//------------------------------//
// The Guardian's Resolve 
// Story: Friendship is Aura 
// by KangTheGuardian 
//------------------------------//

	Walking did little to help unravel anything hidden within the darkness, if there was anything hidden there at all. Even after moving in the same direction for quite a while, he felt like he was still standing on the same spot that he had woken up from. Not that he knew what he was looking for in the first place. To him, the darkness felt rather homely and welcoming as it was, but something was missing. Something he couldn’t name or imagine in his head.

Finally deciding that his search was futile, he stopped in his tracks and sat down. Behind him, the being who had followed him all this way did the same. The two of them sat in silence as he kept looking around, still finding nothing. The being, however, was just watching him with a smile on its face, something he took notice of after a while.

“Why are you staring at me?” he asked it. The being looked around itself, briefly studying its surroundings a bit before turning back to him.

“Well, you’re pretty much the only thing here for me to watch. I mean, the light is nice and all, but I’m having way more fun watching you.”

“I still don’t understand why you insist on calling it that,” he responded while turning his face away.

“But it fits so well!” the being exclaimed as it jumped up and began to skip around the area. “It makes my body feel so tingly and light. See? I said it again! It’s such a great word that it fits two different meanings. When I’m around it, I just want to dance, play, and run around. Can’t you feel it too?”

“No, I can’t,” he flatly stated. “So unless you find something that interests me, I suggest you do those things you mentioned for yourself and leave me be.”

The being gave him a small frown, but he ignored it. All this talk about “feelings” confused him. He could “feel” his chin when he touched it with his limb. But from what he could decipher out of the being, it talked about a different meaning of the word. It was as if it concerned something more than just the body, something deeper. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it sounded to him.

“How about this? Is this interesting?” A small tap on his shoulder disturbed his thinking, and he reluctantly turned around to see what the being was talking about this time. What he saw did indeed catch his interest.

The being was holding a pile of extremely tiny objects, so small that they almost became invisible against the dark void they stood on. No matter how hard the being tried to hold them, the objects fell out of its grasp in a small stream, leaving a steadily growing pile under it.

“Where did you find it?” he asked as he studied it.

“Nowhere,” the being answered with a smile. “I made it.”

This caused him to look up at the being with a confused look. “You made it?”

“Yeah, just now. I didn’t know I could, but I wanted to find something to show you. So I just pointed somewhere, and there it just was a moment later. I think I’m going to call this stuff Dirt.”

He blinked a few times at the being’s explanation. It just created it like that? Could he do that as well?

“Why don’t you try it?” the being asked, as if it was reading his mind.

“I was just going to.” He pointed somewhere like the being had done, but he realized that he didn’t know what to make. Taking what little inspiration there was to get from the “dirt”, he closed his eyes and tried to imagine what one of those smaller objects would look like if it was bigger. A small gasp from the being signaled the sudden appearance of a large, solid object in front of them. It was about half the size of their heads.

“Whoa! See? I knew you could do it too! What is it?” The being turned to him with an expecting expression on its face.

“…A Rock,” he answered after a short moment of thinking. By then, the being was walking around the “rock”, studying its features.

“Hmm… It looks nice and all, but I think my dirt is way better.”

“Your ‘dirt’ has no solid form as it is. What’s the point of something that falls apart when you touch it?”

“I can use my dirt to draw a face.” True enough, the being drew two small holes and a line in the small pile, making it look like two eyes and a smiling mouth.

“I can use my rock to stand on when I need to see farther away.”

“Dirt can be used to throw at someone when they’re mean.” The being picked up a little dirt and threw it at his chest, giggling all the while. After letting its giggles settle down, he gathered the dirt into a bigger pile, picked up his rock, and dropped it. The dirt pile was soundly flattened by the impact, leaving the being briefly stunned.

“Oh… yeah… that’s another way to deal with someone mean, I guess,” it admitted. It gave out a small laugh before it looked at him again. “Let’s see what else we can make!”

For the first time since their meeting, he found himself agreeing to the being’s idea. He had little to no interest in the being’s own creations, but he was slowly gaining more ideas for what to make next.

This time, he had something of a slightly bigger scale in mind.





