//------------------------------// // Battle of the Everfree // Story: Skylanders X MLP // by Skylander545 //------------------------------// Back at the camp, Timber noticed that Gloriosa was missing and was looking around the grounds for his sister. The co-director was curious since Gloriosa wouldn't just up and disappear like that. There were many things that would make his sister become pressured, one was the constant attacks and offers by Filthy Rich, which they denied thanks to Cadence, the other was when they would both think back to that night six years ago when a young camper almost died.  As he searched, he also checked up on the restoration process and the training team. Upon arriving, the new Imaginator, Jack Cooper had just finished his run through the obstacle course with his pilot suit. The director of the camp looked at the results and was impressed by his speed and how he cleared the course in record time. He spoke, “That was an amazing run, Coop.” The trio turned to him as Cooper said, “Thanks, I have to admit, the camp has a very good course. But the one from my waking dream was more combat-related since the camp’s course focuses on speed.” Spy looked at the stopwatch, “And I must say, Cooper. You did well on both runs, I know for certain that Dash is going to be jealous of your record.” Dro laughed, “In some cases, she would end up running the course herself in order to establish her fastest time in order to beat yours.” Cooper looked at the two, “I guess I should watch my back then.” The four shared a laugh until they were approached by Twilight and Sunset as the lavender girl spoke, “Timber.” The director looked at Twilight, “Twilight, Sunset, how's everything going around the camp?” Sunset spoke, “We're happy to report that the docks have been fully restored and the old archery range has been restored by LT and Pinkie.” She turned to the team, “The supplies from the airship really paid off, boys.” They gave the bacon-haired girl a thumbs up as Twilight asked, “The others told us that there's an Imaginator here.” She looked at Cooper, “I take it that this is him?” Timber nodded as he stated, “Yes, it's him.” Twilight introduced herself, “Well, I think we haven't been introduced. My name is Twilight Sparkle.” Sunset introduced herself, “And I’m Sunset Shimmer.” Jack paused as his eyes locked onto her as he remembered seeing the stain-glass picture of her, “The girl from my Dive to Heart. She's real.” He collected himself as he introduced himself, “It's nice to meet you both. I'm Jack Cooper, Imaginator JC-4727 of the Pilot Class.” Sunset asked, “You're fully human?” Cooper stated, “Not fully, but when I was flushed from the tank, I was given the powers of the Tech Element.” Sunset began to look him over as she thought to herself, “He was grown from a crystal in a vat...but there's something about him...something familiar.” The awkward silence lasted for about a minute before Timber turned to Spy, “Have you guys seen Gloriosa?” The squad leader thought about it and remembered, “She was watching our training session, that was five minutes ago. She wouldn't have gone somewhere else without telling us.” “It's just that, I checked in with the others and they haven't seen her anywhere and looked all over the camp to find her.” Twilight was concerned, “You don't think…” Sunset after the awkward silence between her and Cooper finished, “That she was kidnapped?” The director was afraid, “I hope not since the patrol teams have set up the perimeter for those Grublins.” Dro had a look of shock in his eyes as he spoke, “Timber, I may have an idea of what happened to your sister.” He tapped a button on his wrist as a holographic screen appeared, “During Jack’s second run, I was recording it for a data analysis when I swore that I heard Gloriosa shouting behind me.” The recording showed Cooper’s run which gave those who were watching a firsthand look at the Imaginator’s ability as he jumped, slid and ran through the obstacle course. It was reaching the midpoint when they heard a voice shout, “I-IT’S YOU!” Followed by a dark cackle, the camera shifted from the course to where Gloriosa was standing...only to see nothing but shadow residue as Dro said in the recording, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” They were even more concerned about Gloriosa now more than ever, Timber especially since he recognized the dark cackle. He had a look of shock as Spy asked him, “Timber, what's going on?” The director's look turned from shock to determination as he told both him and Twilight, “Spy, Twilight, gather your teams and meet me near the quarry. This is a lot more dangerous than just grublins and shadow grublins.” He soon left as Sunset realized, “Something terrible must've happened to Gloriosa.” Jack put his helmet back on and armed himself, “Like it or not, we may have to fight.” Spy remembered, “Spike’s still on the patrol team...he may be in trouble.” He looked at the girls, “Twilight, Sunset, you get Voodood and the others while Dro, Cooper and I rally the squadron. Whatever happened to Gloriosa might have something to do with the camp’s unusual problems.” They acknowledged this as they both went to get the others. Meanwhile, Spike and Lemon had previously found a hidden cave in the camp’s rock quarry where the artifact is supposedly located according to the tracker. As they traversed through the cave, they found that its walls and ceiling were lined with crystals which the two explorers were amazed. As Lemon said, “I can’t believe there was a crystal cave near the camp this whole time.” Spike looked at the gauntlet and then back at his surroundings as he chuckled, “Rarity would have a field day with this cave because of the amount of dress designs with these crystals as a centerpiece.”  He looked at the various crystals around them, “It’s hard to believe that it’s been hiding here...and yet, Timber said that this is off-limits to campers - almost like he wanted to hide something.” Drago asked, “Like the artifact that we’re looking for?” “Exactly.” As they walked further into the cavern, Spike began to feel a familiar sensation as his tracker pinged again, he checked to discover that there was a second energy signature which was identified as ‘Equestrian Magic’ which shocked him, “The tracker’s now showing readings of Equestrian Magic from the other world. Drago, any thoughts?” “If these readings are correct, this cave is a conduit for magic from Equestria. When it leaks into this world via the portal in front of the school, the cave catches and stores this magic.” Lemon pointed out, “That explains the crystal geodes in front of us.” They looked and spotted seven crystal geodes in the center of the cave. They were glowing very brightly as Spike began to get that feeling again. “There it is again...first the courtyard, then the totem pole and now…” Spike’s eyes snapped open as he let out a shocked gasp as he flashed into another memory. (Memory Flash) Near the rock quarry, the boy from the previous memories was following a young Gloriosa and Timber. The boy kept a great pace with them as he asked, “What are we doing here in the rock quarry so early in the morning?” Gloriosa looked at her brother and then back to the boy, “Well, Timber and I were planning on exploring this cave that we found in the quarry.” Timber spoke, “Since you're always looking for adventure, we figured that having you with us would be a great change of pace from yesterday.” The boy sighed since he remembered those two sneaking him out of his mother's cabin recently, “Right, Mom wasn't even letting me off my leash after the motorboat incident.” Gloriosa remembered, “Truthfully, it was Timber’s fault and yet you took the fall for it.” The group talked about the incident and how awesome it would be to scout out the cave until they reached the aforementioned cave and went inside. As they traversed the cave, they came across the crystals that lined the inside of the cave. Timber was shocked, “Are those...crystals?!” Gloriosa was in awe, “I never knew that this place existed!” The boy was amazed by the amount of crystals that were in this cave. It wasn't until he turned his attention to the center of the cave where the geodes lay. Among the seven white lights, he thought that he spotted a small green light beyond the geodes. The boy asked his friends,  “Did you guys see that?” The siblings turned to their friend and spotted the geodes, “The crystals?” He pointed to the green light, “That green light beyond the crystals.” Gloriosa asked, “What about it?”  “I have a strange feeling about it. I don't know how to explain it...but I can hear my Mom’s voice...and my Aunt’s voice as well.” The siblings were a bit spooked by it until the older girl checked her watch as her eyes widened, “We gotta get back to the camp before the others wake up.” Timber checked his watch, “Yikes, we need to head back, hopefully we'll be back in time for breakfast.” The boy nodded as they ran out of the cave, not before he turned back to see that green light as he heard a different voice from it, a male voice, “You have a great potential, my son.”  (Crystal Cave) Spike had ended that flash as he fell to his knees as Lemon asked in shock, “Spike, what’s wrong!?” Spike took a deep breath as he said, “That flash pointed out what we are looking for.” He got back to his feet as he saw the same green light, beyond the geodes and stated, “The artifact is here in this cave...hopefully when we get it, I can find the truth about my past.” “Oh I sure hope so…” Said a mixture of a girl’s voice and a dark voice. The surprised duo turned to see a very familiar figure approaching them as they both shouted, “Gloriosa Daisy!?” Her eyes were closed as she approached them, but with every step she took, there were several dark fluctuations emanating from her body. Spike asked, “How did you know where to find the cave?” ‘She’ chuckled as her dark voice echoed throughout the cave as she stated, “Did you really think that I would not come after you? After all, you have started your search for the truth. Although I would like to thank you both for finding the artifact for me.” Lemon asked with suspicion, “Why would you want the artifact? Spike needs it more than you since you and Timber told him about it.” “Foolish girl and as foolish as Gloriosa and her feeble brother in hiding the artifact from us.” As the two looked ‘Gloriosa’ over, Spike remembered how the real Gloriosa gave him the information on the artifact. He used the gauntlet to scan the magic emanating from her and realized that it was dark magic. They took a step back as Spike pointed out, “You're not Gloriosa! The real Gloriosa wouldn't be as selfish as you are!” She laughed again, “How did you think I managed to control her? Before those meddlesome principals donated to the camp, she was struggling to make ends meet and keep the camp in her hands. All the hidden emotions of her trying to keep the deed to the camp ended up being easy for me to take control of the cheery director of Camp Everfree.” Lemon demanded as she brought out her bolas, “Who are you really?!” “Ah, the girl from Crystal Prep, it wasn't surprising that I would find you with him.” She turned to Spike, “As for you, I believe we met many times, I remembered that my future self was killed by you during the Traptanium Wars.”  Spike’s mind went to work as he remembered the many missions and battles he fought in the wars until that mission to the future came up. The one adversary that he and Avenger Squadron had fought, the entity that came from Convexity as a product of Malefor's evil - the same entity that he killed using Avenger Omega’s Core of Light powered Cannon Buster. His eyes widened as he came to the conclusion of who possessed Gloriosa’s body, “THE DARKNESS!?!?” Her eyes shot open as her cheerful eyes were replaced by evil purple eyes. The Darkness asked, “I may not have the power to form my own body like my future self did, but this was the only way for me to speak to you.” “What have you done with her!” Darkness smiled as it spoke through Gloriosa's voice, “Isn't it obvious, she sent you here to find your past. But she remembers what happened to that poor little boy, a boy that supposedly disappeared after finding this very cave.” Spike had his gauntlet up, ready to merge at any time, “What happened?” Darkness sighed, “An assassination plot foiled, a form changed, a green diamond gem that ended with memories lost.” Spike’s eyes widened as he asked himself, “What's it talking about?!”  “Oh, I know you wish to solve that riddle and I know ‘Memories Lost’ speaks to you.” Gloriosa sported a sinister grin, “But unfortunately for you, none of you will live to solve it. This camp will burn to the ground until it’s nothing but ashes. The human would get that spa he wanted, but our agreement was for his desire for the camp while he provides us with the most advanced weapons. As for the artifact, we have plans for it and the disciples of Malefor want it.” Lemon knew that this guy was bad news as she heard Gaia’s voice, “The Darkness cannot be allowed to cause desolation to this camp! Everything we have built will get destroyed if we don't act!” She whispered, “Can we merge?” Gaia sadly said, “Not yet. We're not fully synced, but the bolas are magical, thanks to the Traptanium.” The Darkness, possessing Gloriosa's body, held her hand up and yelled, “Dark Wave Change! Gloriosa Daisy Power Up!” At that instant, the magic from the geodes hit her as her form changed, much to Spike and Lemon’s shock. Her transformation sent out a shockwave as the two shielded their eyes. As the dust settled, Spike and Lemon turned their attention towards the corridor and saw that standing in Gloriosa’s place was a different being. She was more super-powered as magic radiated off her ceriseish gray skin and moderate cyan and turquoise hair. She wore a plant-themed outfit as she gave off a sinister grin as her dark purple eyes glared at them as she stated, “I AM GAEA EVERFREE!!” Spike and Lemon were shocked to see Gloriosa like this, possessed by The Darkness and under the name ‘Gaea Everfree’ which he remembers her saying that Timber would make up those stories. But to see her like this...is horrifying and hard to imagine the terror she would bring if she were to leave the camp.  “You must know that all of your efforts are for nothing! You will not stop us and what is to come!” Spike glared at Everfree, “That’s what they all say and in the end, we end up beating them!” He gave Lemon a few Battle Crystals as he activated the gauntlet, “Traptanium Wave Change! Spike, Power Up!” The familiar blue flash occurred as Spike and Drago merged, becoming Megaman. The first thing he did was use the sword crystal as his arm cannon turned into a blade while Lemon used one of her battle crystals to attach blades to the bolas. Megaman charged towards Everfree as the corrupt human dodged a slash from his sword. She retaliated by summoning vines of brambles to ensnare Megaman, but they were instantly cut, thanks to Lemon’s bladed bolas. Everfree went in and attempted to slash at her attacker with a bramble-enhanced claw, but Megaman blocked it and landed a couple of slashes on her. The brambles tried to ensnare him again, but Lemon’s bolas prevented that from happening, but as more brambles appeared, she tried to cut them by using her bola blades as makeshift swords, but couldn’t get them all which led her to being snared by the vines. As she struggled, she noticed the bramble near the Trap Ranger and yelled, “Megaman! Look out!” He quickly turned his attention to the bramble and sliced it with his arm sword, only to get snared by more of those vines. He tried to resist until it got to the point where his sword reverted back to his mega buster. Drago spoke, “I’m sorry kid, there's too many of them. It's also depleted the sword’s power.” “We got to think of something!” As Megaman and Lemon were moved next to each other, Gaea Everfree laughed at this, “I must admit, you did put up a good fight, albeit briefly. I could see why you easily took down Kaos. But unlike him, I have a greater power, directly from Malefor himself, my creator.” She snapped her fingers as several shadow grublins appeared in the cave as the dark creatures surrounded the captive heroes. The creatures had their weapons pointed at them as Everfree went over to the green light. “Is it really surprising that you, a human that had once been a worthless dog, had begun to remember a time when a young boy of age 10 spent time here at this very camp?” She reached her arm out as the green light began to move towards her as she continued, “A boy who was friends with the two siblings that would soon become the co-directors of this very camp?” Lemon struggled as she wondered, “What's she talking about?” Megaman asked, “What are you saying?” The light soon hit Everfree’s hands as the corrupt human held an object that was glowing a green light. It was a diamond shaped gem that had two points on the top and bottom as it shined green. “That the boy heard a voice in this cave, one that belonged to a long-lost enemy of ours on the day of the assassination?”  