//------------------------------//
// Strange to Stranger 
// Story: CSF: Celestian Special Forces 
// by XeRom 
//------------------------------//

	My eyes snapped open and my head darted around as I searched for anything amiss. I didn't notice anything and I began to calm down, my breathing returning to normal. I sat up in the bed and shook my head, my mane whipping back and forth. I had the dream again, the one where Ponyville was attacked... I shook myself again. No point in dwelling on it, there were only a few weeks left until the day anyhow and I'm going to start losing my sanity if I keep thinking like this. I got up and re-shouldered the vest, gun, and sword making sure everything was secure and in its place. No point in scaring one of the maids. Walking over to the dresser, I searched around the draws for a strip of black cloth. It took me a minute to find what I was looking for but when I did I pulled it out and tied it around my neck for later. 
Once I had cleaned all of my things off the floor, I made the bed and left, flicking the candles and fireplace out with a bit of magic and locking the door behind me, as if no one had ever been in the room. I walked down the hallway, which was still lit by the same six torches, my hoofs dully clanking on the carpet laid down throughout the hallway leading to the stairs. Opening and closing the door behind me, I descended the stairs, the spiral staircase lit by the same torches as the rest of the palace. When I reached to bottom I followed another hallway down and out to the west-side gardens. There was no way to get from Luna's portion of the palace to Celestia's side without going through the throne room and I had no ambition to bother Princess Celestia this early in the morning.
As I exited the side of the palace, I was met by several rays of the sun coming from the other side of the palace. While still another hour until full sunrise, the rays still shone through the cracks in the horizon, spreading light throughout some of the land. I decided to take a quick stroll in the gardens. A few torches still lit the pathways and I followed them, heading in a random direction, although I know every part of the gardens, it was still fun to wander around aimlessly. I closed my eyes as I walked, merely using my senses and a few tendrils of magic to keep me from deviating off of the walkway. As I walked throughout the gardens, I paid attention to the sounds around me. The chirping of the birds, critters running through the trees, and... The sound of muffled grunting? Odd. As far as I knew, the gardeners weren't going to be out until tomorrow and no Guards were stationed out here. In fact, they were probably getting ready for the fight.
Opening my eyes, I began to follow the sound, headed through several twists and turns in the path, leading me into a small clearing that was closed off by several tall hedges. In the center of the clearing was a black Diamond Dog, going through some sort of exercises. It seemed to notice my presence as I trotted down the path and stopped what it was doing, turning towards me with violet eyes. 
"Well hello there Spade," SIlverClaw called, waving me over. I trotted over to where she was standing. "What brings you out here on this fine morning?"
I responded casually, "Getting ready for a little fun with a friend. How about you? What brings you out to this secluded parts of the west-gardens?"
She sat down on the grass, panting slightly. "Just some early morning exercise and training. What friend might I ask are you going to have 'fun' with?"
I idly looked around the field, smiling a bit as I replied, "Zin. He agreed to fight me, and in exchange the Palace Guards wouldn't bring him close to his maker."
She appeared taken aback at this and stood up abruptly from where she had just begun sitting. "This is certainly a new development... It will be interesting to see how he fares against someone with your... Training."
I gave her a nod, "Aye. That it will. It will be good to see how that kids changed since I last really saw him. Sure he's got magic and everything... But it will be interesting to see how his heart has changed."
"His heart?" She said, tilting her head at me at an odd angle.
"Yeah his heart.... His, uh, fighting spirit. Sure the kid has got spunk, but that's not all it takes in a fight." I said, stuttering a bit as I searched for the right word. "Yeah, his fighting spirit. It will be good to see how much he has changed."
"Oh he has, I assure you of that." She murmured, already trekking back the way I had come. "Well we had better not keep him waiting."
I trotted up beside her, following her out. "You're gonna watch?" She gave me a nod.
"Of course. I want to see his development as much as you do." she said as we turned several corners and came out off of the path, headed over a river and a small bridge which separated the east and the west gardens. We didn't say much else as we walked along the pathways, headed for the Memorial Tree where Zin was supposedly staying the night. As we walked up the hill, I spotted him where I had left him, laying in the grass, sleeping peacefully. 'Well it is good that someone got a good nights sleep.'
I increased my pace and trotted up to him, slightly passing SilverClaw in the process. The sun was just beginning its rise and I could already hear the nearing sounds of several Guards assembling in the field just beyond the hill. Walking over to ZIn, I kicked him a little gently in the side, waking him up, his eyes wild eyes. 
He got up from where he had been laying on the ground, raising his arms above his head as he stretched, he asked, "Ready?"
“I am, but are you?” I retorted. He turned to me after I had said this, a smile plastered on his face as he nodded.
“I can handle myself. Only time I am not ready is when I have to fight Grim.” He said, obviously full of confidence in himself. Well, that's good I suppose. You need to believe you are going to win a fight to actually have a chance at it.
SilverClaw chirped in from behind, moving back over to Zin, “It’s quite a sight to see them fight. Of course, the cave suffered damages...”
Zin shook himself, shaking the dirt and debris out of his fur from laying on the ground all night. “Let’s get this started. I still have to talk to Celestia about what she wants me to do.” He said, bringing his fist into his palm and cracking his knuckles. 
I grinned at him, "Sure thing kid." I rolled my shoulders around and bucked my back hooves out, loosening the stiffness in my joints. "If you two will follow me, I will take you to where we shall be engaging on this fine morning."
Zin nodded at me and I turned away from they, walking across the grass, down the hill as I made my way to the clearing just beyond another set of smile rises in the ground. Zin had started up some small conversation with SilverClaw, although I didn't pay attention to it. I was too busy sharpening my mind. I kept to myself as we walked, keeping myself ahead and apart from Zin and SilverClaw. It still only took us a minute to reach the clearing over the rise adjacent to the Memorial Tree's hill. As I crested over the top, I saw several dozen Guards idling around the clearing, talking amidst themselves, small hushed conversations. Several of them perked their heads up at my appearance and called greetings which I promptly returned. Calling out to a few close friends, I moved down the small rise just as Zin and SilverClaw crested it. The conversations amongst the Guards ceased as soon as they came into sights, several of them giving hard glances in Zin's direction. Nopony spoke a word as they themselves descended the rise. The groups scattered around the clearing made a large hole, headed to the edges of the clearing to give us plenty of room to maneuver. I spotted Scorched along with several other older Guards moving past Zin, one walking with a heavy limp indicating that he had received several breaks along his legs. Scorched gave Zin a harsh shove with his shoulder as he moved pass, saying something under his breath as he passed. Zin looked down but continued his trek into the middle of the field as SilverClaw broke off from him and headed to the edge of the field with the Guards.
