The Taking of Tartarus

by Rakoon1

How to Cure a Predator

Rarity had just arrived to the Light Kingdom in the Light Express. Although many think that it was a friendly visit to her great friend, Princess Twilight, the truth was that she had come to the heart of all the goodness in the pony world with one goal: to enter in the Mirrored Library, where only Twilight and the Generals of Order had access.

After her great love be captured by Mirror Coat and placed in the prison-book, Rarity’s heart had been shattered, as Shadow Claw was the only stallion Rarity had loved, despite knowing that he was not entirely a stallion, and she knew he felt the same for her.

Although everypony said that their love was impossible because he was a servant of the Lord of Chaos, Rarity knew she could try to help him escape from the darkness that held him. However, she didn’t know how to do so. Then she had the idea to go to the Mirrored Library, because it was a place where she could find the answers she sought. It could only be there where she would find them.

She arrived at the castle where she asked to speak to Twilight and she was escorted by guards to the throne room, where the young princess was sitting on her throne dealing with real issues with her number one assistant, Spike. The door opened and one of the guards appeared and said:

"Your Highness, there's someone here to see you."

"Really?" Twilight asked. "Who?"

"It's me, dear" Rarity said, entering.

"Rarity!" Twilight exclaimed, going to her friend, while the guards who had brought her went out.

Seeing Rarity, Spike stayed soon with his usual enamored air.

"But what are you doing here?" Twilight asked, giving a brief hug to Rarity. "I thought you had an important job in hoof to handle with."

"Oh, dear, that can wait" Rarity said. "What matters is that I missed you so I decided to visit you."

Twilight looked suspiciously to Rariy. Normally, Rarity becomes so focused on her work and she doen’t allow a single distraction while she doen’t end what she is doing. Spike then approached and asked Rarity:

"Did you miss me too, Rarity?"

"Of course I did, my Spikey-Whikey" she said, scratching his chin, something that made him completely enamored.

"Spike, could you go ask for some tea and biscuits to the real cooker?" Twilight asked.

"Of course, Twilight" Spike replied without taking his eyes from Rarity. "I do everything for Rarity..."

But then he came to himself and said to Twilight:

"Of course I do everything for you too, Twilight."

"Yes, right" she replied.

Spike then left.

"Well, now that Spike came out, tell me the truth" Twilight said to Rarity. "Why did you really come here?"

"Twilight, I told you, I came to visit you" Rarity said, flashing a wide smile.

But Twilight merely look to Rariry with her suspicious stare. Realizing she couldn’t fool Twilight, Rarity sighed and said:

"Okay, you won."

"Come on, tell me why you came here truly" Twilight said.

Rarity sighed and said:

"I wanted you to let me visit the Mirrored Library."

Twilight was surprised with that request.

"Why do you want to go to Mirrored Library?" she asked.

"Because..." Rarity began, trying to find the right words. "I would like to know more about... pony-wolves."

"This is about Shadow Claw, isn’t it?" Twilight asked.

"Yes" Rarity confirmed. "I... I just want to know if there is a way of cure him. To him return to be the pony I fell in love with."

"Rarity, you know that Shadow Claw’s intentions when he seduced you were not the best" Twilight said.

"Maybe not at first, but you didn’t know her as I did, Twilight" Rarity said. "He was so dear to me, even after he had kidnaped me. He didn’t want to turn me. I could see that he loved me. "

"I understand, Rarity, but..."

"I know you're reluctant because he is a servant of the Lord of Chaos and that he had almost brought the eternal night" Rarity said. "But I know that if we can find a cure, if we can free him from the curse the Chaos Lord gave him, he might be again what he was."

Twilight didn’t even know what to say. She admired the feeling that Rarity had for Shadow Claw and, because of it, she hated to take her illusions.

"Rarity, Shadow Claw is an alpha pony-wolf" Twilight said. "I don’t think there can be a cure for that kind of pony-wolf."

"But the others..." she began.

"The others were transformed by him" Twilight answered. "When we defeated him with the Solar Crystal, we broke the lineage and everypony he turned returned to normal. But with Shadow Claw is different. "

Rarity was disappointed with the answer, but it didn’t shake her hope.

"You said it may not exist a cure" she said. "But that doesn’t mean that there’s not one. Because of that, I need to enter in the Mirrored Library. I'm sure there may be something we can use."

