"And then, with no sign of hesitation or restraint, Moonstone ripped out Lightning's heart, and I stood there, helpless to stop her as she killed my friend."
Nightwing sat at Luna's bed across from Shade, his voice filled with pain as he recalled Lightning Strike's death. Nightwing had accepted Shade's wish for telling her all about his adventures. Nightwing's stories spilled into Shade's mind with ease. She eagerly devoured every word that came from Nightwing. Her mind was entrapped by his stories, never showing a hint of distraction.
Shade gasped, covering her mouth with her hooves, "Oh no! I thought that since he had one of the Element of Chaos he wouldn't have been killed so easily."
"One would think that, yes." Nightwing sighed sadly. "But you see, his body took in too much magical energy. If he had used even a slight bit of that magic, his body would release all of the magic he absorbed and would've destroyed half the moon."
"But if that's so...then how come the moon didn't explode when he died?" Shade asked. "Surely all the magic he absorbed would've been released all at once?"
"Actually it was the Element of Scorch that has all that magic. Which reminds me," Nightwing sat up. "I have to go remove that thing from Lightning Strike before Discord gets onto me for taking to long."
"Wait!" Shade stood up. "What happened next? What happened to Moonstone?"
"Oh yeah. Well, I broke out of the Master Crystal, summoned my Night Howler, fought Moonstone, chopped off her hoof, took her Complex crystal, and stabbed her through the heart." Nightwing explained.
"You killed her? Just like that?" Shade asked.
"Yes and no. Yes, I did kill her. But no, because she was already dead." Nightwing answered.
"I don't follow."
"Well...you see Moonstone was nothing more than a walking, talking corpse. It had body, memory, and magic no doubt. But there was no soul, no sign of a living thing. A corpse." Nightwing said. "Now then. If you'll excuse me," Nightwing turned towards the door, "I've got to take a powerful Gem out of a dead friend."
Nightwing walked to the door and opened it.
In front of the door were five Sentinel's.
"Huh. I never knew you guys used my Guardian's as body guards." Nightwing faced Shade, and pointed to the Sentinel's with an impressed look.
"We don't." Shade said with confusion. "The Sentinel's are the personal soldiers of the High Council." Shade approached the Sentinel's. "Why are you here?"
"Sentinel's?" Nightwing repeated, a distaste in his mouth when he said their name.
"The High Council has sent us to keep you here." One of Sentinel's spoke.
"Why?" Nightwing asked. "And why do you look like my Guardian's?"
The Sentinel turned to Nightwing, "Captain Nightwing, I pleasure to meet you. Are appearance is similar to your Guardian's because we were designed based off your original model. However, while our programming may be the same, we are faster, smarter, and stronger than your Guardian's."
"You know I know the code for your self destruction right?" Nightwing frowned, not appreciating the fact that his creation was getting spat on.
"Apologies. As for your first question, we are ordered to keep you here to prevent you from stopping the surgery."
"Surgery?" Nightwing repeated. "What surgery-" Nightwing's lit up when realization slapped him like a cold dead fish. He glared at the Sentinel's and growled, "Move." He ordered.
"I'm sorry Captain, I truly am, but I cannot let you pass." The Sentinel said.
Nightwing's expression softened, "I'm sorry to."
"For what Captain?"
"This."
A force of blue magic erupted from Nightwing's Crystal. It knocked the Sentinel back a couple of feet. Blue bolts of electricity danced across the Sentinel's metal. Nightwing turned to Shade and said, "Hey Shade, since you love my adventures so much how about I take you on one."
"Really!" Shade said with glee. "I'd love to go. Ooh, what should we call this adventure?"
"Let's call it 'Nightwing shoves a boot up the High Council's ass'." Nightwing said.
"I...don't think that's a very good name." Shade said.
"History is told by the victors." Nightwing said. "And besides, I'm not gonna sit back and let the High Council do whatever it wants."
Times were certainly changing. The return of the moon had shocked every living thing. Of course while some rejoiced at the Moon's return, there were some who became filled with dread when gazing at the moon.
The moon had become permanently scarred, and scarring the earth at that. The fact that there was a giant cannon pointed towards the earth didn't exactly sit well with everyone. As long as everyone knew that there was a gun pointed at everyone's head, peace was going to be a hard thing to keep in balance.
Time had passed since the had moon disappeared, and in that time wars had been waged, cities destroyed, new cities built, kingdoms were burned, and new kingdoms arose.
But despite the numerous kingdoms that were constructed only four are top dog.
Equestria, no surprise that Equestria is still number one when it comes to power.