The royal guards bowed their heads before closing the doors leading to the royal council chamber behind them. Luna gave them a curt nod in response before turning her attention back to the table. She, Lucario, Twilight, her friends, Shining Armor, and Cadence were sitting around a big, round table in the middle of the room. While it was commonly used solely by the princesses and the council members during important meetings, Luna had chosen to exclude the normal council this time. She felt like the matter at hoof needed to be made by them and them alone, without the pointless arguments of ponies who knew nothing about what was going on.

“Thank you all for coming here. I’m afraid this matter calls for all of us, despite my initial hopes to keep you out of it,” Luna began, making sure to make brief eye contact with everyone present.

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re always saying that?” Rainbow replied with a roll of her eyes. “Seriously, I think we’ve saved Equestria enough times to deserve to know what’s going on this time.”

“I agree, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said. “Although, judging from Princess Luna’s awfully concerned expression, I guess this is a rather different matter than our previous adventures.”

“Bah! We’ve faced the likes of all-powerful beings before, I’m sure this will be no sweat either.” Rainbow was smiling smugly before noticing that Luna didn’t share her confidence. “…Right?”

“You mentioned something called the Gates of Tartarus before,” Lucario stated. “Is that something the rest of you are familiar with?”

Lucario guessed that was the case, as Twilight, Shining, and Cadence tensed up upon the mentioning of the name. The rest of Twilight’s friends just shot a few confused glances between each other, except for Pinkie Pie, who seemed to be too busy with calling herself a knight of the round table or something similar.

“The Gates of Tartarus?” Twilight repeated. “I know that place, all right. I’ve even been there myself. It’s-”

“Allow me to explain, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna interrupted her. After waiting for the others to shift their attention to her, she started to explain.

“Nopony knows when the Gates of Tartarus first appeared in Equestria. It’s possible that they have been here since the very birth of the world. Even over a thousand years ago, when Celestia and I had just become the rulers of the land, tales of the gates were already as old as the most ancient text. As to what lies beyond the gates, I cannot say. After confirming that the gates indeed existed, we forbid our subjects from ever venturing near it. I must say that I was both greatly worried and angry upon hearing that you had visited that place, Twilight. Whatever it is that lies beyond those gates, it is a dark force that should never pass into Equestria.”

“Good thing Cerberus is there to guard them for us,” Fluttershy whispered from her end of the table, almost too quiet for anyone to hear.

“Cerberus?” Lucario asked.

“He is the guard dog of the gates,” Luna explained. “He’s as ancient as the gates themselves, having been there to guard them for as long as history can remember. Nopony truly knows what he is or where he came from. Some suggest that he is a spirit similar to Discord, but of nobler motives. Others suggest that he came from the gates themselves in order to stop anyone from entering them… or leaving them, for that matter.”

“Well, he sure must’ve gotten bored of it lately,” Applejack said. “That jumbo critter just came rushing through Ponyville not too long ago as if he was out playing. That doesn’t sound like the typical behavior of the gates’ eternal guard dog to me.”

“I thought that was strange too.” Twilight brought a hoof to her chin. “I managed to guide him back before too much time had passed, but I’ve no idea why he left in the first place.”

“We’re to assume that Celestia has been brought there, right?” Cadence asked. “If so, then how did she get past Cerberus without him noticing?”

“It must’ve been Chrysalis,” Shining stated. ”She must’ve done something to Cerberus to gain access to the gates. Maybe she even got rid of Cerberus entirely, seeing as those creatures from before seemingly came from there without a hitch.”

“But that still doesn’t explain why Cerberus left his post that time,” Twilight said. “That happened at least a month before the queen’s first attempt to take over Equestria during your wedding. She couldn’t have prepared for Celestia’s kidnapping so early, could she?”

The group fell silent as they tried to make sense of the situation. None of them seemed to have any luck, as they were scratching their heads and looking down at the table in thought. The only exception was Lucario, who was staring at the wall with his paws clenched together in front of his face in deep thought.

“So what are we going to do now?” Applejack eventually asked. Luna looked at Lucario for a moment, but the Pokémon was still thinking, so she decided to answer herself.

“Lucario is planning to travel to the gates soon, probably by tomorrow. I’m going with him, and I’d like the six of you to come with us. We will need the aid of the Elements for this.”

“But Luna…!” Cadence exclaimed as she stood up from her seat in protest. “With Celestia gone, you’re the only one left to move the sun and the moon! If you get captured, all of Equestria is doomed!”

“I’ve no intention of getting captured,” Luna calmly stated. “I’m sure that I’ll be fine with Lucario and the Elements by my side. Besides, this is a personal matter to me. I’ll make whoever is behind this pay for kidnapping my sister!”