I quietly sat on the ground as Zin approached the middle of the field. Closing my eyes, I retreated into myself for a moment, centering my being and breathing deeply. As I felt Zin stopping five meters from myself, my eyes shot open and I stood. Grabbing the cloth from around my neck with my teeth, I pulled it free with a tug, placing it across my back. As soon as it had rested, using my magic I began wrapping the cloth securely across my wings. Tight enough to ensure it wouldn't loosen, but not so tight as to hinder blood-flow and movement. Zin gave me a curious glance.
"No wings?" He asked, his head tilted to the side.
I shook my head at him. "No, no aid from either my wings or magic. If I do this I do this with my bare hooves." After I said this, I undid the straps holding the vest onto my body, slipping it past the cloth and onto the ground, the gun and sword landing with a loud clank. Using my magic, I lifted the gear and brought it over to the side where I gently lowered it to the ground. 
"I don't expect you to fight without your weapons, as you are certainly welcome to them." I said, my voice calm and devoid of emotion. Zin unclasped his sword in its sheath and tossed aside, soon followed by my knife in its own sheath. 
“There’s no honor in an unfair fight.” As he said that, he set himself into some martial arts ready position. He closed his eyes and inhaled and exhaled once, deeply, then shot his eyes back open. “I have no doubt in my mind that I will lose this, but I won’t go down without a fight.” He finished.
From somewhere in the group of Guards to my front, a voice rang out, “Show that fleabag no mercy...” I vaguely registered this as I kept my eyes focused on Zin. At the sound of the voice, his eyes shifted to the left, before he shook his head and returned his gaze to me. He gave me a small smirk, bringing his hand up and motioning towards himself. 
I smiled inwardly at myself and closed my eyes. Sitting down on the grass, my lower legs crossed and my front ones planted in the grass, I focused my energy, Waiting for anything to happen. I breathed in and exhaled deeply, repeating this process twice more. After the second exhale, I felt a disturbance around me as Zin rushed forward, making not a single sound as he darted across the field. He raised his arm, claws extended, as if to swipe across my chest. As he brought his arm down my eyes shot open and I grasped his wrist, twisting it painful to the side and spinning him in the air. I pushed back, releasing my grip on his wrist and sending him a meter back. Zin landed on all fours, giving me a feral snarl before rushing forward again, a paw extended to swipe across my right flank. As it got close, I reached up my right hoof, blocking his strike. Almost instantly he sweeped his legs in an attempt to knock me over. I disengaged from him, jumping up in the air over his head and landing behind him on all four hooves. As he turned towards me, I bucked my back hooves out, connecting with his chest and sending him flying several meters back. I quickly slid around to see Zin already getting back up, wiping a bit of blood from his mouth. 
"Good kick." He taunted. "Although I'm sure Applebloom could kick better." As he said that, a voice in the back of my mind called out to me. 'Kill him. Do it quickly. No one will care.' I disregarded the voice, giving him a smile in return.
"I'm sure she could. That little filly is tough. She could probably lay a hoof on me before you did." I taunted back.
“That is likely. Let’s see if I fair any better now...” He started with a laugh, before his body changed again, to that of his human form. I wasn't sure how some of the Guards were reacting, but I wasn't worried about that at the current. He seemed to take in his form, flexing his arms and hands experimentally. After a pause, he jumped into the air and did a backflip, landing lightly on his feet.
He stood up swiftly, coming at me with another verbal sting, “Do you think you will accomplish something by beating me? You couldn’t even beat any of your team, let alone Shadow.” Nice try kid. That's not going to- “It’s no wonder you let him die.” My train of thought halted. Suddenly I saw Two's face in-front of me, just out of my reach. I swayed a bit before recovering, retreating into myself. The voice from before returned, although this time with more force.
'Look at how he doesn't respect you...' The voice was floating around inside my head, taunting me with its own game. 'He deserves to die for his arrogance. His lack of respect for the dead...' At this point... I almost agreed with the voice. A peculiar aura began to rise throughout my body, filling me hatred. I was about to lose it and... I enjoyed it. It was going to be fun to see him squirm. I slowly opened my eyes, looking at the ground, a shroud over my face. I felt the energy pulsing inside me, waiting to be released on something, anything. I noticed a large black aura surrounding my body. Its so strong it's manifesting itself in the visible light spectrum... The air around me was shifting, causing the grass to stir where I stood. At that point I decided I wouldn't go all out on him, maybe a fourth of what I could do with this energy, no reason in killing him as that wouldn't serve any good purpose.
Without look up at him, my tone sounding as if death itself was apart of it, "Kid... You're going to regret that." Not a moment after I said that, I shot forward through the grass, almost as fast as if I was flying, the black aura following my body where it went. I was at him within a second. Reaching my right hoof forward, I gripped his arm tight and shot up a dozen meters into the air. I quickly followed him, coming up above him, I gave him quick look. Surprise and a hint of fear was written on his face. Suspended slightly in the air, I gave him a smirk before driving hoof down into his stomach, rocketing towards the ground. Our flight was over in a matter of seconds as we impacted with the ground, me driving him hard into the earth. Once we hit the ground, the dirt and grass around us shifted, a small crater forming from where Zin hit the ground. As he hit, a spray of blood came from his mouth, flying out into the air. I then proceed to drag him by his arm out of the crater, a small moan coming from him as I did so. As soon as we were out, I tossed him forward several dozen meters, his body bouncing off the ground. When his body finally stopped its motion, he put his arms under him, attempting to lift himself up. He wasn't successful at first, falling back to the ground in a puff of dirt. He didn't give up, however, as he tried again, this time succeeding in lifting himself up to his knees. He panted heavily and spit out a toff of blood. 
