> A New Tale In Equestria.
>  by Sylif Daring Doo
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Fang gets an itch.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_______*Gwen Dash's house, the basement 12:41 PM*_______

Fang groaned as he woke up, he rubbed his head and slowly opened his eyes, he looked to his right and smiled. "Thank you Dash for teaching me emotions." He thought to himself.

In the bed with him was his partner Roxanne, while he might not have admitted it to anyone else he did have feelings for the fox, he just hasn't said anything yet.

While Fang was familiar with emotions now he was not sure how Roxanne would think about his feelings, he didn't know if she would find them creepy or just plain wrong, so for now he would remain silent.

He felt a familiar sensation in his shoulder and scratched it, he could not understand it but ever since they arrived in Equestria he had this itch in his shoulder, he had kept quiet but it was getting worse.

Fang sighed and quietly got out of the bed, Dash had asked them if they would like a room in the house, and they knew that she had three spare rooms, but they had said that the basement was fine, in truth it was the one place they could call home, although they weren't used to the idea of 'hot' and 'cold' the two partners hadn't found the problem.

"Roxie is the one who adjusted quickly, me, no don't think about that." He shrugged off the thought.

Fang had received this voice in his head along with the itch, perhaps he felt guilty about leaving his friends back home to be scrapped, or maybe he was going insane from the stress of being alive, he was unsure, Fang walked over to his partners side of the bed and gently shook her, he had discovered what happened if Roxanne was woken up loudly, the hard way, the memory was fresh in his mind. 

Roxanne's eyes snapped open and she backhanded Fang without thinking, she gasped and rushed up to her partner, are you ok?, she had asked, Fang was to shocked to reply. Fang shuddered at the memory, pain was why he froze up, it was new and exciting to him, and it hurt.

Fang heard a moan come from his partner as she rolled over. "Hurry up Roxanne, you have to wake up." He said.

Roxanne opened her eyes and looked at Fang. "Oh boy, alright I'm up just give me a minute." She said groggily.

Fang nodded and walked over to the stairs and waited.

Roxanne checked her arms and legs then she checked her chest, she sighed in relief. 

Fang winced, ever since they came to this world Roxanne has been having nightmares, in these nightmares Roxanne is being torn apart again, but this time for parts, she dreamt about the children tearing her apart every day while Fang tried to stop them, she dreamt that she was torn apart in this world by its inhabitants, and every time Fang had been there to comfort her, 'because I'm your partner and friend' he said every time she asked why he helped.

Roxanne stood up and walked towards Fang and hugged him lightly.

"Which one was it this time?" Fang asked.

Roxanne looked at him. "Kids." She said sadly.

Fang nodded in understanding, he then returned the hug.   "Its ok, that wont happen anymore, now come on, lets go." He said.

Roxanne looked at him and smiled, she was glad to have the distraction, but she knew that she would have to get over it eventually.

Fang walked up to the door that led to the living room and opened it.  

Roxanne walked up to Fang and nodded slowly.

Fang walked through the door and Roxanne followed.

______*the living room 12:42 PM*______

Gwen sat in her chair while reading a book on Equestrian history, she sighed and put the book on the arm of the chair, she then stood up and walked towards the kitchen, she noticed Fang and Roxanne walk out of the basement and smiled.

"Morning sleepyheads, so did you finally 'do it' last night?" She asked teasingly.

Roxanne blushed and Fang's heart skipped a beat.  "No, no no no no." They said in unison.

Gwen chuckled and shook her head.  "I don't know why you two bother trying to avoid it, so what if your a wolf and a fox?, just do it already." She said impatiently.

Fang bit his lip. "Of all people to get stuck with I had to get stuck with the one who pesters me every single day about that." He said in his mind.

Roxanne looked at Fang and chuckled, she had found herself becoming more and more attached to her wolf partner, she knew what it was but never said anything, she thought that if Fang found out he would laugh, Roxanne had thought it was stupid as well.

Gwen was mentally cracking up, the reaction of the two former animatronics was always hilarious, even though she knew it was wrong she couldn't help but notice how it kept everyone's spirits up.

"Ok come on you two, you have to get moving." Gwen said while walking into the kitchen.

Fang nodded and followed Gwen into the kitchen.

Roxanne rolled her eyes but followed her housemates.  

"Gwen, we will be lucky if we even get a job, much less if we aren't thrown out of the building, or if we scare the locals." Roxanne said grimly.

Fang nodded in agreement as he pulled a fish out of the fridge. "Thank god for your people eating fish, I was afraid I would have to go on an all vegetable diet." He said with relief.

Gwen nodded. "Yep, I might be one of them, but I can still eat meat without any problems like they claim." She said with confusion.

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "I agree, I don't see what's wrong with meat, its delicious, unless the majority of your race is herbivores then I would understand, but in my opinion, something happened to you that allowed you to eat meat." She told Gwen.

The room fell into silence after Roxanne spoke, they ate their breakfast in silence, until a most welcome knock came at the door.

Gwen sighed in relief and walked over to the front door, she opened the door to reveal Fluttershy, she smiled and let her friend inside.

"Hey Shy, thanks for taking these two off my hands for a while." She said gratefully.

Fluttershy went to speak but closed her mouth, ever since Gwen had gotten back she had been using all of the references she picked up from Earth, she even asked her friends to use her 'real' name.

"Its no trouble at all, as long as I don't forget they're just like us, in a way." She replied.

Gwen smiled. "Yea, they've grown on me, they're like family to me you know?" She said.

Fluttershy nodded in understanding. "I know what you mean, its the same way with all of my animals." She replied.

Fang walked into the room and yawned. "Hey Gwen, hey Shy, just wanted you to know I found this yesterday." He said holding an open palm out, he was holding a black cocoon like rock, it had a small folded letter inside it addressed to Gwen.

Gwen took the rock and pulled the letter out, she opened it and grinned.  "Well now, that's interesting." She said cheerfully.

Fang walked up to her and read the letter. "I cant understand this at all." He said with annoyance. 

Gwen laughed.  "Well duh, that's because its written in Changish." She said as she gave Fang a light slap on the back.

Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Um, does Changish mean Changelings?" She asked with worry.

Gwen looked at her friend happily. "Yep, my old friend finally contacted me." She said happily.

Fluttershy gulped. "Um, this might come as a shock to you but." She paused.

Gwen now had a serious look on her face. "Yes?" She asked.

Fluttershy laughed nervously. "Um, the Changelings attacked Canterlot a few days before you returned." She said sadly.

Gwen's eyes widened at this. "No, that cant be, my friend never would have done that!" She snapped.

Fang quickly moved in between Fluttershy and Gwen, he then looked Gwen straight in the eye. 

"Look, if you really believe that then go see him or her, take me and Roxanne with you if that makes you feel better." He said with a serious tone.

Gwen nodded and looked behind her to see Roxanne leaning against the wall.  "When do we leave then?" Roxanne asked eagerly.

Fang put his hand up in a halting motion. "First, what does the letter say?" He said calmly.

Gwen shrugged and read the letter.  "Basically it says that he found something 'very' interesting in the Grayroot forest and he wants me to visit." She replied.

Fang put his hand to his chin and thought on it. "Very well, lets go." He said.

Fluttershy gave Gwen a pleading look.  "Please don't, we don't know if its a trap or not." She said worryingly.

Gwen smirked. "Of course its a trap, that's what makes it fun." She replied.

Fang and Roxanne smiled then walked down to the basement.  

Gwen looked at Fluttershy. "Can you tell the others that I'm going to the Grayroot forest and that they are welcome to come, I'm going to tell Ditzy and see if she can come along." She said.

Fluttershy nodded.  "Yea I can do that." She said as she walked out of the house.

Gwen smiled and walked upstairs to get some stuff together for her journey.

______*Ponyville outskirts 1:21 PM*______

Fang sat on the hill waiting impatiently for the rest of the group, so far the only ones who were here was Gwen, Derpy, Twilight and Roxanne.

Roxanne was talking with Twilight about Earth, apparently ever since Roxanne had told her that she was an animatronic before now Twilight had been VERY curious, it was disturbing to say the least.

Derpy was standing next to Gwen talking about, plans.  

Fang felt the itch in his shoulder again and scratched it.

Roxanne noticed it. "Hey Fang, you alright?" She asked.

Fang looked at his partner and nodded. "Yea I'm fine, just an itch." He replied.

Roxanne had an idea and walked up to Fang, she walked behind him and kneeled.

"Roxie, what are you doing?" Fang asked with worry.

Roxanne proceeded to scratch Fang's shoulder causing him to pant heavily. 

Gwen and Derpy giggled at the scene, Twilight was curious.

Fang was going to object but the feeling made him stay silent, almost.

Gwen heard footsteps behind her and turned around to see Rarity, she grinned. "Hey Rarity, glad you could make it." She said happily.

Normally Gwen would be annoyed by the unicorns presence but since she got back she had a new appreciation for the unicorn.

"It was nothing darling, shall we be off?" Rarity replied.

Gwen had never admitted it but she did miss her unicorn friend, even if she was a 'bit' overdramatic.

"Ok then, lets go." Gwen said walking towards the Everfree.

Twilight rushed up to her friend and stood in her way. "Um, Gwen, you do realize that that's the Everfree forest right?" She asked with concern.

Gwen grinned. ""Fine, if you want to waste a full two months on the detour be my guest, but if you want to get there in about one or two weeks we take the Everfree, your choice." She said.

Twilight looked up at the sky in thought.  "I know that we don't have two months, but then again the fast route is the Everfree so, which way?" She asked herself.

Roxanne waited for Twilights answer like the others but found herself loving the silence.

Rarity however walked up to Twilight.  "Twilight darling, I'm afraid that I must agree with Rai.....Gwen on this matter, I am afraid that I don't have two months to spare, if I did I would advise against the Everfree forest." She said sadly.

Twilight sighed. "The Everfree it is then." She replied in defeat.

Fang cheered which confused everyone else. "Sorry, its just that I'll finally get to eat some meat. its about time, and I don't mean fish meat." He said with annoyance.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and walked towards the Everfree.

Fang shrugged and followed his partner.

Gwen and Derpy followed the two partners.

Rarity and Twilight followed their four companions.

Gwen was glad that Rarity hadn't brought a lot of things, for one it would attract unwanted attention, and it would slow them down massively.

Fang had felt the itch go away and felt great, but there was a drawback. "Kill, kill kill kill, you know you want to, just look at all of that meat, go ahead, enjoy yourself." A voice said, Fang clenched his fist at the voice, he would deal with it when he got back.

Derpy noticed that Fang had made a fist with his hand and that he was trembling, she decided to talk to him about it. 

"Dont be a fool, cant you see it?" Golden Freddy asked.

Derpy looked closer and noticed that Fang was biting his lip.  "He is holding his urges in, he is doing what he can to resist the urge to eat us all, I think interaction is the last thing he needs right now, what he needs is solitude to deal with his issues." Golden Freddy continued.

Even though she didn't trust Golden Freddy yet he hadn't steered her wrong yet, Derpy nodded and continued walking.

Gwen saw Derpy nod but didn't say anything, she knew that Golden Freddy was still in her mind, but Derpy didn't seem to mind.

Derpy had changed since Golden Freddy entered her mind, she was more confident and had become less clingy, but the main change was with her eye, she could see clearly now, but she was much more sensitive about her eye now, her left eye she was ok with, but her right eye, she had not come to terms with it yet, while she could handle insults about it, it was the drawback that she feared, now she had to be extra careful in her sleep because of Princess Luna, but the up side was that her eye sight was always improving, but she was prepared to lose this all, she knew that Golden Freddy would get out eventually, and she was prepared for that, she hoped.

Roxanne continued walking when she her body started to cause her great pain, she held in the searing pain, she had this drawback ever since she arrived in Equestria, she bit her lip as the pain passed, Roxanne hoped that it would go away eventually, but she was not putting any amount of faith into that.

Gwen stopped as some bushes rustled behind her, she turned around and saw something odd, the bushes were now bent and cracked, she whistled which stopped the group.

Twilight walked up to Gwen and tapped her on the shoulder.

"What is it?" She asked.

Gwen pointed at the bush and cautiously walked towards it, when she was close enough she lunged and hit something, or someone.

Grunting came from the bushes and Twilight prepared a stun spell, Rarity decided to make sure they wouldn't be surprised by anything, Roxanne and Fang got into versatile stances which allowed them to either attack or defend, it also allowed them to cover each other.

A black figure flew out if the bush and Gwen lunged at it.

Gwen punched the figure and it punched her back.

Twilight used her magic and immobilized the figure.

Gwen fell on the ground and quickly stood up, she looked at the figure and smirked.

The figure was a black Changeling with three moderate sized holes on each leg, no hair and short fangs.

Twilight felt a wave of anger surge over her upon seeing that it was a Changeling, she tightened her grip on the Changeling causing it to scream in pain.

Gwen's eyes widened and she ran up to Twilight and knocked her to the ground.

Rarity was shocked at this but Fang blocked her from interfering.

Twilight grunted in pain as Gwen stood over her.

Gwen looked at the Changeling. "Sorry about that, so, what's up Skittle?" She asked the Changeling.

The changeling growled but didn't move.  "Don't call me that Dash." She said. 

Gwen smirked. "Fine, have it your way Skitter." She replied.

Twilight was shocked at her friends behavior. "Gwen!, that's a Changeling!, why are you defending it?" She asked.

Gwen looked at Twilight and chuckled. "Are you kidding?, Skitter is one of my oldest friends." She said happily.

Skitter sighed and leaned against a nearby tree. "Look unicorn, if your going to insult me by calling me an 'it' then at least remember my name." She said with annoyance.

Twilight growled but stood her ground.

Gwen chuckled. "Skitter what are you doing out here?" She asked.

Skitter smiled, she looked at Roxanne and Fang. "I'm going to visit Vulture in the Grayroot forest, and my lord, hey you two!, get a room!" She said pointing at the former animatronics.

Fang whistled and Roxanne blushed as they looked in the opposite direction of each other.

Skitter chuckled as Gwen laughed. "Skitter, we're going to visit Vulture too, want to tag along?" Gwen asked.

Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing. "GWEN!, are you insane?" She snapped.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Twilight, I would trust Skitter with my life, same with the rest of the old gang." She stated.

Skitter chuckled, she then walked up to Gwen and looked her in the eye, she then shifted form and Gwen smirked, the two then headbutted each other sending themselves to the ground. 

"Just like old times." Gwen said.

Skitter laughed. "Old times buddy." She replied.

Fang rolled his eyes and looked at Roxanne with regret.

Skitter looked at Fang. "Hey wolf, if you want to have sex with the fox then just do it already." She said teasingly.

Fang bit his lip. "This is going to be a long journey." He replied with annoyance.

Gwen laughed. "I can tell this is going to be fun." She added happily.
> Journey through the Everfree forest.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Everfree forest one hour later*_____

The group of seven walked through the dense forest and eventually came across a large clearing, Fang and Skitter looked around the area for any signs of traps, Roxanne and Rarity sat down to take a quick breather, Twilight looked up and saw that it was now nighttime somehow, she checked her watch and saw that it was now ten fifteen, she sighed and sat down in the clearing.

Gwen and Derpy noticed the time as well and began to unpack their tent.

Rarity started to unpack her tent and Roxanne helped. 

Fang sighed and looked up at the moon, he smiled softly and let out a soft howl, Skitter closed her eyes.

Gwen looked over at Fang who was howling quietly, she smiled and began to put the tent up with Derpy.

Twilight stood up and walked over to Skitter. "What are you doing?" She asked.

Skitter opened her eyes. "I'm trying to communicate with the rest of the old gang, or I was until YOU broke my concentration." She replied blankly.

Twilight did her best to contain her rage.  "I'm sorry about calling you an 'it', but when the Changelings attacked Canterlot I couldn't see your species in a calm manner, its taking everything in me to restrain myself from attacking you." She admitted sadly.

Skitter chuckled. "Don't be, the hive that attacked Canterlot was a terrorist hive." She explained.

Twilight sighed. "So how many of the 'old gang' are Changelings?" She asked.

Skitter bit her lip. "Let me think, there was me and Gwen, then you have Vulture, Gilda was in it as well, then you got Dust who argued with Gwen all the time, there was also the twins, Tracker and Trapper, and Firefly, and that's the gang." She said pausing between names.

Twilight's eyes widened. "Wow, so let me ask you something, who were the Changelings of the group?" She asked.

Skitter looked at the moon and closed her eyes. "Me, Vulture and the twins, that's all I'm going to say." She replied.

Twilight nodded in understanding and walked back to the group to help put the tents up.

Fang took a deep breath and howled again, but this time much louder then before.

Roxanne finished putting her and Fang's tent up, she went to stand but felt a familiar sensation and froze, she bit her lip as the same blinding pain returned in greater effect, she tried to hold in the pain but it was winning.

Twilight and Rarity noticed their friend was just standing still biting her lip, they walked over to her. "Roxanne is there something wrong?" Twilight asked with concern.

"Darling if there is anything wrong you can tell us." Rarity asked worriedly.

Roxanne let a tear out before she started screaming, she collapsed to the ground and screamed in agony.

Fang and Skitter rushed over as did Gwen and Derpy.

"IT HURTS!, HELP ME PLEASE!, PLEASE IT HURTS SO MUCH!." Roxanne shouted between the screams.

Fang shoved anyone who was between him and Roxanne out of his way and kneeled down to Roxanne and looked her over for signs of injury.

Roxanne winced and screamed more. "WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME!" She cried out.

Fang clutched Roxanne's left hand and closed his eyes. "You'll be alright, you'll be alright." He said repeatedly.

Roxanne screamed one last time before passing out.

Fang looked Roxanne over again but found no sign of injury, he wiped a tear from his eye and carried her into the tent.

The rest of the night was spent with two members of the group awake at all times, one keeping watch over the camp and one keeping an eye on Roxanne.

Fang was the first one on watch duty along with Rarity who was keeping an eye on Roxanne.

Before the first watch Twilight had decided that the two to be awake should be one with special powers and one with one to work with the other, Fang had decided that Rarity would be the best combo with him because of her sensory ability. (1)

The next group for the watch would be Derpy and Twilight and then Skitter and Gwen.

Fang and Rarity's turn at watch proved uneventful thankfully.

Twilight and Derpy exited their tents to switch with Fang and Rarity.

"Anything happen?" Twilight asked.   

Fang shook his head. "Nothing, good luck." He replied.

Twilight nodded as Rarity returned to her tent, she decided to get to work.

Derpy looked around, with her new eye she had night vision, thankfully. "Twilight, you look after Roxanne, I'll keep watch."

Twilight was surprised by this. "Why don't I take watch?" She asked.

Derpy looked at Twilight. "Do you have night vision?" She asked.

Twilight shook her head. "No I don't." She replied.

Derpy gave Twilight a smirk and turned around. "That's why." She said.

Twilight got the message and walked over to Roxanne's tent, she entered the tent and began her shift.

Derpy looked around the camp but saw nothing suspicious. "Golden you still there?" She asked.

"You ask that as if I could leave, what do you need?" He asked.

Derpy smirked and looked at the surroundings. "Something I don't understand, why do you let me have control when you could take over my body permanently?" She asked.

Golden Freddy sighed. "Yea like I could make it even less awkward to anyone who talks to you, besides I'm not a social butterfly, I like peace and quiet." He replied.

Derpy nodded and continued her watch. "There is one thing that bothers me however, you know that I could take over at any time but you are calm as ever." Golden Freddy wondered.

"No point in panicking is there?" Derpy replied with a smirk. "Hey Derpy, I just thought of something, what happens if your friends decide to blast us with those elements?" Golden Freddy asked.

Derpy stopped. "From what I can tell it takes time to use them, so if I keep moving I should be fine." She replied.

"I'll think of a better way to avoid them, in the meantime I think we should keep a low profile." Golden Freddy suggested.

Derpy nodded and continued walking around the camp, as she walked Derpy couldn't help but feel like she was being watched.

As she passed Roxanne's tent Derpy saw something in the bushes near the camp, she went inside the tent.

"Derpy?, what is it?" Twilight asked as she stood up.

Derpy gave Twilight a serious glare. "I need some help, I thought I saw something in the bushes." She replied.

Twilight nodded and followed Derpy out of the tent.

Derpy led Twilight to where she saw the bushes.  "Over there." Derpy said pointing at the bushes.

Twilight lit her horn and cautiously approached the bushes.

Derpy followed Twilight to the bushes when she heard a twig snap in it.

Twilight and Derpy leaped into bushes and found themselves fighting something, Twilight attempted to use her magic but couldn't keep any focus, Derpy managed to grab a leg and pulled it out of the bushes.

Derpy looked at what she grabbed and found that she had pulled out a Pegasus mare, the mare pulled her leg out from Derpy's grasp and lunged at her.

The mare rammed Derpy and went to strike with her hoof but found she couldn't move it.  "What the?" She asked herself.

Twilight emerged from the bush with her horn lit, she used her magic and levitated the mare off Derpy. 

Derpy stood back up and got a better look at the mare, she had an olive green coat and an amber mane and tail with a light orange mixed in there, the mare also had a thunderbolt and three star cutie mark, and the mare's eyes were amber.

Twilight levitated the mare over to her. "Why were you spying on us?" She asked calmly.

The mare gave Twilight an annoyed look. "I was sleeping, until you attacked me." She snapped.

Derpy looked the mare in the eye. "Who are you?" She asked plainly.

The mare chuckled. "What makes you think I'll tell you?" She replied.

Derpy smirked. "You don't exactly have a choice now do you?" She countered.

The mare sighed and closed her eyes in thought. "Lightning Dust." She finally said after a few moments.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't happen to know a Changeling by the name of Skitter would you?" She asked.

Lightning looked at Twilight. "And what If I did?" She replied.

Twilight looked behind Derpy and grinned. "Because she is right behind you." She said.

Lightning gulped as Twilight turned her around to see Skitter and Gwen. "Oh no, hey guys, what up?" She said nervously.

Skitter gave Lightning an annoyed glare. "Why are you here Dust?" She asked blankly.

Lightning chuckled innocently. "Um, I was going to visit Vulture, he wrote me a letter saying that he found something and wanted me to come, I guess he called the entire gang." She replied.

Gwen stifled a laugh at Lightning's face, it was covered in mud. "Lightning, you, got something, on your, face." She said in between laughs.

Skitter nodded at Twilight to let Lightning go, Twilight reluctantly released Lightning who wiped the mud off her face.

Derpy hid her eye again getting a suspicious look from Skitter and Lightning.

"So I take it your all visiting Vulture?" Lightning asked.

Gwen nodded and walked up to Lightning, they both grinned and headbutted each other.

Twilight was unsure about this as Lightning and Skitter headbutted each other after Skitter transformed.

"Why do you do that?" Twilight asked.

Gwen smirked. "Its our gangs traditional greeting, we thought it was best to make a greeting just in case of imposters." She replied.

Lightning gave Gwen a playful look. "Although my speed cant be copied, unlike yours." She said teasingly.

Gwen grinned and flared her wings. "Was that a challenge?" She asked.

Lightning smirked. "How'd you guess?" She replied as she flared her wings.

Skitter stood between the two. "Sorry you two but there wont be any racing tonight, we have an injured companion in our camp who needs our help." She said with a serious tone.

Gwen and Lightning both calmed down. "Sorry, I guess we can put this on hold." Lightning suggested.

"Yea, come on, we need to get back to the camp." Gwen stated.

The group then walked back to the camp but Twilight had her doubts so she walked up to Gwen.

"Gwen, are you sure we can trust her?" Twilight asked quietly.

Gwen nodded. "Remember when I said I would trust the gang with my life?, I meant it, you should give her a chance Twilight." She requested.

Twilight sighed and continued to the camp. "By the way Twilight, me and Skitter got watch." Gwen called.

Skitter bit her lip and stood at one of the tents while Gwen went inside Roxanne's tent.

Lightning looked at the sky and found a cloud, she flew up and laid down.

Twilight and Derpy walked into their respective tents and went inside.

Gwen kept an eye on Roxanne throughout the night while Skitter watched the camp from outside.

Skitter sat in the middle of the camp with her eyes closed, one of the many advantages of being a Changeling was being able to sense emotions, but that was not Skitter's only ability, she had a unique ability, it allowed her to sense any movement in a large area around her, not even the invisible could get passed her.

Skitter chuckled as she felt movement to the north of the camp. "This trip is going to be a good one." She said quietly as the night slowly passed.
> Necessary stop.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*The next day 9:32 AM*______

Gwen and Fang helped get the tents packed up while Skitter and Dust watched the area.

Twilight walked inside the tent that Roxanne was inside, she gently picked the fox up with her magic and carried her outside.

Derpy and Rarity were building a makeshift stretcher for Roxanne as Twilight had decided that it would be a good idea.

Fang was lost in thought as he helped Gwen with the tents, he looked over at Roxanne and sighed sadly, Gwen took notice of this and walked over to her friend. "What's wrong?" She asked the wolf, Fang shook his head and looked at Gwen. "Nothing big, just finding myself missing my old friends, you know, Roger, Sarah, Foxy, Bonnie, the old man, Springy, hell even Bob." He replied while painfully mentioning the last name.

Gwen smiled and put her hoof on Fang's shoulder. "Who's Springy?" She asked.

Fang chuckled. "An old friend, used to work with me and Golden a long time ago." He replied.

Gwen looked at Derpy and sighed. "How old is Golden Freddy anyway?" She asked.

Fang put his hand to his chin in thought. "I don't really remember, around twenty for certain, I remember working with him and Spring a long time ago." He replied blankly.

Gwen felt a presence watching her and quickly looked around. "So how old are you?" She asked curiously.

Fang sighed. "I don't remember, I'm older then Freddy that's for sure." He replied shamefully.

Gwen was confused. "Then why do you call Freddy an old man eh, old man?" She asked teasingly.

Fang bit his lip. "Because he always acted older, you've seen how I act, I think I'm just now growing up." He said.

A groaning came from behind Gwen and Fang and they quickly turned around, they were overjoyed at what they saw.

Roxanne held her head as she groaned in pain. "What was that?" She asked with confusion.

Fang rushed over and held Roxanne tightly receiving a grunt from the fox. "Ouch, Fang, you can let me go now, before you kill me." She said with a rough voice.

Roxanne was not going to lie to herself, while the embrace hurt, it felt good. "Ok big guy, you need to let me go, or I'll pass out again." She said painfully.

Fang loosened his grip but did not let his partner go. "Don't ever do that again, please." He pleaded sadly with tears going down his face.

Roxanne patted Fang's back. "Deal, now can I stand up?" She requested.

Fang smiled and helped Roxanne up. "You sure your ok?" He asked with concern.

Roxanne got a better look of her surroundings, and chuckled. "Yea, that feeling is gone now." She replied happily, she took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh of relief, however this sigh sounded wrong.

Fang noticed it along with Gwen and Twilight. "Roxie you alright?" Fang asked worryingly.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow and let another sigh out but this sound was far more noticeable, it sounded robotic, not as lifelike.

"That's odd, lets see, my breathing is more steady, and it sounds robotic, don't tell me I've gone robo again." She pondered.

Twilight was in shock, she shook her head and got in Roxanne's face. "But, but this, this is impossible!" She asked frantically.

Fang pushed Twilight away from Roxanne. "You need to calm down, and don't do that again." He snapped protectively.

Twilight recovered from the shove and stared at the ground sadly. "Sorry." She replied sadly.

Gwen walked up to Roxanne and gave her a grin. "You alright Roxie?" She asked with concern.

Roxanne nodded at Gwen and gave her a playful grin, she looked at Fang who was still glaring at Twilight.

Gwen watched as Roxanne quietly snuck up on Fang and jump on his back. "Hey Fang, miss me?" Roxanne asked innocently.

Fang smiled as Roxanne wrapped her arms around his neck. "Good to see your the same." He replied happily.

Gwen smiled and walked over to Derpy. "Hey Ditzy." She said cheerfully.

Derpy chuckled at her name. "What has you so happy?" She asked before looking at Gwen.

Gwen smirked. "Do I need a reason?, but if I needed one, it would be that Roxanne is better." She said happily.

Derpy gasped and rushed over to Fang and Roxanne, she looked at Fang and slapped him.

Fang held his cheek in shock. "What was that for?" He asked with genuine confusion.

Roxanne laughed at her partner's confusion. "Fang, you need to work on your people skills." She said teasingly.

Fang let out a sarcastic laugh. "Yea yea." He countered sarcastically.

Twilight and Rarity watched as the former animatronics and the two Pegasi bickered playfully. 

"Maybe this trip wont be so bad after all." Twilight said.

Rarity shivered as Fang and Roxanne rolled around in the mud. "Yes, perhaps it will, although I wish they would act more responsible." She replied shakily.

Skitter and Dust scanned the area and saw movement in the bushes, Dust looked over at Skitter who nodded.

Dust smirked and flew towards the bushes while Skitter flew down to the camp.

Roxanne was 'attacking' Fang and was laughing happily. 

Fang rolled away but soon found himself pinned down, he laughed and looked at who was holding him down to see Roxanne.

Roxanne gave Fang a triumphant smile and began tickling him causing the wolf to laugh uncontrollably. "Oh, your ticklish." She said playfully.

Fang laughed helplessly and clumsily put his claws on Roxanne's chest and began tickling her.

Roxanne tried to stifle a laugh but soon found herself laughing as Fang turned the tables.

Fang pinned Roxanne down and was laughing happily. "Your ticklish as well partner." He replied cheerfully.

Gwen and Derpy were laughing at Fang. "Fa-Fang, your tail, its hilarious!" Derpy said between breaths.

Fang looked at his tail to see that it was making a heart. "Damn traitor." He scolded his tail.

Roxanne stopped laughing and attempted to get up. "Alright Fang, help me up." She ordered.

Fang grabbed Roxanne's arm and pulled her up. "We're even?" He suggested.

Roxanne nodded. "Until round two." She concluded.

Gwen heard someone landing near her and looked over to see Skitter walking over to her. "What's up Skittle?" She teased.

Skitter sighed in annoyance at her nickname. "We got company." She replied.

Derpy looked around and saw Dust fly into the bushes. "Well I think Dust found it." She said as the others looked in the direction Dust flew in.

Gwen flew in the direction that Dust flew towards and Derpy followed, they landed and almost instantly found themselves under attack, Gwen managed to roll away and kick her attacker, Derpy unintentionally blasted her attacker with psychic energy sending him or her flying.

Derpy rushed towards the direction of her attacker and found said person, it was a Changeling, male by the looks of it, the Changeling seemed to be unconscious so she picked him up and ran towards the camp.

Gwen stood up and tackled her attacker to the ground, she had forced her attacker out of the bushes and threw the attacker towards the open field, it was then that Gwen gasped and rushed over to her attacker. "Hey, you alright?" She asked worryingly.

The attacker was a male Changeling, he scoffed. "Yea right I'm not falling for, DASH!" He shouted before backing away quickly.

Gwen chuckled. "Nice to see you too Tracker." She replied teasingly.

Tracker looked around. "Where's Trapper?" He asked with concern.

Gwen rolled her eyes and looked around to see Derpy running out of the bushes with an unconscious Changeling on her back. "Found him." Gwen said.

Tracker teleported in front of Derpy only to receive a quick psychic blast to the chest. "OUCH!" He shouted.

Gwen rushed over to Derpy and explained the situation. "So its all a misunderstanding?" She asked.

Tracker stood up. "Yes, now will you put my brother down, I know he's clingy but still." He said.

Derpy gently set the unconscious Changeling on the ground. "Sorry about that, still don't have control over my new powers." She said apologetically.

Tracker kneeled down to his brother and slapped him. "Wake up stupid!" He shouted.

Gwen laughed at Tracker's antics and looked around. "Hey where's Dust?" She asked.

Derpy looked around but found no trace of said Pegasus. "I don't know." She said.

A rustling came from the bushes and Dust flew out of them, and fell on the ground.

Dust grunted in pain as she quickly got back up. "Gwen, help me out." She said.

Gwen flew over and Derpy followed. "What is it?" She asked.

Dust grunted. "Its our old buddy, what do you think?" She countered.

The bushes rustled furiously and soon a figure leaped out and attacked Dust.

Gwen immediately recognized the figure, it was her old friend Firefly. "Firefly?!" She asked with shock.

The Pegasus looked at Gwen and quickly calmed down, she got off of Dust and backed up. "Dash?" She asked.

Derpy was confused, one moment the Pegasus was attacking Dust and the next she was calm, the mare in question had a slightly dark pink coat with a blue mane and tail with a similar cutie mark as Gwen, she had lavender eyes and seemed to be covered in leaves. 

Gwen grinned and walked up to Firefly. "Long time no see." She said.

Firefly nodded and approached Gwen. "Yea, long time no see." She replied.

Gwen and Firefly stopped a few inches from each other, and conked heads, both mares laughed and hugged. "Don't try to recover your head yet, we still got most of the others to talk with." Gwen said.

Firefly smiled and looked at Derpy and whistled. "Ooh, who's this Dashie?" She asked.

Gwen gave Firefly a stern look. "No touch, Firefly meet Derpy, Derpy meet Firefly." She said.

Firefly gave Derpy a playful wink before looking at Gwen. "So Dashie, where are the others?" She asked.

Gwen chuckled. "Over there." She said pointing at the camp.

Firefly shrugged and began walking over to Trapper and Tracker, she conked her head with Tracker and shook Trapper. "Wake up bonehead!" She shouted.

Trapper's eyes flew open and he accidentally hit Firefly in the head with his own. "Ouch!" He shouted.

Firefly wobbled as she walked towards the camp. "Well, we, we at least got that done." She said before falling over.

Gwen walked over to Firefly and looked at her. "You ok?" She asked teasingly.

Firefly laughed sarcastically. "Ha ha, I'm just going to lay here until the world stops spinning." She replied.

Gwen sat down next to Firefly. "What are you doing here Firefly?" She asked.

Firefly chuckled. "Nothing much, just hunting, what are you doing here?" She countered.

Gwen smiled. "All of us are going to visit Vulture in the Grayroot forest, you in?" She offered.

Firefly smirked. "It wouldn't be right to let my little sis go off on her own would it?" She replied.

Tracker and Trapper stood up and walked towards the camp. "Where's Gilda?" Trapper asked.

Gwen shrugged. "I don't know, she flew off somewhere last time I saw her." She replied.

Trapper sighed and continued into the camp.

Tracker rolled his eyes and followed his brother.

Derpy walked over to Gwen and Firefly and sat down. "So Gwen, you never told me you have a sister." She questioned.

Gwen groaned. "Please don't remind me." She said painfully.

Firefly laughed softly. "Dashie, I'm not THAT bad am I?" She asked innocently.

Gwen looked at her. "Fire, its ok, they know." She replied.

Firefly smirked. "Didn't think you would let that secret get out Gwen, your getting sloppy." She teased.

Gwen smacked Firefly on the shoulder. "Shut up, blame Fang." She countered.

Firefly stood up. "And who's that?" She asked.

Gwen looked at the camp and saw Fang and Roxanne. "The wolf." She replied.

Firefly looked at the camp and saw the two former animatronics. "Whoa, are they tame?" She asked.

Gwen sighed and stood up along with Derpy. "They aren't animals, in a sense, they're actually just like us in a way." She said.

Firefly shrugged and walked to the camp. "So what, are we going to have an army soon?" She asked.

Derpy sighed and covered her eye. "No, but we are going to need supplies." She replied.

Gwen nodded. "Yep, there should be a lake we can fish from nearby." She said.

Firefly continued walking and noticed that they had quite the group, two unicorns three changelings four pegasi and two animals. "We aren't exactly a normal group are we?" She asked.

Derpy stopped walking and looked around, she noticed that they were missing a Pegasus, she looked up and saw that Dust was on a cloud. "There she is." She whispered.

Firefly walked over to Skitter and the two conked heads. 

Gwen walked over to Fang and Roxanne. "You two up for a hunt?" She asked.

Fang and Roxanne quickly nodded and followed Gwen who was heading to the forest. "We're going to go get some food!" Gwen shouted.

Derpy looked at Gwen and nodded. "Be safe." She said quietly.

> Bonus chapter: Gathering.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*the Everfree forest two hours later*______

Gwen walked through the forest along with Fang and Roxanne, the group came across a large pond and decided to take a break.

Roxanne stepped into the pond and dived deeper, Fang simply leaned against a nearby tree to rest while Gwen gathered water.

Fang looked around the place they were in, and he had to admit, this place was beautiful. "Gwen, does this place seem strange to you?" He asked.

Gwen looked at the wolf and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" She asked.

Roxanne surfaced. "What you guys talking about?" She asked.

Fang sighed and pointed up. "Look at all of these trees, and yet not a single leaf is on the ground here." He replied.

Gwen looked around and shrugged. "I can see leaves." She said.

Fang raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure, because there isn't any leaves." He insisted.

Roxanne submerged again after laughing.

"Yes I'm sure, I'm looking right at them." She countered.

Fang sighed and smacked his face. "I give up." He said.

Gwen laughed for a few moments before washing her face with the water.

Fang looked up at the sky and sighed. "Why me?" He asked.

For just a moment the world turned dark with the trees on fire, Fang screamed and shot up.

"Fang!" Shouted a voice.

Fang gasped and the world returned to normal. "What?" He asked quietly before looking at the pond.

Gwen and Roxanne were staring at Fang with looks of worry. "Are you ok?" Gwen asked.

Fang rubbed his eyes and held his head. "I-I don't know." He replied with confusion clear in his voice.

Roxanne stepped out of the water and walked up to Fang and put her hand on his forehead. "No fever, and you don't seem to be tired, you sure your alright?" She asked.

Fang removed Roxanne's hand from his forehead and sighed. " I already said I don't know, I might be hallucinating." He replied.

Gwen stood up and looked around. "We still have to gather food, and seeing as us three Skitter and the twins are the only ones who eat meat we need to get some other forms of food." She said.

Fang's mouth watered at the mention of meat. "I'm sick of vegies, I need some good stuff." He said.

Roxanne nodded. "Yea me too." She agreed.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "While I do enjoy meat its not the only form of food." She said quietly.

Fang and Roxanne started to walk away from the pond, Gwen sighed and followed.

Roxanne kept her eye on Fang as they searched for food, they managed to get a bunch of non poisonous berries and fish, but still had yet to get any other food, at least until they came across a cockatrice.

Fang eyed the cockatrice hungrily. "Fang!" Roxanne snapped. "Calm down." She ordered.

Gwen looked at the two. "I'm not sure that a cockatrice is the best choice of food." She said with concern.

Fang looked at her. "You told me to pick something, and I did." He replied.

Gwen sighed and looked at her two friends. "Fine, so how do you suggest we collect the meat?" She asked.

Fang looked at the cockatrice and grinned. "Charge in pin it down and rip its throat out." He replied calmly.

Roxanne chuckled and looked at the two. "Last one there is a rusted endoskeleton." She joked before leaping out of the bush and lunging at the cockatrice.

Fang and Gwen both quickly mimicked Roxanne's actions, but since Roxanne had left the bush first she was the first to reach the cockatrice and pin it down.

Roxanne stuck her claw into the cockatrice's chest and the beast screamed in pain as Gwen covered its eyes while Fang held its legs.

Fang heard a sickening rip as Roxanne pulled its heart out. "Anyone here like bird hearts?" Roxanne asked.

Fang and Gwen both shook their heads and Roxanne shrugged. "Just checking." She said.
> The cave....
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*The Everfree forest 3:41 PM the next day*______

Gwen and Firefly walked through the forest side by side searching for a medicinal herb for Roxanne but Firefly grew restless.

"Can't we just fly?" She asked impatiently while hovering too prove her point.

Gwen let out an annoyed sigh and looked up at her sister. "No because if we do we could miss what we need." She replied calmly.

Firefly groaned and landed on the ground next to Gwen. "Fine." She hissed.

Gwen grinned and continued walking until she came upon a green plant with circular leaves.. "Ah here we go." She said In a slightly high tone.

Firefly raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything and instead opted to wait while Gwen harvested the leafs.

Gwen carefully retrieved the leaves when a thought came to her mind. "Hey Fire....you remember Fluttershy?" She asked casually.

Firefly was confused at the question and shrugged in response. "She was the shy yellow one right?" She asked.

Gwen stood up and looked at her sister. "Yep." She replied as she started to put the leafs into her bags.

Firefly turned around. "Then yes I remember her.....why?" She asked with confusion.

Gwen smirked. "Well....i recall you having a crush on her back in flight school." She replied with an evil tone.

Firefly's face went blank as she blushed heavily. "I....um why does this matter?" She asked nervously.

Gwen whistles innocently. "No reason....just the fact that if you saw her you would faint." She replied smugly.

Firefly's blush intensified as her wings unfolded slowly against her will. "Uh I-i-i umm." Firefly began to stammer.

Gwen giggled and wrapped her foreleg around Firefly. "Oh come on, you need too lighten up!" She teased. 

Firefly felt the heat leave her cheeks and her wings return to her sides. "Please don't tease me like that again." She said with an oddly calm tone.

Gwen grinned and nodded when she felt her head become wet. "What the?" Gwen felt the top of her head and then removed her hoof to look at it. "Water?" She asked.

Firefly looked up and noticed that rain clouds were above them. "Um Gwen, we might want to get back to camp." She suggested.

Gwen looked up and gasped. "No time!" She exclaimed as the water proceeded to pour down on them in force.

Firefly and Gwen promptly started running in a random direction hoping to get away from the rain but too their disappointment the rain clouds went on for what seemed like miles. 

It wasn't long until the sisters were soaked and cursing their luck, that was until Firefly spotted something.

Firefly sighed in relief and started to run towards it but not until she let her sister know. "Gwen! I found a cave!" She shouted.

Gwen nodded quickly and followed her sister to the cave to escape the rain.

The cave that the sisters were running towards had a river running through it and long and wide overhang at the top of the cave, it had some moss here and there along with the occasional vine growth but nothing serious, it also had a single tree growing through the side of it.

Gwen and Firefly quickly entered the cave and stopped running to catch their breath.

Firefly shook the water off like a dog and walked over to the one of the many walls and leaned against it while sliding down.

Gwen did something very similar except she just sat down against the wall. "That was close." She said.

Firefly nodded as she tried to get her breathing under control. "Yea, well the others are going too panic you know that right?" She asked.

Gwen sighed and looked outside. "Yea i know." She said calmly.

Firefly leaned her head against the stone and after a few moments she just laughed.

Gwen found this confusing. "What's so funny?" She asked.

Firefly smiled and looked outside. "You remember our third year at flight school, when I told you that I would sleep in the Everfree for the fun of it?" She asked.

Gwen thought on this for a moment before chuckling to herself. "Yea I remember, I also remember that Skitter told you we were crazy and made us....." She paused before blushing.

Firefly looked over at her sister and raised an eyebrow at the sight. "You ok there Gwen, you look a little.....purple?" She asked in confusion.

Gwen nodded and the blush died down. "You remember what Skitter made us do even though we didn't realize it at the time?" She asked.

Firefly was just plain confused at this point. "No I don't." She replied.

Gwen sighed and looked back outside. "Come on think, it was one week after the truth or dare game at the twins house and we were in our room." She continued nervously.

Firefly thought on this for a moment before her face heated up and she looked at the ground in embarrassment. "Yea, I remember." She said quietly.

Gwen closed her eyes and grinned. "I don't ever want to forget that moment." She said happily.

Firefly's face heated up even more. "Yea well, I uh....thought it was Trapper trying to prank me." She said hastily.

Gwen's grin grew. "So you kissed me thinking it was him?" She said smugly.

Firefly looked outside and avoided looking at Gwen. "Y-yeah." She said quietly.

Gwen's grin turned into a smile and she opened her eyes and just listened to the rain.

Firefly was just plain embarrassed beyond belief and she closed her eyes. "Hey uh....sis?" She asked quietly.

Gwen looked at her sister. "Yes?" She asked.

Firefly felt the heat fade from her face and she sighed in relief. "See you when I wake up." She said quietly.

Gwen nodded and looked outside. "Sure thing Fire, goodnight." She said in a soothing tone.

Firefly fell asleep soon after leaving Gwen alone with no companion but the rain.

Gwen looked over at her sister and sighed in relief before closing her eyes to join her sister in deep slumber.

Just before Gwen fell asleep she heard a faint thumping coming from somewhere close by.
> Unexpected awakening Part one.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_______*Everfree forest unknown cave in unknown location....time unknown.*_______

Firefly awoke to a dull pain in her back but that was to be expected since she slept on cold hard rock, she groaned and slowly opened her eyes only to see darkness which caused Firefly to be confused.

Firefly rubbed her forehead with her hoof and looked around only to see more darkness around her.

"What's going on?" She asked herself aloud. 

Firefly' eyes began to adjust to the darkness allowing her to see more of her surroundings, Firefly knew immediately that she was further into the cave than she was before. 

Taking a deep breath Firefly stood up and looked around for signs of her sister but found none. "Well now.....where the heck is she?" She asked quietly.

Firefly took a better look around the room and noticed some key features in the room such as a blown out torch that was definitely makeshift and a large pile of leaves, Firefly assumed that Gwen found some dry leaves after she fell asleep and managed to make a torch......but that raised the question....where did Gwen find the materials?

Eventually Firefly sighed and walked towards a nearby exit. "I'll figure this out later." She decided.

Firefly shook all other thoughts out of her head and focused on her primary goal, finding Gwen, so she exited the room and started to explore.

Firefly soon found herself in a dark tunnel that led in two different directions. "Alright, left or right?" She asked herself.

Soon she walked to the right and came upon a fork in the tunnel, one path continued forward while the other one broke off to the right.

Firefly decided to take the path to the right and found another stone chamber but this one was smaller then the previous one and had little to nothing in it, the only item of significance was a bundle of sticks, and so Firefly left the room.

______*twenty minutes later in a different part of the cave.*_______

Gwen groaned and rubbed her forehead with her hoof and opened her eyes only to be met with darkness and decided to let her eyes adjust to the darkness while she stood up.

'I swear if this was Firefly I'm going to kill her.' Gwen's eyes adjusted just enough to see where the wall was and she walked over to it and leaned on it.

"Then again, it would be a good idea if i explored the area first." She concluded.

With her mind made up Gwen proceeded to move towards the exit of the chamber after her eyes adjusted even more until she tripped on something.

"Ouch!...I am so going to kill Fire after this." She grumbled while standing up.

Gwen continued toward the exit slowly for a while until she reached the exit itself, Gwen leaned against the wall and rubbed her forehead with her hoof and winced in pain.

She looked down the tunnels and found only one path that she could manage to go down, so she continued her slow trek through the darkness.

Gwen walked through the dark whilst ignoring the newfound pain in her head and sides, Gwen soon felt another wave of pain coursing through her head and sides causing her to have to lean against the wall until the pain either died down or she passed out.

"This is going to be a bitch." She swore under her breath.

_____*Firefly's location three rooms later*_____

Firefly walked through another tunnel until she came upon a peculiar occurrence, the path ahead was blocked by a large rock wall that had a hole at the top and jagged rocks along the side of it, Firefly sighed and took flight.....

....or so she thought, instead Firefly's wings seemed to not budge at all, curious...Firefly turned to look at her wings and noticed that they seemed ok but she had no feeling coming from them at all.

Firefly once again attempted to open her wings but this time they just fell down to her sides and went limp, sighing Firefly decided that she would have to climb the wall to get to the other side.....if there was one.

Firefly moved up to the rocks and noticed a pattern in the rocks and decided to use it to get up. "Gotta be careful." She said.

The mare climbed up to the first rock with ease and proceeded to jump to the second. 'Making progress, only fifteen to go.' Firefly jumped to the third rock and pulled herself up.

For about ten minutes Firefly was jumping from rock to rock until she reached the last one. "Last one eh Gwen?.....oh yea." She said In reminder.

Firefly braced herself for the jump and after a few moments she leaped to the final rock....

....and came out at the previous rock. "What the?" She asked herself.

Firefly did a double take and noticed nothing was out of the ordinary, so she leapt to the rock again but this time she pulled herself up.

"Ha! No rock can keep me down!" She said dramatically while holding a hoof in the air for effect. 

Firefly turned around and walked up to the hole 'this thing is so damn small' Firefly crouched down and started to crawl through the hole.

The hole was small, small enough to make Firefly have to take her time crawling through it. "Gwen better appreciate this." She grumbled.

______*Gwen's location two rooms later*_____

Gwen shakily got to her feet and continued down the tunnels until she came upon a crossroads, there were four paths and two of which she fully explored, So she decided to continue forward.

As she walked through the path she chose, Gwen felt the pain in her head subside thankfully. "Much better." She said quietly as her slow trek sped up a little. 

Soon Gwen came across a large rock wall with a hole at the top and jagged rocks along the sides. 'I'm in no condition to climb that wall.' She concluded before turning around and walking away.

Gwen didn't make it ten feet away from the wall when she heard a grunt come from behind her, she quickly turned around and saw what looked like rock dust come out of the hole, followed by a figure who climbed out of the hole and jumped from rock to rock to get down.

Gwen slowly started to back up when the figure laughed......it sounded familiar. "Stay back!" She shouted.

The figure looked at Gwen and walked up to her slowly. "Now is that how you welcome a sibling?" Said the figure.

Gwen's eyes widened. "Fire?" She asked quietly.

_____*Firefly's location*_____

Firefly crawled through the small tunnel and accidentally kicked a rock let out dust, she grunted which echoed and continued through the tunnel until she came upon the exit. 'Finally' 

She exited the tunnel and jumped from rock to rock until she reached the bottom which caused her to laugh. 'Told you no rock would hold me down.' 

"Stay back!" Shouted a familiar voice.

Firefly looked over and saw the sillouette of a familiar person, she grinned. "Is that how you welcome a sibling?" She said sarcastically.

The figures next word confirmed her suspicions. "Fire?" Asked the figure.

Firefly walked up to the figure and soon made out her sisters iconic rainbow mane. "Long time no see Gwenie." She said mockingly.

Gwen growled. "Don't ever say that nickname." She hissed. 

Firefly's grin only grew. "Make me." She teased.

Gwen sighed in realization. "Not now alright, we need to get out of here." She said.

Firefly nodded and Gwen started to walk away slowly making Firefly sigh. "Gwen you alright?" She asked.

Gwen stopped and looked at her sister. "No idea." She replied.

Firefly walked up to Gwen and her eyes widened. "Gwen, your wings." She said in a pained voice.

Gwen looked at her sides and her eyes widened at the sight. "What....what happened to my wings!" She shouted.

Firefly examined her sisters wings and noticed that they were broken from the middle up, she took a deep breath. "Look Gwen we don't have the necessary skills or equipment to fix your wings here, we need to get back to camp so Skitter can heal you." She stated.

Gwen gulped and her breathing quickened. "Let's get out of here then, the sooner we get back the better." She said.

Firefly nodded and the sisters began walking but this time with Firefly carrying Gwen over her shoulder.

"Here we go again." Firefly said.
> Unexpected awakening Part two.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*The cave twenty minutes later/ four rooms later*_____

Firefly walked alongside her sister through the cave as they slowly explored it, Gwen had recovered enough to at least walk normally.

Gwen sighed as they exited another room. "This place is a maze." She said in annoyance.

Firefly chuckled and looked at her sister. "Good to see your back to normal, and I'm aware about this place, we just need to find the right path." She said.

Gwen groaned and leaned against the wall. "Your idea sucks." She said.

Firefly rolled her eyes. "It's not my fault." She countered.

Gwen gave Firefly an accusing glare. "Your the one who said to take shelter in a cave." She snapped.

Firefly gasped and mockingly held her hoof over her heart. "You wound me!" She said dramatically.

Gwen sighed at her sisters antics and stood back up. "Come on, let's just get out of here." She said.

Firefly nodded. "Ditto." She replied with a grin.

______*the Everfree forest Fang and Roxanne's POV*_____

Fang walked through the forest with his partner in search of their missing friends. "Gwen! You out here?" He called.

"Come on Gwen this isn't funny!" Roxanne shouted.

Fang looked up at the sky and say the sun was almost above them. "Roxie, we need to hurry up." He said simply.

Roxanne nodded and ran over to a nearby tree and started to climb and reached a sturdy branch that she held on to. "I'll let you know if I see something!" She shouted down at her partner.

Fang nodded and got down on all fours and started to run forward. "I'll meet you back here in a few minutes!" He replied.

He ran, he ran as fast as his feet would carry him, he was determined to find his friends and he wouldn't stop. "I just hope that the others did as I told them." He said under his breath before sighing.

"Who am I kidding?" He asked no one in particular.

______*the cave, Gwen and Fire's POV*_____

Gwen mentally slapped herself. "This is dumb!" She shouted.

Firefly covered her ears and winced. "Calm down Gwen! I have a mental map in my head, we just need to keep looking alright?" She replied.

Gwen took a few deep breaths and nodded. "Your right, I guess having my wings broken has made me loopy." She replied grimly.

Firefly sighed. "Gwen listen, this cave can't be that big, so if we keep going we will find the exit." She said optimistically.

Gwen gave her sister a confused and irritated look. "How can you be so optimistic?" She asked in annoyance.

Firefly grinned. "Because I prefer to look on the bright side." She replied simply.

Gwen frowned. "What bright side?" She asked.

Firefly smiled. "For one we got to have some quality sister time and the fact remains that once we get out of here your wings will be healed." She replied.

Gwen sighed. "Fine, but what I'm curious about is why your wings weren't broken." She wondered.

Firefly shrugged. "I don't know, maybe whoever brought us back here thought it would take longer for me to escape? Or knew that I wouldn't leave you alone." She replied.

A mysterious laugh came from somewhere in the cave. "Well now, I wasn't expecting you to be up and about so soon." Came a voice.

Firefly and Gwen looked around for the source of the voice but saw only darkness.

"Show yourself!" Gwen shouted. 

The voice laughed. "Let's play a game, if you find me you find me, if you don't you don't." The voice replied.

Firefly sighed. "And why should we play?" She asked.

The voice was silent. "Because I know the fastest way out of this place." It replied.

Gwen growled in anger. "This is going to be annoying." She replied.

Firefly shook her head. "Come on Gwen, we might as well play along." She said.

Gwen scoffed. "Fine but I'm not going easy on him, her, whoever!" She shouted.

The voice laughed again. "If you keep that up your not going to find me." It replied in a patronizing tone.

Firefly sighed and started to walk off. "Come on Gwen lets get this over with." She said.

Gwen sighed and nodded. "I know just the music that would fit this game." She stated.

Firefly looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Huh?" She asked.

Gwen smirked. "Not telling." She replied.

Firefly rolled her eyes and the sisters began to move room to room and tunnel to tunnel to find the source of the voice.

Time seemed to speed up as Firefly and Gwen made a very rapid and hilarious series of motions and they went from the rooms, from Gwen being tiny from down the tunnel to Firefly walking on the roof.

______*twenty minutes later. (Because I'm to lazy to make the entire search scene)*______

Firefly and Gwen entered the room with caution and looked around carefully.

Gwen walked into the room and Immediately noticed something wrong with a nearby wall. "Firefly, over there." She whispered pointing to the corner.

Firefly nodded and slowly moved closer to the corner and noticed the problem as well, it was protruding unnaturally and so Firefly stopped and grinned. "We win." She proclaimed.

A sigh of disappointment came from the wall and the wall phased away revealing a unicorn, the unicorn lit its horn and reavealed its features. 

The unicorn was a mare with a silvery aura and silver eyes, a white and gray mane and tail with a dull white coat, the mares cutie mark was three gears, one large, a smaller one inside it and then a smaller one inside the second one.

However the most prominent features about the mare was two of her legs, the front left and back right leg were robotic, Firefly and Gwen shared a brief look before shrugging.

The mare noticed this. "What's the matter never seen a girl with cybernetics before?" She teased.

Firefly chuckled. "Nope, can't say I have." She replied.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Then I have to disappoint you because I have, just not in that sense." She said.

The three shared a moment of silence before the mare cleared her throat.

"Well that was fun." The mare said with a small smile.

Gwen gave the mare a look of confusion while Firefly grinned. "Yep, well now, we might want to start off with introductions." Firefly said which made Gwen groan.

The mare nodded and shotup a small ball of light at the ceiling with her magic which illuminated the room.

Gwen sighed. "I'll start off I guess." She said and looked at the mare. "My name is Gwen, but most just call me Dash." She replied.

Firefly nodded and held out a hoof to the mare which the mare went to shake but Firefly shook her head and made a bumping motion with her hoof. "Names Firefly, you?" She asked.

The mare then bumped Firefly's hoof. "Darkestlight." She replied.

Firefly nodded and leaned against a nearby wall. "You wouldn't happen to know what happened to my sisters wings would you?" She asked In a serious tone.

Darkestlight sighed and shook her head. "Sadly no, they were like that when I found you." She said.

Firefly raised an eyebrow. "Wings don't break on their own, also why did you separate us?" She asked.

Darkestlight sighed again and sat down against the wall. "I didn't separate you two so I could hurt you if that's what your asking, I did it to protect you." She replied sadly.

Gwen growled. "Explain, now." She said firmly.

Darkestlight nodded and rubbed her temples. "Alright, you see when i found you two, Gwen's wings were a lot worse than they are now, and I mean it was brutal." She replied.

Firefly nodded. "Go on." She said calmly.

"At first I assumed you were attacked but found no evidence to support that theory, I also ruled out you two being enemies pretty quickly as only Gwen had any injuries, the only thing that I could do was heal Gwen at the time." She continued.

Gwen looked at Firefly who seemed to be deep in thought, Gwen looked at Darkestlight who took a deep breath. "So why did you separate us?" Gwen asked.

Darkestlight looked at Firefly who nodded patiently. "The reason I did so was just to make sure that if I was wrong and you were enemies it would at least buy me some time to finish healing Gwen." She replied.

Firefly looked at the ceiling. "So where were you when we woke up?" She asked.

Darkestlight stood up. "I was searching for herbs, I just didn't expect you to wake up so quickly, I did put a sleeping spell on you both after all." She replied but was confused at Firefly and Gwen's reaction, they laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" She asked.

Firefly managed to get control of her laughing after a few moments. "We were knocked out so many times but those spells we built a resistance to them." She explained.

Darkestlight nodded. "Ah, well anyway, when I got back I heard you two bickering, so I decided to investigate, and you know the rest." She replied.

Gwen sighed and leaned against the wall. "Alright, I think it's time we got out of here." She said.

Firefly nodded. "Yea, so Darkestlight, can you get us out of here?" She asked.

Darkestlight nodded. "Sure, but on one condition." She said.

Gwen sighed. "Of course, what is it?" She asked.

Darkestlight grinned. "You take me with you." She replied simply.

Firefly raised an eyebrow at this. "Why would you want to come along? you don't even know where we're going." She asked.

Darkestlight gave Firefly a look that screamed 'are you serious?' "Really? your asking me why I would rather go somewhere instead of being stuck in a dark gloomy cave that smells like dirt, gee I wonder why." She said sarcastically.

Gwen groaned. "Ok we get it!" She shouted.

Firefly sighed and then grinned. "Why not? we already have a large group, the more the merrier." She replied.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Fine you can come but only because my sister wants you to come." She replied as the light died out.

Darkestlight beemed and lit her horn to light up to light the room.

Firefly smiled and walked out of the room with Darkestlight behind her. 

Gwen facepalmed and followed her sister and newest companion out of the room.

_____*the Everfree forest Roxanne and Fang's POV*_____

Fang walked up to the tree that Roxanne was climbing down and waited. "See anything Roxie?" He asked impatiently.

Roxanne landed on the ground and looked at her partner with a smile. "Yep, I found a cave, it's likely that Gwen and Firefly used that as shelter." She said.

Fang's face literally lit up as he smiled. "Which way?" He asked.

Roxanne nodded. "Follow me." She said.

The pair ran off with Roxanne leading and Fang close behind.

_____*the cave entrance two minutes later*____

Firefly and Gwen shielded their eyes from the suns rays of light as they exited the cave. "Ah fresh air." Firefly said.

Gwen smiled. "It's been so long." She said.

Darkestlight rolled her eyes. "Really? It's been one day." She pointed out.

Gwen groaned. "Not the point, it feels like forever!" She said loudly.

Firefly rolled her eyes and the trio walked together in a triangular formation. "Alright, let's just get back to camp." She said.

Darkestlight nodded and continued walking.

Gwen smiled and ran up ahead of her sister. "Race you there!" She challenged.

Firefly shook her head. "Nope, not racing a cripple." She teased.

Gwen sighed in disappointment. "You're no fu..." All of a sudden a familiar white and black wolf appeared out of nowhere. "Surprise!" He shouted as a blast of magic hit him.

"Whoa!" Darkestlight shouted as the wolf fell over.

Firefly rolled her eyes and she walked over to Fang. "Hey, you alright?" She asked.

Fang coughed. "Ow." He said.

Gwen heard a laugh next to her and she looked over to see Roxanne. "Hey Roxanne." She said.

Roxanne looked at Fang and laughed somewhat mechanically. "Ohoho Fang, you got fucked up!" She stated.

Fang looked at his partner. "Ha ha ha." He laughed sarcastically.

Firefly walked over to Darkestlight. "Hey you alright?" She asked.

Darkestlight nodded. "Yea, yea I'm fine." She said blankly.

Fang sighed and slowly stood up. "Who's your friend Gwen?" He asked.

Gwen looked between Fang and Darkestlight. "Fang this is Darkestlight, Darkestlight this is Fang." She said.

Fang nodded and rubbed his chest. "Maybe next time we could 'not almost kill me?" He said.

This statement only caused everyone to laugh.
> Beginning the run to catch up/story's in the night.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*the Everfree forest 11:42 AM*_____

Fang felt hungry.....again, ever since he arrived in Equestria he had hunger issues, or it just the fact that he skipped breakfast.

He tried walking it off one time but Gwen had explained to him that wasn't doing anything....much to his annoyance.

"Come on guys I want to get back quickly!" He shouted.

No reply.

Fang looked behind him to see that his four other companions were walking and talking. "Oh you have got to be kidding me." He complained.

And so Fang slowly continued his walk through the forest in almost complete silence, if not for his enhanced hearing he would be in complete silence as of now.

"I'm telling you, I've got ten bits that Trapper either fell into a hole or sprung a trap, it's a scientific impossibility for him NOT to fall into one of those!" Stated Firefly.

"And I'm telling YOU that it's Dust your thinking about." Replied Gwen.

Fang sighed and tried to drown out the conversation to no avail.

"Damnit." He swore as he kicked a rock.

Fang felt the urge to just grab one of them and run towards the camp or group depending if they left, but decided against it since he knew Roxanne would most likely kill him.

"Hurry up!" He shouted.

"Bite me!" Roxanne countered.

Fang groaned and turned around, he walked up to the group and started to walk alongside them when a familiar growling was heard.

Roxanne stifled a laugh and shook her head instead. "Hungry wolf boy?" She teased.

Fang rolled his eyes and looked at her. "You still got that heart?" He asked hopefully.

Gwen sighed while Firefly and Darkestlight raised an eyebrow. "Why would you have a heart?" Firefly asked.

"You don't seem to be into voodoo anyway." Darkestlight added.

Fang shrugged. "What? I was going to eat it." He said with confusion.

Gwen shook her head and continued walking. "It's in Roxanne's stomach." She said simply.

Fang whimpered and walked slowly beside Gwen. "I'm gonna die!" He screamed dramatically.

Roxanne walked up to Fang and put a claw on his shoulder, and then proceeded to slap him across the back of his face repeatedly. "Snap, out, of, IT!" She shouted between slaps.

Firefly broke into laughter while Darkestlight raised an eyebrow. "Is this....normal?" She asked with concern.

Gwen nodded. "Pretty much." She replied casually.

Roxanne released Fang who proceeded to rub his cheeks. "Why is it always me?" He asked.

Firefly shrugged. "Because your a socially awkward male?" She suggested.

"Emotionally ignorant nut job?" Roxanne added.

"Carnivorous newbie organic?" Gwen added.

Fang raised an eyebrow at the last one. "What the?....what does that even mean?" He asked in confusion as he stood up.

Gwen shrugged. "I don't know." She said simply.

Firefly sighed and started walking. "Come on, we need to get going if we're going to catch up to the others." She stated.

Fang nodded and got down on all fours and ran forward. "Follow me!" He ordered.

Roxanne groaned and chased after her partner along with the others. "Fang you idiot wait up!" She snapped.

_____*previous campsite ten minutes later*_____

Fang walked across the now empty hill and facepalmed. "Typical, the one time I think that everyone will ignore my suggestion and stay here." He sighed and turned around to see two exhausted pegasi, one exhausted unicorn, and one pissed off fox that was marching towards him.

"Uh oh." He said in concern for himself.

Roxanne grabbed Fang by the throat and growled. "Next time DONT leave us behind!" She snapped.

Fang nodded furiously as he felt the air drain from his lungs.

Roxanne's expression softened and she set Fang down. "Good." She replied happily.

Fang didn't know what to think, he could either be happy that his partner was so physically well, or be scared of her sudden change in personality, he chose the former.

Roxanne faced the others. "Alright everyone, let's stop for lunch." She said.

Firefly fell backwards on the ground and her breathing slowed to a more steady pace. "Yea, food sounds good." She said.

"Well then get up and help or you don't get any." Roxanne threatened.

That comment had Firefly jump up and look at Roxanne. "How can I help?" She said quickly.

Roxanne pointed at a nearby line of trees. "Get us some wood, Fang go with." She ordered.

Fang did a mock salute. "Yes ma'am." He replied sarcastically.

Firefly and Fang walked over to the tree line and Roxanne looked at the others. "Alright then, Gwen go with your friend and get us some more food and water, we'll need it." She said.

Gwen nodded and walked off towards another tree line with Darkestlight in tow.

Roxanne then ran towards yet another tree line and grabbed some stones and a long stick.

"This will be an interesting lunch." She mused.

_____*twenty minutes (of boring gathering scenes that you likely don't want to see) later*_____

____(ok I lied there is one scene)____

Fang grabbed a thick branch and stacked it onto his arms while Firefly put another there. "Really?" He asked.

Firefly shrugged. "Well I can't Carry them all." She said.

Fang sighed and silently allowed Firefly to stack more and more until she had to many. "Hey Firefly!...I can't see!" He shouted.

Firefly chuckled. "You'll be fine." She replied.

Fang groaned and started walking back to the hill blindly. "Just let me know if I'm about to hit something." He said.

Firefly nodded and the two went through the forest without fail, mostly.

When the two finally arrived at the hill Fang was straining. "No more! Maximo Maximo!" He shouted as he dropped the wood and fell to the ground.

Firefly sighed and sat down on the ground with a sigh of relief while waiting for the others to get back.

Fang rolled over so his back was on the ground. "So uh Firefly, what's Vulture like?" He asked.

Firefly was obviously caught off guard by the sudden question but sighed and shook her head. "He was, quiet, to say the least, he probably got into the least amount of trouble because of it, he was a good guy, can't say anything about him now though....so why did you ask?" She asked.

Fang shrugged. "Just curious, considering he's the reason we're all out here." He replied calmly.

Firefly mimicked the gesture and looked up at the sky. "Fang, you ever wonder why your sentient?" She asked.

Fang raised an eyebrow. "Was that an insult?" He asked in a calm voice.

Firefly shook her head. "That's not what I meant, what I meant was do you ever wonder why you have a more developed mind?" She replied.

Fang shook his head in response. "No use wondering why, I 'know' how I'm sentient." He said.

Firefly shrugged. "I guess.....wait what?" She asked in shock.

Fang chuckled. "Yep I am fully aware of how I'm sentient, just dont ask me anything to deep." He requested.

Firefly nodded. "Alright wise guy, 'how' are you sentient?" She asked.

Fang sighed and sat up. "You want the short version or the long version? He replied.

"Short, long version later." She replied.

Fang looked up at the sky. "Most would believe I'm a ghost possessing a body, nope, long story short, I'm an artificial intelligence that was literally jammed into a robot." He replied.

Firefly raised an eyebrow. "Um ok?......but how do you have thought and free will and all that stuff?, I thought AI's had programing?" She asked.

Fang shrugged. "Eh I grew up, turns out a electrocution can go a long way." He joked.

"So you have all of this because you got electrocuted?" She asked in a near laughing voice.

Fang nodded. "Eyuup." He replied.

______*end of memory, sequence two complete*______

Roxanne walked up to Fang and Firefly and cleared her throat.

Fang nearly fell over while Firefly mearly shrugged. 

"What kept ya?" Firefly asked.

Roxanne shrugged. "Nothing, now come on help me get this set up." She said pointing to the rocks then the wood.

Fang nodded and stood up while Firefly flew up to a low hover. "Lets get this over with." Fang said.

_____*Gwen and Darkestlight's location.*_____

Gwen walked through the trees on the way back to the hill. "Hey uh, Darkestlight?" She said.

Darkestlight looked at Gwen. "Yea?" She replied.

Gwen looked at her once she was sure she was not heading towards a tree. "Do you mind if I just call you Dark?" She asked.

Darkestlight shrugged. "Sure, I doubt it'll stick though." She replied calmly.

"Trust me, it'll stick." Gwen said.

Dark sighed. "Go ahead then." She replied.

Gwen nodded. "Alright let's head back, don't want the others to eat without us." She said.

Dark chuckled. "They can't, we have the food remember?" She teased.

Gwen gave out a short laugh. "Yea your probably right, although they do have two carnivorous animals and a speed flyer with them." She mused.

Dark nodded and then looked at Gwen curiously. "Speaking of which, why does Roxanne have a robotic laugh?" She asked.

Gwen paused for a moment before continuing. "Honestly?.....I couldn't tell you." She said.

Dark raised an eyebrow. "Why not?" She asked.

Gwen shrugged. "I don't know, ever since we got back she's been, different, she used to have a normal laugh, but now....." She sighed.

"Her breathing sounds robotic and so does her laugh and cough, the only part of her lungs that doesn't sound robotic is her voice." She said.

Dark nodded and had a look that said that she went deep into thought.

Gwen continued walking towards the hill when a thought entered her mind. "Hey Dark, what were you doing in that cave?" She asked.

Dark shrugged. "I live there, why?" She asked.

Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Why would you want to live in a cave?" She deadpanned.

Dark sighed sadly. "In truth?, I was banished from Canterlot, Ponyville and pretty much any city under Celestia's rule." She replied.

Gwen's eyes widened. "Why?" She asked.

Dark shook her head. "Because I did something that your not supposed to do." She replied simply.

Gwen sighed and continued walking. "Alright then, I take it that it was something very very bad?" She asked uncertainly.

Dark nodded. "For a citizen? yes." She said.

"So what was it?" She asked.

Dark looked around with a look of caution before signing in relief. "Well, I sort of uh.....stole from the royal library." She said quickly.

Gwen deadpanned and Dark laughed nervously. "Heh heh yea, that was intense." She replied.

"That has got to be the stupidest reason for banishment ever." She replied in a blank voice.

Dark grinned. "Tell me about it, it was completely." She was about to continue but was cut off.

"My friend Twilight used to break into that place all of the time and she never got banished, heck the guards were so used to it they practically 'let' her in!" Gwen snapped.

Dark's grin became a scowl. "You can't be serious." She deadpanned.

Gwen shook her head. "Nope, I'm not joking." She replied.

Dark let out a growl. "And why is it that SHE never got banished but I did." She said in a dangerously calm voice.

Gwen sighed. "For all I know?, it's because she was Celestia's student or whatever." She replied.

Dark grumbled under her breath. "Let's just get back." She replied.

______*Twenty minutes (achievements) later*_____

Fang stood on his hands while balancing a small log on his feet while the others remained silent.

"See, I told you this was easy." He stated.

Firefly huffed. "Yea, for you." She countered.

Roxanne chuckled. "Alright Fang you win, you can stop now." She said.

Fang dropped the log to the ground and did a backflip to stand back up. "Who knew that standing around for over four years could build some strength." He pondered.

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "Or....you still have the strength of an animatronic." She suggested.

Fang shrugged. "Who knows, maybe I'm just naturally strong." He said.

Firefly let out a small chuckle at the two partner's antics. "You guys are a riot." She said happily.

Fang looked at Firefly with a blank face. "Beep." He said blankly.

Roxanne and Firefly reacted appropriately.....they burst into laughter.

"Hey guys!" Shouted a familiar voice.

Fang turned around and saw Gwen and Darkestlight walking toward them.

"What kept ya?" Asked Firefly.

Gwen grinned. "We couldn't find the stream, so we found the pond." She replied.

Fang facepalmed.

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "Yea yea, come on guys lets get this done so we can eat." She said.

_____*eight hours  later*_____

Firefly nibbled at her food with disinterest, something was clearly bothering her as she zoned out.

Fang took noticed of this and gave Firefly a gentle nudge. "You still with us?" He asked.

Firefly shook her head rapidly and looked at Fang. "Huh?, oh yea, yea I'm fine." She replied with a fake smile.

Fang nodded and went back to eating his dinner , which was basically an assortment of greens.

Roxanne stared into the fire they had started with a feeling of unease, she looked up at the night sky for a moment but ended up staring into the fire.

Gwen looked around and noticed a lot of depressed faces, she put on a grin and stood up getting everyone's attention.

"Alright everyone, we need something to lighten the mood, or at least kill the silence." She stated.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Roxanne looked up at the sky. "Why not a ghost story?" She suggested.

Some murmurs went around the fire and after a time they settled on that. "Ok, but who tells it?" Firefly asked.

Fang looked around and saw no volunteers, he sighed and raised his hand.

"I have one." He said.

Everyone sat down and looked at Fang.

Fang cleared his throat. "Alright everyone, listen closely because I don't like telling this story." He warned.

Fang stood up and looked around the campfire noting that each member had a expectant face on.

"Very well then, now." He paused.

"This is the story of the crying child." he began his tale ominously.

_____*day one*_____

Long ago in a town lived a boy.

This boy was in his home, a two story building that was plain as day.

The boy was in his room, but the door was locked, inside the room were five plushy's, one was brown bear named Freddy, one was a yellow chicken named Chica, another was a purple bunny named Bonnie, the fourth was a red pirate fox called Foxy, and the last was a golden bear named Fredbear.

The boy was crying, he cried as he walked around the room, he cried as he tried to open the door to no avail, and eventually, he just fell to the ground crying heavily, the boy had cried himself to sleep after hearing the Fredbear plushy speak. "Tomorrow is another day." It had said.

That night, the boy had a nightmare, not a normal nightmare where you aren't aware of what's happening, but one where he was in complete control, to an extent, he was in his room which had a double door closet, one door on the left and one on the right, and the bed behind him.

The boy had a flashlight with him and he quickly moved forward to one of the doors and heard a deep breathing, he closed the door, once he heard footsteps, he ran to the other door.

No breathing came from this door so he turned on the flashlight only to see a dark figure slink away to the left, the boy heard the closet creak and he immediately ran towards it, he activated his light only to be scared by a nightmarish looking animatronic fox scream at him, he closed the door and when he opened them again to check the light, only a plushy remained.

The boy ran to his bed a clicked the light to reveal three small animatronic brown bears scream and zoom off.

The night continued like this for a long time until it reached six AM, then the boy awoke.

Five nights later the boy went to Fredbear's family diner and eventually sometime throughout the night he ended up on the floor crying in front of four teenagers, one was the boy's brother and the others were his friends.

the teenagers talked amongst themselves and eventually they grabbed the boy and brought him to the stage where Fredbear and Springtrap resided, they put the boy's head into Fredbear's mouth and laughed, and laughed, only when Fredbear bit down into the boy's head did the teenagers stop laughing.

The boy awoke again however in a dark room, with all of his plushy's there, and there the Fredbear plushy spoke to him, and as the plushy finished its sentences the others faded out if existence' until finally the whole world, went black.

_____*end of tale*_____

"And that....is the tale of the crying child." Fang finished.

Fang was now sitting down with the others around the fire in silence until Gwen broke it.

"Why would they do that to the kid?" She asked.

Fang sighed. "They weren't thinking, at least I don't think they were." He replied.

Roxanne decided to continue. "How on earth do plushy's talk?" She asked.

Fang facepalmed. "The boy was imagining it, from what I can guess, that was his way of coping." He replied.

Firefly chimed in. "Why does that sound fake on so many levels?" She asked mockingly.

Fang gave Firefly a death stare. "Firefly, that did actually happen." He replied calmly.

Firefly instantly shut up.

Because of this comment the rest of the night was silent, until Fang stood up and let about a howl to signify the night.
> Complications.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*the next day on a forest trail. 10:21 AM*____

Dark walked through the forest next to Roxanne at a steady pace, currently Fang and Gwen were up front and Firefly was in the back.

As they moved through the forest Dark was deep in thought just like last night. "Dark, you alright?" Asked Roxanne.

Dark snapped out of her stupor and nodded quickly. "I'm fine." She replied.

Roxanne had a skeptical look for a moment before sighing. "Alright." She said.

Dark entered her world of thought again as Roxanne looked away.

' What is she anyway?, no fox that I know of is that large, same goes for Fang but he doesn't have that mechanical sound to his breathing, I'm going to have to keep an eye on them if I want to figure this out.'

Roxanne looked over at Dark and noticed that she had returned to her train of thought. 'what is with her?' she pondered.

Fang stopped and turned to face the group. "Alright everyone, I picked up the others' scent, let's move it." He ordered as he broke into a jog along the path.

The rest of the group followed suit and followed Fang. 

Roxanne wondered why Fang was moving so slowly until she remembered Gwen's wing.

Dark decided to hold off on her thinking until later and kept her focus on following the group.

_____*ten minutes later*_____

Fang slowled to a stop and turned around. "Alright, they're just up ahead." He said.

Gwen nodded and walked forward. "Well then, let's group up eh?" She suggested.

Fang nodded and walked closer to the nearby clearing that four tents occupied.

Firefly sighed. "This is going to be problematic." She grumbled.

The group of five entered the clearing and noticed that something was wrong....very wrong.

Gwen looked around and concern began to arise. "Um, where is everyone?" She asked.

Fang sniffed the air and scratched his head. "That's odd, they should be here." He whispered.

Firefly flew up and searched the clouds for any sign of life.

Roxanne walked up to one of the tents and opened it, after a moment she sighed and walked towards another tent.

Dark looked around and felt something in the air. "Gwen, is there a unicorn in your group?" She asked before looking at Gwen.

Gwen looked at Dark and nodded. "Two of them, and three changelings, why?" She asked.

Dark's horn lit up and after a few moments she dimmed the light on her horn and sighed. "Well, they're not here anymore." She replied.

Fang looked at Dark. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Dark looked at him. "Because there is a faint magical scent here, hate to say it but they've been gone for a long time." She replied grimly.

Roxanne walked out from behind of one of the tents and walked up to Fang. "I agree, there isn't any sign of them here." She added.

Firefly flew down and landed next to Gwen. "Nothing In the sky." She said.

Fang sighed. "Alright then, looks like we are searching for the others, any ideas?" He asked.

The others all shared a look before Dark raised a hoof. "Well, I could try to search for a trail for us to follow with my magic." She suggested.

Firefly shrugged. "And I used to track for a few years." She added.

Gwen shook her head. "If I could fly I would suggest that." She said sadly.

Roxanne looked up. "I got nothing." She replied with an emotionless voice.

Fang nodded. "Alright then, let's get moving then." He said in annoyance.

The moment Fang finished his sentence, the entire group started walking away with Dark in the front, horn lit, Dark started search for a magic trail.

_____*a few minutes later*______

"I found something!" Shouted a voice.

Fang rushed over to the source of the voice and found Dark waiting for everyone.

Gwen walked up to Fang with Roxanne in tow. "What is it?" She asked.

Firefly landed nearby and walked over. "What's all the commotion?" She asked.

Dark motioned her head behind her. "There's a faint magical trail that leads that way, we should find out where it goes before it disappears." She suggested.

Fang nodded. "Alright, let's move." He replied calmly.

Gwen nodded and so did the others and so Dark lit her horn and started to follow the trail.

Fang sighed. "You better be alright." He grumbled.

_____*twenty minutes later (your not missing anything)*_____

Firefly groaned in annoyance as she walked. "This. Is. so. boring!" She complained aloud.

Gwen sighed. "It's been twenty or so minutes, and this important!" She snapped back.

Firefly huffed. "That doesn't mean I can't hate it." She countered.

Fang facepalmed. "Will you two be quiet?" He asked.

Dark had an unamused expression on her face. "If you want to find your friends, be quiet so I can concentrate." She ordered.

Firefly grumbled but remained silent while Gwen opened her mouth to speak but was silenced by a death glare from Roxanne.

Dark felt a small flare of magic and she walked in the direction it came from. "Just follow me." She ordered.

Fang nodded and motioned the others to follow. 'The sooner we find them the better.' He thought.

After another series of changing directions, the group finally found something.

"Hey! I found something!" Firefly shouted.

The group raced over to Firefly and found her looking at a green crystal.

Dark walked up to it and picked it up in her magic and scanned it. "It feels like this was recently put here." She stated.

Gwen took the crystal and examined it. "This is Dusk's crystal." She said.

Firefly raised an eyebrow. "Why would Dusk leave that behind?" She asked.

Gwen shrugged and looked at Dark. "How recent would you say this is?" She asked the unicorn.

Dark's horn lit up and the crystal was enveloped in a silvery aura. "I would say at least ten minutes." She replied.

Gwen nodded and tossed the crystal over to Firefly who gave her a brief look before nodding.

Fang sniffed the air and caught a whiff of a familiar scent. "Come on!" He ordered as he charged off.

The others were shocked but nevertheless, they followed the wolf.

Roxanne dropped to all fours and ran after her partner at great speeds. 'He has got to stop this.'

_____*four minutes later*______

Fang came to a halt as he approached a river. "Alright, let's stop here." He said as Roxanne ran up next to him.

Firefly landed on the ground and looked back at Gwen and Dark. "You two alright?" She asked teasingly.

Roxanne stood up and walked over to the river and took a drink as Gwen and Dark walked up to them.

Gwen looked at her sister and nodded before joining Roxanne at the river.

Fang looked around the area for any sign of the others as Dark sat down on the grass, she lit her horn and after a moment it dimmed. "They should be nearby." She said.

Firefly looked around and quickly noticed something odd. "Hey uh guys." She said.

Fang looked at her. "Yea?" He replied.

Firefly pointed at a nearby spot on the ground near the lake, which had a layer of leaves in a circle, Fang rushed over and Firefly met him there.

Fang examined the leaves and noticed that some of them had blood on them. "Firefly, look at this." He held up a leaf and Firefly bit her lip.

"Someone got injured by the looks of it." Fang said.

Firefly nodded and examined the nearby area for additional clues. "Look around for something out of the ordinary....other than yourself." She ordered.

Fang nodded and looked around the area for something to lead him to the others when his vision changed.

His vision was now that of a world on fire, much like before at the pond that he was at, but this time he heard a dark laugh from behind him, he turned around and saw a tall figure looking straight at him....no THROUGH him.

Fang couldn't make out its features other then it was standing on two large feet before his vision returned to normal.

".....hey Fang you in there?" Asked a rough voice.

Fang looked down and saw Firefly giving him a concerned look, Fang nodded and ruffled the mares hair. "Yea I'm fine, just a bit tired." He lied.

Firefly and Fang shared a look for a moment before she sighed and walked away. "Alright, now come on I found a clue." She said dismissively.

Fang nodded and followed the mare closely.

Firefly walked up to a drag in the dirt and Fang knelt down to examine it.

Fang noticed quickly that the drag was the size of a hoof, and it looked like someone dragged it through the dirt for a second or two before walking or running straight.

Firefly picked up a nearby leaf and showed it to Fang. "This look familiar?" She asked.

Fang grabbed the leaf and noticed that there was a large hole through the middle like it was caught in the crossfire of something. "We have to find them." He said urgently.

Firefly nodded and walked along the direction the drag was and looked for clues.

Fang signed and looked at the other three who were currently resting up....by sitting along or IN the river, he then looked at Firefly and walked up to her.

"Mind if I talk to you?" She asked catching Fang off guard.

"Sure." Fang replied.

Firefly gave a small smile and continued her work. "You remember last night? with the story?" She started.

Fang nodded. "Yea." He replied.

Firefly stopped and looked at Fang. "I heard from Gwen that you and Roxanne were formerly animatronics......right?" She asked.

Fang nodded slowly. "What about it?" He countered.

Firefly sighed. "Were you there when it happened? the bite?" She asked.

Fang paused for a moment before biting his lip. "Yes and no." He replied.

Firefly gave him a confused look. "Eh?" 

Fang had a grim look on his face. "I was offline when it happened, but I was nearby." He said sadly.

Firefly closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "So, what would you have done if you were online?" She asked

Fang's face became sad. "Nothing." He replied.

Firefly's eyes snapped open and they were wide. "Why!?" She snapped.

Fang sighed and he continued working. "Because i was just a mindless robot at the time." He replied.

Firefly gave him a unconvinced look but continued working. "I have the feeling that you wanted to talk to me." She changed the subject to both of their relief.

Fang nodded. "Yea, i wanted to ask you about what happened in that cave." He said.

Firefly groaned In annoyance. "Ugh, that maze." She hissed.

Fang raised an eyebrow.....then he laughed. 

Firefly gave him a death glare that went unnoticed. "What's so funny?" She asked.

Fang slowly stopped laughing but still found the odd chuckle. "You are just like Roxanne." He replied.

Firefly thought on this a moment before shrugging. "Guess I am." She said.

Fang nodded and the two silently continued their search. 

_____*two minutes later (seriously Pinkie, no one is missing anything!)*_____

Firefly walked over to Fang who had called her over.

Fang was standing near an olive green feather in worry as Firefly approached him. "Firefly, look what I found." He showed her the feather and Firefly sighed.

Firefly looked away from the feather and found a trail of them leading towards a bush. "Fang." She bumped his shoulder.

Fang looked and noticed the trail. "Come on, let's move." He ordered.

Firefly nodded and followed the now running wolf.

Fang ran up to the bush and slowed as he reached it until he was at a fast walk.

Firefly approached Fang and watched as he slowly walked up to the bush.

Fang suddenly lunged forward at the bush and ended up getting pulled in fiercely.

Firefly gasped and jumped in after him and found herself coming to blows with something.

Grunts and groans came from the bush until a few figures flew out of the bush, Firefly among them.

Firefly grunted as she hit the ground, she stood up quickly and faced the figures that she was fighting only to be shocked.





.......It was them.
> Strange occurrence/the walk. 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_______*The Everfree forest*_______

Firefly stood dumbfounded by the Changeling standing before her. "Tracker?" She asked slowly.

The Changeling looked at Firefly with its jaw agape but nodded slowly. 

Firefly and Tracker stared at each other for a moment until they realized something when the bush rustled furiously. "Guys! stop fighting!" They shouted in sync.

The rustling stopped and soon out came Fang and a few familiar faces.

Once they all exited the bush they looked at each other in shock. "Fang?"

"Dust?"

"Trapper?"

"Firefly?"

"Derpy?"

"Rarity?"

"Donkey!" 

The group stopped and looked for the source of the voice until they found the most horrifying sight ever.

Not a Timberwolf.....

Not a Manticore.......

.......Pinkie.

The group promptly screamed and fell over.

_______*ten minutes later*_______

Firefly groaned and put a hoof to her forehead, she opened her eyes to be greated by two bright blue ones.

"Gah!" Firefly exclaimed while flailing her hooves around.

Pinkie giggled and helped Firefly up. "Are ya okay?" She asked.

Firefly nodded and looked around to see that everyone else was unconscious. "What happened?" She asked curiously.

Pinkie shrugged. "I don't know." She replied calmly.

Firefly raised an eyebrow and a question rose up........

.....But Pinkie beat her to it. "Twilight is behind the bush sleeping, she had a bad magical surge and needs rest, you'll most likely see Vulture in two days and.....oops got to go!" She zoomed off.

"Don't believe anything he say's!" Pinkie shouted before disappearing entirely.

Firefly blinked and acted appropriately......for her.

She shrugged. "Okay." She said calmly.

A groan came from behind Firefly and she turned around to see Gwen standing up slowly.

"Stop shouting Firefly, you'll wake the dead......again." Gwen said groggily.

Firefly shuddered. "Don't remind me." 

Gwen looked around and saw that everyone was starting to wake up. "Weird." She commented.

Firefly raised an eyebrow. "What?" She asked.

Gwen looked at her and shrugged. "I don't know, we heard screaming and we ran over only to fall unconscious." She replied.

Firefly now had a look of confusion on her face. "Odd." She added.

Gwen nodded. "Yep." 

Firefly looked at the others and sighed. "Come on, the sooner we get to the Grayroot forest the sooner things will make sense.

_____*the next day at the Edge of the Everfree.*_____

Fang grumbled as he walked forward. "You Pony's couldn't have made cars could you?"

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "Fang, if they did that then that would cause pollution." She replied.

Firefly chuckled and looked behind herself to see Twilight walking with a intrigued look on her face as she walked alongside Dark who was busy chatting her up.

Gwen looked at Dark curiously and noticed that she didn't seem to be arguing, but she was in range to hear what they were saying.

".....So I said to the guy, why are you stressing over a stress spell? and he said.....because I'm DISTRESSED." She said in a fake male voice.

Twilight was incapable of holding it in as she busted out laughing.

"Oh.....oh my.....that's hilarious!" 

"Not really.....or I don't have a good sense of humor." Fang commented.

Roxanne grinned. "Definitely the latter." She replied.

Derpy rolled her eyes and looked at Dark curiously for a moment when she heard a familiar voice. 'Mind letting me see?'

Derpy sighed and slightly revealed her right eye so Golden Freddy could see. 'how's that?' She asked.

Golden let out an invisible grin and peered out the eye. 'could be better, but beggars can't be choosers' He replied calmly.

Derpy chuckled quietly and continued walking with the group. 'you are not a beggar, just stuck inside my head.'

Golden laughed and sat down. 'just let me know if you need me.'

Derpy nodded and looked over at Dark who was still talking with Twilight. 'good to see someone else with a passion similar to Twilight's, maybe I won't have to visit the library randomly now......'

'Very unlikely.' Golden commented.

'I wonder what they're talking about?'

Golden let out chuckle. 'Lets find out.'

Derpy felt a tingle rush to her ears and she found that her hearing improved, just enough to hear the conversation between Dark and Twilight.

"Have you ever read Starswirl the bearded's guide to advanced magic?" Twilight asked.

Dark shrugged. "I think so." She replied.

"What about the Nexus?" Twilight asked hopefully.

Dark raised an eyebrow. "If your talking about the book with the ten inch tall stallion I am very positive that I read it." She replied.

"That book was very.....interesting." Twilight said awkwardly.

"Hey uh.....Twilight." Dark started.

Twilight looked at Dark. "Yes?" 

Dark sighed and returned the look. "Would you happen to know the punishment for breaking into the Canterlot archives?" She asked.

Twilight raised an eyebrow and sighed. "Yes I do, it's banishment, why?" She asked out of curiosity.

Dark bit her tongue and said nothing. 

Twilight's eyes widened and she glared at Dark. "You broke in didn't you?" She asked searchingly.

Dark reluctantly nodded. "One book." She replied simply.

Twilight shook her head and looked up. "Regardless, you still broke into the archives and stole a book." She said.

Dark gave Twilight a questioning glare. "Then how come you haven't been banished?" She asked in an oddly calm manner.

Twilight's head snapped to face Dark with a dark glare. "What do you mean?" She questioned.

"You broke into the archives, and yet you haven't been banished." Dark replied.

Twilight went quiet after Dark's comment and looked away. 

Dark looked at Twilight who looked like she was deep in thought, she sighed and looked away.

Derpy internally shivered and felt the tingle go down from her ears and towards her right eye. 'Maybe we shouldn't eavesdrop.' She suggested to Golden.

Golden scoffed. 'And this is why I don't come out unless I absolutely need too'

Derpy rolled her eyes and covered her right eye with her hair. 'No fair!' Golden shouted.

'You can deal with it.' She countered.

Derpy heard Fang call out to the group as he stopped. "Alright, we are at the edge of the forest!"

'Here we go again.' Golden commented.

Firefly grinned. "Oh yea! can't wait to get outside and fly!" She cheered.

Gwen looked at her sister and smirked. "Is that a challenge?" She asked confidently.

Skitter rushed up to Gwen and looked her right in the eye. "You are NOT flying!" She ordered.

Gwen laughed nervously and looked at her wings, they were healed but needed time to fully recover.

"Yea, I'll kick Firefly's butt next time." She stated.

Rarity walked passed the trio and sighed. "Let's just leave this dreadful place." She hissed.
> Entering the Grayroot.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*the edge of the Everfree*_______

Firefly walked out into the open and took a deap breath. "Fresh air." She said happily.

Fang sighed and walked passed Firefly. "Get moving." He ordered.

"Shut it." Firefly countered as Derpy walked past her.

Derpy rolled her eyes and walked up to Gwen. "You alright?" She asked out of concern.

Gwen smiled and nodded. "Yea, a bit annoyed by my wings, but otherwise I'm fine." She replied.

Fang chuckled. "You sound like Marionette!" He shouted.

"Bite me!" Gwen countered.

Fang turned around and walked up to Gwen. "Okay." He said simply.

Gwen's eyes widened and she quickly hid behind Derpy. "I was joking!" She replied.

Fang grinned. "I know." He said calmly before walking away.

Gwen and Roxanne blinked. "Did he...." Gwen started.

"Just make a joke?.....yes." Roxanne finished.

Firefly walked up to Fang and gave him a curious look. "Marionette?" She asked in confusion.

Fang groaned and put his face in his hands. "I swear, that Puppet either had a short fuse, or was very......weird" He said creepily.

Firefly raised an eyebrow. "What was, err....he like?" She asked out of curiosity.

Fang shrugged. "We didn't talk a lot, but he was okay I guess." He replied.

"Liar!" Roxanne shouted.

Fang facepalmed but continued walking. "We really need to get this journey done and over with so I can go home." He said quietly.

Firefly chuckled. "Tell me about it, I was doing just fine until Vulture sent that message." 

Fang raised an eyebrow. "Doing what?" He asked out of curiosity.

"Documentation." She relplied simply.

Fang rolled his eyes. "And how's that working out for you?" He asked.

Firefly sighed. "Not well."

"I knew it!" Shouted Gwen.

Firefly shook her head. "This trip is going to make me want to go bat." She mumbled.

"Once you go bat you never go back." Fang teased.

Firefly gave him a menacing glare. "I will personally kick you in the balls if that happens." She warned.

Roxanne perked up. "Can I watch?" She asked hopefully.

Fang covered the area between his legs with one hand and whimpered. "Are you just picking on me because I'm a GUY!?" He wondered.

"Pretty much." Firefly said.

Fang groaned and slapped himself. "I knew it, YOU TWO ARE IDENTICAL!" He shouted in annoyance.

Roxanne and Firefly shared a look and grinned. "Double the fun and double the laughs." They said in unison.

Derpy stifled a laugh at Fang's misfortune. 'Hey Goldie, your psychic, IS there a connection between those two?' 

Golden hummed a short tune as he examined Firefly and Roxanne. 'Give me a minute.'

Derpy looked around and noticed that Dark was staring at her weirdly. "Uh, can I help you?" She asked.

Dark shook her head and continued forward.

Derpy gave Dark a curious glare when she heard a throat being cleared.

'I'm back.' Golden said calmly.

Derpy let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. 'What did you find?' She asked.

'Its....interesting.' He replied.

Derpy's eyes narrowed for brief second before returning to normal. 'Can you make sense for just ONE second?' She questioned.

'Fine, It's the weirdest thing, but let me explain something quick, you see everyone has their own aura and energy right?' He started.

Derpy rolled her eyes. 'what did I say about making sense?' She said in a patronizing tone.

Golden sighed and looked out the eye. 'Fine, you see, Firefly and Roxanne........they have the same aura and energy.' He explained simply.

Derpy paused in movement for a second. 'I take it that is NOT normal?' She asked.

Golden laughed and looked at Firefly through the eye. 'No it's not.' He replied.

'Maybe they ARE identical?' She suggested.

Golden put a hand to his chin in thought. 'Well, I have heard rumors that there is one of the exact same person in every universe, maybe this would explain Roxanne's pain from a week ago.' He wondered.

Derpy mentally nodded and noticed Dark looking at her again. "Yes?" She asked politely.

Dark sighed. "I'm sorry, it's just that I can't help but feel that something is wrong." She replied.

Derpy nodded. "Yea, I have a similar feeling." She said.

Skitter walked up to Fang and sighed. "We're almost there." She told the wolf.

Fang nodded. "Alright, we are almost there!" He shouted to the others behind him.

Roxanne nodded and Firefly copied the gesture, much to Fang's annoyance.

______*The edge of the Grayroot ten minutes later*______

Twilight carefully observed the area around her, so far the Grayroot looked like a normal forest but it was very.....eerie.

"Seems safe enough." Twilight finally said.

Firefly yawned as she walked towards the forest. "Let's just cover some more ground so we can sleep peacefully." She said grumpily.

Fang raised an eyebrow at her strange behavior. "What's with her?" He asked no one in particular.

Roxanne shrugged. "I don't know, maybe she's just tired?" She said.

Gwen sighed and ran over to her sister and fell in motion next to her.

Skitter sighed and walked up to the two former animatronics. "Believe me, she has reason to be upset." She said.

Fang raised an eyebrow. "What's that?" He asked calmly.

Skitter looked at Firefly and sighed. "It's not my place to say, ask her sometime." 

Roxanne shrugged. "Come on, let's catch up." 
> The Grayroot Forest, part one: Reunion.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*The Grayroot Forest, one hour later on a forest trail.*_____

Derpy followed Firefly along the trail since she was the only one who knew the path.

"Um, so why is it that Vulture lives all the way out here again?" Derpy asked.

Everyone else looked at Firefly as if waiting for her reply.

"Because no one ever comes to this forest." Firefly replied.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Why not?" She asked out of curiosity.

Firefly looked at the inquisitive unicorn and shrugged. "Because no one ever came out alive." She said simply before continuing her walk.

Everyone's jaws simultaneously dropped at Firefly's words.

Fang's eye twitched. 'She couldn't have told us BEFORE WE CAME HERE!?'

Twilight's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets in response. "Why didn't you tell us?" She questioned.

Firefly shrugged. "Slipped my mind." She replied.

Gwen sighed and nudged Firefly in her side. "Come on, let's keep moving." She said.

Firefly nodded and started walking along the path again. "Alright everyone, let's just get this over with.....dont want to be here when the golems show up." She said, whispering the last part to herself.

Fang's ears picked up what she said though and he raised an eyebrow but chose not to say anything.

Derpy sighed and Golden groaned. 'I HATE golems!' He shouted while causing Derpy to get a headache.

'Calm down Golden, so what if there are golems? we have six magic users, two of us who fight in the air, two physical powerhouses, and finally me and you.' She replied.

Golden rolled his eyes and sat down in his 'chamber' as he called it. 'Whatever, just don't yell at me when I say 'I told you so''  He said.

Derpy nodded and continued her walk.

______*four hours later (what did you expect? a detailed explanation of every second?)*______

Firefly walked up to a clearing that had a rather large forest hut, she grinned. "We're here!" She shouted to the others.

Fang sighed. "What do you want? an achievement?" He asked while walking into the clearing.

A sound rang through the air, much to Firefly's confusion.(Achievement unlocked, [1]The obvious.)

Firefly shrugged as the others entered the clearing. "Well, I see Vulture still has a thing for bones." Trapper stated.

Tracker chuckled and slapped his brother on the back. "And you still have a thing for Rocks." He teased.

Twilight and Rarity both shared a look of confusion as they passed the twins. 

Gwen smirked. "Hey Rarity.....didn't you have a boulder named Tom?" She asked sarcastically.

Rarity's eyes narrowed. "We agreed to NEVER speak of that Boulder!" She snapped.

Gwen smirk only grew larger and she walked away.

Roxanne walked up to Rarity. "Who's Tom?" She asked out of confusion.

Rarity looked like she would have a conniption before she huffed and walked away while grumbling angrily.

Roxanne looked at Twilight who sighed and walked away. "Seriously......who the hell is Tom?" She asked the mare.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Believe me.....you don't want to know." She replied calmly.

Firefly and Fang both blinked about the spectacle that just unfolded before their eyes. "Nope." They both said.

Another sound rang through the air. (Who's Tom? [2])

Firefly shook her head and walked towards the door of the hut, she knocked on the door three times.

A set of footsteps came from inside the hut and the door let out a series of clicks.

The door opened to reveal a scrawny Changeling male with orange eyes, the Changeling smiled at the sight of Firefly and the others. "I'm glad to see you've come, didn't think any of you would care enough for a reunion." He said with a partially sad look.

Gwen grinned. "Wouldn't miss it." She said.

Vulture nodded and invited the group into the hut, he did pause for a brief moment after seeing Derpy but seemed to pay it no mind.

Firefly entered the main room and looked around. "Nice place Vulture." She said while looking at a strange mask.

"Thank you, but wait until you see what I have for you to see." Vulture replied happily.

When everyone was finished entering the hut Vulture couldn't help but noticed an absent person. "Where's Gilda?" He asked sadly.

Gwen huffed. "She told me that she never wanted to speak to me ever again." She replied in an irritated tone.

Vulture sighed but his face returned to a small smile. "Well, let's not dwell on that eh?" He said cheerfully.

Firefly and Skitter both raised eyebrows at Vultures attitude in confusion. "Vulture, you feeling ok?" Skitter asked in concern.

Vulture nodded and through the main room and towards a table. "Let's just enjoy the reunion for a while, don't want to spoil it by showing you the big surprise." He said with a grin.

Fang rolled his eyes and leaned against a nearby wall, Firefly and Roxanne soon joined him. "Why don't you go join your friend? it is a reunion after all." Fang pointed out.

Firefly shrugged. "Nah, me and Vulture never really got along, i only came because I knew none of the others not counting Gilda never missed a reunion." She replied.

Roxanne chuckled and looked over at the group of friends currently sitting at table talking, she noticed Dust was wincing at something, so she decided to keep an eye on her.

Twilight was currently talking with Darkestlight and Derpy about something, Derpy looked like she was going to fall asleep but Dark kept her awake by saying something odd that made her blush.

Fang chuckled at the scenery that the room offered and closed his eyes. 'This will be one long day.'

______*two hours later*______

"Hurry up!" Called Vulture, he sounded impatient.

Firefly groaned and jogged forward with the others. "Vulture, maybe next time, you could NOT put the surprise so far from your house?" She asked.

Vulture chuckled. 'Oh ho, you have no idea why.' He thought darkly as he chuckled.

Derpy shook her head as Firefly groaned in annoyance as they kept pace with Vulture.

'This better be worth the trip.' Golden said in annoyance.
> The Grayroot Forest, part two: Madness.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*The Grayroot Forest (Surprise two automatically chosen at random)*______

Firefly and the others followed Vulture through the Grayroot, he had said that his surprise was a good distance away from his house.

Fang was looking around for any signs of danger, he noticed a few Timberwolves but they looked to be scared of something, Fang was curious about this but paid it no mind.

As the group walked they noticed something rather odd, as they continued they felt the ground get softer and softer, Twilight took notice of this and her horn lit up, she scanned the ground and sighed.

"Just softer soil." She mumbled.

The group continued to follow Vulture through the forest as he walked along a path of leaves, which Skitter had thought odd because the path was the only spot around with leaves. 'Curious.' She thought.

Eventually the group came across a large clearing that had a strange air about it, Fang sniffed the air and he shivered as a sick feeling entered his lungs. 'Feels like decay.'

Gwen looked around the area and noticed something peculiar, the trees seemed to have been bent outwards....away from the clearing. 'This looks like the twins work, or maybe Vulture did something?'

Vulture walked through the clearing and eventually he sat down and looked at the sky. "Here we are." He stated.

Derpy felt a searing pain go through her right eye and covered it with her hoof, she grunted and Gwen looked at Derpy, she walked over and gave her a concerned look as she said something that Derpy couldn't hear.

'Golden......what's happening?' She asked.

A growl came from Golden. 'I have no idea.....its pulling me though, it's annoying!' He snapped.

Skitter and the twins walked up to Vulture. "Vulture, where is it?" Skitter asked.

Vulture chuckled. "Above, around and below, everywhere it lies, but which does it reside?" He said.

Skitter groaned. "Speak sense for once Vulture!" She demanded.

Vulture sighed and looked at Skitter. "It's down below." He said simply.

Skitter growled and got up in Vulture's face. "And just HOW are we supposed to get down there?" She questioned angrily.

Vulture sighed and stood up. "Skitter......you always were too hot headed for your own good." He stated before receiving a punch from changeling female.

"Shut up Vulture, you run your mouth too much." She countered.

Vulture rubbed his fade with his face and chuckled, he motioned his hoof towards Skitter and the twins knocked Skitter to the ground and pinned her down.

Firefly gasped and went to help Skitter but found herself blocked by an invisible force.

Vulture knelt down and looked at Skitter who simply growled. "What are you doing Vulture?" Skitter demanded.

"I am doing what must be done, unlike you I have sacred duties to uphold, and the twins here, were kind enough to lend me a hoof." He begun.

Vulture stood up and looked at the group. "And i must thank all of you for coming, I was afraid that I would be short on the tribute." He said.

The twins looked at Vulture who jerked his head at the group, the two brothers picked Skitter up and threw her at the group.

Firefly watched as Skitter flew the air towards the group, she positioned herself to grab her and braced as the changeling slammed into her.

Vulture looked at the group with a disappointed glare. "I personally thought that YOU of all people would have noticed that something was wrong with us......Dust." He sighed.

Dust did nothing but look away. "Shut up....just shut up." She said grimly.

Skitter growled and glared at Vulture. "I'm going to take your head you traitorous bastard!" She swore.

Vulture shook his head and his horn glowed with a dark green aura, the ground around the group dissipated and revealed a large web of the same color that wrapped itself around the group like a cocoon,  Vulture's hoof began to glow and he raised it in the air. "Forgive me, but I highly doubt that......goodbye Skitter." He said before slamming his hoof into the ground causing the group to start falling as they struggled to free themselves.

______*the descent*______

Anger, that was all Skitter could feel right now.....it surged through her like an ocean, it completely drowned out the other emotions that she felt coming from the others, there was confusion, sorrow....pain.....if Skitter was a regular drone she would have been overwhelmed by all of this emotion.

Derpy growled as she plummeted down the pit and as the pain continued through her right eye.

'When we get back to the surface.....is it alright if I kill them?' Golden asked through the pain.

'Sure, but make it hurt.' She responded coldly.

Golden chuckled through the pain. 'Oho yes....it'll hurt.' 

Derpy let out a dark laugh that muffled by the cocoon. 'Good, but leave Vulture for Skitter to have fun with.' She ordered.

A dark laugh echoed through Derpy's mind as they fell down the pit.

______*ten minutes later, location unknown.*______

Firefly groaned as she opened her eyes to see nothing but darkness, she sighed and tried to move her head but remembered the cocoon that held her captive.

She heard a set of footsteps come towards her and the cocoon was soon ripped open to reveal a grinning Roxanne. "Good to see you Firefly." She said out of relief.

Firefly rubbed her head and stood up slowly with Roxanne's help. "Where are we?" She asked.

Roxanne shrugged. "I don't know, but I can't find any of the others on my own, I saw another cocoon but I can't reach it." She explained.

Firefly looked around and noticed that she was in a temple like building, she was currently In a large circular room with only one exit, she looked at Roxanne and the two nodded, let's go then. (Grouped up [1])

Roxanne moved towards the door with a jog and Firefly followed. "Let's find the others ok?" She suggested.

Firefly nodded and followed Roxanne out of the chamber. "Yea, can't get out of here without them." She replied.

Roxanne nodded and the two made their way through the temple-like building.

After a short time the pair approached a statue of a large creature with five reptilian heads, a scorpions stinger and four lion-like legs, an inscription was on a large slab of stone at the base of the statue. "Firefly, can you read this?" She asked.

Firefly walked up to the tablet and chuckled. "Yea I can read this, it's written in Changish, so it's no surprise you can't read it." She said.

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "What does it say?" She asked.

"It reads, This statue was created to honor the mighty Jandoka as he leads us through these dark times, our God will never be defeated by mortals, may he guide us into a new age of prosperity', a God huh? we'll see about that." Firefly huffed.

Roxanne pondered this for a moment. "Why would changelings worship this.....thing?" She wondered.

Firefly shrugged and walked around until Roxanne continued moving. 

When Roxanne and Firefly continued moving they entered a large chamber with seven doors, each with its own magical seal, there were several chandeliers, but one of these caught Firefly's attention, one of the chandeliers had a cocoon on it.

"That's what I need help with." Roxanne said.

Firefly nodded and flew up to the cocoon to pull it down, she quickly pulled it off the chandelier and flew back down with it.

Roxanne walked up to where Firefly landed and quickly tore open the cocoon to reveal Derpy who looked at them with a tired expression. "Hey." She said simply.

Firefly took notice of Derpy's eye but decided that now was not the best time, so she opted to help the mare out of the cocoon. "You alright Derpy?" She asked out of concern.

Derpy nodded and stretched. "Yea, where are the others?" She asked.

Roxanne shrugged and motioned to the doors around the room. "I don't know, but they must be behind one of these doors, shall we?" She suggested.

Derpy looked around one felt something pulling her to one of the doors, she stood up and walked towards it. "Let's start with this one." She said.

Roxanne and Firefly nodded and followed Derpy across the room. 

Derpy approached the door and released a small amount of psychic energy into the seal causing it to break.

"Let's see what's behind door number one." Derpy joked as she entered the next room.

Roxanne and Firefly followed behind, Firefly was confused about what just happened, she sighed and continued on, content to let it be for now.

Derpy walked through the room calmly as she examined her surroundings, this room seemed to be an old storage room, there was old crates and barrels, pallets of wood that was rotten and a pallet of broken stone here and there, but none of this interested Derpy right now, she was focused on what was currently pulling at her.

'Be careful Derpy, we don't know what this could be.' Golden warned.

Roxanne and Firefly begun searching the crates and barrels as Derpy searched for what was pulling her.  

Derpy found an old wooden door and walked up to it, she opened the door and walked inside the next room.

She felt Golden enhance her vision and soon the dark room became clear, she looked around and found found an odd tarp covering something large, she carefully approached it and heard a grunt from Golden.

'This is SO going to be a trap'. Golden said sarcastically.

Derpy rolled her eyes and pulled the tarp off the object and she gasped at what she saw.

'MY BODY!' Golden shouted happily.

Sure enough, standing in front of Derpy was a large animatronic bear that was golden in color, it stood there without life, the bear had wires coming out of its sockets and had areas along the suit that revealed the endoskeleton underneath.

Derpy felt Golden being tugged towards the animatronic and he allowed himself to be pulled. 

Right when Golden entered the animatronic, Derpy felt a searing pain in her right eye, she held her hoof over it and looked up at Golden's body and saw that his eyes opened to reveal them as black with a white dot in the center.

Golden appeared completely oblivious to Derpy's pain as he moved his hands and fingers out of curiosity, he started to laugh softly, until his laugh became a mad one.  

"YES! I can finally move again!" He cheered.

A mad scream came from somewhere in the building and both Derpy and Golden looked towards the only other door to the room which was banging furiously.

Derpy slowly made her way towards a nearby wall while Golden simply stared at the door.

Golden watched as the door opened to reveal a swarm of shadows flying towards him, he smirked and released a psychic blast that obliterated the shadows. "It's going to take more than that." He said in a disappointed tone.

After Golden finished talking the mad scream came again, and soon a figure charged through the door while screaming.

Golden's eyes widened as the figure charged towards him, he couldn't move his body for some reason and one single thought ran through his mind. 'I just got this body damnit!'

The figure rammed into Golden destroying him completely, the figure then ran right into a wall and fell backwards.

Derpy felt a familiar presence enter her right eye and heard a cry of frustration. 'FUCK!' Golden swore.

When Derpy stood up the pain in her right eye subsided and her vision enhanced again. 'What was that about Golden?' She questioned.

Golden groaned and looked out the eye. 'You get stuck in someone's head for a month or so THEN you ask that question.' He replied.

Derpy looked at the figure and saw a familiar face. "Fang?" She asked herself.

Golden looked over and let out another cry of frustration. 'YOU HAVE TO BE FUCKING KIDING ME! I GOT DESTROYED BY THAT MORON!' Golden's further words were uninteligible as he spoke in gibberish. (You pissed? [2])

Derpy walked over to the unconscious wolf and noticed a strange web around his neck, she tried to pull it off too no avail, 

A pair of footsteps came from behind Derpy and she turned around to see Firefly and Roxanne standing in the doorway. "Derpy you ok?" She asked.

Derpy started to drag Fang across the floor. "I'm fine, can you help me get this knucklehead out of here?" She asked.

Roxanne nodded and entered the dark room, she walked over to Derpy and helped move Fang out of the room.

Derpy gave Roxanne a confused look. "How can you see in here?" She asked.

Roxanne chuckled. "I guess I got night vision somehow." She replied.

Soon enough the two pulled Fang out of the room and Roxanne ripped the webs off once they set him down. [3]

____*two minutes later*____

Fang groaned and opened his eyes to see a familiar Pegasus sitting on a barrel In a bipedal position. "What happened?" He asked groggily.

Firefly shrugged. "You went crazy and destroyed Golden before running face first into a wall." She explained casually.

Fang sighed and rested his head on the ground. "It must be Thursday." He said before realizing something Firefly said.

".......Wait what!?"
> The Grayroot Forest, part three: Maze of Jandoka.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*Location unknown, time unknown*______

".....Wait what!?" Fang snapped.

Firefly shrugged. "I don't know, that's what I heard." She replied calmly.

Fang threw his arms up in the air in defeat. "Whatever, where are the others?" He asked.

Firefly motioned a stack of crates and barrels behind her. "Over there somewhere, Roxanne has been trying to get us out of here." 

Fang nodded and began walking towards the crates Firefly showed him, he heard a thump and looked around to see Firefly following him, he shrugged and continued moving.

After a short walk, Fang and Firefly reached Derpy and Roxanne who was currently attempting to pry a door open with a rusty crowbar.

Fang and Firefly walked up to Derpy and watched Roxanne. "How long has she been at this?" Fang asked.

Derpy groaned. "Five crowbars ago." She replied out of irritation.

Fang shook his head and walked up to Roxanne. "Let me try." He ordered.

Roxanne grunted. "No thanks, I got this!" 

Fang rolled his eyes and took the crowbar from Roxanne and dropped the crowbar, he put his claws on the door and forced it open. "Done." He said simply.

Roxanne huffed and looked away. "Show off." 

Derpy and Firefly chuckled. "Hey Roxanne, don't you think we should go back to the main room and see if we can open any of those doors?" Firefly asked.

Roxanne looked at Firefly. "I would but the door locked itself and the door that Fang came through leads to a dead end chamber that held Dusk's crystal, this is the only way." She replied.

Fang looked into the next room, he then walked through the door without saying a word, Roxanne raised an eyebrow and followed her partner.

____*The next room*____

Fang walked into the room and looked around more thoroughly, he saw six barrels stacked against a corner, he saw crates littered around the room carelessly, the one thing that drew his attention was a chest in the middle. "Well doesn't that scream TRAP?" Roxanne joked.

Fang chuckled and walked up to the chest and went to open it......when Roxanne pushed him aside. 

"What was that for?" Fang questioned as he stood up.

Roxanne shrugged and opened the chest to reveal a white fireball that flew into the air  above the chest.

Fang and Roxanne stared at the fireball in amazement as it just hovered in the air......until it suddenly started spinning towards Roxanne.

Roxanne gasped and tried to move but found that her legs wouldn't respond, she looked at the fireball and gulped. "This is gonna hurt." She mumbled before bracing herself by putting her arms in front of her and closing her eyes.

The fireball launched towards Roxanne and instead of impacting on her it phased into her, Roxanne opened her eyes and lowered her arms in confusion. "What in the world?" (Weird [1])

Fang just stood there with his jaw wide open. "Wha?.....how?" He questioned.

Roxanne stared at her hands In confusion until she unintentionally broke Fang's mind even more........her hands just combusted In a flare of white flames.

"FIRE FIRE FIRE!......wait, it doesn't hurt.......WHAT THE FUCK!?" She snapped as she waved her flaming hands around.

Fang snapped himself out of his stupefied trance and looked at the flames. "Roxanne, hold up a moment." He said.

Roxanne stopped moving and looked at Fang with a confused look. "Yes?" She asked.

Fang walked up to Roxanne and held her right arm up. "Try willing the flames to recede." He said.

Roxanne sighed but did what Fang said and soon the flames receded into her fur, she raised an eyebrow.

'Maybe if I will them to return?' She pondered.

Fang watched as Roxanne summoned smaller flames that seemed to just be a thin layer of white fire along her fur.

"Seems like i can control fire now, that could be useful." Roxanne said.

Fang nodded and looked at the door that now had a large white seal on it. "See if your fire can open the door, would help if we could get out of here." He suggested.

Roxanne nodded and willed her fire to envelope the seal and soon a fireball started to form in her hand, she let it expand slowly and then threw it at the seal. 

When the fireball hit the seal it flickered for a moment before vanishing entirely, Roxanne dispelled her flames and walked to the door with Fang.

_____*the storage room.*_____

Firefly and Derpy both sighed in relief as Fang left the room with Roxanne. "Are you two alright?" Derpy asked.

Fang nodded and Roxanne copied.

To Fang's misfortune, Firefly had caught sight of a small amount of sweat on Roxanne's face, she grinned mischievously. "So......did you two 'do it' in that room?" She asked playfully.

The response that Firefly received was priceless, Roxanne blushed heavily while Fang looked away towards the ceiling.

Derpy shook her head while Golden laughed happily. 'Ah....seeing that pup embarrassed always makes me laugh' 

'At least you haven't changed.' Derpy said.

Golden let out a sarcastic laugh but otherwise remained silent.

Roxanne looked around and sighed. "Come on, let's see if we can get back." She said before walking towards the door that they came from.

Fang nodded and followed his partner. "This is going to be a long day." He mumbled.

_____*Back at the main room*_____

Fang paced around the room as Roxanne contemplated which door to go through, he looked over at Derpy and Firefly and saw them looking at rather peculiar wall, he decided to go over and find out what it was.

"What are you two doing?" Fang asked.

Firefly shrugged. "I don't know, but Derpy said she sensed something behind this wall." She explained.

Fang walked up and put his hand on the stone wall, he immediately realized what they sensed. "Stand back." He warned.

Firefly and Derpy did as Fang said and backed away from the wall.

Fang backed up a little bit and looked at the wall for a weak spot and found a small crack in the wall, he ran at the wall and gave it a good punch.

A noticeable crack rang through the room and soon the wall crumbled to reveal a small room with a chest, Fang walked up to the chest and opened it to reveal a small gray talisman with the symbol of a scorpions stinger.

"Could be important." He said to no one in particular.

Fang walked back into the main room and saw Roxanne waiting for him and the two pegasi at one of the doors. "Come on guys, i picked a door." She said.

Derpy and Firefly nodded and walked over to Roxanne, Fang sighed and followed the others.

The door that Roxanne stood at had a white seal on it, similar to the one in the storage room, so Roxanne simply conjured a fireball and flung it at the door, much to Firefly and Derpy's confusion and shock.

"How did?" Firefly asked.

"Impossible." Derpy said.

Roxanne sighed. "I have no idea but now is a bad time for that kind of question." She replied before opening the door and entering the next room.

Fang and the others shared a brief look before following the fox. 

_____*the next room*_____

"You cannot be serious." Roxanne and Fang said simultaneously.

Firefly just stood there in shock while Derpy raised an eyebrow. "I'm not seeing the problem." Derpy said blankly.

The group was currently standing in a room that overlooked a large stone maze, they could see the beginning of the maze and a portion of the rest but most of the maze was hidden. 

Fang sighed and looked around the room for anything that could help, all he saw was barrel and two doors, the one they came through, and one that led to the maze.

"Might as well get it over with." Fang commented.

Roxanne simply went for the door to enter the maze and opened it, she walked through the door without closing it.

Firefly looked at Derpy and Fang with a grin. "Race ya." She said simply before quickly following Roxanne.

Derpy and Fang shared a groan before following their companions.

As they went down the stairs Derpy heard a familiar voice. 'Those two are going to be the death of me.' Golden commented.

'No they won't.' Derpy replied.

Golden rolled his eyes and watched the view of the next room. 'I'll let you know if we return to a spot we've been to before.'

Derpy gave a silent acknowledgement as she entered the maze. "This is going to be annoying." She said quietly.

_____*ten minutes later (because I don't feel like voicing everyone's thoughts as they enter the maze and find multiple dead ends*_____

Firefly groaned as she found yet another dead end, she turned around and followed a different path.....only to find a triple path which made her cry out in frustration.

Grumbling, Firefly walked through the path on the right only to find a small statue of Jandoka. 'Guess he's important too.....whoever it is that built this place.'

Firefly turned around and began to walk along a different path until she came across a stone wall with a wooden door, Firefly grinned and walked up to the door.....only to walk into an invisible wall.

"What the?" She wondered as she backed up.

Firefly raised her front hoof and moved it forward only to come in contact with some form of glass.

'Maybe if I ram it?' She guessed.

Deciding to go on her suggestion, Firefly backed up away from the wall and once she was a good distance from the glass she charged.

When Firefly impacted on the glass it shattered immediately sending glass everywhere, Firefly quickly lept into the air with her wings that somehow were undamaged by the glass.

Firefly took care to land in front of the door to avoid the glass, she opened the door and went inside.

_____*the next room*_____

Firefly looked around the dimly lit room and found a few stacks of barrels and some crates, but the most eye catching feature was a large chest and another wooden door with a large gold seal in a hexagonal pattern.

'Why not......don't have anything better to do.' 

After Firefly made her decision she walked towards the chest, she put on a grin and moved to open the chest. "TREASURE!" She screamed as she opened the box.

Much to Firefly's disappointment and confusion all that was in the chest was a cloud of lightning that raced into her body causing her to spazz out uncontrollably. "Baggaaddaazaaaggghhnna." 

Firefly fell to the ground while electricity coursed through her veins, she felt her vision blur and the world began to spin as she twitched.

"What the hell?" She wondered quietly.

Once the world stopped spinning and she stopped twitching, Firefly got back up. (Feeling 'electric' [2]) "Yeah that's real funny........prick." She said to no one in particular.

Firefly looked around the room and noticed that the door behind her now had a green seal in the shape of a braizer, she sighed and looked at the other door with the gold seal, she felt something pull her towards it so she made her way over. "This place is weird." She commented.

Firefly approached the seal and saw that it was glowing slightly brighter the closer she got, Firefly looked at her hoof and saw that her fur was standing on end while faint sparks of electricity ran across it, she put her hoof to the door and the seal slightly flickered.

'So.....it's opened by electricity eh?.....wish I had more of it.' She thought.

As if responding to her wish, her body surged with golden electricity and the seal faded. "Okay....so I can open gold seals." She murmured.

She opened the door and walked inside.

'Here goes nothing.'
> The Grayroot Forest, Part four: Finding the exit.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*Strange room*____

Firefly walked into the room and sighed. 'Thank you for not giving me an annoying puzzle.' 

The room that Firefly was in was circular in shape with a large gray wall at the opposite end, the room itself looked to be made with a sand like stone, she felt a nearby there were two levers on walls opposite of each other and a button in the center. "Let's see what this does eh?" She asked herself.

Firefly walked towards the button and examined the room for anything suspicious like a trap, while there were some odd looking paintings and statues around the room, there seemed to be no traps so she continued.

When Firefly reached the button she noticed that the button had a face that  was almost skeletal with two small horns on each side of its forehead, she simply shrugged. "Why not?" She pressed the button.

A loud grating sound rang through the room immediately after Firefly pressed the button, the Pegasus turned around only to see a large black metal wall slide down to block the exit.

The metal wall slammed loudly when it reached the ground. "Wonderful." Firefly commented as she heard another loud grating noise behind herself, she turned around as the large gray wall rose up into the ceiling to reveal an open pathway along with a group of armored Changelings entering the room.

Firefly could only process a single thought as the Changelings let out a feral roar and charged her. 'Shit' Firefly immediately started to run from the Changelings.

The Changelings simply followed Firefly around the room.....clumsily but quickly.

Firefly looked behind herself and noticed that the Changelings weren't using their magic, in fact they didn't even use their wings.

"I wonder......" Firefly leapt into the air and used her wings to keep herself airborne as she flew up to a good height, when she looked down at the Changelings they seemed to be almost skeletal and had a frenzied look in their eyes. 'Ok then.....Zombies?'

Firefly decided to confirm her hypothesis by fighting them. "Ok....so maybe if I shock them I could......" 

She did not get to finish her sentence as golden lighting surged through her body and arced down towards the zombie Changlings electrocuting them harshly.

Firefly's jaw dropped as the Changelings simply fell over limp, she looked at her hooves which had golden sparks running across her fur. "If this is what I can do now......Sweet!" She cheered as she lowered herself to the ground. 

A loud click came from the doorway the zombie Changelings came from and the door opened. 'Huh, didn't even know it closed.'

Firefly landed on the ground and felt a tingle from her wings, she looked at them and noticed that they were crackling with golden electricity. "Well that's just great." She said sarcastically.

Firefly looked around the room and sighed as she made her way towards the newly opened pathway, "Wonder what's down here?" She asked herself as she approached the pathway.

"This has got to be a Friday." She commented.

_____*Two minutes later*_____

Firefly stepped into another chamber and looked around, the room was square in shape with three large wooden doors and the one behind Firefly, it's only purpose seemed to be to connect the four pathways as it had no buttons, levers or switches.

The three other doors had seals on them as well, one had a gold hexagon seal, and the other two had a green braizer seal, Firefly groaned and walked towards the door with a golden seal, she put her hoof to the seal and it quickly dissipated as gold sparks danced across it.

Firefly opened the door and walked through it.

The next room was small in comparison to the chamber she fought the zombies in, it was circular with a flat ceiling and a single lever at the far end, there was no other doors and the walls seemed to be made out of sandstone, she decided to pull the lever and flew towards it.

Firefly flew right up to the lever and hovered above it for a moment. 'This could be a trap'

"......Ah what the hell?" She pulled the lever and the sound of chains moving and stone sliding immediately rang through the room, Firefly frantically looked around for the source of the noise and soon found it in the form of an opening in the ceiling, the sound of stone moving stopped but the chains did not.

Firefly decided to take a closer look and flew up to the opening and looked through it.....only to get beaned in the head by a rapidly falling cocoon and the world went black. (Ouch![1]) 

_____*twenty minutes later*_____

'Ouch.' 

Firefly opened her eyes and groaned at the sight before her.....the cocoon that knocked her out was currently on her chest. "Damn it." She looked around the area for something to help, and to her disappointment she found nothing.

"Ok then.....hey! who is it!?" She shouted.

Apparently the person in the cocoon could hear Firefly as it responded.

"Mm, mm." 

Firefly sighed and pushed the cocoon off herself receiving a muffled scream in the process. "Sorry." Firefly apologized.

"Mmph, mpph." 

Firefly looked around the room and saw that the door now had a green braizer seal on it. "And I remove that HOW?" She asked.

Instead of waiting for an answer Firefly decided to attempt to open the cocoon, she walked up to it and started to pull.

_____*two minutes later*_____

Firefly fell backwards as the cocoon rebounded...she was about to try again when she had an idea. "Ok uh, I have an idea.....this may sting." She warned before she gripped the cocoon, she released some of her lightning and pulled as hard as she could.

"Come on come on come on!" She prayed as a satisfying ripping sound came from the cocoon.

Firefly looked down as she pulled the cocoon apart.[2]

Firefly grinned as she looked at who the captive was. "Nice to see you here sis." She said while holding her hoof out.

Gwen gave her sister an annoyed glare but took the hoof anyway. "Ha ha." She said sarcastically.

Firefly stepped back and pulled her sister out of the cocoon. "How you holding up?" She asked.

Gwen did not answer immediately as she stood back up, she looked at her sister. "Better now that I can move, I feel a bit weird but it's probably vomit." She replied.

Firefly rolled her eyes as a tingle ran through her body, along with golden sparks.

Gwen raised an eyebrow at this. "Firefly, are you high?" She asked calmly.

Firefly shook her head and looked around for an exit. "No but we should probably get out of here." She said.

Gwen chuckled and looked at the door with the green braizer seal, she raised an eyebrow and walked towards it. "Hey Firefly, you feel something pulling you?" She asked.

Firefly shrugged. "I don't know, I'm numb from the Lightning." She replied.

As Gwen walked forward to the seal it started to glow brighter, she felt her hoof being moved towards it and she complied as it started to bother her.

When Gwen's hoof touched the seal a strange laugh rang through the room and the seal faded away.

Firefly sighed in relief as the seal faded. "Let's get out of here." She said.

Gwen nodded and opened the door. "Let's get going." 

_____*ten minutes later*_____

Firefly and Gwen entered the square chamber from one of the green braizer doors, all it contained was a strange crystal and an amulet with the symbol of Jandoka, they walked up to the last door and Gwen opened it.

"I hope it's not a puzzle." Firefly said.

"That makes two of us." Gwen said.

The sisters entered the next room with caution, they walked through a vast hallway for about five minutes before finally reaching the door at the end, the sisters entered the room with haste.

The next area was a large rectangular room with racks upon racks of weapons and armor. "Dibs on the crossbow." Firefly said quickly.

"Damnit! fine.." Gwen replied.

With that the sisters searched the armory for said weapon, after a while Firefly had obtained her preferred weapon. "Let's get going eh?" Firefly said.

Gwen nodded and looked at a nearby lone sword on a stand, she raised an eyebrow and walked forward to examine the sword, it had a bone like handle and body but a dark steel blade

"If you want it Gwen just take it, not like anyone's gonna care." Firefly said.

Gwen sighed and grabbed a nearby sheath and strapped it on, she then took the sword and put it in the sheath.....it was a tight fit.

"Great, now all I need to do is get hands and I can use it." She said sarcastically.

Firefly chuckled and pulled off two identical swords from the racks.

Gwen raised an eyebrow at this to which Firefly said. "Figured Fang and Roxanne could use a sword each."

And with that the two left the armory after sheathing the two other swords.

_____*back at the first chamber thirteen minutes later.*_____

Firefly and Gwen walked through the chamber and up to the levers. "Ok Gwen get ready to pull that lever!" She said.

"WHICH LEVER!?" She asked dumbly.

"THAT LEVER THERE!" Firefly shouted.

Gwen nodded. "OK!" She shouted back before pulling the lever after Firefly.

"OK THE GATE IS OPEN!" Firefly shouted.

"YES THE GATE IS NOW OPEN BECAUSE I PULLED THE LEVER!" Gwen shouted like she was reading a script. (Couldn't resist.[3])

Firefly sighed. "Ok I get it." She said quietly before she started to walk towards Gwen.

Gwen grinned and walked towards the green braizer seal as the wall went up. "Ok then, let's get out of here."

Firefly nodded as Gwen put her hoof up to the barrier and it flickered but didn't disappear. "Uh....Gwen?" Firefly asked worringly.

Gwen grunted. 'If I had some help I could.....what was that?' She asked herself.

Firefly turned around and gasped at the sight, four human like skeletons were now walking towards them. "Um Gwen, you might want to hurry up." She said nervously.

Gwen chuckled. "I would If I could." She replied calmly before standing upright and putting both front hooves on the barrier.

Firefly had an idea as the skeletons slowly walked forward. "Ok Gwen, I know this may sound weird, but try to ask that power you have to speed up." She suggested.

Gwen did a half nod before doing a double take. "What?" She asked.

Firefly growled. "Just do it." She ordered.

Gwen chuckled. "Alright then." She replied. 'Um.....hurry it up slowpoke?'

As if on cue the skeletons picked up their pace and moved right past Firefly and for the seal.

Gwen heard footsteps coming from her left and right, she looked only to see skeletons put their hands on the barrier and the barrier faded.

Firefly could only blink. "Gwen......I think you can control the dead." She said simply.

"How'd ya guess?" She asked sarcastically.

Firefly shrugged. "No idea." 
> Flashback: New night guard.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*Maze of Jandoka, Fang's POV*______

Fang sighed as he made his way slowly through the seemingly endless maze, he reached a dual pathway, one path to the left and one to the right.

"Why me?" He asked himself as he walked down the path on the right, and soon a familiar tune played as he found a dead end with nothing but a small wooden box with light blue walls. "It can't be......" He said in disbelief.

Fang picked up the music box and turned the handle to reset it. "What are you doing here?" He asked quietly as an old memory came back to him.

______*Flashback, Freddy Fazbears Pizzeria 9:27 PM Halloween.*______

Fang leaned against the wall next to Roxanne and watched as children ran around the pizzeria in excitement, he rolled his eyes as a kid dressed as a Werewolf ran past the Kids cove for the twentieth time. "These kids are strange." He said blankly.

Roxanne huffed and looked over towards the stage where Bob, Sarah and Rodger played a rather spooky song for the night. "I'm just glad they're done with me for the night." She said out of relief.

Fang shrugged and moved away from the wall. "I'm going to go see what Marionette is up to." He said simply.

Roxanne chuckled. "Have fun Dog breath." Roxanne teased.

Fang simply started walking towards the Prize corner by maneuvering through the kids and the occasional adult, he noticed that some stared at him as he walked by but chose not to say anything. 'Bloody humans.'

When Fang reached the Prize corner he saw Marionette exchanging gifts for tokens while one of his music boxes played a familiar tune.[1]

Fang decided to simply walk over and speak to Marionette, he moved his foot to walk forward but had the feeling of being watched, he looked around the restaurant and noticed a hooded man watching him carefully, Fang simply looked away and walked towards the Puppet pretending not to notice.

When Fang reached Marionette he simply stared at him for a moment before going back to work, Fang sighed and walked behind the Prize corner only to be on the receiving end of a group of kids barraging him with tokens.

In the back of his mind, Fang wondered if Marionette wiped his memory everyday just so he could think clearly.

About an hour later the rage seemed to dissipate a little as fewer kids were in the Prize corner then usual, Fang looked at the Marionette with a confused look. "How are you NOT insane?" He asked.

Marionette simply looked at Fang and shrugged. "I have no idea, how are YOU emotionless?" He countered.

Fang blinked. "Seriously?" He asked calmly.

Marionette shook his head and watched as groups of people wandered around the restaurant aimlessly. "Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a human?" He asked.

Fang rolled his eyes. "No, Humans are sad creatures, they have no coordination and are far too violent, as an animatronic I do not have to worry about that because I know what I am supposed to do." He replied.

Marionette nodded. "I suppose your right Fang, I do miss it though." He said.

Fang looked over at the stage and sighed as he leaned against the wall. "Wish the others could play tonight, they love Halloween." Fang said.

Marionette sighed and put his arms on the counter and looked at Fang. "You know that's not possible." He reminded the wolf.

"I am aware." Fang replied in a bored tone.

Marionette did not reply as he watched the band. 

Fang remained silent as he looked over at the band but saw the hooded man watching him from the table. "Who is that?" He asked quietly.

Marionette looked over at the hooded man and shrugged. "I don't know, but it would be best if you kept an eye on him." He advised.

Fang chuckled. "Gee I didn't know that, thanks for the advice!" He said sarcastically.

Giving Fang an annoyed look, Marionette sighed and got to work when a small purple haired girl walked towards the Prize corner.

Fang simply listened as the band played their song for the night.

______* Freddy Fazbears Pizzeria 11:37 PM*______

When the building emptied for the night and the workers finished cleanup the security guard finally showed up, and to Fang's surprise it was the hooded man from before.

Fang was currently 'offline' in the Kids cove when the hooded man walked up to him and gave him an odd look, the man looked Fang in the face and huffed. "Piece of junk, better off scrapped." He said quietly.

If Fang could feel real emotions he would probably be pissed, but currently his emotion simulator was off for Halloween.....but that didn't stop Fang from using a word he picked up back at Fredbears Family Diner. 'Prick.'

Soon enough the creak of a chair alerted Fang that the guard was ready for the night.

Midnight soon came after the night one phone call ended, Fang assumed that the guard used that time to get a feel for how the office and cameras worked.

A thump came from the stage indicating that Roger was moving about, he noticed the Kids cove camera had a blinking red light on it for a moment before it vanished.

Taking the opportunity Fang moved towards the hallway and stood at the end as a flash of light came into the hallway. 'Annoying.'

Once the flash went away he moved into one of the party room and stared at the camera eerily.

The rest of the night continued in a similar fashion with Fang showing up at the end of the hall and Roger slowly making his way to the office, when two AM came around Sarah got off the stage and moved to the bathroom hallway where she looked at the camera.

The guard moved in a clockwork pattern, camera then vents then hallway rinse and repeat, but when three AM came around Fang moved right outside the office and leaned against the wall and turned the brightness on his eyes up. [2] 

When the guard looked down the hall just to see Fang staring at him he jumped and continuously flashed the light at Fang who responded appropriately.....he turned his eyes off.

Once Fang was sure the guard stopped flashing him he turned his eyes on and moved into the room, he bent down and gave this creepy smile as he stared down the night guard who was watching the camera.

To say that the night guard was shocked when he saw Fang staring at him would be an understatement, to say that he pissed his pants would be far more appropriate. 'Is it weird that it felt good to see this guy piss himself?' Fang wondered.

The guard immediately threw the mask on in a fit while muttering. "Please leave, please leave." 

Fang grinned and disappeared then jumped at the guard's face after he put the mask up getting a VERY hilarious reaction from the man.

His victory achieved, Fang left the office and returned to the kids cove, just as the music box started playing Pop goes the weasel to indicate that Marionette was free.

_____*end of flashback*_____

Fang chuckled at the memory and he walked away with the music box in hand.

'Better get moving.'
> The Grayroot Forest Part five: The Memory.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*The maze of Jandoka, time unknown.*_____

Derpy sighed as she made her way through the maze quite easily due to Golden telling her where to go. "I am never bringing my girls to the Canterlot maze after this." She mumbled.

Golden chuckled as he watched the show of boredom. 'They'll be disappointed you know.' He reminded.

Derpy growled as she turned a corner. "I think I can manage it, besides I did tell them it was a 'possibility' that we could go." She countered.

Golden rolled his near nonexistent eyes and sat down. 'Just try not to hit them with one of our psychic blasts.....its a nightmare trying to fix kids who get hit by one of those.'

"Should I be concerned that you actually know that?" She asked her passenger. 

'Most likely.' Golden said calmly.

Derpy moved past a crossroads and continued through a secret entrance. "I don't think Vulture and the Twins were counting on a psychic." She commented.

Golden rolled his eyes and laid back on a couch that he materialized. [1]

Derpy came across a room with a Jungle like appearance and two levers, one for each end of the room and a shaking cocoon.

"I wonder who that is?" She asked quietly.

Golden didn't even bother trying to sense who it was.....it was obvious. "Let's see who it is then." He said.

Derpy took flight and flew towards the cocoon that had a weird feeling about it, upon closer examination of the cocoon it appeared that it was made as an anti magic cocoon.

Golden chuckled. "Oh my god! I WONDER WHO THIS COULD BE!" He shouted.

Derpy sighed and flew up to a small strand of the cocoon that suspended it in the air, she grasped the strand and tugged as hard as she could to no avail.

Looking around, Derpy spotted a rusted knife and grabbed it, she then flew up to the strand and proceeded to cut, but to her surprise the strand broke the second the knife touched it, sadly the knife disintegrated as the cocoon fell to the ground.

Derpy panicked as the cocoon fell to the ground and she raced to grab it, just as Derpy's hooves touched the cocoon it landed on the ground and it slowly fell apart to reveal a familiar Cybernetic unicorn who was currently unconscious. "Well that was unexpected." Derpy commented.

'A good possibility is that her cocoon was made to withstand magic but not physical contact, it's likely that Twilight and Rarity's cocoons will be like this as well.' Golden observed.

Derpy sighed and proceeded to remove the remnants of the cocoon off of Darkestlight.

_____*five minutes later*_____

Dark slowly opened her eyes only to be met by total darkness. "Ugh, where am I?" She asked quietly.

"Let your eyes adjust, it's pretty dim here." Came a familiar voice.

After a few moments Dark's eyes adjusted well enough to the light for her to somewhat see, Dark slowly say up and looked towards the source of the voice.

Dark was relieved to see Derpy leaning against a doorway. "How you holding up Dark?" She asked.

A small shock of pain went through her body at the question but Dark sighed and stood up slowly. "Well enough I suppose, cybernetics killing me but I should be fine." She replied.

Derpy nodded and looked out from the doorway. "Dark, I need to ask you something." She said randomly.

Dark was caught off guard by the question but still replied. "Okay then." She said.

Derpy looked her in the eye and sighed. "What REALLY happened to Gwen and Firefly?" She asked.

Dark froze for a moment before walking over to the old cot she woke up on. [2] "Which part?" She asked.

Derpy walks over to and old chair and sat down. "All of it." She replied.

With a sigh Dark began talking. "It started when I went out for some herbs......"

_____*Flashback, The Everfree Forest, Dark's POV (Around the same time Gwen and Firefly went searching for herbs for Roxanne)*____

Darkestlight was collecting herbs to replenish her stock before she ran out......again. 'Ok, I just need some Cragplant and I'm good to go.'

About a half hour later it had started raining, then another five minutes of gathering what she needed, Dark started to return to her makeshift home when the rain started to pour. "Better hurry, don't need to be out when the Water Goblins come out." [3] 

As Dark approached her home she heard a faint laugh come from somewhere nearby, Dark quickened her pace toward the cave when she saw something odd.

Dark rushed back to her home to discover two Rockwolves attacking a pair of sleeping Pegasi, Dark felt anger surge into her and she dropped her herbs and charged the wolves who roared in response. 

The wolf attacking the pink and blue Pegasus lunged at Dark who simply smashed it with her cybernetic legs, she prepared a magic blast as the second Rockwolf jumped at one of the rock walls and then lunged at her.

Dark released the blast and hit the wolf in the face, not enough to kill, but enough to stun, and soon enough the wolf came face to face with the wrong end of Dark's double kick.

For once Dark was glad that Rockwolves could only reform once every twenty four hours, she calmed herself down and rushed over to the pink and blue Pegasus who was closer.

Dark attempted not go vomit at the damage as she covered the Pegasus in her aura. Okay, two broken bones, one fractured wing bone, and both dislocated and mauled, I will need to work fast but I can save her.'

Once Dark finished her examination she rushed over to the other Pegasus and struggled not to black out at the sight before her.

'Oh boy.....ahh, get a hold of yourself.' She told herself as she envoloped the Pegasus in her aura. 'Okay let's see, oh boy.....Wings almost entirely destroyed except for the connectors, four broken ribs and heavy blood loss......I just might be able to save her....barely.'

Dark grabbed the destroyed Pegasus gently in her aura and slowly moved her further into the cave but not to far from then the other. 'This is going to be near impossible, just hold on.' 

The rest of the night for Dark was spent stabilizing the one Pegasus and mending the other one's wounds, but the random accident in the form of a small stone giant blocked the pink Pegasus from the rest of the cave.

Dark had finally finished stabilizing the blue pegasus when she realized she needed more herbs, so she applied a healing ointment that had a sleep effect. 'That should keep her asleep until I can get back.' [4] 

_____*End of flashback*_____

Derpy and Dark sat in silence after the story was finished, but after a while Derpy spoke up. "What about after that?" She asked.

Dark sighed. "I went back to gather herbs and when I got back Gwen and Firefly were already moving." She replied.

"Alright, I don't think it's the best time for a full blown conversation, so for now let's focus on getting out of here." Derpy suggested as she stood up and walked out.

Dark nodded and stood up, she stretched briefly before following Derpy.

_____*two hours later (In short it was just a lot of wandering around the maze, Roxanne found Trapper's crystal and that's it*____

"GWEN," Shouted an over excited Derpy.

Roxanne smiled at the reunion while Fang simply rolled his eyes while staring at a strangely familiar box, Dark and Firefly shared a brief conversation and if Golden was out in the open she was positive he would kill himself.

'KILL ME!' Golden screamed. [5] (You gonna suffer man!)

Derpy chuckled at Golden's expense and released Gwen from the hug. "So Gwen.....What's your crazy power?" She asked jokingly.

"Firefly is now a living lightning rod." Gwen teased while Firefly gave her a raspberry.

"And I can raise the dead." She said simply.

Derpy chuckled. "I always did know you would wake the dead one day." She said.

Fang had enough of the small talk clearly and cleared his throat. "If you don't mind, I would prefer it if we focused on getting our of here?" He suggested.

At this everyone walked to the main room while giving Fang a weird look which made him shake his head.

"Why me?" Fang sighed.

> The Grayroot Forest Part six: The group and the change.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*Fifteen minutes later, Temple of Jandoka, the main room*______

Darkestlight sighed as Fang argued with Derpy over which door they should take, they had already gone through one of the doors which led to the treasury, there they found Lightning Dust and another amulet along with some gold.

While it was nice that the group was getting larger, Lightning Dust had sought to frustrate Fang to no end which removed the clear thinker of the group leaving it up to her to get things done. 

'Okay, let me see......there are three doors left, one of them is bound to have an exit, but the others probably have Twilight and Rarity, so....which door?.....okay, from what I can tell, Firefly can use lightning and disperse golden seals, Roxanne can use fire and disperse white seals, Derpy has that weird psychic thing and can open purple seals, and Gwen can raise the dead and disperse green seals.' 

As the group argued over which path to take, Dark walked over to one of the three remaining doors that had fire seal, she looked at Roxanne and motioned her over, the fox raised an eyebrow but came anyway.

"What is it?" Roxanne asked.

"I looked at the remaining doors and noticed that this is the only door that we can open, so have at it." She said.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and walked up to the door, she raised her arms and touched the seal while releasing a small amount of white flame, making the seal dissipate.

Dark looked back at the group and saw that Fang and Derpy were still arguing, Dark rolled her eyes and opened the door then walked through with Roxanne close behind.

_____*unknown room*_____

The room that Roxanne and Dark entered was rectangular in nature, it had white stone walls, towering columns that reached up to the roof,  and a white stone floor and ceiling, there were red banners with gold lining with a matching carpet, there was a path that the carpet made down between the columns.

Roxanne couldn't help but admire the room as she walked down the pathway with Dark. "Nice architecture, it's amazing that the changelings could build all of this." Dark said.

"I don't think the changelings built this place......look at these columns." She placed a hand on one and she could literally feel the strength in it. 

Dark placed a hoof on a column. "What makes you say that?" She asked.

Roxanne let a small smile show as she looked around the room. "This is Greek architecture, a civilization back on Earth, there is no way the changelings built all this." She explained. [1]

Dark shrugged and walked down the pathway while looking around.

Roxanne chuckled at something that Dark's curiosity reminded her of....her past self.

'I was so curious back then, I just needed to know everything.' 

After a short time, Dark and Roxanne came across four rooms with two on the left and two on the right, Dark and Roxanne shared a grin before splitting up to search the rooms.

Roxanne walked up to one of the rooms on the left and went inside, the room itself was small and had only one bookshelf and a bench, the only interesting thing in the room was a small chest on the bookshelf.

Roxanne walked up to the chest and pulled it off of the shelves, she set it down on the bench and opened it, inside the chest was a pendant and ring, both with the symbol of a dragon.

Taking the items from the chest, Roxanne shrugged and walked out of the room to search some more.

Inside the other room was simply a replica of the previous except it had a peculiar painting of a church, Roxanne eyed it with suspicion and walked up to it, she pulled the painting down and saw a vault with a lock in the shape of a star.

"What kind of lock is that?" She wondered.

Roxanne simply sighed before walking out of the room to meet up with Dark who was levitating a key that was made of bronze. "What did you find.....other then a key?" She asked.

Dark shook her head. "Just the key, you?" She asked hopefully.

Roxanne presented the ring and pendant to Dark who eyed them with familiar curiosity. "Let's continue, maybe we can find something else?" Dark suggested.

Roxanne nodded then walked up to the door to the next room and walked inside. 'Hope the others are having better luck.'

_____*meanwhile at the main group*______

Firefly sighed as Fang and Derpy continued their argument, she looked around the group only to notice that Dark and Roxanne were gone, along with the seal on one of the doors.

After what felt like a long time to Firefly, enough was enough, she faced Derpy and Fang and stomped her hoof on the ground. "THATS ENOUGH YOU INSUFFERABLE IDIOTS!" She shouted.

The group recoiled from Firefly's unexpected burst and all had looks of shock on their faces. 

When Firefly realized that she had their attention she calmed down and took a quick breath. "Now, instead of arguing we should be working together.....and seeing that Dark and Roxanne decided to continue without us we should get moving." She paused.

She looked at the only openable door remaining and saw that it had a purple seal, she turned to face the group. "Alright Derpy, go through that door over there with the others and see what you can find, I'll go find Dark and Roxanne." She stated before going through the door that was unsealed.

The remaining members of the group simply stood there slack jawed until Derpy broke out of it. "Might as well." She said simply.

Dust huffed. "Who put her in charge?" She asked herself.

Gwen scratched the back of her head and chuckled. "I guess she put herself in charge." She replied

Fang however remained silent as the others began walking through the next door after Derpy unsealed it, he silently walked forward after them until it happened.

Another vision appeared for Fang as the world once again changed, but instead of fire it seemed that the world went back In time as the faded and damaged walls fixed themselves and soon enough there was people of all kinds, Griffins, changelings and even ponies! Fang looked around and saw that there were guards, civilians, scholars, and the occasional cultist by the looks of one particular case, the main thing Fang immediately noticed about this vision was that it lasted much longer than his previous ones, he also noticed that every single person he saw either had a talisman or bracelet with the symbol of Jandoka.

It was at this moment that Fang realized something. 'What If these flashes are glimpses of the past?' He wondered.

The vision came to an end as the world seemed to revert back to normal, Fang tested his fingers by making them into a fist before following the group while the memory of what just happened lingered in his mind.

"Strange." He said quietly.

_____*meanwhile with Dark and Roxanne.*_____

Roxanne lept back as an axe swung downwards towards her, she then rolled to the left and then rushed the side of her mindless foe while dismantling its remaining armor.

As soon as Dark and Roxanne entered the room, a large gray stone door opened and released a squad of armored changeling and unicorn zombies.

The changelings seemed to favor weapon usage while the unicorns used what small amount of magic they had for magic blasts.

And so the pair split up to divide the zombies, unfortunately for Roxanne, three more unicorn zombies showed up and rushed her, and they also had an annoying immunity to her flames. 

Roxanne at one point decided to rush them, but the unicorn zombies all fired one at a time which resulted in never ending magic blasts, fortunately they were not very bright as Roxanne used one of the two changeling zombies as a shield which resulted in a much needed bath for the fox.

Roxanne took a brief moment to look over at Dark who was still battling the unicorn zombie and its zombie changeling friend. 'Ok, either I take these guys out or hold out until Dark finishes those two off so she can help, meanwhile I need to handle the four unicorn zombies and the single changeling zombie.....I really wish Fang was here, this is more his thing.' 

The zombies that Roxanne was facing began another assault on her as the changeling rushed forth recklessly, Roxanne braced herself as the changeling reached her and raised its axe.

