled a wide assortment of weapons for Lightning to try in one of the practice areas that had been stationed near the front of the armory. This earned their group many a confused glance from the giants and the Quartermaster himself, but had not received any trouble for the assembly as they were still recognized as friendly.

Drawn Out had started Lightning on using a simple spear, as one of many had been selected by each of his friends. And while the weapon was simple enough to use, the ways that everyone else were showing him how to use it didn't, “feel right.” This was coupled with the fact that he appeared to be trying to hard to mimic their moves with the spears that they had grabbed for their own, and ended up with only a poor imitation of what they had done.

The same could have been said for the maces and axes that they had picked out for him with one of the maces, a very vicious looking one with jagged teeth on each of it's flanges around the top of the mace, nearly smacked into one of his waiting legs. Quarterstaves were no good for him as they required simple magic to make them even remotely effective, most of the hits barely even registered on some of his sparring sessions, and nunchaku were just as bad with the twirling end smashing into him several times before he got a decent enough rhythm flowing.

While Ottavo and Drawn Out agreed on some weapons that he needed to try, they were disagreeing on others. Primarily, his need for a pair of incredibly deadly looking swords or another go at the spears that sat down on the left handed end of the table. It was during their bickering that Lightning noticed something that none of them had gotten during their look through the armory.

It was a simple oak longbow, resting on a corner on a far wall that appeared to have been de-stringed and forgotten. There wasn't anything too terribly special about it, with it standing about as tall as he was though it appeared to have seen moderate use. It was polished to such a shine that made it glow slightly, and there were smaller chips on either of the ends from when it had apparently been banged on the floor of the armory, but all in all it looked pretty good to the unicorn. “Hey guys...” Lightning asked, seemingly sounding as though he were in a dream, “Do you know if we can get a couple practice arrows here?” He asked.

Drawn Out and Ottavo stopped arguing for a second just as Lightning gently picked up the bow. After taking special care not to damage it, they watched as he slowly but carefully guided the bow-string down it's length until he managed to attach the loop of the bow-string on the opposing end. He turned to the other unicorns, who just stared at him quietly.

“You seemed to know how to string that thing...” Ottavo said, getting whacked in the head by Drawn Out. “What?”

“That isn't just a thing, its a beautifully crafted instrument of war. Though it is simplistic it isn't as bad as the spear.” Drawn Out replied. “Lightning, are you sure that you can generate that kind of pull on your own? Maybe you could try something smaller?”

Lightning just simply shook his head. “No, I want to try using this one.” He said, watching as Buddy Rose nodded before leaving the practice area.

“That's going to be awfully hard to build a squad around, seeing as how most of us are melee fighters.” Ottavo said, watching Lightning hold the longbow as though it were a newborn child.

“It may not give us enough proper synergy to work well together.” Drawn Out added, watching as several targets appeared from underneath the flooring at least three-hundred yards away from where they stood. Buddy Rose walked back into the practice area, carrying a quiver full of arrows with him before setting them down on the table. The others turned to Lightning as he approached the table before picking up the quiver, sliding it over his back as it comfortably pressed against his body.

“Okay... Let's see if you can at least pull that sucker.” Ottavo said, watching as Lightning held the longbow out in front of him.

The yellow unicorn stared down at the targets off in the distance, and relaxed. He let the bow rest against his leg as he held it, thinking of only the center of the target directly in front of him. He couldn't hear anything coming from his friends, they were being as quiet as they could while Lightning readied himself to take a shot. Carefully, Lightning pulled an arrow from the quiver and knocked it, wrapping a finger around the end of the arrow that intersected the bow so it wouldn't move.

Taking a deep breath, Lightning brought the bow up to his level and had it go completely vertical as he pulled back on the bow-string. There was some resistance that came from the weapon, but he ignored it, looking down the line of the arrow as the string came near his face. The resistance of the weapon continued to climb as he held the bow in the position for a few moments, mentally calculating the shot before him. As his friends waited with baited breath, he maintained silence, focusing only on the target and the arrow that was going to hit it.

Without warning he fired the arrow, watching as it sailed towards the target with almost deadly efficiency. No one said a word, but only watched as the head pierced through the head of the gnoll-shaped target and nearly went all the way through. Lightning exhaled, disappointment leaving along with the breath. “Damn, I missed.”

There was nothing but silence as Lightning readied another arrow to take another shot. The unicorn pulled back on the bow-string with the newest arrow and fired, watching the arrow strike one of the arms on the target. The unicorn shook his head before drawing another arrow from his bow, and readied to take another shot. None of Lightning's friends made a sound as Lightning remained silent, closing his eyes as he drew the bow-string for a third time. To them, it appeared to be perfectly level with the yellow unicorn's right shoulder. Lightning exhaled a second time, letting the arrow fly.

The shot appeared to be perfect, Lightning's arrow flew true until it smashed just above where the heart of a Gnoll would have been standing on the target. Lightning's expression didn't change, at least to the other unicorns it didn't, but the unicorn finally cracked a smile after a half-minute of silence. “Still didn't hit the bullseye.” He said finally, his glare softening at the target. He turned, remaining silent at the stunned looks on his friends faces as he slung the bow over his shoulder. “What?” Lightning asked.

They remained silent for a few moments, each of them exchanging nervous glances. Ottavo was the first to speak up however as he cleared his throat. “Are you feeling okay Lightning?” He asked.

“Yeah, I feel fine.” Lightning replied. “Why?”

“You said that you didn't hit the bullseye on the target.” Drawn Out answered. “But those shots were flawless. And you hit the target three times.”

Lightning shook his head. “It doesn't matter if I hit the target a thousand times.” He said, turning to the target on down the range. “Hitting the target in the bullseye is what matters. Besides, that last shot was where I was aiming at for my first one.”

“You were aiming at the heart?” Buddy Rose asked, watching Lightning nod.

“Yeah, I was.” Lightning replied.

“But you hit it on your third shot though.” Moonbeam said gently, watching as Lightning nodded.

“Yeah, I hit it on my third. It's not great, but it's better than nothing.” Lightning replied, walking over to the table and setting the longbow down with the quiver of arrows. The unicorn smiled a little as he ran a hand down the length of the bow as a rush of memories went through his mind.

“Who taught you to shoot like that?” Drawn Out asked, watching Lightning turn back to face them all.

“My dad. Well, when I was still back living on my home planet.” Lightning answered. “It was sorta mandatory that everyone at least knew how to use a bow from what I can remember, but I struggled with it as much as I used it. My dad...” Lightning paused, his voice getting slightly weaker as his father's lessons continued to playback in his mind and refused to let him continue.

“Are you all right Lightning?” Moonbeam asked, watching as the yellow unicorn nodded.

“Yeah, I'm fine.” He replied before calming down. “Well, my dad was one of the best shots on the planet. It was partially because he was trained by our world's military, but he also had spare time to practice with it. I learned from him, but ever since I got here I've been... Getting a little sloppy with my own skills.”

Everyone else remained silent as Lightning turned back to the bow. They all remained silent until Drawn Out stepped up to the table and gave the weapon a look over. “You know...” The dark blue unicorn began, staring at the weapon closely as he appeared to be deep in thought, “I heard about this type of bow that can be used like a staff. It's probably not as reliable as using either weapon by themselves, but you can essentially have a melee weapon like the rest of us while using a bow.”

Lightning turned, looking at Drawn Out in the eye as the unicorn smiled. He then looked back down towards the bow and nodded. “All right, but so long as it works for you guys.” Lightning said, turning to the others. “I don't want to be the one who gets in the way when we're in a fight.”

“Don't worry.” Buddy Rose said, stepping forward. “You won't be.”

“We're a team right? So we'll help you so you won't get in the way.” Ottavo added.

“Well then I guess this is gonna get interesting.” Moonbeam finished, watching as Lightning slung the longbow back over his shoulder. “Especially now that we need to find this special bow too.” She smiled gently, watching as Lightning picked up the bow from the table again and held it aloft. The others could feel the warmth that radiated from Lightning as he held the bow, before watching as he picked up the quiver full of arrows and slung them over his shoulder. The yellow unicorn then turned to the rest of his friends and smiled, watching their once nervous faces soften.

“Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!”

----

A few hours had passed since Lightning and his friends had left into the armory. Quartermaster Tall-ek, who was busy carving something out of a log of wood with a massive knife that he had in his hands, looked up just as he heard hoof steps from inside. The giant looked up, watching as Lightning and the rest of his squad were marching out of the armory like they were some sort of band or parade. The giant couldn't help but grin, appearing to blink slightly from the view of the approaching unicorns as he saw the way Lightning's magic interacted with the string-less silver Longbow that he carried with him. “I didn' think he'd be able ta pick something so compatible with him...” Quartermaster Tall-ek thought as they approached, setting the knife down and the wooden log before getting up and hiking over to them all. He watched as Drawn Out stepped out in front of the group just as everyone else stopped walking.

“Mission complete Quartermaster.” Drawn Out said, watching as the Giant nodded.

“I see that Drawn Out. An' I also see tha' he's got 'imself a bow.” Quartermaster Tall-ek responded before extending one of his gigantic hands to Lightning. The unicorn relinquished the bow to the giant who then gave it a look over. “Hmm... I see...” The giant said looking really pleased at the sight. “And it's pliable but strong too... Tha's interestin...”

“What's he doing?” Lightning whispered to Ottavo, watching as the Quartermaster continued to examine his choice of weapon.

“He's checking to see how compatible you are with the weapon that you've chosen.” Ottavo whispered back. “It's something to make sure you've picked the right weapon for both the squad your with, and the skills you have.”

After another minute of examining the bow, he passed it back to Lightning before folding his hands over and looking down on them. “Yer' really gutsy fer usin' a ranged weapon in a melee squad.” Quartermaster Tall-ek said, looking down on the yellow unicorn. “But I know a good fit when I see one. 'Specially when there's a war goin' on,” He watched as the unicorns all shared hopeful glances towards Lightning's bow, “But I need yeh ta show me how good yer are with that thing. It's one thing ta pick a weapon out, but it's another ta be good with that weapon and have it pick yeh.” He said, snapping his fingers.

