The arrival of Hepheus, even more the way he looked, surprised everypony.
“Petal Sprout, how long are you going to cling to Grogar?” the General of Chaos asked.
“I’m sorry” the plant pony replied. “But that allowed me to steal Nine-Tails’ other half from these guys.”
“Good” Hepheus replied with a smile. “Now, bring it and the power over the Nothingness Realm to me.”
Heartbeat was able to sense a big quantity of natural energy coming from Hepheus, one even stronger than Grogar’s.
“So, Heartbeat’s Nine-Tails is sealed inside that plant abomination” Strongpaw observed.
“Hepheus, where did you get that power?” Blue asked, noticing too what Heartbeat had sensed.
But then there was some movement from Grogar’s body that caught everypony’s attention and Petal Sprout started to get out of the ram’s body.
“Since Hepheus is here, you can’t do anything to me, even if I separate myself from Grogar” Petal Sprout said, while moving out of Grogar.
It was then that Petal Sprout couldn’t move any longer, for how much he tried.
“Let’s go now, Prince Blue Sword! Prince Shining Armor!” Strongpaw exclaimed.
And they advanced.
Petal Sprout continued to tried to get out of Grogar, but he couldn’t. It was then that he returned to cover the ram, while the three stallions positioned themselves behind him. Grogar, while gasping, opened the eye that was uncovered, looking to Hepheus.
“Why you…” Petal Sprout said, irritated. “You’re still…”
“Not yet…” Grogar said to the plant pony, turning then to the General of Chaos. “I need to ask you something, Hepheus.”
Strongpaw prepared to used his sand, but Blue put a hoof on his shoulder, saying:
“We need the Nine-Tails inside that thing for Star. We cannot afford to miss.”
“Blue’s right” Shining said. “Star’s life depends on it. We have to wait for the right moment.”
“Just what am I… to the Lord of Chaos?” Grogar asked.
That caused Hepheus to drop a laugh and then said:
“You’re kidding, right? What kind of stupid question is that in a time like this? You are only one thing to our master… a servant. That’s what everyone who serves him is: just a servant that do whatever he wants, a pawn that he can discard when the need calls it. Anyone that serves him can only feel pride in doing so, instead hoping something in return. That’s what you are to him.”
“That… was once my path too…” Grogar said.
“You just did what you had to do for the Lord of Chaos” Hepheus replied. “If not you, another would do it. I even let you take the lead for a while as a reward for all of your services. Grogar is just a character that the Lord of Chaos created to carry on his will. You have done that role perfectly. This world created by the Lord of Order…” and he looked to the dying Star. “…has failed.”
Grogar also looked to Star.
“Now listen, the energy dispersed by the Lord of Chaos was originally meant to link all the Enchanted Forest and possibly all the Pony Reality” Hepheus continued. “The Divine Tree had the power to link the inhabitants’ feelings and make them understand each other without the need of words. During the Divine Tree’s reign, there was peace at the Enchanted Forest. However, the inhabitants desired more and took the Heart of the Forest, disrupting the perfect peace that existed.”
“Just what are you talking about?” Twilight asked, while still keeping Star alive.
“Chief Strongpaw…” Shining said.
“I know” he replied.
“All that the Lord of Order created by letting that happening was a pony paradox” Hepheus continued. “And even if bonds were established, all they learned was that true understanding wasn’t possible. In any case, the power only creates conflict and false hope. Even if we seek peace, we also seek war what causes this reality to compel infinite suffering and all because of the Lord of Order’s light. For more bright that it is, power leads to the desire of war and the lack of power leads to losing everything. I and the Lord of Chaos will build a new world that overcomes that! Through the Eternal Nightmare Curse, we will create a dream world without any abominable light. I, who possess the Lord of Chaos’ will and the power of the Divine Tree, shall lead it! So you’re not Star Shield, but Grogar, a servant of the Lord of Chaos. Star Shield search to protect the world created by then Lord of Order and ended up losing everything he loved. Have you forgotten about that? Now, come to me… Grogar.”