The axe came down and Roxanne dodged, she then rushed it before dodging the magic blasts from the unicorns that she had predicted, she then dodged the uppercut from the changelings axe before getting down to all fours, she then rushed the changelings side again but this time she quickly stopped before spinning so her back was turned to the changeling, she raised her legs and kicked the unsuspecting changeling.....and to her annoyance more blood splattered onto her coat. "Damnit!" She cursed as another volley of magical blasts raced past her.

At this point Roxanne was breathing heavily, she then began to dodge again as more blasts soared past. 'I'm barely dodging these, that last one barely grazed my fur.'

Roxanne looked over to Dark who seemed to have defeated the changeling. 'How can she have only killed one!?' She looked back at the zombie unicorns and sighed. "Here we go again." She muttered.

The zombies began to charge their horns when they were suddenly struck by lightning. "What the fuck!?" Roxanne cursed.

To Roxanne's confusion and surprise the zombies all died at once after being electrocuted.

"Looks like I got here just in time." Came a familiar and overconfident voice.

Roxanne sighed as she turned around to see Firefly standing there with a big grin plastered on her face. "Miss me?" She said quietly.

"If you mean your annoying grin, then no, if you mean you in person......ehh give it time." Roxanne teased.

Firefly shrugged and walked over to Roxanne, she reached out with a hoof.

Roxanne chuckled and accepted the hoof as she stood up, she heard Dark groan and looked over to see her trying to get zombie blood out of her hair, Roxanne then stifled a laugh as a joke came to mind, she cleared her throat quietly and walked over to Dark.

"Come now darling, you simply must get that.....goop, out of your hair, it's very unladylike." Roxanne said in exact replication of Rarity's voice. [1]

Dark and Firefly apparently got the joke and started laughing, Roxanne then joined them in it. 

After the group stopped laughing, Firefly looked at Roxanne. "That was really good Roxanne." She said.

Roxanne chuckled. "Eh, it might be a side effect of what happened to me.....also I talked to the co-author and she wanted me to do a Rarity impression." She explained simply. [2]

Firefly and Dark raised an eyebrow at this. "You talked to who?" Firefly asked.

Roxanne shrugged. "I don't know, so let's keep going." She said apparently obviously faking ignorance.....Dark and Firefly did not buy it.

_____*meanwhile with the group.*_____

Fang and the others hit a bit of a snag, they had continued quite smoothly until they entered the room they were in currently, from reasons unknown, iron gates slammed down in front of all exits, effectively trapping them in, and so Fang was currently trying to make out a mysterious tablet that seemed like a puzzle, he had little trouble with the edges but found that the rest was a lot tougher.

Derpy and the others tried to lift the iron gates off of the doors but they did not budge, and so they all were reduced to waiting as Fang worked on the puzzle.

The puzzle itself seemed to be the three races that dwelled in this place, the Griffins, the changelings and the ponies. "Why does this place have to be so annoying?" Fang mumbled quietly as he placed a puzzle piece in the correct spot.

Around twenty minutes passed and soon a loud click was heard as Fang placed the last piece in its place as the tablet descended into the floor causing Fang to gulp.

The group all got up and looked around but found nothing.....until stone grating against stone was heard near where the tablet was.

Fang looked to his left and watched as a small pedestal rose up from the ground that had a brown gem on a small claw like holder, Fang carefully picked the gem up and the second he did the iron gates rose up to open the path back up. "Looks like we can go." Fang said while looking at the gem.

_____*meanwhile at Dark, Roxanne and Firefly*_____

Firefly walked along the path with the others and soon they came across a massive stone door at the end with a white seal. "Well this just screams trap." She commented.

Roxanne nodded and walked up to the door before releasing a short burst of flame into the seal making it dissipate. "let's go." She said.

Dark and Firefly nodded and they walked up to the massive door and the trio began to push.

Either the door had old hinges or it was just plain lighter than expected did not matter, as the door simply fell over instead of opening, with a loud bang it landed on the ground and scared the trio half to death.

Firefly was first to fully recover after their ears stopped ringing. "Well that was anticlimactic." She commented.

Roxanne rolled her eyes after she recovered and walked inside the room with Firefly behind her.

The room itself was grand, it had beutiful red carpet and tapestry with gold trimmings, a large set of stairs stood at the end of the room with banners at the top, the banners themselves were similar to the carpet and tapestry except they had the symbol of a dragon on them.

Dark finally recovered and stared to follow them but a powerful force came from out of nowhere and knocked her back and into a stone pillar rendering her unconscious as she slumped down to the ground.

"DARK!" Roxanne and Firefly screamed as a force field barred the way between them and their friend.

A loud set of footsteps instantly got the attention of the two trapped friends as they turned around to reveal a blue drake with emerald eyes standing on his hind legs and appeared to be carrying some kind of halberd.

"Trespassers.....and you carry the powers of Jandoka, speak your names and purpose here." The drake ordered.

Seeing as they could probably get out of this without a fight.....and would most likely lose against a dragon, they complied.

Firefly was the first to reply. "My name is Firefly, and I was trapped down here with several others by a changeling named Vulture." She replied.

The drake's left eye slightly twitched at Vulture's name but kept his expression neutral as Roxanne spoke.

"I'm Roxanne, and my story is the same as Firefly's, along with the others I was trapped here." She said.

The drake sighed and looked at Dark who was outside the barrier. "And the machine?" It asked, pointing at Dark.

"She isn't a machine, she just has cybernetics, her name is Darkestlight, but we call her Dark." Firefly said.

The drake took a step down the stairs and slammed the halberd on them. "Very well, then explain why you have the corrupted elements about you." It ordered.

"Opened a chest." Firefly and Roxanne said in perfect sync.

The drake's left eye twitched at those words. "You have got to be joking." He groaned.

Firefly decided that now would be a good time for a quick question of her own. "Hey uh....if it's not to much trouble, what's your name?" She asked,

The question clearly gave the drake paused as it put a claw to its chin in contemplation, it then looked at Firefly. "I have no idea." The drake said out of confusion.

Now it was Roxanne's turn for her left eye to twitch. "How do yo-nevermind, what happens now?" She asked.

The drake walked down to the end of the stairs and slammed its halberd down on the ground. "Now?.....you will be judged." The drake stated before leaping through the air at Roxanne.

This action clearly startled the pair but they dodged the attack.....barely.

Firefly felt her anger surge through her as lightning began to surge all over her body, the golden lightning danced all over her body and she quickly flew up at intense speed and delivered a roundhouse kick to the side of his face....only for her to be completely frozen stiff.

Roxanne looked over at Firefly and noticed the state she was in, an unfamiliar emotion surged through her as a single thought entered her mind. 'I need to protect her.' Firefly was confused by this feeling but for some reason she felt empowered, so she charged at high speeds towards the drake and built up a punch and delivered it.....right into his jaw, sending him flying and into the stairs.

The drake dropped the halberd upon landing and he looked at Roxanne with a genuine look of shock, he stood up and noticed Roxanne tense as he did.

"Relax, our fight is over." The drake said calmly.

Roxanne chuckled but did not lower her stance. "Then free Firefly." She ordered.

The drake shook its head. "No need, she is undergoing a trial of the mind, she will face her demons.....or..." He trailed off.

Roxanne growled as she got ready to attack. "Or what?" She asked in a dangerously calm voice.

The drake slowly walked forward towards Firefly. "Or she will......reset." He explained.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean?" She asked.

The drake sighed and looked at Firefly's frozen anger filled eyes. "If she fails the trial, her mind and body will go backwards, she will lose all memories and her intelligence will fade, her body will most likely be changed back to that of a young foal." The drake said.

Roxanne growled again. "Then do something." She ordered.

The drake shook its head. "I am afraid there is nothing I can do.....unless YOU would like to face the backlash, I can not save her." The drake said.

Roxanne walked over to Firefly who was still frozen in the air and put a hand on her back. "Don't worry Fire, I'm here for you." She said softly.

____*five minutes later*____

Roxanne was leaning up against a wall waiting for something to happen....the nameless drake was sitting at the bottom of the stairs with its eyes closed.

So it was a complete surprise to both of them when Firefly suddenly yelped and fell to the ground, Roxanne quickly rushed over and kneeled down to Firefly. "Are you okay?" She asked with concern.

Firefly looked like she was in shock from what just happened, when she felt Roxanne put a hand on her cheek she seemed to snap out of it. "Rox?" She asked nervously.

Roxanne gave a small smile and nodded at the question, at which Firefly let a tear out as she wrapped Roxanne in a tight hug, much to Roxanne's surprise she heard Firefly crying lightly.. "T-thank you Rox......for everything." She said softly as her body began to glow a soft blue and she was lifted into the air by unseen forces.

The drake at this point grimly watched as Firefly's form changed from a young mare.....into that of a young filly.

Roxanne was In shock by everything happening at this point, she watched as Firefly grew younger, and younger, until she was the size of Sweetie Belle.

The young Firefly gently floated down to the ground in front of Roxanne and was now asleep, Roxanne looked at her friend in shock from what she witnessed. "Firefly....." She said quietly.

The drake stood up and walked over to Roxanne who was now kneeling in front of Firefly, the drake reached out and put a claw on Roxanne's shoulder. "We must leave." He said simply.

Roxanne then reached out and picked up Firefly's unconscious form in her arms, she then faced the drake with a neutral expression. "And do what?" She asked.

The drake made a quick scan of her expression until he saw that she was serious.

"You will help me kill Jandoka, and then we will be free." The drake said simply.

Roxanne looked between the drake and the filly Firefly that she held in her arms. "And what about the others.....are you gonna 'judge' them as well?" She asked.

The drake shook his head. "No....as long as one of the elements is not corrupted we have a chance." He replied.

Roxanne then walked over to the large stone door that she had collapsed along with Dark and Firefly, the forcefield was down now though...although 'when' was a mystery, that part did not matter right now.

"Let's just get this done dragon." She said with an obvious hatred for the last word before walking out of the room.

The drake nodded and started following Roxanne. "Call me Emerald." The drake said.

> The Grayroot Forest Part seven: Magic roundup.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*The temple of Jandoka, the trial of light [1], Firefly's POV, five minutes later*____

I woke up to a strange sound that grated on my ears, I heard familiar voices around me but I couldn't place them, I opened my eyes to the sight of white fur, and for some reason I felt like I never wanted to move.

Sadly, whatever had the fur moved me and I was lifted from my place, when I stopped moving I ended up hearing voices that I could not understand, I seemed to be facing a white wall that was completely blank, I struggled to get out of the grip that I was caught in....only to be brought face to face with a large creature with white fur and fangs, that's when reality hit me......I was a prisoner and I had to get away, so I struggled even more to pry myself from the creatures grip, but my struggle seemed to amuse the creature as it giggled at my plight.

I then started demanding that the creature let me go but it only raised an eyebrow, the creature then spoke in a language that I didn't understand, at this I stopped moving and looked at the creature with curiosity and confusion.

The creature sighed and looked at me strangely, and with me being curious I decided to poke it.

Thankfully the creature didn't seem offended as I poked its arm, something in the back of my mind told me that the creature was familiar but I couldn't place it.

And so I simply resolved to cross my hooves in a pout as the creature put me on its head....needless to say I was worried as to what it was doing.

____*Roxanne, Emerald and Dark's POV*____

Roxanne was completely confused when Firefly spoke a language that she didn't understand, but she chose not to dwell on it, because neither Dark or Emerald understood what the filly said.

So Roxanne simply lifted Firefly up and set the filly on her head. "Let's get moving, the sooner we find the others the sooner we can get out of here." Roxanne said.

Dark nodded and started walking towards the exit, Emerald did the same as well. 

Roxanne sighed as she looked up at Firefly who was looking around at everything in wonder. "Like the view?" She asked quietly.

Firefly looked down at her and tilted her head in confusion as she said a few words in the unknown language.

Roxanne shook her head in disbelief and followed the others. 'Here's hoping that we find a way to fix you Firefly.' 

____*the next room*____

Dark sighed as she walked alongside Emerald and Roxanne as they backtracked, she was confused as to how Firefly was a filly and why Emerald was with them. 'What happened while I was out?' She wondered as she briefly looked between Roxanne and Emerald, her thoughts were interrupted however when Firefly jumped down next to her and rubbed her muzzle against her back right leg.....much to her annoyance.

Firefly however seemed to find Dark's cybernetics fascinating as she stared at It, she then said something In the strange language that sounded like a question.

"I don't know what your saying." Dark replied simply.

Firefly blinked but did not continue her shenanigans as she started walking alongside Dark.

Roxanne couldn't help but chuckle as Firefly curiously looked around the room in awe. "So Emerald.....are you male or female?" She asked the drake.

Emerald almost tripped at the question but kept balance. "Well.....I guess I'm female, I don't know anymore....I could be a male." Replied the drake in confusion.

Roxanne's eye twitched at the reply, but she calmed down and looked at the drake closely. "I don't know either but your voice sounds feminine.....your the only other dragon I know, other than a baby male dragon." She said.

Emerald crossed arms for a moment before shrugging. "I don't care....call me male or female, i don't care honestly." Emerald replied.

Roxanne nodded and continued walking. "Eh....I guess your a male until further notice.....but don't think I forgot what you did." She warned.

Emerald nodded and continued walking. "Very well." He replied.

Dark and Firefly were confused as to what they were talking about, Dark because she didn't know what happened, and Firefly because she didn't understand any of their words.

____*back in the main room*____

Roxanne laughed quietly as she leaned against the wall watching Firefly dart across the room while Dark chased her, Firefly had decided to play tag whether they liked it or not....Emerald tried to decline but Roxanne made her point clear when she reminded him that he was on thin ice as it was, Roxanne guessed that it would be a fun way to pass the time until the others returned.

After a short time.....and four tag games later, Roxanne had stopped the game by grabbing Firefly and making her stop through a series of motions that said. "Stay and rest."

Firefly made a little pout but sat down in the middle of the floor. "Hu Koni." Firefly said in the strange language.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow but passed it off as an unintelligible language. 

"What are the others doing?" She asked quietly.

_____*Back with the group*_____

Fang and the others had gone through one of the doors and found another crystal and found a pendant with the symbol of a lion, when they returned to the puzzle room they went through another door and found two more in a square shaped room.

Fang and the others walked through the door on the left and found a puzzle that had two large floor buttons and two boulders in rope traps suspended by chains that seemed to be linked to a iron gate, the group attempted the puzzle only to find that there was a barrier that only allowed magic through, so they backtracked to the previous room.

The group soon walked through the next door only to find a large rectangular room that held two cocoons, both suspended and bound in chains and blocked by iron bars.

Fang looked around the room and found that there were four levers, two on the floor, and two on the walls.

"Alright, Gwen and Dust, go lower the levers on the walls, Derpy, you and me will use the ones on the ground." Fang said.

The group split up and pushed the levers......only for nothing to happen. "What the hell?" Fang cursed as he released the lever and the gates slight dropped....Fang's eye began visibly twitching.

"Oh you have got to be F%+#ING joking!" He swore.

Dust however found Fang's torture amusing as she busted out laughing.

Soon enough, Gwen joined in on the joke and started laughing quietly at Fang's misfortune.

Fang however did not find it very amusing as he laughed sarcastically and flipped Gwen off. "Shut up and help me!" He snapped.

The group then began experimenting with the levers around the room in different patterns until one particular pattern completely lowered the gates. 

"Finally...." Fang mumbled as he ran towards one of the walls and jumped off it towards one of the cocoons, he gripped the chain that suspended the cocoon and raised his claw.....and swung at the chains, creating a noticable crack, he repeated this action repeatedly until the chain broke and the cocoon fell to the ground. "SHIIIIIIT!" He screamed as he fell to the ground rapidly.

Gwen, Dust and Derpy seemingly oblivious to Fang's predicament, focused on the other cocoon which seemed to have an energy that slightly pushed them away...they fought against it however and began to beat on the chain which seeming to be doing little to it.

"This isn't working." Derpy said as a familiar chuckled came from her mind.

'How did you guess?....I mean, the chain is obviously made to resist magic, so you ain't doing anything.' Golden said in a patronizing tone.

Derpy mentally groaned and scratched the back of her head. 'So can you do anything about that.....and why should it matter if it negates magic?....we are using brute force.'

Golden sighed as he stood up. 'Time for a quick history lesson kid, ponies are creatures of magic....it flows through them as a life line, when you use brute force it IS less magic oriented but doesn't mean anything if there is magic negation.....not even MY psychic abilities would be of use here.'

Derpy rolled her eyes and looked back at Fang who was currently opening the cocoon that he retrieved. 'So that's why Fang and Roxanne can open these cocoons so easily....they don't have magic.'

Golden shrugged. 'I guess, but Roxanne has it now....to an extent.'

Derpy watched as Fang finished opening the cocoon to reveal a rather angry Rarity. "I'd hate to be Fang right now." She commented.

After that the group simply waited as Fang made his way towards the other cocoon, when Fang opened it they saw a pissed off Twilight....and she did NOT look happy.

"I don't think we should make jokes right now." Derpy suggested.

Gwen and Dust nodded simultaneously at the suggestion. "Sounds good." They both said.

_____*five minutes later*_____

After Fang had explained the situation to both Rarity and Twilight, the group backtracked towards the room with the stones and completed the puzzle with ease and found an old ring with the symbol of a dragon on it. 

Twilight however looked like she wanted to question everything about the building and started barraging Fang with questions about everything he found.

Fang simply tuned her out as another vision appeared and the world changed once again...the walls repaired themselves and soon there were people in the halls.

But the most noticable of them all was two ponies walking side by side, both female, one Pegasus and one unicorn, the unicorn was completely white from head to hoof, her eyes were light blue and her cutie mark was that of an eye with a red glow, the Pegasus looked like a spitting image of Gwen but instead of magenta eyes, this versions eyes were a verdant green.

Fang decided to investigate this as much as he could and followed them silently, 'Who are you?' he wondered.

The two ponies stopped at some point in the wall and waited until they were alone, once they were the unicorn spoke. "Are you ready for this Verdant?" The unicorn asked.

The Pegasus called Verdant nodded and looked around the room, making sure that they were alone, she then set her hoof on the nearby wall and tapped certain spots that pushed the stone in, the wall then began to shape itself Differently until a door was made. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be Frost, let's just go." Verdant said, before walking through the door.

Frost sighed and walked up to the door, she looked around one last time before walking inside.

Fang quickly made his way inside the room to investigate more, that was of course until the door behind him slammed shut. "Shit." He said quietly.

Fang decided to continue investigating until the vision ended, he spotted Verdant and Frost walking along a wooden pathway that seemed to lead into a......hatchery?

Confused, Fang started following the two ponies as they continued walking, it wasn't until they were inside the hatchery that they stopped beside a lavender egg with purple polka dots. "I don't know about this Frost.....sending one of our own into Equestria?.....AND blocking their natural magic?.....it isn't our way." Verdant said with worry.

Frost simply smiled softly and picked the egg up and rubbed it slightly. "Don't worry......the spell I'm putting on it will make it so only an Element of Harmony can hatch the egg....it will take time but it's better then the alternative." She replied.

Verdant nodded slowly before walking up to an orange egg with a dark green stripe down the middle. "I just don't understand why this has to be done." She said quietly.

Frost seemed to notice what she said and walked up to her with the lavender egg in her magic. "Look Verdant....the temple is falling apart, it might not seem like it but it is true, sending this egg to Equestia is the hatchlings only hope for a normal life, it's either that or we send them to Jandoka as a sacrifice." She said grimly.

Verdant sighed and looked at the Orange egg with a sad look. "And this egg?" She asked quietly.

Frost smiled and set a hoof on Verdant's shoulder. "That egg will be in the hands.....of the wolf standing behind me." She said, turning to face Fang.

Fang for one was shocked for two reasons, the first being that she knew he was there, and the second......the fact that he was pissing on the hay on the floor. "Uh.....hi?" He said nervously.

Verdant turned around and let out a startled yelp at Fang as she jumped backwards. "Frost.....what is that?" She asked.

Frost let out an all knowing grin and walked up to Fang. "This Verdant....is the creature that we have been working with." She replied.

Fang raised an eyebrow and looked at Frost in confusion. "Wait a minute....the visions were you?" He asked.

Frost nodded and walked around Fang, apparently examining him. "Yes, although I am curious as to what happens in the temple....what is it like in the future?" She asked.

Fang shrugged. "The temple is in ruins....the walls are busted and I don't even want to describe how bad some of the rooms are." He replied.

Frost seemed to sighed as she walked back to Verdant. "And how is the world outside?" She asked calmly. 

"The Grayroot Forest and the Everfree Forest are pretty much the same from what I heard....but sometimes my visions show them as if they were on fire." He replied.

Verdant visibly flinched at the mention of fire but kept her gaze on Fang. "And the corrupted elements?" She asked nervously.

Fang raised an eyebrow and sighed. "If you mean the Fire, the Lightning and the ability to summon the dead.....then i think they are fine." He replied.

Frost sighed and began pacing, but not before she set the egg down. "What is your name?" She asked.

"Fang....why?" He replied.

This time it was Verdant who replied. "We have a..plan, so to speak....we were going to give this egg to Equestria to keep Jandoka from gaining more power....the judge will see to it that the corrupted elements have bearers worthy of them, all that remains is the last minute details." She replied.

"Such as completing the ritual for you so you can get back out there." Frost said.

Fang looked at the egg that Verdant was unknowingly putting a protective hoof around and back at Frost. "So what about me....what am I supposed to do?" He asked.

Frost looked at the Orange egg and back at Fang. "Two things....one I will need to know the year back in your world and then i need you to make your way into this room back in your time." She replied.

Fang sighed and told the mare the year back in his time. "But why do I need to get into this room?" He asked.

Frost smiled and looked at the egg. "Because I will need you to take this egg with you....and if you are concerned about having a babbling baby don't be, this hatchery gives the eggs a special purpose, the hatchlings will be baby's for a short time but will quickly grow out of the infant stage and into the child stage." She explained.

Fang nodded until something else came up. "I know absolutely nothing about dragons." He replied.

Frost chuckled and walked over to a nearby wall and pushed a hidden button, which revealed a small panel with three scrolls in it. "These scrolls can tell you everything you need to know, but be warned.....do NOT and I repeat do NOT let the future element of magic read these...think of it as a dying wish." She replied.

Fang looked at Verdant and a single question came to mind. "Why do you look like my friend?" He asked calmly.

Verdant shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just a girl that got unlucky." She replied.

Frost walked up to Fang and held a hoof out which Fang shook. "I'm sorry that I can't explain more but the laws around the spell forbid it....and for what it's worth....I'm sorry that I got you involved in this." She apologized.

Verdant nodded and looked at the Orange egg. "Fang....can I make a request of you?" She asked.

Fang nodded. "What is it?"

Verdant looked at Fang with a sincere look in her eyes. "If my son ever asks.....tell him that I loved him very much, can you do that for me?" She asked quietly.

Fang paused for a moment but nodded in understanding. "Yea....i can do that." He said before disappearing.

_____*back in the real world.*_____

Fang blinked as he found himself standing in the same spot that he was at before the vision, he looked and saw the group walking forward towards the exit, but Fang turned around and headed for the spot at the wall that he saw Verdant and Frost, he then pushed the same stones that Verdant did and the wall began changing.

The group however seemed to notice and looked back only to see Fang walk into a wall.

Gwen only had one word running through her mind at this point. "Wat!?" She practically shouted.

The group made their way over and saw that the wall had a new path revealed, Gwen immediately went inside followed closely by Twilight when the pathway slammed shut behind them.

"Guys!" Derpy shouted before trying to open the wall back up with the others,

_____*inside the hatchery*_____

Fang made his way through towards the hatchery, unaware of the ponies following him....that was until he heard a familiar slam behind him, he snapped around only to see Gwen and Twilight standing behind him looking at the old pathway in shock. "What are you two doing!?" He hissed.

The two ponies laughed nervously which made Fang sigh. "Ugh, fine you can stay, but don't touch anything.......especially YOU Twilight!" He ordered.

The two ponies nodded and began following Fang who continued his walk towards the hatchery. "So Fang.....why are we here....and why do you look like you know where your going?" Twilight asked.

Fang sighed and looked at Twilight. "We are here to collect something, but my rule applies....do NOT touch anything, magic or otherwise." He ordered firmly.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, it's not like there is anything here anyway, like you said yourself, this place is nothing but dust and rubble." She said.

Fang chuckled. "Believe what you will, I never said that." He replied as they entered the hatchery.

The hatchery itself was a large circular room with stone walls and hay on the group to act as resting spots, Fang looked around and soon spotted a certain egg. "There you are." He said quietly before heading towards the Orange egg.

Twilight looked at what Fang was talking about and gasped in excitement at the sight. "Oh my gosh oh my gosh!" She practically squealed out of pure excitement.

Gwen raised an eyebrow at what she saw, Fang had carefully picked up the egg while Twilight was bouncing around like a school filly. "What are you two getting so excited about....it's just an egg." She said.

In what felt like a split second Twilight was next to Gwen and looked her right in the eye. "This isn't any old egg Gwen.....it's a Dragon egg!" She said happily.

Fang rolled his eyes and walked over to the wall that Frost had opened that secret panel, he pushed the button and he took the three scrolls from them before walking over to Twilight and Gwen.

"Let's go, we got what we came for." Fang said calmly.

Twilight eyed the scrolls with suspicion and curiosity but what Fang said next stopped her train of thought. "You are not reading these scrolls Twilight.....unless you want to disrespect a dying wish." He warned.

Gwen was entirely confused but said nothing.

Twilight whined at the thought of unknown knowledge that was hidden from her......and front of her face at that! "Not even a little peek?" She asked pleadingly along with the best puppy dog eyes she had.

If Fang was a stone hearted killer he could ignore the plea but seeing Twilight's cute little stair he began to crack. 'Why did these ponies have to be so damn cute!?'

Finally however Fang relented a little bit. "How about this Twilight....I will make copies of certain bits and pieces of it every week until you have the entire thing.....the dying wish did say for you to NOT read these scrolls, so in truth I am not betraying it." He reasoned.

Twilight seemed to be ecstatic about it though until she paused and looked at Fang. "Wait a minute.....how did you know about all of this anyway?.....and who gave you that dying wish?" She questioned.

Fang sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Look, recently I have been having visions, and  in the most recent vision I found two particular ponies." He said. "An entirely white unicorn with light blue eyes and a seemingly normal eye with a red glow cutie mark, she was called Frost, and a Pegasus that was the spitting image of Gwen....the only difference aside from personality was the eyes, which were a verdant green, her name was Verdant." He explained.

Twilight and Gwen were now listening intently as Fang told his tale, Twilight didn't seem to believe most of it but the more Fang talked the more realistic it seemed.

When Fang finished his tale, Twilight had an immediate question. "But why did Frost want you to keep the scrolls from me?" She asked.

Fang shrugged. "I don't know, she may have believed that you couldn't handle it or something." He replied.

Gwen cleared her throat and got the attention of her friends. "Don't you think it would be best if we got out of here first?.....you two can talk it up all you want afterwards." She said before walking towards the exit.

Fang and Twilight both shared a nod and followed their friend out of the room. "So Fang.....it seems like your going to have a baby dragon of your own to take care of now." She said in a slightly teasing manner.

"Don't remind me.....taking care of kids back at Freddy's was hard enough....now I have a permanent resident." He groaned.

Gwen chuckled and looked at Fang with a serious glare. "When this is over.....you ARE getting a job so you can take care of him, I don't mind you in the basement but I'll be damned if I have to take care of myself, you and Roxanne, AND the baby dragon." She stated firmly.

Fang nodded at this and a thought hit him. "I guess I'll head to the treasury after we get back to the main room, at least I can get a head start." He said.

With that the group left the hatchery and joined up with the others, they then resumed walking to the main room.

_____*the main room*_____

Roxanne was leaning up against the wall talking with Emerald about how to defeat Jandoka, who apparently was a beast of discord....a creature of near God-like powers and near immortality, but much like all unstoppable juggernauts, Jandoka had a weakness...there were five pendants that, when combined would send a magic blast into Jandoka, weakening him long enough to kill him.

"Why haven't you tried this before?" She asked the drake. 

Emerald shrugged.  "It was not my place, and besides......Jandoka can not be killed without the corrupted elements and I did not have them." He replied.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and felt something tap her left leg, she looked down and saw Firefly looking at her. "Koni an julo." She said.

"I don't know what that means." She told the filly.

Firefly seemed to understand that Roxanne didn't understand and put her hoof to her stomach before slowly chomping her teeth. "Your hungry?" She asked the filly.

Firefly tilted her head in confusion at Roxanne's words. "Tu hac kos Koni?" She asked in cunfusion.

Roxanne started to get the feeling that the word 'Koni' meant something, but she couldn't place it.

Her thoughts were interrupted however when one of the doors opened to reveal all of the others, which included Rarity and Twilight now, also Fang seemed to be holding some kind of egg, she also failed to noticed Emerald almost passing out.

"Hey guys." She said calmly.

Gwen however seemed to be the only one to notice the filly Firefly right off the back.....it also seemed to be the biggest shock to her as she fell down on the spot.

"Not a big fan of kids or dragons Gwen?" Roxanne teased.

"....We need to talk Roxanne." Gwen mumbled.

Fang looked at Emerald and Emerald at Fang.....they seemed to be locked in the stare off of the century. "Why do you have a dragon egg?" Asked Emerald.

Fang sensed the opportunity to shut everyone up all at once. "....I am a father now." He said simply.

The sound of a record being stopped filled the room and Gwen looked at Roxanne who shrugged. "That was awkward." Roxanne stated.
> The Grayroot Forest Part eight: The arena and the translation.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Temple of Jandoka, the main room*_____

The large group stood around the main room currently discussing everything that needed discussed. "So.....Emerald knocked Dark out and attacked you and Firefly, and sometime in the fight, Emerald trapped Firefly inside of a trial for the mind, she failed and now she is a filly and we have this psycho drake with us now?" Gwen wondered.

Roxanne nodded and Gwen gave Emerald a pissed off glare. "I know that your giving me a glare of hatred....stop it." Emerald said before continuing his talk with Fang.

After ten minutes the group walked up to the final door and the seal on it disappeared. "Here goes nothing." Roxanne mumbled.

____*the next room*____

Roxanne and the group excluding Emerald dropped their jaws at the massive room before them, they were currently inside of a small box like room overlooking a massive arena that had a sandstone appearance, Roxanne walked up to the glass that was between them  and the arena. "Like the view Firefly?" She asked quietly.

Firefly titled her head and looked out the window. "Penk ap nie Koni?" She asked in her strange langauge.

At this point and time, Roxanne really wanted to know what 'Koni' meant, because the filly always said it in some way.

Roxanne instead opted to look around while Firefly looked into the arena, the room that she was in with the group was nothing special, it had sandstone walls and two wooden doors along with some chairs for viewing, Roxanne looked at Emerald. "What's with the arena?" She asked.

Emerald walked over to one of the wooden doors and opened it. "It's where sacrifices are giving to Jandoka in return for his protection and wisdom, or so I'm told." He replied.

Fang walked up to the opposite door and opened it, he walked through and was soon followed by Twilight and Gwen.

Derpy soon followed the others and Dust followed them, leaving Rarity with Roxanne, Emerald, Dark and Firefly. "Well.....now what?" Rarity asked.

Roxanne looked at Emerald who was standing just outside the door, she sighed and walked over to Emerald after making sure that Firefly was following.

"Guess we follow the silent group." Dark suggested as she started following Roxanne. 

Rarity looked back at the other group and saw that they were already halfway across, sighing, Rarity followed the group of misfits. "I was better off back home." She grumbled.

____*two minutes later, halfway through the spectator boxes.*____

Dark and the others entered the next box and noticed a gold seal, Roxanne sighed and went to leave when a pitch black seal blocked their path back. "Typical." She muttered.

Rarity eyed the seal with suspicion as Roxanne walked over to it. "How are we supposed to open this when Firefly is a filly!?" She snapped at Emerald who had suggested breaking it.

Emerald sighed and walked up to the seal. "Listen.....even though Firefly is a filly she still has her powers....simply let me channel them and we may pass." He explained.

Roxanne looked at Firefly who was poking the seal with interest, seeing no other option, she relented. "Fine, but hurt that filly and you will regret it." She warned before pausing. 'Where did that come from?' She asked herself.

Emerald nodded and walked up to the seal, he held his claw out to Firefly and beckoned her to take it, the filly was reluctant however and looked Roxanne, who nodded, with this, Firefly slowly took the drake's claw and Emerald began the channel.

Emerald's body reacted violently to Firefly's Lightning and he quickly released it to the seal, making it dissipate. "Wow that hurt...." The drake commented as he stood back up.

Roxanne walked up to Firefly and the filly looked at her. "You alright?" She asked the filly.

Firefly blinked and tilted her head. 

Roxanne sighed and stood back up, realizing the filly could not understand her. "Come on, let's keep moving, don't want to be left behind." She said.

With that the group continued through the boxes at a steady pace, until.....

The group entered another box and saw an unfamiliar blue seal on the opposite door, and once they walked through, a black seal barred their way back. "Wasn't one seal bad enough!?" Rarity complained.

Roxanne chuckled and looked around the box for anything they could use, and to her surprise there was another cocoon. "Must be Skitter." He said to no one in particular.

Dark watched as Roxanne walked up to the cocoon and ripped it open, soon after the cocoon was opened, Roxanne pulled a familiar changeling out of the cocoon. "You alright Skitter?" Roxanne asked out of concern.

Skitter said nothing as she got the remaining webs of of her carapace, she then made her way to a nearby wall and sat down slowly. "No, my friends betrayed me and I woke up in an unknown location in a cocoon after being dropped down a massive pit fall, then I wake up again in a strange place with a fox asking me if I'm fine.....so no I am NOT ok." She hissed.

Skitter rested her head on the wall and looked around the room, she saw Dark and Rarity which was good, she looked a little bit more and her jaw dropped. "Dragon!" She yelled As she started to panic,

Roxanne rushed and up and attempted to calm Skitter down. "Whoa whoa whoa, calm down he's with us." Roxanne said calmly.

After Skitter took a few deep breaths, she looked at Emerald who just seemed annoyed by the noise. "Sorry." She said quietly as she rested her head on the wall, that was when she heard a small set of hooves coming towards her, she peeked an eye open and saw a pink Pegasus filly with a blue mane and no cutie mark. "Firefly!?" She exclaimed.

Firefly tilted her head and blinked. "Wop Ki xo?" She asked in the strange langauge.

Skitter chuckled. "Ao la Chnao." She replied in the same tongue.

Roxanne's eyes widened at this. "You can understand her?" She asked in wonder.

Skitter nodded. "It's the language of the Changelings, Firefly was the only other one in our little gang that truly bothered to learn it entirely.....I can get you a Changeling to Equis dictionary if you want?" She offered.

Roxanne shook her head. "No thanks.....I don't think I could handle speaking that language." She replied as she looked at the filly.

Firefly then looked at Roxanne and waved. "Li Koni!" She said happily.

Skitter then burst out laughing when Roxanne raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?" Roxanne asked.

The changeling then looked at Roxanne with a grin. "You......are a mom." She replied.

Roxanne then did something that any sane person would do at the news......she fainted and fell backwards.

____*over with Fang and his group.*____

Fang leaned against the wall of the box as his companions walked around the room, they hadn't encountered anything on the way except a few seals, other then that it simply the view of the arena.

The final box had sealed itself on both sides, the side they entered from had an unknown black seal and the one that Roxanne's group went through had a gold seal.....which begged the question.

"What is keeping the others?" Fang wondered silently as he waited.

____*back with Roxanne.*____

"Roxanne wake up!" Dark said as she shook the unconscious fox.

Rarity looked at Skitter with a cross look. "Why would you say that lie!?" She accused.

Skitter put her hooves in the air in mock surrender. "Don't shoot the messenger/translator!" She shouted.

Rarity was not amused as she lit her horn up. "Liar." She said simply.

Skitter sighed and crossed her arms. "First off, i don't lie.....never had too, and secondly, I was simply translating what Firefly said, you don't like it?....get another translator." She replied.

Emerald stepped in between the two and looked at Rarity. "Listen, we don't have time for this, and until we defeat Jandoka and get out of here we should work together, settle your differences outside." He said firmly.

A groan from Roxanne told the group to hold their conversation another time as they looked over to the waking fox.

Roxanne rubbed her eyes and sat up. "Ok, that was unexpected, but maybe we should withhold unnecessary translations for later." She suggested.

Skitter stood up and shrugged. "Na, much more fun to tell you everything." She said with a grin.

Roxanne sighed and walked up to the blue seal. "Any idea what this seal is for Emerald?" She asked.

Emerald shook his head, he raised an eyebrow as he saw Skitter walk up to the seal and put her hoof on it, the seal then flickered and disappeared. "Let's move." Skitter said as she continued through the door, leaving a speachless group behind.

"How did She?...." Roxanne asked out of shock.

Emerald sighed and followed Skitter. "Let's just get this done." He said simply.

____*two minutes later.*_____

Fang was counting the bricks in the room when the gold seal disappeared and Roxxane's group entered.....along with a familiar face. "Hey Skittle, how you holding up?" Gwen teased.

Skitter laughed sarcastically and walked in the room. "Shut it Gwen.......and I'm holding up just fine." She retorted.

Roxanne walked over to Famg with a disturbed expression. "Hey Fang." She said simply.

Fang noticed something wrong with his partners face and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you ok Roxanne?" He asked with worry,

Roxanne nodded and looked down to the filly at her legs. "Yea......uh Fang, I might have something to tell you." She said slowly.

Roxanne took a deep breath and looked Fang straight in the eyes. "Fang......I'm a mother." She said plainly.

Fang's eyes widened and he immediately took a step back. "I didn't do it!" He proclaimed.

The entire group paused and looked at Fang out of confusion. "Didn't do what?" Derpy asked.

Fang laughed nervously as he put his left hand behind his head and closed his eyes. "Uh, you know, it's nothing, really......don't mind me." He said dismissively.

With that the group continued their talk and Roxanne sighed. "I didn't mean like that you imbecile....I'm talking about her!" She stated quietly while pointing at Firefly.

Fang looked in shock as he looked between Firefly and Roxanne. ".....I don't want to know." He finally said.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and looked at the door to leave and saw a mix between, blue, green, gold, white and purple.

"Guess we need to use all of our abilities to break this seal." Roxanne observed as the group walked up.

Emerald put his hand on the seal and nodded. "It would appear so." He agreed.

With that, Gwen and Derpy flew up higher and started to release a small flow of their power into the seal, Roxanne, Skitter, Firefly and Emerald all did the same on the ground. "Let's hope this works."  Roxanne muttered.

Soon enough the seal started to flicker and the group soon walked through the door, the next room was simply a stairwell that led down, the group walked down the stairwell and found a single door at the bottom, Fang shrugged and entered the room beyond the door.

_____*the next room.*_____

Fang entered what appeared to be some kind of armory, there was weapons and armor lying around, Fang ignored it however and made his way towards the door at the far end, but the closer he got, Fang could have sworn he was hearing......cheering? 

'What in the world?' He wondered as he reached his hand out towards the door and just as he opened it......another vision enveloped the world.

Fang entered the arena and looked around, the arena was in pristine condition, the walls were a smooth black and the spectator boxes were instead rows upon rows of seat and were a smooth black like the walls, there was also a massive crowd that was cheering loudly, Fang could just barely make out Verdant and Frost amongst the crowd, Fang and heard metal grinding and he saw a rather large metal gate lowering to reveal a Minotaur thundering out of the gate......right towards Fang. "Oh shit." He said with wide eyes as he rolled out of the way off the Minotuar's charge.

Fang heard a loud voice as the Minotuar continued its mindless charge. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!.....WELCOME TO THE RING OF SACRIFICE!.....OUR CONTENDER TODAY IS A NEWCOMER, A SENTIENT WOLF NAMED FANG!...HIS OPPONENT IS IRON HEAD THE HAMMERHEAD!" [1] The announcer proclaimed loudly as the crowed cheered.

Fang rolled his eyes at the Minotuar's name and title but still took care to dodge the charges of his opponent, once Iron Head had passed by from a charge, Fang charged up and ran up the Minotuar's back, once there he then proceeded to deliver a powerful punch to the back of the Minotuar's head.

Iron Head let out a grunt of pain but soon grabbed Fang off his back and threw him across the room.

Fang flew back and hit the wall, it was then that he finally realized something. 'Wait.....am I ACTUALLY here?....how didn't I see that?' He mentally cursed himself as he got back up and did his dance around the Minotuar. [2]

After a few more repeats of his first strategy, the Minotuar fell over and the crowd burst into cheers. "AMAZING LADIES AND GENTLEMEM! THE NEWCOMER HAS JUST DEFEATED VETERAN IN THE RING! PERHAPS HE WILL BE HUMBLED BY THE SAGE HIMSELF.....OLD GARNE!" The announcer proclaimed and the crowd began cheering loudly.

The gates opened again but this time, an old Unicorn stallion slowly stepped out and immediately got into a lotus posistio not on the ground. "Just because I cannot fight, does not mean that my friends can't help me." The sage said calmly as an energy barrier formed around him and four magical creatures formed around him.

"Defeat my friends.....and you may continue." The sage stated.

Fang looked amongst the creatures and identified their species, a large bear, a proud Phoenix, a fierce tiger, and a powerful drake, they were all ethereal and had a starry appearance about them. 

"Well this ain't fair." Fang muttered as the four creatures charged,

Fang dodged the creatures attacks.....barely, as they came down around him, never giving him a moments peace, the one thing he did notice though was that Garne wasn't moving, the idea to attack Garne immediately entered Fang's head but then he had another idea, but for now he continued to dodge.

The fight went on like that for a few minutes, with the four creatures attacking and Fang dodging....until Fang make his move.

Fang dodged the drake's attack and just as the Phoenix attacked, Fang grabbed the Tigers claw and picked the beast up, and just as quickly he swung the tiger into the Phoenix which destroyed them both.

Just as the bear went to attack, Fang jumped over it and slammed down on its spine, which destroyed the beast, leaving just the drake.

The drake was strong, yes, but with its friends, it was powerful, take its friends away and it was noticeably easier, as Fang simply grabbed and twisted its arm and delivered a powerful swipe to the creatures head.

Garne opened his eyes and looked at Fang. "You are the victor, it is not often that I find one strong enough to defeat my friends....but even more so, that I find one not willing to attack me to ensure a quick victory." The sage bowed towards Fang before leaving the arena.

"AND THAT'S HOW YOU END A MATCH FOLKS! AND FOR DEFEATING THESE TWO CHAMPIONS, THE NEWCOMER HAS EARNED THE RIGHT TO FACE OFF AGAINST ONE OF THE CHOSEN ACOLYTES......PUT YOUR HANDS, CLAWS, HOOVES OR TALONS TOGETHER FOR........DRAXOL, THE IMMOLATOR!" The announcer proclaimed proudly as the crowd went absolutely wild.

The gates opened and soon a large white Salamander standing upright entered the arena, the salamander gave Fang a glare before releasing a torrent of white flames.

"Oh shit!" Fang shouted as he ran from the flames. 

'This stuff is exactly like Roxanne's flame!.....but this guy seemed to have extensive training with it as he made a hawk out of white flame, which immediately started firing off fireballs.

Fang then realized something, if this fire was like Roxanne's.....he knew what to do! "Here goes nothing." Fang mumbled as he charged towards Draxol. 

Draxol and the crowd seemed both shocked and surprised at this action but Draxol quickly started flinging more flame at Fang.

Fang dodged as much flame as he could while making his way towards Draxol, and once he finally reached the salamander he grabbed his arm and started to beat up the salamander with quick and painful punches. "Why." Draxol started before getting a punch to the face.

"Won't." Another punch.

"You." And another.

"BURN!?" Draxol finished his question with a shout.

Fang punched the salamander onto the ground and knelt down, he grabbed the salamander by the throat and looked him right in the eye. "Because I know how those flames work.....and it was because you rely on them that you failed." He finished before dropping him to the floor.

"....IS DEFEATED, THE NEWCOMER HAS EARNED THE RIGHT TO NAMED CHAMPION OF THIS RING!" The announcer shouted as Fang walked towards the metal gate and the vision ended.

____*Ten minutes later*____

"Hey guys you got to come see this!" Shouted Gwen.

The group ran up to Gwen and looked at what she was pointing at, it was a large stone commemorating the champions of the ring of sacrifice, one name in particular caught everyone's attention.......'Fang', the undefeated champion.

> The Grayroot Forest Part nine: Jandoka.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Temple of Jandoka, ten minutes later, Firefly's POV*_____

I looked around with curiosity as we entered a strange room beyond the metal gate, the changeling told me not to worry when the wolf vanished for a time, only to reappear moments later with bruises and burn marks.....kinda hard not to worry about that.

But I didn't want to cause trouble so I kept quiet, it was a bit strange how the changeling seemed to laugh whenever I said mom but I didn't ask why.

I looked around the room and saw that the walls had a sand like appearance, it was simply a hallway with a door at each end, I was curious about where we were so I looked at the changeling. "Where are we?" I asked.

The changeling shrugged. "I think we are at the temple of Jandoka, at least that's what I was told." She told me.

I tilted my head and walked up next to her. "Who's that?" I asked.

The changeling seemed to pause for a moment before walking again. "I'm not sure, apparently he's a god, or the next best thing.....either way we need to get rid of him to get out of here." She explained.

I nodded and continued walking, I looked at the group we had and my eyes rested on the cyborg, a question came to my mind. 'What happened to your legs?' I wondered.

____*twenty minutes later. (Yes yes I know, why so many time jumps......because I want to use them damnit!*_____

Derpy walked into the next room and looked around, the walls were a smooth black with dark green runes along the walls, there was a set of stairs that led up and one that went down, Fang immediately suggesting that they head up, Derpy rolled her eyes at that. "It can't be that simple." She muttered quietly.

'Let him hope, there might be something up there anyway.' Golden said.

Derpy chuckled and followed the group upstairs. "This place will drive me mad." She mumbled.

The upstairs seemed to have an entrance to the outside but was collapsed, other then that there was a single chest with three locks, two small circular holes and one keyhole, Emerald suggested using the rings and the key on it, to the surprise of the group, the chest let out a satisfying click and Emerald opened the chest, inside the chest was a strange rectangular bronze gem with a white sliver of light dancing around inside it.

Fang eyed the gem with curiosity, what surprised him however was when Emerald gave him the gem. "What are you?...." 

Emerald silenced him with a glare. "This gem has magical properties, and I won't be able to find out what they are, so take it and find out what it does......or so that I don't end up eating it." He joked as he set the gem in Fang's hand.

Fang looked at the dragon egg in his arms and back at the gem, he sighed and walked over to a nearby cabinet, he opened it up and to his fortune, there was a short thin chain that he wrapped around the gem, once it was secured he put the chain on his arm and the gem rested right below his shoulder. "Let's go." 

The group then went downstairs and headed down the other set of stairs, and four minutes later they reached another room.

Roxanne looked around the next room In disinterest as it was simply a connector to other rooms, in this case it was the door they came from, and the door on the other side, she sighed and walked towards it. 'Not even a seal.....what gives?' She questioned.

Gwen followed Roxanne as she opened the door and walked inside, she was so anxious to just get this over with that she felt ready to kick something.

The next room was simply another hallway towards another door, and Skitter wanted to play a prank. "Are we there yet?" She asked.

"No." Fang replied calmly.

Skitter grinned as Fang fell into her trap. "Are we there yet?" She asked again.

"No." Fang replied again.

"Are we there yet? Skitter asked yet again.

"No." Fang replied with a hint of annoyance.

"Are we there yet?" 

"No." 

"Are we there yet."

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"NO." Fang replied in a near pissed off tone.

Skitter paused for a moment and held back a laugh but settled for a small snicker. ".....are we there yet?" She asked one last time.

"NO!" Fang shouted.

Skitter started chuckling, but soon that chuckle became full on laughter.

Fang's left eye was twitching fiercely once he realized that he was victim of a prank. "Ha ha ha." He laughed sarcastically.

Roxanne rolled her eyes at Fang's dilemma and couldn't help but chuckle a little bit.

The rest of the walk was uneventful as the group had nothing to discuss, once they reached the door, Fang put a hand on it and looked back at the group. "Y'all ready?" He asked.

The group nodded but Roxanne raised an eyebrow. "Your southern?" She asked out of disbelief.

Fang shrugged. "Blame the programmers." He replied as he entered the next room.

_____*The next room*_____

The group looked around the room in awe, the ceiling was massive and the walls were far apart, the room itself was a smooth black like the room before, but had blood red runes instead of green ones, there was a massive altar at the far end and three large stone pedestals behind it, there was also five small stone statues of Jandoka at the floor in front of the altar, the group walked up to the altar and Emerald knelt down at the statues. "Hmm....Roxanne, come over here for a second." He said.

Roxanne walked up and knelt down next to noticed that Emerald was pointing at something, Roxanne looked at the statues and noticed that they each had a hole for the pendants. 

"Bring the pendants over here, I know what to do." Emerald told the group.

Fang nodded and gathered the pendants from the group, he then walked up and handed them to Emerald.

Roxanne looked at Emerald with suspicion. "I thought you said that these pedants weaken Jandoka?" She asked.

Emerald shook his head as he put the pendants in the statues. "That's when he is here....if we can remove these pendants while he is here.....he will weaken considerably." He explained.

Roxanne sighed and looked at the statues, she grabbed Emerald's hand. "Then why would we put the pendants into the statues in the first place?" She asked as she held the drake's hand. 

Emerald sighed and looked at Roxanne. "Because we must first summon Jandoka, once we place the final pendant in the statue, it will summon three of Jandoka's acolytes for the trial of sacrifice, in which we must kill those three and the God will be summoned." He explained, much to the horror of some of the people in the room.

"Now hold up.....I'm many thing but I am NOT a murderer!" Dust shouted at the drake.

"I shall second that motion....how could you suggest such a thing?" Rarity accused.

"Hmmph, not even Golden would do that." Derpy added.

Emerald sighed and looked at the group. "Listen, I am not a fan of the option either, but we have no other choice." He countered.

Roxanne looked at Fang, who seemed to be considering the options, she then looked at Gwen and Twilight who both looked conflicted, she looked at Dark, who seemed to be conflicted, she looked at Skitter who seemed to be telling Firefly what was going on, and finally, she looked at Firefly, who seemed to not understand the gravity of the situation, if her expression was to be believed.

That was all the motivation she needed, but Roxanne looked at Emerald who seemed to have a determined look on his face, Roxanne sighed and released Emerald's hand. "Do it." She ordered the drake, much to everyone's shock.

Emerald nodded and placed the last pendant in the statue, the entire room shook as the statues glowed with a dark red glow. "Here we go....be ready!" He ordered the group.

The three pedestals glowed with a familiar green flame and soon, three familiar changelings jumped off the pedestals. "We did not expect you to get this far." Vulture stated.

"This time." Trapper started.

"We will finish this." Tracker continued.

"OURSELVES!" They both proclaimed in unison.

Vulture grumbled. "Enough you idiots! kill them all!" He ordered as he slammed his hoof on the ground and released a green energy, he then charged his horn and aimed at Skitter.

The floor rumbled violently, and very soon, unicorn, changeling, Minotaur and griffin zombies rose from the ground and began attacking the large group.

Fang however grinned as Tracker and Trapper rushed him, Trapper from the left, and Tracker from the right, he made sure that the dragon egg was secure on his back and pulled his sword out of its holster. [1/2]

Instead of fighting with the sword like your supposed to do, Fang jammed it into the ground next to him and focused his attention on Trapper.

Tracker smirked and he ran around to face Fang's back and charged his horn for a blast against his former companion, he fired the blast only for the sword to fly out of the ground and reflect the blast back at him. "What the?" He asked himself when a horror appeared before his eyes.

An ethereal hand slowly formed around the sword and then an arm, then a body, then legs.....and finally a head, the ethereal being took Fang's form and Tracker was now fighting an exact replica of the wolf.

"Impossible!" He cried as the copy of Fang attacked him.

Fang grinned as he dodged all of Trapper's traps while advancing upon the changeling....in truth, Trapper's traps were simple, there was a trap that releases an explosion, there was a snare trap, and an electrocution trap.

Once Fang reached Trapper, instead of striking him directly he dashed around him and double kicked. "Traitor." He said simply as Trapper went flying.

Tracker was not faring much better as the copy of Fang made a rapid series of strikes from his sword, Tracker had been forced to summon his own shortsword to counter.....it was not easy however as simply summoning the sword took a lot of magic, but controlling it was even harder.

Fang got down to all fours and charged Trapper, he saw Trapper getting back up in a daze, so Fang dashed forwards and lept at Trapper, he raised his claw and swung down at the changeling.

Trapper looked up and gasped but before he knew it.....it was over, as Fang's claw tore through him.

Tracker gasped and looked over at his brother. "TRAPPER!" He cried out.

The copy of Fang swung the sword down towards Tracker and the changeling let out a cry of sorrow as the sword cut into him.

The group of friends was not faring so well however, Derpy and Rarity were surrounded by zombies, Gwen and Dust fought the griffin zombies over control over the skies, Dark and Emerald worked with Roxanne to protect Firefly who was in shock by everything happening around her, Twilight was on her own however as she was pinned down by a firing line of unicorn zombies.

Skitter however was fighting a losing battle against Vulture, who seemed to have unnatural reserves of magic, he simply reflected Skitter's blasts while firing devastating blasts at Skitter who was forced to dodge.

Fang looked around the room and quickly made a decision of who to help, he rushed towards Twilight and his copy followed, he lunged at one of the unicorns and cut its head off with one swipe of his claw, the copy of Fang swung its sword and cut the head off one of the zombies.

"Thanks Fang!" Twilight said as she released a blast at one of the zombies.

Fang nodded as he killed another zombie and ran off to help Roxanne, once he reached the pinned group he slammed into a Minotaur and his copy began fighting the changeling zombies.

Meanwhile, Twilight had finished off the unicorn zombies and she looked over to Skitter, who seemed to be locked in a magic duel with Vulture who had launched a massive beam of magic, Twilight rushed over to the changeling's side and fired off her own magical beam to aid Skitter's.

Skitter looked at Twilight in shock but pushed more power into the beam.

Vulture had a surprised expression on his face as the combined beams from Twlight and Skitter pushed his beam back towards him rapidly, he looked around and noticed that the zombies were being defeated rapidly, Vulture knew that he had no options left.....so he cancelled the beam.

Twilight and Skitter's beams hit Vulture dead on as his beam faded, but for just a moment, the two could have sworn that Vulture had a small smile on his face before he was destroyed.

Gwen landed on the ground next to Derpy and was breathing heavily. "If those three were like that' how hard will Jandoka be?" She asked.

Emerald walked up to Rarity who had collapsed, he reached out and offered his hand, which she gladly took. "He will be unstoppable, at least until we remove the pendants, when we do he will be weakened considerably." He told Gwen.

Roxanne looked at the altar and noticed that there was dark energies swirling around it. "We might not have much time!" She shouted to the group.

"Be ready!" Fang ordered as he took his sword from his copy which vanished. 

The group took battle stances as a massive body began to form from the energies. "We can't remove the pendants until Jandoka is entirely here!....so hold him off when he does!" Emerald ordered the group.

Dark watched as Twilight and Skitter ran up to her and got ready. "Twilight." 

Twilight looked at Dark who had a neutral expression on her face. "If we get out of this alive......you are so getting me a pardon." She said.

Skitter chuckled. "And it would be nice if I didn't get impaled or arrested the moment I enter society." She commented.

Twilight sighed. "Sure sure.....I'll get you them, we'll even make it a party." She replied stressfully.

Roxanne looked at Firefly who was looking at her in concern. "It'll be alright.....just hang in there." She told the filly.

A loud slam on the alter made everyone look to it, a massive lion paw rested on it and three others stood near it, a large scorpions tail flailed out through the portal, and very soon, five hydra like heads appeared and the dark energies ceased.

Jandoka.....was here. "Hmmm......another tribute, it is small......but of great power." The middle head said in a deep booming voice.

Emerald was now sweating as Jandoka's five heads looked around the group. "Ah....the judge, he who determines who is worthy of the corrupted elements." The far right head said in a low but neutral voice.

All five heads turned towards Emerald. "But why would the judge be here with the tribute?....perhaps you seek to.....destroy us?" The middle right head wondered in a calm voice.

The far left head snapped at Emerald and turned to the other heads. "We should just kill them and collect our tribute! not talk to it!" The head said in an angry voice.

The middle head looked at the far left head and shook his head. "Calm yourself, we all know what he seeks, but we know nothing of the others." He replied.

All five heads then turned to Fang who stood defiantly between Jandoka and Roxanne. "And you?.....two creatures not of this world, but living as if it was their own, tell me, what are you?" The middle right asked.

Fang growled and looked at the speaking head. "I'm a wolf, former animatronic but that doesn't matter!" He retorted.

The far right head look at Fang curiously, until he gasped lightly. "Ahh....I see it now, you have been traveling to the past, even though it was unwilling, you have been in the past by the means of two ponies once known as Frost and Verdant." He said.

Fang nodded slowly and Jandoka's five heads backed away.

The middle right head then looked at Roxanne who was holding Firefly tightly, she faced Firefly away. "What do you want?" She snapped.

The far right head moved closer. "You are a bold one, to speak to a god that way is brave......but what we want is simple, tribute, we take tributes from our acolytes and in exchange we protect them from all things, even other gods if need be." He replied.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow at that. "Ok, then how do you know about us?" She asked in a lower tone.

This time the middle head replied. "We know many things, we mainly gather information through the cocoons and bindings that are used to collect......unwilling, tribute, but the only one we know nothing about....is you'." The head replied.

Roxanne was now curious but did not lower her guard. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"We could only sense your presence for a split second before your cocoon shattered, we do not know what happened but you landed safely without the aid of the cocoon, your mind is also blocked from us, though we do not know why." The middle head replied.

The five heads then turned to Gwen and Derpy. "But you two, are the some of the biggest mysteries here, the Pegasus with the secret that lies in the mind, and the Pegasus with a secret that she does not even know she has, but the biggest mystery is how it is that you can wield both an Element of Harmony, AND a Corrupted Element." Jandoka's middle right head said curiously.

Gwen gulped and Derpy raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what secret?" She asked while looking back at Gwen.

The middle head moved closer to Derpy. "Before I tell you that, you must know this, the Corrupted Elements were created to give the world a more modern form of defense, for the Elements of Harmony disappeared, but that's the thing, an Element of Harmony and a Corrupted Element cannot be used by the same person......but I am detecting the Element of Loyalty, and the Corrupted Element of Life." He explained.

Gwen's eyes widened at this. "So that's why the Element of Loyalty is fading." She muttered.

The middle head ignored Gwen however and continued his talk. "Now.....the secret of that mare, it is one that was unwillingly and unknowingly, forced upon her.....the mare known as Gwen was also once known by another name, Verdant Dash, the original Element of Life." He stated while looking at Gwen.

"I am NOT that person! I know who I am, I lived my own life!" She countered.

The far left head snapped at Gwen. "Silence worm!......the spell used to keep you alive also turned you into a foal, but when you became the Element of Loyalty, the spell had already been completed." He explained.

Jandoka then turned to face Twilight, Dark and Skitter. "And then there is you three, I would speak to the other Pegasus but I know everything about her already....no, you three are intriguing, so tell me.....Skitter, what are you?" The middle right head asked.

Skitter narrowed her eyes at Jandoka. "I'm a Changeling, take a guess." She retorted.

The middle head then came in close. "We are aware of your species.....but you are something else, something that is not common amongst your kind, even back in this temples prime." He said.

Skitter raised an eyebrow and looked at the heads. "You didn't see a lot of female Changeling's?" She asked out of curiosity.

The middle head shook back and forth slowly. "I am afraid not, from what I could gather through the many years, your kind only has one female Changeling at all times......the queen." He replied.

Skitter's eyes widened and she shook her head in disbelief. "I'm no queen." She said simply.

The middle right head then got closer. "Perhaps, but it may be that life among the pony race, gave you a new personality, now, let's move on to you.....Element of magic." He said calmly.

Twilight gulped as three of Jandoka's heads moved in closer. "If you know who I am, then you know everything." She said simply.

The middle right head nodded but kept its glare. "You are correct....only to your knowledge however, something is inside of you and it grows, but unlike the entity inside of Derpy.....it is not stagnant, the being inside of you seems to be a form that was given to you when you were.......oh, I understand." He said in realization.

Twilight however was now curious. "What is it?" She asked.

The far right head came closer as the other head pulled back. "It is a hidden secret.....one that has a much deeper and more complicated cloaking spell then the Elements of Harmony." He replied.

Twilight let her curiosity get the better of her and she decided to ask one final question. "What could be more important to hide then the Elements of Harmony?" She asked.

".....A seed, young Twilight....a seed of great magical energy, it seems that whoever put this seed inside of you, sought to empower you with unwanted strength, and I can think of only one free creature that could do something like that." The middle head replied.

All five heads then turned to Dark. "And finally, the cyborg, one who has done much and made enemies along the way....particularly in her homelands, tell me....what did you do?" 

Dark laughed nervously as she slowly backed up. "I uh.....I broke into the Canterlot archives, and I uh.....I stole the book of dimensions." She replied shamefully.

Twilight looked at her in disbelief but said nothing as Jandok's five heads spoke with Dark. "Hmm....that cannot be all, even though we know that secret, there is more to it then that, so tell me....what are you hiding that is more important then your life?" The middle right head asked with curiosity.

The far left head snapped at the others and got their attention. "Enough prattling, you have your secrets, let us finish what we were summoned to do!" He said impatiently.

The other head nodded and looked around the group, the middle head was the first to speak. "Thank you for your time, we have learned much." He stated.

The far right head growled. "But now we must finish the tribute, do not fight mortals, it is pointless." He proclaimed.

The group braced for combat as all five heads let out a battle cry that sounded like a mix between a lion, a hydra and a scorpion, all five heads then had a strange light go through their throat, before they unleashed torrents of power in the form of fire and magical attacks.

Emerald quickly pulled his halberd out as a magic blast hurdled towards him, he swung the halberd and hit the magic blast dead on, the blast reflected and hit one of Jandoka's heads, but did nothing but release a small dust cloud.

Gwen and Derpy dodged one of the magic blasts and they continued doing so. 'Golden, can you do anything?' She asked.

Golden sighed. "Sure, IF this bastard wasn't a god." He replied,

Derpy growled at that and watched as Dust attempted to get to the statues, but she was soon blocked by the scorpions tail, the far left head made a complete turn and started to fight Dust.

Fang dodged another blast and made sure the dragon egg was secure, he then charged off the go help Dust, only for the middle left head to get in his way with an emotionless stare, it then opened its mouth and a surge of lightning shot towards Fang.

Roxanne simply dodged the magical blasts as she held Firefly tight, she looked over at the three mares and saw that they had made a magical shield, it seemed like Dark and Skitter were supplying Twilight with what little power they had left, Roxanne found Rarity who was simply dodging stray magic blasts, so Roxanne ran up to Rarity. "Hey!" 

Rarity looked at Roxanne and sighed. "How much more of this will I have to go through?" She asked the fox.

Roxanne shrugged. "I don't know, Rarity listen, I need you to help Dust, Fang and Derpy with the statues." After seeing the look of horror on Rarity's face Roxanne shook the mare violently. "This isn't the time Rarity! help them or we're all dead!" She ordered the mare.

Rarity seemed to swallow her pride and disgust as she charged off to help the others, Roxanne found Gwen who was currently flying through the air while dodging the magic blasts, she also seemed to be summoning the dead as she fought, she was able to tell by the many skeletons that were rising from the ground.

Roxanne soon had an idea, she noticed that the heads were not assaulting her....yet, so she checked to see if Firefly was ok before running towards Skitter and the two unicorns.

"Skitter!" She shouted.

Skitter fell on the ground out of magical exhaustion. "I'm tapped out, what is it Roxanne?" She asked

Roxanne set Firefly on the ground and looked at the two heads that constantly fired upon the shield. "I need you to get Firefly to do something." She leaned In close and told the changeling what to do. 

Skitter's eyes widened and she looked at Roxanne in shock. "Are you serious?" She asked.

Roxanne nodded and gave a firm look. "Skitter, you are the only one who can do it, we might not have another shot at this." She told the changeling.

Skitter looked at Firefly who seemed absolutely terrified, and a whole world of memories came flooding back to her, she looked at Roxanne with a serious expression. "Let's do this." She said.

Fang however was not faring so well, he had managed a couple blows with his sword but that only serves to break it, so now Fang was without a weapon and was fighting a beast that he needed one against. "Shit!" He screamed as he dodged a stray blast.

He heard a voice call to him however. "Fang!" It was Roxanne, he looked over and saw that she had tossed a sword at him, with a swift motion he grabbed the sword and the instant he did, Jandoka's five heads let out a scream of pain as a red glow surrounded them and just as quickly disappeared.

Fang then thrust the sword towards the mouth of the head he was fighting, and just as the sword reached.....a very brief vision appeared and he saw a weak point in one of the many scales on the right side, the vision disappeared and he aimed for that spot, the sword plunged into the heads mouth and Jandoka let out a scream of pain, the one head then continued its screaming while flailing around the room, it soon fell over limp as it landed on the body behind the heads.

Jandoka's remaining four heads fought more ferociously and a little more slowly as the group slowly pushed them back.

With one of the heads dead, Fang and Roxanne hurried to help the group after the pendants, when they arrived, Emerald had smashed another pendant and another head was soon dead.

Roxanne ran up towards the scorpion tail and started to fight it alongside Dust, meanwhile, Derpy and Fang fought against the far left head which was shooting them with flame attacks. "DIE INSECTS!" The head shouted as it fired a massive fireball.

Emerald went to grab another pendant when the scorpion tail swung by, he quickly crouched but held his side and winced, he watched as Roxanne and Dust unleashed a barrage of attacks on the spine of the tail, Emerald reached out again to grab a pendant but was wary of traps, he grabbed the pendant from the statue and saw that it was the scorpion pendant, he threw it on the ground and raised his foot....and slammed it into the pendant.

The far left head screamed in pain as a dark green glow appeared and disappeared around him and the tail.

Roxanne and Dust then performed a combined attack at a random spot along the spine, once the strike hit the tail became dislocated, the head however.....died.

Now it was only the middle head and the middle right head, they did not last long as Emerald and Fang grabbed their pendants and smashed them, the two remaining heads screamed in pain and the middle right head died.

With only the middle head remaining the group went to attack it, when a massive beam of golden lightning with a small stream of green lightning shot out towards it and electrocuted the great beast, Jandoka screamed in pain and soon fell over, dead or dying.

The entire group looked in shock of what just happened, they looked towards the source of the lightning and saw Skitter breathing heavily and her horn had smoke coming off of it.

"Skitter....what the hell was that?" Fang asked.

Skitter grinned and laughed through the pain. "Lightning.....my idiotic friend, lightning." She replied in a teasing manner.

Emerald rolled his eyes and he heard a crashing sound, he looked behind himself and saw that there was now a massive hole in the wall with an overpowering beam of sunlight, he slowly made his way to it while clutching his side. 'Come on old man, you always wanted to see sunlight, and here it is.' He told himself as he made his way.

Roxanne walked over to Firefly and saw that she was now unconscious, she gently picked the filly up and looked over to Emerald, she started walking over to him when she heard the middle head of Jandoka cough violently and a pool of blood came out. "Your alive!?" She said in shock.

Jandoka's middle head made an expression that could only mean 'no'. "No....I.....am dying." He coughed violently again. 

The head's breathing was raspy but he gave Roxanne a small smile. "Thank you......for freeing us, we....." He coughed again.

"Are....in your....debt." He said slowly.

Roxanne couldn't help but be curious. "What do you mean?" She asked,

The head chuckled and let out another cough. "I am near death......but I owe you this much, I was once called Jandako, the god of peace, but i was enslaved and corrupted by Discord.....my suffering was a game to him, i was changed into what I am now.....I want to give you something.....come forth Roxanne." He requested.

Roxanne gave him a skeptical look and reluctantly walked closer.

The head seemed to have swallowed some blood and looked at Roxanne. "My gift to you.....it is one without form, without shape......but I believe you will like it." The head strained as it lifted up, it looked at Roxanne and opened its mouth slowly until a small gap remained, a small stream of silver magic slowly flew out of Jandoka's mouth and darted inside of her, it then came out of her but this time it was pitch black, the middle head conjured a small blood red gem and the magic flowed into it.

"It is a nightmare gem.....keep it safe, bury it, as long as this gem remains, your unholy nightmares will cease." He strained while setting his head back down.

Roxanne looked at the gem that floated down to her hand, she clutched the gem and saw that there was a faint face engraved upon it.

"I cannot restore your friend......the most I can do is modify her memory, so she never remembers what truly happened in this place." He offered.

Roxanne looked at the unconscious filly and back at Jandoka. "Thank you.....but no, I don't want to risk you damaging anything in your state.....no offense." She said.

The head smiled and let out a soft laugh. "None taken, I understand.....but listen, i have a question for you.....for you and the other Elements." He said.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" She asked.

The head coughed. "I was there when the Corrupted Elements were made.....if you'd like I could take them from you.....my question is this......would you like me to take the Elements back?" He asked.

Roxanne looked at Firefly and looked at Jandoka, Gwen walked up. "I know I don't want them, so yea, can you get rid of mine?" She asked Jandoka.

"Then yea....we want them gone." Roxanne said.

The head nodded and lifted its head up again, it then opened its mouth slowly and three small beams of silver magic went inside Roxanne, Firefly and Gwen, when they came back out the beams were Green, Golden and Pure White, the beams had bones, lightning and fire surrounding them respectively, the three beams then flew inside Jandoka.

"It is done.....go now, leave me to my rest." He requested the three.

Roxanne nodded and pulled Gwen along.

Jandoka let out a chuckle as Gwen complained about 'having questions' for him. "Ah, to be young again." He mused.

The group was standing near the edge of the hole in the wall when Dust suddenly picked up Rarity and started flying her out. "What the....ahhh! putmedownputmedownputmedown!" Rarity screamed.

Gwen sighed and picked Twilight up and carried her out. "Don't you DARE drop me Gwen!" Twilight warned.

Derpy then walked over to Dark and started to carry her out.

Fang shrugged and looked down, only to see dirt right at the edge, he sighed and ran up to the wall on the other side and jumped, he then started to climb after making sure the egg was secure.

Roxanne went to follow when Emerald sighed. "Roxanne, I need to talk to you.....before you go." He said sadly.

Roxanne looked at him strangely and noticed that he was clutching his side. "Emerald?" She asked.

Emerald winced and sat down on the ground. "Roxanne, I'm dying....I got poisoned during the fight......and nothing can be done." He told the fox.

Roxanne knelt down next to him and looked him in the eye. "We can do something Emerald." She stated.

Emerald chuckled, he then looked at Firefly who was sleeping peacefully, he then looked at Roxanne. "You can't cure poison from a god, but I can help you." He replied.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow as Emerald put a finger on Firefly's forehead. "What are you doing?" She asked.

Emerald said nothing as he released a small wave of magic from his fingertip and into Firefly, once he was finished he looked at Roxanne. "I might not be able to fix her, but I did something almost as good." He replied.

Roxanne gasped as Emerald fell to the ground. "Emerald! hey stay with me man!" She said while shaking his head.

Emerald chuckled and looked at Roxanne. "I changed her memory, all she remembers now is that she fainted when the zombies were summoned.....at least now she won't be haunted by this day." He told the fox.

Roxanne watched as Emeralds blue scales turned gray and his once bright Emerald eyes faded. "Roxanne come closer a moment." The dying drake requested

Roxanne leaned in as Emerald whispered something into her ear, her eyes widened and Emerald laid down on the ground. "Thank you." Emerald said as he closed his eyes and stopped breathing.

Roxanne gasped and she checked for a pulse......nothing

"Hey come on Roxanne let's go......wait what happened to Emerald?" Came Gwen's voice.

Roxanne said nothing as she sat there next to Emerald's now lifeless body, she wanted to hate him for turning Firefly into a filly, he wanted to despise him for everything that he put them through.....but she couldn't, so when Gwen put a hoof on her shoulder and told her that she was sorry.....she shrugged it off. 

"Get the others, let's get his body out of here.....he deserves a burial." She said blankly.

If Gwen was startled by Roxanne's sudden empty words, she didn't show it as she nodded and flew up.

After that the group pulled Roxanne and Emerald out of the temple and found that they were back in the Grayroot, near Vulture's hut, the group covered Emerald's body with a thick sheet they found in the hut and made a makeshift stretcher.

With that done, the group took what little food remained in the hut and ate, the next day they began walking towards the Everfree Forest.

____*one week later, the Everfree Forest*_____

The group approached a small clearing in the forest and Twilight immediately recognized the place. "We're near Ponyville!" She said happily.

Roxanne let a small smile appear on her face and looked down at the stretcher and then at  the center of the clearing. "Twilight, I know where to bury him." She said softly.

Twilight nodded and followed Roxanne to the middle of the clearing. "Here?" She asked.

Roxanne nodded and Twilight used her magic to make a hole in the ground.

After that the group had made a makeshift coffin, it wasn't anything special, it was simply an oak coffin with the sheets on the bottom, then came the funeral.....it was quiet as none of them knew much about Emerald, so instead they vowed to respect him the only way they knew how.....they all put a singular item on the coffin, each one was a simple wooden figure, it was quiet as the coffin was lowered into the grave, Fang had even made a tombstone out of an old slab of stone, he put Emerald's name on the stone and the year he died, for the year he was born he put three question marks, at the base of the stone he put a message. "Here lies a brave warrior, he died fighting for what he believed in, may his soul be at peace." Read the message.

____*two days later, edge of Ponyville.*____

Roxanne smiled as she watched Firefly bounce around the group happily, she was so curious about everything it drove even Twilight mad, Firefly had woken up the day after Emerald's funeral, she had asked where Emerald was as he was not with the group, Skitter had told the filly that Emerald died of old age and passed away peacefully, while it WAS halfway true, Roxanne still felt bad about lying to the filly, but she didn't let that show.

Rarity let out a sigh of relief when Ponyville was in sight. "Finally!" She complained.

Gwen rolled her eyes as Rarity started listing off the things she would do when she got back, she didn't pay much attention but she did hear Rarity say something about a 'spa date' with Fluttershy.

Fang started walking towards the pony town when he heard a cracking noise, he looked back at the Dragon egg on his back in surprise and watched as the eggshell cracked open and an orange dragon with rounded dark green spikes around Spike's age and size was revealed.

The baby dragon looked at Fang with its light blue eyes, he blinked at Fang.

Fang chuckled and saw that the dragon had an eggshell on its head, he plucked it off and the dragon tried to get out of the harness that was around him.

Fang rolled his eyes and took the harness off, he then got the dragon out of its harness, the dragon looked at the harness and growled before releasing a small orange fireball towards the harness which ignited it.

With that Fang instantly chose two out of the many names for the dragon he knelt down and the dragon looked at him expectantly, Fang looked at the harness and saw that it was in ashes. "Wow, that's impressive." He told the dragon.

The dragon grinned at the praise and looked around. "Who're they?" He asked quietly while pointing at the group of ponies.

Fang chuckled. "I'll tell you in a moment, but I have a question for you." He said.

The dragon looked at him curiously. "What is it?" He asked.

"I need to know which name you prefer.......Spark or Volt?" He asked the dragon.

The dragon put his hand to his chin in thought and Fang looked over at the group. 'I wonder what they're talking about?' He wondered.

Fang was pulled out of his thoughts by a poke to his leg, he looked down at the baby dragon. "I chose." The dragon said simply.

Fang nodded and waited on the name. 

The dragon took a quick breath before looking at Fang. "......Spark, I like that name." The dragon said.

Fang let out a small grin as he looked at his dragon son. "Well then Spark, welcome to Ponyville....even though I loathe the name." He made sure he whispered the last part.

Spark stifled a laugh at the joke and looked over at the group. "So who're they? you said that you would tell me in a moment." He asked Fang.

Fang chuckled as he stood up and began to tell Spark the names of the group members, he even through little joke like nicknames at some of the mares real names.

Spark looked at Firefly who noticed him and waved, Spark was unsure how to reply however and he felt a weird feeling.

Fang noticed that something was wrong with Spark and knelt down. "You ok kiddo?" He asked.

Spark nodded then jumped when he heard a growling sound from underneath him. "What was that?" He asked.

Fang sighed and poked Spark's stomach. "It's alright, your just hungry, come on I'll find us something to eat." He said as he walked towards town with Spark behind him.

"Hey uh.....Dad?" Spark said while a little unsure of himself.

Fang looked at his son and nodded. "Yea?" He said.

Spark took a deep breath and looked back at the group, and then back at Fang. "Is it weird that I felt my face heat up when thatt filly...uh Firefly? waved at me?" He asked.

Fang groaned and facepalmed. "Oh boy.....here we go." He muttered.
> Getting things settled, Hearths warming eve draws close, and a difficult question arises.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*Two days later, Gwen's house, the basement, 7:54 AM*____

A loud ringing noise roused Fang from his sleep, it also awoke a certain fox in the room as well.

Fang groaned at the infernal noise coming from the night stand next to him, he opened his eyes and slammed the alarm clock bells, he then rubbed his eyes as he sat up, he looked around the basement and let it sink in, there were boxes in the corner that Fang had moved there a month or so back, there was the bed that Fang and Roxanne shared and two night stands next to the bed, the stairs were at the wall the led into the house, there was various boxes laid out across the room as well, along with Roxanne and Fang's spoils from the temple, and the latest addition to the room was a moderately sized mattress that had a small orange baby dragon sleeping on it and covered up entirely with his blankets.

This dragon's name was Spark, and he was also Fang's son.....which had confused many of Fang's friends.

Roxanne yawned and looked at Fang with a tired expression. "Come on, let's head upstairs." She said.

Fang chuckled. "Yes ma'am." He teased his partner as he stood up.

Roxanne headed upstairs and Fang looked at his son for a moment before sighing, he walked over to the Spark's bed and shook the dragon. "Spark, it's time to wake up.......you'll miss school." He added the last part hesitantly as Spark soon shot up out of the bed without any of the covers moving, just as Fang went to question it.....Spark jumped off the bed and ran up the stairs.

Fang sighed, Spark had to be the one kid that actually WANTED to go to school, all of the kids back at Freddy's were only concerned with having fun and didn't care about stuff that actually mattered, the adults mostly left them unsupervised as they minded there own business, Fang started to unlock the shed and sighed..

Fang stood up and walked over to the stairs, he walked up to the door and he looked around at the basement once more and chuckled. "Welcome home." He told himself as he walked through the door.

_____*in the kitchen/dining room, ten seconds later.*_____

Things had gotten quite hectic in the household, it was originally the home of just Gwen, but now it had two former animatronics, one baby dragon, one filly that used to be a mare, Gwen and one changeling.

When the group had gotten to Ponyville, Gwen had offered to let Skitter stay at her house until Twilight could get back to them about Celestia's response.

While Skitter had claimed that she had best skip town to avoid trouble, Fang had put an immediate stop to that idea by telling her that it would just make her look like the rest of her species, Roxanne had done some checking, and apparently the royal guard were being VERY overzealous about rounding up rouge changelings, they had even gone so far at one point, that they had practically ransacked one of the border towns in pursuit of changelings.

Roxanne had also found out that Celestia quickly handled the situation by letting the public know that the guards would either need a permit, or evidence of changelings to conduct there search.....Fang had commented that Celestia just reminded the guard of procedure and then twisted her words slightly to appease the public....that comment had only gotten Fang a scolding by Twilight.

And so, Skitter was now cooking breakfast with Roxanne, they were making pancakes, but then Roxanne's partner had questioned her cooking skills......needless to say, Skitter was insulted as she now felt determined to prove Fang wrong. 'I'll show that son of a bitch.' Skitter told herself as she grabbed the whisk and started to mix the pancake batter

Roxanne grabbed a small flank of cockatrice meat from the fridge, she grabbed a frying pan and started to fry the chicken. [1]

Skitter said nothing as she knew that most of the residents of the house ate meat.....thankfully they were not cannibles or they would be eating pony for dinner, to her knowledge, Skitter knew that only one member of the house was purely vegetarian, and that was Firefly, and Roxanne had made it clear that Firefly was to NEVER try and eat meat.

As the two cooked breakfast, Skitter noticed something odd out the corner of her right eye, she looked at Roxanne and saw that the fox's left eye briefly looked like Derpy's creep eye. [2]

'What in the world?' She asked herself as she pretended not to notice. 

Roxanne rubbed her eyes and continued to work. "Hey Skitter." 

Skitter looked at the fox and saw that her eyes were now normal. "Yea." She replied simply.

Roxanne quickly managed the meat then looked at Skitter. "Can I ask you something?" She wondered.

Skitter nodded and flipped the latest pancake absent mindlessly.

"I hear that changelings feed on emotions.....is that true?" She asked.

Skitter paused and went into thought, after a time she looked at Roxanne. "Well.....yes and no." She replied.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow at that, she stirred the chicken around and looked at Skitter. "What do you mean?" 

Skitter sighed and leaned back on a nearby counter. "It's....complicated." She sighed. "Changelings, as a race, all have different abilities, the hive that attacked Canterlot had the ability to steal or absorb emotions, while my hive has the ability to see far away places as if it were in front of us, then you have Vulture and the Twins' hive, they could erase and restore their memories at any point and time, that's how the twins were able to......betray us, like they did." She explained sadly, she sighed and got back to work however.

Roxanne knew that Skitter was still reeling from the betrayal of her friends, Roxanne turned the burner off and walked up to Skitter. "How well did you know them?" She asked quietly.

Skitter gave Roxanne a somber look. "I grew up with them, ever since I was four.....I knew those idiots my entire life.....and now they're gone, I feel like i'm being torn apart by my emotions......but I can't do anything about it, have you ever felt that way?" She asked the fox, with her head down.

Roxanne couldn't help but shiver at the thought, she rubbed her eyes and looked at Skitter. ".....Actuallly, I didn't just feel it.....I lived it." She told the changeling as unwanted memories came flooding back.

Skitter raised an eyebrow and looked at Roxanne. "You did?" She asked.

Roxanne nodded and walked over to one of the walls, she leaned against the wall and sighed. "Alright.....you remember what Gwen told you?" She asked.

Skitter nodded. "That you came from another world right?" She wondered.

"Yea, but the thing is, me and Fang were animatronics, robotic creatures with artificial intelligence, and speaking technically, Fang is at least ten years older than me." She replied.

Skitter couldn't help but chuckle at the words, Roxanne raised an eyebrow and Skitter responded. "Like the old guys?" Skitter teased.

Roxanne grumbled and closed her eyes. "Anyway......we were programmed to be children's entertainers, Fang however seemed to have broken free of his programming, but moving on, years passed and soon I was....well....." She trailed off.

Skitter seemed impatient and she urged the fox to continue. "Go on, go on." She urged.

Roxanne sighed and began to tell Skitter......everything'.

_____*one hour and six minutes later, The living room*_____

Fang was sitting in one of the chairs talking to Spark.....well, more like listing off things he would need. "Backpack?" He asked.

Spark nodded and patted a simple brown backpack.

"Spare pencils and sharpener?" He asked.

Spark nodded.

"Lunch and water?" He asked.

Spark nodded. "Yea dad, I got them.....I remembered everything." He replied.

Fang grinned. "Folder and little sister that speaks Changeling?" He teased. 

Spark deadpanned and pulled a folder out of the backpack. "Can't say about Firefly though." He said as he wondered where Firefly was.

Skitter could be heard chuckling at something, Fang looked over and saw that she was reading a joke book.

Two sets of footsteps could be heard walking down the stairs, Fang looked and saw Roxanne and Gwen, Firefly seemed to have hitched a ride with Gwen though. "How's the hitchhiker?" Fang teased.

Roxanne gave Fang an emotionless laugh and picked Firefly up and off of Gwen. "Stuff it Fang." She countered.

Skitter stifled a laugh at Fang's jaw dropped face and stood up. "Ok then Roxanne, what do you need me to tell the filly this time?" She asked.

Roxanne shrugged. "Stay out of trouble, pay attention, you know....the works." She said plainly.

Skitter nodded and motioned Firefly over, she lowered herself to eye level with the filly, she proceeded to tell Firefly what Roxanne said.

Gwen rubbed her eyes. "Now I remember why I stopped speaking Changeling......kills the throat, and makes Firefly laugh at my pathetic attempts to speak it." She said.

Skitter rolled her eyes and stood up, she walked over to a chair and sat down. "Well, she knows, so go on.......enjoy your lives while I'm stuck here because of Gwen's house arrest." She said flatly.

Fang chuckled and stood up. "Let's just get through this increasingly hectic day." He said to no one in particular, he started to walk to the front door when a knock came.

"Who could that be?" Gwen asked, she raised an eyebrow when as she watched Skitter teleport to the stairs. 

Fang walked up to the door and opened it......to reveal Twilight and a strange brown furred mare, Fang slammed the door and caught glances of everyone looking at him in shock. "Oops?" He offered as he reopened the door.

Gwen watched as Twilight and the strange pony entered the house grumpily.

Spark watched in curiosity as the strange pony looked around. 

"What is this about Twilight, and why so early?" Fang asked with a hint of annoyance.

Twilight pointed at the brown mare. "Everypony, this is Legal Copy, she's here to evaluate Skitter." She replied.

Legal was a brown earth pony with brown hair and eyes......Skitter had one thought run through her mind repeatedly. 'Well doesn't she scream lawyer?' She chuckled at her joke and Legal looked at her. "You must be Skitter." The mare said flatly, with an almost invisible hint of disgust.

Skitter sighed and nodded. "Great, they sent someone who hates changelings.....I'm screwed." She grumbled.

Fang looked at a nearby clock and sighed. "Come on Spark, we better get going or we'll be late." He said as he walked out the door.

Spark nodded and followed Fang.

Roxanne looked at the clock and then picked up Firefly. "Sorry about this." She told the filly.

Firefly tilted her head as Roxanne started to chase off after Fang. "Wheeeeeee!" She cheered.

And now it was only Skitter, Twilight, Gwen and Legal in the house. "Let's begin." Legal said.

____*five minutes later, near the Ponyville school.*____

Fang looked down at Spark who was walking beside him, he remained silent as they approached the school, once they were there, Fang walked up to the door to the classroom and opened the door.

Spark was curious as Fang had a brief conversation with a mare called Cheerilee, once he was finished with his talk he came back and told him that Cheerilee would introduce him and Firefly shortly.

But what truly confused Spark was a message that Fang gave him. "Whatever you do, do NOT let Firefly join the CMC today....trust me you don't want that right now.....same goes for you." He warned Spark.

"What's the CMC?" Spark asked.

Fang seemed to shiver at the name, he took a quick breath and looked at Spark. "It stands for the.....ugh, Cutie Mark Crusaders." He said with dread for the name.

Spark's left eye twitched and a door opened nearby, Fang turned around and saw Cheerilee standing there. "Bring them in please." The mare said.

Fang nodded and looked at Spark who seemed to be extremely nervous. "It's ok to be nervous Spark.....just don't instigate and ignore the bullies, you'll be fine. He looked at Firefly who simply waved at him, he returned with a short wave of his own.

Fang leaned in close to Spark's ear. "And try to keep your sister out of trouble, ok?" He asked.

Spark made a casual two finger salute and nodded. "Sure thing." He replied.

Fang rolled his eyes and walked up to Cheerilee with Spark behind him.

'This should be an interesting day.' Fang told himself as Spark and Cheerilee said hello.

____*inside the classroom, fifteen seconds later (what were you expecting?....ten hours?)*____

Spark stood in front of Cheerilee's desk nervously, he waited as Cheerilee said some things that he didn't pay much attention to, afterwards he heard the class speak. "Hi Spark and Firefly!" They all greeted.

Spark decided to 'play it cool', as Gwen put it. "Hi." He replied quickly.

Firefly blinked and tilted her head. "Zi?" She said out of confusion.

Some murmurs went through the class but Cheerilee quieted them by clearing her throat. "Please quiet down." She looked at Firefly.

"Could you repeat what you said?" Cheerilee asked.

Firefly looked at Cheerilee. "Eh?" She replied.

Spark sighed and tapped Firefly's head, he looked at Cheerilee. "Sorry miss, she doesn't speak or understand Equestrian." He said.

Cheerilee gave a nod and motioned to the class. "Well, go on and take your seats then." She told the dragon.

Spark nodded nudged Firefly towards the class. "Ha pa." He said to Firefly. [3] 

Firefly reluctantly walked alongside Spark as they searched for seats, eventually they found two seats that were relatively close to each other, Spark sat got up onto a seat and sat down next to a marshmallow colored unicorn filly, Firefly sat next to Spark, next to an orange Pegasus filly.

Spark noticed the unicorn filly lean over. "Hey." She said simply.

"Hi." He returned.

The filly held her hoof out. "I'm Sweetie Belle." She said.

Spark shook Sweetie's hoof. "Spark." He replied.

Firefly saw the Pegasus filly lean over. "Hey, I'm Scootaloo." She said.

"Zi." Firefly replied.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at that. "Uh.....is that your version of hi?" She asked.

Firefly looked at Scootaloo and tilted her head. "Eh?" She said.

Scootaloo thought on it a moment before sighing. "You really don't understand us do you?" She mumbled.

After that, the class was quiet, except for Cheerilee talking and some quiet mutters from some of the classmates.

Soon after, Cheerilee called recess and the class soon went outside.

Spark made sure that he stuck with Firefly as he left the school, the siblings walked to one of the benches, sitting at the bench was two familiar fillies and an unfamiliar filly with red hair and a ridiculously large ribbon in her hair.

"Mind if we join you?" Spark asked.

Scootaloo shrugged. "Sure." She replied.

Sweetie Belle nodded.

"I guess, just don't make fun of us." The strange filly said.

Spark raised an eyebrow and he sat down, Firefly sat down next to him. "Why would we make fun of you?" He asked.

Scootaloo sighed. "Well, we kinda don't have our cutie marks." She replied.

Spark scratched the back of his head. "I still don't get it, what does not having your cutie marks have to do with anything? If what I heard is true, they represent your special talent.....am I right?" He wondered.

Sweetie Belle nodded with a curious look. "Yea." She replied.

Spark pulled a water bottle out of his backpack and opened it. "Then why would anyone make fun of you for that?.....Firefly here doesn't have one, you don't see her in the dumps do ya?" He asked while pointing his thumb at Firefly, who was eating her lunch.

The other filly sighed. "But that makes us blank flanks.....all the other fillies and colts already have their cutie marks." She complained.

Spark took a quick sip of his water and put the cap back on. "That's no reason, a cutie mark.....even as much as I hate the name, simply represents your talent, it doesn't make a person, and from what I heard, all ponies get one eventually, just have to be patient." He replied.

The three fillies seemed to be confused, they then huddled together and started whispering, eventually they all separated and got back on the bench, the other filly then held her hoof out to Spark. "I'm Applebloom, this here is Sweetie Belle." She pointed at the unicorn.

"And this is Scootaloo." She pointed at the Pegasus.

Spark nodded and told Firefly the fillies names, to which Firefly responded with. "Zi." 

"She said hi." Spark translated.

"I knew it!" Scootaloo proclaimed, she even pumped her hoof in victory.

Spark rolled his eyes and soon heard possibly the most annoying voice of the day. "Well well well, it seems the 'blank flanks' made friends with the baby dragon and the freak that doesn't speak Equestrian.

The three fillies sighed and looked down. "Leave us alone Diamond Tiara!" Scootaloo said.

Spark looked behind his back and saw two earth pony fillies out of the corner of his eye, the one was gray with silver hair and a silver spoon as a cutie mark, the other was pink with a white streak in her purplish hair, she had a diamond tiara as a cutie mark, but her most noticeable feature was a tiara on her head, Spark tried not to laugh at the name of the filly.

"What's wrong 'blank flank? can't stand NOT having your cutie mark yet? or is your little club just an excuse to hide behind?" Diamond Tiara said smugly.

Spark simply took a sip of his drink while Firefly seemed to ignore the conversation. "Kop gu wino Firplo." He said to Firefly, who nodded.

Diamond looked at Spark. "And what about you dragon? afraid to speak in a normal language? or is that filly incapable of speaking for herself?" She said like it was an insult.

Spark chuckled and looked back at the filly. "Oh no, you misunderstand, Firefly is actually very talkative, she just doesn't know your language, as for me? well, I really don't talk to people that call me freak, so if you would be so kind.....leave." He replied calmly.

Firefly finished her lunch and looked at Diamond Tiara and the other girl. "I unhil aep ona." She said while looking at Diamond.

Diamond Tiara went to say something in retaliation but the school bell rang. "This isn't over." She warned.

Spark looked at the three fillies who seemed to be relieved but had a hint of shock on their faces. "I can't believe you did that." Applebloom said.

Spark shrugged. "I spoke the truth, and if she bothers us again I have a comeback that I thought up." He replied with a chuckle as he headed back to the school.

After the group of five walked back to the school, they tried to stick together in the classroom but this ended up with Firefly next to Diamond Tiara, the group was sitting on the entire right side of the classroom, with only Firefly off to the side.

As the class continued, Firefly felt a negative stare directed towards her, she looked in that direction and noticed that Diamond Tiara was looking at her out of the corner of her eye.

'Freak' Firefly said in her head.

The lesson itself was straightforward, eventually however the bell rang again and Cheerilee dismissed the class.

Spark got up out of his seat and walked towards the door in deep thought, however a light tap on the shoulder broke him out of his trance, he looked back and saw that Sweetie Belle was pointing at Applebloom. "She uh....wants to talk to you." She said.

Spark nodded and walked over to Applebloom, he saw Firefly and Scootaloo walk over. "Yes Applebloom?" He asked.

Applebloom took a quick breath and looked at Spark. "Yea, ok uh.....me and the others are part of this club, where we search for our talents......and we uh, were wondering if you wanted to join?" She asked.

Spark sighed and translated it to Firefly, she seemed to be excited about it but Spark calmed her down by telling her what Fang told him.

The three fillies waited as Spark talked to Firefly, eventually though Firefly nodded and looked at the trio. "Sorry girls, but we can't join today." Spark stated.

The trio gave them a sad sigh. "But, why not?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Spark crossed his arms. "Two reasons, the first being that I was told to NOT join any groups today, the second is that I was warned about your group, with sufficient evidence to back it up.....no offense but I'll need to consider it." He explained calmly as he walked towards the door. [4]

The trio and Firefly followed Spark to the door. "I grua yui Statid." Firefly said quietly as the group walked out the door.

The group walked outside and saw a bunch of adult ponies, among them was Gwen and Rarity, there was also an unfamiliar pony with a Stetson with them.

Spark and the others walked towards them when Scootaloo saw Gwen. "Oh my gosh, it's Rainbow Dash!" She whispered with barely contained excitement.

Spark was curious about Scootaloo's words, he looked at her. "What about her?" He asked.

Scootaloo gave Spark a look of shock. "She's Ponyville's resident daredevil, how do you not know about her?" She asked in disbelief.

Spark shrugged. "Oh no, don't get me wrong, I do know her, It's just that she doesn't seem to act like it." He replied.

The group arrived at the group of ponies. "It's nice to see you out of your egg Spark." Rarity said.

Spark nodded at the mare and looked at Gwen. "I take it your here to pick me and Firefly up?" He asked,

Gwen nodded and looked at Firefly, who seemed to be.......chasing a fly?   "Uh.....yea." She replied as she watched her former sister chase the flying pest.

Applebloom whispered something in her sisters ear and her sister nodded. "Hey uh...Spark right?" She asked.

Spark looked at the mare and nodded. "Yea?" He replied.

The mare held her hoof out. "I'm Applejack, Applebloom's sister." She introduced herself.

Spark blinked and shook the mare's hoof. "Nice to meet you." He said.

Gwen poked Spark in the arm and got the dragon's attention. "Come on, if I don't get you guys back, Fang and Roxanne will NOT be happy." She shivered at the thought.

Spark rolled his eyes and began looked back at Firefly, he saw her looking at him blankly. "Eh?" She asked.

"Ina Pa." Spark told the filly.

Firefly nodded and started walking towards Gwen, Spark sighed and walked next to his sister as the group soon dispersed.

_____*two weeks later, two days before Hearths Warming Eve, the basement, 3:21 PM.*______

Fang sighed as he sat on his bed, he had been teaching Spark what was on the scrolls for a couple weeks now, he had even taken to teaching Spark how to defend himself, the whelpling had already finished learning how to defend against an earth pony, he was almost finished with the Pegasus defense training, but Spark apparently already knew how to defend against unicorns, Fang himself had learned some tricks to help keep unicorn magic from affecting him, like eating a plant that was assumed useless by the pony race, it was called steelroot, it was strangely edible, he had also found an anti magic rune in one of the scrolls, it had no other abilities on it but Fang had assumed it was made for him, so he had engraved the rune on each shoulder and on his chest, he also got to work strengthening the runes, he figured that since he had no natural magic he would need a way to counter those that did.

Fang had decided to keep the rune a secret between himself, Spark and Roxanne, he made them give them their word....not a Pinkie promise but the others swore, Fang had also figured out how to strengthen the runes on his own.....the scroll had suggested simply adding another layer to the runes, after the second layer was added Fang had developed his own way, by keeping the runes active as long as they could, the more powerful they became, as their magic pools increased, so too did their resilience to magic....this was a secret Fang decided to keep to himself.

Fang had burned the scroll containing the recipe for the rune but made sure that both Roxanne and Spark had a second layer on each rune.

The rune itself was a mix between y and q, the color of it was different for each person, Roxanne's would glow a faint red, while Spark's would glow verdant green, Fang's would glow black and white and seemed to blend with his fur. "I think that's enough for today." He said.

The room also had Spark inside it, he was on his bed when he plopped back, out of breath, he looked at Fang. "Why do I need to know this stuff dad?" He asked.

Fang sighed and looked at his son. "Because Spark, in life, you make enemies.....and some, would rather fight you then talk things over, what I'm teaching you is a defensive style, it relies on fast reactions, quick thinking and endurance.....and you fit all three of those, I'm not teaching you this so you can pick fights, I'm teaching you this so you can defend yourself and others.....and with how this world works, you just might end up needing it." He replied.

The room was quiet after that, until Fang broke the silence. "So Spark, did you learn anything today?" He asked, breaking the silence.

Spark sat up and shook his head. "No.....but I did learn something this past week." He replied.

Fang raised an eyebrow. "What's that?" He asked.

Spark chuckled at something. "Well.....I learned that you should NEVER go to the bathroom after Firefly." He stated.

Now Fang was curious, he leaned in and Spark began his story.

____*five days ago, 4:21 PM, the bathroom.*____

Spark walked up the stairs and saw that Firefly had exited the bathroom, she walked over and Spark sighed in relief. "Finally." He said quietly.

"Hi Spark." Firefly said.

Spark nodded and walked up to the bathroom, thankfully, Firefly had learned how to speak Equestrian....to an extent, she still needed translation now and then but she could at least talk to others.

Spark entered the bathroom and closed the door, he walked up to the toilet and noticed that the water was slightly brown, he raised an eyebrow as he knew that nobody in the house forgot to flush, he reached over to the flush handle but saw that the water was now completely brown, and seemed to have a muddy texture, Spark gulped as a weird figure rose up from the brown water.

Spark was unsure of what to do as the creature formed, a single thought entered his mind. 'What the hell?'

The creature seemed to clear its throat, Spark raised an eyebrow as it seemed to warm up, the creature finally spoke, In a deep bass voice. "I, AM, THE GREAT MIGHTY POO, I SHALL THROW MY SHIT AT YOU!" It proclaimed.

Spark did what any rational person would do when singing shit showed up in their bathroom, he quickly flushed the toilet. "I am never coming in here after Firefly." He stated as the singing shit flushed.

____*end of flashback.*____

Fang could only blink at the story but said nothing.

Spark laughed nervously, he scratched the back of his head. "Yea, I know but still, it's true." He insisted.

Fang took a quick breath. "I don't think your lying, it's just unexpected." He replied.

For a few minutes, the two sat in silence until Spark broke it. "Hey dad, can I ask you something?" He asked.

Fang blinked. "Sure." He replied.

Spark took a deep breath before looking at Fang. "Ok, dad, um......whose my mom?" He asked with nervously.

Fang sighed, he had one thought run through his mind, one word that any parent could have running through their minds in this situation. 'Fuck......'
> Hearths Warming Eve.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*Gwen's house, the basement, two days before Hearths Warming Eve*____

Fang sighed and stood up, he walked over to a stack of boxes, Spark watched as Fang searched through the boxes until he pulled out a thick leather journal, Fang walked over to his bed and sat down.

Spark was starting to get worried as Fang opened the book and looked through pages, his left arm twitched and he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Um.....dad?" He asked with worry.

Fang looked at Spark and sighed, he rubbed his eyes and closed the journal. "It's.....complicated." He said.

Spark gained a curious look and stared at Fang. "Why?.....she.....she didn't leave me did she?" He asked with a slightly breaking voice.

Fang's eyes widened and he waved his hands back and forth. "No no no, you got me all wrong! she loved you, but you didn't let me finish." He replied hurriedly.

Spark took a quick set of breaths after realizing what he asked, he tried to calm himself down as Fang continued.

"Listen.....your mother didn't leave you, it's just that.....well." He paused as he thought on how he should say it.

Spark gulped and his right claw clenched into a fist. "What?" He asked.

Fang sighed and opened the journal, he quickly flipped through the pages, until he found one between the middle of the front. "The thing is Spark, your mother lived around a thousand years ago, she didn't want to give you up, but she had no choice." He started.

These words quickly confused Spark, his rational side wanted to protest, but his curiosity wanted him to let his dad finish. "But you weren't alive a thousand years ago." He pointed out.

Fang nodded and glanced at the journal. "True, but around the time that she gave up, she was working with a friend of hers to find a way to save the world from the corrupted God of peace, Jandoka, one of their experiments was a time related spell." He explained.

Spark raised an eyebrow but remained silent as Fang continued. "Now, a while ago, I went on an adventure with some friends, and after a while we encountered some more traveling companions, some time later, I was at a small pond with two of my companions, and it was there that I encountered the first vision." He explained. [1]

Fang took a quick breath before continuing. "The vision I had was that of a world on fire, but it wasn't until later that the visions become more.....lucid, eventually my group found, or more accurately, fell into the temple of Jandoka, we were separated, after a while, another vision appeared......and that's when I saw your mother, a Pegasus mare called Verdant." He explained.

Spark was now listening intently as Fang continued. "I followed Verdant and her friend, a unicorn called Frost, they opened a secret passage that led to a dragon hatchery, the two had a short conversation which seemed to be focused on two dragon eggs in particular, one was lavender with purple polka dots, and one was orange with a dark green stripe down the middle, eventually however I discovered that my visions were actually the result of Verdant of Frost's experiments, I found this out due to Frost speaking to me directly." He continued.

Spark nodded but soon thought of something. "Wait a minute, what does this have to do with my mom?" He asked.

Fang chuckled and looked down at the journal. "Because Spark.....Verdant was your mother, from one thousand years ago, she gave me your egg to protect you, she wanted to keep you from becoming a sacrifice, you see, when they started the experiment, it was to find someone to stop Jandoka, but they decided to save an innocent from their turmoil, and that innocent......was you." He replied.

Spark took a deep breath, he looked at Fang again with a skeptical look. "Then why didn't I hatch until a few weeks ago?" He asked.

Fang sighed. "It was an enchantment of Frost's, it put your egg in stasis for all those years, Verdant wanted you to live a normal life....at least that's what I know, so when I returned to the present, I went to the hatchery and recovered your egg, eventually we got out of the temple and returned home, you hatched and you know what happened after that." He explained, hoping to end his son's curiosity.

Spark however had one last question. "Hey dad, what did mom look like?.....if you don't mind me asking." He asked.

Fang chuckled and closed the journal. "Believe it or not, she looked a lot like Gwen.....the only noticable difference was the eyes, Verdant's eyes were, well.....'verdant' green." He joked.

Spark stifled a laugh at the joke, he then watched as Fang put the journal back among the boxes. "What about the rest? I know there has to be more to the story." He said.

Fang shrugged. "I'll tell you the whole thing some other time, just not so close around Hearths Warming, come on, let's head upstairs." He said.

Spark nodded and followed Fang up the stairs. 'My first Hearths Warming....should be interesting.'

____*meanwhile*____

'This is going to be a nightmare....if it's ANYTHING like Nightmare Night, I'm going to die from boredom.' Complained a familiar golden bear.

Derpy rolled her eyes. "Calm down Golden, we haven't had a brawl with Luna in almost a week, I think she gave up." She said hopefully.

Golden huffed. "Not likely, a woman like that is far too stubborn to simply give up." He countered.

Derpy sighed. "Fine, be paranoid, but still....we should be careful, Luna sometimes visits Ponyville around the holidays, or so I'm told." She said.

Golden materialized a couch and laid back on it. "Fine, but don't yell at me when I say 'I told you so'." He replied.

____*Hearths Warming Eve, Gwen's house, 7:28 AM (I don't know if Hearths Warming Eve is the holiday or the day before.)*____

The entire house was quiet that morning, Fang and Roxanne were unknowingly fast asleep in each others arms, Spark and Firefly were asleep in their beds as the sun slowly rose in the distance, Gwen was out cold on the floor next to her bed, Skitter was the only one currently awake, she was in the living room, sipping on some hot cocoa.

Skitter sighed as the sun began to illuminate the room, she ignited her horn and a disguise began to shape around her, the disguise was one of her own design, it was that of an orange Pegasus with short faded orange hair with a slightly dull white streak on the far right,, her eyes were a fiery Amber, and her cutie mark was a burning eye, she had even gone so far as to come up with a name for the disguise, she knew that since they were in Equestria, the name would have to be somewhat obvious, but she really didn't give a damn. [2]

Skitter chuckled. "Star.....heh, ain't called myself that in a while." She laughed softly as she let the sun wash over her fur. "Well, I'm not staying inside, but I'll wait." She said as she walked to the kitchen.

As she walked, 'Star' realized something, she looked at where her horn should be and saw an orange horn with a spiral pattern, it glowed with an Amber aura, she grumbled and walked into the kitchen, she set the hot cocoa on the table, she quickly made her horn vanish from the disguise. "I need to get back in practice." She muttered quietly as to not wake anyone up.

Star sat down at the table and continued to drink her hot cocoa, after it was gone she sat up and set the mug in the sink, she walked into the living room and walked over to one of the chairs, just as Star went to sit down, a knock came at the door.

Star grumbled and walked over to the door, she opened the door and saw Twilight who had a thin layer of snow on her, she sighed at Twilght's confused look. "Come on in." She said while getting out of the way.

Twilight nodded and walked inside, once she was inside, Star closed the door and turned to face Twilight. "Hey magic girl, why are you here so early?" She asked.

Twilight sighed. "Well, I'm actually here to see if Gwen and the others are available for the pageant, have you seen them miss?..." She asked.

Star rolled her eyes. "They're asleep.....and its me, Skitter." She replied.

Twilight halfway nodded before giving Skitter a skeptical look. "Alright, who are you disguised as?" She questioned.

Star shook her head and walked towards the kitchen. "Nobody, this body is one of my own design, oh and by the way, call me Star while I'm in this body......ok? so magic girl, want anything?" She asked innocently.

Twilight grumbled to herself, it sounded like she was annoyed but Star shrugged it off. "I'm fine." She replied.

Star nodded and walked into the kitchen. "So, what's this pageant?" She asked as she started pulling some things out.

Twilight walked over to one of the chairs and sat down. "It's the Hearths Warming Eve pageant, we hold it every year, I came over to see if any of you were coming over." She said. [3]

Star walked out of the kitchen, she walked over to the couch and sat down. "I think we had plans today, besides, if the pageant is about the three pony tribes......no thanks." She said.

Twilight raised an eyebrow and looked at Star. "Why not? everypony comes....and what's wrong with the pageant?" She asked, soemwhat offended.

Star sighed and rubbed her eyes. "What isn't wrong with it? it's neutered.....the last pageant I went to that had that story, I simply picked the entire thing apart, the only thing that WAS even remotely close to the original was the three tribes fighting over the same spot of land." She countered.

Twilight huffed and crossed her hooves, she gave Star an annoyed look. "Look, I've read all about it, and I can tell you that the version that I know is completely accurate." She argued.

Star smirked and laid back on the couch. "Where did you find this information?" She asked.

Twilight seemed to be caught off guard by the question but answered regardless. "The library.....why?" She asked.

Star chuckled and looked at Twilight from an upside down point of view. "Time for a history lesson magic girl." She said.

Before Twilight could speak up, Star had already begun. "Now then.....a long time ago, in a far away land.....before Equestria was founded, there were three separate pony tribes, the Earth ponies, the Pegasi, and the unicorns." Star began.

"Even though the tribes were essentially the same race, they were at war....they fought over the lands resources and even used their unique powers to try and get an advantage over each other, the Pegasi used their weather magic for constant hazardous weather, the Earth ponies withheld food, and the unicorns used their magic to control the sun and moon, it was a battle of attrition.....but none of the races were willing to openly attack, they were content to wait for the others to give in." She continued.

"It wasn't until twenty four years later, that the three tribes agreed to send a representative to a conference to negotiate a truce, the Earth ponies sent Chancellor Muddingham, the Pegasi sent Commander Hurricane, and the unicorns sent Princess Platinum, it was there that the war ended.....but the animosity between the three nations remained." Star continued.

Twilight cleared her throat, Star looked at her. "Don't you mean Chancellor Puddinghead?" She said,

Star shook her head. "Nope, that's in the neutered version.....now do you want to hear the story or not?" She asked in annoyance.

Twilight sighed and allowed Star to continue. "Now, at the conference, the unicorns had demanded that the Pegasi cease the hazardous weather or else they wouldn't let the sun cover their lands, but Chancellor Muddingham had stopped that threat by stating that if they did that, then the Earth pony lands couldn't get any sunlight, and the crops would die out......needless to say, the unicorns threat was nullified, the Pegasi seemed to be somewhat willing to cooperate, and by that they were willing to cancel the hazardous weather, as they had lost good flyers because of it, the Earth ponies were the most cooperative however, as they seemed to be tired of the war, after hours of debating, the three races left the conference in sour moods." She continued.

Star took a quick breath before continuing the tale. "A week later, the three representatives found an unclaimed land that had more than enough room for a nation, so they alerted the leaders of their nations and were tasked with creating a settlement for colonization, little did they know, the other representatives were tasked with the same mission, a few weeks later, they arrived at their destination, they had just barely began construction when they found each other." She continued.

"The three representatives argued over who the land belonged to until an unnatural chill sent shivers up their spine, they looked around and were horrified at the sight.......everyone that they brought for the colonization were frozen solid by a large creature that stood upright on two legs, Commander Hurricane identified them as yeti, creatures that fed on hatred and negative emotions, the three quickly fled the area, along with the people they trusted the most, Sergeant Swift, Commander Hurricane's life mate, Clover the Clever, Princess Platinum's oracle, and Bison, Chancellor Muddingham's advisor." She continued.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Wait a moment, I've heard of Clover the Clever, but i never heard of the other two." She said.

Star nodded. "It doesn't surprise me, Bison stuck to the background, he was fine with his position as the unknown advisor, and Sergeant Swift.....well, let's just say the modern day pony would much rather have a private called Pansy in the story, then a sergeant." She replied.

"Anyway, the six soon found a cave to hide in, they quickly entered the cave to hide from the yeti, the Chancellor suggested they start a fire, so he left the cave along with Clover the Clever, the two found some firewood and made their way back to the cave, Commander Hurricane and Sergeant Swift found some stones and they began to make a fire, fortunately, Bison knew a way to make a fire last just as long as a normal fire, and give off more heat, he found some blaze root and he added it to the fire, Platinum pitched in by igniting the fire, soon however, came nighttime, the three groups sat around the campfire as the night slowly passed, and it was then that Clover the Clever suggested that they put their differences aside and try to save their people, the three representatives reluctantly agreed and they soon started to discuss possible outcomes." She paused and looked at Twilight.

Twilight was now silent as she listened to Star's tale. "Go on." She requested.

Star nodded. "Now, while they talked, they reasoned to only put up suggestions until they found one to agree on.....the night passed by quickly as over fifty reasons were discarded, eventually however, Clover the Clever, Bison and Sergeant Swift, had all come together and suggested unification, the suggestion silenced the three representatives for the longest time, until the Chancellor spoke, he had said that he agreed to the idea, he claimed that if his advisor agreed then he would back it up, Commander Hurricane had talked to her Sergeant in private about her suggestion, and Platinum had a discussion about it with her oracle."  She replied.

"Hurricane had agreed to the idea soon after her talk with Swift, the night had ended with only Platinum contemplating the idea of unification.....the next day, the group of six awoke to a cold morning, a few hours passed and Platinum had finally made her decision, she agreed to the unification idea, with that the group of six left the cave and set out to free their people, Clover the Clever had discovered through a vision that the yeti draw their power from negative emotions, and positive emotions weaken them, with this knowledge, the six ponies returned to the area they had fled from, they found that the yeti had rounded up all of the frozen ponies and stuck them in a single area, the six ponies headed into the camp and they battled the yeti......the records of how they defeated the yeti exactly were never found, but the original belief was that they freed the ponies during the fight and convinced them to set aside their differences, there was some bloodshed, but they had prevailed.....obviously." She paused.

"The Chancellor was injured by an attack at his legs, he was healed by Princess Platinum, much to the surprise of everyone there, after that, the three representatives and their respective groups continued to build the settlements, they had connected the three and eventually, word had spread about the small community, it took a few years but the three pony tribes eventually combined and formed the kingdom of Equestria, with the town of Everfree as the Capitol of the nation, the tradition of Hearths Warming Eve was founded as a holiday, on the same day the three representatives came together to free their people.....sadly the tradition was slowly forgotten over the years, it's become a shell of the original." Star finished.

Twilight couldn't help but give a small clap, she heard Star chuckle. "I think I see what you mean.....if what you say is true, then the story really did change." She replied.

Star sat up and then looked at Twilight. "Yea, but hey, I don't speak for the others, so go ahead and ask them......ain't no way I'm staying inside today." She said.

Twilight nodded and looked at the stairs as footsteps could be heard, she watched as Firefly came down the stairs with a sleepy look. "Morning Firefly." She said.

Firefly nodded and walked into the kitchen. "Morning." She replied simply.

Star got off the couch and looked at Twilight. "You up for breakfast?" She asked.

Twilight's stomach answered for her as it growled loudly. "Guess so." She replied.

Star nodded and headed for the kitchen.

Twilight looked around the room for a moment before spotting some photos, she got off the chair and walked over, just as she reached the photos, Fang came out of the basement followed by Spark and Roxanne, they all looked tired.

Spark noticed Twilight and gave a short wave. "Morning Twilight, are you staying for breakfast?" He asked.

Twilight nodded and looked at the photos, there was one of Firefly and Roxanne standing outside of Sugarcube corner, and another with Spark and Firefly, Dinky was there along with Spike and the crusaders standing outside of the Sweet Apple Acres farmhouse, Applejack was standing behind them with a slightly annoyed look on her face, Twilight chuckled at the memory as she looked at other photos.

One was of Gwen and Derpy before......the incident, they looked so happy, Gwen had some dirt on her body and face from a stunt and Derpy looked like she was laughing, a more recent photo was that of Roxanne and Fang with Firefly and Spark in front of their respective parents, Twilight smiled and looked at one last photo, it was Gwen and Derpy again, but this time it was recent, Gwen was grinning next to Derpy who had her right eye revealed, she was smiling as well, but what caught Twilight's eye was something that was barely visible in Derpy's eye, she looked closer and saw a faint figure.....she looked even closer and saw that the figure was that of a golden bear.

"What the?" She mouthed.

A familiar voice started Twilight. "That would be Golden." Said the voice.

Twilight looked at the source of the voice and saw Fang standing there. "Who is he?" She asked.

Fang sighed and picked up the photo. "My old coworker, we were children's entertainers back home.....I have no idea how he got here." He replied.

Twilight nodded as set of footsteps came down the stairs. "Morning everyone." Said the voice.

"Morning Gwen!" Star called.

Gwen walked into the living and noticed Twilight, she gave her a sleepy wave before heading into the kitchen.

____*ten minutes later*____

Gwen was sitting at the table, she was eating a simple breakfast of eggs, toast and potatoes, the breakfast itself was quiet, save for Twilight and Roxanne discussing......something.

Eventually however, the subject of their plans for the day.....it was then that they realized they had no plans, for the day, Twilight had suggested the pageant but Skitter had revealed that she had no interest in it, they had all laughed when Roxanne called the changeling a regular old Scrooge, after that, Spark and Firefly decided that they wanted to play with their friends, Gwen and Roxanne decided to go to the pageant along with Twilight and Derpy, Skitter simply wanted to be outside today and was quickly recruited to go with the kids, Fang however did not reveal his plans for the day, he said that he would find something to do.

With that the group went and got themselves ready for the day ahead, Fang went down to the basement and walked over to the boxes, he went through them until he found the journal, he walked over to the bed and sat down, he opened the book and looked through it...until he found one page in particular, he began to read the page when the door opened, he quickly closed the book and looked to see who it was.

"Why do you keep that book hidden Fang?" Asked Roxanne.

Fang said nothing as he stood up and walked over to the boxes, he hid the book amongst the boxes and looked at Roxanne. "Can't tell you, sorry." He replied.

Roxanne sighed and walked up to the bed, she walked up to one of the tables and grabbed a talisman, it was an old bronze talisman, it had the symbol of a diamond on one side and the symbol of a broken horn on the other, Roxanne had found it in the treasury, she sighed and walked back to the stairs. "Fang.....go outside for once, you've been cooped up in here for weeks with that book, get some air." She said.

Fang looked back at where the book was, he heard Roxanne walk up the stairs but he paid it no mind.....instead he walked over to the boxes and pulled the book back out, he laid back on the bed and started reading it. "Maybe later." He said absently.

____*four hours later, Ponyville park, 11:52 AM, the tale of the kids*____

Firefly laughed as she unleashed a hail of snowballs at her opponents, it was the crusaders, Dinky, Spark and Firefly against six other fillies and colts, Firefly ducked behind her wall as two snowballs were launched at her, she looked over at her allies and saw that they were holding the line, Spark however had found an evil trick, right before he threw a snowball he would heat it up, causing the snow to melt into water upon impact with the opposing teams wall, it forced the one unicorn colt, Snips, to cease fire so he could repair the walls.

The rule that they had set was that they could not hit each other in the head or eyes, but they said nothing about dragon fire, Firefly quickly popped up and threw a rather large snowball at the opposing wall, which forced one of the other unicorn colts, Snails, to repair the now broken wall.

Spark gathered some snow and right as he went to make a snowball, an idea came to mind, he chuckled and began to make a unique shape, Scootaloo had raised an eyebrow but didn't question the dragon, she quickly threw a blind snowball at the enemy, which had resulted in Snips getting hit in the chest when he went to gather some snow.

"I'm going to get some snow." Sweetie Belle told Applebloom, she went to leave cover when Firefly stopped her. "Huh?" She asked.

Firefly raised a hoof and motioned Sweetie Belle to come closer, she whispered a plan in her ear and Sweetie Belle nodded. "Alright."

Applebloom raised an eyebrow at this but her eyes widened as she watched Sweetie Belle jump right over their wall, she quickly popped up out of cover and threw a snowball for cover.

Firefly grabbed a snowball and looked around, once she was certain that no one was looking, her hooves glowed a faint silver, she chuckled and popped up, she threw a snowball at Snails as he popped up to throw a snowball at Sweetie Belle, he gasped and quickly dove out of cover....only to receive a small barrage of snowballs to the side.

"Your out Snails!" Called Star from a cloud above the battlefield.

Star had volunteered to be the ref for the match.....she claimed it was because she would be an easy target, but it was actually because she didn't want to give the opposing team a hatred of snowball fights when they lost.

Dinky and the crusaders gave Sweetie Belle cover as she gathered snow from the middle of the field.

Firefly watched as Sweetie Belle returned with a decent sized pile of snow, she grabbed some and began shaping it into a snowball.

Spark chuckled as he continued his project, it was a handheld snow drill made out of snow, he breathed a slow stream of fire onto the drill as he put more snow in its place, eventually, the drill had an icy head, he whispered his plan to Dinky and Scootaloo and they nodded, soon they started to target two separate parts of the wall, Spark relayed the plan to the rest of the group and they nodded in acknowledgement, Spark bided his time until he saw his targeted spot become empty, he popped up and threw the drill, the drill flew through the air and it slammed right into the wall and even went beyond, eventually the drill stopped when it was two feet farther then it's intended destination.

Firefly's hoof glowed again and she popped up, she noticed Snips attempting to repair the now shattered wall, she threw the snowball, Snips didn't know about the snowball until it landed, she heard Star declare Snips out of the game.

The rest of the match went by smoothly, without Snips and Snails repairing the walls, the rest of their team fell quickly.....however, some more kids showed up and declared that they were the reinforcements. "Wonderful." Firefly said.

The group quickly went to a defensive strategy, with Spark, Firefly and Scootaloo fending off the now twelve kid strong army, with the original six and six new players, the group of six was drastically outnumbered, Spark would throw his melting snowballs at certain spots in the wall, forcing one or two of the enemies to repair, Applebloom, Sweetie Bele and Dinky went to gather snow, but even though they were fending off the army, it was clear that they were losing, eventually however, when the two crusaders and Dinky returned with the snow, an unexpected surprise came for them.

"Need some help?" Asked a voice. 

Spark looked in surprise but soon sighed in relief, it was Sparkler, Dinky's sister, Spark nodded and lobbed a snowball at the enemy. "We're a bit outnumbered.

Sparkler grinned and got into cover, she ignited her horn and soon brought a large amount of snow to them from a nearby area. "Let's level the playing field eh?" She suggested.

Spark nodded and an idea popped into his head. "Alright, I have an idea, Sparkler, how good is your reaction timing?" He asked.

Sparkler shrugged. "It's good, why do you ask?" She asked as she threw a large snowball at the other fort.

Spark peeked at the enemy, they had increased the size of their fort to accommodate for more people, he noticed that they had three people repairing, six people throwing snowballs, and three gathering snow.

"Ok, one of us needs to focus on gathering snow, one needs to repair, the rest are for combat, Sparkler, I need you to steal the opponents snowballs as they throw them, can you do that?" Spark asked.

Sparkler peeked at the opposing fort and chuckled at how slow they threw, she ducked down again. "Oh yea, I got this, but what do I do with them?" She asked.

Spark threw a blind snowball over the wall. "I need you to set them down over here, at least we'll have a constant supply." He replied.

Sparkler nodded and popped up, she quickly nabbed some snowballs mid flight and set them down near Spark and Scootaloo.

Applebloom decided to repair the wall while Sweetie Belle gathered snow, Sparkler continued to steal the snow as she realized the genius of Spark's plan, he was forcing the enemy team to waste their snow, while her team had an ever increasing stockpile, she noticed Spark working on something.

"What is that?" Sparkler asked.

Spark paid no mind as he worked on his design, he was working on a thrown projectile that would explode into more snow in a radius. "Just keep in the game, I have an idea." He said.

The game continued like that for five minutes, with the team of twelve maintaining their fort, and the team of seven stealing their snowballs and maintaining their fort.

Eventually, Spark finished his project and threw the snow bomb, the bomb impacted on the enemy wall and exploded in a flurry of snow, the explosion revealed three of the opposing teammates, they were soon barraged by Sparkler, Scootaloo and Firefly.

And just like dominoes, the opposing team fell one by one, and the team of seven was declared the winner.

Spark and Firefly high fived eachother in celebration. "Good job!" Spark said.

The group started congratulating each other on their victory, Sparkler smiled at the happy expressions on the six friends faces, she looked up and saw Star smiling softly.

'This is a day to remember.' Sparker thought.

____*meanwhile, Outside the town hall, the tale of the friends*____

Twilight and Roxanne left the building with smiles on their faces, they had seen the pageant and saw that it was the traditional tale of the three pony tribes.

Derpy and Gwen had parted from Roxanne and Twilight, they said that they wanted to spend some time together, Roxanne rolled her eyes and let the two Pegasi wander off, she looked at Twilight. "Now what?" She asked.

Twilight thought on it a moment before looking at her. "I guess we could go into town?" She suggested.

Roxanne shrugged and started to walk towards the town. "Hey Twilight.....how's Dark?" She asked.

Twilight caught up to Roxanne and hummed a small tune. "She's doing alright, if anything, she's glad that she wasn't arrested." She replied.

Roxanne nodded and put her arms behind her head and looked up. "That's good, it would suck if she got arrested.....mainly because I would end up having to rescue her, and that wouldn't be pretty." She commented quietly.

Twilight blinked and had a surprised look on her face. "Umm.......ok, in that case I'm glad i could convince Celestia not to arrest her." She said plainly.

Roxanne and Twilight then spent around half an hour wandering the town, they looked in the shops and the stalls, they had even bought a few things, Roxanne rolled her eyes at some of the ridiculous things for sale in some of the shops, but then they passed by another store, and it had something that caught Roxanne's eye. 

Roxanne walked up to the store and looked at the window display, it was a hobby store, but one item on display caught Roxanne's eye, it was a simple wooden case, it was golden brown with a spiral pattern on it, the case was the size of a simple cigar case but Roxanne didn't mind, she walked into the store, Twilight followed with a curious look on her face.

Roxanne walked up to the wooden box and looked at the price, it was fifteen bits, Roxanne shrugged and grabbed the box, she then proceeded to browse the store, Twilight followed while looking around the store, eventually. Roxanne approached the register and got in line behind a unicorn stallion, after the stallion was finished, Roxanne walked up and set the box on the counter.

The stallion behind the counter looked at the box, then at Roxanne, he had a nervous expression but started working. "Fifteen bits." He said.

Roxanne reached down to her pouch and withdrew three five bit coins. [4] 

The clerk took the bits and then put the bits in a box below the counter. "Enjoy." He said.

Roxanne nodded and walked away with her new box. 

Twilight simply followed her friend out of the store. 

'That was weird'. Twilight thought.

____*meanwhile, Gwen and Derpy*____

Gwen and Derpy walked through the park casually, they seemed content to simply be in each other's company, they looked around at the sights of the town and then they spotted what seemed to be the aftermath of an enormous snowball fight, they also noticed Star simply sitting on a bench looking around.

The couple decided to let Star enjoy the peace and quiet, they continued through the park in silence, no words needed to be spoken, they saw a few familiar faces like Lyra and Colgate, Carrot Top and Thunderlane, they even saw the Cakes out and about.

Eventually the couple stopped at an empty bench, they sat down and Gwen put her arm around Derpy. "Nice day huh?" She asked casually.

Derpy nodded. "Yea, you can say that again." She said.

'Ugh......so, sappy!' Golden complained.

Derpy rolled her eyes. 'Shut up.' She replied.

Gwen looked around the park and saw families playing in the snow, her smile slowly became a sad one as she watched all the other families. 'That could be me.' She thought to herself.

Gwen looked at Derpy who seemed to have zoned out. 'Must be talking to Golden.....but still....' Her thoughts trailed off as Derpy looked up at her. "Sorry for the interuption, but I'm taking over for a little." She said in a slightly dark voice.

Gwen tensed up and she released her arm. "Golden.....what are you doing?" She asked accusingly.

Golden chuckled. "It's alright, me and Derpy are ready to switch at a moments notice, I just wanted to be able to move for once, watching is boring." He replied calmly as he sat up.

Gwen sighed and moved over so Golden had room. "So, why today eh?" She asked.

Golden shrugged and looked around. "Well, two reasons, the first being that I wanted to see how different this holiday is from the one I know, and the second being....she owes me." He replied simply.

Gwen shook her head and looked around the park. "So, what are you going to do Golden?" She asked.

Golden put a hoof under his chin and an idea came to mind. "Well, I do have a completely innocent idea...." He trailed off.

Gwen gulped as Golden stood up and walked off, she decided to follow......just in case.

____*ten minutes later, Golden Oaks Library*____

Gwen could only facepalm as Golden made illusionary fires on the books, they hadn't found Spike so they assumed that he went out, after Golden made the sixth illusionary fire, Gwen had to draw the line. "Alright Golden, that's enough.....we don't want Twilight to die from panic." She said.

Golden chuckled and tossed a book in. "Come now, I can tell you for a fact that, that cannot happen." He replied.

Gwen walked over to the door and opened it. "Come on, let's go before Twilight gets back, I REALLY don't want to be here when she gets back." She said.

Golden nodded and followed Gwen as they soon took flight, they made sure they closed the doors and headed for the town. "Hmm, now what?" He wondered.

Gwen flew up next to Golden. "Now you give Derpy control again, I think you've had enough." She said.

Golden stopped flying forward and glared at Gwen. "Seriously?......seriously?" He asked.

Gwen nodded firmly at that and Golden soon heard a voice in his borrowed head. 'It's alright, let me talk to her a moment, she's being protective again.' Derpy said.

Golden rolled his eyes and looked at Gwen. "Call incoming, it's for you." He said plainly.

Gwen raised an eyebrow at that but did not question it as Derpy spoke. "Ok Gwen, we need to talk a little." She said.

_____*meanwhile, Fang, tale of the old wolf.*_____

Fang sighed as he laid back on his bed, he had spent every moment reading the book....he wouldn't say anything to anyone that day but he had found something that disturbed him, the journal was once Verdant's, he had begun reading the book, and the more he did.....the harder it was to resist reading it twenty four seven, it was a record of her time in the temple, and it was there that she discovered something odd when she was experimenting with the Vision spell, there was a strange side effect that caused the recipient to experience visions without the spell.....and Fang was concerned that he may have them.

For the past few weeks, Fang had been catching glimpeses of Verdant's life, he had even seen something he never heard about before, it was a large black crystal with a black shadow looming over it, last night however had terrified Fang, he had seen a vision of Twilight being trapped inside a black crystal prison with no magic to aid her, an unknown unicorn stallion with a corrupted horn, an alicorn projecting a shield over what seemed to be a city.....what truly horrified him however was the black shadow the loomed over the city, the shadow seemed to be fighting something, but Fang could not make it out.

Fang rubbed his eyes and he quickly his the book amongst the boxes, his right hand twitched ever so slightly, Fang walked up the stairs to leave the basement, he opened the door and as soon as he entered the next room.....another vision was forced onto Fang. "Not again." He mumbled.

The vision this time had the house around him disassemble around him, he sighed as the vision sped up until the house was gone and he was standing on dirt, he looked around and saw that the town was also mostly gone, he could see some people off on the distance so he started walking, he saw that there were a few buildings in a row and some more on the side, Fang assumed that this must be when Ponyville was first being founded, so he resolved to find out what he could before the vision ended.

Fang approached the small town and saw that he received some terrified glances, he grumbled. "Great, this again." He whispered to himself.

Fang started to explore the town but as he did he realized that nearly everyone in the town shot him either terrified or furious glares, he ignored it as he walked around, after ten minutes of effortless he eventually stumbled across a group of ponies around a stall, they seemed to be getting ready to sell their goods, he spotted some young mares getting some things for the stall when one of them tripped and dropped a box of apples, one of the mares hurried over and helped the mare get up, Fang sighed and walked over, he recieved some angry glares from the other ponies but he paid them no mind, once he reached the two mares he kneeled down, the two gave him curious stares but Fang paid no mind as he gathered the scattered apples and put them back in the box he picked the box up and looked at the other ponies. "Where do you want it?" He asked.

The stallion seemed to be shocked but he pointed to the stall regardless, Fang carried the box over and set it down on the stall, he looked over at the mares and noticed something familiar about the one. "You, green one, what's your name?" He asked calmly.

The mare in question gulped and went to say her name, but a loud bang censored it. "You know what.....just call me Smith." She said grumpily.

Fang nodded and reached down for his satchel, he opened it up and pulled out an iron coin with a dragon symbol on it, he set it down on the stall. "Keep it Smith, I'll be back for it." He said simply as he walked off and put his theory to the test.

The vision seemed to fade around Fang as he walked, once the world was back to normal, Fang noticed that he was now in the park, he looked around his general area and sighed in relief as he saw that nobody noticed him, he decided to save his theory for another day and he began to take a walk through the park.

'I'll see if this works sometime.' He wondered.

____*meanwhile, Skitter/Star, tale of the form changer*____

Star walked into Sugarcube corner and saw that the place was practically empty, she saw Pinkie Pie bouncing around, she walked into the bakery and Pinkie immediately noticed, this was self evident as she waved in Star's direction at the excact moment that Star's foot moved.

Pinkie bounced over to Star and promptly conked her on the head. "Ouch!" Star exclaimed.

"Yea, I don't get how you could handle it all those times." Pinkie commented as she rubbed her head.

Star rubbed her head and she looked Pinkie in the eye. "What possessed you to do that Pinks?" She asked.

Pinkie shrugged and bounced toward the counter. "Do you want anything?" She asked.

Star shook her head and walked over to one of the booths, she sat down and laid her head back. "Just need some privacy." She replied.

"Okie dokie loki!" The pink mare replied as she headed back into the kitchen.

Star rolled her eyes and then closed them, almost immediately, thoughts of the twins and Vulture entered her head, she sighed and opened her eyes and leaned on the table, she set her elbow on the table and let her head rest on her hoof.

Pinkie entered the room from the kitchen and saw Star, she walked over and sat down on the opposite end. "Are you alright?" She asked quietly.

Star scoffed. "What do you care? your people hunt my kind, I'm basically a prisoner and I'm at the mercy of ponies who hate me because of a racial difference, no one cares." She retorted.

Pinkie rolled her eyes and looked at Star, she gave the mare a sincere look. "Drop the disguise." She said.

Star looked at Pinkie with disinterest, she sighed in defeat and she let the disguise fall. "Happy?" She asked hostility.

Pinkie looked Skitter right in the eye and soon smiled. "You know, it's just a disguise, I can tell its you just by looking at you." She said calmly.

Skitter chuckled and leaned back on the booth. "What do you expect me to do? go out in public like this.....I would be hated on the spot, the only person who understands my pain is dead.....what do you want?" She asked.

Pinkie then got up out of the booth and looked at Skitter. "I know that my race hasn't given you much reason to trust us....." She was going to continue but was cut off by Skitter. 

"Your race either arrests or kills us on sight, those of us living normal lives were torn away from their families because they were changelings.....I'm lucky to have gotten away when I did." She countered.

"But!" Pinkie interrupted. "There ARE good ponies out there, you just need to find them." She replied.

Skitter chuckled and looked up at the ceiling. "You have an optimistic view of the world, but still....kinda hard to find equality amongst a race where it's ruler considers my race to be abominations." She said with disgust.

Pinkie sighed and walked over to the counter. "I'm not going to convince you, but you don't need to be so negative, your safe.....nopony is going to attack you today, or tomorrow for that matter." She argued.

Skitter blinked as she seemed to think it over, eventually after five minutes, her horn lit up and she became Star again. "I can't take that chance." She said sadly as she stood up and walked to the exit.

Pinkie shook her head and continued to work. "Be careful Star." She said.[5]

Star exited the bakery and headed home. "I'm done." She stated to herself.

_____*later that day, 5:19 PM, tale of the psychic.*_____

Golden wandered the now bare streets of Ponyville, he had borrowed Derpy's body and let the mare sleep, although Gwen protested, she was quickly silenced by Golden reminding her of Derpy's decision, annoyingly enough, everyone had gone inside for the night....which was completely riduculous to Golden, he looked up at the moon and chuckled as it was full. "Always did like full moons, what do you think?" He asked.

Four footsteps landed on the snow behind Golden, he turned around and saw a VERY familiar lunar alicorn. "Hey Luna." He said.

Luna walked up. "Greetings, We are not here to fight you." She stated as she looked up.

Golden nodded and looked up at the night sky and admired the handiwork. "I take it your proud of what you do?" He asked.

Luna nodded and looked at Golden. "Indeed, although we are curious as to why you are roaming the streets, are you not concerned?" She asked.

Golden shook his head. "Na, I just felt like stargazing." He replied.

Luna nodded and soon Golden spoke up again. "We need to stop our fights." He said simply.

Luna looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" She asked.

Golden sighed and sat down. "As much as I'm going to hate telling you this......our fights are actually killing Derpy, and I don't know about YOU but I need this mare alive." He revealed.

Luna mirrored Golden's actions and looked at him. "Very well, we shall cease our combat with you, if what you say is true, then I have no choice.....so, you like stargazing?" She asked with a change of subject.

Golden smiled and welcomed the subject change. "Yea.....used to do it all the time back home, gotta say though....the stars do top ours by a longshot." He complemented.

Luna grinned. "Thank you, it isn't easy, but I can make some good constellations." She replied.

Golden nodded. "Yep, but still...." He looked at Luna. "Isn't this the same reason you became Nightmare Moon? because everyone would shun the night or something corny like that?" He asked.

Luna sighed sadly and nodded. "Unfortunately yes, but it was more of my jealousy that made it happen." She replied.

Golden nodded again and looked at Luna. "Well, I guess that's all sorted out huh?" He said.

Luna chuckled and looked at Golden. "Yes, but we have a question for you now." She stated.

Golden rolled his eyes and laughed shortly. "Go ahead, you caught me In a good mood." He replied.

"Why do you not return to your body?......surely you have one." She asked.

Golden shrugged. "Eh, old coworker rammed into it and demolished it, apparently it wasn't very durable.....if I do have a body, it's back home at Freddy's." He replied.

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Who's Freddy?" She asked.

"Children's restaurant, it has animatronics for the main attraction, I used to be the main one, until the bite......can we change the subject?" He asked quietly.

Luna had gained some curiosity but she respected Golden's wish. "Very well, but may I ask who this coworker of yours is?" She asked.

Golden shrugged. "Fang, he just showed up out of nowhere one day, didn't even know they were making another animatronic, he's a good guy but we......never saw eye to eye." He said.

Luna seemed to think about it for a moment before her eyes widened in realization. "The wolf? he's your coworker?" She asked.

Golden nodded at the question, Luna had stood up and looked at Golden. "Let's go pay a visit." She said cryptically.

"Uh.....ok?" He said with confusion clear in his voice.

Luna started walking towards Gwen's house and Golden followed close behind.

'Hopefully this will end in disaster.....at least it will avert the awkward feeling.' Golden hoped.

____*Gwen's house, ten minutes later*____

Fang chuckled as he leaned against the wall, he watched as Gwen and the others gathered around a bare tree, he could only roll his eyes as they all participated in decorating the tree, Sparkler and Dinky had even pitched in by putting garland up, Fang was the only one who didn't want to participate.....Roxanne had pointed out that he was killing the mood but Fang had insisted that he had already done his part.

This was true, but Roxanne simply wanted to tease her partner, but Fang had brought the tree in and set the entire thing up, he chuckled again as Star and Sparkler fumbled on putting the garland up. 'Maybe I've been taking this vision thing to seriously.....why would I want to give this up?' He asked himself.

"I bring a guest!" Proclaimed Derpy as she entered the house.

Fang looked over and saw Princess Luna walk inside, he looked at Spark and motioned him over. 

Luna noticed the tree and smiled.....she saw that several ponies in the room had bowed, she had mentioned that she was here for a casual visit and everyone in the room eased themselves as they went back to what they were doing, she then looked around the room and noticed Fang leaning against the wall casually, she caught a brief glimpse of a baby dragon hiding behind his leg. 

Derpy walked over to the group of friends and joined them in decorating the tree.

Luna walked over to Fang with a neutral expression. "Hello." She greeted.

Fang nodded. "Hey......it's been a while." He said.

Luna noticed a small head pop out from behind Fang's leg for a moment. "And who is this?" She asked as she knelt down.

Fang looked down at his leg, he chuckled as the baby dragon hid from the alicorn. "This is Spark......my son." He introduced as he gently nudged the dragon, who in turn gulped and came out of hiding.

Luna knelt down to the dragon height. "Greetings young one, I am Princess Luna it's nice to meet you." She said calmly.

Spark nodded and slowly approached the nocturnal alicorn. "I uh.....nice to meet you?" He replied nervously.

Luna gave a soft smile, she had dealt with this often in the Dream world.....she slowly stood up and looked at Fang. "If I may.....what was his egg like?" She asked.

Fang raised an eyebrow, he sent Spark over to the others and gave Luna a cautious glare. "It was orange with a dark green stripe down the middle.....why do you ask?" He questioned.

Luna looked at the dragon and then back at Fang. "Because.....I know the mother of the dragon." She replied simply.

Fang's heart seemed to have skipped a beat, he sighed and looked at the tree. "We need to talk in private after the party." He stated.

Luna nodded and looked to the group of ponies decorating the tree. "This will be an interesting night....." She mumbled.

> A new adventure.......go figure.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*Ponyville, one week later, Gwen's house, Skitter's POV, 7:32 AM*___

Skitter yawned as she sat up groggily, a small crack in the windows let the sun shine into the room and onto Skitter's face, she shielded her eyes from the light and stood up, the annoying sound of a rooster had awoken the changeling, Skitter had the unforntunate side effect of using her abilities which was not very common, she had extra sensitive hearing and that usually led to waking up around five o'clock, Skitter's horn flared for a brief moment before her disguise engulfed her.

Carapace was replaced by fur, insectoid wings replaced by Pegasus wings, her horn disappeared and hair started to grow in its place, the holes In her legs disappeared one by one until they were all gone, and soon, Skitter the changeling  was gone, and in her place was Star the Pegasus.

Star walked to the stairs and headed down, when she reached the bottom, she quickly headed into the kitchen, more beams of sunlight shone into the house as the sun rose, Star sighed and pulled out a bottle of water from the refrigerator, she popped the cap off and took a long chug of it down.

Once she was done, Star headed into the living room and sat down........it worked like this everyday, Star would wake up, she would put on the disguise and head downstairs, she would then grab a water bottle and chug a quarter of it down.

This was another one of the annoying and unforntunate side effects, Star also had to deal with a massive thirst, thankfully this side effect only lasted for a week. "Last day, then I can finally stop." She muttered.

Star chugged some more water down and set the bottle on a nearby table, she heard some footsteps from the stairs and stood up, she saw the basement door open and Fang walk out.

Fang looked at Star and gave a sleepy two finger wave, Star grumbled and ignored the wolf as he walked to the kitchen, she walked over to one of the windows and looked outside, it was actually a rather bleak day, which was rare in Equestria, but Star preferred it, in fact, she liked all kinds of bleak weather, rain, thunder, clouds, heavy winds, you name it.

Star could only grin when she saw a particular wind pass by, one that bobbed and weaved through the clouds with ease, this was Star's favorite wind, she then walked over to the table and grabbed her water, she then chugged the rest of it down and headed to the door.

"I'll be back later!" She called out.

"Alright!" Fang replied from the kitchen.

Star grinned and opened the door, she walked outside and closed the door, she quickly shot up into the air and flew off in no particular direction. "Time for a joy flight." She told herself quietly.

Star flew at high speeds as a course was formed in her mind, with a challenge set for herself she then began to weave around multiple clouds, she never slowed down, not once, not even as she performed a mid air loop to avoid a cloud, she then continued her flight, as she flew, she noticed that there was a familiar stream of magic headed for the library, Star sighed and continued her flight in a less excited manner.

Star knew that the magic was Celestia's, and if Star's suspicions were right.....it would be a letter stating that Star was to be banished or arrested. "Of course it could just be me overreacting....." She pointed out to herself.

Star quickly and silently finished her pictured track, she landed back at the house and walked inside, she looked around the house and noticed that Firefly and Roxanne were now awake.

Star rolled her eyes as Firefly pestered Fang.....something about bricks?

Roxanne was currently sitting down on one of the chairs reading a book, Star walked to the stairs and walked up. 'This is one messed up house.' She stated mentally.

Star walked up the stairs and towards her room, she could hear some thuds coming from Gwen's room, so she was awake now, Star walked to her room and opened the door, she walked inside and closed the door.

Once inside, Star walked over to her bed and plopped down, she laid back and stared at the ceiling, out of old habits, she searched her mind for the hive mind, but was greeted only by silence.

Star sighed and her disguise disappeared, she was now back to being Skitter, it didn't even take a second for the disguise to disappear, she then stared at the blank ceiling with a thoughtful look, she thought back to the time in Jandoka's temple, and the time that she fought Vulture and the twins with the others, she shivered at the thought of it.

Skitter didn't admit it to anyone, but she had nightmares of that day, in these nightmares, Vulture would either rip out her horn, or he would painfully remove her wings while the twins watched, and sometimes, she would be forced to watch Emerald and everyone else die around her while Vulture laughed.

Either way, Skitter was forced to bare hours upon hours of torment, which made her wonder. 'Doesn't Luna watch over dreams?.....if so, where is she?' She asked herself.

"Unless of course, she either WONT help me, or Celestia has forbidden her from helping me, or it's because I'm a changeling........damn racist ponies." She complained silently.

After a few more minutes, Skitter heard a knock at the door, she sighed and looked over. "Come in." She said.

The door opened to reveal Spark slowly walking in. "Um, dad wanted me to tell you that breakfast is done." He said nervously.

Skitter nodded and sat up as Spark walked out of the room and closed the door, she stood up and walked to the door, she raised a hoof to open it but hesitated. 'Is this what I've lowered myself to?......a pathetic paranoid mare that's afraid of a pony princess and her band of morons?......ugh, what happened to me?' She asked herself.

Skitter sighed and opened the door, she walked out and headed downstairs. 'I DEFINITELY need something to do......even if it's a damn invasion!' She complained.

When Skitter walked into the kitchen, she saw everyone sitting at the table eating, she rolled her eyes and joined them. 'Guess I'm not so lucky.'

_____*the next day,, 2:13 PM, Ponyville train station.*_____

Skitter groaned as she leaned back against the wall of the train station, she was here with Roxanne, Applejack, Fluttershy and Dark, she currently was not in disguise.....if only to piss off the manager and populace.

They were waiting on Twilight to get back from a meeting in Canterlot with Celestia, Skitter could care less what it was about but she needed some excitement, even if it was minimal.

After about twenty more minutes of waiting and the small group talking amongst themselves, the train rolled in.

Skitter sighed in relief as the train slowed down. 'Its about time, it was getting to be an awkward five minutes......Applejack is not very good at conversation anyway.' She mused.

The train slowed to a stop at the station, the group of five waited for Twilight to exit the train and soon the train doors opened.

A good amount of ponies exited the train and soon enough, a familiar unicorn walked out of the train, Applejack walked over and welcomed Twilight back to Ponyville.

Skitter grumbled as Twilight and Applejack walked back over. "Welcome back magic girl, how was your morning?" She said in a teasing voice.

Twilight herself did not look very good, her mane had a good amount of stray hairs, her tail was the same way, her fur seemed to be sticking out, and her eyes showed severe signs of stress and her pupils were noticeably dilated.

"Could have been better Skitter......it's good to see you out and about." She replied calmly.

Skitter shrugged and looked around the platform, she received some nasty glares from new arrivals and the rest. "Yea......although it would be nice if I didn't receive glares of death everywhere I go.......but I guess that it beats getting locked up like an animal." She commented.

Skitter then looked at Twilight. "Twilight......did you get any sleep at all last night?" She asked.

Twilight chuckled and shook her head, she rubbed her eyes and yawned. "No actually......I've been very stressed." She replied.

Skitter nodded and walked away from the wall. "Well, I don't blame you, it's not everyday that Celestia randomly decides to summon you." She said plainly.

Twilight grumbled about something that clearly had to do with Skitter and speech patterns. "Alright.....well, I need to head home, hey uh, Applejack." She said.

The mare in question looked at Twilight. "Yea?" 

"Could you get the others to meet up at the library later......I need to get some rest." She replied.

Applejack nodded and Twilight thank her, with that the group split off to go about their business.

As Skitter walked off a thought popped in her head. 'This could be what I've been needing......guess we'll find out.' 

____*three hours later, Golden Oaks Library, 5:35 PM*____

Skitter sighed as she waited for Twilight, she looked around the room and at everyone here, there was Fang and Roxanne, Dark and the other five Element of harmony were here as well.

Eventually, Twilight walked down the stairs and into the main room, her horn lit up and the windows and door closed and locked themselves, the curtains and blinds shut and soon the inside of the library was sealed.

Skitter watched as Twilight started to pace, she began to wonder if this is what Gwen had to deal with all the time. "Alright, thank you all for coming." Twilight said hurriedly.

"Now then, the reason we are here." Twilight continued, her horn lit up again and an image projected itself at the middle of the room.

The image was that of a shining crystal city, the city itself was bigger then Manehatten or Las Pegasus easily, Twilight stated that the name of the massive city was the Crystal empire, and then she continued.

"Now, one thousand years ago, the city vanished......but now it has returned, Shining Armor and Cadence have already traveled there to investigate, Princess Celestia has asked us to go there and assist." Twilight finished as the image vanished.

Skitter chuckled and shook her head. "I can tell you this Twilight, I am NOT going if that fanatic is there." She stated firmly.

Twilight raised an eyebrow and thought on it a moment, when she realized who Skitter was referring to, she sighed. "Skitter, I don't blame my brother for what he's done." She countered.

Skitter chuckled. "Fine, but unless i change my mind, you can have this dance." She replied firmly.

After that, the group had a long discussion that lasted about twenty minutes and eventually, the only ones who did not decide were Dark and Skitter.

Twilight talked to Dark for about two minutes, it was decided that Dark would go along.

And then all eyes turned on Skitter, who simply sighed and banged her head against the wall. "Damnit........guess I've got no choice, fine!" She replied with annoyance.

Twilight smiled thankfully and looked back at the group. "Alright, a train will be here tomorrow at noon, so be sure to get ready." She said.

Skitter groaned and banged her head against the wall again. "Something tells me that I'm going to regret this." She mumbled.

____*the next day, Ponyville train station, 11:47 AM*____

Skitter was once again waiting at the train station, the only ones who weren't here was Fang and Roxanne, they were currently back home making sure that Spark and Firefly were going to be fine for a few days.

Twilight was currently discussing something with the conductor of their train, Gwen was talking to Fluttershy and Applejack about something that she couldn't make out.

Dark was leaning against a wall near Skitter in relative silence, Rarity however was left alone with Pinkie, who wanted to talk about new recipes for cupcakes or something.

Eventually however, Fang and Roxanne walked onto the platform and the group soon boarded the train, it was a private train that was occupied only by those going to the Crystal empire.

As everyone got seated, Skitter found an unoccupied area of the train and sat down, she looked out the window and sighed. 'Yep, big mistake.' She told herself.

When the train departed, Skitter was positive that this was possibly one of the biggest mistakes of her life, her solitude however, came to an end when she heard some rustling behind her, she shot up and looked around.

Seeing nothing, she quickly used her ability, she growled and narrowed her search to the train itself, seeing nothing out of the ordinary in the front of the train, she searched the back of the train and soon found two small figures hiding in the back, she slowly made her way to the two figures and soon found them hiding amongst the luggage, her horn lit up and the luggage separated and soon the figures were revealed.

"What the?.....Spark, Firefly!" She said in shock.

The two kids in question quickly shushed Skitter, they quietly walked out of the cubbyhole and they stood on the other side of Skitter. "Please don't tell mom we're here!" Firefly pleaded quietly in Changish.

"Firefly made me." Spark said plainly in the same language.

Firefly shushed Spark and looked at Skitter. "Pleease!?" She pleaded.

