//------------------------------//
// Chapter 22 
// Story: The Last Heroes of Equestria 
// by ZeroStar 
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	Lord Dawn awaited in the War Room of the palace. He was mulling over the plan for Equestria involving the return of War Heart and the five ancient ones.  His silence was disturbed by the magical entry of the man with coal-coloured hair. Dawn looked to him with a smirk, “I suppose he has returned now.”
The man froze for a moment, a nervous look on his face, “I’m afraid there is a complication…”
Dawn’s smirk turned to a glare of irritation, “What do you mean, ‘complication’…?”, he asked in a threatening tone.
“When I returned to collect him, he was gone. Somebody had dug him up or he came back earlier than expected and is now loose.”
It was apparent that Lord Dawn was growing furious at this news, the magic in his blood started to brighten to a bright red, his eyes starting to glow. He took a deep breath and the magic dissipated, returning him to his regular form, “Well… I guess you’ll have to find him then… We cannot have someone like him running around uniting the people or making an enemy of us, or in a worst case scenario, both. You’ve made an error, correct it, or I will be sure the ancient ones will be informed of your failure. Believe me when I say: They are not as forgiving to failure as I am…”, Lord Dawn waved him away.
The man bowed and disappeared in a flash of green light, teleporting away to find War Heart, hopefully finding him somewhere in Ponyville.

A blizzard had hit the town of Ponyville, almost everyone was confined to their homes since it was dangerous to go outside with the snowstorm. All except the members of the claw, who made it their duty to never fear the elements or anything else. The Claw watched over the town when nobody else could, prowling the streets and sprinting through the forests in search of enemy troops and sometimes food like mushrooms or fruit. Not a lot of people felt comfortable eating meat, the members of the claw had to take a liking to it. They were taught to feed the beast within, even when it went against their own nature.

The Crusaders had been staying in their club house which had been expanded in the last year or so. The club house was more like an actual house now. Apple Bloom had become more adept at carpentry and expanded it to make room for the orphans that came to them. Scootaloo had become a leader of the orphans, helping them survive on the streets like she had done all her life. She had taught them to steal food and bring it back to the house so that it could be divided among them. Forcing a sense of camaraderie between them, knowing they had to rely on each other if they were going to survive. They were unaware that the Claw was aware of their crimes, but they allowed it, knowing everyone has a right to fight for their own lives.
Scootaloo sat on the floor in the living room, it was dawn so almost everyone was asleep. She leaned against the wooden wall thinking on the situation with food. It was obvious to her that they would not have enough food if they were just stealing it. “There has got to be some other way to get food, or money to buy it…”, Scoot whispered to herself.
Sweetie Belle entered the room, obviously hearing what Scoot had said, “Perhaps we should enquire the town purchasing our services as military contractors.”, Sweetie said in a strange almost digital voice.
Scoot looked at Sweetie, “You mean fight in their battles for money?”
Sweetie Belle nodded at Scoot, “Affirmative.”
Scoot stood up, “But what about the kids? Somebody needs to look after them.”
“I have accounted for that, I have calculated that their chances for living out their natural biological life span will increase by 34.1% if we bring back the money from our contracts. Apple Bloom will stay to look after them in case of emergencies, or perhaps we shall find the eldest orphan and tell them to be responsible while we are gone.”, Sweetie explained to Scoot who was crossing her arms thinking over the idea.
Scoot sighed, “Well… I guess it could work… But I think we should wait until this blizzard is over at least…”, she said as she took a look through the window.
“Affirmative, I shall await the end of the storm.”, Sweetie said before leaving the room.
Apple Bloom walked into the room from the end opposite of Sweetie’s exit, “So lemme get this straight, ya wanna go out and fight to get money for the kids?”, Apple Bloom spoke as if she didn’t quite understand the situation.
Scoot still had her arms crossed, she looked at Bloom and nodded, “That’s the idea…”
“Mah sister’s boyfriend is already fightin’ in this. He did it fer free but maybe I can have him ask the mayor of Ponyville about it?”, Apple Bloom said in a half excited tone.