The unicorns all watched as a square block target appeared some distance hundred yards away from them in the middle of the bridge that led back to the surface. Quartermaster Tall-ek then made to move Lightning's friends out of his way before snorting. “Hit the target. If' yeh do that, you can have the bow. It's simple as that.” He said, watching Lightning nod.

Lightning turned, staring at his target that the Quartermaster had designated for him. His horn flared up, causing the retractable string to move down the length of the bow before attaching to the other end and pulling tight. The unicorn then pulled an arrow from his quiver, knocking it to the string before holding the bow level with the target.

Everything seemed to slow down for Lightning as he held the bow level. It appeared to the unicorn that he could see almost anything in the forges as he mentally ran through the shot. Continuing to concentrate, Lightning drew the bow-string back, lifting the bow ever so slightly upwards before inhaling. Everyone behind him stopped and watched with bated breath.

Then, without warning, the arrow flew. It was followed by a second, and a third even before they hit the target. Everyone in the shop watched as the first arrow grazed the top of the target before clattering to the floor behind it. The second struck the top of the target and buried itself relatively deep from where they stood where as the third managed to hit in the second ring of the target itself, burying itself deeper than anyone expected.

There was silence for a few moments as everyone in the forge was still registering what had happened in the seconds that Lightning fired his arrows. Not long after, Lightning lowered the longbow, his horn flaring up with magic again as he used it to detach the bow-string from the other end of the bow before turning to the others. “So... How was that?” Lightning asked.

The Quartermaster said nothing, looking down on Lightning before taking a glance at the target in the opposite end of the forges. “Well, it ain't perfect... But it'll have to do.” He said, looking down on Lightning. “Git' yerself a bit more practiced an' you'll be great with that thing.” He added finally, watching Lightning closely.

“All right!” Ottavo exclaimed, grinning as Lightning slung the end of the bow back over his shoulder and into the carrying case that went with it. “That means he can keep it right?”

“Yes Ottavo. He can keep it.” Drawn Out replied, chuckling a little before watching as Lightning gave the Quartermaster a respectful bow. The dark blue unicorn, seeing what Lightning was doing followed suit just as everyone watched them closely.

“Thank you for allowing me to use such a finely crafted weapon sir.” Lightning said, rising afterwards. The Quartermaster just chuckled.

“Don' worry about that.” He said, before giving the unicorn a serious look. “All I want fer you to do is jus make sure that you an' yer friends make it home okay. You are stronger together than you are apart, is that clear?”

“Of course Quartermaster.” Drawn Out said, watching as the giant received similar nods from the others.

“We're a team. And together, there isn't anything that Titan or anyone can do to beat us!” Lightning said enthusiastically.

Quartermaster Tall-ek nodded a little before turning towards the waiting room. “All right then. Lemme go an' get yer friend there an' we can get you registered as an archer for the military.” He said, striding over to the waiting room. A few moments passed before Krysta shot out from the room, landing on Lighting's shoulder like a refreshing bag of ice.

“So, what did'ya get?” Krysta asked, watching as the unicorns shared a laugh. “What? I've been waiting in that room for a few hours you know.” She said, before stopping to see the bow and arrows that were on Lightning's back. The fairy made an, “O,” with her mouth before falling silent.

“It's okay Krysta. You can see it once we get back home.” Lightning said, watching the fairy's face light up. He looked up, watching as Quartermaster Tall-ek began to stride in front of them all.

“Follow me, an' we'll git you registered as an archer.” He said, walking calmly across the bridge again. Lightning and the others followed suit, watching the giant's massive form lumber onwards. “It shouldn't take too long now.” He said, taking a right from the center of the intersection in the middle of the bridge and walking down into a deeper part of the caves.

It didn't take too long for Lightning to get his use of the Longbow registered for the Unicornicopian Army, nor did it take him and his friends long to get back outside in the sunshine. The yellow unicorn adjusted the bow on his back along with the quiver of arrows just as everyone else got finished stretching. After promising to meet up at one of the local archery ranges later the next day, Lightning and Krysta left the other unicorns, and began to head back home.

----

Later on that evening, as the Unicornicopian sun descended on the horizon, Lightning found himself calmly practicing his magic as Krysta was sleeping on a small pillow that he had gotten for her from off of his bed. The unicorn was glad that his friends had understood what the bow had meant to him, but he was also relatively interested in squadron tactics that they were talking about down in the forges that he had gotten his bow from.

As the rock he was practicing with was gently floating around his body, Lightning held a decently-sized book in his hands called, “Unicornicopian Squadron Tactics,” and was reading up on how archers could aid in turning the tide on a melee combat. It had several diagrams and examples of where an archer could go to get out from a situation where their combat effectiveness was least effective based on the terrain and how archers were really reliable members of any military in recent Unicornicopian History.

“In a situation where there is no room for the archer in question to maneuver, there are often times where the archer uses or has used their bow as a melee weapon. Noted that this sort of tactic is highly unrecommended, as bows are meant to be used for range and not for striking, their have been accounts of warriors capable of having their bows survive countless engagements with enemy troops without so much as receiving a crack to their weapons though this has yet to be truly proven in a sense of a fair-”

KNOCK-KNOCK!

The yellow unicorn jumped as the sound of a powerful, but non-forceful knock echoed throughout his home originating from his front door. The unicorn turned, walking over to the door and opened it, revealing an orc in a very fancy looking white uniform with golden trim. Several patches of different colors were on the front of his uniform that Lightning couldn't identify, and in the Orc's hands was an envelope with a wax seal bearing the Unicornicopian symbol and a clip board beneath it.

“Lightning Dawn?” The orc asked, looking at Lightning with his amber colored eyes.

“That's me.” Lightning replied, looking at the orc as he simultaneously received the clip board from the orc's hands.

“Sign here.”

Lightning did as he was instructed, signing his name with a quill that came with the clipboard before taking the letter in his hands. He told the orc to wait a moment before disappearing deeper into his home before returning with a fist full of coins and placing them into the orc's understandably surprised hands. “For the delivery.” Lightning explained as the Orc nodded before walking off. Lightning then closed his front door, walking into his living room as he sat down and stared at the letter in his hands. Krysta, who had jumped due to the noise of the knocking on the door, looked at the letter with interest.

“Who's that from?” She asked, watching as Lightning began to open the envelope, gently breaking the seal and setting it down to where she could see it. The front of the envelope had a very fancy writing to it, with an almost regal appearance as Lightning read the letter. Krysta looked up, watching Lightning's expression change from confusion to shock to a simple smile in less than ten seconds before he set the letter down. “Lightning, what's wrong?”

“It's a message from the Grand Ruler, he wants me to meet with him tomorrow for my next lesson in magic!” Lightning said excitedly, nearly jumping at the thought. The unicorn could see Krysta's smile before picking up the letter with his magic and clearing his throat,

“Dear Lightning Dawn,

I have sent this to you because I have felt your magic grow significantly stronger since last we met. I said that in our last meeting when you are able to hold something in your telekinesis for at least an hour, we will continue with our next lesson together. I hope that you are as ready and prepared as you should be, as this lesson is going to go into a little more in-depth than what I explained last time.

I wish for you to meet me at the Copper Sunrise park at nine o'clock tomorrow morning so that we may begin our next lesson. Please do not be late as this is an important lesson as are any and all lessons that anyone may happen to learn. And before you ask, Krysta is allowed to join you like she did last time for this lesson. I expect to see you there and as willing to learn as you were last time.

Your Mentor,
Grand Ruler Celesto”

Krysta smiled as Lightning grabbed the envelope that the letter was sealed in. “I guess we had better get to bed so we can get up bright and early tomorrow huh?” She asked, watching Lightning nod.

“Yeah.” Lightning said, stifling a nod as he stretched. “Come on Krysta, let's get some sleep.” He said, walking over to where the fairy sat on the pillow before picking it up as she flew off of it. They both then made their way back to the bed room before getting ready for bed and their busy day the next day.

----

The next day had arrived without too many problems on the radar, and Titan's forces still weren't found on the surface of the planet. As Lightning got ready for his next lesson with the Grand Ruler, he looked over the book of Unicornicopian tactics again as he got dressed. He only made slight grunts and mumbles as he looked over the book, absorbing it's knowledge in greedily as though it were a pitcher of water that he didn't have access to for days. The unicorn hoped that when his skills were better, or at least when he was accepted as the team leader, he could implement some of the strategies that were listed in the book.

“Lightning come on!” He could hear Krysta shout from the front of their house. “We still have to get something to eat before meeting with the Grand Ruler today, and I'm getting really hungry!”

Lightning looked up from the book, having been completely dressed before grabbing it with his hands and releasing it with his magic. The unicorn closed it quickly and set it back on his bed before heading to the front of the house where Krysta waited.

“There you are!” She snapped impatiently. “What was taking you so long?”

“I was doing a bit of reading.” Lightning explained, “You know, to get ready for today?” He asked, watching as Krysta sighed.

“Well so long as it doesn't make us late, we need to get going. I'm hungry, and I know that neither of us can learn anything without food.” Krysta replied, watching as Lightning nodded before heading out of the house, the fairy leaping onto his shoulder as he threw his mother's cloak around him. After locking the place up, the pair set off to meet with the Grand Ruler.

After eating a filling breakfast on the way to the Copper Sunrise park, which happened to be on the west side of the capitol, Lightning and Krysta were both patiently waiting at a bench at the park, watching as a group of small children were playing catch some distance away from them underneath a shady bronze colored tree.

The Copper Sunrise Park was aptly named, the paths that led from the main road were all colored in a bright orangish-red as the green stretches of grass made it's color even more pronounced. The trees in the park were a darker color at their base, seemingly getting brighter as they reached up towards the sky with their branches and leaves fading into different shades of orange to gold. The light from the sun's rays made it seem like they were sitting in a park made specifically for fall, when instead they both knew that they were in the middle of summer.

“I see that you've made it Lightning.” A voice said, causing both the unicorn and the fairy to nearly jump out of their clothes. The pair both leapt from the copper colored bench that they were seated on and turned to see Grand Ruler Celesto descending down on them both, his mane and tail having taken a bright bluish tone as he appeared to wear a crisp black suit that one would wear in a business meeting. The alicorn's wings stopped moving as his hooves touched the ground, getting back into a perfect position as they were before.