He was trying to make sense of what she was saying until the gem’s green light faded until it was nothing, but a dull rock. This brought a shock to Everfree as she gasped, “What? What is this?” After that, her body had twitched as she grasped at her head. After that, she lifted her head up, now with a familiar eye color as a familiar voice, spoke through Everfree, “The artifact in this cave was a fake! We put it there six years ago to trick them!” Megaman was shocked, “Gloriosa! You're still in there!?” Gloriosa's voice spoke with happiness, “That fiend hasn't been able to fully sync with my body. I won't allow it to hurt you and I will continue to fight it! You need to defeat the Darkness, free me and find the real gem!” Lemon smiled, “We will!” At that moment, Everfree regained control as she crushed the fake gem, “That miserable girl! She may have tricked us, but we will have the last laugh!” She turned to the shadow grublins, “Kill them!” The shadow grublins brandished their weapons as they approached them. Megaman and Lemon struggled even more to get out of the vines. As the lime haired girl struggled, she heard the Trap Ranger’s spirit, “Lemon, we're now fully synced, we can merge at any time!” “Well, we need that power, now more than ever, right?” “Indeed, but in our current position, you can't activate the headset.” Lemon remembered that Spike had to activate the gauntlet when he first became Megaman as one of the shadow grublins, a Grublin Fly held its club over its head as it closed in on her while a shadow grublin axeman was closing in on her friend as she said, “We could use some help right about now!” As if on cue, a flash of light appeared in the cave as an armored figure dropped to the floor, followed by another flash revealing Spy in his Supercharged form with Dro, Ter, Camo and Sonata, all Supercharged while another armored figure dropped his cloak as he ran towards the shadow grublins, slid beneath them and left a grenade which obliterated the shadow horde while a giant ape arrived to take down another group of shadow grublins. More flashes of light appeared as the girls arrived, sporting their elemental swords as the shadow grublins finally decided to retaliate as a battle ensued in the cave with weapons fire being exchanged from both sides. Gaea Everfree got distracted by the heavy armored being as he fired what looked to be a laser rifle at her and yes - they caught that in slow motion. Sonata used her shurikun to cut the vines holding Megaman and Lemon in place, freeing them. The siren asked, “Sorry we're late!” Megaman said, “Talk about cutting it a bit close since we were nearly executed.” The siren fired a few blasts from her shield cannon while the blue bomber fired his mega buster, taking down several shadow grublins. Dro joined in as he fired his wrist blasters at a few shadow grublins while doing a cable yank at another and delivering a strong fist to the face. Ter was firing his rocket launcher at the gathering grublins as he dodged their fire while the burrowing missiles hit the group. Camo was using his plant-based armor and pistols to tie up the grublins with one shot from his vine pistol and take them out using his chili pepper pistol. Spy was fighting side-by-side with the armored figure as the squad leader fired bolt after bolt from his crossbow as they took the shape of various projectiles while the armored figure shot a charged projectile at Everfree herself as she let out an ‘Ugh!’ upon impact. The squad was clearing out of the cave when Everfree attempted to attack the fleeing group, only for Dro to blind her with his prototype webbing from his launchers. This gave them enough time for them to escape the cave before she got back to her senses. As the team left the cave, Megaman and Lemon took a deep breath as he said, “Talk about a close call.” Lemon added, “You said it, we were almost killed in that cave.” The armored guy approached, “Yeah, I'm glad we managed to make it here in time. If it wasn't for my suit’s magic tracker, it would’ve been too late.” That's when the blue bomber and the lime haired girl froze when the armored guy spoke. When he spoke, his voice, despite being concealed by a helmet, was recognizable since they heard his voice before as Lemon asked in surprise, “Timber, is that you?” The armored guy removed his helmet to reveal the familiar face of Timber Spruce, the co-director of Camp Everfree. Timber smiled, “You bet!” Megaman asked, “Where did you get that armor? I don't recognize it from Dro’s lab!” “Now is not the time to question where I got my Power Armor. What we really need to talk about is the situation at hand.” The blue bomber knew that considering that they had just been rescued from Everfree and knowing that Gloriosa told him that the gem was a fake, he asked, “You knew about the gem?”  Timber nodded, “Both Gloriosa and I knew that the gem in the cave was a fake.” He glanced over at the rest of the team, “And as for your friends... I brought them up to speed due to Gloriosa being possessed.” The Trap Ranger turned to the others as Spy said, “Timber told us everything, about you, your search, the gem and the Darkness.” “Guess there's no point in hiding it now.” Twilight approached, “Spike…they wanted you to find out who you really are. But in some cases, we want to help you find your past.” The others explained that when Timber told them of those images that appeared ever since he blew up the Command Cruiser and when he told them of his separate mission to find the gem, they knew that Pinkie’s senses weren't acting up for nothing. The directors did hide the fact that Spike was on a separate mission to find the truth of who he is. But now with missions intertwined, Gloriosa is being controlled by The Darkness and wants not only the real gem, but to destroy Camp Everfree itself. Timber spoke, “Now you see why I told them? We have to stop Gaea Everfree and free Gloriosa from The Darkness.” Megaman remembered one thing, “Gloriosa is still inside Everfree, fighting the Darkness, she managed to get control when Everfree realized that the gem was a fake.” The camp director smiled, “That's my sister. She never backs down when a friend is in danger. If we can damage her possessed form enough, it should weaken the Darkness’ hold on her, allowing her to regain control of her body and expel it from herself.” Ter sighed as he leaned against his rocket launcher, “Considering how powerful she was after seeing them tied up back there, this will be tough with those piles of moss and shadows aiding her.” That was when Lemon remembered what happened before they dropped in, “Wait, I may have an idea.” Indigo Zap asked her friend, “What are you planning?”  She smiled, “Well, before you guys dropped in, the spirit in my headset, Trap Ranger Gaia told me that she and I are fully synced.” Rainbow Dash, realizing what this meant, asked, “Are you serious?” Pinkie Pie twitched, “Oh...so that's why my Pinkie Senses were going crazy around you earlier.” Camo realized, “That means…” Megaman finished, “You can activate the Traptanium Wave Change!” Lemon nodded and said, “I couldn't reach my headset because we were tied up at the moment.” Drago spoke, “Well it's true that she and Gaia can merge, but at this moment, Everfree has no idea that another Trap Ranger is here.” Megaman asked, “What are you saying, Drago?” “I'm saying that we should let her think that she's only dealing with one Trap Ranger, a team of Skylanders and the director’s brother in Power Armor.” “Make her think that she's only dealing with us. And when the moment arrives, Lemon merges with Trap Ranger Gaia!” “Just like the battle against Kaos when we merged for the first time.” The team knew that it would be a tough battle, but they can't let any Grublins get past them to the camp. After planning the defense, they fell back to the perimeter as they waited for the grublins to appear. This was the battle to save Camp Everfree from total destruction, if they fail, the camp will be burned to the ground by the horde and everything they worked for would be all for nothing. The team spent the precious time setting up defenses from sentry turrets to mines all from the airship’s armory. After the defenses were set, a few members decided to take up offensive positions due to combat experience. While a few accompanying Skylanders and the Main 7 fought in the Soul Gem Conflict, the Echo Squadron fought with them in the Cloudbreak, Undead and Traptanium Wars as they stood on the offensive with rookie pilot Imaginator, Jack Cooper alongside them. It seemed like an eternity passed before they spotted the grublin horde emerging from the quarry. Both regular and shadow grublins gazed at the defenders and they were hungry