Skitter sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Fine, but I'm not taking the blame." She warned.

Firefly seemed to light up after that, she remained quiet however and proceeded to find another place to hide.

Spark sighed and followed Firefly calmly. "This should be interesting." He grumbled.

Skitter blinked. 'The only real difference between that boy and his father is species, if he was a wolf it would be like watching a miniature version of Fang.' She grumbled.

Skitter then took her seat and waited on the train, it was supposed to be a quick train ride but she began to doubt that.

_____*the next day, Crystal empire transit, 12:21 PM*_____

Skitter groaned and opened her eyes, the ride over had been annoying, as the mares in the next cabin fought over who got the window, it was completely stupid but Skitter didn't have the energy to shut them up.

When the train arrived everyone on the train got off and was greeted by a blizzard, Skitter rolled her eyes as some of the others shivered. "How are you guys cold?.....its just a blizzard." She teased.

Twilight gave Skitter an annoyed look but said nothing as she shivered. "How are YOU not cold?" She asked.

Skitter grinned and walked off. "It's a changeling trait, deal with it." She teased.

The group then followed Skitter who calmly walked through the blizzard, Skitter looked behind her and noticed that there was two blurred figures on her back, she returned her attention to the path in front of her. "You guys ok?" She asked quietly in Changish.

"Yea......a little cold but I'm ok." Replied Firefly.

"I could keep you warm but we would be found out." Spark pointed out.

Skitter cleared her throat and got the attention of the two kids. "Just keep quiet, you know that your going to be discovered soon enough anyway." She stated.

"Ok." Spark said.

After a few more minutes walking, the group came across a white unicorn stallion that had strange crystals along his horn, Twilight identified him as Shining Armor.

Twilight walked past Skitter and looked at her. "Let me do the talking." She ordered.

Skitter chuckled and nodded. "Just don't get me shot." She replied.

Twilight and the group walked over to Shining Armor who walked over. "Hey Twilight, it's good to see you." He said in a slightly happy mood.

"Good to see you to BBBFF." Twilight replied happily.

Shining Armor looked behind Twilight and saw the other five mares, along with one mare with cybernetics, and two large creatures that resembled a fox and wolf, but when he saw Skitter his expression instantly turned to one of rage. "Twilight.....what is that.....thing doing here!?" He asked angrily.

"Oh stuff it crystal brain." Skitter responded crudely.

Shining Armor opened his mouth to respond but was cut off as Fang stepped in. "I'd hate to interrupt......but we should probably get out of this blizzard and away from THAT." He said while pointing to a massive wall of shadows.

Shining Armor's eyes widened and he started backing up. "Run......RUN!" He shouted as he ran off.

Skitter ran after Twilight who followed Shining Armor, everyone else then started running, Rarity and Pinkie even went so far as to scream, Rarity because she was scared, and Pinkie because she could.

After a while of running from the massive wall of shadow, Skitter had looked back and saw the front half of a pitch black unicorn stallion with a crown and sharpened teeth, he seemed to be quite angry but Skitter simply chuckled and continued running. "This is fun!" She shouted.

"What!?" All the mares shouted in disbelief.

_____*two minutes later, the Crystal empire.*_____

Skitter and the group soon came in sight of the Crystal empire, they noticed that it was inside a massive magical dome, Shining Armor and Twilight were the first inside, followed by Fang and the rest.

Skitter quickly did a head count and once she was certain that they didn't miss anyone she walked towards the barrier......only to be repelled and sent flying five feet, she could feel Spark and Firefly holding on but she was more concerned with the taunting barrier.

"What the hell Armor!?" She shouted as she stood up and walked to the dome.

"No changelings allowed." Shining Armor stated flatly.

Skitter looked back and saw the wall of shadows closing in rapidly. "Shining.....let me in.......hurry up!" She said in a panicked tone.

Skitter's plea fell on deaf ears as Shining watched the wall come closer, he could faintly hear Twilight and the others words as he watched blankly.

Skitter waited for a few seconds before she sighed, she looked to her back and saw the blurred figures looking at the wall in fear, she shook her head and lit her horn, her magic enveloped the two figures and she levitated them inside, she saw the shocked stares from her friends but her gaze looked onto Shining Armor. "I'll remember this you asshole." She stated calmly as she looked at the enroaching shadows.

It took only a blink......Fang sighed and he blinked as the world slowed down, he then walked over to Twilight and whispered a rushed plan, she had hesitantly agreed, after that, Fang walked out of the dome and grabbed Skitter.

"Don't you dare kick me in the balls....." Fang told the changeling.

Twilight's horn lit up and she fired a small magic stream at the dome and a small hole opened up, Fang used this opening and dove through the barrier, Skitter braced herself to be flung again but it never happened, instead, she felt a thud and she looked at the dome, she saw that the wall of shadows was now on the other side of the dome.

Fang let Skitter go and stood up, Skitter rolled on the ground and sighed in relief. "That was intense." She commented.

Shining Armor blinked and saw that the wall of shadows stopped advancing, he sighed in relief and looked back at the group, he then noticed Skitter laying back on the ground with a grin. "How did you get in here!?" He snapped.

Skitter was soon engulfed in flames and she took Fang's form, she then raised a hand and clinched it into a fist, she then extended her middle finger for a brief second before returning to her original form. "In other words......fuck you Armor." She cursed.

Fang gave Shining Armor a stern glare. "Now that we have a moment, I'm going to tell you this one time, if you ever leave one of my friends out to die again......i will kill you myself." He warned as he picked up Spark and walked towards the empire.

Skitter quickly got back up and followed Fang. "......I'm with him." She said simply.

The rest of the group followed Fang and Skitter, soon it was only Roxanne and Firefly, Twilight, Shining Armor and Gwen. "I thought you were a cool guy Shining, but that was wrong on so many levels." Gwen said coldly as she walked off.

Roxanne grabbed Firefly and followed Gwen. "Who's next?" She wondered.

Shining Armor looked at Twilight and sighed. "Looks like that changeling has a lot of friends huh?" He said blankly.

Twilight nodded. "Give her a chance Shining, she's not so bad......a little annoying now and then but a good friend nonetheless." She said before following everyone else.

Shining looked out to the cold plains of the empire and sighed, he walked away from the barrier and towards the group.

"Looks like I screwed it up big time........typical." He grumbled.
> The empire of Crystals. Part one: Introductions and complications.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*The Crystal empire, ten minutes later, *_____

Skitter groaned as she walked through the streets of the empire, there was many things she was used to, she was used to people giving her hateful glares, or a look that proclaimed that they wanted her to die......but she wasn't used to people hiding in their homes.

Skitter noticed some blinds close in some of the homes. "I've heard stories about this place......they say that their was an evil king who enslaved his people and forced them to harvest the crystal." She said quietly to Fang.

Fang shrugged. "If you ask me, they should get over it.....their here now, and Sombra is outside the dome, they should be happy about that at the least." He said plainly.

Skitter nodded absentmindedly. "I guess that's true." She replied.

Fang looked down at Spark who looked around the city with a sympathetic expression.

"What's on your mind Spark?" Fang asked.

Spark looked at Fang then back at some of the homes. "It doesn't seem right, that's all......wish I could help them." He said sadly.

"The only way we can help them right now is getting to the castle and making a plan, the sooner we do that, the sooner we can get rid of Sombra." Fang replied.

Skitter sighed and walked on ahead of the two, she then flew up and spotted the castle. "Come on slowpokes!......the castle is this way!" She shouted down before flying towards the castle.

Skitter could hear Fang cursing under his breath and she was pretty sure that it was meant for her. "Whatever dog breath." She said quietly.

Skitter noticed some guards standing around the entrance to the palace and around some weird pedestal, she raised an eyebrow and a mischievous thought entered her mind, her horn lit up and she soon vanished.

She reappeared again on the pedestal and looked at one of the guards, she grinned and tapped the guard on the shoulder. "Excuse me, but I believe you have a pest problem." She teased.

The guard did not move.

Skitter grumbled and raised her hooves, she moved them over the guards head......and proceeded to bang on them like a pair of drums.

The guard did nothing except fix his helmet.

Skitter's left eye twitched. 'Fine, I can make him crack.' 

She noticed that Fang, Twilight and everyone else had just come into view, she saw Twilight about to say something when Skitter silenced her by making a zipping motion across her mouth.

Apparently, Pinkie Pie got the message and pulled out a bowl of popcorn and started eating.

Skitter was about to question it but ignored it so she could continue, she quickly jumped in front of the guard. "Hello mister fartpants!" Skitter proclaimed when she landed.

The guard's reaction was almost immediate, his horn flared and fired a volley of magic blasts, which Skitter simply dodged.. "Changeling!" He shouted.

Skitter smirked as she began to play cat and mouse with the guards, she would appear in one spot and soon reappear in another.

"Over here bozo!" Skitter taunted as she appeared on the pedestal.

Fang and Roxanne could only facepalm, which was mirrored by Spark and Firefly. "Morons." Fang and Roxanne said in sync.

Twilight and the others watched in disbelief as Skitter toyed with the guards, Pinkie was still eating popcorn and Shining Armor looked completely annoyed.

Skitter popped up in front of a guard and slapped him silly. "That was for being an idiot." She taunted.

Skitter proceeded to slap every single one of the guards while following up with an insulting sentence. "That was because I feel like it!" She said to one of the guards.

"That's because I want to see if the author continues this stupid scene!" She told another.

Shining Armor sighed and walked up. "Knock it off!" He shouted.

Skitter pouted innocently and teleported over to the group. "I know nothing of what you speak." She replied calmly.

Shining looked at his guards and facehoofed. "I thought I trained you boys better than this." He grumbled as he walked over to talk to his guards.

After about ten minutes of discussion between Shining Armor and the guards, the group finally entered the castle, Skitter simply laughed at the guards as she entered the castle.

Skitter entered the throne room and looked around in awe. "Wow.......nice place you got here Crystalbrain." She teased.

Shining pretended not to hear Skitter and he walked into the room. "Cadence!...I'm back!" He called out.

Skitter rolled her eyes and looked around the room. "Will say this though.......crystal ponies are at least consistent." She commented randomly.

"I'm glad to see your ok Shining." Came a new voice.

Skitter looked in the direction of the voice and saw a pink alicorn with a crystal heart for a cutie mark, her mane and tail were a combination of a form of purple, some kind of yellow, and pink, and her eyes were purple, she walked down and welcomed Gwen and the others, but when she looked at Twilight something happened.

Skitter could only watch in confusion as Twilight and Cadence did some kind of greeting. "What the fuck?" She muttered to herself.

"Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake!" The two mares said.

'We also have a mental problem!' Skitter added mentally. [1]

Cadence then spoke with Twilight a moment before noticing Dark, Fang and Roxanne, along with the two kids, she welcomed them all to the Crystal empire and then she finally noticed Skitter, who simply waved.

"Yo." Skitter said.

Fang sighed, he had heard from Twilight that Cadence and Shining had a wedding not that long ago, and that it was almost ruined by Changelings. 'This won't end well.'

Cadence walked over to Skitter. "Welcome to the Crystal empire." She said in a neutral tone, she held her hoof out.

Skitter raised an eyebrow and shook Cadence's hoof catiously. "Good to be here......I think." She replied.

"Alright then........on to business!" She declared while walking towards the group.

"What just happened?" She asked herself quietly.

____*one hour later*_____

Skitter groaned as she banged her head against the wall. "This has got to be the stupidest idea ever." She told her friend.

The plan that they had come up with was to boost the moral of the populace with something called the crystal fair, they would also need something called the crystal heart, which would act as the city's defense like in the old days, but apparently Sombra had taken the heart and locked it away somewhere in the castle, so Cadence was exhausting herself to keep a magical shield up around the city, and so, Skitter and Twilight were tasked with finding the heart, the only problem was Twilight, who insisted on manually finding the damn heart.

"It wouldn't be right to find it that way, you can't just cheat your way through everything." Twilight countered.

Skitter sighed and opened another door, seeing that the heart wasn't there she walked back to Twilight. "Hey.....do you feel that?" She asked the mare.

Twilight paused and soon a shiver went up her spine. "Yea, Sombra is attacking again, we have to hurry." She said.

"That's not it Twilight......listen." She said.

Twilight paused again but this time she listened carefully.......and soon, she heard something.

Dark whispers, they brushed along Skitter and Twilight and they continued their work.

After a time, Twilight found a dark door that had dark magic oozing out of It, she assumed that the heart was in there.

Skitter lit her horn up and soon sighed. "Don't go in there Twilight, it's just a trap." She said.

Twilight and Skitter then continued their search, their search led them all the way to the top of the tower and the last door was revealed.

"This can't be good." Skitter said as she felt a malevolent presence behind the door.

Twilight gulped and braced herself, she looked at Skitter with a detirmined stare. "You ready for this?" She asked.

Skitter sighed and nodded. "Might as well." She said simply.

Twilight's horn lit up and the door opened to reveal an old observation room, the two walked into the room and noticed a heart of pure crystal slowly rotating on a black pedestal, Twilight rushed up and grabbed the heart in her magic, causing the entire room to shake and a prison of black crystal to appear and imprison Twilight.

Skitter quickly rushed over to the prison and looked at Twilight. "You alright there?" She asked.

Twilight was currently breathing heavily but nodded. "More or less, we have to break this prison." She stated as she stood up.

Skitter rubbed the back of her head and fired a penetrating magical bolt at the crystal, only for it to bounce off and stick itself in the floor.

"Well that's problematic." She said.

Twilight briefly glanced at the heart and then at Skitter. "......Get the heart down to the bottom." She said.

Skitter gave Twilight a shocked look. "You can't be serious!" 

Twilight sighed and levitated the heart to Skitter, she looked out the window and saw that Sombra was in the city and was currently heading for the castle.

"Go! we don't have time to argue!" She shouted.

Skitter took the heart and looked at Twilight. "I'll come back with someone......we'll get you out." She promised.

Twilight nodded and Skitter jumped out the window and took flight. "Be safe." She said quietly. [1]


> The empire of Crystals, Part two: A tough decision.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*The Crystal empire, just inside the dome, twenty minutes ago*____

Fang looked out to the land outside the dome, it was covered in snow and a thick blizzard roared around it, outside the wall was also Sombra, who was in the form of a gigantic wall of shadow, he looked around the area and noticed that there were only about ten guards, he sighed and facepalmed. 'How do they expect to hold Sombra off with only ten soldiers?' He wondered in disbelief.

Fang looked over to another building and saw that Roxanne had taken posistion on top of a chimney, he looked to over at another building and saw that Gwen just dropped Dark off before heading back to the town square.

Fang knew that Gwen was working with the other four mares to make the crystal fair so they could boost the people's morale, but he knew better. 'It's going to take more than some lousy fair to free these people, it'll take that dumb heart of theirs for this.' He thought.

While Fang knew that they were in no danger so long as the barrier held, he wasn't certain about how long Cadence could hold out, and it seemed like the dome was getting weaker every time Sombra rammed it, Fang knew that they would have to fight regardless, even if the heart was returned in the next minute or so, Cadence would have to drop the dome so she could recover, Fang looked down to the soldiers and saw that they were in a line formation.

'Ok, these guys probably won't listen to any suggestions I have, and the same goes for the others......but how to go about it?' He asked himself.

Fang heard Sombra attack the barrier again and he heard some of the guards backing up catiously, Fang sighed and closed his eyes, the world around him disappeared and all sound heightened, he focused his hearing even more and soon he could hear the increased heartbeats of the soldiers below, he heard the steady breathing of Roxanne and the slightly panicked breathing of Dark, his own heartbeat was like a thundering drum, slowly beating along with his slow deep breaths, he couldn't hear Sombra's breathing or heart beating, he opened his eyes and everything returned to normal.

Fang looked back at the castle and back at Sombra. 'Come on you son of a bitch, just try and get near my son.' He warned mentally.

Around ten minutes passed and Sombra hit the barrier once more, Fang could feel the buildings around him shaking from the shockwave that was released with every attack, Fang braced himself when Sombra's horn lit up, the dark unicorn fired a magical blast into the ground and the very ground shook.

"This can't be good." He muttered as he unsheathed his sword, he looked over and saw that Roxanne pulled out the crossbow that Firefly found back at the temple.

Fang sighed as he looked over at Dark, who's horn lit up, he looked back at Sombra who gained an evil grin. "What is he grinning at?" He wondered.

The ground promptly shook again and Fang glanced at the bottom of the barrier, which revealed piles upon piles of bones, Fang's eyes widened and he could only watch as the bones took on forms, there were pegasi and unicorn skeletons along with earth pony skeletons, there were even some Minotaur skeletons amongst them.

"Wonderful, he's a necromancer." Fang grumbled.

At that moment, Fang made a decision, he looked down to the soldiers and sighed. 'We're going to lose a lot of lives today.....they better get the heart working.'

Sombra then pulled himself away for a moment before ramming the barrier once more, the barrier flickered for a moment before about ten feet of it disappeared, Fang would have sighed in relief of the fact that Sombra still couldn't get in, but now the undead were allowed entrance.

Fang quickly ran to edge of the building and jumped off, he landed right on top of a Minotaur skeleton and jammed the sword through its skull, he attempted to pull the sword out but it seemed to be stuck, he quickly used it as leverage and flipped around to the minotuar's back, he then used his feet and delivered a powerful kick to the skeletons spine, he then pulled the sword out of the minotuar's skull with great might, he jumped away and promptly smashed another skeleton to dust, he noticed Roxanne and Dark run up next to him. "I got two already!" He proclaimed.

Roxanne grinned. "I'm on seventeen!" She said as she bashed another skeleton.

Fang grumbled. "Show off." He muttered.

Dark sighed and blasted a Pegasus skeleton with her magic. "This is not the best time guys." She stated.

Fang shrugged and punched a unicorn skeleton in the face. "It's just some friendly competition." He replied.

Dark rolled her eyes and simply went on to blasting more skeletons.

After about five more minutes of fighting, Sombra attacked the barrier and more of the dome vanished, Fang noticed Sombra's smirk and growled. "Smug bastard." He muttered as he bashed two skeletons together thoughtlessly.

Fang glanced over and noticed Roxanne and Dark fighting back to back, they seemed to be doing well, he also noticed some corpses of dead guards, he sighed sadly and continued fighting. 'Three more dead, that makes two left alive......how much death will this take?'He wondered.

Fang dodged a slam from a Minotaur and leapt at the wall, he quickly leapt at the Minotaur and drew his sword, the Minotaur tried to pull him off but Fang held on by the skeletons left shoulder, he then used the momentum from a fortunate charge and swung his sword.

The Minotaur could do nothing as Fang's sword beheaded it, Fang jumped off the Minotaur and promptly smashed a hapless unicorn skeleton.

Fang briefly glanced at Roxanne and Dark and noticed that they had taken control of a rather large Minotaur, but Roxanne's crossbow was shattered into tiny pieces, Fang signed and looked at the two remaining guards, who seemed to be fighting side by side and blocking the undead from passing, Fang resumed fighting as a plan formulated in his mind.

'If they can hold that location, i could push forward with Dark and Roxanne, we could at the least reduce how many get through.....but still, if we push, that leaves those two vulnerable to ambush, but if I push by myself, I could at the least slow them down enough for the others to recover.......fuck it.' With his decision made, Fang quickly charged the undead horde advancing, he slashed two more skeletons that tried to surround him.

Roxanne barely got a glance, but she noticed that Fang had charged, she inwardly sighed and bashed the skull of the Minotaur that she has been riding with Dark, the two were forced to fall back almost immediately, they soon joined the two remaining guards in holding the line against an unending swarm of undead. "If we survive this.....i am so going to kick his ass." She muttered.

Fang thrust his sword into an undead unicorn and pulled it out, he quickly slashed yet another skeleton but this time, both the Skeleton and the sword shattered.

"Shit.......oh well." He mumbled as he proceeded to lunge at an undead earth pony and grab it's leg, he promptly swung it around and slammed it against a random undead Pegasus, he felt something jump onto his back and grabbed whatever it was, he slammed it onto the ground and he soon felt something familiar.

......An itch.

Fang growled and headbutted another skeleton and swiped at another, Fang then started to rapidly destroy as many skeletons that he could before a Minotaur rammed into him.

Fang grabbed the head of the skeletal Minotaur and ripped it off, he then took a deep breath and the world seemed to slow down, he stood up and charged at the skeletons that were now moving in slow motion, he smirked and bashed two skeletons together, Fang felt the world speeding up and he jumped back.

The skeletons quickly sped back up and Fang found himself fighting the battle normally again, but he could see Sombra's growl through a quick glance. "Can't stop that now can you?" He asked quietly. [1]

Sombra roared and rammed the barrier again, but instead of the barrier simply having a chunk taken out of it, the entire dome vanished, the wall of shadows soon moved forward and towards the palace.

Fang cursed under his breath and ran towards Roxanne and the others. "Fall back!" He shouted.

Roxanne kicked a skeleton into the wall and looked over to Sombra. "Shit." She said as she began to run towards the two guards.

Dark gasped and quickly blasted a nearby skeleton.

One of the guards looked at Sombra and his eyes widened, he fired a magical blast at Sombra but this only served to annoy the shadow, Sombra's horn lit up in an aura of dark green and dark purple, he fired a piercing magical blast at the guard which as far to fast to react to, the guard was soon hit in the head by the blast, ending his life.

The other guard watch in horror as the unicorn fell down to ground, she herself dropped to her knees and looked at the lifeless body of her former comrade.

Fang watched Roxanne quickly throw Dark onto her back, he ran towards the last remaining guard and threw her onto his back. "Hold on!" He told the mare as he sped up and ran from the advancing undead and their master.

Roxanne looked back and noticed that Dark was using what remaining power she had to blast the undead. "It's no good!.....save your energy!" She told the unicorn.

Dark nodded and simply watched as the horde advanced behind them.

Fang noticed that instead of a fair being set up, there were people running and screaming as undead chased them, he headed for the palace as he saw Gwen and Applejack holding undead back, with Pinkie and Rarity supporting them.

Fang and Roxanne ran up to the palace and dropped their passengers off, Fang stood up and looked around. "Where's everyone else?" He asked.

Gwen let Roxanne take her place, she looked at Fang. "Fluttershy is inside the palace helping Shining Armor get survivors out of here, Spark and Firefly are with Cadence, helping her recover, and we haven't seen Twilight and Skitter yet." She replied.

"Looking for me?" Asked a familiar voice.

Fang looked behind himself and saw Skitter fly down with a crystalline heart in her magic. "Found it." She stated.

Gwen sighes in relief. "Good we can at least...."

"We have to leave." Fang interrupted.

Gwen and everyone else looked at Fang in shock. "What!?" They asked the wolf.

Fang sighed and pointed out to the city. "If what I heard is true......only hope or love can activate the heart......and we don't have any right now.....we have to flee." He pointed out.

Roxanne threw a skeleton at the enroaching horde and stood up. "He's right.....if we don't leave now, we'll be overrun." She said.

Fang heard running inside the palace and saw Shining Armor running up to them. "We're done, we have to evacuate now!" He stated.

Skitter gasped and dropped the heart, only for Dark and Rarity to grab it at the last minute.  "Oh my god......Twilight!" She shouted.

Fang looked at Skitter who quickly tried to pull him along into the palace. "What's going on Skitter?" He asked.

Skitter gave Fang a panicked look. "Twilight's trapped in the tower! now come on!" She replied.

Shining Armor growled and ran up to Skitter and punched her. "You left her up there!?" He shouted angrily.

Fang reacted quickly and shoved Shining Armor down, he pulled Skitter off and ran off towards the tower with Skitter close behind. "Get everyone out!" Fang shouted to the group.

Roxanne quickly got everyone inside and pulled Shining to his feet. "Let's go!" She ordered everyone.

The group of eight then started to run as undead barged into the palace, Roxanne had only one goal at the moment....keeping everyone alive.

____*two minutes later, the top of the tower.*____

Fang entered the room and saw Twilight trying in vain to break the crystal, she soon noticed Fang and Skitter and sighed in relief. "Thank Celestia, quick! get me out of here!" She pleaded.

Fang ran up to the crystal and wound up his fist, he then threw a punch at the crystal and it shattered just enough for Twilight to escape.

Twilight carefully made her way and ran to the window, what she was expecting was not what she wanted to see.....citizens of the city running in fear of the undead, and Sombra making his way to the palace, her ears dropped down and she looked  at Fang. "We lost, didn't we?" She asked quietly.

Fang nodded and put his claw on her shoulder. "Come on, we have to leave." He said.

Twilight sighed and looked out the window again. "How?.....the palace is probably overrun." She said blankly.

Fang looked at Skitter and an idea came to mind. "I'm going to hate this so much." He commented as he picked up Twilight.

Fang got down to all fours and set Twilight on his back, he rammed the wall on the other side and to his surprise, they phased right through it.

Skitter gasped and ran up to the wall and rammed it, phasing through as well.

____*On the other side.*_____

Fang tumbled on the ground as Twilight was knocked off, he soon stopped himself from tumbling by sticking his claw into the ground.

His head shot up and he noticed that they were now far away from the city, he looked around and saw that the survivors were following a squadron of guards away from the city, he noticed that Twilight was now in the care of her brother and that Skitter was with Gwen and Dark, he looked to his left and saw Spark looking at him with worry. "Hey Spark." He said simply.

Spark chuckled and kneeled down. "You alright?" He asked.

Fang sat up and scratched his shoulder. "I'm fine....how did we get here?" He asked.

Spark lifted a claw and a faint light blue aura surrounded it, he shook his hand and the aura dispersed. "Turns out, I can use magic." He replied proudly.

Fang's face became one of shock, but he soon smiled and laughed softly. "Well, at least something good came out of this." He said to no one in particular.

Soon enough, the large group started to move away from the city, Fang had a look of determination, Shining and Cadence shared a look of concern, and Roxanne had a look of confidence. 'We might have lost this battle, but we will still win.' She told herself.

Gwen was currently walking alongside a Pegasus mare with golden armor but no helmet, the mare had shoulder length dark purple hair, and a dark purple tail, her eyes were the same dark purple, her cutie mark was that of a red and purple fire, and her coat was dark purple along with the rest of her. [2]

Gwen noticed that the mare was the one that Fang saved, she could see the pained look on her face and she made a decision. "Hey uh, you alright?" She winced at how weak that sounded.

The mare sighed and shook her head. "No.....I'm not alright." She replied coldly.

"Look um.....about your friend back there, I'm sorry." She said.

The mare gave Gwen an angry look. "My friend?......that was my brother!" She snapped quietly.

Gwen's eyes widened and her ears dropped involuntarily. "I......I'm sorry." She said again.

The mare looked at Gwen and soon sighed. "It's alright.....shouldn't have snapped, you didn't know and were just trying to help." She then started to scold herself out loud.

Gwen and the mare shared an awkward moment of silence until Gwen broke it. "So uh, I'm Gwen, you?" She asked nervously.

The mare sighed again. "I'm Talon." She replied simply.

After that, the large group walked on for twenty minutes before they reached a village, Gwen watched as one of the crystal ponies walked over to Shining Armor and started talking to him.

After a minute of talking, Shining looked to the large group and cleared his throat. "Ok listen up everypony!.....this is an abandoned village called Snowgem, we're going to be taking shelter here for a while!" He explained.

Skitter listened as Shining explained the situation to the crystal ponies, she heard a light howl off in the distance and she looked in that direction, she was unable to see anything due to the blizzard, so she closed her eyes and ignited her horn, she used her magic and searched in the direction of the howl and soon saw multiple figures stalking up upon them. "This ain't gonna be good." She commented.

The group started moving grimly towards the village, Skitter walked up to Gwen and leaned in close to her ear. "We're being stalked, keep your eyes and ears open." She whispered.

Gwen nodded and continued walking.

Talon simply went back to her quiet grieving, but she still maintained vigilance.

Skitter watched as survivors filled the abandoned village and rolled her eyes as guards took positions at the gate. 'Here we go again....'
> The empire of Crystals, Part three: Jade Catacombs.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*The village of Snowgem, twenty minutes later.*____

Skitter walked towards the wrecked town hall in silence, Shining Armor had requested her presence in the town hall, apparently he was making plans on taking back the city and defeating Sombra.

'I'll give the guy one thing, he doesn't give up easily.' She admitted.

Skitter was unsure as to WHY she was called to the town hall, but she knew it must of been important if Shining Armor was the one to call her, she approached the building and watched as some of the guards cleaned up the shattered doorway.

Skitter walked into the building but did not fail to notice the cautious glares from the guards, she sighed and continued inside the building, there she found Shining Armor standing at a table that had a map of the entire Empire, he was also with Twilight and Cadence, Fang and Roxanne, Gwen and the others, Talon and a large group of guards.

Shining Armor glanced up and noticed Skitter standing just inside the doorway. "Good, your here, we were just about to discuss your part in the plan." He stated.

Skitter nodded and walked up. "What do have so far?" She asked.

Shining looked at the map and called upon his magic, three small figures appeared on the map, Sombra himself, an undead minion, and a royal guard, the guard was at a small village on the outskirts of the city, Sombra and the minion were at the city. "Right now, Sombra seems to have his focus on subjugating the city and any possible militia, and if I'm right, he should be vulnerable soon enough, we can strike soon and retake the city." He said.

Skitter sighed. 'A very reckless beginning of a plan.....it isn't going to work, even if we do take back the city, Sombra will probably come back, or always be a looming threat.....we need a way to kill him or all of this is pointless.' She thought.

"If we move some troops here we should be able to-" 

"It isn't going to work, I get that you want to take back the city.....but with our current forces, we'll be lucky if we survive the night, we need at least a week to prepare." Skitter interrupted.

Shining sighed and looked at Skitter. "Very well......since you don't like our plan, what do YOU suggest?" He wondered.

Skitter simply grinned and lit up her horn, more figures appeared on the map in several locations, she then looked at the location of Snowgem and pointed at it. "Unlike all of you, I've been gathering information from the few civilians that we rescued, and some of them used to live here." She started.

Once Skitter was positive she had the groups attention, she continued. "One of them told me of a rumor, deep in the Jade Catacombs lies an ancient weapon of extraordinary power, if the defenders up here can hold the line until we get it, we might be able to form a decent plan from there." She paused for a moment.

"Now, here's the current plan, first we need to restore the towns defenses, once those are done we can continue the repairs, and while all of this is happening, we send a small group into the Catacombs to search for the weapon, we also need materials and food." She said.

Twilight walked up to the table and looked at the map. "How do we know that the weapon is still down there?.....for all we know it could be gone." She said.

Skitter sighed. "It's better than charging headfirst into an army of undead, unless you have a better plan we should stick to this one." She replied.

Twilight went to say something but stopped herself, she then put on her thinking face and zoned out.

Fang walked up to the map and looked at it, he set his hands on the table and looked at Shining. "I for one agree with Skitter, a head on assault won't work, especially since Sombra has civilians he can use as a shield." He said.

With that, everyone present began to discuss Skitter's plan, and after twenty minutes, Shining Armor ended the meeting.

The plan was to send Fang to the Catacombs along with Skitter and Roxanne, while everyone else worked on getting Snowgem repaired, Fang decided to focus on finding the Catacombs while Roxanne retrieved their supplies, Skitter was busy speaking to one of the civilians about the Catacombs, she found out that it was more of a temple than a graveyard, and that there were certain to be guardians.

'Well that complicates things.' She told herself before walking off to find Roxanne.

_____*ten minutes later, just outside Snowgem.*_____

Roxanne and Skitter walked through the snow and towards Fang, who was standing near an old stone crypt that was built into the hill, as they walked, Roxanne could feel the snow landing on her head and arms, she sighed and looked up. "Hey Skitter, I ever tell you the one thing I don't like about snow?" She wondered.

Skitter blinked and looked at Roxanne. "No......why?" She asked.

"Can't see a damn thing when it gets thick enough." Roxanne replied simply.

Skitter thought on that for a moment before rolling her eyes. "You're a weird one alright." She commented.

As the two approached Fang, the snow began to fall more rapidly and wildly, Fang walked over to the entrance of the crypt and looked at his two companions. "You ready?" He asked.

Roxanne nodded and watched as Fang backed up and kicked the door, the door instantly flew open and Fang looked at them. "Let's go." He said.

With that the three companions entered the crypt, Skitter looked out to the frozen wastes and sighed. "Can't say I'm going to miss it." She said quietly before entering the crypt.

____*down in the deep, two minutes later.*____

Skitter walked down the steps and into a small room made out of jade, she looked around and saw Fang and Roxanne looking around the room, she decided to make herself useful and started to search for anything to help, she walked over to an empty slot in the wall and eyed it with suspicion. "Why are you empty?" She wondered.

Skitter ran her hoof along the back of the empty slot, eventually, she felt a weak spot in the wall and lightly pushed, a panel in the wall pushed itself in and Skitter backed up out of habit, the wall soon moved backwards and then split in half, the halves then slid to the sides and an entirely new path was revealed.

Fang and Roxanne looked on in wonder, Fang soon grabbed a torch and walked up to the new pathway. "Nice job Skitter." He said.

"Thanks." Skitter replied.

Roxanne walked up and the trio started walking down the path, along the way, Roxanne spotted an unlit torch, she pointed at the torch and Fang lit it up, Roxanne nodded and continued walking. "This entire place must be made out of jade.....it's amazing." She said.

Skitter shrugged. "Got to give those cowards one thing.....they know how to make catacombs look appealing." She commented. [1]

The group soon came upon a square shaped room with four pathways, the one they came from, and three other paths, Fang walked forward and looked back at the others. "We gonna split up or go together?" He asked.

Roxanne looked at Skitter who lit up her horn and closed her eyes. "Well.....the path to the right is blocked off, so if we split up one of us will be alone, I say we go together though." She concluded before opening her eyes and dimming her horn.

"I say the same." Roxanne agreed.

Fang nodded and walked down the middle path. "We should probably search the path to the right.....just in case." He mentioned as he walked.

Roxanne followed Fang and Skitter sighed, she started walking down the path until she came upon a large pile of boulders that blocked the path, she looked around the area for anything of value until she spotted a small object, she leaned down and gripped it with her magic, it seemed to be a small silver key with a four way tip, she shrugged and started walking down the pathway.

Skitter returned to the square room and looked around for her companions, she found no trace of them but remembered their path, she started walking again. "Thanks for leaving me behind guys." She grumbled.

_____*over with Fang and Roxanne, five minutes later*_____

Fang entered the room and looked around, it was a circular room with an altar on the end, there were also six statues around the room, and a strange floating stone above the altar, he proceeded to walk towards the altar.

Roxanne eyed the stone cautiously as she walked forward, she soon noticed a small pedestal with writing on it, she approached the pedestal and began to read it. 

Fang stopped and looked at Roxanne, he noticed she was reading what was written on the stone, he turned around and continued walking.

Lets see......those who wish entrance to the chamber must place a sacrifice on this altar, but be warned, for the fossil blocks the path, find safety with the living, and continue towards the Soul.' She read to herself.

Roxanne looked over to Fang and noticed that he was walking towards a tile that had the image of bones sculpted onto it, Roxanne thought on the writing for a moment before gasping. "Fang wait!" She called out.

Fang looked back at Roxanne but it was to late......the tile pushed down into the floor and a loud click was heard, Fang backed up and looked around frantically.

Roxanne looked around and saw that the wall had small holes along them, she could only watch as arrows shot from both of the walls and all across the pathway.

Fang and Roxanne both ducked down to the floor as the arrows flew, after ten seconds of waiting, the arrows stopped flying, Fang looked around before standing up, Roxanne stood up and looked at Fang. "The only way across is to step on the tiles that have life." Roxanne said.

Fang nodded and looked closely at the ground, and soon spotted a tile with a bear, he carefully stepped on it and grinned as he felt it stand firm, he then spotted a wolf tile, after stepping on that one, he continued his careful steps across the floor, and soon enough he was on the other side.

"Hurry up." He said.

Roxanne sighed and made the same steps that Fang did, she was soon on the other side. "Let's go." She said.

Fang walked up to the altar and up at the stone, he noticed that the altar was covered in dust, he then put his hand on the altar and swiped the dust off, there was an inscription on the stone, he then proceeded to read it. "You have done well making it to this point, but you must sacrifice in order to gain entrance to the Soul, and then you must face the guardian." He read off.

Roxanne put her hands on the altar and thought on the words for a moment, she looked at a small hole in the altar and realization hit her. "Blood.....we need blood." She said quietly.

Fang looked at the hole and chuckled. "So far this is easy." He replied as he hovered his arm over the hole.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and did the same. "Alright, on the count of three?" She asked.

Fang shook his head and pricked his finger on her claw, he looked at Roxanne with a patient look.

Roxanne pricked her finger on her claw and held her bleeding finger over the hole. "Here goes nothing." She said as Fang mixed his blood.

As blood filled the hole, Roxanne heard grinding coming from somewhere in the catacombs, she pulled her hand away and looked at the stone which rose into the ceiling and fit perfectly in a moderately sized hole.

"I think it worked." She said.

Fang nodded and pulled his hand away, he then started walking towards the entrance of the room, Roxanne sighed and followed her partner. 'This just keeps getting better and better.' She thought.

____*Ten minutes later*____

Fang and Roxanne walked down the stairs and approached a large door that had a symbol of a dragon on both ends, the door was blocked however, by a large jade golem with bulky arms and legs, a large torso and a moderately sized head, the moment Fang went to approach it, the golem surged to life by way of four small black crystals that lodged themselves in the golem.

Fang quickly charged forward and Roxanne groaned, she rushed the golem with Fang.

The golem swung one of its massive arms towards Fang and swiped at Roxanne soon after, Fang then took hold of the golems arm and delivered a powerful punch to it.

Roxanne ran at the golem and quickly flipped around and started to slide, she then kicked up with both legs and hit the golem in the arm.

The golem reared back and quickly made a frontal swipe at Fang, who simply dodged it and jumped at its head.

Fang quickly got on top of the golems head and raised his arms, he then slammed his fists on the golems head, causing it to fall over backwards, he jumped off and stood up.

Roxanne looked at the door which started to open on its own, she started to walk inside and Fang soon followed.

___*inside the room*___

Fang looked around the room in wonder, it was a massive room made entirely out of jade, there were golems all around the room, but the most noticeable thing in the room was a crystal object at the far end, the object was made of black crystals that spiked upwards, just above the crystals seemed to be swords of some kind, Fang couldn't make them out entirely so he proceeded to walk forward.

Roxanne grumbled at Fang's recklessness and proceeded to follow him. "Careful, I don't like this." She said.

"If anything happens, we can handle it." Fang replied simply.

Roxanne sighed. "Fine but if I die I'm haunting you." She said with annoyance clear in her voice.

Fang walked forward towards the swords and as he did, he heard a loud grinding coming from above, he looked up gasped. "Look out!" He shouted as he dove out of the way.

Roxanne quickly backed up and gasped in horror as a massive jade construct fell down to the ground.

Fang watched as the construct activated, the entire room seemed to enlarge as the construct awoke, it had long and powerful legs, arms that seemed like they were built to shatter mountains, the head was decent sized and had a large torso, Fang looked over to Roxanne who seemed to be frozen in horror, he looked at the construct and saw over six black crystals fly into the construct.

The construct then opened its eyes to reveal two large sapphire orbs. "Warning, intruders detected in the vault, awakening jade golems, activating all sub systems, canceling all inhibitors, Jade Centurion online." Said the construct. [2]

The Centurion raised its right arm and a massive hammer fell into its hand, Fang looked around and noticed that the golems all around the room were activating.

Fang stood up and rushed over to Roxanne and pulled her up. "Come on....we can do this!" He stated confidently.

Roxanne gulped and shivered before looking at Fang. "You got my back?" She asked.

Fang nodded and looked at the Centurion. "Let's kick this guy's ass." He smirked and got down to all fours.

Roxanne looked around and saw that the golems were charging at them. "We need to take out the golems, if we do that we can focus on the Centurion." She said,

Fang nodded and charged at the golems ferociously, Roxanne turned around and sighed, she got into a fighting stance and steeled herself. "Come on you bastards, let's see how you handle me." She taunted as the golems charged.

Fang lunged at a golem and waited for it to wind up its strike, and once it swung he latched onto its arm and swung it around forcibly, the arm then smashed into another golem and Fang used the momentum to launch at another.

Roxanne dodged a golems slam and grabbed its arm, she then jumped onto it and grabbed its head, she then forced it to turn around and then jumped off with a kick, the golem slammed into another one and Roxanne continued her battle.

The fighting against the golems lasted for around four minutes before Fang realized that the Centurion hadn't moved, it simply watched him with a blank look, he smashed another golem and dodged another, after smashing some more golems, Fang looked around and saw that there were no more, he looked over at Roxanne who just finished with the final golem.

Fang looked to the Centurion who simply watched him. "Here goes nothing." He mumbled as he charged the construct.

The Centurion acted immediately and swung its hammer down at Fang, who simply dodged it. "Jade Centurion engaging, directive one activated, preventing interaction with the ancient blades." It said mechanically before swinging again.

Fang dodged the hammer and jumped at the hammer, he pulled his fist back and punched the hammer, he made a small dent in the massive hammer and stuck his claw in the hammer.

Roxanne rushed the construct and ran up to its leg, she swung at its foot but was surprised by the result, she was blasted back by an unknown force, she crashed into the ground and started tumbling.

The Centurion noticed Fang on the hammer and simply spun the hammer till it was facing the ground, it then sent the hammer flying into the ground.

Fang growled and wound up another punch, he then threw it at the hammer again and the impact was greater than before, the hammer had slightly shattered in that area, Fang quickly braced himself as the hammer hit the ground.

Roxanne got back up and looked over to Fang, she watched as the hammer rose up and revealed Fang lying on the ground, she rushed over but was soon smacked away by a giant hand, Roxanne flew through the air and crashed against a giant jade pillar, she winced in pain and looked up at the construct.

The Centurion turned its attention back to Fang and raised its hammer, it then swung it down towards the injured wolf.

Fang watched as the hammer sped towards him, he simply smirked and took a deep breath, the world slowed down and Famg quickly got to his feet, he grunted through the pain in his left arm and jumped up to the hammer.

Fang then unleashed a relentless barrage of punches at the hammer, the damage did not show immediately due to the time slow, he then jumped off the hammer when he felt that enough damage was dealt, he took another breath and the world sped up again.

The Centurion's hammer crashed against the ground and instantly shattered, Roxanne's jaw dropped, in her point of view, Fang had jumped to the hammer and then back to the ground again in two seconds. 'That speed is impossible......something's up.' She thought.

The Centurion dropped the stick that formerly held the hammer, it then raised it's left arm and Jade shards began to form.

"Oh crap." Roxanne said to herself.

When the shards stopped flowing towards the Centurion, they all seemed to melt into a large molten mass, the Centurion then threw it towards Fang.

Fang watched as the mass approached him, he soon smirked and rolled out of its path.

The Centurion then swung its arm at Fang and it almost made contact.....were it not for a blast of flame to hit its elbow, it reared back and looked at Roxanne, who's hands were engulfed in white flames.

Roxanne grinned and cracked her knuckles. "Afraid of fighting someone who can fight back?.....dick?" She taunted teasingly.

The Centurion faced Roxanne and started to march forward, only for its arm to come off.

Fang smirked and popped out from behind its head. "Sorry about that.....but your gonna need a replacement." He taunted.

The Centurion raised its remaining arm and tried to pry Fang off, Fang simply laughed and began to kick at its shoulder. "Matter....size does not." Fang said. [3]

The Centurion suddenly stopped going after Fang, it then clenched its hand into a fist and the entire body began to shake violently. "Directive two activated, initiating self destruct, all access to blades will be denied.....have a nice day." It said flatly.

Fang's eyes widened and he jumped off, he then ran towards the swords as fast as he could, when he reached then he did not bother with safety, he grabbed the two swords and ran for his life. "Run!" He shouted.

Roxanne was way ahead of him however as she began to leave the room, she held the door open for Fang and ran for it.

'This is turning into a tradition.' She mused as she ran.

____*meanwhile, back with Skitter.*____

Skitter walked through the catacombs in silence, a little bit ago she had found a large chest that the key opened, the chest contained two swords that she was sure would be useful, and so she held the chest in her magic and walked through the catacombs.

As she walked, Skitter gained an uneasy feeling, like something bad was on the way, she soon heard footsteps behind her, she spun around and looked down the pathway, eventually however, just as Skitter went to turn around, Roxanne came running around the corner. "Ruuuunnn!" Roxanne shouted as she ran past Skitter.

Skitter raised an eyebrow but did not question it further as Fang soon came around the corner followed by a collapsing tunnel, Skitter turned tail and ran after Roxanne. "Holy shit!" She shouted.

With that, the trio began to run through the collapsing catacombs, when they finally reached the first room three minutes later, Skitter immediately ran for the entrance.

Fang used the hidden switch and the wall soon changed itself again, it just barely closed before the collapsing tunnel reached it, he then made his way towards the entrance and Roxanne followed close behind.

"This better be worth it." He said.

Roxanne chuckled. "It will be, don't worry." She assured him.

____*just outside the catacombs entrance.*____

Fang sat down on the ground and put his arms behind him on both sides, he closed his eyes and faced his head upwards, after a few moments, he pulled out the two swords from their sheaths and examined them.

One of the swords was tealish in color, he could not make out the material but it was long and quite heavy, it's tip and edges were incredibly sharp, Fang could tell from a glance that the sword was extremely durable and would not break easily, it had a long handle and had a strange feeling about it. [4]

Fang looked at the other sword, this one was made of black steel and was as equally heavy, it was long and it's edges and tip were just as sharp, it looked to be even more durable than the other sword, it had a long handle and it had a strange feeling about it as well. [5]

Fang held both swords in front of himself and examined them. "I wonder if they have names?" He wondered quietly.

'Of course we have names you moron!' Replied an annoyed voice.

Fang raised an eyebrow and looked around, he then heard the voice again. 'Hey buddy, I'm the black sword.' Said the voice.

Fang looked at the black sword and raised an eyebrow, he was about to say something when two ghostly figures appeared from the blades. 

They both seemed to be wolves and they both looked at Fang, one was definitely female, she had all white fur and had bright Amber eyes, the other ghost was a male with gray fur and brown eyes, he had a noticeable scar that went right across his left eye.

"Okay then, time for introductions eh?" The male said.

Fang nodded but glanced over at Roxanne and Skitter, who were busy examining two more swords. "I'm Fang." He said quietly.

The male looked up at the sky and sighed. "The name is Spirit......don't look at me like that, that is my actual name." He said grumpily.

The female rolled her eyes and laid back on the ground. "I'm Soul, nice to meet you." She replied in a slightly cheery tone.

Fang could only blink, he rubbed his eyes and looked at the ghosts. "What are you.....exactly?" He asked curiously.

Spirit looked at Fang and sighed. "We used to be the spirit and soul of the warrior who formerly possessed these blades, i don't recall his name but just before he died he stored us inside these blades, after that, Sombra locked us away in that vault and set up the defenses, you could consider us ghosts but we aren't actually, if we wanted to we could become physical for a short time.....and before you ask, we didn't do this before because that formation of crystals below us made it so we couldn't manifest." He explained.

Fang nodded and looked over to Roxanne and Skitter, they seemed to be discussing something but he couldn't make out what.

____*one and a half minutes ago, Roxanne and Skitter.*____

Roxanne and Skitter sat down on the ground and sighed. "That was close." Skitter said.

"Too close." Roxanne agreed.

Skitter looked up at the sky and sighed, she then used her magic to bring out two swords.

Roxanne eyed them with curiosity. "Where did you find these?" She asked.

Skitter rolled her eyes. "When you guys left me behind, I did some exploring of my own, I eventually found a chest and it contained these two swords." She explained.

Roxanne took one of the swords and examined it, it was a white sword with a blue edge, it had a some weight to it and had a long handle, she could tell that it was durable. "Nice sword." She said quietly.

Skitter whistled and passed the other sword to Roxanne. "These things have some juice in them." She said. [6]

Roxanne took the other sword and examined it, it was a black sword with a red edge to it, it was kind of heavy and had a long handle, and she knew it was durable. "Looks like we got what we came for." She said.

Skitter nodded and looked over to Fang, her jaw promptly dropped upon noticing the two ghosts. "Uh Roxanne......I think Fang got the better end of the deal." She said.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow and her jaw dropped as well, she quickly closed it and blinked. "How come he gets ghosts?" She wondered.

'Because those two are showing off.' Said an annoyed voice.

Roxanne looked around and a ghost appeared from the black sword. "I'm Death, the guy over there is Life, your Roxanne, she is Skitter, introductions are done." Said the ghost.

The ghost that called itself Death was a female fox with gray fur and black eyes, soon enough, another ghost exited the other sword and revealed itself, it was a male earth pony with green fur and hair, his eyes were pure white and he had calm expression on his face. "You shouldn't be so rude, they do wield us now after all." He said.

Death simply flipped Life off and looked over at Fang. "You know I'm right, and yet you always say different, it's annoying." She said grumpily.

Life rolled his eyes and looked at Roxanne. "Do be careful, Death gets carried away when she enters battle." He warned before returning to his sword.

Roxanne stood up and looked at the two blades curiously. "What exactly do these swords do?.....except for talk back to you?" She asked.

Death shrugged and looked up. "I can either incinerate your enemies or electrocute them, Life can call upon nature to attack your foes, or blind them with rays of light." She explained.

Roxanne nodded and looked at Skitter. "Go ahead, I don't use swords anyway." Skitter said before tossing Roxanne two sheaths.

Roxanne grabbed the sheaths and noticed that there was a harness, she then started to strap it onto her back, as she did she saw Death walk in front of her. "Mind if I stay out here for a bit?.....that sword is a bit stuffy." She asked.

"Go ahead, it's not like I can stop you." Roxanne replied.

Death chuckled and looked at Skitter. "Hey, your a changeling right?" She asked.

Skitter nodded. "Yea, why?"

Death shrugged. "Haven't seen one of your kind in over a thousand years is all." She replied simply.

Roxanne sighed and sheathed Life, she then sheathed Death and looked at Fang. "This will be an interesting adventure." She said quietly before walking over.

Death chuckled and followed Roxanne. "And that's why I'm going to stick around." She added.

> The empire of Crystals, Part four: Madness sets in.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*Snowgem, the next day, 5:37 AM.*____

The village of Snowgem was quiet that night......Sombra's undead had assaulted the town just as Skitter predicted, and because of the preparations they had made, none of the undead made it in or out of the town, and now a cool breeze blew through the quiet town, the guards patrolled around the town and the gate.

Most of the buildings in the village had been repaired or mended enough to sleep in, the blacksmith however was still in disrepair, but there was still someone inside regardless.....Fang, who had refused to sleep in the homes and went inside the destroyed blacksmith.

_____*Unknown location.*_____

The world was a haze,  the sky was black while dark gray smoke filled it, flames incinerated the land while the clang of steel blades rang through the wind.

In a flurry of steel, two swords descended upon one, which were quickly repelled and returned with a deadly barrage.

In the middle of the incinerated land, stood three figures, two were equine in nature, one however was not, one of the equines had dark blue fur and a light blue mane, she was garbed in dark blue magical body armor and had wings and a horn, the sword she held had a dark blue handle and the blade was a dark steel, the equine also had a mark on both flanks which had a crescent moon next to a black area, her eyes were a bright cyan, she was known as Luna.

The other equine was the exact opposite, this one had pure white fur and a soft pink mane, she was garbed in golden body armor and had wings and a horn, the sword she held had a golden handle and the blade was fine steel, the equine had a mark of the sun on each flank, her eyes were a soft magenta, she was known as Celestia.

The final figure had pure white fur and had shadows dancing around it, it stood upright on its two wolf like legs, it's sword had a silver handle and the blade was silver with a dark red steel along the edges, it's eyes were dark red and held only one emotion........pain.

The two equines unleashed another barrage of sword slashes and thrusts that synced perfectly, the third figure parried the attacks swiftly, but was unable to go on the offensive as the sisters unleashed yet another barrage.

It took time, but eventually, the figure finally broke off and jumped back. 'I can't beat both of them in my current state.......maybe if I hit them wit-Gah!' The figure's thoughts were broken off however when something lodged itself in its back.

The figure coughed up blood and looked down at what impaled it.....a long iron spear had gone straight through its chest, the figure's sword dropped to the ground and more blood was coughed up.

The figure dropped to its knees and attempted to remove the spear from its chest, only for a golden aura to envelop it and hold it in place, the figure wheezed as it coughed up even more blood.

The sound of armored hooves made its way to the figure, who simply looked up shakily to see Luna and Celestia standing before it.

Celestia's eyes glared death at the figure, her horn ignited and the figure screamed in pain as the spear pulled itself out and Impaled the figure in the spine. "Your deceit shall never harm innocents again.......traitor!" She proclaimed as she pinned the figure down to the ground with her magic.

Luna walked to the side of the figure and put her sword to the figure's neck. "None shall remember your name.......from this day forth, let this be the end of you......." She trailed off as she raised her sword.

The figure's eyes met the sword and its eyes widened in fear, but it could not scream, for Luna's sword had cut clean through its neck.

The world started to fade as the world burned, but one word was clear. "......Lyaroa." 

_____*Snowgem.*_____

Fang shot up and gasped, he was covered in sweat and was panting heavily, he swallowed and slowed his breathing, once he was calm he stood up and leaned on a nearby wall. 'This is getting annoying.....I need to do something.' He told himself as he walked over to the swords that he had set on an old table.

Fang grabbed the battle harness and started to put it on, once it was secure, he grabbed the sword sheaths and strapped them onto the harness, he then grabbed Soul and Spirit and sheathed them. "Going for a walk?" Asked the familiar sarcastic voice of Spirit.

Fang sighed and turned around, he walked towards the door and through Spirit. "Not exactly." He replied simply.

Spirit shrugged and started to follow Fang. "Where you go I go......I guess." He commented.

"You mean where the sword goes you go?" He corrected as he pointed at the blade.

Spirit chuckled and put his hands behind his head. "Sure thing, so what's up boss?.....you seem distressed." He pointed out.

Fang raised an eyebrow and looked at Spirit. "Boss?" He asked.

Spirit nodded. "Yea, your the one wielding my blade, so that makes you the boss, so what's up?" He asked.

Fang looked up and the night sky and sighed. "That Is private." He replied.

Spirit chuckled and looked around. "This place ain't doing so good." He commented.

Fang nodded. "Yea, so Spirit, what exactly can you and Soul do?" He asked.

Spirit grinned. "That is private." He teased before laughing quietly.

Fang gave Spirit a glare and sighed. "I'm being serious, i need to know what you can do before going into battle." He said calmly.

Spirit sighed and looked at Fang. "We have a very different enchantment from Life and Death.....instead of always being at full power, we progress, if you need me to hit harder?....done, you need me to hit farther?....done." He paused.

"We can't fight in our physical forms yet, right now, we are at what would be called, level zero, if you want to make us stronger, all you need to do is fight with the blades." He explained.

Fang rubbed his eyes and walked towards the gate. "Guess it's time to go hunting." He muttered as he approached the gate.

Spirit returned to his blade and left Fang on his own for the moment.

Fang walked up to the gate and noticed that two of the guards got in his way, they were both staring at him with cold eyes and they did not budge even as Fang walked up. "Nopony is allowed to leave, under the orders of Shining Armor." One of the guards said.

Fang nodded and looked around. "I see.....if I see one I shall inform you immediately." He replied before walking forward, only for the guards to block his path. "Turn around, and return to your kennel.....dog." The other said threateningly while readying his spear for emphasis.

Fang's eye twitched, he sighed and looked at the guard who insulted him. "I'll give you two warnings, one, never call me a dog or imply that I belong in a kennel, two, get out of the way or else." He warned.

Neither guard moved, they seemed completely willing to stand their ground. "Or else what?" The other guard asked with a tone of amusement.

Fang closed his eyes for a moment and ran something through his mind, he soon opened his eyes and looked at the two. "Or else I will cut your heads off and hang your lifeless corpses from the gate as a warning." He replied coldly with absolutely no hint of restraint.

Both guards stepped back but quickly returned to their positions. "Your bluffing, you wouldn't dare do that.....even if you could." The one taunted.

Fang counted the amount of times in his head and grinned. "Four times." He said.

One of the guards raised an eyebrow and blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?" He wondered.

Fang held up four fingers with his left hand and reached back for one of the swords with his right. "You stopped me four times.....so you get four attacks." He explained calmly.

Both guards quickly threw their spears at Fang before he could move, but he was already out of the way before the spear even got close.

Fang was soon behind the guard one the left with his swords drawn, he was soon greeted by two magic blasts, he simply moved out of the way and swung Soul at the guards head, the head soon landed on the ground and was followed by the body.

Fang then looked at the other guard and saw his face of terror. "You......murderer!" The guard snapped.

Fang moved at lightning speed and swung Spirit and the guard's head, which soon went flying, the now headless body collapsed to the floor and Fang sighed. 

"We could have avoided this, but you had to be difficult." He sighed and sheathed Soul and Spirit. "...When I said for you to fight, I didn't mean against your allies." Spirit said blandly.

Fang picked up the lifeless body and walked over to the other. "I did warn them what would happen.......now I'm simply following up on that promise." He replied as he carried the body.

Spirit rolled his eyes and returned to the sword. "Whatever it ain't any of my business anyway." He countered before fading.

Fang looked around the area calmly for a moment before picking up the other body, he then walked out through the gate and fulfilled his promise.

_____*twenty minutes later, outskirts of Snowgem.*_____

Fang quick stepped off to the side as the bear charged, he quickly jumped onto its back and swung Spirit down at its neck, the blade cut deep as the bear roared in pain, Fang jumped off and looked back at the bear as it fell over dead.

Fang looked around and saw his hard work, there were multiple piles of bones from various skeletons and several dead artic bears, he sheathed Spirit and Soul and walked back towards the village. 

"Well....I can already tell you that I have double my old power.....not enough to beat up Life or Death.....but it's a start." Spirit commented as he materialized behind Fang.

Fang turned around and sighed. "Let's just get back, I don't feel like dealing with your verbal abuse right now." He retorted.

A soft chuckle was heard before Soul materialized in front of Fang. "Why so serious big guy?.....way I see it all you have to worry about is that army your fighting." She teased.

Spirit groaned and facepalmed. "AND the army we are working with, that little stunt of yours is bound to draw attention......worse case scenario, we end up fighting two army's at once before we can get started." Spirit said before realizing what he said.

Fang paused and slowly turned to face Spirit, when he looked directly at Spirit, the ghost visibly gulped and backed up nervously, for in Spirit's view, Fang's eyes practically screamed death.

Spirit laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "I get it.....shutting up now." He added.

Fang sighed and continued walking. "So long as we remain calm and don't say anything, we will be perfectly fine." He told the panicked ghost.

After that, both Soul and Spirit returned to their swords and remained silent, even as they entered Snowgem.

Fang returned to the blacksmith and set the swords down, he took the harness off and sat down at a somewhat decent area. 'Soon.' He told himself.

It was not long before Fang had gone to sleep, and when he did, old memories rose up.

____*many years ago, Fredbear's Family Diner, 2:13 PM.*____

The wind silently blew through the sunny sky, the city buzzed with life and excitement, the restaurants and shops were all busy as ever, the cars drove by in a blur of motion, and one building in particular stood out from the others.

This building was a large pizzeria commonly known as Fredbear's Family Diner, it stood out as there was an animatronic band that would play lively music, there was also an animatronic who would tell stories to the children at its cove, or even send them into a maze to look for treasure, and they even had an animatronic who resided at the arcade ticket area.

The band consisted of three animatronics, there was the main singer Freddy Fazbear himself, a large brown animatronic bear with brown eyes, a handheld microphone, two black buttons on his chest, a black tophat and black bow tie, the backup singer Chica, a large yellow animatronic chicken with purple eyes, a cupcake and a bib that said 'Let's eat!', and the guitarist Bonnie, a large purple animatronic bunny with pink eyes, two black buttons on his chest, a red bow tie and a red guitar.

The animatronic at the cove was Foxy, a large red fox with a black eyepatch and yellow eyes, he had a silver hook on his right hand and wearing brown linen pants, the animatronic at the arcade ticket area was a black and white animatronic wolf called Fang, he had green eyes, and a moderately sized tail.

It was a very busy day at the pizzeria, the tables were filled, the arcade was buzzing, and the cove was lively, and in the ticket area, stood Fang, who was busy exchanging kid's tickets for prizes, before long, four hours had passed, and after handing out the seventh plushie of Chica, Fang noticed that the building was getting awfully quiet, the kids were walking away, and the employees were cleaning up.

Fang looked around and saw that the customers were exiting the building, he then heard Freddy speak. "Thanks for coming to Fredbear's Family Diner! I'll see you next time!" He called out.

Fang instinctively waved goodbye to the customers, as they left the building, Fang noticed something odd about one particular chIld, unlike the others who were ecstatic or saddened about leaving, this one seemed not to care much at all, in fact, he seemed to be bored of the rush, the boy met eyes with Fang for just a moment and chuckled.

Fang blinked as the doors to the restaurant closed, he watched as the employees continued working on cleaning the building, he watched as some of them shut down the other animatronics, Fang sighed and backed up to a wall, he then shut himself down to conserve some power.

'Ah well, I'll be awake soon enough anyway.' He thought as he powered down.

_____*six hours later*______

Fang opened his eyes and raised his head, he took a good look around the room for a moment, the entire building was dark and the clock on the wall read midnight, Fang knew that the security guard would be in his office by now, Fang looked to the stage and saw that Bonnie was standing next to table two, Fang looked over at Pirates Cove and saw that the curtains were completely closed. 'Must be the first night, I'll leave this night to Bonnie in that case.'

Fang simply observed for the night as Bonnie made his way to the office, eventually, at three AM, Chica left the stage and made her way to the office.

The layout of the building was quite simple, you had the party room in the middle, the show stage just next to it, you had the backstage nearby and the bathrooms were on the opposite side of the room from the backstage, there were also four smaller party rooms for private parties down a single hallway, there was the arcade and Pirates cove which were more off to the side, the entrance was in the main party room and the kitchen was through a door in the main room.

The office was located at the end of three different hallways, with a metallic door at each entrance to the office, but the five animatronics had come up with a set of rules that they should follow, and they were actually quite simple.

On night one, it would be only Bonnie until three AM, Foxy could also come out ONLY if his camera was never checked, if the power went out however on any night, Freddy would come out and approach the entrance on the right and play the Toreador March for a short time before grabbing the guard and stuffing him in a suit.

Night two would be somewhat similar, except Bonnie and Chica would be slightly faster, and Foxy could come out more often ao long as his camera was not constantly maintained.

Night three however was when it got hectic for the guard, as Freddy became active that night, and the others became even more active.

Night four was when Fang began to take action, the other animatronics became even faster as well. 

Night five was just a general speed increase for the five animatronics.

Night six was basically the same as night five, except that Fang would occasionally block the Pirates Cove camera.

Night seven was when things would either calm down, or become a living nightmare for the guard.

The animatronics movements were simple, for Bonnie it was the stage, the main room, the backstage, party room two, the hallway on the left, the supply closet, then the left hall corner, then the left door.

Chica would go from the show stage, the main room, the bathroom, party room three, the kitchen, the right hallway, the right hall corner, and the right door.

Foxy would be in Pirates Cove, the Arcade area, the main room, the left hall, and the left door, the simplest movements of them all.

Fang went to the ticket area, Pirates Cove, the Arcade, the main room, party room four, the center hallway, and the center door.

Freddy himself would be on the stage, the main room, the bathroom, the kitchen, party room one, the right hallway, the right hall corner, and the right door.

The first night was quite boring for all the animatronics, as such, the night ended quietly, with the guard giving the animatronics a nervous glare that none of them noticed as they were offline.

The next day, Fang had simply allowed his programming to work for him as he was not in the mood for anything else. 

The world began to fade away as it became foggy and voices became mumbling.

_____*the next day, end of flashback, the village of Snowgem*______

Fang groaned and sat up, he rubbed his head and heard a faint chuckle from a familiar voice. "You know.....your kinda cute when your asleep." Teased the cheery voice of Soul as she materialized.

Fang mumbled something and stood up slowly. "I'm not awake for even a minute and your already teasing me." He complained.

Soul grinned and walked around behind Fang. "Oh cheer up you party pooper!.....your acting like someone you like just died, but since that isn't true.......cheer up or I ain't gonna help you!" She said firmly.

Fang could only blink at the girl, he cleared his throat and looked at Soul. "I'll make an effort." He said calmly.

Soul sighed and facepalmed. "Close enough.....now get moving lazy bones, you got a war to fight." She said before returning to her sword.

Fang shook his head and walked over to the table that the swords were, he grabbed the harness and strapped it on, after it was secure he grabbed the swords and sheathed them into the sheaths on his back.

"Let's go then, come on Spirit." He called out before making his way to the door.

An annoyed groan was the response that came from Spirit as he materialized near Fang with a yawn. "You know.....while I'm glad to have you as the boss, you give the worst wake up calls." He complained.

Soul laughed quietly and followed the two. "Settle down Spirit.....you make it sound like a bad thing." She then paused before shrugging a few seconds later.

Spirit grunted and looked around. "Could this place possibly get more boring?" He wondered silently.

Fang chuckled. "Most likely, it IS a equine town." He said aloud with a slight hint of distaste.

Soul grinned and ran up in front of Fang and began walking backwards while facing him. "Is that Ire in your voice Fang?" She asked out of curiosity.

Fang could only blink at Soul as she practically got in his face, eventually he found his voice again. "We....well, I guess so, what about it?" He asked.

Soul gave a sly grin and walked out of the way. "Oh...no reason, just curious." She replied teasingly.

Fang looked at Spirit with a question on his mind. "Is she always like this?" He asked.

Spirit blinked and looked at Fang, he then nodded and looked around again. 

Fang sighed and continued walking towards the town hall. 'One thing is certain, if this keeps up, we'll win in a day....two day's tops'

After a few more minutes of walking, Fang approached the town hall and noticed that three of the gaurds were moving a rather large box, he took note that the two carrying the box seemed a bit green in the face, it was at that moment, that Fang knew that the bodies of the guards he killed were inside the box.

Spirit walked alongside Fang and eyed the box. "Be careful boss......I'm getting a weird feeling." He warned before disappearing.

Fang walked up the stepps and into the building, and almost immediately upon entering the room, the air stiffened as all eyes gazed at him.

Among them, Shining Armor cleared his throat and looked down at the map. "As I was saying.....our scouts reported a weak spot in the city's defenses, we should strike as soon as possible!" He stated.

Fang walked over to a corner in the room and leaned against the wall as someone else spoke. "Your plan is foolhardy Shining Armor, even if you get into the city, we don't have the numbers to keep the undead at bay long enough to defeat Sombra!" Countered an old gray stallion.

Fang sighed and looked up at the ceiling, appearing bored, but that was when Shining looked over to him and shook his head. "We have more than enough." He started.

Shining looked back and motioned Twilight over, she seemed to be carrying a small brownish red box, Fang eyed the box curiously.

"What's in the box Armor?" Asked the stallion.

With that, Twilight opened the box, revealing five necklaces and a crown, all with different gems. "The Elements of Harmony!" Gasped one of the strategists.

Fang raised an eyebrow and chuckled quietly, no one seemed to notice however, then Shining spoke up. "With these, we simply need to hold off the undead long enough for my sister and her friends to defeat Sombra." He said confidently.

At this the older stallion seemed to go into deep thought, he then looked at Shining with a skeptical look. "And what if Sombra defeats them?.....if he gains the Elements of Harmony, all will be lost." He replied.

Fang could not help but let out a chuckle, this time everyone in the room turned to face him. "What's the problem wolf?......do you have no patience for strategy?" Asked one of the strategists.

Fang looked at Shining with a grin. "Your betting all of our lives on six mere gems!?......don't make me laugh!" He said with an amused tone.

Shining's right eye visibly twitched at the disrespect that Fang seemed to be showing, he stomped his hoof down and looked at Fang firmly.

"Do not underestimate the Elements of Harmony!......you know nothing of their power!" Shining shouted.

Shining then pointed at the Elements. "Those 'gems' as you put it, contain more power then all three of the princesses combined, not even Discord can stand up to them!" He stated.

Fang sighed and walked over to Shining Armor and stared him down firmly. "Uh huh.....you keep telling yourself that bub....I can tell you for a fact, that all you need to do to avoid the Elements.....is take one short step to the right.....if Discord wasn't so cocky, he would have won....." He then walked towards the corner he was In and looked at the strategists around the table. 

"And another few things....one, I could defeat Sombra with my bare hands if I felt like it....." He let that comment sink in for a second before continuing. "And about that little snipe about me not having patience for strategy, you are partially correct.......you see, I have no patience for the terrible 'strategy' that I'm hearing from your traps.....so shut up and let me think." He said bluntly, leaving everyone's mouths hanging open.

The room fell quiet for what felt like forever until Shining Armor spoke. "Ignoring the outburst." He said in complete disregard of Fang's words. "I believe that this is our best shout at defeating Sombra......agreed?" He asked the room.

"Agreed!" Everyone shouted.

Fang simply sighed and walked towards the door, he opened it but looked back at the others. "So be it." He said quietly before leaving.

As Fang walked towards the center of town, he heard Spirit and Soul laughing as they materialized. "That was so hilarious!" Soul blurted out.

Spirit slowed his laughing and looked at Fang. "That was so wrong, but still funny." He commented.

Soul soon slowed her laughing down to a grinding halt, and looked at Fang with a serious expression. "So, I guess this means we're going through with your plan?" She asked solemnly.

Fang paused in his walking, but silently nodded before continuing his trek.

Spirit looked around and sighed before looking at Fang. "It's for the best, if anything, it'll close this chapter of our story." He said quietly.

Fang looked up at the sky and noticed that it was already nighttime. "Strange." He said, he then noticed a large star up in the sky and chuckled. "Wonder how this will turn out." He said before walking off.

Soul and the others were then walking off towards the blacksmiths when Soul saw a small white flake fly by her, she stopped and looked up at the sky, she saw a rather bright blue star and smiled, she chuckled and started following the others.

_____*meanwhile, the Crystal Empire.*_____

Sombra overlooked the city from the destroyed observation room at the top of the castle, he watched as the demoralized crystal ponies mined his black crystals and he watched as the undead patroled the streets. He looked out onto the horizon and saw the fading sun out int he distance, it was at this moment that he sighed and closed his eyes. 'Soon, it won't be long now.....' Thought the dark king.

Sombra opened his eyes. "Let it begin." He said quietly.
> The empire of Crystals, Part five 1/2: Obtaining a trump card/Invasion.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Snowgem blacksmith, 2:14 PM*_____

Fang opened his eyes and sat up, he heard a sigh and soon enough, Spirit materialized in front of Fang. "Well boss, I hope your ready for this." He said.

Fang nodded and stood up, he walked over to the table and started to strap on his gear. "This should be interesting." Said Soul as she appeared.

Spirit looked out into the village and noticed that there were soldiers marching to the gate. "Looks like we got up late." He stated.

Fang rolled his eyes and looked over at Spirit. "Soldiers marching down the streets?" He asked.

Spirit nodded and walked away from the window. "Wonder how the attack will go?" He wondered out loud.

Soul chuckled and walked over to Fang. "So, you gonna be alright?" She asked in her normally cheerful mood.

Fang looked at Soul and gave a soft smile at the sight of the grinning ghost. "Of course.......come on, let's get moving." He said just as he finished with his gear.

Spirit rolled his eyes and walked over to Fang.  "Hope you know what your doing." He said before vanishing.

Fang turned to face the entrance to the blacksmith, he started walking out of the building and looked back at Soul, who seemed to be looking out the window with a grim expression on her face. "Soul.....are you alright?" He asked quietly.

Soul looked at Fang and sighed, she walked over to him and looked straight in his eyes. "What are you going to do with me and Spirit when this is all over?" She asked quietly.

Fang sighed and leaned against a nearby wall. "Honestly?.....I don't know, what would you want?" He asked.

Soul paused and turned around, facing away from Fang. "Well.....since you asked...." She looked at Fang with a grin. "I'd like to stick around." She replied happily.

Fang gave a small smile and nodded, he watched as Soul returned to her sword and then he started walking outside with one thought on his mind. 'No way am I dying today.' He thought as he walked to the gate.

____*meanwhile, Snowgem tavern.*____

Roxanne strapped on her gear and looked over at Skitter, who was sitting on a stool at the bar. "Are you ready yet?" She asked the changeling.

Skitter looked over and grinned, she pulled an old cudgel out from behind the bar and nodded. "Yep, we're gonna clobber those boneheads.....literally." She added in a joking tune.

Roxanne picked up Life and Death, and soon enough the two ghosts revealed themselves. "Well, this will be interesting." Death commented.

Life sighed and looked at his counterpart. "You mustn't get carried away Death, you'll only get us locked away again." He warned calmly.

Death groaned and began pacing. "Why are you so negative Life?.....you contradict your name." She countered.

Life rolled his eyes and vanished. "Just be careful this time you reckless girl." He replied.

Death looked at Roxanne and shrugged. "See what I had to deal with for one thousand years?" She said before vanishing.

Roxanne sheathed the swords and walked to the door. "Come on Skitter, the sooner this is done the sooner we can go home." She said.

Skitter shook her head and chuckled, she stood up and followed Roxanne out. "Going into the jaws of the beast, certain death, small chance of success.....where has this place been all my life?" She wondered as she walked.

Roxanne chuckled. "One thousand years ago." She replied simply.

Skitter paused but eventually shrugged in acceptance.

_____*thirty minutes later, The Crystal Empire's outskirts.*_____

Fang shook his head in disbelief as Shining Armor relayed his 'plan' to the soldiers, which, in Fang's point of view, was completely stupid and illogical. 'So he expects to win when he's simply shouting out the entire plan for the world to hear, anyone could spy on us and return with our entire strategy.' He chuckled at the irony. 'How he became Captain of the royal guard is beyond me.'

"We'll be splitting into three groups!....each group will have fifteen soldiers and a sergeant with them!....i will be in one group along with the Princess, the elements will be with another group, and as for you seven....." He trailed off as he looked at Fang, Roxanne, Dark, Skitter, Talon, Firefly and Spark.

"Go with the third group." Shining said simply.

Fang chuckled and looked at the group. "Hey, before we charge off to our deaths, do you think we need a trump card?" He asked the group.

Roxanne shrugged. "Why not?" She replied.

Talon raised an eyebrow and looked at Fang and Roxanne. "Your not thinking of deserting are you?" She questioned.

Fang shrugged. "Technically, I never really joined, I came because I was bored, you want to stay?....be my guest, but I'm going to check something out." He replied calmly before walking off.

Talon watched as Roxanne rolled her eyes and followed Fang, with Spark and Firefly in tow, eventually, Skitter and Darkestlight followed them, she groaned and shuddered. 'I am so getting a court marshaled for this' She thought before chasing off after the small group.

____*ten minutes later, outside a distant town.*____

Dark looked around curiously, seeing only ice and snow all around her, and the gate to a town ahead of her and the others, she was curious as to what Fang was looking for in the seemingly deserted town, so she walked up to Fang. "Why are we here?" She asked.

Fang took a deep breath and started to walk forward. "We're looking for an artifact.....i found an old book in Snowgem that hinted to its location, and if I followed it correctly.....it should be in this town." He replied.

Dark started to follow Fang, and the others followed suit soon after. "What's the name of the town?" She wondered.

Fang shrugged. "Frosthoof." He answered simply.

Dark soon stopped walking and looked at the ground without saying a word.

As she walked by, Talon couldn't help but notice that Dark wasn't moving, she walked over with a concerned expression. "Hey, are you alright?" She asked.

Dark signed and looked at Talon. ".....This was my home." She replied shakily.

Talon's eyes widened at this news and everyone else had a look of shock. "You.....your a crystal pony?" Talon asked.

Dark shook her head and looked at the village walls. "No.....I don't remember everything.....it's all a blur but I do  remember some of this place." She explained.

Roxanne crossed her arms and looked at the village. "Well then, let's see if we can't dig up any memories while we're here." She suggested.

Fang signed and looked at the group. "We don't really have time for a thorough search, so make sure that anything you find is nearby your search area." He said before walking towards the village.

Skitter huffed and followed the wolf. "Way to kill the mood buddy." She muttered to herself.

Talon, Roxanne and Dark shared a look of confusion before heading to the village, but not before Roxanne made sure that Firefly and Spark were following.

____*two minutes later, Frosthoof*____

Roxanne looked around the village in curiosity, strangely enough, the entire village was in good condition, sure there were a couple bad structures, but overall the place was alright, she decided to search the closest house and headed off to her right with Firefly, while Fang headed straight for the town hall with Spark, Dark went with Skitter and Talon to the old library.

'Might as well start searching.' She thought as she opened the houses door.

As Roxanne entered the house, she heard Firefly speak. "Are you sure this isn't breaking and entering?" Asked the filly.

Roxanne chuckled and looked at Firefly. "Of course, these buildings probably haven't been lived in for years." She assured her daughter.

Firefly nodded and entered the home, she looked around and immediately noticed an old snow globe, she rushed over and looked at it curiously. 

Roxanne rolled her eyes and looked around the room for anything of interest, there was a couch, two chairs, a large table, a mantelpiece, a staircase that led upstairs, a door to a basement, a pathway into the kitchen from the looks of it, and the front door, strangely, the only decoration in the room was the snow globe, seeing that Firefly had taken an interest in it, she walked over and examined it, inside was a simple wooden shed, a large tree next to it, and a wooden cart.

Firefly looked up at Roxanne with a happy look. "Can you shake it for me mom?" She asked quietly.

Roxanne smiled and grabbed the snow globe, she then shook it lightly and to her surprise, snow actually appeared inside the globe and fell down gently onto the models. "Well how about that." She chuckled and set the globe on the table.

Firefly simply sat in front of the table and watched the snow. "Thanks mom!" She said happily.

Roxanne nodded and headed for the kitchen, but Firefly's words still tugged at her. 'You know.....every time Firefly calls me mom or any mention of it pops up, I feel this weird tug at my heart.....until now it hasn't bothered me much, but still.' Her train of thought paused as she looked at Firefly as she watched the snow globe.

Roxanne quickly walked into the kitchen as a small tear dropped from her face. 'No matter how Firefly feels now.....I can't give her back what she lost......not in a million years.' More tears fell from her face as she silently cried.

But she did not continue for long as she quickly put the thought out of her mind and continued searching. 'Get a grip girl.....I don't have time for that right now, need to keep looking.' She thought as a new mission entered her thoughts.....keeping Firefly alive.

For several minutes, Roxanne searched every nook and cranny of the kitchen, finding nothing until....

....Roxanne set her hand on the wall and felt a weird chill, curious, she looked around the corner and saw the door to the basement, she walked to the basement door and opened it.....or so she thought, as the door was locked, she sighed and headed to the stairs, as she refused to vandalize the property. [1] 

"Come on Firefly....lets search upstairs." She said.

Firefly nodded and chased up the stairs after Roxanne. 

____*upstairs*____

Roxanne looked around the upstairs area, it was a moderately long hallway with a room on either side and two doors at the end of the hall, one to the left, and one to the right, she chose to search the closest room first and walked over to the door, she opened the door and walked inside to discover a bathroom.

The bathroom had nothing special at first sight, but Roxanne was determined to search the entire house, so she opened the cabinet above the sink, there was nothing inside so Roxanne simply searched the cabinets below the sink, finding nothing she continued.

Just then, Firefly walked up the stairs and looked around the area, she noticed Roxanne in the bathroom but decided not to interfere, so she headed over to the door on the opposite end and opened it, she looked inside and saw a bed and a wardrobe, she walked inside and looked around some more.

At that point, Roxanne walked out of the bathroom and watched Firefly walk inside the opposite room, she walked over and into the room, she walked over to the wardrobe and opened it, she saw no clothing however but did notice something small on the bottom of the wardrobe, she leaned down and saw that it was a small metallic object, she picked it up and saw that it was a bronze key. "Might be the basement key." She said to herself.

Firefly looked under the bed and saw a small box, curious, she pushed the box out and walked over to it, she opened the lid and saw a journal and a photo, turning her attention to the photo, Firefly examined it.

The photo was of a family of three outside the house, a father and mother by the looks of it, and their son, the father had a dark green coat and a blue mane and tail, his eyes were yellow and his cutie mark was a crystalline wooden plank.

The mother had yellow fur and had a yellow mane and tail, her eyes were orange and her cutie mark was that of a picture frame, the son had an orange coat, red mane and tail, he had brown eyes and no cutie mark.....all three of them had a happy smile on their faces, Firefly sighed and set the picture back in the box, knowing fully well that the family was possibly gone, she then turned her attention to the journal, which was a simple brown book with a strap, she then looked at Roxanne. "Hey mom, I found something." She said.

Roxanne looked at Firefly and walked over, she noticed the journal but said nothing as she examined the photo for a moment.....after she was done she sighed and picked up the journal, she sat down on the bed and began reading it......finding most of the pages torn out or blank, she found only the last few entries.

Firefly jumped up on the bed next to Roxanne and listened as she began to read aloud. "They are taking more of us again." Roxanne started.

Roxanne cleared her throat and continued reading the book.

"It will not be long until they find and take us as well.....but I won't let that happen......"

_____*flashback*_____

The father rushed up to the window and looked outside.....seeing Sombra's undead drudges and minions, he quickly ran up to the bed. "....I plan on leaving the empire...." Echoed Roxanne's voice.

As the father packed supplies into a bag Roxanne's voice continued the story. [2] "I managed to sneak an old cart out of the camp that they send us to.....I'll be taking my family with me and I plan on running as fast as I can to get us to the safety of Equestria." Roxanne continued as the father slung the supplies onto his back and rushed out of the room.

The father found his wife and son and quietly ushered them out of the house through a small hole in the wall thought the kitchen. "It is with a heavy heart and shaky hoof that I write this....as I cannot save anypony else for we do not have the supplies." Roxanne continued.

The father lead his family to an old cart and ushered them on it, he threw a dull white canvas over the cart and strapped the harness on, he then started to pull the cart as quickly as he could. "I fear that we may not make it, our supplies are few and we barely have enough to feed ourselves, but we should be fine if I can sneak some rations from that military outpost along the way." Roxanne paused for a moment and turned the page.

The father pulled the cart past the military outpost quietly, once the cart was out of sight, he made she his family was safe and snuck towards the military outpost. "Our neighbors gave us what few rations they could spare, which will at least let us keep up our strength for a day......last night, Onar resisted the minions of Sombra, he took out the skeletons and two of the guards before fleeing, several of Sombra's minions chased after him but the fact that Onar returned later that night covered in blood.....we all knew what happened." Roxanne continued.

"That blacksmith forged something while the guard was depleted....he was very secretive about it, but we assumed it was something for Onar." Roxanne said.

The father snuck past a pair of guards that were guarding an entrance, he then spotted a lone guard at a doorway and snuck up behind him, with quick movement the father snapped the guards neck and hid the body, he then continued to sneak around until he found the ration room, he took out the guards quietly and grabbed a few bags of rations, he quickly looked around and seeing no one around, he quickly downed one of the ration packs to regain his strength and made his escape, but not before replacing the rations he ate.

"Onar quickly rallied the few who would follow him, he then left the village to form a resistance against Sombra, my son wanted to follow but I forbade it....maybe I shouldn't have....but I will not see my son become a killer, so we will run to Equestria and find my cousin, he can help us." Roxanne continued.

The father ran up to the cart and threw the ration packs in, he told his wife and son to eat and strapped on the harness quickly and started pulling just as the alarm went off at the outpost. "....Today is the day, the day that I leave here with my family and take them to safety.....with Onar's rebellion and Equestria's army engaging Sombra's army, the path that I plan to take should be relatively empty....the only thing I will need to worry about will be wolves and bears." Roxanne continued,

The father ducked down and impaled the wolf with the spear he obtained from one of the guards at the outpost, he quickly slid the spear back Into the cart and strapped the harness on, he then ran as fast as his legs could go, he knew that his cousin was in the Equestrian military, and he was risking his life on the chance that his cousin would be at the Equestrian front. "To the one reading this....I do not want you worrying about my fate, or that of my family, chances are we made it safely to Equestria and returned to normal lives......but I long for the chance to see the Crystal Empire returned to its former glory, but I fear I will not be able to." Roxanne said before closing the book.

The father stopped moving with the cart and in strapped the harness, he quickly pulled his family out and grabbed the spear, he looked around and saw no one nearby but knew that there were soldiers up at the front lines, he made sure his family knew to be silent and quietly snuck through enemy lines, as he snuck through he noticed that he had the ability to do something through the confusion, he found a lone unicorn soldier and immediately knew he was of the Equestrian army, he silently walked over and tapped the guard on the shoulder....after explaining the situation to the soldier, they both agreed to help each other find their way through the enemy lines, they quietly snuck through and took out several guards along the way, the father left the spear embedded in one guards chest before continuing.

The father led his family through the trenches with the soldier, they evenually made their way out and the soldier quickly shot up a magical flare, soon enough, the Equestrian army charged the enemy lines and ended the weakened defenses, the father and his family were taken the the army's camp and were asked a series of questions, after they answered how they could, the father's cousin made his appearance and sent his family to the refugee camp, which was just outside Trotterdam.

____*end of flashback*____

Roxanne stood up and sighed, she set the book in the box and continued to search the room. "Hey mom, what do you think happened?" Firefly asked curiously.

Roxanne paused and stood up, she rubbed her eyes and looked at Firefly. "I wish I could tell you Firefly.....but I don't have Fang's ability to see into the past, but I guess they found the Equestrian military.....at least that's what I like to think." She replied.

Firefly nodded and jumped down, she looked at Roxanne and grinned. "Well then.....lets keep searching, maybe we'll find more clues." She said optimistically.

Roxanne nodded and started to search the rest of the room.

____*twenty minutes later, back outside. (I'm saving you about eight minutes of reading and twenty minutes of me writing)*___

The basement in that house held nothing special, the only thing they found of interest was a small woolen bag, which Roxanne put the snow globe in for Firefly.

The other houses had nothing either, and so, Roxanne and Firefly were now waiting outside for the others.

Then they saw Skitter, Talon and Dark walk up to them, the only thing that they were holding was an old book. "How did your search go?" Skitter asked.

Roxanne shrugged. "Found a nice snow globe, a book that told part of a story of how a father brought his family to Equestria.....nothing much.....you?" She asked.

Skitter groaned, she looked at the book she was holding in her magic and sighed. "Books.....books books and more books, this one was the only one of interest, it hints to the location of Fang's mysterious artifact." She replied.

Talon rolled her eyes and looked towards the town hall and saw Fang and Spark walking towards them. "What did you find?" The two groups asked in unison.

Fang blinked and sighed, he pulled out an old stone tablet and flipped it around so everyone could see. "This tablet is a map of the entire town, my guess is that we need to put all the clues together to find this thing." He told the group.

"Indeed.....that is a very confusing riddle." Added a new voice, startling the group.

Fang's eyes widened and he quickly looked to his right and saw an unknown earth pony stallion staring at him.

The earth pony had a slightly dull white fur, hair and tail, his eyes were teal and his cutie mark was that of a sword and a bow covered in snow.

The earth pony blinked and looked around the group, eventually he shrugged and looked at Fang. "So.....who's side are you on?" He questioned.

Fang shrugged. "Me?....I'm on my own side, same for all of us exept her." He replied before pointing at Talon.

The earth pony looked at Talon and immediately noticed the golden armor, he quickly backed up and growled. "Liars!....your from the royal guard!" He accused.

Fang simply raised an eyebrow. "Uhhh......huh?" He wondered as he scratched his head.

"I think the man has gone completely loopy." Said Spirit as he materialized near Fang.

The earth pony's eyes widened at the sight of Spirit, but then he heard another voice..... 

"You're one to talk Spirit, seeing as you went insane yourself once." Said Soul as she materialized next to Skitter.

The earth pony blinked at the sight of the spirits, he then looked at Fang cautiously while slowly backing up. "What are those spirits?" He questioned. 

Fang shrugged and scratched his head. 'Soul is so going to try to kill me for this.' He thought while letting out a slight chuckle. "Well....they are two VERY annoying ghosts called Soul and Spirit." He said teasingly.

Spirit grumbled while Soul nodded......before realizing what Fang said and glared at him accusingly. "You son of a bitch!......make another joke like that and I'll jam that sword up your ass!" She threatened in a pissed off state.

Roxanne could only sigh and facepalm, Talon simply shook her head, Skitter and Dark rolled their eyes, Spark and Firefly however were too busy laughing to notice.

The earth pony however seemed to be in a state of shock, but he quickly shook his head and looked at Fang, who was busy getting completely chewed out by a female wolf spirit that was making him back down, when he found his voice he spoke. [3] "Where did you get those swords?" He questioned curiously.

Soul paused and looked at the earth pony. "Oh.....I'll let him explain." She then looked at Fang with a serious glare. "We WILL continue this discussion smart ass." She warned before becoming off.

Fang blinked and soon he sighed, he then looked at the earth pony. "I found them in the Jade catacombs below Snowgem.....why?" He asked cautiously.

The earth pony sighed and looked away from the group for the moment, he then looked at Fang again. "I knew the previous owner of those blades." He replied somberly.

Fang raised an eyebrow and looked at the group, seeing them shrug he simply looked at the earth pony. "I believe introductions are in order." He stated.

The earth pony nodded. "Indeed.....my name is Ralkon, I am the blacksmith of this village." He introduced.

Fang nodded. "My name is Fang." He then pointed to the group. "That's Roxanne." He said while pointing at his partner, he then pointed at Talon and Skitter. "The changeling is Skitter, and she's Talon." He said while pointing at them respectively.

Fang then pointed at the kids. "The Pegasus filly is Firefly, and the baby dragon is Spark, my son." He then pointed at Dark. "And that's Darkestlight......we just call her Dark, and you already met Spirit and Soul." He said, finishing the introductions.

Ralkon nodded and looked up at the sky for a moment before looking at the group. "Allow me to ask.....but if your not from the royal guard.....why ARE you here?" He asked.

Fang pointed at the tablet that he was holding. "We're searching for the weapon that this tablet points to, so that we can more easily free the Crystal empire." He explained.

Ralkon sighed and started walking away from the group. "There is no point.....you already have them, and they seem to have accepted you as their bearers.....but I may be able to assist you......just this once." He replied.

Fang looked back at the two swords on his back and sighed, he looked at Ralkon and nodded. "Fine, how can you help us?" He asked cautiously.

Ralkon looked back at Fang and then looked towards a building that had a sign with the image of a hammer on it. "In my blacksmith, I forged some weapons for the resistance, but I never had the chance to sharpen them, I have a sharpening stone that was infused with the natural environmental hazards, if you were to sharpen your blade with it, I imagine that your sword would most likely gain the ability to freeze your enemies." He replied simply.

Fang looked back at the group for their response, and got only shrugs and nods in response, he sighed and looked at Ralkon. "Hurry and go get it, we'll wait." He told the earth pony.

Ralkon chuckled. "Unsurprisingly.....I have a price." He replied.

'I knew that.' Fang thought sarcastically. "What do you want for it?" He asked.

Ralkon pointed at what looked like an old barracks. "The barracks was overrun by Sombra's undead minions years ago, you take them out, I'll give you the stone." He said.

Fang nodded and looked at the barracks. 'Even if it isn't our primary objective, we better clear them out ahead of time.' He thought.

As Ralkon headed for the blacksmith, the group headed towards the barracks, Roxanne however simply chuckled as she said something. "Quest accepted." She said randomly.[4]

Dark raised an eyebrow and looked at Roxanne with a curious glare. "Huh?" She asked.

Roxanne smirked. "Nothing." She replied simply.

____*one minute later, entrance to the barracks.*____

Roxanne sighed as Fang kicked the door down, with a loud crash, the rusted iron door to the barracks slammed against the wall on the other side, she simply began walking into the barracks as the group entered. "Great idea Fang, now we'll be accused of vandalism." She stated.

Fang shrugged and looked around the two pathway building. "Alright, three of us will go right, and four of us will go left, if you find another split path, split up again, for their own safety, Spark and Firefly, stick with me and Roxanne respectively." He instructed before beginning to explore the barracks.

Spark looked at Firefly and they both simply shrugged, they watched as Roxanne walked past them, the quickly followed their parents, leaving Talon, Skitter and Dark in a group once again.

Skitter grumbled. "Let's just get this over with, I'd like to get back to the others so we can help them out." She said grumpily.

Talon nodded. "Yes, it would be better if we hurried, the sooner the better." She added.

Dark blinked and looked at the other two blankly, before shrugging and walking into the barracks.

____*over by Roxanne and Fang.*____

Roxanne swung Life and decapitated the skeleton before smashing it's ribs with a strong kick, she glanced behind herself and saw a rusted swung being clumsily swung at her, she reacted quickly and dodged the strike while swinging Death at the ghoul.

The sword cleaved right through the ghoul and she looked over at Fang who just destroyed two skeletons by launching them at the wall. "Well.....this place has an infestation." She commented.

Fang nodded and sheathed his swords. "Spark....Firefly, you two alright?" He asked.

The sound of footsteps could be heard as Spark came around the corner with Firefly in tow. "Yea, we're alright." He replied.

Fang nodded and looked around, he knew that the nearby rooms were empty but he knew that there was an upstairs, so he continued on.

Roxanne shook her head and rubbed her eyes, she quickly followed Fang after making sure the kids were alright. 'Why we brought them into a warzone is beyond me.....but Fang did raise a good point of him not trusting anyone at the village.' She thought as she walked up the stairs.

Fang heard a feral scream and sighed, he drew his sword and watched as a ghoul charged out from a doorway and down the stairs, he quickly swung the sword at the ghoul, cutting it in half, he then sheathed the sword and continued walking. 'One ghoul?.....if that's the strongest thing in here, this would be too easy.' He thought as he walked through the doorway.

Roxanne looked back at the kids and noticed that they had a spooked expression on their faces, she knelt down and looked at the kids. "Are you kids alright?.....because if your not, just say something and I'll get you to safety." She told them.

Firefly shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "It's alright......I just feel a little nauseous." She replied.

Spark shrugged. "I should be alright.....if what I read about a dragon's lifespan is true, any emotional trauma I acquire now will be completely pointless by the time I reach adulthood." He replied simply.

Roxanne sighed and nodded. "If you're sure.....but you let me know if anything feels wrong." She told them before continuing.

____*One minute later*____

As the group of four entered the last room on the upstairs floor, they noticed a rather large ghoulish figure, it seemed to have three arms and four legs, one of the arms held an axe, while the other two had swords, all three arms had a shield that seemed to be infused to them.

Fang ushered the kids out of the room and walked forward after drawing his swords. "Roxanne, keep an eye out and guard the kids, I'll take care of this." He told his partner.

Roxanne growled and walked up next to Fang. "Two against one Fang, it'll be dead long before anything can show up." She said firmly as she drew her swords.

Fang sighed and looked at the large ghoul as it turned to face them. "This place.......is forbidden!" The ghoul screeched before charging. 

"Here we go again." Fang muttered before charging with Roxanne.

The large ghoul swung all three of its weapons in a sweeping motion, which Fang jumped over while Roxanne jumped back to avoid it.

Fang swung Soul and Spirit at the ghoul's back but they barely made a dent, Roxanne unleashed a deadly barrage of sword attacks at the ghoul but they were all either blocked by the shields or parried by the swords.

The ghoul then began swinging in a whirlwind rapidly, it seemed to be aiming for Fang but Roxanne grabbed a stray brick from a small pile of rubble and threw it at the ghoul.

Fang leapt at the wall and jumped off it, since he didn't have much momentum or height, he only got so far as to land on the ghoul's head, with quick thinking, he quickly jammed the swords into the ghoul's head.

The ghoul seemed to be slowed by the swords but was still moving around, slowly but surely, but the speed reduction was just the opportunity Roxanne needed, she quickly rushed the ghoul and jammed her swords into its side, the swords were soon engulfed in white fire and she quickly ran the swords across its chest and severed its legs from its body.

The ghoul screeched and soon fell over with a loud crash, Fang walked around the ghoul and looked at Roxanne curiously. "How did you do that?" He asked out of curiosity.

Roxanne shrugged. "Turns out, Jandoka didn't have the strength to take the elements back, I can't say about Gwen and Firefly, but my element was simply made dormant." She explained simply.

Fang chuckled. "Well, that was simpler than I thought.....oh well, let's get going." He replied.

____*one minute later, Frosthoof town center.*____

The group of seven watched as Ralkon walked up to them. "I see that you've cleared the barracks, I guess you're not the royal guard." He said, although being a lot quieter with the other bit.

Fang nodded and watched as Ralkon tossed him something, he quickly caught it and examined it, at first glance, it seemed to be an ordinary stone, but it was unmistakably a gem, and one with extreme power. "Is this the stone?" He asked.

Ralkon nodded. "Yes, it was a combined effort between me and a master gemcrafter, to use it, all you have to do is have a unicorn channel the magic from it into the weapon of your choosing." He explained.

Fang turned the stone around in his hand and looked back at Skitter, he then threw it to her and it was caught in her magic. "We had better get going, or we won't be able to assist in the battle." He told the group.

Roxanne nodded and looked at Ralkon. "Hey....what about you?....where's everyone else?" She asked.

Ralkon stopped and sighed, he then looked at Roxanne with a grim look. "They were taken to the city.....only I evaded capture." He said before walking off.

Roxanne could only watch with a sympathetic expression as Ralkon walked off, but her thought process was halted when she felt a hand on her shoulder, she glanced over and saw Fang looking at her in understanding. "Come on, we have to go." He told her, she nodded and ran to the group.

Fang started walking to the group and looked up at the sky, he felt a cool breeze graze his cheek and sighed. 'We're getting there, just a bit longer.' He thought as he scratched his shoulder.

"Darn itch." He muttered as he ran to catch up with the group.

_____*The Crystal Empire, eight minutes later*_____

Roxanne could only watch with horrified eyes at what she saw.

The streets of the empire......

.....Burned.
> The empire of Crystals, Part five 2/2: Obtaining a trump card/Invasion.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*Five minutes after Fang and the others left.*____

Gwen looked around the strike team she was in, she noticed the nervous looks and the terrified expression of Fluttershy, she sighed and flew up a little to get a look of the city, she could only wince at the sight of the black crystals and the broken crystal ponies that mined it, she saw the black crystals that rose out from the buildings of the city, she looked at the castle and saw that the entire top half of the castle had been replaced by a spire of black crystals. 'Times like this....I wish I could be sure my element was working.' She thought grimly.

Gwen flew down to the ground and landed next to Twilight, who simply glanced over at her before signing in relief. "Oh...its you Gwen." She said calmly.

"Yea.....so Twilight, can I ask you something real quick?" She asked.

Twilight nodded and looked at Gwen. "Sure." She replied.

Gwen looked at the castle and then at Twilight. "What are the chances of the elements working?....in your opinion?" She asked.

The question made Twilight pause and think on it for a moment. "Honestly?.....I couldn't tell you, they SHOULD work just fine, but actually hitting Sombra is another matter, if someone can restrain him it's a definite hit." She replied.

Gwen nodded and looked at the city. 'I wonder how Fang and the others are doing....' She wondered.

____*one minute later.*____

Shining Armor sighed as he looked to his sergeant. 'The city changed from a beautiful sight, to this monstrosity we see now.' He shook his head.

"Sergeant, give the order to attack." He ordered the man.

The sergeant nodded and levitated a war horn out, he took a deep breath and unleashed the war horns call.

At that, all of the soldiers in Shining's group charged, including him and Cadence, as Shining charged he watched as a battalion of undead minions formed ranks with spear wielding skeletons in the front, ghoul's right behind them and skeleton archers in the back, the archers soon unleashed a volley of deadly arrows at them as they charged, Shining quickly threw up a magical shield which repelled the arrows, Cadence did something similar but instead of shielding herself from the arrows, she fired a volley of magical missiles at the arrows, sadly not all of the arrows were destroyed and some hit their target, killing off two of the soldiers.

As the strike team reached the undead ranks, Shining immediately unleashed a barrage of magical blasts on the archers, he then conjured a magical sword and began fighting the undead.

____*meanwhile*____

Gwen and the other Elements of Harmony charged alongside the soldiers and engaged the undead, Gwen flew up to one of the archers and grabbed it, she then knocked its head off and threw it at another archer, she then began to repeat this process until it would stop working, but seeing as they were mindless undead, she did not expect it to stop working.

Twilight had decided to get Fluttershy and Rarity behind herself, she attempted to do the same with Pinkie Pie but the mare had pulled a confetti machine gun out and began blasting away, Applejack had simply put on some armor and charged the lines. [1]

Gwen slammed down on a skeleton archer and rammed a nearby ghoul, she glanced over her shoulder and noticed a Minotaur like ghoul charging after her, she braced herself and jumped out of its warpath, she then flew up to it and landed on its head, she then slammed her elbow down on its head.

The ghoul roared in pain but simply grabbed Gwen with one arm and threw her off. 

Gwen crashed on the ground fiercely, she crashed through the crystal street for a few more inches but eventually stopped, she could feel the immense pain jolting through her body, she gritted her teeth and forced her way through the pain, the result was her shakily standing up.

The ghoul roared and charged Gwen again, but this time, Gwen could not move, and as such, was unable to fight back.....the ghoul lunged at Gwen fiercely but only received a large magical blast to the face, the ghoul was knocked back by the blast and almost immediately slain by a soldier charging by with a sword.

Gwen was breathing heavily and with wide eyes and ringing ears, all sounds were a blur and she could hardly see....she was actually surprised that she wasn't killed, she heard a blurred voice next to her and turned to face it.....she saw Twilight looking at her with concern, she couldn't make out what she was saying however with her ears still ringing, but to her relief, she felt a calm and warm sensation fill her mind as she fell over unconscious.

'Wake me when I'm not dead.....' She mumbled.

____*unknown time, unknown place.*____

Gwen groaned as she felt a throbbing in her head, she moved her hoof there and started rubbing the spot gently, she opened her eyes and looked around, all she saw however was darkness and dim torches.

Gwen stood up and looked around, she saw that there seemed to be old stone walls and pathways, there were also iron bars that blocked off exit to small rooms, it was then that Gwen's eyes widened. "Oh no....I'm in the dungeon....not good." She whispered quietly.

Gwen looked around and started to walk around, seeing as she had no chains or shackles to bind her, she also noticed a strange color on her legs and back but thought nothing of it, she could hear faint voices echo throughout the halls, so she made her way to them as quietly as she could, but as she got closer she could hear voices.

"Ten years.....ten years since that day......and I am still no closer to my goal.....but perhaps i can find a more permanent host....if only to keep alive until then." Mumbled a voice.

"No, no no no.....be cautious, you can't be discovered or your dead.....we don't have much time." Said a smiliar voice.

Gwen turned a corner and almost gasped at the sight of a tall bipedal figure, she quickly hid behind the corner and peeked out. "Wait!.....I've got it, I don't need a host in THIS world!.....I can just as easily hop worlds!" Said the figure.

The figure then slapped itself in the face. "Don't be a fool!....I know what you are thinking, and if you believe you can use that ability of yours without consequence.....remember the price for that kind of magic!?" The figure seemed to ask itself. 

The figure then laughed quietly and looked at a small cauldron. "Of course!....but I will already be dead!....I can't lose this way, all I need to do is a bit of.....rearranging." The figure said to the cauldron.

Gwen watched the figure closely but was soon caught off guard as the figure snapped to face her direction. "Who's there?.....show yourself!" The figure demanded.

Gwen's eyes widened, she was struggling to simply keep her breath under control.....she soon sighed and went to walk away when a large shadowed figure approached the bipedal figure from the shadows of the room. "I've finally found you traitor.....what's left of you anyway." Said the shadow.

The figure growled but screamed in pain from the dim torches suddenly brightening to high levels.

Gwen covered her eyes for a moment as she let them adjust, when the light no longer blinded her, she looked into the room and gasped at the sight before her.

The shadowed figure was a rather large unicorn stallion who was all brown in color, his cutie mark was that of a pair of shackles, he seemed to be staring down the bipedal figure who hid in a slightly dim corner. 

The bipedal creature seemed to be a large artic wolf, the wolf was missing all of its fur on its legs and arms, It's chest barely had any fur on it, only the head seemed normal if not for the blood soaked fur on its left ear and neck, the blood was also all over its arms, legs and chest, the wolf was also missing most of its right ear, Gwen could also just barely make out a torn up tail.

The unicorn scoffed. "Pathetic....you used to be one of the mightiest creatures in existence, but here you are.....hiding like a rat from the same people that you once terrorized." The unicorn's horn lit up in a small blaze of fire. 

The wolf-like creature held it's head and rocked back and forth. "Pesky ponies.....pesky ponies, always meddling, always paranoid, always hating, always fearing, always hunting." The wolf then seemed to repeat this pattern over and over.

The unicorn seemed sighed and fired a small fireball at the wolf. "Just die." He said blankly.

Gwen could only watch in horror and the flames engulfed the wolf.

The unicorn sighed and turned away from the flames, but he soon paused and glanced back, his eyes widened at the sight.

Gwen looked at where the wolf was, her own eyes widened as she watched the wolf simply walk out of the flames. "Silly ponies....so stupid, so trusting, so cowardly, so....weak." The wolf then looked at the unicorn and held its hand out....shadows then swarmed around the wolf's arm and spread out to the torches....completely blacking out the room, a scream was heard soon after and the room lit back up.....it took all of the strength Gwen had to avoid passing out.

The unicorn's body was lying dead on the floor, while the head was in the wolf's hand. "He thought he killed me......but I wonder, how long until more come looking for him?" The wolf then looked at Gwen's direction with a concerned expression. "How long until the same happens to your kind little one?" It asked, dropping the head.

Gwen's eyes widened and she said nothing....hoping that the wolf was speaking to another.

The sound of footsteps filled the room, and soon enough, when Gwen peeked around the corner, a hand had grabbed and dragged her into the room. "I am talking to you little one." The wolf said calmly.

Gwen grunted and attempted to break free from the wolf's grasp, but it was pointless as the wolf simply set her down. "Do not be afraid, I will not harm a child." The wolf said reassuringly.

Gwen backed up and soon hit a wall, she then looked around frantically trying to find an exit, but the only one was behind the wolf. "Please calm down.....it will do neither of us any good.....my name is Lyaroa, what is yours?" 

Gwen went to say her name but instead of her name, another came out. "V.....Verdant." Said a shaky voice.

Lyaroa gave a soft smile and patted the pegasus' head. "It's nice to meet you Verdant.....are you lost?" She asked with concern.

Gwen's head shook involuntarily, it was now that realized that she wasn't in her own body. "N...no, my parents said that I needed to stay here and wait for them to come back, but that was two days ago." She replied quietly.

Lyaroa sighed and stood up before walking to the cauldron, the wolf grabbed a small bowl and scooped up something from the cauldron.

Gwen watched through Verdant's eyes as Lyaroa walked over with the bowl and set it down in front of Verdant, it seemed to be water, which Verdant cautiously approached. "Go ahead and clean up.....I need to get some stuff from the surface, stay here if you wouldn't mind." Lyaroa said quietly.

Verdant stared at the water with a parched expression and waited until she could no longer hear footsteps, she then sipped up a small amount of the water and swallowed, she then soaked the tip of her hoof and started to wash herself with what little she had.

Gwen could feel the world fade away as Lyaroa returned with a barrel and a large water jug. "Well then Verdant, I probably should have mentioned this, but.....I'm a sentinel." She said before setting the barrel down and filling a water pouch with water.

_____*Crystal Empire.*_____

Gwen groaned as she opened her eyes, she could feel herself being carried through the fighting, she looked around and saw that she was being carried by Applejack, she attempted to move her wings but found that they did not respond, she looked but saw that her wings were bound by a strangely soothing lavender magic.

"Gwen! you with us!?" Shouted Twilight's voice.

Gwen looked in the voices direction and saw Twilight blasting skeletons left and right. "Ugh....Applejack, let me down." She mumbled.

Applejack stopped moving and allowed Gwen off her back. "Take it easy Sugarcube." She replied.

Gwen rubbed her head and looked around, she immediately noticed that they had double their previous forces, and they all seemed to be making a slow but steady push. "What did I miss?" She asked.

Twilight ran up to Gwen and dispelled the binding magic. "We joined up with Fang's strike team, but he and the others are all missing, even Talon....we made one big push through the undead lines but we seem to have hit a stalemate." She pointed at the skeleton archers on the roof, along with large Minotaur ghoul's nearby them. 

"They made a blockade like that all around this area, we can't get close enough to deal with the minotuars because of the archers, and we can't deal with the archers because the Minotaurs are taking all the shots we throw at them, if Fang and Roxanne were here, we would be able to break through easily, but as it is, we are waiting on Pinkie to handle this." Twilight explained.

Gwen nodded and quickly flew up and shattered a skeletal Pegasus. "Copycat." She said simply.

The fight at the front continued for several minutes until Pinkie climbed up the roof.

Pinkie looked around for anyone watching, she then snuck up on the skeletal archers and planted some bombs behind them, she then made a trail of oil from the bombs to the edge of the building, she then lit a match and dropped it on the oil and then ran off to the next building.

Twilight blasted a ghoul in the chest before moving to engage a small group of skeletal warriors, that was when a ghoul roared.....and soon a Minotaur ghoul went flying right into the group of undead and crashing into the wall of a random house.

Twilight looked over at Pinkie with a shocked and confused expression. "Pinkie.....what exactly is that?" She asked out of confusion.

Pinkie blew on a strange mechanical device which was smoking and looked at Twilight. "I don't know." She said with a slight french accent. [2]

Twilight sighed and ran back to the combined strike teams, and up to Applejack. "Anything different?" She asked.

Applejack nodded and kicked a skeleton in the face. "Yea, with that blockade smashed we were able to move up, got to hand it to Pinkie, she can pull some weird stuff off." She said before charging.

Twilight chased after Applejack and the others, she looked at the castle and a look of determination appeared on her face. 'We will stop you Sombra.' She thought with confidence.

____*four minutes later, outside the castle*____

Twilight blasted a skeleton and looked around, the soldiers had just finished off the remnants of undead defenders at the castle entrance, which seemed too easy in her opinion. 'Why was the defense so weak here?' She wondered.

"Twilight!" Shouted a familiar voice.

Twilight turned to face the voice and let out a sigh of relief at the sight of Shining Armor and Cadence.. "Oh good, your alright." She said thankfully.

Shining nodded and looked back at his team, which now consisted of ten from the original fifteen. "How's interior defenses holding?" He asked.

Twilight shrugged. "I don't know, we only just got here ourselves." She replied simply.

Shining nodded and looked back as Cadence began healing the injured soldiers. "Well then....I'll stay out here with Cadence and hold the line, while you and your friends go inside and deal with Sombra. He said as he approached the soldiers while an army of undead advanced.

Twilight nodded and sighed. "Be safe Shining." She said quietly before gathering her friends and heading inside the castle.

____*inside the castle.*____

Twilight and her friends ran through the empty halls and reached the stairway, they ran up the stairway but just as they reached the top they were knocked back down to the bottom by an unknown force.

Twilight rubbed her head and looked up the stairs, she saw a figure appear at the top, the figure was a brown earth pony stallion with orange eyes and no cutie mark, he smirked and looked down at the group. "I am Fracture, If you wish to enter the masters sanctum....you will have to go through me." He stated calmly.

Gwen growled and charged Fracture swiftly, but soon found herself being held by the throat and thrown to the ground. "As I said, you must go through me." He repeated calmly.

Applejack sighed and approached the stairs, she looked up at Fracture with a determined expression. "You all get going, I'll take care of this guy." She told her friends.

Twilight tried to object but Pinkie silenced her. "She's right Twilight, I'll stay behind with her and fight this guy, you all get going." Pinkie said before walking up to Applejack.

Twilight looked at the others and saw that they had grim expressions on their faces, she sighed. "Come on girls, we need to keep moving, Applejack and Pinkie will be alright." She assured them before igniting her horn.

Fracture looked down at the two mares and sighed when he heard a spell go off, he glanced to his left and saw the other four mares run off and towards the spire, he smirked. "Regardless if they make it or not, if one of you falls, your trinkets are useless.....which means that I simply need to kill you both." He said to the mares at the bottom of the stairs.

Applejack and Pinkie braced themselves as Fracture leapt down the stairs and slammed into the floor causing it to shatter. "Prepare to die insolent whelps!" Fracture shouted as he charged the two.

Fracture charged at Applejack attempted to ram her, when the mare dodged to the right he slammed his front hooves into the ground and spun around with his back legs and hit Applejack in the jaw.

Pinkie jumped back and pulled out her party cannon, she quickly fired at Fracture sending a cannonball flying at the stallion.

Fracture glanced over his shoulder and saw the cannonball flying at him, he smirked and snapped around swiftly. "Shatter!" He shouted.

As if on cue, the cannonball exploded mid flight and the shards fell to the ground. 

Fracture saw Pinkie's shocked expression and quickly rushed the mare, he moved with great speed and when he reached Pinkie he threw a punch at the mare's stomach.

Pinkie attempted to dodge the attack but a second one appeared out of nowhere and she went flying from the force of the punch.

Fracture jumped back and looked over at Applejack and saw that she was charging at him, he quickly sidestepped the charged and allowed Applejack to finish her charge, he turned to face the mare but quickly glanced over to Pinkie and saw that she was still alive but unable to stand up at the present time, he chuckled and looked directly at Applejack, he could tell the mare was beaten up and fatigued but she seemed to have more stamina then it seemed. "Tell me.....what is your last request?" He asked calmly.

The question caught Applejack completely off guard but she said nothing.

Fracture shook his head and looked over at Pinkie, who had barely managed to look up at them. "I take it you have none then?....as you wish." He said before charging Applejack with great speed.

Applejack did the only thing that came to mind....she braced as Fracture slammed into her, after the clash, Applejack quickly threw a punch at Fracture's chest, but to her surprise, the stallion took the blow head on and held his stomach in pain, allowing Applejack a moment to back off and recover.

Fracture disengaged and backed up, he chuckled and looked at Applejack. "Well.....this should be an interesting fight.

____*meanwhile*____

Twilight and the rest of the group ran through a door and towards the spire, but to their surprise, it led them out onto a pathway that was exposed to the outside world, Twilight walked out onto the pathway and gazed down, she couldn't sense any magical barriers to prevent falling, and saw the soldiers fighting the undead. "We need to hurry, be careful on these pathways." She told the group before walking along the path.

Gwen quickly took flight and flew just above the group. "Come on Fluttershy, I know you have wings." She said, but since she noticed Fluttershy practically clinging to the door for her life, she simply sighed. "You guys better hurry up, I'll get Fluttershy out here." She told the group.

"Ha!...good luck with that." Taunted a voice.

The whole group stopped and looked around for the source of the voice, until Gwen looked up and saw a figure flying above them. "Girls....up there." She said.

The rest of the group looked up and watched as a flying figure flew down to them and landed on the path, blocking them from passing.

Gwen looked back at Fluttershy who had hid behind the door but was peeking out, she then looked at the figure and examined it.

The figure was a male griffon with brown and gold feathers, his eyes were golden with a scar running across his left eye, he wore silver armor and his talons were covered by metallic ones, his wings seemed to be stained in blood and his tail seemed to be missing. "I would forget about that crybaby back there, and worry about yourselves." He said as he flared his wings.

Twilight lit her horn and fired a magical blast at the griffon, who simply flew out of its way and charged at Twilight.

Gwen acted on instinct and flew quickly at the griffon to intercept, just as the griffon reached Twilight, Gwen kicked the griffon away and away from the group. "You girls get going!" She shouted back to them before looking at the griffon with a look of determination. "I'll deal with this guy." She added before getting into her fighting stance.

The griffon smirked. "You are not as hopeless as it seems, you do understand the situation." He praised.

Gwen growled. "I'm not an idiot, of course I get it.....one stays behind while the others continue on, basic strategy." She countered angrily.

The griffon chuckled and prepared for battle. "Then let us introduce ourselves, I am Misteye." He said.

Gwen grinned. "I'm Gwen Dash." She replied.

Misteye nodded and noticed the group running towards the spire. "I thank you for the honorable battle, but I fear Fracture or your friends will interfere....in that sense, in either case, I shall withdraw." He stated calmly.

Gwen raised an eyebrow at the words. "Why is that?" She asked.

Misteye sighed and looked at Gwen. "Because, I will not forsake my honor, and there is none to be found in a one sided battle." He replied.

Gwen could only let a small smile out and she soon grinned. "Then let's fight." She said before charging.

Misteye charged at Gwen and raised his talons in preparation for a strike, when the two combatants reached eachother they struck, Gwen with a uppercut and Misteye with a claw strike.

Both attacks made contact, and both fighters felt the impact, but they were already charging again readying another attack.

This stalemate lasted for about a minute until Misteye unleashed a deadly barrage of rapid claw strikes, forcing Gwen to defend from his fierce attacks.

At the end of the flurry, Misteye backed off and swiftly charged while Gwen recovered, he rammed into Gwen and then backed off again.

Gwen was forced into a flying roll from the knockback, when she finally stopped rolling, she charged at Misteye with insane speed, she kicked at his back and then flew around to his front at these speeds and delivered a strong punch to his stomach.

Misteye was forced back by the recoil of the punch and he reacted quickly to block a swift onslaught of attacks from Gwen, in the middle of the barrage, Misteye acted on a slim opportunity and punched Gwen away so he could recover, at this point, he chuckled to himself. "A one sided battle, that's what this is, might as well go all out." He mumbled before grinning.

____*meanwhile*____

Twilight ran up the steps with Rarity and Fluttershy until they reached a large circular room with a spiral staircase leading up, the three mares could only groan as they walked into the room.

Twilight looked around the room and noticed that the only thing of interest was the stairway and a window, so she started to walk to the stairs.

Rarity and Fluttershy started to follow Twilight, but a loud rumbling stopped them from moving, after a moment of silence, the two mare's continued walking.

Just as Twilight's hoof touched the first step a tripwire was revealed and the entire room shook, Twilight looked back and noticed some tiles were falling. "RUUN!" She shouted as she began running up the stairs quickly.

Rarity and Fluttershy ran as fast as their hooves could carry them, but when Rarity's hoof touched the steps, another tripwire sprung and the stairs began to fall, but just as she went to grab another, it came loose and fell right on her head, and when Fluttershy accidentally kicked her in the back of her head, she was knocked unconscious.

Twilight teleported to a higher flight of stairs, she looked down and her eyes widened at the sight, the entire floor had fallen out, and Rarity was falling unconsciously next to Fluttershy, whose wings were practically frozen to her sides, she went to save them but saw that the stairs were falling out behind her, she gritted her teeth and a tear dropped from her face before she ran off up the stairs. "I'm sorry." She said quietly.

____*two minutes later*____

Twilight jumped to the floor of the next room, she panted heavily as she looked back at the collapsed stairway, she pounded the floor out of frustration and stood up grimly, she lit her horn and stepped inside the next room, but what she saw was far from pleasant.

Standing at the far end of the room, looking out to the empire, was none other than Sombra himself, she growled and her horn flared. She fired a lethal barrage of magical blasts at Sombra but to her shock, a magic barrier blocked them all.

Twilight prepared to unleash another barrage when Sombra spoke. "Well now, it would seem that I have an uninvited guest.....no matter, I will deal with this quickly." He said before turning to face Twilight.

"Prepare yourself girl, you are out of your league." He stated before igniting his horn, soon enough several magic orbs surrounded Sombra.

Twilight gritted her teeth. "Your going to pay for everything you've done Sombra!" She stated before unleashing another volley.

Sombra shook his head and fired his own magical blasts, the explosion that followed the two pairs of blasts tore the roof clean off.

____*meanwhile.*____

Applejack rammed Fracture and quickly delivered a deadly kick to his side, but Fracture seemed to ignore the effects and headbutted her on the nose, he then threw a punch to Applejack's stomach and made her cough up blood.

Fracture then kicked the mare away, he heard grunting behind him and turned to face the other mare, his eyes glowed black for a moment and his wounds burnt away.

Pinkie stood up and pulled a strange contraption out of her mane and threw it on the ground, the contraption then started to expand and transform, it soon turned into a bigger version of the party cannon but with a longer and thinner barrel then before, it also had a chair and a trigger, Pinkie quickly jumped in and began to fire at Fracture.

Fracture was confused at Pinkie's choice of ammunition, there were streamer and confetti....and for some reason, candy canes, but when he saw that the 'ammunition' had demolished the floor and walls, he took all doubts about it's power away. 'A childish weapon to be sure, but if it hits me even once, I'm doomed.' He thought as he ran.

To Fracture's annoyance, the cannon was able to turn in all directions, but he assumed that it just needed one good strike and it would collapse.

Applejack attempted to stand but she simply collapsed, she shakily looked up and saw that Pinkie had unleashed some kind of weapon against Fracture but knew that it wouldn't hold him back for long, she forced herself to push through the pain and managed to stand up shakily. 'I need to get back into the fight, but if I get in the way, Pinkie could hit me by accident.' She thought before slowly moving towards the fight.

Fracture jumped at a pillar and then he jumped towards Pinkie's cannon, he landed on the ammunition store and kicked it off its hinge before lunging at Pinkie, knocking her off and silencing the cannon.

Applejack rushed in to the fight and charged at Fracture, who was attacking Pinkie.

Fracture punched Pinkie rapidly until he was kicked in the shin by Applejack, he slid across the floor for a moment before recovering and getting back up, only to be slammed back into the ground by Pinkie's party cannon blast. 

Applejack and Pinkie continued their rush against Fracture, Applejack lunged at the stallion and rapidly punched him in the face, she was soon kicked off but Pinkie fired another round from her cannon at Fracture and ran up to Applejack.

Fracture crashed into the wall and he was now breathing heavily, he looked up at the two mares and smirked darkly, his eyes glowed black again and his wounds began to heal themselves again. "No matter how many times you beat me down.....I will ALWAYS recover!" He boasted as he stood up again with no visible signs of injury or fatigue.

Applejack and Pinkie were wide eyed and breathing heavily, they were both physically exhausted and weakened, they began to back up from Fracture who was slowly advancing.

____*meanwhile*____

Gwen unleashed a barrage of strikes at Misteye and he did the same, all strikes connected and they both suffered the recoil, Gwen swiftly recovered and looked at Misteye, she was breathing heavily and sweating all over from the exhaustion. 'Ever since his eyes changed to black, we've been equally matched, I'm going all out here but every time we attack, we both get hit....it's frustrating.' She thought before charging again.

Misteye charged as well and they both unleashed another barrage of attacks, but when they disengaged, he lost his helmet and armor, his talons no longer had armor over them either and he was now without armor, his eyes were wide as he examined Gwen. 'This girl is amazing, no one has been able to dismantle my armor while I was empowered before.' He grinned and looked to the ground. "I am proud to call you my opponent, but I believe it is time to end this." He stated before charging again at super speeds.

Gwen countered with her own super speed and the two flyers engaged in a brutal battle, feathers flew and blood was drawn before they disengaged.

The fight went on for another minute until both of them were forced to back off a moment, Misteye was missing multiple feathers all across his body and blood dripped, he now had black and blue marks all over his face.

Gwen was missing feathers on both wings, her legs were dripping blood and her left eye was slightly bleeding, she grunted in pain and charged Misteye.

Misteye copied this action but this time he simply changed to a position that would allow him to shred Gwen to pieces.

When Gwen and Misteye clashed again, Gwen was immediately assaulted by Misteye's talons, but she quickly threw a punch at his neck and stomach, when Misteye's barrage stopped, Gwen rushed him and nearly beat him to death before disengaging.

Misteye's breathing was so hard, that it actually hurt, he growled and rushed at Gwen one last time, this time going for the kill.

Gwen braced herself but when she noticed that Misteye went into the position that normally you see when a bird goes to snatch something from the ground, she understood the message, she charged at Misteye with incredible speed and prepared to kick him right in the chest with all her might.

When the two were close enough, Misteye attacked with his claws and Gwen with her kick....both flew by eachother so fast that no one viewing the fight could have seen what happened.

Misteye's eyes were wide, Gwen's eyes were the same way, but a moment later, Misteye coughed up blood and looked back at Gwen. "How?....how did you do that?" He asked.        

Gwen chuckled and she bled a little, she looked at her opponent and smiled softly. "Honestly?...I have no idea, it just happened." She replied through the pain.

Misteye chuckled and closed his eyes. "An honorable battle.....just how I wanted to die." He said before suddenly dropping from the air.

Gwen flew to the pathway and landed, she then collapsed to the floor out of exhaustion. 'I'm just going to rest a bit.' She thought before passing out.

_____*meanwhile*_____

Applejack dodged Fracture's slam and glanced over at Pinkie as she got back up. 'I can't hold him off forever, if something doesn't happen, we're toast.' She thought as she evaded Fracture's next series of attacks.

Fracture laughed maniacally as he attacked Applejack, his attacks showing his intent to break her bones, he leaped at Applejack and slammed his foot into the ground, causing the floor to break. "Shatter!" He shouted.

Applejack quickly jumped away from Fracture as the floor seemed to break apart after he spoke.

Fracture looked at Applejack and smirked. "Where did all that fight go?.....did you give up?" He taunted as he continued his attack.

"That's just about enough of this bullshit." Stated a voice.

Fracture paused and looked up, only to see a fireball fly straight at him, he quickly dodged it and he heard chuckling nearby, he quickly flipped around and looked in Applejack's direction, he saw that both Applejack and Pinkie had been moved to safety by a large fox like creature that stood upright. "Who the hell are you?" He asked.

The fox grinned and pulled out two swords. "Just your everyday mercenary, at your service." She said with a grin.

Fracture examined both of the swords and noticed something familiar about them. "If you are a mercenary, then who are you working for?" He asked.

The fox chuckled and soon two ghosts appeared from the swords. "I happen to be working for myself at the moment, if your looking to hire.....I'll have to pass, it's my day off." She replied simply.

Fracture sighed. "What a shame.....shatter!" He shouted.

The fox grinned and closed her eyes, she then charged at Fracture as the floor behind her exploded, when she reached Fracture she quickly jammed one sword into the ground and used it as leverage to spin and kick Fracture square in the jaw.

Fracture landed on the ground with a crash and he glared at the fox as he stood. 'Why didn't the swords break!?....no matter, if I can land one hit it with all be over.' He thought as he charged the fox.

The fox chuckled and glanced back at the ghosts. "Go crazy." She told them.

The female ghost grinned and laughed madly before unleashing waves of fire at Fracture. "Need a light!?" She taunted madly.

The male ghost simply sighed and released a wall of vines which took shape in front of the fox. "What did I say about overdoing it?" He asked the female ghost. 

"Stuff it!" The female ghost snapped while bombarding Fracture.

Fracture was trying desperately to avoid the waves of fire, but at one point he had jumped back and hit one of the pillars, he attempted to escape only for vines to constrict him and tie him against the pillar as the flames reached him, he could only scream in pain as the flames engulfed him.

The fox called off the ghosts and soon the fire and vines vanished, she then walked towards Fracture who was now burnt all over.

Fracture grunted, he shakily stood up and looked at the fox with flowing black eyes, his wounds seemed to disappear but he was none the less fatigued from the fight. "I will not be killed.....by the likes of you!" He shouted before charging again.

The fox said nothing as she simply raised a sword and swung it at Fracture, who was going too fast to avoid it, but instead of losing his head, he raised his hoof just enough to lose it instead of his head.

Fracture fell to the ground and screamed from the pain of losing his hoof, he paid no mind as the fox walked up to him and raised her sword.

The fox blinked before swinging down at Fracture's neck, severing his head from his body. "That guy blocked you six?....seriously?" She asked the two mares behind her.

Applejack and Pinkie could only stare in shock at the sight of Fracture's severed body. 

Roxanne sighed and sheathed the swords, she noticed Life had returned to his sword but Death stayed out, she looked at her. "Can you burn the head and body?" She asked quietly.

Death nodded and walked to Fracture's body, she then unleashed a small wave of fire and began to burn the body.

Roxanne walked to the two mares and kneeled down. "Get some rest, you'll need your strength." She told them before heading to the stairs.

Applejack looked at Roxanne and nodded. "Thank you....for saving us." She said.

Roxanne flashed a thumbs up before walking up the steps.

____*meanwhile*____

Gwen groaned as she opened her eyes, she heard chuckling next to her and looked in that direction, she saw Skitter looking at her with a grin, she blinked a few times before her eyes snapped open and she quickly stood up. "Skitter!....what are you doing?" She asked in a panic.

Skitter chuckled and shrugged. "Waiting for you to wake up from your nap....honestly Gwen, there's a war on." She said before pointing to the city.

Gwen looked out at the city and her eyes widened, the streets and buildings were all demolished and there were fires everywhere, the soldiers at the castle entrance were just barely holding back the swarms of undead, she looked up and saw that most of the spire had collapsed, she then looked at Skitter. "Where are the others?" She asked.

Skitter pointed behind her and up the tower. "Roxanne is dealing with the asshole downstairs, Talon and Dark and working with the kids to help Rarity and Fluttershy, and Fang went all the way to the top to fight Sombra." She explained.

Gwen nodded and sighed as she collapsed again. "It's a shame I don't have any energy, I would kick Sombra right in the face if I did." She said to Skitter.

Skitter rolled her eyes and walked up next to Gwen and sat down. "Then let's wait on the others before moving on." She replied.

____*meanwhile*____

Sombra unleashed a lethal barrage of magical blasts at Twilight, who threw up a magical shield to block them.

Twilight countered with a magic spear and prepared another spell.

Sombra simply threw a magic blast before unleashing another barrage at Twilight, who threw a barrier up to block them, he then unleashed one of the magic orbs and flung it at Twilight.

Twilight threw up a barrier and fired a round at Sombra, but to her surprise, the orb simply punched through the barrier and went straight for her, she gasped and jumped out its way only for the orb to follow her.

Sombra chuckled and looked away, believing the fight over.....but when he heard no scream he turned around, he was started to say the least.

There, in front of Twilight and destroying the orb, was a large wolf like creature holding the two swords he hoped to never see again. "Impossible." He said out of shock.

The wolf grinned and looked directly at Sombra. "Alright.....now the fun starts." He said confidently.
> The empire of Crystals, Part six: Sombra.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*The Crystal Empire, top of the spire.*____

Fang grinned as he stood off against Sombra, when he saw the dark king ignite his horn, he then looked at Twilight. "You stay here....and don't get any ideas of fighting this guy." He ordered before walking forward to face Sombra. 

Sombra glanced at the swords and growled. "How did you get those!?" He demanded.

Fang simply shrugged. "Inside a poorly guarded vault and behind a lame construct." He replied calmly.

Sombra growled and threw three of the magical orbs at Fang, seeking to obliterate him.

Fang chuckled and walked forward calmly, when the orbs got close to him he simply performed a swift series of attacks on the orbs, cutting clean through them.

Sombra roared in fury before unleashing the rest of the orbs, along with many magical blasts.

Fang quickly performed a swift combination of strikes and evades as he advanced on Sombra, when the magical attacks paused, Fang continued his advance towards Sombra.

Sombra continued his barrage on Fang but this time he unleashed a variety of magical attacks, from the classic magic blasts, to magical spears, and even more orbs, as attacked Fang, his eyes widened in realization, he took a deep breath to calm down and quickly surrounded himself with several magical orbs and summoned some runes on the ground nearby. 'Let's see how you handle this.' He thought as he took a moment to analyze the situation.

Fang immediately noticed the change in attack patterns and stopped his advance, he then focused on defense and evasion. 'Ok, now that he's calmed down his attacks will be more sophisticated and coordinated, they also won't be rushed so I need to be careful with how I move.' He thought as he stared directly at Sombra.

Both combatants held their cold glares at each other for what felt like forever, until Sombra ignited his horn and threw a short volley of magical blasts at Fang and Twilight.

Fang easily dodged the blasts and he glanced back to see Twilight dodge some of the blasts and conjured a barrier for the rest, he looked at Sombra for a moment before sheathing Spirit. "Twilight, conjure your magical armor and stay out of this, you'll only get in the way." He told the mare.

Twilight sighed. 'As much as I hate the idea of leaving him to fight alone, he's right.' She thought before nodding and backing off from the fight.

Fang noticed Sombra's quick glance in Twilight's direction and chuckled. "Sombra." He said.

Sombra looked at Fang with a calculating gaze. "What is it wolf?" He asked.

Fang smirked and prepared to fight. "Your fight is with me, don't forget it." He warned as he got into a fighting stance.

Sombra mentally noted the message and ignited his horn, he then threw a volley of fireballs at Fang. 'Lets see how you handle fire.' He wondered.

Fang did not waste time in dodging the fireballs, as he did a plan formed in his mind, he then jumped back and sheathed Soul, he noticed that Sombra was preparing another fire spell by the looks of it, he then looked at Twilight and smirked, he flashed a quick thumbs up and looked back at Sombra and saw another volley of fireballs coming at him, he quickly dodged them but was hit by a wave of fire that Sombra conjured, engulfing him entirely.

"Fang no!" Twilight called out while reaching a hoof out.

Sombra ceased the wave of fire and looked around for Fang, but he saw only the swords lying on the ground, he huffed and looked at Twilight. "For all the good those swords did him, he just died like that....pathetic." He said before igniting his horn and aiming at Twilight.

Twilight could not look up to face Sombra, she felt far too much pain from watching a friend die right before her eyes, she pounded the floor with her hoof and tears fell from her face as she silently cried. 'Damnit!.....Applejack, Pinkie and Gwen all stayed behind so we could defeat Sombra.....Rarity and Fluttershy, you girls didn't even make it up the spire because of that trap, and Fang.....you fought Sombra bravely while I simply stood back and watched......' She said quietly.

Sombra said nothing as he fired a magical volley at Twilight, seeking to end it immediately. 

The magical volley made contact with Twilight and exploded, Sombra turned away and walked to the balcony overlooking the battle, he then heard heavy breathing behind him, he turned around and his eyes widened.

Twilight was breathing heavily as she released the magical barrier, her horn flared with magical power and she bit her lip as she looked down. No more, I'm done being a pushover, this time....it's MY turn to save everyone!' She told herself with mental determination as she looked at Sombra with glowing lavender eyes.

Sombra walked back into the room and ignited his horn, he then quickly fired off a volley of magical blasts at Twilight.

Twilight threw up a shield which absorbed the blasts, she threw channeled her magic and growled. "SOMBRA!" She shouted out with magical amplification.

Sombra braced himself as the roof of the spire shattered and crumbled, his horn flared and he vanished.

Twilight quickly teleported as the rubble crashed on the floor, causing it to give out and fall down, when she reappeared she was on one of the broken walls, she looked down and saw that the floor was no longer collapsing, she teleported down and looked around for Sombra, she quickly reinforced her magical armor and threw up a barrier.

Twlight turned around and saw Sombra teleport on top of a pile of rubble, she screamed in fury and unleashing a massive barrage of magical blasts and fireballs. [1]

Sombra quickly countered with a magical barrier and a series of magic blasts, he then picked up a large chunk of rubble with his magic and hurled it at Twilight.

Twilight blasted the rubble and fired another barrage, she growled. "You will pay for everything you've done!" She roared.

The statement only served to annoy Sombra. "It is of no concern what I do in my own kingdom and with MY subjects!" He countered as he countered the barrage.

Twilight teleported to another position and growled as she looked at Sombra. "You torture them and force them to mine your damn crystals!....that's nothing but slavery!" She shouted.

Sombra growled and looked at Twilight, his horn lit up with a black aura with a dark green flame. "You know nothing!....your mind is weak and manipulated.....but still." He paused and fired a dark blast at Twilight.

Twilight threw up a barrier to block the magic, but it simply went right through the barrier AND her armor, flying right into her. "Aaahhh!" She screamed out as she fell to ground.

Sombra walked forward and knelt down near Twilight. 'I wonder how well your mind handles itself without any influence corrupting you.' He wondered silently.

Twilight quickly threw a flimsy magic blast at Sombra and teleported away from him, she was now breathing heavily as the dark magic bore through her and entered her mind, she attempted to purge her mind of the dark influence but her magic would not respond. 

Sombra looked at Twilight and saw that the glow never left her eyes, he wondered what it was but said nothing as he observed.

Twilight was about to move when she felt an intense pain in her head, she instantly collapsed and held her head before screaming out in pain, she soon passed out.

____*Inside Twilight's mind.*___ 

Twilight groaned as she opened her eyes and stood up, she looked around and saw that she was inside the Golden Oaks Library, she also noticed Dark sitting on a couch reading a book, she walked over and saw that she was reading the book on mythical creatures, she chuckled. "Find anything interesting?" She asked.

Dark said nothing as she turned the page, Twilight was about to say something when she heard footsteps behind her, she turned around and watched as.....Twilight....walked down the stairs.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at this and walked forward as the other Twilight spoke. "Good morning Dark, whatcha reading?" She asked.

Dark yawned and looked at the other Twilight. "Morning......I found this book on mythical creatures and I thought, why not?" She replied.

Twilight's eyes widened as realization hit her. 'This is two weeks ago!....before I went to Canterlot and got the mission to go to the Crystal empire from Princess Celestia.' She thought as she watched Dark put the book down and walk to the kitchen with the past Twilight.

Twilight then heard more footsteps from the stairs and she raised an eyebrow. "Strange, Spike didn't wake up until noon." She looked at the clock and saw that it was nine o'clock.

Twilight walked to the stairway and then up them, when she reached the top she saw that the guest room was open. 'I didn't open this, and Dark closes the door every day, so what is going on here?' She wondered as she walked into the room.

The inside of the guest room was simple and welcoming, there was a desk and a bed, a lamp, a window with curtains, a dresser, a cabinet and a small shelf, and one bedside table, Twilight walked in further and the world seemed to fade away, she gasped and looked back and saw only darkness, she looked around and the rest of the surrounding area was nothing but darkness. "What's going on here?" She asked herself.

"Two answer both questions....you are inside your own mind, and I'm examining your mind, although it was much easier to do with you downstairs." Replied a calm voice.

Twilight flipped around and saw a more shadowy version of herself looking back at her. "What are you?" She asked.

The shadow Twilight looked around the darkness and sighed. "I am a magical entity known as a Shade, my purpose is to examine minds and spot their vulnerabilities, strangely enough however, I appear to be unable to access THIS area of your mind." It said as it pointed to a specific spot on a model version of a brain, that seemed to be glowing purple.

Twilight looked at the familiar. "And what will you do?....if you should gain access." She asked.

The shade looked at Twilight. "I will examine it as well, and when my examination is complete, I will return to my creator with this information." It explained.

Twilight shook her head. "Then I'm afraid you'll never go back to Sombra." She told the shade.

The shade tilted its head and blinked. "Why would I go to him?....YOU created me after all, I can no more escape this place than you can fly." It replied.

Twilight's eyes widened and she backed up. "Why would I create a shade?" She asked.

The shade sighed and waved a hoof and a world soon manifested, it seemed to be Twilight's old room in Canterlot, what piqued Twilight's interest was that she saw herself at the middle of the room reading a magic book, she could not make it out but it was definitely familiar.

Twilight watched as her past self lit up her horn and cast a spell, but at the end her past self simply huffed in frustration and put the book back. "Darn spell doesn't work." Her past self grumbled before walking out of the room.

The shade then looked at Twilight. "The spell you cast, it was the Shade spell....but instead of me being summoned, I was trapped inside your mind, keeping a watchful eye on everything you did, I became a guardian of your mind, instead of a spy." It replied.

Twilight was about to say something when she remembered something. "Wait....then what about the spell Sombra cast?...what happened to it?" She asked.

The shade pointed to it's chest. "It is sealed inside me, along with the rest of the dark influence.....I recommend that you purge me the moment you have time to do so." It said before fading away.

____*the real world, the remnants of the spire*____

Twilight groaned as she stood up, she no longer felt the immense power from before, she shakily stood up and looked at Sombra, who seemed to be confused by something.

Twilight lit her horn and prepared herself for a fight, but when she saw Sombra fire a barrage at her, she ducked out of the way and fire a short volley.

Sombra threw up a barrier and fired a magical blast at Twilight, threw up a flimsy barrier and fired a slow magic blast, which Sombra simply dodged.

Sombra sighed and gripped Twilight in his magic. "Your fight is over little girl, your friend with the swords is dead and you are weak and alone." He said as he tightened his grip around Twilight's neck.

Twilight gagged and tried in vain to breath, she was unable to though because of Sombra's magic.

Sombra shook his head. "You truly had potential, but you chose to resist, foolish girl." He said before tightening his grip again.

"I've had enough of this bullshit." Said a bored voice.

Sombra's attention broke and he quickly turned around to face the new enemy, his eyes could only widen as he saw Fang standing with both swords in hand.

Fang grinned and got into a fighting stance. "Long time no see jackass....miss me?" He asked teasingly.

Sombra growled and conjured a massive amount of magical spears and orbs to surround him, he then aimed them at Fang. "Insolent whelp....die!" He shouted as he fired the arsenal of magic attacks.

Fang chuckled as the conjured spears and orbs flew at him, he then swung Soul and Spirit rapidly, cutting through each and every one, he then moved at rapid speeds and reached Sombra, he swung Spirit in an uppercut and cut clean through Sombra's back leg,

Sombra screamed in pain before teleporting away, he used his magic to heal the wound and watched as Fang looked up at him with a cold stare.

Fang and Sombra glared at eachother for a time, Fang soon noticed a small amount of sweat on Sombra's face, he then jumped up to unnatural heights and started swinging his swords in a windmill pattern at Sombra, when he saw Sombra teleport, he saw the unicorn aiming at him from below, he slowed down time and jumped down to the ground before returning it to normal as he charged the dark king.

Sombra was shocked at Fang's surprising speed, he then fired a volley at Fang and instantly put up a barrier and magical armor to protect himself.

Fang simply sliced through the volley and charged Sombra, when he reached the dark king, Fang did a roundhouse kick and went right through the barrier, he then swung his swords in a deadly combination against Sombra, but because of the armor, it only cut his legs and chest, he ended the combo by kicking Sombra towards the wall with great might.

Sombra collided with the wall and he soon fell to the floor, he shakily stood and was now breathing heavily. 'How can a freak with a pair of blades be this strong?....it's impossible!' He growled at the thought of losing. 

Fang noticed Sombra's horn light up, he braced himself to dodge, but to his surprise, Sombra fired at Twilight, Fang's eyes were wide as he attempted to run over and save Twilight, but these blasts were faster than him, by a long shot.

Twilight could not dodge, for she was still recovering from the fight, she could only watch horrified as the attacks flew towards her.

Sombra grinned, for if Twilight died, then he would have one less person to deal with. 

Fang growled, but just as he went to slow down time, he saw something move with great speed and knock rubble up and block the magic blasts.

Fang was slack jawed as he stared at the figure that saved Twilight.

Sombra's eyes were wide, but he soon growled. "You.....how did you escape!?" He shouted.

Twilight looked up and saw a white earth pony stallion wielding twin hammers. "Who are you?" She asked through the pain.

The earth pony looked down at Twilight. "I am Ralkon....blacksmith of Frosthoof." He replied simply.

Fang soon grinned. "What in the world are you doing here?" He asked.

Ralkon looked at Fang and then at Sombra. "I remembered that you said you were attacking Sombra, I've been waiting for a chance at revenge." He replied.

Fang looked at Sombra who looked to be barely standing, he chuckled. "Back me up eh?" He asked.

Ralkon nodded and stepped forward. "Don't worry about me." He replied.

Fang charged Sombra who conjured runes on the ground along with the previous ones, all of the runes glowed at once, causing Fang to back off.

Soon enough, all of the rubble started to fly together, it then started to form into a large construct, it seemed to be a large golem formed from the rubble, Fang looked at Ralkon. "Can you handle that then?" He asked.

Ralkon looked the golem up and down, he nodded and stepped forward. "Yes." He replied.

Fang then charged, he slowed down time and moved around the golem, he then returned time to normal and rushed Sombra who clearly was expecting it.

Ralkon dodged the golems slam and swung his hammers fiercely at it's arm, he then backed off as it went to kick, when it did, it's foot went straight through the floor, it was at this moment that Ralkon charged the golem, he swung the twin hammers at the foot of the golem, and after enough strikes, he shattered its foot, and the golem seemed to fall apart. 

Fang kicked Sombra to the wall and he looked back at Ralkon, who easily dispatched the golem, he started to walk towards Sombra, then he heard wings, he stopped just before Sombra to looked back.

Twilight looked around and she sighed in relief, she saw all of her friends gathering around the destroyed area, there was Dark and Skitter, Talon and Roxanne, Gwen and Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack, and Pinkie as well. 'So.....they all made it, that's good.' She thought as she shakily stood up.

Fang watched as Sombra shakily stood. "You think you've won?.....pah! my empire will never fall!....not as long as I live!" He shouted.

Twilight walked over to her friends and used her magic to summon the chest that held the Elements of Harmony. "Come on girls, let's end this." She said to them.

Her friends nodded and Twilight opened the chest, revealing the Elements, she then levitated them onto their respective bearers.

Fang glanced back at Twilight and the others, he saw that they were getting ready to use the Elements on Sombra. "You say that your empire will not die as long as you live, correct?" He asked the unicorn.

Sombra grunted. "Yes, never." He replied quietly

Fang sighed. "Then the person you know will die....if they hit you with those." He said.

Sombra nodded reluctantly. "Yes, the empire will be doomed." He replied.

Fang chuckled and looked at Sombra. "You may be right, you may be wrong, whose to say right?" He said jokingly.

Twilight and her friends rose up as the Elements activated, soon enough, when Twilight opened her eyes to reveal nothing but white, a beam of rainbow light shot up into the sky and then at Sombra.

Fang smiled softly and looked at Sombra. "This should be interesting." He said quietly as he sheathed Spirit but kept Soul out.

Everyone watched as the beam flew towards Sombra, who closed his eyes expecting to be hit by the beam......but it never came, when he opened his eyes he was shocked.

Fang had swung Soul and redirected the beam into the sky, when the beam dispersed, Fang pulled Soul back and faced everyone, who had looks of shock and confusion on their faces.

Twilight and the other five Elements of Harmony all looked at Fang in confusion and shock as they recovered from using the Elements. "Fang....what are you doing?" She asked in a dangerously calm tone.

Roxanne was the next to speak. "Yea Fang...what are you doing?" She asked.

Fang closed his eyes and sighed, after a few moments he opened his eyes, seeing everyone awaiting an explanation, he chuckled. "Alright....I've just about had it, I can't hold it anymore." He then burst out into maniacal laughter, causing everyone to back away.

After Fang ceased his maniacal laughter, he sheathed Soul and shook his head. "Let me put it to you this way...."


".......I, am NOT Fang." 
> The empire of Crystals, Part seven: Millennium.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*The Crystal Empire, top of the spire.*____

Everyone was wide eyed at Fang's words, but even more shocking was what he had claimed. 'I am NOT Fang....' The words echoed through everyone's thoughts.

Eventually, Roxanne drew her swords and spoke. "Then who are you!" She snapped angrily.

Fang sighed and sheathed Soul and Spirit. "I am an ancient being, created over one hundred thousand years ago to ensure the safety of this world, a sentinel." He explained.

Roxanne growled but when she went to speak, Gwen beat her to it however. "Who are you?....exactly....and where is Fang?" She asked in a hostile tone.

Fang walked forward and stopped when he was exactly between Sombra and the group. "My name?....it has been so long since I spoke it, but still.....my name is Lyaroa, Sentinel of Equis." Replied the sentinel.

Roxanne looked at Sombra and then at Lyaroa. "And Fang?" She asked.

Lyaroa crossed his arms and tapped his head. "You are looking at him, he is my host." He replied. [1]

This time it was Twilight who spoke up. "Your....host?" She asked curiously.

Lyaroa nodded and looked at Twilight. "That is correct, since my old body is missing, I am forced to have a host body....Fang was kind enough to oblige me." He replied.

Skitter stepped up and pointed at Sombra. "Then answer this, why did you spare him?" She asked.

Lyaroa looked at Skitter. "Because those trinkets they wield hurt like hell." He replied.

Roxanne tightened her grip on her swords as she shivered in anger. "You had better tell me.....why you chose Fang!" She snapped.

Lyaroa sighed and looked at Roxanne. "I chose him because he is my creation." He replied simply.

Everyone's eyes widened at that, but Twilight chose to get answers. "Could you explain?....I'm afraid I don't follow." She said.

Lyaroa nodded, he then looked at Sombra and sighed. "One moment." He said before kicking Sombra in the face, rendering him unconscious. 

Lyaroa walked to the nearest wall and leaned against it. "Now, where to begin.....I suppose I had best start at the beginning, you all may wish to sit down, this could take a while." He said.

Gwen cleared her throat and got everyone's attention. "I hate to be the party pooper, but what about the undead?...we can't just talk this over with them running around." She pointed out.

Lyaroa nodded and looked at Roxanne. "I don't suppose that my explanation could wait until we finish off the remnants of the undead army?" He wondered.

Roxanne sighed and reluctantly nodded. "Whatever, let's just get this done." She replied flatly.

____*down at the entrance to the castle, ten minutes later.*____

Gwen looked out to the city and saw the destruction that was wrought, she looked around and watched as Roxanne and Lyaroa charged out into the city to combat the swarming undead, as she looked around to see her friends going to assist in the fight, a thought entered her mind. 'How long has it been?....how long was Lyaroa inside of Fang?' She wondered as she charged to assist the others.

Roxanne growled and leapt at a skeletal Minotaur and sliced it's head clean off before continuing to assault the undead. 'The sooner this is over, the sooner I can get some answers.' She quickly destroyed some more undead before glancing back to see Lyaroa make a warpath in the undead ranks.

As Roxanne attacked, she came across a large group of skeletal minotuars and ghoul's, she soon engulfed herself in flames and continued her rampage.

Gwen flew after the undead in the sky's, she came across an undead griffon and threw a flurry of punches and kicks at its sides and chest, soon forcing it to fall to the ground hard.

As the fight raged on, Twilight could only look around and see how quickly things had escalated, she cringed at the sight of two soldiers getting crushed by a skeletal minotuar, a tear dropped down her face as she lit her horn and fired a destructive volley at the minotuar, fixating it's attention on her.

Lyaroa spun in a deadly whirlwind of steel and destroyed multiple undead minions, he then turned around and saw that Twilight was under assault by a minotuar, he quickly charged after the minotuar and slowed down time, he then moved under the minotuar and swung at its legs with a fierce blow before jumping away.

When time returned to normal, Lyaroa watched as the minotuar fell to the ground before crumbling, he then charged towards the broken undead ranks. [2]

Twilight sighed and decided to get back into the fight, she saw that some of the guards were slowly being overwhelmed and she soon ran over to assist as a question entered her mind. 'How could it have come to this?' She wondered.

_____*ten minutes later, (I'm saving you about a minute of reading about pointless fights.*______

After the fighting finally stopped, the soldiers did their best to clean up the streets and calm the people of the city down, assuring them that it was finally over, soon enough, Roxanne dragged Lyaroa to the castle and pulled him inside while he spoke. "You do realize that I can walk?" Lyaroa asked.

Roxanne huffed. "Shut up or I'll tear your arms off." She replied coldly.

Lyaroa's eyes widened but said nothing as he was dragged off, as the pair passed Gwen and Twilight, Lyaroa waved. "See what I have to deal with after saving your lives?" He asked the two equines as he passed.

