//------------------------------//
// Past & Present 
// Story: A Hoof In Two Worlds 
// by Raven Smite 
//------------------------------//


I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry!!!! *Bows deeply and apologetically* I’ve been so swamped lately, that finding time for this story was a challenge in its own right! My entire summer turned against me, so this was all I could produce. Hopefully you will enjoy this chapter, and the 23k words that I put into it. ENJOY!!!

I do not claim any rights to MLP or any references made within my story. Those go to Hasbro and the respective owners of each thing.

A Hoof In Two Worlds
‘Past & Present’



“Hey, lover boy,” came a familiar voice, followed by something prodding Tory in the side. “Wake up! It’s one thing to sleep and dream, but it’s another to dream ABOUT sleeping!”

Feeling another prodding in his side, Tory slowly opened his eyes. He raised his head, and looked around. He noted that he was back within the Cloister of Love’s last room, where the statue resided. Moving into a sitting position, the human saw his alicorn counterpart standing there, a playful gleam in his eyes.

“Hey Tails,” Tory greeted him with a smile. “Last night was fun, huh?”

Last night… Wow, there were not enough words in all of existence to describe how great it had been! Tory had gotten to marry not just Fluttershy, but Rainbow Dash and Princess Luna too! How often can you say that you get to marry two lovely, amazing pegasi, and a just as great alicorn princess?! Then after all was said and done, Tory had that romantic little fun with his first love in the gardens! Oh boy, that right there had been something ENTIRELY different! Getting laid by Fluttershy? There were not many who could say they did that!

“Fun doesn’t really do it justice,” the dark green alicorn smiled. “Speaking of which, thanks for letting me say good-bye to Luna. It was great, getting a chance to just be beside her one last time.”

“Well, you ARE me, so technically, you’ll be spending the rest of your life with her,” Tory joked. “Besides, it only felt right, letting you two spend that little bit of time together…”

“Yeah, and while your clone was dancing with her, you and Fluttershy-”

“Okay okay!” the human cut him off. “That does not leave this mindscape, got it?”

“Yeah yeah,” Two-Tail smiled. “Otherwise you’ll fight me again, am I right?

“Exactly” Tory grinned back. “So uh, why did you bring me back?”

“Oh, that’s right!” Tails said suddenly. “Don’t you remember? I said you‘d be reliving more of my life tonight. We had a deal, so you don’t have a choice.”

“Yeah I know,” Tory replied dismissively. “Can you tell me a bit about what’s going to happen?”

“I can…”

“…”

“…”

“…And?” Tory asked, getting annoyed.

“What?” Two-Tail questioned, a smirk on his face.

“Really? WILL you please tell me anything you can about what I’ll be going through?” Tory tried once more, suppressing a sigh.

“Oh, of course!” the alicorn answered. His face grew serious as he looked at the human. “ Basically, you’re going to relive the last piece of my life. It’ll start off like any other day, but when night falls… Try to be quick, is the only advice I can give. I won’t give out all of the details, otherwise it wouldn’t be much fun for you. But you need to know one detail. You are going to die, that is a given. There are no ways to dodge around that one, unless of course you don’t want to exist. Just push yourself like you’ve never done before, and I’ll pull you out before your mind actually tries to kill you.”

“And if you pull me out too late?” Tory prompted.

“…You’ll die a slow and painful death.” Two-Tail answered, looking away.

“Okay then,” the human started happily. “So no pressure on either of us, eheheheheh!

“Good luck Tory,” Tails said, his horn starting to glow with magic. “You’re going to need it…”

Before the human had a chance to ask him what exactly he meant by that, the alicorn unleashed the magic he had built up, and it encased Tory within a dark green cocoon, similar to the one Luna had placed him in the first time. He wondered if Two-Tail would really pull him out in time if he was going to die. Well if he did lose his life, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about anything anymore, right?

The last thing that Tory saw was Tails looking at him with sad eyes. The magic strings of the cocoon covered his head, and his vision vanished…


I.I.I Memory Recollection 2 I.I.I


“Hey, Split Ends!” came a quiet, noble, and lovely voice. “Wake up! Come on you big oaf, get up!”

Tory’s eyes flew open, and he saw Luna, his beautiful wife looking at him. Those deep indigo eyes of hers still took his breath away, and how her lovely hair flowed endlessly just got him so worked up. Without meaning to, he leaned over and kissed her passionately. She blushed and pulled away.

“Mornin’ Luna,” Tory smiled.

“T-Tails!” she exclaimed, completely surprised. “Wh-What was that for?!”

Oh, right. He was Two-Tail right now. Not only did that mean he wasn’t married to Luna, it meant that their love had to be hidden. For a princess to love a lowly soldier was unheard of, as well as “improper” supposedly. Tory wondered if she still remembered him… He shook his head clear. He had to keep on the current topic for the time being.

“What’re you talking about?” he asked, confused. “Why is it so wrong for me to kiss you?”

“You know that I’m not allowed to be seen with you,” the dark alicorn answered sadly. “If word about you and me was to get around…”

“Shhhh,” Tory soothed, placing a hoof over her mouth. “Things happen, and they always will. If the other ponies find out, then they’ll find out. If they don’t, then I see no issues. Right now I can’t see any other ponies, so we should be fine, sharing a kiss or two.”

Luna smiled as she realized the truth behind what he was saying. She wrapped her hooves around his neck, the calming scent of violet surrounding them. She kissed him once more, and moved closer to him. Tory knew where this was going, and he was prepared. Oh, things were about to get fun! And for him, that meant twice in just a matter of hours!

“Hello, Princess Luna?” came a maid’s voice from behind the bedroom door, followed by a knocking. “Are you awake yet?”

“Oh, so close!” Tory and Luna thought at the same time.

“Just… Just a minute!” the dark alicorn called back. She turned to the human/alicorn, and motion towards the window. She lowered her voice as she spoke. “Quick, jump out the window, and fly down to the gardens! I’ll meet you there in a bit!”

Reluctantly, Tory did as she said. Now that was unfair! It was ALWAYS right when things were at their best that someone had to ruin it! The human/alicorn quietly opened Luna’s bedroom window, and extended his wings. They reached out a bit shorter than he remembered, but then again, he was comparing pegasus wings to his angel wings. Praying that it wouldn’t affect his flying any, Tory jumped out, and held his wings open. Since he was going towards the gardens, he didn’t have to actually fly. He could just glide down towards them, and land gently on the soft grass.

As the human/alicorn landed, he let his mind wander. He started by thinking about then ‘when’ of Two-Tail’s memories that he had been sucked into. Luna looked taller by a decent amount, she now had her cutie mark, and her voice had gained some of that alluring nobility Tory found irresistible, so he figured it had to have been maybe a few years? That was shocking to know! The last time he’d been in Tails’ body had only been like three days ago!

“Time sure flies when you’re getting married,” he commented with a laugh.

“Who’s married?” came a lovely voice behind him.

“Oh, just me, and you…” Tory answered, turning to see Luna walking up to him.

“Us, married?!” she exclaimed, a blush on her face. “B-But that can’t be right! Such an event could never be hidden! And surely I’d remember it!”

“Heheheh, yeah, you would, if it had happened already,” the human/alicorn replied, looking up at the pale sky, which still was dark as Celestia let the sun rise slowly. “I’m surprised you haven’t caught on yet.”

“Caught onto what?” Luna asked, confused. She looked at him for a moment before she realized what he was talking about. Rapidly, she forced him against a tree and held him in place. “You! You’re not Split Ends! Who are you?!”

“Easy now Luna,” Tory soothed quietly. “We can’t attract attention, remember? And honestly, I’m kind of hurt! You already forgot about me, even though we shared such a beautiful first date? If I recall, it started off just like this too! Heheheh…”

“Wha…” the dark alicorn trailed off, thinking. She kept her hold on him though, making the silence awkward. Finally, she seemed to remember just who he was, and blushed lightly. “YOU! Oh m-my, I’m, SO sorry! I completely forgot, it’s been so long!”

“Don’t sweat it,” Tory smiled at her. “Glad to see that our time together wasn’t forgotten. But let me ask you this. Can you remember my name?”

“It was…” Luna started once more. “It was… Terry, right?”

“Oh, so close!” the human/alicorn laughed. “Nah, it was Tory! You were close though, so you get a consolation prize! A nice long kiss!”

Before the dark alicorn had a chance to react, Tory leaned in, and locked lips with her. He let all of his love for her seep into it, and wrapped his hooves around her waist. Luna’s eyes widened for a second, but then she leaned into him. They stayed like that for a few seconds before Tory pulled back.

“How was that for a consolation prize?” he laughed.

“Oh my,” Luna blushed. “If that was a consolation, what was the prize if I got it right?”

Tory leaned over and whispered something EXTREMELY inappropriate to her. She blushed a super deep red, and the human/alicorn chuckled lightly to himself. Luna backed up, letting him fall to the ground. As he got up, he looked around. He saw the place where he and Fluttershy had shared that romantic moment before, and grinned.

“Y-You wouldn’t have actually done that, would you?” Luna asked him, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

“You and I were just about to do something similar not even five minutes ago,” he laughed. “But no, not exactly THAT! I just wanted to mess with you a bit!”

“Grrr, you big meanie!” she growled playfully. She quickly tackled him to the ground, and wrestled around with him. “I’ll show you!”

“Hey!” Tory complained as a hoof hit him in the back of the head. “Easy there! I’m not invincible you know!”

“Oh, sorry,” she said, embarrassed as she got off of him. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s alright,” he smiled at her. “It feels good to actually play around, am I right? I bet Celestia makes you do all sorts of boring work.”

“Yes, but she means well,” Luna defended calmly. “Tia just wants to make sure I grow up into a responsible Princess.”

“I think you’ll do fine,” Tory told her, thinking about his lovely wife in his lifetime. She did a good enough job, he thought. “I have no doubt about that.”

“…Hey!” came a gruff voice that Tory was becoming familiar with. “Two-Tail, show some respect and bow before your princess!”

A smack hit the human/alicorn in the back of the head, and his face suddenly tasted dirt. Getting up, he turned to see Master Katsu glaring at him. His red eyes were showing an intensity that Tory wasn’t familiar with though. It wasn’t murderous, like with Discord, but it wasn’t playful, like he was used to seeing from almost everypony.

“Get your flank off the ground and get into the training room!” the older alicorn barked. “Just because you’re the third in command of Equestria’s army, and the personal bodyguard of Luna doesn’t mean you get to skip out on training!”

“Yes…Master,” Tory lowered his head. He turned back to his… I guess right now it is ‘secret marefriend’… and smiled. “I shall be back, Princess Luna.”

“Very well then,” she winked at him while Katsu had his back to her. “I shall tend to my duties, and await your return.”

Katsu shoved the young alicorn/human with his broken horn, causing a dull pain to arc through his flank. Eventually, the two made it up the many flights of stairs and through the maze of corridors into the training room. Master Katsu shoved him once more, and barked out his first set of instructions.

“Okay lover colt,” he started. “Enough focusing on your secret love. Show me your feints!”

“H-How is it that you know?” Tory asked, surprised.

“Remember, you kind of told me after the first day,” Katsu sighed, getting annoyed. “I figured it out after she made you her personal guard. Now focus and start feinting!”

Tory took an active stance, with his hooves spread out, and charged at the older alicorn. He weaved left and right, like he’d seen the real Two-Tail do in their sparring match. He moved left, right, left again, then ri-nope he’s on the left! Katsu just stood there, his eyes following the human/alicorn carefully. Tory had the feeling his attempts to deceive weren’t working, and quickly jumped as he came within attacking range of his master.

The alicorn’s eyes widened as his pupil came down on top of him. Tory quickly planted his hooves on the older one’s chest, pinning him to the floor. He reached down, and acted like he was biting into Katsu’s neck. Really, it was instinct now, being kept in check though.

“Guh,” Katsu mumbled. “Not… Not bad Tails, you’re getting better. That was a good feint.”

“Actually, I hadn’t intended to jump,” Tory admitted, getting off him. “I only did it because I felt my weaving wasn’t working.”

“Even better!” his master smiled. “You improvised when you thought your original tactic was failing! Maybe we can turn you into a decent fighter yet!”

“Right!” the human/alicorn smiled. “Then let’s continue training!”


I.I.I Memory Recollection 2 (Break) Returning to current time period I.I.I


Raven Smite smiled as he happily flew through the clouds. He was on his way to Ponyville, to go see his new marefriend, Derpy Hooves, or Ditzy Doo as he preferred to call her. After that wedding the previous day, he and she had spent a good amount of together. He was feeling confident about this relationship.

Most of his attempts to form a stable love life had always been interrupted by his job, which pulled him away from whatever pony he was with at the time. He was called into work so often, that most of the mares he dated broke it off with him within two months, saying that he didn’t give them enough attention. He wanted to, but his job was VERY important, and if he wasn’t there, then the pegasi generals would end up losing over half of their aerial forces. They were THAT incompetent!

[You should just tell them to take a hike, and get some action for yourself!] came a heavy, violent voice inside Raven’s head. [Who cares what happens to Equestria?!]

<That is not how Master Raven behaves,> came a calm, softer voice. <He knows that his role in protecting an entire country is important, and will place his duties before his love life. If those mares cannot accept that, then they are of no consequence.>

Oh yeah, Raven had multiple personalities. There was Steel, the insane and really violent one. He was idiotic, slightly psychotic, and always trying to get the pegasus to do something stupid. One time he almost convinced his host to climb a fifty foot rock wall without ropes! He lived in the right side of Raven’s mind, and whenever he talked, that respective eye would twitch.

Then there was Cold, the calming one. He always thought before he acted, and kept things organized. He was the thinker out of all three of them. He kept Steel in check, and pulled up memories whenever Raven asked. Cold lived in Raven’s mind, on the left side, and made that eye twitch whenever he talked too.

“While Cold is right, I also want a successful love life,” Raven told them. “Which is why I’m still trying to have a marefriend. Now, will you both please keep quiet and let me go about with Ditzy in peace?”

[Yeah yeah,] Steel said dismissively. [I won‘t bother your little date! Just try to get some action already!]