Despite knowing that the probability of that happening was minimal, Twilight knew Rarity was right. Moreover, she knew that if there was any information about a cure for Shadow Claw, it might just be in the Mirror Library. She looked to Rarity and could feel all the love she had for him and that it was sincere. Twilight smiled and nodded, saying:

"Very well, Rarity, you can go there."

That made Rarity give smile and then she gave a big hug to Twilight saying:

"Thank you, Twilight!"

"I do everything for my friends" she said, returning the hug and then finishing it. "But try to avoid crossing with Mirror Coat. I don’t know if he or the others would approve this."

"Don’t worry" Rarity said. "I will be discreet."

Twilight then went to the nearest mirror and, using the spell that the Generals had taught her, she inserted the horn and opened the portal. Waving to Rarity, she advanced and crossed it.

Rarity found herself in the Mirrored Library. However now there was a problem: where to start. There were lots of shelves, each one with millions of books, and all in continuous updating and adding.

It was then that she remembered Heartbeat said once everything was divided into sections. She just had to go to the section where it might be the book that had the answer to her problem. How she wanted to know to cure pony-wolves, she had to go where there were books about magical creatures: the Science and Magic section.

Rarity began looking for the section until she got lucky and found it in no time. After that, she began to search for books about pony-wolves, but those she found didn’t have the information she wanted. Everyone talked about the lineage break that heals all the pony-wolves turned by other pony-wolves, but nothing about how to cure Shadow Claw.

"I can’t believe this!" Rarity exclaimed, closing the nth book she checked. "There is nothing at all!"

"But what a great surprise" a voice said.

Rarity started and then came across with...

"Mirror Coat!" she exclaimed, running into with the General of Knowledge and rushing to hide the book she was reading behind her. "What a surprise to see you here."

"This is my workplace" Mirror Coat reminded her. "The surprise here is you, Miss Rarity. Why are you here?"

"Well..." Rarity began, trying to make an excuse. "You know... I asked Twilight for permission to use the Mirrored Library to look for inspiration from dresses of other worlds to my new collection."

"In the Science and Magic section?" Mirror Coat asked suspiciously.

"Really?" Rarity asked, making a false surprised air. "This is the Science and Magic section? What a surprise."

She gave a nervous laugh, but Mirror Coat continued to look suspicious to her. He then noticed the book that Rarity was hiding and, using his magic, managed to pull it off from her and went to see what it was about. After reading, he looked at Rarity and said:

"I don’t think information about pony-wolves will help you to find inspiration, unless you are seeking a more sinister look, which doesn’t seem to be your style, Miss Rarity."

She then sighed and said:

"I think you got me."

"Let me guess" Mirror Coat said. "You are trying to find a way to cure Shadow Claw."

Rarity nodded and then said:

"I know you must think is a bad idea, but I think I should do something to find it. After all, I..."

"You love him" Mirror Coat completed.

Rarity looked at him, amazed that he knew that.

"How do you know that?" She asked.

"I spent too much time with Heartbeat and she already gave me a lecture by having separate two ponies for each other" Mirror Coat said.

"Is that means that... Shadow Claw love me?" Rarity asked, with a smile.

"I don’t know that" he said. "But I know that you caused some impact on him. Although it was me who arrest him and I did for everypony’s sake, I think it doesn’t hurt to try to find a way to cure him. It's a great way to get rid of a threat, even if it is securely in the prison-book."

"Will you help me?" Rarity asked.

Mirror Coat waved for Rarity’s joy.

"Well, you have to take into account, Rarity, that pony-wolves as Shadow Claw are alphas, so they don’t have a lineage to break, like normal pony-wolves" Mirror Coat explained. "You won’t find a cure in any book that talks about them. This is only in a particular book."

He acceded to his magic and made a book come, saying:

"It is in this on we will find the answers."

The excitement began to seize in Rarity, knowing that the answer to the mystery that she so wanted to solve was right there. Mirror Coat then said, as he opened the book:

"The only way to cure an alpha pony-wolf is with pure water."

"What do you mean with pure water?" Rarity asked. "You mean like river water springs?"

"No, not like that" Mirror Coat said. "This type of pure water is water that is created out of nothing. Each world has a certain amount of water which cannot be reduced or increased. But pure water we seek is created without using nothing there is in the world where it is formed."

"But where we find water like that?" Rarity asked.