Scoot smiled, “That would probably get us some kind of chance at least.”
“But who are we going to leave in charge while we’re gone?”, Apple bloom asked, not wanting to be volunteered for the job.
“Can one of your siblings do it for a while? Only once in a while, I doubt we’ll have to do much at the start…”, Scoot suggested.
“I don’t know, Applejack is usually pretty busy with mah niece… But Big Macintosh won’t be doing too much since nothing can really be grown on the farm.”, Apple Bloom said in an excited tone, knowing she had found someone who could look after the kids.
“Yeah, he couldn’t say no!”, Scoot exclaimed.

“Eenope…”, Big Mac said in his usual simple tone.
“What do ya mean, ‘No’?”, Apple Bloom shouted.
“I mean that I’m leaving to go visit Miss Cheerilee. This civil war has got her all scared and I have to be there for her.”, Big Mac explained to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.
Apple Bloom crossed her arms in disappointment, “Darn it! I’m gonna be stuck with babysittin’!”, Apple Bloom grumbled.
Applejack walked into the room, “What’s all the commotion?”, she asked.
Apple Bloom looked to her sister, “We need someone to look after the kids while we’re gone, Big Mac is busy so I’ll have to do it.”, Bloom said as she crossed her arms.
“Nah, I can take care of ‘em. Where are they?”, Applejack asked.
“They’re at the club house.”, Apple Bloom replied.
“Alright then, I’ll take Apple Star over there and look after ’em.”
Orion walked in behind Applejack, “Look after who?”, he asked when he entered the room.
Applejack looked to him, “Oh, I’m jus goin’ over to there clubhouse to look after their little friends.”, she explained to Orion.
“Oh, okay, can I tag along, I have nothing better to do.”, Orion declared.
Apple Bloom spoke up, “Actually we need your help with something…”
Orion turned to Apple Bloom, an eyebrow raised in curiosity, “Like what?”
“We need you to talk to the mayor for us, we’ll explain on the way”, Scootaloo said as she walked out the door where Sweetie Belle was waiting.
Apple Bloom went up to Orion and grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door, Orion grabbed his heavy cape for the weather. He spoke quickly as he was being dragged off, “Well-I-guess-I-gotta-get-going-see-you-later-I-love-you-bye!”
Applejack smiled and shook her head as he left.

Hermit was in the town hall, being mayor of Ponyville meant he was to spend his time in town hall when he was not needed elsewhere. He was sitting at his desk taking a nap when Orion and the Crusaders burst in through his door. He opened an eye and looked towards them, “What do you want?”, Hermit asked in a bored tone.
Orion stood before hermit, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, regretting what he was about to do, “These three want to fight for the town…”, he said with his eyes closed.
Hermit sat there and shrugged, “So? Women are allowed to join the militia.”, he stated.
Orion scratched the back of his head, “They want to be paid for it…”
Hermit looked at the three of them, scanning over them for a moment, then bursting out into laughter, he then went back to a straight face, “You serious?”
“I’m afraid they are, they seem pretty dedicated to this…”, Orion explained.
Hermit leaned in closer from his chair, “What do you want the money for?”
Scootaloo put her hands on the desk and leaned in towards Hermit, “We need to feed a bunch of Orphans back home… The money would really help…”
Hermit leaned back and smiled, “Alright, you got it. Good to see someone is looking out for the less fortunate in these times, and not just begging for more, but offering something in return. I have some stuff that the Claw does not have time for, and the militia is unable to do since it requires secrecy… But before we get to that, you need to get some training or at least experience under your belts… I’ll be sure there is food delivered to your house for the orphans so long as you do jobs for me, got it?”
The Crusaders all nodded, excited to begin.

As the sun rose high enough to peek over the mountains in the distance, Twilight found a ray of sunshine make its way to her face, disturbing her sleep. She shielded herself from the ray with her hand, opening her eyes barely. She looked around to realize she was in bed alone. Twilight looked around, startled by the fact War Heart was gone. Her gaze turned to the window, where the silhouette of War Heart was, sitting on the window sill, staring into the distance as if waiting for something. Twilight got out of bed and walked towards him, “War Heart?”, she called to him.