The Griffon Empire, tied with Equestria for first the Griffon Empire grew into the superpower it is today through sheer conquest. Conquering neighboring lands and cities without a single defeat or loss, the Griffon's thought themselves high and supreme. This power, of course, went straight to their heads and challenged Equestria to what history likes to call 'A splendid little war.' The war was more of a battle, a fight over a piece of land between the Empire and Equestria. The war lasted only two months. But the Griffons were the victors. While it wasn't a total lose, the High Council saw the outcome as an act of a silent war.
The Yak kingdom, the yak kingdom grew not by conquering neighboring lands, but rather the neighboring lands joined the Yak kingdom for protection. The lands were guarded by the Yak guards and the crops and resources that the lands gathered were given to the Yak kingdom. It currently stands second in power.
The Zebra Kingdom, the one kingdom that no one had expected to become one of the top three soared high above any of the others. While the Zebra kingdom is in fact not technically a kingdom, but rather a large group of multiple tribes. Their power was in numbers, their army was three times greater than any other kingdom or nation on earth.
These four kingdom's stood above all. And after Nightwing had told the rulers of each kingdom that a piece of the weapon Empyrion would be given to them. This act satisfied the rulers and agreed that each kingdom should have a piece.
With no other reason to stay in Equestria the Griffon king Descend made his way to his carriage, which was strapped to four Griffons.
Descend entered the carriage and slammed the door shut. The two Griffon guards walked to the bench on the front of the carriage signaled the Griffons strapped to the Carriage. The Griffons then spread their wings and took flight.
The inside of the carriage was fit for a king. Literally. The inside had two benches on the ends of the carriage. Red cushions sewn into the two wooden benches. Multiple pillows were set on the cushions, along with some blankets and quilts.
The carriage soared high into the air. Descend peered out his window, getting a good look at Canterlot castle. The glorious city that stood in the center of Equestria.
Descend was disgusted just looking at it.
He hated Ponies, he hated their views, he hated their beliefs, he hated everything about them.
The Carriage shifted a bit, letting in the moon's light. The light created a reflection for Descend. Descend looked to his chest, he moved some of his feathers and touched his skin. He looked back to the reflection.
On his chest, beneath his feathers, was a scar. A mark of an swastika inside a circle, with five small triangles on the circle matching the points of a star. The hatred Descend carried for Ponies was born by the Order.
To them, Griffon's were nothing more than beasts. Beasts that could not be tamed or calmed. They were savages who could not turn away from barbaric ways. So the those who aligned themselves with Order would round up Griffons. They'd shave their feathers and clip their wings. Then, they'd brand them with a symbol. The symbol of a ravenous beast.
Descend wasn't all to happy when he received the mark. Even less when he learned that the mark couldn't be removed. He was fine with the symbol meaning beast, but he was not alright that creatures that were weaker than him imprisoned him so easily.
The thought infuriated Descend. But he remained calm. He had to be patient. The time was drawing closer. It wouldn't be long now, soon those he hated would be gone forever.
*Knock,knock,knock*
There was a light tapping on the door. It shook Descend from his recollection.
"Um...sire."
The voice was female, shy, yet bold. Descend could've sworn he heard it somewhere before.
"What is it you need?" Descend demanded. "Speak."
"Well...um...it's just that...you've been in there for a while...and I thought..."
Descend looked out the window and mentally slapped himself. He sat up and walked to the door. The door swung open and Descend stepped out, a hint of red on his cheeks.
The carriage had landed on a platform that connected to a bridge which connected to a large tree. The tree was nearly about the size of the Great tree. But it had no leaves, nor did it show any sign of life. But placed upon some of the branches were multiple buildings. Beneath Descend's claw was a long red carpet that had yellow details sewn onto it. To the sides of the long red carpet were big Griffons wearing steel armor that covered their bodies, arms, legs, and neck. The big Griffons wore helmets that covered their entire face and beak, showing off no Griffon features of any kind. In front of Descend was a Griffon female who seemed a tad bit shorter than Descend. The Griffon wore a type of golden armor that covered her back, leaving her underside and behind exposed. She had four golden braces, two on her wrists and two on her legs. The Griffon also wore a helmet that left her cheeks and beak exposed.
The female Griffon bowed before Descend. The other Big Griffons followed suite and bowed. Descend smiled at the Griffon. "My dear Eagle Eyes, please do me a favor and don't tell anyone that I sat in a grounded carriage for twenty minutes."
"As you wish my King." The Griffoness rose. "I assume the meeting went well."
Descend grimaced, "The meeting was boring as usual. That is until a famous someone entered the equation." He said, walking down the red carpet.
"And, who might you be referring to?" Eagle Eye's asked, following the King.
Descend looked to Eagle Eye's and smiled, "Nightwing." He answered.
That name got everyone's attention. Some of the guards who were stacked next to one another shared glances with others. Eagle Eye's stared at Descend, her mouth slightly agape.