“Grand Ruler Celesto, what was that for!?” Lightning asked, his hand over his heart as it pounded rapidly in his chest. The alicorn merely smiled as Lightning tried to calm down, his mane and tail going down a shade before the young unicorn completely calmed down.

“Well, it's not really fun if I just announce my presence to the whole world now is it?” Grand Ruler Celesto replied, watching as both the unicorn and the fairy shared a look. “Don't worry, I'm not going to try that on you two. Much.” He said, stifling a laugh before watching as both Lightning and Krysta still had dumbstruck looks on their faces. “Is there something wrong?” He asked, watching as Lightning shook his head.

“N-No... It's just that-

What, you think that because I'm the immortal ruler of this nation, you didn't expect me to have a little fun?” Grand Ruler Celesto interrupted, watching as Lightning nodded slightly. “My boy you have to understand, immortality is not as cracked up as it's made out to be. You have to make it interesting every now and then, otherwise you'll go stir crazy.” He said, watching as Lightning appeared to still not understand. “I can cut loose too you know.” He said, watching as Lightning and Krysta both made an, “O” with their mouths before breathing sighs of relief. The alicorn smiled, before looking at the children who were staring at them with their mouths agape. “I think we need to move our lesson somewhere else. Come with me.” The alicorn said, heading towards main street before Lightning and Krysta began to follow.

They remained silent for a few moments as Grand Ruler Celesto led them off of the main road and onto a side-street. After heading down said side-street for a few moments he turned down another, and then another, and finally a third until he stopped at a small looking square that was almost devoid of any of the liveliness that the rest of the city had. Several of the buildings that surrounded the square were scarred, as signs of Titan's initial attack on the planet had yet to have been addressed. Several doors and windows were boarded up, and there were several modestly sized boulders in the area from when the shards of the shield hit the pavement.

Lightning could feel the Grand Ruler's mood decrease as they continued to survey the scene, a colder breeze whipped through the air as they remained silent at the sight. The yellow unicorn remained quiet for a few moments, but watched as the Grand Ruler headed towards one of the smaller boulders and turned to Lightning.

“Now, we'll have a little more privacy between us for this lesson as this is something important that you need to know.” Grand Ruler Celesto said, watching as Lightning remained silent. “I assume that you want to know why you are here?” He asked, watching the yellow unicorn nod. “Well, we're going to see how good you've gotten with your telekinesis.” He said, watching Lightning stare blankly at him.

“My... Telekinesis?” Lightning asked, watching as Grand Ruler Celesto nodded.

“Yes, consider this as a test to see if you did your... Homework. Now, I want you to lift something from the road, and hold it there for as long as you can. We'll get to your lesson as soon as you are finished.” Grand Ruler Celesto said, watching Lightning stare blankly for a few moments at him before nodding in compliance. The yellow unicorn then took off his cloak, settling it down on a nearby boulder that went up to his knee and found a smaller rock down by his hooves. The unicorn's horn then it up with a bright yellow glow before his selected rock began to take on the same aura. After a few moments the rock was lifted from the ground and began rotating around him like a planet in orbit.

Grand Ruler Celesto smirked, watching as Lightning dutifully tended to his task, before raising a hand to stop the unicorn. “I expected you to lash out at me.” He said, watching as Lightning shook his head. “I mean, if I were in your situation and my instructor told me to show me what I learned based on the first lesson, I would be upset too.”

“I'm not upset Grand Ruler Celesto.” Lightning replied, continuing to focus on levitating his rock. “I just know that just because I've been able to hold a telekinesis for an hour like you told me to, doesn't mean that you're not gonna test me on it.” He said, watching the Grand Ruler smile.

“Well then, you've obviously got the point of this part of the lesson.” Grand Ruler Celesto said, watching as Lightning continued to levitate the rock. “You can set that rock down Lightning, it's probably straining you by now.” He said, watching as Lightning shook his head.

“With all due respect, I'm actually pretty fine.” Lightning replied, setting the rock down with his magic. “In fact I practiced by reading a Library book that I had checked out while levitating said book and that rock you had me use.” He said, watching Grand Ruler Celesto raise an eyebrow.

“Oh ho? So you're trying to push past your limits now that you know a bit of magic?” Grand Ruler Celesto said with a smirk. “You better watch yourself, as if you push too hard you may end up overdoing it.” The alicorn's own horn flared up in silver magic as several orbs, similar to the ones from their last lesson appeared in between them. “Now, let's get started with today's lesson.” He watched as Lightning attempted to take a seat on the pavement but found that it was still covered with plenty of rocks and debris that it made it incredibly uncomfortable. Grand Ruler Celesto smiled as his horn then flared up and made a pair of chairs appear for them both. As Lightning sat down, the alicorn smiled again before following suit. “Now, let me begin today's lesson by giving you a recap on the basics of magic. Magic, is an ability that all beings have in varying degrees which affects the world around them by manipulating Mana. Mana, which is the source of all things and the energy of everything, changes from source to source to maintain universal balance. Those sources are divided into six aspects which are Life, Death, Belief, Doubt, Harmony, and Chaos. And it is from those six sources that magic-users derive Light and Dark Magic from.” He watched Lightning closely as the yellow unicorn seemed to remember their last lesson together. “Now, for this lesson we're going to look at Belief and Doubt in particular, as they determine the strength of a spell from a caster. Now Lightning tell me, what would you say that if by the end of today that you would be able to lift a boulder about your size?”

The unicorn blinked as he tried to make sure that he didn't mishear what the Grand Ruler said. “I... Would honestly say that you would be pretty crazy. No offense.” Lightning watched as the Grand Ruler smiled, chuckling a little.

“None taken Lightning.” Grand Ruler Celesto said, “Life has made you a skeptic when it comes to magic, and if this weren't the case you would be a great Counter Sorcerer.” He smiled as the unicorn remained silent. “You would be able to stop opposing magic that would attempt to harm you or your friends. And most magics wouldn't affect you all that well.” He said, watching as both Lighting and Krysta made an, “O” with their mouths before smiling again. “But that is neither here nor there, as you will be able to choose a magical class that you're best in before we get into those kinds of topics. Now, back to the topic at hand. Belief and Doubt are the aspects in our world that affect magic the most here on Unicornicopia. Do you know why?”

Lightning remained silent for a moment before scratching the back of his head. “Because we're closely in tune with the Uniforce?”

“Not exactly Lightning.” Grand Ruler Celesto replied. “You see, most of the magic here on Unicornicopia is focused on Belief and Willpower. The traditions for all of the tribes of peoples on this planet have been focusing on these aspects ever since even before I arrived on the surface. The spells that were cast here before Unicornicopia as you know it were cast by Tribal Shamans and Priests who used their powers and abilities to help their small villages with tasks that they needed help with, from asking for rain when they needed to to hoping for a good harvest.” The Grand Ruler paused, closing his eyes as though he was recollecting a fond memory. “Yes, those that had abilities that could be influenced by the Shamans here, or those that could become Shamans were highly respected, even revered as gods by the time that I got here. And it all came down to one simple philosophy. Do you know what that is?” He asked, watching as Krysta and Lightning shared a glance. He smiled as neither of them could come up with an answer before turning back to the alicorn. “That philosophy is that Belief is Power. The more belief that one holds, not just by themselves but from the hundreds of others that believe in him or her, the stronger that they become.” He smiled as the knowledge of what the Ancient Unicornicopians did with their magic started to sink in. “Now, just because that Belief holds power doesn't mean that Doubt is powerless. Here's an example, taken directly from when I arrived on Unicornicopia. You see, the people of the planet were doubting their Shamans because they were convinced that some great hero would, “Descend from the Heavens,” to defeat Cystan, the tyrant that was around just before I arrived.”

“Yeah, I heard about Cystan.” Lightning said, watching the Grand Ruler smirk a little. “The Book of Sol says that you defeated him in single combat and had the people of Unicornicopia unite against his army. After wards Unicornicopia was created as a symbol of peace on the planet.”

Grand Ruler Celesto chuckled again. “You know that was exaggerated just a little.” He said, smiling at Lightning and Krysta's dumbfounded expressions. “Allow me to explain. You see, I did know that someone had to defeat Cystan in single combat. But after hearing that he was so much stronger than the peoples of the planet individually, I looked to their strengths. The population had a lot of belief in themselves, it was just being kicked down by an overzealous bully who wanted nothing but power. So I had to correct that.”

Lightning blinked. “What did you do?” He asked, watching Grand Ruler Celesto smile again.

“Well I noticed that the unicorns, as they were called on this planet, could change and develop a sort of body armor that was used to protect them and enhance their powers. It was almost like a second Cutie Mark.” Grand Ruler Celesto explained. “But those that discovered what that armor was, was kidnapped by Cystan's soldiers and pressed into his military. So I had the shamans from every village meet me at night and told them to train their citizens in learning how to discover what armors that they had. Sure some of them rebelled and said that it was a waste of time, but I told them how to use it as a way to disguise it.” The Grand Ruler said confidently. “And it was a matter of time before they taught their young how to disguise it and so on and so forth. But that's getting off topic, you see what I'm getting at is that they believed in me and after they began to believe in me I began to get control over the situation to make their lives better. It's an example of how you can use the belief of others to turn a bad situation into a better one, just as how you can use the belief in yourself or someone else to make your magic more effective.” The Grand Ruler smiled as a realization began to dawn on Lightning's face.

“So it's just believing in something enough to make magic really strong?” Lightning asked, watching the Grand Ruler shake his head.

“No Lightning, unfortunately that isn't the case.” Grand Ruler Celesto replied, watching as Lightning fell silent for a moment. “You see, you can believe in anything all that you want to. But it's what you do with that belief that makes your magic strong. It's the courage and the hard work it takes to make that magic of yours what it is and what it will be. Last week, you didn't believe that you could levitate that rock for a full hour right?”