<How uncouth!> Cold rebuked the violent persona. <Do not worry Master Raven, I will make sure he stays silent for the duration.>

“Good,” the auburn pegasus smiled as he landed in the gardens of a cloud home. He walked up to the door and knocked lightly. “I want to keep Ditzy as my marefriend. She’s been better than all of the others combined.”

The familiar gray-ish pegasus opened the door, and Raven smiled at her. She blushed a bit, and invited him inside. He walked over to her couch, and took a seat. Ditzy quickly dashed into another room, and came back with a small box that was wrapped in decorative paper.

“Here, it’s a little gift,” she smiled at him. “I thought you might like it.”

“Anything from you is the perfect gift,” he grinned back. “Everypony would have to be crazy to not see that.”

“Please, stop,” she blushed. “You say such nice things. But I…”

“What? You don’t deserve them?” Raven looked at her carefully. “Is something troubling you?”

“I just… never had a coltfriend before,” she admitted, turning away. “Most guys just… keep away from me.”

“I don’t see why,” he smiled at her, getting up. The auburn pegasus spread a wing and placed it over Ditzy. “You’re pretty great in my opinion. I’ve had a few other marefriends before, but they weren’t as nice or as fun as you. I think that those others that try to keep away are blind if they can’t see that you’re really amazing.”

The gray-ish pegasus blushed deeper, and looked at him. Her amber eyes were shining, both with tears and joy. Raven did the only thing that seemed appropriate for the moment… he kissed her. He leaned in and just gave her a light kiss on the lips. As he pulled back, he saw Ditzy with the deepest blush he’d ever seen.

“That was… my first kiss,” she whispered, placing a hoof on her lips.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Raven apologized. “I hope I wasn’t to forward…”

“No!” she told him quickly. “I was just surprised! It’s fine…really.”

Ditzy looked at him with those gentle eyes of hers, and rested her head on his shoulder. Raven led the gray-ish pegasus over to the couch, and had her take a seat. As he placed himself beside her, she handed the still wrapped gift to him. He grinned, and slowly opened the present, enjoying every moment that he was spending with his marefriend.

Inside the box was a little necklace, two metal dog tags really. One held his name on it, and the other had his cutie mark, both were engraved into their respective tags. They looked a little rough, but still pretty detailed. It must’ve been done by hoof, and it probably took a large amount of time.

“I spent a lot of time making it,” Ditzy said, smiling. “I hope you like it.”

“Like it?” he asked incredulously, placing the tags over his head and around his neck. “I LOVE IT! Nopony has ever done something this fantastic! I’ve only known you for two days now, and already you’ve done something so much more incredible than anything any other mare I’ve met has done!”

“Yay,” the gray-ish pegasus squeed quietly. “I’m so happy!”

“This has been the highlight of my whole love life,” Raven smiled at her. “Honestly… I think I might be in love…”

“…I…I…” Ditzy stammered, blushing and turning away. The auburn pegasus scooted closer to her and rested a hoof on her shoulder. She looked at him, her eyes watering up. “I think… maybe… I am too…”

Now it was Raven’s turn to look away, his already red face hiding his slight blush. Ditzy giggled, and threw her hooves around him, pulling the auburn pegasus into a hug. He leaned into her, and sniffed the buttercup scent in her mane. It was the most intoxicating aroma he’d ever smelled.

“…C’mon,” he grinned, getting off his flank. “I believe it’s time for our date.”

“…Yes,” she smiled back. “Let’s go!”


I.I.I


Raven Smite and Ditzy Doo walked through Canterlot, a park more specifically heading towards a restaurant that the auburn pegasus frequented about once every two weeks. It was a high class place, where even the deepest of wallets could be burned through. The only reason he was able to visit this place and not end up broke was because his job cut all bills down to about a third of what it was supposed to be. That meant he could actually eat here twice a week, and still have enough to take care of himself.

“I think you’ll like this place,” Raven was telling Ditzy. “These ponies really know how to make a good meal.”

“If it’s with you, I’m happy,” she smiled at him.

The auburn pegasus blushed, turned away, and noticed something in the distance. It looked like a giant wooden block, quickly moving in their direction. Squinting his eyes, Raven was able to make out a few details on the object. He saw four wheels, and a door, which meant that it must be a carriage, a shoddy one at that. If he recalled, there weren‘t many that traveled so badly. In fact… Oh snap!

Without realizing it, the large wooden missile had come within crushing range of the two pegasi. Instinctively, Raven grabbed Ditzy, and jumped to the side, just in time as the carriage wheeled right past where they’d been not even two seconds ago. The worn out, wooden behemoth began to slow down, finally stopping about eighty feet from where the two lovers were just getting up from their near death encounter.

“What is that?” Ditzy asked, shaking some grass out of her mane.

“…I think it’s everyone’s least favorite unicorn,” Raven sighed. “C’mon, let’s get going before we’re dragged into this.”

“Dragged into what?” came the gray-ish pegasus’ obvious question.

“COME ONE, COME ALL!!” cried out an annoyingly familiar voice to the pegasi lieutenant. “COME SEE THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE PERFORM TRICKS THAT YOU COULD ONLY DREAM OF!!!”

“…Dragged into her show,” Raven glared at the blue unicorn show-off. “If we leave now, we might be able to avoid being seen.”

Just as he said that, Trixie turned towards them. She smirked evilly, and picked the two of them up with her magic. Ditzy tried to struggle out of her hold, but she only succeeded in exhausting herself. The magic user deposited them hard on the ground, that smug expression on her face.

“Well well well,” Trixie laughed, looking at them. “If it isn’t Raven Smite! Trixie knew you’d be crawling back one day! All colts do, when they see ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie’ coming!”

“Hmph,” Raven snorted. “Still haven’t fixed that arrogance of your’s huh? I’m not back for you, I’m here with the best thing I’ve ever known to happen to me, even better than when I left YOU anyways!”

“P-Please stop,” Ditzy blushed. “I’m not… that special…”

“To me you are,” he smiled softly at her.

“Well Trixie NEVER!” Trixie huffed. “You dare to bring a peasant girl before the ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’?!”

“Still so full of yourself,” the auburn pegasus shook his head. “You forget your place! If I can see clearly, your ‘carriage’, if it can be called that, is a piece of junk! The walls are falling apart, the roof is littered with holes, and the wheels look like they’re about to shatter under the weight of all the trash you keep inside there. If anyone has ever been a peasant, it’s you Trixie!”

“R-Raven, can we go?” Ditzy asked, feeling the negative vibes her coltfriend was exuding.

“Of course,” he soothed, his eyes softening as they looked at the beautiful pegasus. “Anything you want.”

“You dare to walk away from Trixie?!” the blue unicorn asked incredulously, watching the two of them turn and leave. “Such insolence!”

Without warning, she picked the two of them up with her magic, and dragged them back to her. She held the duo in place, her eyes flaring angrily. Ditzy was scared, not from intimidation, but for the fact that their date was being ruined by such a mean pony! Raven, on the other hand, was starting to get angry, much for the same reason.

“Look Trixie,” he began, spreading his wings and puffing out his chest. “Things ended between us LONG ago! I wasn’t interested after that first week, and you were seriously starting to get on my nerves, like you’re doing right now! I’m with Ditzy, and there is nothing you can do about that! Now I suggest putting us down before I let my rank as Lieutenant take over, and arrest you for disturbing the peace, misuse of magic…” Raven stopped, sniffing the air, and turned his head towards Trixie‘s wooden death trap. “Do I smell narcotics in your carriage? I can arrest you for possession and driving under the influence right now! Let us go, and I MIGHT consider turning my head away.”

“Are you threatening Trixie?” the blue unicorn questioned. “Stupid little colt! Trixie cares not who you are! Trixie will do as she pleases!”

To prove her point, she used her magic, and slammed Raven into the ground. As he was raised back into the air, he gasped, feeling something in his back snap out of place. Ditzy looked at him, saw the pain in his eyes, and started to cry. Was all of this anger and violence really necessary?

“Why are you so mean?!” she asked Trixie. “We never did anything to you! We just want to go on our date!”

“Oh, on a date are you?” the blue unicorn sneered. “I’m SO sorry! Let Trixie make it up to you by getting rid of this horrid colt!”

Using her magic, Trixie lowered Ditzy to the ground slowly, released her, then proceeded to smash Raven into a tree. His cries of pain struck the gray pegasus down to her core. With a snort, she rushed the blue unicorn, and began to pummel her into the dirt, not full force, but enough to hopefully discourage Trixie.

“LEAVE MY COLTFRIEND ALONE!!!” Ditzy shouted in between punches.

“GET OFF OF TRIXIE!” the magic user retorted, forcing the pegasus back and into another tree. But when she did that, she forgot about Raven, who had just seen what happened.

“DITZY!” he cried out, rage engulfing all of his other emotions. He glared at Trixie, and spoke softly. “Nopony hurts my girl!”

“HOLD IT!” came a familiar voice from the side. The pegasus and unicorn turned to see Twilight Sparkle and Fantasia standing there, anger on their faces.

“Ah, Trixie’s least favorite pony!” the blue unicorn sneered. “Why are you here Twilight?”

She spat out that name like it was the most disgusting thing she’d ever heard. The purple unicorn stepped forward, getting beside her friend. Raven gave her a grateful smile, and quickly dashed over to his marefriend. Fantasia stepped forward, and glared at Trixie.

“…Hello, sister!” the white unicorn hissed. “What are you doing in Canterlot?”

“…Fantasia,” Trixie growled. “Trixie thought you had stayed behind in that backwater town!”

“I did, until Princess Luna found me,” she countered. “I’m being trained in the ways of GOOD magic by her! What are you doing? Still going around and robbing people of their bits blind?”

“You two are related?!” Twilight asked, looking between them.

“Hush yourself!” Trixie snapped. “This is a family matter, and we do not need amateurish ponies intervening!”

“Twilight can be here if she wants!” Fantasia responded, stepping forward. “Besides, it’s not just about family! Not when you hurt our friends!”

“They are of no consequence to Trixie,” the blue unicorn dismissed them. “But you two are. Trixie should punish you both here and now!”

At this point, a large crowd had formed around these ponies. The blue magic user sneered, and walked over to her carriage, where she pressed a button and it started to change. The roof and wall detached from one side, and uncurled itself, making what looked like a stage. The items within were revealed, showing what looked like many props, a few personal items, such as a bed and mirror, and a sign that said ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie’. All of these things were in different shades of blue that were similar to their owner’s color.

“What better way to defeat you than on a stage in front of a large audience?” she laughed. “Oh, Trixie is going to enjoy this!”

“You have issues,” Fantasia commented, shaking her head. “Twilight, what do you think about all this?”

“…I can’t believe how long she holds a grudge,” the purple unicorn sighed.

“You‘ve met my sister before?” the white one asked.

“Unfortunately,” Twilight nodded. “She was showing off in Ponyville one day, and after two little fillies brought an Ursa Minor into town -because your sister was gloating about how she could defeat an Ursa Major- she was proved to be a fraud. I ended up solving the crisis by using my own magic to lull the creature back to sleep.”

“You DARE to bring that up, now of all times?!” Trixie shouted. “Twilight Sparkle, your defeat shall be slow and horrifying!”

“Ditzy, please wake up!” Raven called, grabbing everypony’s attention. His eyes were brimming with tears. “Twilight, I can’t get her to open her eyes!”

“Hmph! Servers her right,” the blue unicorn huffed. “She had the audacity to touch Trixie! She gets what she deserves!”

“Grrrr!” the auburn pegasus snarled, scraping a hoof along the ground. His eyes flashed, The right one red and the left one black. “I’m going to rip your head off! NOPONY HURTS DITZY!!!”

“Raven, don’t!” Twilight stopped him, using her magic to hold his hooves in place. “This isn’t the time, or the place!”

“LET ME GO!!” he roared, struggling within her magical hold. “I REFUSE TO LET ANYONE GET AWAY WITH HURTING MY MAREFRIEND!!!”

“Such tripe!” Trixie laughed. “She was weak, and so are you! Trixie doesn’t know what she saw in you!”

“GRRR!!! STOP TALKING IN THIRD PERSON!!!” Raven raged on. “THAT IS SO ANNOYING!!!”

“Twilight, can I ask you to do something?” Fantasia broke in. She continued when the purple unicorn nodded. “Please take Raven and Ditzy to the nearest hospital. I think there is one a short distance down the road. I’ll stay here and handle my sister!”

“YOU handle TRIXIE?!” the blue magic user scoffed. “It seems being the apprentice to a weak alicorn has gone to your head!”

Before anypony had a chance to intervene, Twilight teleported herself and the two pegasi away from the clearing. The crowd that had formed closed around the two sisters, waiting to see what would happen. Fantasia glared at the blue unicorn, her eyes showing all anger that had been accumulated over the years.

“Sister, I’ve been waiting for this day,” Fantasia growled. “Ever since you left me for dead in the Everfree forest, I’ve walked a lonely and hard road. Now, I’ve been given friends, family, and a purpose! You will NOT hurt anypony close to me, and I will make you regret all of your actions up until this point!”

“Come at Trixie then,” the show-off taunted. “Or are you all bark and no bite?”

In response, Fantasia activated her magic, and ripped off some of the curtains on the stage. She wrapped them around her sister, mummifying her so tightly, most would think she was suffocating inside the fabric. But Trixie released herself with her own magic, and tripped up the white unicorn by hog-tying her hooves together. She laughed at her sister struggled free.

“Just as Trixie thought,” she gloated. “A weak master makes for a weak apprentice!”

“Don’t you DARE call Teacher weak!” Fantasia snarled.

She managed to untangle herself, and discarded the curtain. With a glare, her horn glowed brightly, and so did the entire stage. With a groan, Fantasia lifted the whole carriage into the air, and broke it into small pieces. Shards of wood flew down over Trixie and covered her until she was neck deep in the stuff.

Once more, the blue unicorn’s horn glowed, and the wood flew off in all directions, spraying the entire crowd. Some cried out in protest, other retreated to a good distance. Either way, the ring around the two sisters grew larger. Now it was deathly silent in the clearing. A gentle breeze blew, causing Trixie’s mane to get in her eyes. As she used a hoof to brush it away, she closed her eyes. When she opened them, Fantasia was gone. She smirked, thinking that the pony had been scared off. Just as she did though, she was lifted into the air, a white glow surrounding her, and she knew that her sister had only dashed around her.