"Not... Bad..." He called through his ragged gasps. 
I afforded him a small smile, "Kid, you've got a lot of talent. But don't talk about that which you don't know again." I paused for a moment, "The next time I will kill you. Whether SilverClaw is watching or not."
Zin let out a short laugh, spitting out another glob of blood to the side. “You... Failed...” He said, his voice still coming in gasps. 
I tilted my head sideways at him, inquiring at him, “What are you talking about?”
He got up from where he lay crouched over, standing fully erect. A red aura had begun to form around his body, engulfing much like my black aura had. The marks along his body had turned the same red as his aura, indicating this was something deep within him. I have never seen an aura like that before... I'll have to look into that. “You let your emotions get the better of you, foal.” He called, taking a few steps closer to me, his body tensing around his legs and arms. I sensed what he was about to do and I smiled inwardly. No point in having all the fun myself, I though. “Feel the true power of rage.”
I tracked his movements as he flew forward through the air, nearly as fast as I had been before. I saw as his arm drew back, readying for a strike at my face. Well, I thought, time for his fun. I didn't move a muscle as his fist connected with my jaw. I felt the power behind it, the pure rage at my entire being. I flew through the air, spinning several times around. As I was flying, I thought back on the black aura that had engulfed me. I was intrigued by it more than I was afraid of it. It was something I wanted to harness, to control. With the proper training, I would be able to use that power more often. I sense the ground was approaching and decided that he had had enough fun. Instead of bouncing along the ground, I flipped myself upright, landing on my hooves. 
As I landed, I turned to see Zin still standing where he had punched me, standing motionless as the red aura continued to flow around him. My own aura had dissipated, although it was not gone completely as a faint black outline remained around me. After another moment, Zin collapsed back to the ground on his knees, his hands planted firmly in the grass. Once he collapsed, the red aura had disappeared, along with his marks which returned to their normal shade of blue. He began to cough up more blood, a small pool forming below his head. He looked up to me after a moment and shook his head saying, “Well... That was... Odd...”
I let out a laugh. No it wasn't, I thought, you know exactly what that was. I decided to play along though, saying, "Just a little." I worked my jaw a bit, a slight discomfort, "That was a nice hit. Hurt a little. I still think Applebloom would hit harder."
He coughed up another glob of blood before letting out a small chuckle, “You are soooo fighting Grim...” He paused for a moment after he said that, before getting off of his knees and standing, trying to regain his balance. Once he stopped swaying, he grunted, “Your... Team was watching...”
I smiled and nodded my head. "I know that kid. They got here as I hit you into the ground earlier." I let out a small chuckle, "I was to focused on our fight to do more than register their presence." After I had spoken, eight other alicorns came out from all directions, in pairs of two. Zin looked very shocked at the myriad of different alicorns all in the same place and almost fell back on the ground. Specter appeared behind him suddenly from nowhere as he began to fall and caught him, causing Zin to jump back to his feet as quickly as he had fallen.
"Calm down dog, we're not going to hurt you. Well... Not to badly." Specter cast a sidelong at me to which I laughed, soon joined by the others. The others began to come to my side, I gave a nod and a smile to each of them, to which the returned. 
"It has been too long since we've all seen each other, I only wish it could be under better circumstances." As I finished, I noticed some sullen glances, especially from Ice and Frost, the two other than Shadow I had been closest to. 
"Aye, that it has been." Leo chipped in, "So this is the dog that I've been hearing about. He sure gave you a good one Spade." He chided.
A let a smile show. "He did. Although he had better not let that get to his head. I'm not the one coughing up blood." Zin gave me a bloody grin.
"Funny, you speak as if I care.” he said, casting a glance at all of us assembled there. He stood there after a moment, his eyes unseeing, lost in some thought of his. He stood there for several moments before he unexpectedly sat down on the ground, crossing his legs and putting a hand on his chin, lost further in his thoughts. A minute later SilverClaw walked over to where he sat, putting a reassuring paw on his shoulder, and nodded. 
Zin shook himself before saying, “How do we get an entire town evacuated without causing mass panic?”
It was Princess Celestia who then spoke up, trotting slowly to the center of the field, flanked by her two Guards. The rest of the Guards in the field stood at brisk attention, standing stiff on their hooves, looking straight ahead. "What will be done about Ponyville is this: In an orderly fashion, the Guards stationed here will move down into the town and inform the citizens of Ponyville of what they need to know regarding the upcoming invasion. I will brief them on their mission once we are somewhere more private." she turned towards us nine, who proceeded to bow. "As for all of you, you will begin to make your own preparations in order to stem the up and coming tide of Diamond Dogs." We all gave her brisk nods, rising from our bowing position. She continued, "You are all dismissed." With that she turned away, her two Guards still following her as the rest milled away slowly, headed back for the palace. Soon following them were the other CSF members, who in their pairs, began to fly off in different directions where they had made their camps. After a few minutes the only ones left in the field were Zin, SilverClaw and I.
With a quick movement, SilverClaw reached out a paw and helped Zin onto his feet. As he hopped to his feet, she said to him, “I’m going to return to my exercises. Try not to kill each other.”
I began to speak just as Zin did, "No promises.” SilverClaw tilted her head at us before walking away, back towards the direction we had come from. I turned to Zin.
"Would you like to continue our fight?" I asked.
He turned away from SilverClaw and back to me, “I don’t think so. I’ve lost enough blood for one day.” After he said this e stopped moving again, staring at nothing but something at the same time. This lasted only a fraction of a second as he continued with something unexpected, “Would it be strange to hear a voice in your head?” 
I thought that over a minute. I didn't hear voices in my head, just my subconscious trying to persuade me into doing things I may not want to do. Actual voices though? After a minute of thinking I replied, "Well that would depend entirely on what you were hearing. What is this 'voice' telling you?"
He thought for a moment before replying, “To get angry. To go beserk. To... Kill anything that gets in my way. Including you.”
I let out a short laugh, "Oh that's good kid. This voice... Does it have a physical manifestation? Does it have a form that only you can see maybe?"
“If it does, I have yet to see it.” He said, sighing and turning towards the palace.  “I don’t think they’ll ever warm up to me. Not after what I put them through.”