for blood as they walked towards the camp. Everyone at the defense line was ready for battle as they had their powers and weapons ready. At the offense team, Spike and his friends were about to confront the grublins on their own since they have no additional support from the Skylanders in Equestria since the war that Sunset warned them about had begun in their world. As Spike watched as the largest of them grublins, a regular Hero Orc cracked it's neck in anticipation, he turned to his friends, “Well, we not only found the source of camp’s paranormal activity, but now we have to fight it.” Ter spoke, “Not what I expected, but a battle is a battle.” Camo added, “Flutters told me a lot about these things! Man those guys are ugly.” Spy realized, “This actually the first time fighting them.” Dro realized, “Right, Mom and Aunt Luna used training dummies that looked like grublins.” Sonata looked at the others, “That's actually quite a shock as well.” Cooper spoke, “I wasn't prepared for how disturbing they were. But we have to defeat them, no matter what!” Spike shifted his attention to Lemon, “Remember the plan, right?” The lime haired girl winked, “We won't merge until Gaea Everfree shows herself and we take her down together, Spikey.” Although she relayed the plan, she did drop Spike’s nickname which caused Rarity to flinch a little, but she steadied herself as she gripped her Earth Swords, “We are counting on you two to strike as soon as she shows herself. Isn't that right, my little Spikey Wikey?” She winked at him as well, which caused Lemon to tense up until Spike, recognizing this, got between them and put his hands up, “Girls, girls! Focus on the battle, not me!” Both girls had calmed down and turned their attention to the front with swords and bolas pointed out towards the horde. It was at that moment that the Hero Orc let out a loud roar and made the gesture to charge. As the horde began charging towards their line, Dro had his hand on his left wrist as he waited for the horde to get closer. It was at this moment that the horde reached the minefield in which several elemental mines were strategically placed. As the horde crossed the field, several mines detonated in flashes of fire, electricity, earth, tech, light, magic traditional frag shards, taking out a good chunk of regular and shadow grublins, which were susceptible to the elemental light from the mines. The charging grublins were either incinerated by fire, impaled by the earth chunks, disintegrated in dust from the magic or given a good shock from the tech and electricity mines. After the surviving grublins of the horde made it through the minefield, they continued to charge towards the defense line, that's when Dro pressed a button on his wrist. Upon pressing the button, all the defense sentry guns activated and locked onto the horde and opened up with various elemental tracer rounds, hitting the horde as they tried to charge the sentry line. While the smaller ones went down, the more larger and bulkier creatures like Trolls and Hero Orcs absorbed the damage from the sentry guns and kept going. Some of the lumbering trolls had cannons mounted to their shoulders as they shot at the sentries, destroying a few of them in the process. The flyers weaved through the turret's line of fire and did a direct assault on the line. While the Wyverns attacked directly, some of them were grabbed out of the sky and slammed into the ground by Donkey Kong or shot down by Timber with his laser rifle. That's when the offensive team decided to join the battle as the girls charged in with their elemental swords and slashed at several grublins, regular and shadow. The Echo Squad utilized their supercharger powers as both Spy and Dro utilized a technique called ‘Sky-Chi,’ which was used mostly by Sensei-Class Skylanders, but considering the circumstances surrounding the Pilot Battle Class, they were able to access this power. Spy’s Sky-Chi allowed him to split his crossbow in two as twin swords, similar to his katanas, granting him to use his dual crossbows for range and close quarters before merging them in a cannon after taking down a group of grublins. Dro’s Sky-Chi gave him multiple weapons attachments to the arms of his suit (like a demon cyborg from a certain anime) as he uses a series of melee attacks using the wrist blades and ranged attacks using his cable and web launchers, he soon took to the sky and merged his arms into multiple cannons as the blast eradicated a group of heavies. Sunset was with Twilight and Voodood as they used their swords, axes and elemental powers to hold off the grublin horde while the others covered them from the defense line. The Orc sliced a Grublin in two as Twilight threw an aura bomb at a charging group. Sunset, on the other hand was impaling and slicing grublins left to right as the horde recognized her. One of them, an axeman had let out a guttural roar that spoke, “Traitor!” That got her attention as the axeman had his ax out, ready to put her down for her treachery. She gripped her sword as she said, “Let's dance.” Both her and the axeman clashed weapons as the monster used the weight of his weapon to add more power to his strikes which nearly staggered the ex-apprentice. But she was much faster than him, despite his nimbleness as she slid between his legs and landed a strike on him. The axeman winced from the attack as he used the blunt end of his ax to trip her. As soon as she was on the ground, he attempted a finishing blow as he brought his weapon down her - only to get knocked aside by a kunai thrown by a charging Cooper as his blue visor flashed at the axeman. Cooper ran towards Sunset as he tossed a grenade into the air before sliding towards her and scooped her up in his arms. As they were sliding on the ground, Jack brought out a pistol and shot two shadow grublins that were on both sides with quick precision as the grenade exploded behind them, killing the axeman. As he set her down, more grublins of both types attacked, but Jack brought out a small knife as he stabbed one of them before throwing it towards the others and knocking a group of them down like bowling pins. He then made quick work of a Grublin fly with his knife before quickly bringing his blade down on another one. But dealing with a group of grublins left him open to an attack by a troll. The hulking heavy of the horde attempted to charge at the Imaginator and trample him with its fists. Jack noticed the beast on top of him and since the knife was already in the body of another grublin, all he could do is hold his right hand out - that's when a flash of light appeared from his hand. It blinded the beast, causing it to back off as the shadow grublins tried to get a bearing on what was going on until the light faded to show that Jack was holding a new weapon. It was key-shaped with the guard handle being the color of his helmet as the shaft was gun-metal grey with teeth that make up the weapon. It had a theme to it since it was themed to his pilot suit from the colors. But dangling from the handle was a small keychain that was shaped like a grey rectangle with a light blue circle in the middle. Cooper stared at the weapon as the voice in his head repeated the same word, “Keyblade… Keyblade…” Although he was curious, the sight of the grublins reminded him that they were in a battle as Sunset took out the grublins in his stead. She asked, “Need a hand, Cooper?” The Imaginator, gripping his new weapon in one hand and a loaded pistol in the other stated, “Let's get them!” They both leapt at the horde and continued to fight them. Megaman and Lemon stood back-to-back as grublins surrounded them with mega-buster and bolas out. She glanced over her shoulder, “You think you can handle this many?” The Trap Ranger shrugged, “We’ve fought giant plants, evil elves, trolls and cyclops before I even became Megaman.” She reminded him, “You know this is actually my first battle.” Spike had stated, “Your first ground battle actually.” The two lunged at the grublins with buster shots firing and bolas spinning. The attacking grublins were either destroyed by the blasts from the mega-buster or tripped and sliced apart from the bolas equipped with the sword crystal. Lemon even swung her bola blades like improvised daggers and bisected the regular grublins. Megaman kept firing his mega-buster as the horde began to increase in numbers. That's when he pulled out a new crystal from his gauntlet, “Battle Crystal!” Drago chomped down on the crystal as the dragon shaped arm cannon transformed into a large chain gun as its six barrels glowed green. Megaman held the grip with his right hand while pointing his gun arm out while yelling, “Plasma Gatling!” The six barrels spun as rounds of plasma mowed down the grublins and their shadow counterparts.  