With a heave, Fantasia slammed Trixie into the ground. She focused her magic around the blue unicorn’s hooves, and began to pull in four separate directions. The show-off began to scream in agony, her limbs slowly being ripped out of their sockets.

Now Fantasia wasn’t normally like this. She preferred to keep out of the way. But after everything she’d seen and heard, a strong rage had consumed all love that had remained for her sister. There was only the anger that had accumulated over the years, released when her friends had been hurt and insulted. Now, Trixie was no longer her sister, just another pony that should be hated!

“S-Sister, stop!” Trixie begged.

“Why should I?” Fantasia snarled. “You never stopped! You ditched your own flesh and blood in a deadly forest because her magic wasn’t ‘good enough’! You ripped off pony after pony with your performances and lies! You insulted my Teacher, and HURT. MY. FRIENDS!!!”

The white unicorn pulled tighter, forcing Trixie to scream so loudly, it pierced the eardrums of most ponies in the clearing. But still, Fantasia didn’t let up. Her rage was practically engulfing her, the only shred of her former self that was showing were her eyes, which were understandably filled with remorse. After another minute of seeing her sister in such pain, Fantasia finally gave in to her passiveness. She dropped her magic, letting Trixie collapse on the ground, who promptly curled up into a ball.

“…I’m done here,” Fantasia finally said, turning away. She took a few steps, and then looked at the crowd. “Everypony, I’m sorry that you had to see this. Please, forgive me. As for Trixie, I’d recommend dismissing her from this great city, or it may become tainted, like her.”

Just as the crowd parted for her, Fantasia was lifted up, and dragged back towards the center. She managed to turn around, and was promptly greeted with an enraged Trixie! The blue unicorn snorted, and her eyes flashed red for a second. Her horn glowed darker, and so did the glow around the white unicorn. She was lifted high into the air at a speed that could rival Rainbow Dash on a good day, to a point where most pegasi had difficulty reaching. The magic around her stopped, and Fantasia began to plummet towards the earth.

On the ground, Trixie had grabbed many of the wooden shards from her carriage. She levitated them with her magic, and pushed them together, creating a large, and very deadly spike. Some of the crowd gasped, realizing what the blue unicorn had planned. She wanted to kill Fantasia! A few of the more bold ponies charged at the wooden object, trying to break it apart with punches and kicks. Trixie simply pushed them back with her magic.

“None will get in the way of Trixie’s rage!” she shouted triumphantly.

Some of the pegasi watching gathered up the courage to try and save Fantasia from her fall. They flew up after her, but the ones closest were hit, the white unicorn falling to fast to catch. The ponies farther back had to stop and save the others that they could. That meant everything they tried was useless.

“She will die, and soon Twilight will follow her!” Trixie laughed.

“NOT ON OUR WATCH!!”

The blue unicorn turned to see Twilight Sparkle standing there. She glared at Trixie, and her horn glowed purple. The spike that had been built started to crumble, returning to the small shards of wood they had once been. Then the purple unicorn raised her head to the skies, followed by the other watchers. They saw a red blur diving towards Fantasia. It was Raven!

He was slowly catching up with her, his red and yellow spiked mane whipping like crazy as he gained speed. His auburn wings were slicing through the gusts that buffeted him, slicing the wind resistance to near nothing. The crowd watched in silence as he closed in on Fantasia, the two of them rapidly approaching the ground.

“Almost…there!” Raven shouted over the winds, reaching out for the unicorn. “Just… a little… more!”

Fantasia heard him over the winds, and looked in his direction. Her eyes lit up when she saw who it was, and reached out for him. The two were nearly at the ground, just a couple hundred feet left. Some of the crowd turned away, afraid of what they’d see. Raven pushed himself as hard as he would go, and managed to grab a hold of Fantasia. He pulled up as hard as he could, just barely missing the ground with his friend in his hooves.

The crowd gave a cheer of joy as the two of them touched down. Fantasia shook her mane, glad to be on the ground and still alive. Another second, and she would’ve been a pancake! As the roar died down, everypony turned to glare at Trixie, who looked absolutely furious!

“You three are a constant thorn in Trixie’s side!” she snarled. “She should be rid of you! For now, Trixie will make her escape!”

The blue unicorn turned around, made a puff of smoke that covered the clearing, and was gone. A few of the ponies in the crowd began to look for her, not finding a single trace. Twilight turned to her friends, and gave a sigh of relief. She trotted over, and smiled at them. It looks like the worst kind of trouble had been avoided.

“That…was close!” Raven gasped, trying to get his breath back. “Way… too close!”

“Th-Thanks,” Fantasia smiled at him. “I owe you.”

“Don’t worry… about it,” he grinned back. “Anything… for a friend!”

“But that Trixie!” Twilight growled. “I thought she was bad before! How low can you get, trying to kill your own sister?”

“It’s not the first time really,” the white unicorn shrugged. “She ditched me in the Everfree forest years ago!”

‘What?!” Raven and Twilight asked, incredulous.

“It’s a long story,” Fantasia started. “Let’s go somewhere more private first.”

“The hospital, where Ditzy is,” Raven suggested. “I don’t want to be away from her for too long.”

The three ponies began to walk back to where their friend was. There were some things that needed to be explained, and that was just what was about to happen…


I.I.I Memory Recollection 2: Returning to previous time period I.I.I


Night had finally fallen, and Tory walked through the halls slowly. He was sore from the training, and now he was returning to his ‘post’. Basically, he was Luna’s personal guard when not learning from Katsu. It was a nice job to have in his opinion. He got to be close to his girl, and maybe even learn a few things that could be useful when he awoke from this dreamscape. The human/alicorn made his way back to the throne room, where the dark alicorn he loved was at this time.

“Hey, Tails!” came a soft voice from a side corridor. He turned to see a small pegasus, still just a filly. “Where are you going?”

“Oh hi,” Tory answered, not sure who this was. “Just getting back to my post.”

“…Are you okay?” the filly asked, looking up at him with big green eyes.

She was about half of Tory’s height, and she was a light pink, much like Fluttershy‘s mane. She had long, flowing, yellow hair that curtained behind her, sort of like Fluttershy‘s hair as well. This pony was like a reversal of his beautiful wife! Her smile was kind of contagious, and she bounced a bit. There was this familiar glow in her eyes that made the human/alicorn uncomfortable. Admiration? That sounded right. Tory was never the popular one, never. But Tails, was well known! That meant others would treat him with a certain level of respect, and evidently, admiration if they were younger.

“…Uh, my eyes are playing tricks on me,” Tory lied, raising a hoof and circling it around his eyes for emphasis. “I got hit a little too hard during training. I can’t see clearly, so, who are you?”

“Hmph!” the filly huffed. “It’s me, Butterfly! You know, your adopted daughter?”

“My WHAT?!” Tory exclaimed, forgetting that he was supposed to act like Tails.

Since when did Two-Tail get a daughter?! He forgot to mention that! That was something one usually brought up about their past. ‘Oh yeah, I saved Luna, have two tails, and oh, I’ve got a daughter! She looks like your wife!’ The human/alicorn looked at the filly carefully, and saw her starting to cry. He cursed himself for losing control, and shouting like that. While he was starting to get accustomed to these random events, there were still a few things that could make him do a double-take. This had been one of those moments.

“I’m uh sorry,” Tory apologized, stretching and placing a wing over the filly. “I told you I got hit pretty hard. It must’ve knocked all of my memories loose or something. Don’t worry Butterfly, I remember you!”

“You…You mean it?” she sniffled, looking up at him with those green eyes of hers.

“Of course,” he smiled gently at her. “So, how can your…father… help you?”

Tory wasn’t used to using that word. In fact, he had never referred to himself like that. It was weird, knowing that he had a kid, and that he was raising her. But it was also kind of cool! Tails had been kind enough to take care of this little filly by himself! That said plenty about how he changed over the years. Maybe this little pony was the reason Tory had been drawn to Fluttershy? The two were almost identical, save for the colors. If his wife had been here and a filly, it would be like looking at twins almost!

“W-Well,” she started, her voice similar to Fluttershy’s. “I’ve… found somepony…”

“…You mean you like them, right?” Tory ventured.

The little filly blushed, so much like his wife that it was scaring him. Then the human/alicorn had a thought. What if this girl was a distant ancestor of Fluttershy’s? Could Two-Tail have raised this child, who then started a family of her own, and somewhere along the line, Fluttershy was born?

“Y-Yes,” Butterfly stammered, making Tory’s beliefs more solid. “I-I m-met him… a f-few days a-ago. He was r-really nice, and…”

“You don’t have to say anymore,” the human/alicorn smiled at her. “Let me guess. You want my advice on how to do things, am I right? You want to know what to say, how to act, and everything else?” He continued when she nodded. “Well Butterfly, there is no secret to dating. You can try to act like how you think he wants you to, maybe say things you think he wants to hear, but you never know. The only thing you can do… and this is what I suggest you try before anything else… just, be, yourself.”

“B-But-”

“No no,” Tory cut her off, raising a hoof. “Trust me, if this colt is as nice as you say he is, then he’ll accept you for who you are. Just give it a try, and if things don’t work out, he wasn’t the one for you. Trust me Butterfly.”

“O-Okay,” she said quietly, so much like Fluttershy. “Th-Thank you Tails.”

“Please, call me Dad,” Tory joked, smiling at her.

“A-Alright…Daddy,” Butterfly laughed.

The small filly turned and began to trot down the corridor happily. Tory couldn’t help but smile at how cute she looked, so much like his wife. And she actually called him ‘Daddy’! He was just playing around, and she still did it! Wow, this was one heck of a memory! So much happened, in such a short day! The human/alicorn walked down the halls, much happier than when he started.

Finally he made it to the throne room, where he was to stand guard beside Luna, the most beautiful of alicorns in his eyes. Tory slowly opened the double doors, and walked in. He saw his future wife and sister-in-law…Wow, he just realized that Celestia was an In-Law! That in itself was a BIG thing!… But he saw the two of them sitting in their thrones, listening to a couple of ponies, two of each race, arguing about something. Tory walked over and sat down beside Luna.

“Sorry I’m late,” he whispered to her. “I was stopped by my daughter…Who I never knew I had!”

“Tails never told you?” the dark alicorn asked quietly. “That seems like something he should mention.”

“I thought the same thing,” Tory grinned. He turned to the six ponies arguing. “What’re they fighting about?”

“Just the war going on,” Luna sighed. “Listen for yourself.”

“I’m telling you, we have to attack them directly!” an earth pony shouted at the two pegasi. “If we strike before they have a chance to do anything, we can take this whole war before it even truly begins!”

“And I’M telling you, that will only provoke a counter offensive!” one of the unicorns yelled at him. “We should focus on shoring our defenses!”

“We shouldn’t do either of those!” a pegasus cried at them. “We should perform a sneak attack! We can cripple them and not need to build our walls!”

“And while you six argue, nothing is being done!” Luna sternly broke in. “We need to reach a decision. Sister, what do you think?”

“… I think we should send a messenger,” the white alicorn answered after a few seconds. “Anything we do that looks like we’re preparing for a fight could set off the griffons.”

“Glad somepony is using their head!” Tory thought to himself. “Of course, this is why she is the Princess. Calm, level-headed, and calculating, the best at what she does!”

“Thank you Tory,” Celestia smiled at him.

The boy nodded, and turned back to the six ponies. It took him a few seconds to realize that she had not called him ‘Tails’. When he did, the human/alicorn did a double take, and stared at the Princess. Luna was doing the same thing, having realized it a few seconds earlier. Celestia just smiled at them, her face one of knowing and understanding.

“Excuse me Generals,” she turned to them. “I must talk with my sister and her guard in private. Would you please leave us?”

“…How’d you know?” Tory asked when the six ponies left.

“It wasn’t hard to figure out,” Celestia laughed gently. “I felt a surge of magic a few years ago, but thought nothing of it. I felt the same surge earlier today, and saw Tails this morning, gliding out of your window, sister. I decided to take action, but discreetly, and well, I broke into Tory’s mind. I learned who he was, and why he was here. After that, I kept a piece of my mind within him, listening to his every thought.”

“And here I was, thinking I’d managed to…oh right. That’s in MY body!” Tory realized. “I don’t have that magic anymore…”

“…Can somepony explain things clearly?” Luna asked, looking between them.

“Tory and Tails are the same person,” the white alicorn explained. “After his death, Two-Tail was reborn in the human world. But there was still the human soul that lived within that body, and Tory was the host. He grew up with the alicorn inside him, slowly adapting his personality. The only difference is since he picked it up sooner, he was able to grow around it, and became an individual.”

“That explains the difference in the way the two of them act,” Luna nodded. “But not what he was just talking about.”

“Hey Princess,” Tory spoke up. “Is there any way I can get my human body? It feels weird like this.”

“Of course,” Celestia nodded. “It would actually be better for Luna to see the real you as well.”

Celestia stood up, and her horn glowed golden. Tory’s alicorn body started to warp a second later, his front hooves extending out and back. His spine popped loudly, and his face shrank in a bit. Luna watched in horror as the alicorn she’d known for years changed into this unusual and strange creature. It took only a minute for the actual transformation, but the silence that followed lasted what felt like an eternity.

“…Yeah,” Tory nodded, realizing that he was completely nude. “…This is awkward.”

“Oh my,” Celestia blushed, realizing what was wrong. “My apologies.”

Her horn glowed once more, and the clothes the boy had worn to bed after his fun with his lover appeared. He cast a grateful look at the white alicorn, and turned to his wife. He smiled at her, and took a seat on the floor, crossing his now human legs. Luna continued to stare at him, her mouth gaping.

“…I know I’m different physically,” the boy started. “But I’m still Tory. This is just what I really look like.”

“…I…” the dark alicorn whispered.

“…Hey Celestia,” Tory smiled at her. “Does this count as you trolling on her?”