"You already know where" Mirror Coat replied.

And then an image appeared of the book that was...

"The Oasis of the Heart!" Rarity exclaimed, seeing Heartbeat’s star seed’s wonderful creation.

"Yes, the waters of this place are so pure and so magical that can release any pony-wolf from his curse, including an alpha" Mirror Coat replied.

"This is amazing!" Rarity said excitedly. "So we can already cure Shadow Claw."

"This is quite so" he replied, making Rarity cease with her enthusiasm. "There is a problem."

"What is it?"

"The very nature of the oasis. It doesn’t let anypony with a dark heart or with bad intentions to get in and Shadow Claw, right now, is a servant of the Lord of Chaos. The oasis will not leave Shadow Claw enter."

"But it have to leave" Rarity said. "It's the only way to cure him. We can ask for Heartbeat’s help. She can make the Oasis of the Heart let Shadow Claw enter."

"The oasis is really an extension of Heartbeat’s power, but it has its own mind and the rule of not letting any of the Chaos Lord's servants is absolute" Mirror Coat replied.

"So we have a cure, but we don’t have a way to get the cure?" Rarity asked. "Perfect."

"However, there is another place where we can go" Mirror Coat said.

"So you could have started by there, right?" Rarity asked.

Mirror Coat turned the page of the book and the image of the Heart of the Oasis was replaced by a large canyon of bright stone into the Light Kingdom, while Mirror Coat said:

"In the far side of the Light Kingdom, there is a canyon called the Great Light Canyon. If you follow it..." image made zoom, following the path of the canyon until they reach a desert, where the sand was very bright "you will arrive to a small desert where there is a small lush oasis."

He showed the image of the oasis. It was not as beautiful as the Oasis of the Heart, but it was also beautiful. In the middle, there was a pond with a water equal to the water in the oasis created by the red star seed.

"It's so beautiful!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Yes, but be careful when you enter this oasis" Mirror Coat said.

"Why?" Rarity asked.

"Because of its guardians" Mirror Coat replied. "The pony-panthers."

And then came the image of a pony with an aspect like the pony-wolves, but instead of having canine traits, he had feline traits, including the tail was long and thin.

"Well, they seem ferocious" Rarity commented.

"That's because they are" Mirror Coat replied. "They have the same capabilities as the pony-wolves, but they can switch between this form and the pony form when they want. They are the Lord of Order's servants who only respond to him and him only. Not even we, the Generals, managed to get them to collaborate unless they have something to gain. Typical feline behavior. But one thing is certain, they will not let you cure Shadow Claw. They hate pony-wolves, as a cat..."

"... hate a dog" Rarity completed. "I get it. But I have to try."

"Yes, of course" Mirror Coat said, closing the book. "There’s only one more thing. To acquire Shadow Claw, you have to have his life cell and it is in the prison-book. I and others can only put the life cells inside. To get them out, you need the General Peace that is..."

"Golden Paladin" Rarity said, realizing that now she had to convince the General of Peace to help her."

When she left the Mirrored Library, along with Mirror Coat, Rarity found Golden Paladin in the throne room with Twilight and asked him to take Shadow Claw’s life cell out of the prison-book to go to the oasis of the pony-panthers, but his answer was...

"It’s out of the question" he replied firmly. "I will not take any life cell from the prison-book, only to cure Shadow Claw."

"But, Golden Paladin..." Rarity began.

"No" he continued to say. "Simply, no. It’s against my code of General of Peace release a prisoner villain."

"But you don’t understand" Rarity said. "We can release Shadow Claw from the Lord of Chaos’ control."

"I don’t care" Golden Paladin said. "Do you realize that the Lord of Chaos can take advantage of this to release Shadow Claw and re-use him to conquer this world? We are giving all we have to capture the villains who escaped from Tartarus and so far we only have seven villains, but there are many more. We cannot risk to unbalance things even more."

"But..." Rarity began, but, seeing the determined look of Golden Paladin, she stopped.

"Golden, I share the same opinion as you" Mirror Coat said. "I know this is quite risky, the Lord of Chaos can try to recover Shadow Claw and the pony-panthers may not even help us, but you have to see the other side. We have the possibility to get rid of the alfa pony-wolf, one of the greatest villains of the Lord of Chaos."