War Heart turned to her, startled by her voice but saying nothing.
Twilight kept walking towards him, “Is something wrong?”, she asked, concerned for what could be on his mind.
War Heart looked to the floor, thinking of how to answer Twilight, he then looked back towards her, “I don’t remember anything… It’s like I’ve been taken into a new world. I don’t have any idea what is going on or what my place is… Who am I?”
Twilight put a hand on his cheek, “You are a great man… Kind and noble; Strong and Gentle. You are also my love.”, she said while pulling him in for a kiss.
War Heart kissed Twilight, afterwards he looked back outside, “I know I should be here with you, but I know nothing of the world outside this room, I want to spread my wings and meet the people.”, he said as he watched the sun slowly rise.
Twilight had to come up with an excuse to keep him indoors quickly, “The doctor said you are not to be outside.”, she said hastily.
War Heart was startled by her answer, “Am I sick?”, he said in confusion.
“Uh, yes, I mean, sort of, the doctor says that you are not to leave here until she deems it safe.”, Twilight told him in a sort of half truth.
War Heart looked at himself, trying to figure out what was wrong with him, “Is it because I am so… colourless?”, he asked regarding the paleness of his skin.
Twilight hesitated for a second, “Yes, that is one of the signs that you are sick.”
War Heart nodded slowly, “Okay, I won’t leave the room… I don’t feel sick, but if you say that I’m sick, I’ll trust you.”, War Heart smiled and removed himself from the window sill. He hugged Twilight, “I’m glad I have you to look out for me.”
Twilight felt his almost frozen arms wrap around her, she felt her heart go aflutter as she felt him embrace her. She returned the embrace out of bliss. She soon began to feel the guilt of the fact she had lied to him that Dash was not dead and the fact that he had children, but did not want to give up the only chance she would have at having him in her life as more than a friend.
There was a knock at the door, which startled Twilight. She walked over to the door and creaked it open to see Cura at the door, “Oh it’s just you…”, Twilight said in relief, glad that it was not Rarity for the risk that she might recognize War Heart. She opened the door and allowed Cura inside.
Cura had brought a medical bag and threw it on the bed, “I’ve come to do an examination of War Heart.”, she declared as she put on gloves and face mask, “Now, I’m going to have to ask you to lay down on the bed while I check you for anything that may cause problems.”
War Heart was confused and looked to Twilight, who nodded at him to let him know that it was fine. He complied and laid down.
Cura lit up her magic, her eyes glowing baby blue. She looked down at him as she saw his bones, muscles, organs, and bloodstreams. She examined his body then spotted a dull green glow in one of his feathers. She put on an expression of curiosity, “What is this…?”, she asked herself as she prepared magic in her hand to extract whatever could be inside the feather. As she touched the feather with her magic, she saw the green glow rush out of the feather and spread throughout his wing.
War Heart winced in pain as he felt an intense burning sensation rip along his wing and towards his torso.
Cura could only stand back and watch as he thrashed about in pain, holding back Twilight who wanted to go help but, in reality, could not do anything. She saw the green glow in his blood stream spread throughout his body, moving faster with his thrashing about. Soon it found its way into his heart, at which point he locked up for a second before falling limp.
They stood there in dead silence as they just watched War Heart lay there motionless.
Suddenly War Heart shot up to sitting position, gasping for air and putting a hand on his chest as if he were having a heart attack. His breath slowed over a few seconds. He sighed in relief as the pain had passed.
Twilight stepped towards him, “Are you okay? What happened?”, she asked, hoping he didn’t have anything too terrible happen.
War Heart looked towards her and Cura, “I don’t know… One second I was fine and the next I felt like I was being burnt alive from the inside…”
Cura walked over towards him and activated her magic, her eyes once again able to see his insides. She looked at his chest, concentrating on his heart which now had the same green glow. She saw his blood stream had now been filled with the same green glow from the feather. She felt his hand and noticed his skin was still cold, she also noticed that his heart was now slowly beating, slow enough that anyone else should be unconscious from having not oxygenated blood in his system. It was as if he was coming back from the dead. She didn’t know how she would explain it, so she just turned off her magic and started packing up her stuff.