“No it doesn’t,” the white alicorn laughed. “But maybe it can count as my first prank?”

“That works,” the human chuckled. He turned to the dark alicorn and grew serious. “…Luna, am I scaring you like this?”

“N-No!” she finally responded, a light blush. “I was simply… surprised. But now…”

To finish that statement, she tackled Tory and began to lavish him in hugs and kisses. So caught off-guard, he wasn’t sure what to do. Finally, Luna backed off of him, realizing that her sister was watching the whole thing unfold. Celestia chuckled lightly, and walked out of the room. The human understood what she was doing, and was grateful for her understanding.

“I thought a human would be this horrible, detestable creature,” the dark alicorn commented, looking him up and down. “But you are neither. You’re kind of cute actually.”

“Heh thanks,” Tory blushed, getting off the floor. “Still, nothing compares to the radiant and majestic beauty that you possess.”

“You certainly have a way with words, don’t you?” Luna smiled, a blush on her face as well. “Maybe we should talk somewhere a little more… private?”

The human caught the hint in that suggestion, and turned a deeper shade of red. Luna laughed, but she herself found the idea kind of embarrassing. Of course, the two of them had been about to a similar thing just that morning, had that one maid not picked that very moment to knock.

“A-Anything you want, Princess,” Tory joked, bowing in a mock gesture. Luna laughed again, and got up beside him.

The two made for the door out of the throne room, and were about to leave when a crashing sound could be heard behind them. Tory turned to see about ten griffons charging at them with confident grins. The human stepped forward, going to protect Luna, when he realized that he didn’t have his magic. He was just about useless right now! One of the large beasts swatted him aside, and he was sent flying into a pillar. The dark alicorn he loved cried out as she was grabbed by another and lifted up. She struggled within its grasp, and even used her magic to force its grip open, and slam it into the ground. More swarmed Luna, and began to assault her. She fought back, knocking out three of them, but the remaining six managed to knock her out with a well aimed strike.

Tory climbed to his feet, and charged at one of them, rearing back his fist. A griffon saw him, and batted him back like he was just a toy. The human slid across the floor, and hit his head on the wall. His vision was surrounded with stars, but he ignored the building pain, and slowly struggled to stand up. As his sight returned, he saw the griffons flying out the window they crashed through.

“DAMN!” Tory swore. “If only I could fly! I need my wings!”

Tory knew that right now, he was near powerless. That hurt him very much. Luna was his wife, and he’d protect her as much as Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash. There was no way he’d let those monsters get away with this! Without thinking, he dashed out of the throne room, and down the halls. The human passed a few ponies that were going towards the sound of the commotion, and saw some of them had swords. He stopped, grabbed two from some of them, and continued his rush down the halls, heading for the nearest exit.

“Tory!” came Celestia’s voice behind him. The boy stopped for a second and looked back, his face showing all of his rage. “What just happened?”

“Run with me, and I’ll tell you!” he answered, turning back towards the hall. He heard the sound of hooves smashing the floor and knew that the Princess was following.  “Short version is that a bunch of Griffons attacked and ponynapped Luna! I’m going to hunt them down!”

“You’ll never catch them at this rate!” the white alicorn reasoned.  “You’ll have to be much faster if you want to catch them!”

“…Will you help me?” Tory asked, still running. “Never thought I’d be asking this…but can I ride you?”

“Wh-What?” Celestia exclaimed, keeping up. “I don’t think so…”

“Princess, it’s for Luna, my wife, your sister, and another princess!” the boy argued. “Think about it like this! If they successfully take her hostage, they could use her against you! A princess as a hostage is a very nice strategic advantage!”

“I…” the white alicorn starts. Eventually, she nods with a determined look. “…Alright, get on.”

She lowers part of herself, and he quickly hops on. She spreads her wings, and the two of them fly down the halls and out a window with lightning speed. Tory squints as the wind resistance hits his face. He holds the two swords close to him, trying to make them avoid Celestia’s wings. The human and alicorn slowly increase speed, and soon, they see the griffons ahead of them.

“Princess, we need to focus on the one with Luna!” Tory shouted over the wind. “If we get her back, then their whole plan is foiled! If you can get me over to just one of those bastards, I can save her! Do I have magic in this form?”

“Yes!” she called back. “It’s not very strong, since you don’t have Two-Tail, but you should be able to cast something simple! Oh, and you don’t have Discord’s magic either, so don’t try anything reckless!”

“I guess you still don’t know how love works, do you?” the human joked. “My whole existence is so I CAN be reckless for the ones I love!”

Before Celestia had a chance to say anything, Tory jumped off her back and onto a griffon below him. He gripped its feathers tightly, and positioned one of his blades on its throat. The creature tried to struggle, but when it felt the cold steel of the blade, he began to stop altogether.

“Now then, you are going to fly me over to Luna, or I will slit your throat right now!” Tory threatened. “You’ve got three seconds before I decide on the second choice!”

With a squeal of terror, the griffon quickly gained speed, and moved up to the front of the attackers. Luna was still unconscious, which made Tory’s job a bit easier. Her struggling would probably get them both killed. The human slit the throat of the griffon he was on, and quickly leapt to the one with a hostage. He didn’t make deals with villains, ever. They always backstabbed you!

“Okay you pathetic waste of flesh!” the boy snarled at the creature. “You’ve got two choices right now. The first is you can fly down to the ground, set us down gently, and maybe I’ll let you live, or I kill you now and use your body like a glider! The way I see it, there is only one way you can come out alive!”

“Freak! What are you?!” the thing cried out in a deep voice. “Have you any idea who you mess with?!”

“Do YOU have any idea how close this sword is to your neck?” Tory countered calmly angling the blade. “Now take us to the ground slowly, or I WILL kill you!”

Instead, the griffon bucked a bit, and slung the human off his back. Tory plummeted down to the ground, but at the last second, something caught him. He turned back to see Celestia had flown down and saved him from a certain death by grabbing a hold of his leg. The human was set down on the ground, and the two of them watched the griffons escape.

“Damn, that was our only chance!” Tory cursed. “There’s no way we can catch them and fight, not unless I get my wings!”

“…Let’s return to the castle,” Celestia eventually said, her voice was calm but it was obvious how she felt by how sad her eyes looked. “We…cannot do any more…”

“…Change me back,” Tory looked at her, pure anger in his eyes. “I’m not letting anypony harm my beautiful Black Mage! I’ll die before then!”

“Tory, you aren’t thinking…” the white alicorn trailed off.

“I am,” the boy nodded. “I’m going to storm their castle, alone if I have to! But I need a body that’s agile, that can fly… I need the body of Two-Tail!”

“…” Celestia gave him a stern look, but his eyes held no hesitation, no fear, or anything else but anger and a strange calmness. “Alright, but promise me one thing. You’ll be careful?”

“As long as I can, and still get Luna back,” Tory promised. He looked back in the direction of the griffons. “…Time is running out. I need to change now…”

As if on cue, the human glowed golden for a second, and felt his body bend forward sharply. His face grew outward, and his arms extended to the same length as his legs, which were gaining hooves. A tail sprouted out of him twice, a long horn grew from his forehead, wings separated from his body, and his light brown hair darkened, then grew out, spiking at odd points. Finally, his body deepened to his favorite shade of green, a dark, pine green. Tory shook his head, clearing away the stars from his vision. He saw the clothing still on him and smirked. At least transforming with them on made the fabric alter as well.

“…Time to get to work,” he glared in the direction of those griffons. He used his magic to pick up the swords, and unfurled his wings. “Celestia, you go back to the castle! We can’t risk losing you too!”

Without waiting for a reply, Tory jumped into the air, and raced after the monsters that stole his wife. There would be no mercy for those fiends! He had one plan, and it was a very crude, simple one. He planned to bust down the front door, and kill any griffons that stood before him. Eventually, he would find his way to the throne room, where he’d force their leader to hand over Luna. Then he’d make his escape, and… and… die…

“I can’t let that stop me!” Tory shook his head. “I swore that I’d do everything I could to protect the ones I love, that includes dying for them! I have no qualms about this…”

After a good hour of flying in a single direction, the human/alicorn finally saw a large building in the distance. It was hard to identify, since it was so dark out now, but he managed to see an outline.  He noticed a lot of movement near the front gates, and lowered himself into the shadows.

As he touched the ground behind a shrub, Tory noticed entire platoons of guards covering the perimeter, and even more in the air above. It would be near impossible for a single being to take out so many without a lot of magic. It looked like his first plan of storming in like Leeroy Jenkins wouldn’t work, otherwise he’d die faster than he could even say ‘Oops!’ The only other option was to sneak in somehow. 

Tory looked around, and saw a small river in a ditch. He went over to it, and saw how it fed into a small cave under the castle. He remembered reading somewhere that people set up wells over these little caverns with rivers. If that was true, maybe ponies and griffons did as well? Thinking it was as good an opportunity as he could get, Tory shrugged and silently made his way into the cave.

“I can‘t fail,” Tory whispered to himself. “No one harms my wife, not in my lifetime! I‘ll make sure that whoever does pays dearly…”

After five minutes of wading through the shallow river in the dark, the human/alicorn saw a small light coming from the roof of the cave farther in. Tory came over to it, and looked up to see a few stars. He slowly spread his wings, and lifted himself up. His swords were pressed tightly to his body, to prevent any noise from them striking the side of the well. Unfortunately, the sides were not large enough to let his wings through while spread, and when he reached a certain point, the human/alicorn had to close them and climb up with his hooves pressed to the slick walls tightly. This was CONSIDERABLY dangerous, as one wrong move, and his hooves could come loose, and he’d either make a good amount of noise trying to save himself, or he’d crash into the water and have to start over again. Although, if the latter happened, then he’d still alert any guards to his presence.

Luckily, nothing went wrong, and Tory managed to reach the top of the well. He slowly and quietly poked his head over the side, and found himself in what looked like the castle gardens. There were exotic flowers everywhere, and they glowed in many vibrant colors. The human/alicorn wanted to just stay there and watch these beautiful plants bloom, but he understood that he was on a mission, and had no time for distractions.

Stealthily entering the corridors, Tory made his way to where he felt the throne room was. He had two ideas about where Luna would be kept. The first was in the dungeon, where most prisoners were held. The second was the throne room, where he assumed his future wife was. She was no ordinary prisoner of war, she was a princess, and a much too valuable hostage to just place in a dingy cell with a bunch of cutthroats and their like. Of course, this was just a guess. Nothing was for certain in these situations.

“Huff huff… Why is it that every castle is a friggin’ maze?!” Tory gasped as he galloped quietly down the halls.

“Hey!” called out a deep voice. Tory turned to see a griffon charging at him. “INTRUDER!!”

Without a second thought, the human/alicorn came forward, brought his front hooves down on the attacker, and used his magic to hold the blades to its neck. The creature tried to struggle, but when Tory had the blades come closer until its feathers were being cut off, he stopped his resisting.

“Now tell me,” Tory began in an icy cold and calm voice. “Where… is… Luna?”

“Why should I?” The griffon challenged in his deep voice. “Are you not here to steal her away?”

“YOU STOLE HER FIRST YOU HEARTLESS BASTARDS!!” the human/alicorn raged at him, rubbing the swords together, and causing sparks to fly. “Give... me... back... my WIFE!!”

“O-Okay okay!” The creature gave in, his voice betraying some of his fear. “I d-don't know exactly where she is, b-but I remember another griffon telling me th-that his team caught a pony earlier tonight! Th-Their barracks are in the Eastern Wing!”

“Now maybe you'd like to tell me how to get there?” Tory questioned, angling the blades so that the chimera could see his own fearful expression. “Answer quick, my magic is feeling a little jumpy...”

To emphasis his point, the human/alicorn brought one of the swords back quickly, slicing off a few feathers in the process. The griffon squawked loudly, and revealed the directions that would take him to where he wanted to go. Tory then used his weaker magic to throw the chimera into a small cupboard, where he was tied up and gagged. As he did, a small blue petal landed in the human/alicorn’s mane. No point in letting that thing leave and informing the rest of the castle to his presence.

“Stay in there and shut up,” Tory ordered the griffon. “I'm only here for Luna. Once she's free of your grasp, I'll be out of your mane.”

Locking the door to that room with his magic, the human/alicorn spread his wings, and took off down the halls. He knew where to go now, and with that information, he could finally prove to himself that he wasn't just all bark and no bite. Ever since Tory held Fluttershy in his arms... ever since her... death, he felt he couldn't do anything for his girls. Seriously, just days after getting his cutie mark, which symbolized his love and desire to protect the mare of his dreams, he had watched her die in his arms. If his special talent was to protect her, and he couldn't do that, than he clearly sucked at everything!

Saving Luna now wasn't just about his love for her, he would truly die for each of his wives if they so much as hinted at it, but this was also for his self-esteem. If he could save Luna, then Tory could feel whole again, and would know that he truly deserved what he had. He was willing to put everything aside to accomplish this goal, and that was what he was going to do.

“Huff... Huff.... Ugn!” Tory stopped, feeling something inside him pulse. “Wh-What the hell?! Gah!”

The human/alicorn's body began to shift about, his spine popping, and his hands... HANDS?! Tory watched himself go through the process of what could only be reverting to a human. It felt just like it had the first time, and his clothes even morphed with him. As it slowly ended, the completely human being sighed.

“Great, just my luck! What the hell could’ve…” Tory stopped as he saw a small blue leaf fall off his head. He caught it, and sighed heavily. “Great, just great. Poison Joke… Guess I’m gonna be stuck like this for a while.”

Picking up his two swords, Tory began to creep down the halls. In this form, he was weaker, slower, and his magic was cut to ribbons. He looked around every corner that he came by, made sure his steps didn’t echo, and held his swords in a ready position, should he be discovered again. But the human was surprised at how few guards were inside the castle. Were they all outside, protecting the perimeter, or clustered together around one or two important figures?

Finally reaching the Eastern Wing, Tory took a deep breath, and climbed the two flights that would take him into the barracks. He reached the top, paused at the double doors, and placed an ear to them. From the other room, he heard just two voices, both male and gruff like the ones from before.

“I heard that it’s that one pony…. You know, that moon pony?” one was saying to its companion. “That uh, that ali-whatsit.”