"Mirror Coat’s right" Twilight agreed. "And I'm not saying this because Rarity is my friend. Shadow Claw is also a victim. He was cursed by the Lord of Chaos that made him one of his slaves. We have to help him to break free."

"I understand, princess, and admire your kindness, but I am the General Peace and cannot risk the safety of ponies" Golden Paladin said.

"Always the duty, isn’t it, Goldy?" a voice asked.

They all looked and saw Heartbeat who was sitting in a chair on the edge of a round table taking a cup of tea.

"Why don’t you stop thinking with your head once in your life?" Heartbeat asked.

"Don’t meddle, Heartbeat" Golden Paladin said her. "This has nothing to do with you."

"You're wrong" she replied, teleporting to Rarity’s edge. "When we are talking about a demonstration of love like this that Rarity is showing, then we are in the area of Affection and I am the General of Affection."

"But we are talking about releasing a villain from the prison-book who can return to threaten the peace of this world and this has to do with me" Golden Paladin answered.

That made Heartbeat adopt a serious look.

"Oh, this will get good" Mirror Coat said.

"What do you mean?" Rarity asked.

"Do you know when Purple Smoke and Melody discuss?" the General Knowledge asked. "Well, the ones between Golden Paladin and Heartbeat are worse."

"I can’t believe I'm hearing this from you" Heartbeat said to Golden Paladin. "I thought ponies were important to you."

"Don’t say that to me" Golden Paladin said. "I don’t do other thing than do everything for them."

"It's not what it seems."

"I cannot worry about the safety of a pair of ponies when I put in cause safety of so many others."

The two Generals looked at each other fiercely for a few seconds, something that was more intense than the exchange of glances between Purple Smoke and Melody. Then Heartbeat turned back to his elder brother and said to him:

"I liked the old Goldy. The one that risked only to help an innocent pony, a pony like Shadow Claw."

Those words seemed to have affected Golden Paladin, something that confused Twilight and Rarity. It took a few seconds, but then Golden Paladin finally said:

"Okay, I'll do it. But if something goes wrong, I won’t take any responsability."

Heartbeat then turned to him and said with a smile:

"I knew you'd say that. After all, you're my favorite big brother."

And then gave him a big hug.

"Heartbeat always ends up winning this type of discussions" Mirror Coat whispered to Rarity, making her drop a laugh.

"I'm glad that everything is revolved" Twilight said. "Golden Paladin, I think it’s better you go take Shadow Claw’s life cell. And, if you are concerned that he can return to terrorize the ponies, you can follow Rarity to the oasis of the pony-panthers."

"It seems I have no choice" he replied.

So Golden Paladin invoked the prison-book and the cell blaster. Then he inserted the tip of the cell blaster in the groove of the prison-book and rolled it. When he removed it, the life cell with the image of Shadow Claw appeared. Golden Paladin took it with his magic and then put it in some saddlebags that he invoked.

"Well, what are we waiting" he told to Rarity. "We have a long way to go."

That made Rarity smile immensely.

The Lord of Chaos was watching that scene and then said:

"This is unacceptable! How can they think they can cure one of my villains?"

"I don’t understand, master" Fire Punch said, standing nearby. "Why do you care if they cure Shadow Claw or not? After all, he has failed you."

"Just like you, but the difference is that you've failed me twice" the Lord of Chaos replied. "But the point is Shadow Claw is one of my greatest villains. He's mine. And he still can be useful to me. I cannot allow they get the cure. But also this can even play in my favor. Shadow Claw’s life cell is out of prison-book, so it’s my chance to recover him. Let me see."

He made appear the way to the oasis of pony-panthers in the mirror, saying:

"It’s better no attack them near the oasis of pony-panthers. They can ruin everything. So I will attack them in the best place for ambushes: the Great Light Canyon, where the protective magic of the Light Kingdom is not as strong and my villains can attack. And I know the perfect villain for this job. Or rather, villains."

He snapped his fingers and then the image was replaced by the image of a mare that had a bizarre appearance. She had a bird beak instead of muzzle, wings on the forelegs and claws instead of hooves.

"How can I serve you, my master?" she asked, bowing.

"Featherwing, I need your services and your sisters’" the Lord of Chaos said. "The General Peace is now beginning to head to the oasis of pony-panthers to cure Shadow Claw. I want you to ambush him and take Shadow Claw life cell Shadow Claw and bring it to me."

"You may leave it to us, master" Featherwing replied, making another bow.