Gwen looked at Twilight with a skeptical look. "And HE is supposed to be one of the strongest creatures in existence?" She asked.

Twilight shrugged and looked at Roxanne, who remained silent as she walked. "If what he says is true....then yes, but still....." She trailed off as she pictured Roxanne in a state of pure anger, she shivered and looked at Gwen. "I don't think that he wants to piss off Roxanne." She said to her Pegasus friend.

Soon after that, Skitter approached Gwen and Twilight with an amused expression on her face. "Hey you two....did you see Lyaroa and Roxanne recently?" She asked with a snicker.

Gwen raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Yea, they went into the castle, seemed like Roxanne was about ready to beat him up if he went on talking." She replied.

Skitter chuckled and motioned for the two to follow her as she walked towards the castle. "Come on, we should probably go make sure they didn't cause any trouble." She said as she walked away with a short and quiet laugh.

Gwen sighed and followed Skitter. "Come on, let's get going." She told Twilight.

Twilight nodded and followed Gwen. "Time for answers huh?" She wondered.

Gwen nodded. "Most likely, it'll be good to just get this whole thing over with." She replied.

Twilight managed a slight smile and looked back to the city as they entered the castle. 'It sure will be good to just head home.' She thought.

_____*ten minutes later, top of the (former) spire, (warning, following scene requires A LOT of reading).*_____

Lyaroa sighed as he looked around and noticed that there was a rather large group, there was the six Elements of Harmony, Skitter and Roxanne, Dark and Talon....thankfully the kids were not around, and neither was Ralkon or Shining and Cadence, who were busy helping out with the damage below.

The silence lasted around a minute until Twilight spoke up. "Lyaroa....that's your name right?" She asked.

Lyaroa nodded. "Yea, that's my name." He replied.

"Alright, so maybe we can continue where we left off?" Twilight suggested.

Lyaroa nodded and leaned against the wall. "Where to begin?...." He wondered.

Roxanne cleared her throat and got Lyaroa's attention. "If I may....perhaps you had better start at the beginning, so we can get the clear picture." She suggested.

Lyaroa nodded again and looked up at the sky. "Well now.....this'll take a while." He cleared his throat and sighed. "Alright, the first thing I should tell you is what exactly a Sentinel is." He said calmly.

As everyone got into comfortable sitting positions Lyaroa began talking. "Sentinels are ancient beings that forge and protect worlds, in a way....we have the ability to cross dimensions, because of our duties, Sentinels are also immortal, but most choose to simply create new worlds over and over, expanding their dimensions......you might consider it the largest sandbox in existence." He paused to let it sink in.

He soon continued. "Moving on to something more relevant, in my personal lifespan, I have made many worlds, if I was to make a rough estimate, I would have made at LEAST six thousand worlds, and no I am NOT explaining how exactly it's done." He paused a moment. "But still, eventually I got tired of making worlds, I believed that I had made enough of them to last forever, so I chose to pick one of the more.....vibrant, of worlds to visit, and I just so happened to find this one." He paused at the sight of some confused and skeptical faces. 

Lyaroa sighed and sat down against the wall. "In this worlds time, my arrival would have been three thousand years ago, and since I was seeking to end my boredom, I decided to decrease my powers as I formed a body for myself, it wouldn't be until eight hundred years later that I finally met some people of interest, the Equines." He paused and cleared his throat before continuing. "I begun observing them, at first as a large albino wolf, for about a year, before I was finally approached by one who had the bravery to face me, Ankip, a young warrior of the Runia tribe." He looked at Twilight and sighed as he noticed her curious expression. "If it makes you happy, I can give you some of their history, for documentation." He told the mare with an eye roll at her slight grin.

Roxanne however sighed and shook her head. "Can you just get to it?" She asked.

Lyaroa chuckled. "Alright, hold on....anyway, Ankip was very cautious approaching me, but when he reached me, I looked directly at him, he was startled at first but he remained calm as he spoke to me, he asked, 'why do you watch us wolf?'.....and I replied to him, 'I am observing your kind.....you are, interesting." he chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Anyway, for the next few years, Ankip taught me the ways of his tribe, which were mostly a peaceful people that lived off the land, in return, I kept a watchful eye on the village and surrounding areas, alerting them of anything that could threaten their village." He then noticed that Roxanne was slowly losing patience, he could tell from the occasionally twitching fingers.

Lyaroa then decided to continue quickly. "In any case, six hundred  years later, after the forming of Equestria and the births of Celestia and Luna, I decided to expand the worlds I created just a little, to this end I seperated Equis from some of the other worlds and created this worlds star, it's moon, and many more stars to follow, I then gifted the young sisters with new abilities, for Celestia, I gave her the ability to control the worlds star, along with a strong potential for magical ability and wings, whereas for Luna, I gave her the power to control the worlds moon and several other stars, I also gave her a horn, to focus her power.......possibly a mistake on my part but it's all In the past." He paused as he saw Twilight's curious expression. "You have a question?" He wondered.

Twilight nodded and put her hoof on her chin. "Yes, you see.....I always thought that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were natural born alicorns?" She asked.

Lyaroa sighed and looked up at the sky. "If that was true, then any couple of a unicorn and Pegasus would birth alicorns....no, you see, I originally intended to observe the sisters, to see if a mortal race could handle such responsibility, it was then that I realized that even with their new powers, the sisters were still mortal, so I was forced to gift them with immortality, dubbing them alicorns." He then chuckled. "Oh the irony." He mumbled to himself.

Lyaroa then continued his tale. "In any case, after the sisters reached maturity in the age of eighty four, the kingdom of Equestria had grown and prospered, until Discord appeared, at that point I knew that my test would be completed, so I simply observed the battles that followed, which inevitably led to the sisters discovering the Elements of Harmony, when they wielded them against Discord and defeated him, I was thoroughly intrigued, soon enough, the unicorn king Sombra enslaved his own subjects, and those that escaped begged the kingdom of Equestria for assistance, eventually, this led to the sisters battling Sombra and inevitably led to the Crystal Empire vanishing for one thousand years." He paused to catch his breath.

Roxanne sighed and stood up, she walked over to one of the walls and sat down. "Go on." She said.

Lyaroa nodded. "At this point, the time in history that this would be would be one thousand and seven years ago, and at the time. I had grown accustomed to living on Equis, I had given myself the need for food and water, had dulled my power down to a dull roar, but still very strong, and had altered my form to be that of an upright albino wolf, and then, seven years later, i discovered that the Equines had discovered how to control the weather, my curiosity led me to question the sisters as to why they sought to disrupt the natural order, their response was that the Equines were unable to handle the harsh environment and that the land could not grow anything without proper water, after thinking it through I simply allowed it to pass, thinking that it couldn't do any harm." He paused again.

This time it was Gwen who spoke. "Why do I get the feeling that your about to come to a conclusion here?" She wondered.

Lyaroa nodded and looked at the group. "Yes, soon enough, in two years, a gifted unicorn magician named Starswirl the Bearded began to experiment with untold powers, going as far as to experiment on Elements of Harmony, however, after a failed experiment, Starswirl was accused of attempted sabotage, but of course, since there was no evidence of it, he could not be convicted, unfortunately it was a long and boring half century until the next event of interest occurred, the battle of the Everfree." He paused at some of the confused glances. "You never heard of it?" He asked out of surprise.

Twilight sighed and looked at Lyaroa. "I've never heard of that battle, it isn't in any books and it never came up in a history class." She explained.

Lyaroa groaned and banged the back of his head against the wall. "Of course it isn't, alright listen up, the battle of the Everfree was basically a one battle war between the Equines and the creatures of the Everfree, eventually, the Equines were victorious, but at a great cost.....and soon enough, Celestia and Luna both questioned the nature of the battle, eventually coming to the conclusion that I was the one who summoned them and forced them to attack Equestria, while it WAS a valid thought, I denied it, stating that I would not interfere in the affairs of mortals, this of course led to some of the soldiers acting strangely around me, a few days later I was called to a meeting out in one of the border towns, when I got there however, I noticed that the town was strangely devoid of life, I entered the town carefully after my initial observation and moved towards the meeting place." He quickly paused to catch his breath.

Roxanne groaned and started to tap her leg rapidly.

Lyaroa rolled his eyes and continued. "When I arrived at the meeting place, I was greeted only by an ambush, several thuggish characters assaulted me, I did the only sensible thing that came to mind, I fought back.....and killed each and every one of them." He stopped as he heard the gasps from some of the ponies present.

Silence was all that came from the ruined tower, until it was broken by a particular person. "Why....why would you do something like that!" Demanded the formerly quiet voice of Fluttershy, who flew up to Lyaroa and stared him in the eyes.

Lyaroa blinked, surprised by the sudden outburst, he felt a sudden surge of anger flow into him and he stood up and stared down Fluttershy. "As if I had a choice!" He shouted.

Fluttershy's eyes went wide and she darted behind Twilight, who gave Lyaroa an agitated glare.

Lyaroa panted for a few moments before he sighed and sat back down. "Since I can tell this part won't be pleasant, I'm just going to say that this eventually discovering that the thugs were Equestrian military, and soon enough, Celestia and Luna showed up, they saw the bodies and accused me of treason, this soon led to a long and painful battle which left the border town in flames and left us three in a final showdown, which soon costed me my life by means of a beheading.....and before you ask, they left the town soon after that, after I made sure they were gone, my body repaired itself, leaving me in a state of weakness, I went into hiding, and after three long years of plotting my revenge, down in the dungeons of Cloudsdale, which was a ground city at the time, and I should also note, that this was before Luna became Nightmare Moon, I ran into someone who made me reconsider my entire plan.....a filly named Verdant." He paused as he noticed Gwen's wide eyed stare, raising an eyebrow he spoke up. "Is something wrong?" He asked.

Gwen blinked and soon shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "No, I'm fine, go ahead." She replied.

Lyaroa looked at Gwen skeptically but did not push the mare. "Anyway, after dealing with a unicorn that had been hounding me for weeks, I discovered Verdant, after I found out that the girl had been abandoned down there, i told her that she was welcome to seek shelter in my little den, it wasn't until a few years later that I had come up with an entirely new plan.....for I knew that the general populace must've forgotten I existed, and my quarrel was with the sisters, NOT the people, at this point, I looked to my other worlds, searching for one that would be of use without tampering with it too much." He paused.

"And then I came across YOUR world, Roxanne, one that was best suited for the task at hand." He said to the fox.

Roxanne growled and clinched her fist. "Get to the point." She warned the wolf.

Lyaroa nodded. "At any rate, i looked through its timeline for a suitable host body, I eventually found the Fazbear franchise amongst the thickness of the world....or it was the peppers from the night before but that's a story for another time." He paused to chuckle at the memory, when he was done, he continued. "Sadly, I knew that Fazbear's was the correct place, but the host I needed was not, I looked into its future and saw none that could be considered my host, so I.....altered the timeline and events, and even the people there, soon enough I created one that I believed could have been my host, the illusionary counterpart of Freddy Fazbear." He explained.

Gwen and Twilight looked at eachother with wide eyes and then at Lyaroa, Roxanne sighed and leaned her head on the wall. "Golden Freddy." The three said simultaneously.

Lyaroa chuckled and looked up at the sky. "Yes, sadly, it turns out that Golden Freddy was too powerful to make my host in my weakened state, so I created a physical host, one that you are all familiar with.....Fang, the animatronic wolf, at this point I was almost ready to enact my plan, but first I needed to finish some.....preparations, on this end before leaving, the first thing I did was create the spell that would send the anchor to Fazbear's, the next was to stabilize the timelines so that they didn't go out of sync, the third thing I did was plant seeds, one was a seed of darkness in Luna, forcing her to see the world in a different perspective, the next, was to make sure that Celestia used the Elements of Harmony on Luna to send her to the moon, while severing their connection to the Elements at the same time.....not an easy thing to arrange, and painful as well." He then paused and looked at Twilight who appeared to be bursting with questions. "I will answer your questions later, but right now, I would like to finish my story." He told the inquisitive mare.

Roxanne spoke up however, with an annoyed expression. "If you could do all of this.....why didn't you just kill them?" She asked.

Lyaroa sighed and looked at Roxanne. "I was in a weakened state, my body was still mending and I couldn't access the rest of my powers, I also knew that it would take more then a swipe of my hand to kill one of my creations." He countered.

Roxanne grumbled but maintained her glare at Lyaroa, who continued his tale. "I soon looked into the future of this world, and I found you six." He pointed at the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. "I then found out your names, next I found your personalities, and then the rest flowed into my mind.....however, there was one problem." He paused to sigh and looked at Gwen. "After the slight alteration i made in the timeline, I discovered that after you returned, you would have absolutely no reason to go to the Grayroot, which was exactly what I needed.....so I was forced to use up even more of my waning power, I created the very reason for you going there, the Black Cloud gang, and the reunion." He was forced to stop when he saw Gwen and Skitter's horrified expressions.

Everyone looked at Gwen and Skitter out of worry, they both seemed to be in shock, Twilight walked over to Gwen and kneeled down next to her. "Gwen....are you alright?....what's he talking about?" She asked out of concern.

Skitter was now muttering incoherently as she held her head, but when Gwen spoke up, she seemed to slow down. "The Black Cloud.....it was the group that I was in with Skitter, Firefly, the Twins and Vulture." She said quietly.

Twilight looked at Lyaroa with an angry glare. "You had best continue." She said in a dangerously calm voice.

Lyaroa nodded. "Very well, after this, I looked to the world that Fazbear's resided, i realized that Golden Freddy could still be of use, so the next time he teleported I altered his course, he would eventually be launched through worlds, and by chance, he reappeared inside of Derpy's mind, soon enough, I made myself scarce after bidding farewell to Verdant and transported myself into Fang's mind, waiting for the right time to enact my plan." He paused when he heard a low growl, he looked to the source and saw Gwen glaring cold daggers at him.

Gwen growled and shivered from the rage. "You......you say that you've made it so all of this would happen?.....then tell me this....how do I know that you're real?....that Skitter is real?.....and is Firefly fake?.....did you 'make' her so she would be my sister?.....well?" She questioned angrily.

Lyaroa blinked and rested his head on the wall behind him, he closed his eyes and said nothing.

This only served to make Gwen angrier, as she stood up and marched over to Lyaroa and forced him to look her in the eyes. "TELL ME!" She demanded.

Lyaroa sighed and looked Gwen in the eyes. "Would it matter if I told you?.....what would it bring you?" He asked.

Gwen growled and grabbed him by the throat, she then pulled her hoof back.....and punched him in the face. "JUST TELL ME DAMNIT!" She shouted.

Lyaroa looked down at Gwen and sighed, he closed his eyes for a few moments and soon opened them. "....Yes, I created Skitter, and the rest of your gang, I even created Firefly." He replied coldly.

Gwen seemed to be startled by his response but this served to make her even angrier, she punched Lyaroa again and went to hit him again.....but she was stopped by a hand grabbing her hoof, she gasped and looked over her shoulder to see Roxanne holding her hoof with a grim expression. "Roxanne?" She asked worriedly.

Roxanne sighed and pulled Gwen away from Lyaroa, she then looked the wolf in the eye. "Continue, but stop answering questions until your done." She said somberly as she released Gwen.

Lyaroa then stood up and leaned against the wall. "It wasn't for many years until my plan finally began to take action, when I found Gwen in the office of the pizzeria that night, I influenced the animatronics NOT to stuff her into a a suit and kill her.....and for those curious, the reason that people die when being stuffed into a Fazbear suit is because of a bunch of wiring around the facial area." He paused as he saw the slightly annoyed glare from Roxanne, he coughed and continued. "Anyway, as the week progressed, I started to see the world from another perspective, I then started to think on the reason for my revenge, and in all honesty.....I was ashamed, my reasons were childish and stupid, but it was far too late to stop it all, so I simply went along with it all, however....when Fang and Roxanne actually crossed over into Equestria, I realized that I never made bodies for them here, so I quickly made Fang's body a flesh and blood replica, while Roxanne's was a little trickier, after I was done, I simply sat back and watched." He paused for a moment to breathe.

Lyaroa chuckled and looked at Dark. "You know....to be honest, you actually did surprise me Dark." He said.

Dark raised an eyebrow at Lyaroa's words. "How?" She asked curiously.

Lyaroa shrugged. "Simple, I never realized you were there, and that kinda threw me off, but when Vulture and the twins sent all of you down into the temple, I knew my time had arrived, when Fang went unconscious from the fall, I took control, but he didn't really take it so well.....he went mad shortly after I broke the cocoon and soon enough, I 'literally' crashed into Golden Freddy, who I didn't even realize had an actual physical body at the time.....anyway, as we progressed through the temple, I eventually found a side path that led to the hatchery, where I found Spark's egg, I was.....reluctant, to take the egg, but knowing that it was Verdant's last wish, I had no choice." He paused upon seeing Twilight's curious face. "I'm saving questions for later." He responded quickly.

Twilight pouted but said nothing as she comforted Skitter, Lyaroa soon continued. "After we left the temple and headed to Ponyville, I realized that I was regaining my time magic, at first it was only glimpses into the past, but it grew overtime, I had also obtained a fondness for Spark, and being a father, ironically, soon enough, Celestia called Twilight to Canterlot, sending her on a mission to save the Crystal Empire from Sombra, when we arrived I was somewhat nostalgic, as this was the land I encountered the Runia Tribe, I also remembered the many secrets of this land, but I knew that I couldn't just go searching for them as it would draw too much attention, so I kept quiet as we made our way to the city." He paused for a moment.

"Other than getting Skitter past Shining Armor's anti changeling barrier, nothing that you all don't remember happened, when we began our first battle against Sombra's minions, I was.....puzzled, by the stupidity of the situation, I said nothing obviously as we eventually were forced to flee the city and head to Snowgem, at this point I wanted to mention the Jade Catacombs, but if I did so out of the blue it would require an explanation would have most likely led to me blowing my cover, thankfully, Roxanne took care of this problem for me as she mentioned it in that very next meeting, once inside the catacombs, i was curious to see how much it had changed, but I decided against exploring as Roxanne and myself soon found the altar that opened the door to Soul and Spirit's prison, while Skitter found Life and Death nearby.....to be honest, I didn't even know that those two existed......but anyway, after we defeated the guardian and obtained Soul and Spirit, I waited until we returned to Snowgem to inform Soul and Spirit of my plan, they soon agreed and swore to secrecy, anyway, when we began preparations to attack the Crystal Empire i had remembered a rumor about the village of Frosthoof to the north, I brought the group I was supposed to attack the Empire with to the village, this left us in utter disappointment as it was simply a map to the Jade Catacombs." He paused again to catch his breath.

When Lyaroa was ready, he continued. "Soon enough, when we returned to the city and saw the destruction that occurred in our absence, we immediately headed for the castle because we knew that Shining would have them all bunker in at the entrance, and you know the rest from there, but as for my reason for saving Sombra.....he may have been an evil ruler, but he still deserves a fair trial....after this is all over with, and in case you are wondering how we are supposed to hold him captive, I've already blocked his magic." He the looked around and awaited any questions.

Roxanne quickly spoke up. "When will you get out of Fang?" She questioned.

Lyaroa chuckled and looked at Roxanne. "When I find my body, then I'll get out of Fang." He replied simply.

Gwen was the next to speak up. "I actually have three questions, one, can you get Golden Freddy out of Ditzy's mind? two, what's wrong with my Element? and three......can you fix Firefly?" She asked quietly.

Lyaroa sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Well, first off, there isn't anything wrong with your Element, as for the other two.....I'll most likely need the rest of my powers for that." He replied.

Next up was Twilight. "Okay, I'm not going to overload with questions right now.....but what are you going to do when or IF you get your body back?" She wondered curiously.

Lyaroa chuckled and shrugged. "Honestly?.....no idea, I could go back to making worlds, but that's boring, guess I could stick around and haunt you as a ghost." He replied with a grin.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and facepalmed. "You really are an idiot." She muttered.

Lyaroa nodded. "Can't deny that." He replied.

_____*the next day, the Crystal Empire's dungeons, 2:53 AM*____

Roxanne yawned as she walked through the dungeon with Lyaroa and Skitter. "Why did you have to wake us up at THIS hour?" She complained groggily.

Lyaroa yawned and opened a steel door before allowing the others to walk through it. "Because now seemed like a good time to introduce you." He replied sleepily.

Skitter quickly threw on her disguise as Star as she followed Lyaroa through the dungeon. "Introduce us to who?" She asked.

Lyaroa looked at Skitter and grinned. "That's a secret." He teased.

Roxanne yawned and slapped Lyaroa in the back of the head. "Knock it off mister immortal......or I'll kick your ass." She warned sleepily.

Lyaroa chuckled and nodded. "When you put it like that.....fine." He conceded as he approached a steel door and opened it revealing a large circular room, he walked inside.

Roxanne blinked as she entered the room after Lyaroa. "I hate this place so much." She commented.

Lyaroa looked around the room and saw only an old iron door with multiple magical barriers and locks, he rolled his eyes and walked over to the door and punched the door, shattering the locks. "I'm about to have the time of my fucking life!" He declared. [3]

Skitter and Roxanne could only watch in confusion as Lyaroa quite literally punched the door into oblivion, they shared a look and stifled a laugh at the sight.

Lyaroa punched the door one last time and it flew open, he chuckled and looked back at Roxanne and Skitter. "It's open now." He said.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and walked up to Lyaroa. "Yes....you succeeded in demolishing a defensless door." She teased.

Lyaroa sighed and entered the next room, he then halted Roxanne from following with his hand in a 'halt' position. "I will be right back, be ready to meet the ONLY person that Sombra couldn't enslave." He said with a chuckle as he went into the room.

Roxanne grumbled and crossed her arms, she walked to the center of the room and sat down. "Asshole." She mumbled.

____*a few minutes later*____

Skitter watched as Lyaroa carried a small unconscious figure out of the room and towards them, she raised an eyebrow at this as Lyaroa laid the figure on the floor carefully, she examined the figure and immediately noticed that it was an earth pony filly.

Lyaroa stood up and walked around the filly and kneeled down next to her.  

The filly had burn marks and bruises all across her body, her remaining fur was light blue, her mane and tail were also burnt and most of the tail was gone, her hair was pure white and was almost all gone, Skitter then examined the filly's cutie mark but discovered none, she raised an eyebrow at this but chose to say nothing, from a glance, the filly appeared to have a broken hoof, at this, Skitter decided to ask Lyaroa. "So uh....who is she?" She asked.                                                                                 

Lyaroa slowly rubbed the filly's back and sighed sadly, she looked at Skitter. "Her name is Solar......daughter of Sombra." He replied quietly.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow and knelt down next to Solar. "Didn't know Sombra had a daughter." She said bluntly.

Lyaroa nodded. "It isn't common knowledge.....but when Sombra took power, he had kept her inside the castle to prevent outside influence.....but she had found a secret way to leave, and she eventually met Onar.....leader of the resistance, three weeks later,  Onar and his freedom fighters had saved Solar from Sombra's goons who had been sent to take her back to the castle, from that point, she was inspired by Onar and his resistance, she fed them information slowly but surely......but Sombra soon found out, the normal punishment for treason of this magnitude at the time was death or enslavement, but since Sombra was unable to choose either, he resorted to life in prison, where she got the burn marks and bruises is beyond me." He explained. 

Roxanne sighed and looked at Solar with a grim expression, she checked the girl for a pulse......and discovered an extremely faint one. 'She's dying.' She realized, she quickly looked at Skitter. "Do you know any healing magic?" She asked quickly.

Skitter nodded. "Of course, what kind do you need?" She replied.

Roxanne motioned the changeling over. "I need you to stabilize her, her pulse is faint and fading." She examined the filly and realized that her broken hoof was bleeding. "I'll close the wound and stop the bleeding." She quickly added before igniting a flame on her finger, she proceeded to carefully cauterize the wound.

Skitter's horn lit up and she began to heal the filly, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, she then poured healing magic into the filly and chuckled at the irony. 'I'm healing the daughter of the worlds greatest tyrant......pretty funny.' She thought silently.

Lyaroa stepped back as Roxanne and Skitter healed Solar, he was curious about many things.....but at the moment he was mostly curious as to what made his friends so eager to help the filly, but he decided not to question it at the moment as Roxanne looked up at him. "Go get Firefly.....we need to jumpstart her heart." She told the wolf.

Lyaroa nodded and rushed out of the room with his time magic speeding him up. 

____*meanwhile*____

Firefly was looking out the balcony and at the city below when she heard something behind her, she turned around and saw Fang standing in front of her, she raised an eyebrow at this. "Fang?.....what's up?" She asked.

Fang chuckled and knelt down in front of Firefly. "You see....me and Roxanne could use a little of your lightning.....think your up for it?" He asked calmly.

Firefly blinked and she was now curious. "Uh......sure?" She replied.

Fang nodded and picked up Firefly and set her on his head. "Alright then....hold on!" He warned before rushing back to the dungeon with Firefly starting to scream as he slowed time.

_____*two seconds later*_____

Lyaroa stopped in front of Roxanne and Skitter just as Firefly screamed.....Roxanne immediately threw a fireball at Lyaroa. "I didn't mean like that!" She snapped as Firefly stopped screaming.

Lyaroa sighed as the fireball slightly singed his fur, he looked at Roxanne. "And YOU need a better way to get back at someone that isn't 'burn them to a crisp.....pyro." He countered.

Skitter grumbled and looked at Lyaroa and Roxanne. "I swear.....you two NEED to get a room before i go insane." She commented.

Roxanne sighed and took a few deep breaths, she then looked at Firefly and knelt down to her height. "Sorry about that.....but do you think you can help us out quick?" She asked.

Firefly blinked and soon nodded as she looked around the room, she soon noticed Solar on the floor and her eyes widened in semi-understanding. "So....you want me to zap her?" She asked bluntly.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and shook her head. "More like jumpstart her heart, think you can do that?" She asked.

Firefly nodded and walked over to Solar and set a hoof on her chest, she mentally prepared herself and ran lightning through her body and into the filly.

Skitter, who was checking Solar's pulse shortly after, quickly lit her horn and resumed healing the filly.

Roxanne pulled Firefly back and could only watch as Skitter attempted to heal Solar. 'Fingers crossed.' She thought as she waited.

_____*three minutes later, (sanity returns!)*_____

Skitter sighed as she dimmed her horn and fell over, she was breathing heavily due to magical exhaustion, she looked over to Roxanne and Lyaroa and grinned. "If that didn't do it.....I'm going to shit." She declared.

Roxanne walked up to Solar and checked her pulse....she was relieved to find that it was stronger than before, she looked at Lyaroa and smiled softly. "She's alive." She said.

Lyaroa nodded but said nothing as he walked to the door, he heard shuffling behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see Skitter looking at him. "What.....that's it? we save a life and you just walk away?" Questioned the changeling.

Lyaroa sighed and looked at Skitter with a small smile. "When she wakes up, she'll be hungry, and I ain't letting her eat in a dungeon." He replied before walking out.

Roxanne chuckled and looked at Firefly, she smiled and nodded before walking her out.

Skitter panted a few times before realizing something, she was alone with an unconscious kid that needed to be brought upstairs. "......Fuck my life." She complained as she banged her head against the wall, she soon simply sighed and levitated Solar onto her back and walked to the exit. 'I am going to kick those jerks butts after this.' She grumbled.

_____*unknown time, unknown place, unknown POV.*_____

The air was cold.....and the only thing I knew other then that was that my eyes hurt and refused to open, my body hurt all over and I had a persistent hunger that wouldn't cease, I groaned and forced my eyes to open, a mistake on my part as all I saw was a blinding light and feeling as if my eyes were on fire from the light, I snapped my eyes shut and shakily rested my hoof over my eyes.

I mumbled some incoherent words as I slowly sat up and opened my eyes, slowly this time, feeling a gust of cold air once again I sighed, cold air was one thing....but a gust of it damming your ear was another, I shakily stood up and rubbed my forehead, a massive headache ran through it as I surveyed the surroundings, the walls were Crystal and so was the floor and ceiling, I grumbled as I had an inkling as to my whereabouts. "Here we go again." I complained quietly.

I noticed that the only things in the room were the bed that I woke up in, a window and a small table with a chair, I rubbed my eyes as they adjusted to the light very slowly, I decided that I should leave and headed for the door, when I reached it I opened it and walked through, when I did I came upon a slightly familiar hallway, I heard footsteps and I quickly hid around the corner as voices began to talk. "You think she woke up?" Asked one of the voices, feminine by the sounds of it.

Another voice, more man like spoke up. "By now?.....definitely, the longest that I ever slept was at least nine hours, but that was years ago." Replied the voice.

I peeked around the corner and saw two tall creatures heading in my direction, one was like a wolf, and the other was like a fox, I quickly backed away and headed.....anywhere really. 'How long was I asleep?' She wondered as she moved.

I entered what looked like a ballroom in need of repair and soon heard more footsteps, I quickly hid myself in a nearby cabinet and heard more voices, which didn't help my headache to be honest. "How are the repairs in this room coming along?" Asked an inquisitive female voice.

"Very good actually....the original layout wasn't hard to replicate and the materials were easy to come by." Replied a gruff male voice.

The female spoke again. "Well, I'm glad to hear that it's coming along, I'll let you get back to work then." She replied.

"Actually, me and my boys are waiting on more materials, so I better go see what's keeping them." The male replied.

I peeked out of the cabinet and saw a dark gray earth pony with a hard hat walk out of the room, I also noticed that the source of the female was actually a lavender colored unicorn mare, I saw the mare turn around and look at the cabinet I was hiding in, my eyes widened and I quickly but carefully hid myself under a stack of papers. 'I'm toast.' I thought.

Footsteps approached the cabinet and the door opened, I held my breath as the unicorn looked inside, the mare looked in my direction but I don't think she spotted me as she simply walked away with a sigh. "Must be seeing things." She said to herself.

I waited until the mare left before exiting the cabinet, I then headed towards the opposite exit, I left the room and found a set of stairs heading down, I glanced around before heading down them.

When I finally reached the bottom, I was in a large open room with building supplies littered around, I spotted some ponies and a weird creature conversing by some barrels and made a note to keep an eye on them as I moved around, one of the ponies was a Pegasus mare with a multicolored mane, another was an earth pony mare with blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, the creature was black and completely hairless with hexagonal eyes, a strange horn and bug like wings, the creatures horn flared a moment and in its place was a Pegasus mare with orange and white hair, my eyes widened and I soon hid behind a stack of wooden planks.

Fortunately i was now close enough to hear the conversation. "Like I said....I need a way to blend into society, can't do that normally." Said the shape changing mare.

The mulicolored one spoke next. "I know that, but what if your caught?.....we can't always protect you." She countered.

The shape changer chuckled. "I don't NEED your protection, I can kick your ass several times over if needed." She replied smugly.

The blonde mare sighed and drank something out of her cup. "Come on you two, we've got enough trouble without you destroying our supplies." She said grumpily.

The multicolored mare grinned. "I ain't THAT immature, besides, it's just two friends chatting." She said innocently.

Realizing that I was wasting time, I decided to leave, I made my way through the supplies which were conveniently in place for hiding, but when I heard a set of footsteps I quickly stopped and hid, I peeked out and saw the shape changer walking towards me a little before stopping. 

"What is it?" Asked the blonde mare.

The shape changer sighed and closed her eyes. "Alright....make this easy on all of us and just come out." She said calmly

My eyes widened and thoughts raced through my mind. 'How did she find me?.....its impossible, she had no reason to come over here and I made no noise......it must be a trait of her species.' She concluded.

The shape changer opened her eyes and flew up to where I was hiding and looked me directly in the eyes. "Oh good.....your finally up." She said with a grin.

I was startled and confused as to how the shape changer found me, but my thoughts were interrupted by it picking me up and carrying me over to the other two mares. "Look who finally woke up you guys." Said the shape changer.

The other two mares looked at me and simply sighed. "Kids." They said simultaneously, which was creepy.

I said nothing as the shape changer shrugged and looked at me. "Hey kid, you feeling alright?" She asked calmly.

I blinked but eventually nodded, the shape changer seemed to gain a small smile at this. "Good.....I'm Skitter, the knucklehead here is Gwen Dash." She said, pointing at the pegasus.

Gwen nodded and pointed at the blonde mare. "And this is Applejack, great cider drinker but terrible liar." She joked.

Applejack rolled her eyes and whacked Gwen over the back of her head. "You want me to go let the others know?" She wondered.

Skitter nodded and looked at me. "So, what's your name?" She asked.

I blinked at the mare but seeing as she might already know my name, I relented. "I'm Solar." I bluntly replied.

____*ten minutes later, Crystal Empire, dining hall*____

Lyaroa sighed as he leaned up against the wall, inside the room was Solar, Skitter and Roxanne,  Cadence and Twilight.....but annoyingly enough, he had been chosen for explanation duty, WHY he didn't know, but he personally thought that it was a punishment for making Fang his host, since Twilight had gone and blabbed it to Cadence and Shining.

Solar was VERY slowly eating some food that Roxanne made, Lyaroa actually didn't blame the girl for two reasons......the first being the obvious, that she was still weak from the imprisonment, the second being that Roxanne was a horrible cook, she could make eggs just fine, but she burned basically everything else. 'Still....not as bad as Sweetie Belle's cooking, I have got to get those two to some cooking classes, or just teach them myself.' He thought. [4]

It wasn't for ten minutes later, that Solar had finished eating what she could. "So.....you uh, said you could explain everything." She asked nervously.

Lyaroa sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Yea.....but I'm basically going to give you the short version, after you were locked up, Celestia and Luna fought Sombra, this led to the Empire vanishing for one thousand years, it returned a week or so ago and we came here to free it from Sombra, we were forced to abandon the city at one point and flee to the village of Snowgem, after a time, we regrouped and attacked the undead army here at the city, my friends pushed into the castle to confront Sombra, but a man called Fracture and a mercenary called Misteye separated them, later, after the two were defeated, Sombra and Twilight were fighting meanwhile, but I soon intervened and saved her.....still waiting for the thanks for it, but anyway." He pause and chuckled.

He continued. "Me and Sombra fought for a while, at one point he thought that he killed me, so I waited for the right moment to strike as Twilight fought your father......anyway, when I reappeared, I fought Sombra for a few moments and soon enough the rest of us arrived, in the end, Sombra was put in jail with his magic severed until a trial can be held, then I discovered you in the dungeon, I left and brought Roxanne and Skitter, they healed you up with a little help from Firefly and then brought you up here and out of the dungeon, after that it was a good two days of you sleeping, you know the rest." He finished.

Solar nodded and rested her head on her hoof, she looked at Cadence next. "What happens to me now?......my dad can't take care of me while he's in jail.....not that he would anyway. She mumbled.

Cadence seemed to be caught off guard by the question, but she simply took a quick breath and looked at Cadence. "Well, one possibility is that you will be taken to an orphanage, another is that you could be taken in by relatives or close friends, the last possibility is that you could be adopted, but with the state the empire is in......." Her voice trailed off as she finished.

Solar sighed and blinked. "I get it, but this leaves me with just two options......orphanage or adoption, which is basically the exact same thing for your information." She said blankly.

After that, the room was strangely silent, Lyaroa soon walked out of the room, Roxanne had pulled Twilight and Cadence out of the room, leaving Solar and Skitter alone in the room, Skitter sighed and rested her head on the wall. "Well kid, seems like you got some thinking to do, I'll get out of your hair." She said before walking to the door.

Solar said nothing as Skitter walked, but just as Skitter went to walk out, she raised her head and looked at the changeling. "Hey uh....can you show me what that was?" She asked.

Skitter paused and looked at Solar. "Gonna need some explanation." She replied.

Solar took a quick breath and looked at Skitter with curiosity. "That shape shifting from before, can you show me?" She asked.

Skitter chuckled and lit her horn, she soon took on the guise of Star and checked for a horn, thankfully there was none this time. "This what you meant?" She asked.

Solar nodded and closed her eyes. "Yea, how do you do it?" She wondered curiously.

Skitter rolled her eyes knowingly. "Sorry kid, it's an ability unique to my species." She explained much to the filly's disappointment.

Solar grumbled and restee her head on the table. "That sucks." She replied.

Skitter nodded and turned around to walk out of the room. "Yea.....it does suck." She muttered quietly before leaving the room.

At this, Solar was now left to sit in the chair as she contemplated the options.....but soon enough, she realized something. "It isn't a question of what will happen to me.......it's a question of what I would prefer, which means...." Her voice trailed off as she put the pieces together.

Solar sighed and leaned back on the chair. 'So.......let's see how this plays out.' She thought as she sat on the chair.

_____*the next day, guest room two, 5:26 AM.*_____

Gwen groaned as she opened her eyes, she sighed and slowly sat up, noticing the time, she quietly complained about it being too early and got off the bed, she stretched out her limbs and wings before walking to the door, she opened it and walked out towards the hallway that led downstairs.

As she walked through the crystal castle, Gwen noticed that it was rather empty, even if it was early, she expected to at least see some building supplies, she sighed and continued walking, she soon reached the stairs and walked down them, once again, there was nothing as she walked, no building materials or people, just the bare walls and floors, when she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw that there were two paths she could take, one led to the stairway that took you to the entrance, and the other path led to the armory and the destroyed art room, she decided to head for the entrance and started walking.

Gwen looked around and saw the destruction that ensued when Pinkie and Applejack battled Fracture, she saw one of the columns that had been irreversibly damaged and was being held up by multiple beams and supports, she sighed and continued walking when she reached the stairs.

As Gwen walked down the stairs she thought of something. 'If nothing was wrong with the Element of Loyalty.....why did Princess Celestia and Princess Luna react the way they did?' She wondered.

Gwen soon reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around some more, she saw the repairs that had been made to the walls, she saw the damage that had been done to the floors and the stairs, but what caught her eye was a figure that was outiside the castle at the steps, she decided to investigate and walked towards the door and when Gwen was halfway to the figure, she saw that the figure was sitting.

So Gwen continued to approach the figure, soon enough, when she reached the doors, the figure's identity was revealed to be Lyaroa sitting down and looking up at the slightly dark sky, she walked up and looked at Lyaroa curiously. "Hey, you alright?" She asked.

Lyaroa didnt seem very surprised by Gwen's sudden appearance. "Hey Gwen." He replied blankly.

Gwen walked up and sat down next to Lyaroa. "What are you doing out here at this hour?" She wondered.

Lyaroa blinked and sighed. "I could ask YOU the same thing, but if you must know I couldn't sleep." He replied calmly.

Gwen took notice that Lyaroa had Soul and Spirit with him, she said nothing however and looked up at the sky. "You know......i was wondering." She started off.

Lyaroa drew Soul and looked at Gwen. "What is it?" He asked as he examined the sword.

Gwen noticed that Lyaroa had drawn Soul, but she remained calm as she continued. "If you had all this power, why didn't you just reverse time and change everything?" She asked.

Lyaroa chuckled and gained a small smirk as he sheathed Soul. "As powerful as I am, and how crazy I was all those years ago.....I made ONE rule for myself, never change the history of my worlds, or in your terms, time travel.....I've already giving Twilight an earful of information yesterday, and I earned Shining Armor's ire again, not that it surprises me." He replied.

Gwen nodded and noticed that the sky was slowly brightening. "You know......I feel that I should apologize, I was a little rash the day you revealed yourself." She said.

Lyaroa rolled his eyes and chuckled. "I think you were all being rash, I mean.....you didn't even wait for me to explain myself, but still...." His voice trailed off.

Gwen looked at Lyaroa with a raised eyebrow. "What is it?" She asked.

Lyaroa looked directly at Gwen. "You have absolutely nothing to apologize for, I knew what was coming when I revealed myself, and I'm not about to let you apologize for it." He replied before standing up and walking to the door. "I have something to take care of....oh and by the way......" He paused before looking at Gwen with a grin. "I'm a girl......have a nice day!" 'She' teased. [5]

Gwen's eyes widened but she found herself unable to speak coherently, after Lyaroa was no longer visible, she simply shook her head and headed inside.

____*three minutes later, Crystal Empire vaults.*_____

Lyaroa walked through the vaults searching for the source of an anomaly, she passed by rooms filled with gold bits but did not enter them, instead she walked into a room further in that held an abnormally large mirror that seemed to contain a trace of the anomaly,she approached it and channeled some magic, soon enough, she looked into the mirror and saw a world that was parallel to this one, she sighed and searched through it......attempting to find the source of the anomaly......finally locking onto a teenage girl with fiery hair, she rolled her eyes at the appearance of the 'humans' beyond the mirror, she quickly channeled a large amount of magic and aimed at the girl.

Normally, Lyaroa would have simply eliminated the girl for threatening the balance and stability of the worlds, but she had changed.....so she decided to simply force the girl back through the portal, she quickly threw her magic at the girl and ripped her through the portal, but not before rearranging the events and memories of the parallel world, she heard screaming as a unicorn mare was flung out of the portal.

Lyaroa waited until the mare landed in the wall, she threw up a barrier around the portal and closed it, she then examined the mare, she had a fiery red tail and her hair was the same way, her coat was orange and her cutie mark was a red and yellow sun with a circle similar to yin and yang, when the mare's eyes opened they were revealed to be teal, Lyaroa approached the mare and pulled her out of the wall.

The mare's head spun around for a few moments as she mumbled some incoherent words before passing out.

Lyaroa sighed and put a barrier on all possible exits and focused on the mirror. 'Why this thing exists is beyond me.....better destroy it.' She thought as she began channeling a large amount of magic.

____*two minutes later.*____

Lyaroa muttered a few words as she prepared three blasts to destroy the mirror, she soon heard groaning behind her but did not react when she heard a voice. "What are you doing! Stop!" The voice pleaded.

Lyaroa sighed and threw the blasts of unknown magic at the mirror, destroying it instantaneously, she then turned around and faced the mare, who was now looking at the ruined mirror in shock. "Why......why did you do that!?" The mare demanded.

Lyaroa blinked and took the barrier guarding the portal down. "That portal was far too dangerous to keep standing, I simply ended that threat before your kind could find it." She replied simply and rationally.

The mare growled and spontaneously fired a volley of magical blasts, which were easily deflected by a barrier Lyaroa projected. 

Lyaroa then raised her hand and channeled a small amount of magic to the mare's horn, disabling her ability to use magic. "....Sunset Shimmer." She began.

Sunset seemed surprised but said nothing as Lyaroa continued. "Formerly Celestia's student, considered a prodigy at her age, but you eventually left the school and fled through the mirror, entering a parallel world.....forced to adapt to a new world, you soon became increasingly violent for your race, you only recently discovered that the portal was opened again, and began a plot to steal the Element of Harmony, ring any bells?" She wondered.

Sunset growled and tried to run away, only for a barrier to bounce her back, she attempted to run the other direction but the same thing occurred, she soon realized that she was trapped.

Lyaroa sighed and shook her head. "Listen....I am not here to arrest you." She said calmly,

Sunset growled and attempted to cast a spell, only to find that her horn did not work, her eyes widened and she looked at Lyaroa with a terrified expression. "Wha-what do you......want?" She asked in a panic.

Lyaroa glared at the girl. "First off.....I want everyone to stop dimension hopping willy nilly, secondly, I would love to just sit down and relax, and third, I want you to knock it off with the pissy little girl phase and suck it up." He replied firmly.

Sunset blinked but when she went to speak all she could muster was stammered bits and pieces of words, this caused Lyaroa to shake her head and take down one of the barriers. "I'll take you upstairs so you can get some sleep, but after that, I'm sending you to Canterlot tomorrow where you will speak with Celestia, what you do after that is up to you." She said before walking Sunset out of the room.

Sunset sighed and looked up at Lyaroa. "And who should I say brought me back?" She wondered blankly.

Lyaroa chuckled. "An old friend.....that's all." She replied with a grin.

____*later that day, castle gardens, 9:21 AM*____

Roxanne sighed as she drew Life and Death, she then got into a battle stance and began performing deadly combinations, she had made sure she was alone before training, as she trained, more and more thoughts built up in her mind, she found herself thinking more and more on the events of her life, her first time activated, the children tearing her apart, meeting Fang one night while hunting the guard, the time that Fang was repaired and they were named partners, the numerous nights they spent hunting the guards, meeting Gwen, leaving Fazbears, their first real adventure, meeting Firefly and the rest of the Black Cloud, meeting Dark, the temple of Jandoka, the journey back to Ponyville, Hearths Warming, fighting to retake the Crystal Empire.

All of the events leading up to this moment made Roxanne wonder exactly WHAT had happened to her and Fang, they had gone from partners in a children's restaurant......to an aggressive pair of people who usually used violence as a first or second resort.

Roxanne heard a door open nearby and she stopped her training, she looked in the direction of the opened door and soon enough, she watched as Skitter came into the garden, Roxanne sheathed her swords and walked over to a bench, she then sat down and looked at Skitter. "Morning Skitter, how you holding up?" She asked.

Skitter shrugged and walked over to a nearby bench and sat down. "I've been better to be honest.....but I actually came out here to let you know that breakfast is done." She replied.

Roxanne chuckled and looked up at the sky. "Alright, thanks for the message, I'll head in soon." She said.

Skitter looked at Roxanne with curiosity for a few moments before sighing and disguising herself as Star. "Roxanne......what's eating at you?.....you seem down." She asked.

Roxanne gave a small smile and looked at Skitter. "Is it really that obvious?" She asked the changeling.

Skitter nodded. "Yea, it kinda is." She replied.

Roxanne shrugged. "I don't know......maybe it has something to do with Lyaroa pretending to be Fang all that time, AND I never noticed the change!" She said angrily.

Skitter sighed and looked directly at Roxanne. "Well, that isn't something we can change, but we can get Fang back." She replied calmly.

Roxanne scoffed. "You want me to help Lyaroa get his body back?......I would sooner set him on fire and kick him down a hill." She said.

Skitter looked up at the sky and chuckled. "If it gets Fang his body back?....why not?" She replied.

Roxanne stood up and looked at Skitter. "Let's just finish up here so we can go home." She said quietly.

Skitter sighed and stood up, she said nothing as Roxanne walked past her. 

'......That I can live with.' Skitter thought.
> The empire of Crystals, Part eight: Looking for a corpse.....no, I am completely serious.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*two and a half weeks later, the Crystal Empire, 5:19 AM*____

A cool breeze passed through the city, much like it always did, I was starting to get tired of the cold, but I had to tough it out a bit longer because something called the 'Crystal fair' was being prepared, in my opinion?....waste of time, the crystal ponies need to toughen up, I mean come on, they rely on a magical artifact for their happiness.....how the hell have they survived this long?

As I walked through the dim and empty streets, I found myself thinking more and more on the events that passed recently, Lyaroa sent a mare called Sunset Shimmer to Canterlot, apparently to speak with Celestia about something important, I looked around and found a ladder on a nearby building, a smile came across my lips as I walked toward it and climbed up, when I reached the top I felt a cool breeze brush against my fur, I sighed and looked around, the night sky was slowly fading away as the sun came out, I decided to get a better view of my surroundings so I headed for the tallest nearby building other than the castle.

I walked across the roof and saw that there was no ladder leading to the building I was headed to, with some quick thinking I headed back to the ladder from before and picked it up, it was of course heavy, but i was determined, so when I reached the edge of the rooftop, I carefully set the ladder down and started to walk across, thankfully the ladder was extremely durable, the only part that I actually had trouble with was the center of the ladder, where it had actually bent and I was forced to jump across, my hands and feet landed on the crystal roof and a brief pain shot through my arms.

When the pain subsided I stood up and continued moving, I loud clang came from behind me but I knew it was the ladder, I sighed and climbed up a small rise on the roof, I walked around until I found a found a good spot, I then looked around and saw nobody, but I was actually looking for where the sun was rising, I soon found it and smiled before sitting down to watch the view.

I don't remember how long I sat in silence as the sun rose, it could have been hours, or even minutes, all I know however, is that when the sun rose, something sparked, I sighed and raised my hand, the faded red was just barely visible through the white fur, I yawned and stood up, my bones and joints aching from lack of movement, I stretched briefly and decided to walk around the city some more, so I walked to the edge of the roof and jumped off.

When I landed, I did so with a thump, I stood up slowly and started walking, with no particular direction In mind. 'You know what? I'm going to have me some fun later.' I thought with a grin.

____*four hours later, 9:02 AM, Crystal Empire castle.*____

Gwen groaned as she opened her eyes, she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

Gwen yawned and stretched out, she then stood up and fanned out her wings, she walked over to the door and started heading for the bathroom.

When Gwen left the room, she heard some doors opening and closing, meaning that she wasn't the first one awake, she sighed and continued walking.

Soon enough, when Gwen found the bathroom, she found it to be locked, she sighed and decided to wait on whoever was inside.

It was four minutes until the door finally opened and Firefly walked out yawning. "Good morning Gwen." The filly said groggily.

Gwen nodded and walked into the bathroom as Firefly walked away.

As Gwen approached the toilet, she then saw something......disturbing, it looked like a brown figure made out of dung rising out of the toilet, she raised an eyebrow but made her way to the handle to flush, the dung figure then sprouted two arms and a face......then warmed up?

Gwen decided not to find out and quickly flushed the toilet, she then heard the figure speak immediately afterward. "Noo!.....I'm flushing! I'm flushing!......how could this have happened to me!?......." The figure then was gone from sight and Gwen blinked, she then sighed and attempted not to think on it.

_____*meanwhile*_____

Spark felt a familiar sensation and he looked around the room, seeing only building materials and walls, he sighed and rested his head on the table. "Strange....." He mumbled.

_____*three minutes later.*_____

Gwen exited the bathroom, now refreshed, she decided to get some food, so she started walking to the kitchen, but one thing was for sure, she was NEVER going to the bathroom after Firefly again.

After a while, Gwen found herself in the kitchen with Applejack and Dark, who were working on breakfast, Gwen soon found herself 'recruited' by her two friends to help with breakfast.

_____*five minutes later*_____

Lyaroa entered the dining room and took a quick look around, seeing Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie all sitting down, along with Spark and Firefly, Skitter was also in the room, her usual feisty attitude dulled by grogginess, but she seemed to be complaining about stupid things, judging by Spark and Firefly's stifled laughs.

Lyaroa rolled her eyes and walked over, she took a seat near Skitter and rested her head on the table.

A conversation seemed to be going on around the table, it seemed to be about nothing specific, but instead it was about random things, at the moment the topic had changed to plans for the fair. "So, what's everypony doing for the fair?" Twilight asked.

"Well......I planned on browsing the souvenirs, you never know what you'll find." Rarity said.

Skitter chuckled. "I am definetly going to look at the crystal shards, never know when you'll find something of use." She said with a shrug.

Lyaroa yawned and closed her eyes, attempting to fall asleep without anyone noticing.

Sadly.....Twilight got curious. "So Fang, what are you planning on doing?" She asked.

Lyaroa grumbled and sat up slowly. "If you must know.......I plan to do absolutely nothing and sleep." She replied groggily.

At that exact moment, Roxanne walked into the room with an annoyed expression on her face. "Hey everyone." She said with pure aggravation.

Skitter looked back and immediately noticed that Roxanne's left eye was twitching. "Hey Roxie......you alright?" She asked curiously.

Roxanne mumbled some incoherent words and walked over to the table before sitting down next to Lyaroa. "No I'm not alright......some guy that works at a zoo just tried to get me into one of their pens, you would think that standing upright and speaking English would be enough to make him understand that I am NOT a pet." She complained as she put her elbow on the table and rested her head on her hand. 

Lyaroa chuckled and looked at Roxanne. "Something tells me that you aren't going to the fair." He mumbled.

Roxanne sighed. "Of course I'm going, I'm actually going to the jousting arena.....I've been having this urge to knock everyone involved in the tournament on their butt." She said.

Skitter chuckled. "Thankfully, I should be able to see that, but are sure you'll be okay?.....you might have to face Gwen or Applejack, they've been training for it." She wondered.

Roxanne chuckled. "If the jousting is anything like I'm thinking, then I'm going to be fine, and if magic isn't allowed, all the better." She replied confidently.

Lyaroa chuckled before falling silent again, she then stood up and walked to the door with a thoughtful look on her face. "I'll see you all later, I got something to look into." She told everyone before walking out.

Roxanne looked back and sighed. "He didn't even eat breakfast.....did he?" She wondered.

Everyone shook their heads and soon went back to discussing their plans for the day, Roxanne and Skitter however were left wondering why Lyaroa left so abruptly, they looked at each other with a look of curiosity and soon grinned before standing up and following Lyaroa.

As Skitter and Roxanne left the room, Gwen walked in along with Applejack and Dark along with a trolley holding breakfast. "Howdy everypony!....breakfast is served!" Applejack stated.

Gwen looked around but noticed a distinct absence of three people, she raised an eyebrow and looked at Twilight. "Have you seen Roxanne, Skitter and.....Fang?" She asked carefully.

Twilight nodded. "They just left, I think they decided to skip breakfast though." She replied.

Gwen thought on it for a moment but eventually shrugged and decided not to question it further.

_____*meanwhile, (at the funny farm)*_____

Lyaroa walked out of the castle and immediately made a sharp left turn, as she walked through the streets, she saw how the preparations for the fair were coming along, but her mind was focused on another matter as she walked. 'So.....if it isn't in Equestria, it must be around here somewhere.' She thought.

Eventually, Lyaroa found herself waiting for workmen to move a piano out of a building, she sighed and leaned up against the building.

After a few minutes, Lyaroa growled and closed her eyes. "Alright you two.....the jig is up, come on out before I resort to violence." She warned.

A whistle came from around the corner of the building, and soon enough Roxanne and Skitter revealed themselves. "Guess we aren't good at stealth." Skitter commented.

Lyaroa sighed and looked at the two. "No, you're actually good at it, but I could sense your presence......also, why is it you two always travel in a pair?" She asked.

Roxanne shrugged and walked around. "No idea, but we got curious, so we decided to follow you." She replied.

Skitter grinned and flew up next to Lyaroa. "Don't like it?.....better face it, we're going with you Senti." She teased.

Lyaroa sighed and leaned her head against the wall, but then she realized what Skitter said. "Senti?" She wondered.

Skitter grinned. "Yep, that is your new nickname." She replied.

Roxanne looked to the workmen who finally finished. "Ok, so what are you doing?" She asked.

Lyaroa rolled her eyes and walked around, she pointed straight ahead. "I'm looking for my body.....and since it isn't in Equestria it has to be here." She said calmly.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow and looked at Lyaroa. "Wait, how do you know that?" She wondered.

Lyaroa shrugged. "What did you think I've been doing? licking my wounds?......I searched all over Equestria with my time magic and I never found it.....also, I can sense my body from about two hundred yards, so that helps, I also felt the presence of my body while we headed here from Frosthoof." She explained. 

Skitter shrugged and began walking. "Then come on, let's go find......you?" She said with slight confusion.

Lyaroa half nodded and walked up ahead of Skitter. "Alright then, you know the deal, we find my body, I get back in and stick around to torment you guys, and you get Fang the clueless dog." She said as she walked.

Skitter raised an eyebrow but Roxanne seemed to understand the joke and burst out laughing. "Did I miss something funny?" Skitter asked.

Lyaroa chuckled. "It's Earth humor.......don't worry about it." She said with a grin.

Skitter sighed and shook her head. "I had to pick the psycho's didn't I?" She asked herself.

_____*one hour later, the frozen plains.*_____

Lyaroa had brought Soul and Spirit along with him on this journey, and also had Roxanne grab Life and Death for extra protection.

Lyaroa looked around the plains, while it was harder to see with the falling snow, she could still see that there was......absolutely nothing but snow in all directions, she sighed and went to speak to Roxanne when she felt an all too familiar feeling, it was a very firm tug at her arm, it was cold, cold and still, she looked in the direction of the feeling and started walking. "Hey!....over here!" She called out.

Roxanne looked over in Lyaroa's direction and held her arm over her eyes. "I hate when he does this." She complained quietly as she walked over.

Skitter walked up to Lyaroa and noticed that he was keeping low, when Lyaroa stopped, he unsheathed Soul and plunged it into the ground.

Lyaroa stood up and pointed at the sword. "We should dig here." She said.

Skitter raised an eyebrow but decided not to question it, her horn lit up and fired a small magic blast at the ground, leaving a small hole.

Roxanne sighed and pulled out Life and Death as she appoached. "Hey.....you two still with us?" She asked.

The two spirits soon manifested and looked at Roxanne. "You called?" Life asked calmly.

Death looked around and saw only snow. "Can't see a damn thing." She complained as she ignited the area surrounding the group, melting all of the snow and warming Skitter in the process.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and looked at the two spirits. "Do you think you two can help us out?" She asked.

Life nodded. "Of course, how can I be of assistance?" He asked.

Roxanne looked at Death who nodded. "Alright, Death, can you keep the area clear of snow?" She wondered.

Death nodded and threw up a flame shield around the group.

Roxanne then looked at Life and pointed at the ground that Soul was in. "You have earth magic right?" She asked.

Life looked at the ground. "Yes, I assume you wish me to use my magic to assist you in digging?" He replied.

Roxanne watched as Lyaroa pulled out Soul and sheathed it. "So can you?" She wondered.

Life nodded and channeled his magic, using it to move the earth away from the designated area.

After that, it was a matter of waiting as Life worked.

Lyaroa's thoughts however were occupied by something else. 'This is strange, either they didn't know about my abilities or they didn't think anyone would go looking for it, either way, this all seems to be happening way too fast.' She thought skeptically.

____*ten minutes later*____

Lyaroa looked down into the hole that Life had created, it was dark, and you couldn't see the bottom, but Lyaroa was determined to find her body, so she looked at Roxanne. "Can you throw a quick fireball down there?" She wondered.

Roxanne shrugged and threw a fireball down the hole, she looked down it as Life and Death both returned to their swords, the fireball went down for a while before dissipating.

Lyaroa sighed and looked at the two. "Alright, I'm going to go down there and retrieve my body, stay up here and I'll communicate with you telepathically." She said before pulling out a stake and planting it firmly into the ground, she pulled some rope out of her travel pack and tied it to the stake and around her waist.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow and looked at Lyaroa skeptically. "You don't have telepathy." She pointed out.

"Yes I do.....just don't use it a lot."  Countered the voice of Lyaroa in Roxanne's mind.

Roxanne grumbled. "Stay out of my head, the last thing I need is YOU in my mind." She replied.

Lyaroa then grinned and carefully went down the hole. "I don't get why you get so worried......if you are concerned about me being a pervert......" Her voice trailed off for a moment.

"You seem to be forgetting that I created these body's personally, so I know EVERYTHING about that.' Lyaroa teased mentally.

Roxanne's face went red and her fist seemed to tremble. "When you get your body back.....I am going to kick your ass." She mumbled.

Skitter groaned and facepalmed. "Oh my god.....get a room!" She snapped.

Lyaroa laughed and continued her descent. "You know.....I am opened minded, and I've never had a lesbian relationship, maybe that could work?" She commented.

Skitter stifled a laugh but realized what Lyaroa said. "Wait a second.....you're a female!?" She asked.

Lyaroa chuckled. "I thought it was obvious, I never said I was guy did i?" She replied as though it were obvious.

Roxanne groaned and held her hands over her ears as she sat down looking away from the hole. "Can we change the subject now?.....this conversation turned weird quickly." She wondered.

Skitter grinned and looked at Roxanne. "Alright.....but this isn't over." She replied teasingly.

"Hey, I think I found something......no, wait, it's just an old coin." Lyaroa told Skitter and Roxanne mentally.

Skitter shrugged and looked down the hole, no longer able to see Lyaroa, she decided to test the mental connection. "What does it look like?"" She asked.

"It's an old brass coin by the looks of it, one side has a unicorn and the other has a crystal shield.' Lyaroa replied.

Skitter whistled. "Bring it up if you can, it's probably worth something." She said.

____*down in the hole*____

Lyaroa sighed as she made her descent, she had put the coin in a small pouch hanging off her belt, the tunnel itself was dark and cold, along with a distinct smell accompanying the dampness.

As she descended, Lyaroa soon found a strange metallic plate, she rubbed her hand over it and as the dirt fell off it was revealed to be part of either a wall or armor.

Lyaroa raised an eyebrow and decided to check something out. "Hey Roxanne......did Life happen to mention anything about metal?' She asked mentally.

The reply was not instant, but after a few moments, Roxanne's voice responded. "No, he said he couldn't sense any metal.' She replied.

Lyaroa grinned and slowly began to remove the dirt from around the metal. "I think I found what we're looking for.....I'm getting a strong pull here." She told the others.

This time it was Skitter who replied. "Alright then, see if you can bring it up....if not, Life could probably help out some." She suggested.

Lyaroa scoffed and channeled some magic to the area around the dirt, the dirt then slowly began to dissipate and the metal became looser, eventually it became loose enough to pull out so she gripped it tight and made sure it was secure before starting to climb back up.

Skitter sighed and sat down, she closed her eyes and her horn lit up, she steadied herself as her vision changed, she made a quick check of her surroundings before looking down the hole, it was now clear as day as she examined it, she delved deeper and soon found Lyaroa carrying what looked like a large metal crate, curious, Skitter attempted to examine the contents of the crate but she was confused to the reaction.

She found herself unable to see inside, some unknown force had repelled her from the crate, she decided that it was time to return to her body and did so.

Roxanne however was stuck waiting for the others as she laid back in the snow, she sighed and held her hand out in front of her face, she could barely make out the faded red in her fur amongst the snow and bleak sky. "Hey Lyaroa, can I ask you something?" She wondered.

Lyaroa's voice came in clearly. "Sure." She replied.

Roxanne set her hand back on the ground and sighed. "Just so I know, how long should me and Fang stay alive for anyway?" She asked.

Down in the tunnel, Lyaroa blinked and soon chuckled. "Believe it or not, but I may have made a mistake in my haste to construct new bodies, and I forgot to set a limit for you two." She replied evasively.

Roxanne groaned and closed her eyes. "Meaning we can't die of old age?" She asked.

Lyaroa whistled, and it echoed through the tunnel. "......Yep, unless you care to change it?" She wondered.

Skitter rolled her eyes and looked down the tunnel, still unable to see Lyaroa. "Don't bother.....because then I'll be stuck without anyone fun to talk to." She added.

Roxanne looked at Skitter with curiosity. "You're immortal?" She asked.

Skitter shrugged. "Probably......Changelings usually die within ten years unless it's a queen, and since I rejected that path, I honestly have no idea how long I'll be around." She replied.

____*ten minutes later*____

Lyaroa braced herself as she reached the surface, now all she had to do was made one last leap of faith and she would be home free, she gathered her strength and leaped up and grabbed the earth, but the metal crate weighed more than she thought as she barely made it and was slowly losing her grip. "Skitter!" She called out.

Lyaroa's grip on the earth faded and she started to fall, but she was relieved as a green aura enveloped her and the crate, she was lifted to the surface and she landed on the ground with a thump.

Skitter panted as she released her magic on the crate after setting it on the ground away from the hole, she fell back and her breathing became heavy.

Roxanne walked over to Lyaroa who simply looked up at her, she chuckled and held out a hand, which the sentinel gladly took. "You are one strange person." She said.

Lyaroa shrugged. "Can't deny that." She replied before walking to the crate.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and walked over to the crate, Skitter had gotten up and walked over as well. "So.....this thing is holding your body?" Skitter asked.

Lyaroa nodded and looked the crate over for a way to open it. "Yea.....without a doubt, I'm getting a powerful pull from this object, now all we need to do is open it." She replied.

Roxanne tapped the crate with her finger and looked at Lyaroa. "How do we know that your body isn't decomposed?" She wondered.

Lyaroa chuckled and flipped the crate, after the loud crash she looked at Roxanne. "Do you honestly think I would be stupid enough to make a body for myself that can decompose?" She asked as though she were insulted.

Skitter looked at the two and sighed and soon she noticed Lyaroa grin. "Found it!" The wolf stated.

Lyaroa had seen the opening, it was a lid but it was hard to make out, she gripped it and attempted to lift it, but it would not budge, so she attempted to slide it out....but it did not move. "Strange." She commented.

Roxanne scratched her head and gripped the lid, she tried pushing it but it would not budge, she blinked and shrugged. "So.....anyone get the feeling that there is some kind of magic at work here?" She asked.

Skitter nodded and carefully examined the crate, hoping to find something. "Well......it seems like there is a very peculiar magic at work here, or it's just the ice." She pointed out.

Roxanne groaned and ignited her hands in white flame, she then fired a stream of flames at the crate hoping to melt any possible ice.

Lyaroa and Skitter waited for a few moments before stopping Roxanne, Lyaroa then attempted to open the crate again, only for it to open slightly and a magical shockwave exploded from inside.

The shockwave caused a gust of wind to blow in all directions, hitting the small group dead on, Lyaroa grumbled as she fought against the wind. "I hate this place." She muttered.

Thankfully the wind did not last long, Roxanne sighed in relief at that fact, so she centered herself before walking back to the crate.

Lyaroa did something similar, but she had approached the crate before centering herself.

Skitter however had gotten the short end of the stick, as she had landed face first into a mound of snow, she pulled herself out and she wobbled around as she attempted to stop spinning.

Lyaroa sighed and continued opening the crate, she pulled off the rest of the lid and immediately braced in case of another wind storm.

Thankfully none came.....and Lyaroa was left looking like an idiot as Roxanne walked up. "What are you doing?" She asked.

Lyaroa opened her left eye and glanced at Roxanne, she soon chuckled and stood up. "Nothing." She replied evasively.

Skitter meanwhile had recovered from her sense of vertigo, she walked over to the others and looked at the crate. "So, what's inside?" She asked.

Lyaroa shrugged and tossed the metal lid over her shoulder carelessly, completely oblivious to the yelp that followed, she looked inside the crate and saw a large bundle wrapped up in cloth, she reached in and grabbed the bundle, immediately feeling a massive wave of power, she knew what she had found. "Well you two.....we did it." She said as she set the bundle on the ground and started to remove the cloth

Skitter and Roxanne watched as Lyaroa worked, but as they did, Roxanne got an uneasy feeling in her gut, she walked up to Lyaroa and put her hand on her shoulder as the wolf went to remove the final piece of cloth. "Hey.....maybe we should wait, you know.....reveal it back where it's warm?" She suggested.

Lyaroa looked back at Roxanne and stared at her with a questioning look for a few moments, she eventually sighed and picked up the bundle. "Alright......I waited a long time for this, I can wait a while longer." She said quietly before walking back to the castle.

Skitter walked up to Roxanne and looked at her with a confused look. "Roxie.....what was that about?" She asked with curiosity, but when she saw that the fox seemed down, she decided to leave her alone.

Roxanne began walking after Lyaroa, she walked slowly and the snow seemed to actually pile on her shoulders as she somberly walked.

Skitter blinked at the strange behavior of her friend, she sighed and transformed into Star before following the others. 'She might be thinking on what will happen to Firefly, she might even be considering all options, I guess I'll have to wait and see.' She thought to herself.

Lyaroa however was simply concerned with what was in the bundle, her thoughts completely on returning to her body.

____*later that day, Crystal castle.*____

Lyaroa sighed and set the bundle on the bed, she looked back at Roxanne and Skitter, she noticed that Roxanne had a down expression and sighed, she stood up and walked over to the fox. "Roxanne, are you alright?" She asked.

Roxanne looked at Lyaroa and sighed, she then leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. "I was just thinking that your body would take longer to find.......but we found it so easily, and now everything seems to be coming to an end." She replied quietly.

Lyaroa shook her head and put her hand on Roxanne's shoulder. "The truth Roxanne." She said calmly.

Roxanne opened her eyes and walked into the center of the room. "Fine." She relented, she then turned around and looked right at Lyaroa. "You want to know the truth?....sure, no problem what so ever." She said with agitation.

Skitter blinked and looked outside the room. "You know.....I'm going to keep an eye out, you two go ahead and talk." She then walked out of the room and closed the door before taking up watch outside the room.

Roxanne sighed and started pacing. "Alright......you know what my problem is?....it's the fact that I have no idea how much of my life was under my control, it's that I have absolutely no way of stopping any of these things from happening......and you." She stated.

Lyaroa blinked and took a deep breath. "Roxanne, the only thing I did to alter your life was bring you to Equestria and give you a new body, as for the second, I don't like to drastically alter the future or the past, so I couldn't tell you anything even if I wanted to.....as for the third, what exactly is your problem with me?" She asked.

Roxanne glared at Lyaroa and growled, her left hand formed a fist and trembled. "Do you even have to ask?.....you alter the lives of my friends, you take over my partners body, you act like you never did anything to us, you even lied to Spark......who sees you as his father, and you still ask what my problem is with you?......if you still don't get it, I'll simplify it for you, I. Hate. You." She declared angrily.

Lyaroa sighed and walked in front of Roxanne. "Alright, fine then......when I get back in my body, you can think of any punishment you see fit to hit me with, but until then, you'd only be hurting Fang." She replied calmly, her expression revealing no deception as she walked over to the bundle on the bed and tore some of the cloth off.

Roxanne growled but simply stormed out of the room instead of picking a fight. 'She may say that, but will she go through with it?' She wondered.

Skitter could only watch as an angry Roxanne stormed out of the room and headed downstairs, she blinked and chased off after her. 'What's with her?' She asked herself.

_____*meanwhile*_____

Lyaroa pulled the rest of the cloth off and closed the door with her magic, she then gazed down at the body before her, it was that of a white wolf with blood all over, a tail that was missing most of its fur and was cut all over, the legs were missing chunks of fur and were burnt along with bruises and cuts up and down, the arms were in basically the same condition as the legs, but they had far more burn marks, the chest was covered in bruises and cuts, burn marks littered the chest,

Lyaroa then looked at the head, which was the best off by a long shot, despite having been removed from the rest of the body and then reattached, the only notable injures to the head were missing patches of fur and part of the ear was missing, there was also blood right under the left eye, the eyes were thankfully closed and the nose didn't seem broken.

Lyaroa smiled softly and stood up, she then locked the door and sealed it with her magic, she then sat down in the nearby chair and closed her eyes, she began to channel an enormous amount of magic and soon lost herself in a trance.

____*ten minutes later, two minutes until the Crystal fair begins.*____

The dining room was quiet, with only two occupants, Roxanne and Skitter.

Roxanne grumbled as she paced around the dining room, she was getting sick of waiting, wanting nothing more then for the fair to start so she could forget about everything for the day.

Skitter however was busy wondering what Lyaroa was up to, she was getting curious as to why the room was sealed by unknown magic, but she concluded that the sentinel wanted privacy so she could return to her body without interruption.

Roxanne then stopped pacing and sat down in a chair, she looked at Skitter and she gained a curious expression. "Hey Skitter, why are you so interested in crystals?" She asked.

Skitter's train of thought was broken but she walked up and sat down near Roxanne. "Well......forgive me for answering a question with a question.....but did I ever tell you what kind of magic I use?" She wondered.

Roxanne shook her head. "Nope." She replied easily.

Skitter chuckled, she set her hoof on the table and closed her eyes, she took a deep breath and soon enough, her hoof was glowing a faint orange, she opened her eyes and they were now gray, she soon pulled her hoof back and revealed a small crystalline black cat, which began moving and looking around the room, Skitter looked at Roxanne and grinned. "I mostly summon familiars, but I sometimes use crystal magic, which is NOT the same as jewel magic, believe me." She explained. [1]

Roxanne smiled as ahe watched the cat move around. "It's nice." She replied.

Skitter nodded. "Yea, any species with magic can use this magic, but because of this, it's considered one of the 'weaker' kinds of magic, crystal magic is pretty much the same way.....funnily enough, they refuse to teach this magic in magic academy." She said with amusement.

Roxanne chuckled and looked at Skitter. "You think you could teach me?......I don't want to rely on fire forever." She asked.

Skitter grinned again and stood up. "Sure thing, it'll be nice to have another person who can use crystal magic and summon familiars, there aren't many anyway, besides, could be fun." She replied.

Roxanne stood up and walked to the door. "Alright then, might as well head to the fair, Lyaroa will most likely show up late." She said.

Skitter nodded. "Agreed." She replied.

Roxanne walked out of the room and headed to the entrance, with one thought on her mind. 'Here goes nothing.' 
> The empire of Crystals, Part nine: A mischievous antic.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*the Crystal Empire, the Crystal Fair, 4:16 PM*_____

Roxanne and Skitter walked around the fair, there were stalls and games all around, a few of which Roxanne recognized, like a ball throwing game, another was a ring toss game and there was also a slingshot game where you had to hit as many targets as you could in the allotted time.

Roxanne shook off the feeling of nostalgia and walked up to a particular stall with Skitter, which was selling the crystals that Skitter took an interest in, there was a few blue crystals, a couple red ones, some prismatic crystals, and even some reflecting crystals, however there was only one crystal that Skitter seemed interested in, it was a relatively small dark gray crystal with an eerie purple glow, Skitter looked at the merchant. "What's that crystal?" She asked, pointing at the dark crystal.

The merchant was a red mare with an orange mane styled into a ponytail, she looked at the crystal and sighed. "That crystal is cursed, it is believed that it will bring its owner extreme torment, no way of destroying it has been found however, so it has swapped owners for generations, understandably, there hasn't been a single buyer for it." She explained.

Skitter looked at Roxanne and shrugged. "Why not?" She asked as she looked at the mare. "How much for the crystal?" She asked.

The merchant seemed to look Skitter over, apparently attempting to find even the slightest shiver or shake, seeing none, the mare sighed. "As you wish." She muttered. "Twenty bits." She said.

Skitter paused and put a hoof to her chin and thought on the offer, soon enough she shrugged. "While I'm positive that the price is slightly higher, I'm curious, you got a deal." She told the mare.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and looked around, eventually spotting an interesting gaming stall, she decided to check it out just as Skitter purchased the crystal, Roxxane waited as Skitter put the crystal away and soon started walking to the stall.

Skitter followed Roxanne to the gaming stall out of curiosity. 'What's got her attention?' She wondered.

Roxanne approached the stall and slightly recognized the game, it was the type of game where you had a limited number of shots to knock over several bottles with a rubber ball, she watched as an earth pony stallion threw the ball and missed the last bottle, he then groaned in frustration. "This game is rigged I swear it!" He shouted.

Roxanne waited as the carnie reset the game and got ready for more people. "Anyone else want to test their aim?" He asked.

Skitter watched as Roxanne walked up to the carnie. "How much to play?" She asked.

The carnie chuckled. "It's three bits to play ma'am, and then you get three chances at the prize." He replied.

Roxanne blinked. "What's the prize?" She asked.

The carnie pointed to a moderate sack of bits next to him. "Originally it was fifteen bits, but now it's thirty nine bits, knock all of the bottles down and you win." He replied.

Roxanne shrugged. "Why not?....might be fun." She then pulled out three bits and received three rubber balls from the carnie.

Soon enough, Roxanne got ready to throw the first ball at the bottles, but she quickly looked at the carnie. "How do I know that you didn't glue any of the bottom bottles to the table?...or have some way of keeping at least one up at all times?" She wondered.

The carnie smirked and shook his head. "Unless someone came in before me....ain't no possibility of that." He replied calmly.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and prepared to throw the first ball.

Skitter looked around, seeing no one nearby or staring, she closed her eyes and quickly scanned the bottles and the surrounding area for anything suspicious. 'Might as well do Roxanne a favor.' She thought, she soon found nothing out of the ordinary, thankfully.

Roxanne readied her shot and soon threw the ball, aiming at the middle bottle, the ball flew at high speed and soon heavily impacted on the middle bottle, causing it to soon fall down and bring the top row of bottles down along with one other middle row bottle.

Roxanne blinked and shrugged it off, she then readied another ball and aimed at the bottom left bottle, she soon threw the ball and it flew at the bottle swiftly, soon impacting on it causing it to drop and the remaining middle and top bottles to collapse downwards eventually leaving only one bottle standing when it settled down.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and grabbed the last ball, she gripped it tight and aimed at the final bottle, she quickly threw it at the last bottle, a gust of wind passed by just then however and it soon ended up crashing into the bottle, making it rock heavily, before standing back up perfectly, Roxanne reacted appropriately.....for her. "Fuck you." She gave the bottle the finger and looked at the carnie. "Your hair is on fire." She pointed out before walking off.

The carnie chuckled and looked around for more contestants.

Skitter sighed and followed her friend, she paused and looked at the carnie and immediately noticed that his head was actually on fire. "You might want to get some water bud." She advised.

The carnie blinked and glanced up at his head and noticed the flames.....he immediately passed out after screaming. "FIRE!"

Roxanne looked around the nearby stalls and shops, she blinked as she didn't find anything interesting, she then pulled out an old pocket watch and checked the time, seeing that they still had an hour and a half until the tournament, she looked around and soon grinned, she put the watch away and ran off with a mischievous grin. [1]

Skitter could only watch as Roxanne vanished into the crowd without waiting, she sighed and facepalmed. "And I'm guessing you expect me to follow her?" She asked no one in particular as she closed her eyes.

After a few moments Skitter sighed again and started to search for her friend. "I better get an achievement or some tacos for this bullshit." She muttered. [2]

____*meanwhile*____

Roxanne chuckled and popped out from behind some crates that were half her size, she was somehow concealed from sight. [3]

She looked around and soon spotted her targets, Appleack and Fluttershy, she grinned and darted behind her box and soon popped out on top of a nearby roof, she then proceeded to produce a crate out of nowhere, she rubbed her hands together greedily and opened the crate.

Roxanne looked around for anyone that could be watching before grabbing the contents of the crate, she then hoisted it over her shoulder and grinned.

The object from the crate was long and black, it had two holes in it, one at each end of a tube, there was also a trigger and a small box with yellow warning stripes on it, at the middle of the tube there was a latch that revealed its ammo. "Oh yea......this is gonna be fun." She whispered to someone on her left.

Roxanne then aimed at one of roads, she then cackled evilly before shouting. "BAZOOKA!" She shouted before firing. [4]

'I know this is wrong, but it's not like I'm hurting anyone.' She then threw the bazooka away and darted off.

_____*meanwhile*_____

Skitter was walking around the fair when she heard a loud bang and a large amount of commotion, she raised an eyebrow at the sight of the large crowd gathering, she walked over and managed to make her way through, seeing Applejack and Fluttershy, but they looked......different.

Skitter blinked as she started to approach her friends, she looked at the two of them curiously, examining the changes, Applejack's fur was now a pale green along with her hair, Fluttershy's fur and hair were now a vibrant blue and seemed oddly shiny, the strangest part was the fact that their cutie marks and hair seemed completely randomized, Applejack's Apple cutie mark now seemed to be a piece of bark, Fluttershy's cutie mark was now a rubber ball in place of three butterflies.

Applejack's mane and tail now looked like reindeer antlers instead of their classic ponytail fashion, Fluttershy's mane looked like a hedgehog now and her tail now looked like an overlapping array of claws, needless to say they both seemed annoyed, aggravated and embarrassed about the entire change.

Skitter could only react to the situation the only way she knew.....she burst out laughing. 'I don't care how rude I'm being right now....this is hilarious!' She screamed in her head.

The crowd slowly dispersed after finding that everything mostly fine.

_____*meanwhile*_____

Firefly stopped and looked over her shoulder, she had a perplexed look on her face but said nothing, even as Spark stopped and looked at her. "What is it Firefly?" He asked out of concern.

Firefly blinked but soon shrugged it off. "It's nothing, just had a weird feeling." She replied truthfully.

_____*meanwhile*_____

Roxanne walked into the preparation area for the tournament, she looked around the room and noticed that there was only three others in the room, two stallions that she didn't recognize, and Gwen, who was busy preparing.

Roxanne walked over to a stack of crates and sat down, once she made sure nobody was looking, she looked to her right and chuckled. "I know your wondering how I got here so fast.....but it would be more fun to simply swap scenes while I look for the rule book or whatever." She muttered.

_____*meanwhile*_____

Skitter walked alongside Applejack and Fluttershy to the tournament grounds, there was only forty minutes until it began, and Applejack wanted to get there with enough time to get ready.

Skitter had managed to fix the changes that Fluttershy and Applejack had undergone, so they seemed to have calmed down since then.

As they approached the tournament grounds, Fluttershy spoke up. "I'm going to go find a seat, I'll see you two later." She said in her quiet manner before walking off.

Skitter nodded and looked at Applejack. "Let's get going, don't have a lot of time." She told her friend.

Applejack nodded and looked around for the entrance, seeing the entrance to the preparation area, she started walking toward it with Skitter.

____*one minute later*____

Applejack and Skiiter entered the preparation area and looked around, there was five others in the room, Gwen and Roxanne, two stallions and a mare that neither of them recognized.

Applejack then looked at Skitter. "I'm going to get ready, I'll see you later." She said.

Skitter nodded and started walking over to Roxanne who was reading the rules of the tournament, when she was close enough she spoke. "How's it looking for you Roxie?" She asked.

Roxanne set the rule book aside and grinned. "So far so good, the only thing left to do is get ready." She said.

Skitter sighed and looked around for eavesdroppers, seeing none, she looked at Roxanne with curiosity. "Are you sure about this?" She asked.

Roxanne nodded. "Come on Skitter, you know me, I'm going to back off." She replied as she ignited her hand. "Besides, someone needs to knock these people down a few pegs." She added as she doused the fire.

Skitter rolled her eyes and looked at Gwen and Applejack, who were starting to put armor on. "Regardless, let's just hope that you don't get disqualified." She said before walking off.

Roxanne picked the rule book up and continued reading it, she glanced over at the lance she was provided, but she quickly returned her focus on the book. 'Better to know what you can and can't do before competing.' She thought as she read the book.

_____*five minutes later, The crystal castle.*_____

Lyaroa opened her eyes, her vision was blurry and she was feeling pain and bitter cold all along her body, she slowly sat up as a sharp pain coursed through her body as her leg bones creaked, she took a deep breath and stood up and more pain shot through her body, she cringed and held her side where the most pain was coming from, she wiped her eyes and cleared her vision, thankfully she had not been moved from the room and Fang's body was still in the chair, she limped over and checked him for a pulse.

Lyaroa put her hand over Fang's heart and waited to feel a heartbeat......but none came, she sighed and then channeled some magic into Fang, reactivating his heart.

Lyaroa then channeled some healing magic into her own body and immediately felt the pain leave her, she continued to mend herself and soon enough, a thin layer of fur covered her body and her wounds vanished, she stopped channeling and walked over to the door, she dispelled the barrier and opened the door, she then walked over to Fang and picked him up, she slung his left arm over her shoulder and started walking out of the room. 'This should help brighten the day for them.....if it doesn't, I'll give up and destroy the sisters old castle.....seems fair considering all of the bullshit I had to put up with.' She told herself mentally.

____*thirtyfour minutes later.*_____

Roxanne sat on a crate as an announcer declared the start of the tournament and all of the other stuff he had to go over, she then looked around the room, seeing a large number of people ready to joust today, she chuckled and looked at Gwen and Applejack, both now fully garbed in armor, Roxanne resisted the urge to laugh, she then looked at her side and at the lance that she had strapped to it, she rolled her eyes at the insanity that was about to ensue. 'Now that I think about it.....before all of this happened I was about to be scrapped, i never would have imagined all of this....it's also good that I got a better breathing habit then what Gwen showed us, it was good for starters but it was awkward as hell.' She shook her head free of these thoughts and decided to focus on the tournament.

The announcer then shouted out the names of the first two combatants. "And now, for the first battle of the day, Helix and Applejack!" He declared.

Roxanne mentally sighed in relief, as the names were drawn randomly from a basket, she watched as Applejack and her opponent marched out to the field to begin their round, Roxanne could only sigh and watch as the two combatants got into position. "Game start." She muttered.

> The empire of Crystals, Part ten: The tournament and memories.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*the Crystal empire jousting tournament, two minutes in.*____

Roxanne watched as the two combatants engaged, it was the final round between them, they were tied currently, meaning the next hit determined the victor.

The two combatants charged, Helix was an Earth pony like Applejack, but his attacks were swift, he had caught Applejack off guard in the first round by suddenly halting and thrusting his lance at her.

The second round, Applejack had anticipated Helix's movements and her lance impacted on his armor.

Currently however, as the two combatants neared each other, Helix quickly sprinted and swung his lance in a sweeping motion.

Applejack seemed to be caught off guard by this attack, but she quickly dropped and slid forward, she then thrust her lance at Helix.

Roxanne could just barely make out Helix's eyes widening as Applejack's lance impacted on his armor.

After the dust settled, the announcer walked out onto the field and pointed at Applejack. "We have our winner!.....Applejack of Ponyville!" He declared.

The crowd soon burst into cheers as Applejack and Helix made their way to the preparation area, Roxanne chuckled. 'I almost forgot about that, Instead of losing one match and being removed from the tournament, all combatants have to be defeated at least twice unless it's the semifinals or the finals.'

As the doors shut behind them, Helix shook Applejack's hoof and congratulated her on winning their match, but the reprieve was short lived as the announcer called out the next two names. "Now for our next combatants!" He shouted.

Roxanne peered out the window and watched as the announcer pulled out two more names from the hat next to him, he then addressed the audience. "Our next match is between Suri and Adder!" He shouted.

The doors opened and the next two combatants entered the field, Roxanne decided to examine the two more closely, she couldn't see their eyes but she could make out their other features.

Adder was a dark green earth pony stallion, he didn't seem to have a tail or hair,  his cutie mark was that of an hourglass filled with ashes.

Suri was also an earth pony, but was a mare, she had short light blonde hair that you could just barely see from the helmet, she had a light blonde tail as well, her fur was similar to Applejack's but just a tad off, her cutie mark was that of three apples with a silver chain going through them. [1]

The two combatants prepared themselves for combat, the announcer then stepped off the field. "Begin!" He shouted.

Suri was the first to charge, Adder soon followed, when they got close enough, Adder quickly sidestepped and leapt at Suri, who was caught completely off guard by the reckless attack.

Adder's lance impacted heavily on Suri's armor, causing the mare to be flung back a short distance by the force of the strike.

Adder then begun walking back to his starting point, while Suri stood up and shook off the dust.

Roxanne sighed. 'What a dick.' She thought.

Suri got back into position and the two started charging again, just as the crowd continued cheering, as she charged, Suri's balance seemed to shift to the left, when the closed, Adder attempted the same attack again but Suri anticipated it, she slid and quickly aimed her lance at Adder, who soon impacted on the spear.

Suri stood back up and watched as Adder stood back up and walked back to his position, she sighed and did the same.

Roxanne blinked. 'So we have some good fighters in this tournament after all.' She thought with a grin.

The two combatants charged again, but this time, neither made any odd movements, except when they were both in range of each other, when Adder thrust at Suri, who slowed and then swung at Adder, both were vulnerable, but it all depended on who got hit first.

Roxanne watched as the spears neared each other, Adder's spear, coming close to hitting Suri in the arm, and Suri's spear coming close to hitting Adder's side.

And then, in an instant, the fight ended, with the announcer stepping out onto the field. "We have a winner ladies and gentlecolts!...Adder has won the match!" He declared before walking off.

Roxanne blinked and sighed. "Wonder who'll be next?" She muttered.

As Adder and Suri returned to the preparation area, Roxanne watched as the announcer immediately returned to the field with the hat. 

"And now, let's see who fights next!" He said before taking two more names from the hat.

Roxanne watched as the announcer read the names and looked to the audience. "Our next match is between Roxanne and Volt!" He declared.

Roxanne took a deep breath and walked over to the door to get on the field, she then glanced to her opponent, a large and bulky earth pony stallion with blue fur, she could barely make out half of his cutie mark as a plank of wood, she couldn't see any hair on him or a tail, his eyes were brown and he had a calm expression on his face.

The doors opened and Roxanne headed out onto the field and quickly shifted to all fours as she took her position, she could tell that the audience was confused about her being there, she paid them no mind however as she focused on Volt, who was getting ready to charge.

The announcer then walked off the field. "Begin!" He announced.

Roxanne and Volt both charged each other, Roxanne observed his leg movements and tried to figure out his plan of attack, it would have seemed like he was charging forward except for the slight deviation in his movements that gave away his plan.

The moment the two were in range, Volt dropped to a slide and aimed at Roxanne's chest, but she had anticipated this and slowed herself, she then sidestepped him, his lance missed and she then hit him in the side, scoring the first hit.

Roxanne then attempted to help him up but the stallion refused, so she simply rolled her eyes and headed back to her position at the opposite end of the field.

Soon enough, when Volt reached his position, the two charged once again, Roxanne was once again examining his movements, she noticed no deviation from the stallion, but when they neared the center, Volt's movements predicted a rush, and that is exactly what happened.

Volt rushed up to Roxanne and swung his lance in a sweeping motion, Roxanne then countered this by almost completely stopping and letting the lance swoop right past her, she then aimed her lance at Volt and tapped his armor. 

The crowd seemed stunned for a moment, but they soon burst into cheers and the announcer stepped out and pointed at Roxanne. "Our winner is Roxanne!" He declared.

Roxanne stepped up and rubbed her right arm and walked back to the prep area. "This is gonna be hell on my arms." She muttered as she entered the prep area.

____*ten minutes later.*____

Roxanne groaned and rubbed her now sore arms, the past ten minutes had been constant jousting and they were now in the semi finals.

The remaining combatants included Gwen and Applejack, Volt and Adder, Suri and Helix, a unicorn called Kunoz and Roxanne, a Pegasus called Inkiza and Talon, as the ten competitors waited the next round, Roxanne looked over at Kunoz curiously, the dark blue unicorn stallion was a literal last minute entry to the tournament, much like herself, Kunoz hadn't lost a single match, this wouldn't have been strange if not for the fact that he easily beat a former jousting champion with ease.

Roxanne chuckled and looked around, her sight finally landed on Inkiza, a light blue Pegasus mare with cyan eyes and hair, she had no tail and her cutie mark was that of a blue feather and a half moon, the only thing off about her was a burn scar on her right wing and a bandage around her left ear, Inkiza was currently talking to Gwen, but Roxanne didn't pay attention. 'That girl has been oddly cheery during this entire tournament, at least it kept our spirits up.' She thought.

Soon enough, Roxanne could hear the announcer get the attention of the crowd. "Everyone quiet!" She said firmly as she listened.

The room quieted down and Roxanne listened to the announcer as he spoke. "After much discussion, the judges have decided that the rest of the tournament will be carried out through set matches!....as opposed to the random selection from before!" He declared.

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "The selection isn't random anymore." She told the others, stirring up whispers of confusion.

Soon enough the announcer continued. "The fights will continued as the following!......Gwen Dash versus Adder! Talon versus Suri! Volt versus Kunoz! Applejack versus Roxanne! And Helix versus Inkiza!....the fights will continue in five minutes!" He declared.

Roxanne looked away from the window, she then leaned her head against the wall and sighed. 'I was hoping to avoid facing Applejack or Gwen until the end, but it looks like I don't have much choice now.'

Gwen walked up to Applejack with a concerned expression. "Rox, are you alright?" She asked.

Roxanne rubbed her leg and looked at Gwen. "Yea, I'm fine, you might want to prepare, we'll be fighting soon." She told her friend.

'Well, this wasone hell of a tournament.' She thought as she stood up and begin preparing, mentally and physically.

_____*five minutes later*_____

Roxanne leaned on the wall as she waited for the announcer to declare the next fight, apparently the order in which the fights happen were randomized, but soon enough, she heard the announcers voice. "Ladies and gentlecolts!.....the time has come for the semifinals of this years tournament!......but as you all know, this year not only marks the return of our people, but the return of our ancient royal bloodline, and as the hair to that bloodline, our newly appointed leader, Princess Cadence, has asked us to not only host the tournament, but to also hold a special event, honoring the loss of all the brave men and women who gave their lives to defend their families, their friends....and their home." He said, looking to the sky for a brief moment.

"But more of that later.....for now, let the semifinals commence! and our first fight is between.....Talon and Suri!" He declared as he moved off the field.

The crowd cheered as the gates started to open, when they were fully open, Suri and Talon exited the prep area and went onto the field, Roxanne watched as both Talon and Suri got into position, and when the fight officially began, they both charged, neither one seeming to deviate, but just before they clashed, both Suri and Talon slowed and slid on the ground, both got hit, but Roxanne could not make out who got hit first, neither could the judges apparently, as neither one got a point or lost one.

Roxanne chuckled and watched as they took their positions again, once again, the moment the round started, they charged, but this time, when they reached the center, Talon rushed forward suddenly and surprised Suri, Talon's lance hit Suri in the chest and the earth pony staggered back slightly before reorienting herself and heading back to her position.

The crowd went silent with anticipation as the two charged once again, this time however, Suri seemed a bit dazed as she ran, and when they two reached the center, Talon attempted to rush the mare again, only for Suri to trip on her own feet and fall down sideways, and causing the tip of her lance to hit Talon's side, winning the round.

Roxanne blinked and wondered how exactly HOW it happened, but she decided not to question it as it made the crowd happy, which was obvious due to the roar that the crowd gave.

Suri stood up and rubbed her head, she shook herself and soon enough the world stopped spinning, she blinked and looked at Talon who stood up and seemed rather confused. 'Did I win or did something weird happen?' She asked herself and she walked back to her position.

Talon walked back to her position and shook off her confusion. "It must have been luck, either way, I can't rely on rushing to win this." She muttered as she got ready.

Roxanne watched as the round began just as the two were ready, this time however, when the two were in range, Suri sidestepped and swung at Talon, who attempted a thrust at her before she sidestepped, the clash ended and the two stopped moving, the crowd was cheering until the announcer stepped out and pointed at Suri. "Victory goes to Suri, who moves on to the finals." He then looked at Talon.

"You have done well Talon, having made it this far, don't discard that." He told the mare as he addressed the audience while Suri headed into the prep area.

Talon took a breath and headed to the prep area to remove the armor and lance. 

The announcer took a breath and spoke. "Let's all give a round of applause to Talon for reaching the semifinals everypony!" He said as he started clapping.

The crowd then cheered and clapped for Talon as she entered the prep area.

But soon enough, the announcer quieted the crowd and blinked. "Now, let's start the next fight shall we? the next fight is between....Helix and  Inkiza!" He declared as he left the field.

The crowd cheered as the two combatants headed to their positions, they both had looks of determination on their faces as they reached their positions on the field, the announcer then declared the start of the round and the two charged, Inkiza quickly set her gaze on Helix's center body, and she immediately noticed that he was slightly shifting his body weight to his left while his legs moved to his right, she blinked and when the two reached each other, Inkiza predicted Helix's sidestep and thrust at his landing point, hitting him dead on.

Roxanne chuckled. "Helix needs a new strategy, either that or get better at covering his plan." She muttered, as the two combatants returned to their positions.

When the two were ready, the round began and they both charged, Inkiza was once again analyzing Helix's movements but noticed nothing odd or irregular about them, but when they reached each other, Helix quickly sped up and planted his hooves in the ground, he then thrusted at Inkiza's chest.

Inkiza smiled and slowed herself, she quickly attempted to dodge the lance by sliding across the ground, the lance came closer to her head and she lowered her head quickly to aptly and dodge it.

Helix sighed as his lance just barely passed over Inkiza. 'One second, that's all it would have taken.' He thought as Inkiza's lance lightly hit him in the shoulder.

The crowd cheered as the fight ended, with Helix losing and Inkiza just barely winning.

Helix looked at Inkiza who was on the ground, he smiled and held his hoof out. "Good job Inkiza, you got me." He said.

Inkiza nodded and took his hoof, she stood up and started to walk back to the prep area, with Helix shortly following. 

The announcer had the audience cheer for Helix and then went on to declare the next fight shortly after. "The next match is Gwen Dash versus Adder!" He declared.

Gwen sighed and walked up to the door. 'I was hoping to avoid facing him.....now I see why Roxanne never mentioned who faces who.' She thought.

Roxanne watched as Adder walked up next to Gwen and then headed outside. 

As Gwen walked, she glanced over at Adder but quickly focused on the match. 

The two opponents headed for their positions and both had looks of equal determination on their faces, so when they reached their positions, and the announcer declared the start of the match, they both charged at full speed.

As the two neared each other, Gwen swiftly rushed up to Adder and attempted to hit his shoulder, but the stallion countered by simply moving to his left and hitting her in the chest.

Roxanne blinked and rubbed her eyes, she wasn't stunned, just confused. 'What happened?....Gwen hasn't made a single rookie move through this entire tournament, what changed?' She wondered.

Gwen looked around and shook off the recoil from the blow, she blinked and headed for her position. "Ok....that happened." She muttered.

Adder stood in place at the opposite end of the field, he watched as Gwen got ready to charge, and when they were both ready, they charged again, his gaze focused on Gwen's legs, he found a slight deviation in movements that suggested a slide attack, but looked like a sidestep. 

Once again, the two combatants reached the center, and just before they clashed, Gwen did the unexpected, she halted entirely and leapt at Adder with her lance aiming right at his chest.

Adder's eyes widened at the reckless attack, he then attempted to dodge the attack by sidestepping, seeing the lance slowly turn in her direction, he slowed himself and attempted to hit Gwen with his lance.

All it took was a blink, one blink, and it was over, Roxanne blinked and was left wondering what happened, but when the announcer stepped out, she understood what happened.

The announcer looked at the audience and cleared his throat. "Ladies and gentlecolts.....Adder is the victor!" He declared.

Roxanne sighed and watched as Gwen and Adder returned to the prep area, she could hear the announcer speak again, Roxanne was actually wondering if he was trying to get to the finals. "Our next fight will be between Volt and Kunoz!" He stated.

After that, Roxanne seemed to zone out, she simply decided to watch the match and wait for her turn.

____*two minutes later, just after Volt and Kunoz's match.*____

The announcer stepped out into the field and addressed the audience. "Ladies and gentlecolts!.....Kunoz is the victor!" He declared, the crowd cheered and the announcer took a breath.

Roxanne sighed and stood up, she watched as Volt and Kunoz entered the prep area, she walked over to the doors silently and got down to all fours as the announcer spoke again. "And now the final semifinals match.....Roxanne against Applejack!' He shouted.

Roxanne glanced to her right and saw Applejack walk up."Thought i wouldn't have to fight you until the end, what about you?" She asked.

"The same, but it looks like one of us is going to the finals alone.....good luck AJ." Roxanne replied as they marched out.

As Roxanne walked to her position, she attempted to calm herself for the match. "Calm down girl....it's just a match, it doesn't mean anything." She whispered.

Applejack and Roxanne both took their positions and faced off, the announcer stepped back and looked at the two. "Begin!" He shouted.

Roxanne charged almost instantly and Applejack soon followed, as she charged, Roxanne observed Applejack's movements and found something.....off, about them.

Whenever Roxanne observed Applejack before, she had always seemed either straightforward or coordinated, but now, she either had a limp or she was using it to hide her plan, either way, Roxanne was determined not to be caught off guard, so she slightly slowed her movements.

Applejack noticed Roxanne's change in speed, but she did not think anything of it as she got ready.

As the two neared, Applejack quickly rushed forward and then halted entirely, aiming her lance at Roxanne, who was caught off guard entirely.

Roxanne attempted to dodge but she felt the lance hit her side and she fell to the ground. 'Well that happened.' She thought as she stood up.

Applejack walked back to her position and sighed. "I might have overdone it....." She muttered.

Roxanne returned to her position and got ready to move. 'You aren't catching me off guard this time.' She stated mentally.

When the two were ready, they charged once more, this time, Roxanne was keeping her movement irregular, left to right, and right to left, meanwhile, Roxanne always kept on eye on Applejack's movements, attempting to discern her plan.

But just as the two neared, Roxanne quickly rushed forward and thrust at Applejack, who attempted to slide but instead tripped and impacted on the lance.

As Roxanne slowed from her run, she sighed and looked back at Applejack, seeing as her friend was unharmed, Roxanne walked over and offered to help her up.

The two then walked back to their positions and got ready for the final round, Roxanne took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment.

Applejack shook off a slight daze and charged at Roxanne, who followed suit.

As the two charged, Roxanne was suddenly hit with an idea, as she watched Applejack's movements and noticed a possibility, she noticed a slight decrease of speed, so she decided to take full advantage of it, she sped up to almost double her current speed, catching Applejack completely off guard.

Applejack attempted to aim her lance at Roxanne in time, but just as she went to strike, she had already been hit by the lance, she dropped down and began to catch her breath again.

The crowd roared at this, Roxanne sighed and walked over to Applejack and held out her hand. "Need a hand?" She asked.

Applejack chuckled, she then gripped Roxanne's hand with her hoof. "Thanks." She said.

Roxanne nodded. "Well, it seems like the rest of the tournament will be a little more streamlined." She commented randomly.

The two then started to walk back to the prep area as the announcer stepped back out. "Our winner is Roxanne ladies and Gentlecolts!" He declared.

_____*ten minutes later.*_____

Roxanne blinked as she and the three others stared at the new chart, strangely enough, Suri forfeited the tournament, claiming that she couldn't stay.

The fights were as followed, Adder against Inkiza, and Roxanne against Kunoz, while Roxanne wasn't exactly thrilled that she wouldn't be able to face Gwen in the tournament, she was glad that she would be able to wipe the cocky smirk off Kunoz' face.

As the doors to the prep area opened, the announcer could clearly be heard speaking. "And now ladies and gentlecolts!......Adder versus Inkiza!" 

Roxanne personally zoned out as she sat down and watched the two head out, strangely enough, the current spectacle reminded her of one of her activation......

_____*two and a half months ago, Freddy Fazbears Pizza*_____

Two closed eyes opened to reveal golden irises, mechanical parts clicked and whirred to life as the animatronic came to life, a green staticky panel covered its vision, showing police contact information and a database, filled with criminals and local crimes, another display showed the core directives.

Number one, Ensure saftey of children.

Number two, Immediatly contact police in the event of a criminal sighting.

Number three, Entertain to best of ability.

The static vanished along with the displays, and then noise came to the recievers, the noise of children cheering and screaming for no apparent reason, but before the animatronic could look around, one last display appeared.

Designation, Toy Foxy.

Gender, Female.

Other animatronics, Toy Freddy, Toy Chica, Toy Bonnie, Balloon Boy, Marionette.

Name of home, Freddy Fazbears Pizza

Locally designated name of building, Fazbears.

The display vanished soon enough and full vision was restored, the room was dark, and there seemed to be a small hole that barely revealed people gathering outside.

Footsteps were the next thing she heard, and after a few moments a voice made itself known. "Introducing the latest addition to Fazbears Pizza, Foxy!" Declared the voice.

The the room was then suddenly bright, curtains fell down and Toy Foxy was greeted by many children cheering, a small error displayed in her vision, stating that a possible core malfunction was imminent, she quickly shut off all of the unnecessary systems and the warning vanished, she decided to simply let her programming guide her for now, and she greeted the children. "Hey kids!....lets party!" She greeted in a friendly tone.

Toy Foxy had one thought as she began to entertain the kids. 'This should be interesting.'

____*end of flashback.*____

The round had ended and Roxanne snapped out of her trance, she then heard the announcer speak. "That was a great match ladies and Gentlecolts!.....Inkiza wins!" He declared.

Roxanne watched as Adder and Inkiza entered the prep area, she sighed and stood up as she got ready for her match against Kunoz.

"And now for our next match!.....Roxanne against Kunoz!" The announcer declared.

The crowd cheered as Roxanne and Kunoz exited the prep area, and headed to the opposite sides of the arena.

As Roxanne walked, she tried to focus on the match and push the memories back down for now.

Kunoz stepped once more and turned to face Roxanne, who just got ready, his gaze focused and he prepared to charge.

Roxanne faced Kunoz and as soon as the announcer started the match, she charged, intent on wrapping it up quickly.

Kunoz charged and immediately tried to spot Roxanne's tactic, he noticed an odd deviation in movement on her left leg and moved to take full advantage of it, only for Roxanne to do something completely random and throw him off.

As the two charged, it became evident that the battle would be decided by whoever could counter first, but as the two neared, Roxanne became stagnant and left a blind spot in her charge, and Kunoz took advantage of it, he quickly sped up and thrust at Roxanne's torso.

Roxanne went to sidestep and hit Kunoz, but just as she began to sidestep she felt the spear hit her chest lightly.

The two stopped and Roxanne rubbed her eyes, she then started to walk back to her position, and Kunoz did the same.

When the two were ready, and the announcer confirmed that Roxanne did take a hit that round, the two combatants charged once again.

This time however, instead of pure randomness, Roxanne did an unusual thing for her, she was going to be predictable.

Kunoz watched as Roxanne's movements suggested a sidestep, but he found this odd, so he quickly prepared himself for all possibilities.

Roxanne noticed Kunoz' change of movements, but she decided to continue with her plan, so when the two neared the center of the field, Kunoz rushed forward and aimed at Roxanne.

Roxanne grinned and did the unexpected, she quickly sidestepped and thrust at Kunoz, who seemed surprised that Roxanne actually sidestepped.

Kunoz simply allowed the lance to hit him as it would be pointless to try and dodge, so the lance impacted on his armor and he was forced to steady himself due to the force of the blow, he then walked back to his position on the field. 

Roxanne sighed and headed back to her side, somewhat relieved that either way, the tournament would be that much closer to done, and she could relax.

After both of the combatants were ready and the announcer confirmed the rounds winner, the two charged once again.

This time, instead, Kunoz was going to rely on his instincts, instead of his eyes, seeing as Roxanne would simply do something completely random.

Roxanne decided to do something similar to last round, she would be predictable again and then wing it from there, not a solid strategy, but it was better than nothing.

As the two neared once more, Kunoz decided to that it was time to act, so he quickly sped up and slid, but instead of aiming directly at Roxanne, who had moved at the exact same time, he instead aimed directly ahead of Roxanne.

Seeing what Kunoz what doing, Roxanne quickly slowed herself and aimed her lance at Kunoz, but she noticed that she was still going to quickly, she slowed down even more and hoped that it was enough.

The two combatants reached each other and the sounds of lances impacting on armor could be heard, the crowd went silent as Roxanne and Kunoz stopped moving and took a breather.

Roxanne looked over at the announcer who was walking over, he looked to the crowd and spoke up. 

"After examination, the judges have determined.....that Roxanne is the victor!" He declared.

The crowd roared and Roxanne chuckled, she looked back at Kunoz, who was walking over to her, she blinked as Kunoz sat knelt down in front of her. "That was an interesting tactic, I must admit, it caught me off guard." He said.

Roxanne grinned. "Well, everyone always did say I was the odd one out." She replied.

Kunoz nodded, he then levitated his lance off his side and drove it into the ground. "Well, in that case, you have my respect Roxanne, and as a knight of the Crystal Empire, I swear that I shall assist you in battle, should the need arise of course." He swore.

Roxanne blinked and stood up. "Well, uh, thanks?....but anyway, we should head back in before the crowd gets bored of watching us do nothing." She said as she started walking back to the prep area.

Kunoz nodded and grabbed his lance before following Roxanne.

_____*back at the prep area.*_____

Roxanne and Kunoz entered the prep area, where they found Inkiza sitting on a barrel, apparently waiting on them. "Sup guys?" She asked.

Kunoz chuckled and headed into the armory section to remove his armor.

Roxanne crossed her arms and looked at Inkiza. "Looks like it's just us now huh?" She wondered.

Inkiza nodded. "Yea, everyone else left, they wanted a better view of the arena." She explained.

Roxanne leaned against the nearby wall, and looked at Inkiza. "Hey, you mind if I ask you something?" She asked.

Inkiza shrugged. "Sure, but I get to ask you something in return." She replied.

Roxanne nodded, she then closed her eyes. "Ok, so my question is this.....what made you join the tournament?" She wondered.

Inkiza chuckled. "Well, truth is, I just wanted to do something different, to put it bluntly, I got bored." She replied.

Roxanne blinked and shrugged. "Fair enough." She wondered.

Inkiza got off the barrel and started to strap her lance back on. "Ok, my turn, how much do you know about familiars?" She asked.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow. 'Well that was random.' She thought, she then looked at Inkiza curiously.

"Not much to be honest." She replied. "All I do know is that they can be summoned and that they are magical creatures." She finished.

Inkiza chuckled. "Ok, good to know." She commented.

The announcer was heard speaking and the doors opened. "For our final round!....Inkiza and Roxanne!" The announcer announced.

As the two combatants exited the arena, the crowd roared and Roxanne tried to block out everything else but the match.

Roxanne and Inkiza walked to their positions, and the announcer stepped between them. "Alright ladies and gentlecolts, let the final match, BEGIN!" He shouted before getting the the field.

The two combatants instantly charged at each other as the crowd cheered.

Roxanne watched Inkiza's movements carefully to try and dicern her attack, but their seemed to be nothing off about them, she was simply charging in a straight line at Roxanne, who smirked and decided to let that be the basis of the match, so when the two reached each other, the only movements other then running was attempts to dodge.

Roxanne felt Inkiza's lance hit her armor, but she did not seem to hit Inkiza, who had a small smile on her face, for some reason.

The two combatants then walked back to their positions, along the way, Roxanne randomly looked to her left and spoke. "That girl is odd, don't ya think?" She asked no one in particular. [2]

When the two finalists were ready, they charged once again, but this time, they made no attempt to hide, they simply charged at full speed, so when the two neared, they simply did the same as before, they aimed and attempted to dodge the others lance.

This time however, Roxanne felt the recoil from her lance, but watched as Inkiza's lance barely miss her by a few centimeters.

After the announcer stated that it was Roxanne's win, the two prepared for one final charge. 

The two combatants charged, and once more, they made no attempts to hide an attack, it was a full on charge once more.

So when the two met at the center, and they attempted to hit each other, Roxanne was surprised to find herself remembering another memory from her past.

But she quickly suppressed it as her she felt her lance impact on Inkiza's armor, but she also felt the force of Inkiza's lance impacting on her armor.

Both jousters fell to the ground, Roxanne sat up slowly and looked around, seeing the announcer walk up to address the crowd, who fell silent to listen, she glanced over to Inkiza who had sat up and looked at the announcer.

Roxanne decided to listen as the announcer spoke. "Ladies and gentlecolts, we have our winner........Inkiza!" He declared.

The crowd cheered and Roxanne chuckled, she then stood up and walked over to Inkiza, and for some odd reason, Roxanne couldn't get the small smile that she gained at some point to go away.

Roxanne watched as the announcer walked up to Inkiza and congratulated her on her victory, the announcer then walked to Roxanne and held out his hoof. "Congratulations Roxanne, making it to second place isn't as easy as it looks." He said to her.

Roxanne nodded. "Thank you." She replied.

After that, Inkiza walked over to Roxanne and grinned. "Glad you didn't do anything weird on me Rox.....facing someone head on apparently scares everyone." She said.

Roxanne shook her head and started walking back to the prep area, with Inkiza in tow. "I guess so, but it was good for an honest fight, and between you and me?....I'm dying to get this armor and lance off." She replied.

At this time, Roxanne let the memory soak in as she took the lance off, her curiosity of Inkiza reminding her of the old days.

_____*flashback, Freddy Fazbears Pizza, fifteen days in.*_____

Toy Foxy looked around the restaurant, the kids cove was empty right now, as it was closed off for the day, she watched as the kids went to the prize corner to exchange their tickets, and went to Balloon Boy for balloons, and as they played in the arcade, ate their food, and watched the band play.

Toy Foxy was bored however, but the engineer had told her that she was allowed to be online, so long as she didn't interfere with anything, so she had tried to entertain herself in various ways, counting the tiles in the room, counting the number of blue objects and clothes, and even twiddling her thumbs, but nothing worked, so she was left alone until closing, and by then, she had returned to her designated 'wake up' point in the cove.

Suffice it to say, that when several of the staff moved a big covered up container into the cove and stood it upright before taking the container apart, Toy Foxy watched with interest but soon decided to shut down and wait for morning.

____*a few hours later, 11:47 PM.*____

Toy Foxy was curious, not as to the contents of the container, but as to why she woke up before she was supposed to, she opened her eyes and looked around, seeing only darkness, she activated the 'automatic adjustment system', as she began to call it, and saw that the restaurant was completely empty, empty and cold, she couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary but she got curious, and wanted to see more of the building, so she started to warm up her systems before moving.

And speaking of curiosity, Toy Foxy looked over to where the container was, but she saw only a tarp covering a tall object, she then looked over and saw the camera, but she realized something odd about it, she noticed that it wasn't even set up completely, but then she recalled some men saying that they wouldn't be able to get the camera completely hooked up until a closed day.

Toy Foxy then walked over to the tarp and pulled it off, and what she saw was breathtaking for her......if she had breath.

What she saw was another animatronic, only she immediately realized that it wasn't in her database, but she knew that it was probably because she hasn't been updated yet, so she examined the new animatronic.

It was that of a black wolf with multiple white patches along it's body, definitely a male, the eyes were closed so Toy Foxy couldn't tell its eye color, the actual wolf like body seemed to be made with some kind of fabric, instead of the plastic like material that Toy Foxy and the others were made of, the only thing odd about this new animatronic was its left arm, which was made of the same material that the Toys were made of.

Another thing Toy Foxy realized was that this animatronic had long and sharp teeth, those that her sensors deemed unsafe, however she was unable to do anything as the animatronic was Fazbear property, so she simply sighed, seeing as most humans do it in certain situations.

Her curiosity getting the better of her, Toy Foxy set off to explore the entire restaurant, but seeing as she had already familiarized herself with the dining room, she started to search the other rooms, like the arcade, prize corner and the game corner.

Seeing as Balloon Boy, the Marionette and the band were not awake as well, Toy Foxy decided to search the rest of the building, starting with the bathroom hallway and party rooms.

Seeing nothing in the hallway, Toy Foxy checked the first two party rooms but found nothing, so when she searched the other two rooms, she found something interesting.....vents.

The vents were big enough that she could fit inside, curious, she crouched down and looked down the vent, she saw that it actually turned to the left, she decided to explore it more and crawled inside, making loud thumping noises, she immediately noticed a small camera in the vent, which she thought odd, but decided not to question it.

As Toy Foxy crawled through the vent, and making loud banging noises along the way, she soon reached the tough part, turning to continue, so she slowly made her way along.

Eventually, Toy Foxy reached the end of the vent, and found herself in an odd room, it was large and open, with a desk and chair, along with another vent at the opposite end of the room, and a large open archway in front of the desk.

Toy Foxy soon realized that she was in the security office, she then started to back out of the vent and continue her exploring.

It was at least a few minutes before Toy Foxy finally exited the vent, she then stood up and walked out of the room, seeing as she only had one room left to search, she walked to it.

The parts and service room, that was the name of it, Toy Foxy had never been inside, but she had overheard the employees talking about it one day, saying that it was a 'museum' of Fazbear horrors, and while Toy Foxy never went inside before, she knew enough to be extremely cautious about the room.

Soon enough, Toy Foxy stood in front of the parts and service room, so she opened the door, and stepped inside, but what she saw, burned itself into her memory, it was four animatronics, all broken down and decaying, a bear, a chicken, a bunny, and a fox, just around the corner, she quickly fled the room and shut the door, if she had breath, she would be panting.

Toy Foxy quickly ended her little adventure and started to walk back to the cove.

____*back at the cove.*____

Toy Foxy stepped foot in the cove, but immediately noticed that something was wrong, the new animatronic.....he was missing.

She quickly looked around for him but did not see anything, slightly panicking, she started walking around the room, looking for the new animatronic.

As Toy Foxy searched the room, she heard loud footsteps coming from the main room, she flipped around quickly and walked towards the footsteps.

When Toy Foxy entered the main room, what she saw was bewildering, the new animatronic was alive, and was leaning against a nearby wall, and he seemed to be.....smiling, at her. "Hey, what's up?" He asked, his voice calm but strangely cold.

Toy Foxy blinked and stared at the animatronic, she noticed that his eyes were bright green, and they seemed to glow in the dark. "Who....are, you?" She asked, her words mixed and split apart.

The animatronic sighed and blinked. "Oh I get it, you have a limited vocabulary, I'll fix that, but for now.....my name is Fang." He replied calmly.

Toy Foxy blinked and tilted her head. "Fang?......fix?......no, engineers job." She replied to the best of her ability.

Fang shook his head and walked away from the wall, he then looked around and spotted the band. "Oh yea, I remember now, I was replaced, but by who?....oh well, I'll figure that out tommorow." He then looked at Toy Foxy. "Since you know me, it's only fair that you tell me your name." He said.

Toy Foxy nodded and walked around a little. "My name is Toy Foxy." She replied easily.

Fang looked Toy Foxy over and facepalmed. "Eh...no, I don't see it, the original was male, not female, I'm gonna have to come up with a new name for you, in the meantime." He looked at Toy Foxy. "You up for a game?" He asked mischievously.

Toy Foxy blinked. "Game?" She asked.

Fang nodded. "Yea, a game, you woke up for a reason right?.....so why not have some fun quickly." He replied. 

Toy Foxy scratched her head. "What......are rules?" She asked.

Fang grinned. "Simple, throughout the night we move around the restaurant, slowly making our way to the office, then we scare the crap out of the night guard, it's a game to play throughout the week, and as the week progresses, we get more active, oh and uh, I probably should mention the fact that the game can only be played from twelve PM, to six AM, sharp." He explained.

Toy Foxy thought about it for a moment, but then shrugged. "Why.....not." She replied.

Fang then moved to the prize corner. "Then let the games begin." He said quietly.

____*end of flashback, outside the prep area.*____

Roxanne walked out of the prep area and took a whiff of fresh air, she then started to walk back to the fair when she heard someone speak. "Nice match, I love a fair fight, not to say an unfair fight can't happen." The voice said.

Roxanne sighed and readied herself by igniting a small fame on her right hand and reaching for Life. "Show yourself." She ordered.

A chuckle was the response she received. "Fine then."

A tall figure stepped out from behind a nearby pillar and Roxanne immediately recognized it. "Miss me?" The figure asked teasingly.

Roxanne pulled her hand away from her sword and extinguished the flame on her right hand. "Lyaroa.....I see you've got your body back, could have been in better condition though." She commented.

Lyaroa's body was still in bad condition, but there didn't seem to be any blood on her anymore, and her tail seemed to be healed. "That's true, but hey, I'm in no hurry to have this body completely healed, after all.....where would be the fun in being completely healed in a few minutes?" She asked.

Roxanne chuckled. "So now what?....you gonna kill me and my friends so we can't oppose you?" She wondered.

Lyaroa shook her head and looked up at the sky. "Naa....like I said, I'm sticking around to haunt you guys, besides." She paused as she teleported next to Roxanne. "You are WAY too fun teasing to simply leave." She finished.

Roxanne grumbled and continued walking. "Whatever, just don't screw with our lives any more then you already did." She replied sternly.

Lyaroa put her hand over her heart and grunted. "Your words hurt me Roxie, and after all we've been through." She said in a terrible dramatic tone.

Roxanne stopped and groaned as she buried her face in her hands. "Oh god....you are insufferable!" She complained.

Lyaroa grinned and teleported in front of Roxanne, she put her hands behind her back, bent down slightly and looked up at the fox innocently. "Aww....but I thought we had something going." She pouted.

Roxanne then sighed and put her hands down to her sides, she then looked down at the Sentinel. "For a god.....you have a VERY strange personality." She pointed out.

Lyaroa smiled happily and closed her eyes. "I know, but it's better then being dark and brooding.....I like it!" She replied.

Roxanne shook her head and continued walking as Lyaroa followed. "Aaanny waaay." Lyaroa started oddly. "About what happened when we were looking for my body, THIS body, I actually did sense a trap there, and I think that you deserved to know." She continued.

Curious, Roxanne looks at the Sentinel. "What kind of trap?" She asked.

Lyaroa put a hand to her chin and shrugged. "A trap that would have triggered the Devastation spell, but seeing as I invented the spell....I knew how to counter it." She replied.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow. "What's the devastation spell?" She asked.

Lyaroa chuckled and tilted her head at Roxanne. "Oh nothing big.....it just would have made an explosion similar to that of an Atomic Bomb, just a scratch really." She replied easily.

Roxanne stopped and her eye twitched, she could also feel her legs and arms tremble, but she quickly calmed herself and looked at the Sentinel. "Um.....please tell me your joking...." She said with a nervous laugh.

Lyaroa scratched her ear a little and blinked. "Uhhh.....oh! sorry, that was the Armageddon spell, sorry for scaring you.....the devastation spell is a bit trickier, you see, there are three ways it can work." She started.

"The first way it can work is that it spreads an incurable disease throughout a mile long distance, infecting sentient and animal alike, and unless it is cured, those inflicted with it will eventually die, thankfully, there are only five people who know of the spell, and one is dead, the two sisters and myself know it, along with Discord.....but that's another story." She paused as they passed some partygoers.

When they were alone again, Lyaroa continued. "The second way it can work is very simple, it releases a plague that only affects organic plant life, such as grass, trees and kelp, it will then cause it all to die over time, and just like the first, unless cured, it won't stop." She paused once again for some more partygoers.

"And the last one is very odd, as it only affects inorganic life, melting down rocks and minerals in mere minutes, this one however, CAN be stopped, all you have to do is find the area that's infected and sever it from all other inorganic life." Lyaroa explained.

Roxanne sighed, she then looked at Lyaroa and grumbled. "Those are some nasty spells." She replied.

Lyaroa nodded and soon snapped her fingers like she remembered something. "Oh yea! three things." She then held one finger up, which was oddly the middle finger. "One, if you ever want me to return Firefly to normal, let me know." She then put up a second finger. "Two, I can't do anything about your immortality so you are stuck with it, but you do have great magic potential so that's good."

Roxanne watched as Lyaroa went to put up a third finger, but then lowered her hand to her side. "I'm sorry.....I never should have manipulated you or anyone else for my revenge, I didn't even see it through....I won't ask for forgiveness or any of that sentimental stuff, but I'm willing to move on." She said quietly.

The two then silently stood there for a few moments, until Roxanne finally spoke up. "Lyaroa." 

The Sentinel looked at Roxanne with a curious gaze. "Yea?"

Roxanne chuckled and gave Lyaroa a small grin. "Come on, let's enjoy the fair, maybe you'll find something that you like." She said.

Lyaroa smiled and nodded. "Hell yea! I call dibs on the first whack a mole we see though." She replied happily.

Roxanne shook her head. "This is Equestria, they don't have whack a mole." She pointed out.

Lyaroa gave Roxanne a knowing look. "Oh yea?....come on then Foxy, I'll prove you wrong." She teased before running off.

Roxanne's eyes widened and she felt her cheeks warm up, but she soon growled and chased off after Lyaroa. "Get back here you little troublemaker!" She shouted.

Almost immediately afterwards, Lyaroa could be heard laughing, presumably at Roxanne.

_____*A few moments later. [3]*_____

Roxanne sighed and facepalmed. "They ACTUALLY have whack a mole......" She stated blankly.

Lyaroa had already paid the carnie and proceeded to play the game, she was doing pretty well so far, but Roxanne found her gaze diverted by the sight of people gathering, she checked Lyaroa and saw that the game had ended. 

Roxanne blinked and looked at the Sentinel. "Hey Lyaroa." Roxanne started. "What is it?" Lyaroa asked.

"I want to check something out." Roxanne replied as she pointed in the direction the crowd was gathering.

Lyaroa shrugged. "Alright, why not." She replied.

As Roxanne started to walk with Lyaroa in tow, she began to remember another moment from her past.

_____*flashback, Freddy Fazbears Pizza, 12:13 PM*_____

Toy Foxy and Fang didn't play the game last night, seeing as not all the cameras were in place, Fang considered it to be 'breaking the rules'.

Toy Foxy's eyes opened, revealing the now dark restaurant, Fang had been a success with the kids, and his calm demeanor seemed to be a virtue with most of them, but just before he shut down until twelve, Fang had said something to Toy Foxy. 'I've been thinking on some names for you, I would like you to hear them sometime.' 

As Toxy Foxy looked around, she looked over at Fang who just powered up. "When, play game?" She asked.

Fang blinked and he looked at Toy Foxy. "Soon, but first, we should get our systems online, after that, be creative, make up a jumpscare and a pattern, I'll do whatever." He replied.

Toy Foxy nodded and returned to her sleeping position.

The camera in the cove was finished at some point earlier in the day, and as such, Toy Foxy and Fang had to be more careful.

Soon enough however, Toy Foxy heard footsteps, as she watched Fang walk up to the camera and stare at it.

The light on the camera came on, and just as quickly flipped off.

Toy Foxy noticed that Fang was just standing there, looking at the camera, but she decided to move for now, so she made her way to the main room, but just as she went to move, she froze in place the moment she saw the cameras light come on.

A bright flash then enveloped Toy Foxy's vision, causing multiple errors, the light faded soon thankfully and Toy Foxy made her way to the prize corner, hearing footsteps heading to the bathrooms.

Toy Foxy entered the prize corner and soon spotted the camera, she walked up to it and leaned down, she then looked directly at it just as the camera switched on.

The camera then switched off after a few moments and Toy Foxy moved once more, this time headed for the bathrooms.

Along the way, Toy Foxy found herself holding in place in the main room due to the camera, but once the camera was off, she entered the hallway, she then looked directly to the camera and waited as the time hit one o'clock.

Toy Foxy managed to spot Fang moving down the hallway, he was down on all fours and had one hand on the wall, but a bright flash seemed to cause him to back off.

Toy Foxy soon found herself once again blinded by a bright flash of light, but this time, it came repeatedly, and Toy Foxy was almost forced into a system restart, however, she quickly shut off her ocular systems and the errors vanished one by one, when she turned them back on, she quickly moved from the bathroom hallway and into the office hallway, she got close to one of the walls and looked down the hall, strangely enough, Fang seemed to have moved somewhere, and now there was creepy music playing.

Toy Foxy was once again flashed by the bright light, but it passed quickly as she moved into one of the party rooms that had a vent, there, she quickly knelt down near the vent as the clock hit two, she saw the camera switch on but no flash came, she quickly entered the vent and started crawling through it.

As the night progressed, Toy Foxy found a comfortable pattern to follow, she even ran into Fang a few times, he briefly explained that the Marionette was now active.

Toy Foxy entered the left vent and crawled through, silently complaining, as the guard seemed to vanish in place of a Fazbear suit, and since she didn't know where the endoskeletons were, she couldn't do anything about it.

Other than that, the night proceeded rather smoothly, with Fang entering from the hall, and Toy Foxy from either vent.

Soon enough, the clock hit six o'clock and Toy Foxy headed back to the cove, where Fang was already at.

'This game is fun.' Toy Foxy thought as she entered sleep mode.

_____*end of flashback.*_____

Roxanne and Lyaroa approached the gathering crowd, they found ample room to move around and did so, they noticed that they were all looking towards the castle, Roxanne noticed a familiar group of ponies and looked at Lyaroa. "Come on." She said.

The two moved through the growing crowd and eventually reached the group of ponies, Gwen, Twilight. Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Skitter. Pinkie Pie, Spark and Firefly, to be exact.

"Hey everyone." Roxanne greeted.

Firefly immediately ran up to Roxanne and began to tell her about everything she found out during the fair, and even gave her point of view on the tournament, in full honesty, Roxanne thought that she would have to listen to this again In slow motion to understand it all.

But after Firefly was done talking, Twilight looked at Lyaroa who was looking up at the sky curiously.

Gwen however could not believe what she was seeing, the wolf before her and the others was undoubtedly the exact same one from the vision, but seemed, healed....the crazed look in the left eye was no longer there. 

Skitter looked at the white wolf and immediately knew who it was, but she decided not to say anything, eventually however, Twilight spoke up. "Hey uh...Roxanne, who is that?" She asked, while pointing at Lyaroa.

Roxanne sighed and tapped the Sentinel's shoulder, getting her attention. "Everyone, let me introduce you to Lyaroa." She said.

Skitter didn't need her special vision to know that everyone's jaws dropped and eyes widened....except Pinkie Pie for some reason. [4]

Lyaroa blinked and tilted her head. "Hi." She replied.

Twilight went to speak up, but she soon remembered the fair and kids, instead she sighed and looked to the castle. "Alright then, Roxanne, Lyaroa, do you know what's going on right now?" She asked.

Lyaroa shrugged and Roxanne did the same, their expressions answering for them, Twilight sighed and pointed to the castle. "In a few moments, Cadence will be addressing everyone here, and hopefully, the Crystal Heart will activate." She explained.

Roxanne nodded in understanding but as she went to join the group, she found her eyes covered up and a chuckle following it. "What was one of the first things that we did when we got here?" Asked an all too familiar voice.

Roxanne's eyes would've widened if they were covered, but she quickly removed the blocking hands and turned around, a smile almost instantly appearing on her face, as she hugged the owner of the voice.

Lyaroa could only watch with a small smile as everyone went to greet their friend. "Welcome back.....Fang." She said warmly.
> The empire of Crystals, Part eleven: The flames of change and wounds of pain.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*The Crystal Empire, in front of the Crystal Castle.*____

Roxanne backed up and smiled at Fang. "It's great to see you again Fang.....you know, the real you." She said happily.

Fang nodded, he then looked at Lyaroa who was simply watching the reunion. "You know, you don't have to be silent, or are you mute all of a sudden?" He teased.

Lyaroa chuckled and walked over, noticing some glares she shook her head. "Fine then, I'm not mute but I feel like I have no right to speak right now, so instead I'll just say that we should probably pay attention, I think they are activating the heart." She suggested.

Fang blinked. "What heart?" He asked.

Roxanne sighed and poked Fang in the chest. "I'll tell you later, for now, just watch the show." She replied.

Fang scratched the back of his head and looked in the direction everyone was looking at, he noticed that there were guards standing around a crystal podium, there seemed to be something under a tarp, but Fang guessed it was the heart. "If everyone knows what's under the tarp, why did they bother hiding it?" He asked.

Lyaroa walked over to Fang and smirked. "Probably because they haven't got the real one." She whispered.

Fang blinked and looked curiously at Lyaroa. "Eh?" He asked.

Lyaroa looked around the nearby area and soon held out her hand and opened it to reveal a small crystal heart. "I needed the heart for a short while, so I took the real one and shrunk it, I'm going to put it back in a few moments, so don't shout it out like an idiot." She replied quietly.

Fang then watched as Lyaroa grinned and walked backwards, turning invisible as she did so. "You are one strange girl." He commented.

Roxanne sighed and looked around for anything interesting to see. "I hate these things, they always take forever." She said to herself.

"No kidding, I took a quick bathroom break, I get back and they STILL haven't revealed the heart." Came a familiar voice. 

Roxanne chuckled and looked around. "Hey Dark, where've you been?" She asked.

Dark shrugged. "Eh, stayed away from the crowds mostly, found some nice mementos and caught a few glimpses of the tournament, then I came here, saw that they were still preparing and went to the bathroom, you know the rest." She replied.

Roxanne looked over at Fang and smiled, she then looked back at Dark and pointed at Fang. "Hey Dark, come on over." She said.

Fang looked around and saw that the crowd was still growing, he was amazed at how many were here for this. 'This wouldn't happen back on Earth, but then again, if i was still there, I'd be nothing more than scrap, and so would Roxanne, oh well, no point thinking about that, I'm never going back.' He then heard footsteps behind him, he turned around and saw Dark walking over with Roxanne.

"Hey Dark, it's been awhile huh?" He mused.

Dark nodded. "Yea.....so how are you holding up." She wondered.

Fang shrugged. "It's a bit concerning, knowing that I had someone else controlling my body, heck, imagine my surprise when I found that I had a son." He replied.

Dark shook her head. "Oh yea.....that must have been a big one huh?" She asked.

Fang nodded. "Yep, I don't even want to know how I'll tell him about all this, he's gotta know at some point right?" He replied.

Roxanne cleared her throat. "If you don't mind, we should probably pay attention, I think they're ready to reveal the heart." She added.

Fang and Dark walked over to the group and Roxanne was about to follow when she heard a chuckle behind her. "Well aren't you the voice of reason Roxie." Said the familiar voice of Lyaroa.

Roxanne sighed and looked back at the Sentinel. "Are you ever gonna stop calling me that?" She asked.

Lyaroa shook her head with a teasing grin. "Nope, it's too fun." She replied cheerily.

"We should probably go over, don't want to miss it." Roxanne said.

Lyaroa smiled and walked up to Roxanne. "Persuade me." She countered teasingly.

Roxanne grumbled. "I'll play whack-a-mole with you next time." She replied.

Lyaroa seemed to think on it a few moments but then grinned. "Ok." She said happily before teleporting over to the group.

Roxanne sighed in irritation but couldn't stop a small smile from forming at Lyaroa's antics as she walked over.

As everyone gathered around for the revealing of the crystal heart, Lyaroa felt a small but familiar tug at her magical senses, she looked around for anything out of the ordinary, but didn't see anything, reaching out with a subtle magic trail, Lyaroa searched for the source of the disturbance.

Lyaroa eventually found the source, but it was clouded, and powerful, she could tell that it was nearby, but was unable to do anything about it as it was in the crowd, so she dispersed her spell and went back to what she was doing before.

"Hey, you alright Lyaroa?" Roxanne asked.

Lyaroa chuckled and looked at Roxanne. "Yea, I'm fine, I just forgot to throw out the bloodied bandages from earlier." She replied. 

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "That's just like you, no offense." She quickly added.

Lyaroa grinned. 'At least she isn't prying, besides, I'm not lying, I really should throw out those bandages.' She thought. "You worrying about me? I'm touched Roxie, I didn't know you cared." She said teasingly.

Roxanne grumbled and ignited her fist, immediately silencing Lyaroa. "Zip it." She said with an abnormally dark and sinister voice.

Lyaroa went wide eyed and quickly backed off. "Yes ma'am." She replied with a hint of surprise in her voice.

Roxanne then heard cheering in the crowd, she looked at the Castle and saw that Cadence and Shining Armor walked out onto a balcony, presumably to speak, so Roxanne decided to keep quiet so she could hear what she was saying.

Soon enough, when the crowd quieted down, Cadence spoke, and it sounded like she used a sound amplification spell so that she could be heard clearly. "People of the Crystal Empire, today marks a special occasion, over one thousand years ago, the crystal heart was first activated, and today, we are returning it to its rightful place." She paused, and just as she did so, one of the guardsmen pulled to tarp off to reveal the crystal heart, it shined brilliantly and a massive boom of magic accompanied it, a gigantic shield formed over the city and the sound of people cheering was deafening, especially for Fang and Roxanne.

Lyaroa shrugged and tapped a pair of headphones over her ears with a grin, she then watched as the heart exploded with magical energy as the happiness of the crystal ponies filled it, countless streams of magic came from the heart and the crystal ponies were returned to having their crystalline appearance, Lyaroa also watched as Gwen, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Applejack all took on a crystalline form, she watched as Dark, Skitter and Firefly all took on crystalline forms, she noticed how Spark had this look as well.

Lyaroa tapped her chin for a moment and then snapped her fingers, she quickly teleported away.

____*The Crystal Castle.*____

Solar was looking out the window of the new observatory, when she heard a poof sound behind her, and a hand resting itself on her shoulder. "You, outside, now." Said Lyaroa.

____*outsode the Crystal Castle.*____

Solar blinked and saw that she was now outside, completely confused about the entire situation, but when she felt a powerful surge of magic course through her, and mend her wounds, she realized what happened, the heart was returned to the kingdom.

Lyaroa chuckled and saw a small stream of magic attempt to fly into her, she grabbed it with her hand and spoke to it. "Go away." She said simply, she then looked over at Fang and Roxanne and saw that they hadn't been changed, Lyaroa shrugged and walked over to them. "Hey you guys, I have something to tell you." She said with a grin.

Fang and Roxanne both gave Lyaroa a cautious look. "What is it?" They asked.

Lyaroa's grin grew slightly mischievous. "You know, i haven't been to a crystal fair in.....FUR'EVER!" She joked as an unexplained drum played in the background. [1]

Fang and Roxanne both groaned and fell to the floor as Lyaroa laughed hysterically. "I...knew, you....guys, hated terrible puns!" She just barely blurted out through her laughing.

Fang stood back up quickly while Roxanne got up slowly. "Was that necessary?" He asked.

Lyaroa thought on it for a few moments before looking at Fang again. "Yes." She replied happily, seeming to have gone back to her carefree personality.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and walked back to the others, leaving Fang and Lyaroa alone, with Solar nowhere to be found.

Fang waited for Roxanne to be a good distance away, then looked at Lyaroa with a cold stare. "I think it's time we get to the REAL talk." He said calmly.

Lyaroa sighed. "We had a deal Fang, and it was explain everything AFTER, the fair, not before, and not during." She replied.

Fang blinked. "Not about that, I'm talking about you and Rox." He clarified.

Lyaroa went to say something but soon facepalmed. "Right, duh.....what is it?" She asked.

Fang looked around to make sure no one was watching or listening, but seeing as the ongoing celebration was enough of a sound blocker, he then wrapped his left arm around her neck and lowered his voice to a whisper. "I know that you've been watching her, in case you forgot, you were in my head, and I do remember you eyeing her from time to time, and not in the good way, so what are you up to?" He questioned.

Lyaroa groaned mentally and looked at Fang. "To tell the truth?....I'm a lesbian, and Roxanne has many qualities I like, and no, I didn't make her like that.....like I said, I don't interfere with that stuff, the answer is simple, I'm attracted to her, and I can't help that, satisfied?" She wondered.

Fang sighed and rubbed his eyes, processing Lyaroa's answer, soon enough he just shook his head. "Just stop stalking her." He said before walking off

Lyaroa looked up at the sky. "No problem big guy." She muttered quietly before going over to join the others.

____* later in the day, after the fair, The Crystal Castle spire, 9:28 PM.*____

Lyaroa sat on the tip of the spire, looking down upon the city below, she slightly shivered as a freezing wind blew past her, chilling her to the bone, normally she wouldn't be cold, but she had cast a spell earlier in the day, which temporarily grew back all of her fur, but it wore off, and now she had little to no fur, leaving her exposed to the elements, but she had bigger concerns, like the anomaly from earlier, it was gone now, but it had headed towards Ponyville, so she was worried about what it was.

The most likely case was that she detected a world hopper, a creature that ended up in a world they didn't belong in, if it was a different planet in its own world, she would be fine with it, but this was like dimension hopping, only more catastrophic if left unattended.

Three thousand years ago, Lyaroa would have immediately left to deal with it, but this was different, right now, she was at low strength now that she wasn't controlling Fang, not even adding in the fact that the anomaly made the mirror world look small, this time, Lyaroa would be taking it slow, examining the situation before acting.

Lyaroa then chuckled. "You know, it's a scientific impossibility to sneak up on a Sentinel, so just come talk to me Gwen." She said calmly.

A sigh came from the lurking Pegasus and she soon came out of the shadows and flew up to her. "What are you doing up here Lyaroa?" She asked curiously.

Lyaroa smirked and looked at Gwen. "I could ask you the same thing, and I'm contemplating my plan to take over the world." She said calmly.

Gwen blinked but then noticed Lyaroa's grin. "Ha ha, and if you want to know, I couldn't sleep so I went for a quick flyover of the city." She replied.

Lyaroa looked back down at the city, seeing all of the lamps lit and crystals shining faintly, she smiled a little bit. "Gwen, if you look down at the city, what do you see?" She asked.

Gwen raised an eyebrow, she looked down at the city. "I see the lights, people walking around the city, and snow." She replied.

Lyaroa never lost her smile. "You know what I see?....I see the ever so faint shine of the crystals, the light of every lamp, the joy and happiness of the crystal ponies." She paused and looked at Gwen. "I also see many things about them, their personality, their desires, their dreams, and sadly, I see their lifespan, and the web they made throughout their lives." She turned quiet as she gazed back down. "If you could see what I see, or hear what I hear, you would be blind and deaf, but you would be in awe at how it looks, it's so symmetrical down there, and the beauty of it all is grander then any land or castle." She sighed.

"But sadly, all of It is just as tragic, as I can see the lives of the dead down their as well, their dying screams, the fear as they passed, and the agony of the slaves as they worked for Sombra, it's like this in almost every town you see, some are gigantic, some are small, but all of them are unique in some way." Lyaroa blinked and looked at Gwen, seeing her lifespan, she sighed and looked back down. "I know you have questions, go ahead and ask, I don't mind." She said quietly.

Gwen blinked, she then grabbed a cloud and sat on it in front of Lyaroa. "The first question is obvious, Will you change Firefly back?" She asked.

Lyaroa sighed again. "Look, I know you want your sister back, but that isn't up to me....or to up you." She replied.

Gwen narrowed her eyes. "And why not?" She wondered.

Lyaroa held up two fingers. "One, Firefly is technically Roxanne's daughter, and I would need her consent, two, I need to show Firefly her previous life and let her choose If she wants it back, sorry to say this Gwen, but unless I actually intervene in this matter, I can't do anything, all I can do is give Firefly her choice if I have to, and change her if she accepts." She replied.

Gwen seemed to be disappointed with this answer, but she soon asked another question. "Next question.....what did you mean when you said nothing was wrong with my element?" She asked.

Lyaroa chuckled. "It was simply a matter of you going to Freddy Fazbears, nothing more, nothing less." She answer simply.

"Um....ok, what about getting Golden Freddy out of Ditzy?....can you do that?" Gwen asked.

Lyaroa shrugged. "I can do that, but I need their consent for it, I will also need to make a body for Golden, so it will take time." She replied.

Gwen sighed and rubbed her eyes. "You really can't do anything without consent can you?" She wondered.

Lyaroa rolled her eyes. "I could, if I wanted to be hated for it, but as it stands, I would rather not leave the planet just yet." She replied calmly.

Gwen then watched as Lyaroa stood up and looked at her. "I'll see you on the ground Gwen." The Sentinel said before jumping off.

Lyaroa plummeted to the ground, she grinned as she fell and soon, just before she hit the ground, she softened her landing with a quick spell, she then walked back to the castle.

Gwen blinked and then sighed, she flew back inside, just seeking to get some rest. 'I will never understand that girl.'

_____*the next morning,  Castle dining hall, 8:12 AM.*_____

Lyaroa paced around the room in sort of a trance, lost in deep thought, her thoughts were interrupted however when Soul and Spirit appeared, sitting in two of the chairs. "Morning Lyaroa." Spirit said.

The only vocals that Soul managed to make we're groggy groans as she had her face on the table.

"Morning you two." Lyaroa replied as she continued pacing.

Spirit noticed the Sentinel's strange behavior and decided to mention it. "What's on your mind?" He asked.

Lyaroa rubbed her eyes and looked at Spirit. "One, I'm fucking tired, two, I want to get out of this place and back to normality, three, I didn't get much sleep last night due to Fang keeping me up all night with countless questions, so yes, I'm irritated, and some silence would be great." She replied with a slight twitch.

After that, the dining room was silent, and it remained silent until five minutes later when the everyone else filled the room, needless to say, Lyaroa teleported Spirit, Soul and herself to a new location to get away from the noise, but not before saying that she would meet them at the train station.

____*the observatory.*____

Lyaroa looked down on the city below, one that was so quiet merely an hour and a half before, was now bustling with people, she began to wonder exactly how much things had changed since she was last in Equestria, but for some reason, she actually didn't really care much about any of these things anymore, she found herself simply wanting to go home and sleep, not that she had much choice, unless she wanted to be charged with breaking and entering.

In any case, she called Soul and Spirit out and walked away from the window. "So, what's up boss?" Soul asked.

Spirit blinked. "Need something?" He asked.

Lyaroa shook her head. "I actually have something for you two, if you want it." She replied.

Soul raised an eyebrow out of confusion and curiosity. "What is it?" She asked.

Lyaroa held out her hands and opened them, revealing two small flames, one was ghostly while the other was purple. "These flames represent the choice I'm giving you." She looked at the ghostly flame first. "This flame, will give you the ability to become physical for as long as you wish, with no magical drain, it will also greatly enhance your powers, but you will remain attached to the swords." She then looked at the purple flame.

"This flame, will give you new life, you will have a physical form and will be free to choose your own path, free from the shackles of your blade, it also will enhance your powers, though not as strongly." Lyaroa explained.

Soul and Spirit looked at eachother and then at Lyaroa. "Why would you offer us these?" Soul asked.

Lyaroa chuckled. "Simple, your choice was taken from you, when that old warrior sealed you in the swords he also took away your choice, just for a weapon to use against Sombra, so now, I'm giving you a choice you never had, of course, you aren't being forced to take a flame, I'll hold on to them for you if you ever change your mind, but i should mention this, you can only take one, seeing as they can't be combined." She explained.

Spirit looked at Soul and chuckled, he then walked up to the ghostly flame and took it immediately. "The physical world sucks ass.....no way am I getting mixed up in that shit." He said easily as he absorbed the flame.

Lyaroa blinked and then looked at Soul. "You want me to hold on to them for you?.....there isn't any rush." She asked.

Soul sighed and scratched the back of her head. "Give me some time, I need to think on this a while." She then returned to her sword.

Spirit and Lyaroa shared a glance, Spirit grinned and shrugged. "Together to the end boss." He said as he slowly faded away.

Lyaroa closed her hands and the flames vanished, she then walked up to the glass again and sat down. "Not like I'm in danger of dying of old age." She said quietly.

____*two hours later, the observatory, 10:48 AM*____

Lyaroa was simply watching the activity of the city below when she heard a sigh behind her, she looked over her shoulder and saw Soul pacing behind her. "Hey Soul, you doing alright?" She asked.

Soul nodded her head and looked at Lyaroa. "I've thought it over, two hours straight right?" She wondered.

Lyaroa couldn't help but give a small smile and shake her head. "Yea, two hours, anyway, which is it?" She asked as she pulled the flames out again.

Soul sighed and walked up to Lyaroa. "What are you going to do with Spirit?.....we both know how much he hates being treated like a tool, so tell me." She asked.

Lyaroa blinked. "To be honest, I was actually going to keep him around, no reason to get rid of him." She told the ghost.

Soul nodded slowly, she slowly reached her hand out to the ghostly flame. "Are you sure Soul?.....if you do this, you'll be bound to the sword forever." Lyaroa reminded her.

Soul smiled and looked at Lyaroa. "Together to the end right?" She said as she took the ghostly flame and absorbed it, slowly fading away with the same smile on her face.

Lyaroa sighed quietly before walking to the door and opening it. "Together to the end......" She muttered quietly with a smile as she walked out. 

____*five minutes later, Crystal Empire train station.*____

Lyaroa walked through the train station and found herself relieved that the train station in the city was undamaged, it simply needed the blockage in between the city and border station removed. [2]

After searching the station for a few minutes, Lyaroa eventually found the train to Ponyville, she walked up to the conductor and handed him her ticket, after that, she got into the train and went to find her seat.

Lyaroa also found herself liking the Empire's trains over Equestria's, mostly because they weren't so noisy, she eventually found a seat and sat down, much to her dismay however, soon after she sat, Fang, Roxanne, Firefly and Spark all entered the room and sat down in nearby seats, with Spark next to her, Firefly and Roxanne across from her, and Fang just behind her. "So much for a peaceful ride." She muttered as Dark walked in and sat down next to Fang. 

Lyaroa closed her eyes to try and get some rest, but just as she did, a loud whistle sounded followed by. "All aboard!"

Lyaroa grumbled and instead looked out the window, seeing nothing truly interesting she sighed and looked over at Spark. "Hi." She said.

Spark looked at her and nodded. "Aren't you the girl that was controlling dad?" He asked bluntly but quietly.

Lyaroa blinked but soon nodded, she then looked back at Fang, who seemed to be holding back a grin. "I see you told him." She pointed out.

Fang nodded. "Why wouldn't i?.....the sooner the better right?" He replied.

Dark shook her head. "You are going to be a strange father Fang." She said.

Lyaroa smirked. "I second that." She added before looking back out her window.

Spark eyed Lyaroa curiously, immediately spotting multiple strange things, for one, she seemed to be missing part of her right ear, the rest of her body was covered in bloodstains and very little fur on the chest, any fur that would have been on her arms and legs was gone, her tail was torn up, there were also numurous scars all over her body, primarily along her back, all of the scars looked like they were all once deep and painful cuts, there even seemed to be intense burn marks all over her body. [3] "You curious kid?" Lyaroa asked.

Spark crossed his arms and looked away. "I'm not going to ask." He replied.

Lyaroa rolled her eyes. "Good, because I don't want to talk about it." She countered as she looked at Spark.

Spark looked over at Lyaroa again, he took the opportunity to examine her face, she had a scar across her right eye, her left iris was cyan while her right iris was white along with its pupil, giving Spark the thought that Lyaroa was half blind, the most disturbing feature about her face was her scleras, which were both blood red, he sighed. "I'll admit it, I am curious, but like you said, if you don't want to talk about it, then I won't ask." He said.

After that, the car was mostly quiet as the train left the station.

____*ten minutes later, just at the border of the Crystal Empire.*____

Roxanne looked out the window, watching the snowy plains of the Empire pass by, she sighed and rested her head on the seat, she glanced to Firefly who was busy entertaining herself by watching a fly harass another passenger. "Firefly." Roxanne said.

Firefly stopped watching the fly and looked at Roxanne. "Yea Koni?" She asked, slightly slipping back to Changish.

Roxanne chuckled and shook her head as she ruffled Firefly's hair. "Haven't heard that in a while." She said to herself, remembering the first time she heard it, and the time that Skitter told her what it meant.

After she was done reminiscing, she sighed and looked down at Firefly. "You know how Fang told you and Spark about Lyaroa right?" She started off, seeing that Lyaroa was looking at her and nodding.

Firefly nodded. "Yea?" Not exactly seeing the point.

Roxanne mentally prepared herself for what she was about to say, but once all of the sound from the outside world vanished, she decided to simply speak, recognizing the sound blockage spell. "I think you should know.....you actually had a life before this one, but you were changed, your mind was cleared of almost everything and you were reverted into a filly." She paused a moment as Firefly seemed to be skeptical, but was listening anyway. "I don't suppose you remember Emerald?" She asked.

Firefly nodded sadly, not wanting to remember the sight of the dead dragon. "Yea, I liked him, he was cool." She replied.

Roxanne sighed. "As much as I hate to say it, Emerald is the reason you're a filly again, not that he had much choice in the matter though, anyway, skipping over the rest of the stuff you already know, Lyaroa has the ability to change you back, but she won't do so without your consent, but if you ever want to know about your past self, ask her, I won't force you though, I just wanted to let you know." She finished before looking out the window, leaving Firefly puzzled and wondering.

____*fifty minutes later, Ponyville train station.*____

Fang stood up from his seat and slowly made his way out of the train, noticing that Lyaroa was missing he just assumed that she teleported out, so as he made his way out, he couldn't help but be curious about any changes that happened while he was gone.

It took a lot of time, but when Fang exited the train, he was glad to see that the train station didn't seem to change much from when he explored the town last year.

Fang decided to quickly walk away from the train, he soon spotted Gwen talking to Dark, he then walked up to them. "Hey guys, what's up?"" He asked casually as he approached.

Gwen looked at Fang and smiled. "I'm doing fine, I'm going to go see Ditzy soon, I really need to apologize for leaving so abruptly, which I KNOW is going to bite me in the ass." She replied.

Dark shrugged. "I'm just glad to be back, to be honest, I would rather stay away from the Empire." She said.

Fang chuckled. "That's alright, me?....I have a lot of catching up to do, besides, it'll be better here then a place where I know nothing." He said.

Soon enough, Fang watched as Roxanne and Firefly exited the train along with Spark, but no sign of Lyaroa. "Where's everyone else?" Fang asked.