"Nightwing...thee Nightwing? The one responsible for the creation of the griffon Empire? That Nightwing?" Eagle Eye's asked.
"Yes Eagle Eye's, that Nightwing. Although I wasn't in power when he had 'accidentally' created our Empire, every griffon in my Empire knows his name. Tarturus, we built a statue out of him in the castle!"
"But you met him. You met Nightwing." Eagle Eye's said with disbelief. "Forgive me my king but I simply must know. What was he like?"
"In a word...strange." Descend chuckled, "The old books captured his likeness very well."
The two griffon's walked along the red carpet and into the large dead tree. They entered through a large double door and into a room lit with perfect light. A big chandelier full of beautiful crystals hung from the ceiling. Oil lanterns were stretched along all the walls, keeping the room very well lit. The red carpet stretched all the way to a pair of short stairs, which let to a single throne. A silver framed throne with yellow cushions on the bottom and back. By the sides of the stairs were two male Griffon's.
The one on the left had Black feathers on his body and white feathers on his head along with yellow eyes. The one on the right had red feathers on his body and white feathers on his head, along with yellow eyes. The two Griffon's bowed before Descend and rose.
"Welcome back, father." The two greeted.
Descend merely ignored that statement and walked past the two with a frown. Descend walked up the stairs and sat himself on the Throne. "How goes the Empire since I've been away?"
The Red feathered Griffon turned to Descend and said, "We've been keeping check on the entire castle since you left. Their have been many who are unsettled by the cannon on the moon, but I've been able to calm down most of the unsettled-"
"Did I ask for your opinion on the citizens Gideon?" Descend snapped at the Red griffon. "Did I ask you to speak with the Griffon's that are the building blocks of my Empire?"
"Father I was just-"
"You were acting without my orders is what you were doing. I told you to keep an eye on the place while I was away. Do you think that 'watching the place while I'm away' is somehow similar to 'fill the Empire's Griffon's with lies'?"
Gideon turned away from Descend and looked to the floor, "I was only trying to help."
The black feathered griffon giggled under his breath. Descend noticed this and turned to the Black griffon, "And what is it you've accomplished Leone?"
The black griffon Leone stopped giggling and faced Descend with a serious look. "I watched and maintained the Help and guards of the castle, per your orders Father."
"Well done." Descend smiled. "Both of you show good reason for becoming the next king."
Leone seemed shocked, "But Gideon disobeyed your orders. He told the Peasants-"
The temperature dropped a couple degrees with Descend's glare. "While he did disobey my orders, his heart was in the right place. Now leave, all of you. There is much for me to consider from my latest meeting." Descend said, looking away from his son's and out the window towards the moon.
Which had been scarred forever.
There was a form of weariness for the Doctor's and Nurse's in the operating room. The multiple Sentinel's didn't exactly make things easier. A Unicorn Doctor dressed in a light greenish blue medical outfit pulled down his mask and looked to one of the Sentinel's and asked, "Isn't all this security a bit...overkill?"
The Sentinel looked to the Doctor and replied, "That is classified. Just return to your job Doctor."
The Doctor sighed, pulling his mask back over his muzzle. There were three Doctors and two Nurse's in the operating room. They all hovered around a rectangular table that had multiple light stands over it. The one who was being operated on was a Pegasus Stallion with a red spiky mane and tail. The Pegasus' body was a dull orange. The Pegasus was cold and limp, a corpse. The Doctor's didn't understand why they were dissecting the Pegasus or what they were looking for. Their orders had been pretty vague.
The Doctor sighed and asked one of the Nurse's to bring him the utensils. The Nurse nodded and wheeled in a tray full of utensils. The Doctor levitated a knife looking utensil and hovered it above the corpse.
He was about to make an incision until there was a loud crash from outside. Everyone looked to the door. There were more sounds of crashes, bangs, and yelling. Everyone faced the metal door with fright, the loud and rambunctious sounds getting louder.
Then there was silence. The doorknob jiggled a bit. A bang echoed throughout the room as something collided with the door. "Buck!" A voice recoiled in pain.
There was a moment of silence. Which was then interrupted as the metal door was literally thrown off of its hinges as a Sentinel was thrown through the door. The metal door went flying till it collided with the wall and stuck there. The multiple Sentinel's in the room fell to ground, sparks of blue magic danced across their golden armor.
The Doctor's and Nurse's stared at the figure who stood at the doorway. The figure was Nightwing, and he was pissed. Shade was behind him.
"Move." Nightwing growled at the Doctor's and Nurse's, who backed away from the body of Lightning Strike.