And the communication ended. Fire Punch then said:

"Master, I thought you wouldn’t go use more villain teams after ... You know, the Gorgons."

"And I wouldn’t, but this is a unique opportunity that cannot be missed" the Lord of Chaos replied. "If I have again Shadow Claw in my hand, my advantage in this war will simply increase. Who knows, I may get rid of the General of Peace at the same time."

And he gave an evil laugh.

Golden Paladin and Rarity walked towards the Great Light Canyon. While they walked, Rarity asked:

"Sorry, Golden Paladin, but we cannot go directly to the oasis? You could teleport us there."

"I could" he replied. "But then the pony-panthers wouldn’t let us use their water. First, we have to show our worth and make the journey without magic is a way to start."

"Very well" Rarity said.

They continued walking, going up to a more remote part of the Light Kingdom where Rarity had never been. Then the vegetation began to dwindle until they reached an immense canyon. Rarity was stunned when she saw that the rocks that formed it were immensely bright.

"Sweet Celestia..." she said. "I've never seen anything like this!"

"We are in the Light Kingdom boundaries" Golden Paladin explained. "In this area, there are very few light plants growing, but there’s enough to give light to this canyon. Well, come on. The sooner we get to the oasis the best."

They two then began to advance through the canyon. At the top, watching them, was Featherwing, along with her two sisters.

"Okay, girls, it's time to recover Shadow Claw to our master" she said. "Concentrate on the General Peace. The unicorn is not a threat. All right, go!"

His two sisters spread their wings and took flight and began coming down the pike towards the two ponies who were down there.

Golden Paladin then sensed something. He looked up and saw Featherwing’s sister to come quickly to them.

"Oh no, Harpies!" He exclaimed. "Rarity, run!"

"What the..." she began, only to be moved away by Golden Paladin’s magic.

Then the General of Peace began to be attacked by claws as he tried to protect himself and at the same time attack. Rarity had been stunned. She had never seen such creatures. They have to be servants of the Lord of Chaos trying to recover Shadow Claw for him.

Golden Paladin tried to resist the Harpies, but they had caught him off guard and were too quick to be able to avoid all the blows they did apart that they could not attack without getting even more vulnerable. If he didn’t do something, they would get Shadow Claw’s life cell. He had no alternative.

"Rarity, catch!" he exclaimed.

Using his magic, he made Shadow Claw’s life leave his saddlebags and then threw it to Rarity. Reacting quickly, she took it with her magic.

"Golden Paladin..."

"Run! I'll take care of the Harpies! Don’t let them get the life cell!"

"But..."

"Go!"

It was then that the Harpies noticed that Rarity had the life cell and prepared for the attack. But Golden Paladin was faster and created a magical dome that held him and the Harpies inside. Rarity seized the moment and began to run as fast as she could.

On the top of the canyon, Featherwing was seeing Rarity escaping.

"It seems it has to be me to make everything. But this will not be very difficult. I just have to wait that the desert does the work for me."

And she laughed.

Rarity ran as fast as she could. It didn’t late until the rocks begin to be replaced by sand and the bright environment disappear. That meant she was out of the Light Kingdom. Now, she just had to cross the desert and reach the oasis. But that proved to be a quite difficult task, because the sun was very hot and Rarity was dehydrating quickly, apart from that it was difficult to walk on sand. She had some water with her, but it was running out quickly. When she went to drink another sip, he realized that this was the last one, because she had no more water.

"I have to find the oasis" she said, immensely tired. "I have to save Shadow Claw."

Then a shadow flew over her. To her horror, she saw Featherwing approaching and landing in front of her.

"Oh no!" the unicorn cried.

Rarity tried to turn around and run away, but she was too tired for that.

"My dear, don’t difficult this" Featherwing said, extending then one of her front claws. "Give me Shadow Claw’s life cell and I leave you unharmed."

"No way!" Rarity replied, trying to protect at all costs her loved one.

"Why do you risk yourself for a villain so evil as Shadow Claw?" Featherwing asked. "He doesn’t worth your life."

"I love him and that's something you will not understand" Rarity said. "I know Shadow Claw is not like you. I can see it. He is good and loving, but a prisoner of your stupid master."

"If I were you, I would moderate the language" Featherwing said, sounding offended when Rarity insulted the Lord of Chaos. "Well, if that's what you want, then I'll have to get the life cell from you by force."