Gwen motioned to the town. "They all had stuff to take care of, and ran off, anyway, I had better get going, seeya guys!" She said before flying off.

Dark laughed quietly before looking at Fang. "I should go too, bye Fang, it's great to have you back....really." She said before walking to the town.

Fang looked at Roxanne and the kids as they walked over. "Hey." He said.

Spark shrugged. "Hey dad." He replied calmly.

Roxanne blinked and walked over. "I hate to ask this, but have you seen Lyaroa?" She asked.

Fang raised an eyebrow but shook his head. "Nope, she must've vanished." He replied.

Roxanne scratched the back of her ear and shrugged. "Weird, I wonder where she went." She wondered.

____*meanwhile*____

Lyaroa sensed the anomaly again, she felt that it wasn't as powerful as before, but it was still dangerous, so she raced across the trees of the Everfree, searching for the source relentlessly.

As she moved across the trees, she sensed it was nearby so she quickly moved towards it.

Eventually, after five more minutes of searching, Lyaroa eventually found the source of the anomaly, it seemed to be holed up in a small cave, as she got closer, she noticed a small pack of Timberwolves advancing on the cave in a hunting pattern, in her curiosity, Lyaroa held back, and simply watched the Timberwolves.

The wolves suddenly howled and charged the cave, and soon after they entered, pained yelps and the smashing of wood could be heard, and almost as quickly as the wolves entered, they fled the cave and back into the forest.

Lyaroa's curiosity peaked at this point and she jumped down, she then walked towards the cave and prepared to unsheath Soul and Spirit.

As Lyaroa entered the cave, the darkness was soon replaced by clear vision, and in the center of the cave was a lone wolf, gray fur stained with blood, it seemed to be crouched down strangely and eating a dead cockatrice, as Lyaroa get closer, she could sense it, the wolf was the cause of the anomaly,

.....And it turned around, and stared right at her, with dark blood red eyes, and a ferocious gaze.

Lyaroa drew her blades and the wolf quickly charged with unnatural speed, Lyaroa managed to dodge its attack, she then attacked it while it recovered, she swung her blades down at it, but the wolf quickly dodged and leapt at Lyaroa.

Time then slowed as Lyaroa quickly moved away from the wolf and returned time to normal.

The wolf seemed confused at Lyaroa's movements, but it did something rather odd next, it grinned and stood upright before charging at the Sentinel.

Lyaroa's eyes widened and she quickly sheathed her swords after dodging the wolf's charge, this only served to make the wolf even more bloodthirsty, it charged wildly again but this time it made an upwards kick aimed at Lyaroa's shoulder.

In response, Lyaroa nimbly moved out of the way and grabbed the wolf's leg before throwing it at the nearby cave wall.

As the wolf crashed into the wall, Lyaroa quickly drove Spirit through its chest, missing any organs by an inch, Lyaroa then pulled the sword out only to receive a powerful punch to the face.

Lyaroa flew back several feet and was soon pinned by the wolf.

The wolf growled and opened its mouth, but instead of trying to bite Lyaroa, there seemed to be a strange magic coming from its mouth, she quickly freed a hand and punched the wolf off of her, she then got back up and faced the wolf, who quickly discharged a strange magical blast at her. "Eat this!" Came a voice.

Lyaroa barely managed to dodge the blast as it flew outside and completely disintegrated a tree. "What the fuck was that!?" She blurted out, she then quickly faced the wolf who seemed to be just as confused as she was.

The wolf shook its head and looked at Lyaroa in confusion. "Wait a minute." It said In a calm voice.

"Hold on." Lyaroa said.

Lyaroa and the wolf both looked at each other in shock. "YOU CAN TALK!?"

> Returning things to normal, a conversation of zero importance, memories.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*the Everfree Forest.*_____

Lyaroa and the mysterious wolf stood dumbfounded, both completely caught off guard by the current situation, both waiting for the slightest hint of treachery.

The wolf seemed to calm down for a moment though, and breath a sigh of relief. "So, you AREN'T here to send me back?" The wolf asked, clearly male.

Lyaroa raised an eyebrow. "send you back where?" She asked.

The wolf gave Lyaroa an unbelieving stare. "Seriously?......seriously?" He deadpanned.

Lyaroa rubbed her eyes and began pacing. "yes, seriously, i have no clue what you're talking about, so how about you enlighten me?" She suggested.

The wolf began pacing at a slower rate. "I hope you realize that I won't be saying much right now, but anyway, I should start with introductions, my name is Shade, and you?" He asked.

Lyaroa chuckled and looked at Shade. "lyaroa, i'm a sentinel." She replied calmly.

Shade blinked and matched Lyaroa's pacing. "I'm a Night Wolf, and unlike the name suggests, I'm technically not a wolf." He said.

Lyaroa stopped her movements and crossed her arms, Shade stopped moving but instead leaned up against a nearby cave wall. "my race is reclusive, we tend not to interfere with the business of others unless it brings irreparable damage, and what do you mean you aren't a wolf?" Lyaroa asked.

Shade shrugged. "My people are slaves, created for the sole purpose of working day and night." He looked at Lyaroa. "We do not need sleep or sustenance to survive, the only thing we need to live is a heart, which our creators keep locked away." He explained.

Lyaroa gave Shade a skeptical glare. "then why are you here?....and how?" She asked.

Shade chuckled and tapped his chest where his heart should be, Lyaroa looked closer and saw stitches. "they still have your heart?" She wondered.

Shade shook his head. "No, I found my heart, I took it back and put it back in, as for why and how I am here?.....I have no clue." He explained.

Lyaroa continued pacing and sighed. "do you want to go back?" She asked.

Shade huffed and looked up at the ceiling of the cave. "No way in hell, that world can rot for all I care." He muttered angrily.

Lyaroa mentally groaned, she now had quite the conundrum on her hands, on one hand, she had to fix the anomaly but Shade was strong enough to fight her head on, on the other hand,  he despised his world, and wouldn't go back unless he was dead.

'fuck it, it isn't like anyone cares if he stays anyway.' She thought. "fine, you can stay, but you will be telling me everything you know about your world, got it?" She pointed out firmly.

Shade nodded. "No problem." He replied calmly.

Lyaroa chuckled and started to walk out of the cave. "for now, i'll leave you here, feel free to decorate or even build a small hut, nobody cares what you do in this forest, just don't burn it down." She said as she walked out.

Shade simply watched as Lyaroa walked off, he sighed and scratched his head before looking around the cave, he frowned at the sight. "I gotta move." He muttered.

_____*meanwhile, outside Derpy's home.*_____

Gwen mustered up her courage and took a deep breath, she then raised her hoof, and knocked on the door. 'She's going to kill me.' She thought.

The sounds of movement came from behind the door, and soon enough, the door opened and Gwen saw Sparkler giving her a cross look. "You here to talk to mom?" She asked coldly.

Gwen nodded silently, Sparkler sighed and backed up, letting Gwen inside. "Mom!.....Gwen's back!" She called out.

As she entered the house, Gwen heard the stairs slightly creaking as Derpy walked down.

As soon as Gwen entered the main room, she immediately saw Derpy, and she looked pissed, but she said nothing.

Derpy looked at Sparkler and walks down the steps. "Sparks, can you help your sister get ready for school.....me and Gwen have to talk." She said to her daughter.

Sparkler nodded and headed upstairs. 

Gwen said nothing as she waited for Sparkler to be upstairs, when she was gone, she went to speak but Derpy beat her to it. "Gwen, before you say anything, I want you to realize that you are on VERY thin ice right now." 

The words, while not surprising, were still painful to hear. "Ditzy......I know what I did was wrong, but i HAD to go, I couldn't let them go off alone, I just couldn't.......I'm sorry." She said as she lowered her head in shame.

Derpy walked over to Gwen and raised her head up so that they were looking each other in the eye. "Do you even know what happened while you were gone?" She wondered.

Gwen shook her head. "No.....I don't." She replied.

Derpy lifted the hair in front of her right eye and revealed bruise marks all around it. "Two thugs attacked me after you left, they claimed that I would be able to bring them the one they wanted, they didn't say who, but I knew that it was either you, or someone you know." She explained.

Gwen cringed as Derpy backed off. "If you didn't leave, they would have been fine, and this wouldn't have happened." She continued coldly.

Gwen looked up and saw Derpy pacing. "Ditzy......I can't apologize to you, it wouldn't matter even if I did, but I can't change what happened, all that I can do is tell you that I'm done, I'm done chasing off to fight the bad guys, there are plenty of people that can do it, next time eve il shows up, I'm not going to chase off after it." She swore sincerely as she lowered her head again.

Derpy stopped pacing and looked directly at Gwen with a practiced eye, she then sighed. "Looks like you aren't completely hopeless girl, you're up Derps." She said in a darker voice.

Gwen's eyes widened as realization hit her, she had been talking with Golden Freddy the whole time, she looked up and saw Derpy walking over to her.

Derpy approached Gwen and knelt down, she looked her straight in the eye and sighed. "Are you being serious Gwen?.....or are you just pulling my chain?" She asked calmly.

Gwen nodded and closed her eyes as she looked down. "Yea.....I'm serious, unless the next evil threatens you directly, I won't run off, i swear." She answered with honestly plain in her voice.

Derpy blinked and stood up, she then walked back to the stairs as Sparkler and Dinky headed down. "See you later mom!" They called as they ran out.

Derpy smiled as they headed out. "See you two later!" She called back happily.

The kids ran right by Gwen, who couldn't help but notice a small smirk on Sparkler's face as she ran by. 

After the door was closed, Derpy started walking up the stairs, she stopped halfway and looked at Gwen. "We're going to need time to sort this out, so I think it best if you go back home for now.....i need to think." She said to her marefriend.

Gwen then stood up quietly and mentally sighed in relief. 'That......could have gone worse.' She thought as she walked to the door so she could head home.

_____*meanwhile*_____

Derpy sat down on her bed in deep thought, she then heard the telltale laugh of Golden Freddy and she closed her eyes. "Do you believe what she said?" She asked.

Golden Freddy shrugged. 'I didn't sense any lies from her as she spoke, and there is no possible way she knew about my abilities.' He answered.

Derpy opened her eyes and looked around. "You think maybe she knows someone who DOES know about you?" She wondered.

Golden put his hand to his chin as he thought. "It is possible, I mean, I felt an all to familiar presence return a while ago." He replied.

After that, Derpy fell backwards on the bed and stared at the ceiling. "Well, regardless, we should be careful, no reason to draw unwanted attention." She said.

Golden nodded. "Let me know when you need me." He said as he went silent.

Derpy was now left alone to think as she lay in the bed, for a while her mind was empty, but as she considered the future, she rolled over on her side and closed her eyes so she could think clearly.

_____*the next day, Gwen's house, 12:32 PM*_____

Skitter sat down on the couch, reading a book that Twilight lent her, it was one on human myths and such, she was currently reading on a very intriguing part on the book, Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria. [1]

She had a large bowl of some kind of beans, she grabbed one and put it in her mouth, she chuckled at the flavor she got.....jalapeño. "Every single time." She said to herself with a smirk.

It wasn't until thirty minutes later. that she finally had to stop, she had run out of beans, she stood up and took the bowl to the kitchen, after putting the bowl in the sink, Skitter returned to the couch, only now, Roxanne was there. "What's up Foxy?" She said.

Roxanne looked back at Skitter with a perplexed look. "Huh?.....oh never mind, I need to ask you something." 

Skitter sat down on the couch and looked at Roxanne. "What is it?" She wondered.

"......Are you ever going to teach me the magic you showed me?.....or were you just annoying me?" She seriously asked.

Skitter blinked, and then shook her head with a grin a few moment later. "I knew that was coming sooner or later, alright, the first thing we should cover is the basics....." 

____*one hour later, (because I am far too lazy to actually bother explaining the use and other basics of magic.).*____

"....And when you figure all of that out, then you need to actually perform the spell, but for now, focus on what a told you." Skitter finished.

Roxanne nodded and then took a long drink of water, she looked around and saw that no one else's was around. "Wow, this place is empty." She said.

Skitter nodded and stood up. "Agreed, well, I'm going out." She said before heading to the door.

Roxanne was then left alone in the house, seeing as Fang had gone to work at the job he didn't know he had, Gwen was trying to patch things up with Derpy, the kids were at school while Lyaroa was.....doing whatever it was she felt like doing. "Might as well practice." She muttered before heading to the basement.

_____*meanwhile, Ponyville town hall.*_____

Lyaroa entered the mayors office and sat down, while she was amused that the mayors name was Mare.....she did have something to take care of.

Mayor Mare then looked at Lyaroa after reviewing what must have been a schedule for the day. "You must be Lyaroa.....correct?" She asked.

Lyaroa nodded. "yes."

"Very well, let's see here." Mayor Mare then looked down at a small pile of papers and then at her again. "It says here you are here about purchasing a home?" She wondered. [2]

"that's right." Lyaroa replied calmly.

Mayor Mare then pulled out three papers and set them in front of Lyaroa. "Now, we found the three homes that were closest to your specifications." She said.

Lyaroa picked up the papers and looked them over, her specifications weren't that high, at least two bedrooms, one master bedroom, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room, those were necessary, as for the optional, it could be two story, there could also be an attic or basement, or both, a room off to the side for whatever purpose, and a shed.

Mayor Mare then sat patiently as Lyaroa looked over the three houses, eventually however, Lyaroa looked up at her. "quick question, was there any other good ones?" She asked.

"Not unless you didn't want plumbing." She replied easily.

Lyaroa shrugged slightly and continued looking over the houses, the first one, had three small bedrooms, a moderately sized master bedroom, an attic, two bathrooms, a kitchen and living room, the kitchen and living room were almost merged, separated only by a small dividing wall halfway between, other than the attic, everything was on the first floor, so it was all ground level, she then set it aside.

The second house was a two story home that was essentially on the dot with what she was looking for, it had a large basement, a normally sized kitchen, a smaller living room, two moderately sized bedrooms, a decently sized master bedroom with a connected bathroom, there was a small bathroom as well, there was also a small office room, there was also a small wooden storage outside the house, the only downside was the price, she set the paper aside as she examined the third home.

The third house was almost on the dot with the specifications she set out, two equally sized bedrooms across from each other, two bathrooms, a master bedroom, a kitchen and living room, it had an attic and was two story, however, it was very condensed, the kitchen and living room were almostly merged, a bathroom was right next to the living room, the stairs to the second floor were just off to the side of the living room, the upstairs was a little better but not by much, she set it aside and looked at Myoar Mare. 

"i'm going to have to go with this one." She said as she pulled out the paper on the second home.

Mayor More nodded and then took the other two away and set them aside for now. "You are sure?.....the previous owners want quite a bit for that house." She asked.

Lyaroa nodded. "i'm not exactly concerned about the price, i can pay it, so now what?" She wondered.

Mayor Mare stood up and walked over to her file cabinet and put the rest of the papers in them. "I have to contact the owners, and set up a meeting, there you can discuss price and anything else that you need to." She explained.

Lyaroa stood up and looked around a bit. "alright, i'll get out of your hair then." She said as she walked out.

"I'll contact you when I have a time." Mayor Mare told Lyaroa.

_____*later that day, Gwen's house, 10:21 PM*_____

Fang paced around in the living room, everyone else had gone to bed, even Lyaroa, who passed out on the couch listening to music, he couldn't sleep, as he wasn't tired, he didn't feel like going outside, as the door would be unlocked, he couldn't meditate, as Lyaroa's music was still playing.

As he paced, Fang couldn't help but glance at the unconscious Sentinel, part of him hated her for taking over his body, but the other part felt sorry for her, knowing her story dulled down a lot of his anger, eventually however, he walked over to the couch and knelt down, he couldn't help but examine the headphones, they were black down the middle with white surrounding it, the trim of the headphones were a light purple and they had a wolves eye on each end, he carefully took Lyaroa's headphones off and put them up against his ears, he had expected upbeat music due to the Sentinel's personality, but instead he was greeted by a song he recognized.

Fang couldn't help but smile as the song played, but he then took the headphones off and carefully took the small device that the music was coming from, he then shut it off and gently set it and the headphones down on the small end table, he noticed the blanket that Lyaroa had and pulled it over the rest of her body, Fang quietly got back up and walked to the basement door, when he reached the door and opened it, he couldn't help but remember some of his past as he closed the door and walked down the steps.

____*flashback, Fredbear's Family Diner, 2:12 AM*____

Fang showed up on the arcade camera and grinned as he rested his hand on the machine, the camera flicked on for a few moments before switching off.

He immediately moved and found Bonnie in the main room, he stood next to his friend and looked away from the camera, as the camera flickered on and off, Fang and Bonnie both moved, Bonnie to the hallway, and Fang back to the arcade, afterwards, as Fang moved towards the hallway, he spotted an odd glow coming from the prize corner, he moved towards it and noticed Foxy was out now.

Fang approached the source of the glow but was soon blinded by the camera flashing, when he recovered he found that the source of the strange glow had moved, he moved towards it and had to stop as the camera switched on.

He waited until the camera switched off and he continued towards the glow and eventually he found the source, whether it was a glitch in his systems or something else, all he saw was a small blur in his vision, he switched his night vision off and the blur became somewhat clearer, what was causing the glow was small and white, while the glow emanated from a single part of it, soon enough however the glow vanished and Fang had to continue the night.

_____*years later, Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria*_____

Fang's systems booted up, he knew that it was now midnight or he wouldn't have woken up, he looked around the room and saw that his friends were now dismanted, he himself had been damaged, Freddy was missing parts all over, Chica's jaw was broken, leaving the mechanical parts of her mouth exposed, she also didn't seem to have hands anymore, she also was missing parts all over.

Fang looked to his right and saw Foxy, his damages were similar to Freddy's only worse, he wasn't able to see Bonnie at the moment so he examined himself, his legs were mostly alright apart from a few holes, his torso had wires sticking out, his left arm was alright in terms of damage, his right arm however was completely exposed, the fur like substance was gone and the endoskeleton was exposed, what was worse is that the wiring was all over the place.

Fang then reached up and felt his head and face, he noticed that his right eye was missing and that he was missing an ear, he sighed and stood up, he then walked over to his damaged friends and he immediately saw Bonnie, he was mortified.

Bonnie's entire face and most of the endoskeleton head was gone, he was missing his left arm entirely save a few wires, his left eye was gone and he was missing parts all over the place, Fang growled mechanically and looked for the door, he then walked through the door and looked around for anything or anyone.

He came out into a bathroom which confused him, as the bathroom was different than before, it had two branch off paths, one forward and one to the right, he looked behind him and saw the sign saying. 'Parts and Service'

Fang then continued walking forward and entered an enormous room, there was an arcade in the middle of it with characters he didn't recognize, he then continued walking and found a small carousel and an animatronic in the design of a human child, he had rosy red cheeks and a red and orange striped shirt with an orange propeller hat, he was holding balloons and a sign saying 'Balloons!'

Fang continued searching, he eventually happened upon what seemed to be a shrunk down prize corner, there was no animatronic so he assumed that a human ran it, he saw a small music box and a gigantic blue and purple box in the corner, he decided to continued searching.

Next he came upon a closed up room, it was empty save for the walls, floor, and some tables, so he assumed that it was the party room, he left.

As he walked around, Fang soon noticed the stage, and he was surprised, on the stage there were three more animatronics, they resembled Bonnie, Freddy and Chica respectively, but they were VERY different, the new Bonnie was bright blue and had a red bow tie, he had a red guitar that was obviously fake, he had a white cotton tail on his rear and he had rosy red cheeks, in fact, they all did, execpt for the new Chica, who had pink.

The new Chica was most notably thinner from the original, she had a bib that said. 'Lets Party!' Instead of. 'Let's Eat!' He noticed the Pink wasteline object, which he assumed was purely cosmetic and had no significance, she also had a small cupcake like the original Chica, this one was smaller and looked like plastic, it also had large bug eyes and buck teeth. "Odd." He said to himself.

Fang then decided to go look through the rest of the restaurant, he returned to the bathrooms and took the other path, he then saw the security office on the other end of the hall, he noticed that there was a security guard in the chair looking through at a tablet, he grinned, knowing that this night wouldn't be so bad after all, he then put his right hand on the wall and slowly walked towards the office.

The security guard jumped and quickly shined his flashlight down the hall, his eyes widened upon seeing Fang and he repeatedly flashed down the hall.

Fang then backed off, seeing as he was getting nowhere, he then searched one of the side rooms and found a vent, he walked over and crouched down, he saw that it was big enough to climb through, he smirked and started crawling through.

The night continued like this until six AM, with Fang attempting to get the security guard, who did his best to stop him.

_____*months later.*_____

Fang watched as Toy Foxy started on her pattern, he didn't want to say anything, but he thought of her as a child, he taught her what he could and she found out about the rest, he had to admire her tenacity, she had her shortcomings, like her speech patterns, or her overwhelming curiosity, but she was an incredibly fast learner, he had just moved into the office hallway for the second time when the music box started playing, signaling one AM, the guard, who was female, started to panic.

It wasn't until a few hours later, that Roxanne finally caught the guard while she was winding up the music box, she covered the woman's eyes and then whacked her in the back of her head, knocking the woman unconscious.

Fang then returned to the Kids cove and waited for Toy Foxy to return.

A few minutes later, the fox returned and Fang looked at her. "I have a name for you." He said calmly.

Toy Foxy tilted her head in confusion. "Oh?" She asked.

Fang nodded and leaned up against the wall. "Roxanne." He replied.

Toy Foxy scratched the back of her head for a few seconds before shrugging. "Eh, I like Roxie better, but I can deal with it." She said.

____*months later*____

Fang watched as Gwen left the Pizzeria, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl, alone in a strange world, that would suck. "Odd things emotions." Said the calm, collected and ominous voice of the Marionette. "They can cloud your judgement, make a decision easier or harder, give you strength, take it all away, give you clarity, make it easier or harder to manipulate, and even lead some people to suicide." He finished.

Fang looked over his shoulder and saw the Puppet come over. "I thought you only came out of the box when the music stopped." Fang said.

The Puppet gave Fang an odd stare. "A misconception, that is only between twelve and six, you just never stay awake long enough to see me." He replied.

Fang chuckled and looked outside as it started raining. "How can I help you big guy?" He wondered.

The Puppet would have blinked, but he had no eyelids. "I am curious, I know you plan on going with Gwen back to her world, but why? what do you have to gain by going?" He asked.

Fang looked at his silent friend. "I'm tired, I'm sick of this job and even the game isn't helping anymore, if I get a chance to leave, I'm taking it." He replied easily.

The Puppet slowly nodded and headed back to the prize corner. "Very well, but be careful, you haven't really been yourself." He warned.

_____*some time later.*_____

Fang felt only cold as he opened his eyes, he woke up to a ceiling he did not recognized, to a cold breeze passing by, and even the sound of breathing from nearby, he sat up and rubbed his eyes, after that he looked around and saw a white wolf covered with injuries and bloodstains. "Who are you, and where am I?" He asked groggily.

The wolf passed Fang a bottle of water and leaned back. "i'm lyaroa, and welcome to the crystal empire." She replied.

Fang took a long drink from the bottle and looked at Lyaroa. "I'm Fang, how did I get here?" He asked.

Lyaroa tapped her head. "either you don't remember or your mind is still hazy, but i brought you here." She replied calmly.

Fang thought about for a moment and soon remembered something important. "You controlled my mind." He said.

Lyaroa nodded. "and your body, but it was better that than dying." She answered.

_____*end of flashbacks.*_____

Fang couldn't help but sigh as he remembered, he knew that Lyaroa controlled him, but as he thought about it, he couldn't stay mad, as he knew that what she did saved many lives, including Roxanne's, even if they didn't realize it.

Fang walked to the bed and got under the covers, he began to ponder what life would hold next, if anything at all.

_____*the next day, 4:13 PM*_____

Shade sighed and walked out of his cave, he had spent most of the previous day gathering wood, now all he needed to do was find a way to actually start building.

He took a whiff of fresh air and started walking, he had already familiarized himself with the forest so he started walking to the path, but as he did he couldn't help but feel like someone was watching him, eventually, once he reached the path he had gotten sick of the feeling. "Alright, who's watching me!?" 

A loud thud behind Shade answered his question for him, he turned around and saw Lyaroa grinning. "don't like being stalked huh?" She joked.

Shade rolled his eyes and continued walking. "I don't think anyone likes being stalked." He replied.

Lyaroa chuckled. "fine, mind if i tag along?" She asked.

Shade shrugged. "Sure, why not, it'll be nice to have some company for a while." He said.

The two then began walking together, with Lyaroa on the right and Shade on the left. "how are you holding up shade?" Lyaroa asked.

"Alright I guess, I want to start building but I don't have tools." He replied.

Lyaroa put her arms behind her head and looked up. "well, i might be able to help out, it's not like i'm breaking the rules by making some tools." She mentioned.

Shade nodded and continued walking. "Thanks."

Lyaroa then looked at Shade. "i have a question, does your race have sexual urges?" She wondered randomly.

Shade looked at Lyaroa with confusion, but answered her anyway. "No, we don't have the reproductive organs anyway so what's the point?" He asked.

Lyaroa shrugged. "no reason, just felt like asking." She replied.

"Then let's your race have them?" Shade asked.

Lyaroa blinked with a grin. "if we give ourselves them, then yes." 

It was almost ten minutes of walking until Lyaroa had to get back home, so Shade was on his own for the rest of his walk.

Shade continued walking, until he heard footsteps coming from a ways behind him, he turned around and his eyes glowed for a moment as he saw a zebra walking along the path towards him, not wanting to be seen, he ran off the path and into the wilderness.

So by the time the zebra reached where he was, Shade was long gone.

_____*two minutes later,*_____

Shade returned to his cave and looked around, there was no sign of intruders and he was sure no one was following him, he approached the entrance to the cave when he saw a large bundle inside, he walked over and noticed a letter, he picked it up and read it.

'hey shade, inside the bundle is a little device i made, it contains all the building tools and nick knacks you'll need to build, it won't supply you with a weapon of mass destruction or the building materials, but it can supply you with any tool from a shovel to a saw, simply hold the handle and think on what you need like a box of nails and open it, it has a recharge however, so don't go insane pulling things out, good luck, ps, don't let anyone but me get their hands or hooves on it.'

Shade thought about this for a time before testing the device, which looked like nothing more than a wooden chest, he turned the handle just as he thought about needing a saw, he opened the chest then pulled out a hand saw and he blinked. 

"Well that's helpful." He said before getting an axe out of the chest and walking over to the logs he had in the corner.
> The tale of Lyaroa, An interesting couple of days.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*one week later, Ponyville town square, 12:00 AM*____

Lyaroa grumbled as she sat on the bench, she flipped an old bronze coin, she caught the coin and put it on the back of her hand, tails, she sighed and flipped the coin again.

At the moment, she was waiting on the previous owner of the house to show up and give her the key, she had met with him two days ago, and they had come to an agreement on the price, afterwards, the house was hers, but she wanted to have the key ahead of time, she didn't have to buy a bookshelf for her room thankfully, as the old owner didn't want it.

Lyaroa continued to flip her coin and it continued to land on tails, only landing on heads twice out of eleven, but as she flipped the coin again, it was snatched by a familiar hand, she chuckled and looked up. "Hey Roxie, what's up?" She asked.

Roxanne shrugged and sat down next to the Sentinel. "Not much really, I was just walking and I spotted you." She replied as she gave Lyaroa her coin back.

Lyaroa took the coin and sighed, she then looked at Roxanne. "I wanted to ask you something." 

Roxanne crossed her arms and leaned back. "What is it?" She wondered.

Lyaroa scratched behind her ear. "You wanna go out for coffee sometime?......assuming they still HAVE coffee." She asked.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow at the question. "Where is this coming from?" 

Lyaroa laughed nervously and looked down. "We haven't really had a chance to talk, and something I realized is that every time I talk to someone, it's like an interrogation, I would like to have what counts as a 'normal' conversation." She answered.

Roxanne closed her eyes in thought for a moment before letting a small smile out as she opened her eyes. "Why not?.....it'll be a nice change of pace." She replied.

Lyaroa nodded and continued flipping the coin as Roxanne stood up and left.

____*one hour later, outside Lyaroa's house.*____

Lyaroa walked up to the door of the building, the outside walls of the house were a deep brown in color, the door was the same color only slightly brighter.

She pulled out the key and put it into the lock, she turned the key and heard a click, she then opened the door and headed inside.

Lyaroa closed the door and locked it, she then got a good grasp of the inside decor, it was completely bare save for soothing tan walls and simple gray carpet, she grinned and walked forward into the center of the room. "Ahh, just how I like it." She then fell backwards to the floor and let out a content sigh.

It wasn't until a few moments later that Lyaroa opened her eyes and looked around. "I guess I need to get some furniture in case of visitors." She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "It was nice while it lasted though." She blinked and there was suddenly furniture neatly placed in the corner of the room.

Lyaroa stood up and stretched. "I hate decorating." She muttered as she walked over to the furniture to begin getting everything set up.

____*thirty minutes later.*____

Lyaroa walked into the living room and plopped down on the sofa, she grumbled at the growing numbness in her arm muscles. "If someone comes to the door today, I am going to do something stupid to get rid of them." She said aloud.

It was ten minutes before Lyaroa grew tired of the silence, she then snapped her fingers in laziness and her headphones appeared over her ears along with her music player.

However, before she could turn it on and listen to the music, a knock came at the door, Lyaroa, opened her eyes and they screamed frustration, she sat up and unplugged her headphones and quickly found a song, she raised the volume to max and played the song.

After the song finished, the knocking stopped, only to be replaced by a voice. "Lyaroa, I know that was you, now come on, I think you need to see this." Said the familiar voice of Skitter.

Lyaroa sighed and lowered the volume on her player, she then walked to the door as she plugged her headphones back in, after she reached the door she opened it to reveal a soaked Skitter. "Do I even want to know?" She asked.

Skitter shook her head. "No, you don't, but look around." She gestured outside to the......dozens of Pinkie Pie's?

Lyaroa blinked. "What the fuck?" She mouthed as she watched the spectacle.

Skitter shrugged. "Figured this would be right up your alley, with the world breaking and all." She explained.

Lyaroa's expression of confusion turned to one of amusement as she walked outside. "Well, this isn't my concern, seeing as it's actually of something from this world, but this? this is just.....neat." She said with a grin.

Skitter raised an eyebrow as Lyaroa started walking to the town, where the Pinkie's seemed the most active. "How is this neat?" She wondered.

Lyaroa chuckled as she walked. "It's amusing watching them cause chaos, and I didn't even have to do anything for it." She raised her hand up and it was high fived by one of the Pinkie's.

Skitter sighed. "Why me?" She wondered quietly.

_____*later that day.*_____

Lyaroa blinked. "That's your plan?.....seriously?" She asked in disbelief.

Twilight nodded. "Yes, it can't fail." She replied calmly.

Lyaroa sighed and rubbed her eyes, the idea to gather all of the Pinkie's in one place and have them stare at a wall was ridiculous enough, but vaporizing them for losing concentration for even a second was ludicrous. "And if you end up hitting the original?" She wondered.

Twilight went to speak but then thought on it for a moment, but just as she went to speak again, the Pinkie's showed up. "I guess we will find out." She muttered.

After that, Lyaroa mostly zoned out, not willing to watch the stupidity of the situation any further, she put her headphones on and resolved to simply listen to music.

'Such a shame.' She thought.

_____*a few days later, Lyaroa's house, 11:36 AM*_____

Lyaroa opened her eyes and sighed, it was days like this that she wished she had the mortal impulse to stay in bed, but that would be an even bigger weakness than actually sleeping. "I hate mornings." Obviously, she was nocturnal.

Lyaroa got out of the bed and stretched, she then walked out of the room and headed downstairs, she had recently put the finishing touches on the house, thankfully there wasn't any rent or mortgage to pay, and she recently cut off her water utilities, not she needed them, but she did put in an unending water supply in so she didn't have to worry anyway. 'Why pay for water when I can get it just as good for free?' She chuckled and walked into the kitchen.

Much like her water utility, she didn't need gas or electricity, which was little more than lighting in this world, she cut off the gas and installed her own infinite source.

Lyaroa pulled out a few eggs and a large white bowl, she then broke the eggs open and got the yolk out, she threw the shells away and began to mix, she then looked to her left and reached her hand over. "What is this? a cooking show?.....switch scenes already!" She snapped.

_____*a few hours later, 2:06 PM*_____

Lyaroa stared at a blank space on the shelf in the living room, she crossed her arms and closed her eyes, thinking on it for a moment before talking. "You have any ideas buddy?"

Soul then showed up near Lyaroa and leapt forward randomly. "Spaaaaaaaaace!" She shouted before vanishing.

Lyaroa opened her eyes and nodded in approval. "I agree." She snapped her fingers and a round white mechanical core with an orange eye showed up on the shelf. "Space, space, got to see it all, space." It rambled.

"I like it." Lyaroa said before realizing something. "Hmm, you need a buddy, one sec." She then reached her hand out to the right and pulled an identical core but with a cracked blue eye out of nowhere. "Aaahh!" It exclaimed in shock, clearly british.

Lyaroa then put the other core next to the other one. "Perfect." She said.

The blue eyed core then noticed the Orange one. "Oh perfect, just what I wanted, I get five seconds alone and then I'm back with this guy." It complained.

Lyaroa sighed and walked to the front door, deciding to let the core vent its frustration for a while.

_____*a few hours later*_____

Lyaroa was walking when she noticed something odd, she spotted the crusaders trying to hide from someone, curious, she walked over to them. "Hey you three, what's wrong?" She wondered.

"Hey Lyaroa." Sweetie Belle said.

The crusaders peeked around the corner and then responded. "We're playing.....hide and seek." Scootaloo whispered.

Apple Bloom nodded. "Yea, that's it." She added.

Lyaroa rubbed her eyes. "You know, hide and seek is better when you hide in DIFFERENT spots, so what's up?" She questioned.

The three crusaders quickly convened and then looked up at her. "Can you PLEASE promise not to tell anyone?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Lyaroa sighed and nodded. "What is it?" She asked.

Apple Bloom leaned in and spoke. "We're hiding from mah cousin Babs Seed, she just started picking on us with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon." She said.

Lyaroa blinked and shook her head. "Ugh.....I had to ask, look, I'm not telling you what to do, but either confront her alone, or deal with it until she leaves you alone." She suggested before walking away. 

____*a while later, during the parade or whatever it was.*____

Lyaroa watched as the floats went by, it wasn't until she saw the giant gold Apple and the crusaders mischievous faces that she was certain that nothing would happen, she sighed and prepared to act should she be forced to do so.

As the float went by, Lyaroa glanced over and saw that the crusaders now had faces of guilt, she sighed as realization hit her when she saw Babs driving the float.

Lyaroa started walking through the crowd to head the float off, which sounded pretty damn stupid.

As she was walking, Lyaroa noticed that Babs had suddenly lost control of the float, she shook her head and channeled a bit of magic.

Just as the float went out of control and speed off down the hill, Lyaroa seized the entire thing in her magic, even Babs, who she teleported out of it.

____*a few moments later.*____

As the recent events cooled off, Lyaroa walked up to Applejack with a curious question. "Who's idea was it to hold a parade going downhill?" She wondered.

Applejack shrugged. "It's been held here for a while now, I'm not sure why, but then again, the parade isn't supposed to go down the entire hill and no pony ever sabotaged a float before." She explained.

Lyaroa shook her head as she walked off. "I can't believe this place." She grumbled.

As she walked, Lyaroa got to thinking. 'The sisters know I'm back by now, no way they don't, so why haven't they done anything?' She wondered.

She looked up and noticed an odd cloud in the sky. "Strange, the sky's supposed to be clear today." She muttered, she chuckled and continued walking. 'So, I'm being watch eh? well, I guess they are up to something.' She concluded.

_____*a few weeks later, Lyaroa's house, 12:16 PM.*_____

It was a cold afternoon, and as such, Lyaroa skipped her morning walk in favor for some relaxing, last week she had extended an offer to Fang and Roxanne, saying that they could live in her house, mostly so Gwen's house wasn't comepletly crowded, they had said they needed some time to think it over.

Lyaroa understood, in fact, she wasn't expecting anything, she just thought it would be polite, Lyaroa looked up at the sky and took a deep breath, she chuckled at the fresh air, ironically, it was better on the roof then in her house, Wheatly was being testy again, and Space core was being.....Space core.

After a while, approximately seventeen minutes, Lyaroa stood up and looked around the town, seeing nothing remotely of interest happening, she jumped off the roof and headed inside.

When she entered the living room, a wave of heat hit her, she chuckled and walked over to the couch, she then sat down and reclined all the way back as she materialized her headphones and music player.

As she went through the songs, she heard Wheatly begin talking. "So, what are we just mindless decorations now?....or what?" He wondered.

Lyaroa sighed then looked at the core, she sat up and weaved some of her magic, she then stood up and grabbed Wheatly.

In a few short moments, the house changed, if only slightly, the ceiling was higher and there was now a rail that led upstairs and around the room, she then put Wheatly on the rail and he himself seemed to be quiet during the change, he finally spoke after properly securing himself on the rail. "Uuuh, ok....um, how did you do that?" He asked out of curiosity.

Lyaroa blinked. "Magic, or in your logic, unexplainable expansion." She said.

Wheatly himself was also different, as in, Lyaroa simply repaired him. "Well, it's better than being a decoration." He said quietly as he moved along the rail.

Lyaroa rubbed her eyes and looked over at Space core, who seemed to be ranting about space again, she sighed and snapped her fingers, sending him back to where he was before. 

After she did that Lyaroa walked over to the couch and sat down, simply wanting some peace and quiet for now, and just as she sat down, there was a knock on the door, she groaned and got back up.

Lyaroa walked over to the door and opened it ready to punch whoever it was, seeing Roxanne however, she decided against It. "Hey Rox." She greeted.

"Hey Lyaroa." Roxanne replied. 

"I assume that you didn't drop by to say hi." Lyaroa said as she leaned up against the doorframe.

Roxanne nodded. "You wanted to get coffee sometime right?....well, I found a place that serves it and I got nothing better to do, so how about it?" She asked.

Lyaroa rolled her eyes and looked inside. "Wheatly!....I'm going out, don't destroy my house!" She shouted before walking out and closing the door.

The two then walked away from the house, leaving Wheatly alone.....probably a bad idea.

____*ten minutes later, Indigo cafe.*____

Lyaroa sat across from Roxanne as she waited for her coffee, she closed her eyes and waited, but Roxanne had other ideas. "Hey Lyaroa, tell me about yourself." She said.

Lyaroa chuckled at the question. "What's to tell?.....you know most of my story." She replied.

Roxanne sighed and leaned on the table. "Well, I know all of that, but it was mostly your plotting for revenge, I would like to know about YOU, not your story." She explained.

Lyaroa shook her head and put her arms behind it. "I suppose it couldn't hurt, besides, it's better than an awkward silence." She replied.

"Well what can I tell you?.....I'm exactly seven thousand, two hundred and sixteen years old, healthy living really." She paused and put her elbow on the table and hand under her chin. "My full name would be Lyaroa Pioax Juzor, only child, no relatives, I like cinnamon rolls with and without lava glaze, yes that's a thing back home, I also like hot cocoa and the smell of rain" She started. "I don't like watermelons or pineapples, I can't stand onion and I have a clear hatred of snow, if it wasn't obvious." She continued.

Lyaroa stopped talking as the man who took their orders returned with their coffee. "Can I get you anything else?" He asked. 

Roxanne shook her head. "We're ok." She replied.

After the man left, Lyaroa continued talking. "My hobbies, well, I have a lot of em, but the most notable are looking up at the stars and spectating random chaos." She continued. "The one thing I really hate however are intentional world hoppers, people or creatures who knowingly cross dimensions willy nilly." She finished.

Roxanne blinked as she processed the information, afterwards, she took a big sip out of her coffee. "Wow, hate to say it Lyaroa.....your old." She pointed out.

Lyaroa shrugged. "Nah, I'm just in my teen years really, there are some Sentinel's who are at least twenty thousand years of age, but I figured it would be better to get out and start making worlds, beats the power struggle back home." She answered.

"Power struggle?" Roxanne asked curiously.

Lyaroa sighed and rubbed the back of her head. "Ugh, don't remind me." She replied.

Roxanne nodded and continued drinking her coffee. "Well, alright then, but what can you tell me about your world, like its name?" She wondered.

Lyaroa chuckled and drank her coffee. "You wouldn't be able to hear, see or speak its true name, to you it would sound little more than a bunch of whirring and humming, but translated to English it would say the Forge Of The Void, as for the main city itself, it's mostly a hive of noise, the only place that has important noise is the meeting Cove, other than that, there isn't much to tell." She explained. "So what about you Rox?....tell me about yourself." She said.

Roxanne finished her coffee and leaned back in her chair. "Well, you practically know my story in and out, as for my personality?....eh, you've seen that too, besides, didn't you give me and Fang all of this?" She wondered.

Lyaroa shook her head and finished her coffee. "Not really, true I created the original Fang, but your current minds and bodies?...that wasn't me, I simply supplied the means to make it, you two actually made them, in truth, I had next to nothing to do with how you two ended up." She replied.

"Fine." Roxanne admitted. "You already know my name, so I'll just skip to age, mentally and physically, I'm twenty, if you are going by the time I was made, I'm two, unlike you I like watermelon, I also like meat, as long as it isn't fish, I don't like cantaloupe or pineapples, and I have a fondness for comedy." She continued.

Roxanne stopped as the man from before came back and took their coffee, when he left, Roxanne continued. "I don't really have a hobby, the only one I had was the game we played back at Freddy's." She finished.

Lyaroa then pulled some bits out of nowhere and put them on the table. "That should cover the bill." She said.

Roxanne blinked and then rolled her eyes. "Do I even want to know where you got those?" She wondered.

Lyaroa shrugged. "There was a small gold deposit ten feet beneath us, I simply utilized it." She explained.

____*seven hours later, Ponyville town square.*____

Lyaroa rubbed her eyes as she watched the specticle before her, a mare calling herself the Great and Powerful Trixie showed up and practically stomped Twilight in a magic duel, primarily due to the power of the Alicorn Amulet.

She could only scratch the back of her head in confusion as Twilight was 'banished' from the town. "I must be missing something." She muttered.

Lyaroa quickly teleported to the top of a roof and started digging through the past, soon seeing the memories of what happened in the town and to Trixie, the memories were clearly before Gwen ended up in Freddy's.

Once Lyaroa was finished going through the memories she sighed. "That was fucking stupid." She said to herself as she jumped off the roof.

Lyaroa then decided to wait for the events to unfold, not needing to take action just yet unless necessary. "This should be only slightly interesting." She muttered.

____*some time later.*____

Lyaroa watched from above as Twilight challenged Trixe to another magic duel, claiming that she had a magical amulet that made the Alicorn Amulet look like a child's toy.

Lyaroa sighed as she sensed absolutely no magic from the new amulet. "Terrible fake, Trixie would have to be an idiot to take THAT bait." She muttered.

And much to Lyaroa's annoyance, Trixie actually accepted the duel, Lyaroa's jaw dropped at the sheer stupidity of the situation, thankfully Fang and Roxanne were not here, or this would just be a laugh fest.

Lyaroa watched as Twilight acted as though she could turn a mare into a stallion, but she saw that Applejack and others were simply hiding behind something, at this point Lyaroa had enough and teleported between the two mares. "Ok, enough with the shit." She said calmly.

Trixie seemed to be shocked and confused while Twilight was annoyed. "What are you doing Lyaroa?" Twilight asked.

Lyaroa looked at Twilight. "If there is one thing I hate it's a liar, and you are horrible at it." She then used her magic and took both of the amulets from the mares, even through the shield projected by the Alicorn Amulet, she then snapped her fingers and Applejack and the stallion disguised as her showed up nearby.

Lyaroa then looked at Trixie who seemed to be in complete shock of what just happened. "You!....I get what happened to you wasn't fair, but get a grip!" She then rounded on Twilight. "And you!...you can't lie for shit so don't even try it, besides any idiot can sense that this amulet is fake!" She then threw the fake amulet on the ground and smashed it. 

Lyaroa then chuckled. "See ya!" She said before teleporting away with the Alicorn Amulet.

____*Lyaroa's house.*____

After teleporting into her house, Lyaroa quickly materialized a small box and put the Alicorn Amulet into it, she then locked it down in her magic before hiding it. "I hate having to work." She muttered.

Lyaroa then walked out of her room and headed downstairs. 'Regardless, they won't be able to get the Amulet now, that's a plus.' She thought as she entered the living room.

Lyaroa then walked over to the couch and laid down across it, she put her headphones on and turned on her music player. 'So far, life isn't too bad, I wonder how things will go from here?'
> The tale of Fang, A strange ability and Grave Ramblings.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Gwen's house, the basement, 2:00 PM*_____

Fang paced around the room out of irritation, just recently he had heard about a mare called Trixe and her attempted takeover, it had pissed him off so much that he didn't speak to anyone who was there for three days, expect when he had to, to his credit however, he was exceptionally skilled at hiding his emotions.

What pissed him off wasn't that Trixie tried to takeover the town, it was that nobody told him, he sighed and looked over at Roxanne's pendant, just by looking at it, he realized just how much time he had lost since the temple, that was at least three months he couldn't get back, it might have been more, it might have been less, but no one was talking about it, so he was out of the loop, what was worse, was that nobody seemed to talk straight to him, they always acted like they were seeing a ghost. 

Fang soon found himself looking around, he glanced around and found a journal, he knew that it was Verdant Dash's journal, but he didn't feel like reading right now, he then found himself wanting fresh air, he sighed and walked to the stairs to head outside.

As he walked from the basement to the front door, Fang realized that whether or not he wanted to admit it, he was essentially alone, seeing as nobody would even speak to him, Lyaroa was the exception but she was almost always apologizing to him, it was nice that she was sorry about it, but he had forgiven her several times already and it was starting to get annoying, and as he left the house, he found that he was absentmindedly walking to the park, but he didn't fight it, as he walked, he could have sworn that he saw a shadowed form of himself walking towards him, he blinked at the peculiarity of it.

Soon enough, the shadow vanished then reappeared next to him, walking in perfect sync with him. "I should have acted, but I let it happen, and now she's dead.....what have I done?" The shadow said as though it didn't see anything around it.

Fang looked at the shadow curiously but soon he focused on where he was going just as it continued speaking. "It's all my fault.....I could have saved her, and now I'm alone, why did I have to be the last one?" It said somberly before vanishing.

Fang blinked and continued walking, but his thoughts were now on figuring out what just happened, and what it meant, was he going mad? or was he seeing something important.

Soon enough, Fang found himself in the park, he walked to an empty bench and sat down, he looked around and saw families enjoying a nice picnic, watching the clouds, taking a nap, or just enjoying the day, Fang crossed his arms and closed his eyes to try and get some sleep, but he heard an odd jitter that forced him to open his eyes, he looked around and saw the shadowed form again, this time, it seemed to be shielding its eyes from something, it continued to mutter however as it walked close by. "So much death.....I could have stopped it, but I didn't, and now he's gone too, who else must I be forced to outlive?" It muttered sadly before disappearing.

Fang found the occurrence odd, for one, he was positive he didn't smoke or eat any odd plants or foods, he also didn't drink anything so it wasn't that. 'Maybe something happened to me? it's the only explanation.' He thought.

____*later that day, 4:22 PM*____

Fang walked through the market, not to buy, simply to watch the hustle of it all, he knew that it was a magnet of danger or whatever came around, he didn't find any of that though, so he was out of luck on that front, he then noticed yet another shadow walking nearby. "They came back, they rebuilt, they forgot, they refuse to speak of what happened, and what we lost, I pray that we never have to face that ever again." He muttered.

Fang followed the shadow as it walked, hoping to get more information. "Compilations, that was the cover up, they claimed it was an accident, they refuse to speak with them anymore, my friends are gone, left or given up, only she remains." The shadow then vanished.

After that, Fang started walking back home, he now had a good grasp on what was going on, or at least a theory, the shadow was supposed to be him from the future, how he was seeing and hearing him was unclear, but something must have happened in the future to make this happened.

He sighed and kept on walking. "You look like you've seen a ghost." Said a familiar voice.

Fang looked over his shoulder and saw Skitter walking up to him. "I think I have." He replied calmly.

Skitter blinked but shook her head. "You know, I hate to say it, but with how you've been lately, you need to vent." She suggested.

Fang rubbed his eyes and continued walking. "Thanks for the tip." He said bluntly.

Skitter did not follow, but she did walk away.

It wasn't long before Fang spotted Lyaroa walking, he decided to walk over, the Sentinel saw him coming and stopped walking. "Hey Fang, how are you holding up?" She asked.

Fang shrugged. "Not bad, all things considered." He said.

Lyaroa started walking and Fang followed. "So Fang, how is Spark doing?" She asked.

Fang scratched the back of his head. "I have no idea, he seems to have developed a personality similar to how you were back when you were controlling me, from what I've heard anyway, regardless, he doesn't really talk to me, even though I'm technically his dad." He answered.

Lyaroa laughed quietly. "Yea....I may have made a mistake, regardless, you should try to bond with him, it could be good for the two of you." She suggested.

Fang rolled his eyes and walked in silence with the Sentinel for a while, however he had something to say so he decided to get it over with. "I gave your offer some thought, and I mentioned it to Spark." He said.

Lyaroa looked at Fang curiously. "And?" She wondered.

Fang chuckled. "He was completely onboard with the idea, I don't know where that came from, but he was, as for me, it'll be nice to get out of the basement, it was nice at first, but now it's just weird." He replied.

Lyaroa nodded. "Alright, it'll be nice to have some company......that doesn't give me a constant stream of bad ideas that is." She said.

Fang continued walking and looked at Lyaroa with a look of seriousness. "Lyaroa.....you do realize that Spark sees you as his mom right?" He mentioned.

Lyaroa stopped walking and looked back at Fang silently.

"He doesn't say it, but he does, after all, you did teach him a lot and even raised him for a while, I know it's hard to believe, but it's true." Fang finished.

Lyaroa nodded. "I'm aware, but I did what I had to do at the time." Her eyes then widened. "Fang.....if Spark sees me as his mom, and your his dad.......uh uh, I ain't going there." She concluded. [1]

Fang thought on it a few moments before coming to the same conclusion. "Oh shit." He muttered.

Lyaroa rubbed her eyes. "And now it's obvious as to why he was so energetic about the move." She added.

Soon enough, after the two were finished with the brain melt, they split up and headed their own way.

____*back at Gwen's house, the basement, 11:21 PM*____

Fang was laying back on the bed reading Verdant's journal, he had just finished packing everything that was his up for the move, he had decided that it would be best for him to read and finish the journal before something else stopped him from doing so.

He reached a part in the book where Verdant was basically abandoned by her family, Fang decided to stop there, he didn't need that image in his mind before sleeping.

Fang quietly got out of the bed as to not disturb his now sleeping companion, he then set the book in a box and headed back to bed, he got himself comfortable and closed his eyes. 'It's going to be a confusing bunch of days.' He thought as he slowly fell asleep.

____*a short time later.*____

Fang opened his eyes to a strange sight, he was outside Freddy Fazbears, something he had never done, he blinked and walked inside.

As he entered the building, he immediately noticed something odd, there were no animatronics, Roger, Sarah and Bob were all missing, Balloon Boy was gone and so was the Puppet, he continued to explore and suddenly he saw something all too familiar, caution tape and tarps all over, he closed his eyes and realized what had happened, they had all been scrapped, he bit his lip and continued walking, he walked to the kids cove and found that it was completely bare, not even the floors were there anymore.

Fang continued walking but noticed that the security cameras were still active, he saw the camera light go on and he knew what was going on, the building was being torn down and there was a guard to watch over it all and make sure none of it was taken.

He made his way to the parts and service room to see if his friends were still around, as he made his way across the bathroom hall, he was blinded by a light down the hall, he grunted and continued moving, he soon reached the door and opened it, to his surprise, his friends were still there, although they looked different, Chica didn't have an enormous beak and she seemed to be smaller, Freddy's head wasn't like a giant square and was smoother, he also didn't have the buttons on his chest anymore, he also seemed smaller than before, if only slightly.

Bonnie himself was very different, his head was more rabbit like, he didn't have the buttons on his chest anymore either, his color was also a darker shade of purple, Foxy was different as well, at least at the head, he had an eyepatch on his left eye and he also seemed to have a tail now, or he always had one and Fang just never noticed, his jaw wasn't straight out anymore and his teeth weren't as sharp, he seemed to have a jaw that was more rectangular in nature.

'So, this is what they were planning.' Fang looked up at the camera and saw it turn on, he growled as it turned off, he then walked to the door and left. 'One last game, just me and him.' He walked to the office hallway and started walking down it.

To his surprise however, the guard was missing, the chair was vacant and there was nothing left on the table save the tablet and a cup, Fang made his way towards the office to investigate, but when he saw an ominous light coming from somewhere behind him, he turned around and went that way. 'Changing the game huh?....fine by me.'

As Fang walked towards the light he found that it was coming from the main room, he walked towards it and found his vision blurred once again by the light, he raised his hand over his eyes and the light faded, when he lowered his hand he discovered that the lights had busted, he grunted and found that a mechanical click followed, he looked down at his hand and saw that it was robotic, he let out a mechanized sigh and continued searching for the light, his speech box clicked and he talked. "I know you're around here......come out of hiding." He said creepily.

Fang could hear slightly panicked breathing from somewhere in the room, he looked around and soon discovered that his night vision was gone, he blinked and started walking around.

As he walked, Fang found himself listening to the vibrations of his movements as they reflected off the covered up equipment, he went to speak and his speech box clicked again. "You cannot hide forever.....feel free to resist if you wish." He said.

Fang then saw the light for a moment and a small blur run past, Fang then followed the light as his speech box clicked. "You cannot run, you cannot hide, you cannot fight, show yourself and end your torment." He said with slight irritation.

After that, the game was the same for a few hours, with Fang moving around attempting to find whoever it was that was there, and whoever it was running away and hiding.

Eventually, Fang got fed up with the game, his speech box clicked again and he spoke. "I am through playing this game of hide and seek, I know where you are.....and its game over." He then began marching hastily in a seemingly random direction.

The panicked breathing now turned into terrified breaths as the mystery person ran away.

As he chased the blurred figure, Fang eventually led it to a corner and slowly walked towards it as it realized its mistake, Fang growled mechanically and he managed to get the smallest glimpse of the figure as he went to attack, all he saw was a bright light come from a single point from the figure that almost blinded him.

Fang roared and went to chomp down hard on the figure, but just before he did, six AM struck and Fang was then unable to manually control himself.

For reasons unknown the lights came back on and Fang managed to get a small glimpse of the figure which was now unblurred, sadly, his night vision was stuck online and he couldn't make much of it, but all he could do was watch as the figure ran away towards the exit. "Thanks for visiting Fredbear's!.....see you next time!" He said in a normal voice with a hint of excitement. 'Whoa, I never had a chance to say that.....odd.'

Fang was more perplexed as he watched the figure run out the door, all he managed to see was some gray fur and what seemed to be a.....cutie mark?....of what seemed to be a frozen gear and a handle inside it. 'A pony?...no wait, a unicorn?....but how, Gwen was the only one to get to this world, so what happened.' He pondered.

Fang then found himself capable of movement, he then started to walk away from the door, but when he turned the corner, the world changed, and he was no longer mechanical, he blinked as he was now in the countryside, he looked around and saw nothing but grass, trees, the sun and the occasional deer, he sighed and sat down, as he watched the clouds fly by he found himself thinking on his future, and the ominous message from the shadow, he then thought on Spark, and how things would go from now, he put his hand under his chin and he was actually shocked as he found himself thinking about Lyaroa, and exactly what her being there meant, but no matter how much he tried to justify her actions he now felt a burning anger over her, and how much she put him and his friends through.

However, he then realized something, if it wasn't for Lyaroa, Roxanne would be dead, he wouldn't even exist, along with Skitter and Firefly, he shook all of this from his head and he stood up and started walking.

As he walked however, Fang saw that the world had faded away, and when he finally looked back, the giant field he was at was all inside a large bubble, he blinked and looked around, he found himself in an endless void, with so many different bubbles with their own images, he also found that the floor was gone and that he was floating, Fang made multiple attempts to move but eventually he found that he could move if he made swimming motions, he sighed at the stupidity of it and he then figured out something, he tried willing himself to go forward and his body did so, he grinned as he started moving around through the void,

Fang eventually found an interesting bubble, it was that of a city in the clouds, he reached to the bubble and suddenly found himself inside the dream.

He looked down and saw that his feet were on the clouds, he then started walking to see what was going on.

The city was bustling with people, the buildings were made out of clouds and most of the population were Pegasi, he then rounded a corner and saw a town square, he walked towards it and looked around, he chuckled as he saw kids running by rushing off to wherever.

Fang then saw two very familiar kids running around, he saw Firefly and what seemed to be a younger Gwen racing. "Can't catch me!" Firefly taunted.

Gwen rushed after her sister and it was plainly obvious that she was tired. "Oh yes I can!....just you wait!" She yelled as she lagged behind.

Fang couldn't help but raise a smile at the scene. "It must have been before the Black Cloud." He muttered quietly.

Afterwards, Fang continued walking, he soon came across what seemed to be a hospital, he decided against going inside but he did see another few familiar faces.

Fang was looking at four young changelings, they were all around a corner and seemed to be talking at the moment. 'Skitter, Vulture and the twins....so this must be either memories.....or a dream about the past.' He concluded.

Afterwards Fang started walking forward again, he eventually found himself outside the bubble and he then decided it was time to stop. "Don't want to be here forever." He said to himself.

Fang made his way back to where he assumed his bubble was, it took him about ten minutes to find it but he eventually found his field, he entered the bubble and saw someone he wasn't expecting. "Luna?" He wondered.

Fang walked to Princess Luna and she turned to face him. "Ah, Fang, I had wondered to whom this dream belonged to." She said warmly.

"So that's what this is eh?" He asked.

Luna nodded. "You never had one before?" She wondered.

Fang shook his head and sat down. "Na, you can't dream when your mechanical, otherwise I would've had many, this would be my first dream then, that I can remember." He replied easily.

Luna looked up at the sun and then at Fang. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but how is Rainbow Dash?....she has not forgotten anything has she?" She asked.

Fang shrugged. "I don't know actually, no one has been talking to me, but if you mean she didn't lose all of her memories? then yea, I think I can say she remembers." 

Luna let out a sigh of relief and looked up at the sky.

Fang then looked at the Lunar Princess. "So why are you here Luna?....I'm sure you didn't come to see me just to ask how Gwen is doing." He pointed out.

Luna chuckled and looked at Fang. "Indeed, in fact, I have to ask something of you." She replied.

Fang looked at the clouds as they passed by. "What is it?" He asked.

Luna's expression turned sour and she looked at Fang. "I have reason to believe that an old......acquaintance, is back, goes by the name Lyaroa, do you know anything about this?" She questioned.

Fang sighed and laid back on the grass. "Sure, why?" He asked.

Luna blinked, perplexed at Fang's answer, but she answered anyway. "I need to know if she's planning anything, my sister and I felt her return to her body some time ago, but have been unable to act on it, so I would like any information you have on her whereabouts." She explained.

Fang closed his eyes. "She isn't exactly hiding, and if you want to know what she is planning, she probably is trying to find a good viewing place in Ponyville to watch the mayhem ensue." He replied calmly, he then opened his right eye and looked at Luna. "She claims to have given up on the vengeance thing, but she is still pissed, anyway, do what your gonna do, just don't complain to me if you can't catch her." He said.

After that,  Luna soon vanished, leaving Fang alone in the field.

_____*the next day, 9:00 AM*_____

Fang opened his eyes and felt something warm up against his chest, he looked and saw Roxanne sleeping as he held his arms around her, he blinked and knew that this must have happened as they slept, he carefully removed his arms and let Roxanne sleep, he quietly got out of the bed and walked to the door.

Fang headed for the kitchen to get himself something to drink, he saw that nobody else was awake yet and he was now curious. "Skitter is always awake by now." He said quietly.

Fang reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle......of ketchup, he then popped the lid off and drank the ketchup. [2]

Fang then sat down at the table and thought on the events of the previous night. 'So, dream walking, a pony at Freddy's, and the sisters know about Lyaroa.....how did I get mixed up in this shit?' He wondered.

He then looked at the clock and saw that the time was nine oh seven. "So, now comes the challenge of actually moving, let's see, have to get Spark, Roxanne and Firefly up soon so the kids can get ready, then I need to get Lyaroa and anyone else to help me move everything, then I need to get to work, after work I pick up Spark, bring him home, and then I can relax if nothing else needs done." He muttered.
> The tale of Gwen and Derpy, Healing the broken bond, A night in silence.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*that same day, Gwen's house, 9:19 AM*____

Gwen opened her eyes and blinked, she sat up and rubbed her eyes as she lifelessly made her way to the bathroom.

After she reached the bathroom, she was annoyed to find that someone was inside, she waited for it to become available and Firefly came out, Gwen then shook her head. "Uh uh." She said as she made her way to the downstairs bathroom.

_____*after Gwen finished in the bathroom.*_____

Gwen walked into the kitchen and found that Fang had started on breakfast, she also noticed that Skitter was not here while everyone else was. "Anybody know where Skitter is at?" She asked.

Roxanne shrugged. "She might be in her room." She said.

"Well if she is, someone go up there and wake her up, tell her that breakfast is almost done." Fang said.

Spark then got up and stretched. "I'll do it." He said as he headed for the stairs.

Gwen rubbed her eyes and looked at Roxanne. "So how have you been doing lately?" She asked.

Roxanne rested her arm on the table. "Guy I'm working for is a jerk, but the pay is good, still looking for a better job though." She replied.

It wasn't long however, before Spark came back down the stairs, he was holding his head like he had a migraine from hell and was followed by a highly annoyed changeling. "Can't a girl meditate in this madhouse?" Skitter complained.

Spark winced as he sat down at the table. "How was I supposed to know that knocking on the door would make you fall down?" He said.

Skitter sighed and sat down. "Wuo mep." She complained In Changish.

After that, Fang served breakfast to everyone, and sat down himself. 

____*later that day, Derpy's house, 12:00 PM.*____

Derpy sighed as she paced back and forth through her living room. 'You know, if you keep doing that, I'll need to stop you.' Golden said.

"Not in the mood." Derpy said.

She heard Golden's mechanical sigh. 'If you want to patch things up with Gwen, you might actually want to try talking to her.' He pointed out.

Derpy stopped for a moment then bit her lip. "And what would I say?" She wondered.

'Figure it out, it's not my relationship that's on the line here.' He replied calmly.

Derpy then sighed and walked over to the front door to leave the house, but just as she reached for the handle, a knock came at the door, she then opened the door and Gwen was on the other side. "Oh.....hey." She said quietly.

Gwen nodded. "Hey." She replied.

Golden groaned as the two stood in silence. 'Invite her in damnit!' He shouted.

Derpy cleared her throat. "Would you um.....like to come in?" She asked.

Gwen then entered the house and looked around as Derpy closed the door. "I uh, I came over to see how you were doing.....we haven't talked much in a while." She said.

Derpy looked away. "Yea, that's probably my fault." She replied.

Golden facepalmed before materializing a couch to sit in. 'How did I get stuck with the job of counselor?.....don't be timid, just talk!' He shouted.

Derpy rubbed her head. "Golden, stay out of this, and stop shouting." She muttered before looking at Gwen. "I hope you understand why I was angry." She said.

Gwen nodded. "You have good reason to be mad, I did just up and leave after all......but like I said, I'm staying next time something happens." She replied.

Derpy looked at Gwen. "I'm holding you to that, but if the next danger needs the Element of Loyalty, I can't stop you." She said as she started pacing.

"Um.....Ditzy, there is something I need to tell you." Gwen said.

Derpy gave Gwen a curious stare. "What is it?" She wondered.

Gwen sighed and walked over to the couch. "You might want to sit down, this'll take a while." She said.

Derpy sat down in a chair and listened as Gwen started talking. "It started when we left for the Crystal Empire, we had just arrived and left the train when we soon ran into Shining Armor, Twilight's brother." 

____*thirty minutes later.*____

Derpy blinked as Gwen finished her tale, she crossed her hooves and talked to Golden. "So Golden, what do you think?" She asked.

Golden paced around the area he was in, he then looked out the eye towards Gwen. "She isn't lying, that much is obvious, but as for Lyaroa, I just can't believe I didn't notice!" He complained.

Derpy looked at Gwen. "So, what now?....between us that is?" She paused for a second. "What do YOU think we should do?" She added.

Gwen rubbed her eyes and stood up slowly. "All I can say to do is just try to move on, but that doesn't feel right for some reason." She replied.

Derpy stood up and stretched a little. "Right now, I think that's what we need, it'll be better than what we're doing now." She argued.

Gwen sighed and then reluctantly nodded. "Alright, if you think it'll help, I'll go along with it." She relented.

____*later that day, Ponyville Park, 7:23 PM*____

Derpy walked with Gwen through the park, there was a strange feeling of peace at night here, the wind was still and the air was cold.

As they walked they did not speak, as it would ruin the peaceful silence, it wasn't four minutes later until one of them spoke. "Hey, Gwen, I uh.......have something to ask you." Derpy said.

Gwen looked at her marefriend curiously. "What is it?" 

Derpy looked at at the night sky and then at Gwen. "Would you like to uh.....spend the night, like old times?" She asked nervously.

Gwen smiled and extended her left wing over Derpy's back. "Yea, that'd be a welcome change of pace." She answered.

Derpy smiled back and extended her right wing over Gwen's back. "Thanks Gwen." 

At that moment, the night was perfect for the two mares, even if it was only for a moment, not even Golden was willing to ruin this moment.

_____*the next day, Derpy's house, 9:12 PM*_____

Gwen opened her eyes and felt something wrapped around her chest, she looked groggily and saw a pair of gray hooves, she smiled and laid her head back down.

Soon enough she heard a voice. "Morning Gwen." Derpy said quietly but groggily.

"Morning Ditzy." Gwen replied.

The two mares laid there in silence for a few minutes before reluctantly getting up and heading for the bathroom.....seperately.

____*Twenty minutes after the two mares woke up, the dining room*____

Gwen waited at the table irritably, Derpy had firmly told her to wait on breakfast, Gwen put her elbow on the table and glanced over at Dinky, who seemed to be mimicking her. "Can I help you?" She asked.

Dinky blinked at Gwen. "Are you and mommy getting back together?" She asked curiously.

Gwen sighed and went back to waiting. "We're working on it." She told the girl.

Dinky went to talk again but was interrupted by Derpy and Sparkler showing up with breakfast.

As Derpy passed out everyone's breakfast, Sparkler looked at Gwen with curiosity just as she took a drink of water. "So.....did you and my mom sleep together last night?" She asked.

Gwen immediately spit out all of the water, thankfully, it didn't hit the table.

Derpy looked at her daughter in shock, she was about to ask her where she got that idea when Golden burst out laughing, answering her question for her. "ANYWAY.....let's eat." She said, dismissing the situation. 'We are going to talk later Golden.' She warned.

Gwen nodded and started eating.

Sparkler looked between her mother and Gwen curiously. "What?" 

Dinky looked around in confusion. "Did I miss something?" She asked.

Gwen and Derpy both answered. "No." They said in sync.

After that, the four ate quietly, but during and even after breakfast, when the kids got ready for school and even when Derpy and Gwen walked them to it, Gwen had a thoughtful look on her face, but it went away as they approached the school and dropped the kids off. 'Well, Derpy was right about one thing, this is a lot better than before.' Gwen thought to herself.
> The tale of Skitter, Adjusting is annoying, Hating genetics.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*that same day, 2:26 PM, Ponyville hospital.*____

Skitter waited irritably in the waiting room for the doctor to come back out, she had arrived a little late but the doctor was thankfully not that busy today.

She had scheduled a medical checkup today, not for herself, but for her adoptive daughter Solar.

Recently, Sombra's trial had concluded, he was not given the death penalty but was instead going to prison for a very long time, and seeing as he would be in jail, Solar would end up in the system, but Skitter had discussed this with both Sombra and Solar.

____*flashback, a month ago, the day after the fair, Crystal Empire prison, 1:22 PM*____

Skitter approached the cell of Sombra, she had already been searched by the guards, and Sombra still had the magical eliminator spell on him so he couldn't cast any spells. [1]

Skitter took a seat on a stool and looked into the cell.

Sombra apparently was very good at handling what given to him, as his cell had little more than a bed, a single shelf with a single chess piece and a small side table with a book, but he looked fine, he was currently sitting on the end of the bed looking at the floor and muttering. "I love what you've done here." Skitter said.

Sombra opened his eyes and let out a small chuckle, he looked over at Skitter. "The Changeling.....how can I help you?" He asked.

"I trust you've heard about your daughter?" Skitter replied calmly.

Sombra nodded calmly. "Yes I heard, about how you and your immortal friends saved her from death, and I know how she will be taken away now that I'm I'm jail." He answered.

Skitter stood up and approached the cell bars. "Then you must have an idea as to why I'm here?" She wondered.

Sombra stood up and looked at Skitter. "I know what it is.....you intend to adopt my daughter don't you?" He stated calmly.

Skitter shook her head for a moment before focusing on Sombra. "That depends on you and her.....seeing as there are no other alternatives, it comes down to either me or the system, which would you prefer?" She asked.

Sombra approached the bars, while Skitter backed up out of reach. "Neither to be honest, but if the system is as bad as it was a thousand years ago, I refuse to put my daughter through that......adopt her if you will, but do not let her turn out like those sniveling cowards out there, or like those Equestrian idiots."

Skitte chuckled. "On that, I agree......but I hope you understand that she might end up moving to Equestria, is that acceptable?" She wondered.

Sombra nodded and quietly returned to his bed. "Better to be free from the Crystal Heart's influence than trapped by it." He answered.

____*Two weeks ago, The Crystal Empire, Market street, 1:48 PM.*____

Skitter walked with Solar through the city, they had already walked approximately two blocks and were just entering Market street. "So, i told the guy, you cantaloupe with her!" Solar said with a grin. [2]

Skitter thought on it for a few seconds before snickering. "That was awful Solar." She said with a smirk.

Solar nodded. "You're smiling though, and it was a good one." She argued.

Skitter shrugged. "Can't deny that kid." She said.

The two then continued walking around, idly passing the everyday life of the city, soon enough, Skitter looked at Solar. "Hey kid, on the more serious side of things.....I spoke with your dad." She mentioned.

Solar looked at Skitter curiously. "You did?....what did he say?" She wondered.

"We mostly talked about you to be honest, primarily on what to do." Skitter answered with a slightly evasive tone. 

Solar blinked and deadpanned. "Are you looking to adopt me?" She questioned. 

Skitter chuckled. "Your family is sharp." She muttered. "Like I said with your dad, it depends on you and him, he already gave his consent, but I need to know how you feel about this." She replied.

Solar went silent as she went into deep thought. "I need to think on it." She said before going silent.

After that, the two continued walking, they did not speak, but they simply walked.

It was ten minutes later when Solar finally spoke again. "Will I at least get to say goodbye to my dad?" She asked.

Skitter nodded silently. "Yea, besides it won't be instant, foal services need to do a background check on me and all this other legal stuff will need to be handled." She explained.

Solar sighed and looked at Skitter. "Then sure.....I guess, just don't do the baby coddle thing." She pointed out.

Skitter actually seemed to laugh, although it was quiet and short. "No problem kid, also, you can just keep calling me Skitter if you like." She added.

_____*end of flashback*_____

Skitter couldn't help but be nervous, as she was technically a mother now, at least on paper, thankfully, her background check was all clear.....well, not including the Changeling bit, but it was a work in progress.

In short, with some help from Twilight, who apparently knew loads of legal stuff as a hobby, Skitter's adoption paperwork was finished, all that remained at this period of time was the probationary period, other than that, they were good to go. [3]

It was a couple minutes later, but the doctor eventually walked out and came over. "Miss Skitter, I need to speak with you." He said calmly.

Skitter nodded and followed the doctor as he walked back through the doors and headed to the room he examined Solar.

After they reached the room, the doctor looked at Skitter. "Would you like the good news or the bad news?" He asked calmly.

Skitter sighed. "Good news first." She replied easily.

The doctor then pulled out some papers from a nearby drawer and set them on a table. "Well, I am happy to say that she's healthy, she has a very powerful immune system and doesn't seem to be sick in any way." He said.

Skitter then began pacing. "And the bad news?" She wondered. 

"The bad news is that she seems to have a nutrient deficiency along with a bruised back hoof, I also seem to be missing most of her medical records, along with a birth certificate." He replied calmly.

Skitter sighed and stopped pacing. "I'll do what I can about the medical records and birth certificate, but what I'm most concerned about is the bruised hoof, do you know what caused it?" She asked worriedly.

The doctor shook his head. "I do not, although I recommend you try to keep her from over stressing herself, in her current state, it would only make the hoof worse and can cause sudden black outs." He warned.

Skitter nodded. "Alright, I'll let you know when I've got the records." She said.

_____*five minutes later, outside the hospital.*_____

Skitter walked out of the hospital with Solar, who was still having trouble adjusting to the whether of Equestria. "You alright kiddo?" She asked.

Solar rubbed her forehead and nodded. "Yea....I'll be alright, it's just too hot for me here." She replied.

Skitter gave Solar a skeptical glare but soon sighed and started walking, after all, the kid had arrived just today. "Come on, let's go." She said.

Solar followed after Skitter as she looked around the town. "So, what did the doctor say?" She asked curiously.

Skitter chuckled. "You sure you can handle it?" She wondered.

"Of course, I'm not a wimp." She argued.

Skitter rolled her eyes and looked back at Solar. "First off you are perfectly healthy, secondly, you seem to have a bruised back hoof, so you need to take it easy until it heals, the other problem is that your medical records and birth certificate are missing." She said before continuing to the house.

Solar looked back at her back legs for a moment before following Skitter. 

____*later that day, Gwen's house, 2:20 PM*____

Skitter entered the house and let Solar inside, what was odd was that there was nobody here, with Fang and Spark living at Lyaroa's now, it seemed just a bit emptier. "Go on and make yourself at home." She said before heading upstairs.

Solar simply watched as Skitter headed upstairs, apparently she was going to be sharing a room with Firefly, she didn't mind, but for now, she headed over to a nearby chair and sat down, she decided to get a better grasp of her surroundings and looked around.

Upstairs however, Skitter was in her room looking around. "And, of course, the moment I actually need the bloody thing, it's nowhere to be found!" She complained.

Skitter was looking for a medallion that she kept in a small box for years, any other day, she could find it with ease, but now it was gone, needless to say it was frustrating.

She then looked under the bed and found the medallion, she sighed and grabbed it, it was a small silver medallion with a Changeling on one side, and a fire on the other, she set it on the side table and shook her head. "Of all the times, whatever." Skitter then used her magic to grab the medallion, she closed her eyes and channeled a steady stream of magic into it, she remained focused for several minutes until she opened her mind.

Skitter then searched for her hive in her mind, but once again, nothing, just like every time before. "Why do I bother?" She muttered.

She set the medallion back down and walked to the door, but just as she reached for the handle, she felt a sharp pain in her chest, she stopped entirely and growled, when the pain subsided, her eyes suddenly widened and her jaw dropped. "Oh hell no......oh please no." She muttered, she then reached down to her chest and she felt an unwelcome feeling. "Shit." She stated.

Skitter managed to force her way through the pain and exited the room.

____*Downstairs*____

Skitter entered the living room and made her way to the couch, thankfully, Roxanne seemed to be home along with Firefly, they seemed to be getting along with Solar. "Hey guys." She said.

Roxanne looked up at Skitter and motioned her over. "Hey Skitter, we were actually just talking about you." She said.

Skitter looked at Solar who nodded. "What about?......I didn't do anything this time." She stated.

"Oh you know, your fondness of giving everyone a nickname." Firefly answered.

Skitter rolled her eyes. "Well, I haven't done that to everyone, but it's true." She said as she leaned back.

Solar then got up. "I'll be right back, excuse me." She said as she headed for the stairs.

Skitter looked over at Solar. "Bathroom?" She asked.

Solar looked at Skitter and nodded.

"Up the stairs, to the right and then to the left." Skitter said.

As Solar headed upstairs, Skitter looked at Roxanne. "Skitter, is Gwen ok with this?" The fox asked.

Skitter nodded. "Yea, I'm going to be paying my fair share of food costs and other stuff though, understandable." She replied.

Roxanne nodded. "It is.....anyway, you up for another lesson?" She asked.

Skitter chuckled and leaned forward. "Sure thing, alright, using what I taught you before, channel your magic until you feel it hit its peak, then image the familiar you wish to summon." She explained.

Firefly watched as Roxanne began channeling magic, she watched in awe as Roxanne's magic flowed into a ball that was forming, and soon enough, a small ghostly Dragon appeared on the table, it walked around slowly for a few moments before vanishing.

Roxanne sighed and looked at Skitter. "How was that?" She asked.

Skitter nodded In approval. "Very good, your a fast learner, you have the focus and magical reserves, but you need more speed for the actual summoning, I can help you with increasing the duration and size of them some other time." She replied.

Roxanne crossed her arms and closed her eyes. "Well, it's not bad for a week of using the magic, could be going slower." She muttered.

____*the next day, 8:10 AM*____

Skitter opened her eyes, she sighed and slowly got out of bed. "Well, it's official, I am technically a mother, I'm doomed." She whispered to herself.

She stood up and walked to the door, just as she opens the door and walked out, another sharp pain went through her chest and she was immobile, she gritted her teeth and forced her way through it, she headed down the stairs and once she was at the bottom, she walked over to the kitchen to get something to drink.

When Skitter entered the kitchen she got herself a glass of water, as she wasn't in the mood for tea or coffee, she went to the fridge and opened it.....she then raised an eyebrow and pulled out an empty ketchup bottle with a note. 'Sorry, but I drank this before moving, I.O.U a bottle of ketchup, Fang.' 

Skitter then threw the ketchup away and drank from the water, but just as it entered her mouth she realized what the note said. "He 'drank' the ketchup?.....what?" She muttered before shaking her head and walking to the living room.

____*Two hours later, 10:07 AM*____

Skitter walked with Solar to the school, thankfully, she had already informed them about Solar, and a bunch of students recently graduated, so now there was room in the same class Spark and Firefly were in, which would at least give Solar some friendly faces to talk with.

As they approached the school, Skitter spoke. "Fair warning, there are two fillies named Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, they are the bullies, don't go picking fights with them or anyone in particular, also, there are three fillies there that call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders.....be careful with them, they reportedly cause a lot of havoc, just don't pick on them and be VERY careful if they ask you to join their club." She warned.

Solar nodded and then looked at Skitter. "What club?" She asked.

"I already said the name, but it's a club where they try to find their cutie marks, they kind of go overboard however." Skitter answered as they arrived at the school. 

Skitter leaned up against the wall and motioned inside with her head. "I've already spoken with Cheerilee, so you can go on in, I gotta get going, besides.....I don't think my presence would go over well with the other students." She said before walking away.

"See you Skitter." Solar said before heading inside.

____*later that day, 12:43 PM*____

Skitter walked up to Lyaroa's house and knocked on the door. "Aaahhh!....oh hold on." Came a strange male voice. 

She waited a few moments before hearing a mechanical whirring above her, she looked up and saw Wheatly. "Oh hey, what did you need?" He asked.

"Lyaroa home?" She asked.

Wheatly did what Skitter assumed was a nod. "Yes, she's here, give me a moment." He then disappeared into the house and footsteps were soon heard coming to the door.

The door opened and Lyaroa was now there, but she was sweating all over and was breathing heavily. "Yes.....what, is it?" The Sentinel asked curiously through the breaths.

Skitter raised an eyebrow but said nothing about it, yet. "I need your help with something." She said.

Lyaroa nodded and wiped the sweat off her brow. "Ahh....sure thing.....come on in." She headed inside.

Skitter followed Lyaroa inside and almost jumped out of her skeleton when the door closed behind her, what confused her though.....was that Lyaroa had an entire bookshelf filled with water, energy drinks and coffee.

"Do I want to know?" She asked while pointing at the bookshelf.

Lyaroa shrugged, thankfully she seemed to be back to normal. "I need the energy." She replied. "Now, what's this about?" She asked.

Skitter started pacing. "Something's wrong with me." She started.

Lyaroa blinked. "Why not go to the doctor?" She pointed out.

Skitter scoffed. "As though they know anything about Changelings......I figured that since you know all of this, you can help." She replied.

Lyaroa rubbed her eyes and walked over to Skitter. "Fine, what's the problem?" She asked.

"Sharp pains in my chest, it isn't heartburn, it's something else." She answered.

Lyaroa materialized a table for Skiter to on, she then put her hand on Skitter's chest, soon she lowered her head and her eyes glowed for a brief second, she then backed up and looked at Skitter with a grin. "Well Skitter.....you, are gonna be a mommy." She said happily.

Skitter did the only sensible thing she could, she fell over backwards and promptly fainted. 

____*later that day, Lyaroa's house, 1:12 PM*____

Skitter paced back and forth in Lyaroa's living room, her current predicament was frustrating for the logical side of her, on one hand, Changelings couldnt conceive, unless it was the queen but even then they could only hatch larvae, they couldn't give birth like the other races.

On the other hand, it was a joyous if confusing situation, sadly, Wheatly had heard the news, and was ecstatic, he was blurting out random names incredibly quickly, Lyaroa however seemed to be taking notes.

In conclusion, it was very annoying. "So Skitter, what are you going to do now, because I ain't killing it or making it vanish." Lyaroa said.

Skitter groaned and started pacing. "Right now?....I should just be thankful that you found out how much time I have until he or she arrives, all I can do is try to be ready when the time comes." She replied.

Wheatly then slid along his rail and in between the two. "Well, as for me, I would definitely go for Samuel or Janett." He concluded with a nod.

Skitter blinked. "Ok.....thanks for the suggestion Wheatly." She thanked.

Lyaroa chuckled and looked up at the ceiling. "Although....I have to wonder something......if Changelings can't conceive, why do they have sexual parts?" She wondered curiously.

Skitter went wide eyed at Lyaroa but couldn't reply with her jaw literally dropped to the floor.
> The tale of Spark, strange occurrence, differences of two dragons.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*Lyaroa's house, three days later, 7:49 AM*____

Spark walked down the stairs and into the living room, he watched as Wheatly slid along his rail, he watched as Fang moved into the kitchen, the only one missing was Lyaroa, but he knew that she was still asleep. 'She could sleep all year if she felt like it.' He mused as he headed into the kitchen.

As Spark entered the kitchen, he saw Fang sitting at the table drinking some coffee, he walked over to the fridge and opened it, he then pulled out some orange juice and headed to the counter before realizing he couldn't reach it. "You want some help Spark?" Fang asked.

Spark looked around and saw that there was no way for him to get a cup or evenup to the counter, he sighed. "Sure." He replied.

Fang stood up and walked over to one of the cabinets, he pulled out a cup and took the juice, he then poured a cup and set it on the table. "There." He said as he went to put the juice away.

Spark walked over to the table and got on one of the chairs, he then drank his juice silently.

Fang sat back down and drank the last of his coffee, he then set the mug off to the side. "Hey.....I think we should talk." He suggested.

Spark set his cup down and put his arm on the table. "What about?" He wondered.

Fang crossed his arms and sighed. "I'm not sure, but I think we should try to find some common ground, we are father and son after all." He replied.

Spark blinked, he thought on this a moment as Fang's words ran through his mind. 'Technically, he is my dad, but I barely know the real him, and he wasn't even there when he gave me my name, not that Lyaroa gave him a choice.' He shook his head free of the thoughts. "Alright, so what do you think about politics?" He asked randomly.

Fang rolled his eyes. "I don't care about politics, they're boring." He answered easily. "So, what do you know about robotics?" He asked.

Spark raised an eyebrow. "Uh......other than Wheatly and Dark's leg, not much." He replied.

____*thirty three minutes later, Lyaroa's house.*____

Spark got off the chair and stretched his arms, he had just finished talking with Fang, and they both discovered a bunch about the other, for one, Spark didn't know that Fang was technically only six years old, he was really around twenty seven, but he didn't act like it, he mostly preferred to observe or take a passive approach to things.

But as he walked out of the kitchen, Spark remembered that he had school, his eyes widened and he darted upstairs to get ready.

Spark quickly ran up the stairs, nearly running into Lyaroa who just left the bathroom, and into his room almost startling Wheatly off of his rail.

The actual time that it took for Spark to run upstairs, head to his room, and quickly get everything he needed for school, took about twenty seconds......in frame by frame time.

Spark quickly returned downstairs and put his backpack on the couch, he was now breathing heavily and had his hands on his knees. 'Bad idea.....really bad idea.' He told himself.

It was about a minute later that Fang came out with a small paper bag, he handed it over and looked at Spark's backpack. "That was fast." He said.

Spark nodded and put the bag in the backpack. "Yea, it was." He replied.

A few moments later, footsteps were heard coming down the stairs and they both looked and saw Lyaroa walking down groggily, Fang stifled a laugh at something he saw, but Spark didn't see it.

But the moment Lyaroa walked to the kitchen, Spark saw it, a large stripe of yellow paint went right down her spine, he resisted the urge to laugh.

Fang looked away and patted Spark on the head. "Come on, let's get you to school before your late." He suggested.

Spark immediately agreed and followed his dad.

After the two left the house, they headed for the school.

The walk was mostly quiet, but that was mainly because they didn't really have anything to talk about, the only thing that was said between them was a short explanation as to why Roxanne was picking Spark up from school today.

But as they approached the school Spark noticed that Fang had gotten unnaturally quiet, he gazed up at his father and noticed a strange look in his eye, but he chose not to ask. "I'll see you later Spark, I got to get to work." Fang said before walking away.

Spark looked back at his dad curiously but he was soon greeted by an all too familiar voice. "He Xona." Firefly said in Changish. 

"He Kare." Spark replied. [1]

Spark walked over to Firefly and noticed that Solar was here, and saw Skitter walking off. "I see Skitter walked you over." He said.

Firefly shrugged. "Mom had to cover for someone today." She explained.

Spark nodded in understanding before walking to the schoolhouse. "So, how is everyone?" He asked.

"Gwen and Derpy's relationship is improving, slowly but it's progress, mom has been kinda busy, Solar has been a good roommate, and Skitter.....she's dealing." Firefly explained.

Solar looked at Spark. "Um.....hi, and I'm right here you know." She told Firefly as they all walked.

The three entered the classroom and saw that Cheerilee was not here, nor were most of the class, Spark looked at Firefly and Solar with a shrug. "Find a seat I guess." He suggested.

Soon enough, after they all found seats nearby each other, Spark saw the Crusaders enter the room, he watched out of the corner of his eyes as they all took seats. 'Well......time for some more boring classes.' Spark put his elbow on the table as the rest of the class arrived and a minute or so later, Cheerilee walked into the classroom to begin the lessons.

Spark took his elbow off the table and he quietly yawned with a hand over his mouth, he then focused on paying attention. 'Last thing I need to do is cause trouble.' He thought.

____*later that day, Recess. (Yes, I am skipping the actual learning part of school.....what a shock!)*____

Spark walked over to an empty table with Firefly and Solar, the two girls sat down at one of the benches while Spark sat on the table. "I know you like doing that, but could you sit on the bench like a normal kid?" Solar wondered.

Spark shook his head and rested his arm on his knee. "Na, i like it up here." He replied easily as he took the paper bag out of his backpack, he looked inside and there was three gems, a ruby, a sapphire and an amethyst.

Spark pulled them out and eyed them. "You know.....I don't think I've ever eaten gems, not once." He said to the fillies.

Firefly blinked and shrugged. "Is that bad?" She asked.

Spark sighed and put two of them on the table. "Not sure.....here goes nothing." He put the amethyst in his mouth and chewed it up.

Solar and Firefly watched curiously as Spark ate the gem.

Soon enough, Spark blinked and he then put the other two gems in the backpack. "Note.....never eat gems, they're horrible." He stated.

"That's odd, I thought all dragons liked gems." Firefly said.

Solar nodded. "Same here, though I guess not all dragons like them." She added.

Spark shrugged as he rested his arm on his knee again. "If so, I doesn't matter, I can always eat other things." He finished.

The school bell soon rang, and recess was over, the three then headed to the school. 'At least the other gems won't go to waste.' He thought as he returned to his seat.

As the class resumed, Spark gazed away for a second and looked out the window, he raised an eyebrow at what was out there, it was a large shadowed figure, it seemed to look at the school for a brief moment before walking away.

Spark quickly returned to paying attention to the lesson, but he was definitely going to mention this to Fang and Lyaora....they would most likely know something.

Although, one thing was bothering him today, where was Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon? 'I'll figure this out later I guess.'

_____*later, after school.*_____

Spark, Firefly and Solar all walked outside the schoolhouse as they waited for they're respective pick ups, as in, they were waiting on Roxanne to show up.

The crusaders had already gone home, so the three were left alone to entertain themselves. "Hey guys, what happened with the storm a couple of days ago?" Spark asked.

Firefly and Solar both looked at Spark with a slightly shocked expression. "You didn't hear?....the weather team was unable to contain the storm and it went out of control." Firefly explained.

"It's just good that nobody was seriously hurt." Solar added.

Spark blinked and shrugged. "Well....it really seems like I need to 'ketchup' on recent events." He joked. [2]

Firefly sighed. "You set that one up!" She complained.

Spark did a mock bow with a grin. "Come on, your smiling." He pointed out.

Firefly and Solar, were in fact, smiling. "I am, and I hate it." Solar argued.

It was just as Spark sat down, that he spotted Roxanne. "She's here you guys." Spark mentioned as he stood up and jumped off the table.

As the three walked over to Roxanne, they saw that she seemed distracted. "What do you think is on her mind?" Solar wondered.

"I don't know, but it can't be good." Firefly said quietly.

Roxanne seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in as the kids approached. "Hey guys, come on, I got to get you three back." She said casually.

Spark blinked and saw the small glimmer of worry on Roxanne's face but did not ask. 

____*a few minutes later.*____

Spark looked around as he walked with the others, it was a little later on that Roxanne spoke more than two words. "Gwen got accepted into the Wonderbolts academy." Roxanne said. 

Firefly whistled in amazement. "That's cool....but mom, you seem worried, you alright?" She asked out of concern.

Roxanne nodded. "Yes, I'm alright....what I'm concerned about is the others, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie Pie, they seem distant, like they don't really know what to do, it's......concerning, to say the least." She explained calmly but with some worry plain in her voice.

"It's none of my business, but I think they should try to make use of this time, they shouldn't be spending it all worrying if she'll be alright or not." Solar said.

_____*later that day, Lyaroa's house, 4:28 PM*_____

Everyone was in the living room, Lyaroa was listening to music while taking up the entire couch, Fang was reading Verdant's journal while sitting in a chair, Wheatly was in sleep mode, also, Roxanne was there, but she was leaning on the wall across from Lyaroa, while Spark was pacing in deep thought, eventually, Fang looked up from the book and looked at Spark. "Something on your mind?" He asked.

Spark stopped, but he soon sighed and nodded. "I need to tell you two something." He admitted.

Fang then looked at Lyaroa and stood up, he walked over and pulled the headphones off. "What is it?" She asked quickly.

Fang pointed at Spark and Lyaroa sighed, she rubbed her eyes and sat up to let Spark sit. "Come over kid, what's up?" She wondered as the young dragon walked over and sat down.

Spark looked between the two and made sure they were paying attention....they were. "Alright.....this is going to sound insane, but I saw something I can't explain." He started.

Fang seemed thoughtful, while Lyaroa was neutral, Roxanne blinked. "It happened today, it was a large shadowy figure, It looked at the school before walking off, I'm not sure what it was doing, but it was creepy." He continued.

"......I've seen it too." Fang admitted.

Lyaroa, Roxanne and Spark looked at Fang with concern. "When?" Lyaroa finally asked. 

Fang set the book aside and crossed his arms. "Ever since the day I agreed to move here, it came as a figure like the one Spark mentioned, but it spoke, it was talking as though the world underwent a great catastrophe." He answered.

Soon enough, the four were in silence until Roxanne spoke. "I didn't see this shadow, but what about you Lyaroa?" She asked.

Lyaroa shook her head and stood up, she sighed and paced back and forth. "I haven't seen it, but I think I know what happened." she replied, she then looked at Fang. "It's my theory that when I left your body to return to mine, I accidentally left behind some of my time powers, and you must have unintentionally released some of it." She explained.

Fang stood up and walked over to Lyaroa. "So how do I fix it?" He asked.

Lyaroa blinked. "I'll show you how to get it under control, but I won't teach you how to move time, at best, you'll learn how to slow it down." She replied.

Spark looked around and he let out a sigh of relief. 'At least it's getting fixed.' He thought, he then looked at Fang who had sat back down. "Hey dad.....I can't eat gems." He mentioned.

Fang shrugged. "Ok, it was a suggestion Twilight gave me, but now I know not to do it anymore." He replied calmly.

Spark paused and looked at Fang. "How would Twilight know?.....she's not a dragon." He asked.

"Twilight has a dragon son named Spike.....I thought you knew." Lyaroa answered before putting her headphones back on.

Spark scratched the back of his head as he tried to recall mention of Spike.....he didn't. "Nope." He said finally.

____*a few days later, Ponyville, 2:23 PM*____

Spark walked with Lyaroa to the Golden Oaks Library, which also happened to be Twilight's house, Spark had mentioned that he wanted to meet Spike, Fang was at work, Wheatly didn't know the town and couldn't get off the rail, thankfully, Lyaroa was already heading over and offered to take him there.

As the two approached the library, Spark found himself looking at Lyaroa. "Hey uh....what's Spike like?" He asked.

Lyaroa shrugged. "He's kinda mischievous, he does have a greed issue but that's normal with dragons, he also has a crush on Rarity, unlike you he likes gems, he's also constantly annoyed by Twilight and her obsession with reorganizing the entire library, other than that, you need to figure out." She explained as she knocked on the door.

The sound of shuffling and books falling came from the other side, but the door soon opened, revealing Dark looking stressed. "Hey guys." She said hurriedly.

Lyaroa raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess, Twilight has you and Spike helping her reorganize again?" She asked.

Dark nodded. "Yea.....apparently Celestia is visiting." She replied before spotting Spark. "Hey Spark, how are you?" She wondered.

"I'm fine." The young drake replied.

Lyaroa chuckled and shook her head. "Mind if we drop in? Twilight asked me to see her." 

Dark moved and let them inside, she then shut the door. "Twilight!...visitors!" She called.

Lyaroa raised an eyebrow as she watched Twilight zoom around before realizing what Dark said, she spotted the Sentinel and Spark and headed over. "Oh good, you could make it." She said.

"Yea." Lyaroa then looked around and saw Spike, he had just finished putting some books away. "Hey Spike, I want you to meet someone." She said.

Spike looked over and saw Lyaroa, he then noticed a small orange dragon with dark green jagged scales, the dragon also had light blue eyes and was looking around curiously, he blinked and walked over. [3]

Lyaroa looked at Twilight and walked to a part of the library that wasn't occupied. "Come on Twilight, let's talk." She said.

Spark watched as Dark walked over to the couch to sit down, he then noticed Spike walking over, when they were close enough to talk, he heard Spike talk. "Hi, names Spike." He introduced.

Spark put his hand on his chest and spoke. "Ki Dorag Po Spark." He said in Changish.

Spike raised an eyebrow at the language. "Uh.....do you speak Equestrian?" He asked.

Spark nodded. "Sorry, force of habit....I'm Spark." He replied.

"What language was that anyway, it sounded familiar?" Spike asked curiously.

"Changish." Spark replied easily.

Spike blinked again. "Huh, so uh, is she your mom?" Spike asked while pointing at Lyaroa.

Spark shook his head. "She's like my mother, but she isn't." He answered as he crossed his arms. "So what about Twilight?.....she your mom?" He wondered.

Spike sighed. "She is, but I don't think she realizes it." He answered.

Spark sat down and rested his right arm over his knee. "That sucks....anyway, enough with the personal stuff." He stated.

Spike sat down across from Spark. "So, can you breathe fire?" He asked.

Spark nodded and held out his hand, he then breathed some controlled fire into the palm of his hand for a few seconds before harmlessly dispelling it. "It's still a work in progress though." He admitted.

Spike however was stunned. "How did you do that?....all I can do is breath it for a brief moment, and it's linked to a spell." He said.

Spark raised an eyebrow. "You weren't taught this stuff?" Seeing Spike shake his head answered his question. "Let me guess.....they taught you the spell you mentioned and that was it?" He guessed.

Spike nodded. "I know other things, but not a lot of it is on dragons, the only time I learned anything was when I met Garble and his friends, but they were just plain cruel. "He replied.

Spark sighed and facepalmed. "Oh boy.....fine, you need to know this stuff at some point, when you go to breathe fire, ignore the spell, you need to focus your flame in the chest and in the throat, you might know this, but breathing is a major part of breathing fire, not including Roxanne....she just ignores the logic of it all." He explained.

Soon enough, Lyaroa and Twilight walked back over. "Alright Spark, let's get going." Lyaroa said.

Spark stood up. "Seeya Spike." He said as he headed for the door.

The two left the library and closed the door behind them. "Why'd we leave so soon?" Spark asked.

"Simple, Twilight is trying to get the library ready for Celestia's visit, and she didn't want my helpful advice 'distracting' her." Lyaroa answered.

The two walked in silence after that, but when they neared the house, Spark looked at Lyaroa. "What are you going to do when she arrives?" He asked.

Lyaroa stopped as Spark spoke. "I don't know......I'm not going to cause a fight, but it depends on whether or not SHE keeps calm, or if we even see one another." She replied.

Spark looked worriedly as Lyaora entered the house extremely quietly. 'Learn to shut up Spark!' He berated himself mentally as he facepalmed and headed inside.
> The tale of Shade, Memories of home, unwelcome visitors.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*The Everfree Forest, 7:21 PM*_____

Shade hid in the brush, watching as a manticore approached his location, Shade went completely silent as it eventually snorted and walked away.

He waited until the beast was out of earshot before slinking away.

It was a few minutes when Shade entered a familiar clearing, it was surrounded by trees and had only a single carved stone in the center, he never bothered to look, but he felt an immense power about it, which was more than enough to convince him to stay away.

He quickly moved away from the clearing, once again avoiding the stone.

_____*five minutes later, Shade's cave.*_____

When Shade got back, he took a moment to admire his work, it took a very long time, but the cave now looked like a hill from the outside, he walked to his cave and entered it.

The inside was nothing special, for one, it had nothing unnecessary like a wardrobe or such, it had a small pit for a fire, and that was it aside from a small pile of wood, he had already given Lyaroa her box back, saying that he didn't need it, besides, he didn't want to become complacent.

She hadn't refused, in fact, she seemed pleased, especially since he didn't do anything extravagant. "Don't need any of that anyway." He walked over to the pile and carried two logs to the fire pit, he set them in the pit and ignited them with some spark rocks.

He sat there quietly in front of the fire for a long time, simply enjoying the heat, his mind trailed back to the place he once called home. 'I'll never go back.' He told himself once again.

_____*many years ago, The world of Oglan, Sanitation factory, Ashlock city, 1:21 PM, the year 2349.*_____

Blurred vision.....that was all I could see, from inside my birthing tank, I was groggy and couldn't move, I felt a sharp prick in my back but could not respond, eventually, I felt a soothing sensation on my back, I then heard a voice speak muffled sentences, I felt the waters In the tank drain and I landed on the floor of it, I felt things fall off or disconnect from me, I was now able to fully open my eyes and get a better grasp of my surroundings, I seemed to be in a lab of some kind, but before I could move, the front of the tank opened and I was picked up by a strange looking creature with six eyes and four pincer like legs in its back.

I was carried into a different room and carefully placed on a table of some kind and a weird looking device with a small metal disk was placed over my chest, after a few moments, i growled and threw the device away and backed off cautiously.

Another strange creature with a wide head and an eye on each end spoke. "Feisty, no heartbeat, abnormal vitals, immediate curiosity and paranoia, exactly as the Dragoon said." It said in a gruff voice.

The six eyed one nodded and knelt down to see eye to eye with me, revealing a long and scaled tail with a barb at the tip in the process. "Can you understand us?" It asked in a polite manner but with an energetic voice.

I nod, and then I glanced at my own hand, it was furry and clawed, the fur was brown and was thick, I checked my feet and saw that were were very similar to my hands, although the actual movements of my arms and legs were different, they were undeniably similar.

"If I may?" The wide headed one asked as it produced a small metal cylinder.

I did not move, but I allowed it to continue with another nod.

I was soon blinded, the wide headed one flashed a light in my eyes and then shined one in my mouth.....it was disturbing.

The wide headed one then backed off and wrote some things down. "Eyes are in good order, nothing wrong with his vocals." It said.

The six eyed one was up next. "Can you talk?" It asked.

I nodded. "Some, what are you?" I asked.

The six eyed one beamed for some reason. "I'm a hybrid of sorts, or halfbreed, half spider half scorpion, you can call me Sonya." It answered happily.

I blinked as 'Sonya' headed back to the wide headed one, I noticed something fluffy behind me and a looked, I saw that it was a fluffy brown tail, I didn't know how to react to this but I soon heard more talking. "He's highly intelligent, more than the others anyway." Sonya said.

The wide headed one jotted down some more on his notes and looked at me. "I need to test your motor functions, are you alright with this?" It asked. 

I nod once again, the wide headed one approached and looked me over. "Alright, move your right leg." It instructed.

I do so and move the leg around. "Alright, now the other leg." It continued.

I did so again, but with my left leg. "What are you?" I ask bluntly. 

The wide headed one blinked as I move my other leg. "Ok, now the left arm." He instructed. ".....Don't worry, I didn't ignore your question." He then told me to move the right arm. "I am an aquatic lifeform commonly known as a hammerhead shark, just call me Erik." He said as he jotted down some more on his notes.

I watched as Erik pulled out a tiny hammer and moved it closer to my leg, I quickly backed off. "It's alright, I just need to test your reflexes." He explained.

I looked at him skeptically for a few moments before relenting, Erik then lightly hit certain parts of my arms and legs with the hammer, it didn't hurt, and I didn't twitch, I wasn't sure if it was bad.

Erik then stood up and walked away as he wrote down something in his notes. "Wait here." He instructed as he left the room.

I was reluctant to obey at first, but seeing as I had no knowledge of the outside world or anything for that matter, I decided to look around without moving.

The room was moderately sized, it had a small hallway and a door was on the left hand side, the walls were a relaxing gray, the ceiling was a slightly brighter shade of gray, the floors were a white tile, there was little else in the room aside from the bed and a couple tables, there were no windows and the entrance door was open, the only decorations on the walls were paintings of landscapes, the bedsheets were gray and the pillow was white.

I looked at Sonya as it was looking over some notes, it had two long arms with slim hands, it had two long legs with strange claw like feet, it had a dark gray body and the four legs in its back were the same color, its tail was the same, the eyes were all black pits, it had little hair on its head, and what little it did have seemed to be extremely short and was black in color.

"Are you a male?" I asked suddenly.

Sonya looked at me and shook its head. "I'm female." She clarified.

Just then, Erik walked up to the door from somewhere else. "Sonya, I need to speak with you." He said, he seemed to be off but Sonya walked over and followed him out.

I was alone now, and they didn't tell me not to leave, but for some reason I didn't want to leave the room, I had nothing to entertain me and I had nothing to do.

Thankfully, Erik and Sonya weren't gone for long, they soon returned and they both looked thoughtful and disturbed, I blinked. "What happens now?" I asked.

Erik put his hand to his chin and rubbed it for a moment. "Well, we aren't sure, you see, normally your kind are sent off somewhere, but you are a special case, the Dragoon seems to have taken a personal interest in you, but other circumstances would have me follow protocol." He answered.

I blinked again, not because I didn't understand what they said, but because it only offered more questions. ".....Explain?" I asked.

Sonya spoke this time. "The Dragoon is our leader, he rules our entire nation, which spans the world, he said that he had a vision, and that you were part of it, he told us all about it, but we didn't expect it to become true, but normally your kind are sent off to various places, industrial plants, military, research, but when we examined the final results...." She trailed off.

Erik seemed to reluctantly answer. "Your natural reflexes are dead or missing, and you have an innate curiosity, which is not good for your kind these days, you also seem to be far more aware of everything going on, not to mention your completely blank slate." He explained.

I thought on those words for a time, but the last part caught my attention more than anything. "Blank slate?" I asked.

"You have no purpose, no direction, your kind are created with an inborn purpose, but you.....there's nothing, when we examined you shorty before you awoke, we discovered that your mind was almost empty, but sadly, while this would be good, it means elimination according to protocol." Erik explained.

My eyes widened at elimination, I may have been mostly ignorant, but I knew that words meaning. "So, now I die?" I wondered.

Sonya sighed. "There are two other ways however, firstly, we don't know what the Dragoon plans to do with you, so that wild card is in the air, but there is another possibility." She pointed out.

Erik looked at Sonya. "I already told you, it won't work." He countered.

And now I was completely lost. "What is it?" I asked.

Erik looked directly at me. "Sonya doesn't want you to die for reasons unknown to me, but she claims that she can convince our boss to hand responsibility of you to her, I already told her, he doesn't break protocol no matter what." He explained.

I looked at Sonya who was pacing back and forth, and then at Erik. "So what now?" I asked.

Erik sighed and looked at me. "As I said to Sonya, all I can do for her plan is give my recommendation, other than that, it would be wait for whatever the Dragoon is planning, or.....well, you know." He replied.

After that, the two left the room, leaving me alone once again, I was terrified, but also curious, it was a few moments until I decided to get some rest, I rested my head on the pillow and closed my eyes.

_____*some time later.*_____

I opened my eyes and yawned quietly, I sat up and looked around, there didn't seem to be anyone in the room.

I then got off the bed, I landed on the floor and stretched my arms, I walked to the hallway and opened the side door......it was a bathroom, I walked in and immediately noticed a mirror, I blinked and managed to get a better view by climbing up on the toilet seat, I saw that my irises were orange and I found that interesting, I walked back out to the other room.

My ears twitched and I heard footsteps approaching the room, i turned around and watched as the entrance door opened to reveal Sonya. "Oh good, your awake." She said happily as she entered the room with a tray in hand. "You know, when me and Erik came back and saw you sleeping, we were actually shocked." She mentioned casually.

I blinked and looked at the door for a while as Sonya set something up on the tray, I took a short breath and walked around the bed and climbed up. 

The first thing I noticed was the contents of the tray, it had a plate on it with some golden stuff on it along with two slices of something with crust, there was also a cup filled with water. "What is it?" I asked.

Sonya chuckled. "It's eggs and toast, you know, for breakfast.....figured it would be better than nothing." She replied.

I saw a small metal object with four prongs on it, I picked it up and blinked, I then used it to grab some of the eggs and eat, it was surprisingly good.

Sonya sat down in a nearby chair......that wasn't there before. "I think you'll enjoy some good news, they've decided to let you live, the Dragoon actually made it clear that you are to live, but that was it, as for the other thing.....I'm waiting on a reply" She explained as I ate.

I was relieved to be honest, it was selfish thinking, but i was glad that they weren't going to kill me, I then looked at the toast and picked it up, I took a bite and continued to eat it afterwards.

Sonya looked at the entrance door and then at me. "I'm sorry for not asking, but how would you feel about that, being my responsibility?" She asked.

I shrugged. "Not sure, I don't know much, so I can't help with that." I answered after finishing the toast.

Soon enough, a strange creature with horns on both sides of its head showed up at the door. "Sonya, the boss wants to talk to you." It said.

Sonya stood up and walked out of the room. "I'll be back." She said.

I nodded, I thought on my current predicament for a while as I sipped on the water, but I could only come up with one course of action, wait and see.

It was about a half hour until Sonya returned. "Alright, the boss says that you can be released into my custody, but we need a name for you." She explained hastily.

I blinked, still completely confused at the situation, but I quickly thought of something. "Ok, any ideas?" I asked.

Sonya tried to calm down but seemed overwhelmed by something. "Oh boy this is happening quickly." She muttered.

"Maybe you should sit, and calm down to think." I suggested.

Sonya nodded and sat down, she then started to take deep breaths and was calmed down in no time at all. "Ok....I can think of a few names." She mentioned.

Sonya then went silent and contemplated some names, eventually, she looked at me. "Nocturne." She said. [1]

I turned the name over in my mind and I eventually settled on it. "It'll work." I answered.

____*Two days later, 2:21 PM*____

I rode in the vehicle as Sonya drove, things had went rather smoothly, the only problem we had was when I found out I was technically a baby, apparently my race grew up quicker, but seeing as newly born Night Wolves who just left their tanks became fully grown adults in a day, I felt like something was wrong with me, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

The vehicle was a simple car, two seats up front, two in the back, a trunk, and a hood, and that isn't including everything needed to run the car, but I decided that I didn't need to know right now. "Nocturne." Sonya said.

I looked at Sonya with a curious gaze. "Yea?" I asked.

Sonya did not look away from the road as she talked. "I know this is happening very quickly for you, but trust me, this is slow compared to normal procedure, normally, Night Wolves are given a basic check up, and then sent off the next day, besides, I've seen what your kind are forced to do, at least this way, you have a chance at a normal life." She said as she slowed the car for a stop sign.

I looked out the window, not because I didn't care, but because I didn't have anything to say, but I did think on this for a good duration of the ride.

It was a few minutes before Sonya spoke again. "Are you hungry?" She asked.

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine." He answered.

Sonya turned the car, she drove up to a small brown building and looked at me. "I'll be right back, the car is locked and it's hard to see the inside from outside." She said,

I nodded and looked out the window. 'I wonder, what is she getting?' I wondered.

A few minutes later, I saw Sonya walking to the car with a small bag, she unlocked the door and opened it, she then entered and locked it up again, she opened the bag and pulled outa smaller bag filled with some golden brown things, she put two in her mouth and started up the car. "Sorry, forgot to eat today." She said after swallowing the food.

I blinked and rolled my eyes. "Ok." I said. 'It isn't my business.' I thought.

It was at least ten minutes of driving later that Sonya had to slow down due to traffic and stop signs. "Why don't people just walk?" I asked.

"Because with the size of the empire. and the distance between places, it would be forever to get from place to place, if anything, we have strict traffic laws here, which keeps the casualty rate down." She explained.

Soon enough, Sonya turned the car and drove up to an enormous white building called Caravan Heights. "What is this place?" I asked curiously.

Sonya took her seatbelt off and took the keys out. "It's a hotel, i live in one of the apartments here." She explained.

I took my seatbelt off, or at least....I attempted too, Sonya had to take it off and open my door, I tried to get out but Sonya picked me up and carried me away from the car after locking it. "I can walk." I complained.

Sonya shook her head and chuckled. "You can barely walk as it is, your lucky you could move as much as you could back at the hospital." She countered.

I grumbled but said nothing as Sonya carried me, in truth, I had no idea what was going on, but I had no other option but to let it play out.

_____*end of flashback.*______

Shade sighed, he looked at his hand and looked at the black ring that rested on one of his fingers, he clenched his fist and growled before walking away from the fire. 'Never.' He told himself.

_____*a week later.*_____

Shade prowled through the forest, he had just found his prey and was getting ready to pounce, his prey was something that Lyaroa called the cockatrice, its main defense was its eyes, which could turn people to stone, so as long as he didn't look it in the eyes, he would be fine.

He waited to strike until the cockatrice turned away from him, it took a while as it was eating.....something, when it was finally done, it turned around and Shade lunged, the beast didn't even have time to screech when it's heart was removed.

Shade then started to pull the beast back to his cave. "Damn birds...better than nothing." He muttered to himself, he did that a lot.

It was a long time until Shade neared his cave, but he heard voices that made him stop. "This'll be a good spot." Said a southern voice.

"Are you positive darling?" Wondered a more refined voice.

Shade set the dead beast on the ground and moved quietly towards the source of the voices.

When Shade arrived at the source, he discovered six equine creatures of different origin and color, two had wings, two had horns, and two had neither, he also found out that they were taking residence in his cave, which had no camouflage for some reason, his growled. 'Oh you have got to be FUCKING kidding me!' He screamed in his mind.

Shade simply vanished into the bushes, he would wait and see, as he always did, they would probably leave the next day.

_____*later that night, 8:21 PM*_____

Shade lurked around the entrance of his cave, while he was infuriated that the camouflage he made was missing, he was woken by a feeling of fear from inside the cave, it was understandable in the forest, but it was strange nonetheless.

Soon enough, he watched as the small orange and purple one left the cave and ran off on its.....scooter? 

Shade decided to follow it as it was suicide to go into the forest at night.

He followed the speeding creature all the way to a cliff, at this point, he acted, he sped as fast as he could towards the creature and stopped its rapid movement.

Soon enough, Shade discovered that the creature was undeniably female, due to the screams, he quickly released her and covered his ears. "My ears!" He shouted before running off.

When the girl stopped screaming, Shade was able to take his hands off his ears, he was still close enough to see her, and soon enough, another one of her kind flew down, but this one had both a horn and wings, it was dark blue with hair that resembled the night sky.

Shade quickly backed off and disappeared into the forest, not willing to anger a hybrid at all. 'I had to be nice, I couldn't have just let things play out could i?' He continued to berate himself all the way back to his nearby hiding spot for the night.
> The tale of Darkestlight, Seeing the truth, memories of another.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Golden Oaks Library, main room, 1:10 PM*______

Dark rubbed her eyes as she sat on the couch, apparently, Princess Celesta was delayed by matters in Canterlot last week, but was able to show up today, she had thought about waiting it out, and then coming back out when she was gone, but Skitter had to be the voice of reason and gave her a reason not to.

'Do you want to live your life like this?....in fear of someone else?' Those were her exact words.

The main issue was that Twilight went into another cleaning frenzy, and it was even worse now that Celestia was arriving soon, they had only JUST finished, and Dark was exhausted. "This better not be some plan of yours to tire me out when she shows up." She said as she rested her arms and legs.

"Why would I do that?" Twilight asked as she walked around.

Dark shrugged. "I have no idea." She answered tiredly

The library was silent after that, if there was any noise, it came from Twilight shuffling papers and such around in one of the desk drawers, eventually, Twilight seemed to sense something and quickly moved around.

At that precise moment, Lyaroa popped up out of nowhere in front of Twilight wearing white pants and a white hoodie with the hood down, along with a pair of purely white fingerless gloves, her eyes were closed and her hand was slightly raised. "Hi." She said casually.

Dark was surprised at the sudden arrival, Twilight however was not taking it so well, she quickly and unknowingly fired a concussion blast at the Sentinel.

Lyaroa blinked as the spell simply evaporated and she shrugged. "Sorry.....am I late?" She asked.

"Late for what?" Dark asked.

Lyaroa manifested a recliner chair and sat down. "Celestia's visit.....I want to vex and insult her if the right opportunity presents itself." She said with a grin.

Twilight blinked and looked at Lyaroa. "Can you not?....I would rather not have to deal with it later." She snapped.

Lyaroa chuckled and reclined all the way. "Hmmm.......na, this is much more fun." She replied as she waited with her eyes closed.

It wasn't long after that the door knocked, Twilight walked over and opened it. "Princess Celestia!" She bowed as she greeted her old mentor.

"It is good to see you Twilight Sparkle." Celestia replied.

Lyaroa looked at Dark and put her hands over her throat and made a gagging imitation as she sat up.

Dark rolled her eyes and stood up. "Knock it off." She whispered as she took a deep breath and let it out.

Twilight allowed Princess Celestia inside who, almost immediately, noticed Lyaroa, but kept calm. "I see you have company." She said calmly.

Lyaroa shook her head. "Oh, we're not here, carry on." She replied teasingly as she stood up walked to the bathroom. 

Twilight waited until Lyaroa was gone before clearing her throat and looking at her old mentor. "Now that I think about it Princess, have you met Dark?" She asked as she pointed at the made in question.

Celestia looked at Dark. "I believe we have met once before." She started.

"Yea, i remember." Dark said.

"How have you been since you returned?" Celestia asked. 

"I'm alright, Twilight was kind enough to let me stay here." She answered. [1]

Celestia nodded. "That's good." She then looked at Twilight. "I'm proud of the progress you have made since coming to Ponyville, it has done you good." She told her student.

A slow clap was heard and they all looked and saw Lyaroa looking down with a grin. "Yes yes....she grew up, it's nice, anyway, hate to interrupt and run, but I got to get back home." She gave a two fingered salute and vanished.

Dark blinked. "Well, I don't want to get in the middle of your visit, so I'm going to head out, see you later Twilight." She said as she headed outside, leaving Twilight and Celestia to their usual business. [2]

_____*Ponyville, town center about ten minutes later.*_____

Dark walked around the town, she was actually relieved that things went so smoothly back at the library. 'At least Lyaroa didn't start anything, that would have sucked.'

Dark couldn't help but watch as people went about their everyday lives, for reasons she couldn't explain, she felt sad when seeing families enjoying their day.

She shook these thoughts from her mind and continued walking, if anything to try and take her mind off things. 

After a few minutes of walking, Dark found herself in the market, where she saw Lyaroa walking around with Spark on her head, she walked over and saw Spark wave.

Lyaroa chuckled. "Hey Dark.....how's it going?" She asked.

"Good.....how did this happen?" She asked, motioning to Spark on Lyaroa's head.

Lyaroa felt Spark messing with her ear and rolled her eyes. "He wanted to go with me to the market, and he climbed up there, I don't feel like moving him.....besides we got what we need for dinner before I go to work." She said.

Dark nodded. "Yea, but hey, I'm just glad you didn't start anything with Celestia back there." She mentioned.

Lyaroa shrugged. "I'm not going to start anything, got no reason too, I need to make a visit when I'm healed up though." She replied.

Dark looked up at Spark. "You doing alright little buddy?" She asked.

Spark nodded. "Yep." He answered.

"We had better get back, Fang will kill me if I have him out for too long, see you Dark." She said before walking off.

Dark watched as Lyaroa walked off, and as Spark waved to her, she smiled and gave a short wave back, but as she did, she couldn't help but feel sadness again.

Afterwards, Dark continued her walk, eventually she found herself near Sugarcube corner and some of the other shops, she was simply walking by when she heard someone shout. "IT'S A DOOZY!" 

Dark watched as everyone immediately ducked to cover, she raised an eyebrow and continued walking, at that exact moment a mare accidentally dropped her vase from the windowsill, why she had a vase at the window was a mystery.

Dark was soon thrown aside and landed nearby on the ground hard, she rubbed her head and looked and saw the broken vase, she blinked and looked at the person who knocked her down, a very familiar mare. "Applejack, are you alright?" She asked worriedly.

Applejack nodded and shook her head. "I'm fine, what about you?" She wondered.

Dark stood back up. "What happened with everybody?" She wondered.

Applejack sighed. "Let me sum it up for you.....Pinkie Sense, she basically warned everyone about a falling object." She explained easily.

Dark shook her head. "If I was here a few months ago, I would have said that was the stupidest thing I've ever heard, but now I just want to say I hate Monday's." She muttered.

Dark thanked Applejack and went on her way, eventually, she decided to head back to the library, as Celestia will have left by now.

_____*later that day, Ponyville Park, 7:13 PM*_____

Dark walked through the park at a relaxing pace, she liked the peacefulness the park had at night, and it was quiet, which was also good, but for some reason, Dark felt most at ease at night, she didn't know why, but she did.

Dark continued walking until she reached a hill, she looked up at the moon, it was a full moon, she smiled and closed her eyes and stood there in silence for a few moments, she soon opened her eyes and looked around, she saw a strange heatwave like distortion on the ground, she slowly backed away. 'What in the world?' She wondered.

A magical circle soon surrounded the distortion and a blinding light covered Dark's vision, she raised her hoof over her eyes to block the light out, when the light faded enough to see, Dark looked and saw a strangely familiar pony.

It was a young unicorn filly, she seemed strangely similar to Dark in appearance, her cutie mark was that of a frozen gear, there was a hammer and sword in the center in a cross, she had icy blue eyes and she looked at Dark with a look of surprise and unexpected joy. 

"M....mom?" The filly said before vanishing, the distortion along with it.

Dark was left speechless, she had no answers for what happened, she couldn't do anything at the moment, she looked around for a moment before heading back to the library, but she couldn't get that word out of her head. 'Mom?' She mulled the word over in her head the entire way back.

_____*unknown place.*______

Dark looked around curiously, she was inside a large room with many machines, they all seemed inactive, she noticed a large curtained off area, she found herself walking over and opening the curtains, revealing a large red pirate fox with an eyepatch and a metal hook along with a pair of brown linen pants, like it was a pirate. 'Odd.' She thought to herself.

She then walked around a bit, and ended up at a place with a counter and a ton of prizes behind it, she looked further in and saw a mechanical version of Fang, the only difference was that he had a brown fedora on for some reason.

Dark then found herself unintentionally walking to a more open part of the building, her eyes almost immediately turned to what seemed to be a stage and the three mechanical creatures on it, there was a bunny, a chicken and a bear, the bunnie was almost purple with its shade of it, the chicken was yellow, and the bear was brown, the bunny had a large red guitar and a red bow tie along with two buttons along it's chest, the chicken had a cupcake and a bib saying 'Lets eat!', the bear had a microphone and top hat and a black bow tie, it also had two buttons along its chest.

Afterwards Dark was walking again, but she was like in a trance, she soon entered another room unknown to her, it had three doors in it, one on the left, one in the front, and one on the right, she walked over to the desk in the room and looked at the contents, there was a small fan and a tablet on the table. 'Wait......how do I know what these things are?' She asked herself.

Dark looked around and soon she sat down in a chair, but the moment she did all three doors slammed shut and the tablet flipped up.

Her eyes widened and she started breathing heavily, she tried to calm herself down and looked at the tablet, it flickered to life and showed an image of the main stage, the three from the stage were there, but the bear seemed to slowly turn to face the camera. 'Why do I know these things?' She thought.

She heard a loud ring and jumped, after a few moments, she held her hoof over her heart and soon enough she heard a strange noise and soon enough, she heard.....something, oddly familiar, but nonetheless terrifying.

"You.....you cannot escape us, not this time." Said a creepy mechanical voice.

The three doors opened all at once and the tablet flickered, when the image returned, the bunny was missing, Dark instinctively reached out with her magic and the image changed to the room with the machines, it showed the mechanical Fang and he was looking at the camera with a knife to his throat, he was grinning madly.

Dark then hit a button next to the left door and it showed nothing, she checked the right door and there was nothing, she shined a light down the hall and nothing was there, she quickly looked at the tablet and changed the image, it changed to the camera the fox was at, it was thankfully closed.

Dark changed the image back to the stage and saw that the bear was looking at the camera and the chicken was gone, her eyes widened and she quickly checked the doors and flipped through the camera images.

Eventually, she found the bunny in the storage room, and the chicken in the main room, she went to look at the camera for Fang and saw that he was outside his station and was now without a knife, which was good.

After a few minutes of Dark keeping an eye on the mechanical creatures, she found that the fox was out, it had its hand covering the hook and was looking off to its left. "That's not good." A familiar voice said.

Dark switched cameras and found the chicken in one of the separate rooms, she then thought on something as she tried to keep herself alive. 'I didn't say that.....so who did?' She wondered.

Soon, Dark looked at the stage and saw that the bear was still there. "That's good." The voice said quietly.

The camera image switched to the fox, who was now missing, Dark's eyes widened as she heard running in the left hall, she quickly shut that door and she checked the other doors, there was nothing in the middle hallway, but the chicken was at the right door, so it was shut.

Dark checked the left door and saw the bunny, she didn't open the door, she flipped through the cameras looking for Fang, eventually she found him.....in the breaker room. [3] "Oh.....shit." The voice said before the image cut and the lights soon following.

Dark shined light from her horn and noticed something odd, the creatures left, she shined light in both of the side doors, nothing, she shined light down the middle hallway and saw Fang standing in the far off hallway with a hand on the wall.

She repeated the cycle a few times, until she realized that Fang wasn't moving, and that the others weren't showing.

Dark shined light down the middle hall once again but this time Fang was much closer, he was almost at the door and was slightly slouched and had a menacing smile.

Dark waited a few moments after she stopped hitting Fang with the light, she shined it once again but was shocked as Fang as practically inside the office, he had his right hand where the door came down at and his eyes glowed eerily.

Her breathing was ragged and she was panicking as Fang just stood there, eventually however, the lights came back on, and Fang was gone, Dark looked around frantically for Fang, but saw nothing, she shook her head free of it but quickly looked at the tablet, everyone seemed to be back where they started, she checked Fang and saw that he was back to normal.

She sighed in relief and looked at the nearby clock, it was six now, she stood up and quickly made her way out. "One thing is for sure, I'm not coming back." The voice said once again.

Dark looked around as she walked, but she soon looked at a reflective surface, and saw that she wasn't herself......literally, she looked like the filly from before, but it felt like her own body, she soon continued walking, but unwillingly. 'What is going on here?' She wondered.

_____*the next day, Golden Oaks Library, 9:10 AM*______

Dark held her hoof under her chin as she went into deep thought over the events of the past night. 'What exactly was that anyway?' She asked herself.

As she thought on it, she heard Twilight talking with Spike, a thought formed in her head and she looked at Twilight. "Hey, can I ask you something?" She wondered.

Twilight looked over and nodded. "Sure." She replied.

"Have you ever heard of a spell that lets you see another's memories?....but feel like it's your own?" She asked.

Twilight sat down and thought on it for a few moments before shaking her head. "No, I haven't, sorry......what about Lyaroa? she might be able to help?" She suggested.

Dark shook her head. "No, she has enough on her plate already with helping Skitter with the sudden pregnancy, adding the fact that she is trying to act like a mother of some kind for Spark?....I think I should leave her be for now." She replied.

Dark sighed and closed her eyes. 'I just hope that whatever this is, it calms down soon.' She thought.

But somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that things were more than likely going to escalate.
> The tale of Firefly, Choices, Uncaring Roommate.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*a little earlier that day, Gwen's house, Firefly and Solar's room 8:10 AM.*_____

Firefly opened her eyes and grumbled, she sat up and rubbed her eyes, accidentally shocking herself in the process, she twitched but not much else. 'I hate when that happens.' She said to herself.

She noticed that Solar was already out of the room and stood up. "Better late than never." She muttered.

Firefly slowly walked out of the room, she heard movement downstairs and headed for the bathroom, when she reached the bathroom, it was thankfully empty, she entered and locked the door.

After a while, Firefly left the bathroom and headed downstairs, when she entered the kitchen, she saw Gwen making breakfast, she walked to the table and sat down. "Morning Gwen." She said, still slightly tired.

Gwen seemed to pause for a second but continued quickly, it was extremely subtle, so Firefly didn't pick up on it.

Roxanne entered the room and sat down. "Hey Gwen." She greeted.

Gwen looked over. "Hey Roxanne." She replied before returning to cooking the food.

"Hi mom." Firefly said.

Roxanne noticed a small tear run down Gwen's face, but she didn't let Firefly see it, she chuckled and ruffled Firefly's hair. "Hey Firefly." She replied. 

____*later in the day, at School, 9:32 AM*____

Firefly sat at the bench with Spark, Solar and the Crusaders, they had bonded rather quickly over the last few weeks, but when Scootaloo was attacked last week, she had quieted down a lot and was much more skittish, more so than normal.

Spark, who was once again sitting on the table, was currently lost in thought as Firefly and the others talked. "You're sure your alright?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Scootaloo nodded. "Yea, I'll be alright, but I probably shouldn't do anything reckless for a while, especially in the forest." She replied calmly, but her hoof was still shaking.

Firefly blinked but said nothing, one thing she noticed was how strangely Spark was acting, normally he was talking freely, but now he was quiet as could be. "Spark, what's on your mind?" She asked.

Spark blinked and looked at Firefly. "I've been thinking about what Lyaroa said, she had heard about the attack and said she would handle it.....but the way she said it, it was odd." He answered.

"How so?" Firefly asked.

Spark looked up at the sky. "Earlier that week, she had told dad about an anomaly she felt back in the Crystal Empire, and that it came here......it makes me wonder what the anomaly was." He replied.

Scootaloo put her head in the table and grumbled. "Well if she knew what it was, why didn't she do anything?" She wondered.

Spark shrugged. "I don't know, but something tells me that the source of the anomaly is what attacked you." He said as he stood up.

Firefly watched as Spark jumped up the table and stretched. "Maybe we should let this one play out?....I don't know if you all noticed, but we're in over our heads." Spark said.

Apple Bloom sighed and got off the bench. "I know we don't have a good record with these sort of things when we try to help out....but you can't expect us to do nothing?....Scoots was attacked after all, we have just as much right to go after this thing, besides, your a DRAGON, and Firefly has her lightning along with whatever me and the others can pull out." She argued.

Spark looked at Apple Bloom and chuckled. "Alright, you have a plan?.....do you know where to find this thing?" He wondered.

"Guys knock it off." Firefly said as she stood up.

Spark and Apple Bloom glanced at Firefly and backed off. "Sorry, I don't know what came over me." Apple Bloom apologized.

"You're concerned for your friends safety, that's all, but you need to understand, my power has limits, and they aren't small, and for all we know, this things feeds off lightning." Spark said as he sat back down.

The school bell rang after that, and the six friends got up and headed inside. 

When the class was seated and the lessons continued, they found that the next lesson was on history, and Firefly, being who she was, lost almost all interest.

_____*later that day, Gwen's house, 2:10 PM*_____

Firefly sat in the living room, contemplating her next move.....in chess, against Roxanne.

Normally she won, which was twice, but that was only because Roxanne took it easy on her, but now that the fox was being serious about the game, it was challenging.

Eventually Firefly moved a pawn and decided to start up a conversation. "Hey....mom, can I ask you something?" She started.

Roxanne moved a knight and looked at her daughter. "Sure." She said.

Firefly spoke as she thought on her next move. "A while ago, you told me that I had lived a past life, and that Lyaroa could fix it." She continued.

Roxanne chuckled, knowing fully well where this was going. "Let me guess....your curious aren't you?" She asked.

Firefly moved a rook and nodded. "Would it be possible for you to show me?" She asked.

Roxanne shook her head. "I can't.....but Lyaroa can, if you want." She replied before moving one of her pawns.

Firefly stared at the chess board for a few moments, she eventually spoke again. "Yea, I want to know more, if she can show me what I was like, or anything in general, or even if it's true." She said.

Roxanne sat back in the chair. "You know, if you do that.....you'll have to sit through all of your memories." She pointed out.

Firefly moved a pawn and sat back. "I know that, but it's better I do this now, then some time later in life." She said.

Roxanne rubbed her eyes and moved a bishop. "Checkmate......I'll talk with Lyaroa, see when she can do whatever it is she does." She said.

Firefly blinked and glanced at the board, she tried to see a flaw in the move but found none, she sighed. "Ok......hey mom, I have another question." She mentioned.

Roxanne stood up to stretch her legs. "What is it?" She asked.

Firefly looked at her mother and and blinked. "Do you know why Fang has been so quiet lately?" She wondered.

Roxanne walked over to the nearby wall and leaned on it. "To be honest?.....I'm not sure anymore, as much as I hate to say it, me and him?....we've sorta drifted apart, I guess he isn't taking the whole being back thing very well." She answered.

Firefly stood up. "I don't really blame him, I mean, one day he's in control, then he wakes up around a month or longer later with no memory of what happened, and finds out he's a father in a strange land?.....I'm surprised he hasn't shut down entirely." She said as she walked around.

_____*Two days later, Lyaroa's house, 1:20 AM*_____

Firefly yawned as she rubbed her eyes. "Remind me again why we are doing this so early?" She asked sleepily.

Lyaroa placed an orb on the floor in the middle of a large circle. "Because, when you go through your memories like this, you enter a dream state, you'll actually be absorbing at least twenty years of memories in a few hours, and this is technically the safest way of doing things, if I simply gave you your memories back in an instant, you could go into shock or a coma, or even fry your brain." She said as she drew some more magical lines.

Roxanne yawned as she sat on a nearby chair. "Won't this ritual or whatever disturb everyone else?" She wondered.

Lyaroa shook her head. "No, he may not look it, but Spark is a very deep sleeper, besides, I put a soundfroof spell on his room and told him what was going on, he was......oddly accepting of the situation, Wheatly can go into sleep mode and isn't bothered by magic, and Fang is still awake in his room." She said.

"And what about you?" Firefly asked.

Lyaroa snapped her fingered and a strange metal cylinder appeared in her hand. "I have plenty of energy drinks.....besides, not like I can die from a heart attack." She said as she drank some of the liquid.

Firefly slowly stretched her limbs and looked at the strange lines on the floor. "What are these?" She asked.

Lyaroa chuckled and drew one last line. "They are called memory lines, each one shows a different level of memories......for your sanity, I have filtered out the memory of your birth and the time you had as a baby, the orb in the center is basically the catalyst for the ritual, it's going to be the connector between you and the lines, when you are ready, step into the center and sit down." She instructed.

Firefly took a quick breath and stepped into the circle. 'Most people would call this insane, that they couldn't have lived a second life, but me?.....I've seen signs of it, they try to hide it, but everyone acts.....strangely, around me, like they are seeing a ghost, mom has done a a few times as well, but not recently, well, it's time to see what this fuss was about.' She told herself as she sat down.

"Okay, now gaze into the orb, it will let you enter your memories, even the ones wiped clean." Lyaroa said.

Firefly focused her vision on the orb and quickly found herself feeling woozy, and then she was somewhere strange, it was that of a city, but it was in the clouds, she looked around and saw that she seemed to be in a town square of some kind, she looked around and saw something odd.

It was herself, but a little younger, and she was running around with what seemed to be a young version of Gwen. "Can't catch me!" The young Firefly teased.

The young Gwen seemed to be lagging behind. "Oh yes I can!....just you wait!" She yelled back.

Firefly noticed something odd, she saw Fang standing there watching. "What the?" She muttered as the world soon changed perspective.

She saw many images next, it was a blur, but it was slowly clearing up, as they did, she started to hear voices, and then the voices became clearer and clearer.....until.

She was in a field, but she noticed something odd, she saw what looked like an older version of herself, and she saw Gwen and Lightning Dust walking over catiously, she also noticed Derpy and Skitter slowly heading over.

All of a sudden, Dust charged at the older Firefly, and they began coming to blows, it was pointless to say that she was confused and terrified.

The older Firefly then punched Dust in the gut and then powerfully kicked her out of the bushes, the memory seemed to speed up a little and everything was blurry, but one thing came out clear. "It wouldn't be right to let my little sis go off on her own would it?" 

Firefly then watched as the images changed to that of a cave, the older version of herself lied on the ground and soon woke up, she cringed in pain and slowly stood up. "What happened?" She said.

The images changed again, but this time, they were inside a familiar place, the Temple of Jandoka, she was watching as Roxanne ran up to the cocoon and freed the older version of herself. 

They said some things but it was blurred as it slowly entered Firefly's mind, things were kind of sped up from there, from them finding Derpy, to them finding Fang and then searching the building, finding everyone one by one, but the time returned to normal when they entered a strangely familiar room.

The older Firefly and Roxanne were watching as a very familiar dragon headed down the steps, she watched as they soon began fighting, eventually, she watched as Emerald entrapped Firefly in some kind of magic, and explaining as things went on in her mind.

The only memory that came out of the supposed 'test' was a short scenario of her life before, and soon enough she changed, her body shrunk, her mind was wiped, and she had no recollection of what happened.

Firefly watched as Roxanne coldly allowed Emerald to fight with her, but as Firefly watched the parts she remembered, she found herself feeling off whenever she called Roxanne mom, it was strange.

But when Firefly watched the fight against Jandoka, she was horrified, she watched as the three changelings from before were killed, and as they fought Jandoka so they could survive.

Firefly watched as they eventually defeated the God, but that got her thinking. "I don't remember any of this, and that was too easy for a god." She muttered.

Soon she watched as a pathway out opened up, and as Emerald put his fingers on her forehead. "At least now she will not be haunted by this day." He said.

Firefly then watched as everyone left the temple, but she managed to hear what Emerald said to Roxanne. "I am sorry......I know I never said it before.......but I am genuinely sorry, I know I have no right to ask this of you......but swear to me that you can protect her, whatever happens." He asked quietly.

Roxanne nodded. "Yes.....I'll do what I can." She replied quietly.

Emerald smiled then leaned up to her ear. "One more thing.......HE, is false.....he will try to trick you, don't let him." He said before passing away.

Roxanne's eyes widened and she closed her eyes as tears fell down her face. 

Firefly watched in confusion as she felt the world fading away around her. "What's going on?" She wondered.

_____*later that day, Lyaroa's house, 7:03 AM*_____

Firefly shot up and was breathing heavily, she was sweating profusely and her eyes were bloodshot, she blinked rapidly and tried to calm herself, she didn't know why, the memories weren't that intense, so why was this happening.

She heard a cup being set on a nearby table and found herself on the couch, she slowed her breathing down to normal levels and tried to calm down.

She focused her vision and saw that there was a glass of water on it, she reached out and grabbed it, she moved it to her mouth and drank, her hoof shaking violently the entire time. "Ok, this is a lot to process." She told herself quietly.

She heard voices soon. "Good to see you awake, how are you?" Asked Lyaroa.

Firefly looked over her shoulder and saw the Sentinel pacing around the room. "How long was I out?" She asked.

Lyaroa chuckled. "Five hours and thirty five minutes." She replied.

Firefly rubbed her eyes. "Where's mom?" She asked.

Lyaroa pointed upstairs. "I let her sleep in my room, I've basically been wandering around out here since." She answered as she eventually walked over and sat down on the opposite couch. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

Firefly drank some more water. "I've been better, what caused this anyway?" She wondered.

Lyaroa kicked all the way back on the couch. "Memory overload, your brain tried to process too much at once, and it went all over the place trying to absorb the info." She explained.

"That is not good, the last thing we need is a brain explosion. "A voice said.

"Quiet." Firefly said.

Lyaroa blinked. "Why do you want me to be quiet?" She asked.

Firefly shook her head. "Not you....the other person." She replied as she looked around.

Lyaroa looked around quickly, t returned her focus on Firefly. "There's nobody here but me and you." She said.

"Is she blind?....Im right here!" The voice said again, but this time with a body, it was the older Firefly.....but she looked like a ghost.

"What in the world?" Firefly muttered.

Lyaroa sighed. "Anyway kid.....do you want me too revert you back to normal?....it doesn't take long." She wondered.

Firefly heard the ghost talk again. "Uh, duh!....of course I want my body back!....quick, tell her!" The ghost demanded.

"No......I won't." Firefly said.

Lyaroa grumbled. "Kid, I'm right here, you can cut the act." She complained.

Firefly held her head for a moment before speaking. "This is going to sound insane.....but the old Firefly is right next to you, and is a ghost." She said.

Lyaroa raised an eyebrow and looked around, seeing nothing, her eyes then glowed and she soon saw what Firefly was talking about, she shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "Oh boy.....this ain't good." She mumbled.

Firefly stood up and walked around some. "So what.....I have a ghost following me now?" She said.

The ghost growled and lunged at the kid Firefly, only to phase right through. "Says the body snatcher!" She shouted.

Lyaroa stood up and groaned. "She isn't a ghost......she is a soul, literally, somehow, the spell messed up and she was brought along with you, problem is, I can't get rid of her without harming either of you......so you are literally stuck with each other." She explained.

The other Firefly's eye twitched and she screamed in frustration. "OH YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!.....I GET WOKEN UP ONLY TO BE THE BACKSEAT DRIVER OF A KID!?"

Firefly held her head. "She isn't happy." She said simply.

Lyaroa walked around some before looking at Firefly. "The best I can do right now is wake Roxanne so she can take you home, you two are just going to have to get along." She said before heading upstairs.

Firefly looked at the older version of herself and watched as she changed.....mostly in color, her pink fur was replaced by black fur, her hair and tail changed to an incredibly dark red with black streaks, her cutie mark vanished and was replaced by a piercing black eye. "I am so pissed right now." She said.

Firefly decided that it would be wise to get this under control. "Shut up you damned ghost." She ordered.

She heard footsteps on the stairs and looked up and saw Roxanne and Lyaroa, they had dropped jaws and concealed snickering respectively. "Where did you learn that word?" Roxanne asked in a dangerously quiet voice.

"My old memories." Firefly answered......truthfully, but nervously.

The ghost shivered. "I don't blame you kid.....I do NOT want to make Rox mad." She said before vanishing.

Roxanne growled and walked down the stairs. "Lyaroa......did she choose?" She asked.

Lyaroa nodded. "Yep, she wanted to stay like she is." She said.

Firefly wasn't going to say anything.....because it was true. "Um.....thanks for showing me that stuff." She said to Lyaroa as she left the house with Roxanne.
> The tale of Golden Freddy, Landing at rock bottom, Starting something bigger.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Ponyville, Golden Oaks Library, two days later, 1:30 PM*_____

Golden watched as Derpy around the library looking for a specific book, Twilight was out at the moment, apparently she went to visit Gwen who got accepted at the Wonderbolts academy, Dark was left to manage the library while she was gone, but had no idea where certain books were, as Twilight had gone and rearranged it without telling her.

The book Derpy was looking for was a history book on the Crystal Empire, she had become very curious after Gwen told her about it, but the book arrived only recently.

Golden couldn't help but chuckle as Derpy searched for the book, it reminded him of someone he met a long time ago.

'Heh.....just like Jinx.' He mumbled.

_____*A long time ago.......Freddy Fazbears.*_____

Golden opened his eyes and looked around, he was inside a large empty room, the floor was checkered and the walls were white with weird black smudges all over it, there was a green and black line going all across the room and there was some loose wiring around, he made an effort to stand up and heard footsteps nearing the room.

When the footsteps reached the doorway, he waited......and waited, but nothing, no one showed up. "What the?" He muttered.

Golden walked towards the doorway and reached out with his abilities, he didn't know what they were, but he knew how to use them, he sensed no one nearby and exited the room, he looked around but saw nothing, but just as he left the room, he felt a powerful force assault his mind, his instincts took hold almost instantly and he unleashed a powerful psychic burst.

Golden felt whatever it was that invaded his mind get repelled, but at the same time, he felt himself being dragged somewhere else. "Oh no." He muttered as he vanished.

_____*some other universe far far away.*_____

Golden screamed and fell to the ground and landed with a audible bang, he must have fallen at least fifty feet.

He mentally groaned and forced himself to sit up, he put his right hand on the back of his head and rubbed it, strangely enough there was no metal, he didn't feel mechanical right now, he checked his arm and saw that there was no sign of wiring or gears, no metal either, he checked himself all over and it was the same, he blinked and put one of his fingers in his mouth, and to his shock, it was fleshy, he also noted that he was without his top hat and bow tie, he was basically a walking talking bear without accessories, this was fine by him, his fur was also a more lightish brown than gold, but it was still slightly gold, if only as a few patches of it here and there.

Golden seemed to have landed on solid rock, he let out a sigh of relief at the luck that his bones weren't broken. 'I must have powerful bones.' He thought to himself.

He then stood up carefully, he blinked again and found himself wobbling a little, he waited a few moments and began to practice breathing, after he got a good system going he stretched and got a better grasp of his surroundings, he seemed to be in a mountainous wasteland area with only towering stalagmites and caves for shade, he saw little plant life in his current area save a few dead bushes, the area he was in now was decently sized and it was surrounded by several narrow pathways, sadly the beating sun combined with the intense heat and Golden's fur made him feel like he was in a sauna.

Golden decided to get moving and chose a random passage to take, as he moved through the passage, he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched, he kept a careful eye out but soon realized that his powers were gone, he found a small rock formation and decided to test something, he charged up as much of his power that he could and fired it, he found that his powers were weakened severely as the blast only damaged the formation, not destroy it. 'Are these psychic powers?' He wondered.

He signed and continued moving, as he did, he eventually found himself in a wide around surrounded by rock walls with only two exits, the one he came from, and the one off to the side, around the room were two things, a large button in the ground and a lever in the wall behind it. 'Where am I?' He wondered as he wiped his brow.

Golden started walking towards the exit but found his path soon blocked by a large rock wall rising up from the ground, it seemed to be made out of bricks similar to the rocky terrain, he sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Oh great." He muttered.

A scrap on nearby rocks made Golden flip around, on the rocks were strange creatures riding what seemed to be lizards of some kind, the lizards themselves had long heads with gnashing teeth and had tan scales all over from head to tail, the eyes were a pale green on them all and they each had four powerful but slim legs with razor sharp claws, all five of the riders were wearing tough looking leather armor and they seemed to be very agile as well, just at first glance anyway.

The creatures riding the lizards were also scaled, they had long and strong arms and legs that had claws, their scales were tan as well and they were holding an assortment of weapons, their were a total of ten, five beasts, and five riders.

One of the riders had a spear, another had an axe, two had swords while the fifth had a greatsword, the riders seemed to order the beasts into the small canyon and they all leapt in their own way,

Golden braced himself for battle, but the heat made him slow, he cursed in aggravation at having fur, the five riders then seemed to circle him as best they could.

Golden growled and readied himself to fight, and just as he did, one of the riders charged, Golden dodged out of the way and the rider had its beast leap off the wall and lunge at Golden, who quickly blasted the beast with psychic energy, he managed to drive the beast mad and cause the rider to jump off in the process.

The rider then furiously charged at Golden, swinging its axe angrily at him.

Golden barely managed to dodge as the heat bared down on him, seeing as it wouldn't bother the strange lizard, he quickly tried something, just as the lizard went to swing, Golden grabbed its head, headbutted it and kneed it in the crotch, he then threw it towards the other riders and picked up its axe.

The spear wielding rider charged next, aiming its spear directly at Golden as it ran by, it missed, but only because Golden threw himself to the ground, the rider then turned its beast around and charged again, just as it neared Golden, the bear quickly rolled and dodged the spear.

He now felt the heat taking its toll, he could barely move, and he had to drop the axe just so he could easily get down, so when the rider charged once again, Golden could not move, he simply closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable........it never came.

Golden heard the sound of fighting and opened his eyes, he saw another strange creature fighting off the riders, he growled and forced himself to his feet, the new creature seemed to be a hyena, but without the hunch in its back, it's fur was thick and brown, it had strong arms and legs, it was wielding a halberd in one hand and had a crossbow on its back, Golden quickly grabbed the axe and did what he could to assist.

He saw one of the riders trying to flank the mystery warrior, he quickly hit the rider with a psychic blast and swung the axe at the beast, it dodged, but backed off soon after.

The mystery warrior swung its halberd and knocked the rider off its beast, and quickly spun it around and hit another rider in the face with the shaft of its weapon.

Golden found himself disarmed as he faced off against one of the riders, the rider charged and swung its sword in a flurry of blows, he was unable to dodge, but WAS able to use both of his arms to block most of the damage, he cringed at the pain, but he quickly unleashed the strongest psychic blast he could summon on the rider.

The blast impacted heavily on the lizards chest, tearing its armor apart, it flew back and it dragged across the ground painfully, Golden for his part, was now exhausted, he fell back to the ground and he glanced over at the warrior.

The mystery person, for their part, just finished kicking the last of the riders away, they all started to fall back but one of them spoke, much to Golden's surprise. "This isn't over." Said the rider with the greatsword as it left the area.

Golden watched as the mystery person walked over and extended a hand. "Who are you?" The creature asked with a firm and cautious voice, definitely female in tone.

Golden took the person's hand and got back up, he wouldn't normally talk to strangers like this, but seeing as she saved his life, he would make an exception. "I'm Golden Freddy, just call me Golden." He answered.

The hyena blinked at the name and sighed, she placed her halberd over her shoulder. "Names Ancree, and until we can think up a better name for you Goldilocks.....im going to call you G." She said before walking over and picking up the axe from before. 

"You must be new around these parts." Ancree said.

Golden blinked and walked over. "What makes you say that?" He wondered.

Ancree suddenly spun around and held the crossbow at Golden's throat, he raised his hand and did not move. "Three reasons.....one, your a bear, and your kind don't come to this land, two, you have no weapon, everyone carries one around here, three, you let your guard down quickly, people around here are paranoid and will kill you on sight if you make one wrong move." She then pulled the crossbow back and handed Golden the axe. "Now, come on Goldilocks, we need to get out of these canyons before more of those riders come back." She said before walking to the lever.

Golden held the axe for a few moments before walking to the button. "So now what?" He wondered as he walked.

Ancree blinked and held her hand on the lever. "There are some traps up ahead that have you solve a puzzle like this, other than that, you should be fine as long as you can do withstand the heat." She said as she pulled the lever.

Golden was following the hyena's example and stepping on the button, he watched as the rock wall blocking the path lowered completely.

Ancree walked to the wall and Golden followed. "I hope you know where you're going."' He said.

"Of course I do." Ancree replied.

Golden gave her a skeptical glare but decided to simply let her lead the way as he had no way of getting out on his own, he wiped the sweat off of his brow and followed quietly.

____*three minutes later.*_____

Golden and Ancree approached what seemed to be a dead end in one of the narrow paths they took, Golden sighed. "We might as well head on back."  He said.

Ancree chuckled and approached a rock wall that was far lower than the others. "What are you talking about?.....boost me up Goldilocks." She said.

Golden approached and saw what she meant, he put both of his hands out low enough for Ancree to step on them. "Alright." He said.

Ancree step on Golden's hand and he raise her as high as he could, she soon lept up and climbed to the top. "Alright, now give me your hand." She said.

Golden stepped back some and quickly jumped up and grabbed Ancree's hand, he almost slipped due to the sweat, but he was able to pull himself up with the hyenas help.

Golden got up and lightly panted. "How are you handling this heat?" He asked.

Ancree handed Golden a small device. "It's a stabilizer, you strap it to your arm and it helps balance the temperature to your current climate." She said before walking. "I'll want that back, you can buy a used one for yourself by trading in that axe." She explained.

Golden nodded and strapped the device to his arm, he almost immediately felt himself cooling off and followed Ancree. "Thanks." He said.

"It's nothing, now come on, you don't want to get stuck in this place." She said as she walked.

The two eventually came to a large crossroads filled with rock formations and dead bushes. "Something tells me that this place used to be different." Golden said.

Ancree nodded as she looked around. "You aren't wrong, seventy years ago this was a thriving city, but a plague struck and the population had to evacuate, earthquakes and land shapers followed leading this place to become the wasteland it is now." She explained.

"What happened to the plague......and what are land shapers?" Golden wondered. 

Ancree pointed in a direction and started walking. "The plague was eradicated sixty years ago.......and the land shapers are gigantic worms that literally bring land changes with them, they're extinct now, but they left their mark." She said as she walked.

Golden followed Ancree and as they walked and reached the next area, Golden had another question. "Where are we going anyway?" He wondered.

Ancree pointed at the towering stalagmites in the distance. "There's a city around those things, and on the way should be an old supply station, we can stop there." She said.

Golden nodded. "Alright." He replied.

The area they were in had a puzzle, there was a rock wall preventing them from continuing, there were two levers, a button and a switch.

"Ok, so how do we solve this one?" He asked.

Ancree grumbled and rubbed her eyes, she walked to the center of the room and looked at the switch. "Hit the switch Goldilocks......let's find out what kind it is." She said as she pointed to it.