I smiled at him, "Kid, nothing you could ever do would make them see you differently. That's just something you'll have to life with." I trotted next to him, taking in as much of the palace as I could see from the spot I was in. "It's not all bad though. At least a few ponies like you."
He laughed a bit before replying, “Yeah, but why did I have to be close to the bookworm? Would have prefered Dash. She knows how to have fun.”
I shook my head, "Twilight is a great mare, you're lucky to be friends with her. As for Dash, you should have tried more with the others, gotten to know them better rather than just Twilight. Although, a bookworm isn't as bad as you say."
“I guess. As for trying more with others, I tried a lot with Lisp. He at least stopped calling me ‘Fleabag’ or ‘Fuzzball’. Don’t you love it when a mare changes a pony’s mind?” He answered.
I thought back to when Lisp had attacked Zin. I wondered what happened to take them off of each others throats so I asked him that. "How are you and Lisp getting along? Last time I caught you two he was close to killing you."
He responded plainly, “We aren’t fighting anymore, and he ‘offered’ to teach me to play guitar. Turns out I knew more than him.”
I laughed again, "Well at least you aren't trying to kill each other anymore. Did you give him that sword/guitar item back by the way?"
“Yeah, I gave it back. Octavia happened to get him to make me a guitar. I left it with him, knowing the cave would be destroyed. I plan on picking it up within the next day.” He said, a note of sadness in his voice when he mentioned the cave.
"Well that's good." I responded, shifting my hooves a bit. "Not much of an instrumentalist myself. I can sing a bit, although nothing like how Shadow can." I said, thinking back on the times when I would catch her singing while she worked on something.
“Singer, huh? I used to teach myself lyrics to songs, as well as the notes, and play them for my friends... Well, Sofia and a few of her friends.” He replied a bit sullenly. The kid sure likes to put himself down a lot.
"I'll take your word for it that you're good." I said with condescending tone. "Do you think of them much, your friends?" I cast a glance over at Zin. He was looking up, deep in some thought of the past. 
After a moment he responded, “Yeah. I try not to, though. Getting caught in the past can hinder the sight on the future. Not saying it’s bad to look at the good times, but the bad ones are still there.”
I gave him a small nod. "Of course. Our memories are what make us who we are, and no one can take that away, truly. Even with magic."
“God, you sound just like Sofia. Always optimistic, and seem to know just what to say.” He said with a small laugh.
I smiled, looking up at the minarets of the palace. "Sometimes being a bit optimistic is all we have. Hope. That's the most powerful thing in the world. With a small bit of hope, even the darkest of nights can become the brightest of days."
I cast him another glance to see that he was smiling brightly as he said, “Again, you sound just like her. But yeah, it seems hope is all we can really have right now.”
I nodded again. "Right." I looked up at the sky to see the sun almost directly above us. I turned to him continuing, "It's almost noon, and I've got to stop by a few places in a hurry. So I'll see y'all later kid."
He turned his head to me before saying, “Think I’ll go pick up that guitar. Got time to practice, since I am likely going to be limited to the castle after today. And the ‘few places’, I think I already know what you mean. I’m sure you haven’t missed it, but you might want to hurry. Catch you later.” He walked off, but after he went a few steps he erupted in flames and disappeared from my sight.
"Well, I guess that's that." I said with a shake of my head. I turned towards where my items where laying on the ground and trotted over to them. As I trotted over, I took the cloth from around my wings off, tying it around my neck once again. Once it was secure, I picked up my vest and slid it under my left hoof, then throwing it over my back before slipping it under my right hoof. Velcroing the pieces back together, I secured it tightly around my body before checking to make sure the sword and gun were in place. Satisfied with the condition of everything, I picked up my satchel and prepared for flight. Raising my wings, I took off, heading for Smithy's workshop. While flying, I re-applied my guise, this time accounting for all of my gear excluding my satchel. I landed softly outside and rapped my hoof against the door. After a moment, Smithy appeared at the door, bags under his eyes from working all night and his mane still as ruffled as ever. 
"Hey Lance." He said ushering me inside. The room was the same, save for the smoldering embers of the fireplace where the logs had all but burnt out. "I finished working on your gift almost as you arrived." He went over to a chair in the corner and plopped down in it tiredly, a small brown envelope on a stand next to him.
"Thanks again old friend. Looks like you need some sleep." I said mildly. He tiredly raised a leg and waved a hoof at me.
"Bah. I'll sleep when I'm dead." He glanced over at the clock and smiled a bit. "Which is what you might be if you don't hurry on back to Ponyville. Celestia knows when Gemstone will give birth." As he said this I jumped out of my stupor from talking, galloping to to the door. He threw the envelope at me, which I promptly caught and shoved into the depths of my satchel. 
"Thanks again my friend, but as you said, I must be off!" I called as I rushed right back out the door.
My wings were already spread in preparation for flight when I barely heard him call back, "Good luck to you! Don't forget about me when your off and busy being a dad!" If he said anything else, I didn't hear it as I took off, flying fast through Canterlot, my mind already set on what awaited me. I did however make a note to bring our foal up to him, probably after this whole invasion mess was over.
After a minute I was clear of Canterlot, in open sky as I veered towards Ponyville, lowering my flight course and speeding down towards the town. As I neared, the buildings began to take shape, from the odd homes and shops to several other larger buildings including the town hall and hospital. Although I was looking for none of those in particular, the only one I had eyes for was the library. As I got even closer to the town, I began to make out individual ponies as they went about their business. I hoped that Rainbow Dash had gone to the rest of the mane six and told them she was back. Knowing her, she probably boasted some story about an adventure she had while she was gone. 
After a few more seconds I flew in above Ponyville, slowing down and angling for the treehouse. I was at the door within minutes and landed with a small puff of dirt. A few nearby ponies gave me an annoyed look at the sudden entrance but quickly went about their business. Rushing up to the door, I banged three times in rapid succession on the knocker. Almost as quickly as I had knocked, Twilight answered the door with a first annoyed, then happy expression.
"Oh Lance, it is so good that you're here!" She exclaimed, ushering me into her home with a few excited motions of her hoof. "Gemstone has been doing good, but I'm not all the knowledgeable in foalbirth. I mean, big surprise right? Me not knowing something? Well, while you were gone, I did some reading up on the subject and-" She continued on like this for a full minute before I had to stop her by shoving a hoof in her mouth.