“Yeah... I didn't but-

But you did it. And apparently you did it while levitating a book that you were reading.” Grand Ruler Celesto said, smiling as he did so. “You see Lightning, when you began practicing with your levitation you believed that you would get better, and so you did. As you practiced you got better and better until finally you were levitating two objects at once. Which I must say is a good job indeed.” He said, smiling as Lightning blushed from the praise. “Now, it wasn't just because you believed you could do it. It was because you wanted to prove that your beliefs weren't just ignorance. You wanted to make sure that you were right, and that you were going to do everything in your power to prove that you were right in the end. So I must say that you have the first part of our lesson down pat. Belief is Power, never forget that Lightning.”

As the yellow unicorn remained silent, Grand Ruler Celesto smiled, watching as he mulled over the first part of their lesson in his mind. The alicorn then turned his expression skyward, watching as a patrol of unicorns and Sky-riding Orcs and Elves were high above them in formation as he instructed. After a few more moments, he looked back down and cleared his throat as Lightning returned all of his attention on him. “Now, the second part of this lesson is important as this is going to prove both challenging and interesting at the same time.” He said, watching as Lightning's face brightened significantly.

“How so?” Lightning asked, watching as Grand Ruler Celesto gave a devious looking smirk.

“Well Lightning, you see we all know that Magic is influenced by how much we believe in something. Well, this part of the lesson is going to be a little demonstration.” Grand Ruler Celesto said, rising from his chair before turning to one of the boulders of rubble in the street. His horn flared up with a silvery light a second time, as the boulder began to glow with the same aura. After a few seconds it lifted off of the ground with no effort and landed on top of another boulder next to Lightning and Krysta perfectly. Both boulders merged into one as the Grand Ruler's aura enveloped them both before shaping into a perfect rectangular box about the size of Lightning himself. As soon as the aura disappeared, the Grand Ruler sat back down and watched the fairy and the unicorn marvel at his work.

“Wow...” Krysta uttered, staring at the Lightning-sized box.

“Am I going to have to do that before the next lesson?” Lightning wondered.

“No, you're not going to be doing something that complex.” Grand Ruler Celesto said, watching as Lightning and Krysta returned their attention back onto him. “However, you still are going to have to involve yourself with that box, as it will be your training partner for a while.” He said, watching Lightning blink nervously.

“Training... Partner?” Lightning repeated as though the Grand Ruler was speaking another language.

“Yes Lightning, Training Partner.” Grand Ruler Celesto said, watching Lightning pale slightly. “Oh this isn't going to be too terribly hard for someone with the powers that you're developing, but that will wait until I am done here.” Grand Ruler Celesto paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. “You see all of that magic that I just performed was based on my belief that it could be done. But that's only the half of the battle. Like we said earlier, just blind belief with nothing behind it is ignorance. Plain and simple. However, I was bound and determined to make that belief come true which compiled into the spell's strength, which in turn made me believe that I could do it which continued on until it happened. This is something I called the Belief-Work Effect. I believe that you've heard of it?” He asked, watching as Lightning nodded.

“Yeah, the more belief that you put into the work you're doing to reach a goal, the better the end result would be.” Lightning replied, watching as the Grand Ruler raised a curious eyebrow. “I read up about it at a Library sometime during the week. It caught my interest and-

It's okay Lightning, I know that you're trying, but don't try and pull a fast one.” Grand Ruler Celesto replied, watching as Lightning blinked. “Reading minds with the Uniforce is a two way street. Though how you managed to catch that snippet of data from my mind is something that I don't think a unicorn at your level could accomplish yet. No offense.”

“None taken.” Lightning said, adjusting a little in his chair. “To be honest I really wasn't trying at all, but it hit me as soon as you said something about that effect.” He said, watching as Grand Ruler Celesto nodded.

“Okay now... Back to what I was saying, yes, the Belief-Work Effect is something that makes magic so effective. You have to use your will to make the spell work even better than earlier, and even then there will be complications. There are forces out there that will try to force you to doubt yourself, and thus attempt to weaken your spell. And oftentimes, you are your own worst enemy.” The Grand Ruler paused, watching Lightning closely before speaking again. “There are a vast amount of emotions that can affect your state of beliefs, from anger to happiness, from sorrow to joy any emotion from under the sun can be used to make magic stronger and weaker. It's your job as a user of magic to learn how to control these emotions and make them work with you as opposed to being used against you.”

Lightning gave Grand Ruler Celesto a look of confusion. “What's that supposed to mean?” He asked, watching the Alicorn chuckle a little.

“What it means Lightning is that it involves your next assignment.” Grand Ruler Celesto said, watching as the unicorn's ears began to perk up. “You see, that block of stone that I created is going to be your training partner now. And what I would hope to see you be capable of by the next time we meet is for you to be able to carry that block with your magic for a hundred feet.”

Lightning deadpanned, staring right at the Alicorn. “No offense, but... You're kidding right?” He asked, watching as Grand Ruler Celesto's face never changed expression. “You mean you want me to lift this-” Lightning knocked on the stone block with his bare hand and felt that it was completely solid, “A hundred feet?”

“Yes Lightning I do. And take as much time as you need in moving it as you're going to need it to complete this assignment. Plus it will give you a chance to understand what I mean by Belief and Doubt constantly working against each other.” The Alicorn smiled before rising from the conjured chair and watched as Lightning continued to look nervous at the stone. “I'll get it back to your home so you can get started in practicing it, but that's all of the help I'll be giving you for now.” Grand Ruler Celesto said gently. After another flash of light the stone was gone, leaving Lightning and Krysta speechless. “I know it seems daunting, but just remember believe in yourself and make those beliefs come true with your own power. By the time we next meet you should be stronger than ever before.”

Lightning turned to Grand Ruler Celesto before getting off of the chair with his hooves. Something about what the alicorn said strengthened Lightning's resolve, causing the unicorn's face to appear to be filled with determination. “You really think that I'll be stronger?” Lightning asked.

“Only if you believe in yourself and set out to prove it.” Grand Ruler Celesto replied before turning to go. He smiled, casting a glance back at Lightning as his face appeared to be filled with hope, before spreading his wings out wide. “And I'll know if you've gotten stronger Lightning. So don't stress on overdoing it. No one wants to see you in the hospital.” Grand Ruler Celesto said gently before taking off. “And until the next meeting Lightning.” The Alicorn circled the small square for a few moments before flying off, leaving Lightning and Krysta alone, the fairy having landed on Lightning's shoulder.

“What now?” Krysta asked.

“Well... Let's head back home so we can get ready to meet everyone else.” Lightning replied, using his magic to throw his mother's cloak over him and Krysta before walking out of the square back towards his home.

Chapter 7: Episode 4 Part 2: The Painted Dreams of Ocean's Sorrow

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(Continues from Last Chapter)

-Titan's Capital Ship, several days after the attack on Redwood Valley-

“Lord Titan has not seen such a failure from you since we destroyed the planet of the undying dragons.” Relicourse commented, watching as Callenfir quietly sharpened one of his swords. “Why was it that you were easily fooled I wonder? Was it your pride? No, Dragonkin aren't easily fooled in battle. Then maybe it was your lack of fighting elves on the Unicornicopian surface. After all, you were one of the ones who spent their time gathering our lord's armies... It is very curious indeed.”

Callenfir looked up from the weapon towards the centaur, the dim lighting of the forge only showed the Dragonkin's furious red eyes. Relicourse remained silent as the Dragonkin continued to glare as the tension between the two generals caused several Kobolds that were in the room to flee.

“You here to gloat or are you here to tell me something?” Callenfir said venomously, glaring at Relicourse as the Centaur said nothing. “I've got nothing to say to you unless it is the concern of Lord Titan.” He snapped, looking back down on his sword and continuing to sharpen it.

“But you do have something of a vendetta against the Unicornicopians now that they've bested you not only once but twice.” Relicourse scoffed, looking down on the Dragonkin. “I was just curious as to how you were going to make this up to Lord Titan. Not only has he lost a valuable piece of Gnollish magical technology, but he lost a full regiment in that attempt to attack the Unicornicopians farming center.”

“I'll make it up to him alright!” Callenfir snapped angrily, sharpening his blade as viciously as he spoke. “I don't need some half-breed telling me that I need to make up for my mistakes on the planet. And I don't need some pompous fool telling me that there isn't much that I can do to fix it.” The Dragonkin snapped, looking down the length of the blade and ignoring the sounds of Relicourse's fists clenching.

“Very well.” Relicourse snapped, turning to leave the Dragonkin to his work. “See to it that you do not fail a second time. Our lord is not so forgiving to those that fail him more than once.”

And with that the centaur left, causing Callenfir to snort angrily. He looked up from his sword, hearing shuffling from behind him and turned to see a group of Kobolds nervously standing behind several anvils on the other end of the room. “And what are you staring at?” Callenfir growled, getting up from the bench that he worked on and sheathing his sword. “Get back to work you lousy slobs. We haven't got all day!” He roared, watching as they all immediately rushed back to several smithing stations and began working again. “Lousy... no good... I'll show them! I'll show them all how strong I am!” He roared, causing several of the Kobolds to jump before leaving the forge himself.

Meanwhile, on the bridge of the vessel, Titan sat quietly on his throne calculating his next move. “That was only the beginning. Callenfir's mistake was of small cost, but there cannot be a repeat of said mistake. I need something done about the Unicornicopians themselves. Something to break their resolve with... But how?” The sorcerer remained silent, one of his hands drumming impatiently on the armrest of his throne as multiple ideas to retaliate at the Unicornicopians seemed to either be filled with glaring holes, or outright ineffective. Titan stopped only for a moment as one of the doors to the bridge opened up, revealing Coristia. “What is it that you want Lich?” Titan snapped, watching from the corner of his eye as she prostrated herself before him.

“My lord, I am honored that you would even see me.” Coristia began, a sort of sick pleasure emitting from her voice. “I have an idea in which we can break the Unicornicopians, if you would allow me to voice it.”

Titan didn't answer. Between his three Generals, he had a sort of sick respect for the Lich but it didn't mean that he couldn't vaporize her when he had the chance. Still, Coristia was useful due to her level head and lack of sympathy for their enemies. “Speak your peace Lich. Though I doubt that there would be anything that you could do to aid in the capture of this planet.”