Nightwing walked up to the table. He stared at Lightning's corpse. Nightwing ran his hoof along Lightning's chest. The once opened wound where his heart had been ripped out was completely healed. There was no scar, no signs of injury, nothing. It almost seemed like he just resting. But Nightwing knew the truth, he knew that Lightning wasn't sleeping. He was dead. And there was no magic that existed that could undo death.
Nightwing sighed, he remembered why he had come here in the first place. He removed his hoof from Lightning and lifted his Crystal. It glowed brightly as a vertical cut appeared on Lightning's chest. The cut opened and a orange and yellow oval shaped gem floated above Lightning's chest. The vertical cut the sealed itself. The orange gem hovered towards Nightwing and landed in his hoof.
And just like that the room disappeared. Nightwing found himself floating in a black void.
Nightwing face hoofed, "Had to touch it." He groaned.
A picture appeared in front of Nightwing. A picture of a quaint peaceful forest from a bird's eye view. Then an orange vertical crack appeared in the sky. Six orange beams shot from out of nowhere at the crack. The crack began to open up and get bigger and bigger. The crack then turned into a portal, on the other side of the portal was a dimension of fire and death. Words could not describe the horror that Nightwing saw.
A sudden emotion of fear entered his body. He didn't know why but he could feel something coming through the portal. Something dangerous, something powerful, something...
Evil.
And then it faded.
Nightwing found himself back in the operating room. The Chaos gem still in his hoof. The Doctor's and Nurse's huddling the wall in fear. Shade looked at Nightwing with concern. Nothing had changed. Nightwing shook away what he had saw and stormed out of the room.
Discord sat at his throne, once more he was reading his book while sipping a cup of tea. His peaceful time was soon interrupted by Nightwing, who stormed into the room. Discord sighed, placing a bookmark in his book and downing the last of his tea.
"Catch." Nightwing tossed the Element of Chaos at Discord.
Discord shrieked as the Element soared towards him. Upon instinct Discord darted from the throne and crashed on the floor. He looked up and saw that the gem laid neatly on his throne. He whipped his head to Nightwing and roared, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT THING COULD'VE DONE TO ME?!"
"Do I look like I care?" Nightwing asked. "For your information I had to rip that thing from my dead Friend. Show a little gratitude."
Discord took a deep breath and stood up. "Yes. I understand that it must've been uncomfortable for you to perform such an act. So thank you."
"Don't mention it. But I do have to ask you a question." Nightwing said. "When I touched that thing I saw a vision."
"Yeah that'll happen. Most likely a memory of someone who once had the Element of Scorch. Nothing to be worried about." Discord said.
"But-"
"Now off you go." Discord snapped his fingers and summoned a broom which swept Nightwing out of the room.
Once Nightwing was gone Discord turned to the Element of Scorch. He frowned and snapped his fingers, disappearing in a bright flash.
The Great Library. A place full of stories and books as far as the eye could see. Discord appeared in the center of the library. Right in front of a desk where Storyteller was writing in his book.
"What?" Storyteller asked, not looking up from his book.
"I know it was you." Discord folded his arms.
"'You it was me' what?" Storyteller repeated.
"I know it was you who made the moon disappear. I know it was you who stopped time so that the moon could be sucked into a pocket of both Space and Time." Discord said.
"What of it?" Storyteller asked.
"Why?"
Storyteller stopped writing. He looked up from his book and at Discord, "What?"
"Why did you do it?" Discord demanded. "Why did you make the moon disappear?"
"I can't answer that." Storyteller went back to writing his book.
"The Hell you can't." Discord growled. "I want answers Storyteller, and I want them now."
"What if I don't want to give you them?" Storyteller asked.
"Fine. You don't have to answer all of my questions, but answer this one." Discord said in a firm tone. "What is happening to Time? Storyteller stopped writing. "Nightwing is seeing visions of the future. Which, according to your logic, shouldn't be possible. So I'll ask you again, what is happening to time?"
Storyteller looked back to Discord and sighed, "Very well, I suppose I can tell you that much. Nightwing is seeing the future yes. But he's only seeing parts of it that are destined to occur. Time is starting to become more and more unstable."
"Why?"
"I can't say." Storyteller continued to write in his book.
Discord slammed his fist against the desk. "THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" He roared. "I'm sick of you keeping secrets from me. Something is coming, that I already know, but what doesn't make sense is why you want to gather up the Element's of Chaos! What is coming?!"
"I can't say." Storyteller's tone started to get more angry.
"Can't say?" Discord mocked Storyteller. "Hi I'm Storyteller, and I can't tell anyone what I'm doing because I'm a lonely, sad, shutin, pathetic, nobody!"
"ENOUGH!" Storyteller boomed. "I will not be bullied by you Discord. What is coming is my responsibility and mine alone. Now begone. I have much work to do."
With that Discord vanished from the Great Library. Leaving Storyteller to continue writing in his book.