"Well easy there Twilight, I'm sure you got it covered. No need filling my head with all sorts of things like that." I breathed, stemming her further tide of oncoming details. She removed herself from my hoof and looked awkwardly to the side, kicking a hoof back and forth on the ground.
"Oh. Right. Sorry about that Lance. I'm just so excited! Nothing like this has every happened to me before-" She stopped as I gave her a slightly annoyed look. She blushed, "Oh, sorry again. Here, let me take you to her." 
She ushered me up a small flight of stairs into her bedroom, which was open to the rest of the library. Next to Twilight's bed was Spike's, in which he now laid, his body twisted in strange angles while a clenched fist held his blankie. In Twilight's own bed laid Shadow, how was awake and staring first at Twilight, then as I trotted up the stairs, her eyes snapped at me, a wide smile on her face. 
"Lance!" She exclaimed, "You're here! Oh thank Celestia I thought you would still be away when our foal was born."
I gave her a wide smile, trotting slowly to the bedside. "Of coarse I'm here!" I gasped playfully, "I wouldn't dare miss the birth of our foal!" She giggled softly.
"I would hope not! What kind of father would you be, missing it?" She teased back. There was a small cough from behind and I turned to see Twilight, smiling at us, placing Spike's bed on her back and already heading back down the stairs.
"I'll give you two some privacy, it seems like you have got a lot of catching up to do." I smiled gratefully and nodded my head.
"Thanks a bunch Twilight, for everything." I cooed.
She was already at the bottom of the stairs as she called up quietly, "Anytime for you two. I had better get to be his or her teacher when it's ready for school!" 
I let out a small laugh and whispered back, "You're the only one I would have for the job." After that, I turned towards Shadow who was already looking back at me.
'So,' she called to me with her mind, 'tell me all about your trip dear.' I grinned at her and nodded, beginning to retell the tale of what had happened to me the past two days.

At around 1 A.M. that morning, our foal was born. With a coat like mine and a mane like her mother. We named her Ember.

One week later...

I had left my cottage early in the morning, headed to Canterlot to check up with the preparations that were currently underway. I had left Ember in Rainbow Dash's and Shadow's care for a few hours while I was gone. Although she wasn't completely happy with me leaving, she accepted that it had to be done. I flew in the cool morning air, basking in the sun that was just beginning to rise in the air. I flew slowly up the castle, in no rush at all to get there as the matter wasn't critical at the current moment. 
As I flew, I began counting the clouds I passed, which were few and far in-between as the weather team was doing a good job of keeping the sky's clear today. As I counted, I remembered how two days after our foal had been born Dash had appeared at our door with a small suitcase of belongings. Shadow and I immediately brought her in, Shadow already fully aware of what had happened and the circumstances of her arrival. She had left her own cloud home in the care of Fluttershy whilst she was gone, giving her friends the excuse of staying with me for a few months under the excuse of learning flight techniques from Shadow and I. We had set her up in the small guest bedroom abreast to ours, while young Ember stayed in a crib in our room. She had become cozy in our little cottage, playing with Ember while she wasn't either training or exercising. She had taken a liking to our foal almost immediately and was already trying to show her the basics of flying. Aside from that, Rainbow Dash's current training regiment including physical exercise and endurance tests.  After a few weeks of those, she will be ready to move on to martial arts drills, followed then by weapons courses.
By the time I was done reminiscing, several minutes had already passed and I was nearing Canterlot. Increasing my speed a bit, I changed course directions and headed for the palace. Taking on my normal guise, I flew with nothing but my satchel and the black cloth around my neck. I had taken a liking to it, a sort of testament to the fight between myself and Zin. During training or when I go out I had become fond of wearing it. I was over the city at this point, already flying through the streets to the palace. I had begun angling my descent into the front courtyard when the faint sound of an string instrument caught my ear. Perking my head up, I flew back up, following the trail of the sound to one of the minarets on Princess Celestia's section of the palace. As I flew closer, I spotted Zin sitting atop the column, sitting down with his legs dangling over the edge and his back towards me. I decided to see what all the commotion was about before revealing myself so I flew a bit higher than he was, lazily laying across a cloud within earshot of Zin. As I landed, I began to listening, catching what appeared to be the end of a song.

.......
And if you go, I wanna go with you
And if you die, I wanna die with you

Take your hand and walk away

The most loneliest day of my life
The most loneliest day of my life
The most loneliest day of my life
Life

Such a lonely day
And it's mine
It's a day that I'm glad I survived 

Good job kid, I thought, not bad in the least. As I watched him, he placed the guitar gently on the floor next to him, leaning back heavily against the pillar. He tilted his hooded head up to the sky, basking in the warmth that was radiating from the sun. As he did so, I felt a strange disturbance shifting through the air towards him, the kind that I've only felt once before. It was Discord. He was little more than an air current floating through the air as he floated slightly behind Zin, taking his true form. 
“That sums up today so far...” Zin started, still oblivious to the presence behind him. Every bone in my body screamed to dive down and attack Discord, but I knew better than that. I was curious to see what brought him here, of all places, so close to his sworn enemy. 
He was floating in the air, lounging as he called down to Zin, “That it does.” Zin jumped a bit, whipping his head around to stare at Discord. He let out a shrug to which Discord continued, “Mind if I join you?”
He obviously didn't care what Zin's answer was, to which Zin replied to his question, “Not really. You may be the god of chaos, but you always had my respect.” With a bit of magic, Discord brought forth a lounge chair, placing it neatly next to Zin, plopping himself down on it with his normal giddy smile. “What brings you here? Shouldn’t you be gathering your army?” Zin ventured, producing the question out of nowhere. 
Discord looked at him, his face changing in a myriad of different expressions as he responded coolly, “For once, that chaos is not mine. As for the reason I am here, I am just checking on my latest project.” His grin widened as he spoke, "You."
Zin stared at him with a curious look on his face and after a moment he prodded,  “Well I figured as much. Why else would you bring a human to what used to be the most peaceful thing I knew?”