“My lord honors his humble servant.” Coristia replied, before rising slowly to a standing position. Titan did not appear to move save for one of his hands that continued to drum on the base of the arm rest with impatience. “I have had spies that have been placed on the surface of the planet for sometime keep a log of every city's importance to the main continent. There is a port settlement more than a weeks ride from the capital that keeps their military well stocked in arms and armor, providing for more than forty-five percent of their military's offensive capabilities.”

“Get to the point.” Titan snapped, his patience wearing thin.

“My lord, I humbly request that you send me and a small squad of soldiers down to assault this village. With it's destruction, the Unicornicopian War Machine will be reasonably out matched by your own powers, which will force them to surrender.” Coristia replied, hearing a low rumble emit from underneath Titan's hood.

“And how do you suppose that a small squad of soldiers is going to assist you in taking a city?” Titan snapped as Coristia took a silent breath.

“Because my lord, there is one thing that I am capable of that they aren't.” Coristia replied, concentrating for a moment before firing a bolt of eldritch fire at a kobold that had entered the room from the other side. The kobold let out a horrifying shriek before crumpling to the ground, dying before hitting the cold floor. Titan cast a glance over at the dead Kobold, watching as it's skin turned into a sickly grayish purple as its burns began to immediately scab over in black. It's eyes were black, soulless orbs that showed no emotion, and it lurched slightly as it calmly awaited orders.

“I am capable of turning the Unicornicopian Soldiers against each other.” The Lich said before bowing low again.

Titan remained silent. He understood that Necromancers, especially ones that rose to become Liches in their own right, were capable of raising the dead. But he also understood that it required time for a Necromancer to do so. As he pondered the possibility of the idea that Coristia posed onto him, the now Living Dead Kobold collapsed onto the floor into a puddle of blood. “There's also the possibility of her maintaining the control of the undead that she summons. Not that it isn't impossible for her, she was the cause of the destruction of Vanitas, planet of the Sky Caller Elves... But it is dangerous to leave her alone... Especially this early...”

The bridge remained silent as Coristia's proposal was being mentally debated through Titan's mind. After a few moments, the dark sorcerer turned to Coristia, his blood red eyes glaring at her viciously, “You have a week to prepare. I do not expect failure from you Coristia, don't disappoint me.” Titan commanded, glaring at the Lich.

“You honor me my Lord.” Coristia said a second time, prostrating herself before him. “Unicornicopia will fall before you. I shall not fail.” She said, feeling the gaze of her master penetrate her skull.

“See that you don't.” Titan snapped, turning his attention away from the Lich as she disappeared from whence she came. “Now Celesto... How will you respond?”

----

It had been almost a week since Coristia had requested to attack Unicornicopian surface. The Lich, while confident in her abilities, was noticeably keeping to herself as the Gnollish ship descended on the outskirts of the city. As most of the Gnollish soldiers were getting ready to disembark, the ship had almost made landfall, the door to the private compartment where the Lich was meditating opened. A thick billowing violet colored cloud plumed from her feet as she stepped forward, her eyes glaring at the Gnolls in front of her.

“M-M-My lady, we are making our final approach to the landing zone.” One of the Gnollish soldiers reported, watching as Coristia nodded.

“Excellent.” She replied. “Are we at the appropriate distance away from the target in question?” She asked, watching as several Gnolls nodded earnestly.

“O-Of course my lady, we are at the distance you've requested.” Another Gnoll reported nervously. “B-Begging your pardons though, w-w-why do we just not attack the city directly? It is just a small town.”

Coristia's eyes darkened to a dangerous looking black as she glared at the Gnoll. She watched as it's ears dropped low before the creature backed off, muttering apologies as it went. She then turned her gaze to her target, a modest looking town that was nestled in between two hills and a bay that led out into the ocean. Most of the buildings were made of some sort of stone, possibly marble from what she could guess based on the building materials that ran throughout the entire capital. She could see that there were several lights on in the streets, several of which still had yet to been paved, as several figures continued to walk along them. Most of the buildings were dark, save for a relatively modest sized fortification on the end of the city closest to the harbor. The harbor itself was also dark, and vacant as most of the ships she had assumed were gone off to other places on the planet.

“Milady, we're about to touch down.” One of the Gnollish soldiers, one dressed in a blood covered suit of chain mail, reported from the front. The Lich smirked, walking calmly over to the on ramp and remained silent as the craft's struts touched down. As the on ramp lowered from the main body of the ship, Coristia walked out onto it and calmly touched the earth of the planet. Gnolls followed her at a relatively safe distance, all due to the cloud of smoke that hovered and hung around her feet, and got ready to attack the city.

“Stonegate...” Coristia said, staring at a small sign that was posted at a cemetery nearby. “So that's what this place is called...” The Lich stepped closer to the cemetery, the cloud nearly doubling in size as she could smell the scent of the dead that was buried within.

“Milady, what are your orders?” The same Gnoll in bloody chain asked the Lich, watching as she turned to face them.

“You are to remain here with me while my spell does its work. You are also to remain silent while I work, no distractions. I want no one to interfere, and if someone does so much as think about breaking the perimeter I will have their heads as part of my next experiment. Is that clear?” She asked, watching as the Gnollish Soldiers all gave her a salute in understanding. The Lich nodded, turning her attention back to the city as who she assumed was the Lieutenant for the attack began whispering orders to his fellow soldiers and got them ready for battle. As they did so, Coristia took a seat on the cold earth, the cloud that now surrounded her slowly billowed out around her as she did so, before beginning to concentrate.

Several of the Gnollish soldiers stopped and stared at the sight of the cloud, which was now taking on more of a bubbling ooze-like quality and getting darker in color. The smell of pungent decay filled the air as the cloud touched the ground before oozing towards the city and getting bigger as it did so. As soon as it made it down the hill it was capable of filling a small pool, and the trail of death that it left behind was small compared to what was to come. They all shuddered, watching as the ooze dissipated and vanished before their eyes, appearing to cover the town in a thick blanket of fog.

“Now let their armies attempt to mobilize. This city will be nothing more than a skeleton by night's end.” Coristia said confidently, maintaining her position in what was now a barren patch of dirt. A black aura of magic enveloped her body soon after, breaking her disguise and revealing the corpse from within.

----

-Down in the City of Stonegate-

The City of Stonegate was normal enough in the daytime, the market square would be filled with different traders from all of the other ports in Unicornicopia, there would be weddings held in the church down by the bay, and there were plenty of ways that Goblin-kind and Orcs could work and live in harmony with each other. That and it was one of the Small-Arms capitols of the world. It was through the steel that the smiths and arrows that the fletchers would send to the capitol that most of the standing planetary army was outfitted and well equipped to handle any threat from simple marauders to the current crisis that was currently affecting their world. It didn't mean that they couldn't make a profit on the side though.

It was however on this particular night that the feel of the city was off. Everything seemed normal enough. Everyone was friendly during the daytime, but not so friendly as to let their guards down. But when the sun fell and the stars were revealed up above the city itself turned cold and unnervingly quiet. At least that's what the new recruit Galanog thought.

He was a soldier for the Unicornicopian Military. As was his father, and so on and so on. The orc really couldn't complain, at least he wasn't stuck with a birthmark that dictated and dominated his entire life like some of the unicorns that were stationed in the city. But he felt bored with being posted for guard duty, especially in a city that wouldn't see any fighting at all.

As the other, more experienced soldiers were off in the garrison, he was ordered to walk the streets with some of the other rookies, being one of the more experienced ones there to show them the ropes. He had to deal with whining and complaining from several of the other guards, mostly other unicorns who wanted to fight against Titan's army and didn't want to be stuck in the same position that he was in, which he promptly got under control. The orc was known for his dedication to the job, though his previous superiors refused to agree with that statement, and as he made his third round the main square, Galanog thought it was best to head back and rotate.

That was an hour ago, before the fog rolled in.

“Strange... I didn't think that there would be fog for this kind of night...” Galanog thought, making his way through the streets in the direction that he hoped would lead him to the garrison and eventually his bed. The orc stopped, tensing up as he saw a shadow move towards him in the dark. “Who's there?” He asked gruffly, watching as the shadow continued to advance.

The shadow said nothing, taking the shape of a unicorn that appeared to be walking with a limp. A pungent stench of decay met the Orc's nose which caused him to recoil slightly and take a few steps back. “Whoa, back up there buddy. You're just two days short from the Grim Reaper's fiesta.” Galanog said, watching as the shadow continued to advance. “Umm... Hello? Did you not hear me?” He asked, watching as the shadow stopped moving. After a few moments it started moving again, this time accompanied by the sounds of a hoof being dragged across the ground and a low groan emitting from it's direction.

The orc moved his hand to the sword at his side, and stood ready. He figured that it was probably a bunch of rich kids trying to scare and get the best of him, and part of him hoped that was the case, but he was ready for the worst. The groaning continued as the shadow began to take on a more defined shape, it was definitely a unicorn from what Galanog could see but it was also missing a wing. Something was definitely wrong, and the Orc was determined to find out what. He stepped forward, drawing the sword that he was given by his commanding officer from his first role as a leader and gasped.

In front of him stood a unicorn, or what was left of one, bleeding heavily from multiple bite wounds that were on it's arms and legs as a huge section of its chest was torn out viciously. Most of the feathers on one of its wings was gone as most of the other wing had appeared to have been chewed off as the horn on it's head was gone. Its eyes were also devoid of any color, and gave Galanog a look of emotionless hunger which seemed to last for eternity. It's left leg was twisted at such an angle as to have appeared to have been broken several times over, and an aura of black magic surrounded its frame.

“By the Grand Ruler...” Galanog whispered, taking several steps back. He watched as the dead unicorn slowly advanced on him, groaning in agony all the while, appearing to suffer at the same time. The Orc didn't waist any time. With a battle cry he charged, and swung his sword directly at the beast only to watch as it was blocked by a barrier. He turned and stopped with horror as several more unicorns, looking almost like the soldiers under his command, advanced from the darkness towards him. The Orc backed up, his soldiers surrounding him like mindless slaves to some puppet master, and attempted to swing his sword a second time only to have it stopped by an all black aura. The first undead unicorn's horn was radiating the same colored magic, and seemed intent on holding him in that position as they finally closed in on the kill. The orc, seeing that his sword was lost, released the blade and let it drop to the ground. But by then it was too late.