Golden headed over to the switch and scratched his head, it had no button or lever, and was circular in shape. "How do I activate it?" He asked.

Ancree blinked. "I told you, hit it." She answered.

Golden looked at the switch for a moment and hit it with his axe, it lit up and glowed dark blue for a few moments before reverting back to its normal pale blue color.

Ancree stood on the button and looked at Golden. "I hope you can jump high now." She said.

Golden walked over to the levers, one was in reachable distance, while the other was high up on the wall, he tried to jump, but didn't even make it halfway.

An idea then came to Golden, he pulled and held down the one lever with one hand, and with his psychic powers, he reached out and pulled the lever. "Do whatever it is you need too, and hurry." He said, strained by the exertion of his powers.

Ancree pulled out her crossbow and aimed at the switch, after a few quick moments she fired and hit the switch. "Let's go." She said as the rock wall lowered.

Golden followed the hyena as they entered another narrow pathway, soon after, they exited and came across some smaller versions of the beasts the riders were riding, they seemed to be eating a dead creature. "What are those things anyway?" He asked.

"They are called Fonku, predators of the wastes that have near immunity too heat, they also have paralyzing claws, do not underestimate them." Ancree warned.

Golden nodded and watched as the Fonku ran off after finishing their meal. "And the things riding them?" He asked.

"The Homla, they are the cousins of the Fonku, but are highly intelligent, they rule a good portion of this world, they do not possess the physical strength of their cousins, but are just as deadly all the same." Ancree explained as she continued walking.

Golden followed Ancree as they soon had to climb up a small rock wall, when they reached the top of it, Ancree sighed and looked up. "We better get moving, we don't want to be caught outside when the sun goes down, as dangerous as the Homla are, the nocturnal creatures out here are even deadlier." She warned as she continued moving.

They traveled through the mountainous terrain for a while, completing a few puzzles on the way so they could move forward, eventually, they reached an exit.

Golden hopped down and walked up to Ancree. "So, what do you think?" Ancree wondered as she gestured at the city in the distance.

"It's got it's ups and downs." Golden replied, even though he could just barely make it out.

Ancree looked up and saw that they had some time. "Ok, we've still got some light out, let's get to the supply station." She said as she started walking down a path.

Golden spotted the supply station near a small mountain, he then began to follow Ancree.

They walked for a while, they made a beeline for the supply station while avoiding any Fonku they encountered. 

It was almost an hour before they reached the supply station, and when they got inside, Golden was kind of spooked, the place looked as though it had been left to rot for years. "You sure this place is safe?" He wondered.

Ancree nodded as she pulled a large switch down, some of the lights came on. "Yea, I stop by this place whenever I go to that mountain, it's well stocked.......how are your arms?.....I meant to ask a while ago, they can't be alright." She wondered.

Golden looked at his arms and noticed how bad the wounds were. "I guess they are torn up, I didn't really notice once we beat back those riders." He mentioned.

Ancree opened a drawer and pulled something out, she then walked over to Golden. "Seeing as you won't be doing anybody any good, let me patch you up." She said.

Golden chuckled as he allowed her to start applying the bandages and whatever that weird goop was. "Seems like I owe you a lot." He said, while he still didn't trust her, he didn't have much choice.

As she worked Ancree shook her head. "Consider this one your freebie, besides, your young for your kind, you have plenty of time to pay me back." She replied.

As the hours passed by, Ancree had gone up to the roof but hadn't come down for a long time, Golden had gotten worried and headed up.

When he reached the roof, he looked around and saw Ancree sitting and looking out to the wastes. "You should get some rest, we're heading to the city tomorrow and you are gonna need your strength." She said.

Golden walked up and sat next to the hyena. "And you?......what happens if you pass out in the middle of a fight?.....so I'll just say this, I'll get some rest if you do." He asked.

Ancree chuckled and looked up at the moon. "You aren't going to give up on that one are you?" She muttered.

Golden sat there in silence for a few moments before looking at the hyena. "Why are you helping me?......you would have been better off leaving me to die." He pointed out.

Ancree sighed. "I have my own reasons, but if I had to give you any answer, it would be that I refuse to let anyone die if I can save them." She said.

Golden blinked and looked out at the city, he saw lights in various places, he then stood up. "Come on, we should get some rest, this whole thing will have been pointless if one of us dies." He said as he headed inside.

Ancree sat there for a moment or two, she then stood up and followed Golden into the abandoned building.

_____*the next day.*_____

Golden opened his eyes and sat up, he looked around and saw Ancree looking outside from a hole in the wall. "Keep quiet Goldilocks, there's a patrol outside." She whispered.

He quietly stood up and silently walked over to Ancree. "Wait." She said, Golden paused, she then sighed in relief a few moments later. "They left." She whispered.

"Does this mean we can't get to the city?" Golden wondered. 

Ancree shook her head. "No, the patrols usually leave for their base near the edge of the wastes, they prefer not to stay in this land longer than they have too." She explained.

Golden looked around and saw that all of the random supplies scattered were missing. "Where is everything?" He asked.

Ancree pointed to the twin backpacks in the corner. "In there, grab one, we need to get moving." She said.

They quickly strapped the backpacks on and left the supply station, and they were now on their way. "What happens now?" He asked.

Ancree wiped some dust from her eyes. "We need to get to the city, it should be a straight shot, assuming we don't run into any Konpa." She seemed to mutter the last part.

Golden however heard what she said, and raised an eyebrow. "What are those?" He wondered.

Ancree kept walking and looked around every now and then. "Large towering beasts that naturally roam the icy tundra far to the west, they are able to turn anything into nutrition, even poison, problem is, some of them migrated here, and became carnivorous, we  should be fine though." She replied.

As they walked, Ancree's fears did not come true, as they encountered no Konpa, but eventually.

"Home stretch Goldilocks.....not long now." Ancree said.

Golden however was now more paranoid then ever. "Yea.....don't drop your guard though." He then looked up at the towering stalagmite just above. "How have those rings not crumbled?" He wondered.

Ancree shrugged. "I couldn't tell you, they just do." She answered.

As they approached the city borders however, Ancree spotted something. "Oh no, patrol!" She quickly threw Golden down a nearby pit and jumped down after him.

Golden screamed until he hit the bottom, he groaned and rubbed his head. "What the?....oof!" He let a pained breath as Ancree fell and landed on his back.

"Sorry." She said as she pulled him up.

Golden stood back up with the hyena's help. "You could have gave me more warning." He complained.

Ancree looked up, the pit was quite deep, though not far enough to not be able to see the sky, she watched as the shadows of the riders passed over and she let out a breath. "Alright, we're safe now." She muttered.

Golden looked up and then looked around, seeing only one path forward. "Interesting assessment, but now what?.....I can't see anything in that tunnel." He pointed out cynically.

Ancree sighed and paused for a moment, she then looked at Golden. "Hey, look in your bag, should be a lighter." She said as she started to go through her bag.

Golden looked inside quickly, he then spotted the small contraption and showed it to Ancree. "Here." He said.

Ancree then pulled out a torch and lit it, she gave the lighter back to Golden and strapped her backpack on before picking up the torch. "Shall we?" She said before heading to the tunnel.

They walked through the tunnel, which was just big enough for one person at a time and was going up continuously through a long and winding path, Golden soon spoke up. "What's with this tunnel anyway?" He asked.

"It was probably an old pathway before the earthquakes came." She answered.

Golden didn't bother replying, as he had nothing to say, soon a thought came to his mind. 'Why hasn't she asked me anything yet?' He wondered silently.

Eventually they saw light at the end of the tunnel.....literally, they walked to it and soon they exited, they came out from a random part of a nearby hill, they felt the ground shake and they quickly ran away from it, when they looked back, the exit was caved in. "That was close." Golden commented.

Ancree nodded in agreement. "Well, we're near the city, let's go." She said as she resumed course to the city.

They made their way steadily to the city, me when they arrived, they were relieved, they entered the city through the main gate.

Golden originally thought that they city would be like a crowded mess, but it was actually very lively and clean, people going about their everyday lives, guards making their rounds, shop owners buying and selling, he couldn't help but be impressed.

Ancree tugged on Golden's shoulder. "Come on, we have one last stop to make before we can rest." She said.

Golden nodded and started to follow the hyena as she led him somewhere.

_____*a few minutes later.*_____

Golden stared at the building and blinked, it looked just like a wall, he saw Ancree leaning at the wall waiting for him, so he walked over. "What is this place?" He asked.

Ancree opened a hidden door and let him inside. "It's our headquarters in the city." She said.

Golden stopped and looked at her. "Our?" He asked curiously.

Ancree cleared her throat. "Sorry, I didn't mean to mislead, when I say 'our' i mean the group I belong too." She answered.

Golden gestured inside. "You first." He said.

Ancree nodded and walked inside, Golden catiously following. 

The inside of the building had a calming atmosphere to it, if it wasn't for the giant war map in the floor, it would practically be a home. "Welcome to hq, don't show or tell anyone where it is, it doesn't exist, you were never here.....understand?" She asked.

Golden nodded. "I get the message, wait......why would you show this to a complete stranger?" He wondered.

Ancree sighed and rubbed her eyes. "This would probably be better if my friend explained this.......JINX!" She called out.

Golden heard clanging in a nearby room and soon enough, he saw what looked like one of the Homla fly out and land on its feet, he was going to ready himself for a fight but Ancree stopped him.

The Homla quickly got to its feet and looked into the room. "Hey come on Jinx, don't be like that, it was just a mistake." The creature pleaded, only to have an axe thrown out the door, it quickly dived out of the way and spotted Ancree. 

"Thank the maker!.....you got to help me! ever since you left she's been cranky as hell!" The Homla pleaded.

Ancree shook her head and walked up to the door. "Jinx, it's me." She said calmly.

"Ancree?...oh good, do me a favor and throw Krak back in here." Said a dangerously calm voice. 

"Jinx.....don't make me count to three." She patronized, as if talking to a child.

Golden blinked as he watched this happen, he then heard footsteps. "Fine." Said the same person.

From out behind the door, came a strange creature, it was small, about five foot two, it was lightly furred and had two foxlike ears, Golden assumed this was Jinx, he took note that she was the only one wearing clothes, even if it was just a pair of brown pants with a single black glove on a clawlike hand. "You got off easy Krak." She said, revealing slightly sharpened fangs.

Ancree then whistled shortly. "Guys, I want you to meet Golden Freddy, just call him Golden, or Goldilocks, since he doesn't seem to mind it." She said.

Krak, the Homla, walked over and shook his hand. "Good to meet you." 'He' said.

Golden nodded. "Likewise." He replied.

Jinx looked at Golden and sighed. "I hear your the one that's caused that big fuss yesterday." She said.

Golden shrugged. "Not by choice, but I guess so." He answered.

Jinx grinned. "Sweet, we needed someone with a functioning spine." She said as she walked over to the war map.

Ancree walked over to Golden. "Ok, listen, we've been fighting a losing battle against the Homla Empire, they have been sweeping the land spreading worldwide panic, we are trying to stop them." She explained.

Golden suddenly found himself wanting nothing to do with anything, but seeing as this Empire was hunting him for some reason, he had little choice. "Ok, then I assume there are more of you." He assumed, but seeing as they all shook their heads, he sighed. "Fine....." Now, he was going to make a decision which would change everything. "I'll help, but first I need to rest up, because SOMEBODY, decided that it would be fun to push me down a hole." He said, while looking accusingly at Ancree. 

"Oops?" The hyena offered.

_____*back at the present.*______

Golden sighed as he found himself missing that world. "Oh well." he muttered.

"What was that Golden?" Derpy asked.

"Nothing, just talking to myself." He answered.

Golden then materialized something, a small pendant with a dragon symbol on it, he clicked a hidden button on it and smiled at the image inside.

It was that of the four of them, him, Ancree, Jinx and Krak, they were all sitting down and they each had beer in their hands. 'Old times.....' He trailed off.

When Derpy went home after finding the book, she read it for a while, but after picking up the kids from school, making and eating dinner, along with everything else that needed done, she went to bed early that day, but she had one question for the animatronic in her head. "Hey Golden, do you think Lyaroa will help get you a body?" She asked quietly.

"I'm not sure." He replied. "She was strange, even when I first found out about her, but nowadays I can't say for sure." 

Derpy chuckled briefly. "Maybe, it would be nice though wouldn't It?" She asked as she drifted off to sleep.

Golden nodded. "Yea.......nice." He said quietly.

> The tale of Roxanne, Bridging the gap, Talking things over and a wager gone somewhat wrong.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Ponyville, Gwen's house, 10:21 AM*_____

Roxanne sighed as she lied down on the couch with her eyes shut, Firefly was home as it was a Saturday, but she was upstairs with Solar, Skitter was nowhere to be found, and Gwen was still at the academy, leaving Roxanne on her own.

After a while, she finally gave up on trying to sleep, she got up and stretched her arms and legs before heading to the basement stairs, she opened the door and headed down, she looked around and sighed in slight sadness, now that Fang had moved, she was more alone than ever, she walked over to a small table and picked up the small talisman on it, it had a diamond on one side, and a broken horn on the other, she blinked and put the talisman around her neck, she walked back up the stairs after that and decided to check on the kids.

As she headed up the stairs, she thought back to the gem that Spark always had hanging around his neck, he refused to eat it, and practically slept with it,  it was disturbing to say the least, Roxanne approached the kids room and knocked, a voice answered a few moments later. "Yes?" Asked Solar from behind the door.

"Just checking up on you two." Roxanne answered.

"We're fine mom!" Firefly said afterwards.

Roxanne chuckled. "Alright, I'll be downstairs if you need me." She said before heading downstairs. 'Its a good thing those kids aren't greedy, or that would haunt me.' She thought.

_____*two days later, outside Lyaroa's house, 2:08 PM*_____

Roxanne crossed her arms, she had already knocked and was waiting for a reply, seeing as there was no possible way for anyone to NOT, be at this particular house. 

The small opening above the door opened and Wheatly popped out. "Oh heeey......sorry she isn't home, just wanted to say that, if you want to talk to her, you can either find her yourself or come back later...."

Roxanne cut him off. "I'm not here to talk to Lyaroa......is Fang home?" She wondered.

Wheatly paused for a moment and eventually he sighed. "Yes, he is, but he doesn't want to talk to anyone right now." He answered.

Roxanne grumbled. "Tell him it's Roxanne." She said.

Wheatly shook his head for a moment and went back inside silently.

She felt footsteps heading towards the door after a while, and the door soon opened to reveal Fang. "Hi Rox." He greeted.

"We need to talk." Roxanne said calmly.

Fang blinked but allowed the fox inside and closed the door after she was in.

They walked to the living room and sat down as Wheatly went upstairs. "What did you need to talk to me about?" Fang asked as he got comfortable in the chair.

"About us, or more importantly, you." She replied easily.

Fang blinked but said nothing as Roxanne continued. "Ever since we got back from the Empire, you've been distant, at first it was just the occasional brooding, but now you don't even talk to anyone outside this house and work, so what's going on Fang?" She questioned.

Fang sighed and stood up, he paced around a little and soon looked over his shoulder at Roxanne. "I think we should move this conversation outside." He said.

Roxanne stood up and crossed her arms. "Better just us talking than the whole town hearing it." She countered.

Fang shook his head and pointed at a door in the corner. "Not outside in the town, outside in the training yard." He said as he walked to the door.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow at that. "Training yard?" She asked as she walked over.

Fang nodded and opened the door as he reached it. "Lyaroa added this in last week, trust me, don't think about the logic of it all." He suggested as he went through the door.

Roxanne followed Fang and soon found herself outside.....in a courtyard around fifty feet wide. ".......Ok, I refuse to accept any explanation other than its bigger on the inside." She finally concluded.

Fang actually seemed to crack a smile as he shook his head, he looked over at Roxanne. "We can talk freely, no one can hear us out here." He mentioned as he rubbed his palm.

Roxanne blinked and started walking back and forth. "My question hasn't changed, what the hell happened to you?.....aside from the obvious." She added that last part for good measure.

Fang stopped moving entirely, it was brief, maybe a few seconds, but it was.......scary, he sighed deeply and looked at Roxanne with irritated eyes. "Do you really need to ask that?" He wondered. "You.....of all people should know." He added.

Roxanne said nothing as Fang continued. "Ever since I got back, everyone has been treating me as if I don't exist, when they look at me, they act like they are seeing a ghost, and when they talk to me, they don't know what the hell to say!" He continued.

Fang crossed his arms and walked around. "The worst part is, is that whenever something happens, everyone talks about it, and acts as if I'm supposed to know, or they don't tell me until a week later, so in short, I'm tired of being treated like I'm not here!" He finished loudly.

Roxanne, for the first time, truly did not know what to do, after all, the other times, someone had been around to help explain it, or help her get through it, but now.......she was on her own as she watched her old partner.

Before all of this happened, he was an odd one, but he was special in his own way, he seemed to make things better just by being there, but now.....what he felt, was loneliness, more than anything, he truly believed that everyone forgot about him, what made it worse however, was how Roxanne didn't do anything about it, she should have seen that something was wrong from the start, and could have helped him.

She did the only thing that she could do that made any sense. "Fang." She started quietly as she started walking over.

Fang looked at his partner and blinked. "What is it?" He asked.

Roxanne stopped a few feet away and crossed her arms. "Fight me." She said calmly.

Fang's eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets, but he quickly shook his head rapidly. "Uh, um.....why?" He asked cautiously.

Roxanne backed up a few feet. "When two people have a strong enough connection, it is believed that they can see into each other's minds, to an extent, also, when two people fight one on one, they achieve a far greater understanding of the other in mere moments, I want you to fight me, no weapons, no magic, just hands and feet......and head." She explained.

Fang backed up a few feet and positioned himself on one end of the courtyard. "I fail to see how this will help." He pointed out.

Roxanne chuckled and stood on the opposite end. 'You'll figure it out partner.' She thought as she readied herself.

They both waited a few moments and they soon moved, their movements weren't lightning fast, they were moving at a decent speed to get closer, but just as they neared, they stopped and backed off slightly.

The two partners circled each other for a few moments before finally charging, Roxanne threw a swift kick at Fang's side, which was countered by him grabbing the foot with one hand and throwing a punch with the other while simultaneously throwing the foot to the ground and forcing Roxanne into a collision course with his punch.

Roxanne used her newfound momentum to her advantage and quickly threw her hand out to block, her hand shook as Fang's punch impacted hard, she latched on to his hand however and threw him to the ground.

If Fang was caught off guard, he hid it well, he recovered soon after hitting the ground by blocking a jab from Roxanne and rolling away from her, he then forced himself up and ran at Roxanne, who, in turn jumped up and prepared herself for another grapple.

Roxanne readied herself and soon enough, Fang had thrown a punch and a kick at her in two different directions, she blocked the punch, but was still hit by the kick, she landed on the ground with a thud, she blocked another attack by her partner and threw her foot up at him........and impacting in the nether regions.

Fang whimpered audibly and fell to the ground holding his privates. "Right in the round tables!" In retaliation, he punched Roxanne in her privates, immobilizing her instantly. "Son of a bitch!" She cried out.

Just like that, the fight was over, it ended almost as soon as it started. [1]

_____*fifteen minutes later, Lyaroa's kitchen.*_____

Roxanne said nothing as she sat at the table next to her partner, they both had ice cold water bottles and were still recovering from the damage, the worst was over thankfully. 

"So." Roxanne started nervously.

Fang sighed and drank some of his water. "Did you seriously have to kick me in the balls?" He asked blandly.

Roxanne chuckled but winced as the memory of what came after returned. "I'll admit I'm in the wrong here." She admitted.

Fang shook his head and rested his arm on the table. "If anything, I'll admit that I feel.......relieved, i didn't have a spiritual episode, but it felt good to get that off my chest and let off some steam." He said calmly.

Roxanne nodded. "Yea, did some good for me too, but still, could have gone better." She replied.

Just then, they heard the front door open and close. "Fang, where are you at?" Asked Lyaroa.

"In here." Fang answered.

Roxanne drank some water but it didn't help much. "Hey Lyaroa." She said easily.

Lyaroa was attempting to sneak up as she said that, she sighed and walked over to the table and sat down across form the two former animatronics. "So guys, what did you guys do?" She asked inquisitively.

Fang quickly ignored that conversation. "We sparred, it tied, end of story." He answered.

Lyaroa pouted. "No fun, didn't even have a single conversation at work either." She complained.

And now Roxanne was curious. "Ok, I've actually been meaning to ask you this, but what IS your job?" She asked.

At that the entire room darkened, the only light came from a small flashlight that Lyaroa now held. "I......" She trailed off as she quickly held the flashlight beam up so it hit her face and she had a scary look on her face. "AM THE GRAVE KEEPER!......HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!" She got even closer to Roxanne for that last part, only to get a fist jam her face to the table.  "Ow!" 

Fang raised an eyebrow as the light returned to the room. "That was different." He pointed out.

Lyaroa rubbed the new sore spot on her head and laughed nervously. "So guys, whatcha talking about?" She asked.

Roxanne said nothing as she crossed her arms and looked away. 'One of these days I'm going to kill that girl.......or at least I'll try.' She told herself mentally.

Fang had to be the voice of reason once again. "Roxanne here is concerned about me and our relationship, she wants a way to bring us back together." He answered.

Lyaroa put her hand under her chin and rubbed it in thought, after a while, she looked at the two and suggested the worst idea possible. "Threesome?" She suggested, immediately receiving a fireball to the chest from Roxanne and a punch in the face from Fang. "I'm glad I'm immortal." She mentioned as she rubbed her chest where the fireball hit.

"Let's be clear.....that is never happening." Roxanne said flatly.

After that, it was simple conversations for a while, before Roxanne eventually had to leave. "I'll see you two some other time." She said as she walked away.

Lyaroa simply stared happily as she watched the fox leave, soon after Roxanne was out of sight, she was whacked on the head. "Knock it off." Said Fang.

_____*five days later, Lyaroa's house, The kitchen, 11:01 PM*_____

Roxanne found herself coming over most of the time, mostly because everyone had their own things going on, but tonight Roxanne and Firefly were sleeping over, the three friends were just sitting there now, idly passing time. "Is it a Chandelier?" Fang asked.

"Yes." Roxanne replied.

Lyaroa sighed and rested her head on the table. "Guys, we played twenty questions for twenty minutes straight, can we PLEASE change the game?" She pleaded.

Fang rolled his eyes. "You know, as fun as this has been, I need to get to bed, if you didn't like this game, you shouldn't have made us play poker half the night." He pointed out as he left the room.

Lyaroa muttered something unintelligible and sat back up.

Roxanne blinked and crossed her arms. "Hey Lyaroa, can I talk to you?" She asked.

Lyaroa nodded and shook her head. "Go ahead." She said, clearly relieved to have changed subject from twenty questions.

"Back at the Empire, when we talked I said some things, I guess I wasn't really thinking, but still, I meant them, I can't change that." Roxanne said.

Lyaroa said nothing, listening as Roxanne spoke. "When I said I hated you.....it was out of anger and frustration, and you continuously adding more and more of it didn't help, but I didn't regret what I said, I guess if i was asked, I'd say the same thing, but maybe not.....what I'm getting at here is that you haven't really given anyone a reason to trust you, and it's going to be even harder since they might think that you forced them to trust you, after all, you did manipulate everything up to the Empire." Roxanne added.

Roxanne then put her right elbow on the table. "And to top it off, you keep acting like none of that happened, like it's all okay, news flash, it isn't, they don't talk about it, but everyone is pissed, the only exceptions are the kids......and maybe Fang and me but that's irrelevant, you do know what I'm saying right?" She wondered.

Lyaroa sighed and hung her left arm over the backside of the chair. "I know, I'm not blind or deaf, I'm not stupid......but it's better that I let them hate me, besides, I don't blame them, I did use them to get what I wanted, I didn't want too, but i had no choice, I couldn't just wait it out, I was constantly being hunted, and besides, i wasn't able to cope with what happened." She sighed. "Oh well, live and learn I guess." She said.

Roxanne didn't know what to say about that, truthfully, when she first met the REAL Lyaroa, she didn't know what to think, she originally thought that the Sentinel would be an unstoppable creature with tremendous powers, she was partially correct, she knew that the Sentinel had heart, and wasn't a stone cold statue with her emotions, but knowing that she willingly accepted being hated by those she called friend, it was strange to her eyes, but could only be explained as true strength, not just power, but force of will and heart. "If I wasn't as nice as I am, i would say that you made me believe you, but eh, screw it." She said as she rested her arms on the table.

Lyaroa chuckled and seemed to think of something, she grinned and crossed her arms. "I've got an idea." She said.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" She asked.

_____*the next day, Lyaroa's house, 10:00 AM*_____

Fang sighed as he sat in the chair. "Ok, run that by me again, but this time, don't drink coffee in the middle of it." He said.

Roxanne actually found it amusing, but Lyaroa sighed and looked at Fang. "Simple, we play a game, the winner decides what the other two have to do for twenty four hours." She explained.

Fang shook his head but eventually relented. "At least we are all off today." He muttered. "Alright, what are we playing?" He asked.

Lyaroa materialized the familiar game of Life. "One game, I hope you both are familiar with the rules." She said.

The two partners nodded and they all chose their car and began the game.

All three went the college path, and they continued on through the game. 

____*after the game, (because I'm not going to go through the entire board in this chapter.*____

Fang sighed as he sat back, Lyaroa had won, literally by one five dollar bill, game money that is.

So now they waited as Lyaora thought on what they had to do for twenty four hours, problem was, the kids were now up and they wanted to watch, so they had that to deal with as well.

Eventually, Lyaroa decided. "Ok guys......I've got it!" She declared.

Roxanne blinked and crossed her arms. "What is it?" She asked.

Lyaroa simply grinned.

____*later that day, Gwen's house, 1:20 PM*____

"Shut up." Roxanne growled as she waited. "It's not like I have a choice." She added.

Gwen was finding this amusing however. "So, run me by it again." She said.

Roxanne shook her head. "Lyaroa had an idea and the next day she gets me and Fang playing game of life, she says that the winner gets to decide the 'punishment' the other two have to deal with for twenty four hours, me and Fang lost, and now this." She was not happy as she talked, it continuously annoyed her, she wiped her brow and glanced at what was once her hand, which was now a hoof.....yes, a hoof, apostrophe hoof.

Roxanne had been turned into a Pegasus, supposedly it fitted her personality, SHE thought that Lyaroa had done it just because the wings would annoy her, they did, and Gwen teasing her about it didn't help either. "Shut up.....or I WILL set you on fire, not the house, just you." She warned as she walked away.

"So Fang, how does it feel?.....can't be easy I bet." Wondered Skitter.

She then heard Fang chuckle. "It's not that bad actually, I still want my old body back but this won't be that painful." Fang said.

Roxanne looked over at Fang and Skitter, Fang had been turned into an Earth Pony, he still had the black fur and glowing green eyes, he had short dull white hair and a matching tail, his butt tattoo was that of a mechanical claw, he was actually well built, in size he was slightly smaller than Big Macintosh, but he wasn't small either.

Roxanne herself kept her white fur and amber eyes, she had very short faded red hair and had a tail, her butt tattoo was that of a claw with a small white flame in the center, her wings were annoyingly itchy and she felt a strange but constant need to fly, the most irritating part were her ears, she had recently learned that Lyaroa has a wicked sense of humor, unlike Fang, who got normal pony ears, she had fox ears still, which had white fur, this normally wouldn't be an issue, but they itched and they apparently drew guys to her, which was annoying on its own.

Roxanne looked outside and sighed, she felt her wings itch again and she growled, thankfully, Lyaroa had made one good decision and let her keep her sharp teeth and carnivorous appetite.

Firefly seemed to like the change, as it allowed her to teach her mother something, flight. 'Show her how to do a backflip midair if you get the chance!' The ghost challenged.

Firefly sighed and lightly batted the left side of her head. "Quiet." She whispered.

Roxanne looked over at Firefly and chuckled as her daughter approached, they actually looked like mother and daughter now, if only for twenty one more hours.

Roxanne also noticed a distinct change in behavior from Gwen, who seemed to get a lot better after Firefly made her decision, apparently she was mostly anxious over not knowing what Firefly would choose, she still missed her sister, but knowing that she was watching in a manner similar to Golden Freddy, she cheered up a lot, she didn't hide her face from Firefly anymore, she actually laughed and smiled now, it was good to know.

Roxanne and Firefly hugged, it was brief, but it was strangely calming in this now stormy weather, which had literally started two minutes ago.

"Hey mom, if you want I can show you how to fly?" Firefly offered.

Roxanne chuckled and looked outside, for some reason, that sounded okay. "Sure thing......but maybe AFTER the storm?" She suggested.

Firefly and her mother shared a laugh at that as they watched the rain.

Roxanne heard foot, or more accurately 'hoof' steps getting closer, she looked over her shoulder and saw Fang walking over. "Why do you think this started?" He asked.

Roxanne shrugged. "I have no idea.....frankly? I don't care." She replied.

Spark's telltale claws were heard heading over and he soon showed up next to Fang and climbed up onto the windowsill.

Roxanne chuckled as she felt Firefly climb onto her head. "I really hope you don't get too used to that." She joked, getting a laugh from Fang and Spark.

Firefly giggled and the four looked out to the storm, as the rain pelted the window and fell to the ground, the quiet rumbling of thunder far off in the distance, and the faint reflection of the four shimmering in the rain.

At this moment, Roxanne felt something she hadn't felt in her entire life, something that she always wanted, but considered impossible.

She was at peace, finally.
> A visit to the royals.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Ponyville, 1:00 PM*_____

Lyaora chuckled as she gazed down at the town from the cloud she was standing on, she closed her eyes and soon there was a thunderstorm, it was small, but it was enough.

The sudden thunderstorm would distract the local Pegasi and perhaps even the people of Canterlot, seeing as she extended it to reach the city.

She took a deep breath and put her right hand on the cloud, it then suddenly darted to the Equestrian capital.

Lyaroa opened her eyes and watched as the clouds thundered around her, as she flew, she couldn't help but glance at the city that was rapidly approaching, she quickly jumped off the cloud and disappeared.

When she reappeared, she was in the now empty streets of Canterlot, she walked calmly to the castle, even with the rain pouring down on her, she's looked up and grumbled, she quickly materialized a gray jacket and pulled the hood up to protect her from the rain.

As she walked through the streets, she noticed the web of life around the city, it wasn't as lively as the Crystal Empire's, but it was still a sight to behold, she could see the ponies go about their everyday lives, going from one shop to another, she watched as young Unicorn children played in the park, she could only smile at the sight of it all. [1] 

She passed by an old bakery and looked at it, it seemed broken down, but she saw the web in this building, it was beautiful. 'Wonder why everyone went inside?....it's just some rain.' She wondered as she resumed.

As she continued to walk, she found a small park, she saw a web there, it was small and quiet, but the one thing she noticed was a familiar Unicorn sitting under the shade of the tree. 'Twilight.' She couldn't help but smile and even shake her head in disbelief as she went past the three unicorn mares.

Lyaroa continued and saw something else, as she approached the outskirts of the castle, she saw an enormous web of life, it covered the surrounding area, most of it was that of Changelings, she assumed that this was because of the invasion a while back, she resumed to the castle and soon enough she entered the castle grounds.

Lyaroa walked until she found the front gates, she saw two guards standing watch, one Pegasus, one Unicorn, they were protected from the rain by a protective dome, she walked up and pulled her hood down, she entered the dome and shook her hands, immortal or no.....that rain was cold.

"Hey guys, how's the watch going?" She asked casually as she rubbed her hands together.

The guards did not move.

"So uh, know a fire spell?" She asked as she pointed to an unlit brazier. 

The guards did not move.

Lyaroa chuckled to herself and breathed a small spark of flame and ignited the brazier, she held her hands over it and looked at the two. "You know, for a couple of statues, you can keep watch." She joked as she warmed herself up.

The guards did not move.

Eventually, when she was warm, she approached the guards, but did not get too close. "Can you at least tell me where everyone went? it's a ghost town out there." She said.

The guards did not move.

Lyaroa sighed and made her jacket vanish. "I'm here to talk to the Princesses." She mentioned.

The guards did not move. "They are busy trying to calm the populace." The Unicorn said with a gruff voice.

Lyaroa noddedd. "Understandable, i don't suppose I could head inside?" She wondered.

The guards did not move "No, you may not." The Pegasus said a deep voice.

Lyaroa chuckled. "So much for being legal about this." She quickly used her magic and froze the guards in place before they could react.

The guards did not move.

Lyaroa went inside the castle and made her way to the throne room, the castle was filled with the web of life, but it was so.....bland, there was no fire, no vibrancy, just plain old day to day chores done calmly and effectively.

Lyaroa eventually found her way to the throne room entrance, it only took her finding seven dead ends, the kitchen, the dining hall, the great hall, the ballroom, the atrium, the gardens and the grand library.....twice.

She approached the throne room door and heard voices on the other end, she decided to listen in. "Your Highness, what are the Pegasi doing?.....can they not control this storm? and more importantly, can they determine the cause?" Said the voice of what sounded like an annoyed noble.

"I assure you, the Pegasi from weather control are doing everything they can to get this storm under control, as for the cause, I believe it must have been a malfunction with their equipment, we are in no danger from this storm unless it should escalate, and if that should be the case, I can send a request for help directly to Cloudsdale." Said Princess Celestia.

Lyaroa nodded, she was correct about most of it, but the cause wasn't what she said.

"......I understand your highness, I shall inform the Nobles court immediately." Said the stallion.

Lyaroa did not hear another person speak up, all she heard at first was a sigh of relief and some words. "Finally." Came the hushed votive of Celestia.

If there was a better opportunity to enter, Lyaroa didn't see it, she put her hands on the door and pushed them open, healing her wound while doing so. [2]

The doors creaked open and Lyaroa looked at the end of the throne room. "Long time no see Celly." She joked as she let the doors shut themselves behind her. 

Celestia made no expression, she remained calm and spoke. "Why are you here Lyaroa?" She asked calmly.

Lyaroa shrugged. "You don't call?.....you don't write?.....it's almost as If you don't care, of course I'm going to visit, so tell me, how is Luna doing?" She asked casually as she walked around the room.

Celestia said nothing at first, but seeing as Lyaroa was silent, clearly waiting on an answer, she spoke. "She is doing well, but you won't be able to speak to her right now." She answered.

Lyaora walked over to the window and took a deep breath and let it out moments later. "I love what you've done with the place, you recorded each of the victories Twilight and the others claimed......you even put the old Mare in the Moon tale on one window." She looked at Celestia and gestured her to walk over.

Celestia reluctantly complied, she approached and looked out the window. "Tell me what you see." Lyaroa said.

The outside was barely hidden by the window, but she saw the storm, the gardens outside, the animals scampering around to get out of the rain, and even some of the ponies out in the rain, she could even see part of her kingdom from here. "I see my little ponies going about their lives, the animals running about enjoying theirs, I see the kingdom, and how it can change in an instant." Celestia replied.

Lyaora nodded and walked back to the center of the room. "You may find this hard to believe, but I am no longer angry, I understand what you saw and what you felt when you saw those ponies dead at my feet, you truly believed I committed genocide." She said.

Celestia said nothing and looked at Lyaroa. "However, you should have listened to me all those years ago, I told you I did not start that battle.....I had no reason too, I never got the chance to explain my end of things in that town, but how about now?....will you listen to your mom now?" She asked.

".......You are not my mother." Celestia said simply and quickly.

Lyaroa chuckled. "Might as well be, I took you and your sister in after that.......incident, raised you, protected you, taught you, gave you the means to change the world after you asked me, but perhaps I should have been more cautious, I see that now." She said.

Celestia walked to the steps of the throne, but did not move her gaze. "Am I to understand that you had a part in all of this?" She asked out of curiosity.

Lyaroa nodded slightly. "No detail ever escaped you Celestia, but yes, I had a hand or two in some of these matters, the Crystal Empire most of all, and in case you are wondering, the Element of Loyalty is alright, it was just a simple spike of energy, nothing to worry about." She mentioned.

Celestia continued walking, this time she walked to another window. "Tell me, why are you really here?.....you of all people don't do social visits." She mentioned.

Lyaroa grinned and crossed her arms. "Simple, to talk with you and Luna, I've been out of touch these past thousand years, I'm curious as to what's going on these days." She answered simply.

Celestia however was not buying it, her gaze narrowed. "There's something else, isn't there?" She asked. 

Lyaora shook her head and paced around. "I've also come to warn you of something." She then walked up to Celestia and stood at her side, looking in the opposite direction of the Alicorn. "Do you really think your plans and schemes of yours have gone unnoticed?.....you forgot much Celestia, the choice of who becomes immortal and who gains celestial powers is mine, not yours, I've seen the past of this land with my own eyes, and I know what you are planning." She said.

Celestia did not budge. "You gave me the responsibility of watching over my kind, along with Luna, but you never interfered directly, but yes, I am aware of your knowledge of these events." She replied.

"Then you know what I'm going to do, I will give you two months to return the Elements to the Tree, I will be reversing all of the progress you have made with your.....plan, I will allow your kind to maintain control of the weather, but should I catch you continuing with your plan, I will talking the power I gave you back, including your immortality, am I understood?" Lyaroa asked quietly and firmly.

Celestia sighed and reluctantly nodded. "Yes." She relented.

"Good." Lyaroa then walked to the center of the room. "I won't be caught off guard again, i'm teaching you a lesson that you should have learned all those years ago, if something that should threaten this world arises, I will deal with it." She stated.

Celestia for her part, knew that the Sentinel wasn't lying, and would go through with her promise if she disobeyed. "Don't think of it as a leash, you can still rule your people the way you see fit, but I'm not letting you play God." Lyaroa said.

As Celestia went to respond, the doors to the throne room burst open and a beam of magic burst through, aimed directly at Lyaroa.

Lyaora sighed as the magic hit her, only to dissipate harmlessly, she rolled her eyes and turned around to see a pissed off Luna. "Hey Luna, long time no see!" She said happily, only for another magic bolt to fly at her. "Whoa!" She dodged the bolt of magic and it hit the floor.

"YOU DARE RETURN YOU TRAITOR!" Luna's echoing voice shouted, clearly reverting to the old CRV. [3]

Lyaora blinked and rubbed her ears. "Celestia, would you kindly call off your sister before she tears the castle down?" She said while mending her eardrums.

Celestia sighed and shook her head. "Luna, calm down, your rage isn't helping." She said to her sister.

Luna however, was not willing. "I SHALL NOT BACK DOWN FROM THIS TRAITOR!" She shouted.

"LUNA!" Shouted Celestia's voice.

"Ouch!" Lyaroa had to hold both her ears for that one, as did Luna. 'Forgot how loud she was when she did that.....note to self, get impervious eardrums.' She thought.

Now Luna stopped using the voice enhancing spell. "Why is SHE here sister?" She asked, pointing at Lyaroa.

"I'm glad to see you too Luna...tic, and for your information I just finished telling Celestia about that, which I'm sure she would love to fill you in on later, and just before you burst in I was going to state that I'm not going to bother seeking revenge, ok?" Lyaroa said as she stood all the way back up.

Luna didn't buy it one bit, but as Lyaroa looked over at her she grew even more cautious. "What do you want?" She asked coldly.

Lyaroa feigned to be hurt, she put her hand over her chest and sighed. "Is it so wrong to want to see family?" She asked with fake hope.

"You are not our mother." They both said at once.

Lyaroa blinked. "Ouch, that one actually hurt.....anyway, I was just about to say that I know about you two watching me, Luna, stop stalking my friends for information....that's creepy, Celestia.....just call off the Pegasi, they aren't getting any info." She said as she walked to one of the windows. 

"Speaking of Pegasi, I'll make their job easy for them." She snapped her fingers and the storm outside faded along with every cloud. "Probably should mention these next few things before I go home." She looked at the two sisters and held one finger up. 

"One, Gwen has already stated that she's not going to be helping with the next Element of Harmony disaster, two, I'm probably going to be giving Golden Freddy a body, and don't bother fighting him, three, I'll be keeping my eyes and ears open for anything I think you two should know, bye." She then vanished from the throne room, with no trace at all.

Luna looked at her sister. "What do you think?" She asked.

Celestia sighed and approached her sister. "I'm not sure, she has changed, she doesn't seem so concerned about being attacked anymore, it will be hard to keep an eye on her, perhaps we shouldn't try." She replied.

"What?.....then we would have no information on her plans, it would be impossible to know what she's doing." She argued.

Celestia looked out the window. "It would be impossible anyway, it would be a waste of resources as she could simply change plans in an instant, I believe that the best course of action right now would be to wait and see." She said calmly.

Luna thought on those words as she looked out the window.

____*back in Ponyville, Gwen's house, 1:40 PM*____

Lyaroa popped up in the center of the living room with a smile on her face. "Hi." She said.

A startled yelp and a smack to the back of her head were the responses she got, but she didn't mind. "Nice to see you too." She said as she rubbed the back of her head.

"I really hate you right now Lyaroa." Roxanne said.

Lyaroa looked over her shoulder and saw Roxanne with a pissed off look on her face, she knelt down to her level. "Oh come now, it wasn't that bad." She said with a grin.

Roxanne looked like she was ready to punch the Sentinel at any second, but she calmed herself down and chuckled evilly. "Just wait until I get my real body back." She warned.

Lyaroa chuckled and ruffled Roxanne's hair. "I'm looking forward to it." She said.

It was then that she heard Fang talk. "Why don't you try this?....it's not like you can't just go back to your body right?" He asked curiously.

Lyaroa shook her head. "Then there would be no point to me doing this to you guys." She countered.

"Chicken!" Spark called.

Lyaroa scratched the back of her head and looked at Spark who was grinning. "Ok.....if your sure...." She waved her hand once and Spark was suddenly a chicken, she heard him complaining and heard Fang sigh. "Come on Lyaroa, change him back.....he was calling YOU a chicken." He said.

Lyaroa nodded. "Oh, that would make much more sense." She turned Spark back into his normal form and snapped her fingers. "Fine, if it will make you guys happy, I'll try it out for one hour." She said.

Just like that she was a pony, she had albino bat wings and had the ears to match, her coat and hair were the exact same pure white, her hair was short and barely came down past her eyes, she also had sharp teeth, her butt tattoo was that of Soul and Spirit. "Huh, this feels.....odd." She said.

She looked herself over and flew up to a low hover with her wings. "You know, if it wasn't for the constant itch, this would be okay." She commented.
> A kind act, Dangerous visions, an old weapon.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*A day or so after Gwen's return, Lyaroa's home, the living room, 2:00 PM*____

Lyaroa sighed and crossed her arms as she looked around at everyone, Wheatley had gone upstairs a while ago, Spark, Spike and Firefly were upstairs, Roxanne and Fang were pacing around, Derpy and Gwen were both sitting on the couch waiting, while Twilight was reading a book. "What are we here for again?" Gwen asked.

Lyaroa shrugged and let her arms go to her sides, she then closed her hand save two fingers.....she then flexed them slightly, two pony sized magical circles with unknown patterns appeared on the floor, she then relaxed her hand. "If you must know......I spoke with Derpy and Golden Freddy, and they decided that it would be better if they separated, make sense?" She asked.

Gwen didn't say anything but when her ears perked up upon hearing that Golden was seperating from her girlfriend, Lyaroa knew she was on board with it.

Fang however, decided to raise a point. "What happens to Golden afterwards?.....and why are Twilight and Spike here for this anyway?" He asked.

"Golden will get his own body and will remain here if he so chooses, as for Twilight, she asked if she could see it for herself, so I let her, Spike is here mainly because he wanted to get out of the tree." Lyaroa answered as she snapped her fingers and a book appeared in her hands.

"Okay, I have an even better question.......why do you need spell books or magic circles for this stuff?....I thought you were basically all powerful?" Roxanne asked.

Lyaroa held up two fingers at that questions. "Two reasons, one, this is a cook book, two, the circles make for a good lightshow and block scanning spells." She said as she closed the book.

They all watched as Lyaroa paced around a little bit while muttering some incoherent words, she then looked at Derpy. "Alright, walk on over and step in a circle, but make sure that Golden is awake." She said as she threw the book behind her and it then vanished.

Derpy looked at Gwen, for a moment they shared a thought of doubt, but Derpy smiled briefly and nodded, she walked over and stepped into the circle, the circle glowed black as she entered. "Uhh.....what's that's?" She asked.

Lyaroa had her eyes closed but she answered. "It's a binding circle, skipping over the long explanation, the circle your standing in is bound to its twin, now please be quiet." She said calmly.

"Sorry." Derpy said.

Lyaroa grumbled. "Don't be sorry be quiet!" She said out of irritation.

"I'm sorry!" Golden shouted back briefly.

Lyaroa sighed and shook her head. "Forget it, screw mystical chants." She whispered as she simply cast the spell.

Almost immediately, Derpy felt an intense pain go through her head as the magic circles flared to life, but she couldn't move or make a sound about it, it felt as though someone were literally ripping her head open, she could only wait as she heard Golden scream in pain as he soon left her mind, the pain subsided, but it soon returned as her eye began to fix itself, without Golden maintaining it, it simply started going back to normal, albeit very painfully.

Derpy found herself slightly in the air as the magic started to take full effect.

Golden however, was MUCH more vocal about it, though no one could hear it, the pain he felt was far more intense than what Derpy felt, it felt as though someone had ripped out his skeleton straight from his skin, he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he soon felt himself going numb.

The pain had subsided for the two, but they were both mentally and physically drained, Derpy dropped to her knees and panted as the pain slowly subsided.

Golden however, felt his body forming, he had no control of it, but as it began to take shape in his mind, he couldn't help but smile a little as the world went black for him.

Everyone stood there in shock of what they just witnessed, all except Lyaroa, who stood calmly watching the other circle.

In the blink of an eye, an unfamiliar body dropped to the floor, it seemed unconscious, but Lyaroa was the only one to approach, she knelt down to the body and chuckled. "So, this is how you are." She muttered.

_____*hours later, Lyaroa's house.*_____

Golden winced and shivered as he slept, he kept muttering words in his sleep, but his eyes soon opened and he quickly sat up, he was breathing heavily at first, but he soon slowed it down to a more reasonable pace. 'I'm still here?' He wondered in his mind.

"Good to see you awake." Said the familiar voice of Fang.

Golden slowly stretched his arms and looked back, seeing Fang leaning against the wall, he chuckled. "What do you want wolf boy?.....here to gloat?" He asked snidely as he stood back up.

Fang shook his head. "No, I don't have anything to brag about, at least to you." He countered.

Golden stretched his arms out and walked around the couch to face Fang. "How is Derpy?" He asked calmly.

Fang shrugged. "I don't know, after you showed up and Lyaroa deactivated the circles, everyone went home, Twilight took notes, Roxanne was puzzled, Gwen took Derpy home after she was good enough to head home, Lyaroa secluded herself to her room afterwards, can't say much beyond that." He replied.

Golden held out his hand and looked at it, he found that it was the exact same one back when he was with Ancree and the others. "Huh, curious." He mumbled.

"Lyaroa wanted me to tell you that you are welcome here, me?....I don't see why." Fang said before heading to his room.

Golden watched as Fang walked off to his room, he sighed. "Where's the bathroom?" He asked.

Fang chuckled and pointed to the small hallway next to the stairs. "It's the door on the left." He replied.

As Fang went upstairs, Golden walked to the bathroom, and when he entered, he happened to glance at the mirror, he noticed that his eyes had actually changed, they were now a soft green with the pupil and sclera as well, instead of black pits with a small white dot in the center. "Could be worse, they could be yellow." He said as he proceeded to do his business. [1]

_____*meanwhile.*_____

Fang sighed as he looked down the hall, much to his annoyance, the weird vision things still showed up for him, just not frequently, this time, the shadow him seemed to be shambling through the hallway, it tripped on something and fell down, it soon got up but seemed to be sobbing. "Why.....why did I do it!?.....now he's gone too, who else am I going to be forced to outlive?" It asked through a sore throat.

Fang looked away for a moment and the shadow soon vanished, he headed into his room and shut the door, he got on the bed and put his arms behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. 'Why is this happening?....I've learned everything I could from Lyaroa to help control time, and it's still not gone, so it must be something else.' He concluded as he closed his eyes.

_____*In the dream world.*______

Fang jumped down and rolled as he landed on the ground, he recovered quickly, he ran forward and swiftly climbed a wall, he kept on climbing, faster, more accurately, more carefully, he finally reached the top and looked on to the vast lands around, he couldn't help but feel exhilarated, even if it was only a dream, he felt a familiar presence enter the dream, he chuckled and changed the world to the familiar field from last time. "Been a while Luna.....how can I help you?" He asked.

Luna walked over and looked at the moon. "I won't be asking you for information about Lyaroa anymore, she has made herself known to me and my sister." She answered easily.

Fang was glad to hear that, but after a while of staring up at the stars, he noticed that Luna was still there. "Was there something else?" He asked.

Luna nodded. "I wished to warn you of something, you see, Lyaroa has made it abundantly clear that the Elements of Harmony are to be returned to where we found them, but this of course, will leave us vulnerable to most threats, Discord included." She said.

Fang blinked and walked around a little bit. "How is this my problem?.....I have enough to worry about without looking over my shoulder for the God of chaos or whatever." He said.

Luna sighed. "Discord takes great joy from toying with others, especially if they are stuck up nobles or are simply frustrated, if he should be freed again, there is no telling what he will do." She warned.

Fang crossed his arms. "You seem to be forgetting that Lyaroa is around right?....not to mention me and Roxanne, Golden, you and Celestia, Skitter.....you name it, we have a ton of powerhouses." He countered.

Luna narrowed her eyes at Fang, but the one thing she noticed was his completely calm expression. "The only issue with Lyaroa.....is her boredom, she would see Discord as a handy way to relieve her boredom so long as she let him run amok, besides, there is no guarantee that the bear....thing, would even help us." She stated.

Fang shook his head. "I don't want to argue right now Luna, I've already got a headache downstairs in the house right now, so I would rather just enjoy the rest of my night without an argument.....besides, I've seen what Discord can do with my own two eyes." He sat down and waved his hand.

The world changed rapidly into a world that Luna remembered all too well. "How did you do this?" She asked.

Fang pointed down from the large mountain they found themselves on. "Look familiar?" He asked.

Luna focused her gaze down and saw what was down there, she saw herself, her sister and Discord. "I know this.....this is, this is when we defeated Discord." She said in bewilderment. [2]

Fang watched as the whole thing went down, he was emotionless as it all happened, but once Discord was turned to stone, he sighed. "To answer your earlier question, I combined a little of time control with dreamwalking, a dangerous experiment, but successful." He answered.

The world then changed back into the autumn field with the forest off to the side. "No offense, but I need to get some actual sleep, so I would like you to get out." He said.

____*the next day, Lyaroa's house, 1:00 PM*____

Golden looked down at the picture in the amulet, he smiled and closed it as he heard footsteps approaching. "Who are they?" Lyaroa asked.

Golden sighed and clicked the small button, he then showed Lyaroa the picture. "They're from the world I went to after you tried to possess me, it's been a long time since then." He answered as the Sentinel held the amulet

Lyaroa looked at the image for a moment before handing it back to Golden. "Do you miss it?" She asked out of curiosity.

"Of course I miss it, but I can't go back." He replied.

"Why not?" The Sentinel asked. 

Golden smiled and looked up, seemingly ignoring the question as he stared at the ceiling like he would the sky. "......A promise." He finally said quietly.

Lyaroa blinked, normally she would have gone through his memories and figure out what he was talking about, but he seemed to be immune to it, she didn't feel like asking either, so she simply let it slide. "Good reason." She walked away but soon paused. "Hey Golden, if a wolf called Shade comes by, let me know, trust me, you can't miss him." She said as she went upstairs.

Golden watched as she walked up the stairs, he sighed and walked over to the window and looked outside, he couldn't help but wonder what was held in store for them now, after all, nothing can really compare to defeating a god. 'But still, in this world, anything can happen.' He thought as he stared out the window.

_____*ten minutes later.*_____

Golden sat on the couch reading a book that Lyaroa had gotten from her library.....yes, she has a library in the house, which apparently had around at least a hundred other rooms. 'What does she need that many rooms for anyway?' He wondered as he closed the book.

A knock at the door came soon after, he sighed and stood up, he walked over to the door and opened it, he saw a wolf, not Fang, but far more feral looking. "Hello." Golden greeted.

The wolf nodded. "Hey, I'm Shade." He replied.

Golden blinked. 'So this is the wolf she was talking about.' He thought. "One second, can you wait here?" He asked, seeing Shade nod, he closed the door. "Lyaroa, Shade's here!" He called. 'Good thing the walls are completely soundproof.'

A moment later, Lyaroa appeared near the door, startling Golden, she only chuckled and opened the door. "Hey Shade, nice to see you." She greeted.

Shade entered the house after Lyaroa let him in. "Why did you call me here?.....this better be important." He said.

Lyaroa closed the door. "It is actually, first off, I wanted you to meet someone......Shade, this is Golden." She introduced.

Golden nodded. "Hey." He said in a monotone voice.

Shade looked at Lyaroa and crossed his arms. "You didn't call me here to introduce us did you?" He asked.

Lyaroa held her left hand up slightly. "Ok ok, you got me, to be honest, I came here to let you know about something.....you remember the girl from the Everfree?." She wondered.

Shade nodded. "The one that I was accused of attacking?" He wondered.

"Yea, that one, anyway, I think it would be better if you laid low for a while, as in hide somewhere else, because there are some soldiers investigating right now, and the last thing that I need to deal with is that fiasco should they find you." Lyaroa explained.

Shade sighed and walked around a little. "So, you brought me here to contain me until the investigation is over, is that it?" He asked coldly.

Lyaroa shook her head. "Nope, just wanted to warn you, also, I have one quick question for you." She said.

Shade blinked and did not speak, letting Lyaroa talk.

"What would you say to a rematch? we never finished our last brawl." She wondered.

Shade shrugged his shoulders. "It's not like I have anything better to do, but are you sure?.....if I need to lay low, how would a fight help this?" He wondered.

"I'm bored, besides, no one can see or hear my training yard unless they physically enter it from the house, so it's fine." She answered.

After that, Shade let them lead him to the training yard, once he entered it, he found himself bewildered, as it was wider than the house itself, and it was on the outside, but the sky was right there. "How is this possible?" He found himself asking.

Lyaroa chuckled. "It's one of my favorite little tricks, compressed space, you make an area the size you want, and compress it in a very special way, I won't bother explaining the details." She said.

As Shade familiarized himself with the yard, Golden walked up to Lyaroa and spoke quietly. "Let me fight.....I need to readjust to this body again, besides, you said it yourself a while ago that you wanted to see me fight with my own body.....am I wrong?" He asked.

Lyaroa sighed. "If Shade lets you." She relented.

Shade then got ready and saw that Golden was walking up, he raised an eyebrow. "I thought Lyaroa was fighting?" He wondered.

Golden crossed his arms. "How about letting me fight instead?......I need a workout anyway." He suggested.

Shade thought about it for a moment before slowly nodding. "Weapons or no?" He asked.

Golden took a deep breath. "In a possible rematch, but not this time." He answered as he readied himself.

Lyaroa teleported to the side and rang a gong. "Fight!" Sounded a sinister voice. 

Shade and Golden soon closed distance, they quickly ended up fighting, Shade delivered a rapid punch combo to Golden's chest, the bear simply kicked Shade away, seemingly unfazed by the attack.

Shade growled and rolled forward, but just before he reached Golden, he leapt up and threw a strong punch at Golden's head.

The blow impacted, Golden held and shook his head before rounding on Shade, he threw a strong fist at the wolf, who dodged, Golden's fist slammed onto the stone, leaving a sizable crack.

Golden then charged the wolf and proceeded to assault him with punches and kicks, but Shade just dodged the attacks, eventually however, Golden got lucky just as Shade tripped, and his fist impacted with the wolves stomach.

Shade held in the gasp of pain as he tried to strike at the bear, but Golden simply knocked him to the ground.

Golden looked down at the wolf as he lie there on the ground, he then rolled the wolf over with his foot, the wolf seemed to have a blank expression, he simply took a few steps back, not willing to risk a surprise attack from the wolf.

The attack never came however, and Lyaroa stopped the fight, she walked over to Shade and knelt down. "You alright Shade?" She asked.

Shade grunted and sat back up. "Yea, I'm fine." He said shortly as he stood up next. 'That bear packs a punch.' He thought, it didn't surprise him, seeing as Bears had incredible natural strength, but he had never taken a hit from one.

Golden found himself feeling relieved, though he didn't know why. 'At least he didn't choose weapons.' He found himself thinking.

Shade looked at Golden who seemed to be lost in thought. "Hey Gold......what was that?" He asked.

Golden blinked and looked at Shade in confusion. "Huh?" 

Shade gave Golden a suspicious glare. "That thing you did to me when you knocked me to the ground, what was that." He asked again.

Golden raised an eyebrow. "I honestly have no clue what you are talking about." He answered. 'I'm not even lying, what exactly did I do?'

"Don't give me that, as soon as you landed a hit on me, I couldn't move." Shade argued.

Lyaroa sighed. "You know, sometimes i think you guys forget that there's a Sentinel with time control and can sense pretty much anything." She mentioned as she flicked Golden and Shade's foreheads.

"Ow!" They both said. [3]

Lyaroa walked ahead of them a bit, she closed her eyes and after a minute or so, her eyes opened. "Well, I know what the hell happened, Golden, you are and are not to blame." She said cryptically.

Golden crossed his arms. "Come again?" He asked.

"Agreed, explain?" Shade agreed.

Lyaroa put her arms behind her head. "Simple, Golden, you accidentally and unintentionally hit Shade with a psychic blast just as you hit him." She explained.

Golden looked at one of his hands. 'Odd, I don't remember doing that, and my powers are just fine......were they amplified by something?' He wondered.

_____*Ponyville, 4:30 AM*______

Fang sighed as he wandered the now sleeping town, normally he wouldn't be awake, but he couldn't sleep with the visions constantly appearing, he could tell there was more to the story than constant babbling about how everything and everyone was gone. 

As he walked, he found himself near Sugarcube corner, he saw another shadow appear and start speaking. "I.....I caused all of this, if only we never went to that damned mountain, tomorrow I'm ending it, I won't outlive anyone else anymore." The shadow said before vanishing.

'A mountain huh?.....Canterlot? no, I doubt that, it's a possibility, but unlikely.' He thought.

Fang continued walking until he came across the town square, he expected things like more shadows or weird flashes, but nothing, he didn't see anything. "Odd, this place must not have a memory." He mumbled.

"It's unwise to dwell on these things you know." Came a familiar voice.

Fang turned around and saw Skitter standing behind him. "Why are you out here?" He asked.

Skitter chuckled. "I could ask you the same thing, but if you must know, I couldn't sleep." She answered.

Fang sighed and looked up at the moon. "Then our reasons are more or less the same." He said.

Skitter flew up a little and looked Fang in the eye. "Fang, for once, I'm going to be the voice of concern......so tell me, what's the problem?" She asked.

Fang was going to just say that it was nothing, that he was alright and didn't need help, that he just couldn't sleep, but seeing Skitter's concern on her face, he just couldn't bear to lie to the Changeling. "Can I trust you to not tell anybody?" He asked.

Skitter nodded. "Of course." She replied.

Fang gave a skeptical glare. "Swear it, not a Pinkie Promise......YOUR word." He said.

Skitter blinked, she could tell that whatever it was, it was bothering her friend incredibly, she took a quick breath. "I swear, I won't tell anyone." She said.

Fang seemed to ease up a little, he then crossed his arms. "Ever since the day I told Lyaroa I accepted her offer, I've been having strange visions, like shadows, they look like me and they speak of a terrible tragedy, mostly about the aftermath of it all......I don't know what exactly happened, but somehow, I'm the cause of it all." He explained.

Skitter was about to say something when she paused, she felt like it would be better to let Fang continue, so she thought on what he said and decided to wait until the end of it all. 

"What's worse is that Spark saw one of these shadows, only once, but it was still concerning, thankfully he didn't hear it speak, or that would have been very bad.....makes me wonder if the shadow is right though, apparently everyone vanished and I was the cause." He said while clenching his fist.

Skitter flew down and landed. "Fang, let me stop you there......you are not a bad person, a little misguided for a time, but that's it, you have a good heart, and you wouldn't let someone die if you could stop it." She said.

Fang looked at Skitter straight in the eye. ".......How do you know?" He asked.

Skitter was caught off guard by the question, but she didn't let it show. "Because I know you....that's why." She answered, it was a pitiful answer and it was obvious.

Fang huffed quietly. "Yea right......you don't know my past, I don't know yours, you have no idea what I went through.....hell, I don't even know myself half the time, so don't give me the 'I know you' excuse." He countered coldly.

Skitter was about to speak up, but realized that he was right.....she never asked him about his past, she didn't even know how old he was, she knew next to nothing about him other than his gender, his name, that he used to be an animatronic.....whatever that was, and that he was Lyaroa's host for a while. "Your right." She finally said.

Fang looked at the ground. "That's what I thought." He said quietly.

_____*Later that day, 12:01 PM*______

Golden was out in the training yard, he had been working out for an hour or so after breakfast, thankfully, he was capable of cooking, and knew poison when he saw it, right now, he was making sure all of his powers were under his control and his limbs obeyed him.

Golden was now making sure he was alone, thankfully, Lyaroa and Fang were out in the town right now, Spark was at school, and Wheatly didn't come out here.

Golden grinned and held his hand out, he focused his power to his hand, and he eventually materialized a long object in his hand.

On the surface, it looked like an odd walking stick, it wasn't.....it was actually a weapon, it was a staff, it was long, easily five feet long and two inches wide, it was obviously not square, it was made out of a sandy like wood with patterns of earth breaking apart all over it, the middle of the staff had a light orange like wood with the same patterns on it. [4]

On both ends of the staff, near the top and near the bottom, had small silver metal parts attached to them, they didn't seem to move, on the tip of the staff, was the symbol of a Fonku on it.

Golden chuckled as he grasped the staff, he tested the weight and balance of the staff before swinging it in a combo, intent on practicing it.

'It's been a long time.' He thought to himself.
> Nearing the end.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Next week, Gwen's house, 11:32 PM*_____

Skitter looked up at the night sky, she was on the roof of Gwen's house, she breathed in the fresh air, she felt the cooling breeze run along her body, she closed her eyes and smiled.

It was an odd thing, feeling such happiness from nothing, but it was moments like this, the pure silence, having peace, even for a single night, Skitter opened her eyes and stared at the moon, she couldn't help but admire it as it loomed above.

Skitter looked down to the ground, she saw the light of the moon dimly illuminating the grass, she watched as the grass waved in the short breeze. 'If only this could last, even for a few more minutes.' She thought as she gazed up again.

She shook her head free of all thought, she then focused her gaze to the moon.

____*the next day, Gwen's house, 12:10 PM*____

Skitter waited in the living room for Roxanne, who had just gone to the bathroom, they were supposed to meet Lyaroa in the town soon, Firefly and Solar had already gone to school, Gwen was at work now, so Skiter was once again bored out of her mind.

She had tried contacting her hive last night, no reply once again, she had begun to think that maybe..... 

Skitter shook these thoughts out of her head as footsteps neared the stairs. "You ready Skitter?" Roxanne asked.

She nodded and headed to the door, throwing up her disguise as Star beforehand.

____*Ponyville market.*____

Roxanne spotted Lyaroa waiting for them near Applejack's stall, she seemed to be growing more impatient by the minute, but she still took her time in heading over.

Lyaroa looked over and noticed them walking over, she sighed in relief and met them halfway. "Glad to see you could make it." She said hurriedly.

Roxanne didn't say or give off an expression at how strange it was, the way Lyaroa said that, it was like she was on edge.....very skittish for some reason. "What's this all about Lyaroa?" She asked.

Lyaroa chuckles nervously and started walking, she motioned the two to follow. 

As they walked, Lyaroa started talking. "I'm actually in kind of a rush guys, but I'll try to explain." She said. "Recently, I've heard rumors, and before you say anything, you should know that I wouldn't bother you over a pointless rumor." She added.

Roxanne walked up next to Lyaroa and looked at the Sentinel. "What kind of rumors?" She asked.

Lyaroa produced a small stack of photos and handed it to Roxanne. "Take a look." She said.

Roxanne examined the photos, she cringed slightly as she discovered they were photos of dead bodies, murder scenes mostly, they were all of the same topic as she looked through them, one victim, one knife, same injuries, the cause of death was obviously a slit throat, but each and every individual had a symbol on them, it was that of an upside down cross with a skeletal dragon at the bottom. "What does this have to do with the rumors?" She asked.

Lyaroa quickly checked the surrounding area and got closer to Roxanne, but not too close. "The rumors would have you believe that the members of a cult are committing suicide, I have reason to believe differently, I believe that it's a death cult killing people and trying to cover it up." She whispered.

Skitter knew what she was saying, and didn't like the idea of it at all.

"What else?" Roxanne asked quietly.

Lyaroa noticed some people walking by. "Not here." She looked up at the sky, she quickly made some clouds. "I'm going to send us up there to talk privately." She said.

Roxanne was about to object when she found herself suddenly in the sky. "Oh no." She said, expecting to fall, after a few moments of nothing, she opened her eyes and looked around, she noticed that she was on a cloud, but she was also back in Pegasus form. "Seriously?" She asked as she spotted Lyaroa standing on a cloud.

Lyaroa chuckled. "Yes, it was easier and faster than going around your anti magic barrier, besides, didn't you say so yourself that you wouldn't mind it every now and then?" She pointed out in fake obliviousness.

Roxanne sighed. "Alright, now tell us what's going on." She ordered.

Lyaroa nodded. "As I said, I believe that it's a death cult covering up murders, however, there's more going on than normal, for one, almost all of the bodies have near impossible to detect signs of struggling with someone before dying, the main question is why." She replied as she paced back and forth on the cloud.

Skitter looked at the Sentinel. "So, what else is there?" She asked.

Lyaroa looked at Skitter. "I also discovered that all of the victims shared one thing in common aside from wounds, and that the majority of these killings took place near Canterlot, so it's possible it's an isolated incident." She replied.

Roxanne looked up a little, and then back at Lyaroa. "So, what do you want US to do about it?" She asked.

"Yea, I'm ready to kick some butt!" Skitter exclaimed happily.

Lyaroa looked at Skitter and shook her head. "Sorry Skitter, your sitting this one out, along with everyone else." She said firmly but calmly.

Roxanne looked at Lyaroa. "What are you talking about?" She asked.

Lyaroa looked at Roxanne and gave a light smile. "That's the thing about this cult.....they have it out for me, they believe that the 'false god' should die.......along with any who follow, so I'm going to go alone, I just thought you should know, besides, you have a kid Roxie, I can't ask you to leave her like that." She replied with a hint of sadness.

Roxanne caught on to the hint, she blinked. "First off, do you know where they are? secondly, do you really think you can keep me and Fang from going?......stupid question, you CAN, but you still know what I meant." She said bluntly.

"Not to mention, Golden's probably itching for something to do, you can bring him and Fang." Skitter added.

Lyaroa sighed and rubbed her eyes, after a few minutes she groaned and looked up. "Fine!.....anyway, judging from the location of the attacks, the frequency, the efficiency.....I would have to go with one of Fillydelphia's outlying areas" She explained. 'Maybe I should bring Shade, he seemed itchy for a fight last time I saw him.' She thought.

Lyaroa looked at Skitter again. "You still aren't going." She said.

Skitter actually looked annoyed, it may have been easy to annoy her, but it was rare for her to actually express it. "Why not!?" She asked harshly.

Lyaroa crossed her arms. "Two reasons." She held up two fingers. "One, we need someone dependable here while we are gone to look after the kids, Spark is pretty self reliant, but someone needs to keep an eye on him every now and then. Two, if I'm taking anyone with me, it'll be anyone who's upright, not to be racist, but if this death cult is the one I'm thinking of, we can't afford to have any equine with us." She answered truthfully.

"Also, as a third reason, if by some coincidence everyone else finds out, we'll need you to keep everyone here somehow." Lyaroa added.

Skitter huffed. "Is that all?" She asked sarcastically. "HOW exactly am I supposed to do that?" She wondered.

Lyaroa blinked. "Skitter, your the former future queen of a changeling hive with peculiar abilities, trust me, you can stall, also uh.....can you set up a meeting at the library?.....I need to tell everyone something." She said.

Skitter nodded. "Ok, when?" She asked.

Lyaroa shrugged. "Maybe now?" She suggested.

Skitter grumbled and muttered something about 'rushing her' before flying off.

Lyaroa blinked and looked at Roxanne. "I don't know about you, but I would prefer it if you didn't go with to deal with this cult." She said with a hint of concern.

Roxanne walked over and flew up to Lyaroa's eye level. "And what happens if this cult gets their hands or hooves or whatever on kids?" She asked calmly.

Lyaroa didn't speak, she just looked away.

Roxanne sighed and put her hoof on Lyaroa's face, forcing the Sentinel to look her in the eye. "What if they reach OUR kids?" She asked in a now dangerous tone, her eyes becoming black pits with white pinpricks in the center.

Lyaroa paused her thought, she didn't WANT to think about it, while she had no biological children, she did have her friends, her adoptive family, those she considered to be her own.

She finally looked at Roxanne with determination. "Get your affairs and whatever in order, we leave in three days at longest, I need to get some people together.

Lyaroa then teleported them off the cloud and dispersed it, but not before turning Roxanne back into her fox form.

_____*Lyaroa's house, 4:00 PM*_____

Lyaroa walked out into the training yard and saw Golden training, he was performing combos that seems to become more brutal and precise as it went on. "Golden." She said shortly.

Golden noticed Lyaroa and stopped his training, he was breathing heavily and was sweating all over. "What is it?" He asked as he put his staff away.

Lyaroa did take note of Golden's odd staff, but never mentioned it. "I have reason to believe that a death cult is roaming free in Equestria, killing innocents and covering it up, I would like it if you tagged along." She answered.

Golden sat down on one of the benches. "Why?" He asked. "This isn't our world, why should we care what happens to it?" He added.

Lyaroa narrowed her vision on the bear as he drank some water. "Smug attitude coming from a guy who interfered in someone else's war." She countered.

Golden chuckled and then looked at Lyaroa. "I'll consider joining you.....when do you leave?" He asked.

"Three days longest, at least one day." She replied.

Golden scratched the back of his head and smirked. "Alright, I might be there." He said cooly as he went to the door.

Lyaroa didn't say anything as she watched Golden go back inside. 'Ok, next.' She thought as she teleported elsewhere.

____*The Everfree Forest.*____

Lyaroa approached Shade's cave, she noticed that there was an odd odor coming from it, but she pushed past it as she entered the cave. "Shade, you here?" She asked.

She heard a shuffling and water dripping from somewhere in the cave, which was strange as it hadn't rained in a week. "Why are you here Lyaroa?" Came Shade's voice.

Lyaroa crossed her arms and looked behind her, seeing the wolf standing there. "I'm here to ask you to join me on a mission." She answered.

Shade blinked, he walked closer to the Sentinel. "And that would be?" He asked.

Lyaroa then told him about what was going on, including the cult, and the deaths, Shade sighed and paced around the cave. "Why does this concern me?......I literally have no reason to help." He pointed out.

Lyaroa shook her head. "Like I said, I'm asking, that's all." She replied as she headed to the cave entrance. "If you feel like going, meet me at the house." She added before leaving via teleport.

____*later that day, Lyaroa's house, 8:32 PM*_____

Fang stood there in silence as Lyaroa finished her explanation of what was going on, he was somewhat in shock as it actually connected to his visions, he eventually sighed. 'If the bad thing that the shadow mentioned is at this place, I can't afford to stay.' He thought.

"You don't have to go you know, no pressure there." Lyaroa mentioned.

Fang chuckled. "No, I'm going, I sat the last two out, not this time." He said before heading upstairs.


_____*Two days later, Lyaroa's house, 9:10 AM*_____

Lyaroa sat in the living room with Golden, Fang and Roxanne, Shade had told her that he would go after he thought it over, Golden was going just because he could at this point.

Spark and Firefly didn't have school today, and were going to be staying over at Gwen's until they got back, thankfully, Lyaroa had given Skitter more than enough money to pay for food and other costs, it was a good thing that Skitter was good with money, or it would have been a bad idea.

The excuse that the kids were given was that they need a vacation, Spark did not question it because he was used to Lyaroa's shenanigans at this point, Firefly was confused and asked WHY they needed one, and why they couldn't go, Roxanne answered with. 'The place we're going isn't for kids, but it's the kind of vacation that adults like.' This had unfortunately gotten Firefly even more curious, and asking more questions, much to Lyaroa's amusement.

Lyaroa heard a knock at the door, she teleported over and opened it up, seeing that it was Shade she let him in. "Morning." She said shortly.

Shade noticed everyone and rubbed his eyes. "Hey." He said.

Fang stood up and walked around a little. "So, when are we leaving?" He asked.

Lyaroa locked the door and looked at everyone. "Do you have everything?" She asked, seeing everyone nod, she grinned. "Ok, then we leave immediately." She answered.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow. "And just HOW long is it going to-" She was cut off as Lyaroa snapped her fingers, and they all teleported from the house.

____*somewhere else.*____

The five fell down and landed in a pile, with Golden on the bottom, Fang on top of him, Lyaroa on him, Shade on her, and Roxanne on top. 

Golden grumbled. "I'm ALWAYS the fall guy." He complained.

"Stuff it Gold." Fang said.

Shade sighed. "Why did this happen again?" He wondered.

Lyaroa mumbled something under her breath. "We should probably move." She said.

Roxanne chuckled. "I don't know why you guys are complaining, it's a nice view." She told them before jumping off the pile. 

"Say's the fox as she lands on top." Shade then got off the pile.

One by one they got free, soon, Lyaroa looked around and blinked as she noticed they were at the entrance to a ravine, leading to a mountain.

"Let's get moving, the sooner this is done, the better." Lyaroa said as she walked to the ravine.

Roxanne looked at the ravine as she moved towards it, and only one thought ran through her mind. 'I have a bad feeling about this.'
> A much needed but short conversation.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*two days ago, Golden Oaks library, 5:19 PM*_____

Twilight was reading one of her books when she heard a knock on the door, she set her book down and walked over to the door, she opened it and saw Gwen and Derpy along with Skitter and Rarity, she allowed them inside. "Hey girls." She greeted.

A few minutes later, another knock, and this time, it was Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy.

Twilight let them inside, soon enough, when Dark came downstairs, their meeting began. "So Skitter, why did you want everyone to meet up here?" She asked.

"It wasn't MY idea, I may have called us here, but Lyaroa is the one who came up with the idea, she said she wanted to talk to everyone." She answered.

Gwen looked at her friend curiously. "What about?" She asked.

Skitter was about to speak, but she stopped as she saw Lyaroa enter the library. "I wanted to speak to everyone all at once." Lyaroa said.

Twilight looked at the Sentinel. "Why?" She asked.

Lyaroa walked to the center of the room talking as she did. "Last time we all talked back in the Crystal Empire, Derpy excluded, everyone was angered, I wanted to talk to everyone in a more calm environment." She answered.

Gwen talked next. "What brought this on?.....you didn't seem to care much last time." She pointed out.

Lyaroa chuckled and crossed her arms. "Well, I think I owe it to you all, I did deceive you after all, besides......this might be your last chance to do so." She mentioned.

Skitter found herself curious at the last part. "What do you mean?" She asked.

Lyaroa looked at Gwen. "You see, I'm considering leaving this world, and i just might do so, but I wanted to talk to everyone before I made a decision, so if you have anything you need to say to me, now might be a good time." She said, not revealing what was really going on.

Twilight sighed and looked at Lyaroa. "Look, I've pretty much said whatever I had to say back at the Empire, I don't really have anything to add." She said.

Derpy looked and Gwen and the two whispered to each other, eventually, Gwen looked at Lyaroa. "Neither of us have anything to say really, I mean, yes, what you did was horrible, but it's not up to us to say anything for it." Gwen said.

Lyaroa seemed confused as everyone pretty much agreed with Gwen and Derpy, she actually didn't know what to do for a moment, but soon, she blinked and had an idea. "Well, that was unexpected, I won't be going into an emotional monologue, but hey, you never know, I might have a change of heart." She then walked over to one of the bookshelves. "So, until I get things sorted out in the eternal mystery that is my brain......I'll be doing what I do best." She then held up her hand slightly.  "Absolutely nothing." She snapped her fingers and vanished.

Skitter blinked. "That's it? she had us all come here for that little meeting?" She said in disbelief.

Gwen sighed. "And your surprised because?" She asked.

Skitter shrugged. "I don't know actually, it's just stupid.
> Last Spark of Hope, Part one: The Broken Road.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*The ravine.*_____

The pathways in the ravine were long, confusing and dangerous, as if they were made to stall or kill intruders, the path got darker and darker as the day passed, as as they continued forward, the rocks were all jagged and looked as though they would pierce your flesh just by the tinniest amount of contact.

Lyaroa led the way through the ravine, while Roxanne had pointed out that she could just as easily teleport them to where they needed to be, or at least give them a better and faster way of getting through, Lyaroa had responded by saying that it would be cheating.

Unfortunately, Golden didn't seem to care, and he had gone off, saying that if the world was at stake, shouldn't they go as fast as possible? Lyaroa had said this. 'If I did that, it would leave a trace, and anything that could follow it would find us, it's better this way, trust me.'

Unsurprisingly the calmest one in the group was Fang, who seemed to be ignoring everyone else in order to better focus on the environment and other hazards, he found it strange though, with how dangerous and is place was, why did there seem to be a pathway through the rocks?

After a lot of walking and bickering, the group eventually stumbled across a dead end, and Golden decided to be a smart ass.....again. "Way to go Sentinel, you led us to ANOTHER dead end!" He sarcastically congratulated.

Lyaroa growled and looked at Golden. "Fine, you lead the way!" She challenged.

Golden shrugged. "Ok." He said simply.

After that, Golden led the way forward with a strange calmness, no longer flinging insults and actually focusing, but now Lyaroa seemed to be grumpy, thankfully, Roxanne picked a random subject. "So Golden, what's with the staff?.....I mean, not to insult, but compared to the swords and Shade's magic, it seems a little pointless." She asked curiously.

Golden paused and looked at Roxanne. "Normally, you would pose a good point, and I get that I have the build for either a war hammer or a great-axe, but this thing took me five years to build, and I'm not letting it break or be called 'pointless', besides." He continued walking and looked away. "It's stronger than your letter openers.' He muttered under his breath.

As they walked, Fang continued to notice an odd pattern in the rocks, while to everyone else, it seemed like he was staring at things that weren't there.

Eventually, Shade got curious. "What is it?" He asked.

Fang blinked. "Nothing." He lied as he followed Golden and the others, much to the suspicion of Shade.

After a while longer, Golden led them and found a small cave opening, but it didn't seem to go far. "Way to go Golden, now what?" Lyaroa teased.

Golden sighed and motioned for the group to hold up as he entered the small cave, leaving everyone else out to wait.

Soon enough, Shade approached Fang, with a question or two in mind. "Hey, mind if I talk to you quick?" He asked carefully.

Fang looked at the Night Wolf, he didn't strike Fang as the curious kind, or one to dodge around details. "What about?" He wondered.

Shade crossed his arms and looked around, his gaze soon locked on Fang. "Out of everyone here, I can understand them, even barely, Golden is here because he's bored, Roxanne and Lyaroa are trying to protect what they care about, and I'm here because I want to live, and try to make a new life here, but you?.....you confuse me." He said honestly.

Fang shrugged. "I'm here to protect what I care about, just like the girls." He replied.

Shade sighed. "It's not that, look, I am well aware that I've known you for barely an hour, but so far, you've struck me as the kind of person who just doesn't care, like you don't give a damn about the world ending, but something is making you help....I'm curious as to what." He said calmly.

Fang paused at the words, while he couldn't legitimately deny it, he honestly didn't care if the world ended, but for some reason hearing Shade talk to him like that, he seemed to consider the why. "Other than my son and my friends, the only reason I'm here is to keep Rox alive, not much beyond that." He replied.

Shade opened his mouth to speak, but just then, Golden exited the cave and spoke, silencing Shade. "Found something." The bear said.

Lyaroa walked over to see what Golden was talking about, surely enough, she soon noticed a revealed lever in the cave, which was previously concealed by strong magic. "Interesting, did you pull it?" She asked.

Golden shook his head. "Not yet, I was going too." He replied.

Lyaroa then proceeded to pull the lever, she quickly left the small cave along with Golden.

Soon enough, loud rumblings in the mountains were heard, along the annoying sound of stone grinding.

Shade looked around with everyone, attempting to find the source, and soon, Shade spotted it, a sizable part of the mountain seemed to push out slightly, before sliding off to the side, after it was finished moving, a large stone hatch could be seen in the wall. "Found it." He said, pointing at the hatch.

Everyone looked at where Shade was pointing, seeing the hatch.....sixty feet up the mountain.

Roxanne's jaw dropped. "And just HOW are we getting up there?" She asked.

Lyaroa shrugged. "We climb." She answered simply.

"Right, and when we fall and die?" Golden questioned snidely.

Lyaroa went to say something, but stopped as she thought on it. "Fine, any bright ideas?" She asked.

Fang blinked as he looked around, he spotted that path among the spikes again and wordlessly walked away from the group who were busy coming up with ideas.

A minute or so later, Lyaora noticed that Fang was missing, she looked around but could not find her friend. "Uh, did anyone see where Fang went?" She asked.

Everyone looked around, but found no trace of the wolf. "Fang?.....where are you?" Roxanne asked.

"Up here!" They heard his voice and all looked, they were confused and shocked to find that Fang was sitting on a smooth surface near the now open hatch.

Shade raised an eyebrow as Fang proceeded to point at something, he looked over and spotted it, a hidden and confusing pathway through the rocks to the hatch. "Let's get going." He said.

It took a while, but with Fang's help, the group eventually made it to the hatch and went inside.

"How did you find that path?" Lyaroa asked.

Fang pointed one finger at his eyes. "I looked." He replied before shutting the hatch with a loud bang.

Everyone was startled at the sudden noise, and the grinding of stone was soon heard followed by a slam shortly after. "Why did you close it?" Roxanne asked. 

"To slow down possible pursuers." Fang answered easily.

Seeing as the room was completely dark, Golden spoke up. "Can we get some damn light in here now?" He wondered as though no one noticed it.

Roxanne then held one hand up and ignited it in white flame, the room now illuminated, it was a simple cave with no defining features except a few stone spikes, they all continued forward further into the cavern.

The group soon entered a room with carvings in the wall along with a door and two statues, the carvings seemed to have a volcanic pattern to them, the statues were that of a Pegasus and a unicorn in full armor holding silver spears.

Golden walked up to the door and opened it, or so he thought as it didn't budge, he grumbled. "Looks like we need a key." He stated grumpily.

Roxanne walked up to the statues and noticed something odd, the hoof that held the spear on both seemed flexible, she reached out and bent the hoof, she heard a click as the statue turned and the spear was now pointing at the door.

Shade soon did the same, and now both were facing the door, another click and the door opened.

As they walked through the next door, Roxanne grumbled. "Would it be too much to ask for a damned torch?" She complained.

Lyaroa sighed. "If we don't find one in the next few rooms, I'll make one." She assured the fox. 

"Good, I hate being the flashlight." She said with irritation.

As luck would have it, the group entered another room and there was a torch......behind a wall of fire and spikes. "Of fucking course!" Roxanne cursed.

Fang approached the wall, he then looked back at Shade. "Can you do anything to help or not?" He wondered.

Shade's eyes glowed purple with red sparks and he raised a hand. "Move away." He instructed.

Fang moved away and soon a blast of some kind of energy launched at the spikes, upon impact, the spikes disintegrated. "Whoa.....can your entire race do that?" He asked.

"No, just me." Shade replied.

Fang blinked, he then turned around and walked through the firewall, he felt incredible heat, but he didn't feel any pain, he walked to the torch and grabbed it, he then ran back through the firewall. "Here you go." He said as he handed Roxanne the torch.

Golden rubbed his eyes. "How are you not dead or on fire?" He questioned.

Fang pointed at the fire. "That was made by fire magic, and I have a resistance to magic, simple." He answered.

Roxanne lit the torch and she was finally able to give her powers a break, the torch illuminated the room with its white fire, soon enough, the group continued moving through a door in the room.

____*ten minutes of walking later.*____

The group had walked through a small maze and another puzzle room, but they were now in a large room with only one thing of note, a giant hole in the center.

Lyaroa walked up to the hole and knelt down, she couldn't see the bottom even with her night vision, she sighed and looked at Roxanne. "Drop the torch down the hole, we need to know how deep it is." She said.

Roxanne ignited her other hand and walked up to the hole, with everyone around it, she dropped the torch, it fell, and fell, but soon even the flames vanished from sight.

"Well, that sucks." Golden pointed out.

Lyaroa sighed. "Ok, give me a minute and I'll...." She was cut off as Fang suddenly jumped down.

Golden watched as Fang fell down the hole, he sighed and stood up. "I hate that dog." He complained as he jumped down.

Shade looked at the others. "No way, I am not jumping down ther-" He was suddenly pushed off by an unseen force, unlike the others, he literally fell down the hole.

Lyaroa shrugged and crossed her arms as she fell forwards and into the hole. "Why not?" She mumbled.

Roxanne blinked, she rubbed her eyes. "Oh who am I kidding?" She then jumped down after them.

Roxanne soon caught up to Lyaroa, who still had her arms crossed. "This is fun!" The Sentinel suddenly said.

____*two minutes later, at the bottom.*____

Golden growled at his predicament, somehow, Fang had slowed his decent just enough so that Golden landed on the bottom.....again.

The pile that this resulted in was basically the same, except Lyaroa switched places with Shade. "You alright down there Golden?" Shade asked.

Golden sighed. "Could be better if you dogs GOT THE FUCK OFF ME!" He shouted.

"Ok, it's official, I love this far more than the Empire." Lyaroa said.
> Last Spark of Hope, Part two: The Broken Heart.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*Ponyville, Gwen's house, Skitter's room, 10:00 AM*____

Skitter sighed as she sat up in her bed, she was holding her medallion tightly, she gritted her teeth as she felt another kick in her stomach, she also felt a sharp pain in her head, she clutched the medallion even tighter as the pain continued.

Soon enough, she felt the pain get even worse, she then clutched the medallion to tightly.....and it broke.

Skitter gasped as the pain quickly subsided, she quickly picked up the now broken pieces of the medallion. "No....no no no no no no!" She attempted to reassemble the medallion in a panic, but it only resulted in failure.

"Damn it!" She cursed quietly.

Skitter looked at the broken medallion, she looked away with a grimace and put it in the drawer, she took a few deep breaths and wiped away tears that were forming on her face. "Why was I doing that?" She asked herself.

Eventually, Skitter looked down at her now large stomach and put a hoof over it. "How did you get here anyway?" She wondered quietly.

Skitter stood up and walked to the door, she opened it up and headed downstairs.

____*downstairs in the kitchen.*____

Skitter was heating up some water for hot chocolate, it was very cold this morning for some reason, but she didn't mind, if anything, it gave her an excuse to have her second favorite drink.

As she heated the water, she couldn't help but try to find her hive, she closed her eyes and focused her mind, listening for anything of use, but, just like always....nothing, not a sound.

She bit her lip as her old life flooded back to her, she shook these thoughts from her mind as she heard someone coming down the stairs. "Hey Skittle." Said the familiar voice of Gwen.

Skitter growled at the mention of her nickname. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" She wondered.

Gwen laughed quietly. "You know I'm never going to stop." She pointed out.

Skitter shook her head and walked over to the table, she sat down and set the hot chocolate on the table. "You think they're alright?" She asked.

Gwen nodded almost immediately. "Of course, Lyaroa has Fang and Roxanne, not to mention Golden, they'll be alright." She replied confidently.

Skitter blinked and stared at her drink before taking a sip, she then stared at it blankly. "Hey.....you alright Skitter?" Gwen asked.

Nodding slowly, Skitter looked at Gwen. "Yea, just trying to keep sane, got a baby on the way and an adoptive daughter to look after, anyone with this situation probably loves having these quiet moments." She replied.

The two sat there in silence after that, only moving when they needed a drink or to reposition themselves, soon however, they heard familiar footsteps going down the stairs.

Skitter looked back and saw Spark. "Hey kid." She said.

Spark rubbed his left eye. "Hey Skitter." The dragon said sleepily.

As Spark made his way to the table, Skitter found herself thinking back on her past, and everything that happened between then and now.

____*many years ago, outskirts of Las Pegasus*____

It was a cool night, the Changeling hive was lively today, the Drones that should have been working, the Warriors that should have been on guard, the Keepers who should have been making rounds, and the Manti, who should have been at the ready, they were all watching as one particular birthing cocoon was opening.

Inside was a young Changeling, one that was long expected to arrive, a female, rare among the Changeling race, and even more so for the Queen herself to take an interest.

The cocoon was hatching, and inside, the young Changeling slowly awoke, the hive waited in anxious anticipation as the Changeling's eyes slowly opened, they could not see their color, as the cocoon was blocking their view, the Changeling blinked slowly as the cocoon continued to crack, until finally.....it finally burst open and the young Changeling fell to the ground, her hooves landed on the ground, holding her up, while the rest of her was on the ground, she closed her eyes and picked herself up a little so that she wasn't on the ground completely.

The young Changeling slowly opened her eyes as she breathed heavily, immediately hearing murmurs, she looked up and saw many of her kind, they were standing around looking at her, she felt a sense of dread and she rose to a kneel, she was confused as they seemed to bow down to someone approaching.

The young Changeling blinked and looked around, she soon saw a Changeling walking towards her, but this one was massive, much taller and more powerful looking than the rest, this Changeling was also surrounded by four smaller but fierce looking Changeling's.

The young Changeling was confused at this point, but as she looked around, she saw that the other Changeling's had risen, she did not know what to do at this point, and didn't know what to say, so when the large Changeling approached her, she did the only thing that made sense......she payed attention.

"Welcome to the hive young one, I am Queen Phera." She introduced.

The young Changeling was unable to understand what exactly that meant, she tilted her head in confusion. 

Queen Phera looked down at the young Changeling with a patient gaze. "Young one, it is time to begin the test." She said calmly.

The young Changeling looked up at the Queen curiously, she couldn't understand what she was talking about, but she soon stood up. 

"T....te......test?" She eventually said with extreme difficulty.

The Queen looked back to one of the four Changeling's and nodded, the one Changeling then lit its horn, soon enough, a small circular disk came into view and floated down, it landed in front of the young Changeling, on the disk were four items, she didn't know what they were, but she felt something strange in her gut.

"The test is simple, take each item in hoof one at a time." She Queen said.

The young Changeling blinked and reached out to the small sharp object, upon contact, she felt the coldness of the steel, it was strange, she held it carefully for a few moments before setting it down, going to the next item, which was a steel gauntlet of some kind, she picked it up, but felt only cold once more, she failed to see the point, but continued anyway.

The young Changeling then reached for the third item a small stick-like object, it was dry and heavy, but felt nothing from it, continuing on, she reached for the fourth object, but before she could grasp it, she spotted something.....a fifth object, seemingly unimportant and decaying, she blinked as she looked at it, it was round and flat like the disk, but with a diagonal object built into it, she looked up at the Queen curiously. "W....wh....what, I...is?" She asked with difficulty.

The Queen chuckled. "That, young one, is a small and old sundial." She answered.

The young Changeling eyed it for a moment, but eventually looked away from it, she reached out and grabbed the fourth object, it was steel, but not frozen like the others, it was smooth and strangely flexible, but other than that.....nothing, she set it down and looked at the sundial, she blinked and reached out for it, upon contact with the cold stone she felt something inside of her resonate, she seemed to glow and eventually it stopped, she looked and saw that all of the Changeling's jaws were dropped, she blinked in confusion, but upon hearing a small crack behind her, she looked over and saw something shocking and curious.

From inside the cocoon she came from, cracks in the back of it were seen, she blinked as the four Changeling's that seemed to guard the Queen moved cautiously with weapons out.

The back of the cocoon burst open and another Changeling female fell out, murmurs and shocked whispers went through the crowd as this happened.

The young Changeling stood up slowly, her legs slightly wobbly, she slowly approached the new Changeling, as she neared, she collapsed to her feet and she watched the new Changeling slowly rise. "H...he.....hello." She greeted.

The new Changeling rose and soon got into a sitting position, she then looked at the young Changeling curiously. "Hi." She said quietly.

One of the guards approached the Queen and whispered to her. "Your highness, what should we do?" He asked quietly.

Queen Phera watched the two young Changeling's quietly interact, she sighed and looked at the guard. "Take them both to the new Den." She ordered. [1]

The guard seemed confused and shocked. "But your highness....." He looked around for eavesdroppers before whispering again. "You know our laws as well as I." He started.

"Yes?" Said the Queen.

The didn't change his expression. "Then you know one of them must not stay!.....our oldest surviving law clearly states that there cannot be two Princesses, it caused too much strife before!" He reminded quietly but seriously.

The Queen looked at the guard. "I never said a thing about the second one being a Princess did i?....no, I don't believe they are cut out for that, but still...." She looked at the two with a knowing grin.

The two watched the two young Changeling's bond quickly. "Could you tear those sisters apart from each other?" She asked the guard quietly.

____*the present.*____

It was hours later, and the kids were in school, well....all but one.

Skitter held her stomach after a kick, she chuckled to herself as she looked up at the sky. "Phera always did know best all those years...." She muttered to herself as she watched the clouds go by.

Her thoughts drifted to the broken medallion, she growled and trembled at the mere thought of it. "Why did I have to go and break it!?" She cursed herself silently.

Skitter slowly calmed down after a short flight, afterwards she headed back home and had a new thought in mind. 'Ok....calm down, I'll just ask Lyaroa about it when she gets back, but until then, don't think on it.' She told herself as she entered the house.

Skitter walked over and sat down on the couch, she conjured up a crystal canine familiar and played ball with it for a while, but after both she and the dog were done she simply let it vanish.

Another kick in her stomach told Skitter that the kid was other annoyed or hungry. "Sorry little guy or girl, but I can't help till your out." She said as she kicked back on the couch, having nothing better to do.
> Last Spark of Hope, Part Seven: Losing track of time.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*Unknown Place, unknown time.*____

Fang opened his eyes to an unfamiliar sight, sounds and sights went on around him as he stood dumbfounded, he also saw that he was holding a strange sword, he was extremely perplexed as he grasped the sword, he looked it over and saw that it was a faded green in color, with black lining it in a wavelike pattern, and a strange white rune in the center on both sides. "What the?" He asked quietly.

Something else he noticed was that he was armored, from his feet to his shoulders, the armor had a similar color to the sword, the pattern was different through, on the leg armor it was a mountainous pattern, while on the upper body it shifted to a fiery pattern, the one thing he noticed was that the armor had similar runes to the ones on the sword, he also noted that the armor was practically weightless. 'What's going on?' He wondered.

He looked forward and saw Lyaroa with both blades drawn, looking incredibly pissed off, he noticed Shade looking torn up beyond belief with Golden mending him, Roxanne was off to the side, fighting off what seemed to be a lot of Pegasi and Unicorns by herself. 'What the hell did I miss?' He wondered in confusion.

As he attempted to make sense of the situation, he heard a commanding voice somewhere behind him. "I order you to destroy them all!" The voice boomed.

Fang felt a presence try enter his mind, he quickly shook his head while scrambling his thoughts, erasing it from his mind. 'I've already been controlled by a literal God, not much that will do now.' He thought to himself as he took a closer look at his surroundings.

The room they were in was large and very similar to the room they fought Jandoka in, the walls were black but with a strange red energy running along it, he looked to the floor and ceiling, seeing the strange pattern on the floor, he couldn't help but feel a strange sense of nostalgia because of everything going on.

Fang finally looked to Lyaroa again, seeing that she readied herself for combat, Fang decided it was time for some answers. "What the hell is going on?" He asked.

Lyaroa seemed to be confused at the question, but did not lower her guard. "I'm not falling for that." She said easily.

Fang wasn't surprised, he didn't expect his question to get him anywhere, so he did the next best thing, he raised his sword and looked the Sentinel in the eye. "Your an all powerful being yet you can't tell when someone is genuinely confused?.....something doesn't strike me as right here." He pointed out as he threw the sword to the ground and crossed his arms. 

Lyaroa didn't move as she watched the wolf. "Your point?" She asked.

Fang blinked. "I don't know what the hell is going on, furthermore, I would appreciate it if you explained something, or is that to much to ask from you?" He wondered.

Lyaroa seemed to pause for a slight second, she then eased off. "You better make this good." She replied.

Fang chuckled. "And HOW am I going to do that?....when I don't even remember any of this!" He joked as he picked the sword back up and sheathed it.

Lyaroa shook her head then sheathed Soul and Spirit. "First things first, help us clear these guys out, then we can talk." She stated firmly.

Fang didn't object, he then followed Lyoara as she moved to assist Roxanne.

As Fang neared, he noticed Roxanne glance behind herself, and for a split second, he could have sworn she smiled before defending against a strike from a Unicorns blade.

With Fang and Lyaroa assisting Roxanne, the assaulting soldiers were quickly dispatched, afterwards, Fang explained his situation to the best of his ability, he also made sure he was a decent distance away from Golden specifically, as he seemed to be the most pissed off.

"So, you really don't remember anything?" Roxanne asked curiously, thankfully, Life and Death were sheathed.

Fang nodded. "All I remember is jumping down that hole, then opening my eyes to all of this." He gestured to the room around them.

Shade grumbled as he stood up slowly, Golden's healing clearly helping. "Regardless of what you remember, your back, that's what matters." He said as he held his side.

Fang glanced to Shade's side, which seemed to be covered in blood, not counting the stains. "What happened to you?" He asked.

"You don't want to know." Lyaroa stated quickly.

Golden had his arms crossed and looked directly at Fang. "As usual, I'm going to be the one to mention that we should get moving, before more shit comes after us." He added in his usual quiet voice.

Fang looked around and sighed, he then walked over to a nearby step and sat down. "You all can decide what to do from now on." He said as he began to take the armor off, starting from the chest to the legs.

Lyaroa looked back at one of the entrances, they had entered from there, she then looked and saw another entrance to the side, she blinked. "Alright, it looks like we can get through where those guys showed up from." She said as she looked at the group.

Shade shook his head as he checked his wound. "Let's just get this over with." He answered as he put his hand back over the wound.

Golden held his staff over his right shoulder and walked a little bit to the door. "Let's get going then." He said as he continued walking.

Roxanne glanced to Fang, who just finished taking the rest of the armor off. "You don't think you should keep it on?" She asked.

Fang looked up at Roxanne. "I'm not big on armor, too constricting." He explained.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and walked to the entrance that Golden was going through.

Fang looked over at the sword from before, he closed his eyes and chuckled a little as he shook his head and stood up, he looked at Shade. "Will you be alright?" He wondered.

Shade blinked and shifted a little. "I'll live, it's gonna hurt like hell though." He replied.

Lyaroa walked over to Shade and helped him get his arm over her shoulder so he could walk easier, she then looked at Fang. "You better be helping now got it?" She asked that as if Fang had a choice.

Fang nodded and walked on ahead of the two as they all made their way through the area, speaking of which, Fang looked back for a moment. "I forgot to ask, where are we?" He wondered.

Lyaroa chuckled and looked at Fang. "Oh yea....I forgot to mention that, we have a lot of catching up to do......allow me to welcome you, to Dalcorus." She said calmly.

Shade grumbled. "I still think the name is dumb." He added quietly.

____*eight minutes later.*____

Fang looked around the next room, he noticed that it was a strange puzzle just by the layout, he sighed to himself. "Why does almost every single place have puzzles?" He asked quietly.

Shade walked over to him, he was now capable of walking on his own, but only if he took it slowly. "Hell if I know, I guess they just wanted to stall for time." He replied.

The room itself was of no interest, just the fact that there was a big spiked box off to the side, an area with a strange energy about it, a ledge with a hole that seems to go through to the next area, and the spike floor, that was all that was of interest.

Lyaroa looked at the strange energy, it was powerful, powerful enough to be visible to anyone, she looked at Fang. "That field drains magic, it's meant to weaken any being in Equestria, but if one had no magic to speak of, they could go through harmlessly." She said while pointing at a large button in the center of the field.

Fang facepalmed and walked through the energy field, the energy harmlessly passing him by, he then stepped on the button, causing the spikes on the box to retract, he saw Roxanne and Golden move over and begin pushing it, the spikes in the floor seemed to slowly rise however, and Fang quickly got off the button. "Well that's just great." He muttered as the spikes on the box soon returned and the floor spikes retracted.

Lyaroa crossed her arms and tried to think of something, a few moments later she looked at Fang. "We need to take this slowly, Fang, get back on the button, Roxanne and Golden, get back to pushing when the spikes are far enough back." She instructed.

This strategy proved effective as they were able to get the box beneath the ledge in a few short minutes, they then began to climb the box and reached the edge, but they soon realized something.

Golden saw the distance that Fang would need to cross in order to begin climbing, but it was impossible as he would need to wait for the floor spikes, and by then the spikes on the box would be back, he looked at Lyaroa. "Either you help, him, or he's going to need great timing for this." He pointed out as he walked on, heading for the next room.

Fang blinked and held the button down, a few moments later, when the floor spikes were incredibly tall and at their tallest, he ran forward to the ledge.

The spikes soon began to vanish, bit by bit they lowered, but as Fang reached them, he jumped up abnormally high, he was almost impaled on the spikes below, had he not used his feet to latched the sides, he would have been skewered.

Lyaroa watched as Fang hopped from spike to spike, making great progress, but he reached the box, Lyaroa worried, as the spikes slowly returned as Fang neared, and these ones couldn't be latched onto like the others, as they all had miniature spikes near the tip.

Fang fell down to the spikes at the top of the box, he then quickly moved his hand out and pushed on a bare spot on the spikes, soon, the box.....tipped over?

Lyaroa double checked her eyes, making sure they weren't being tricked, but no, it was no trick, the box seemed to just flip over, revealing a bare spot with spikes slowly rising.

Fang hopped on the box quickly and jumped up to the ledge, he gripped it as he skowly pulled himself up. "Hey." He looked up at Lyaroa who was offering him a hand.

He smiled briefly and took her hand as he eased himself and started walking further into the pathway. "Thanks." He said quietly.

____*one hour of rooms and puzzles later.*____

Roxanne moved quietly to the railing and looked down to the courtyard below, apparently, there was something of a hidden city under the mountain and the ravine, and somehow, there was an artificial sun and moon that provided much needed heat and light for the underground city.

The courtyard was filled with soldiers, Earth Ponies, Pegasi and Unicorns, they all wore tough looking armor, and wielded strong weapons, they all saluted as a large Earth Pony stallion marched to the center of the courtyard, Roxanne couldn't make out too much about him, but he had dark gray fur and one dark blue eye. "Soldiers!....Citizens!" The man called in a commanding voice. 

As more and more people arrived, the stallion approached a young Pegasus stallion who was being held down by restraints and had two guards with swords drawn and ready. 

The stallion pointed at the prisoner. "This man has been arrested this morning for attempting to murder one of his fellow citizens, the other charges are as follows." He then produced a list and read off the crimes. "Multiple counts of assault, harassment, sexual harassment, robbery, several counts of murder, accessory to murder, rape, convicted arson, traitor, and sabotage!" The stallion finished.

Roxanne felt no need to save this man. "While those guys are busy, we can sneak around." She suggested.

Shade was the first to object. "What if he can help us?" He wondered.

Roxanne gave Shade a deadpan stare. "Listen, as much as I would love the possibility, I'm not releasing a rapist." She replied as she moved around the area, staying out of sight all the while.

Fang looked back at Golden as they snuck around. "Are you ever going to tell me what I missed?" He wondered.

Golden nodded. "When we have a moment, I'll tell you what I can." He replied.

Eventually, the group made it out of the central ring, and they entered what seemed to be a botanical garden, they didn't hear anyone nearby so they stood back up. "This city doesn't make sense." Fang said.

Lyaroa looked around at the plants and such growing, she blinked. "Odd, most of these plants went extinct five centuries ago." She muttered as she looked around.

The group then split up to cover more ground, Shade went with Golden, while Roxanne went with Lyaroa, leaving Fang alone.....again. "Great, just great." He muttered as he continued moving.

Soon, he found a large plant blocking his way, he couldn't see a way to go around it so he was going to go through it.

The plant was large and green, it had yellow lines all over it, Fang simply approached and the plant changed, it's vines and roots seperating from the main body and formed a massive arm, the rest of it simply became a powerful and thick wall, the only real difference was that this creature now had a mouth, one that looked like it could fire venomous barbs. "Shit." He complained as he got ready to fight.

____*meanwhile*____

Golden and Shade walked through the garden, they hadn't run into anything, and it was getting boring. "Should we have let him go on his own?" Shade wondered.

Golden shrugged. "Fuck it, I don't care, he's strong, he's fast, he can control time to an extent, he'll be fine." He answered.

____*meanwhile.*____

Lyaroa had returned to her childish personality......extremely quickly, like, disturbingly fast, Roxanne found it weird, but chalked it down to, it's just Lyaora being herself.

Roxanne kept an eye on things while Lyaroa explored, they had run into a lot of trouble, but the moment they saw Roxanne's flames, they fled, and when a fire-wielding plant showed up, Lyaroa froze it with Soul.

Lyaroa blinked as she examined a blue flower, she hadn't seen this kind before, nor heard of it, she grinned and picked one, her skin coming into slight contact with it, she then brought it over to Roxanne. "Here, look at this." She said.

Roxanne looked at the flower and a sense of nostalgia hit her, but she couldn't name the flower or its properties, she noticed that Lyaroa was trying to hand it over, she took the flower, her skin also coming into contact with it, she shrugged after a while and gave it back to Lyaroa. 

Roxanne noticed the slightly hurt but confused Lyaroa. "You may want to put it back, it might be poisonous." She said.

Lyaroa nodded and threw it back where she found it. "Oh well, it was worth a shot." She replied as though she failed an attempt to flirt.

The two then walked away, not noticing a slightly hidden sign saying. 'Poison Joke, Warning, DO NOT TOUCH!'

____*ten minutes later.*____

The three separate parties approached the exit, the one thing most of them noticed was that Fang was on fire and that he was missing a lot of fur, while Golden and Shade looked just fine.

Roxanne and Lyaroa seemed to be perfectly fine, except that one seemed oddly happy.....being the latter of the two. "Fang, what happened?" Shade asked curiously.

Fang looked at the Night Wolf. "I killed one of those plant monsters.....and the next thing I know there's twenty more at once, and one breathed fire!" He answered grumpily. [1]

Shade blinked and looked away. "Ok then." He said quietly.

Lyaroa shrugged. "Ok, let's just get into the next area, and hope that's it's not as bad." She suggested as Roxanne and Golden worked on dousing the fire on Fang.

____*five minutes later.*_____

Fang's right eye twitched, Golden and Shade stifled a laugh, Roxanne was facepalming while Lyaroa sighed. "FUUUUUUCK!" Fang shouted as they all looked on to the next area.

"It was fire, and lots of lava.....which meant that Fang would have to wait a while longer for a good rest. "WHY DO THEY EVEN HAVE THIS PLACE!?" He shouted.
> Last Spark of Hope, Part eight: A battle of revelations.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*continuing from before.*____

Fang was still pissed off, but that didn't slow him or the others down as they made their way through the lava area, they soon reached an enormous area that was safe from the lava, it was too good to not be a trap, and as they walked on the safe area, spikes shot up and locked them inside, with only three entrances available, but they were sealed by gates. "Well, this is just great." Golden said as he looked around.

A deep laugh was heard and the three gates shot open, and soon, strange hound like creatures rushed out and gathered around the wall, followed by soldiers of all three pony races.

Lyaroa drew her blades and Roxanne did the same, Golden drew his staff while Fang and Shade readied themselves for combat. "Did you really think you could come HERE and not be noticed!?.....Sentinel!?" A loud voice shouted mockingly.

The soldiers banged their weapons on the floor in a war drum style fashion, soon, from the middle gate, came an enormous Earth Pony in heavy armor, he carried two iron rods that looked like they could destroy bones on contact. "You arrogant fools, entering this place spelled your doom!" The stallion declared. [1]

As if on cue, the hounds charged with the soldiers, and the Earth Pony marched up and faced Fang, he smirked and pulled out his metal rods as he stood up on two legs. "Let's see how you fare against me, puny wolf." He said as he marched forward.

Fang charged at the Earth Pony who then began to swing the metal rods, Fang slid under them just barely, he then attempted a rear assault, only to be forced to fall back as the Earth Pony flipped around in an instant and begun swinging.

Fang dodged the metal rods quickly and soon he managed to throw a punch, his fist impacted on the Earth Pony's chin, but it only served to make him stagger backwards a little, and on top of that, Fang's fist hurt now.

As the Earth Pony and Fang recovered, Fang found himself asking something. "What is your name?" He asked.

The Earth Pony chuckled deeply. "I am Spire, Champion of Dalcorus!" He declared proudly.

Fang readied himself for combat again. "I am Fang.....The Herald." He replied calmly.

Spire laughed heartily, not unlike a Viking. "You should wear your name with more pride boy!" He said, as if scolding. "But what, I ask, are you the Herald of?" He asked curiously.

Fang grinned. "That.....would be telling." He taunted.

Spire grinned as well. "Ha ha!...this shall be a worthy battle indeed!" He declared before charging at Fang. [1]

Fang dodged the rods carefully, as Spire was now fighting in a more complicated attack pattern, it was brutal, but clean and efficient, meant to inflict crippling blows before finishing off its victim.

Spire then suddenly changed his attack in the middle of his next swing, instead of swinging downwards, he rammed Fang with his body, catching the wolf completely off guard at the unexpected attack.

Fang flew back a short distance as Spire got himself standing up again, he growled and forced himself back to his feet.

Spire marched slowly toward Fang, who was readying himself for another round. "You had best do something different, I'm not even breaking a sweat." Spire taunted.

Fang growled and held his right hand out to his side. "Fine then.......Hydra!" He shouted.

Spire watched in awe as a weapon soon materialized in Fang's hand, it was a short black spear with a metallic Hydra head at the end, it's pattern was that of a Hydra's scales, and inside the Hydra head was a small blue Crystal shining faintly, at the other end of the spear, was the actual spearhead, made for stabbing, it was made of gray steel and had a razor sharp edge.

Fang charged, this time, intending to take the offensive, he quickly made a spear combo, spinning and striking at Spire, who was forced to defend against the relentless assault.

Spire defended against the attack, and as he did, he couldn't help but notice that the crystal in the head was shining brighter than before, and every time that the spear struck, it glowed slightly brighter. 'I had best keep an eye out.' He noted in his mind.

Fang struck blow after blow, and as he did, he noticed that Spires weapons were slowly cracking from the pressure, informing Fang that they were meant for pure offensive, not defense, as he noted this, he felt a surge of energy from Hydra, he blinked and he continued his combo. "Surge!" He called out, his eyes becoming black pits all the while.

Spire had to disengage as both Fang and Hydra were surrounded in lightning and shadow, he braced himself as Fang charged.

Fang ran up to Spire, unleashing a torrent of shadows, followed by lightning, but as the shadow covered Spire, the Lightning arced out to the hounds, shocking them until they died.

Spire dissipated the shadows with a spin of his weapons, to his dismay, the first thing he saw was Fang charging back in, thankfully, the Lightning and shadows were gone, so victory was a possibility.

Fang quickly unleashed another combo, but he made sure it was slightly different than the last one, Spire could block it slightly easier this time, but that was the plan.

Spire was once again forced back onto the defense, but he was soon able to take the offensive once he saw a gap in Fang's attack, he quickly went after Fang's right arm, aiming for it precisely, but it wasn't obvious, not immediately.

Fang saw Spire's entire plan on that first swing, the Earth Pony had intended to break Fang's arm, forcing him to drop Hydra, and without a weapon and missing an arm?....it would have have been over quickly, however, Fang knew from experience that Spire had tricks up his sleeve, so he did the sensible thing, he relieved some ground to Spire.

Spire swung just as Fang jumped back, he was caught off balance for a moment, and that was all Fang needed, in a moments notice, Fang lunged at Spire, he swung the spear up at Spire's head, forcing the Earth Pony to dodge, causing him to drop one of his weapons.

Fang then slid down and kicked at Spire's right leg, the Earth Pony dodged again, this time, incredibly off balance, and to end it, Fang said one word. "Surge!" He called out.

Spire looked down, he noticed that a carving of a Hydra head had been made around him, his eyes widened as the carving lit up and unleashed waves of lightning, electrocuting Spire to a crisp.

When the lightning stopped, all that was left of the once mighty Champion was a burnt corpse in armor, and the weapons he wielded.

Fang looked around and saw that the others had finished up with the soldiers, he sighed and walked over to Spire's body, he then collected the weapons and placed them on the corpse, he then carried it over to the edge as the gates lowered, freeing them from the trap.

Fang then dumped Spire's body into the lava, he turned around and saw that everyone was staring at him. "Yea yea, so I have some skills, it's nothing big." He said calmly as he dematerialized Hydra.

Roxanne shook her head. "No, your eyes are black pits." She said.

"Just like Golden!" Lyaroa added teasingly.

Golden nodded. "Yea......HEY!" He then snapped his head at the Sentinel.

Fang sighed and blinked. "They gone now?" He asked.

Roxanne gave a thumbs up. "Let's get moving then." Fang said as he walked to the entrance Spire came out of.

Shade scratched his head. "What did I miss?" He wondered quietly.

____*ten minutes later, the next section of the city.*____

Shade looked around, they were now in a aquatic section of the city called 'Feral Shores' It sounded like a tourist trap, and as the group moved through the section, more and more evidence appeared to reinforce this theory, such as food stands, surfboards, a beach which probably shouldn't have existed.

Upon seeing the beach, Lyaroa sighed. "Oh great, it seems I DID forget something." She muttered.

Roxanne looked at Lyaroa as the Sentinel moved to the beach. "What's the problem?" She asked.

Lyaroa sat on the sand and looked out to the water. "Think about it, botanic, volcanic, oceanic, mountainous?.....doesn't that strike you as weird to find them in the same place?" She wondered.

As everyone took a break on the beach, Lyaroa talked. "This was a sandbox, literally, I used it to test environments, it would seem that I forgot to get rid of it, and that whoever these people are, they took up residence here." She explained.

Fang sighed and looked out to water as well. "I'm no fan of the idea, but wouldn't it be a better idea to just destroy the entire mountain?" He suggested.

Lyaroa shook her head. "And where would I put the remaining energy?" She wondered.

Fang shrugged. "Not my problem." He replied.

Soon, the group moved on, and they soon reached a small beachfront town, but it was deserted. "Be on guard, they might be waiting for us." Golden said calmly as he drew his staff and used it as a walking stick.

Lyaroa and Roxanne pulled out their weapons.

Shade didn't pull a weapon out, he looked at Fang. "Aren't you going to pull your weapon out?" He asked,

Fang shook his head. "No, what about you?" He asked.

Shade crossed his arms. "I don't need nor have one." He replied easily.

"Then don't ask me about it." Fang said as he walked.

Shade gave Fang a questioning glare, but said nothing, he looked away and saw something out of the corner of his eye, it was a shadow moving behind one of the huts. "We're not alone." He said quietly.

Golden let his staff touch the ground again, as he did, he released a small amount of psychic energy which traveled in all directions, revealing the terrain and everything around it to him.

Three more times later, Golden stopped walking suddenly and faced a nearby shack.

Everyone else stopped and looked around. "What is it?" Shade asked.

Golden raised his staff towards the shack, he then slammed it to the ground at full force, a powerful wave of psychic energy erupted, it rippled through the ground, it soon reached the shack and caused it to launch into the air and crash back down on the ground, this all happened in three seconds.

Everyone jumped from the sudden action except Fang, who was just as calm as ever. "What the hell was that about?" Shade asked.

Golden did not budge, he scanned the area again with his powers, but found nothing. "Get ready to fight." He said as he raised his staff.

Everyone quickly got ready for another battle as they looked around carefully, Lyaroa however simply sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Here we go again." She said as she took her position.

Golden slammed his staff down again, but this time, torrents of psychic energy went everywhere, this time it was so strong, it was visible, the entire area around them soon erupted, causing it all to crack and fall in on itself, all the buildings became rubble, the ground broke apart, and soon, the shadows that were surrounding them were revealed to be more soldiers, and they were now charging at them.

They all started fighting in the now destroyed town, it wasn't long before Golden sensed the presence of another powerful fighter, he quickly dispatched the soldiers harassing him and looked to face the new opponent.

The newcomer was big, it was a Minotaur with tough leather armor, it was definitely a male, due to the sheer size, and he carried a large halberd in his hands, but he had a sword and shield on his back. 

Golden and the Minotuar approached eachother and faced off. "And you are?" Golden asked.

The Minotuar readied itself for battle. "Granite, you?" He asked, in a very deep voice with a thick as hell accent.

Golden did the same as the Minotuar. "I've been called many names, but Golden is the most common.

Granite said nothing as he charged, clearly not as talkative as Spire.

Golden did not charge, instead he merely defended, as they fought, Golden soon discovered that Granite had an immunity to psychic attacks, which simply made Golden grin. 'Finally, someone with immunity.' He thought.

Granite soon disengaged. "You are immune, you must have great psychic power." He said deeply.

Golden grinned. "Same to you, tell me, how did you get it?" He wondered with genuine curiosity.

Granite pounded his chest. "Unless you defeat me in honorable combat, I cannot reveal that information to you." He answered.

Golden changed his stance from his usual one, before, he would slouch slightly forward and hold his staff close to his right arm while the left arm dangled, now, he stood up completely straight, his left foot just barely behind his right, he held his staff out in a diagonal posistion as both hands held it, his right in the center, and his left by the head. "Very well." He said.

Granite threw the halberd away, pulling out the sword and shield. "Let us see who will be victorious." He said before moving at incredible speed.

Golden grinned again, this speed was the kind that most fighters would be horrified by, but Golden was no ordinary fighter, he quickly slammed his staff into the ground, and just as Granite was about to reach striking distance, Golden suddenly let go of the staff and kicked Granite straight in the jaw with an uppercut, he put a lot of force into it, but not enough to cause death.

Granite flew back, he had dropped his sword but not the shield, but just as he was about to recover, Golden had moved again, he ran towards Granite, grabbing his staff along the way, at first glance it would appear that he was going to strike Granite before he could get back up.

Instead, Golden did something different, he channeled some psychic energy into his staff and it changed, all of the metal plates on it moved to the head and took a shape, soon enough, it formed into the shape of a war hammer, he swung it at the shield with all of his might.

Just as the hammer impacted on the shield, a loud crack was heard, and the shield soon broke apart, Granite was also forced back down by this, the metal plates then started to return to their normal positions on the staff.

Golden then stopped right In front of Granite who was just starting to get up from the previous hit, he took the same stance as before but this time his eyes glowed slightly. "Never ending strikes." He said calmly.

Granite stood up and tried to get away, but it was too late as Golden unleashed a barrage of strikes.

One after another, Golden swung his staff at Granite, the blows continually struck him causing him to be unable to move at all.

As the attack went on, Granite soon realized what was going on, Golden was somehow using his powers to enhance his own physical strength and stamina, by sending a continuous stream of power through him, he literally could make this attack last forever if left uninterrupted, but in the posistion that Granite was in, he could not act, only attempt to defend, and hope someone assisted him.

But it never happened, and Granite soon knew why, he had sent one last psychic charge through the earth, and discovered that everyone else had been defeated, it was just him. 'Only one thing to do.' He thought.

Just before another strike hit Granite, he spoke. "I yield!" 

Golden stopped the strike just before it impacted on Granite's rib cage, he eased himself and backed off.

Granite dropped to the ground and held his side painfully. "I cannot best you." He said truthfully.

Golden put his staff and o the ground and looked down at Granite. "Then talk, tell me everything you know about this place and what happens here." He ordered. 

Granite looked up at the group of five. "This mountain was discovered three months before the fall of Discord, it was untouched by the God of Chaos, so the original survivors saw it as their salvation if they could survive it, they were known as the outcasts of Null, the first city to be completely destroyed." He paused and looked at Lyaora. 

"They discovered the truth of this mountain, and they believed that it was untouchable by the world around them, a belief they still hold, however, they see you as a monstrosity, one that must be slaughtered and never allowed to rise again, that is why they hate you so." He continued.

Granite then rested his other hand on the ground. "As for my powers, they discovered a place of power, one that was overwhelmed by all forms of energy, magic, psychic energy, you name it, I was infused by concentrated psychic energy, making me almost unbeatable to all but a few." He chuckled and looked at Lyaroa again. "But the most intriguing find of all in this entire mountain occurred at the beginning of the year, we discovered something." He grinned. "Do you want to know?" He asked mockingly.

Golden sent a small blast of psychic energy at the ground, soon enough a large rock impacted on Granite's back. "Speak, and you shall live." He said in an oddly calm tone.

Granite shook his head and looked at Golden as his arms started to bleed. "Live?...no, it's to late for that, but I will say this....." He looked at Lyaroa. "We.....can kill you." He laughed madly before falling back and turning to ash.

Golden said nothing as he looked at Lyaroa, her eyes were completely wide and she seemed to be in shock. "That's two that said that, I'm beginning to think its not a lie." He said as he looked to Granite's halberd, the weapon seemed to be deteriorating at an alarming rate. "Hmm, I wonder." He walked over and took hold of what was left of the weapon, it was deteriorating, that much was certain, but why?....it shouldn't be doing it this quickly. "Unless..." He is voice trailed off as he quickly scanned the weapon with his powers, it soon became obvious as to what was happening, and as he looked back, he saw that it was happening to the soldiers as well. "Their bodies can't hold the power." He muttered.

Golden walked back over and Lyaroa was now sitting down, obviously having some thoughts about all of this. "Will you be alright?" He asked.

Lyaroa held her sides and looked up at Golden. "I just found out that they have the means to murder me, no, I'm not alright." She said shakily.

Fang felt a surge of anger and clinched his fist, then looked at Golden. "Alright, I've had enough." He stood up and looked Golden straight in the eyes. "Since Lyaroa is out of commission, and you obviously don't care, tell me what the fuck happened around here Golden!" He ordered.

Golden growled and headbutted Fang, the wolf fell to the ground. "Back off pup!....I am not your enemy so stop treating me like I'm going to stab you in the back!" He countered.

Fang chuckled and moved incredibly fast and kicked Golden square in the jaw. "And you need to get over yourself." He taunted.

Shade went to stop the fight but stopped as Roxanne stopped him. "Trust me when I say this......you do NOT, want to get between that fight." She warned.

Golden threw a strong wave of psychic energy at Fang and quickly drew his staff. "You had best calm down boy." He warned.

Fang's eyes switched to the black pits  "Hydra!" He called, the spear rapidly appeared and he spun it quickly, forcing the energy to dissipate. "Make me.....dick." He taunted.

Golden slammed his staff into the ground, forcing a torrent of energy into the earth, causing rocks to launch at Fang.

Fang continued to fight back, he struck the rocks and as he did, Hydra charged up, and soon, it was ready. "My turn." He chuckled. "SURGE!" He called.

Golden soon found himself defending, as Fang attacked, he was forced to put almost all of his power into defending against the brutal onslaught, with Fang combining his already incredible might with shadow and lightning, it was amazing that Golden even had the strength to fight back.

Fang struck blow after blow, each one impacting on Golden's staff, soon, he found himself thinking of something. 'Wait, how did this start?....where did that surge of anger come from?' He backed off and dematerialized Hydra. "Call it a tie, at least for now." He said.

Golden blinked but returned his staff to his back. "Agreed." He replied. 

Fang took a few deep breaths and rubbed his eyes. "I think I deserve to have an explanation regardless." He said calmly.

Golden walked over to the others and knelt down, he looked at Fang. "Well, get situated then, there's no enemies around here so we have time, I guess it started when we fell down that hole....wait, what DO you remember?" He wondered.

Fang shrugged. "I remember landing in that pile and that's it." He replied.

Golden sighed and shook his head. "Oh boy." He muttered.

"This is going to take a while." Roxanne pointed out.
> Last Spark of Hope, Part Three: Darkened journey.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first thing we did was get moving, we didn't know what was down there, but we weren't going to be caught off guard, So we made our way through the the several rooms, making good time clearing the rooms of puzzles and what not.

_____*Back then.*_____

Golden walked around the next room, it seemed to be a training area of some kind, but it was abandoned, or gave the appearance of it.

He heard some whirring behind him and noticed that Shade had pulled a lever. "Seriously?" He asked out of disbelief.

Shade shrugged. "What?.....it can't be that bad." He pointed out.

Just as Shade finished that sentence, grinding of stone was heard and the floor at the center of the room opened up, it soon stopped and more grinding was heard, and out from the floor came a giant golem, it was made of gray stone and seemed to be decaying, it had two bulky arms and two moderately sized legs, it's body was thick and tough, it stopped rising at the new platform arrived at base level, a shield formed around it, one that Lyaroa informed was invulnerable.

"Shade, I hate you." Golden commented.

Fang and Shade ran up and readied themselves for a fight as the golem came to life, the shield vanished and the golem immediately began attacking.

Golden drew his staff and swung at the golem, it impacted but it didn't even faze the golem, it instead looked at him and a panel in its arm opened up revealing flame jets. "Fuck." Golden cursed as he quickly jumped away from the flames.

Shade charged up at the golem and infused his arm with some power, he waited as the golem went to strike and jumped up, he then slammed his fist into the golems head.

The golems head went down into its body but otherwise there was no damage, it reached up and pulled its head back up before spinning with flames going everywhere, Shade was hard pressed to dodge, as were the others.

Fang decided to take a similar approach and charged the golem, but instead he continued charging the front, even as the golem swung at him, Fang simply maneuvered around the attacks, he soon was within striking distance, he quickly threw a punch at the golems chest.

The punch did not go as expected, Fang immediately pulled his hand away and tried to back off, the impact felt as though he punched solid iron with no muscle at all, the golem simply batted him aside.

Golden looked around and soon noticed something, Roxanne and Lyaroa were missing, he looked around again and saw them.....sitting?

"What are you doing!?.....help us out!" He shouted.

Lyaroa pointed up and materialized some popcorn for the two of them, Golden looked up and saw something odd, it looked like something straight out of a game, the boss had a portrait and it showed that it had ninety seven percent health left, he look a little over, it showed him, Shade and Fang.

"Fighters three out of three?......I'm at full, Shade is a little damaged, and Fang is seriously damaged.......what?" He muttered in confusion.

Golden then looked at Lyaroa. "You cannot be fucking serious!" He complained. [1]

Lyaroa gave him a thumbs up and watched the action.

_____*The present.*_____

Fang looked skeptically at Golden. "I'm calling bullshit." He said, clearly not buying it.

"It's true actually, besides, can you deny that Lyaroa would do that?" Roxanne asked.

Fang was going to respond but then he remembered Lyaroa's personality. "You got me there." He allowed.

"As I was saying." Golden continued.

_____*Returning to the fight.*______

Golden charged the golem again and gave it a few strikes in its chest before being forced to fall back, he looked around and saw Fang getting himself back up shakily. 'I don't think he can withstand another hit.' He thought before evading a wave of fire.

Shade charged up an energy blast in his hand as he charged the golems rear, the machine quickly spun around and swung its arm down at him, Shade nimbly dodged it and jumped up, the golem looked up at him, he grinned and threw the blast at the golems face.

The blast impacted directly but Shade was soon repelled as the golem swung and its arm impacted directly on Shade's ribcage.

Shade flew and impacted on the wall his spine severely damaged, he landed hard on the floor and did his best to avoid screaming in pain.

The golem then turned to face Golden, it's head was incredibly damaged, all that was visible was a small cube where it's head should be.

Golden growled and charged the golem, intending to end the fight before something worse happened.

The golem unleashed torrents of fire everywhere, thankfully, Golden noticed shields form around him and the others, he grinned. 'Thanks Lyaroa.' He said mentally.

Golden charged through the flames and quickly unleashed a short series of strikes, he then leapt up and swung down at the cube.

The staff struck and shattered the cube on impact, the golem then let out a mechanical scream as it soon fell over lifeless.

Golden fell to the floor and dropped the staff next to him he grunted and got himself up, he looked around and saw that Lyaroa was mending Fang and Shade's wounds, he sighed in relief as the two would live. 'They can't be so damn headstrong all the time....it's going to blow up in their face.' He thought.

Golden went to look away but noticed something odd about Lyaroa, he looked closer and saw it.....as the injures on the two wolves healed, her fur became bloodstained, scratches and burn marks appeared as well. 'Odd.' He thought as he walked away.

____*The present.*____

"As we left the room, I asked her about it, she said it was some weird balance thing, at least that way, she could heal herself up quickly with her powers." Golden said.

Fang looked at Lyaroa who didn't seem to be recovering from her state of shock. "Keep going."

____*In the past,*____

The group made their way through the empty halls beyond the training area, they soon found themselves in an enormous room filled with torches and winding pathways. "Let's keep moving" Lyaroa said.

They made good progress through the room, which seemed to be more like a cavern then anything, but as they did, Roxanne noticed something odd, the torches were going out, but only as they progressed, she grabbed a torch off a wall that was low enough and continued moving.

Soon however, they reached a large door, and Fang went about opening it, as he did, Roxanne noticed that the torches behind them quickly extinguished.

Then the room was dark. "Ok Lyaroa, undo the prank." Golden said.

"I didn't do it!" Was her reply.

Roxanne sighed and lit her torch. "Calm down, we have this torch at least." She said.

With only a single torch to guide them, the group slowly made their way through the cavern after Fang opened the door.

"Who is it this time?......strangers from beyond?" Came a dark and creepy voice.

Everyone looked around, but saw nothing. "Can you see me?......no? hah hah hah, not that it would help you now." The voice chuckled darkly as the group continued.

"You thought that you could enter our domain unnoticed.....no, no one has left this place intact, you will not be the first." Came the voice again as they moved around a corner.

The group soon came across what appeared to be ruins, they looked around curiously but never stopped moving.

"The children hunger......hah hah hah, it has been so long since they had someone new." The voice continued.

Roxanne found that term odd, the term 'children' implied living creatures, but she could see none.

The group soon entered a plaza like room, it was odd too see, but what was strange was the stuff they saw on the walls, it was black goop, almost like a slime, Lyaroa even looked disturbed. "We should not be here." The Sentinel said.

They moved to the only open door but more of that goop showed up. "Not so fast visitors......the children must feed, and you are the main course......hah hah hah hah." The voice said.

Roxanne watched as humanoid creatures made up of shadows emerged, they marched slowly advanced on the group, but were quickly dealt with by Golden, as they showed little speed of strength.

The wall of goop dissipated and the group continued forward. "I wonder how long you can hold out, the children are unending, they want you to join us in darkness." The voice chuckled once again and more of the shadow creatures appeared. 

The group began to fight but were quickly surrounded by the creatures, Roxanne ignited Death and swung, the shadows dissipated just as Death got close. "That's it." Roxanne mumbled in realization.

Roxanne quickly sheathed her blades and built up large amounts of fire. "Get down!" She called out.

The group quickly ducked down as Roxanne unleashed a single wave of fire that lit up the room. "Let's get going!" She shouted to the group as she ran.

The group made amazing progress through the cavern as Roxanne carried the torch, however their progress was halted as a horrifying figure appeared before them, it was black as night with only a few silver spots on it, it had two long arms with claw like hands, it had two strong legs holding it up, it's head looked like it was torn apart, the only real identifying figures of it, were two glowing silver eyes, and razor sharp teeth. 

"You dare harm the children!......you will pay for this!" The voice threatened angrily.

As if on cue, swarms of shadow creatures rose up and immediately began marching at the group, they defended themselves but it didn't seem to matter, they continued rising. "Kill them, drown them in darkness!" The creature ordered.

Roxanne threw a fireball at the creature, but it simply reappeared somewhere else. "No matter how hard you fight, the result will be the same." The creature said, now oddly calm for whatever reason.

Lyaroa quickly took out some more shadows, and looked back at everyone else. "We need to get out!" She said in a panic as she fought off more of them.

Fang took another one out. "Any ideas?" He asked.

Roxanne grumbled. "Let's see if it works again." She quickly threw a wave of fire in a random direction, sure enough, the shadows dissipated. 

"This way!" She called out.

Everyone followed Roxanne as she ran through the cavern, eventually they reached a set of stairs leading up to a barrier, and just then, a cold wind passed by, blowing out the torch. "Damnit, not the light! anything but the light!" They heard Lyaroa say fearfully. [2]

Roxanne attempted to call on her fire, but found herself unable. "What the hell?" she muttered.

The grinding of stone was heard followed by slight moments of light, Fang had found some rocks and was attempting to start a fire, it wasn't until the fifth attempt that the torch ignited. "Ok, we just need to keep moving." He said before walking to the now nonexistent barrier.

They made their way carefully through the caverns, whatever it was that was following them seemed to be gone, they soon approached a drop off and they jumped down one by one. "You alright Lyaroa?" Shade asked as Roxanne jumped down.

Lyaroa held her face for a moment before taking a quick breath. "Yea, go on, I'll be right behind you." She replied.

Shade gave Lyaroa a skeptical glare before nodding and jumping down. 

Lyaroa was now the last one to jump she took another breath before looking to jump. "Come on!" She heard Golden call.

The group watched as Lyaroa went to jump, they watched as she turned around and gave a startled jump. "Oh no." Lyaroa said quietly.

A wave of shadows launched forth, surrounding Lyaroa instantly and dragging her away. "No!....no!....nooo!" She screamed before becoming silent.

"Lyaroa!" The group called out, Fang quickly tried to climb back up but the goop was far too slippery.

Golden growled and started walking. "Let's go." He said firmly.

"You want to leave her behind!?" Fang shouted out of hate.

Golden looked back at Fang with glowing eyes. "It's obvious that those shadows aren't going to let you go back, so shut up and follow until we CAN do something." He ordered before continuing.

Fang scoffed and kicked a nearby rock. "Damnit." He muttered.

The group made their way through the caverns, now one member short, they were now far more cautious than before.

Soon, they reached a large corridor with four doors, one they came through, two blocked by debris, and one with a destroyed door. "Let's keep moving." Golden said as he drew his staff and used it as a walking stick.

Roxanne drew Life and Death while Fang and Shade went on alert, soon they heard an all too familiar voice. "You are far too late to save her now!" Taunted the creature.

As the group entered the next room cautiously, they saw something they never would have expected, Lyaroa was on a platform of some kind, covered in the shadows, her eyes were closed and she didn't seem to be breathing, her arms and legs were immobile as she knelt there.

The creature appeared next to the Sentinel and chuckled darkly. "It's incredible, what the mind does to the body and soul, it can take away all of your strength, it can even make you unable to fight, it can even cause you to scream in fear.....just at the sight of blood." It said as it places it's hand on Lyaroa's head. 

"Get away from her!" Shade shouted before charging, only for waves of shadow creatures to bar his way, the creature continued speaking however.

"I wonder, how is it that a being so powerful, can be afraid of something so insignificant?.....but It should be interesting, to see how she handles the possibility of her own death." The creature chuckled and dissipated itself, the shadows forming it fusing with Lyaroa. [3]

And to the groups surprise, the shadows vanished, everything seemed to leave, the creatures, the goop, even the creature from before was silent. "What just happened?" Roxanne asked.

Fang said nothing as he ran up to Lyaroa and checked to see if she was alive. 

Everyone walked up, just as they got close, Fang looked back. "She's alive, or at the least she's breathing." He said.

Golden sent a psychic pulse through the room, nothing.....no more creatures. "Odd......regardless, we need to get that thing out of Lyaroa." He said.

Roxanne looked at the bear. "And HOW would you suggest we do that?" She wondered.

"The shadows seem to be made up of magic infused with some strange variation of necromancy and familiar magic." He pointed out.

Shade tapped his chin and soon he looked at Golden. "I'm no expert on magic, so what does that mean?" He asked.

Golden sighed. "It means that the creature is bound to her whether she likes it or not, but it's probably protected itself so that it can't be removed without serious harm to Lyaroa." He paused. "But, if we could bind it correctly, it might be useful." He continued.

Fang gave the bear a skeptical look. "Um, yea, how could it possibly be helpful?....look what it did to us." He countered.

Golden walked over and set his hand on the Sentinel's forehead. "I have an idea, but it'll be difficult, and kinda painful for both of them." He said.

"Tell us." Roxanne said.

"If I do this correctly, I can force the creature to surrender any control over her, but it will bind it to her forever, or until we can remove it safely, or safely enough that the damage will be fixable, it will take time however, and I'm sure that these shadows won't like that." Golden explained.

"Get it over with.....we'll guard you." Shade said.

Golden nodded and began channeling psychic energy into Lyaroa, he also channeled some magic as well, though it wasn't much.

Much to the groups relief, no shadows came, which was odd considering what they were doing, Golden felt a surge of resistance from inside but knew what it was, he felt intense pain from channeling, indicating that he was low on magic energy, he gritted his teeth and continued.

As the ritual thing came to an end after ten minutes, Golden sighed and stood up slowly, he used his staff to support himself. "I hope I won't have to do that again for a while." He said as he stretched his muscles.

Fang knelt down and picked Lyaroa up, he carried her on his back, her arms were over his shoulders and he held her up with his hands. "Let's get going." He said.

With that, everyone left, they soon reached a door and went passed it, but once they did, they heard Lyaroa start breathing louder again, followed by a light groan. "What happened?" She asked groggily

Shade was about to talk when Golden stopped him. "The shadow creatures are gone." He said easily.

Lyaroa sighed in relief and rested her head on Fang's neck and wrapped her arms closer. "Cool, wake me when we reach Lonres or something closer to nice." She said quietly before falling unconscious again. [4]

They made their way through the new area, which was little more than a forest like area, strange considering the mountain wasn't anywhere near a forest, and that the forest was INSIDE the mountain.

______*The present.*_____

"The one thing we all noticed, but didn't want to say at the time, was that we saw a puddle of that goop form behind us, Roxanne quietly incinerated it, but it was odd regardless." Golden said.

Fang looked at Lyaroa, who seemed much calmer now, but not speaking. "Did she ever find out?" He wondered.

Shade nodded. "Yea, she found out the truth, but Golden felt that it would be better to keep it secret for a while until she was ready to hear it." He answered.

Fang sighed and rubbed her eyes and looked at Golden. "So, what happened next?" He asked.
> Last Spark of Hope, Part Four: The Break.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

'One thing we wanted to avoid at the time was telling Lyaroa about the shadow creature, so we instead focused on getting through the next few areas, which turned out to be very interesting.' 

_____*Back then.*______

Roxanne looked around the room, it was nothing special in terms of architecture, plain stone with small cracks in various places, the design however, in terms of placement were odd, there was a rusty iron gate on the opposite side of the room, across a spike pit, there were two levers off to the side that they could pull, as well as two levers on the other end of the spike pit.

Roxanne looked back at Lyaroa, who was still unconscious on Fang's back, it had been ten minutes now since Golden bound the shadow to the Sentinel, and it was concerning as she showed next to no signs of life, aside from light breathing, she sighed and looked at Golden. 

"How long do you figure until she wakes up?" She asked.

Golden paced a little bit. "Not sure, the shadow possessing her was one thing, and then when I bound it to her it caused a lot of stress, with all of that, it would exhaust her just to stay in control, so I wouldn't pin any hopes on her right now." He replied.

Shade walked over to one of the levers and pulled it, the spikes on the floor slightly lowered. "For now, let's figure this out." He said.

Roxanne pulled the other lever and the spikes slowly retracted into the floor, however, spikes on the ceiling lowered quickly, and it seemed like they would reach the bottom just before the floor spikes.

Shade released the heavy lever and the spikes slowly returned to normal. "If we time it right, we can get three of us over.....or maybe two, if Lyaroa slow's Fang down." He said.

Fang carefully laid Lyaroa down on the floor, he then walked over to the edge of the spike wall. "Let's get this over with." He said as Golden approached.

Shade and Roxanne pulled the levers and the spikes lowered, it wasn't long before Fang and Golden hurried to the other side, it was a close call as Roxanne lost her grip on the lever and the spikes began rising.

Fang looked back at the others. "We're gonna lower the spikes." He said.

As Fang and Golden walked over to the levers, Roxanne picked Lyaroa up.....she was much heavier than she looked. "Fang, how the hell did you carry her?" She asked.

Fang thought on it for a moment, but could only appear perplexed. "I don't know, she isn't heavy." He said easily.

Roxanne grumbled as she slowly approached the spike wall, thankfully, Shade helped carry the unconscious Sentinel.

As Golden and Fang pulled the lever, they were surprised as the door opened but the wall didn't move. "What the hell?" Shade muttered.

Golden released the lever and the door closed at a decent rate, he sighed. "It seems this room was intended to split up any who came here as a group." He observed.

Fang kept his lever held down, he thought on the situation as the others discussed it, soon, he opened his eyes. "Pull the lever Golden, I'll go through and find us way to pass, it's better than sitting here." He said.

Golden gave Fang a curious glance but did not say anything, he instead pulled the lever and allowed Fang to do what he was going to do.

Fang waited until the door was completely open, he then slowed down time and rushed for the door, the lever was incredibly slow to raise, and the door was even slower to lower.

Fang made it to the other side of the door as time returned to normal.

Golden stroked his chin and looked at Roxanne and Shade. "We should be able to go somewhere once he does what he needs to do." He said.

Roxanne nodded. "Yea, we should be fine." She said as she suddenly fell down and heard stone slam against stone. "Fuck." She said blandly as she looked down to see a very long fall.

"Well Roxanne, this is a predicament." Shade commented.

At that exact moment, Lyaroa groaned. "What just happened?" She asked groggily.

Roxanne and Shade shared a glance before talking simultaneously. "We're falling down." They said.

Lyaroa's eyes shot open and she looked around, she then crossed her arms. "Typical." She muttered.

_____*meanwhile.*_____

Golden blinked, one second Roxanne, Shade and Lyaroa were all there, the next, they fell through the floor followed by a loud crash, and he had no way of telling what happened.

He looked around, and much to his dismay, there was nowhere for him to go, so he simply sat down and closed his eyes in meditation. 'Nothing to worry about.' He thought.

_____*The present.*_____

Lyaroa blinked and looked at Fang. "Hey, come here." She managed to say.

Fang moved a little closer and then raised an eyebrow as Lyaroa reached her hand out to him. "What are you doing?" He asked.

Lyaroa breathed a little. "I'm unlocking your memories, so you can know what happened while you were alone, and while you were with us." She answered somewhat shakily.

Fang hesitantly reached and took Lyaora's hand, almost immediately he felt his mind expand, as if he had absorbed years of knowledge. "Whoa." He mumbled as he pulled his hand back, he then saw something red and shiny out of the corner of his vision, but it vanished as he looked at it. "The hell?" He muttered.

_____*Fang's past.*______

Fang forged his way through the stone caverns, as he entered rooms, he found himself fighting more and more golems, but once he beat them all, a small puzzle revealed itself, when he completed it, the door opened.

Soon after he exited the rooms, he heard the door slam behind him, and the sound of stone grinding soon followed.

Fang continued to move on, but he stopped when he reached a particular room, there were no golems, a door was nearby, and it had a single lever, it also had a large glass wall, Fang walked over and looked through it, and saw the room Golden and the others were in, but it was only Golden for some reason. "Where are the others?" He whispered to himself.

He saw how Golden was calmly meditating in the room while the others were missing, did they go back?....or did something happen?

Either way, Fang had no way of going back for now, so he walked over to the lever and pulled it, it locked into place and the door opened, but the spikes did not lower, he sighed and continued through the caverns, hoping the others were alright.

_____*Golden's POV*_____

Golden opened his eyes as he heard a sound nearby, he looked around and saw the door opening, Golden stood. 'It may be a trap, but I don't have any other choice.' He walked through the door and it soon shut behind him.

He walked along the path which led him along a gauntlet of traps and golems, however, everything seemed to be in perfect condition, and there was no sign of Fang anywhere, which meant one of two things, either Fang went along a different route and the paths changed, or he found a way to avoid it all.....the former was much more likely than Fang learning stealth.

Golden destroyed the golems, and made it past the traps, but as he did so, he saw strange carvings on the walls, it seemed as though this was an ancient cavern, however, these carvings began making sense when he saw one particular figure carved the wall, it was a Pegasus mare with a rainbow mane and green eyes sitting with a white wolf. "Oh......so that's what these are, key moments throughout the planets history." He muttered.

He went back to the beginning of the carvings, the first was that of the planet forming piece by piece, for a while it was simple evolution until the white wolf encounters a tribe, and then it left the tribe and left to the woods, representing isolation, then it resurfaces again with two little fillies, one white, one dark blue. "The princesses?" He muttered.

The next carving was that of the white wolf in the background as the two fillies, now grown up, rule over their subjects, the next carving was more sinister as it depicted the sisters decapitating the wolf, Golden cringed from that one. "Bit overkill." He thought.

The next was that of the sisters flying off not noticing the head have streams of light going back to the body, then it was that of the wolf going through a sewer gate to hide from the world above.

The next was the one of the filly meeting the white wolf, but with an unknown stallion setting the wolf on fire, afterwards, the next was a carving of the wolf going through a portal while waving goodbye to the filly.

Then it showed a golden bear, slouched in a corner, then it showed Lyaroa's attempt to enter his mind, and then him vanishing, next, it showed Fang, standing away from the others in the old location, then it showed Roxanne for the first time, meeting Fang shortly after, then it showed Roxanne as the Mangle, as Fang watched.

The next was more odd, as the carving showed Gwen and Twilight in the library, a spell gone wrong, then Gwen vanishing only to appear at Freddy's.

It then went through the various events that transpired until Jandoka, it showed them facing off against him, but it showed Lyaroa NEAR Fang, not in his place, which was odd because that's how it happened, then it showed the Empire, which was most disturbing, it showed Lyaroa cutting the heads off of Equestrian soldiers, and then hanging them, other than gruesome, it was completely insane, the last one on the wall however was the strangest, it showed the white wolf, the golden bear, the white fox, the black and white wolf, and the night wolf all in one area, however, it showed Lyoara in the far back, Fang in the middle with Shade, Roxanne and Golden.

Golden was confused, but he couldn't understand what it meant, so he continued forward, hoping to find Fang or the others ahead.

_____*Roxanne, Shade and Lyaroa*_____

Lyaroa paced and rubbed her eyes and head. "So, who's bright idea was this?" She asked out of irritation.

Shade didn't say anything, instead, he looked around to try and find a way out, sadly they had landed a a jail of some kind, the walls were incredibly thick, and the bars wouldn't break off no matter how hard they tried.

Roxanne leaned up against a wall, she sighed and looked at Lyaroa. "Are you back to normal?" She wondered.

Lyaroa nodded and sat down, normally she would have destroyed the bars easily, but they were trying to remain covert. "Yea, I think that creature or whatever had gotten to me real badly." She answered.

Shade looked out of the cell and shook his head. "There's nothing out there, we might as well wait." He said.

Lyaroa opened her eyes and looked up, the ceiling had closed after they landed, of course, they were unconscious, but it was the best explanation for it, she looked at the bars and stood up. "Alright, let's get going." She said as she put her hands on some of the bars. 

Shade watched as Lyaroa melted the bars and made them a path out, she then looked back at them with a grin. "Shall we kids?" She said happily.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow at those words. "You sure you're alright?" She asked.

Lyaroa nodded and left the cell. "Come on, let's explore!" She said cheerfully as she ran off.

Shade and Roxanne shared a concerned glance but followed Lyaroa to keep her out of trouble in her......curiosity.

Lyaora led the others through the jail and to the armory, they soon looked around in it, but what was concerning was the fact that Lyaroa was acting......childish, or just plain loopy.

"Say, Lyaroa, why the sudden personality change?" Shade asked.

Lyaroa shrugged. "Because I'm bored, and I feel like it, besides, I haven't been like this in thousands of years, and it's fun!" She replied happily.

Roxanne didn't find anything she felt like taking, Life and Death would be just fine for now, but as she went to leave, she found herself curious about something, so she looked back at Lyaroa, who seemed very keen on.....anything. "Hey, Lyaroa, I have a question for you." She started.

Lyaroa looked over at Roxanne curiously as she left the armory. "What is it?" She replied.

Roxanne walked with Roxanne as they walked around. "Your lesbian right?.....i'm asking because I know about your.....you know what, im not even going to finish that." She said.

Lyaroa put her arms behind her head. "Bisexual.....is that so wrong?" She asked. [1]

Roxanne blinked and kept walking. "Ah, ok then.....that explains a lot." She replied.

Shade decided to keep to himself, so he didn't pay attention as the others talked about whatever. "Hey Shade." Lyaroa said.

Shade looked at the Sentinel. "Yea?" He asked.

Lyaroa began walking backwards. "What's your world like?.....industrial, steampunk, futuristic, modern?" She asked.

Shade scratched the back of his head, he honestly didn't expect THAT kind of question. "I would have to say between modern and futuristic." He answered.

_____*Fang's POV*_____

Fang fought his way through the fortress like area, he had to fight through swarms of little golems before facing full on constructs, which were by far more annoying than the golems, he had to deal with rock throwing golems, and shield wielding constructs guarding them.

He was able to just punch them and they actually took incredible damage from it, which was surprising as Fang could barely hurt the construct from before.

So as Fang fought his way through, he couldn't help but notice something, it was a large entryway at the end of the fortress, but as Fang approached it after destroying the rest of the golems and constructs, he watched as a giant construct approached from the entryway, accompanied by four rock throwers and two shield wielders.

Fang braced himself for combat, he then charged the entourage of golems, hoping to destroy them before they became a nuisance, however, Fang needed to kill the shield wielders first as they threw a magical shield on the others, and could teleport the golems a short distance.

Fang assaulted one of the shield wielders, he threw a punch at the center, one at the shield, and one to the head, however, he had to back off as the large construct swung a huge battle axe at him, Fang jumped away and the axe collided with one of the shield wielders, destroying it easily.

Fang quickly rushed to the second shield wielder, he threw a powerful punch at the shield, forcing it to recoil from the force, next, he leapt up and threw a barrage of attacks onto the constructs head and torso, and when Fang struck his final blow, the punch went straight through the head.

Fang jumped away as the large construct swung it axe at him in a sweeping arc, it then charged, swinging all the way, Fang was lucky to be alive, as one of the rock throwers hit him and his head almost collided with the axe. 

As Fang charged he also felt large shakes in the earth, and they were getting closer, he looked back and saw the large construct, which was much more active now.

Fang didn't have time to attack the golems, but he saw the construct raise its axe, he waited for opportune moment, and then jumped out of the way.

The constructs axe swung and took out all four golems at once, Fang grinned, it was only the one to go, but his grin quickly faded as he saw what the construct did next.

The rubble and parts from the other constructs and golems flew to the large one, it all began fusing with the big one, soon enough, the construct gained a shield and armor, but what happened next was more concerning then anything, the construct seemed to shrink, it's armor and weapons compacted and it was soon Fang's height, he braced himself as the construct soon charged at him, much faster than before, Fang just barely dodged and was unable to fight back as the new construct fought fiercely.