Cadence opened her mouth to speak, but Shining placed a hoof around her shoulder to silence her. The young princess looked down at her hooves in defeat, knowing that she couldn’t change Luna’s mind anymore.

“I want you and Shining Armor to take care of Equestria in my absence,” Luna continued. “I’m sure you’ll do fine. The citizens have grown rather fond of you after your wedding day.”

“They’re fond of you too, Luna,” Cadence replied, causing Luna to flinch a bit. “You can’t just leave like this. There will be chaos across the land if you leave without telling them.”

“I was planning to tell them, Cadence,” Luna answered. “I’ll have my advisors schedule an emergency speech for me at the city square tomorrow. The ponies deserve to know what’s going on.”

“Why do I get the feeling that this won’t end well?” Rainbow whispered to Applejack, who lightly jabbed her friend in the chest for being pessimistic about the event.

“There’s something you’ve yet to explain to me,” Lucario suddenly said, finally snapping out of his thoughts. “What are these Elements you keep mentioning, and what do they have to do with you six?”

“Oh, yeah, we haven’t told him that, have we?” Applejack scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

“Oh! Oh! Let me tell him! Let me tell him!” Pinkie shouted from her side.

“They’re not a Happy Rainbow Friendship Laser-thing, Pinkie!” the rest of Pinkie’s friends shouted at the same time, except for Fluttershy.

“Aww, you guys are no fun,” Pinkie complained as she sunk back in her seat.

“Anyway, The Elements of Harmony are the most powerful force in Equestria,” Twilight began to explain. “Each of them represents a certain spirit of friendship, and can only be used by those who represent each spirit. Over a year ago, when I first moved into Ponyville, we all became their new bearers to save Equestria. For example, I’m-”

“The spirit of Magic,” Lucario finished for her, causing Twilight to drop her jaw in shock. “Applejack is Honesty, Fluttershy is Kindness, Pinkie is Laughter, Rarity is Generosity, and Rainbow is Loyalty.”

“Ooh, someone did their homework! That’s Ninja Mister for you!” Pinkie happily exclaimed.

“But how did you ever learn all of that, darling?” Rarity asked. “I mean, most ponies know that we’re the wielders of the Elements, but almost nopony knows which one we each represent.”

“When I snuck into the castle before, I visited Celestia’s bedchambers in search for clues. I found a painting of several stars and words written in different colors. After guessing that the colors represented you six, I just spoke your names as I touched each star to make Celestia’s diary appear. By reading parts of it, I proved my suspicions about Celestia’s strange behavior.”

“P-P-Princess Celestia has a diary…?” Twilight asked with a shaky voice. Her eyes were suddenly sparkling dreamingly, no doubt fantasizing about the contents of that book.

“Don’t you dare, Twilight Sparkle!” Rarity pointed hoof in her friend’s direction. “It was awful when my sister read my diary and published it in those Gabby Gums articles, and I’ll not let you risk having another poor pony’s secrets leaking out!”

“Oh, yeah, sorry…” Twilight apologized, visibly regretting that she wanted to intrude on Celestia’s private life like that.

“And I trust YOU to not say a word about it! Capiche?” Rarity said to Lucario, who was stunned to suddenly see the seemingly regal mare act so spirited.

“…You have my word.”

“Good.” Rarity’s usual glamorous smile returned to her lips. “Now, I think that takes care of the topics of this meeting, yes?”

“Yes,” Luna answered. “We’ll leave for the gates immediately after I’ve finished my speech tomorrow.” She stood up and looked over her friends and family. “I suggest you get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow will be a stressful day, I’m afraid. You’re dismissed.”

With that, everyone stood up and began to leave the room. Twilight’s friends were still whispering with each other as the doors closed behind them. The only two left in the room were Luna and Lucario, the latter just getting up to leave as well.

“You seemed to be thinking for quite a while back there,” Luna stated. “Is there anything I should know?”

“Nothing concrete at the moment. I have some suspicions about things, but I can’t give them any explanation or reason until we arrive at the gates.”

“I see…” Luna replied before falling silent. Lucario was about to continue to the doors when she suddenly spoke again. “Don’t you find it strange?”

Lucario stopped and looked back at her. “What do you mean?”