“Oh, you mean that one princess, Luna I think?

“Yeah, that’s the one!” the first agreed, getting into a relaxed position. “I can’t believe that one thing from our earlier assault. First that thing on two legs tries to attack us, and later it comes in on Celestia, trying to save that pony!”

“What was that species anyways? I’ve never seen it before.” the second griffon asked, laying down on its bed.

“Human, that’s what race I am,” Tory growled, entering the room. He noticed it was just the two of them and him in there, which was much better than barracks that were crowded. At least this way, he had a chance. “It’s also the last race that you will ever see!*

Before they had a chance to react to him, the human pinned the blades to their necks. He glared at the two chimera, his anger reaching dangerous levels. He towered over them, a dark and intense glare upon his face. He stared at one, then the other, gripping his swords tightly. The anger he was feeling was evident, and the malice in his eyes made the two griffons flinch.

“I’m going to ask you once and just once, Tory said in a voice filled with calmness that also showed every ounce of rage being kept in check. “Where… is… Luna?”

“Uhh… Uhh,” One of the creatures stammered.

“ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!!” The human shouted, aiming a blade at its face, just an inch away from slashing at the chimera’s beak.

“W-We don’t know!” the griffon answered, feeling his bowels release.

“YOU’RE LYING!!!” Tory raged, slicing a wing off the beast. It cried out in pain, but was quickly silenced by a round-house kick and a blade held at its throat. “Scream like that again, and I’ll kill you without a second thought.”

“…She’s… In the p-prince’s room,” the second griffon revealed. “He… said he wanted some ‘quality time’ with her.”

“…What?” Tory questioned, his voice dark and quiet. The second chimera proceeded to piss himself, thinking he preferred the shouting. “Did you say… that Luna is alone with a perverse, DISGUSTING griffon that you call a PRINCE?!”

The human dropped his blades, and they started to levitate with a silver aura. Tory’s entire body radiated a dark silver, and the two beasts feared that a few words too many had been shared. Clenching his fists, the teen felt energy surge through his body, felt stronger, faster, and invincible. He could smell the sharp scent of earth, his body felt like it was surrounded by glass, and his vision began to sharpen, almost as though he was seeing everything through a special lens. He looked at the two griffins, his sight gaining a silver-like color, and spoke in a voice that was his, but also that of a god’s, shaking the whole room as his voice echoed about.

“Where are they?” Tory asked. The two chimeras nearly fainted when he turned his gaze upon them. It was almost as though his piercing eyes could look directly into their souls, and rip out all of their secrets. “Tell me now…”

“I-In the eastern tower,” the second griffon answered, fearing greatly for his life. “Th-That’s all I k-know, I-GUH!”

The beast was cut off as a giant crystal erupted from the ground and pierced him, then it exploded, growing many smaller branches that stabbed the first griffon. As Tory watched, he saw the points of impact begin to grow around the chimeras, slowly encasing them. They saw the minerals crawl along their bodies, horror and fear etched into their faces.

“P-Please…” one of them stammered. “H-Have… mercy.”

Without a word, Tory walked away, leaving them to their fates, whatever they would be. He cared not, for his only goal was to reach the eastern tower as rapidly as he could. Luna was alone with a sexually active griffon, and that was all that the human could think of. It angered him to no end, just the thought of that… FREAK!… touching her… With a flare of his energy, Tory stormed down the halls, his blades following closely, still being held within their silver grip. There was no being silent now. If something stood in his way, then the boy was likely to slay it without hesitation.

“HEY!” came the eventual voice of a griffon. “INTRUD-GAH!”

As the chimera shouted out it’s warning, Tory charged it an performed another roundhouse kick to its face, and then as it touched the ground, crystals sprung up and began to encase it. The beast shrieked for help and mercy, but the human ignored the cries, and continued on. His anger at the thought of Luna and that creature sharing a bed was blinding his judgment and logic slowly. Had he been thinking clearly, the teen would’ve silence the beast immediately.

Since he did not though, the screeching of the griffon rang throughout the castle, attracting the attention of many guards that actually were in the building. Within but a minute of walking away, Tory found himself surrounded by the creatures that he now loathed with a passion. Each one held a strange expression that was a cross between curiosity, anger, and a little bit of fear.

“You all picked a terrible day to approach me…” Tory sighed, his eyes darting from one guard to the next. “GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!”

Without wasting a second, the human charged at one, and brought his blades down onto its wings, slicing them off. The beast cried out in pain, but was quickly grabbed by Tory’s free hands, and his head smashed into the hard tile floor. A few of the creatures attempted to attack him, but the floating blades dealt with two of them quickly, while a third was grabbed by the human, and with a punch, knocked into a wall. A fourth griffon attempted to claw him, but with a small sidestep and an uppercut, it was taken care of before it had a chance to actually react.

Now only two griffons remained, and they suddenly felt like their odds of winning dropped to nothing. Clenching his fists tighter, Tory’s hands started to glow silver, and the air around them started to harden. With a quick step, the human closed the gap between him and one of them. He grabbed the creature by it’s throat, and lifted it into the air, his augmented strength from his cutie mark and his sudden power boost making the feat easy. He clenched it’s throat tighter, squeezing the life from it. Tory’s anger was the only thing fueling him right now, and that was all he felt he needed.

“Y…You’re a monster!” The griffon in his grasp coughed.

“I’M A MONSTER?!!!” Tory shouted into the face of the beast. “I’M THE ONE THAT KIDNAPS PRINCESSESS, AND OFFERS THEM UP TO A SEXUALLY ACTIVE PRINCE?!!!”

His anger flaring up into insane levels, the human slammed the chimera into the ground, picked it back up, and hurled it at the other beast that could only watch in absolute fear, his comrade dealing with what could only be seen as a demon in an absolute rage. The two collided and crashed to the tiled floor, both in a daze, but they both knew that they were about to receive hell. Seething with anger, Tory directed a hand at the two beasts, and crystals began to harden around them, locking them in eternal fear and pain.

“ROT IN HELL!!!” the human raged at them, storming down the hall.

A few minutes later, Tory looked out a window and saw he was nearing his goal. He let himself a moment of rest, and as he took a seat on the window sill, he realized just what he’d done earlier. He… He basically killed those griffons! Without hesitation, or regret, the boy had taken the life of another! This realization impacted his mind, and nearly made him collapse on the ground. He’d NEVER claimed a life before in his entire existence, save for a deer one time, and now, he’s suddenly destroyed at least seven lives!

“Agh, no! GET AWAY!” came a familiar regal voice, now shrieking.

“Luna!” Tory shouted, snapped out of his trance by her somewhat fearful scream.

Pulling himself together, the human grabbed his swords and raced down the halls as quickly as he could, following the sound of his love’s voice. Each time she cried out or screamed, Tory found himself growing angrier, soon reaching a powerful boiling point. That revolting creature these griffons called a prince was trying to force himself of Luna! That thought sent the teen over the edge, and the silver aura flared up around him once more, except this time it radiated with an intense heat, almost like a silver fire. He didn’t feel anything from it though, only the rage and aggression that fueled it.

The shrieks of Luna became louder as Tory progressed, until they were almost deafening. Finally, he reached two large, detailed double doors. Now another voice, somewhat young and midway to gruff came out from the room, and the human assumed it was that bastard griffon prince.

“You’ll be mine soon Luna!” the voice gloated.

Tory’s anger shot up rapidly upon hearing this, his silver flame of an aura bursting upward and out, darkening quickly and slowly causing the ground around him to shake. The swords in his hands glowed with the same dark power, and slowly floated out of his grasp, now held by what could be called his magic. Free of the extra weight, the human clenched his fists, and charged at the doors, jumping into the air with a burst of magic. He performed a 360˚ spin, and slammed his right fist into the hard wood of one of them, leaving a deep crater in it, and causing a loud splintering, smashing sound to echo through the halls. Before gravity could claim him though, Tory used his other fist to uppercut the same crater he made.

The second impact against the door cause another loud and sharp sound to pierce the silence of the castle. This time though, it sounded like a quiet explosion, as the crater spread, and Tory’s fist burst through the door, leaving a small hole in the wood. He retracted his fist, and held onto the hole with a few fingers. He looked through, and saw Luna on a bed, her hooves splayed out and what could only be called a fat griffon overtop her. Both the griffon and the Princess were staring at the hole, seeing the one blue eye that pulsed with silver.

“What the-” the griffon started.

With a burst of energy, the floating swords were coated in a dark silver fire. The human jumped away and the swords slashed the hinges to pieces as the chimera prince spoke. Tory charged forward once more, leaning in with his right shoulder and body slamming the door. If flew off its hinges, and smacked into the fat beast, continuing forward and carrying new luggage as it smashed against the wall.

“LUNA!!” Tory cried, rushing to the bed and scooping up the dark alicorn into his arms. Tears ran down his face as he held her close, kissing her repeatedly, and caressing her mane slowly and lovingly. “I was so worried about you! I thought I had lost you, my precious love!”

“T-Tory…” Luna whispered, her voice barely audible from the complete shock of his arrival. Her emotions ran unchecked as she felt relieved at him showing up, scared that they’d never escape, and complete love for the one that had broken into the castle and came to rescue her. She tried to speak once more, tears running down her cheeks. “I… I love you so much…”

“Shh, please.” Tory stopped her, placing a finger over her mouth. “You shouldn’t talk. You’ll waste energy. Just relax, and let me hold you… Please.”

Luna was about to speak once more, but caught herself, and simply nodded. She hugged the human tightly, her hooves wrapped around his neck while she placed her head on his shoulder. Tory continued to stroke her mane, letting each finger flow through her soft hair and running along each strand. He sighed, happy to have her back, the tears proof of how he felt. Truly, he had been scared to death, afraid that he would’ve been caught, or that he’d be too late to save the Luna from the clutches of that horrid beast that wished to violate her.

As these emotions replaced everything in the human‘s head, the wooden door that had smashed into the griffon prince fell down from its place against the wall. The chimera under it collapsed as he came free from his indentation in the hard stone. He weakly climbed to his claws, never before having endured pain. He was a prince, not a fighter! He’d never even seen the troops his father owned train! The only thing that he could say was that he had practiced with a crossbow before, and while he was a good shot, that did not make him combat ready.

“How…. How d-dare you!” the creature gasped at Tory, anger showing on his face. “Y-You dare… steal my woman?”

This caught the human’s attention, and he stopped kissing Luna. He set her back down on the bed, much to her dismay, and turned towards the prince. His silver aura flared up, and started to radiate pure power off his body. His eyes changed from their sharp blue, to the pure silver that was his energy. They glared at the chimera, staring deep into his soul, so much power flowing out and all of it directed at the one that said he owned Luna.

The griffon prince flinched, absolute fear replacing the rage that had been there not even two seconds prior, yet he did not break the gaze of the human in front of him. It was not that he was challenging Tory, but that he found himself unable to look away. Those eyes, they stared into his heart, his soul, and his very core, dragging forth every ounce of fear, then pooling it within his being, and filling his entire body until it caused his legs to give away. The creature’s heart slowed, and it’s mind started to run blank. Each second he felt death approach him in leaps and bounds.

“I’m sorry, did you say… YOUR woman?” Tory asked, slowly walking towards the prince. He laughed a few times, and each one sent chills down the spine of the beast. “That’s the best joke I’ve ever heard, YOU… OWNING… my WIFE!!!”

With each of those last words, Tory’s blades approached. They crept forward slowly, save for when the human spoke. As he said the last word, they lunged forward, and angled themselves at the griffon’s throat. They pressed tightly to him, slowly drawing blood. This caused the creature to shriek in pain and fear, never having seen his own blood, or felt the cold steel of a sword against him. His face was locking in one of pure terror, unable to remain neutral at the thought that he might lose his life.

“I-I-I um…” the beast stammered.

“You… what?” Tory challenged, not letting up. His face was contorted into one of complete rage. “You’re sorry, or it was just a childish thought you spoke in the heat of the moment? You tried to violate my wife, stole her from her own castle, and now you claim that she is yours?! I should kill you where you now stand!”

“T-Tory…” Luna whispered once more, fear slipping into her voice. She’d never seen such anger in her life. Had he really cared for her so much, that he’d risk his life to save her, and now when the creature that attempted to steal away an important part of her tried to claim the dark alicorn, he entered a rage so violent, he was willing to kill? “P-Please…no.”

“I’ve endured many hells to say that Luna is my wife!” Tory continued, having not heard her. He got in the prince’s face, and leered at him. “I’ve had my soul broken into tiny fragments, shattered by those I once knew! I have nearly died so many times, and watched horror after horror, seeing the most cruel of demons attempt to kill the ones I love and actually succeed once! I’ve nearly had another close to me die from helping me revive her, had to watch as they left me in an attempt to make me happy which failed, and suffered at the hooves of Fate, the cruel mistress. I had been gifted with three loves for what I put forth, and Luna is one of them! You wish to make her yours, then show me that you can fight against the entire world, and stand up victorious! Show me that you’re willing to throw your life away for her as I have done and will do many more times!”

The griffon shat himself as he stared at Tory. The words spoken by this strange two-legged creature caused him to feel hollow inside. They sounded so strange and confused him. Just what was this thing talking about? Throw away his life, for a mere wench?! The thought sounded so ridiculous and extreme!

“… I thought not,” Tory finished, seeing an answer in the griffon prince’s eyes. He stood up and returned to Luna, breathing deeply to calm himself down. He picked her back up and started for the door. “Luna, I’m sorry for being so late. Please forgive me…”

“T-Tory, how…” Luna started again, unsure of what to say. “There… There is nothing to forgive. You’ve come for me… and that is all that matters.”

“My love,” the human smiled, kissing the dark alicorn. “I shall never let you be placed in danger ever again!”

“Y-You…” the chimera spoke up once more, regaining his ability to speak. “J-Just what ARE y-y-you?!”

Tory turned back to him, and smirked. He just got an idea, and an awesome one at that. This was the perfect chance to see if he could pull off something from his favorite anime. He looked up, and saw a skylight overhead, the moon shining brightly now. It cast a silver light down unto him, bathing the human in an strong glow.