And he extended his hoof to him. Grogar started to advance.
“That’s right” Hepheus said. “You’re being a hero by doing that even now.”
At that moment, Strongpaw prepared to used his sand, while Blue and Shining prepared a combined disappearance spell and Heartbeat used the energy she still had to execute her swift nature. A wall of sand emerged on Grogar’s way, while the disappearance spell targeted Grogar. Heartbeat, with great spped, appeared in front of Hepheus and prepared a Spiraling Sphere. But with a swing, Hepheus threw Heartbeat away, while throwing the attack on other direction. They passed the wall and then went against the trio, hitting them and throwing them to the ground. The sand started to fall down.
“No way…” Twilight said, seeing that. “Their combined attack…”
Grogar approached Hepheus, passing through the sand now on the ground.
“Now…” the dark alicorn said, extending the hoof with Grogar doing the same.
But when Grogar went to grab Hepheus’ hoof, he stabbed him with his own, for everyone’s shock, including Hepheus.
“You damned…” the General of Chaos said.
“What are you doing?!” Petal Sprout asked.
Looking to Star by the corner of his uncovered eye, he remembered what the young colt told him, the words that made him awake from the darkness he was into, and compared them with the ones of Hepheus’. At that moment, he knew which ones he had to follow.
“The one who leads others is the one who never steps over his friends’ corpses, even if his own ends up being stepped on” Grogar said.
It was then that he was able to conjure a sphere of black matter and prepared to use it with the other hoof.
“Then, in order to confirm that, you’ll have to become a corpse” Hepheus replied.
“You won’t be stepping on me anymore!” Grogar exclaimed. “I realize now that letting someone handle everything in your name isn’t the same as truly entrusting them with the task. I’m not a servant.”
The ones who were listening that became astonished. And Grogar made the black matter to pass through the hoof, while he remember all the good memories he had before being corrupted. With a determined look, Grogar created his staff of dark matter and told:
“The current me… is the one who wanted to protect what’s good in this world… Star Shield!”
“Grandpa…” Shining said, happy to see that his grandfather had finally found himself.
And then Star Shield started to absorb energy from Grogar. Hepheus rose a hoof and tried to attack him, but it just passed through him, as Grogar used the power over the Nothingness Realm.
“I passed through you…” Hepheus said. “How dare you to use a power belonging to the Lord of Chaos against his General?!”
And he flapped his wings and retreated, but Grogar continued connected to him by a string of energy. At another plane where the tailed beasts were stored, Grogar was with his hoof under a watered surface.
“Are you trying to weaken me by taking away the tailed beasts?” Hepheus asked. “Do you really think that you can challenge me and win?”
When Grogar tried to take the Tailed Beasts, he saw he couldn’t take them all. When he used all the strength he had, Grogar was able to rip off a piece of white mass of energy.
“So weak…” Hepheus said. “Is that all? You only tore off a mere sliver of the One and Eight-Tails?”
At the real world, Grogar extracted the piece he took from Hepheus.
“Shining!” Star Shield called, while he absorbed the energy. “Take Star to the Nothingness Realm!”
Understanding his intensions of handle Nine-Tails there, Shining casted the disappearance spell and Twilight and Star disappeared. Then, Star Shield prepared to go to there was well. Seeing that, Hepheus prepared to stop him. He knew by experience that while going to the Nothingness Realm he couldn’t become intangible. He started to attack with the black matter, but Star Shield defended with his staff, while being thrown away, what caused him to stop teleporting. He shouldn’t do it carelessly, as the teleportation speed was to slow.
“As he was once the Ten-Tails’ jinchuriki, he was able to steal some power from me too…” Hepheus said.
When Twilight found herself, she and Star were at the Nothingness Realm, with the sand collapsing under them. Twilight then took a time to recover her breath after forgetting to breathe due to that moment that just passed.