“That voice that came out of the creature before. It knew who you were. None of them said a single word to me when I fought them, but that last one reacted immediately once you arrived. Just how does it know about you?”

Lucario looked down at the floor for a moment as he thought. “I have no idea. I’ve never heard that voice before in my life.” He turned and opened the doors while looking over his shoulder at Luna. “With any luck, I’ll get the chance to ask it myself by tomorrow.”

The doors closed behind him, leaving Luna alone in the room. The princess stared at the doors for a moment before sighing.

You’re always so eager to throw yourself at risk to save others. The dragon, Chrysalis, and now this? Why are you so protective of us?

Just around two hours ago, she had wanted to punish the Pokémon for making her act so embarrassingly during his fight against Chrysalis. But seeing him come rushing to aid her against the creatures, and seeing his resolve to travel to the gates made her forgive him without even realizing it. Still, there was a small part of her heart that doubted Lucario’s intentions. She didn’t want to, but the way he had wanted to avoid speaking about his past worried her. But those were worries for another time. She channeled her magic and teleported away, intending to find her advisors to schedule the speech as soon as possible.





The next day, the ponies of Canterlot weren’t that surprised upon hearing of Luna’s sudden speech. After all the events that had happened during the past few days, they were expecting some good answers out of her. Many of the nobles were still away in different towns and cities, but there were more than enough ponies to fill the space around the city square.

Luna was standing on the balcony of the nearby tower. The tower was short enough for the ponies to see her, as well as hear her when she used her royal canterlot voice. Twilight, her friends, Shining Armor, and Cadence were standing by her sides, ready to give their support should the need arrive. Lucario was the only one staying hidden within the tower. Luna had feared that his presence would make the citizens anxious, so she had asked him to stay out of sight for now.

Despite her best efforts, Luna had failed to raise the sun after several attempts. She simply lacked her sister’s magical experience that she had gained during Luna’s long absence. Luna knew that she had yet to regain all her magical power after Nightmare Moon’s defeat, but that was more than a year ago. Surely she would’ve recovered by now. But it felt like there was a wall inside her mind, stopping her from reaching her full power. How and when she would get past that wall was beyond her knowing.

A pegasus guard flew by, whispering something in Shining’s ear. The captain nodded and dismissed the guard before turning to Luna.

“Everypony is present now, Luna, or at least everypony who were willing to come. Go ahead.”

Luna nodded and walked up to the side of the balcony. She looked over the ponies below her for a moment before clearing her throat to speak.

“Citizens of Canterlot, I thank you all for coming here on such a short notice.” While Luna mostly spoke in old equinish when using the royal canterlot voice, she forced herself to speak in the modern way as she spoke to her subjects. “These past few days have been quite an ordeal for all of us, and you’re no doubt wondering what is going on.”

Several ponies on the ground nodded their heads, some more impatiently than others.

“You are all already aware of the changeling queen’s attack on the city the other day, as well as the kidnapping of my dear sister. Until yesterday afternoon, we had no idea where she has been taken. But her location was finally revealed during the attack of the mysterious black creatures yesterday.”

The ponies gasped and whispered a few things to each other before looking back up at Luna.

“My sister has been taken to a place called the Gates of Tartarus. It is a passageway between Equestria and a land of darkness no living pony has ever seen. Not even I know what lies beyond those gates, but it is there Celestia has been taken. Thus, it is there I must go.”

The city square fell silent as the ponies looked up at Luna in disbelief. Twilight shot them a worried glance from her side of the balcony, but kept quiet.

“After this speech is finished, I intend to travel to the gates together with the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Together we will find my sister and bring her back to us. While we’re gone, I’m leaving Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor to rule Equestria in me and my sister’s stead. But have no fear, my loyal subjects. Whatever it is that awaits us beyond the gates, I’m sure that we can handle it. With the Elements by my side, there is nothing that-”

“ARE YOU INSANE?!”

Luna’s speech was abruptly stopped by the angry shout of a stallion on the ground.

“You’re going to travel to what seems to be the most dangerous place in Equestria?! I don’t care how strong you and the Elements are, you’re the only princess we have left to move the sun and the moon! Have you even thought of what would happen if you were to get caught?! What’s wrong with you?!”

“She hasn’t even raised the sun yet! Is she expecting us to walk around in this darkness longer than necessary? What, can’t she do it or something?” a mare yelled as well.