“To stop the dogs, of course.” His reply almost made me fall out of my cloud. Stop the dogs? What? That was his box I found in the dogs lair, which connects him to them. But for all he is, he isn't one to lie. My mind was a jumbled confusion of thoughts as I tried to piece together this puzzle. I wanted to grind my head against a wall in frustration but I had to settle myself with glaring at the two of them. 
After a moment, Zin broke the silence saying, “Discord... You know I can’t do it, right? It’s a lost cause.”
His reply was even, if not a bit taunting, “Yet you are still willing to fight, are you not?”
“Well, yeah. If anything, I want to buy my friends time to escape.” Was Zin's reply. At least his mind is in the right place. Not on himself but on those close to him.
Discord reached his hand with the griffons claw, stroking his beard in thought. After a moment he said, “Hmm... You still haven’t reached the final stage, have you?” Another peculiar piece of information. That means that Zin's current state isn't his final one... That's something Princess Celestia would find interesting, along with the rest of the unit.
He looked a little sad as he replied, “No. I don’t know how...”
“Are you going to keep trying to find it?” Was Discord's question. At his remark, Zin looked away, staring once again up into the sky. He let out a heavy sigh, one of someone who doesn't have the answer, that has lost hope.
“I’ve seen myself try different ways and none worked. I guess what I am trying to say is... I...”
“Give up?” Discord chided, his grin growing slightly larger.
“Yeah...” Was Zin's reply, his voice full of abandonment and loss. Poor kid, I know what you're going through.
His grin still prominent on his face, Discord wrapped his arm around Zin, placing a heavy paw on his shoulder. "You are learning. When failure is inevitable, any normal being would try to prevent it. Of course, you still plan to, but you have seen yourself failing. You understand that the attempts you were planning on doing will fail, and give up.” He gave Zin a rather violent shake, startling him a bit in the process. He continued, “That is the first step. Who do you think made those things? That she-wolf?” 
In some confusion, Zin scratched the back of his head saying, “You mean she didn’t?”
Discord let out a laugh that could chill bone before replying, “Of course not. She is the one who put the evil half in your head. You will reach the final stage before the battle, I assure you that. I may have to... Point you in the direction.” He pointed a sharp taloned claw at Zin. So the true depth of his mysterious power reveals itself... There is something inside of him, lending him this power, trying to persuade him to do its bidding. So he was only telling a half-truth when he said it had no physical manifestation.
Zin gave him yet another confused look, “In my mind?”
Discord looked a bit impatient at his reply, “Yes. Now, I have to leave before that alicorn gets here. He and I have a bad history....” He said, casting his glance below him and searching the sky. A moment later, he hopped out of his chair, folding it back up and placing it in the crook of his arm before disappearing with a small wisp of smoke.
Zin sat staring at the smoke as it trailed off, obviously seriously confused over the conversation that had just taken place. His voice cut through the silence that prevailed the air, "Well that just happened.” 
I sat on my cloud for a few minutes, staring into the sky, trying to piece together what had just happened between Zin and Discord. If what Discord says is true... Then there is another player in this game that we don't know about. But who? The only person who might now would be Discord himself, but I doubt he would talk to me, or anypony else involved with this. After a while, I decided to break from my chain of thought and check up on Zin. I looked down to unsurprisingly see him still sitting against the pillar, his hood pulled fully over his face. I decided this would be a good time to make an appearance so I swooped down from my cloud, coming in slightly below the pillar. No point and giving him the idea of what I had heard. I flew in lazy circles up the pillar, flying around it again and again until I finally leveled off with the top. I appeared in front of Zin, but I don't think he saw or even sensed me so I decided to announce my presence.
"Howdy kid." I drawled. He nearly jumped out of his fur as he jerked his head up in surprise, the hood flying from his head as he glared at me.
"Hey," he said plainly, "What brings you all the way up here?"
I landed half a meter from him, brushing a hoof back and forth on the ground. "Oh no reason. I was on my way to discuss battle stratagems with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna when I saw y'all sitting up here all by your lonesome. Me talking to the Princess' wasn't all that important to the moment, so I decided to come up and give you some company." I paused as he was searching my face, looking for signs of deceit. "So do y'all mind if I join you?"
He jumped a little at my last, but settled down quickly before replying, "I guess, I don't really care." I folded my legs down under me, getting in a comfortable sitting position. When I was finished, I looked up to see Zin still staring at me.
"Now kid, I know I'm good looking, but is there any reason y'all are staring at me?" I jested at him.
“...I get enough of those kind of jokes where I’m from...” He turned his head from me, staring back over the surround countryside. He fixed his hood before he continued, “Why are you really here? You wouldn’t just come to see me out of the blue.”
"Like I said, I was flying down to meet the princess' when I saw you up here and decided I'd come for a chat." I replied, looking down over the edge and watching as ponies milled about in the streets. 
I turned my head back towards him as he picked his guitar back up, drawing his paw across it and strumming a few strings. He sighed, “The guards won’t go near me or talk to me. Serves me right, though. Seems like you and Luna are the only ponies near here that actually want to talk to me.” He let out a bark of laughter before continuing, “Then again, in my world, I never gave two shits about what others thought of me. It’s how I met Sofia and her crew of outcasts. We got ourselves into some big trouble, too... Those were the times...” He said with some pleasure, thinking back on those times which were obviously special to her.
I adjusted myself a bit before speaking, trying to be slightly compassionate, "You did injure a great deal of them, so you must deal with the Guards hatred of you. As for Luna, she's very accepting of everyone else, probably due to what she went through. Myself," I shrugged as best as my position would allow, "I've been through a lot with you. If I didn't cast a glance every now and again in your direction, what kind of pony would I be?" I said, unfolding a leg and rapping him gently across the arm with a hoof.
He hit me back, grinning a bit. “Like the others.” He chided. He sat there for a moment, thinking of something to say. After a few seconds he continued, “In my recent dreams, I’ve been seeing the upcoming battle. I can see you and your team, as well as the guards, fending them off with tremendous force, but there’s something missing...” His face twisted in a mix of sorrow and despair, “...Me.”
I tilted my head sideways at him and asked him curiously, "Do you mean to say you aren't going to be participating in the upcoming battle?" 