“I’ve always wanted to do this…” Tory thought.

“Just who the HELL do you think I am?!” he grinned, shouting at the griffon prince. “Dig the wax outta your ears and listen up! Known all across Equestria and many worlds, they call out my name! They speak of the human with an indomitable spirit, that fights on for the ones he loves! The one who grasps a hold of his enemies with an iron grip, the one with the silver aura, that never gives up, that fights to his last breath, and sacrifices everything for the ones he loves! When you hear the name Tory, they’re talking about me! With these two fists, and all of my strength, I will give my life for what I believe in!”

Tory thrust his fist into the air above him, his index finger extended to the sky. His silver aura as well as the moonlight made him look like he was coated in silver armor. For once in his life, the human could say that he was actually cool. Luna certainly thought he was from where she was standing! She had to turn her head away so that her blush wouldn’t be seen by him. The chimera though, was completely speechless. What was the whole purpose of that little rant?! It didn’t even answer his question!

“Listen up and listen good!” Tory continued, his hand glowing silver as one of the blades floated back to him. He grabbed it from the air, and spun it in his grip, planting the flat end of the blade on his shoulder. “Me and Luna are walking out of this place, and there is nothing you can do about it. Should even a single guard approach us while we escape, this other sword here will take off your head, and kill you on the spot!”

To reinforce his threat, Tory had the blade press against the creature’s throat, forcing it back against the wall, where it stayed, whimpering quietly. With that, Tory turned back to Luna, and picked her up. He had to move quick, and escape the castle before the last of his energy escaped him. Without the power the human received from Two-Tail, he could not maintain even the simplest of spells for long. In fact, he estimated he had about ten minutes to get as far away as possible before the sword dropped to the ground, and the one behind it would send possibly the full force of the griffons down upon them.

Tory held tightly to the dark alicorn he loved so much, and dashed down the halls, his feet slamming against the tiled floor, causing the sound they made to echo through the castle, each step like a drum, announcing their presence. He turned left, then right, right once more, and finally fled straight. If his guess was correct, then the gardens would be just a few more halls and turns away. All he had to do was make it to the well, jump down and race through the underground tunnel, then make a break for Canterlot, and drop off Luna. If he could get a certain distance away from this castle before the spell wore off, then those creatures shouldn’t be able to catch them in time.

“T-Tory, where are we-” Luna started.

“No time to explain!” the human cut her off. “I just need you to trust me on this one!”

“…With all of my heart and soul.” she whispered into his ear, wrapping her hooves around his neck and hugging him. And still, the boy continued to run. “I trust you.”

“Hold on tight! Tory instructed, seeing the well and jumping down it.

Luna cried out as they plummeted towards the small river within the cavern. Tory shot his legs out to the side, and slammed them against the walls of the well, slowing them down. After a few moments though, the sides started to widen, meaning they were near the bottom. The human retracted his feet, and landed in the water with a loud splash. The dark alicorn in his arms shivered as the water came up and soaked through her coat and down to her skin.

“Sorry,” Tory apologized, setting her down on a large rock to the side that was out of the water. He started removing his shirt, and placed it around Luna’s body. It was moist in some spots, but it was warm and dry for the most part. “This should help you out some.”

“Th-Thanks,” Luna stammered, wrapping her hooves around the human again and pulling him in for a light kiss. When she breaks away, she looks at the tunnel and smiles. “So this is how you made it inside?”

“Yeah, but that was when they didn’t realize I was here,” Tory admitted, looking back up the well. “Odds are that they’re looking for us now. I mean I took down so many guards, and made way too much noise on the way back. They’ll be hunting for us in no time.”

“Tory…” the dark alicorn said quietly, looking at him sadly. He put so much at risk, coming to save her. “W-Why?”

“Hm?” he replied, looking back at her with a confused expression, unsure of what she was asking. “What do you mean?”

“Why would you risk your life to save me?” Luna questioned again. “Am I really worth it?”

“Of course you are!” Tory answered back quickly. He moved over and hugged his lover tightly. “To me, you’re worth more than all of this world and my own combined… I’d do anything and everything for you. Luna, I’ve never had a single doubt about the feelings I harbored for you, not a one.”

With tears in her eyes, the dark alicorn kissed the human, embracing him tightly. She felt truly happy at the moment, content on being with the one that spoke so passionately about how he loved her. She kept her hooves around his neck, and her lips pressed to his, wishing for the moment to never end. But like all good things, it had to. Just as Tory overcame the sudden kiss from Luna and started to return it, the sound of guards above ground caught their attention.

“Hey, you there, squire!” A deep voice called out from somewhere near the top of the well. “What is the status of that sword and the Prince?”

“I-I-It refuses to b-budge Sir!” returned a slightly higher pitched voice. “The Prince is raving mad, demanding that we bring the heads of Luna and that one creature with her.”

“Then find them and kill them!” the first voice instructed roughly.

“Quick, let’s go!” Tory said quietly to Luna, who merely nodded.

Picking up Luna, the human quietly made his way through the watery tunnel, trying to move quick and silently. A few times the water splashed up against the alicorn in his arms, and she would let out a quiet squeal from the sudden coldness, but besides that it was mostly a quiet trip through. Tory sent a silent thanks to whatever malevolent being deigned to bless him with such good luck. The two lovers reached the end of the tunnel and looked out over the surrounding area, wary of the griffons that might be flying about, trying to hunt them down. The sun was slowly creeping over the horizon at this point, the entire night spent moving through the massive castle.

“…I think we’re clear,” Tory finally said after a minute of checking the skies. “Let’s be quick and get back to Canterlot.”

“I think I’ll be good on my own now Tory,” Luna smiled at him, nuzzling his neck gently. “You can put me down now.”

“O-Oh um…” the human stammered, blushing lightly. He set down his companion, and looked off to the distance. “S-Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” the dark alicorn giggled, a playful gleam in her eyes once more. It was the same gleam that Tory had come to love almost immediately. “I didn’t mind being held by you, it’s just I think we’ll move faster if I was to move myself.”

“Um, right,” Tory agreed. “Let’s get moving before something happens…”

Once more the duo set off, sneaking out from their hiding spot in the ditch to begin their long trek back to the castle. As they started back, the human felt exhaustion tugging at him weakly. He was growing tired from keeping the spell holding that once sword in place, and if one was to look at him, it was starting to show. Luna happened to glance back, checking to see if guards were approaching, when she noticed the sweat dotting his forehead, and the tiny gasps he was releasing as he tried to keep pace with her. Slowing down just a bit, the dark alicorn lowered herself some, motioning for Tory to get on her back.

“Wh-What are you doing?” he panted, unsure if this was a good idea.

“I’m helping you out.” Luna smiled at him. “Now hurry and get on, before you pass out from exhaustion!”

Feeling that arguing would serve no purpose here, Tory shrugged and jumped up, moving onto his lover’s back. With a beat of her wings, the dark alicorn picked up speed, and took off into the sky. Now able to rest some, the human was able to conserve energy for maintaining the spell that bought them time to escape. At least, that was what he thought. In theory it sounded right, but in application it was way off.

Tory collapsed on Luna’s back, his magic so weak at this point that he was borderline unconscious. Each second brought his sight a shade dimmer, and his breath weaker. That he was even able to process a single thought was a feat for him at the time! The power used to fuel the magic holding that sword up was drained from his body while trudging through the underground tunnel. At that point, it started feeding off his life force, sucking away at Tory’s very essence. Each second he kept the spell active was literally killing him. Luna noticed this and spoke up.

“Tory, please, you’ve got to stop!” she begged. “You’ll die if you keep at this!”

“I guess… y-you don’t…. know me w-well enough,” the human weakly gasped, struggling to remain conscious. “I’d…. g-give my l-life… for you… and I’m going… to b-buy you time…”

“IF YOU DIE I’LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!!” Luna screamed, letting her emotions flow freely.

“…L-Luna,” Tory whispered, unable to speak up over his exhaustion. He sighed and stopped the spell, letting his body relax fully. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine, just please…” the dark alicorn sobbed quietly. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“Oh man… That’s right, I’ve still got to die.” Tory thought to himself. “I wonder how she’ll take it…  I mean she’ll be upset, and probably cry but… just how much do I really mean to her?”

Tory had a thought, and one he didn’t like. Just who was he, and what could his life be measured as? What was he worth, in the eyes of those he cared about? Just how much did he matter to Luna, the love he risked everything for? With a grunt, Tory decided to find an answer, and rolled off of Luna’s back, timing it with her wings. He plummeted towards the earth, the wind rushing past him as gravity dragged his body straight down.

“TORY!!!!” Luna screamed once more, nose-diving down after him. She flew as fast as her wings would let her, praying that she could grasp a hold of him.

The human closed his eyes, wondering if this would be his death, or would it wait. He spread his arms and legs out to the side, slowing his descent some. He couldn’t hear a thing, not with the wind that blasted away at his ears. So he did not hear Luna’s cry, or notice that she had chased after him. It wasn’t until he felt something against his chest that he opened his eyes and saw a hoof grabbing at him did he realize that the dark alicorn was trying to save his life. She slowly closed the rest of the distance, and grabbed a hold of Tory by taking her hooves and wrapping him in them. She pulled up, and just barely managed to avoid slamming into the ground with her passenger.

“Tory, what the hell?!” Luna shouted angrily. “What would possess you to… Wh-Why are you crying?”

The dark alicorn forgot all of her anger upon seeing the tears that clouded the human’s vision. Although, what she probably thought were tears of sadness were actually tears of joy. That Luna had gone to rescue him, nearly claiming her own life in the process made Tory happy, made him feel like he actually mattered to her. She had risked death to save the human, to make sure that he lived. It showed the love that she felt for him, and that had forced his emotions to the surface, making him tear up almost immediately.

“It’s… nothing,” Tory smiled, dismissing the question and weakly putting a hand on Luna’s cheek. “I… l-love you.”

“Please, don’t ever scare me like that again!” the dark alicorn started to sob. “I was afraid I’d lose you… Please Tory, promise me you won’t ever do that again!”

“I swear… I’ll never try to… k-kill myself,” the human smiled, wiping the tears away.

“…You jerk!” Luna weakly smiled, hugging Tory tightly. “How can you just act so ca-”

As she spoke, an arrow flew past them from behind, just grazing Tory’s cheek. They both looked back and saw a couple of griffons approaching them, a bow in each of their claws. Leading the small troop was what looked like the griffon prince, who held a crossbow. With a sneer, he landed just a couple yards away, his eyes dark and malicious. The human and alicorn had a bad feeling about what was most likely about to happen.

“You two have gone far enough,” the griffon growled in it’s somewhat gruff voice. He aimed the crossbow at Luna, and motioned to the ground. “You, wench! Put that…. THING, down.”

“You must be insane if you think that I’ll-” the dark alicorn started to protest.

“Luna, do it please…” Tory stopped her, his voice begging her to comply. “Place me on the ground, and run.”

“Oh yes, go ahead and run,” the prince laughed as she did what was asked of her. “I do love to hit moving targets!”

“Touch her and I’ll kill you!” the human threatened, turning a glare on the chimera.

“You seem to hardly be in a position to make threats, freak!” the creature scoffed, turning his crossbow to Tory.

The area was deathly silent, save for the quiet wind that blew around the duo, as well as the small griffon troops. Taking a few steps back, Luna glanced at Tory once more, who was slowly shifting to a kneeling position. They locked eyes for but a moment, the love between them showing within. Not a word needed to be said, the human’s expression telling her exactly what he wanted to happen, and what really would. The alicorn started to cry quietly, knowing what the outcome would be, and that trying to change it would only hurt even more. Luna turned away from the others, broke into a gallop, and took off into the sky, racing away from what she knew would be the last time she ever saw Tory.

“You know… it took guts to g-get out here,” Tory gasped, climbing to his feet weakly. He gripped the hilt of his sword, and readied himself. “And you got here q-quick too…”

“It wasn’t hard really,” the griffon sneered, his eyes following Luna as she flew away. “After that sword fell, I instructed my father’s troops to locate you immediately…”


I.I.I Flashback Seven Minutes Prior I.I.I


The griffon prince stood against the wall, the sword still pressed tightly to his neck. He didn’t want to risk his life by trying to move the blade, so he remained like this for a minute, praying that another servant or a guard would walk by his now broken door, and then save him from his predicament. Luckily, something along those lines did happen. He saw a slight movement to the side, and turned his head to see a guard walking into his chambers, observing how one door was completely missing from the frame.

“Hey, you there!” the prince called out. “Walk your pathetic flank over here and GET THIS SWORD AWAY FROM ME!!!”

The guard flinched from the shout, but nodded and came over to offer his assistance. He checked the blade, noting where he could touch it without harming himself or his liege. He placed one hoof on the hilt, and another on the other edge of the blade by the prince’s neck. He pulled gently on the blade and pushed on the hilt, trying to turn the sword away. It refused to even move an inch, much to the dismay of the guard.

“Move this sword or I’ll have you beheaded!” the young and spoiled one barked.

“HEY!” the officer shouted into the hall, calling out for his patrol mates that had been sent to investigate the disturbances. “I need a claw in here!”

Just as the extra four guards came in to see what they were required for, the sword lost its silver sheen, and fell to the floor with a loud clang. The new arrivals just stared at the first guard and their prince, who were looking at the sword. As he finally came to grips with it, the young one let himself down and breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to the five troops that were with him, and felt his anger return. The prince knew what he wanted to do, and now that he was no longer in any danger, he was free to act as he wished!

“You five, get your weapons and follow me!” the griffon leader ordered, moving across his room and retrieving his crossbow. “You’re going to help me kill a few pests off.”

With that, the prince walked out of his room, leaving five very confused guards behind. They glanced at each other, unsure of what had happened, and what they were about to get dragged into. Something told them that it wouldn’t be pretty though. No, all five of them had this strange feeling that something bad was going to happen, and they had been stupid enough to get themselves involved in it. Trying to act brave, one shrugged and went off to grab his equipment. The others followed suit, trying to not seem cowardly in front of their patrol mates. It looked like it was time for them to actually do some work…


I.I.I Flashback End I.I.I


“Oh, so you think that because it’s just two tired and weakened beings, that you are going to have an easy time against us?” Tory taunted unconfidently. He spoke a good game, and thanks to recent events in his time period he could actually back it up now, but at the moment he was drained to near nothing! “I’m disappointed in you! Surely your parents taught you to never underestimate your opponents?”