“Maybe she doesn’t want to,” the stallion answered. “She’s been waiting to show off her night to us ever since she came back! I bet she’s just laughing at this moment all the way to the bank!”

“BE SILENT!” Shining yelled from the balcony, visibly furious. “I’ll not have you speak of Luna like that!”

“Oh, you’re one to talk, Prince,” the mare sarcastically replied. “I bet you would just love to rule Equestria for a bit while the princess is off saving the world and what not! Maybe you’re secretly hoping that she doesn’t come back at all!”

“WHAT DID YOU SAY?!” It wasn’t Shining Armor who yelled at the mare this time. Instead, she found herself face to face with Rainbow Dash, who had flown down when her anger got the better of her. “You’re either a changeling in disguise or the dumbest mare I’ve ever seen! That is the last thing Shining Armor would ever think! Besides, there’s no way we’ll let those gates get the better of us, especially not now when Lucario is coming with us!”

“Luca-who?” the mare asked with a raised eyebrow. Rainbow was about to continue, but Twilight pulled her back up to the balcony with her levitation spell, much to the pegasus’ dismay.

“Wait, you’re not talking about that freak who nearly destroyed us all the other day, are you?!” the stallion asked. “Are you going to trust Equestria’s fate to someone like that?!”

“That guy saved us all, if you were blind enough to not read the papers!” another stallion suddenly yelled behind him. “If he hadn’t been here, the changeling queen would have had all of us for breakfast!”

“Oh, so you trust the monster that blew up nearly half a mountain and left the plains in ruin?!”

“It was a QUARTER of a mountain, and I think he has a better chance than the rest of us!”

“We know nothing about him! He could just as well be the one behind all this, just waiting to lead the princess into a trap!”

“He risked his life to save us from the changeling queen! How does that fit the schemes of a villain, huh?!”

“I told you this wouldn’t end well,” Rainbow whispered in Applejack’s ear. The rest of the ponies on the balcony were equally worried about the building tension on the ground, especially Luna. This was the last thing she had hoped for during this speech.

“You’re just an idiot for blindly believing in anything you read!”

“And you’re just an idiot for questioning everything you read!”

The tension at last reached its boiling point, as the two stallions charged at each other to begin an all-out brawl. Fluttershy hid her eyes behind her hooves, and Shining was about to call on the guards to break up the fight. But something happened that made him delay his orders.

The two stallions jumped at each other, only to find themselves grabbed in midair by blue magic. Or at least they thought that it was magic. It felt different, somehow. Thinking that Luna herself had stepped in to stop them, they looked up at the balcony. Gasps and whispering spread across the crowd as the other ponies did the same.

Lucario was standing at the edge of the balcony, holding the stallions up in the air by the grip of his Psychic move. He began to lower his arm, allowing both of them to slowly land back on the ground. They didn’t continue their fight as Lucario let go off them, instead choosing to look at the diamond dog-like creature above them. Lucario gave them a brief glance before looking out over the rest of the crowd, studying the ponies’ expressions. Some seemed afraid; others seemed to look at him with something resembling awe. But each of them seemed to share a certain emotion in each of their hearts. After briefly closing his eyes to study their auras, he confirmed to himself that his guess had been true. 

Luna and the other ponies looked at Lucario in surprise. While Luna was thankful for the Pokémon intervening the fight, she feared how her subjects would react to his appearance. She was about to say something when Lucario suddenly leapt over the railing, causing Rarity and Fluttershy to gasp in brief shock. Activating Magnet Rise to slow his fall, Lucario landed in the middle of the crowd, ignoring how the crowd quickly backed away in panic. He looked at all of them for a few seconds before closing his eyes in what seemed to be contentment.

“You’re all worried about them, aren’t you?”

A few ponies flinched upon hearing his voice speak inside their minds. But there were many more who widened their eyes upon hearing his words.

“Not just about Celestia, but about Luna too. You’re afraid of what will happen to them at the gates, and you fear that they will never return. It’s normal to be worried about such things, as their presence here is required for you to have the day and night. Without them, Equestria would slowly fall into ruin.

“But that is not the kind of worry I feel in you. You’re not worried about your own safety. You’re worried about theirs. Not because Equestria depends on it, but because you simply like them. Love them, even. They’re both more than just mere rulers to you all. They’re your parental figures, your friends… your family. Such a deep connection between the people and their rulers truly amazes me. It even reminds me of the bond I had with my old queen back in my world.”