Lemon spoke, “Nice one, dude!” Megaman nodded and said, “Let’s get every last one of them.” As the battle progressed, each grublin slain reduced the threat level of the horde. Since the team have been killing the grublins from the light troops to the heavies, Timber shouted while firing his rifle, “The grublin threat level is even lower now! Drive them out of Camp Everfree!” All of a sudden, several vines appeared as the majority of the defenders were tied up by them. Megaman and Lemon noticed and dodged to avoid getting tied up again as they continued to take out the grublins. But that wasn’t until a whole chunk of bramble appeared in the middle of the battlefield which made the heroes come to a halt. As the duo managed to free most of their friends from the vines, they all stood side-by-side, weapons pointed at the bramble. The blue bomber asked, “This has got to be her, right?” The lime-haired girl pointed out, “We did kill a lot of the grublins, there’s no way she would ignore this now.” Drago spoke, “Just be ready at any time. We’ve got quite the surprise waiting for her.” Soon enough, the patch shattered as Gaea Everfree emerged, she stared at the heroes and stated, “I am impressed, Skylanders. You managed to take down almost every Grublin I have in the horde. A good sideshow for the main event which you all know what it is.” With a stomp of her foot, more bramble vines appeared and tied up most of the team once more. But Megaman and Lemon managed to avoid them and still glare at the corrupt human. She chuckled as she looked at her captors and then towards the remaining two, “As expected, you two would avoid my traps due to your experience. But at least I have a captive audience to witness your failure.” The Trap Ranger glared, “We both know that the outcome of the battle determines the Camp’s fate. But we won't give up and we will triumph over you!” He glanced at Lemon with her magical bolas as he gave a quick nod. She understood what he was doing as she motioned her unarmed hand towards her headset as its visor activated. ‘Okay, I just need to say the words…’ All of a sudden, Everfree shot her vines at her and pulled her towards the villain as she screamed, “Megaman!” The Trap Ranger held out his Mega-Buster, pointing it directly at Everfree. “Lemon?! Let her go!” “Oh, you're now making demands? What does a student from Crystal Prep Academy mean to a worthless dog from CHS? There's only one way this will end, Megaman. If you want to end this fight, it only requires one shot, sacrificing Lemon in the process!” The corrupt human laughed as she held the headset girl as a human shield.  Megaman was trying to look for a way to stop Everfree without having to sacrifice Lemon in the process. ‘She should've activated the Traptanium Wave Change by now! Now Everfree is playing with my emotions... I can't shoot without risking Lemon...come on, think Spike!’ He thought as he hoped she wasn't too late to activate her headset. Suddenly several blobs of ink hit Everfree as she released her grip on Lemon. The corrupt human, covered in ink, scanned her surroundings in hopes of finding her attacker until she was attacked by several inkling creations. Soon enough, a pink faun appeared out of nowhere and slammed her paintbrush staff at Everfree's midsection, sending her across the field.  As Megaman got Lemon back on her feet, they and their friends were surprised by the faun’s arrival since the majority of them knew who this was as they called out, “Splat!?” The faun, Splat, was a Supercharger of the Magic Element, who was interested in the art of war. Self-taught from her school years, she excelled in various forms of combat and her way of using a paintbrush-like staff against a band of evil Drow that attempted to steal valuable artwork from her village. She turned towards the Trap Ranger and smiled, “Well met, Spike and to you as well, Drago.” The dragon head realized, “Wait... I know you.” The faun smiled, “It has been too long, but we are in the middle of a battle, reunions will have to wait.” She glanced at Lemon, “And I believe my mother's powers still call to you.” The girl's eyes widened in shock at her statement as she thought, ‘She's Gaia’s daughter!?’ That thought was interrupted when Everfree returned, now enraged, “Another Skylander!? I must say, I didn't expect a Supercharger to take notice, but I will not lose to the likes of you!” Splat twirled her brush staff into a ready position, “I was lucky to make it in time to save the bearer of my mother's powers and now it's game over, Darkness!” Lemon took what Splat said as a signal as she placed her hand on her headset and yelled, “Traptanium Wave Change! Lemon Zest, Power Up!” Upon saying this, a green flash struck where she was standing as everyone including Everfree watched as Lemon transformed. When she activated the wave change, Lemon’s headset broke off into particles as energy vines wrapped around her extremities. When the vines hit, her normal Camp Everfree outfit changed into a suit, though not as armored as Spike’s, was themed to the Life Element with green on the arms and legs with light green Traptanium plating on the shoulders, boots and elbows. The body of the suit was more akin to a miniskirt that wasn't frilly as the green skirt traveled up to the center as a light breastplate took the upper portion as the Life symbol appeared on her chest. The headset reappeared as a helmet formed around her head as her lime green hair turned rose red as the visor shone yellow as her bolas became Traptanium green with a centerpiece in the shape of faun's head, Soon enough, a female voice echoed, “Arise Rose Star.” Lemon Zest, now Rose Star muttered, “Trap Ranger Gaia.” Everfree, shocked by all of this shouted, “NO! I didn't know that another Trap Ranger existed!?” Megaman stood next to Rose Star with his Traptanium Tomahawk in hand and stated, “You should've done your homework.”  Rose Star’s bolas spun fast as her helmet began playing ‘The Touch’ as she declared, “This is the end of the battle, Everfree!” After that, both Trap Rangers leapt at Everfree as the corrupt human tried to use her vines, only for Rose Star to take control of the vines herself which shocked Everfree. As a voice spoke, “I was a guardian of life and all my studies in the forests have taught me more than enough about controlling vines.” Rose Star struck first with her bolas as she used a bomb crystal which replaced the crystal weights with bombs while Megaman landed several Break Saber and Tomahawk strikes. Rose Star manipulated the vines that were holding their friends and used them on Everfree herself as Megaman used his Shotgun Ice and froze the corrupt human to the ground. Rose Star flung her blazing bolas, enhanced by the Fire Crystal which gave the corrupt human a real burn while the blue bomber laid down another barrage of Shotgun Ice. Gaea Everfree was hurt badly and was on the verge of being defeated and the host would be free upon defeat. The Darkness had intended to gain a host body, put an end to the defending Skylanders of Camp Everfree and get the real artifact. But it did not anticipate that the spirit of another Trap Ranger had synced with another human. It threw a wrench into their plan for the camp and now as it’s enemies stood over her kneeling form, it could only be shocked and angry as it's host slowly began to push back its possessive power. Ter spoke, “Punk ass, Darkness.” Megaman pointed his tomahawk at Everfree and asked, “Any last words before we expel you from Gloriosa?” Everfree stated, “You don't know what you kids are getting yourselves into…” She declared, “Strykore shall rise again!” The team could only lower their weapons as what their fallen enemy had said as Camo commented, “That doesn't sound good.” Megaman, although baffled by this, stated, “Not today.” He and Rose Star back flipped away before leaping at Everfree and striking her in all directions as Timber yelled, “Now Light Our Darkest Hour! All-Out Attack!” After that, they touched down as Megaman posed with his buster arm held up while Rose Star was listening to her music while posing to look like she was dancing. After that, Everfree exploded as a ball of shadow was ejected from her body and sailed off to parts unknown. All the remaining grublins had either collapsed or dissolved as Gloriosa Daisy lay face-first on the ground, alive, no longer possessed and unharmed. Megaman rushed toward her along with the others as he knelt down next to her. He flipped her over and held her in his arms, “Gloriosa…” She moved a bit as she groaned. He asked, “Gloriosa, are you all right?”  