At first, it seemed as though the construct had no weakness, and that its form was perfect, however, Fang noticed one small thing when he attempted a counterattack, when the construct backhanded him away, Fang noticed that the left arm was loose as one of the golem pieces didn't fit in correctly.

Fang decided to do a risky attack, he charged the construct and as it went to strike him, Fang quickly fell to the ground then quickly flung himself back up and at the construct, his strike came in the form of a headbutt and the constructs arm soon fell of, with only one arm, the construct seemed much more manageable, so Fang wasn't surprised as when he assaulted the construct, it quickly fell apart and died.

After making sure it was dead, Fang continued through the entryway, and into the next area.

_____*Lyaroa, Roxanne and Shade.*_____

The trio exited the building and found themselves I'n a prehistoric village of some kind, the buildings were all made out of hard stone, and they had no windows save the iron bars, every building looked alike, except the one they came out of.
Roxanne examined the area and blinked. "Hey, Lyaroa, you know anything about this place?" She asked.

Lyaroa looked around and she soon sighed, she seemed to have lost her energy. "Yea, I know this place......this was the village I told you about back at the Crystal Empire, I didn't think it was still standing after all of this time." She said somberly.

Shade walked up to Roxaanne and lowered his voice. "Roxanne, I think now would be the best time for a talk, there isn't anything nearby." He whispered.

Roxanne looked at the night wolf. "Shade, this village was her first home on Equis, now is a bad time." She said before beginning to walk to Lyaroa.

Shade grabbed Roxanne's arm and looked at her. "Hear me out?"  He asked.

Roxanne nodded after Shade released her arm. 

Shade looked around. "Think about it this way Roxanne, what other chance are we going to have to tell her?" He wondered. "She needs to know before something happens that MAKES her realize it." He suggested.

Roxanne fell silent, listing to Shade talk, as he did, it slowly began making sense.

Lyaroa was walking around the village, she eventually found an all too familiar arch, she wordlessly walked to it and looked around, there were many tombstones, but one name was written quite clearly on the one, in a language far beyond understanding. "Ankip.....its been a long time my friend." She said quietly in the ancient tongue.

Lyaroa could see Ankip's web of life all in and on his grave, they tended to do that, they would be all over the place while they were alive, but would form around the body upon death, his life was short for his race, but she wouldn't change it at all, she sighed and rubbed her eyes before walking over to the others.

Shade looked at Lyaroa. "You alright?....you look drained." He asked.

Lyaroa nodded. "We should leave, I don't want to be here longer than necessary." She replied quietly before walking away.

Roxanne and Shade shared a look after that, she sighed. "Lyaroa, we need to talk." She said.

Lyaroa stopped and listened as Roxanne talked. "I know that you don't want to talk right now, but this is important.....do you remember the shadow creature?" She wondered.

A slow nod was the reply. "What about it?.....it's dead." She said simply.

Roxanne clutched her right arm and took a quick breath, she then looked at Lyaroa. "No it isn't." She replied.

Lyaroa's head raised slightly. "Where is it?" She asked.

Shade turned and faced Lyaroa. "It's inside you, bound to your soul." He answered.

Lyaroa looked back at Roxanne and Shade, her teal eyes screamed anger as the blood red sclera glowed. "What?" She said, her voice eerily quiet.

Roxanne and Shade both backed up as they felt the Sentinel's anger surge over them, the ground itself shook and steamed, as though it were on fire. "The creature possessed you, and the only way we could have stopped it was to bind it until we could safely remove it." Shade explained.

Lyaroa's teal eyes shined and the ground erupted around the three of them, she turned around entirely and faced the two. "There's a creature that drove me insane and then tried, AND almost SUCCEEDED to kill me!....and you wait till NOW TO TELL ME!" She roared out of anger, and whatever remained of the ancient village crumbled into dust.

Lyaroa's roar also let out a shockwave that threatened to throw Roxanne and Shade away, but they managed to hold their ground.

Shade looked at the angered Sentinel, she had sent Soul and Spirit away, and had a glare that could kill, however, Shade also noticed a small amount of shadow flowing from her body. "Lyaroa, look, I know your pissed off, but don't you think that this is a bit reckless?" He asked as Lyaroa slowly walked towards him. "I-i-i mean, weren't we supposed to keep a low profile?" He nervously reminded.

Lyaroa opened her left hand, revealing the claws. "I think I can make this quick enough." She said calmly.

Roxanne stepped between Shade and Lyaroa as she braced herself. "Lyaroa, I don't want to fight you, and we both know that it would be impossible for me to fight you on even ground, but I won't just LET you kill us." She stated firmly.

Lyaroa chuckled and the shadows dispersed. "I'm not gonna kill you, I'll just beat the living shit out of you." She replied easily.

Roxanne braced herself for a fight, but was caught off guard as an attack came from behind, even as Lyaroa stood there calmly, she flew off to the side.

Shade watched as Roxanne was easily thrown aside by an unseen force, he growled and threw a disintegration blast at Lyaroa, who casually waved it aside.

Lyaroa then vanished, and reappeared right in front of Shade with a smirk, she kicked him in the gut and sent him flying. "You were right Roxanne, you can't beat a Sentinel in combat, especially when they are pissed off." She said as Roxanne stood back up.

Roxanne wiped her lip and saw blood on her palm, she was curious, but it could wait. "Fine then." She muttered before charging at Lyaroa.

In response, the Sentinel turned to face the former animatronic, and when Roxanne reached and began fighting, Lyaroa held back.......a little.

Shade held his stomach as he sat up, still dizzy from that kick. 'Ok, bad idea, tell her immediately next time.' He thought as he stood up, only to fall back down.

Roxanne threw a punch and hit Lyaroa's cheek, the only thing that happened was feeling the bones in her fist shatter and seeing Lyaroa's all knowing and confident smirk. "Is that your best shot?" Lyaroa asked mockingly as Roxanne stood there frozen in shock and pain. 

Lyaroa grabbed Roxanne's arm. "Now let me show you one of my favorite attacks." She grinned and threw Roxanne away, she heard a quiet hum next to her and looked to her left, her eyes widened.

Shade stood there next to Lyaroa, he slammed a disintegration bomb on Lyaroa and it exploded, he was tossed aside, but he chuckled. "No way she didn't feel that." He said confidently.

Shade's confidence went out the window however as Lyaroa stood there unaffected, she had her arms crossed and was looking at him in disappointment. "What a shame, I would think that would do more." She said with a sigh.

Lyaroa turned her attention to Roxanne and blinked. "Where were we?" She wondered. "Oh yea, I remember." She stood straight and put her hands together in front of her, energy could be seen as she built it up, it was so powerful, holes in the earth appeared everywhere. 

Roxanne attempted to get up, but found herself unable to do so because of strange runes on her legs.

Lyaroa continued to charge up energy, and very soon, lightning began to crackle in the air around her, she chuckled she readied to fire.

Shade growled again, he didn't like this feeling, he knew he couldn't do anything to stop the Sentinel, nor could he save Roxanne in time with his injuries, he clutched his side and fell to the ground, he winced in pain and held his hand out in front of him, seeing to blood on it, he closed his eyes and pounded the ground. 'You know, most people would crumble under dangerous circumstances.' Said a familiar voice.

Shade's eyes shot open, he remembered those words. "Sonya?" He asked quietly.

'But I know you better than that, and I didn't go through everything we did, just to watch you give up, so......what's it going to be Shade?' Said the memory.

Shade clenched his fists and forced himself to stand, if nothing else, he wouldn't die like a coward, but as he began to move, he realized something, and came up with a plan.

Roxanne watched in horror as Lyaroa prepared her attack, she couldn't move, and now her arms were covered in those runes, rendering her almost defenseless, she could see the hatred in the Sentinel's eyes, and was petrified by that stare.

Lyaroa bared her teeth and blinked and as she went to fire, she saw Shade get between her and Roxanne. "Another attempt at being a hero?.....you know you can't kill me, and I can bat you aside like a rat." She said calmly.

Shade smirked and put his right hand on his wound. "You know, if been wondering." He was oddly calm now, which Lyaroa found interesting.

"Would you really kill us for something like this?.....or are you testing us?" Shade wondered.

Lyaroa sighed and powered down her attack. "Ok, enlighten me with your theory." She said.

Shade looked back at Roxanne and then at Lyaroa. "You know what I think?.....I think you've known about the shadow creature all along, and that you didn't know why we weren't talking, your anger?.....you wanted to test us, see how we would handle it, am I close?" He asked.

Lyaroa chuckled and removed the runes on Roxanne. "I knew the moment I woke up during the fall, the shadow creature was talking to me the entire time, telling me how you were betraying me for power and such." She shook her head. "I know better than that, after all, I did make this world, or universe as you would call it." She grinned and held her hand up.

Roxanne immediately felt all pain and fatigue leave her, she looked at Shade and his wounds healed. "How come you didn't tell me?" Lyaroa asked as Roxanne stood.

Shade crossed his arms. "We were afraid of what you would say." He answered simply.

Lyaroa rolled her eyes and started moving. "Come on, let's get out of here." She said.

_____*Golden's POV*_____

Golden didn't know what to do, one second he was leaving a room, the next the entire ground felt like it was shaking, he was lucky not to be crushed by falling pillars.

Now he was making his way through yet another gauntlet of enemies, he had to deal with various golems and even some zombies, which was weird and nostalgic for him, they gave him little trouble aside from numbers.

Golden finally reached a giant dome room, there was an exit on the other side, but there was a device in the center, he approached it and quickly realized what the device and the room were, he used the device by turning the discs it had, he looked at the walls and saw the planets star and moon moving, it then suddenly came to a stop as the moon refused to moved, at first Golden thought it was broken, but he then remembered the tale of Nightmare Moon. "I doubt there's anything for me here." Golden muttered.

Before Golden left he turned to discs to a random time, he was about to exit the room when he noticed something odd, he looked back. "Where's the sky?" He wondered.

Golden looked around, but couldn't find the sky, he approached the device again, this time, he set it back a little, and then he saw the sky, but if he turned it just right, the sky disappeared, he looked at the date, but it was burnt off by something, he sighed and decided to continue on.

The next room was different, as it was an empty room but with pedestals with books on them, curious, Golden decided to check it out.

Golden approached one of the books and read the cover, it was The Sentinel, Golden shook his head and looked at the rest, eventually, he stopped at the last book. "Equestria's death?" He wondered quietly.

Golden opened the book and read through it, it was a complete and detailed explanation of someone's vision from one thousand years ago, who saw the world turn to dust, it said that on a quiet night, the one of power would die, and the immortal one's curse, would be lifted, allowing the world to fall into destruction, the rest was of similar talk, except a magical note at the end, Golden read it. "I have foreseen this my brothers, just like our founder and the ones who followed, the immortal one will die, because of the one she trusts, and if she does not, it will be too late regardless, have faith brothers, our destiny is finally at hand." It read.

Golden closed the book and walked off, he didn't know what to make of this, but he was sure that it was linked to whatever happened here. 'I have to figure this out.' He told himself.

_____*Fang's POV*_____

Fang finally managed to take a break from fighting, he made it to the core of the fortress, and destroyed whatever it was that made the golems and constructs, and now he had a break, he sat down on a bench in a temple like room, he sighed to himself as his arms and legs rested.

'I can't wait too long, I have to find the others.' He told himself.

Soon, he stood up, and made his way through the now quiet fortress, eventually making it to a large door, he looked it over and went to open it, only to find it was locked, he sighed and kicked its handle, breaking it entirely, he was now able to pass.

As Fang entered the next area, he found himself in a dungeon styled structure, he walked through it and it gradually got darker, he eventually found a lantern and some oil, he took the lantern and filled it, he then set off with his light source down the dark hallways. "Let's see where this goes." He said to himself.

_____*Lyaroa and the others*______

The trio found themselves in quite the predicament, they were in a warzone of sorts, two sides were fighting eachother, but they were both golems, some threw rocks, some charged, some ambushed, and some guarded, it was a never ending stalemate as neither side could get an advantage.

They then decided to end it themselves, they looked around and eventually found where the golems were coming from, two strange statues the pulses with energy, causing golems to be summoned around it.

The trio began fighting their way through the golems, they cut a path straight to one of the spawning statues, and once they reached Lyaroa summoned Spirit, and destroyed the statue.

They now faced a bigger challenge, while the golems were weak, they now all worked together to attack the trio, still, even with the newfound numbers and coordination, they still fell to the onslaught that the three unleashed.

And soon enough, they destroyed the second statue, and then the rest of the golems followed. "You guys should take a breather." Said the familiar voice of Soul as she was summoned.

Shade raised an eyebrow. "How come?" He asked.

Spirit appeared next. "Because, since that village, you went through seven different areas, and you can't keep having Lyaroa restore you." He answered.

Roxanne chuckled. "He is correct." Said Life as he appeared.

Death showed up in a grumpy mood. "Look, I hate agreeing with the hippy, but he's right, besides, golems don't feed me at all." She said grumpily.

Roxanne closed her eyes as she sat next to a wall. "I'm fine with it, we won't be any good to anyone exhausted." She said as she did what she could to make herself comfortable.

Life channeled his power, and in place of the stone, soft dirt appeared. "This should make it easier to get some rest." He said before vanishing.

Roxanne set her blades next to her and Death held up two fingers. "Peace out." She said before vanishing.

As Roxanne closed her eyes to get some rest, Shade looked at Lyaroa. "Hey, are you doing alright?" He asked.

Lyaroa nodded. "I'll be fine, I got enough sleep from before, go ahead and rest, I'll keep and eye out." She said as Soul and Spirt vanished.

Shade gave Lyaroa a cautious glare, but relented, he got comfortable where he could, and closed his eyes.

_____*a few hours later*____

Lyaroa walked back to her companions, she had done a little patrolling, and had cleared a few rooms up ahead, just to pass the time, only when she got back, she saw that the two were fast asleep, Shade was unconscious in the dirt, while Roxanne was up against the wall, resting on what was now dirt from stone.

Lyaroa smiled, she walked over to Roxanne and knelt down, she noticed a bruise on her shoulder and she healed it. "I'm sorry, I hope you understand that Roxie." She said as she rested her hand on the fox's shoulder before getting up and sitting down on a nearby rock.

She looked at Shade, and thought of something. 'I don't really know him that well, so why did I bring him?....if he dies here, I'll never forgive myself so why did I do it?' She wondered out of curiosity.

Normally, she would search a persons memories, and know everything about them, but these were people she liked, and she wouldn't do that unless she had no choice, she chuckled. "Good night you little shits." She said quietly but jokingly.

> Last Spark of Hope, Part Five: Seeing things differently/ A confession.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*the dungeon, Fang's POV*_____

Fang calmly and quietly moved through the dark hallways, he couldn't figure it out, but he felt a sense of unease here, not only that, he felt like he wasn't alone. 

As Fang reached split off paths, he marked them with a subtle cut in the wall, so he could find his way should he get lost. 'I just want to find the others and leave at this point, first things first, get out of these tunnels or whatever they are.' He told himself.

_____*Golden.*_____

Golden Freddy was many things, but confused was normally not one of them, he entered a fortress like area with destroyed golems and constructs everywhere, so this was either Fang, or the others.

As Golden walked through the destroyed bodies to the exit, he found that there were no real signs of environmental damage, and knowing Fang, he was surprised at this, but didn't stop moving.

When Golden walked through the exit, he found himself inside the fortress, where there were more bodies, he sighed and went through the only door that didn't have any.

Soon enough, Golden was inside what appeared to be a mess hall of sorts, there were broken tables and benches everywhere. "What the hell happened here?" He wondered.

He quickly left the room and was now in what appeared to be a large room with three exits other than the one he just entered from, he knew Fang didn't come this way as there were golems wandering aimlessly, he drew his staff and approached, as he neared the golems furiously charged him, intent on killing him.

Golden destroyed the golems one by one, and eventually he managed to clear them all out, after that, he approached one of the doors and opened it, he went inside and found an old infirmary. "An infirmary next to a mess hall?" He muttered.

He examined nearly everything, and discovered that the equipment was old.....far older than him. "How old is this place?" He wondered.

Golden left the infirmary and went to another door, as he opened it, he was immediately flooded with dirt and rocks, he protected himself with a psychic bubble and forced a path out.

After he was free, Golden lowered the bubble and coughed as the dust filled his lungs, when it finally dissipated, he was surprised, the dirt was halfway across the room, and it was still blocking the whole door, Golden brushed himself off and walked over to the other door.

Once he reached it, he opened the door, ready for another avalanche of dirt and rocks, but it never came, he sighed in relief and walked through. 'I have no idea where I'm going, but it's better than here.' He said to himself.

_____*Lyaroa, Shade and Roxanne.*_____

Roxanne was breathing softly as she awoke, she felt rejuvenated from the rest, she opened her eyes and saw Lyaroa sitting across from her, sleeping, she blinked a few times and let her limbs wake up, she looked over and saw Shade fast asleep on the ground. 'How long were we out?' She wondered.

Roxanne slowly got up and stretched, she then walked over to Lyaroa and knelt down. "Hey, Migraine, get up." She said quietly.

Lyaroa didn't react right away, but as Roxanne went to stand, she heard Lyaroa chuckle, she looked back. "No no, I'm fine, don't give me drugs." She mumbled.

Roxanne rolled her eyes, the Sentinel was just talking in her sleep, but she couldn't help but laugh a little at the nickname, Roxanne had given Lyaroa that nickname the day after she had returned to her wolf form, Lyaroa had laughed loudly at the joke, and when asked about the name, Roxanne had said. "The first thing she did was give me a migraine when she got her body back, I think it fits." 

Roxanne knelt down and shook Shade. "Come on buddy, get up." She said.

The Night Wolf hadn't responded, instead, all she got was a grumble, and something about Kor Sticks. "Ok." She muttered.

Roxanne sat back down at the wall, she decided to wait for the others to just wait up, one she noticed was Soul propped up against a wall next to Lyaroa, with Spirit on the ground in front of her. "But I hate that jerk, I don't want to be stuck with him." Lyaroa said unconsciously.

Roxanne smiled a little, she found it a little creepy that she talked in her sleep, but she also found it a little cute, as weird as it was. 

It was a few minutes until Roxanne decided it was long enough, she stood up and walked over to the Sentinel, she placed her hand on her friends shoulder and talked. "Lyaroa, come on get up, we need to get moving." She said, but after she said that, she realized something, she saw the Sentinel as a friend, even though she did so much to them, infuriated her immensely every day, and recently faked trying to killing her and Shade, she considered Lyaroa a good friend.

'I guess I do think that way.' She thought, she smiled a little and stood up, she walked over to Soul and knelt down. "I know you can hear me, so when Lyaroa wakes up, give her a message."

Roxanne looked at Lyaroa. 'Heh, I hated you so much, and now?.....I want to protect you like a friend, did you plan on this?.....or was it just a coincidence?.....oh well, we can talk this over some other time.'

She grabbed Life and Death and walked off.

_____*Fang's POV*____

Fang finally exited the catacombs, but now he was somewhere else entirely, where before it was an old and decaying fortress, it was now a clean and maintained mansion of sorts, he seemed to be in some kind of antechamber, he doubted he would find enemies here, but he would be cautious regardless.

Fang quickly and quietly made his way through the room, he entered a kind of museum, but what he saw was confusing, he saw ponies and Griffins cleaning the room, he made sure to be quiet and make himself unseen as they worked.

Fang snuck around the room, carefully maneuvering around the cleaning people, he was almost spotted, but he slowed time and ran around him and through the door.

The next room was an entryway of sorts, there were many doors and there was a staircase leading up, he decided against going upstairs unless he had too, so he searched the next room.

After he went inside, he saw he was in a music room, there were polished instruments, normally, he would play one, but he had better things to do, so he left and entered another room.

The next one was a dining hall, he cautiously looked around and up, seeing nothing, he continued through, entering the kitchen area, he found himself unable to really go anywhere in that room, as there were cooks everywhere, so he left without a sound.

The rest of the ground floor went the same way, with him looking, but finding nothing of interest, soon, he went upstairs, once there, he soon found a bathroom, he knew better than to use the toilet while sneaking out, but when a Griffin came up the stairs, he quickly hid and locked the doors.

When the door nob shook and a knock came, a voice was heard, Fang thought up something quickly. "Occupied!" He called.

A voice followed. "Farrun, you better not be sneaking smokes in the bathroom again!" The voice said angrily.

Fang did the only sensible thing, he pissed in the toilet to prove his point, to be honest, this worked out for him, at least he wouldn't have to worry about it for a while now.

The voice spoke. "When your done in there Farrun, clean up the bedrooms, they're a mess!" The voice shouted angrily.

"Alright!" Fang replied. 'Did I just get drafted?' He wondered.

"We had to move the cleaning supplies!.....they're in there somewhere!" The voice said before walking away.

Fang sighed in relief as he finished up, he didn't know who this Farrun was, but it might work out for him, if he had to clean the rooms, it would help him find an exit.

Fang carefully left the bathroom, after grabbing the supplies, WHY he was doing this?.....he wasn't sure yet, it wasn't his job, but it would work out.

He walked to one of the rooms with a bucket, a mop, and a duster, his heart stopped once he saw an earth pony mare walk out and look at him in confusion. "Farrun?.....didn't I just see you go in there?" Said the mare out of confusion while pointing to a room.

Fang raised an eyebrow, was there someone here who looked like him? "You must be mistaken." He assured.

The mare blinked and rubbed her head. "You sound different?.....you alright bud?" She asked.

Fang nodded. "I'm fine, just have something stuck in my throat." He said calmly.

The mare nodded. "Alright, well, good luck, catch you later." She said before walking off.

Fang walked to the room the mare pointed at, he opened the door quietly and stepped inside, he saw a wolf that was almost identical to him in appearance standing there mopping.

Fang slowed down time and quickly set the supplies down, he rushed behind the wolf and put him in a choke hold before letting time return to normal. "Sorry." He said as he choked the wolf.

The wolf, Farrun, presumably, attempted to scream, but Fang muffled him with his hand. "Can't have that." He muttered.

Soon enough, Farrun fell unconscious, Fang released him and his him in the footlocker under everything.

Fang then continued Farrun's work, he cleaned the floor, and dusted the walls, after he was done, he left the room and went to the other rooms. 'I don't like doing this, but it's safer this way.' He told himself.

After cleaning the nearby rooms, Fang went to other rooms, after cleaning one up, he was about to leave when he noticed something odd, it was a pendant but it looked just like Roxanne's. 'Weird, but I shouldn't worry about this right now.' He thought as he returned his focus to finding an exit.

Fang exited the room and shut the door, he opened the door to the next room, he entered it and walked to the center before setting it down, when he did, he noticed something on the bed, he walked over and picked it up, it was a book, he opened it and read it, he realized quickly what it was, it was an exact copy of Verdants journal, he set the book down.

Fang decided to simply get back to work, but as he went to move, he was struck by a powerful blow to the head, he fell forward and was quickly unconscious.

_____*Golden.*_____

Golden was walking across a field, it seemed to be never ending, but he knew better, he could feel the exit getting closer, but as he walked, he eventually found himself walking through a dead field, he looked back and saw that it was alive, but now he was in a dead part of it. "The hell?" He wondered.

Golden continued walking, but he soon reached a scarecrow in the middle of an empty patch. "What is that doing here?" He asked himself.

Golden walked by the scarecrow and continued on, he soon reached the door, he opened it and stepped through.....only to return to the scarecrow. "Ok, who put a loop here?" He asked himself.

Golden simply walked to the door and opened it again, just to return. "I'll be here all day." He complained.

____*Lyaroa and Shade.*____

Lyaroa opened her eyes, she yawned and stretched, afterwards, she stood up and looked at Shade who was still asleep. "He sure is a deep sleeper." She said quietly.

Lyaroa walked over to Soul after grabbing Spirit, she put the harness on and sheathed Spirit, as she grabbed Soul, the ghost materialized. "Morning sleepyhead." Soul said happily.

Lyaroa raised an eyebrow. "What's got you so happy?" She asked.

Soul smiled. "Well, I have good news and bad news, wanna hear?" She asked excitedly.

Lyaroa nodded. "Go ahead." She replied, genuinely curious.

Soul crossed her arms and her smile grew. "First off, you know how you wished that Roxanne knew you were sorry?" After receiving a nod, Soul closed her left eye and tilted her head. "Little Roxie does forgive you, she even seemed happy to see you when I saw her." She said.

Lyaroa felt a little better. "That's great." Her smile faded though. "And the bad news?" She asked.

Soul sighed and stood straight. "She grabbed Life and Death and walked off." Upon seeing Lyaroa's panicked expression, she held her arms out quickly. "Wait wait wait wait!....she left a message!" She reassured.

Lyaroa let out a sigh of relief from that news. "What is it?" She asked.

Soul faded away, and an image appeared. "I know you can hear me, so when Lyaroa wakes up, give her a message." Roxanne's image said.

"Tell her......well, I guess to start that I forgive her, I think I get it now, I would be very pissed off if someone decapitated me too, tell her....." She sighed. "Tell her I had fun, when we went out those few times, I had a blast, and that when she held it together the time Celestia visited.....I was proud, no....joyful, that she didn't do anything to provoke her." The image rubbed her eyes.

"No, I'm not crying from sadness.....those are tear of joy, heh.....go figure, back at the Empire, I swore hatred, but I couldn't bring myself to hold up to it, not after knowing what I know now.....I guess it was hard for me to see it, or even admit it, but you're my best friend, I mean, yes, I have Fang.....but to be honest, I've always seen him as a dad more than a friend, and when I discovered you took control of him forcefully.....I guess I just missed the closest thing I had to a father, I don't know if you know what I'm talking about, but still.....its good to get this out." The image said.

Roxanne's image smiled and rubbed her eyes. "You're going to be so pissed I didn't tell you in person." She laughed a little. "But I didn't think I would have another chance, and I figure my leaving would light a fire under your asses, besides, I don't think I could have told you in person.....I don't have that kind of strength." She took a breath.

"Anyway, I needed to get this out, I talked to a therapist." Lyaroa raised an eyebrow, and somehow it seemed like the image knew. "Shut up! I know what I said about them! how they don't help or whatnot.....but I was stumped, I mean, how do you tell the person you said that  you hate with a burning passion that you actually love them?.....how? It just isn't easy." She said, she took another breath. "Oh well, when we talk again, you can chew me out there." She said with a wave. "See you later." She said quietly.

Lyaroa said nothing as Soul went back to her sword, her mind was overloaded at the moment, but she smiled softly and held her hand over her heart. "Well, that answers that mystery." She said before walking over to Shade. 'She basically opened her heart with that message, and while I am pissed beyond belief.....she was right, it lit a fire.' "Shade, get up." She said firmly.

Shade opened his eyes, after standing he looked at Lyaroa. "You alright?....you look like you went into a frozen wasteland." He asked.

Lyaroa nodded. "I'm fine, but Roxie wants to play chase.....lets go catch her!" She said eagerly before running off.

Shade sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I can't even wake up properly." He complained as he ran off after the Sentinel.

____*Golden*____

Golden had already gotten out of the loop, all he had to do was destroy the scarecrow, it came to life and attacked him, but it was simple.

He was now in a mill of some sorts, there were grinding wheels here and there, as well as wheat just lying around in stacks, and flour in the corner.

Golden walked through the large mill and soon found the exit, he opened the door and walked through it, he found himself in what appeared to be a small town, he looked around and saw dimmed lights, he walked up to one and held his hand up. "Still warm." He said to himself. 'This town seems to be abandoned, unless they just want me to believe it, oh well, I'll just get out and find the others.'

He walked through the town, noting that windows were suddenly closing as he neared, it didn't matter to him as he walked, he eventually found a wooden archway that led to a path out. "Don't forget your mill." He said before he left.

Golden followed the path, it led him down and then up, and then down, then straight, he continued walking, with no fatigue, he was able to continue walking for quite some time.

Eventually, he found a door, he opened it, and found an old elevator system, he sighed as he got it moving slowly but steadily with his power, he sat down and closed his eyes, allowing his power to slowly recover from his lengthy usage.

'You better be alright.' He said to himself.

____*Fang's POV*____

Fang grumbled as he groggily opened his eyes, his vision was foggy, but he could see, he tried to move his arms, but found he couldn't, he blinked a few times and shook his head, after his vision was clear, he looked down, and saw that he was bound by ropes, he looked around the room, and saw someone familiar sitting there on a table looking at him, the mare from before. "Told you I would catch you later." She said.

Fang suddenly felt a thudding pain on the back of his head. "What did you hit me with?" He asked.

The mare was a dark purple with black hair, her cutie mark was that of a trio of raindrops, her eyes were a bright blue, and she had a strange device on her right eye. "A pipe....sorry about the drastic measures." She said.

Fang rolled his eyes, however, he could feel something in his system, he took a few deep breaths. "What did you give me?" He asked.

The mare hopped down from the table. "An adrenaline drink, it's not going to kill you, but it will keep you awake and aware for twenty four hours.....standard protocol." She responded.

Fang felt a wave of grogginess suddenly. "Yea right." He remarked.

The mare walked up to Fang and put something on the back of his head, and then on his neck. "The grogginess is a small side effect of the adrenaline, it will fade." She said before walking away and looking at him. "Now to my questions." She said.

Fang looked at her. "Uh huh, you mean your bosses questions?..... like I'll answer any of them." He said calmly.

The mare smirked and pulled out a cigarette. "Want one?" She asked. [1]

"Like you would give it to me if I said yes." Fang replied.

The mare sighed and held two out. "Want one?" She asked again.

Fang huffed. "Fine, I'll probably be dead soon anyway." He answered.

The mare's smirk returned as she put one in Fang's mouth and lit it, she then lit one for herself. "About what you said, how you wouldn't answer them?" She said.

Seeing Fang's nod, the mare continued. "I'm Kara, what's your name?" She asked.

"Fang." He didn't see the point.

The mare puffed on the cig and looked at him. "How many of you are there?" She asked.

"Five." He replied, his eyes immediately widened. "What the hell?" He said.

Kara chuckled. "The adrenaline, it acts as both a truth serum and an energy booster, however.....as fast as your mind is racing, you won't have time to think on it anyway." She answered.

Fang looked at Kara in hatred. "That......is unsporting." He stated.

Kara threw the cig on the ground and grabbed a dagger from a table. "Ok, fine." She threw the dagger at Fang.

Fang closed his eyes and waited for it to plunge into him, but it never happened, in fact, he felt his arms loosen, he opened his eyes and saw that the rope was removed. "What are you doing?" He asked as he removed his cigarette.

Kara chuckled and put the cig out. "My job, follow me." She said calmly.

Fang was going to attack and fight his way out, but found himself unable to do so, his body wouldn't obey him, and it simply followed Kara. "What did you do!?" He shouted.

Kara looked at him as she walked backwards. "That salve I applied, it forces you to obey, the more you fight it, the worse it gets, just follow instructions and you'll be fine." She answered.

____*a few minutes later.*_____

Kara and Fang exited into a courtyard, it was filled with various races, Minotuar, griffin, changeling, pony, kangaroo....you name it, some of them stopped their training as they welcomed Kara back.

"Who's the wolf?.....don't tell me that's Farrun." A unicorn stallion asked.

Kara scoffed. "As if, that lazybones isn't good for anything, he's my catch." She replied before continuing. "Fang, follow." She ordered.

Fang would normally resist, but he figured that it be better if he didn't fight it. "Whatever." He replied grumpily.

Kara looked at him. "No need to be rude, it won't help you." She said before heading to a large structure.

Fang examined it as best he could, in truth, it looked like a church, and was stone, but it didn't look like much. "If I may ask something." He said.

"You may." Kara replied.

Fang found the sudden urge to vomit, but managed to talk. "Why not kill me?" He asked.

Kara chuckled. "That would be telling, suffice to say, it's not my place to tell you." She replied, she stopped and looked at him. "If you want to know what this thing on my eye is, you'll find that out too, so, any other questions?" She asked as she kept moving.

"Uh yea, what's up with the mansion?" He wondered.

Kara shook her head. "It's the house of the family, the family that started all of this." She answered. "By the way, that was your last question, no more until I say so, or if someone asks you if you have any, you are also prohibited from talking to others beside me or threatening anyone, am I understood?" She asked.

Fang fought it, but he eventually relented. "Yes." He forced out.

Kara wasn't satisfied though. "Yes what?" She asked.

Fang growled but talked regardless. "Yes.....ma'am." He struggled to not obey, but it was next to impossible.

Kara smiled. "Thanks pet." She said cheerfully.

At this moment.....Fang wanted to rip her spleen and eyes out. 'I am not your dog.' He said in his mind, yet, somehow, she reminded him of someone.

_____*the past.*_____

Fang had recently named Toy Foxy, he gave her the name Roxanne, he couldn't explain why, but he felt the name fit her, they didn't play their game tonight, they felt the guard had earned a break after all he had gone through.

This time however they were just talking. "So, what do we do now?" Roxanne asked.

Fang shrugged. "I don't know Rox, we already agreed on the break, so I guess we talk?....or shut down." He suggested.

Roxanne blinked. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the name, it seems pretty one sided." She replied jokingly, just before shutting down.

Fang shook his head. "Kids." He muttered before shutting down.

_____*end of flashback.*_____

Fang couldn't help but remember how mischievous Roxanne was originally, but now, she was all grown up, so he did the best thing he could do, he decided to not get himself killed, at least he could do that.

As Kara walked to the doors, she looked at him. "Care to do the honors?" She asked.

Fang silently walked up to the doors and opened one. "There." He replied.

Kara smiled at him and walked inside. "Thanks pet." She said.

Fang muttered something under his breath and followed.

The two eventually reached a platform in front of a large statue of an unknown figure. "That's our deity, he's known best as 'The Shaper'." Kara explained.

Fang went to walk forward. "Don't move, and don't talk." Kara said.

Fang gave her the stink eye and threw his hands in the air. "We....I...a." He replied.

Kara pulled a lever by the altar and walked back to Fang. "You should be honored, the Four NEVER ask for specific people, or allow them to meet them without being devoted to the cause." She said as the platform they were on lowered.

Fang didn't talk, because he couldn't.

Kara looked at him. "Now, when we are down there, I'll do the talking if possible, but if they demand you speak?.....then you are to do so, and you will listen to their words intently, no ignoring them, and you WILL speak with respect." She ordered.

"Y...I..." Fang crossed his arms in defeat but gave a nod.

The platform stopped moving, and Kara started walking. "Follow." She ordered.

Fang was led to a large room with four tall robed figures that stood in a circle, featureless, motionless aside from them looking at Fang and Kara. "Kara." One of them said.

"You may leave us." Another said.

Kara seemed surprised, but bowed before leaving.

The figures all looked at Fang. "Step into the circle." One of them said,

Fang stepped into the center of them all. "You may move and speak freely, we have remove the salve." The one directly behind Fang said.

Fang turned around and felt behind his neck, he looked around at the figures. "Why?.....that seems like a stupid move." He pointed out.

"You cannot defeat us in combat Fang." One of them said. "But we are not here to boast about power." Another said.

"You want answers so you not?" The one behind Fang said. "We, The Four, are able to give you them." The one in front of Fang said.

Fang would have moved to fight, but he found himself at ease, like there was no danger here. "Why am I so calm?" He asked.

"You believe deep in your mind, that there is no danger in this room." One of them said. "Which is why you are calm, you know we are correct." Another said.

Fang looked at one of them. "Why did you send Kara away?" He asked.

"She has bound you to her will, her presence would only disrupt this meeting." One of them said.

Fang finally decided to ask a meaningful question. "What is this place?.....and why me?" He asked.

There was a brief pause, but they spoke regardless. "This is a nexus of pure energy, formed from nothing but sheer willpower, this place is sacred, and our order is in charge of its protection, from any who dare threaten it, it's other purpose however, will be revealed to you, in time." One of them said.

"As for why we wanted you, you possess much potential, we believe that it would be invaluable to our cause." Another said.

"Which is why we shall ask you this, do you wish to know?.....to have knowledge of us, and our order, and the cause for which we shall die to see to its end?" The one behind Fang asked.

Fang looked to the one behind him. "Why would I do that?.....you have given me no reason to do so." He countered.

"Your logic is sound, but you are wrong, there IS and always will be a reason, we have knowledge that you seek, and a method, for your vengeance." One of them said.

"We shall ask this once again, will you join us?.....and fight for our cause, if not for you, then to safeguard those you care for?" Another asked.

Fang looked around him and saw only shadowed faces, no features, no emotions, just figures that spoke to him, but the problem was, he knew this was a bad idea, but he made a promise to survive.

It took a while, and Fang was running out of time, he battled within his mind over what he should do, but he eventually made a decision. "Alright.....i'll do it." He eventually said.

The Four seemed to go still as stone for a few minutes. "We are glad to grant you the rank of initiate, however, you will be observed, we believe that Kara....the one you resent, should be ideal for your partner and mentor, she will guide and teach you in our ways, now, leave us, we have much to discuss." One of them said.

Fang walked away and to the platform, when he reached it and saw Kara standing their with a grin. "Hello pet." She said.

Fang flipped her off. "Whatever, let's just go." He replied.

Kara rolled her eyes and pointed at the lever. "Go ahead and pull it, I can feel the Four calling me, just don't do anything stupid while I'm gone pet." She said before walking off.

Fang sighed, he really' did not like that name. "Screw you too" he pulled the lever and the platform began moving.

____*Lyaroa and Shade.*____

Shade and Lyaroa ran through the rooms that had destroyed constructs everywhere, most had their heads completely melted off, and others had giant holes in their chests, all in all, it was a bad day for them as they chased after Roxanne.

Lyaroa looked around at the destruction. "Wow, Rox means business." She said.

Shade nodded as they ran through the door. "I can see that.....what's got her fighting like this anyway?" He asked.

Lyaroa laughed as she found a remaining golem, she leapt up to it and kicked its head off. "It's a game!.....she runs, we try to catch up to her!" She answered excitedly, intentionally leaving the message out of it.

Shade didn't respond, but he felt like he was missing something. "Are you not telling me something?" He wondered.

Lyaroa smirked. "Maybe!" She said.

Seeing he wasn't going to win, Shade stopped asking.

The two soon entered a room that was significantly different than the others, as in, there were still constructs and golems, the puzzle was not complete, and Roxanne was nowhere to be seen.

Lyaroa then did the most sensible thing she could do, to get the game back on track, she immediately began destroying everything. "Work on the puzzle bud!" She called out.

Shade went to say something, but instead shrugged and began working. "Fine." He answered simply.

As Lyaroa dismantled the golems and constructs, Shade found himself solving a riddle, he sighed. "Of fucking course." He complained quietly as he began think on it.

It was a few moments later, but Lyaroa finally destroyed the last golem, she looked at Shade. "What's the issue here?" She asked.

Shade sighed and rubbed his eyes, he then put his hand on the door and disintegrated it. "I'm not in the mood." He stated simply.

Lyaroa ruffled the Night Wolf's hair. "I like how you think kid, let's go." She said before running.

Shade growled a little but followed the Sentinel. 'Why did I come here again?' He asked himself.

_____*Golden*_____

Golden opened his eyes as he felt the elevator stop, he picked up his staff and stood up, he exited the elevator and found himself in a rocky wasteland area, he began walking to try and find someone.

He used his staff as a walking stick as he walked along the rocky path, he didn't have to worry about it breaking, or tiring himself out due to his powers. 

After a minute or so of walking, Golden found an anomaly amongst the rocks, a wall corner amongst a warzone of sorts, it had dirt in an area where there was no dirt. "Life?" He wondered quietly, believing he was getting closer, he got to moving again.

Golden started running now, feeling the familiar psychic signature of Lyaroa was there recent, it was odd however, as long as it took him to get there, why did it feel so recent that they were there?

'I'll find out when we group back up.' He told himself.

_____*The present.*_____

Fang looked at Roxanne. "I guess you did light a fire didn't you?" He said teasingly.

Roxanne sighed and shook her head. "To be fair, it was a metaphor, but it was an unintended side effect of that message." She replied.

They heard Lyaroa laugh a little a that. "Yea, it motivated me a lot." She said quietly.

Roxanne was glad to see her talking again. "Give it some more time, you'll be back to your joking and hyperactive self." She said reassuringly.

_____*The past, Fang's POV*_____

Fang walked out of the structure, he waited a while, and Kara soon walked out. "I'm going to point this out right now, you aren't to come within personal space of me, am I clear?" He stated.

Kara rolled her eyes. "I'm not allowed to apply more salve or adrenaline stuff on you, so don't worry about that, come on, let's get you started." She said.

Fang reluctantly followed Kara, while he had given his word to help, he wasn't going to openly trust them, he would be a fool if he did.

Kara led him into a library of sorts. "Week one is usually Initiation and settling in for our new recruits, but we don't have that long, so you get the crash course." She pointed to a stack of books as she sat on the table. "Read these, these are the basics of what you need to know, the rest of it is mostly history." She said before jumping off. "You should have no trouble as long as you don't say anything to provoke anyone." She told him as she left.

Fang looked at the books and sighed. 'Might as well get it over with, have to start somewhere.' He said mentally.

As he picked a book up and read it, he found that it was a complete explanation of the order and its purpose, he was intrigued so he continued reading it, he learned the name of this place, Dalcorus, it's purpose was simple, to end the Eternal One, who Fang believed to be Lyaroa, but he couldn't understand the meaning of it, why they would want her dead? 

Eventually, it was many hours later, but Fang completed the books, he learned much from them, about the order, about their motive to kill Lyaroa, and of their leaders, the mysterious Four, apparently they were among the first to join the order, and gave up their lives and bound their souls in order to lead the charge, but why they wanted Fang specifically was beyond him. 

Fang stood up and walked out of the library, he found Kara waiting for him. "Did you wait the entire time?" He asked.

Kara looked at him. "No, I worked, come on, let's get to the next step." She said.

Fang followed the mare and they were soon In an armory. "Why did you bring here?" He asked.

Kara threw a training sword at him. "You are to spar with the instructor here, he had orders to teach you, your no good to anyone dead." She answered.

Fang looked at the mare. "Aren't you supposed to be guiding me?" He pointed out.

Kara looked at him with a glare. "Shut it, I'm under orders to make sure your ready, not to hold your hand." She spat out, all form of manners gone In an instant.

"Fine." Fang said before looking for the instructor. "What's his species?" He asked.

"Rat man, can't miss him." Kara answered before leaving.

Fang walked around and soon found the rat man, literally, it was a giant rat that stood upright but didn't have a diseased look about him. "I take it your the instructor?" Fang asked.

The rat man nodded. "And you must Fang." He replied, his voice smooth and firm. "I've been expecting you, I am Neil, come, let's get to the training room, I have quite a bit to teach you." He said.

Fang followed Neil to the training room and there the instructor grabbed a training sword. "Let's begin." He said.

Suddenly, Fang found himself in a fight, the instructor assaulted him with graceful and deadly combos that Fang was barely able to fight.

As they fought, Fang found himself losing ground inch by inch In a matter of moments, but he soon found an opening, he took a risk and parried a strike, forced the instructor back and swung as if for the kill.

Fang's attack contacted with Neil's shoulder, he backed off and looked at the instructor. "Good, however, you were a little slow to counter, and your parry was mostly inadequate, but it's a start, at least I can skip the basics." He said.

Fang didn't know whether to be insulted or glad he was getting some swordplay advice. "Again?" He suggested.

Neil nodded. "Again." He answered.

_____*Lyaroa and Shade.*______

The two found themselves held back time and time again by golems and constructs, thankfully, it was mostly golems now as the constructs seemed far more limited.

As they cleared the next room, they heard heavy footsteps behind them, they turned around and saw an old face. "Well well, hey Goldie." Lyaroa said with a smirk.

Golden walked up and rested his staff on his shoulder. "My trip was infuriating, how about yours?" He asked.

Lyaroa shrugged. "Found Ankip's village, destroyed Ankip's village in a fit of rage while fighting Shade and Roxanne." She explained.

Golden looked around and then at Lyaroa. "And Roxanne is where?" He asked catiously.

Lyaroa pointed behind her. "Up ahead somewhere, we've been chasing her." She replied.

Golden nodded. "Well, it will go faster with three of us." He said as he followed the others.

____*an hour or so later.*____

Fang was breathing heavily as he sat. "Why does it feel like forever passed us by?" He asked.

Neil walked up to Fang and sat down next to him. "Time moves differently in this area of the mountain, an hour just passed in a few minutes for instance.

Fang blinked and rubbed his eyes. "This is insane." He said.

Neil stood up. "I thought so too once." He responded. 

Fang watched as Neil leaned against a pillar. "A long time ago, I was in your position, no reason to believe, no reason to join, but I did, just like you." He said.

Fang rolled his eyes. "Does the Four get a kick out of recruiting basket cases?" He said jokingly.

Neil shook his head. "No, they do not, they feel nothing, they are one, but seperate, they are many, but are one, they have nothing but time, and a shared will to see this through to the end." He said cryptically.

Fang stood up and walked away. "Where are you going?" Neil asked.

Fang looked back at the rat man. "I need answers from someone who believes in this cause, and I know just who to ask." He replied.

Fang heard Neil chuckle before he left.

He saw Kara walk into the library from a distance, so he started walking towards it, doing his best to avoid contact with the other members of the order.

'She better have the answers I need.' He told himself.

_____*Golden, Shade and Lyaroa, an hour later*_____

The trio eventually found an empty room, and a familiar white tail move out of view at the other end.

Golden watched as Lyaroa's tail twitched and then watched as she ran off. "Wait!.....damnit." He cursed.

Shade didn't say anything and followed the Sentinel, with Golden following soon after.

Lyaroa rushed ahead excitedly, she eventually reached another room and heard the sounds of fighting, she entered it and saw Roxanne effortlessly destroy the golems, she grinned and crossed her arms.

Once the fox was done, Lyaroa spoke. "Nice work Roxie." She said.

Roxanne laughed quietly and she looked at Lyaroa. "So you got my message did you?" She asked quietly.

Lyaroa walked up. "Yep, and yes.....I am pissed, but only because you told me through a recording." She answered in a teasing tone.

Roxanne seemed confused. "Recording?.....I just asked Soul to tell you......oh." She said in realization.

Lyaroa smiled and gave the fox a hug. "Sorry for possessing your dad." She whispered.

Roxanne hugged back. "Like I said, I understand why you did it." She replied.

Lyaroa released her grip as she felt the others getting closer. "We reunited with Golden Freddy just so you know." She said in her normal tone.

Roxanne waved at Golden and Shade. "Did I give you a good chase?" She asked.

Shade nodded as he panted, he looked at Golden who was just fine. "How.....are you?......not exhausted?" He asked between breaths.

Golden looked at him. "I'm using my powers to sustain myself, it's not neverending, but it will suffice." He answered.

Roxanne laughed at Shade's expense. "Your out of shape man." She said.

Shade looked at her. "Very funny, but I'm literally not built for this stuff." He replied as he calmed his breathing.

They then began moving as a group, they cleared out the next few rooms but then something unexpected happened.

Roxanne led the others through, the were simply walking when they heard stone depressing into the ground, they looked behind them and saw Golden looking extremely annoyed. "Don't you dare say a word." He said blankly.

A loud crash came from behind them, they turned around and saw a giant boulder rolling down at them. "Time to go." Shade quickly said before running.

The others immediately began running away from the Boulder hoping to find a way to avoid it, as they ran, they felt the floor sink, and more and boulders fell down. "This sucks." Lyaroa complained.

"Quiet!" Roxanne called out.

Lyaroa looked at the fox. "Your still mad at me aren't you?" She asked.

Roxanne laughed. "I'm always mad at you!" She answered.

Lyaroa would have felt hurt, but she didn't sense any form of hostile intent from the fox, so she continued running. "Works for me I guess." She said quietly.

It wasn't much longer until they found a door that was too small for the Boulder to fit through, as they neared it, Shade felt stone depress under his feet, he saw a spike rocket up to him and he stopped as fast as he could, thankfully, the spike only impaled his side, he disintegrated it and continued moving.

Roxanne ran up to the door and slid under it, she got up quickly and looked back. "Hurry up!" She called.

As the others neared the door, it suddenly shot up and sealed itself. "Rox!" Lyaroa shouted as she banged on the door with her fist.

The wall on the left quickly lowered and Shade looked at the boulders, he threw a disintegration blast at it and ran through the new path.

Golden quickly grabbed Lyaroa's arm and ran through the door. "No!......let me go Golden!" Lyaroa shouted angrily.

"We can't do anything right now damnit!" Golden stated as he dragged the Sentinel away.

The wall closed behind them and torches lit themselves along the walls. "Come on, let's get going." Golden said calmly.

Lyaroa winced as she heard loud crashes behind the wall, she decided to work on the assumption that Roxanne was alive, and kept on moving.

Shade looked at the bear. "How are you so calm?" He asked.

Golden stopped and looked at the Night Wolf. "I've dealt with loss before, I'm not calm at all, but I can focus on what we need to do, and that is reuniting with Fang and Roxanne.....again." He said as he continued moving up the stairs.

Shade sighed. "Better than nothing I guess." He muttered.

The trio walked up the stairs the seemed to circle in a way.

As they walked, they noticed it was getting brighter and brighter, and soon, they discovered why, there was a window that went around an entire ring, as they looked out the window, they saw what appeared to be a fake star up at the ceiling, they looked down and saw a large arena with two familiar figures. "It's Fang!" Shade said happily.

Lyaroa perked up a little and walked over to the window, she looked down at the arena and her mood brightened. "Thank goodness their alright." She said.

Golden however was not optimistic. "Somethings not right, look at them closely." He said.

Both Shade and Lyaroa saw the problem, Fang was wielding some kind of sword, while Roxanne had Life and Death drawn and she had her arms ignited in white flame.

Lyaroa quickly ran around the ring to try to find a way down, Shade went to follow but Golden stopped him. "This doesn't concern us Shade, let them handle it." He said calmly. "We will stop them should they go to kill, but otherwise we stay out of it." He stated.

_____*the present.*_____

Fang couldn't say they were wrong, as he himself now remembered it all, he sighed and looked at them. "I don't think we need to continue the story." He said.

Shade shook his head. "No, you weren't around for everything, so just listen." He said.

_____*The arena.*_____

Roxanne pounded on the wall that trapped her friends, she let a tear out as she heard the loud crashes the followed, she bit her lip and closed her eyes. "Damnit." She said quietly.

"They'll be alright." Said an all too familiar voice.

Roxanne's eyes shot open and she turned around to see Fang, the one she considered a father. "Fang?....your alright." She said out of relief.

Fang did not move, he was on the opposite end of the arena standing in front of an open door that soon closed. "Depends on your version of 'alright'" he said blankly.

Roxanne approached but quickly stopped as she watched Fang unsheath a sword from his back. "What are you doing?" She asked.

Fang looked the sword over, he then looked at Roxanne. "You have no idea what I've been through." He replied as he tested the swords weight.

Roxanne saw something off about his appearance, namely his fur and face, his fur seemed far more wild than it normally was, and his face, mostly his eyes, had a strange pattern around them, it was that of thorn vines and his eyes themselves looked different, they were no longer normal pupils, instead they had a hexagon pattern. "What happened to you?" She asked,

Fang hardened his gaze. "I went through practical hell these last few days, I'm not even sure what the right timeline is anymore." He said blankly as he readied himself for battle.

Roxanne's eyes widened. "And......you think killing me is the answer?" She asked, her eyes slowly watering.

Fang didn't even blink as he shook his head. "It's not that I want to kill you, but I will.......unless you swear to stop protecting Lyaroa." He replied blandly.

Roxanne wiped the tears from her eyes. "So that's what this is about?.....your revenge?" She asked as she drew Life and Death.

Fang said nothing and slowly walked forward.

Roxanne ignited her arms and legs, she took a breath. "I can't let you do this." She said.

Fang stopped moving and looked at the fox. "So, this is where your true loyalties lie......you.......have betrayed me." He closed his eyes and then opened them. "So I'll have to kill you first!" He then charged with unnatural speed.

Roxanne gasped and then dodged a sudden strike to the side from Fang who had no emotion, the only thing she could see in him was a murderous intent.

Fang attacked with a flurry of strikes as Roxanne defended herself, the clashes were frequent and practically neverending, but they continued.

Roxanne finally found an opening, she parried Fang with Death, and swung at him with Life, she barely missed him as he jumped away, she went to have Death ingulf him in flames, but found that not only Death, but Life was silent as well, she growled. "What's wrong with you two?" She asked quietly.

Fang stood straight up again. "Wondering why your sword don't work?" He wondered. "Simple, my sword can completely negate magic, it can't kill the spirits bound to the swords, but it can make them helpless." He answered his own question calmly before engaging Roxanne in combat.

Roxanne growled and continued fighting Fang, it was difficult with Life and Death, but it was possible, Roxanne broke off from another clash and closed her eyes as Fang vanished again.

Roxanne soon felt it, a slight misstep to her right, she took a keep of faith and unleashed waves of fire in that direction, she opened her eyes and saw Fang ignited by her fire. "This won't kill or defeat me Roxanne." He stated as the fire disappeared.

Fang then charged normally, he thrusted his blade at Roxanne and she blocked it, he then threw a punch at the fox's gut, the punch impacted and Roxanne lost her breath, Fang then kicked her away, making her drop her blades.

Roxanne landed with an audible crash, she forced herself to stand and looked at Fang who kicked Life and Death away. "You can't defeat me girl......you don't have the stomach for a real fight." He taunted.

Roxanne growled and put the fires out on her arms and legs. "If fire won't work, try the next best thing." She muttered.

Fang slowly walked forward. "Just surrender." He said.

Roxanne closed her eyes. "When all is lost, and you need assistance." She muttered.

Fang continued walking. "What are you talking about?" He wondered.

Roxanne put her hand together and her arms glowed a faint light blue and red. "All you need to do....." She opened her eyes. "Is ask." She said.

Almost immdediately after she said that, a bright flash of light appeared between them, forcing Fang to stop and look away.

As Fang looked back at where the light came from was a large creature, it was a manticore, he did not blink but instead readied himself to fight it. "This is your big weapon?.....a manticore?" He asked as though it were meaningless.

After he said that, he heard blades clang behind him, he looked back and saw that Roxanne had grabbed her swords, only she had armor made of crystal now. "That's new." He observed.

Roxanne said nothing as she charged, the manticore also attacked, Fang then grinned and slowed time, he went to move behind Roxanne and strike from behind, but the manticore seemed to move at incredible speeds now.

Fang was caught off guard by this, but decided to destroy the manticore first, the creature tried to impale him with its tail, but found it was soon cut off.

Fang then ran up and swung his blade down on the creatures head, driving it through the skull, time then returned to normal and he found himself fighting an enraged Roxanne, he blocked the strikes as best he could, but it proved very difficult, as she was fighting with no pattern, and the strikes were very strange to block, he found himself having to defend against one blade on the left, he saw the other come to his right, he threw hand out and grabbed it, his hand began bleeding, but it was better than losing his head. 

Fang then felt the blade stop forcing itself into his hand, but before he could act, his gut was kicked in by two strong feet covered in crystals.

Roxanne grabbed Life and walked up to Fang, she shed the armor and watched as he vanished again. "Damnit." She cursed.

Fang then swung his blades rapidly at Roxanne, forcing the fox to dodge. "You shouldn't have removed the armor." He said.

Roxanne felt numerous cuts on her skin, she growled and went to hit him with a fire punch after she dropped Death, but it was just a regular one as she remembered the effect Fang's sword had.

Fang grinned as he grabbed the fist and twisted it, breaking the hand and then the arm. "You are a fool." Fang said calmly.

Roxanne growled and kicked Fang in the leg and then the stomach, the first one landed, but Fang grabbed her leg and broke it afterwards.

"Anymore limbs you want to lose?" He asked, in a somewhat sadistic manner.

Roxanne growled as swung Life at the wolf, Fang merely batted it aside and broke her other leg, Roxanne screamed in pain as it all caught up to her. "Your magic is useless now, you can't do anything to me.....surrender or die." Fang said as he aimed a sword at Roxanne's neck.

Roxanne's head fell to the ground, she looked at the ceiling and closed her eyes. "You know, I always knew that you were strong, but I didn't think you would be weak enough to fall under a spell or believe lies." She said.

Fang showed no emotion as he held the blade to her throat. "Like I said, surrender or die." He said firmly.

Roxanne looked at Fang and opened her eyes, and to his surprise, they were black pits with a white dot. "Bite me." She said in a menacing tone.

Fang went to cut her head off but found that she was gone. "What the?" He was suddenly punched in the spine, he flew forwards but he recovered, he looked and saw that Roxanne was standing upright, watching as she sheathed Life and picked up Death. "What's wrong Fang?.....you look like you saw a Nightmare." She said darkly, she changed in appearance as well, she was cut to shreds and looked burnt, she had teeth like razors, and her eyes glowed.

Fang braced himself as Roxanne vanished with incredible speed, he growled and heard it, he moved his sword and just barely blocked Death, he saw the look in her eyes, the insanity was clear, she wasn't herself now.

Roxanne swung Death again but this time put a kick into her attack, as in, she fired a blast of some kind at Fang, and he went flying.

Fang was soon impaled in the arm as Roxanne appeared behind him in an instant. "Surrender or die bitch." Roxanne said mockingly as she kicked him away, she shook her head.

Roxanne watched as Fang landed hard on the ground, she walked up and she slowly returned to normal, she stepped on his hand and looked down at him. 'That was unpleasant.' She thought.

Fang looked up at Roxanne and blinked. "Go ahead, kill me, I won't stop until that bitch is dead." He swore.

Roxanne raised Death and swung down, it lodged itself in the ground next to Fang. "Don't you dare make me regret this." She said as she pulled the sword out and walked away.

Fang sat up and growled, he then looked at his blade, he sighed and then looked at Roxanne who sheathed her blade. "Big mistake." He said as he threw the sword.

Roxanne heard him talk, she looked back and saw the sword flying at her full speed, her eyes widened before she closed them, awaiting the sword to impale her.

Fang grinned as it neared, he had slowed time to watch it happen, but the second he let it return to normal, the surprising happened.

Roxanne was waiting, but nothing happened, she felt no pain, even as she heard the sword pierce flesh and bone, she opened her eyes and she gasped in horror.

Fang chuckled, and then it turned to full on laughter. "Well isn't this a welcome treat!" He said.

Roxanne looked on in horror as she saw a sword impaled through Lyaroa's heart. "W.....why?" She found herself asking.

Lyaroa laughed painfully. "What kind of friend let's another get impaled?......especially when they love them? better me than you Roxie." She forced out before falling over.

Roxanne was at the Sentinel's side in an instant, she found herself hyperventilating a little but calmed herself down, she looked at Fang who approached and grabbed his sword. "Leave, get out of this mountain while you can, and never return." He said firmly before vanishing.

Lyaroa was silent, for once in her life she was silent, she looked at Roxanne. "Don't be so concerned, I'll just heal myself." She said before coughing up blood.

Roxanne watched as the Sentinel glowed, but then her hope fell once it flickered. "What happened?"  She asked.

Lyaroa shivered. "I.....I don't know, why aren't I healing?" She asked herself.

Glass breaking made Roxanne look, she saw Shade and Golden land and then rush over. 

Roxanne looked back at Lyaroa and an idea came to her. "Lyaroa, this might hurt a lot....but it's better than doing nothing." She said as she ignited Lyaroa's wound, working on cauterizing it.

Lyaroa's eyes widened as she fought back the pain, but her head soon fell to the side an pad she stopped breathing.

Golden knelt down and put his hand on Lyaroa's chest, lending his aid to the healing process. "Come on come on." He said quietly.

It was a few minutes but eventually, Lyaroa gasped and coughed up more blood, she was breathing heavily now, she looked at her wound and saw that the fur and skin were burned but the wound was closed, she attempted to heal it, but nothing happened except pain.

Lyaroa sat up and looked around, she looked at Golden and Shade and flicked their foreheads. "Ow." Shade said.

"That was for not helping." Lyaroa explained as she stood. "Ok, we should get moving, if anything we need to find a way to cure Fang of his insanity." She said before wobbling a little

Golden nodded. "Agreed." He then looked at Roxanne. "What the hell was that?" He asked.

Roxanne walked over to Lyaroa and helped her to walk. "My Nightmare......it's hard to explain, but it's my alter ego." She answered.

Shade blinked. "Does Fang have one?" He asked.

Roxanne shrugged. "I don't know, if he does, I haven't heard about it, anyway, let's just pray he can't call on it." She said as she walked with Lyaroa. "We can work through this right?" She asked the Sentinel quietly.

"Sure, right after I kill Fang for putting this hole in my chest, then we can go out again." The Sentinel replied jokingly.

Golden and Shade then followed, unaware and confused about what was going on between the two.

Golden however, resolved to one thing. 'It's probably up to me.....again, if I can't defeat Fang, it'll either be Shade or Lyaroa who does it, because Roxanne won't be able to kill him if necessary.'  He thought.

'But her Nightmare will.' Golden found himself thinking. "I hope it doesn't come to that." He mumbled.
> Last Spark of Hope, Part Six: Fang.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Dalcorus, The group.*_____

Ever since the arena, there had been nothing but combat, Roxanne was guarding Lyaroa, while the rest of them had fought fiercely to clear the path, but they were now fighting living creatures of all kinds, beasts, sentient beings, traps, golems and constructs, it was harder than ever.

Shade took a moment to catch his breath after a while. "Fighting things that can actively think is so difficult!" He complained.

Golden huffed. "It makes no difference, kill anything in our way, we just need to get to Fang, and knock him out of his insanity binge." He replied while walking by Shade.

Shade sighed and followed Golden.

Roxanne looked at Lyaroa who was silent now. "Are you alright Migraine?" She asked.

Lyaroa nodded. "I'm fine, I can walk." She said.

Roxanne gave her a skeptical look. "I'm not talking about your injury." She added.

Lyaroa smirked a little. "I always told Fang I would understand if we wanted me dead......but I didn't say anything about others dying because of it." Her smirk faded. "I'm not ok, I can't use my powers, and I've been betrayed at the worst possible time." She sighed.

"I wasn't expecting him to do this the way he is, using others for his vengeance?......i should have been more careful." She told the fox.

Roxanne stopped and shook her head. "No, if I hadn't ran off, this wouldn't have happened, even you can't deny that." She replied.

Lyaora smiled a little. "Of course I can, it's a persons job to lie to the ones they love right?.....to protect them." She said.

Roxanne poked Lyaroa's forehead. "Yea yea yea." She said jokingly, she didn't want to say anything at the moment, but ever since they healed her, Lyaroa's eyes and features seemed drained, and they looked like they were fading away, her once vibrant teal eyes, now a faint blue.

Lyaroa looked at Roxanne with a little grin as they walked. "You know......I CAN walk." She pointed out, getting a nod from the fox. "So why are you holding on to me so tight?" She asked.

Roxanne quickly let go and crossed her arms. "Fine, be that way." Lyaroa pouted as she continued walking.

As they reached the next area, Shade looked at Lyaroa. "We think it would be a good idea for you to stand back, we can't risk you dying." He said.

Lyaroa nodded and leaned against a wall. "Alright, leave me here all alone while you three have fun." She sighed theatrically. "I see how it is." She looked and saw that they were already gone, her expression turned grumpy as she waited. "Spoilsports." She mumbled.

As they fought, Roxanne found herself pitted against an unbelievably nimble kangaroo, she tried and tried, but she couldn't hit it, eventually she got fed up and tried to call on her fire, but it was still unresponsive. "Son of a bitch." She cursed under her breath before running off to fight something else.

Golden saw the kangaroo and attacked it with his psychic powers, it soon fell over dead from its brain melting. 'Pests.' He thought before swatting a Pegasus away. "Why do all Pegasi dive bomb?" He found himself asking.

Shade decided to take a much faster approach to the battle, he was simply disintegrating everything living other than Golden and Roxanne, the blasts that contacted with the living creatures intantly turned them to dust, making it much faster. "I'm actually kinda liking fighting these guys." He muttered.

Lyaroa however was watching from a distance, she felt bad for not being able to help, but in her condition she would be a liability, she clutched her chest when she felt pain shoot through it, she didn't need her powers to be able to tell that a share of Fang's sword was inside her, making it impossible to use her powers, just then, she realized something.

"I don't need them......I barely used them before anyway, so why stop now?" She asked herself quietly, she held out a hand and looked at it. 'I have my arms to fight, and my legs to carry me, so what if I lost my powers?' She thought.

As she finished her thoughts, the others returned, and Lyaroa decided something. 'If I have no choice.....ill fight, but until then, I'll recover my strength.' "Let's get going." She said.

With that, the group moved on, however, for the next few areas, there were nothing but constructs, making it seem like they were being led into a trap, the room was very long, it was moderately wide but not overly, it looked like a gigantic hallway actually, the group looked around and up, expecting spikes or something.

Instead, an iron gate slammed down behind them, and they heard a slow clap, they looked up and saw Fang looking down at them from behind a glass wall up ahead. "Good work on making it this far, but i know it's because of Shade of Golden Freddy, this time, you won't be so lucky." He pulled a lever next to him and walked off with a dark chuckle.

The group looked forward and saw that the constructs altered, they obtained jets of fire in their arms, and their armor seemed to change, upon scanning psychically, Golden determined that it was a grade lower than the first construct they fought.

The group then fought, Lyaroa assisted, but appeared to be struggling. "Don't fight if you can help it." Golden suggested.

Shade slammed a disintegration bomb on some of the constructs, he then detonated them and they fell over. "I win." He taunted.

Roxanne found herself able to use her fire again, and call on Life and Death, making short work of the constructs in the room.

However, once they destroyed them all, the floor opened to reveal holes, Golden quickly sent a psychic shockwave and disabled the traps and everyone.

Suddenly, the jets all shot fire up, and it showed no signs of ending.

Roxanne used her and Death's fire powers to clear the way for Lyaroa and Shade to group up with her, she then led to way to Golden who was up by the door. "How are you doing this?" Shade asked.

Roxanne gritted her teeth. "Not now Shade." She answered.

Thankfully, once they reached a certain point, they found that the traps were inactive, so Roxanne could stop forcing the fire down.

As they reached Golden, they found him opening the exit up.......with a powerful psychic blast. "Shall we?" He said.

_____*meanwhile*_____

Fang and Kara were in the armory, Fang was going through the suits or armor attempting to find one that could assist him, while Kara was talking. "I don't see why you need the armor.....as if you need it." She said.

Fang gave her a death glare, his new hexagonal eyes giving her a feeling of unease, "In case you forgot, I'm going up against a god damn SENTINEL!......who are normally unkillable, not to mention Roxanne who seems to have an endless bag of tricks, a guy with the power to disintegrate me, and a bear who has immense psychic power, so yes, if I can get some armor to keep me alive long enough to complete my mission?......I'm getting it." He answered.

Kara rolled her eyes. "You know, if you would just get some backup instead of trying to play supervillain, you might get something done." She pointed out.

Fang looked at Kara. "Look, the Four wanted me to kill Lyaroa, and i am more than happy to do it, but I can't kill her through her three friends, and I doubt that there's anyone here who can hold back, much less kill, the others." He said.

Kara grinned. "You have no faith in me do you?......or the people here?" She wondered.

Fang chuckled as he spotted a set of green armor. "If you want to fight, go ahead, but I doubt it will help." He said with no care.

Kara walked off, saying nothing.

Fang grabbed the armor and began to strap it on. 'Let's see you beat me so easily this time.'

_____*meanwhile*_____

Roxanne cut the head off of a construct then threw a fireball at another, she wasn't entirely sure why the rooms and enemies were getting easier now, when they should be getting harder, she kept expecting more and more traps, but they never came, soon enough, they had yet another room clear. "This is too easy, somethings wrong." She said to the others.

Shade looked around and saw the exit, it was a hatch in the ceiling. "Come on, the sooner we can deal with Fang, the better." He said as he ran to one of the walls and started climbing, making holes in the wall for the others.

Lyaroa shook her head and walked forward. "Follow the leader I guess." She said to herself.

The group followed Shade's lead and climbed up, save for Golden, who simply did something with his powers and jumped up through the hatch.

"Show off." Shade complained to himself.

_____*the present.*_____

Fang looked at the group. "And this is the part we all know." He said.

Lyaroa nodded. "Yea, still, it won't be easy to forget.....maybe we shouldn't." She said calmly.

Fang blinked and looked up. "How could I forget?" He asked himself.

_____*the not so long ago past.*______

As they reached the top, they found themselves in a very large room, to Lyaora and Roxanne, it resembled the room they fought Jandoka in, but there ware red runes dancing along the walls.

There was a large statue in the far end of the room, and a large entryway to the side. "What is this place?" Roxanne asked.

"A ritual chamber, much like the one from Jandoka's temple, but this time, you aren't fighting a hydra." Said the voice of Fang.

The group watched as Fang dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of the statue. "Your overconfident Fang, you can't beat us all on your own." Golden said.

The group noticed that he was wearing armor now, his leg armor had a mountainous pattern, while the chest had a fiery pattern, Fang laughed quietly as he looked down, he then looked up at the four with a grin. "Who said I was alone?" He wondered.

The group looked around and saw that they were surrounded suddenly, there were two, an earth pony, and a Minotuar, and from the entrance they saw reinforcements coming in.

Fang chuckled and unsheathed his sword, the black wavelike pattern now glew eerily. "Now then, I will make this one time offer......Lyaroa, step forward and die, or you all die, simple isn't it?" He said.

Lyaroa looked at Fang, seeing no emotion, seeing only the desire to kill, she was going to walk forward, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

Shade walked up and sighed, he rubbed his eyes and looked at Fang. "Are you an idiot?" He asked.

Fang looked at the Night Wolf. "Excuse me?" He replied.

Shade let his arms hang at his sides as he stepped between Fang and the group. "Are you so stupid as to actually think that will work? or that we will trust that you or your goons won't kill us?" He wondered.

Fang sighed and then looked up. "Do you think you beat me?.....or all of these soldiers?" He asked, before pointing at himself. "I'VE SEEN WHAT THEY HAVE AND YOU CAN'T KILL THEM ALL!" He shouted.

Shade did not budge. "So you just gave up?....is that it?" He said before looking around at the reinforcements Fang brought. "I don't see soldiers!.....I see cowards hiding in a mountain because they are too scared to go out and fight the one they swore to kill!" He taunted as he looked at Fang. "This is pathetic." He said to Fang.

Fang shook his head and approached Shade. "Kill them." He said simply.

Immediately after the order was given, every single one of the soldiers and such that Fang brought along attacked.

Golden found himself facing the earth pony. "Why do I always have to fight the girl?" He asked himself.

To his surprise, the earth pony grinned and leapt up, and Golden found himself being pelted by a seemingly unending barrage of weapons. 

Lyaroa was fighting a Minotuar. "Oh come on, look, I'm already injured, so how about we talk this over?" She asked.

The Minotuar simply charged after her, saying nothing.

Lyaroa rolled to the side as she drew Soul and Spirit. "I tried I guess." She mumbled as she engaged the Minotuar in battle.

Roxanne however had the worst of it, she was fighting the reinforcements, and no matter how many she killed, more came, so she spoke in her mind. 'When you need assistance.......all you have to do is ask.' She thought.

And then in the middle of them all, came a pack of crystalwolves, like Timberwolves they regenerated, but they were much harder to kill.

Roxanne decided against using Life and Death for now, so she simply ignited herself and got to killing. 

Shade was fighting Fang one on one, because he had no weapons, he didn't have to worry about blocking, just dodging, he threw some lightly powered blasts at Fang, but they didn't do much except annoy him. 

Fang swung his sword in a brutal combo, but they mostly missed since Shade just dodged, then threw some blasts, and went back to dodging.

Soon Shade felt like he had a good opening, he managed to get a good punch in on Fang, he then charged a blast before throwing it, the blast hit, but once the smoke cleared, Fang just stood there unaffected. "You rely far too much on those." He stated before advancing.

Shade laughed nervously before running. "Coward time." He said to himself.

Lyaroa managed to stab the minotuars heart, and as she did, she backed up and took a quick breath, only to see more goons attack her. "Son of a bitch!" She complained.

Golden's fight wasn't going anywhere really, he was mostly unable to do much as the earth pony attacked, he eventually had enough and began charging his powers as he parried and dodged the thrown weapons. "Missed." He taunted as the earth pony missed.

The earth pony seemed to be getting pissed off beyond belief, she then changed out her thrown weapon from daggers to maces. 

Golden's eyes widened as the first made almost hit him. "Fuck." He swore before going on the defensive, charging all the while.

Roxanne conked two heads together and then threw a wall of fire out at the entryway, hoping to but some time, but it was quickly avoided as the reinforcements simply jumped threw it, seemingly immune to the fire. 

Roxanne kicked a Griffin in the groin, as was evident by his expression, she then threw a fireball on some goons who were tearing one of her wolves apart.

"Savages." Roxanne said and she incinerated a kangaroos skull.

Shade was currently on the run from Fang, he found out the hard way that he couldn't beat Fang in close quarters, but he couldn't throw his disintegration blasts anymore since Fang cut him multiple times. 

Shade suddenly was hit from behind, he flew into a wall and then fell to the ground, he gasped for air but was soon kicked in the side by Fang who appeared out of nowhere.

Fang was now batting Shade around like a pinball, he would throw him, he would kick him, even slash him, but the Night Wolf wouldn't die, soon, he appeared in front of Shade who was just standing up, he grabbed him by the throat and picked him up. "WHY WONT YOU DIE!?" He shouted.

Shade choked as he tried to force Fang off, Fang then roared and plunged his blade into Shade's heart......he screamed in agony, but the Night Wolf still lived. "What are you!?" He yelled out of anger before pulling the sword out and stabbing him in the side, he then threw him aside like he was nothing. "Hmmph, garbage." He said before cleaning his blade with his hand.

Golden threw the massive discharge of psychic energy at the earth pony, she clearly didn't know about it as was evident by her falling to the ground and screaming in pain, she soon quieted as she went limp.

A crash was heard and he looked to see Fang plunge his blade into Shade's heart, and then hearing a scream. "What are you!?" Fang had said.

Golden's eyes widened as he remembered something.....a very similar scenario from his past, he cleared it from his mind and rushed over to where Shade landed.

Lyaroa was doing fine.....all things considered, she had killed one of the goons, but there were still two left, she was just about to kill another one when she flinched from Shade's agonized scream. "No." She said quietly.

Unfortunately, that second was enough, as the moment Lyaroa said that, a sword plunged into her heart, and the other goon ran off, Lyaroa coughed up blood and fell to her side. 

Roxanne summoned more wolves to keep Fang busy and threw up some more fire before running over to Lyaroa, when she got over there she grabbed the sword. "This'll hurt." She warned before pulling it out.

Lyaroa screamed a little and looked at Roxanne. "Ouch." She joked.

Roxanne went to set Lyaroa down but she felt the Sentinel's hand stop her. "Wait......I need you to do something for me." She said.

Golden knelt down and put his hand over Shade, he began healing him and threw up a psychic barrier. "Shade you with us?" He asked calmly.

Shade grunted and then shivered. "Yea.......I'm with you, least he didn't get my lungs." He replied through the grunts of pain.

Golden looked at the Night Wolf, by all intents of purposes, he SHOULD be dead. "How are you alive?" He asked.

Shade grinned. "My race can survive without their hearts inside them, but if the heart dies......we die, and I have it." He replied cryptically.

'That makes, no sense.' He thought as he worked.

Roxanne sat there wide eyed as she looked at Lyaroa. "Come again?" She asked.

Lyaroa rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth. "Look, I can't use my powers......so the logical corse of action is to get them......back in working order." She replied before coughing up blood.

"And you think ripping your heart out will work?" Roxanne countered.

Lyaroa's head fell back. "You just need to rip it out long enough to tear the shards out, then shove it back in." She explained.

Roxanne shook her head and looked back to Fang, who was defeating her wolves, while Lyaroa felt the pain increasing. "Roxanne.......we don't have time for this, please......" Lyaroa said through the pain.

Roxanne looked back to Lyaroa and bit her lip. "You better not die on me, or I'll bring you back and then kick your ass myself." She swore as she raised her hand.

Lyaroa smirked. "Deal." She said, and just then, she felt her chest be forced open and her heart ripped out, it was excruciatingly painful, but she held it in.

Roxanne looked at Lyaroa's heart, it was strange and oddly calming, it's coloration was faint but the most notable was pink, an incredibly faint pink......once she took her mind away from that, she immediately saw the problem, it was a shard imbedded into the heart, she carefully grabbed the shard and went to pull it out. "It's fine, take your time, I can last forever without it." Lyaroa said quietly.

Roxanne then ripped the shard out, and the second it was gone, the heart shone brightly with a wide variety, sky blue, green, red, black, gold, but for whatever reason, the only color that was soft and not vibrant, was pink, Roxanne looked at Lyaroa. "Why is it doing that?" She asked.

Lyaroa smiled. "My heart, it's a powerful thing, used correctly, it can be used to do great things, used incorrectly, it's a source for destruction." She looked at Roxanne and put her hand over the Fox's own heart. "The reason it's doing what it is.......it senses a bond, it's rare, but it happens, the soft pink and glowing black? that's the origin of the bond, one from hate, one from love." She explained.

Roxanne took a deep breath and prepared to put the heart back, she knew they didn't have much time, but they had enough. "You ready?" She asked.

Lyaroa chuckled. "No......you never are." She replied.

Roxanne forced the heart back inside Lyaroa, and very soon, the once drained appearance of Lyaroa, slowly faded away her eyes returned to normal and her fur was now white again instead of a faded gray. "You alright?" Roxanne asked.

Lyaroa nodded. "I'll live, but I need some time to regain my powers, sorry." She said before sitting back up, she placed her hand over the hole in her chest and slowly healed it. "Kick his ass Roxie." She encourages.

Roxanne looked back at Fang who just finished off the last of the wolves, Roxanne closed her eyes and returned them to their realm, then summoned other familiars to cover the entryway, she opened her eyes and walked forward to Fang.

"Are you done playing games Roxanne?......or are you just getting started?" Fang wondered as he faced her.

Roxanne huffed. "That's rich, coming from you.......your the one who got me into the habit of our 'game'.......or does that mean nothing now?" She wondered.

Fang walked to the center of the room, he looked at the statue, and then at Roxanne. "It doesn't mean a damned thing to me anymore, my life was stolen from me!.......the only reason that I exist.....or even Golden?.....is so SHE!" He yelled pointing at Lyaroa. "COULD RETURN HERE FOR HER REVENGE!......THEN SHE DOESNT EVEN HAVE THE STOMACH TO CARRY IT OUT!" He took a breath and readied himself to fight. "I'm not going to let her leave this place alive, and she will watch as I kill her." He said calmly.

Roxanne shook her head and stood across from him. "Your wrong Fang, you do have a life.....you have a son, you have friends, you may have people you hate in your life but that just makes it better......it gives you a reason to go back." She explained.

Fang looked at Roxanne with little emotion. "That dragon is not my son." He said coldly. "And deep down he knows it too, he just won't admit it." He continued.

Roxanne sighed and drew Life and Death. "If that's what you think, then your a fool." She said as she prepared to fight.

Fang growled. "No, the only fools are those who would trust that bitch!" He shouted as he charged.

Roxanne braced and blocked the attack, making little effort to prevent contact between the blades, she saw Fang's grin. "Just like last time.......you don't even try!" He taunted confidently as he held the struggle, but this time, he slowed time around the, and accelerated it around his feet, he threw a kick at Roxanne and then spun around before striking, forcing Roxanne to trip her feet and throw her blades up in defense.

Fang laughed maniacally as he pressed the attack on Roxanne, giving her no time to react or get a foothold.

Roxanne was then forced into a constant cycle of dodge and defend, she knew Fang was bating her, trying to get her to use either her armor or call on.......her dark side, she growled and breathed fire on Fang, blinding him long enough to get back up.

Fang wiped his face of the ash. "That won't work on me Roxanne." He said as though he lost interest. "You can't beat me as you are, wthout Life and Death....you are nothing." He said insultingly.

Roxanne didn't pay attention to the insult, but she knew he was right about one thing, she couldn't beat him as she was, so she went with the safer bet, she called on her Crystal armor and it soon formed around her, she summoned a helmet, it had a wolf like appearance to it. 

Fang grinned. "Much better." He said as the two continued the fight, Fang knew that Roxanne's armor was enchanted, it enhanced all of her natural abilities, strength, speed, agility, but Fang's was special.

His armor not only enhanced his attributes, it supercharged them, he would have to take it off eventually to avoid overload, but they also gave him immunity from the elements, combining the sword, he was immune to practically everything, and the small rune on the sword?.....it gave him the ability to siphon power, and throw it right back.

Fang and Roxanne soon clashed, the flurry of blows was difficult to see, but it seemed like an evenly matched battle.

Roxanne would force Fang back, only for him to push back again, Fang would push Roxanne back, and Roxanne would counter with some decisive strikes.

Eventually, Fang got fed up with the stalemate that he broke off, he then heard a booming voice in his mind. "Enough toying with the girl!......slaughter her!" The voice said.

Fang grinned and felt power flow through him. "Thank you." He said before charging.

Roxanne attempted to fight back, but was unable to do so as Fang forced her onto the defensive, leaving no room for counter attacks, she was then caught off guard as Fang went to strike in front of her then suddenly vanished and struck her from behind.

Roxanne felt her armor shatter and Fang's sword cut her, she cringed and then felt all air leave her system as Fang punched her in the gut.

Fang smirked and then threw Roxanne, she crashed into the wall and he the slammed his foot on her spine, he picked her up by the throat and broke her left arm. "Like I said.....you can't beat me as YOU are, I am too powerful for you." He said as he slowly crushed the fox's throat, he then broke the other arm and pinned her to the ground, breaking her legs shortly after, he grinned and forced his fist into her chest and broke her lungs. "Let's see you regenerate from this you little brat!" He laughed as he picked her up again and slammed her into a nearby wall, he saw that the fox's eyes were shut, and as he was recieving no response to that, he concluded that she was either dead or unconscious, he chuckled darkly and dropped her. "Night night you little shit." He pulled his sword out and raised it.

_____*In Roxanne's mind.*_____

Roxanne found herself in an all too familiar place. "Freddy's?" She said out of confusion.

She walked around and saw that there was nothing, no tables, no cameras, nothing.....just bare walls and floors.

She heard a faint noise and looked around, she eventually saw a light coming from a familiar place, she walked to the kids cove and looked inside, there she saw something odd, it was that of a fox kit, huddled in the corner crying, this kit was female and looked very similar to Roxanne herself, except she was white with a soft pink, like her original body.

Roxanne walked up to the kit and kneeled. "Hey, are you alright?" She asked softly.

The kit sobbed and looked up at Roxanne, she wiped a tear from her Amber eyes. "Mommy?......" She asked quietly.

Roxanne was caught off guard by the question, she didn't know what to say honestly, as she already had a daughter, Firefly, but on the other, she didn't want to make the kid cry. "I'll be whatever you need me to be." She said softly.

To Roxanne's surprise, the kit rushed and hugged her, a surge of emotion flooded her at that moment, but she didn't say anything as the kit was talking first. "Why is everyone so violent?......why does that bad man keep hurting you?....why do you keeping fighting him?" She asked.

Roxanne petted the kits head. "I don't know why everyone is so violent, it's something we could do without....." She then picked the kits head up and looked her in the eye. "And that bad man is the closest thing I ever had to a father, and he isn't himself.....something happened to him that made him this way.....and I'm fighting him to protect my friend." She explained.

The kit rubbed the tears out of her eyes. "So what now Mommy?.....your hurt, you can't keep going." She said sadly.

Roxanne smiled, even as she felt a dark yet familiar presence behind her. "You don't worry about that sweetie, you go and find something happy ok?" She said before sending her off then standing up and facing the presence.

The presence itself was that of Roxanne's darker self, it had the appearance from before but the red was far darker and the white was stained with blood, and it's eyes were a very dark green, it also had a scar on its left eye along with cuts bruises and burns, it's claws and teeth were like swords with their sharpness. "Hello again love, how are you?" The presence asked, it's voice very quiet. [1]

Roxanne looked at it with a calm gaze. "I'm about to die, what do you think Nightmare?" She asked sarcastically.

Nightmare Rox grinned. "I think it's going in our favor actually, if you tag me in......" She started.

Roxanne blinked and shook her head. "Forget it, I took a big risk letting you out before, never again." She swore as she turned around to walk away.

Nightmare Rox reappeared in front of Roxanne. "Don't give me that shit, we both know what happens when you die love, and you can't deny the fact that you need me." She said as she held her hand out to stop Roxanne. "Let me help you Roxanne." She begged.

Roxanne huffed. "After everything you did to me?" She said. "No way in hell, the last thing I need is YOU running amok." She said.

Nightmare Rox took a breath and looked at Roxanne. "Look, I've never wanted to hurt you Rox, I'm just the manifestation of all your negative emotions, it isn't my fault about the nightmares, I know that, and YOU know that, if you won't do it for me love, then do it for Firefly, she deserves a mother." She said desperately.

Roxanne put her hands on her hips and bit her lip, she looked at the Nightmare and held her hand out. "The moment someone other than Fang or those cultists ask you to stop, I get control back, until then, your in command." She said.

The Nightmare smiled and took Roxanne's hand. "You won't regret this love, yes?" She asked.

Roxanne closed her eyes. "Yes." She answered.

_____*In the battle*_____

Fang swung the sword, looking to cut Roxanne's head off, and just as the sword neared, Roxanne's eyes shot open and she grabbed the sword and threw it back all within a second.

Roxanne stood up, she was changing again, but this time the change completed, her faded red became deeper and darker turning to the color of blood, and her white fur changed to slightly bloodstained, her eyes changed color to a glowing dark green, she got multiple cuts, bruises burns, and such, her teeth and claws sharpened to the point of iron and she got a scar over her left eye, she grinned maliciously and looked at Fang. 

Fang was dumbfounded, he knew the regeneration was fast but.....he didn't know it was instant. "What the hell are you!?" He shouted.

Nightmare Rox teleported in front of Fang and put a finger on his mouth. "Hush little pup.....I'll be your Nightmare for the evening." She said quietly but sinisterly.

Fang growled and attacked, he threw a punch at the Nightmare's gut, but he found that his hand was blocked by a wall of shadow, he called on all of his power and his fist went through, but the Nightmare simply grabbed his hand and smiled. "Aww......little Wolfy wants to play with mama, how cute." She said before throwing Fang away from her. 

"Sadly I'm not in the mood to play with the little puppy." Nightmare Rox said out of boredom.

Fang balled his hand into a fist and charged, he threw a punch at Nightmare but she didn't even flinch. "Wow, your durable, I hit you about five times and your nose just barely bled." She said in wonder.

Fang put his hand up and felt the blood. "What the hell?" He asked.

Nightmare Rox appeared behind Fang and threw a punch to his side, he retaliated by tripping her up, and then holding the sword to her throat, all he got was an innocent smile. "Aw, but honey, I'm not a bottom." She pouted.

Fang growled. "STOP TOYING WITH ME!" He shouted as he thrust the sword down.

Nightmare grabbed the sword and kicked Fang off. "As you wish pup." She replied out of disappointment.

Fang got himself up and charged after Nightmare, however, she simply appeared behind him and jammed her claws into his back, she tried to get her off but was unable due to strange energy around them, he then felt teeth burrow itself into his neck. "Aaaahh!" He screamed in pain for the first time since he was taken, he felt her take her teeth out. "What the hell is wrong with you!?" He shouted.

Nightmare Rox licked her lips and stroked the side of Fang's face. "Mmm.....your blood is thick and bitter, but I love your spirit my little pet." She said before throwing Fang to the ground.

Fang crashed on the ground, he growled and looked at Roxanne. "If your going to kill me, just do it." He said.

Nightmare Rox slowly walked towards Fang, but before she could get far, a hand rested itself on her shoulder, she stopped and looked back to see Lyaroa smiling at her. "Go on back, I'll handle this Nightmare." She said. [2]

Nightmare chuckled and walked away. "See you next time love." She said quietly before returning to Roxanne's mind, letting her body to return to normal.

Lyaroa looked down at Fang and crossed her arms. "Get up Fang, you wanted to fight me, so fight me." She said.

Fang got back up and drew his sword. "You shouldn't have called off your attack dog." He said.

Lyaroa grinned. "Roxie isn't an attack dog, Nightmare may be a close second, but still." She hardened her gaze. "Unlike me, she has no one holding her back." She said calmly.

Fang found himself horrified, if that.....Nightmare, could do that much damage while 'holding back', how much could she do with no restraint?

Fang then charged at Lyaroa, and to his surprise, she didn't draw Soul and Spirit, instead, she stood there and looked at him.

Lyaroa allowed Fang to get near her and then she kicked him, he didn't even have time to react, as she had done it instantly, she did it very casually, as though kicking a trash can, she then threw binding runes on the Wolf. "You broke my heart Fang, while I don't deny what I did to you was wrong, I never went to this extent." She said before.

Fang looked up at Lyaroa, he had an expression of pure hatred. "Now what?.....you'll kill me execution style?" He taunted.

Lyaroa put her hands together in front of her. "No, but I will be showing you one of my favorites." She said calmly as energy ramped up. [3]

The energy quickly built up and soon it was clearly visible with electricity sparking among it, she gritted her teeth and then fired, shouting two words. "FINAL FLASH!"

Fang watched as the energy fired right at him, and he felt himself get torn to shreds almost immediately.

Lyaroa said no more as the blast continued, it fired for about five seconds before Lyaroa killed it off, she discharged the beam and looked for Fang.

Soon enough, she saw him, Fang was standing there and he was holding his blade, as the fog and dust settled, Lyaroa drew her blades and looked at him, when she could clearly see him, she saw that he was looking down, and when he looked up again he seemed disoriented, she kept her guard up as she watched him.

When Fang looked at Lyaroa with confusion, she felt something was off about him, but she couldn't stop herself from feeling anger, and she readied herself for a fight as Fang looked around.

And finally, Fang looked at her again. "What the hell is going on?" He asked out of genuine confusion.

At that point, Lyaroa knew it......Fang was back.

Roxanne didn't hear much as she fought, but she did hear some words in her head. "Thank you for letting me help love, call me when you need me." Said the Nightmare.

And then, when Roxanne saw Fang and Lyaroa's walking over, she smiled, knowing that the Nightmare was right......she had helped.
> Last Spark of Hope, Part Nine: Holding on to Hope.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*a long time ago*______

Lyaroa was eager today, she was going to spend the day outside again, and it was exhilarating each time she did.

"Lyaroa Pioax Juzor.....where do you think your going?" Said a stern voice, stopping her immediately. "Um.....going outside?" She said quietly.

The voice came from a female Sentinel, her name was Ferro Jual Juzor......Lyaroa's mother. "No your not.....your still grounded from last time little girl." She reminded flatly.

Lyaroa held her left arm with her right hand and nodded.....her mother wasn't very nice. "Yes mother." She said.

"And take off your disgusting disguise, your a Sentinel, not one of those mortals!" She ordered.

Lyaroa said nothing as she removed it.

Ferro pointed to the stairs behind Lyaroa with a steely gaze. "And don't you come out of that room until your father gets home!" She called as Lyaroa went upstairs silently.

Lyaroa sighed mentally and went to her room, at this point, she was around seven years old, but even she could see this was a bit extreme, she barely even damaged that guys window! 

Lyaroa shut the door and sat down on her bed, she looked around her room and sighed, it was the same as ever, brown walls, gray carpet, and a few pictures of her and her family, her mother was in one or two, but she wasn't smiling......she never smiled. 'What did I ever do to her?' She wondered.

She held out her hand and looked at it, she hated her real body, it was brick red with white lines dancing on it, she had one thing most Sentinel's didn't have however and she was both proud and ashamed of it, unlike the others, Lyaroa had white and red runes on her arms, she didn't know why, but she knew it made her......different.

Still, her friends didn't care about that, to them, she was just that, their friend, and that wouldn't change. 

Lyaroa sat in her room doing nothing really, she only occasionally played with whatever toy she had, there weren't many, but she had outgrown them already, she didn't like playing with them anymore, so instead she pulled out a deck of cards and played with those, it was boring, but it was better than nothing. 

A while ago, Lyaroa had created a 'disguise', something that she felt reflected her personality, but her mother always thought it was digusting, as she actually talked with her mouth instead of telepathy, like most of them do, she didn't like to talk bad about her mother, but she was prejudiced against any mortal, believing that they were pointless, and that Creators, were insane for taking on those tasks.

Lyaroa liked the Creators, wanted to be one when she grew up, she loved how they forged their own worlds, continuing the cycle of life and creating more in their own way, allowing those worlds to run their course, her mother was having none of that however, and wanted her to become an observer, a being that keeps the peace in the Void by aiding the protectors with intelligence on criminals.

It was a few ours later when Lyaroa heard a knock, she perked up when she heard the front door open, she listened at the door and heard a familiar voice. "Hey Fer......how's our daughter doing?" Asked the voice.

Lyaroa grinned but walked back to playing with her cards, she recently caught a common sickness that was going around, some kind of variant of the common cold, but it only affected Sentinel's, it didn't do much other than give her a stuffy nose, but it was nice knowing her dad knew.

That was something else that was different, she called her parents different things, mother for Ferro, and she just called her dad....dad, she thought it infuriated her mother to death, so she kept on doing it, she heard the door open and she looked, seeing her dad standing there looking at her with a grin. "Aha, there's my little rabble rouser!" He said as he walked up.

Lyaroa walked up to her dad and looked up at him, he was different than most Sentinel's much like Lyaroa, as in he was brown and had green lines, while most were black or gold. With gold or black lines respectively, he was also very big for his size, which is why the title of protector was fitting for him, he knelt down. "How are you?" He asked.

"A little stuffy still, but it should be fine." She replied honestly.

Her dads name was Darmus Kinar Juzor, he was the eighth generation of a family of protectors, and he talked with his mouth like Lyaroa, but only to her, as it was their private bonding experience that they didn't do with others, the only time he talked to her through telepathy was if it was an emergency or if she was in trouble.......or her mother was around. "That's good, but I need to ask you." He looked at Lyaroa straight in the eye. "Did you damage that mans window?" He asked.

Lyaroa nodded, If she was anything, it was honest, she believed in telling the truth and dealing with the consequences, than lying and paying for it at the worst possible moment. "Yea, I was playing with my friends and I accidentally kicked the ball at his window." She said.

Darmus shook his head and held his hand up, Lyaroa held her hand out and she felt a quick pain on it, she then felt the sting and rubbed her hand.....she did this frequently with her father, if she did something she wasn't supposed to and it wasn't serious, he would give her a slap on the wrist and be done with it. "Thankfully he was understanding, and to your luck, his window was already broken and needed replaced, so just don't play there again." He said before standing up and walking out, he then paused and looked at Lyaroa. "Go ahead and pick up your cards, then you can come out......oh and uh." He lowered his voice. "You can put your disguise back on if you want." He whispered before leaving.

Lyaroa smiled, aside from the sting on her wrist, she felt fine, she put the disguise on and picked her cards up. 'Well, maybe mother won't be as angry.' She thought hopefully.

_____*The present.*_____

Lyaroa blinked and shook her head free of those thoughts, she sighed and stood up, as the others stood up and looked at her, she chuckled. "You happy now?......now we're all standing, a bunch of jackasses all standing up in a circle." She joked.

That got a little bit of a laugh going around, but Golden however was still as blank as ever. "I have a question......I hadn't heard about the shard being removed until just now, but how come you haven't been using your powers?" He asked.

Lyaora looked around and saw the others looking at her, she sighed. "Ok fine......I haven't been using my powers for two reasons, the first being they were suppressed for a while and it's disorienting as hell to use them again, and the second......" She trailed off.

Roxanne shook her head and held her hand up, soon, energy similar to that of Lyaroa's built up into a visible form. "How are you?...." Shade started.

Lyaroa then ignited her hand in white flame. "Poison joke." They both said in unison.

______*a little bit ago.*______

Roxanne and Lyaora encountered one of the plant monsters on the way, it didn't seem that tough, so when Roxanne attempted to ignite it, and the only thing that happened was a bolt of energy, she was genuinely confused.

Lyaroa then tried to destroy it with her powers......only for the plant to burn, she blinked and looked at her hands. "What the hell?" She wondered.

Roxanne and Lyaora looked at eachother and blinked. "What's going on?" They asked eachother.

"I don't know." They answered.

Roxanne shrugged and rubbed her eyes as she felt an itch, she looked at the Sentinel again and her eyes widened. "Lyaroa, don't move, there's a red vine all over you." She warned.

Lyaroa raised an eyebrow and looked over herself, she saw no vine. "I don't see it." She said, but when she rubbed her eyes and looked at Roxanne, she blinked. "Uh......Roxanne, where's your web of life?" She asked.

Roxanne and Lyaroa went wide eyed and looked at eachother. "What happened!" They panicked.

Roxanne then shut her eyes as the red vine threatened to blind her. "Gah!......it's so bright!" She complained.

Lyaroa walked over to Roxanne and put her shoulder on the fox. "Roxanne!" She shouted.

Roxanne stopped panicking and quieted down. "Yes?" She asked.

Lyaroa took a deep breath and then let it out. "Alright, Roxie, what you are seeing around me is called the Web of Life, everybody has one, now, you need to calm down, first thing you have to do is open your eyes and allow yourself to see it." She explained.

Roxanne nodded and slowly opened her eyes, the Web threatening to blind her, but she continued until her eyes were fully open.....and then it dimmed, it lowered itself to a faint red, she breathed a sigh of relief and crossed her arms. "Why do you think our powers swapped?" She asked.

Lyaroa rubbed her chin, unfortunately, she set it on fire. "How do you control this?" She asked calmly.

Roxanne shrugged. "Just find a balance, tell it to obey and then order it to extinguish, but don't use it too often, or recklessly, the last thing you need is to anger it." She said.

Lyaroa nodded and kept on walking, extinguishing the fire on the way. 

When they stopped, they were back at the blue flowers, Lyaroa looked at the sign and sighed. "Poison joke.....of all things." She complained.

Roxanne blinked and then pointed behind her. "We should get going, the others will be waiting for us." She said.

Lyaroa nodded, and just as she stood up and Roxanne turned around......it happened, she was grabbed from behind and picked up in the air. "Craaaaap!" She said before being muffled.

Roxanne turned around and saw that a giant plant monster had encased Lyaora in vines, and that it was now after her, she growled and drew Life and Death. "Alright then, let's try this out." She said quietly.

Inside the ever tightening cocoon of vines, Lyaroa was angrily muttering, but it was muffled by the vine in her mouth. 'I really hope Roxanne doesn't try to use my combat powers, she might end up blowing my leg off!' She thought.

Thankfully the plant wasn't too powerful, it wasn't long before it was dead, Roxanne then cut Lyaroa loose. "Thanks Rox." The Sentinel said.

Roxanne helped her up. "Eh, no one gets to kill you except me.....no plants beating me to that." She replied.

Lyaroa grinned and started walking. "Let's go." She said.

_____*elsewhere in the present.*______

Darkestlight, a unicorn with a past she had difficulty remembering, she knew her name, her old home, her parents, her childhood.....but after that, nothing, she couldn't remember a thing.

She was currently sitting across from Skitter, who was having another pregnant mother episode, thankfully they were in Gwen's house, and not outside, or this would have been awkward.

"Not to mention the fact that this baby is impossible!......the fact that I didn't 'get it on' with a guy, and that I'm a CHANGELING!.....is bad enough!" Skiter complained loudly, breaking a window as a result.

Dark sighed as she repaired the window. "If I might suggest something?" She said.

Skitter summoned a crystal and kicked it, shattering it immediately. "I'm perfectly calm." She said.

Dark looked to the living room, seeing the torn up couch and table proved the Changeling wrong. "Yea......calm, anyway, don't you have a hive?.....I'm sure they can help." She suggested.

Skitter looked at Dark. "Yea, good idea, and HOW am I going to contact them when they have been absent for over five years?" She asked.

Dark shook her head. "Well, how does the Changeling Queen deal with it?" She asked.

Skitter huffed. "Changeling's never get pregnant Dark, EVER, we hatch offspring with eggs, not a womb." She explained before taking some deep breaths. "Have you ever been pregnant Dark?" She asked hopefully.

Dark went to talk, but she couldn't recall it. "I don't know." She replied.

Skitter bit her lip as the baby kicked hard again. "Stop it you little shit....." She cursed under her breath. "You would think that a PREGNANCY wouldn't be forgotten!" She complained.

Dark walked over and helped Skitter to the couch that she mended. "Look, I might not be able to help you with it, but I CAN be there for you." She assured.

The two then waited for a while, but when Gwen got home Dark had to leave. "Hang in there Skitter." Dark said.

Skitter laughed sarcastically. "Very funny!" She shouted as the baby kicked again.

______*meanwhile*______

The group pushed forward and entered a snowy forest area, it was very different to the others as it was actually cold, Shade however, was the only one to feel the cold as badly.

Shade shivered and held his arms, he looked at the others. "How are none of you cold?" He asked.

Lyaroa ignited her hands. "Fire." She answered simply.

Roxanne shrugged. "Sentinel powers." She answered.

Golden looked to the his right and blinked. "Bear." He stated.

Fang scratched behind his head. "I just have a natural immunity to the cold." He said.

Shade shivered as he walked. "So Lyaroa, can you spare some fire?" He asked.

Lyaroa nodded and grabbed a nearby stick, she ignited it and handed it to Shade. "Don't burn yourself." She warned.

Golden tapped Roxanne's shoulder and pointed. "Bear." He stated.

Roxanne was about to tell him off when she saw the bear, it was gigantic, easily bigger than Golden but smaller than a manticore. "Oh." She said out of realization as she spotted bears walking along the treeline staring at them.

Lyaroa looked at them and then at Roxanne. "Hey Roxie, what do you think, any hostile intent?" She asked.

Roxanne looked around as the group walked. "If hostility tastes like peppers, sure." She answered.

"We should be fine then, just don't approach them, they are wary, but willing to fight." Lyaroa explained.

Shade chuckled as he shivered, discarding the stick, his teeth chattered and his limbs were freezing. "Of all weather types......w-w-why d-d-did we h-h-have to find the s-s-s-snow?" He complained.

Golden walked and used his staff as a walking stick. "Stop complaining, we won't be here forever." He said.

Shade looked around at the Bears. "E-e-easy f-f-for you t-t-to say." He replied.

The group soon approached a giant door, it was iron and had multiple runes on it, some were runes that Fang recognized from his time as one of the cultists. "We can't break it down, but I can open it, just give me some time." He said as he put his hands on the door.

Soon after Fang got to work, the Bears circled them by the door, and next, they charged at the group, Roxanne sensing the urge to kill, or iron. "Fuck." She cursed.

The group fought off the Bears as best they could, Shade was having the toughest time of it, as he was practically an icicle at this point, he couldn't muster the energy for disintegration blasts so he was forced to dodge as best he could from the Bears.

Golden had the easiest time of them all, he was able to simply hit the Bears with his staff and blast them with psychic energy, making it much easier to kill the Bears, normally, he would have felt bad about killing his own kind, he then caved a Bears skull in on itself.......he did not see these Bears as his kind however, so it was all the same to him.

Lyaroa and Roxanne had a pretty rough time, still not used to eachothers powers, they had to cooperate in order to fight effectively, thankfully, controlling the white fire was slightly easy.

Roxanne managed to kill a couple Bears, she looked at Lyaroa just as she was killing one, she threw her sword and it impaled a bear behind Lyaroa. "Thank Rox!" The Sentinel called.

Fang managed to push his way past the forcefield that was guarding the door, he then pushed with all of his might, eventually he forced the door open. "Let's go!" He shouted.

Shade almost immediately ran for the door, looking to get out of the cold, the other ran as well, especially when they saw more Bears charging from the forest.

Fang then followed behind the group, he shut the door behind them and looked at the group. "We made it." He said out of relief.

Afterwards, the group walked through the hallway that the door led them to, once they reached the other side, they got into an elevator and it slowly went up.

Golden meditated to recover his strength while Shade focused on warming up.

Fang stood with Roxanne and Lyaora. "So, tell me something, how are you two getting along with your new powers?" He asked.

Lyaroa rubbed her eyes and shook her head. "It's difficult, without my powers I kinda feel naked." She replied.

Roxanne looked at the Sentinel. "We're all naked Lyaroa, and as to your question Fang, it's overwhelming and I'm scared of it." She answered.

Lyaroa chuckled. "You would be a fool to NOT be afraid of it." She said quietly.

After that, Fang had walked off to do his own thing, leaving Lyaroa alone with Roxanne. "So Roxie, feel like learning how to use my powers?" She asked.

Roxanne sighed and then nodded. "Knowing our luck, we will need it." She replied.

Lyaroa then sat down and looked at Roxanne. "Now, the first thing you should know, is that a Sentinel's power can influence visualization, for instance." She ripped a small branch off of the elevator. "You see this branch?.....try visualizing it as something else." She instructed.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and focused on the branch, it soon turned into an iron pipe. "Whoa." She whispered.

As the elevator moved up, Roxanne discovered three things, the first being that Lyaroa was a much more patient teacher then Skitter, the second was that she was very good at the visualization portion of the Sentinel powers, the third was that she was crap at the actual combat part of it, as it required her to focus on well over three thousand particals at once.

Once the elevator reached the top, the group exited to a grassland area, they started walking along a path that was laid out before them, this raised a question however. "If they knew we were coming, why would they make a path?" Shade asked.

Lyaroa looked at Shade. "Two possible reasons, the first being that it was a thousand years ago that this place was made, the second being that they WANT us to follow the path, and we are going to do that." She answered.

"......Why?" Shade asked.

Lyaroa grinned. "Because we need to get rid of this cult and following the path is the best way to go about it, also if you stray from the path you'll find nothing but a neverending field or what not depending on the area, yes this place has no limits of space." She explained.

As they walked, they finally found the door to leave, the group approached it and as Fang went to break the seal, he paused, he sighed and looked back at the group. "Actually, why don't we stop for a while?" He suggested.

Golden looked at the Wolf with a curious glance. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Fang shook his head. "Nothing's wrong, it's just......we haven't had a REAL break, and the only reason we stopped before was because Lyaroa broke down.....somewhat." He said. "And there is nothing around here, so we can get away with it." He replied.

After some debate, the group decided against stopping, while it would help recover their strength, the cultists could use that time to set up countless traps and strengthen their soldiers.

Fang broke the seal on the door and opened it, allowing everyone through, he closed the door behind him and walked with everyone else.

The next area they entered was a river area, with a giant waterfall at the top, sadly, the area they were in was surrounded by mountains, so they had no way of continuing, so they started looking around, trying to find a secret path.

Roxanne however, had an idea, she walked to the waterfall and walked through it, seeing only a stone wall, she sighed. "Don't feel so down Roxie." Said Lyaroa as she stepped through.

Lyaroa put her hand on the wall and looked at Roxanne, she stifled a laugh for whatever reason and leaned up against the wall. "You know, if it were me, I would try to see a way out." She said to the fox.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow, but her mind retreated to the visualization powers that she now had, she placed her hand on the wall and visualized a path, and one soon opened. "How did you know?" She asked.

Lyaroa walked up and leaned to Roxanne's ear. "That would be telling wouldn't it?" She bit Roxanne's ear and walked through the new path.

Roxanne blinked but said nothing to the Sentinel as to what she just did, she exited the waterfall. "Found it!" She called out before walking through the path.

She found Lyaroa sitting on a rock and looking at Soul. "You know, I've been thinking." She started, she looked at Roxanne. "I remember when I first saw you, I was riding shotgun in Fang's mechanical brain, and when I saw you, I don't know......I liked the curiosity that you had, and to be honest, I'm curious as to where that went." She said.

Roxanne walked over and sat next to Lyaroa. "I don't know, I still have that curiosity, but it seems to be focused on stranger things......I guess it's because I know more now then before." She said.

Lyaora looked at Roxanne. "Do you ever miss it?....being an animatronic?" She asked.

Roxanne shook her head. "No, I don't, that was hell for me, being forced to entertain in the exact same way every day for you whole life?......then getting torn apart and turned into a jigsaw puzzle?.....i would sooner die than go back there." She answered.

The others stepped into the cave and Roxanne stood up. "Alright, let's get moving." She said.

Lyaora chuckled and stood up, she followed Roxanne as they started moving. 

_____*the next area, ten minutes later.*_____

This area was another rocky wasteland, the group moved carefully through it and soon they found more golems wandering around, they dispatched them quickly and kept moving.

Soon they found a split off path, there were only two, there were no other paths around so they had to take them. "I'll go on the left." Golden stated.

Roxanne pointed to the right. "It's obvious." She said.

Fang looked between the groups and he sighed. "I'll go with Golden Freddy." He stated as he started walking.

Roxanne and Lyaroa dragged Shade with them. "Here we go again." Shade complained.

____*five minutes later*____

Fang and Golden made good progress through the paths, there was no enemies around, just a few puzzles and such.

As Fang lowered a wooden plank to cross a gap, Golden stopped him before he could continue. "Hold on." Said the bear.

Fang crossed his arms and looked at Golden. "What is it?" He asked.

Golden held onto his staff as he used it for a walking stick.....again. "You know as well as I that I can't read your mind.....so I need to ask you something." He said.

"Alright, what is it?" He wondered.

"I need to know, are you still planning on killing Lyaroa?" He asked carefully.

Fang let his arms hang at his sides. "No!......why would I want her dead?" He countered.

Golden blinked and narrowed his gaze. "Because of what she did, what she's doing, and her being herself, I can sense your hostility towards her, so I will say this." He paused.

Fang did nothing as Golden looked him right in the eye. "Don't do it, no matter what goes through your head, do not do it." He stated before crossing the gap.

Fang sighed and followed Golden after the bear was off the plank. "Whatever." He said.

_____*the others.*_____

"Just like last time Shade, only this time we know that Fang and Golden will be alright." Lyaroa said.

Shade rolled his eyes. "If you say so I guess." He said blankly.

As they moved through the path, they didn't encounter much at first, they eventually reached the end where both of the paths came out at, they encountered a giant construct, it was similar to the first one, but it was larger and had a flail in place of a hand. 

The trio began fighting it, and as they did, a barrier appeared around the area, preventing escape and passage.

Lyaroa grinned. "This should be fun." She said to herself as she ignited her arms and drew Soul and Spirit.

_____*five minutes later*_____

Golden and Fang finally reached the end of the path, and what they saw was confusing, they found that the three were playing cards and that there was a destroyed construct in the corner. "Hey guys!" Lyaroa called out as she looked up.

Fang approached them and crossed his arms. "By all means, continue having fun while we have a psychotic cult running amok!" He pointed out irritably.

Golden shrugged and walked to the door and opened it. "Let's just continue." He said.

_____*ten minutes later*______

The group was now in the city portion of the mountain, they saw citizens walking around and going about their daily lives, Lyaroa peeked around the corner and quickly ducked behind it as a patrol walked by, she crept away and approached the group. "There are guards all over, we won't get through without a fight." She said.

They all agreed on a plan shortly after that, it was that two of them would go into the city and create chaos by any means necessary, while the others moved along the rooftops and alleyways to reach the fortress in the center of the city, it was heavily defended and getting in unnoticed would take too much time.

Soon, Fang and Shade walked out into the town and immediately they were under attack by the guards.

Roxanne, Lyaroa and Golden moved silently towards the fortress, while the others fought, they moved carefully and silently eliminated guards along the way.

Fang and Shade easily fought back and killed the guards, what they weren't counting on we're the citizens, they all drew weapons and charged them, increasing how many they had to fight by the hundreds.

Shade managed to build up enough energy for one of his more......preferred, attacks, he charged it up and put his hand over his heart, he then released it all in a disintegration nova, killing practically everything around them, including the buildings, Fang was thankfully unaffected.

Fang and Shade moved elsewhere to cause a commotion, and or kill everything and level a city block.

Lyaroa and the others snuck up to the giant wall between them and the fortress. "Alright Golden, is there anything on the other side?" Roxanne asked.

Golden sent a psychic pulse to search the area, there was nothing around. "Alright, we're clear." He said as he looked around.

Roxanne pictured the wall having an entrance and it appeared, they snuck in and moved around quietly.

Their break in was unnoticed as the guards were watching other paths, Golden sensed a patrol however and they hid.

The patrol consisted of four, one Griffin up front, and three unicorns in a triangle behind him, the trio silently moved to kill them.

Roxanne drew Death and stabbed the one in the back through the heart, Lyaroa took the one to the left, and Golden melted the mind of the one on the right.

Roxanne then decapited the leader and they hid the bodies on the other side of the wall. "Alright, let's get the gate guards so Shade and Fang can get in." Lyaroa said.

They silently moved around and killed off the guards at the gate, they hid the bodies and continued to the next pair.

Shade had just finished off their attackers with a disintegration nova, leveling the entire block along with then he and Fang fought their way to the fortress.

They soon reached one of the gates and approached it calmly, the guard reacted to them and charged, only for them to scream in pain as Golden burned their minds behind them. "Sorry to keep you waiting." He said calmly.

The group approached the entrance to the fortress but found that it was sealed, and even Fang could not breach it.

Roxanne looked up and spotted a pathway in through a window. "Up there, we can break in from there." She said as she started climbing.

Fang sighed as they climbed the fortress wall, thankfully they managed to enter the fortress once Roxanne made the window open.

The group found itself in a storage room, Roxanne closed the window and locked it, as she did, she felt a chill and she suddenly felt weak, she leaned on a crate and held her head. "Ooook.....what the hell?" She asked.

Lyaroa also felt it, but she was drained, and then suddenly she felt strong again. "Oh man, I was having fun with the fire!" She complained.

Roxanne sat down and let herself recover a little, feeling that the group deserved a small break, Lyaroa told them to take a breather. "I'm going to make this clear right now, my power is heavily drained, and I won't be able to use it much right now." She stated before sitting.
> Last Spark of Hope, Part Ten: Final shred of Hope.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*Dalcorus.*_______

Lyaroa stood up and stretched her limbs, she walked over to the door and opened it after unsealing it, she looked outside and then at the group. "Let's go." She said calmly before leaving.

The others soon followed, they didn't say it, but they were beginning to get fed up with their little trip, they were also losing sight of the reason they came here.

The only one who didn't lose focus was Lyaroa, who was currently keeping quiet, she looked around the corner and looked back at the group. "Clear." She whispered.

The five quietly walked through the halls of the fortress, they did their best to avoid conflict, even if it meant going a different route.

"Why don't we just fight?.....it would be faster than all of this sneaking around." Shade stated.

Lyaroa looked at the Night Wolf. "No, we can't afford being spotted, if the cult finds out we made it inside, it will be too easy for them to trap us here." She said.

"The kid has a point, fighting our way through would be beneficial, because the more we kill, the less we have to worry about later." Golden argued.

Lyaroa looked around the group, seeing Fang agree made her sigh. "And you Roxie?" She asked.

Roxanne shrugged. "It doesn't matter, I'll go with whatever." She replied.

Lyaroa looked at Shade. "Alright, we'll fight, but don't cry to me if something happens." She said, she didn't like the plan, but Golden did have a point, the more cultists they killed, the less they would have to deal with.

The group then made their way through, they tried to be discreet as they killed guards on the way, but eventually, a patrol spotted them in the act and called for help. "Intruders!" They called.

The situation fell apart in a hurry as more and more guards poured into the area.

Lyaroa drew Soul and Spirit, Roxanne drew Life and Death, while Golden pulled out his staff, Fang and Shade however, just readied for a fight.

The group went on fighting for what felt like hours, but more kept on coming, eventually Lyaroa looked around and saw a vacant corridor. "Fall back!" She ordered.

Roxanne threw up a wall of fire in front of the group and retreated.

As they fell back, Lyaroa found further proof that these cultists were either completely insane, or had conviction beyond measure, as they simply jumped through the fire and kept on fighting while gulped in flames.

Lyaora cut the head off on of the cultists and ran off with the others.

The room they entered next was large and easily defended, problem was, their were already about thirty soldiers there, so they were now surrounded as they fought and killed the cultists.

The cultists themselves were not hard to kill, it was just their numbers that made it difficult, for as they killed one, three more came to fight.

Golden slammed his staff down and sent a shockwave of psychic energy around him, the cultists nearby held their head and screamed in pain as they crumbled to the ground.

Shade managed to get a few blasts off now and then, but it made little difference as more showed up to fight, he inwardly sighed. "Son of a bitch, how many are there?." He complained.

Roxanne was easily killing them with her blades, and with Lyaroa fighting back to back with her, it made them incredibly difficult to fight, as when a cultist got near, they would either die from a sword, Roxanne's flames, or one of the ghosts.

Fang snapped a cultists neck and backhanded another, he was steadily fighting the soldiers, but soon they brought weapons against him, so he sighed and kicked one away. "Hydra!" He called out.

Soon the spear appeared in his hands and he used it to impale several of the soldiers, and the more he killed, the more he felt the spear power up, he then held it tightly and his eyes glowed. "Surge!" He then overwhelmed many of the tougher cultists who appeared, namely the ones who had armor and sharp blades.

They went on like this for a very long time, so long that the floor was covered in a layer of bodies and blood, Lyaroa looked as she killed the last cultist, she noticed that there were finally no more, she sighed in relief and used what little power she had and put them in one corner. "Roxanne......burn them." She said grimly before looking away from the pile.

Roxanne looked at the Sentinel and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Lyaroa.......are you sure?" She asked.

Lyaroa nodded and walked out of the room silently.

Roxanne looked at the others and they were speechless as they followed the Sentinel, she shook her head and looked at the pile of bodies, she bit her lip and threw a fireball into the pile, looking away and leaving afterwards, not willing to be there.

The group soon exited and walked to a room without bodies or blood, ironically, the first one they found was a morgue, where they stopped to rest up.

Roxanne approached Lyaroa who was sitting on a gurney looking down with her hands over her eyes. "Lyaroa, what's the matter?" She asked quietly.

Lyaroa shook her head. "It's just.......we were fighting them for hours Roxanne........we spent three hours in that room, killing." She put her hands on her lap and looked up at Roxanne, her eyes were more bloodshot than normal and her fur was stained from the tears going down her eyes. "It hit me just now as to how many people I've killed, and for what?......revenge?.....self preservation?" She paused and let out a breath. "I think I'm just getting tired of killing, or I'm just now starting to feel regret.......how are you not affected by this?" She asked shakily.

Roxanne smiled and wiped the tears from Lyaroa's eyes, she placed her right hand over Lyaroa's left one. "Because I know what I'm fighting for.......I know I've killed and that will haunt me forever or just a very long time, your strong Lyaroa, no doubt about it, but you've been holding all those negative emotions in for centuries." She paused and crossed her arms. "I don't know about you, but it sounds to me like you need to have a discussion with your Soul and Anti Soul......not the ghost." She said.

Lyaroa chuckled a little at that, she stood up and looked at Roxanne. "The second one is a myth Roxie.....you know that." She replied.

Roxanne grinned. "Oh really?....who do you think kicked Fang's ass?" She asked quietly.

_____*a few minutes later.*______

The group left the morgue and began exploring, while it was unlikely that there were any more cultists, the group was cautious in the thought that there could always be more.

They made good progress through the fortress, they hadn't encountered any more guards thankfully, so they were able to approach situations more calmly than before, however, it wasn't that until that changed.

The group entered what seemed to be an arena, similar to the one Fang fought in back at Jandoka's temple, but this one had viewing stands all around and what appeared to be a vip box with four chairs above the opposite door.

To no ones surprise, there was the sound of an iron gate slamming behind them, after that, the viewing stands filled up quickly with people in robes, and in the vip box four figures very familiar to Fang appeared. "The Four." He said to himself.

There was an eerie silence until a voice spoke. "Welcome to the arena of honor Sentinel and companions, we welcome you." Said one of the Four.

There was cheering in the crowd until a voice spoke. "Silence!" Said another one.

"You wish to defeat us and destroy our cult Sentinel, we obviously cannot allow this........therefore you shall face our mightiest champions in combat according to our laws." The one on the far left said.

"You shall face five warriors, one for each of you." One of them said.

"These battles shall be one on one, no interference from the others, and the victor may kill the loser if they so desire." Another said.

"If you are defeated in combat, your fellow warriors may attempt to defeat your opponent themselves." The one on the far left said.

"Each champion has an amulet, you must claim them all to be victorious, doing so will unlock the gates, allowing you to proceed." The one of the far right added.

"Be warned if you should all be defeated in combat, you will die, and only those who have an amulet may pass." One of them said.

Lyaroa walked to the center of the arena and looked at the Four. "And if we refuse to do this?" She asked.

The Four all pointed at Fang. "Then he will die!" They said at once.

"He has been affected by a special spell." One of them said.

"If you refuse to participate in ritual combat." Another one continued.

"The spell shall activate, shutting down his organs and then killing him." The one on the far left added.

"There is but one way to save him from this fate, the antidote lies just beyond the gate, if he drinks it, the spell will be lifted." The one on the far right stated.

"Now.....what say you?" They asked.

Lyaroa looked at Fang. "Are they telling the truth?" She asked.

Fang nodded. "They are cryptic, but they don't lie, what we do next is up to you." He replied.

Lyaroa then looked up at the Four. "We will fight." She said.

The Four rested their arms on the chairs. "Summon the champions." One of them said.

"The ritual begins." Another one said.

The group expected the gate to open, but instead, Five cloaked figures stood below the Four. "We answer the summons." They said.

"Let the trial of honor commence." The Four said.

One of the cloaked figures threw off its cloak to reveal a large rat man that Fang recognized. "Neil." He said quietly.

Golden looked at Fang. "You know the rat?" He asked.

Fang nodded. "His name is Neil, he teaches the recruits how to fight.......I'll take him." He said.

The group watched as Fang approached Neil calmly. "I see you finally made your mind up Fang." The rat said.

Fang summoned Hydra and bowed to Neil, who bowed back. "Yes I have." He replied.

Neil drew his sword and took his stance, the two readied to fight, and soon, Fang charged, he swung Hydra skillfully and precisely at Neil, who easily kept the pace with Fang. 

The two traded blows a few times, but overall, the fight seemed evenly matched, that was of course, just the warm up.

Neil then vanished, and reappeared next to Fang swinging rapidly and cutting Fang's shoulder.

In retaliation, Fang used Hydra's power. "Surge!" He called out.

The spear overloaded in power, as Fang assaulted Neil with it, it sent out blasts and torrents of shadow and lightning, however, Neil was still able to keep up, managing to land blows on Fang even with the surge active.

Fang knew they did not have to speak, no words were necessary between warriors, their weapons and movements spoke volumes to them.

For instance, Fang could tell from the way Neil was fighting, that he was testing him, seeing how much he had progressed from their sessions together. 

The surge ended and Fang was back on the defensive, not that it mattered, as Neil was able to easily bypass Fang's defense with his rapier.

Soon enough, Neil spoke. "You are not fighting at your full potential Fang, unless you do so, you will never best me." The rat spoke.

Fang looked at Hydra and sighed, he dismissed the spear and cracked his knuckles. "Your right, about that." He said calmly.

The two faced off again, and in the sidelines, Shade was antsy. "Why are they just standing there?......and why did he dismiss Hydra?" He asked.

Golden flicked Shade in the forehead his his finger. "Be quiet and watch, you'll figure it out." He replied.

Fang chuckled and held his hand out as he shut his eyes. "It's been fun Neil, but I can't let you win." He said calmly.

His eyes then shot open and he spoke. "Manticore!" He called.

Suddenly, a sword appeared in Fang's hand, it was the green sword from before, except now it had a barb at the bottom instead of a rounded bottom. 

The two clashed soon after, and as they fought, Fang could tell what Neil what thinking, and in turn, Neil knew what Fang was thinking.

Fang parried some strikes with incredible speed, and he soon struck swiftly, much faster than he did before.

And as Neil stood there, with Manticore piercing his heart, he smiled. "The student.....surpasses the master.......well done." He went silent.

Fang lowered Neil to the ground and took the amulet after dismissing Manticore, he then walked back to the group. "Don't give me that look, i know I'm using that sword, big deal." He said calmly.

Roxanne laughed sarcastically. "Considering it almost killed Lyaroa?" She whispered. "Yea, pretty big deal." She said.

The next champion threw off its cloak to reveal a large kangaroo, it was welding a katana, and had no armor, the only thing it had on it, was the amulet.

Golden stepped up next. "My turn." He said easily.

The two faced off and soon they clashed, Golden's staff proving incredibly effective against the katana, the kangaroo seemed to be using a variant of the Japanese samurai.

Golden was a skilled combatant however, and was able to match the style of combat easily.

The kangaroo switched styles and lept up to strike from above.

Golden raised his staff and blocked the blow, he then spun his staff and quickly struck the kangaroos spleen and then kicked it away.

The kangaroo quickly recovered, but instead of charging again, it steadied itself and prepared to clash again.

Golden decided a change of style was necessary, so he sent a psychic pulse through his staff and the metal plates merged to form the hammer.

The two clashed again, but now the kangaroo seemed to be fighting more defensively, while Golden timed his attacks carefully. 

Seeing as this was getting neither of them anywhere, Golden reverted the hammer back to a staff and tried a different tactic, he parried the strikes from the kangaroo and then threw a torrent of psychic energy at the creature.

The kangaroo struggled to fight of Golden's influence, but very soon, it dropped its katana, and clutched its head, it didn't scream or anything, but if the pained expression was any indication it really hurt.

Golden did not budge, but he simply continued, the kangaroo's resistance to his power was impressive, but Golden decided to end it, he intensified the assault and soon the kangaroo fell down to the ground as a vegetable. 

Golden walked up and grabbed the amulet before walking off.

Roxanne watched as the two bodies turned to ash, she shook her head. 'Why is everyone so violent?' She remembered the little fox kit ask. "To defend what we care about." She mumbled.

"What was that Roxxane?" Fang asked.

Roxanne blinked. "Nothing." She replied.

The next champion threw off its cloak and revealed a large Griffin with one wing.

Shade was the next to approach. "This one is mine." He said.

Lyaroa leaned next to Roxanne. "So much for ladies first." She joked.

Roxanne looked at the Sentinel. "Lyaroa......shut up, you are many things, but you are NOT a lady." She stated.

Lyaroa held her arms up and backed off. "Alright, you got me." She replied.

Shade and the Griffin faced off, neither had weapons, but Shade could tell the Griffin didn't need one, so as they engaged in combat, Shade was caught off guard at the ferocity of the attacks. 'Alright, he's viscous, fast and strong, but he doesn't have technique, this can work for me.' He started planning as he fought back the Griffon.

They went on fighting for a while, but it soon became apparent that the battle was a stalemate....until. 

Shade was blindsided by a strike to his side, he was then punched in the ribs multiple times and then thrown away like a rag doll, he then felt a claw pierce his chest where his heart would be, he screamed in pain but as the Griffin pulled its claw out expecting a heart but only seeing blood, it looked at him. "What are you?" It asked, clearly male.

Shade then grabbed the Griffin by the throat and choked it. "I'm complicated." He answered as he shoved his fist into the Griffins heart and ripped it out, he then walked away calmly after dropping the heart. 

That match was the fastest of them all, and as the next champion threw off its cloak, revealing a Changeling, Roxanne looked at Lyaroa. "Do you want to handle this one?" She asked.

Lyaroa shrugged and walked forward. "Why not?" She asked herself.

Roxanne watched as the two began their fight, she closed her eyes and retreated to her mind, looking to get answers quickly.

_____*in Roxanne's head*______

Roxanne looked around the playground and saw the fox kit playing with other kids, she smiled and sat down on the bench and looked up at the sky.

A shadow covered Roxanne and she heard a familiar voice speak. "Hello love, how are you?" Asked the Nightmare.

Roxanne looked to her left at the Nightmare as she sat down. "What are you exactly?.....and who is she?" She asked.

The Nightmare pouted and looked at Roxanne. "That's hurts me love, asking me what I am, not who? that hurt......but I guess you could say I am your Anti Soul, I'm easygoing, you're a worrier, I love messing with people's heads, you don't, etc." She said.

The Nightmare looked at the kit. "And her?......that is a different story." She said.

Roxanne looked at Nightmare curiously. "How so?" She asked.

The Nightmare smiled and patted Roxanne on the shoulder. "That love, is your daughter, the one you never had." She explained.

Roxanne looked at the fox kit and then at the Nightmare. "It's not possible though, she's nothing like me." She countered.

Nightmare laughed a little and watched the kid. "Your Soul doesn't talk much, but she's kind, you see, I think she wants you to know this kid......do you really see no resemblance?" She asked.

Roxanne paid close attention now, and she soon saw it, other than species, gender and color, this kit had one thing in common with Roxanne, her mischievous side, almost always wanting something fun to happen, or making her own fun....other than that, there was no resemblance.

"I wouldn't be so sure.....she has your eyes after all." Nightmare pointed out.

Roxanne huffed and leaned back on the bench. "My eyes are blue." She stated.

The Nightmare smirked and put her arm across Roxanne's back. "They are now love, but they used to be Amber, just like the kid." She said quietly.

Roxanne shook her head and looked at Nightmare. "And who's the father?" She asked.

Nightmare grinned. "Uh uh uh......that would be spoiling the surprise, you'll have to figure it out on your own, but for now.....have fun love." She waved her hand in front of Roxanne and she vanished. 

_____*Dalcorus.*_____

Roxanne opened her eyes and saw Lyaroa walking back with the amulet in hand, leaving a dead Changeling behind her. "Your up Roxie." Lyaora said.

Roxanne approached the center, as the final champion uncloaked and revealed itself, it was a creature similar to Roxanne and the others. only it was a lizard of some kind, it was fully armored in black plate and held a halberd as its weapon, Roxanne drew Life and Death as she readied herself for a fight.

For some reason she couldn't shake, the creature was very familiar, but she didn't lose her focus as she faced off against the lizard, the lizard took its stance, and once again, it was familiar to her, but she couldn't place it.

Roxanne and the creature charged at the same time, it wasn't long before they clashed, and it soon became apparent that the creature was powerful and skilled, it fended off Roxanne's initial assault with a quick block with its weapon and a sweep of its leg.

The creature then charged again as Roxanne backed off, it nimbly wielded its halberd and attacked Roxanne from the side, the strikes came high and low, low and to the left, high and to the left, the creature fought as though it had no coordination or self preservation.

Roxanne managed to retaliate when the creature got overconfident with its attack, she managed to evade and then swung her blades at the creatures stomach.

The creature then threw its hand out and grabbed the blades with one claw, it looked silently at Roxanne and threw the blades away, along with its halberd.

Roxanne readied to fight with her fists but as the two fought it became clear that she wasn't very skilled in hand-to-hand combat, as the creature was almost always striking her.

Roxanne decided to go out on a limb and ignited her left arm, she then threw a punch at the creatures overextended right arm while using her right arm to block the creatures left.

In an instant, the creature kicked out to Roxanne's kidneys and uppercut her in the jaw.

Roxanne fell to the ground and the creature stood over her, it knelt down and held her by the throat, saying nothing as it choked her.

Roxanne gasped for air as she tried to get it off, but to no avail as it simply held her one arm down, leaving her with one arm that didn't have the strength to fight it off.

Roxanne quickly channeled her magic and her arms glowed a faint light blue and red. 'I need your help.' She called out with her mind.

A bright flash and the creature was forced off, Roxanne quickly rose and she steadied her breathing.

When the light faded, Roxanne was surprised to see what she had summoned.......no, who she summoned.

A pair of cyan eyes turned to face the fox, and with a grin, the Pegasus spoke. "It took you long enough Fox girl." She said.

It was unmistakable, the blue Pegasus was Inkiza, from the Crystal Empire tournament. "Why are you here?" She asked.

A negative jeer was heard from the cultists watching the fights, but the loudest one was vocal. "She cheats!" Said one.

A resounding crack was heard and all went quiet, even the creature stopped and looked up at the Four. "Silence." One of them said.

"The magic used to summon the Pegasus was Familiar magic." Another one said.

"Familiars have been known to take many forms, and once summoned, they can fight like any living creature." The one on the far left stated.

"The match will continue until one of the fighters die." The one on the far right finished.

Roxanne looked at Inkiza as the creature stood. "Your a familiar?" She asked.

Inkiza nodded and looked at the creature. "I was assigned to you, that's why we fought in the tournament, I had to know what you could do." She answered, though it was through telepathy.

Roxanne looked at the creature. "I need to ask you something." She said mentally.

Inkiza said nothing and listened.

"Can you hold him off for a minute?" She asked.

Inkiza grinned. "It'll be my pleasure." She said as she took her position between the creature and Roxanne.

Roxanne closed her eyes and retreated to the back of her mind.

The creature charged, and as it neared Inkiza, it stopped and threw a volley of energy blasts at Roxanne.

Inkiza's eyes turned white and a barrier appeared around Roxanne, easily blocking the blasts. "Sorry." She said calmly. "That barrier won't disappear until I say so, or until you beat me." She said easily as she counter attacked, she summoned a trio of magical spears and threw them at the creature.

The creature managed to dodge them, but once a fourth appeared, it rolled to the side to dodge it.

Almost immediately, there was another, and another, and another, as though Inkiza could go on all day.

The creature soon got fed up as it grabbed a spear and threw it at Inkiza, the Pegasus dispelled the spears and changed tactics, she summoned a pair of hoof blades and hovered, she then flew at the creature and harassed it.

The creature wasn't hard to make it turn its attention away, however it was not stupid, it eventually managed to reach its halberd and it swung at Inkiza with precision.

Inkiza blocked with her hoof blade but it was lost in the process, she quickly landed in front of Roxanne and changed tactics, she dispelled the remaining blade and summoned a pair of flails.

The flails came to life and attacked the creature of their own accord. "Look, no hands." Inkiza said as she watched.

The creature managed to counter the flails by tricking them into wrapping themselves up with their chains.

Inkiza dispelled the flails and returned to the spears.

The strategy was far less effective than before however, as the creature was able to simply block them.

'What is keeping that girl?' She wondered.

_____*In Roxanne's mind*_____

Roxanne crossed her arms and looked around. "Alright, come on out, I don't have time for games." She said.

The Nightmare walked out with its hands up. "Well now love, aren't you forceful?" She said teasingly.

"I need to borrow your power." Roxanne said simply.

The Nightmare raises an eyebrow. "Why?....that guy isn't so tough." She asked.

Roxanne blinked. "That's why I only need a quarter of it, he's no problem for you, but I don't need all of your power right now." She answered.

The Nightmare bowed. "As you wish love, but I have to warn you, I would do your best to avoid calling for my help after this, even I need to......recharge." She said as she lent a quarter of her power to Roxanne.

______*Dalcorus.*_______

Roxanne opened her eyes and she felt herself changing, she didn't change much, her claws became sharper and her fur darkened a little as it thickened.

She looked around and saw that she was trapped in a barrier. "Inkiza, go on back, I'll handle it from here." She said.

The barrier dissipated and Roxanne heard a voice. "Good luck." 

Roxanne looked at the creature who had its halberd, she then ran up to the creature and engaged in combat.

The bold move must have caught the creature off guard, as it was slow to respond at first.

Roxanne also caught it off guard with a general boost in strength and agility, as she was able to block its strikes and hit hard in the process.

The creature threw its halberd away and fought with its claws, managing to hit every now and then but it was much harder now, as Roxanne was more aware and had more speed to fight back with.

The return threw a gut punch at Roxanne, but she blocked and grabbed the creatures arm, she threw it to the ground and kicked it in the side before punching its helmet directly.

Roxanne held the creature down and grabbed its helmet. "Now then.....what are you?" She asked as she ripped the helmet off.

Once the helmet was gone, Roxanne was wide eyed as she threw the helmet away, there was a reason everything about the creature was familiar, it was beacauss it was a drake.

Roxanne recognized the drake immediately, the blue scales, the Emerald eyes, the annoyed expression. "Emerald?" She asked quietly.

The drake huffed and rolled his eyes. "Who else?" He replied out of irritation.

Roxanne grabbed the amulet and stood up. "Why are you here?" She asked as she held her hand out.

Emerald took Roxanne's hand. "I don't know, all I know is that after I died, I woke up here." He answered.

Over by the group, Golden and Lyaroa had expressions of shock on their faces, while Fang appeared confused, Shade however was completely lost. "What did I miss?" He asked.

They all heard a loud crack of thunder and they looked to the Four. "You have passed the ritual." One of them said.

"And you may now pass." Another one said.

"Know that after this point, you will be shown no mercy." The ones on the far left and right said.

The Four, along with every other cultist vanished after that.

"If there is an upside to this, I found out I'm a male and my voice isn't easy to misinterpret as female." Emerald walked over to his halberd and sat down next to it, he took his armor off save for the gauntlets and most of the leg armor. 

Shade looked around. "What am I missing?" He asked.

Lyaro chuckled. "Emerald, this is Shade, a Night Wolf, Shade, this is Emerald, we knew eachother back at the Templd of Jandoka." She explained.

Emerald looked at Lyaroa. "Wait, I don't know you." He stated.

Fang rubbed his eyes. "Long story short, this is Lyaroa, she possessed me before we met, now I'm back in control and Lyaroa has her own body." He said, summing it up quickly.

Emerald picked his halberd up and let it rest on his shoulder. "Well, now that we are back together again, why don't we go exploring just like old times?" He offered.

Roxanne nodded. "Hell yea." She said in agreement.

Lyaora looked at Emerald. "Are you sure?.....we are going to be killing this cult, the one you spent so much time with." She asked.

Emerald huffed. "Never been more serious in my life, I may have been a champion, but they treated me worse than a prisoner." He replied.

Fang started walking to the door. "Then let's go, the sooner we reach the antidote, the better." He said.

The group of six then walked to the door, and as they passed through, they saw the antidote sitting on a table in the corner, Fang walked over and picked it up.

As Fang drank the potion, Shade looked at Emerald. "I take it you fought with them before?" He asked.

Emerald nodded. "With two of them yes, when Lyaroa was possessing Fang I fought with her and Fang back at Jandoka's temple,  was slightly difficult but we eventually reached Jandoka's chamber, we fought the God and claimed victory, but at the cost of my life." He said, he then looked at Golden, who destroyed the amulets. "Though I don't recall the bear at all." He said.

"That's Golden." Roxanne answered. "He was trapped inside of Derpy's mind at the time, Lyaroa freed them after she got her body back." She explained.

Emerald sighed. "I have a lot to catch up on." He said before looking at Roxanne. "How is Firefly?.....is she well?" He asked.

Roxanne nodded. "Yea, she's doing good, she has a normal life, I've been doing everything I can for her." She said.

Emerald cross his arms and shook his head. "I am sorry for what I did, you know that right?" He replied.

Roxanne shook her head. "It's alright Emerald, she's happy, she knows everything, she remembers her old life, we even gave her a chance to return to it, but she stayed a filly." She said.

Emerald was going to talk, but they were cut off as they heard Lyaroa talk. "Come on let's get moving!" She said.

The group continued forward and soon reached a more volcanic environment, the ground was black and there were rocks and mountains everywhere, if there were hell on earth.....this would be it.

The ground even had what appeared to be lava running through it, the group was careful not to fall in as they crossed the wastes. "Be careful, these lands are endless, and the cult had centuries to prepare for this day." Emerald said calmly.

The group eventually found a large fortress imbedded into a mountain, the fortress was dark and had towers along it, they knew that the final battle would be held there, and they were ready. 

Lyaroa looked at the others. "You ready for this?" She asked.

Seeing them all nod, Lyaroa led the way to the fortress, it was very far away, but this did not deter them.

_____*fifteen minutes later.*______

Lyaroa and the others approached the fortress, they were surprised to find no guards around and only a small puzzle stood to keep them out.

There was a drawbridge that would take them across the most of lava, but they needed to do something to make it drop.

Emerald grabbed a rock a threw it at a wooden circle near the drawbridge, the bridge dropped and Emerald looked at them. "That was obvious guys." He said before crossing, the others followed.

They were all surprised to find an army of black stone golems and constructs, along with a regiment of soldiers guarding the courtyard.

They fought the small army fiercely, taking them down steadily, but Fang knew that this was merely a ploy to stall for time, as these soldiers showed no self preservation and instead only wanted to kill, this was proven as they were attacking through their allies to strike at the group.

Emerald was easily dispatching the soldiers and golems, he may have been out of the loop, but he wasn't dull at combat, that was evident enough from before.

It took a full five minutes until the courtyard was clear, Lyaroa then led the group forward, they entered a large roommate that was filled with soldiers and constructs, it was clear that they would be getting no rest as they fought.

Roxanne threw up an enormous wall of fire and began fighting, she simply wanted to end this, and go home.

The group fought and fought, they fought for hours as they cleared the fortress, and they struggled to complete increasingly complex puzzles.

Fang looked around and sighed as he leaned up against a wall. "This is it huh?....the end of the road, to been a long ride." He said to himself.

_____*three hours later*_____

Lyaroa looked at the group, they were beaten and battered from the hours of combat, and Shade was on the verge of collapse, Emerald and Golden were alright, Fang was soldiering on, while Roxanne seemed to be on her last legs, she herself was struggling to continue.

The room they were in wasn't big, but it was host to an enormous door that had depictions of a being, standing above the others, rallying them to his cause.

Roxanne sat down and looked to the others. "Do any of you have the strength to continue?" She asked.

Shade rested on the floor, he shook his head. "Not really." He said.

Lyaroa looked around and sighed, she held her hand out and used her powers as much as she could.

Golden felt his stores of energy renew, his fatigue faded away, he felt ready to go on for hours more.

The others felt similar effects, however, Shade got the most of it, he felt his strength return completely, he sat up and looked at Lyaroa. "Are you sure about this?" He asked.

Lyaroa stopped, she had no more power in her for now. "I'm sure, I can't use my powers for a while, but it wasn't enough to do anything big anyway, at least with all of you restored, we don't have to worry about any of us collapsing." She said.

The others stood up and approached their weapons.

Lyaroa faced the door and kicked it open, the group walked inside and saw something familiar.

The Four sat and waited in chairs, they did not move even as the doors flew open. "We have been expecting you." One of them said.

"And now, as our most ancient law dictates, we must tell you the reason for your death." Another one said.

"Well over a thousand years ago, a destructive spell was placed on our world." The one on the far right started.

"One that latched onto the planets core and ebbed away at its very being." The one on the far left continued.

"This spell threatened to destroy our planet, and no matter how hard they tried, the most powerful wizards could not stop it." One of them said.

"However, one of these wizards had an idea, if the spell could eat something else as strong, it would possibly fade before it was too late." Another one continued.

"Therefore he secretly sacrificed powerful individuals to the destructive spell, it seemed to be working at first, but eventually, the others found out, and had him hanged for murder." The one on the far left said.

"However, before he died, he established this cult, and with many visions, he came up with a plan." The one on the far right said.

"If we could kill the creator of this world, the Sentinel, and sacrifice it to the spell, it would hold enough power to destroy the spell, once and for all." One of them all said.

"Now do you see Sentinel?.....why it is that you must die? one life for that of the planet?" They asked.

Lyaroa looked around at the group and shook her head. "It doesn't matter, none of these guys are going to just 'let' me die." She answered.

The Four rose from their chairs and put their hands together. "Then we are afraid, you must all die." One of them said.

The group looked around and saw numerous guards appear around them. "These soldiers are the elite." Another one said.

"You will be hard pressed to find any with better training then them." The one on the far right said.

The battle began immediately, the guards attacked and the group retaliated.

Golden soon discovered what the Four meant, all of the guards were immune to his powers, and he couldn't even land a hit on them, he decided to use his powers to enhance his own abilities.

Emerald was able to fight them on even ground, they could not get close to him with his style of combat, but in turn, he could not break their defense.

Shade probably had the easiest time of all, he was in the center of the group throwing disintegration blasts where he could, and the guards weren't immune or resistant to them either, so it was helping lots.

Lyaroa was focusing mostly on covering Shade, she was also striking where possible to assist Fang and Roxanne, who were working on cutting a path to the Four, who simply stood there watching.

Eventually, the group managed to eliminate the guards, Golden had multiple stab wounds across his entire body, Emerald was pierced through the side but he was alive, Roxanne and Fang had bruises and gashes all over, and Roxanne even had a scar over her left eye now.

Lyaroa was the worst for wear, as she had several burn marks, stab wounds, cuts and bruises, gashes, and even some broken bones.

Shade was the least injured, the most he had were a few cuts on his arm.

The group of Six stood before the Four who simply looked at them. "You have done well to make it this far." One of them said.

"But you are not ready to face us, and you never will be." Another one said.

They began fighting soon after that, and it became apparent incredibly quickly that they were right, Roxanne's fire did nothing, Shade's blasts didn't even impact on them, they were immune to psychic energy, and they were even immune to dragon fire and Fang's time warping.

The Four fought carefully and efficiently, they fought as one, and defended as one, if one of them were threatened, another would easily retaliate, ending in a one sided battle.

Lyaroa couldn't even do anything to them without her powers, it seemed like they were unstoppable, she tried to strike them but she was thrown aside, she had called on Soul and Sprit, but they were of no help.

The same went for Life and Death, their powers were essentially useless against the Four, Roxanne was kneed in the gut and then thrown aside.

Shade felt a magic spear drive itself through him, he screamed in pain as he was then flung away by a powerful punch.

The fight went on like this for a while, with the Four easily defeating the group.

Fang felt his head get slammed into the ground. "You have betrayed us Fang.....we offer you a chance at redemption, kill the Sentinel and her Friends, or you will all die, along with everyone you care for." One of them said.

The Four regrouped as Fang coughed up blood, he wiped it from his face and growled, he looked back at the group and stood up, he faced them and blinked. "I'm sorry." He said.

Roxanne's eyes widened. "Fang, don't do it." She begged.

Fang smirked and winked at Roxanne, he turned around and faced the Four. "My name is Fang.....The Herald." He started.

Fang closed his eyes. "The Herald of what however is another matter, I don't like talking about it however, but I do have a very unique power." He chuckled.

"Enough prattling, kill them!" 

"I am The Herald......" He opened his eyes to reveal reptilian ones. "Of Jandoka." He said as he changed rapidly.

Much to everyone's shock, Fang grew in size as he changed, his fur turning to scales, he grew four more heads and they turned to hydra heads, his tail changing to that of a hydra.

Soon enough his appearance changed so much, it was an exact image of Jandoka himself.

"Free at last!" Said the far right head.

"As we agreed, we have arrived." Said the far left head.

"Back from the dead, much like the Judge." Said the middle head.

All five heads looked down to the Four, who stared at Jandoka with blank faces. "So, a bunch of cowards who hide themselves!" Said the middle left head.

"Brother, we will not be questioning them." The middle right head stated.

"As you wish brother." Said the middle head.

The Four moved quickly as the five heads of Jandoka fired their powerful beams of energy. "Do not interfere with our battle!" Said the middle head ordered.

Even the combined might of the Four was able to best Jandoka easily, for without the amulets, there was no way to weaken the great hydra.

One of the Four attempted to strike at one of the heads, only for another head to chomp it in half. "Do you truly believe you can kill a GOD!" The far left head shouted.

The members of the Four stood together for a moment and soon the fourth one returned. "We are the Four, we are eternal and undying." They proclaimed.

Jandoka turned to face them. "So are we." The five heads declared.

The battle raged for some time, until the hydra managed to get one good shot.

Jandoka fired all at once and the Four were obliterated by the powerful blast, the hydra then turned to face the group. "Our Herald was correct, this was the only way, I believe it is time for us to leave however.....you will not see us again." The hydra said before fading away.

They saw Fang kneeling on the ground where Jandoka once stood, he got up and faced the group. "Sorry about that." He said.

Roxanne ran up and hugged Fang. "Don't you ever do that again." She said.

Fang broke free of the hug and grinned. "I'm the Herald of Jandoka Roxanne, I can't exactly break that oath easily." He countered.

Lyaroa approached and crossed her arms. "How did you do that?" She asked.

Fang tapped his head. "Jandoka spoke to me before he died, and we made a deal, I would become his Herald, he would get to see and hear everything that I did, he would live on, and in exchange, I would be able to call on him in a time of great need, you didn't hear Lyaroa because he spoke directly to me." He explained.

Emerald sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I gave my life to kill him, only to discover he wasn't intentionally evil, and then to come back, and discover he was alive the whole time?....." He looked at Fang.

"I hate my life so much right now." Emerald said.

The group was so busy talking and celebrating the end of their journey, that they didn't hear the quiet whispers In the air, and soon a voice was heard. "We give our lives." Said one of the Four.

"To finish what we started." Another one said.

"Let the Eternal Four perish." Yet another said,

"So that the Sentinel may die." The last one said.

The group found a rumbling beneath them and they saw the floor crumbling. "Run!" Lyaroa shouted, they ran for the door but the floor collapsed there first.

The group attempted to find a way out but the floor was collapsing far too quickly.

Roxanne looked down and saw that the floor beneath them was collapsing now, and when they were all together, they fell.

____*the fall*____

It was a surprisingly long fall, as they fell, the passed more then the floors they reached, and soon, they saw the bottom.

They soon impacted on the hard ground with a crash, Shade screamed in pain as he felt his bones shatter.

Thankfully, the rest of the group was able to handle the fall just fine, Emerald did it by using his draconic Magic, Fang and Golden were just naturally hard to break, Roxanne didn't do anything, as she felt Lyaroa take the brunt of the fall.

They felt the earth crumble around them, and they soon discovered they were in a volcano, Lyaroa had seen Soul and Spirit fall into the lava, along with Life and Death, she cringed and looked away, not willing to see any more.

They all felt the earth quake around them and they scrambled to get up, Golden rushed over to Shade with Emerald and picked him up to carry him out.

Roxanne got off of Lyaroa as fast as she could, but as the Sentinel got up she looked and saw Fang hanging from an edge as the rock crumbled around them. "Fang!" Roxanne called out as she rushed over.

Lyaroa stood up and saw Roxanne running over, her eyes widened and she rushed over.

Fang looked down at the lava below him and he lost his grip with one hand, he looked down at the lava in fear, he was about to drop when he heard a voice. "Take my hand!" He looked and saw Roxanne reaching out.

Fang attempted to get up, but all he managed to do was barely tap her fingers, he found himself reminiscing all of a sudden, in the face of death, he was going to try to remember all the fun he had with the fox.

Fang watched as Roxanne was pulled away suddenly. "No!.....no no no!.....let me go!" She screamed.

Lyaroa threw Roxanne towards the entrance and barred her from approaching. "Get out!" She ordered loudly.

Fang saw Lyaroa look over the edge and reach out to him. "Grab my hand Fang!" She said.

Fang attempted again to grab the hand, but he once again missed, once he saw the pained look on Lyaroa's face, he decided to risk it, he reached up as high as he could......and felt himself get pulled up.

Lyaroa pulled Fang up and got him moving to the door, she tried to catch up but the rock with crumbling too quickly.

Fang was about to follow the others who were near the door when he heard a voice. "Fang!" Lyaroa called out fearfully.

Lyaroa looked to her sides and saw the rocks crumbling quickly, she looked at Fang. "Help me!.....please!" She screamed.

Fang looked at the other and then at Lyaroa, his breathing slowed and he saw time slow down. "Not now." He said to himself.

_____*the vision*_____

The situation in the vision was the exact same, only in the vision, Fang didn't even blink as he ran away from Lyaroa, he then heard a heart dropping sound. "Faaang!" He saw Lyaroa's face, the expression of pure terror and sadness, it broke his heart, he then saw the rocks around her crumble and she soon fell. "Noooooo!" She screamed.