The sounds of the Orc's screams pierced the night as the undead soldiers tore into his flesh, gutting him and leaving his body to join their ranks. From the hill above Stonegate, Coristia smiled.

----
-The Rainbow Capitol, A week after Lightning's lesson with the Grand Ruler-

“Come on Lightning, don't give up!”

“You can do it!”

“It's all you. Just a little bit more and you've got it.”

Lightning strained against the stone block, his head and horn felt like they were going to split in half with all of the magic that he was using. His friends were asked to watch him as he attempted to lift the training stone and move it, but he could barely get it off of the ground even after a few days working on it, let alone lift it.

“I... Can't!” Lightning shouted, the yellow aura around his horn sputtering out and dying as the aura around the block disappeared. With a loud crunch the stone block smashed into the grass of Lightning's backyard, and sank in a little. It was closely followed by Lightning, who was down on his hands and knees panting as though he ran a marathon.

“Well... The good news is that you got it up about a half a foot.” Buddy rose replied, watching as Moonbeam and Krysta passed Lightning a glass of water.

“Yeah... The bad news is that I still can't last long enough to move it though...” Lightning groaned before taking glass that was in Moonbeam's hands and downing it. The unicorn wiped the sweat from his brow and groaned, moving to a sitting position as Drawn Out walked over to where he was sitting.

“I don't think that it's a matter of brute force Lightning.” Drawn Out said, watching as Lightning continued to pant. “If it was, then this whole exercise would have been over by now.”

“Why don't you think that its about brute force?” Krysta asked, looking up at the dark blue unicorn.

“Well when I was taught telekinesis, I was taught that the trick behind it was a balance of power and finesse. Something that some unicorns don't even understand until they use it almost all of the time.” Drawn Out said his horn flaring up with a blue aura as his sketchbook, which was right next to Buddy Rose who was sitting right where the workers finished patching up Lightning's backyard, before it floated over and gently landed in his waiting arms. “This is probably a test of your control. Something that we all need to know if not for once in our lives.”

There was a rumbling sound that came from the front door as Lightning attempted to understand what Drawn Out was getting at. They listened as the rumbling stopped before it was shortly followed by the sound of hooves running across the pavement. Lightning and Krysta both shared a look as Moonbeam went to get the door and saw that Ottavo was standing on the other side with an urgent look on his face.

“Ottavo, what's wrong?” Lightning asked, getting to his hooves.

“Everyone, get your stuff together. We're needed at the main gates.” Ottavo said urgently, causing everyone to share a nervous glance.

“What happened?” Buddy asked.

“Stonegate was attacked last night.” Ottavo replied quickly. “I can't explain right now, but the commander on duty will fill the rest of you in. We need to go now!” He said, watching as everyone else made their way to the front. Krysta stopped halfway and folded her arms as Lightning turned to her, his bow and quiver at the ready.

“You'd better come home okay? I don't want to be worried about you.” Krysta snapped, watching Lightning smile.

“Don't worry Krysta, I'll be fine.” Lightning said, watching as the fairy nodded before turning to go with the others. He thought he heard Krysta say something else, and turned to see only the fairy give him an earnest smile, before walking out the front door with the rest of his friends.

----

It didn't take them long to meet up with the military force that was stationed at the city gates, Ottavo's Sky-Rider made sure of that, it had appeared that they were just in time to get ready to head towards the affected area.

“There they are!” An orcish soldier shouted from the Unicornicopian ranks as Lightning and his friends dismounted from Ottavo's Sky-rider. Several soldiers turned as the unicorns walked over to where a very burly looking orc stood, appearing ready to cut through an entire enemy battalion.

“So, you finally made it huh?” The orc asked, watching as Lightning and his friends walked up towards him. His silvery armor appeared to be stained with dried blood as a massive battle ax rested on his back, which intimidated Lightning a little. He stepped forward, looking at their group until he spotted Lightning and nodded. “All right, now we're ready to go.” He said, giving a smirk.

“What's the situation?” Ottavo asked, watching the Orc smile.

“The town of Stonegate was attacked last night. It seemed to be that the entire town was devastated. Scouts reported that they saw some movement from several of the cemeteries nearby, and thought to report it. A team of Unicorn and Orcish mages confirmed that the area was affected by incredibly powerful Necromancy, and that there is a strong possibility that a Lich maybe involved.” The Orc explained. He watched as the unicorns all shared a look before smiling.

“Thanks for the brief sir.” Ottavo replied, watching as the Orc nodded.

“You needed the information and I gave it to you. It was as simple as that.” He said, before turning to a small table and grabbing several visors from it. He turned back to Lightning and his friends and passed them out, grinning at the look on Lightning's face. “Seems like you've got a greenhorn on your squad.” He said.

Lightning looked up from the visor that he was given, watching as his friends were all wearing theirs before blushing slightly. “Sorry... This is kinda only my third battle.” He said, watching the orc smile.

“Don't worry kid. I'm sure your friends will help you out with your Tactical Assistant Display.” The orc replied, watching as Lightning fit the visor over his face and eyes. He chuckled a little, watching as Lightning wowed when several windows popped up on the screen of the visor before the whole thing went completely invisible before his eyes. “Yeah, now you're ready to be fightin' in this army!” The orc exclaimed proudly. “Though it doesn't beat a good sturdy axe and a warrior's intuition. Those'll never let you down.”

The orc slapped Lightning on the back before redirecting his attention back to the rest of his men. As quickly as they had met, Lightning was immediately being led back to where Ottavo's Sky-rider was parked before he got a word in. “Who was that?” Lightning asked, watching as everyone else began to climb aboard the Sky-rider.

“That was the head of the Berserker Corps Commander Golgranesh.” Buddy explained, watching as Lightning clambered into the Sky-rider. “It's interesting that he would be handing out our Displays, as usually he's seen without them.”

“Why's that?” Lightning asked, staring at the Orc commander as he began an arm wrestle with one of his soldiers, deftly beating him with cheers all around.

“It's because whenever he get's in the thick of battle, half of them get smashed into oblivion.” Drawn Out replied. “He isn't a Berserker for nothing. Though I have to wonder why they gave him one in the first place.”

“All right guys, stow it for now.” Ottavo said, pushing a button on his Display. “Lightning, seeing as how this is your first time using the system, I'll explain how to use it on the way. We're gonna need you to be up to speed on how it works after all.” The pink unicorn said before the Sky-Rider's engine roared to life. “The detachment of the Berserkers from the Main Military force will arrive just as we do. So you should be ready by that time.”

“Oh... Okay.” Lightning replied, seeing the stern look on the daredevil's face. “Well then let's get this over with.” He said, watching as the numerous soldiers that were in formation had already begun their march towards Stonegate. The Sky-Rider followed closely only for the first mile away from the capitol before breaking off from the main force at a fork in the road and sped off.

----

The tutorial that Lightning's friends gave the unicorn on the Tactical Assistant Display was brief in most senses of the word. After three attempts to try and get him to register with the system before it actually accepted him and recognized his voice was the most daunting of the tasks as the unicorn wasn't totally tech-savvy. It eventually made them stop partway between the Rainbow Capitol and Stonegate to get the Display up. After that, it was smooth sailing relatively speaking with guiding Lightning through the menus and the readouts that were displayed on the screen in front of his eyes.

“All right, the situation is this. According to the display, scouts have reported that there's a huge surge of necromantic magics in the area. Almost double than that of normal.” Ottavo began, continuing to focus on the road as the sun began to set behind them.

“This could lead to two things: a group of Necromancers that let a Spell get out of control, or Titan's military has attempted to use their Lich in establishing a beach-head.” Moonbeam said, looking at the readout in front of her.

“But Necromancers have to get special permission from the Tower of High Magics back at the capitol to practice a spell, and even then there's a trained regiment of soldiers to destroy and disrupt the spell in case it gets too out of hand.” Drawn Out replied.

“So Titan's behind this.” Lightning said coldly.

“Right, so what's the mission Commander in Training?” Buddy asked, looking down from his seat towards Lightning.

“I don't think that Lightning's gonna be leading this one yet Buddy.” Drawn Out replied, looking to Ottavo. “But the plan is for us to find the source of the corruption along side the Berserker Corps, and eventually drive the Lich back to whatever hole it crawled out of.”

“That's the general idea.” Ottavo said, slowing down as the formation of Unicornicopian soldiers appeared from the other path that led into the city.

As the Unicorns pulled up, the city had taken on a dark and vile look, just like the Temple of Unity did when they fought Titan. Most of the buildings were mere ruins of what they once were, the stone of the buildings crumbling and disintegrating into dust as an all blackish purple miasma covered the ground before them. The pungent smell of death and decay hung through the air as they dismounted, giving Lightning time to recover from the smell before approaching the city.

“So... we all ready to rid the universe of another Lich?” The orc commander asked, hearing a cheer that sounded more like a blood-thirsty war cry come from most, if not all of the other Orcish and Unicorn soldiers under his command. He smiled before turning his back to his troops and drawing his massive Battle ax. “No one charges unless I give the go. Is that clear?” He asked, listening as the group behind him shouted, “Yes sir!” in acknowledgment. “Don't worry you guys. Stick with me and do what you're ordered and you'll make it alive.” Commander Golgranesh said, casting a glance at Lightning and his friends.

Lightning paled at the Orc commander's comment, but only slightly. Shaking off the rest of his nerves as best as he could, the yellow unicorn stringed bow and readied himself as his friends changed into their armor. After watching as the commander gave Lightning a curious eye, the Orc then stepped forward boldly into the city, the regiment of Berserkers and Lightning and his friends following behind him.

“Lightning, stay close until you're ready to change.” Moonbeam whispered as she and the other unicorns closed up in a tight formation near the yellow unicorn.

“Right.” Lightning replied, knocking an arrow onto his string as he followed the crowd of soldiers.