At the Pony World, Shining approached Star Shield and told him:
“All right, I transported Star. All that’s left is for you to teleport yourself there and Star will be safe, right, grandpa?”
Star Shield smiled and said, while rising up:
“Smart as ever. White Light taught you well. But I guess that’s a compliment to myself as I was the one who trained him. I guess it was because of that I guessed I understood a little about you, even though I was not physically in your life. In part, I was right, but only in part. But now I got to understand you better. Shining, even when I was Grogar, I continued to watch over you. I saved your daughter, although I didn’t have to, because secretly I wanted to care for my family. This time, I’ll take point and you’ll be my back-up, my grandson.”
“I got it, grandpa” Shining replied. “You can count on me. I’m glad to finally fight along the one I always admired.”
Seeing that scene, Blue smiled, knowing perfectly well how long Shining had dreamed to meet his grandfather and now could do it.
“You’re right, fate can be rather surprising” Heartbeat said, placing herself beside Blue.
Blue, who was already used to Heartbeat reading what he was feeling, said:
“Let’s just hope if their teamwork is good enough to pass through Hepheus.”
“I believe that’s our only hope” Heartbeat replied.
“Grogar, I’m taking back everything I and the Lord of Chaos loaned to you” Hepheus said to Star Shield.
“Are you worried, Hepheus?” Star Shield asked. “I may have not met you when you were the true you, but you must know what happens what differences the heroes from the villains. Villains are all alone, but heroes are not. When true heroes fight together, their true power is unleashed and that’s why good always defeat evil. Well, I decided to be the hero I was once and now that I’m siding with my grandson, a hero even greater than me, you’ll see our true power.”
“I’m not worried, because I know how everything ends” Hepheus replied. “What you’re saying may be true, but heroes can also fall. And when they do, they become just like me.”
“Well, we just have to find out about that, don’t we?” Star Shield said.
That caused Hepheus to analyze the situation. In order to save Star, they needed both the Nine-Tails’ energy and the knowledge to seal it with the supreme nature. As Star Shield had both, the only thing he had to do was to prevent him from going to the Nothingness Realm. He already knows that his attacks are faster than his teleportation, so he deduced that one of them would distract him, while the other performs the disappearance spell, either be Star Shield doing it or having Shining teleport him. But whatever they decide, Hepheus knew he would be able to stop Star Shield again, as he still had his secret power, the one he used to subdue the tailed beasts. But Hepheus knew he couldn’t do it while Star Shield still had the control over the Nothingness Realm. Then he could only attack them simultaneously. And so he launched two black spheres.
Seeing that, Blue prepared to intervene.
It was then that both Star Shield and Shining used the disappearance spell and the black spheres caused impact. But Hepheus got to know what they did. They used the disappearance spell at the same time, with Star Shield using it to teleport himself and Shining using it on the former, doubling then the speed of the spell.
And, indeed, Star Shield reappeared on the Nothingness Realm, near Twilight and Star.
“Grandpa…”
“You don’t have to worry” he said. “I’m here to help Star…”
Twilight looked at him and then she nodded, saying:
“I trust you… I saw what you did back there.”
“I’m glad that you do…” Star Shield replied, while approaching. “It looks like you and your brother turn out to be great heroes and I’m proud of that.”
He placed his hoof on Star and said:
“Now it’s time to return to be the hero I once was. And, to do that, I’ll save this child… You honored me for giving my name to him. Now, it’s my turn to return the favor and save your son.”
And he started to transfer the energy of Nine-Tails, along with the one belonging to One-Tail and Eight-Tails that he had stolen from Hepheus.
At the Pony-World, the smoke cleared and revealed that the black spheres had been blocked by Blue and his negating power.
“As always, your timing was perfect, brother” Shining said to Blue.
“That’s what best friends are for” he replied. “Now, let me handle this. I’ll deal with Hepheus.”