She opened her eyes as she noticed him holding her, the team, her brother in power armor and Lemon, now Rose Star standing over them, she said, “I’m sorry, Spike...for everything I did...to you, your friends...what I almost…” The Trap Ranger removed his helmet as Spike hugged her as he said, “Don't worry, we all fought hard today, even you fought to keep the Darkness from fully syncing with your body.” Gloriosa stuttered, “It's just that... I was...close to losing until…” She stared at Spike’s emerald green eyes as she finished, “I almost lost the fight if you didn't defeat free me.” Rose Star spoke, “Hey, after what Indigo and I went through at the island, we both know that we’re all in this together. Besides, helping others out is what friends are for.” Spy spoke, “We help our friends, no matter what happens. Right guys?” Ter stated, “No Matter What Happen.” Dro added, “No Matter What Happens.” Camo replied, “No Matter What Happens.” The Main 7 replied with “No Matter What Happens” as well as the Skylanders and Jack and Timber. This made Gloriosa feel better knowing that she had friends that saved her from being a puppet of The Darkness, that nobility reminded her of an old childhood friend of hers and Timbers as she hugged Spike as the Trap Ranger comforted her. During that time, The Supercharger, Splat approached Rose Star as she spoke,  “I have to say, my mother's notes were very much accurate.” “Oh, so you have found them.” Said a familiar voice that both Lemon and Splat know as the eyes of the faun centerpiece of the bolas moved. Lemon knew who this was, “Trap Ranger Gaia!?” The faun head looked at her and said, “To you and the Trap Team, I am Trap Ranger Gaia, but to my daughter…” The pink faun collapsed on her knees as tears came out of her eyes as she smiled while saying, “Mom...it's really you!” Gaia smiled, “It has been too long, Splat. I had only wished that I had been alive to see you grow into a fine young woman.” “Don't say anything like that, Mom. You and Dad raised and trained me well in the art of war which did get me into trouble with the elders. But they changed their minds when I saved their artwork from the evil Drow sometime after the Traptanium Wars.” Gaia smiled, “And for that, I am glad to see that you are doing well as a member of the Skylanders.” Lemon looked at her spirit companion and at Splat and asked, “How did you know where to find us?” The faun stated, “Investigation, expedition and hours of studying scroll after scroll. That's when I found that her armband was swallowed by a plant-like creature that was a sick experiment from a riptoc. Snap Shot had intended to capture the creature and recover the armband, but the riptoc sent the creature to your world.” Lemon remembered it, “That thing almost killed me at the island. But Echo Squadron killed it and saved me and Spike found the armband which merged with the crystal that I had and built a new headset after that creature destroyed my old pair.” “There's no doubt in my mind that she picked you to possess her powers. Her powers were beneficial for forested areas back in Avalar, all those years of studying in Summer Forest helped her develop her power before the first war.” Gaia told her daughter, “That was long before your time, Splat. But I can see that both combat, artistry and curiosity are within your genes.” “I wanted to find out more about you since...I was only a baby when you died.” Lemon could see how hurt the faun was when she said this and how guilty that the spirit was of the time of her passing. So she decided, “Splat, what you went through made you want to know more about your mom. You searched for her notes, found them and read through them to discover that me, Spike and two others would possess the power of the Inner Council. Besides, if you hadn't intervened, I still would've been a hostage.” Splat walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, “Thank you for those words. I can see now that mother chose you to wield her powers.” She soon pulled the Trap Ranger into a hug as she said, “She made the right choice.”  Everyone was relieved to know that the battle was over and Camp Everfree was safe. The victors were cheering while Cooper was observing his new keyblade, giving it a few swings before it vanished in his hand until he called it back as Sunset observed him. She was curious about him since she noticed how he was artificially created and yet she still felt a familiar presence from the pilot. Timber had left his armor when the back side opened open as he climbed out to join the others, leaving his armor standing idle. It was around the time that Spike had helped Gloriosa back onto her feet when they felt a strange presence near them. It was as if it was coming from the forest as the team turned to see a mysterious creature, it was in the shape of a woman, but most of her was covered in tree bark which preserved her modesty. Her smooth grass green hair was blowing in the wind as her green eyes focused on them. She spoke, “I bid you welcome, humans and you have my thanks for kicking those creatures from these woods.” Spike asked with a buster arm ready, “Who are you?” The lady stated, “Before I answer, I must ask that you and your companions lower your weapons. I only wish to speak with you, Megaman.” Spike motioned to the others to stand down as his arm cannon was turned into a regular arm. He asked, “Okay, we stood down. Now on to business.” The woman introduced herself, “The native wildlife refer to me as ‘The Lady of the Everfree’ the guardian of this very forest that surrounds your camp, but the one who placed me in these woods called me ‘Lucy’. Until then, I was unable to protect the forest due to the actions of those abominations that you call ‘Grublins.’ When the grublins started dying, I felt the forest heal and my power being restored.” Camo stepped forward, “So you went to find the ones responsible for restoring you?” Lucy glanced at him, “I did and for someone with the blood of wolves, plants and dragons, you understand me very quick.” Camo was taken aback as this woman was able to figure out his physiology as he asked, “W-what are you?” The Lady smiled, “I am a Dryad, planted here in this forest to serve as its protector. It has been sixteen years since my eventual birth and it's been so long since I've spoken to your kind.” Fluttershy noted, “Dryads usually despise humans for damaging the environment, but you seem happy to speak to us.” Lucy sighed, “The camp has been very good to me and has been respectful of my forest.” She glanced at Timber, Gloriosa and Megaman, “I remembered meeting three friends trekking through the forest six years ago.” The co-directors approached her as Timber said, “It's been too long since we've seen each other, old friend.” Gloriosa looked over the dryad’s body, “You’re looking well, my lady.” The dryad chuckled as she glanced over to the Trap Ranger, “There was another reason why I am here.” Megaman asked, “The gem?” She walked up to him and said, “By now, you already know that the gem in the cave was a fake, placed there, years ago while the real one was hidden.” “You know where the real one is?” She said nothing as she held her branch-covered hand out as she focused her power to her hand as a green light shone before taking the shape of a six-sided diamond as the gem floating freely in her open hand. The trap ranger and everyone else present were shock as he asked, “You had it?” The dryad nodded and explained, “After the fake was placed in the cave after the attempted assassination, the real gem was given to me, so I could protect it. They didn't find it because I masked its power so they wouldn't find it.” She held it out to him, “It's yours now, but I have to warn you, what you will find there are memories, answers and revelations.” Megaman nodded as he reached his hand out and took the gem. When he made contact with it, his mind soon flashed into a series of images of people he never met, places that he never seen and memories that he couldn't identify. Spike’s vision cleared to reveal that he wasn't at Camp Everfree and he wasn't in his Megaman form. Instead, he was in his regular clothes, staring down a hallway with medical beds, IV bags and double doors at the end of the hallway. He figured that the only way to get out of here was through the doors, so he walked down the hallway, passing a medical bed on his left and an IV bag on his right. As he approached the door, he heard the muffled sound of a woman's scream, he jumped at the sound as he placed his hand on the door. He cautiously checked his surroundings to see if anyone else was here, only to find no one in the hallway.  