“By the looks of things, it’s just you now, freak.” the griffon prince countered with a sneer. “And if my eyes are working properly, you are exhausted beyond measure. You sent away your only chance at escaping, and the choice will cost you your life!”

“That’s what you think!” the human retorted, rushing forward and slamming the hilt of his sword into a guard’s head, rendering him unconscious. “I’ve still got some fight left in me!”

“Guards, kill him!” the leader ordered his troops, stepping back.

Tory saw them approach from the front and sides, each ready to claw away his face. With a tired sigh, he rolled forward, bringing his blade up to meet one creature’s exposed stomach. Although, it seemed the chimera had anticipated this, and launched himself into the sky, causing the human’s attack to barely even graze the outer feathers. Another of the beasts charged at him, swiping at his defenseless side and back. The strike went through, and it tore into Tory’s body easily, shredding the flesh around the claw.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!” Tory screamed in extreme agony, falling forward onto his other side.

Somehow mustering up the energy to continue, the human lashed out with a foot, bringing his attacker down to countering range, where it was met with an upward vertical slash. The griffon screeched for a second before the sword reached its lungs, tearing a deep hole in them and letting the blood fill in the new space.  The creature tried to shriek, but all that came out was a gurgling noise as the blood started to well up in its throat. Tory squirmed back as he watched, his eyes darkening slowly as he fought not only for his life, but to try and buy Luna as much time as he could.

Two more griffons rushed at the human from his sides, their own eyes filled with what looked like intent to kill. He pushed his legs as hard as they’d move, and forced himself back even more, just barely avoiding another group of claws. The two chimeras collided and ended up weakly hurting each other with their sharpened nails. Getting to his feet once more, Tory jumped at them, bringing his sword over him, and slashing down at the two. He successfully managed to injure one of them, by clipping a wing, but the other escaped the attack by a few inches.

But Tory was not one to let his opponents dodge his strikes often, and when it happened, he made sure that they didn’t avoid the next one. Although his muscles were screaming in pain, and his lungs fought against him, the human rolled to the side, following his prey, and at the end of the somersault he slashed horizontally at the griffon, hacking away its front claws. The blade tore into the creature’s feathery hide like a hot knife through butter, cleanly severing the limbs in two, the bone almost nonexistent against the sword.

Not lightening his assault, Tory spun with the momentum of the slash, performed a 360˚ spin, and slashed diagonally at the chimera’s chest, cleaving an arm and going halfway through its chest, each organ slowing down the hunk of sharpened iron. Placing his free hand against the neck of his target, the human pulled back on the hilt of his blade while pushing against the hefty enemy. The blade came free with a sickening sound of blood sloshing about, and some of the crimson red liquid covering it.

“Now DIE!” Tory shouted, spinning the blade in his hand, grabbing a hold of the hilt with both, and performing a horizontal slash at the griffon’s neck, rendering the beast headless. His eyes growing darker, he turned towards the remaining forces, one unconscious, one injured and unable to fly, and two completely fine, both staring at him in shock from their place near the prince. “Who’s next?”

With a slight whimper, one of the guards that were still in good condition took out their bow, and nocked an arrow, aiming for Tory. He spread his wings and took off into the air, where he was safe from the sword that had slain one comrade, injured another, and taken a third out of commission. He launched his arrow at the human, who merely sidestepped, grabbed the shaft of the projectile, and observed it. After a few seconds of looking the arrow over, he placed the arrow between his pants and belt, holding it tight.

“I like how you think your slow attacks are going to kill me,” Tory taunted, his voice serious but with a hint of joy in it, almost as though he was having fun in this fight. “If you want to take me down, get serious about fighting.”

With that said, the human rushed forward, aiming his next attack at the injured griffon. Just because the creature could no longer fly did not make him any less dangerous with those claws or it’s bow. Best to take it down while the thing was still recovering from the trauma of being a flightless bird. Sidestepping to the left of the beast, Tory brought his blade straight up and shredded through the muscles, organs, and bones that made up the entire anatomy of the chimera’s chest cavity. With a screech, the monster fell to its side, gasping for a breath that would not come, as its lungs had been sliced into halves, and the blood from within was quickly filling it’s throat, like the first one had endured.

But Tory was not entirely cruel and merciless, even in his complete state of rage. He took pity upon the griffon, and took his sword in both hands. He brought it down into the creature’s heart, stabbing through everything and stealing the last of its life away. He pulled his sword free of the beast’s body, and flicked the blade to the side, the action causing all of the blood that had collected upon the metal to fly off and onto the grass. He looked back at the remaining griffons, just two lowly troops and a cowardly prince.

“You know, I can’t see how Two-Tail was killed by the likes of you,” Tory thought aloud, walking towards his opponents, whose numbers were slowly dwindling to nothing. “Me and him have sparred, and he easily had enough power to kill off each of you. Here I stand, already on my last legs, and still the six of you cannot beat me… Perhaps I should say three now, as two of you are dead, and one is incapacitated. How is it that I could beat you,”

“You monster!” the prince shouted, his voice heavy with fear. “G-Guards, attack and kill him!”

With an unconfident glance at their leader, and then at each other, the two griffon troops decided to rush him together. One remained in the air with his bow drawn, another arrow ready for launching, while the other charged forward, attempting to claw the human to pieces. The ground attacker jumped and attempted to perform a cross slash with his claws, but Tory saw an opening and rolled forward, going under the beast. But just as he came up, the aerial griffon released its shot, and the arrow pierced his foot.

“AGH!!!!” Tory shouted, going to his knees. He looked up at the archer, his eyes furious. “You’re death is going to be slow and PAINFUL!!!”

Taking the arrow from his foot, Tory readied himself for a massive jump. But before he could even think of leaving the ground, he heard the cry of the other griffon that he avoided. It was now trying to get a back attack on him! Feeling exhaustion grip at him once more, the adrenaline in his body slowly wearing out, the human weakly sidestepped the creature, who landed where he had been not even a half second prior. Taking the arrow, Tory flipped it upside down in his hand, grabbed the griffon with the other, and stabbed the beast right between the eyes with the piece of metal.

The chimera’s eyes focused on the wooden shaft of the projectile, but he didn’t react. He couldn’t, since the arrow had been driven right into his brain. But Tory was still not finished, as he took his empty hand, and performed an uppercut on the creature, sending it up and back a few inches, leaving its chest completely exposed. The human quickly moved in front of it, bringing his sword back. He spun it once, twice, three times in his hand, and thrust forward, piercing right through the griffon’s ribcage, and cleaving its heart in two.

The beast did not even have the time to scream in pain, or even feel it for that matter, as the onslaught had been so sudden and quick, that it was dead before it even could register that it was going to die. Tory removed his blade and frowned. Perhaps this was a bit overkill? Surely not, after what they had done already, and were planning to do! These were the monsters that had kidnapped Luna, and gave her to that prince to use as some kind of… sexual plaything! Then when he came to her rescue, that one supposed leader had the audacity to call Luna his woman right in front of her husband, and instructed his guards to kill them both when they attempted to escape! This was not overkill, not for them…

“You there, griffon in the air!” Tory called out to the archer. “I have no quarrel with you, being that you are simply under orders to attack me, no? Should you wish to keep your life, I’d suggest fleeing now. My fight is with this piece of garbage!”

As he finished the last word, the human lazily pointed at the prince, almost like he didn’t care really. Truthfully, he didn’t give a rat’s ass anymore. These troops were about as dangerous as hedgehogs, only an issue if you get in their way or they were defending their territory. These were supposedly “Experienced Fighters”, so why were they such an easy challenge? That he was half dead, and still he managed to take down four guards with ease, causing the fifth and last to retreat back to the castle.

“You’ve… You’ve dispatched my entire squad, and made a fool of me!” the griffon prince stated angrily with a hint of fear in his voice, him stepping back once confirming that. “I should-”

“What?” Tory cut him off, taking his blade and aiming the point at the leader. “What could you, a single prince that is weaker than his troops do? I’ve dispatched five of your soldiers, coming out with only a single wound!”

As if in response, the giant claw marks from the one griffon acted up, and pain flared through the human’s body. He collapsed on one knee, and panted heavily. All of his adrenaline had been used up, and now if he wanted to do anything, he would risk his body falling apart, or something inside him failing to act or maintain his bodily functions, like breathing and pumping blood throughout his body. If he was on his last legs before, then now Tory could saw he was finished. He gripped his sword tightly, the blade digging into the ground so that he could use it as support to keep from fully collapsing.

“It looks like that ‘single wound’ has finally taken its toll,” the beast prince gloated with a giant sneer. “You’re finished, freak.”

The chimera walked over slowly, and raised its crossbow to Tory’s head, the arrow merely two inches away from his face. He stared at the tip, which was aimed for right between his eyes. Time seemed to slow down as the griffon pulled the specially made trigger for claws. Each second turned into minutes, and yet it all seemed to progress at a normal rate. The human could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears with every half second. It was deafening for him.

Just as the arrow was about to pierce his skull though, Tory’s silver aura flared up. The ground in front of him split apart, and a thin wall of green crystal erupted from within, quickly knocking the crossbow up, and causing the projectile to fly over his head harmlessly. The crossbow flew from the beast’s claw, and clattered to the ground harmlessly away from its owner. The prince stumbled backwards, looking from the human to the crystal wall.

“Wh-What did you just do?!” the monster asked him, incredulous. “Where did that adamantine come from?”

“Adamantine?” Tory questioned, looking at the wall before him. He placed his free hand against the smooth surface, feeling the cold hard mineral that had saved his life. “You mean like… the h-hardest mineral ever known to exist? The impenetrable material that is… so rare to find?”

Where HAD this crystal come from? It appeared right as he needed it most, saving his life from a death that would still come. But what was the cause of it? Tory thought back to what had happened. He recalled a flash of silver, and suddenly the wall of adamantine burst from the earth itself… Could… Could the crystal have responded to his power? But that was another thing! If he recalled, the human had a deep green aura, the same as Two-Tail’s, since the alicorn had been reborn into his body. So why had it been silver just then, as well as back in the castle?

These questions threatened to consume Tory’s thoughts, and they would have if not for the sudden movement that he caught from his right side. He turned to see the griffon prince there, its face contorted into one of anger. The beast raised a claw, poised to deal what the human believed was a deathblow. Without anytime to act, it seemed like he would die for real this time. Yet a single thought ran through his head: use the sword.

Taking a risky precaution, Tory used the last of his strength to pull the sword out of the ground and use it in a weak slash to the chimera leader’s chest. The human swung his blade diagonally, cutting part of the creature’s arm off, but there was not enough force to go all the way through. The most he could manage was to dig his blade into its body, and redirect the initial claw swipe off to the side, where it missed him completely.

But now without something to support him, Tory collapsed onto the ground, his entire body screaming bloody murder in the process. He was losing way to much blood to withstand living more than a few minutes at most. Each second made his vision grow dimmer, and his breath come in more shallow amounts. If he had been left alone, the human would die soon enough, but of course, such a thing could not happen, not to Tory.

“Why… won’t… you… DIE?!!” the griffon prince raged, panting himself and unable to fully move with a blade in one of his arms. “No matter what… I throw at you… It just doesn’t seem… to do the job…”

Tory couldn’t respond, his mind starting to go blank, and the rest of his thoughts focused on trying to stay alive and buy Luna time. He had to make sure that he did his job of keeping her safe with his very life, just like a paladin… Actually, he liked the sound of that! Tory, the Paladin! Truly, that title could be his for what he has put forth. From the moment he stepped into Equestria, Tory had been thrown into deadly choice after deadly choice. He had to pick between Discord and the ponies he called friends… he had to choose if he wanted to risk his life fighting Discord, if he wanted to save Luna… These were just the ones that stuck out at the moment, but the teen knew there were more within his short time he had spent in this world.

“I’ll… I’ll kill you now,” the chimera leader laughed, a somewhat hysterical and crazy smile on his face. Evidently, he was starting to crack under the pressure. “There’s no way you can stop me from killing you! This blade of yours is mine now, you cannot even talk, let alone move, and I can see the light leaving your eyes! Oh yes, if I left you here, then that frail, weakling body of yours would give out in mere minutes by the look of things… But no, I want the pleasure of doing this myself!”

Climbing to his claws, the prince looked at the blade still embedded in his arm. He grasped the hilt in his other claw, and yanked it out, screaming as intense pain burned in his body. That he managed to do something like that, being as frail as he was, having never seen battle until now… That was a feat for him! He successfully ignored the pain, and placed a firm grip on the sword. The beast limped over to Tory, and raised his new weapon to the sky, prepared to strike down his enemy.

“You stole my wench from me, threatened my life, and held me to a wall with a blade so much like this one!” the creature shrieked loudly, his anger and hysteria as evident as his bleeding arm. “You killed off my guards, let that pathetic pony flee from me, and most dire of all, you succeeded in hurting me! NOW YOU DIE!!!!”

Just as the griffon prince swung the sword down for the final strike, a deep blue blur came in from across him. The object slammed into his chest, knocking him back quickly. The beast fell to the ground a good ways back, sliding just a little as he touched down. He stared at the sky as he came to a complete stop and noticed something flying through the air. It was the blade he held just moments ago! It had been sent into the sky upon the impact from before, and now it was…

“GAHHHHH!!!!!!” the prince cried out, his voice filled with such a pain that one could not help but feel sorry for him. “MY CLAW!!!!!!”

The sword had fallen down upon the creature, and had cleaved his entire front claw off his arm. He writhed about, the pain so intense that he was amazed he didn’t pass out from it. Was this… Was this the pain that freak and his guards had felt earlier? He had been about to deal such a level of pain unto another? These thoughts raced through the beast’s head as he held his stump of an arm within his remaining claw. The pain was unbearable, but still, there was nothing he could do about it at the time.