The ponies looked between themselves. Not in awkward silence, but in thought. Lucario spoke as if he was looking into their very hearts, and pulled out the innermost feelings even they themselves were unaware of. The small smile that had been on Lucario’s lips faded into a small frown, and his eyes grew a bit more serious.

“I intend to travel with Luna and the Elements to the gates. I’m prepared to risk my life to ensure their safety, as well as the rescue of Celestia. I promise you all that they will return home safe and sound.”

“Why?” Lucario looked back at the stallion that had been against Luna’s departure before. “You don’t even know any of us that well. Why are you risking your life to save ponies you’ve never met?”

“Is that so strange?” Lucario asked in response. “You ponies did the same thing to me when I arrived here. I was a stranger to you, perhaps even a monster in your eyes. You had no obligation to help me, nor did you have any reason to trust me. But the ponies I met that day brought me to safety despite that. They gave me a chance to find a new life here, to make new friends. It’s true that I’ve been here for just around a week. Even back in my world, creating such bonds between people would take much longer than that.

“But you ponies are different. Friendship and bonds are as natural to you as the air you breathe. In less than a day, you can forge ties between each other that can never be broken, even when it comes to those who’re different from you, like I am. I’ve been here for just a week, but I think something became clear to me from the very first few days:”

The crowd stayed silent as they listened. Luna and the others looked down at the scene, and even a few of the guards lost their focus as they watched the Pokémon. Lucario noticed a small filly standing at the front of the crowd around him, and he gave her a genuine smile.

“You’re family to me now, and there’s nothing wrong with wanting to defend your family, is there?”

At once, it felt like something changed deep within the hearts of every pony present. A few mares lifted their hooves to their mouths as small tears began to drop from their eyes. While most of the stallions’ faces remained unchanged, the mistrust they had for the Pokémon gave way for respect and idolism. This creature that they had never met before was willing to risk his life to protect them and their princesses. Not out of debt or force, but because they were important to him.

“…Wow. Just wow,” Rainbow said on the balcony. “Did Lucario just act… almost sappy?”

“I think the words you’re looking for are ‘kind and inspirational’, sugarcube,” Applejack responded with a small chuckle.

“That was so nice of him to say,” Fluttershy said, beaming with a smile for the first time since Chrysalis’ attack. “I… I just want to hug him for that.”

“I have to go! I must prepare for Ninja Mister’s ‘Awesome heartwarming speech’ party!” Pinkie exclaimed as she ran away before anypony could stop her.

Luna simply stood in silence as she watched Lucario on the ground. A few of the younger fillies and colts had begun to approach him, studying and running around him as if he was some kind of superhero. She couldn’t say that Lucario was exactly beaming. He wasn’t the kind of pony, or Pokémon in this case, to display emotion on Twilight and her friends’ level. But there was warmth beneath his smile, as well a clearly visible glimmer of happiness.

I thought there was a secret behind your willingness to protect us,” she thought to herself. “But maybe the only secret is that you’ve just come to love us that much.

Something changed within the hearts of the ponies present that day, including Luna’s. They no longer considered Lucario to be a possible threat or a dangerous monster. From that day on, he was one of them. From that day on, he was their friend.

From that day on, he was their guardian.





Darkness surrounded Lord Tartarus in his throne room, like it always had. Nothing moved and nothing made a sound, except for his own slow breathing. The dark voids he had for eyes were closed as he simply waited, not moving the slightest as he sat on his throne.

Suddenly, outside the gates leading to his kingdom, a trail of ashes passed through the black pillar, fusing with the ground on the other side. At once, scenes of an enraged princess and the arrival of the blue creature appeared in his mind, causing him to open his eyes.

“So they’re about to make their move…” he said to himself, letting his words echo across the room for no one to hear. “Predictable, but interesting nonetheless.”

Without standing up from his seat, Tartarus waved his hand at the ground in front of him. At once, two shapes began to grow out of the floor at the bottom of the stairs. While they were colored black at first, they eventually shifted to their own natural ones.

“We’re about to have visitors,” Tartarus said. “We’ve let you keep your personalities, so make sure that they get a warm welcome.”

“Oh, how I do love greeting visitors! Leave it to me, big boy, I’ll give them the greatest party they’ve ever had!”

“This fool’s plans are nothing but nonsense, my lord. Leave it to me. I’ll take care of those little foals personally…”

To be continued…