Satisfied with his results, he pushed the door open to reveal the source of the scream, a woman lying down on a bed with a doctor at the foot of the bed, a woman on the left side of the bed looking down at her and a man, both dressed in similar garb as the doctor, holding the woman's hand while obscuring the woman's head from view although he did point out the covered woman's blue eyes which looked familiar. Spike took notice of the large belly that the woman on the bed had and put the pieces together as he realized, “She's in labor!” He quickly covered his mouth in case they heard him, but neither the doctor, nor the pregnant woman took notice. He soon realized that this happened in the past as the woman screamed again as he saw her clench the man’s hand in an iron grip as she said, “Let’s have a baby, you said! We are going to be married anyway, you said! Damn it, Scorch, this is the last time I ever let you seduce me in my balcony room at the manor!” When Spike heard the woman speak, he could swore that he heard that voice before recalling one location - His Balcony Room at Equestria Shores. That's when the man - Scorch spoke, “It's okay, honey! It's all part of giving birth since your mood is erratic.” The woman yelled with tears, “I’ll be sure to tear you a new one afterwards!” The other woman spoke, “Be calm, sister. Just keep breathing, soon enough your son or daughter will be here with us.” Spike, still curious about the familiarity with the voices of both women, decided to move in for a closer look. When he got to the point where he could see her, his eyes widened as the woman's frazzled, but recognizable multicolored hair was shown and her eyes - her purple eyes, that matches his skin color. He now knew who this is, “P-Principal Celestia?! Giving birth!? But...how?!” He could even point out the familiar tufts of blue hair from the woman on her side as he realized that this was Vice-Principal Luna and the reason why she was there was to be the godmother and witness the birth. Soon enough, Celestia felt another contraction as the doc told her to push as she screamed once more as she clenched Scorch's hand. But before he could see more of it, his vision soon became consumed by a flash of light as a voice spoke, “If you are seeing this, it means you have come into possession of one of the seven Mystic Shards - powerful gems that were crafted by only the most skilled of gem cutters and empowered by the strongest magics ever known. I know who you are and your journey to find the truth about your past. As I feared at this moment, Strykore is planning for his return and will stop at nothing to return to our realm. But it's now certain that you have a daunting task: Find the Mystic Shards to find the truth.” After that voice finished, he was greeted by an image of Celestia with a coat covering her nightwear, kneeling next to an injured man lying face-first in the snow in front of her house before a bright light engulfed his vision as a baby's cry was heard. As soon as that ended, Spike had woken up, staring at the sky as his friends stood over him. Rose Star was kneeling down as she asked,  “Spike, you just fell to the ground after grabbing the gem! Are you all right?” He sat up as he noticed that he was back in his Megaman form as his friends surrounded him with concerned looks. He glanced over to his hand as he held the Mystic Shard which rested in his hand. He sighed, “You guys are not going to believe what I just saw.” Rarity knelt down to his level and asked, “Please, Spike, tell us what you saw.” He knew that this would be a lot for his friends to take in. Meanwhile in an undisclosed location, Artemis looked over some additional information regarding the plans for the prototypes that he ‘borrowed’ from Filthy's labs when he had received confirmation that the grublins threat to Camp Everfree has been eliminated and the camp itself is now secure. Artemis looked over the report as he leaned back in his chair while sighing, “It's done, Camp Everfree is safe.” Crystal Heart spoke over the comm, “I’ve been informed by the Echo Squadron of the outcome as well.” She paused for a moment before continuing, “They've also found it.” Artemis smiled, “The real one or the decoy?” Crystal Heart chuckled, “They have the real one that you left with the guardian of the forest.” “Lucy? She was a very curious one, but I did save her life and brought her to the forest many years ago.” Crystal Heart stated, “You're like a father to her, Artemis.” Artemis nodded, “And I’m happy about that.” After he was done reminiscing, he typed in a few commands on his computer as he asked, “So like it or not, Spike’s journey for the Mystic Shards has begun.”  “It has and I have also imputed the Reactivation Code for your Outposts - Starting with Outpost Alpha at the camp.” “They have quite the surprise in store for them. But I also came across an update on those specs that I ‘borrowed’ from Rich Industries - there was more than just planes.” He sent the updated specs to Crystal Heart as her voice from curious to shocked, “T-that's impossible! I thought that thing was sent to the bottom of the ocean along with the psycho of a captain!?” The eyes beneath Artemis’ hood were serious, “Apparently there was a second one and Rich Industries has it.” “We need to get this information to the Squadron!” Artemis looked sad as he realized that he's going to be sending them out of the frying pan and into the fire. He shook his head, “Let's give them some R&R first. They've been through a lot today. I'm currently planning a strategy for the mission and I’ll let you know the perfect opportunity to strike, but I going to have Omega Squadron take part in it as well.” “I’m still concerned about the whole thing, Strykore returning, Disciples receiving weapons and manpower and those documents regarding those six prototype planes and...that boat. You've been in hiding for years and you’ve already gotten a reputation for heists and harassment ops on Filthy's labs.” “Anything that could bring me closer to seeing my family.” Crystal Heart sighed, “At some point, you should contact her, let her know that you're okay.” Artemis glanced again at the ring on his finger and at the picture of a certain principal, “With Malefor starting a new war back home and Strykore working to return from his prison, we need to stay vigilant.”  He whispered to the picture, “Our children will find a way, my love.” Back at Camp Everfree, Spike was walking past the group that were currently unloading most of the Gyrocopters and Spy’s B-66 bomber upon discovering the existence of an underground outpost which also included a runway for planes to takeoff and land. The runway extended out to the outskirts of the camp which meant that it was safe from prying eyes and thanks to Dro’s examination of the outpost’s data core, he discovered that there were more outposts activating along with a map of their locations. But that's beside the point, Spike walked up to the director’s cabin with the green Mystic Shard in hand. Upon approaching the door, he knocked on the door as he heard Gloriosa speak, “Come in.” Upon hearing this, he opened the door to find Gloriosa sitting in the middle of the room facing the other end, she was cross legged, her shoes were off to the side and she was wearing a Camp Everfree shirt and underwear. Spike’s face went red as he saw this and asked, “Gloriosa, is this a bad time?” She turned her head to him and answered, “No, I usually do meditations like this after a hard day. But I guess you're not here to talk about my habits.” “No, I want to talk about what happened back there. What you went through under the influence of the darkness and the scene of Celestia giving birth.” She sighed and gestured to him to come to her. He walked over to where she was and sat next to her. He gave her a moment to gather her thoughts as he took notice of a few things on her. For starters, she didn't have any flowers that usually darted her hair, her usual cheery look was replaced with regret and sadness, most likely over what she did. It was only about three minutes until he asked, “How are you feeling?” The director sighed, “I feel terrible, Spike. I almost destroyed the camp, almost killed my friends, my brother and I almost made you kill Lemon.” “That wasn't you, Gloriosa! That was the darkness controlling your body into doing what it wants to do.” The director thought about it again as tears began to form in her eyes, she calmed down