War Heart spoke, “Hey… How long until I can go outside?”, he asked Cura.
Cura looked to him and thought for a moment, “I don’t know.”, she shrugged. She made her way towards the door, “If you need anything, just get Twilight to come get me.”, she called out to them as she went out the door, closing it on her way out.
War Heart started feeling dizzy, his vision blurred, and his body felt heavy. He laid down on the bed, feeling unable to move.
Twilight sat next to him, “How are you feeling…?”, she asked in concern.
War Heart couldn’t sit up, “I feel… weak… I don’t know why.”, he said in a lifeless tone.
Twilight placed her hand on his forehead, checking for signs of fever. She only felt the cold as her hand made contact with his skin. She looked down at him and smiled, not wanting to worry him, “Just get some rest, you look tired.”
War Heart nodded slowly and closed his eyes, drifting off into sleep almost immediately.
Twilight watched over him as he slept for the first few minutes but soon sought the pleasure of a good book. She looked over to her bookshelf and levitated one over to her. She opened it up and began reading.
War Heart returned into his dreams, the ones that haunted him from before. He found himself in the middle of a road again. This time was different, he saw a little girl in the middle of the road. She had purple hair and pink eyes, she wore purple-rimmed glasses as well. Her stare was cold and silent as she looked into his very being. She did not speak or move as she stood there. A young boy with black hair walked out from behind her and stared at him as well, followed by a young girl with pink hair and red eyes with wings. War Heart stood there in confusion for a moment before speaking, “Who are you?”, he asked.
The three looked at each other and pointed behind War Heart.
War Heart turned around to see Dash crying again. He tried to take a step towards her only to find his legs were bound by the animated corpses from his last nightmare. They screamed at him, “Murderer!”, and “Monster!”, in a mess of voices. The corpses all wore hoodies, some of them blood red, and others coloured green.
War Heart struggled to free himself, pulling away from the corpses as much as he could. He soon fell over with all the corpses piling on top of him. He saw a shoe placed in front of him, a leg attached to it, and a man attached to the leg. It was Deadbeast again, he knelt down to War Heart, holding out his hand to him.
War Heart panicked and lashed out to grab hold of the helping hand. He felt a fierce tug as he flew out of the pile of corpses and into a ballroom of royal tastes, where he was pinned to the wall and an angry tall woman with long flowing hair and glowing veins approached him. He struggled to be free of the wall but found himself helpless against the invisible force that held him there.
“War Heart… I trusted you would not reveal what you knew of the world beyond. Now I know that was a mistake. But the fact that you even allowed Discord to be freed and do such a thing to my empire… I should have you executed.”, the tall woman said as she approached him with a glowing orb in her hand.
War Heart was completely confused at what he was dreaming, he looked at the orb the woman held in her hand, guessing it was not meant to illuminate the already bright room. The tall woman thrust the orb towards War Heart, blinding him with a flash of light. The sudden shock forced him from his slumber, his chest began to give him excruciating pain. He shut his eyes as the fires in his blood burned once more. After a few seconds the pain stopped, he was wide awake now. He looked to the window to find it was night now. Looking to his side on the bed was Twilight, at peace and sleeping with a book in her hand. War Heart took the book from her gently and placed it on the bedside table. He sat on the side of the bed, staring at the floor, wanting to know why he kept dreaming of these things. He got off the bed, walked over to the window and sat in the sill. He sat there until dawn, not sure of what else he could do in the mean time.
Twilight awoke to see him at the window again, “Did you wake up in the middle of the night?”, she asked.
War Heart nodded, a depressed look on his face, “I keep having these dreams… I don’t understand why I’m having them. The people in it are… familiar. I don’t remember who they are though.”
Twilight motioned for him to come back to bed, which he did. She leaned against him, now noticing something new: his skin had warmth to it. She smiled and hugged him, “They’re just dreams, you don’t have to worry about them… You’re awake now, everything will be okay…”