----

The search for the enemy went street by street, and block by block. The Orcish commander would stop every once and a while as a group of shadows would be revealed only to dash off before he could get a word. Several times Lightning could have sworn that he heard a groan of pain come from the distance, but even in the thicker parts of the miasma it seemed like a trick from the wind.

The darkness wasn't the only thing getting to Lightning, as several times he had to stop and catch his breath due to the stench of decay. He didn't appear to be the only one affected by the smog, as it was also taking it's toll on the berserkers that were with them. It didn't help that the unicorn couldn't help but feel like they were being watched, even as they approached what seemed to be the town square.

“Is it just me or is the smell getting worse?” Moonbeam whispered, watching as several Berserkers appeared to be ready to hurl.

“That's just it though. We can smell that they're here, but thanks to this fog...” Ottavo stopped, tensing up as a realization struck him. “Everyone, be on your guard!” He shouted, readying his hammer. The other unicorns nodded, following his lead as the Orc commander and his soldiers readied themselves.

A shrill laugh made itself known as the Unicornicopian soldiers got into a circular formation, with those with longer weapons, spears specifically, standing out in front. Lightning scanned the smog as the laugh continued, not daring to make a singular move as the one who taunted them silenced themselves.

“So... finally one of your number has caught on to the little game?” A familiar voice sneered, causing a slight amount of panic in the Unicornicopian troops.

“Who's there!” Commander Golgranesh roared, readying his axe and staring into the fog. “Show yourself!”

“Hmph, a barbarian such as yourself cannot comprehend the position that you are currently in and you are giving me orders?” The voice snapped coldly, causing a shiver to run down Lightning's spine.

“Well... That solves our problem of finding out who's the cause of this fog...” Lightning said, seeing Buddy nod from out of the corner of his eye.

“Yeah. But why here?” Ottavo thought, continuing to stare into the darkness.

“Oh, you poor pathetic coils of flesh. You try to understand why I am here, yet you have an ample chance to flee for your lives. It's a wonder the Unicornicopian Military was so easy to knock down during our initial encounter.” The voice shot back, as the group of soldiers continued to scan their surroundings.

As they all continued to look through the fog to see who was speaking, a pair of bright red eyes glared through the smog at them it was followed shortly by several others, as a mass of shadows formed around them in a complete circle. Everywhere they looked they could see a pair of vicious, glowing red eyes that was accompanied by a respective shadow, and after a few moments of silence, low ominous growls could be heard from said shadows.

“Lightning, get ready to suit up.” Ottavo instructed, tensing up as the growling intensified.

“Right.” Lightning replied, his horn flaring up with a gentle golden light. As soon as the light from his horn appeared, the shadows growled even more viciously, as they appeared to back off at the source.

“I'm afraid that it's too late for you to be thinking about counteracting my spell fools.” The voice said confidently, as the growls became snarls and howls of pain, “But it is time for you to become a part of the legion that will cause this nation to fall. End them.” The voice commanded, fading amongst the snarling and groaning of the shadows that surrounded Lightning, the soldiers, and his friends.

The shadows attack came in earnest, as they charged the regiment with full force. It took some time for the soldiers to register what was coming from the smog, but the source of the rotting stench was too much even for the most trained members of the berserkers to deny. There, doing a mix between a lurch and a shamble, was at one time the villagers from the City of Stonegate each now an undead mockery of what they once were, and out for their blood.

“Everyone, don't let them near you!” Commander Golgranesh shouted, pulling a double-bladed axe from his back and swinging it in a fluid motion, taking the heads of several undead in front of him. As their bodies dropped to the ground, several soldiers lowered their spears around Lightning as he and his friends backed off, impaling the advancing hordes as they continued to push onto their position.

“We're totally surrounded!” Lightning could hear one of the soldiers shout over the growling of the hordes, as they continued to be pushed back into the center of the formation. As Lightning fell back, he could see the growing panic in several of the soldier's eyes, and could tell that some of them weren't ready for this.

“Buddy, Moonbeam, you guys think that you can blow some of this gas away?” The yellow unicorn asked, watching as they turned to him. They both shared a glance before nodding just as Lightning nocked an arrow. “Don't worry, I'll cover you!” He said, watching as both unicorns took off in their armor, their horns aglow with magic.

Just as Moonbeam and Buddy left, the unicorn saw several arrows fly towards their positions only to get stopped by a multicolored barrier generated by Ottavo and Drawn Out. Using what he saw as a guide, the unicorn loosed an arrow before quickly repeating the process. Both arrows sailed over the crowds around him, and disappeared into the smog only to be met with several screams from above the carnage. Lightning smirked slightly, repeating the process as several more arrows came from every possible direction around them, and was soon followed by more of his fellow soldiers.

As Moonbeam and Buddy concentrated, a heavy cyclone of water and ice began to form around them. It started from the base of their hooves and began to extend outward, growing bigger and bigger as the seconds passed. As the cyclone grew, the miasma that hung around the undead began to clear which allowed the Unicornicopians to better assess the situation. In less than half a minute(And with other unicorns in the unit feeding into their spell as it grew) the cyclone had managed to dissipate the fog surrounding and cloaking the undead that surrounded them.

As the fog lifted, the Unicornicopian Soldiers could see that they were outnumbered from the size of the undead citizens that had surrounded them both. What worried the Commander, and to some extent Lightning, were the Gnolls that had taken to hiding on the rooftops on the buildings that surrounded the square that they were in. The unicorn narrowly dodged an arrow that came whizzing by his head seconds before, only to respond with an arrow of his own.

“Guys we're pinned down here, we need to take down those archers!” Ottavo shouted over his radio, launching a rocket that he had summoned from thin air. The unicorn used his magic to hastily throw up a pink barrier to protect himself as three more arrows were directed at his head, but couldn't get another shot off as several more arrows pounded into his barrier, shattering it and knocking him into the ground.

Drawn Out also had trouble with the archers, the dark blue unicorn was just as pinned down as the others were and could only defend as several Gnollish archers continued to rain down arrows on top of him and the rest of the Unicornicopian soldiers. “I can't do too much here, these guys just don't know when to quit!” He shouted, getting knocked back into Ottavo who was generating an equally battered barrier. Both unicorns' barriers had taken a beating, appearing close to shattering due to the bombardment, but just as quickly as the arrows had begun to rain down on their heads they stopped.

The soldiers on the ground watched as Buddy Rose and Moonbeam, along with several other Unicorns that had flown up with them after the cyclone they generated, had begun their own counterattack on the Gnollish positions.

“Nice work guys...” Lightning thought before concentrating his volley of arrows at the undead surrounding their unit. In less than a minute the unicorn readied and loosed three arrows, each of them burying themselves into the body of one of the undead soldiers before it fell from a blow by another orc's spear.

“Commander, we need to take out the Necromancer!” One of the soldiers shouted towards Golgranesh as the carnage continued. The orc commander looked around and stopped, pointing at Lightning, Drawn Out and Ottavo along with several other soldiers. “When I say go, you break through the undead lines and make a break for the cemetery! Is that clear?” He smiled slightly as they all gave a resounding, “YES SIR!” And readied their weapons.

The orc commander raised his axe high before letting out a mighty roar. The undead that had managed to stay alive through the initial clash only stopped for a moment before growling and roaring in response. Commander Golgranesh then charged forward, plowing into several undead and pushing them backwards with a might that Lightning hadn't seen before. The Unicornicopian Soldiers all shared a glance before following the commander through the crowds of undead and the hail of arrows before actually breaking free of those that surrounded them. Lightning stopped only once, watching as the orc commander began carving up several undead that had charged after him, only to have a hand plant itself on his shoulder and drag him away.

“He's going to be fine Lightning.” Drawn Out whispered into his ear as he and the other soldiers pulled him along. “We need to get going.”

“Right...” Lightning thought quietly, watching as Buddy and Moonbeam left the other unicorns that were flying above the battle and joined them. “Come on, let's go!” He shouted, running to keep up with the rest of the group.

----

As the battle below continued, Coristia mentally cursed. She had hoped that the soldiers of Unicornicopia had already been bitten, but had not counted on the unicorn's shielding capabilities in protecting them. Yes, she was about to lose the minor foothold that she had worked hard to establish but in other ways the Lich figured that she could break their morale.

“Milady Coristia, a smaller squad of Unicornicopian soldiers have breached the undead formation and are approaching from the town square.” A Gnoll reported, taking a step back as Coristia turned to look at him. Gone was her pale skin, replaced by rotting and dead flesh as gaping holes where her nose and eyes would be radiated with black magic.

“And what, pray-tell, do you expect me to do about it?” The Lich snapped, her words echoing with a slumbering and powerful voice that intimidated the Gnoll.

“I-I-I... I was ju-

Silence fool.” Coristia snapped, as a black tendril of magical energy erupted from underneath where she sat and impaled the Gnoll. As the tendril sank below the ground, a small smirk could barely be seen on her decayed face. “Let them come. They shall know my true wrath soon enough.”

----

The road to the cemetery was just as eerie as the way into the city. Lightning could barely make out several Gnoll-shaped targets in the trees around them, but his focus was the cemetery ahead. He could see the outline of a Gnollish shuttle sitting in the center of the cemetery through the trees, appearing to remain in an idle state. The unicorn returned his focus to the path ahead, following his friends and allies up the slope of the hill as they neared their target.

Just as they made it halfway the hill, a group of thirty or so Gnolls emerged from the trees that surrounded them and leapt out to attack. Lightning parried a spear thrust from one of them before retaliating with a strike from his bow. Several other Gnolls leapt at Lightning, only to be cut down by a combination of spells from Drawn Out and Buddy Rose.

Several soldiers continued to clash with the Gnolls just as Lightning pushed through the group in front of him. He turned, readying and firing several arrows into a group of the enemy soldiers, dropping a few with several well-placed shots. The other Unicornicopian soldiers continued to hold off the gnolls, which forced Lightning to turn and rush up the hill with his friends following close behind. “Everyone stay alert!” Lightning could hear Ottavo shout just as they reached the top of the hill.