when Spike placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a comforting smile. It was soon after she calmed down that he asked, “How did you break through the darkness’ control?” She remembered when that happened after the faux Mystic Shard was revealed, “I thought back to six years ago when Timber and I would go on adventures with a friend of ours…” “I’ve seen enough to know who you’re talking about.” Gloriosa nodded and continued, “The three of us would basically be around each other all the time, he was good at archery, curious about most things and would eye a particular group of six, since he had the ability to read people.” The Trap Ranger was very curious about the boy from his flashes, he had three flashes so far and the way she described him was very familiar to him. If he was having these memories of a former camper - could this be clues to his past? The director had a sad smile as she thought back to one favorable memory of her friend. “There was one thing that we would love doing…” She caressed an armband that had an emerald gemstone as the centerpiece, “We would listen to a song called, ‘The Journey Home’ it was only me and him, listening to the calm and peacefulness of that song made me feel safe with him. It's also the time I taught him how to dance with a partner since we did a slow dance lesson.” Spike felt something play in his mind as he remembered that song, “The Journey Home was in my playlist that I keep in my room back on the ship. Sometimes I would play it when I would go flying in the Talon since the lyrics mention peace and flight.” The director, remembering the song and how she and her friend would slow dance, silently sang, “Thoughts endless in flight…” Spike noticed and continued, “Day turns to Night…” They both sang, “Questions you ask your soul…” Gloriosa: “Which way do I go?” Spike: “How fast is too slow?” Both: “The journey has its time within us.” After singing that part of the song, Gloriosa smiled at Spike as she said, “The Journey Home is what also kept me going when I was possessed.” He nodded as she decided to change the subject, “But about the Mystic Shard, you said that you saw Celestia giving birth?” Spike had the gem in his hand as he recalled, “I was in a hospital and Celestia and Luna were there. Celestia was giving birth to her child while Luna was there to be the godmother, but there was one more person at Celestia's side - a man that she called Scorch and from the way she shouted at him - he was the father.” Gloriosa, recognizing who that was, spoke, “That man you saw in that memory, was Scorch Dragonfire, he was a very talented magic user that my grandparents knew. But he was always secretive about his personal life, no one actually knows where he came from. But from what you saw in there, he and Celestia were married at some point, but he disappeared 16 years ago and no one's heard of him since.” Spike asked, “When I was a dog, I remember that Celestia had no children of her own until after the Battle of CHS where she adopted Dro and Spy while Luna adopted Ter and Camo. Do you think Scorch took the baby with him when he disappeared?” Gloriosa thought about it for a moment and said, “It is possible.” Spike also told her about the image of Celestia kneeling next to an injured man - he figured that it was Scorch and they believed that it was the moment when the two met. But parts of the memories were still incomplete, there were clues to figuring out who Spike is and why he can't remember anything beyond his life as a dog up until the Defense of Equestria Shores. But the voice in the gem told him one thing to do about his memories, “The only way I can get the secrets to my past is to find the other Mystic Shards.” Gloriosa knew that he would find the others, but she also stated, “Find them before the cultists do.” She paused as she rubbed her arm as she had something planned for him. She asked, “Umm...Spike?” The Trap Ranger asked, “Yes?”  “Could you close your eyes, please. I have a surprise for you.” Spike, although feeling a bit of deja vu, closed his eyes as he waited for the surprise that she had in store for him. Although it seemed like an eternity passed before he felt a pair of lips connecting with his own as arms wrapped around his neck. Although he shouldn't, he opened his eyes and realized that Gloriosa was kissing him on the lips. That shock caused him to lose his balance as he fell from his sitting position, taking the director with him. Now lying on his back, he eyed the armband, the emerald gemstone and that the camp director was still on top, kissing him. “The armband, Gloriosa kissing me...was she…” Soon enough, he broke the kiss as he let out a gasp while his eyes went wide. (Memory Flash) The memory was in the boy’s point of view as the closing verse of The Journey Home played in the background. His attention was at a young Gloriosa who was smiling at him with both hands interlocked. He asked, “So, how did I do?” The young girl stated, “I have to admit, you did better than before.” “Well, listening and singing to The Journey Home was one thing, but slow dancing is something that's new to me.” Gloriosa chuckled, “Well I guess I have a good student and a great friend.” The boy smiled as he rubbed the back of his head as they shared a nice laugh. Once it died down, the boy pulled something out of his pocket and held it behind his back as he asked, “Gloriosa, I...I want to give you something…” She was curious, “Oh?” He brought out the object and it was revealed to be purple armband, studded with daisy-colored spots with an emerald gemstone as the centerpiece, “I made this in Arts and Crafts today, the emerald was from the hidden cave and I thought of how much of a good friend you were.” She gently took the armband and wore it as she felt touched by it. “I...I don't even know what to say, but that's very nice of you.” The boy was a bit relieved that it turned out okay, but he felt himself heat up when she kissed him on the cheek. Before the flash ended, she said, “Thank you so much for the armband...Spike.” (Camp Everfree Director’s Cabin) Spike’s eyes widened even more as he shot up, gasping for air and thinking over what had happened and what he just heard. The fact that he heard his name being spoken in the memory pretty much confirms that he had a past at Camp Everfree. He noticed Gloriosa looking at him in shock, but for some reason, she expected this reaction from him as he put the pieces of the flashes together and silently asked, “I’m your childhood friend?” The director was silent as he repeated, “I am your childhood friend, aren't I?” Gloriosa didn't say anything, but she removed the armband and showed it to Spike as his eyes focused on the inside of the band, which was writing that read, “Our Eternal Friendship -Spike.” He looked up at Gloriosa again as he asked, “I...I don't know what to think of. It's all a blur...I mean, now I know that I went to the camp as a boy...I know now that I wasn't born a dog, but what am I!?” Gloriosa stated, “I know it's hard to take in, but the Mystic Shards will show you the way to your past.” “I don't understand.” She stated as she took hold and raised Spike's arm that was holding the gem as she placed her hand on it, “Each Mystic Shard has the power to guide the user to the next and imprint the location of the next shard in the user’s mind.” Spike, knowing this, took a deep breath and and closed his eyes as he felt the gem’s power as a voice spoke, “Search the far island, Which once held criminals, There the blush will lead, To the shard, that sleeps.” Soon enough, he saw images of a penal island, someone held against their will and a blue Mystic Shard appearing. Afterwards, he opened his eyes as he gave out a sigh of relief, knowing that it was over. After that, he asked the director, “So, why did you kiss me like that?” Gloriosa smiled as her cheeks went red as a tomato as she answered, “I’ve waited six years to do that.”. Meanwhile at Outpost Alpha, Lemon and Rarity were with the others, looking over the underground complex. The two stopped at a series of racks that held suits of power armor, similar to the one Timber used during the battle to take a closer look at them. It wasn't until both girls felt a tingling sensation in the back of their heads. Rarity felt this feeling before when Lemon started moving in on Spike and now both their ‘Spikey Wikey Senses’ are tingling. But this time, they felt Spike’s shock and surprise when they sensed the lips of the camp director against his own. Lemon asked, “Do you feel it, too?” Rarity agreed, “Yes, darling and I think we may have a new Romantic Rival.”