She then moved forward, taking off and preparing their rear claws. In an instant, she managed to hold Rarity who tried to break free, but without success. Featherwing moved one of her front claws to Rarity saddlebags and found what he sought.

"Here you are" she said, raising the life cell. "The Lord of Chaos will be very pleased."

Rarity took her distraction to release one of her front hooves and punched her, what made her let her go and drop a life cell that flew into the air and fell on the sand nearby. The unicorn ran to there, but Featherwing was too fast and got there first, scratching then Rarity's face and throwing her against the sand.

"Stupid girl" she said, taking the life cell, while Rarity looked at her angrily. "Did you really think you could attack me, get the life cell and escape. Or you are very naive or very stupid."

"I prefer to believe that she is not any of the options" a voice replied.

Featherwing turned and then saw Golden Paladin. He was scratched in various places and his mane and coat were all disheveled.

"You defeated my sisters?" Featherwing asked, not wanting to believe.

"And now they are in a very warm cell in the prison-book" Golden Paladin said.

That made Featherwing contort the angry face, but then she smiled and said:

"So? At least they managed to tire you out. I doubt you can defeat me when you are so tired that you can’t keep yourself up on your hooves. It will be a bonus. Not only I will bring the Shadow Claw’s life cell to my master, as I will have the honor of crushing the General of Peace. This undoubtedly will greatly facilitate the Lord of Chaos’ plans."

"You wish" Golden Paladin said.

He invoked the cell blaster and tried to use it against Featherwing, but he was so resentful from his previous fight that he had no forces, especially being Featherwing with full energy.

"Looks like I win and you lose" Featherwing said, approaching and raising her claw.

Then something grabbed her claw. She looked and then she was faced with a pony-panther.

"What?" she asked.

"We don’t tolerate dark creatures in our territory" the pony-panther said to Featherwing. "Much less those who threaten our master’s loyal servers."

The pony-panther made a coup and launched Featherwing against the ground and then she found herself surrounded by more pony-panthers who had appeared out of nowhere. That blow also made her drop Shadow Claw’s cell life that rose into the air and was caught by the first pony-panther. The Harpy, finding herself surrounded, rose and prepared to fight, but the pony-panthers were too many and quite strong and she was completely overwhelmed.

"I believe that this is yours" the one that seemed to be the leader of the pony-Panthers said, extending the life cell to Rarity.

"Thank you" she thanked, getting it with her magic.

"Thank you, Chief Strongpaw" Golden Paladin thanked cordially bowing his head.

"You don’t have to thank me, General of Peace" Chief Strongpaw replied. "After all, we are both servants of the great Lord of the Order. Despite our differences, we are allies. I believe that you'll deal with this evil… thing."

He looked at Featherwing.

"Absolutely yes" Golden Paladin said.

He pointed again the cell blaster to Featherwing and charged it again with magic. This time, Golden Paladin managed to find the strength to launch the yellow light that got Featherwing and began to suck her inside of it. After she had been sucked wholly into the life cell, her image appeared on the life cell and then Golden Paladin invoked the prison-book and put it in it.

"Now, you will make company to your dear sisters" Golden Paladin said, opening the book at Featherwing’s cell who tried to boot the bars but without success, closing it after.

"You saved us" Rarity told to Chief Strongpaw and his pony-panthers. "I am very grateful to you."

"It was our duty" Chief Strongpaw replied. "However, I have to ask. What brings you here?"

Rarity would speak, but Golden Paladin told her:

"Allow me to handle this."

Rarity did so. Golden Paladin advanced to Chief Strongpaw and said:

"I know what we'll ask you is too much, especially after what you did for us right now, but it's necessary. The water of your oasis is the only thing that can cure an alpha pony-wolf from his curse, in addition to the water of the Oasis of the Heart. So, we wanted to ask you to let us use it to heal Shadow Claw."

"You want us to use our water to cure one of the followers of the Lord of Chaos?" Chief Strongpaw asked, while the other pony-panthers began to talk to each other.

"We know that's asking a lot" Rarity said, not resisting speaking to be able to save his beloved. "And I know that you have no duty to Golden Paladin or any of the other Generals of Order. But... I love Shadow Claw and I know deep down he is a good being."

"He is a follower of the Lord of Chaos" Chief Strongpaw told her. "And all his followers are bad, liars and manipulative."