“TORY!!!” came the familiar and regal voice of Luna. “TORY NO!!!”

The blue blur from before had been the dark alicorn, using her body as a means to take down the griffon prince. Now she was at the side of the human she loved, the one that had come to break her free of the castle where something most precious was almost taken from her. Getting down on her knees, Luna cried upon seeing the extensive damage done to Tory. He was barely breathing, and under him was a massive pool of blood, a testament to the hardships he had faced when she was not present. His eyes were growing dark and blank as he weakly turned his head to look at her.

“Wh-Why…” Tory asked her, his question coming out so quietly, it was almost inaudible. “L-L-Luna…. Why did you…”

“Please, don’t talk!” the dark alicorn cried, placing her head against his, so that they were the only thing the other saw. “J-Just try to stay alive! I’ll heal you, I swear!”

“If only…” Tory whispered, the light in his eyes barely there. “I’ve got…. Maybe a few minutes…”

“Then I’ll use those few minutes to heal you!” Luna sobbed, unable to hold it back. Her horn glowed a deep blue, and so did the human she was so focused on. “I’m not going to lose you Tory!”

“You… You caused my claw to come off!” the chimera leader raged, getting up and glaring at Luna. “I’ll kill you wench!”

Seeing an immediate threat to Tory, the dark alicorn stood up and returned the violent gaze with one of her own. The intensity within Luna’s green eyes was so powerful, so dark and full of malice that the prince couldn’t do anything. All thoughts of anger, revenge, and killing the human she loved vanished within a mere second of the two beings making eye contact. The griffon took a step back, then another one, followed by more quickly, each a heavy limp since he was missing a claw. The prince turned and spread his wings, quickly fleeing the scene. He knew when it was time to back off. If he stayed, especially in his condition, he would die.

“Tory, he’s gone!” Luna turned back to her lover. She quickly covered him with her magic, and focused on his wounds patching up. “We’ll save you yet!”

“Luna… stop.” Tory whispered, actually starting to recover. “I… I have to-”

“You have to shut up and let me heal you!” the dark alicorn cut him off, not taking no for an answer. “Please Tory…”

The human simply sighed and let her continue. He wasn’t one to go against the wishes of his lover. If she wanted him to live, then he might as well. Yes he was going to die, but maybe that would be later? Tory could enjoy the time spent with Luna until that point then! He and Luna had spent the least amount of time together out of all of his loves really, so it was only right that he devote as much of his time to her so that he could make up for it.

“O-Okay Luna… I think that’s good,” Tory finally said, feeling considerably better than before.  He stood up on shaky legs, but he did not buckle. “I’m… I’m feeling better now.”

“Oh my, I’m so glad!” Luna cried, glomping Tory quickly. “I don’t know what I’d do without you!”

“…”

“Tory?”  the dark alicorn looked at him with a worried expression. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s just… I…” Tory stammered, unsure how to say it. He was going to die, that was a fact. If he remembered from the statue in the Cloister, it would happen on the return trip, and he would die by an arrow. “I’m… I have to… GET DOWN!!!”

Tory quickly forgot what he was going to say, and focused instead on something from the edge of his vision. The one griffon troop from earlier had stood up. It was the one the human had not killed, but merely knocked out! In its claw was the crossbow that the adamantine wall had knocked away. The beast stood up shakily, and brought up the weapon, taking aim at Luna’s back. It was evident what was about to happen.

Instinctively, Tory pushed her to the side and out of harm’s way. At that very moment, the griffon launched the arrow, which shot forward with blinding speed, catching him right in the center of his chest. The projectile pushed in, shredding a large hole right through his heart and lungs. The full impact of the shot carried the human off his feet, and sent him to the ground once more, except this time with a direct hit to his vitals.

“TORY!!!!!” Luna shrieked, seeing him take the hit for her. She turned to see the griffon fleeing the scene, quickly escaping back to the castle. Ignoring that, she rushed to the side of her lover, and ripped the arrow out. “I-I-It’s going to b-be fine! I healed you o-once, I can d-do it again!”

“N-Not this… time,” Tory gasped, coughing up blood. He looked into Luna’s eyes, some tears forming as the light started to leave him once more. “I’m… finished.”

“NO!” the dark alicorn sobbed, her own eyes begging him to not give up. “You can’t die!”

“This was… going t-to happen,” the human continued, placing a hand on Luna’s cheek. “I was supposed to die….for you.”

“No… Please no!”

Luna forced her magic to surface, and poured every last bit of it into Tory’s body, praying with all of her heart and soul that he would live. Yet try as she would, the arrow had done too much to his already damaged body. His heart was losing blood from all four chambers within it, pumping it into the other hole that led to his lungs. His breath was slowly being taken from him as the crimson red liquid ran in his throat.

There was no way to stop what had already been done to Tory, and the dark alicorn knew that. But still, she cried, begging for him to recover, like he had done before. If it worked once, it would again, right… RIGHT?! Surely if she could save him from death, she could do so once more! Then why was he still dying! Luna looked into his eyes, and watched the light leave him slowly. Each second turned into minutes, and then to hours as his blue eyes grew blank and soulless.

“Is… Is this death?” Tory thought, all feeling escaping his body. The only thing that remained was a numbing coldness… one that scared him. “I’m… I’m truly dying this time… It feels so… empty.”

Tory couldn’t do much anymore, let alone see, hear, or feel Luna trying to revive him. Yet still he knew she was there, and that eased his burden. He had the dark alicorn beside him, and that was his once solace in death. With the last of his strength, the human blindly brushed his hand along her mane, stroking each and every strand. And as he reached the back of her head though, the last bit of energy left him, and his hand fell to the ground, right beside her hoof.

“….No.” Luna whispered, unable to believe what she was seeing. Her mind refused to accept the fact that was right in front of her. “No… No. NO! Tory you… You can’t die!!!”

The dark alicorn leaned down, and kisses the human, nothing else in her head but the thought that maybe if he felt her love, then he’d come back to her. Yet still Tory remained motionless, his eyes blank and staring at her with no emotion whatsoever. His lips were cold and lifeless, the final sign that he was gone from this world. Luna held the kiss though, tears running down her face and dropping off, only to roll down the cheeks of the one she loved, making it look like Tory was crying as well. 

“There is… no way you’re dead!” Luna sobbed onto the chest of the one she loved, unable to look into those soulless eyes any more. She just couldn’t accept this, that he was dead. Raising her head to the sky, she wailed to the very heavens themselves. “TORY!!!! PLEASE NO!!!!!!”

Luna remained in that spot for an hour, unable to move, to think, or to care about anything. All she could do was mourn at the loss of her lover, the only one to ever truly care about her enough to sacrifice everything so she could escape her captors. There was nothing left for her now, not her sister, nor the kind citizens of her kingdom could ever begin to null, weaken, or even come close to helping take away the pain that was in her heart.

Luna looked at Tory once more, and finally moved a hoof to close his eyes. That empty look they gave her was unbearable. To think that they originally shined with a light, a love so strong that the owner would be willing to die for her, that was almost inconceivable now. They were so blank, so dark and tear-jerking that the dark alicorn knew she’d break down again if she saw them once more. It was just horrifying, the mere thought of Tory being dead.

“…This wasn’t supposed to happen, you jerk,” Luna whispered, taking his dead hand in her hoof. “You said it was supposed to, but I know for a fact that you and I were meant to live, to be together… It’s all THEIR fault!”

The dark alicorn turned to the castle in the far distance, the griffon castle. Just looking at it sent her anger to a boiling point. THEY had been the ones to take her! THEY were the ones that hurt Tory! THEY WERE THE ONES TO KILL HIM!!! These were the only thoughts that flashed through her head now. Luna could see nothing but that castle. Her sight stared to go red as anger, complete rage, and a desire to kill replaced everything else in her mind and soul.

Luna glowed a near black with a hint of blue within. Her body was coated in this dark aura as her magic spawned a new form. The dark alicorn’s actual coat color became a pure black, and her mane turned to a ghostly shade of blue, with the night sky portrayed within. A light blue helmet appeared over her head, as did a chest piece and large greaves for her legs. Her wings took on a bat like shape, but remained feathers, and her horn grew a few inches. 

No longer was she Luna, princess of Equestria. Now, she was Nightmare Moon, the evil alicorn out to claim her revenge against the world that would bring such an injustice as death upon the one she loved. And her first goal was to claim the life of the one that ended Tory’s. With hate and malice guiding her every thought, Nightmare Moon began her slow trek to the griffon castle, wondering how to extract the most pain from her victims…


I.I.I Memory Recollection 2 complete: Returning to current time period I.I.Icenter]

“W-Wow… that’s quite a story Fantasia,” Twilight said quietly, her eyes on the white unicorn.

After making it to the hospital, Raven, Twilight, Fantasia, and Ditzy started to talk in the gray-ish mare’s room, where she was slowly recovering from her injuries that she received earlier. From what the doctor said, Derpy had an injured wing, a mild concussion, and would have to be placed under medical care for a few days at most. When he heard all of this, the auburn pegasus that she called her coltfriend wanted to storm out of the hospital and beat the living tar out of Trixie. The only thing that held him back were Ditzy’s pleas for him to stay with her.

Fantasia had just finished explaining her story to the rest of the group, and was now looking at each of them. Twilight had a curious but neutral expression on her face, one that hid how she truly felt over this. Raven and Ditzy were looking at the white unicorn with the same emotion on their faces… compassion, as well as a desire to help her. All three of them seemed to truly care about Fantasia, which she thought was amazing… Just days ago, she had no friends, and only her mentor. Now, she had more friends than she could count! Her life had changed so considerably!

“I can’t believe that Trixie!” Raven raged quietly at his place beside Ditzy, punching his hooves together. “When I see her, I’m going to-”

“U-Um Raven…” the gray-ish pegasus whispered to him, her eyes clouded with worry. “Please don’t…”

“I want Trixie to pay but…” Fantasia started. “But I don’t want her to get hurt so badly… There is still some good in her, I know it! Maybe we can-”

“I don’t think it’ll be that easy Fantasia,” Twilight stopped her, shaking her head slowly. “Trixie has hurt so many ponies, and if what Tory told me once before is true, not many will take kindly to her trying to be nice. After what she has done, forgiveness will be difficult to gain.”

The white unicorn lowered her head, somewhat sad now. Yes, Trixie had done many bad things, but so had many others, and they had been forgiven. Why should the blue unicorn be any different? Princess Luna was a good example of the forgiveness shown. Nightmare Moon had been ready to rule the world with an iron hoof, and twice she almost succeeded. Yet even after her defeat, Princess Luna had been accepted back by Equestria with delighted hooves and many cheers. Couldn’t Fantasia’s sister be the same?!

The white unicorn had been about to speak again, ready to suggest something, when a loud commotion occurred in the hall outside. There was the sound of two doors crashing against the wall, a group of ponies shouting at each other, one issuing orders to the rest of them, and what each of the ponies in the room believed to be a stretcher being wheeled past their room. Poking her head out the door, Fantasia looked down the hall after them. She saw a large trail of blood leading down the corridor, followed by what looked like… oh no…

“What is it?” Twilight asked, curious but staying back.

“You… You don’t want to know,” Fantasia stammered, closing the door quickly.

Twilight was about to ask why she was acting weird when a knock came at the door. Hesitantly, the white unicorn opened it to see Luna standing there, tears running down her face, and she was panting heavily. Quickly, Fantasia threw the door open and led her teacher to a chair, the rest of the room watching. She had a feeling what was going on, and it started to make her tear up as well. It had to do with that being on the stretcher, and the trail of blood no doubt…

“P-Princess Luna!” Twilight gasped, bowing quickly. “How did you find us?”

“Please d-don’t bow Twilight S-Sparkle,” Luna sobbed, stopping the purple unicorn. “I saw F-Fantasia’s head from the d-door just a few seconds ago.”

“What’s going on?” Raven boldly ventured, speaking plainly to the Princess.

“W-Well it started w-with this m-morning,” the dark alicorn explained in between her gasps for air. “Tory didn’t wake up… a-and soon we n-noticed weird things h-happening… This silver aura around him…. Cuts and bruises along his body… and he was o-oddly exhausted despite the fact th-that he had done n-nothing besides sleep.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Ditzy commented, looking at the Princess.

“But the w-worst part came just ten m-minutes ago,” Luna continued as though she had not hear the pegasus. “Tory started bleeding really b-badly… He had these giant c-claw marks in his b-back… That was wh-when we called for medical treatment.”

“LUNA!!!!!” came Rainbow’s voice. Everypony turned to face her, and she had the same expression on her face as the dark alicorn. The look in her eyes though was more clouded, empty, and if one knew her, they could say she looked defeated. “It’s Tory…. He’s…..He’s dead…”


I.I.I Author’s Note I.I.I


Once more, I apologize for such a long delay with this chapter! I swear I hadn’t intended for the wait to be so massive! I’ve had so much shit crammed down my throat over the course of my entire summer that I’m amazed I didn’t kill myself off! I’ve had my heart ripped into so many shards, had to deal with my incessant family, meaningless chores, boring trips. I’ve had to suffer through the longest run of summer school ever, and that is just the big shit! Top it all off with the small things, and you have a person who broke down mentally about… seven times,  nearly had everything taken from him, and then he still had to put forth an effort into something that he couldn’t work on for lack of time and everything else.

But now I’m just bitching about my summer to each of you. Once more, I apologize, and I’ll leave things off on a more delightful note. This past week from when this was posted has been most enjoyable, and that has given me courage to write, and rebuilt me from the ground up. If you noticed, my style changed somewhat midway through the chapter. This is the fruit of how I improved thanks to some role-playing, as well as many other delightful boosts. 

But this post doesn’t mean I’m going to be quick about my future chapters like I once was… I’m just saying. I’m going to be moving very soon, and I’m starting up school once more come Monday. I’ve got so many things on my plate right now; I’ll be amazed if I come out the same when the smoke has cleared! But anyways, that’s all said and done! Hope to see you when the next chapter comes out! Please review if you feel up to it! I’d like to know what you thought of this chapter in particular! Oh, and if you can find the reference that I made, then I will love you forever!

Tory Mills/ Silverwing Strong (Paladin)