He tried to give me a reassuring smile, but that soon broke apart as he looked down. “...Not by choice...” He said sullenly, looking out and up towards the sun, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I won’t be making it, and you will see soon enough why...” By this point, his tone had lost all sense of hope that it had, delving into tones of deep sorrow. 
I stood up abruptly, shocking him a bit. Grabbing him by the hem of his robes, I shoved him against the wall. "I don't want to wait and see. So you'll tell me now what the problem is, otherwise we will see how good you are at flying." I said coolly and with a small smile, as if doing so would be no harder than skipping a rock across a lake.
He stared into my eyes, his voice as sullen as it was before. “I die, okay? I’m going to die and you are there to see it. It is inevitable, seeing how the one who kills me is the same one who gave me this damn power! Are you happy now?!” He was shouting by this point. At the end of that, I let him slide from my hooves, planting them back firmly on the ground. He continued, “She will stop at nothing to overthrow Celestia... I attempted to stop her and she stabbed me, leaving me to bleed out... When you see your own death, you can have the right to show my sympathy or intimidate me again.”
I looked him straight in the eyes. "Suffering the death of another is far worse than experiencing your own. When, you, have lived through that enough times, then you can lecture me about rights and wrongs." I hissed at him. "I understand what you're going through, and if you want help, I might be willing to lend a hoof."
He let out a laugh with little humor in it as he said, “You’re the least of my worries. The top, knowing when I am going to die...” He paused, not sure on how to continue.
I provided him with a way asking, “When?”
“Tomorrow night.” Was his reply, if a bit hastily, as if he wanted it to be over with. 
I looked at him, trying to gauge whether he was serious or not. After a few seconds searching his face, I reluctantly admitted that he was. My reply was soft and gentle, "What, kid? What exactly will kill you? Is it the 'she-wolf' you speak of?"
“Yes. She was once a monarch who ruled alongside Celestia, but she got greedy. Celestia was too much for her to handle by herself, so she made the three amulets. She needed the third to be a human because of our natural hatred... She is taking life from all three of us in order to create the perfect warrior, bred for nothing but killing everything in its path... This is what kills me.” After his speech was done, he slid down against the pillar, stopping in a sitting position. He laughed awkwardly to hid his feelings. He continued, “I know you didn’t ask for a history lesson, one which was forgotten, but you needed it to understand the foe.”
I sat back down to where I had been original before speaking, "I know of her kid. No need to give me a history lesson. Although the news that she is back is most grave indeed..." I thought for a moment, studying his amulet. I had an idea, and if it worked, Zin could just live to see a few more days. "Kid, remember my offer to remove the amulet for you?" He nodded. "Well it still stands. If you want to be able to meet your fate at your own hands, I can help you. I could also do the same with SilverClaw and this Grim. Both you and them will keep your abilities however, as they are apart of you now. Without the added trouble of having your life force sucked out."
As I finished speaking, Zin seemed to grow distant, his body swaying a bit. After a second, he slapped a paw on his forehead, rubbing it like he was in pain. This continued for another minute, the whole time he was swaying back and forth, looking as if he was barely able to restrain himself from banging his head against the pillar, his eyes shut tight at some internal pain. After a moment, his eyes shot back open.
“Spade... Get them off as soon as you can. I have news that needs to be shared with all.” Was all that got out before he shut his eyes again, a soundless howl coming from his mouth. As this happened, I began to get closer to him, getting myself to a position where I could work my magic. As I got close he screamed, "Shut up!" Before collapsing sideways, nearly falling off the top of the minaret. Before that could happen I rushed over, wrapping a hoof around his shoulder and stopping his fall. I brought him into the center of the tower, where there was plenty of space to work. I took a step back from him, seeing that he was still unconscious. With a heavy sigh, I sat down next to him, folding my legs under me and lowering my horn close to the gem set into the necklace. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, reaching for my magic, I began to work a spell. The true meaning of it was lost long before Princess Celestia's rule, but the knowledge of it still prevailed. Its sole purpose, to remove enchanted items that are bound to or apart of other beings, such as the necklace around Zin's neck. 
The spell began to take effect, tendrils of magical energy emerging from the tip of my horn and slithering through the air towards the gem. As they approached within a few centimeters of it, they slowed and I immediately felt a force pushing back from the jewel. I pressed back, increasing the flow of magic steadily, slowly pushing the tendrils closer and closer. The crept along through the air, whatever presence inside undoubtedly resolute in trying to keep me and my magic away. I pressed my magic harder, several sparks spewing from my horn as my magic made one last push, breaking through the defenses of the force protecting the gem and immersing the tendrils around it. As soon as the grip was complete, I felt a sudden rush of energy from the item beginning a new assault, not at my magic, but at me. I felt a piercing probe trying to force itself into my being but I was ready for this kind of thing and set up a defensive barrier of my own. While the force attacked me, my magic continued to work on it, slowly purging the gem of whatever was inside it. Feeling its time running out, the force began a renewed assault, pressing harder against my mental barriers. It succeeded in making a crack large enough to speak to me, although it couldn't do anything else aside from that as I quickly sealed off the crack, leaving it open enough to hear what the spirit had to say. 
I heard both the voice of Zin and the spirit, the latter speaking first. “You can’t stop us... He will die, and you won’t be able to do a thing...” Oh well shall see about that, my good sir. As the voice was male. Curious, it was described as a she-wolf.
Zin followed suit with his own disembodied voice, “Spade, I can’t keep his attacks suppressed for much longer. Put your all in it!”
I let out a long mental laugh that travel through my mind and out into the space beyond. My voice was overly loud as I spoke, "Kid, don't waste your energy, this will all be over soon enough. And as for you, my other-worldly friend, well," I let out a smaller chuckle, "Let me just say that it will be a pleasure to see you off so soon." I didn't wait for a response from either of them, as I immediately built up my magic, and in one great push, broke forth from my barrier, surrounding everything with that black aura from before, both Zin's voice and that of the spirit were trapped, unable to go further into my own self. With them secured, I directed my energy towards the amulet, bringing forth a tide of magic strong enough to break through the last protective layer. As it struck, I began to feel this odd tingling sensation and it felt as if my subconscious was being transported somewhere... Else. Before I knew it I vaporized and appeared in some sort of circular platform, which appeared to be somewhere above the cloud layer as all that lay below me were them. As I scanned, I noticed four pictures, three evenly space on the outside of the platform, whilst the final one was placed in-between the other three. Each one had an individual aura about it, the outer pictures consisting of green, blue and purple, whilst the middle picture was red.