"You’re right" Rarity said. "And I don’t blame you if you don’t want to help, but you cannot blame me for trying. I know Shadow Claw has done many terrible things, but he had no choice. He was cursed and enslaved by the Lord of Chaos. He is a victim and deserves a chance."

The pony-Panthers seemed even less convinced and Rarity put all her love for Shadow Claw in her last words to try to convince them.

"Please, help me save my love."

And a tear trickled from her eye and fell in the desert sand.

Then, out of nowhere, the ground began to shake and palms emerged from the sand, all lush and full of life, along with great fresh and green undergrowth. But then, nearby, there was a huge lake with crystal clear water that glittered with the burning sun.

"But..." Rarity said, not wanting to believe what she was seeing. "What is this?"

"This, Rarity, is their oasis" Golden Paladin said. "The oasis of the pony-panthers."

"Apparently, the oasis heard your cry for help, young mare" Chief Strongpaw said. "We are their guardians, and so we should not let anypony it didn’t consider worthy to enter. But it seems that it found you worthy after you had defended your beloved and express your desire to save him."

"That means..." Rarity began.

"That you can use the pure water to release Shadow Claw from his curse" Chief Strongpaw Chief replied with a slight smile.

Rarity didn’t fit herself with joy. She turned to Golden Paladin who said:

"Well, looks like I have no other alternative but to put Shadow Claw in probation."

"Thank you" Rarity thanked him.

Using his magic, Golden Paladin made the Shadow Claw’s life cell levitate in the air and then he launched a magic beam against it and so it shone with a yellow light and when it vanished, in place of the life cell was Shadow Claw, in his pony form.

"What the..." he began. "Where am I?"

He then noticed Rarity.

"Rarity?"

He then noticed Golden Paladin and the pony-panthers.

"Oh no..." he said.

He tried to escape, but the pony-panthers cornered him and grabbed him.

"Let me go, your smelly half-cat!" He exclaimed. "Let me go now!"

"Please, Shadow Claw, don’t struggle against them" Rarity asked. "They just want to help you."

"I don’t need help!" He shouted. "Let me go now!"

"I think it’s better we end this before it happens something unwanted" Golden Paladin said.

Chief Strongpaw nodded and then motioned to his pony-panthers and they then launched Shadow Claw into the lake. When he fell there, he began to moan and squirm. Parts of his pony-wolf form appeared and disappeared. Then a darkness began to wrap him and then rose into the air, where it burned and then disappeared.

After that, Rarity saw Shadow Claw getting out of the lake and approached her. Golden Paladin and the pony-panthers prepared themselves in case he were to do something.

"Shadow Claw..." Rarity said. "Are you really you? I mean, without the claws and the fangs?"

Shadow Claw smiled warmly and said:

"Yes, Rarity, it's me."

Rarity smiled hugely and then gave him a big hug, which Shadow Claw respond with another one. After they finish the hug, Golden Paladin approached and told to Shadow Claw:

"Get to know that we will be watching you at the next full moon to make sure that you are completely free. Don’t take this wrong, but a curse like these always leave residue, and I wonder if such residues will not be a danger."

"I understand" Shadow Claw said. "And I hope I can exceed your expectations. Mainly because..."

He looked at Rarity and added:

"Now I can be with the love of my life."

And the two exchanged a kiss.

"Well, I just have to wish you two good luck. But I have to warn you, Shadow Claw. Be very careful, because the Lord of Chaos sure will not give up on you, if only to save his pride."

"Don’t worry, I'll be careful" Shadow Claw said.

The Lord of Chaos saw that scene through his mirror. Fire Punch was away as he could, fearing how his master would react to what had happened. However, the master of all evil remained calm. He said:

"So you'd rather stay on the Order side. Okay, you can stay on the Order side. But it’s good that you take care of your back because I'm going to make all the traitors to pay for their crime."

Rarity, Golden Paladin and Shadow Claw returned to the Light Kingdom. Despite the fears and suspicions, the ponies have accepted Shadow Claw after knowing he had been cured. Twilight had been very pleased that Raroty had achieved to cure the pony she loved, but there was someone who was not so happy. Spike saw his chances with Rarity falling dramatically when he saw her with Shadow Claw. But that didn’t change her behavior towards him.

Then Rarity and Shadow Claw went back to Ponyville, where they could finally live their love freely.