The cemetery was quiet, too quiet even for a cemetery in the dead of night. Lightning couldn't hear too much of anything, no wind, no sound, it was even too quiet for a pin to drop. The stench of death and decay was heavier here than in the town square, and forced the unicorn to put a hand to his nose.

“So... The Grand Ruler's precious hand-picked squad has come to save the day haven't they?” The voice of the Lich Coristia echoed throughout the graveyard.

“Come on out and fight Lich!” Moonbeam snapped, stepping forward as Lightning readied another arrow.

“No... I don't think I will. But...” Coristia's voice paused just as several black tendrils erupted from around the unicorns, each grabbing and lifting several tombstones that were around the area. After a few moments the tendrils threw the stones at the unicorns, causing them to scatter.

“You guys okay?” Lightning asked, leaping over a tendril as it attempted to smash into him. He ducked another one that took a swipe at his head before readying an arrow and loosing it at the shadow in front of him. Mentally the unicorn groaned, watching as it harmlessly passed through the mass of black magic only to avoid being smashed by it seconds later.

Moonbeam leapt and avoided several tendril strikes as her horn glowed a bright white. After a few seconds, a snowball roughly the size of a melon appeared in her hands before she threw it at a tendril that flung itself at her. She avoided the incoming mass of magic, readying and throwing another snowball only to watch as it harmlessly passed through them without any effect. “Nothing I do is working!” She cried before getting smacked back to the ground by her magical adversary.

Ottavo darted and dodged as several tendrils were on him at once, each trying to grapple and throw the nimble unicorn to the ground. The pink unicorn didn't have time to charge up for a spell only because as soon as he did, another tendril would be on him. The unicorn landed, his back pressing against Buddy who was using his flail to block hit after hit. “It's like nothing we do can do anything to these things!” Buddy shouted, blocking another attack from one of the tendrils as Ottavo landed.

“I've got nothing!” Ottavo snapped, summoning his hammer and following suit with Buddy.

Drawn Out was also unable to do anything against the tendrils that were plaguing them, his sketchbook was knocked out of his hands as several of the magical constructs smashed him into where Buddy and Ottavo were standing, knocking the two unicorns over. Quickly, he threw up a shield which blocked several blows from the magic just as they recovered only to look towards Lightning. “We need something to take these things out with!”

Lightning did his best to remain as calm as he could. They needed a way out, and his friends were looking to him to provide with an answer. He stopped, only for a second as the realization dawned on him. Quickly he nocked an arrow and concentrated, calling on the Uniforce that slumbered inside him. His bow then changed into its dragonic form as the mouth where his left hand let out a low-pitched roar. “Everyone's counting on me... Gotta make this shot count.” Lightning thought, calmly sidestepping a tendril that attempted to smash into him. The unicorn closed his eyes, thinking back to how his father taught him how to shoot and turned on instinct.

Coristia, who was well outside the range of her own illusion watched curiously as the unicorn drew back the arrow on the bow and waited, dodging several tendrils in the process. She could see that his eyes were closed, and that he appeared to not pay attention to the battle around him at all. “What does he think he's doing?” Coristia thought, her eyes narrowing. Calmly, she took a step back only to hear a branch crack from under her boot which caused the unicorn's head to shoot up into her direction.

The sound was all he needed.

Concentrating on where the sound came from, Lightning pulled the bow-string back as far as it would go before releasing the arrow, opening his eyes and watching it fly beyond the tendrils that were around him. The unicorn heard a dull, “THUNK,” and watched as the tendrils around them all disappeared. Lightning smirked, watching as Coristia struggled to remove the arrow that was buried in her left shoulder from the tree for almost a minute as his friends rushed over to him.

“Nice shot there Lightning.” Buddy complimented, watching Lightning ready another.

“Thanks, but this isn't over yet.” He said, watching as the arrow finally snapped, causing the Lich to step forward.

“You think that you can take me?” Coristia snapped. “A bunch of foals that haven't even seen the true terrors of battle? Don't make me laugh.” She snapped, charging forward as balls of black magical energy formed in her hands.

“Let's go guys!” Lightning shouted, firing another arrow at the lich before charging towards her with his friends. The initial arrow didn't make an impact with Coristia's body as she summoned a staff that looked like a pair of snakes intertwined with each other whose heads were mounted into a ribcage of a humanoid in between the two black orbs of energy and blocked the arrow before closing the distance with Lightning and his friends. The stock of Lightning's bow and her staff struck together with a resounding, “THUNK,” before Coristia used the butt end of her staff to knock Lightning to the ground. She then turned, bringing her staff upwards to block an attack sent her way by Buddy's flail before rounding on Moonbeam and placing a smart kick in her chest.

Drawn Out and Ottavo leapt at the Lich, each of their weapons connecting with her staff before being forced back off of her. Coristia's eyes began to radiate an all black energy just as Buddy and Ottavo's horns flared up with magic, before unleashing a wave of magic at all of the standing unicorns, knocking them flying. As she did this, Lightning rolled out of the way and swung his bow at her head, landing a decisive strike against her. The Lich turned before swinging the staff she wielded back at Lightning, and knocking him backwards.

“You've got some skill... for mortals.” Coristia sneered, blocking several attacks from Buddy before receiving a strike from Moonbeam's whip from her side. The Lich turned, swinging her staff wildly at Moonbeam, who deftly dodged, before taking a blow from Ottavo's hammer to one of her legs. “But even skill will only take you so far.” She snapped, rising again to swing her staff at Drawn Out before blocking an arrow that was launched by Lightning's bow. She concentrated a second time, creating a shock wave of black energy which knocked the unicorns to the ground before turning towards the Gnollish ship.

“Where do you think you're going?” Lightning snapped, an arrow of raw magical energy glowing inside his bow as his horn radiated golden magic. The Lich turned and stopped ever so slightly, watching Lightning as he continued to aim at her.

“Hmm... It's such a shame that I cannot stay. My master has recognized the failure of this mission, and I am to return to him with any survivors.” Coristia said, unblinking as she watched Lightning continue to concentrate. “Oh, you think you can destroy me with your control of the Uniforce boy? Please, I'm more afraid of Callenfir's breath weapon than your light show.” She snapped, holding up a barrier of magic just as Lightning let his arrow fly. The arrow of magic slammed into her barrier with unprecedented force, causing Coristia to slide back several feet before redirecting the arrow skyward. “Then again... You could prove to be a decent shot.” She said finally, calmly striding on board.

Ottavo, Buddy, and Drawn Out charged after her only to be held back as several arrows from a group of Gnolls that remained on the ship kept them back. The volley continued until the gangplank lifted out of their reach except through flight, and closed before they could get close. As the shuttle took off, the three unicorns rushed over to Lightning, who was kneeling in the grass, panting for breath as his armor disappeared.

“Damn... She got away...” Lightning cursed, glaring at the shuttle as it flew off. He got to his hooves with the help of Moonbeam and Buddy just as the sounds of a victorious horn could be heard from the town below.

“Looks like the berserkers made it out all right.” Moonbeam said calmly, looking down as the darkened form of the city of Stonegate was brightened up for them to see.

“Yeah, let's get down there.” Ottavo said calmly, walking forward before stopping. “Lightning, you did good out there. Give yourself another battle or two and I'll be sure that you're squad leader material.”

Lightning smiled lightly. “Well thanks, but I couldn't do it without you guys.” He said, resting the bow over his shoulder. “I just wish that we could have gotten her sooner...” The yellow unicorn paused, taking a few steps towards the city. “We could have prevented this.”

“But we know that Titan's playing for keeps.” Drawn Out said, as they all nodded.

“Well next time, we need to be ready.” Lightning said finally before walking forward, his friends following him.

----
-Back on Titan's Ship-

The Kobolds on the bridge ducked for cover as bolts of black colored lightning streaked from Titan's Hands, slamming into Coristia and knocking her backwards. The Lich did not make a sound as the electricity appeared to be capable of killing a lesser being. Titan stopped his assault moments later, watching as Coristia returned to prostrating herself before him.

“My lord, I humbly and most sincerely apologize for my failure on the attack on the planet. Words cannot express-

Be silent Lich.” Titan snapped darkly, cutting Coristia off. The sorcerer, who had been standing over the course of Coristia's torture sat down on his throne and glared at the prostrated Lich. “You have failed me. That is not excusable. However...” Titan paused, his eyes glowing for a second as a ball of black energy appeared in front of him before revealing the Rainbow Capitol's citizens all silent for the people that once lived in Stonegate, “You did damage their morale, and their war effort. While I would have preferred you to have captured the city and set it up as a base of operations for a land invasion of the planet, you did manage to cause damage and that is commendable. But, do not take this as a compliment. The next time that you fail me, I will cast you out into the black voids of a black hole where your kind belong. Is that clear?”

The Lich remained silent, only nodding slightly as Titan's words fell on her dead ears. “Of course my lord. I shall not fail you again.” She said, looking up as the dread sorcerer waved her off. The Lich then rose before leaving the sorcerer alone on the deck, not making so much as a sound as she left the throne.

“So... Lightning Dawn is the one who is your herald Celesto?” Titan thought, continuing to glare out into the black void of space. “Interesting...”
----

The following day, news of the attack reached the citizenry. Most were outraged at the lack of honor that Titan's forces had in the merciless slaughter of hundreds of civilians in the city. The blow to their industry was less than expected, but Stonegate was not suitable for occupation until the city was cleaned up from all of the necromantic energies that permeated through the area.

Lightning hadn't heard anything from The Grand Ruler, and only imagined how angry he was. The unicorn had read that the losses that the Berserker Corps were minor as reported from those that were on the scene. However, Lightning could count on several hundred dead due to the pain suffered from the arrows that the Gnolls that were using. He knew that coming home alive was the bright side of things, but there was something in his gut that told him he had failed.

“Lightning... Lightning what's wrong?” Krysta asked, looking up at Lightning as he stared out into their backyard.

“Nothing Krysta.” Lightning lied. “Nothing's wrong.”

The fairy remained silent, feeling it best not to press the matter, and went back to reading as Lightning continued to stare out into the backyard. They both knew the problem, but it was something that Lightning didn't want to say. It was something that was caught in his throat and didn't want to leave.

He failed and he knew it.

-end of Chapter 4-