I was standing on the platform, no sign of an impact crater around me. I looked at my hoof, confirming its existence. Once I was sure that it was still there, I cast my gaze around once more saying aloud, "Well this is odd." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Zin, being held around the throat by a brutish looking dog, the blue and red pictures now gone. There was some sort of barrier protecting the two of them, so I merely waited for whatever it was to finish. I examined my hoof again, making sure that this wasn't an illusion, that my subconscious was really here. Either way it would be fairly simply to return back, all I needed is to- I stopped thinking as Zin was thrown down the the platform, again, no impact crater. I stayed where I was, studying Zin. He sure is an oddity, that one. So much extra-ordinary magic happening around someone who just found it. 
He shook himself off, rising to his front paws and turned to stare at me, his voice echoing in the space around us, “That was who I was telling you about. He is fully formed, and is close to the final stage...” He brought a paw down, striking the ground angrily. I hate to point it out a third time, but no impact crater, again. For someone who is adept in using magic, this wolf sure leaves a lot of holes in it. For instance, right now I could sense that he was still watching us, beyond the veil of clouds. Clever dog. Zin had started to calm down, breathing deeply in and out to vent the last of his anger. 
“So that’s it. I may be free from her grasp, but she took what she needed from me. Thanks for the effort, though.” He said, with a note of gratitude. 
I let out a small smile, closing my eyes sincerely. "No problem kid. Was the least I could do."
He shrugged at me, looking around he said, "So what now?"
I joined him in his quest to look over the landscape, sensing the spot where the dog hid to be somewhere above and slightly behind me. As I looked, my eyes lit up on the two remaining pictures on the wall. "Well for starters, I can free both of them from here quite easily. Then," I shrugged, "I guess we take our leave."
"Free them. I am going to try something...” He said, waltzing over the towards the edge of the platform. After a brief look over, he turned towards me with a sadistic smile and wove. “Ta-ta.” He said before letting himself go and falling over the edge. I reached out a hoof, like it would do any good, as if to try and stop him; he was already over the edge... In more ways that one.
With a sigh and a shake of my head, I walked over first to the purple picture, when upon closer inspection bore a portrait of SilverClaw. Placing my horn against the brow of the dog in the portrait, I closed my eyes and worked my magic much in the same was as I had with Zin. Although this time it was far easier. No magical resistance, just a direct link to the amulet that SilverClaw bore. Within seconds I had tapped into it, releasing her from its spell. I opened my eyes slowly to see the portrait gone, along with the faint purple light it beheld. The only one left was the green one, so I moved over and saw the picture of a large Diamond Dog, although not quite as large as the demon I saw before. This must be the Grim that Zin and SilverClaw were talking about.
"Nice to meet you," I said giving the portrait a curt little bow. "Although I wish it were under better circumstances..." With that, I set to work, doing the same as I had done before. My eyes closed, my magic took effect, driving through a direct link between the portrait and its user. I met some resistance, probably him trying to defend himself from the force that was trying to penetrate into him. I brushed his defenses aside and my magic took hold, freeing him from the power of the amulet. When I reopened my eyes the portrait had disappeared, much the same as the rest had. I cast my gaze around to see that Zin had yet to return. I decided at this point to propel myself back to Equestria. Concentrating a point of magic around my hoof, I slammed it into the ground, shattering the world around me and shooting my subconscious back in to my conscious body.
After a microsecond, I was back, to see Zin getting up from where I had laid him down.I cast my glance down to my hooves, to see that they had a faint black aura surrounding them. It must have come when I was dueling that demon dog. Interesting. I turned my head back to see him staring over the edge of the minaret, talking as much to himself as to me, “Seems like all hell is about to break loose, and I am going to miss it...” He then summoned a ball of flame in his right paw, waving it about like a sparkler. “Let tomorrow come. I will be ready to let go.” He said with a grin.
I stood up stretching my legs and rolling my shoulders. All of that infighting had cost me a good deal of energy. A good nights rest is what I need now. "So what are you going to do now kid?"
“The only thing I can do. Prepare to die.” He said, closing his palm around the flame, extinguishing it. He turned towards me with a smile, “I’ve had a good run. Might have been a bumpy start, but at least I will have a good finish.”
I sighed and shook my head at him. "You don't have to die, you know. Well, at least not without a little help from me that is."
He looked at me as if I was insane. “Spade, you can’t stop it from happening. You never liked me anyway, right? Just some kid who keeps getting into trouble that you have to clean up.”
I laughed a bit, "Kid, Zin, I don't hate you, which is why I offer to help. Hay, I'd go as far to say that you're growing on me a bit. Enough so that seeing you die won't bring me pleasure." I gave him a small wink. "As for stopping it... How's the human saying go? 'History is written by the victors?' Well do you want to write your own history or have some crazy dog do that for you?"
“It will all become clear after the event has taken place, Spade. You need rest, and I would suggest finding a place in the castle or finding a soft cloud. As for me, I am going to do the same. I think he did something to me before he left...” He said, moving over to one of the walls and setting himself down, sliding down into a sitting position. He grabbed his hood and pulled it over his face, crossing his arms over his chest and fidgeting to find a comfortable position.
He continued, “Trust me, my friend. The reason behind me being so welcoming will become clear. Feel free to tell the princess or whomever you feel of what I told you, or you could get some rest. Using that much magic must have left you at least a little tired.” 
I shrugged, "As you say kid. You are free to meet your fate anyway you like and I won't stop you." I walked out of the cupola, trotting over to the edge and spreading my wings, giving them an experimental flap. 
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He called from behind me. I flapped twice more before hovering a bit in the air.
"From what you say kid, I don't think you will." I finished, flying off the minaret and heading higher in the sky. Exhausted, I landed on a nearby cumulus cloud, laying across it with a sigh. My eyes drifted closed and I gave myself an hours nap before heading down and meeting with the princesses.