The vision then moved elsewhere, Ponyville, he looked around and saw himself sitting on the couch in Gwen's house in silence with the others. "It's all my fault." He eventually said. "It's my fault she's gone, and now it's come to this." He said solemnly.

The others said nothing, but eventually Roxanne got up and walked to the door. "I'm leaving with Firefly........I don't want to see you again." She said angrily, though Fang could see the tears going down her face.

Fang cringed away and vision changed location again, but now it was at the cemetery, the earth was dying, and the graves were covered in vines, he saw himself walk up to a grace and kneel down.

Fang looked at the graves name and he broke down on the spot, the grave read Gwen Dash and Ditzy Dash, gone but not forgotten.

As he wept silently, he heard the other him talk. "I'm so sorry.......how could I have known?......I never should have dragged you into this Gwen, never." He said silently.

The vision changed again but this time the town was in complete ruin, and he saw himself walking by the destroyed bakery and look at it. "I used to bring Spark here all the time, heh, those were the days, I hear they're planning to fix this place up.......not much hope there." His future self said.

The vision seemed to fade away and then reappear. "Come on Spark, don't do this." He heard himself say.

Fang turned around and saw a horrifying sight, Spark was holding a knife to his throat, he was older, but he was still not as big as Emerald. "Why not dad?.......everyone I love is dead, my family and friends are all dead.....all I have left is you, and your the cause of all of this!" He snapped.

Fang's future self tried to inch closer but stopped once he saw Spark tense. "Roxanne and Firefly are alive Spark.....please, don't do this, I know I've screwed up, but don't make everyone else pay for it." He begged.

Spark shook his head. "I'm sorry dad, but I won't let them see what I've become." He slit his throat, killing himself instantly.

Fang watched as his future self crumbled in despair, and as he muttered three words over and over. "I deserve this, I deserve this, I deserve this." He said over and over again.

Fang felt the vision ending as he was dragged back to the world.

____*reality.*____

Fang blinked and ran at Lyaroa, he didn't know what would happen that required the Sentinel to live......but if it kept everyone alive, and Roxanne happy, he would gladly sacrifice himself, while others would see a powerful Sentinel and fierce warrior, he saw a girl who was afraid to die, and an amazing friend, so he would have no regrets in the end, as he was atoning for all of his sins at this moment.

Lyaroa almost lost her grip and she was now hanging by one hand, she slipped and almost fell but managed to grab a small edge in the rocks.

Fang reached Lyaroa and reached as far as he could. "Take my hand!" He shouted.

Lyaroa looked up at him and tried to grab his hand, she barely missed and she heard Fang talk. "Don't you dare let go." He said.

Lyaroa gritted her teeth and she managed to grab Fang's hand with a risky leap, she was pulled up but saw the rocks crumbling.

Fang got the Sentinel on her feet and pushed her towards the door, he himself got up, but it was too late, as the rocks around him crumbled and the platform beneath him gave out, he heard Lyaroa scream. "Fang!" She shouted.

Lyaroa was powerless as Fang fell, she cringed away and ran off towards the door, the tears falling from her eyes all the while, for she felt that her friend died because of her, and for the first time in a long time, she allowed herself to feel regret.

Fang did not feel fear.....instead, he felt peace, he heard a melody in his head that made him smile, even as the lava melted his body, he smiled and closed his eyes. 'Goodbye.' He thought as the lava killed him.

_____*outside the chamber*______

The group ran, they ran and ran from the mountain as it erupted in a wave of molten lava, they eventually found refuge on a high up rock as the lava flowed.

Lyaroa jumped to the rock and landed hard, she was still weeping but the others did not know why yet, they were too busy keeping an eye on the lava.

About five minutes later, as the lava flowed all around them, Roxanne looked at Lyaroa who was still sobbing. "Where's Fang?" She asked.

The others looked but did not see the wolf anywhere.

Lyaroa could not talk, she was mourning the loss of her friend.

Roxanne looked down at Lyaroa and knelt down. "Lyaroa." She said, her voice breaking little. "Where's Fang?" She asked quietly.

Lyaroa looked up at Roxanne and the fox saw the tear stains, she said nothing, but when she shook her head, Roxanne knew......Fang, the man she considered a father, was dead. "No......" She buried her face in her hands and wept.

Shade did nothing, instead he simply sat and tried to comprehend everything that had happened, while he didn't know Fang very well, he did respect him.

Golden bit his lip and punched the rock they were on out of frustration, while he didn't have an emotional attachment to Fang, he did know him.

Emerald didn't know what to do, he didn't know Fang really, so he decided to honor him with silence.

The five didn't do anything for hours, they simply waited and waited on that rock.

_____*hours later.*_____

Lyaroa wiped a tear from her eye and looked around, she saw how defeated the others looked, she had recovered some of her power, so she could do one thing. "I'm going to teleport us to Ponyville, we can rest up there." She said.

Roxanne simply nodded, she didn't have the energy to argue.

Neither did the others, they simply wanted to mourn their fallen comrade.

Lyaroa teleported them to her house in Ponyville, they appeared in her living room, and Wheatley happened to be there. "AAHH!" He shouted out of surprise. "How many times have I asked you not to do that?" He asked. 

"Wheatley, we aren't in the mood right now." Lyaroa said calmly but out of irritation.

They then took their time doing whatever it was they were doing.

Lyaroa and Roxanne took a shower, but since Golden was in the other one, they had to do it together, but Lyaroa made no comments about it.

Shade turned on the music and listened to something upbeat, to try and take his mind off of it. 

Once they were all back in the living room, Lyaroa spoke. "You can all stay here for as long as you want." She offered.

Hours later, they all went to the bedrooms to get some sleep, sadly, with Lyaroa's powers diminished, there were only three rooms, Emerald didn't mind sharing a room with Shade, while Golden got the small bedroom, Lyaroa and Roxanne shared one. "I can turn the bed into two if you want." Lyaroa offered.

Roxanne shook her head and lied down under the covers. "It's fine." She said.

Lyaroa nodded and got under the covers, she then closed her eyes to get to sleep. "Night Roxie." She said.

_____*meanwhile*_____

Golden sighed as he looked at the photo in his locket, he closed it and looked out the window. "See you pup." He said sadly.
> Things returning to normal.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Ponyville, the next day*_____

Roxanne awoke to the sun glaring in her face, she groaned and flipped around and shut her eyes tight, trying to go back to sleep, she felt warm fur and opened her eyes, she saw Lyaroa's back, and she noticed all of the injuries she sustained, seeing this made Roxanne cringe, the memory of the mountain fresh in her mind. "I'm sorry." Said Lyaroa quietly.

Roxanne sighed and sat up, she looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes. "I never should have dragged any of you to that mountain, if I had gone alone, none of this would have happened." Lyaroa said.

"Migraine." Roxanne said. 

"Yea?" Lyaroa asked.

"Shut up." Roxanne said blankly.

"Ok." Lyaora replied quickly.

Lyaroa soon got up and sat next to Roxanne, she patted the fox's shoulder and looked down, saying nothing.

Roxanne leaned in and rested her head on Lyaroa's shoulder, she blinked a few times and opened her eyes. "Can I ask you something?" She asked quietly.

Lyaroa stroked Roxanne's head and breathed lightly. "Yea." She replied.

"Can you tell me his story?.......If he didn't come here." She asked.

Lyaroa nodded. "Sure thing." She replied.

"He was created early in the year 1983, he was a revolutionary if experimental machine, he performed in his own right, and when  Fredbear's shut down, he was brought back with the opening of Freddy Fazbears in 1984, he worked alongside his new friends for a couple years, until that location was shut down as well." She said.

"He awoke in Freddy Fazbears pizzeria in 1987 to find himself and his friends damaged, he was fixed, but his friends were not, soon after, he discovered that he was to be scrapped along with his new friends, in favor of the original Fazbears crew, and he would then go on to become a phantom of sorts thirty years later, haunting the murderer of children, but unlike the others, he does not find peace, nor does the killer." She finished.

Roxanne huffed. "Crappy story either way." She said.

Lyaroa let out a sad smile. "I know Roxie, I know." She replied.

Roxanne closed her eyes and sat there in silence with Lyaroa for a while, neither willing to get up.

____*meanwhile*____

Golden was sitting on his bed, he felt like crap, as he didn't sleep at all last night, all he could do was think about the events that he and Fang shared, there weren't many, but he treasured them now more than ever, normally, he would be angry at the loss of a friend or comrade, but he couldn't muster up any anger, not now.

Golden looked out the window and saw the sun in the clear blue skies. 'I always argued with him, we never agreed on anything......he would do things his way, and I would do the same.....I guess I just don't want to admit to losing him so easily.' He thought before standing up and leaving the room.

_____*meanwhile*_____

Lyaroa got up and looked at Roxanne. "Come on Roxie, we should get moving, seeing Firefly again will do you some good." She said.

Roxanne looked at Lyaroa, seeing the Sentinel's calm smile was strangely encouraging, she sighed and stood up. "Alright." She replied.

_____*downstairs*______

Lyaroa saw Shade asleep on the chair, and Emerald sitting on the couch reading, she didn't see Golden anywhere, so she instead headed to the kitchen to get some food.

Roxanne paced for a while, she was restless, and didn't want to just stand around, but she couldn't leave.....not now. "Sit down." Emerald said calmly.

Roxanne looked at the drake. "Why?" She asked.

Emerald sighed and set the book down. "Because your unstable, your holding in too much energy, and your also making it worse with your restlessness, it would be a bad time to explode in a fit of anger." He replied.

Roxanne shook her head and sat down, she crossed her arms and fidgeted around. "It's not helping." She said.

Emerald closed his eyes and rubbed his chin. "Just stop moving around......you need to relax, or its just going to get worse." He insisted.

Lyaroa then peaked out of the kitchen. "Maybe you should get a shower, that should help relieve some stress." She suggested before going back into the kitchen.

Roxanne then got up and headed into the kitchen, there she found Lyaroa making eggs, she walked up behind the Sentinel and put her arms over Lyaroa's shoulders. "How are you not affected by this?" She asked.

Lyaroa closed her eyes and turned around, she put her forehead to Roxanne's. "Who says I'm not?.....I'm just dealing with it my own way, and so is everyone else, besides, I am mourning.....in my mind." She slowly put her hand to Roxanne's heart and channeled her own power into the fox.

And suddenly, Roxanne heard a melody in her mind, it was beautiful, it felt fitting, she also felt something familiar, she felt Lyaroa's heart again, and she could feel what she felt, a tear dropped from her eyes and she wiped them away.

Lyaroa also felt Roxanne's heart, it was quiet, she felt the raw emotion coming out of it, she also felt something else in there, she did a quick scan of it, and felt two other presences there, as well as something incredibly powerful, she was surprised at what she found, she quickly pulled her hand back and went back to work. "I should get these done, before they burn." She said.

Roxanne placed a hand on the Sentinel's shoulder as she turned around. "Thank you for showing me that Lyaroa." She said quietly before walking away.

"Before you worry about it Roxie." Lyaroa said, making Roxanne pause. "I killed the shadow creature, it's hold on me weakened when Fang stabbed me, and it died shorty after you removed the shard." She said.

Roxanne smiled a little at the news. "Good for you Migraine." She said before walking out of the kitchen.

_____*a few hours later.*______

After everyone had eaten and felt they were ready, they decided to go outside, Emerald went to look around the town, Shade decided to simply go back to the forest, while Golden and Roxanne went with Lyaroa to see Gwen and the others, they felt it would be good to see them again.

As they walked, Roxanne heard a familiar voice. "Roxanne!....welcome back!" The voice was Skitter's.

The trio looked at Skitter who was walking with Dark, she seemed happy to see them again. "How are you guys doing?" She asked.

Lyaroa sighed and crossed her arms. "We're on our way to Gwen's place, we can tell you there." She said grimly.

Dark looked at the group and noticed something was off. "Where's Fang?" Dark asked.

Golden stepped forward. "That's one thing we need to talk about, but we would rather not talk about it more than once." He replied.

The reply seemed to make the pair silent, they instead joined the trio heading to Gwen's house. "How's Firefly been?" Roxanne asked.

Skitter chuckled. "She's been alright, she misses her mom, but she's doing good." She replied.

Roxanne sighed and closed her eyes. 'This is going to break those poor kids hearts.' She told herself mentally.

______*Gwen's house*_______

It didn't take long to get the group together for a meeting, they didn't include everyone this time, so it was only Twilight, Gwen, Derpy, Rarity, Skitter and Dark.

Roxanne wished that they were all meeting under happier circumstances, they wished they didn't have to tell them what was going on, the only saving grace was that the kids were with Sparkler over at Derpy's house.

Golden was leaning in a corner with his arms crossed and his staff on his back, he was trying to stay out of the conversation as long as he could.

Lyaroa was sitting by the window looking outside, she didn't have the heart to tell them, but she would if she had too.

Roxanne was pacing around the room waiting for everyone to settle in, the only one that wasn't here was Gwen surprisingly, it was at least five minutes until she showed. "Hey Gwen." Roxanne said grimly.

Gwen didn't seem to notice. "Welcome back Roxanne." She said before walking over to the couch and sitting with Derpy. "So what's new? You have to have some good stories to tell right?" She asked.

Roxanne looked at Lyaroa and then at Golden who didn't respond, she sighed and crossed her arms. "While we're glad to see you all again, your probably asking yourselves a question......where's Fang." She started.

Seeing the nods from everyone and the knowing look on Skitter's face, Roxanne took a deep breath and put her hand on her chin. "Fang........is dead." She said sadly.

Everyone had looks of shock and sorrow at that news, Twilight didn't seem to be able to process it directly, Skitter and Dark kept quiet while taking it in, Derpy and Rarity weren't able to muster any form of response along with the others.

Gwen however was different, she had tears going down her eyes as she stared down at the floor, she sobbed quietly as she mourned her friend.

Out of everyone there, the only one who could speak was Skitter, she took a quick breath and spoke. "What um.......what happened?" She asked.

"He fell in battle." Golden said from the corner, it was a half lie, but it was sufficient for him.

Lyaroa looked to the others. "He died, saving me........" ⎌She added shakily.

Gwen looked up and then at Lyaroa. "Why did you take them with you?" She questioned. 

Lyaroa didn't respond, she simply turned her head and looked away, she bit her lip and closed her eyes.

Gwen stood up and walked over to Lyaroa, her sadness barely blocking the hatred she felt. "Answer me!" She demanded.

Derpy stood up. "Gwen please." She pleaded.

Gwen didn't hear Derpy and she forced Lyaroa to look at her. "TELL ME!" She shouted.

"I was scared!" Lyaroa admitted tearfully, she put her hands on her knees and sobbed, Gwen backed off and blinked. "What?" She asked out of surprise.

Lyaroa shivered and looked up at Gwen, she wiped the tears from her eyes and spoke. "I knew that something was there.....I didn't know what and it scared me, so i asked the others to come with me.......I could have done it alone, but I was too afraid to act on it." She continued.

Golden didn't say anything, instead he walked over with his arms crossed. "Look, we are all susceptible to emotion Gwen, I'm no exception, she didn't want to face an unknown threat alone, and we followed, if we knew what could have happened." He sighed. "We would have handled things differently.

Gwen looked at Lyaroa who sat there quietly sobbing, she shook her head and walked upstairs. "I need to be alone." She stated.

______*Ponyville*_______

It has been three months since they told the others the bad news, it was hard at first.....it always is, when Emerald and Gwen saw eachother again, it helped things some, if only for a while, Twilight had many questions as to how Emerald was back, but none could be answered.

It wasn't until a week passed that Gwen finally started talking again, but she still blamed Lyaroa for Fang's death, then again, she isn't wrong about what she says, but I think Lyaroa's answer made her think more.

When Firefly heard that Emerald was back, she was overjoyed, it was a happy reunion, along with Spark and Spike meeting Emerald for the first time, Spike had so many questions for Emerald about the dragons at first, they were answered to the best of his ability.

Golden kept to himself at first, like he always does, but after a while opened up a little, he wouldn't talk about the world he went too all those years ago, but he was at least someone that could hold an intelligent conversation.

Two weeks passed and Shade finally introduced himself to everyone, Scootaloo was frightened of course on the count of what happened, but when Shade explained why he had 'attacked' it actually made sense.

Firefly and Spark weren't told about Fang's death, instead they were told that he was away on business, Firefly didn't catch on, but Spark had his suspicions, when confronted about it, Lyaroa told him the truth, he didn't take it well, and he didn't talk for weeks.

It was a month until things returned to a semblance of normal, and by then, Emerald took Spark and Spike under his wing, teaching them everything he could, while avoiding anything to do with him being the Judge.

Dark had began having visions, she couldn't explain them easily, as they were little more than fragments and brief images, she went to Lyaroa for help, but the Sentinel claimed she couldn't as her powers left her drained after Dalcorus, but she swore to help as best she could.

Roxanne had mourned Fang in her own way, she kept on going, she focused on living one day at a time, instead of grieving, Lyaroa was doing this as well, doing her best to take care of Spark while trying to keep it together.

It wasn't until the second month that things went back to normal for good, Gwen and Derpy were engaged by the middle of the month, it was a happy occasion, and for the first time in a long time, things were good.

Shade had moved in a week before, claiming that since the forest wasn't making him happy, he might as well try the town, he bonded quickly with Dark, seeing as they had a lot in common, he never told anyone why he refused to return to his world, but he said he had a very good reason.

Skitter's pregnancy was getting worse a few days after Gwen and Derpy's engagement, she almost blacked out and was bleeding, leading everyone to assume there was a miscarriage, thankfully, Shade said it would be alright after an examination, apparently he was trained in medical, much to Golden's surprise.

Dark eventually had a clear vision one day, it was of her and a child, her child by the looks of it, they were simply spending time together, enjoying some mother and daughter time, the only thing that Dark couldn't understand was the name, whenever the filly's name came up, it was muffled, and unable to be heard, but for some reason, she knew the name.

Firefly and Spark seemed to be doing well in school, they had joined up with the crusaders along with Solar, Spark flat out refused two things, the first being the cape, he refused that immediately, he also refused the oath, not giving a real reason for either.

When Emerald revealed that Spark and Spike were actually brothers, Spark was speechless while Spike celebrated happily, Twilight was filled with so many questions she almost exploded.

It was the third month that things started to look up in however, Lyaroa and Roxanne had gotten together officially, Firefly and Spark seemed overjoyed at the prospect of being legitimate siblings, this however led to Firefly asking if Roxanne was going to propose at some point......everyone laughed, until Firefly said she was serious, then they went silent, the older Firefly seemed to knock some sense into the younger one however and she left it alone.

Dark's visions were becoming clearer, as though something was going to happen, but Lyaroa was unable to help, as she claimed that these visions were personal, and she had absolutely no right to them.

Solar was beginning to worry about Skitter at this point, the changeling seemed to be in a constant state of anger, and never actually smiled anymore, and was getting worse everyday.

Eventually, at the middle of the third month, Skitter's water broke and Shade, who was visiting at the time, quickly moved her upstairs, stating that there was no time to get her to the hospital, so they had a home birth.

To everyone's surprise, that being Lyaroa, Roxanne, Gwen and Derpy, Twilight, Dark and Golden, Shade handled the operation with incredible efficiency, even though it was an unnatural delivery on both sides, thankfully, Twilight had contacted the hospital and they sent Nurse Redheart, who was happy to assist, even on such short notice.

Skitter was screaming as the pain shot through her constantly, it was difficult for her to keep calm, especially with Redheart talking.

_____*Skitter's room.*_____

"Alright Skitter, deep breaths ok?....you'll be alright." Redheart assured.

As they worked on getting the child out, Skitter found herself getting increasingly annoyed at the constant talking, she finally had enough, she looked Shade dead in the eye and spoke. "I know about the breathing! Just get the baby out already you douchebag!" She screamed.

Redheart immediately shut up, and soon, Shade finally got the baby out, as the baby cried for the first time, Skitter collected her breath and looked at Shade. "Well?" She asked.

Shade smiled and slowly handed Skitter the baby. "Congratulations Skitter, you have a boy." He said.

Skitter held the baby and laughed a little, he was still covered in blood, but Skitter didn't mind too much. "You know, I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I didn't even think up a name." She said to herself as she handed Shade the young changeling.

Shade took the baby and set him down on a nearby table with cloth on it, he then took care as he cleaned the blood off. "It's alright Skitter, you have time to think up a name." He said.

Skitter took a deep breath and looked at Nurse Redheart. "Sorry about yelling, I'm glad you could help." She said thankfully.

Nurse Redheart nodded with a smile. "I'm happy to have helped." She replied.

_____*Hours later*_____

Skitter looked at Shade who was sitting in the chair next to her bed, he decided to stay and help her until she could fully walk, she took a breath and spoke. "Hey, can I get some water?" She asked.

Shade nodded and stood up, before he left, he looked at Skitter. "Anything else?" He asked.

Skitter shook her head. "No I'm fine, just the water." She answered.

Shade left the room, leaving Skitter with her child. 

Skitter looked up at the ceiling and sighed, she felt like crap for not thinking of names, she thought on possible ones and by the time Shade returned to the room, she had one.

Shade handed Skitter the water and sat back down, he rubbed his eyes and closed them. "Hey." Skitter started, forcing Shade to stay awake. "Yea?" He asked.

"I thought of a name." Skitter said.

Shade looked at Skitter. "Oh?.....mind telling me?" He asked.

Skitter looked at her child and smiled. "Yea......I like the name Garth, how about you?" She asked.

Shade shrugged. "It isn't my place to say, if you want Garth to be his name, then so be it." He replied.

_____*meanwhile*______

Lyaroa saw Roxanne lying down on the couch reading, she grinned and walked up, she then jumped over and then flopped onto the couch with Roxanne. "Hey Roxie." She said.

Roxanne smiled and closed the book and put it away, as in she threw it at a pile of books that was growing in the corner. "Hey Migraine." She said as she rested her arm over Lyaroa. 

Lyaroa felt a nibble on her ear and she chuckled, she looked up at Roxanne. "So what're you up too?" She asked.

"I've been thinking." She replied.

Lyaroa closed her eyes and felt her head being rubbed. "Ok, let's see, your being affectionate on the couch, your thinking, and you have your arm around me...." She opened her eyes. "You want to know if I can bring Fang back?" She asked.

Roxanne blinked. "Actually I was going to ask if you wanted to go upstairs and if you fixed Skitter's medallion?.....but that works too." She replied.

Lyaroa sighed and sat up after Roxanne let her up, she sat next to the fox and looked at her. "You see, I've been working on that." She said.

Roxanne watched as Lyaroa handed her Skitter's now fixed medallion. "Oh." She said quietly.

"As for going upstairs, yes.....but as for Fang, that's a bit trickier, firstly." She held up a finger......literally. "I quite literally used all my power up in Dalcuros, between healing everyone, having my powers taken from me twice, firing that beam, and my heart being ripped out......literally, I'm drained, the only reason I was able to get my powers back up so quickly was because I overcharged them." She paused.

"I now have to wait a long time for my powers to come back, now if it was someone else, I'd be able to bring them back easily......but with Fang, as powerful as he is, and the fact that he's immortal, it takes a lot of power for that to work, and this isn't even counting the fact I would have to remake the body." She explained.

Roxanne sighed and felt a pat on the shoulder. "Don't be so down Roxie, there's no hurry, you know that right?.....I can bring him back, just need time is all." She said before standing and walking to the stairs.

Roxanne smiled and stood, she watched as Lyaroa walked up the stairs, she put her hand over her heart and smiled. "Nothing to worry about, your right about that." She whispered before following Lyaroa.

_____*unknown*_____

Pain, Suffering, Despair, that's all I feel these days, other than my brief one hour reprieves, it just gets worse and worse every single day.

And that isn't even accounting for the time here......a day can pass here while a minute passes in the outside world, it's horrible here.

At first I resisted, but after a few days, I finally gave up hope, I wasn't able to withstand the pressure, I found myself giving in and allowing them to torture me endlessly, I'm very aware that this must have been the plan, but it's not worth trying to resist again.

The only thing I have left is a cell mate.......and he sucks, all he wants to do is drain shit......I didn't catch his name, but he's a centaur of some kind, he's boring, and I think spending time in the same cell is worse than the torture, which might have been the idea as well.

I walked over to the cell bars and looked out, the complex I was in was enormous, it didn't seem like it should exist, it gave off a sense of dread, and it was always burning here, as though it was hell on earth, I sigh and turn around to face the cell mate. "If I were you centaur, I would give up on your plan.....you aren't that powerful." I say.

The centaur growls and approaches me. "I will become powerful in time!......I am Tirek! you have no idea what I am capable of!" He threatened as he put his face right in front of me.

I then threw my arm up and grabbed him by the throat and looked him in the eye. "And I am the Herald......and you have absolutely no idea what I can do, so shut up and deal with it!" I drop the centaur and let him return to the corner of the cell, I then look out to the complex. "This place sucks." I mutter.
> One Hell Of A Time.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Ponyville, 10:21 PM*_____

Lyaroa walked the quiet streets of Ponyville, it reminded her of Earth in a way, they both had their beautiful nights, but seeing the lamps lit and the starry night, it reminded her of earth, and of her home.

Earth's nightlife was cold and sometimes cruel, but it had its moments, times when you could just slow down and enjoy the sights, the neon and the clear sky, it was one of Lyaroa's favorite things......then you have her home's nightlife, it was quiet outside, but it was vibrant inside, there was a time when she would just get lost in the maze that her home became years ago.

Lyaroa was interrupted when she heard footsteps behind her, she stopped and turned around, she saw Golden walking alone, he seemed preoccupied, she decided not to question it and kept on walking.

A little bit later, she looked up and saw a bird fly across the sky, she chuckled. "Mind if I ask something?" Golden asked.

Lyaroa stopped and faced Golden. "Sure thing." She asked.

Golden walked up and crossed his arms. "What's stopping you from recovering quickly like last time?" He asked.

Lyaroa shook her head and walked away for a moment. "Like I explained to Roxie, if I overcharge again, I won't be able to use my powers again for almost a year......and I for one am not about to leave everyone defenseless against something they can't handle, because someone was in a hurry." She looked at Golden. "You want him back?......then be patient, you aren't the only one who wants him back." She said before vanishing.

Golden looked up at the moon and sighed, he shook his head and continued on his walk, and as he started walking, he felt a tremendous amount of power suddenly surface, he breathed heavily and gulped, eyes wide in shock and awe, he faced in the direction it was in and saw.......nothing, he swallowed and let out a sigh of relief, he then turned to walk away, and he quickly decided to run.

Golden could be considered a coward, he preferred the term 'survivalist' personally, and when a power that dwarfed his own randomly shows up, he's gonna run. 'Hopefully I wasn't the only to feel that.' He thought hopefully.

_____*unknown*_____

I opened my eyes to the familiar town, I blink and rub my eyes. 'Why am I outside?.....and why is it night?' I ask myself, that flash happened so suddenly, I don't know why that happened, but I had my suspicions as to who did it, and why, I look up at the moon and see that it was a clear night and that it was a haIf moon, I sigh and get moving slowly through the town.

A cold wind suddenly blows past my ears and I look around, paranoia forcing me to look, seeing nothing, I continue moving through the town, looking to find a familiar building to take cover from the coming storm, I could see the clouds slowly moving in from the distance, and clouds like those always have rain.

I eventually find a familiar sight, it was a giant house that seemed to be made of sweets, and because I won't resort to breaking in, I decided to take cover under the overhang, I carefully positioned myself under the overhang and closed my eyes. 'Alright, let's see what tomorrow brings.'

_____*the next day, 9:30 AM*_____

I open my eyes and look around, thankfully, I was still in the same place as before, and there was nobody around, I blink and get moving, I head out to the streets and head towards a place I know, as I get out on the streets, I saw that everyone gave a strange glare, I said nothing about it and continued moving, as I did, I eventually spotted some familiar faces, I head over and stop nearby and chuckle. "Hey guys." I say.

The blonde mare looks at me and gives me a strange look. "Hey kid, how are you?" She asks.

I shrug and looked around a little. "Well let's see, i got a headache, slightly nauseous, and feel like crap half the time, I'm great!" I say before heading off with a grin.

As i headed off again, I see another familiar face walking around, I head over to say hello. "Hey sis!" I say.

The Pegasus mare turned to face me with a confused look on her face, she blinked and looked at me catiously. "Uh.....who are you?" She asked.

I chuckle and shake my head. "Very funny Dash......so where's Minutte?" I ask.

Dash raised an eyebrow at me. "Look kid, you have me confused with someone else." She said before flying off.

I blink and look up at her as she flies away, I rub my eyes and continued moving, I look around at everyone more carefully than before, and I soon come to the conclusion that something was wrong, I eventually get knocked down as someone walks into my wheelchair.

Yea, I have a wheelchair, it's hard to believe, and some days I try to get out of it only to collapse to the ground helplessly, but as I land I grit my teeth and look at who knocked me over. "What's the big idea?" I ask, I then see who it is, a female Changeling without a disguise, I was on the ground with wide eyes until the changeling walked over to me. "I'm so sorry! let me help you up." She offered.

I don't deny her assistance, but I was curious as to why nobody was doing anything. "Why aren't you disguised?....are you insane?" I ask.

The Changeling blinked and then she did something odd......she laughed, not loudly, but quietly. "Why would I have to disguise?.....I'm alright." She wondered.

I shake my head and stare at her in disbelief, as though she truly lost her mind, I then notice her traveling companions, a young unicorn filly and a changeling baby, I was dumbfounded. "Are you alright kid?" The Changeling asked.

I nod and focus on her, finding my voice. "I've been through worse......thank you though, I need to get going." I say.

The Changeling let's me go, but I hear a voice. "Sorry for knocking you down!" Said the voice of the filly, as was obvious by the differentiating tone.

As I move, I slowly start putting the pieces together, I was not back home, I was somewhere.....different, the whole world was different, the air was clean, my friends were happy even without me, not that it mattered.

The only upside of this was that the voice in my head was gone, and my mind was clear.......if you can call that an upside.

I kept on going, I eventually reached the familiar building, and saw that it was completely wrecked, my heart fell and I slowly wheeled up to the building, I set a hoof on it and feel the rotted wood, I closed my eyes and sighed, I opened them, looked around for anyone watching and then went further inside, seeing nothing at all in the decayed structure.

There was a sense of sadness in the house, that much was certain, I look up and see the bright blue sky, I close my eyes and chuckle sadly. "I'm not in my universe, am I?" I ask.

"No your not." Said a female voice, I turned around to see a tall white wolf with cyan eyes standing upright. "Who are you?" I ask.

"I should be the one asking that.......but seeing as I'm polite, my name is Lyaroa, a Sentinel." She replied.

I stretch my good wing out and then fold it. "I'm Storm Blitz, but everyone just calls me Storm, or Psycho, if you want to be clever." I reply.

_____*Ponyville*_____

Lyaroa crossed her arms as she looked at the young Pegasus, he didn't belong here, that much was certain, but he was damaged incredibly, he had bandages covering him, and they were covered in blood, what fur she could make out was a discolored dark blood red, his hair was black, changing to molten red, to dark red, to a faint gray, his left eye was forest green, while his right was dark blood red, his one wing was completely destroyed, as though a boulder landed on it, and he had a harness around him that held a dagger.

"You look like shit." She said.

"Fuck you." Storm replied easily.

Lyaroa smirked. "At least you aren't meek, that should make everything simpler." She said, soon face palming after realizing that she sounded like a creep.

Storm didn't reply to that, instead he rolled his eyes and moved himself towards the exit. "Yea right, like I'll let you do anything to me." He replied.

Lyaroa shook her head. "You want to go home?....I'm your best bet World Jumper." She stated.

Storm's left ear twitched and he faced her. "World Jumper?" He asked.

"A being who hops across worlds willy nilly, ergo, a world jumper." Lyaroa answered.

Storm huffed and left the building, he looked at Lyaroa. "Can you actually get me home?.....or are you just luring me to a false sense of security?" He asked.

Lyaroa left the building and looked down at him. "I can get you home, I just need a few days." She replied.

Storm looked at her for a few moments, he then started moving. "Ok then!....lets get going Liar." He said.

Lyaroa raised an eyebrow and teleported next to him. "Liar?" She asked.

Storm grinned. "Your name's Lyaroa correct?" After seeing her nod, he chuckled. "Then what does the first bit sound like eh?" He asked.

Lyaroa sighed and just followed the kid. "Very funny, let's just go, the last thing I need is anyone talking to you." She said.

Storm whistled and looked up at the sky. "Little late." He replied.

Lyaroa looked at him. "Why?" She asked.

Storm shrugged. "I talked to Dash and Applejack, along with a Changeling and her kid." He answered truthfully.

Lyaroa paused and then shook her head. "Ok, rephrase, I don't need you talking to anyone ELSE." She said.

_____*Later that day.*_____

I looked around as i wheeled myself into the building, i then looked at Lyaroa who headed for the stairs. "Got any beer?" I ask curiously.

Lyaroa stops and looks at me strangely, she then shakes her head. "We have nobody here who drinks it, along with an eight or nine year old.......I'm not leaving beer around for a....." She looks at me. "Eleven year old to find." She said before going upstairs.

I grunt and wheel myself over to the couch, I spot a large pile of books in the corner and head over, I grab one and look at the title, I sigh as I rub my eyes and grab another, hoping to find something interesting to read.

To be honest, I'm fine with any kind of book, unless it's a book about sex or anatomy, then no.....I'll live without it, though personally, I prefer adventure or mystery, even horror books. 

I hear a door open and I look to see a large golden bear walking around carrying a stick, the bear notices me and blinks, he then goes upstairs in silence.

I curse my crippled legs and head back to the couch, I'm not normally so frustrated with injuries and such, but not being able to go up some stairs was annoying as hell.

I hear a door close upstairs and i shake my head, I don't pry into other people's conversations on a daily basis, unless I need too, besides, it doesn't take much thinking to know what they are talking about, I manage to sit myself down and I sigh in relief, the chair was terribly uncomfortable, but it was better than nothing.

I simply sat there with my eyes closed for what felt like forever, eventually, I hear movement on the stairs, I open my eyes and look to them, it was the bear and Lyaroa, they didn't seem to amused, in fact, they seemed rather angry. "Let me guess, the bear wants me gone?" I ask.

The bear huffs and walks over to the chair across from me, while Lyaroa walks over and sits on a futon that was in the corner. "He does, and so do I, we have enough trouble without you thrown in the mix." She says.

I clutch my side with my right hoof and let my other hoof rest, I chuckle softly and look at the bear. "Not my fault to be honest, last thing I remember is lying down and going to sleep." I replied.

Lyaroa stood up and put her right hand over her eyes, I look at the bear and blink. "So what about you?....I get the Sentinel, but you I don't understand at all." I admit before slowly returning to my chair.

The bear didn't react at first, but he eventually rested his right hand on his right leg. "Need help?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Nope, I'm alright." I reply as I carefully position myself to get on the chair.

Lyaora eventually walked back over and sat on the couch, she looked at me and spoke. "Now, before I send you back there are three things I want you to keep in mind." She started.

"First, it'll take a few days to get enough power back so I can send you home, second, I will need you to describe your world as best you can, thirdly, you are not to interfere or antagonize the locals." Lyaroa said calmly.

I grin as I get myself situated on the chair. "Yes ma'am!" I say mockingly with a fake salute, I chuckle at my joke and rest my arms at my sides. "But in all seriousness, I'm not the most patient person, but I can wait, I don't exactly care about my world so I can tell you about it, and as for the last, good luck with that, I'm no good with keeping the peace, I'm more the kill first talk later kind." I say before wheeling around the couch. "Do you at least have water?" I ask.

Lyaroa snapped her fingers and a glass of water appeared on the table. "Just show restraint from the former." She replied.

I roll my eyes and as I head to the table, I suddenly stop and I harden my expression, I quickly dive to the couch from the chair. "DUCK!" I shout, I had felt a dark presence approach rapidly and acted on instinct.

The others didn't pick up on it however, so when all of the windows exploded and fire spread throughout the building, they were quite shocked.

I grunt as I force myself through the pain that shot through me, I manage to force myself to look up as I hear heavy footsteps. "Oh no." I mutter.

_____*Ponyville, Lyaroa's house.*______

Lyaroa thanked her own thought process as she didn't need to breath, she heard Storm and Golden coughing because of the smoke, she looked around, the walls were incinerated and everything was burning, she heard heavy footsteps moving around the building, she growled and threw a small amount of power out to reveal the sources.

What she saw was unknown to her, which was rare for her, the creatures were heavily armored in ebony colored plate, their skin was varying, there were four of them, one had faded red skin, one had dark blue skin, one was pitch black, while the last was brown, she instinctively reached for Soul and Spirit, but she remembered they were gone.

Lyaroa looked around as all four of the creatures circled her and the others, they never lost focus however. "By our masters will, we sentence you to death!" They declared.

Golden managed to get his breathing under control just in time to dodge a very large axe, he slammed into a wall and soon was introduced to the recieving end of a war hammer. 'Ok, now I know what people go through when I hit them.' He lost all breath, and was thrown across the room.

Lyaroa dodged an attack from a greatsword and quickly threw a kick at the creatures head, her foot impacted, but she was surprised to see that the creature was unfazed, she then felt herself become immobilized and thrown up to the ceiling and thrown back down, just to be impaled by the greatsword.

Storm growled and looked to the nearest creature, he reached for his blade but the creatures soon took notice, he cursed under his breath and he closed his eyes as they slowly approached.

As he went to open his eyes, he heard even more fire flooding in and hearing a very pissed off voice. "I LEAVE YOU IN CHARGE FOR ONE DAY AND YOU ARE ALREADY UNDER ATTACK!" Said the voice,

Storm immediately sheathed his dagger, not willing to be on the recieving end of whatever was causing the creatures to flee, as was evident by the lack of footsteps.

He felt himself be picked up and moved, more like thrown, from the burning building, he grunted as he landed hard on the ground.

Lyaroa quickly grabbed Golden and teleported the damaged bear out, followed by Roxanne.

_____*Storm's POV*_____

I finally reopen my eyes and take a quick breath, I look to the house and see that it was engulfed in fire, I clutch my side and manage to get myself in a position to look around better without my wheelchair.

I see a new face, it was definitely the source of the female voice from earlier, she was a fox with white fur and faded red patches, I look to the bear and see that he was hurt very badly, I let out a deep breath and speak. "Someone should do something for the bear." I suggest.

Lyaroa nodded in agreement and sets the bear down and begins healing him slowly, she looks at me curiously. "How come you didn't do anything?....I know you have power, so why didn't you use it?" She demanded.

"Because I'm not exactly mobile as you may have realized." I respond.

The fox looks at me and then at Lyaroa. "Who's the kid?" She asked.

Lyaroa looked down at the bear and shrugged. "I don't know everything, but his name is Storm, a world jumper that I need to keep around until I can send him back." She explained.

As the two converse about what to do now, I notice that the bear seemed to have been stabilized, I let out a sigh of relief and I hear a question come out, one I hear all the time. "What were those things anyway?" The fox asked.

Lyaroa shakes her head and stands up. "I don't know, my power isn't strong enough yet to read them completely, but they are strong." She said.

I chuckle and look at them. "They're demons, sent from Tartarus itself, why they attacked I'm not sure, but I know that much." I answer.

The fox looks at me with a skeptical stare. "How do you know that?" She asked.

"I fought demons before, and trust me, they all have weaknesses, for all their strengths, they are actually vulnerable, take those four losers for example, the Magic wielder is useless in melee combat." I answer.

Lyaroa even looks curious, but she remains calm and focuses on what's important. "Alright, how do you kill a demon?" She asked.

I sigh and look at her in annoyance. "You know, I would love to talk your ears off about this, but could one of you get me off the ground before I break my legs trying to stand up out of habit?" I ask.

Lyaroa snaps her fingers and I am suddenly in the air, suspended by a magic bubble, I roll my eyes. "Close enough I guess." I mumble.

"Wouldn't it be easier for me to he-" 

"No." I cut the Sentinel off mid sentence. "If I am miraculously able to walk again back in my world, everyone's going to ask how, and I would rather not lie, so no, do not heal my legs or wing, I will manage." I say firmly.

The fox looks at the bear who stirred to life, she walks over and kneels down. "You alright Gold?" She asked.

"Who's Gold?" I ask.

Lyaroa points at the bear. "His full name is Golden Freddy, we just call him Golden." She replied.

The fox then stands and looks at me. "I'm Roxanne, now, if you don't mind, I would like to put this fire out." She said.

I hold up a hoof and grin. "Allow me." I say.

I closed my eyes and I feel a tingle, I open my eyes up to reveal black irises, causing Lyaroa to blink in confusion.

______*Ponyville.*______

Lyaroa was somewhat confused, she had seen plenty of Sentinel's change their eyes color before, but this was different for a mortal, the only other people she saw do this was Fang, Golden and Roxanne, but that was because of their particular powers.

So when this kid of age eleven does this, and when black flames suddenly engulfed the building, only to disappear two seconds later, leaving no other fire behind, she got annoyed. "How did you do that?" She asked.

Storm shrugged with a grin. "I've been able to do that for a few years now, but it's not my favorite power." He replied as he floated.

Lyaroa looked at Roxanne and then at Storm, who's eyes had returned to their original color. "That wasn't my question." She said.

Storm shook his head. "And I didn't answer, so what?" He replied.

_____*a few hours later.*_____

Storm was now situated back in his wheelchair, thankfully it wasn't too badly damaged, so it was still usable, he said he would tell them what he knew of demons, if only to get home faster.

Once they were all caught up with recent events, not revealing the past, but mostly listening to Storm's explanation of demons, apparently he had fought them many times, and almost died quite a bit, but this time he claimed to know how to kill them. "If we find the one who ordered the attack, we kill him, and they stop, usually these demons don't hold grudges, so we would then be in the clear for waiting this out so I can go home." Storm said.

Lyaroa looked at Storm. "And how do you propose we find them?" She asked.

Storm looked at Golden. "He has psychic powers, he can track them if he has a piece of them on him.....like skin or blood, these demons are more likely to retreat, regroup, and attack again, than plan it all out." He said.

Golden stared at Storm catiously. "What makes you think I have psychic powers?" He asked.

Storm shrugged. "I see a lot of stuff, but most obvious is the constant mental block you have on your mind, it's a homing beacon of the stuff." He replied.

Lyaroa stood up and began pacing. "So from what you told us, demons mostly follow orders, but they stick to Tartarus or those who make special bargains right?" She said.

Storm nodded. "Yes." He replied.

Lyaroa rubbed her chin. "Then why did they attack us?.....there's nothing here for them to gain." She wondered.

Storm rolled to the window and looked up at the sun. "You must have something here that they wanted, or someone else hired them to do it, other than that, I got nothing." He then grinned and looked back at the three. "I'll help you beat these demons, and find out why they attacked, all I need from you is a ride home, sound fair?" He offered.

Lyaroa closed her eyes and spoke to Roxanne and Golden through telepathy. "What do you think?.....should we accept his help?"" She asked.

Roxanne's voice responded. "If what you told me was true, and Fang is in Hell, we might need the kid to help break him out, at least until you can send him home." She replied.

Golden decided to be the logical one again. "I think we should be careful, we obviously can't trust him, and he doesn't trust us, after all, I think he's the kind of person who hates being lied too." He added.

Lyaroa opened her eyes and saw that Storm had returned to looking outside. "Fine, I'll accept your help in fighting these demons, but you can't fight in that wheelchair." She pointed out.

Storm smirked as he turned around. "Yea, but I have knowledge on a lot of demons, that counts for something." He countered as he wheeled himself over.

_____*later that day.*_____

I wheel myself over to the window and as I reach it, I close my eyes, when I open them, I see that it was a cloudy night, I chuckle and rub my right leg a little, I felt a small amount of pain, but it soon dispersed.

I draw my dagger and look at it, I sigh as I realize which one it is. "Not this one." I mutter worriedly.

I manage to hear very faint footsteps behind me and I flip around to a new face, a young Pegasus filly with pink fur and a blue mane and tail, she approached me and she looked at me curiously. "Your Storm right?" She asked.

I nod. "Yes, and you?" I ask.

"Firefly." She replies.

I wheel myself over to the couch and shake my head. "Look kid, I don't know how you know me, but I'm not exactly in a chatty mood." I look at her. "Do us both a favor, forget I exist." I say before wheeling myself to the corner and closing my eyes.

Firefly sighed and walked over to the stairs. "Goodnight." She said quietly.

I sigh and focus on getting some sleep. "Whatever." I mutter.

____*unknown.*_____

I look around and see a field of bloody grass and snow, littered around the field were corpses of ponies and Griffins, I look around and I then grin out of sadistic joy, I hear a cough and I walk over, I draw my dagger and approach the source, when I find who it was, it was a Griffin soldier, I gain a sadistic grin and kneel down to the dying soldier.

"You will never rule our lands!" The soldiers snaps loudly.

I say nothing as I plunge my dagger deep into his lung, I chuckle as I brutalize the Griffin, and I feel......happy.

____*Lyaroa's house, 10:10 AM*_____

I open my eyes and begin moving, I see the Sentinel in the kitchen and I go inside. "Liar." I say blankly.

Lyaroa looks at me. "You mumble in your sleep, you know that right?.....kept me awake all damn night." She said.

I shrug. "Like I care." I say before leaving, I head to the living room and sit there. 

Lyaroa walks out and crosses her arms. "You going to fight demons on an empty stomach?" She asked.

I look at her with an iron gaze. "I went a week without food or water, I can handle a few days against some lousy demons." I reply before heading to the window.

Lyaroa looks at me with a look of......pity? I know she doesn't know I can see it, but I can, she turns around and heads back to the kitchen. 'The sooner we kill these demons, the better.' I tell myself.

____*Later that day.*____

Roxanne walked into the house and saw that the others were waiting, Golden and Storm we're focused, while Lyaroa was waiting impatiently. "Sorry I'm late." She said easily.

Storm chuckled. "Goodbyes taking all day?" He asked.

Roxanne shook her head and looked at Lyaroa. "We got anything?" She asked.

Lyaroa nodded. "We tracked the demons down to a warehouse in Manehatten, all we need to do is go there and kill them." She said.

Golden rolled his eyes and he tested the weight of his staff. "Yea, because that worked out great yesterday." He said sarcastically.

"To be fair Golden, you got blindsided immediately and I'm in a wheelchair." Storm said.

Lyaroa sighed. "Are we ready to go or not?" She asked.

After seeing the nods from Golden and Roxanne, she looked at Storm. "What?.....why is everyone looking at me?" He asked.

"You ready?" She asked.

Storm deadpanned, he pointed to the chair. "Yes, let's all wait for the guy in the wheelchair to be re-

Lyaroa snapped her fingers.

_____*Manehatten warehouse.*_____

"-ady." Storm stopped himself and looked around. "Ok, apparently we have teleportation." He noted.

Lyaroa looked around, the warehouse was very very dark, and heavy footsteps were everywhere. "Ok, odd, so Storm, any ideas?" Lyaroa asked as red eyes appeared throughout the darkness.

As Lyaroa looked at Storm for advice......he shrugged. "I have no idea." He said.

Lyaroa immediately fell flat on her face. "You are an idiot." She mumbled.

"I know." Storm replied, he blinked and he suddenly chuckled. "There are a lot of demons here....but we should be alright." He said as he prepared to move, as in, he turned.

Roxanne looked at Lyaroa. "Are you positive that bringing a cripple was a good idea?" She asked.

Lyaroa cracked her knuckles and grinned. "Time to find out." She said.

As if on cue, a few of the eyes vanished into the darkness, and they heard heavy breathing all around.

Golden released a powerful psychic pulse with his staff, it reverberated across the room and he could see the demons, if only briefly, he grumbled as his psychic vision soon vanished along with the pulse.

The demons circled the group, their shadows concealing them from all sight, Lyaroa would not risk using more power, so she did nothing as she stood around carefully looking around, so when a strike came from seemingly nowhere, she fell to the ground and quickly got back up. "Ok, that's cheating." She muttered.

The demons continued doing this, striking from the shadows, and retreating soon after, they didn't target Storm as much for some reason, but that was fine by him.

Roxanne however, had no issue with using her power, so she charged some fire, and looked to the others. "Get down!" She called out.

Storm just looked at her. "Your kidding right?" He asked, but when he saw the fire, he sighed. "Of course your not." He said as the fox released the nova.

The demons cringed as the white flame illuminated the surrounding area, revealing them to all.

Storm blinked and looked around. "Um Guy's....." He watched as what appeared to be dozens upon dozens of demons swarmed in. "We've got a small issue." He warned.

Roxanne and the others closed in as more showed up around them, the demons were of all shapes and sizes, from demons that looked like hounds, to demons with blades for hands, they were all there.

Storm then heard a dark chuckling, coming from what he guessed was the entrance, he looked and saw the four demons from before, but in the middle, he saw a familiar face, he growled and faced the new demon.

The others noticed this and turned to face it, the new demon was tall and stood upright on two feet, it had two horns that protruded from its forehead, then bent down towards its shoulders, it also had two long and slick arms, not very muscular, it also had two wings in its back, as it approached, it did so with a savage grin, the demon clapped its hands slowly. "Bravo Sentinel, you do live up to your reputation of tracking, I thought it would have taken you a few more hours at most." It said in praise.

It then gestured to the small army. "But really?.....charging headfirst into an army of demons in the condition your in?.....you aren't that smart after all." It then mocked.

Lyaroa growled and went to approach, but she then noticed something odd......Storm had drawn his dagger and was clutching it tightly, he also had a feral snarl plain on his face. 'They must have a history back in his world.' "Storm, do you know this guy?" She asked.

Storm looked up at her. "His name is Gerkla, an archdemon that doesn't have much physical prowess, but he's a master of deception, magic and strategy, but that's not all he has." He then looked at Gerkla. 

The demon laughed and then held his hand up. "I'm surprised, I didn't think a child would have knowledge of me, oh well.......kill them all!" He ordered.

At once, the small army attacked ferociously, Golden quickly sent a shockwave out, knocking any of the unaware demons down, he then began to swing his staff in a whirlwind motion, attempting to fend them off.

Roxanne threw up a wall of white flame around Storm while throwing fireballs around at the demons, and with Lyaroa pummeling the demons that got close, it was easier to keep them away.

Storm growled as the fire blocked his path, he managed to kill the stray demon that approached him by stabbing them in the head, but he wanted to get out into the fight, and he knew all Gerkla had to do, was sit back.

And Storm was right, as the fight went on, opportunities to fight were shrinking, as there were so many of them, the wall of Fire around Storm had vanished, only to be replaced by a powerful Crystal barrier. "Are you serious right now?" He complained.

Roxanne grinned and fired a beam of fire to the horde of demons, only for a hellhound to bite her and get killed by Lyaroa, with her arm injured, Roxanne had to fall back, she could still throw the occasional fireball, but the hellhound did something that made her less able to do so.

Lyaroa was not faring any better, with her powers drained, it was difficult to fight without wasting what little she had.

Golden was by far the worst off, more and more demons had been able to land strikes, and he was slowing down, even with his psychic renewal. 'We need to do something, and fast.' He thought.

Storm could not see anything past the barrier, and he knew that keeping this up was taking its toll on Roxanne, he could hear the walls rumble as he looked around. "This might be a good time to let me out." He pointed out.

Little did Storm know that Roxanne was unable to hear him over the sound of demons and fire, she barely dodged another demonic sword as she backed up again.

And in just a few moments, they were all forced to stand back to back, Gerkla laughed as the demons closed in for the kill, he blinked just as they began their lunge.

....and when he opened his eyes, three rows of demons were killed. "What?" He muttered.

Lyaroa had closed her eyes at that moment, and she opened them and saw a welcome sight. "What kept you?" She asked.

Roxanne fell to the ground and looked up. "Your late." She said.

Golden sighed as his wounds healed. "What happened this time?" He asked.

Standing back to back, was a dragon, and a Night Wolf. "Sorry, I had to piss." Shade said.

Emerald looked around. "And I was held up, apologies." He replied.

Lyaroa knelt down to tend to Roxanne's wound, can you take it from here?" She wondered teasingly.

Shade grinned and threw a disintegration blast out, killing three more quickly. "No problem." He said.

Emerald breathed a cone of fire, and incenerated the non flame resistant demons. "This will be quick." He said as he drew his halberd.

Gerkla pondered this situation intently, he then looked at the four demons. "We shall withdraw for now, we must examine this further." He said before vanishing.

Three of the four demons followed suit, but the sword wielder thought for a moment before following, an idea striking him.

With Emerald and Shade assisting, the rest of the demons fell swiftly, soon enough, nothing was remaining in the warehouse except for the six. 

And inside the barrier, Storm sighed and once he heard quiet, he looked around. "What happened? did we win?" He asked.

When Lyaroa made sure Roxanne wasn't dying, she looked at the barrier that she made before it crumbled from being dispelled. 'When did she learn to so that?' She wondered.

Storm looked extremely annoyed as he looked around. "Oh that's just fantastic!......we get a chance to kill that demon!.....and you throw it away!......GAH!" He then proceeded to wheel around angrily.

Shade watched as Storm threw his tantrum. "What's his problem?" He wondered.

Lyaroa stood up and looked at Shade. "I honestly don't know, but from the looks of it." She paused and looked at Storm, who was now clutching his dagger tightly. "It seemed like he knew the archdemon." She said.

Storm sighed and tried to calm down as Lyaroa approached. "Yea I knew the bastard........back home, I killed him." He said as he wheeled over to the others. "The most important thing you all need to know about Gerkla, he is a coward, but he's a smart coward." He pointed out.

Roxanne chuckled. "Didn't seem like it to me." She said.

Storm rested his left arm on the wheelchairs arm. "Then why did he massacre my kind a thousand years ago?" He asked.

Golden walked over. "I don't know about you, but there are tons of Pegasi out there." He said.

Storm huffed and wheeled away. "Back in my world, Gerkla manipulated the races of Equis to hunt down and murder my kind, driving us to extinction, except one.....Karo Fral, my ancestor." He then looked at the others. "You see, my kind are the only ones who can kill him, so even if you cut him apart or disintegrated him, he would just come right back." He explained.

_____*later that day.*_____

As everyone reconvened and rested, Storm approached Roxanne. "Question, what happened to your arm?" He asked.

Roxanne flexed it to test how much it hurt, she grunted at a slight amount of pain. "One of those hellhounds bit me." She said.

Storm wheeled over and examined the wound. "It will sound ridiculous, but the fastest way to get hellhound venom out, is to pour saltwater on it." He said.

Roxanne looked at him angrily at the mention of venom. "And you didn't tell me that hellhounds had venom why?" She asked with pure hostility. 

Storm shrugged. "I thought you knew." He said. "Don't worry, all it does is make you more susceptible to mood swings, if your into that, fine by me." He said as he moved away.

Roxanne held her hand up and went to throw a fireball at the kid, but she then decided against it. "Lyaroa, can you get me some saltwater?" She asked.

Lyaroa popped around the corner and looked at Roxanne. "We've been drinking it for months Roxanne, you know that." She said.

Roxanne's eye twitched and she threw the fireball at Lyaroa. "JUST GO SHUT THAT KID UP!" She yelled.

Lyaroa promptly ran off. 'Moving on......I hope she's not like like at night because she will probably decapitate me.......again.' She thought as she walked off.

______*The next day, 4:21 PM*______

I wheeled myself towards the table that everyone was gathering around, we had a fix on Gerkla, he was hiding out in a cave system that used to be a mine, I don't remember the towns name, but it was a good hiding place as nobody lived there anymore.

I looked around and decided to pay attention. "Ok, obviously there is going to be only one entrance to this place, so the best thing to do is go in carefully, Golden will go in first with me following close behind, followed by Storm then Shade, with Emerald following him then Roxanne at the back." Lyaroa explained.

"After we're inside, we need to find Gerkla, however possible, and once we find him, we will subdue him long enough for Storm to kill him, then we'll be free to continue." She followed up.

Storm looked at Lyaroa. "Why would need to continue?.....once he's dead, we have nothing that's going to come after us, because of that, it's a waiting game so you can send me home......unless you have another motive?" He wondered.

Roxanne looked at Storm. "How about you mind your own business kid?" She asked with hostility.

Storm rolled his eyes as everyone else seemed shocked at the attitude. "And.....mood swing." He said.

Roxanne suddenly blinked and looked around with a calm expression. "So, are we going to do this?" She asked calmly.

Storm looked at Lyaroa. "She didn't take the saltwater......did she?" He asked.

Lyaroa looked at Roxanne who was holding her arm carefully. "Nope." She replied.

_____*at the mine entrance, 6:10 PM.*______

The group approached the entrance to the mine carefully, they weren't surprised to find guards, and once they were killed, they quickly entered the mine in formation, once they were inside, the entrance collapsed, blocking out all light, and Roxanne had to give them light with her fire.

They soon started their slow decent into the mine, ever wary as they heard the dark groaning and growling of demons and other dark creatures.

"Everyone be careful, we don't know what's down here yet, so be on your guard." Emerald said.

Storm kept pace as best he could as he wheeled himself along, his wheels squeaking eerily through the mine. "Not like I have a choice bud." He said sarcastically.

Golden tried his tactic of using psychic pulses to lead them, but something was interfering. "It's hard to get a good fix, soemthings messing with my powers." He said quietly.

"Demons have a natural resistance to Psychic energy, and they also emit a small amount of dark energy that disrupts those powers." Storm expalained as they moved.

Lyaroa kept looking around as they moved, ever watchful of the stone walls and ceiling, it was dark even with Roxanne's flame, so they had to move slowly.

Shade however had the easiest time seeing in the mine, he had recently developed night vision, but it was weak, so it only let him see slightly better in the dark.

They soon came to a large area with a barricade blocking the path, it had a rusted padlock on it and was easily broken, so as Emerald went to break the lock off, Storm spoke. "Hold it." He whispered.

Emerald looked at him. "Why?" He asked.

Storm wheeled up and placed a hoof on the lock, he soon sighed and looked at the drake. "This lock is enchanted to send a signal to its creator when destroyed, we'll just have to go over it." He said.

As Golden and Emerald crossed over, Shade crossed over carefully but a loud rumbling soon shook the mine violently, Lyaroa looked around and saw a small path off tho the side. "We'll go this way, you three keep going that way." She said.

Golden nodded and began walking, taking the lead as Emerald and Shade followed.

Storm shook his head and followed Lyaroa. "This is a bad idea." He muttered.

Lyaroa led Roxanne and Storm through the mine tunnel, it was difficult to see with all of the shadows everywhere, even with night vision, but they eventually found a lit room, it was small but it had a single torch, as soon as they approached it, the torch went out and they were in the dark once again. "Typical." Roxanne said before igniting the torch.

Storm looked around carefully, searching for any sign of treachery. "We should keep moving, every second we waste is another one that Gerkla can use against us." He said.

Lyaroa nodded. "Agreed, let's go." She said.

_____*the others.*_____

Shade was walking up front with Emerald following him, Golden was in the rear keeping an eye on things, they hadn't seen any demons yet, but they were very cautious about everything at this point.

So when they entered a room that didn't belong in a mine, as it was completely shaped, it had walls and symbols on the floors, the ceiling was completely smooth with some jagged spikes around the floor. "If this isn't a demons room, I will shit." Golden stated as they entered.

As the trio reached the center of the room, dark spikes appeared around the exits and they were sealed by demonic magic, afterwards multiple demons entered the room through portals, they were tall, had powerful physique and wielded swords of red iron. 

After the trio was thoroughly surrounded by them, one last portal opened and a four legged demon appeared, he had two long arms and wielded a mace with a shield, he had dark brown skin and two horns that went down to his shoulders, it was armored heavily and had a gaze that made you feel uneasy. "You were fools to come here, though not as much as the others." It said in a deep voice.

The trio readied themselves for combat, as did the demons. "I will make you this one time offer......surrender the Sentinel, and you will go unharmed." The demon said.

Emerald was the first to speak. "We decline your offer demon, I will not lose what little honor I have left and betray a friend and ally." He declared firmly.

Golden was a little puzzled at this. 'That's odd, Emerald always called Lyaroa an acquaintance, never a friend, what's stranger, he never speaks first, never, I guess he doesn't approve of the idea of selling out an ally.' He thought before focusing on the demons.

The demon was silent for a time, he then readied itself for battle. "Very well, soldiers of Tartarus!....kill them all!" He ordered with a roar.

Shade fired off a quick disintegration blast as the demons began to charge, but that did not slow them down, they apparently did not care if one of their own died, so they charged and soon reached them, and it soon became clear that it was a losing battle.

Golden was still having difficulty fighting the demons, with their natural resistance to psychic energies, and the unnatural aura they had that disrupted it, he was severely limited in what he could do, he could barely even heal himself with how many demons were around, so he resorted to his staff to protect him.

Emerald wasn't having so much difficulty on his end, he was able to use some arcane magic to blast the demons away, while using his halberd to finish off any who neared, but even so, he knew that it wouldn't be long before they were overwhelmed.

And he was correct, for as Shade disintegrated multiple demons with a nova, the larger demon had charged up and swung its mace, hitting him directly in the chest, causing him to fly into a wall and crash into the floor.

Golden turned to face the large demon as it turned towards him, he threw a powerful psychic shockwave at it, but it did little as the demon merely brushed it off. "Pitiful." It said before slowly approaching, swinging it's made as it drew closer.

Golden tried to dodge as best he could, but with the demons disrupting him, he wasn't able to restore his energy as fast, thankfully, the larger demon was killing any lesser demon that happened to be nearby when it swung.

Emerald slammed his halberd down and sent a pulse through the floor, making the nearby demons stumble, he then spun his weapon swiftly, causing a small twister to form around him, causing the demons to be thrown around as tried to attack.

Shade grunted as he tried to get up, it felt like all of his bones were broken, he held himself up with his hands as he tried to get to his feet. "That was unpleasant." He muttered.

As he rose to his feet, he saw a few demons charge at him immediately, he had no time to dodge, so he panicked and hastily threw out a disintegration nova, he grunted and collapsed to his knees, he breathes heavily as he looked forward, he saw that Emerald was holding his own, but Golden was being pushed back inch by inch, he gritted his teeth and rose up once again, and once more, multiple demons from the small army charged at him, he cursed under his breath and dodged their initial attack. 'I can't get a break.' He complained.

Soon, one of the minor demons managed to hit Shade, knocking him down, it and the other demons, then started to impale Shade over and over any way they could.

Shade did everything to avoid screaming, but he got an idea and did something he didn't do very often, he stopped breathing and fell over limp, making no sound as he faked his death. 'At least I can't die, but man this hurts.' He thought as the demons inspected him for a brief moment, they then ran off to join the others in battle.

Golden was faring no better, he was losing ground quickly, especially since the large demon was summoning spike walls to pin him down, and soon, he was cornered, with no way out, he decided to make a stand, he braced himself and stood off against the demon.

The demon soon began marching toward Golden, it raised its mace and swung down, Golden blocked the strike but was not ready as the demon charged with its shield out, using it as a ram, the demon pinned Golden to the wall, it then backed up as Golden dropped his staff when he landed.

Golden growled as he looked up at the demon. "You will regret this demon." He stated.

The demon raised its mace. "I've heard that before." It countered before swinging.

Emerald then heard a slam followed by an anguished scream, he repulsed the demons away and looked towards the source, he froze at the image.

The large demon held Shade in one hand, and Golden in the other, and they were both torn up beyond belief. "The bear lives, so if you wish to spare him, surrender now." The demon said.

Emerald looked around and saw that the demons had regrouped and we're ready for battle. 'I could fight, but that would mean losing both Golden and Shade, if they aren't already dead.'

Soon enough however, Emerald made a call, he dropped his halberd and the demons took him. 'Its up to you guys.' He thought as he was taken away.

_____*by the others*_____

Roxanne kept the trio's path lit up as they moved, they hadn't encountered anything so far, but this only set Storm on edge even more than before. "I don't like this.....it's quiet, too quiet." Lyaroa mentioned silently.

"I know that feeling, trust me, it's the quiet moments you want to avoid in these situations." Storm replied quietly.

Roxanne suddenly stopped as they neared a fork in the path. "Ok guys, left or right?" She asked.

Storm closed his eyes as Lyaroa looked between the paths.

Roxanne waited as she extinguished the torch and set in down, she then heard Storm's chair move, she lit the area up with her fire and saw him watching the left path with his eyes shut. "What are you doing?" She asked.

Storm held up a hoof and then opened his eyes, he looked at Roxanne. "Right." He said.

Lyaroa shrugged. "Right is right after all." She said.

Storm rolled his eyes. "As if that ever works." He muttered.

Roxanne led the way along the right hand path, she looked around carefully as they walked through the old mine paths, some of the old wooden supports and mine carts creaked and squeaked respectively, giving the place that eerie feeling, she heard a rock falling on the ground somewhere in the caverns, but she couldn't place its location.

Lyaroa however was focusing on the surrounding area, she looked around as they progressed, she was trying hard to avoid using her powers, as to let them recover more.

Storm however had no issue using his powers, he scanned the area fervently while keeping himself alert of anything that evaded his gaze.

Eventually, they made it to an area that didn't belong to a mine, it was dark, with red steel on the walls and a sword stuck in the floor, there was only two ways out, the way they entered, and a door on the opposite end. "I really don't like this." Storm said.

Lyaroa looked up and then at the sword. "Neither do I, but still, it's obvious as to what we need to do." She said as she walked up.

The trio approached the center of the room, and as they neared the blade stuck in the floor, Roxanne felt a feeling of unease as she stared at the blade. "Hey Lyaroa, does this blade look familiar?" She asked.

Lyaroa approached the sword and examined it, it was definitely similar to Spirit in design, but it was not him, the steel was dark red, with a special dark green iron that radiated power, she reached out and grabbed it, she immediately felt a dark presence fill the room. "Yea, that makes sense, obvious trap, so you spring it." Storm mocked.

Lyaroa forced the sword out of the floor and the room filled with demons, she braced herself for a fight and held the sword in her right hand. "Alright, let's see what you can do." She said.

As the demons charged the group, Lyaroa felt a dark presence emanate from the blade, it was strong and fierce, but not unstoppable, she swung it at the first demon that neared, and the blade unleashed a torrent of shadowy power and killing every single demon nearby, she grinned. "Sweet." She said as she began to fight the rest.

Storm for the most part, simply shoved a dagger into any demon that was stupid enough to get close, while Roxanne pummeled the demons attacking her.

Lyaroa soon discovered another ability that the sword had, it could leave a mark of shadow on its victim that exploded either in a few moments, or when told telepathically.

Eventually, the demons stopped, as the trio was able to continue. 

They walked through the door and Storm looked at the sword. "You sure you want to keep that?.....if I know Gerkla, and I do, he would use it as a trap." He pointed out.

Lyaroa shrugged. "Then I'll deal with it as I go." She said.

_____*five minutes later*_____

The trio had to go in a massive loop from that point, having to backtrack all the time, just to grab the key for a door five rooms ago, only to get another key for the room they got the first one from.

"What is with bad guys and annoying puzzles?" Roxanne asked.

Storm wheeled along behind her as they moved. "It's a stalling tactic, it's surprisingly effective." He explained as he went up the ramp for the umpteenth time.

Roxanne approached the locked door and turned the key, a satisfying click was heard and the door opened, what was on the other side however, was quite surprising.

When they saw was probably the closest you could get to hell on earth, there must have been miles upon miles and demons and their dark structures, along with the screams of agony to help support it.

They quickly hid behind a broken wall and Lyaroa looked out to the hordes of demons, thankfully, the door behind them vanished without a sound, and none of the demons noticed. "And you didn't know that all of this was here?" Roxanne asked.

Lyaora looked at her. "As strange as it may be to you Roxie, I didn't happen to notice an army of demons building a magical kingdom, forgive me if I was preoccupied." She replied out of irritation.

Storm waited and looked around with the others, he spotted a few walls with climbing space with no demons guarding it, but he was crippled and could not climb it, there was a path that had few bumps, but it was littered with demons, the only path that made sense to go through was one that made many bumps and few demons, but it looked like it led to the rooftops. "Which way?" He asked.

Lyaroa pointed up at the wall. "We climb." She said.

Storm looked at her. "In case you forgot, I can't climb.....so how am I getting up there?" He asked.

Lyaroa grinned.

______*a few moments later.*______

I grumble as I climb up the walls with my new hands, yes hands, the Sentinel had decided to turn me into a young human for a while, at least that's what she called this species, to help balance out my broken legs, sadly, she didn't think to bring my wheelchair, so afterwards, I'm doomed. 'Ok, note to self.....burn her alive after this.' I thought as i climbed up.

The form she gave me wasn't that bad If it means anything, it wasn't exactly off, I'm still male, at least I believe i am, sorta pale skin, black hair and no real muscle, at least she didn't give me glasses or contacts, not that I would use them, and no.......I am not naked, I have something called pants on, they are a very dark blue, with a matching t-shirt, at least that is  what she says they're called, how should I know? I'm not even a teen.

She at least had the common decency to give me a belt for my dagger, it would not be good if I lost it. 

Finally we reach the top, after a few failed attempts due to my lack of knowledge of movement as a biped. 

I look down at the demon city and I sigh. "Haven't been here in a while." I mutter.

I notice Roxanne looking at me and I look at her. "Do you have a question?" I ask calmly.

Roxanne stood up and looked down at me. "How much more do you know about this place?.....when were you last here?" She questioned.

I stand and stretch a little, trying to get used to my new body. "A few years ago, me and some others came down here looking for something, we found it, but we didn't get out with it, mostly due to a Succubus named Jil'gra." I answered.

Lyaroa looked up at the ceiling. "Wonder how they behave?" She muttered in deep thought.

I shrug. "I wouldn't test it, regardless, we should keep moving, don't know when this place will fill up." I said before walking off.

We quickly made our way through the demonic city, only stopping to hide or kill some isolated demons, I still hadn't had a chance to act, but i knew that sooner or later I would have to do something.

As we approached a nearby building to hide in, a patrol turned the corner, and we quickly hid to avoid detection.

Not one of us made a sound, me and Roxanne did not breathe, and Lyaroa kept completely still, and just as the patrol passed by, I felt an all too familiar feeling in my head, I grunt and clutch my head as I heard a terrible screech in my mind. 'Damnit!......not now!' I said to myself.

The patrol apparently heard my grunts of pain and looked towards us, they spotted us quickly and one of them shouted. "INTRUDERS!" 

Apparently, Tartarus itself woke up, as a massive roar was heard throughout the city and the patrol engaged.

Thankfully, Lyaroa and Roxanne were able to quickly dispatch the guards before grabbing me in my paralyzed state and running off.

I managed to force myself to stand on my own and joined the others in running, I didn't need to see to know that a massive army of demons was behind us, I managed to throw up a wall of fire, but I was forced to extinguish it when I felt tremendous pain in my head, I hold the scream in as I bared my teeth.

We eventually reached a giant colosseum, we tried to go around, but the two paths to either side were soon blocked by demons, having no choice, we ran inside the colosseum as fast as we could.

Of course it was a trap, but we had no choice at all, either run into the trap, or die, and me?....I love putting on a show.

We were chased all the way to the center of the colosseum, and just as we made it into the arena itself, we were trapped inside a large barrier. "Well, at least we get a front row seat." I say as demons teleport Into the stands, filling the colosseum quickly.

"How can you make jokes at a time like this?" Lyaroa asked.

Storm shrugged. "Because I am completely insane." I reply.

Soon enough, a powerful presence made itself known, and sure enough, it was Gerkla, he grinned as he clapped slowly, he looked around at the other demons. "Let's all give the big heroes a round of applause for their cowardice!" He taunted.

The demons and roared and laughed In agreement.

Gerkla laughed himself and then looked at the group. "Well come on then 'heroes' let's give the crowd a show!" He challenged as he began to cast magic.

"He did this to me before." I whisper. "He'll use portals first to summon minor demons to his side while channeling an invincibility shield, but the demons he summons have a nasty feedback, so killing them near him will disrupt his shield." I explain.

Lyaroa draws her new blade and readies herself. "Might as well use this." She said to herself.

I don't trust the blade, nor do I trust Lyaroa and Roxanne, but right now I need them, so I'll deal with it, so long as my new body holds long enough, I should be able to kill.....

My eyes widened as realization came to me, when Lyaroa gave me this body, she changed my species, so until the form wears off, I can't kill Gerkla, I grit my teeth and draw my dagger. 'Fucking wonderful, I can't do anything until I lose this body, and even then....' My thoughts trail off as a familiar pain returns, I clutch my head as i fight it off. 'Of all times to deal with this shit.' I complain mentally before returning to a combat stance.

_____*a few moments later.*______

Roxanne ignited her claws and prepared for the moment the barrier dropped, Gerkla had quickly summoned a mass of lesser demons to guard him while he started to chant in an unknown dialect.

She looked over at the others and noticed that Storm was clutching his head for a brief second, she thought it was strange but didn't bother to ask.

She watched as the barrier lowered and the demons charged towards them mindlessly.

The demons were small and easily killed, but they were many, they were brown and only a few feet high, but they had a very feral grasp of magic, as they were simply throwing it around wildly.

Storm, no longer hampered by the lack of a wheelchair, was now mowing down demons, it wasn't very fast, but it was steady, and the help was welcome.

Lyaroa was testing the sword out to its fullest, she used its shadow magic to mark tons of demons, and then blew them up with its other magic, all the while using the shockwaves to eliminate swarms of demons, she also discovered that the shockwave was far more draining then the exploding marks, so she made a note to only use it when necessary.

Roxanne threw a wave of fire out to the growing horde, but even though it killed many, more came regardless, and in greater number.

It soon became obvious this was a losing battle, but the three weren't going to just give up.

Gerkla soon laughed and spoke again. "You can continue your pointless struggle as much as you like, but more will come to end your lives until the deed is done......now watch, and behold the true might of a son of Tartarus!" He declared as dark magic exploded around the room, and pillars of flame arose from the ground beneath them.

The explosions quickly proved to be a nuisance, as they seemed to empower the lesser demons while knocking them around, only Storm seemed to be able to dodge them with minimal effort.

Storm blinked and his eyes changed to black, he soon disengaged and focused his gaze, soon enough, a wall of black flame around in front of him and he sent it forward, but just as it went to make contact with the demons, the pain returned and he clutched his head again to fend off the pain, his eyes reverted to their previous colors and the fire vanished. 'Not now damnit!' He told himself firmly before killing a lesser demons who tried to jump him from behind.

"You are nothing compared to us foolish mortals!.....we are endless!" Gerkla boasted.

Storm's reactions were slowing as well, he wasn't as fast as before and was taking hits for once, he grunted as the demons punched and burned him, and he knew the cause. 'This body is slipping away, I'm going to revert soon.' With one last ditch effort, Storm blinked and summoned another wall of fire, only this one was massive, he sent it towards Gerkla and he felt the pain return, he forced his way past it and he looked at Lyaroa. "Undo the spell!" He shouted.

Lyaroa quickly reverted Storm back to his original body, he was now a Pegasus again with all of the damage he had before.

Storm fell to the ground due to his useless legs and he heard Gerkla scream in frustration.

"Very well mortals!" Gerkla angrily said. "You came here to kill me?.....well then you shall have your chance!" He said as he dropped his shield.

Gerkla grinned. "But first, before you begin your useless attack, let me show you the fruits of your recklessness!" He channeled more magic and three large spires of rock shot up from the ground.

Lyaroa and Roxanne both paused and saw what the demon meant, chained to the pillars were Golden, Emerald and Shade, they looked like they were torn apart, only Emerald looked to be alive however, but he was still severely injured.

"You led your allies, your.....friends, to this place, and this is the result." Gerkla chuckled darkly. "You know nothing of our power, this place shall be the death of you!" He said before empowering himself with very powerful magic.

Storm looked to Gerkla and grit his teeth. "This isn't good." He muttered.

Gerkla had grown a few feet after the empowerment, he had more mass to him as in he wasn't a weakling in physical combat anymore, he had a confident smirk on his face as he stared down at the trio. "Die mongrels!" He shouted as he threw a powerful wave of lightning and fire out.

"Demons of Tartarus, show these mortals how to fight!" He ordered, the demons soon jumped into the arena to fight, all too eager for battle.

Lyaroa quickly used the swords power to detonate multiple demons before they landed, but there were still many of them.

Gerkla slammed his fist on the ground and large golems arose. "Kill them all." He ordered.

Lyaroa was immediately attacked by multiple teleporting demons, while Roxanne had to deal with spellcasters.

Storm however was busy trying to avoid demons, he resorted to a black fire shield as the pain in his head grew, he felt powerful footsteps approach and he just barely looked up before getting kicked across the room, he impacted on the hard wall and he coughed up blood.

Roxanne managed to incinerate some of the sorcerers before being attacked by many armed demons, they had almost every weapon imaginable, but even that didn't stop her, she managed to stay one step ahead by igniting herself and nimbly striking and evading attacks.

Lyaroa had killed enough demons around her so that she could look away for a moment, she saw that Roxanne was holding her own, but she also saw Storm being overwhelmed by a horde of demons and Gerkla,

She managed to break off from her fight, she ran towards Storm but she did kill a few on the way, including some Roxanne was fighting. "Thanks!" The fox said before returning to the fight.

Storm felt incredible pain as a giant foot stepped on him, he could barely hear the battle through the pain, but he could make out Gerkla's evil chuckle. "How pathetic, why those fools brought you here escapes me, your death would speed along their demise, but I will take great pleasure in watching you suffer in endless agony before you die." He stated.

Lyaroa quickly marked all of the demons around Storm, including Gerkla, she then ordered the sword to detonate the marks, and they did......everything there was engulfed in a shadowy explosion, she then began to fight off more demons that neared.

She swung her new blade and cleaved a demon in two, but when she went to strike another, she was flung through the air like a rag doll by a powerful blow to her side.

Storm flinched in pain as he forced himself to get up, while he couldn't stand, he was able to go prone. 

Gerkla huffed. "Foolish creature, do you not know who I am!?" He said sternly. "I am Gerkla!......I cannot die to anything but one race, and they were exterminated by my hand long ago!" He declared proudly.

Roxanne incinerated every demon that was surrounding her, she then fell back to Lyaroa. "I could use some help here." She said to her Nightmare half.

'It wouldn't matter love, you heard him, only one race can kill him, and they are gone, besides, I still need time to recover from healing your wounds all the time.' The Nightmare replied.

Gerkla opened another portal and even more demons emerged, he laughed loudly at the situation. "A pity the other wolf did not survive, it would have been most enjoyable, forcing him to watch you die!" He said before approaching.

Storm growled and he looked directly at Gerkla, who seemed to have forgotten him. "Don't you dare get any closer to them!" He shouted fiercely.

Gerkla chuckled and looked at Storm. "Or what?....what could a lowly Pegasus do to the might of a true son of Tartarus?" He asked mockingly. before continuing his approach.

Storm screamed in pain as he felt his legs break. "You will pay for your crimes Gerkla!" He declared.

Lyaroa watched as the other demons marched toward her and Roxanne, seeming to forget Storm, she then marked the area around Storm and readied herself for a fight.

Roxanne did the same, she threw up a crystal guardian to protect Storm and she ignited her arms again.

Gerkla smirked. "You waste your time, nothing you do will save you now!" He declared before channeling magic into his hand as the demons attacked.

Storm screamed even more as he felt his arms breaking along with his wings, he even felt his spine breaking as well, his screams however, slowly changed to that of a roar.

As Storm screamed in agony, Lyaroa and Roxanne defended themselves from the brutal onslaught of demons, they would also have to dodge the occasional blast of dark magic from Gerkla, and they knew that if he hit them, it would be over.

Storm shut his eyes and screamed even more, he then opened his eyes and they were now feral, he looked right at Gerkla. "Times up!" He shouted out before he roared in pain.

Gerkla stopped firing for a moment and looked over at Storm, his eyes widened as he teleported to the center of the arena. "Impossible!" He said in fear.

The demons also stopped their attack and looked at what frightened their leader, they also backed up warily, they then started to flee from the arena.

Lyaroa looked over at Storm and saw how much he had changed.

His fur was much, much thicker, his wings were completely gone, he was now on all fours, and now growled loudly, his teeth were incredibly strong and sharp, his hooves were now claws that looked as though they would tear steel to ribbons, and his eyes were completely feral, as though nothing remained of who he was.

Storm took a stance and howled, it was haunting, it was as though the screams of the dead and the roar of a demon were mixed together, they sent a chill right up Lyaroa's spine.

Gerkla got a grip on reality and braced for combat. "No matter, I know exactly how to kill a Werewolf!" He declared as he channeled an immense amount of power into a magical blast, he then threw the blast when it was ready. "Wretched beast!" He shouted.

Storm looked at the blast and did not move, he made no expression except that of rage, when the blast impacted, Gerkla laughed. "So much for your secret weapon!" He laughed even more, but then he heard it......a roar, one that froze the demon lord in fear.

The roar sounded as though it came from a dragon, along with a wolf's howl, and that of a banshees screeching.

Gerkla looked at the site of the explosion, and Storm remained.......completely unharmed, he then charged at Gerkla swiftly.

"Minions!.....to me!" Grekla shouted as he opened some portals.

To the demons dismay, Storms claws ignited in black flame and he ripped the new demons apart in mere moments, leaving Gerkla alone once more.

Gerkla wasnt going to go down without a fight however, so he threw a punch at Storm but the werewolf simply dodged and tore up his arm, he tried to crush him under his foot again, but the wolf simply bit down hard, going right through Gerkla's armor.

With a scream, Gerkla recoiled and did the only sensible thing, he tried to flee, but Storm wasn't going to allow that.

The demon lord was no longer boasting, nor was he talking, the only thing he was doing was trying to evade Storm, but it didn't work.

For as Gerkla went to run, Storm lept onto his back and began to swipe at his spine, it didn't take long for Gerkla to become paralyzed from the loss of his spine as Storm ripped it out, so Storm approached the demons head and looked at him with a primal rage.

Gerkla did only one thing, he spat on Storm. "Abomination." He uttered.

Storm's jaws then found their way to Gerkla's neck, severing his head from his torso instantly.

Lyaroa and Roxanne could only stand there in shock of what just happened, eventually however, Lyaroa went to speak. "Storm, are you there?" She asked.

Storm looked at Lyaroa and Roxanne for a moment or two, then slowly approached the pair, when he reached, he smelled them for a few moments before walking away for a little, he then urged them to follow.

Roxanne and Lyaroa followed Storm carefully, not willing to be on the receiving end of the wolf's rampage, any demons they encountered now fled on sight.

They didn't stop until they reached what appeared to be an enormous prison complex, and there at the entrance, Storm changed once more, only this time, he didn't revert entirely, his body remained mostly the same, the only difference now was that he looked to be in control, he then looked at them and blinked, revealing one discolored dark blood red eye, and one forest green eye. "Lyaroa, go and free your friends, the demons wouldn't dare attack any of us, Roxanne, let's get what you guys came for." He said calmly.

As Lyaroa went to go get the others, Roxanne followed Storm Into the prison. "What makes you think we want something from a prison?" She asked.

Storm looked at her. "Your smell, you feel regret about something, all of you do, and that who or whatever is here, you want it back, I'm many things, but never a liar." He answered.

Roxanne watched as the guards opened the doors for them fearfully. "Do they always act this way?" She asked.

Storm looked around. "No, it's an ancient tradition for demons, the one who kills their master becomes the new master,  but I'm not a demon, so it only applies as long as I'm in Tartarus, the moment I leave, the strongest and most cunning fight for leadership." He answered.

Finally, when they reached a secluded hallway, Roxanne spoke again. "Your a werewolf." She stated.

Storm stopped for a moment before continuing his walk. "Yes, that's why I say 'my kind' instead of Pegasi." He replied.

"So what's it like?" She asked.

Storm shrugged. "If you don't mind agonizing pain three days a month, it's fine." He said.

"I thought it was only the full moon?" She asked.

"The full moon and the surrounding days, though I'm much stronger on a full moon." He replied.

Just as Roxanne went to speak, Storm turned a corner and led her to a massive cell block overlooking the rest of hell. "Go ahead and find your friend, I'll wait here." He said.

_____*meanwhile*_____

Lyaroa used her power to lower her friends to the ground safely and she mended the serious wounds, she heard a groan from Shade and she headed over to him. "You alright buddy?" She asked.

Shade soon opened his eyes and slowly sat up, he got his breathing under control and looked at Lyaroa. "Good to see you Lyaroa, thanks for the help, we were overwhelmed immediately." He said.

Lyaroa patted the Night Wolf's shoulder. "It's alright, I'm sure you did your best." She said before tending to the others.

Shade sighed and held his arm which still stung. "Where's Roxanne and the kid?" He asked.

Lyaroa helped Golden to sit up as he was having trouble. "They're going to find and free Fang, Gerkla is dead." She replied.

Golden grumbled. "Those damned demons keep blocking my powers, thank you for the help." He said.

Emerald grunted as he sat up. "There were too many of them, it's a miracle that we yet live." He added.

Lyaroa looked in the direction of the prison. 'Hope you guys find him.' She thought as she went about helping her friends recover.

______*Meanwhile*_______

Roxanne was searching every single cell for Fang, but to no avail so far, she had already searched the first level and was starting on the second.

The only sounds coming from the cells were the inmates that said common things like they should not be here, but one comment made her angry, she first heard a whistle and then a voice. "Hey there baby, what brings you here?" Said a male prisoner that was trying to be clever.

Roxanne smirked and looked at him and ignited him, incinerating him instantly. "Anyone else have a smart ass comment!?" She asked loudly.

A voice from above answered her. "Yea! how about you come up here and kiss my ass!" Shouted the voice.

Roxanne shook her head and began searching the cells one by one, after a few minutes, she made it to the fifth level, not seeing Fang she continued.

As she rushed up she heard the prisoners complain and talk. "Hey babe? where you going?" One particular voice asked, Roxanne quickly went down and incinerated him.

She eventually made it to the twentieth level, it only took her half an hour, which is incredible considering how long it takes to get from here to there in the cell block, she then began searching the cells, and when she came up to the tenth cell she looked inside to see a small red centaur in the corner......and a very familiar face. "Fang?" She asked.

The wolf on the cot looked ragged and tired, he was also completely underfed as was obvious by the lack of muscle or life in him, but it was undeniably Fang, he looked over at her and shook his head with a chuckle. "Rox, haven't seen you in a while." He said.

Roxanne smiled. "Same here old man." She replied.

Fang smiled softly and approached the bars. "Well uh, this is awkward, so where have you been?" He asked.

Roxanne sighed and held her head for a moment. "For a while I was mourning, then I moved on, it wasn't until a month ago that Lyaroa said that she was able to track you." She said.

Fang nodded. "Yea, hell has a nasty way of messing with magic." He replied.

Roxanne looked at the centaur. "Who's he?" She asked.

"Tirek, a magic stealer, I don't pay him any mind." He answered easily.

Roxanne looked at the cell doors lock, she then conjured a key out of crystal and opened it. "Let's get you home Fang." She said.

Fang nodded, he then looked at Tirek who was still waiting in the corner silently. "Yea, I'm done with this place." He said before exiting the cell.

Roxanne then locked the cell and led Fang to the exit, he was shaky with his walk, so she helped him out "How's Lyaroa?" He asked.

"She's fine, she feels horrible for what happened to you, but she's handling herself quite well, we're also together now, so that's a thing." She said.

Fang looked at her with a grin. "Cougar bait." He said.

Roxanne shook her head. "Not really, she actually explained how the aging system for a sentinel works, apparently she's only In her early twenties." She replied,

Fang rolled his eyes. "Well then if it's all the same to you, I'd rather forget what happened in Dalcorus." He said.

Roxanne nodded. "It wasn't all bad Fang." She said.

Fang laughed quietly then clutched his throat. "Hurts to laugh.......besides, that was just you and Lyaroa who got any form of benefit from that hell." He said.

Roxanne sighed and continued to carry Fang to the exit. "Then you will be glad to hear this next part......Emerald is teaching Spike and Spark everything he knows about dragons, and even how to control their natural greed." She said.

Fang smirked. "Good for them, more than I could teach them." He replied quietly.

They eventually reached the exit where Storm was waiting for them, along with some new corpses. "About damn time Roxanne, I was getting bored." He said.

Roxanne huffed and allowed Fang to rest up against the wall, she then looked at Storm. "Can he just leave Tartarus?.....or do we need to do something?" She asked.

Storm shrugged as his body reverted back to that of a Pegasus. "Not sure, this hell is different than mine, but if it's similar enough, he should be able to." He answered.

Fang looked at Storm and then at Roxanne. "Who's he?" He asked.

"Fang, this is Storm, he helped us rescue you." Roxanne said.

Storm did a mock salute and looked at Roxanne. "Welp, I need you to carry me, can't push it further today." He said.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and picked Storm up on her back, she then approached Fang. "Can you walk?" She asked.

Fang nodded and slowly stood up. "I should be alright, can't fight, but it's enough." He answered.

_____*A few minutes later*_____

With nothing between them and the colosseum, it wasn't long before Roxanne spotted the others. "Hey guys!.....look what I found!" She called.

Lyaroa, Golden, Emerald and Shade all looked and seen Fang, he looked like crap, but he was there, they all ran over eagerly. "You look like shit." Golden said.

Fang chuckled, he nodded as well. "Very funny Goldie." He said.

"I'm fine too, by the way." Storm said, sounding annoyed, but not truly, he just wanted to say it.

Lyaroa walked up to Fang and blinked, her eyes slightly watering. "Fang......" She said quietly.

Fang smiled softly and he was soon forced into a bear hug from the Sentinel, he was honestly surprised at this. "I'm so sorry." Lyaroa said quietly, her voice muffled by Fang's fur. "I don't expect any forgiveness." She cried.

Fang could only return the hug, he then patted the Sentinel's head. "You've already been forgiven, it isn't your fault I died, I made a choice, and i wouldn't change it for anything." 

Fang then grinned deviously. "Besides, when did I ever regret a choice I made?" He pulled her away from the hug and poked her forehead with two fingers. "Let's get the hell out of hell." He said.

Storm, watching the spectacle as everyone laughed, clearly just happy to have their friend back, even he had to admit it. 'It must be nice having friends who will literally go to hell for you.' He thought before tapping Roxanne's side. "Can we get out of here now?" He asked out of annoyance.

After that, everyone started walking, except Storm, they made their way to the wall they climbed and and headed down, Emerald and Shade just jumped off, seeing as they wouldn't suffer any permanent damage from the fall.

Storm just looked at his broken wing and sighed. "I cannot wait for this thing to heal." He said to himself.

"If you were part of this world, I would heal it just to shut you up, but you've made your point clear." Lyaroa said.

They soon reached the entrance of hell, and once they got Storm into his wheelchair, they started to go back to the mine, Golden leading Fang along the way.

Lyaroa looked back at Tartarus, she honestly never wanted to see this place again, so as she left, she did something special, she formed a large mass of rock and sealed the entrance, and all of the others, and on these seals were powerful wards that could never be broken. 'No more will enter that accursed place.' She thought.

Lyaroa then looked at her new sword, it truly did remind her of Spirit, but it was not him, this voice was far too malevolent, she sighed and sheathed it, giving it a name that she would remember. 'Guardian, The Sentinel's Rage.' She called it.

It was an easier journey this time, with Roxanne lighting the path and their knowledge of the path, it was only ten minutes until they exited the mines.

When everyone was outside, Lyaroa took a deep breath, inhaling fresh air once again. "Ahhh." She sighed. "Alright, is everyone ready to go home?" She asked.

Storm gave her a deadpanned glare. "Eh hem." He cleared his throat.

Lyaroa shook her head. "Oh boy......except for Storm?" She asked again.

Once everyone was ready, Lyaroa snapped her fingers and they were all teleported to her house.

______*Lyaroa's house, 11:22 PM*_______

"That is convenient." Storm said before heading to the couch.

Much to Storm's annoyance, Emerald and Shade quickly took the couches, while Golden stole the chair, he looked at Lyaroa. "Got a spare bed?.....because I am not sleeping in a wheelchair." He asked.

Lyaroa nodded and had him follow her to one of the spare rooms.

Roxanne rubbed her eyes as Fang looked around, seeing the place again must have brought back memories. "How does it feel to be home Fang?" She asked.

Fang sighed and looked at Roxanne. "This was never my home Roxanne, I mainly moved here for Spark's sake, and besides, I never felt like this was my home." He replied.

Roxanne patted Fang on the shoulder. "Look, why don't you go and get some actual sleep?.....you deserve it, then in the morning you can eat, afterwards, just do what you want, you've earned it." She said.

Fang looked at her. "Then I have one question, can I get something to eat right now? Not to be rude, but something to eat would be fantastic." He asked.

"Sorry, but the food stores seal up after the kids go to bed, they kept stealing food so I put a ward up." Lyaroa said as she walked in.

Fang sighed. "Alright, guess I'll go find a guest room to sleep in." He said.

Lyaroa stopped him by grabbed his arm. "Actually, your room is the same as it was, so you can sleep there." She said.

Fang nodded silently and headed for his old room. 

Roxanne walked over to the stairs and sat down. "He seems alright, all things considered." She said.

Lyaroa walked over and sat next to her, she patted the Fox's back. "He's been through a lot, I think Tartarus is very cruel to traitors, not that I consider him one, but he did betray us." She said.

Roxanne put her hands together and closed her eyes. "Let's hope he gets better." She said.

Golden nodded as he reclined in his chair. "I agree, but we shouldn't overwhelm him, he needs time to sort things out, figure out what he wants to do with his life." He said calmly.

After that, Roxanne and Lyaroa headed upstairs to go to bed, Golden closed his eyes to get some rest.

_____*in the guest room*_____

Storm sighed as he looked out at the night sky, he was reminded of the last time someone showed him kindness by inviting him into their home, but that was years ago, and he was a very different person now, he clutched his dagger and wheeled over to the bed.

Storm got himself off the wheelchair on on the bed, and that alone took a few minutes, he sighed and looked out the window, he then looked at his dagger with a longing expression, he then sighed and put it down on the bedside table, he then went under the covers and closed his eyes. "I'll keep my promise, that will never change." He said to himself quietly.

_____*The next day, 7:19 AM*______

Fang opened his eyes with a groan, he then slowly got out of the bed and stretched, then he left the room and headed for the bathroom, to his annoyance, the one near him was taken, he grumbled and walked to the living room, he sat down at the counter and looked around.

Emerald was reading in the corner while Shade headed into the kitchen, Wheately was moving around muttering about a schedule while Roxanne came downstairs and headed for the kitchen while saying good morning to everyone.

Fang noticed a big difference though, the decor was definitely different, the walls were now a relaxing shade of blue while the ceiling retained its dark brown color, the floor was covered by a carpet that was tan in color, as opposed to the original green, all in all, the place felt more like a home now then before.

In the kitchen Roxanne and Shade were cooking breakfast, while Wheately helped with recipes and ingredients, Fang looked and saw that the bathroom was now free, he then took this opportunity to go when Golden left.

Golden sat down in the chair and pulled out a copy of the newspaper, he seemed to be intrigued by something written within.

A minute later, Fang left the bathroom and he headed for the couch, he laid down on it with his eyes shut. "I'm just resting." He said.

Golden huffed. "Right." He replied sarcastically.

Soon enough, someone was walking down the stairs, Golden looked up and saw Lyaroa walking down wearing a white bathrobe of all things......and she wasn't even wet so that made it even stranger.

"Morning Lyaroa." Golden said.

"Morning Golden." The Sentinel replied.

"Why are you-" 

"It's comfortable." Lyaroa said, cutting Golden off entirely.

Fang just chuckled. "Guess she told you." He joked.

As Lyaroa sat down, she looked at Fang. "How are you doing Fang?" She asked.

Fang looked at her. "Better now that I've actually slept and had a decent place to shit in." He replied.

"Bucket?" The Sentinel asked hopefully.

Fang shook his head. "Not even a bucket." He answered.

Lyaroa Inwardly threw up at the disgusting image, she didn't show it though.

A few moments later, Roxanne peeked around the corner and looked at Lyaroa. "Hey Lyaroa, can you wake the kids up?" She asked.

Lyaroa looked confused, she held her arms out in confusion. "Why me?" She asked.

Roxanne grinned. "Because I had to do it for the past week......so can you please wake the kids up......dear?" She asked, with emphasis on the last one.

Lyaroa shivered and stood up. "Ok Roxie." She said nervously.

Fang raised an eyebrow. "Your going to wake the kids up while dressed like that?" He asked.

Lyaroa snapped her fingers and she was now wearing black pants with a dark red shirt, she then walked to the kids rooms up the stairs.

Fang then looked at Golden and Emerald. "Am I missing something here?" He asked.

Emerald nodded with a grin. "Yes......you are." He replied.

Golden sighed. "Basically, whenever Roxanne uses the word, 'dear' when talking to Lyaroa, she is serious, Lyaroa maybe ignored her one time when she said that." He explained.

Fang looked directly at Golden. "What happened?" He asked.

Golden shrugged. "Not sure, Roxanne kicked everyone out and gave us money for the fair, when we came back with the kids a few hours later, Roxanne was calm as could be while Lyaroa slept, they will not talk about it though." He explained.

Fang said nothing as he covered himself up with a blanket.

Soon enough, Lyaroa walked back down with Firefly and Spark, the kids were groggy from just waking up, so when they sat down on the couch, they were confused to find that they were higher than before.

"Hey sis, is the couch bumpy for you?" Spark asked.

Firefly yawned. "Is it moving for you?" She asked.

Spark yawned and looked down, he saw the blanket and the bumps all over it, he shrugged, thinking it was probably Golden. 

But when he looked over and saw Golden reading the paper, he thought it was Shade pulling a joke, but he heard Shade talking in the kitchen just now. "Thanks Wheately." The Night Wolf said.

"No problem." The core replied.

Spark then looked at Lyaroa. "Hey uh, mom, is something wrong with the couch.

Lyaroa looked and stifled a laugh, she shook her head. "Nnope." She said, imitating Big Mac.

Spark then rubbed his eyes and his vision cleared, he then looked down and saw a blanket, he pulled some of it off and saw a face he was NOT expecting. "Dad?" He asked.

Fang groaned and rolled over, sending the kids off the couch, after hearing the thuds and the sudden yelps, he opened his eyes and saw the kids. "Hey Spark, hey Firefly, you seem surprised?" He asked groggily.

Spark and Firefly immediately jumped up on the couch and assaulted Fang with questions and words. "I never thought you'd be back!" Spark said happily.

"Oh oh oh, where were you?.......did you visit any fun places?" Firefly asked.

As the kids barraged Fang with questions, the wolf could only laugh softly at the situation. "Ok kids, give the old man some room." Golden said teasingly.

Fang managed to get up once they got off the couch, when he did so, Spark immediately saw something wrong with his father. "What happened to you?" He asked.

Fang rubbed his head. "Simply put, stuck in a dark cave without food or liquid, haven't seen light in a while." He answered as he sat up. 

Firefly blinked and tilted your head. "Did you visit Dark's cave and forget where to find the food and water?" She asked.

Fang shook his head. "Na, they would have found me long ago if that was the case, but I do remember it being a cave." He said, he wasn't lying, but he didn't have the heart to tell them the truth.

Soon enough, squeaking was heard in the nearby hall, Fang looked over along with Golden and Lyaroa, they saw Storm, and he looked different, his fur was white, his mane and tail were white, darkening to black from left to right, and his eyes were purple. "What time is it?" The Pegasus asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"Seven thirty." Emerald replied.

"What happened to you this time wheels?" Golden asked.

Storm blinked as gave the bear the stink eye for the nickname. "For your information bear, the chair is a temporary thing, so laugh it up while you can, secondly, what are you talking about?" He asked.

Lyaroa tapped her fur. "You look different." She then looked towards the kitchen. "Shade!.....did you play a prank with the dye again?" She asked.

Shade popped around the corner. "No, because you threw it all at me and turned me into a moving rainbow late time remember?" He replied before going back into the kitchen.

Storm then looked at his hoof and sighed. "Damnit." He muttered. "Where's the bathroom?" He asked.

Lyaroa pointed down the hall. "To the left." She said.

Storm then turned. "Don't let me stop your everyday lives, just act like I'm not here." He said.

Golden shrugged. "Fine by me." He said, he then watched as the newspaper vanished and he felt an evil glare coming from in front of him. "Danger." He stated.

Golden looked up and saw Lyaroa looking down at him, she flicked his forehead and sighed. "Knock it off." She said.

"Of course 'mother'." He said sarcastically before grabbing his paper. 

Lyaroa shook her head and sat back down, she then looked at Fang. "If your curious about the new kid, let me give you the short version, he's in our world by means unknown and i have to send him back when I can." She explained.

Fang shrugged. "That's none of my business, I'll leave you to it." He said.

It was a few minutes later that they managed to get breakfast out, nothing special, just eggs, bacon for meat eaters, and potatoes for everyone who wanted them.

Storm eventually came back out, he was mostly back to his usual look except for his eyes, he found a spot next to a wall and closed his eyes.

Roxanne had finished getting everything out when she noticed Storm in the corner, she looked at Lyaroa. "Why don't you offer him some food, we do owe him that after all.' She said telepathically.

Lyaroa looked at Storm. "Hey bud, come over and eat, you'll need the energy." She said.

Storm opened his eyes and sighed. "If you insist." He muttered as he wheeled himself over.

As they started to dish out the food, Firefly looked at Storm with a question in mind. "Why did your eyes change color?" She asked. 

'Careful kid, that boy has lots of power in him.' Her older half warned.

'So do I.' She countered.

Storm chuckled. "It depends, I've changed their color so much, it doesn't faze me anymore, I just prefer to keep them at their original color." He answered.

Firefly seemed intrigued. "Oh? How do you do it?" She asked.

Storm rolled his eyes. "Like this." His eyes then began to change color to a brilliant sapphire to a humble blue, then brown, then black, white, red, green, pink, yellow, orange, blind and even rainbow, he then stopped on their usual discolored dark blood red and forest green and shook his head. "Oh well, you get the idea." He said.

Firefly smiled. "That's a neat power." She said.

Storm shrugged. "Eh, it's alright, I just don't see any reason to use it." He replied.

Once everyone started eating, conversation was minimal, and the only words passed around were small talk.

Fang wasn't rushing to eat, he took his time seeing as there was no need to rush. 

Storm ate slowly, not because he wasn't in a hurry, but because he wasn't feeling hungry, but he wasn't about to not eat, he knew better.

A few minutes later, when everyone was done eating, Lyaroa helped Emerald get things put away, Storm wheeled himself over to the window and looked outside, it was still slow outside but there were people, he then turned around and headed for the guest room. 

Fang was in the kitchen, he then opened the refrigerator and pulled out two bottles of water, he then downed one bottle in a few moments, and walked to the living room and placed it on a table for later. "So, now that you've eaten, how are you feeling?" Roxanne asked. 

Fang chuckled. "Better, I need to exercise more to get back in shape, but other than that? I'm fine." He replied.

Roxanne sat down on a couch and looked at Emerald. "You feeling ok?....you guys got pretty messed up." She asked.

Emerald nodded. "Shade will obviously live, it'll take some time for him to heal, Golden should be ok because of his ability to heal himself, and me?.....I'm a dragon, it takes more than that to hurt me." He said.

Spark apparently overheard the conversation. "More than what?" He asked.

"We fell, really badly, but we'll be alright." Emerald said.

Spark didn't seem to buy it, but it did make sense, he did notice tons of bruises on Shade and a few on Golden. "Will your scales be alright?" He asked his mentor.

Emerald nodded. "They will be, don't worry Spark, if any are damaged I'll make sure to heal them." He replied.

_____*later that day, 2:10 PM*_____

Lyaroa walked to the library, she heard from Firefly who heard from Skitter that Twilight had something to tell her, she was curious so when she arrived at the library, she opened the door and walked inside. 

"Twilight, I'm here!" She shouted.

She heard unfamiliar shuffling coming from upstairs, she raised an eyebrow at this but did not move. "You alright up there?" She asked.

Soon enough the familiar purple Alicorn teleported in......... 'Wait.' Lyaroa's brain shut down upon seeing the wings, she could have sworn she had heard the old windows error sound for a moment.

Once her brain rebooted, Lyaroa shook her head and looked at Twilght, who was struggling with her new wings. "Um Twilight." She said.

Twilight forced the wings to stay folded but they simply shot right out again. "One moment." She said, aggravation clear in her voice.

Lyaroa's right eye twitched and she snapped her fingers, making Twilight's wings hover just above her. "Can we please talk about why your an Alicorn?" She asked.

Twilight looked kinda panicked upon seeing her wings floating above her, but she calmed herself down and looked at Lyaroa. "Shortly after Princess Celestia had us reform Discord, she sent me a spell that even Starswirll the Bearded couldn't complete, I used it and the Elements switched themselves around, it took me all day but I eventually got them all back where they belonged, and then these appeared, along with Celestia who explained it to me." She explained.

Lyaroa twitched, she took a deep breath and let it out. "Ok, firstly, you did what with Discord?" She asked.

Twilight groaned and began pacing. "Princess Celestia came to Ponyville and asked Fluttershy to reform Discord, so he could use his powers for a better purpose, but she made sure to protect the Elements with a special spell so Discord couldn't hide them again, just in case, she did manage to reform him after a while." She explained.

Lyaroa shook her head. "I made Discord for a reason.....and she goes and does this?.....oh boy." She muttered.

Twilight then looked at her wings. "As for why I'm an Alicorn, I basically told you all of it, Fluttershy tried to be Pinkie, Gwen tried to be Fluttershy, Rarity tried to be Gwen, Applejack tried to be Rarity, and Pinkie tried to be Applejack." She explained.

"So i was trying to sort it all out, and eventually I managed to show them what they were, not who the spell made them, afterwards, Celestia explained that I had ascended to an Alicorn Princess by proving myself through my actions, and now I'm stuck with those." She pointed at her wings.

Lyaroa snapped her fingers and Twilights wings returned to her. "Ok, this is what I think you should do." Lyaroa started. "Go to Gwen, and ask her to teach you how to fly." She said before vanishing.

_____*The moon.*_____

Lyaroa waited a few moments and then screamed in frustration and anger. "THAT STUPID.....SUN LOVING.......PIECE OF.....GAH!" She slammed her fist down on the moon and caused a small amount of it to break off, she was glad it was a barren planets moon and not Equis's or she would accidentally have blown up Appleloosa judging by the angle.

Lyaroa stood up and decided that enough was enough. 'Well, I'm done waiting for my powers to recover, by the time they get halfway something else will happen.' She then changed into her Sentinel body, casting aside her wolf body for a moment, she returned to her Sentinel form, the one she hated, it's color hadn't changed, the only thing that changed was size, she was easily seven foot five, her body was made of a material that the Sentinel's called Void plate, it was indestructible to all but the weapons of a Sentinel, or that of the void itself.

Something to note about a Sentinel, their bodies change dependent on their personality, Lyaroa's was that of her wolf body, the only difference being that her claws were that of a feline instead of a canine and her eyes were human.

She felt all of her power return in seconds, she then returned to her wolf body and teleported to Canterlot.

______*The royal castle.*______

Lyaroa teleported in front of Celestia and Luna's thrones, she crosses her arms and she called upon Soul and Spirit by recreating them with her power. "Am I interrupting you children?" She said calmly.

Celestia looked to the nobles and guards in the room. "Leave us." She ordered.

Lyaroa waited for everyone to leave before talking. "I thought I made my point clear Celestia, you were to abandon Twilight's Ascension." She reminded.

Celestia sighed and stepped down from her throne. "I have, the Elements of Harmony are in the tree, and I stopped leading Twilight towards her Ascension, if you are here because Twilight is an Alicorn, that was of her own doing, I sent her that spell to see if she could complete it, instead she confused the Elements, I had no hoof in this Lyaroa, and I know you know I am not lying." She said.

Luna then stepped down. "All of Equestria is celebrating young Twilight becoming their newest Princess, will you be the one to end their happiness?" She asked.

Lyaroa sighed and let her arms rest at her sides. "Very well, she will remain an Alicorn, however, she must be made aware of the origins, and then I will have to empower her, that much must happen, otherwise she may lose control." She said.

Celestia walked to a window and looked out towards the kingdom. "I will send word to Cadence to come to Canterlot, as well as Twilight Sparkle." She then looked at Lyaroa. "That is if you still hold tradition in high regard." She added.

Lyaroa nodded. "The Ascension requires all immortals to be present, Discord will have to be here as well, as he was for yours and Luna's Ascensions, take your time, there is no rush, not this time." She stated before leaving, walking to the door. 

She stopped and turned to face the sisters. "I hope you realize this Celestia, but one day, I may not be here." She then turned around. "Then who will clean up your mess?" She said before vanishing.

"Are you sure of this sister?.....the ascension is a hard road, one that young Twilight may not be able to cross on her own." Luna asked.

Celestia looked at her sister and smiled. "Twilight is very powerful and very wise in her own right, even without Alicorn magic, I have every confidence that she can do this." She replied.

_____*Ponyville, 4:29 PM*_____

Storm wheeled himself along with Firefly, right now they were just out for some air, well, Storm was, Firefly just tagged along with Spark.

Eventually, Firefly managed to lead him to the hills outside the town, where she met up with the Crusaders, and the filly from the other day, she ran over and said hello to them all, Storm simply watched from a distance.

Firefly then looked over and saw him watching. "Hey Storm!....come on over!" Firefly said.

Storm shook his head. "I'm fine, I think I'll just stay here." He replied.

Firefly rolled her eyes and flew up behind him. "Ok then, I'll bring you over." She stated.

Storm went to say something but all he could manage was this. "As if your giving me a choice." He complained.

The young unicorn walked up and held her hoof out. "My name is Solar, sorry for knocking you over the other day." She said apologetically.

Storm shook her hoof. "It's alright." He replied.

Scootaloo then walked over and noticed his wing, she cringed at the sight of it. "Uh, sorry about your wing." She said.

Storm shrugged. "It'll heal, I barely feel it anyway." He said.

Scootaloo then went to ask him another question. "So what's it like to fly for you?" She asked.

"Boring." He deadpanned.

Scootaloo seemed shocked at that answer. "There's no way!.....flying is like, the coolest thing ever." She argued.

Storm blinked. "Guess it's depends on the person, but for me, flight is boring, there is nothing to do." He said.

It went on like that for a while, Storm would get asked a question, and he would answer, but then Spark asked a question. "Mind if I ask where you are from?" He asked.

Storm looked at the dragon. "Cloudsdale, orphan from birth, no I am not troubled by it." He replied.

Firefly still looked concerned. "Still, that's rough, no one should go through that." She said.

Storm actually chuckled. "Actually, I loved it, my adoptive father was awesome, and i got to learn quite a bit." He replied.

Afterwards, the group decided to stop asking questions, and they moved on to something more common, Crusading.

Storm looked at Scootaloo with a deadpanned expression. "You cannot be serious." He said.

Scootaloo looked at him. "What's wrong with my idea?" She asked.

Storm sighed. "Firstly, i don't think you can get a mark from jumping from a thirty foot tree, that would be dumb, secondly, I can't climb, my legs don't work and you can't fly, and as much I hate to admit it, I would rather not break my bones from that kind of jump." He stated.

Spark rubbed his eyes. "Also, I'm pretty sure it would be difficult to explain a bunch of injured kids, so no." He added.

Storm groaned as the group began to form new ideas. "I don't want to go through this again." He muttered to himself.

______*the next day, Ponyville park, 3:10 PM*______

Storm was feeding the birds when he heard a familiar voice. "Mind if join you?" Said Firefly, she seemed kinda down. "What's wrong Pink?" He asked.

Firefly sighed and sat down on the bench next to Storm. "Moms taking me to go see the Sisterhoof social, I want to compete, but I don't have a sister." She said. [1]

Storm looked at her. "That's why your down?" He asked.

Firefly nodded. "Yea, everyone gets to go because they have one." She replied.

Storm chuckled. "The rule is that two females have to compete, you can easily ask Scootaloo or Solar." He suggested.

"They're not competing, guess I'm on my own." She sighed.

Storm shook his head. "You know, if it were me, I would try to find a way around it, instead of feeling down about it." He said as he continued feeding the birds.

Firefly then perked up and looked at Storm. "Wait, what did you say?" She asked, listening closely.

Storm looked at her. "Find a way around the issue and work with it." He answered.

Firefly then gasped and gave Storm a hug. "Your a genius!" She said before getting off the bench.

"Na, I'm completely insane." He argued before returning to feeding the birds.

______*The big day*______

Firefly took a deep breath and looked to the stands, she saw Storm watching from the sidelines and waved to him, to her surprise he actually waved back.

She looked up at her 'big sister' and whispered. "Are you ok with this?" She asked.

The pony was a Pegasus, her fur was light purple and she had a dark blue mane, her eyes were blue as well the cutie mark was that of a Bee with its stinger out. "Sure thing, now let's have some fun ok?" She replied.

Firefly nodded, the pony was actually her older half, all they did was alter her color a little bit and change her cutie mark.

Firefly grinned as the announcer, aka Pinkie Pie, started the race.

She had fun the entire time, the mud jump, the pie eating, the obstacles, and throughout all of it, she was grinning, except when there was mud in the way, then she sealed her mouth shut.

They didn't win at the end, that went to Applejack and Apple Bloom, but they did come a close third to Rarity and Sweetie Belle, who had a surprising amount of speed, and resilience to muddy hair in Rarity's case.

Firefly looked over at Storm and saw that he was busy chuckling, she could only grin as she walked off.

_____*The next week, Lyaroa's house, 10:00 AM*______

They were ready, they were finally ready to send Storm home, and everyone gathered to see him off, especially Firefly, she refused to miss it.

Storm was relieved in a weird way, he was finally going home!.....and why was he excited? "Why am I excited again?" He asked.

Lyaroa had cleared out the center of the training courtyard and was busy homing in on Storm's world. "Because you get to go home to your friends and family?" She suggested.

Storm thought on it a minute, he then shook his head. "Na.....that can't be it." He surprised everyone with that statement.

"You can't be serious!" Firefly said, running in front of him. "You don't mean to say, that you don't miss anyone on the other side?" She asked.

Storm shrugged. "Can't say that I do." He said flatly.

As Lyaroa locked on to Storm's world, she stood and looked at him. "Just one more moment, and your home." She said.

Storm looked around at everyone and then grinned. "GOTCHA!" He shouted, startling everyone, he then laughed at their expense.

Firefly growled after that and slapped him. "Your a jerk." She said.

Storm could only grin wider. "Thanks!....I have no issues with that!" He said happily.

Firefly raised an eyebrow. "You like being insulted?" She asked.

Storm chuckled and looked at her. "What did I tell you the one day?....I'm completely insane!" He replied.

Roxanne then walked up and grabbed the handles on the back of the chair as the portal opened. "You ready?" She asked.

Storm shrugged. "Ready as i'll ever be." He replied.

Firefly then walked up and tapped Roxanne's leg. "Can I do it?" She whispered.

Roxanne paused for a moment, she then nodded and backed off, knowing how strongly her daughter had bonded with Storm this past week, she figured it best.

Firefly walked Storm up to the portal, she then let go of the handles. "You could stay you know, I would love to have you around." She said quietly.

Storm shook his head. "While I would like to forget everything back home......I do have family over there, it's hell, but it's MY hell." He looked at the Pegasus. "Here." He handed Firefly a broken claw with a chain. "That's mine, i gave it a small charm, it'll let you remember any moment from your life, and only you will see it." He looked back at Fang. "You better not go back there, you hear me?....I am not coming back to help you out." He warned jokingly.

Lyaroa shook her head. "Sentinel." Storm said.

She looked down at the boy. "Thank you, for everything." He said.

Firefly patted Storm on the shoulder as she grabbed the handles again. "Think we'll see each other again?" She asked.

Storm grinned. "Maybe Pink, maybe." He said.

Firefly then started to push the wheelchair through the portal, as Storm vanished through the portal, she let a small tear out. "Goodbye." She whispered.

_____*One night, 9:33 AM*_____

Firefly opened her eyes and sat up, she looked over at the broken claw that Storm gave her, she smiled and grabbed it, she walked over to the window and looked up at the stars.

Luna had done wonderfully tonight, the night sky was spectacular, no clouds, and the moon shown bright, it was full currently and this only reminded Firefly of him. 'I am a werewolf by the way, I can control the change, but it isn't perfect.'

Firefly chuckled at the memory, she clutched the claw and she looked around the sky.

She saw one constellation that made her smile, she saw the stars make the shape of a wolf, it was her favorite constellation because of a saying she heard from Spark. "The strength of the wolf is the pack." She liked it for that very reason.

In their own way, every family is a pack, they can hate eachother as much as they want......but they will fight to protect each other, just like her family.

She set the claw on her table and went back to bed, she smiled as she closed her eyes. "Na, I'm completely insane!" She laughed silently at the words before drifting off to sleep.
> A New Tale In Equestria.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Ponyville, one day after Storm's departure, 12:10 PM*_____

Roxanne sighed as she swept the floor of the flower shop, it has been yet another boring day at work, while she could easily quit the job and live without the money, she didn't want to do that, besides, the job wasn't all bad.

She swept the floor and tended the flowers, she also cleaned the windows on occasion, and every now and then someone would talk to her, she didn't mind this at all.

The best perk about this job wasn't the pay however, it was the fact that she could easily see the town, she could watch as Gwen practiced her flying as people watched, she could see the Crusaders and their antics, she could even watch as Twilight randomly panicked over a letter whenever they showed up.

Roxanne grinned at the last one, she had just seen it happen as well, Twilight was completely panicked right now, she quickly ran towards the library and out of sight, she shook her head and went back to sweeping the floor.

Today it was just her and Roseluck, the other sisters were out of town on a business trip and Roseluck was in charge, she was good as a boss too, she could easily organize the schedules for employees and shipments, she was also a blast to play games with when not working.

That wasn't to say she wasn't strict, she kept a tight ship in the shop, it was hard to hide things here especially since there wasn't much room, a few shelves here and there, and a flower bed for growing the plants, but that was it.

The store bell rang and Roseluck could be heard. "Oh hey Lyaroa, good to see you." She said.

Roxanne chuckled and looked over at the Sentinel. "Hey Rose, mind if I borrow Rox for a second?.....it won't take long." She asked.

Roseluck smirked. "Alright then, It's lunch break anyway, just like the last twenty times." She said teasingly.

Roxanne looked at Lyaroa with a chuckle. "What's up Headache?" She asked.

Lyaroa blinked and held her hand out. "I need to talk to you in private." She replied.

Roxanne could see Rose grinning at the spectacle, she sighed and grabbed Lyaroa's hand. "This better not be about the Cheese." She warned as they were teleported. [1]

_____*Unknown place.*______

Roxanne looked around at the familiar space they were in, Lyaroa had teleported them to a mystic gate, something used by Mages to avoid prying eyes, but Lyaroa's was infinitely more powerful, after all, this is where they formed their telepathic bond.

"What's so important that you had to drag me back here?" Roxanne asked.

Lyaroa crossed her arms and paced. "I'm going to be gone for a while, I have important business to take care of." She said.

Roxanne blinked. "Sentinel business?" She asked.

"Immortal business." Lyaroa replied simply.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow. "Celestia?" Roxanne asked.

"Twilight." Lyaroa answered shortly.

Roxanne shook her head. "Let me guess, the letter she got was from Celestia, and she has to go to Canterlot right away for urgent business, and your the cause of it?" She asked.

Lyaroa simply nodded, not even surprised the fox figured it out.

Roxanne rubbed her eyes and looked at Lyaroa. "Why do you need me to know this?" She asked.

Lyaroa then leaned forward and gave Roxanne a quick kiss before handing her a familiar crystal and resting her forehead on Roxanne's. "In case you need to talk to me." She said quietly before teleporting them out.

_____*Ponyville.*_____

Roxanne reappeared in the exact same place, but Lyaroa was not, she looked over at the counter and saw Roseluck grinning widely. "Shut it!" Roxanne said, knowing fully well what the mare was going to say.

Roseluck just laughed at her friends expense.

______*Lyaroa's house, later in the day.*_______

Fang was just confused right now, he was just standing behind the couch looking down at Shade who was unconscious on the floor with a knife in his chest. "What is he doing?" He asked.

Golden shrugged, he was sitting in the chair across from the couch. "Not sure, he's been doing this every Thrusday at exactly one PM since Dalcorus, we don't know why." He said.

Emerald came down the stairs and sighed as he saw Shade. "Seriously?.....is he still doing this?" He asked.

Fang knelt down and gripped the dagger. "Well, not anymore." He then yanked the dagger out with all of his strength and slapped Shade hard in the face, waking the Night Wolf instantly.

"Ow!" He cried out.

Fang then broke the dagger in half and looked at Shade. "As of right now, you aren't doing that anymore." He stated before walking off.

Shade held his hand over the stab wound and sighed, he rubbed his cheek and stood up. "That was rude." He said.

"So is you doing that every single Thursday." Golden countered.

Shade simply flipped the bear off before walking to the bathroom to piss.

Fang walked to his room, and as he reached the door, he slammed into something invisible. "Keep that damn thing away from me." He growled as pushed it away. 

As he entered the room and closed the door, he sighed in relief, normally it took him a few hours just to leave the room out of fear and anxiety, his hands trembled as he walked over to the bed, he sat down and breathed to calm himself down before he had another panic attack.

Unfortunately, Fang's spirit wasn't as powerful as he thought, while he wasn't physically scarred, he WAS mentally damaged from his time in Tartarus.

Fang had a panic attack a few days ago and it was hours before he even blinked, it took until midnight to get him at least breathing, thankfully, he was just fine the next day, well, mentally, sadly it wasn't until after breakfast that he was able to move his arms, Storm had teased him about it a little before sympathizing with him about the loss of leg movement.

He would only get the attacks if surrounded by two or more people, he was fine around the kids until he was truly alone, then the attack hit, so now they decided to only allow one person to go to Fang's room at once while he was there.

Fang had no issues around Wheately however, he believed it has something to with the core being a fellow machine, he could be around the core all day and not feel anything wrong, but the moment someone showed up he would leave, trying to avoid the panic attack.

Lyaroa was already working on curing it, but unlike other ailments like cancer or autism, she couldn't just snap her fingers and it would be gone, because with this particular ailment, she had to find the source, then she could get to work.

Fang clutched his sides and breathed calmly. "Not this time, not this time." He told himself.

If there was any regret Fang had it was for Spark, because unlike Firefly, Spark had a parent who literally couldn't do anything for him, he couldn't play, he couldn't joke, he couldn't even walk with him.

And that was what saddened Fang the most, he and Spark loved going on walks, in pure silence, they would just walk, if they talked, it was about small things, but they never missed an opportunity to go.

Now however, things were different, so very much different, Skitter had a young baby Changeling boy named Garth, Gwen and Derpy were engaged, Roxanne and Lyaroa were together now, Spark and Spike are apparently biological brothers, Twilight was an Alicorn now from what he heard, and now he had to deal with the fact that Spark joined the CMC, which was a nightmare in itself, especially if the little drake became a mischief maker.

Then you have the nightmare scenario, and he didn't even want to think about that, but at some point, Spark had randomly got this idea into his head.

_____*A few days ago.*_____

Fang was talking to Golden and Storm, they just finished talking about the finer points of weapons when Spark walked up with a puzzled look on his face. "Hey dad, hey guys." The dragon greeted.

Golden waved silently while Storm looked at Fang, and in the most deadpan expression said this. "Did you enjoy that sex with his mom?" He asked.

Fang's eyes widened and he froze, now THAT, was not a subject for children. "Uhh........what are you talking about?" He asked carefully.

Golden did his best to suppress his laughter at the awkward situation. 

Storm shrugged. "I'm just saying, Spark calls you dad, and his brother is a dragon, so it stands to reason that you and his mother.....you know." He said with a grin.

Fang narrowed his gaze at the werewolf. "Shut up, i may be against hitting children, but I have no problem putting a smart ass werewolf through a wall." He warned sternly.

Spark, seemingly not have heard the conversation looked at Fang. "I was just thinking, if your my dad, and Spikes my brother, while Twilight is Spikes mom.......does that mean you two are going out?" He wondered.

This time, Golden didn't bother, he just burst into all out laughter while Storm grinned at Fang's flustered expression. "He makes a good point there Fang, the unicorn might be a good match for you!" He said teasingly, he didn't really care at this point, but now he wanted to see Twilight's expression. 

Fang struggled to come up with words for this situation, seeing as it was very unique. "Y-y-you see Spark, this kind of thing, is uh, it's complicated." He said.

Spark looked at Fang curiously. "Really?.....it makes complete sense to me, the one who hatches the egg is the parent, that's how it works in a dragon society, and since me and Spike are biological brothers, that makes you and Twilight our parents." He explained.

Fang held his head as he closed his eyes. "Oh this is a really bad day for me." He said to himself. [2]

Storm chuckled and looked at Spark. "And you know something, I bet Twilight would just LOVE to hear this theory, I'm sure she would be thrilled." He teased.

Fang whimpered as he balled himself up on the floor as Golden laughed. "I've actually brought this up to her already." Spark said.

Fang's eyes just widened and he looked at Spark in fear. "You didn't!?" He said fearfully.

Spark shrugged. "I don't see any problems with my theory, Twilight hatched Spike's egg, you hatched mine, you two are our parents, simple as that." He said.

"What did Twilight say about this?" Fang asked.

"Not sure, she teleported away after i explained my theory." Spark mentioned, causing Storm to hold in a laugh.

"What are you guys talking about over there?" Lyaroa asked.

Fang quickly looked over. "Nothing!" He shouted in a panic

"We are discussing Spark's theory about Fang being the father and Twilight being the mother to him and Spike." Storm said with a smirk, ever the opportunist 

"Oh?" Lyaroa asked out of curiosity and mischief. "Explain it to me." She requested 

And Spark did, every single detail.

Fang whimpered. "No, no no, no no no, no, NO."

______*the present.*_____

Fang rubbed his eyes at the memory, he really wasn't looking forward to when Spark brought that up again.

"Where did he get that crazy idea?" He wondered.

He was thankful about one thing though, his panic attacks sometimes wouldn't happen, but it was rare.

Fang then rested his head on his pillow and closed his eyes. "Might as well get some sleep." He muttered.

______*Unknown*______

Fang looked around and saw that he was at the Ponyville outskirts, he saw that the others were here, meaning Golden, Shade and Emerald, he then saw Firefly and Roxanne along with Lyaroa, he also saw Spark and Dark, and a blur he couldn't quite make out.

Fang was confused, and expression showed it, he looked around and saw that Ponyville had become a crater, he gasped and he heard Lyaroa speak. "Fang, listen, I know your having a vision right now, so I'm going to say this, give my past self this message. "TMH." She said cryptically.

_____*Meanwhile, Gwen's house, Skitter's room.*______

Skitter sighed in relief as Garth finally stopped crying, normally a Changeling would age up quickly, and Garth was showing signs of it, but he was still loud and cried whenever he got upset, he was at least able to walk and eat solid food now, but that was the furthest he got.

"I'm glad that Queen Phera didn't have to deal with this." She muttered to herself as she sat down.

Skitter then looked to her bedside table, she used her magic and got her medallion out, she sighed as she channeled her magic through it, this time she was careful, she slowly moved her magic through it, and then she felt a small tingle in her horn, she calmly continued as the tingle grew into a steady wave of power.

Eventually, she opened her eyes and sighed as she set the medallion down. 

Skitter rubbed her left eye and shook her head. "What's up kid?" She asked.

Solar looked at Skitter curiously. "Why do you keep that old medallion?.....it doesn't do anything, and you never wear it." She asked.

Skitter looked at the filly for a few moments before grabbing the medallion in her magic. "This was a gift, from my sister." She said quietly.

"Does she have one?" Solar asked.

"No, because she gave this to me the last time we saw eachother.........seventeen years ago." Skitter replied sadly.

Solar looked down and then at Skitter. "Sorry, I......I shouldn't have asked." She said apologetically.

Skitter chuckled. "It's fine, you were just curious, thank you for your concern though." She replied before putting the medallion away.

_____*meanwhile, Twilight's library.*______

Dark watched as Twilight frantically ran around the library. "Maybe you should calm down?" The unicorn offered.

Twilight looked at Dark with a glare that could kill. "Calm down?.....CALM DOWN!?.....I just got summoned to Canterlot from Princess Celestia on urgent business!.....AND to make it worse, the train already left!" She argued.

Dark gave Twilight a look of disbelief. "First off, you can teleport, secondly, you have WINGS, thirdly, you and Celestia are both princesses, you can at least stop calling her by her title." She replied.

Twilight grumbled. "I would fly, if I knew how!" She shouted.

Dark sighed and walked to the desk. "I thought Gwen was teaching you?" She said.

Twilight shook her head. "Nope!......she's been very busy planning her wedding, not to mention having to go through Rarity about the designs, Applejack, Pinkie, and the Cakes about the catering, and her job at the weather control, she hasn't had time!" She said, panic growing.

Dark then looked back at her as she started writing something. "Then just teleport." She reminded.

Twilight narrowed her eyes at Dark. "Don't you remember the last time I did that?" She said.

______*Flashback.*______

The carpenter was furious, he had just begun putting the finishing touches on his masterpiece of a pavilion, when a lavender unicorn mare teleported into the wood, looked at him, promising to pay for the damage, and then vanishing.

"I HATE THIS CITY!" He shouted.

_____*Golden Oaks Library.*_____

Dark shook her head knowingly as Twilight ranted. "That was your own fault, now, you can continue to complain about the train, or you can let me send a letter to Lyaroa, asking her to send you there, therefore solving the problem?" She offered.

Twilight looked at Dark with a raised eyebrow. "I don't think that Lyaroa has a system for that yet." She said.

Dark chuckled before sending the letter off with her magic, and in a few moments, Lyaroa teleported in. "Heard about the train, thanks Dark." The Sentinel said before teleporting Twilight and herself away.

Dark sighed in relief as she walked over to the couch and sat down, while she was used to it now, Twilight's rants gave her one mother of a migraine.

She finally had a quiet moment, for once anyway, Spike was out with Spark, the two had bonded really quickly, especially after finding out they were brothers, then again, them finding out about their blood bond only gave them something to talk about.

Moments like this were few for Dark, especially since Twilight had a tendency to panic.....and reorganize the library every other day, and when asked about it, Twilight couldn't give a clear answer.

Personally?.....she thinks that Twilight has ADHD, either that or it's the mare's way of burning off excess energy, Dark had suggested that Twilight could simply work out to burn off the energy, because let's be honest, Twilight needs it.

Dark sat there in silence, simply content to rest her head after the migraine that Twilight caused.

Soon enough, a frantic knock at the door made Dark sigh. "The only downfall of living in a library." She grumbled.

Another thing that tended to annoy Dark, the fact that the tree was also a public building, meant that people could enter the building whenever, sadly they ALWAYS knocked in the most obnoxious manner. "It's unlocked!" She called out.

The door burst open and Gwen looked at Dark with a panicked expression. "Dark!......where's Twilight? We need her now!" She said worriedly.

Dark gave Gwen a deadpan stare. "She isn't here, she's at Canterlot for important business." She replied.

Gwen held her head and screamed in frustration.....making Dark's migraine even worse. "Of all times!.....we really need her help right now!" She shouted.

Dark channeled her magic and sealed Gwen's mouth shut. "Ok, Gwen.....I respect you, I do, but if you do not shut up, I will throw you at a hydra, I have one hell of a headache, so if you could just calmly explain the issue, I might be able to help." She said quietly but firmly.

Dark released her magic and Gwen breathed, she then looked at Dark. "Ok, something really strange just appeared in the town center, we have no idea what it is, but it's weird!" She said.

Dark raised an eyebrow and stood up. "I am really not looking forward to getting up." She muttered as she walked to Gwen. "Let's go." She said.


______*Ponyville town center*______

Dark blinked and tilted her head. "That is weird." She said.

What had appeared was what looked like a giant ball of water, but it wasn't, Dark could feel tremendous power leaking from it, but it was stable.....somewhat.

It was circular in shape, but it was pulsating and changing rapidly, it was strangely familiar, but Dark couldn't place it.

So Dark did the most sensible thing she could think of, she scanned it, a quick survey of it revealed little, other than it was leaking power at an astonishing rate, and that it wasn't solid.

Dark did a deeper magical scan and discovered a small mass inside the sphere, she also felt a dark presence inside, she looked to the nearby townsfolk, who had gathered to witness this anomaly, she then looked at the Mayor who stood nearby. "Mayor Mare, I would appreciate it if you evacuated the people away from this sphere, I don't think it's exactly friendly.

She then looked at Gwen. "Get me Golden and Roxanne, if something does come out of here, and it does attack, we're going to need their help." She said.

As they went off to follow Dark's instructions, she approached the sphere and gazed inside, she didn't know why, but this was incredibly familiar. "What are you?" She asked curiously.

______*Canterlot, 3:10 PM*______

Twilight was standing outside the doors to the secret Sanctum, as Lyaroa called it, in all of her years living in Canterlot and exploring the castle, she didn't even know this room existed, apparently it was enchanted to appear and act as a bathroom to those who didn't know about it, but those who knew, could enter the sanctum.

Twilight was nervous, she had gone through this many times, she spoke to Celestia on official business before, but this time was different, this time, it was all of them, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Discord, AND Lyaroa, three immortal Alicorns, the God of Chaos and a Sentinel, this was a lot more stressful when put this way.

Twilight pushed the doors open and stepped inside, it was pitch black as the door shut behind her, and when the lights came on, she was stunned.

The Sanctum was even more magnificent then the Castle itself, in its own way, the room itself was massive, larger than even the throne room, with five unique backgrounds in a circle.

She saw Celestia, sitting on a throne in front of a pocket dimension , it was beautiful, the sun shone brightly over grassy hills with creatures all over, their were flowers and trees that bloomed and flourished under the warmth of the sun.

She saw Luna and her pocket dimension, her's was just as beautiful, maybe more so, the night sky was clear with not a single cloud in sight, the stars were arranged in spectacular fashion, all the while shining over the deep blue sea.

She looked over and saw Cadence, sitting in front of her pocket dimension, it was that of the Crystal Empire a thousand years ago, before Sombra ruled, the crystals shone and glistened under the sun, while a blanket of snow covered the streets and homes.

She then saw Discord's pocket Dimension, she saw him gazing into it, it was lively, to say the least, there were thousands upon thousands of worlds, different possibilities, from the looks of it, every one of those were different paths that could be taken, and all the while, the chaos that ensued seemed to fit its God perfectly.

She finally saw Lyaroa's pocket dimension, unlike the others, it was not lively, it was not full of life, instead, what she saw was metal, just metal, it was a kind of metal that she had never seen, it glowed gold but it felt.....alive, it appeared to be brown in coloration, but it changed to dark green, to black, she then saw Lyaroa walk out of it with a serious expression.

"Twilight Sparkle." The Sentinel said calmly as she sat down.

Even Discord took a seat as Lyaroa spoke. "You have recently become immortal, an Alicorn no less, without assistance, this feat has happened only once before.....under dire circumstances." She continued.

Twilight felt a chill go down here spine when Lyaroa gestured her to the center of the room. "However, with immortality comes responsibility." She said. "All of us here play our part, Celestia controls the sun and protects her kingdom." She explained. "It is her responsibility to safeguard this world, by any means." She then looked at Luna. 

"Her Sister Luna, controls the moon and the Stars of Equis, she protects this world from all nocturnal threats, and as such, bears a heavy burden." Lyaroa explained eerily.

She then looked at Cadance. "Cadance, though young, is responsible for protecting this world from those who would bring misery upon its people, including the other immortals, if need be, she is empowered by the hope of others, as such, she must be wary of those she trusts, which is why Changeling's are not welcome in the Empire." She then turned to Discord.

"And Discord, though it may not seem like it, he carries a heavy burden, he is responsible for keeping the world free but chaotic, any time the world should become too much of a machine, he must step in, any time someone seeks to rob the world of its freedom, he will be there." Lyaroa said.

She then looked back at her pocket dimension. "As for me, I am responsible for otherworldly matters, if any should threaten our existence or jump across worlds, I must step in and set the matter straight."

Lyaroa then looked down at Twlight. "And now you Twilight Sparkle, must take up a heavy burden, but before you do, you must become empowered." She said cryptically.

"Empowered?" She asked.

"The five of us shall put you through a test." Luna started.

"And you must pass this test, and it's many trials, before the empowerment can begin." Discord added.

"At which point, we shall infuse you with our powers and you will become a true immortal." Celestia finished.

"However, should you wish it, we are also in a position to take away your immortality, and you will forget this ever happened, you will not forget being immortal, but anything that happened in this room will be erased from your mind, this is the choice we all had to make." Cadance said.

"But be warned, if you should fail this test, there will be much more than your life at stake, do you understand what we are saying?" Lyaroa asked.

Twilight gulped and looked around the room, the eerie feeling of the room, the creepy stares from everyone, the stress, the burden of it all, she could feel her legs giving in, she could feel the air leave her lungs as though it were gone.

Eventually, Twilight found her strength, she breathed and stood straight, she looked directly at Lyaroa. "I understand." She said bravely.

Lyaroa then stood, she held out her right hand towards Twilight. "Then let us begin." She said.

The other immortals then rose and did the same, Discord with his Talon, and the others with their horns.

The room glowed from the intense power that was being channeled now.

Twilight soon watched as five braziers appeared and ignited instantly in a pentagram of magical lines, the braziers lit in the following colors, Gold, Dark Blue, Pink, White, and Brown.

Soon, she felt faint, she felt her strength leave her, and she fell to the floor.

Lyaroa then stopped channeling as did the others, the pentagram then sealed itself with a barrier. "Now we watch and wait, and we shall see if she is worthy."

______*Ponyville*_______

Roxanne and Golden walked around the sphere curiously. "Any idea on what's inside?" The Fox asked. 

"No idea, that's why I called you two, that way we can defend the town should what's inside be hostile." Dark answered.

Roxanne looked at Golden. "What about you Golden?" She wondered.

Golden put a hand to the sphere, he felt a powerful energy try to force him away, but he held firm, he sent a psychic pulse into it......and felt something odd.

"Strange." He muttered, he then looked at Roxanne and Dark. "Whatever is in here is very strong, but it's familiar, like I've seen it before." He said.

Dark walked up to the sphere and touched it, she felt......nothing, no resistance unlike Golden, she couldn't feel it's strength, but she could feel something, it was quiet, but it was familiar in way that couldn't be placed. "Whatever it is, we need to find out, I'm going to try and open it, be ready to cover me." She said.

As Dark began to channel magic, Roxanne and Golden saw the sphere bubble and writhe, Golden drew his staff and Roxanne ignited her claws. "If I'm correct Roxanne, something is going to come out of that sphere and try to kill us to get to Dark, we can't let that happen." He said.

Roxanne nodded, words no longer necessary.

Soon enough, part of the sphere shot off and formed into a being of power, shaping into what looked like a faceless human wielding an axe.

It said nothing as it marched forward towards Roxanne.

As Roxanne braced herself, Golden watched as another one shot off and formed a similar creature, and then another, and another, and another, in an endless stream.

Golden growled.....he then grinned. "Well, this should be a good fight." He said.

Roxanne charged at the first creature, she swung her fists at the creature while avoiding its axe, the creature was surprisingly solid, so she then kicked at its chest and then shattered it with a powerful punch to the stomach.

As Roxanne backed off, she was shocked to discover that the creature simply reformed. "Oh....shit." She muttered.

Golden discovered that the creatures reformed quickly after, he then tried to destroy them with a psychic shockwave, only for them to hold a hand out and a deafening screech immobilized Golden as he dropped his staff and held his head. "Aaaaaaahhhh!" 

Roxanne was distracted by Golden screaming. "Gold!" She shouted.

She then gasped as her flame went out and she felt a sharp pain in her chest, she looked down and saw that one of the creatures had pierced her heart with its hand. 

Roxanne then fell over limp as her world went black.

______*unknown*_______

"Well, this should be a good fight." Golden's voice said.

Roxanne shook her head and blinked, she heard those words before, she looked and saw Golden ready for combat, she looked at her hands which were on fire, she stared at the fire deeply for a moment until she heard a voice. "Come on Roxanne!.....fight!" Golden shouted.

Roxanne growled and charged at the creatures, this time unleashing a torrent of fire at them, this time it took slightly longer to reform, but it still reformed, Roxanne then started to form a thought, only for Golden's scream to interrupt her, and she turned to look. "Golden!" She shouted.

She then felt a familiar sensation as she fell over limp and the world went black.

_____*Ponyville.*______

"Well, this should be a good fight." Golden said.

Roxanne blinked and shook her head. "What in the world is going on?" She asked herself.

Golden looked at her. "We're fighting these things Rox, get your head in the game!" The bear shouted.

Roxanne nodded and charged the creature, this time, she unleashed waves of fire along with her physical assault, she saw that it took an incredibly long time for it to reform. 'Ok, so the more damage I inflict on it, the longer it takes to reform, that's good to know, now if only I knew what was going on.' She said to herself mentally.

She heard Golden scream, but this time, she fell back to Dark and created a wall of fire around them all, she quickly ran to Golden and pulled him back.

Roxanne threw any of the creatures that neared away, she then looked at Golden. "What do you do before you scream?" She asked quickly.

Golden looked at her and forced himself to his feet. "I use my psychic powers, why?" He asked.

Roxanne shook her head. "You'll have to make do without it then, just keep knocking them down when you can." She ordered.

Golden nodded, his head still rang like hell, but he could fight.

Roxanne found a plan forming in her mind as she fought, but she needed Golden to not be incapacitated should they fail again. 'I need to make sure Golden doesn't use his psychic powers, the creatures only did that after he used them, but if we can take enough down, hopefully they have a limit.' She thought, she was being overwhelmed quickly.

Roxanne soon felt a familiar sensation go through her, she growled and fell over limp.

______*Ponyville.*______

"Well, this should be a good fight." Golden said.

"Golden!.....don't use your psychic powers!" Roxanne warned.

Golden looked at her. "Why not!?" He asked.

Roxanne looked at him. "They can turn it against you!" She replied fiercely.

Golden huffed, he didn't like that notion one bit. "Not this again." He complained.

Roxanne decided to try an entirely different approach, she channeled her magic and summoned a crystal behemoth, a construct of crystal that was shaped like a gorilla, it had jagged shards on its back and along its arms.

Roxanne ordered it to attack while she fought the creatures, she did so much damage to the first one, it didn't even look like it was reforming at all for a few moments, it then slowly began to reform.

Golden was still up and fighting, he had recently began training in physical combat, in case someone could nullify his powers, and if what Roxanne said was true, that training would help.

Roxanne had just torn apart one of the creatures when she heard the behemoth fall, she quickly summoned a pair of spectral wolves to help hold them off.

It wasn't long until there were too many to handle and they were soon overwhelmed, but they still went down with a fight.

"I don't know how you knew that Roxanne, but if you take off a limb seperately from the body, they have to go and get it, and then wait for it to return." Golden said.

______*Unknown*______

Twilight opened her eyes to a familiar sight, it was Canterlot castle, she was on the floor in one of the halls, she smiled as she stood and began trotting along the halls, knowing the path to the throne room.

Twilight soon reached the throne, she looked around and saw all of the glass windows with her accomplishments with her friends.

However, when she looked at the thrones, she saw Princess Celestia sitting with a grim look on her face, the Princess sighed idly.

Twilight approached her mentor who become more distorted with every step. "Celestia?" She asked.

After she spoke, the distorted Celestia turned to face her and stood up. "You have no business here!" She shouted, in pure rage, but it was as though she was not herself.

Twilight then screamed in surprise as she dodged a powerful magical blast from her mentor. "Celestia!?......have you gone insane?" She then clamped her mouth shut, she was surprised that she said that.

Celestia laughed loudly. "Finally!.....the truth!.....I have waited so long for you to be honest with me!.....now then, show me the fury that caused you to take my sister from me!" She cackled as she barraged Twilight.

Twilight went to throw up a magic shield, but found herself incapable of doing so, she instead dodged as best she could, she looked up at her horn and gasped as it was gone, she checked her back and saw that her wings were still there.

"Oh what's wrong my faithful student?.......can't do anything without your magic?.....good! you tore your horn off in flat defiance of me!......what good is that decision now!" She taunted madly as she fired again.

Twilight lept with her wings propelling her forward even farther as she dodged Celestia. "You cannot dodge forever!.....I am not my sister, my reserves will never empty!" The maddened Alicorn shouted.

Twlight let a tear drop as she continued dodging, what her mentor said was true, with the way Celestia tended to fight, she could fire powerful but mana efficient blasts, and as long as she wore her mana gem, she had an unending barrage.

How did Twilight know this?.....from the demonstration that Celestia set up a while ago, explaining the method of proper magical combat.

Celestia watched as Twilight dodged her attacks. "Come now Twilight, I know you can do better than this, you did murder my sister after all......all without magic." She said venomously.

Twlight then tried flying, she quickly flew up, but with her limited knowledge of flight, she didn't have much chance of staying airborn, still, it did help her to avoid a magical bomb.

'Why would I kill Luna?.....we're friends!' She thought.

Twilight knew that she would have to make a move eventually, so she came up with an idea, she watched as Celestia went to fire, he quickly ran off towards one of the pillars, she took cover behind it. 'She might be powerful, but she's insane.' She thought.

Celestia then roared and unleashed another volley of magic at the pillar Twilight was hiding behind.

Twilight felt the force of the blasts as she pushed against the pillar.

Soon, the pillar fell towards Celestia, who just barely noticed it before it landed on her.

Twilight then walked over to her mentor and looked down at her. "Go ahead." Said the Princess. "Finish it!" She shouted.

Twlight winced and turned around. "You aren't real, this world is an illusion, I still have my horn, Luna is alive, and you aren't insane." She said before walking away, the world vanishing around her, only to transform into Ponyville's outskirts.

Twilight stepped into this new world with a calm mind, she looked up and saw that she had her horn, but she then checked and saw that she had no wings again.

"So, I'm a normal unicorn again?.....no problem." She muttered.

______*Ponyville.*______

Dark was getting closer, she could feel it, whatever was inside this sphere, it clearly wanted out, she found a few cracks in the spheres defense, but they were so small that she would have to condense her magic until it was as small as a paper clip.

Thankfully for them, Roxanne had somehow discovered how to kill the guardians, apparently they had a limit to their regeneration, and when destroyed enough times, they would not reform again.

Roxanne and Golden had formed a working strategy, with Roxanne's surprising knowledge of these creatures, and Golden's tenacity, they were able to thin the creatures numbers quite a bit.

Roxanne smashed one of the creatures and growled as more began to form. 'I don't know how I can learn all of this, but it's helpful.' She grinned as she summoned a bunch of crystal Tigers to attack, she then donned her crystal armor and went on a rampage.

Golden had just finished off one of the creatures when he heard a new sound, it was thunder, but there were no storm clouds.....at least, there 'weren't' any, the sky was covered in thick black clouds and lightning crashed all around them, he quickly fell back to Dark as one of the creatures neared.

Roxanne eventually heard another new sound, it was a long and pained roar that came from nearby, she looked towards the sphere and saw something horrifying.

There was a new creature, one that looked like it was modeled after a Minotaur, it was enormous in size, wielding two giant axes.

Roxanne quickly ran towards the creature and threw a massive beam of fire at it, trying to burn it......only for the beam to dissipate harmlessly.

The Minotuar creature simply looked at Roxanne silently for a few seconds before charging at her swiftly.

For the creatures size, it was very mobile, for as Roxanne slid past it, she was immediately thrown towards a house with a mighty kick, and her armor shattered.

Roxanne growled and for up to a kneel, she managed to look up at the faceless Minotuar before her eyes changed to black pits. "Now you fucked up." She said darkly.

Golden felt an all too familiar presence nearby, so as he finished off one of the last creatures, he saw Roxanne stand backup and face off against the creature, he saw the fox's wounds mend quickly and her expression change. "Oh no." He muttered, he then threw his fist back and destroyed another creature. "This ain't good." He said quietly.

Roxanne grinned widely and ignited her arms in white fire, her eyes soon changing color again, they changed to dark green and her faded red deepened in color, all the way to blood red.

Roxanne then attacked the Minotuar, it was so fast, the creature couldn't even react in time, she then moved behind it and hit it with a massive crystal spike, the crystal lodged itself in the creatures back and soon exploded, taking out its torso.

"Gotcha bitch." She said quietly.

Golden then watched as Nightmare destroyed the remaining creatures before returning to Dark's side. "That was fun love, let's do it again sometime, under less......stressful, circumstances." She said before reverting to Roxanne.

_____*meanwhile*_____

Twilight walked away from the defeated illusion of Discord, she had dealt with Cadance quite easily, as she was mostly a test of wills, Discord however had been challenging, where Celestia was a challenge of wit, Discord was a challenge of wisdom, and some of it made her question her own sanity.

"Up next will be Luna, that much is obvious." She said to herself.

She walked forward and found herself in the castle of the two sisters in the Everfree Forest.

Twilight walked through the old halls and eventually found herself in the throne room, she saw five familiar stone orbs sitting in an all too familiar pattern.

Twilight walked forward and touched one of the orbs, she closed her eyes as she remembered the events that transpired on the journey to find these.

"Nostalgic, Twilight Sparkle?" Asked a commanding voice.

Twilight opened her eyes and turned around and saw Nightmare Moon standing before her. "So what do we do now?.....I know this is just another test." She said.

Nightmare Moon lit her horn and soon a gateway appeared on a nearby wall. "You must learn to accept facts for what they are, if you cannot, you might never be capable of truly ruling." She stated calmly before heading through the gateway.

Twlight watched as Nightmare Moon walked through, she was hesitant to follow, but soon complied.

As she stepped through, she found herself in a strange void with a singular platform. "What is this place?" She asked.

"It is in your mind, this is simply the perfect landscape for what I must show you." Nightmare Moon replied.

"I have one question first." Twilight asked.

Nightmare Moon looked at Twilight. "What is it?" She wondered.

"Why am I seeing you?.....instead of Luna?" Twilight asked.

Nightmare Moon sighed and lit her horn. "Luna does not have the heart to show you what you must see, I however, do." She stated as images appeared throughout her mind.

Twilight remembered most of these, one was of her before the test into Celestia's school, another was her reading the Mare in the Moon, the most recent however, was of her Ascension to an Alicorn, she did not recognize certain ones however, like from the Crystal Empire, she saw Fang walking in the night toward the gate of Snowgem.

"What is this?" She asked.

Nightmare Moon looked around and then saw the one memory Twilight was referring too. "Ah, I see, you don't know about this one, this memory took place whilst Lyaroa was possessing Fang, this is one reason that Celestia and I call Lyaroa dangerous to Equestria's safety." She said as she lit her horn, widening the image.

Twilight watched it with interest, as Lyaroa talked to Soul and Spirit, and as she spoke with the gate guards.......and then attacked them. "What the?" She muttered.

Her eyes widened as she saw what Lyaroa did to them, decapited them and hung their heads from chains. "Why did she so that?" She asked, barely holding in her vomit and preventing herself from blacking out from horror. 

Nightmare Moon watched blankly. "Because they refused to step aside, they told Lyaroa that your brother had given orders to prevent anyone from leaving, but she would not be stopped, in part, it is their fault, but the rest of the blame goes to Lyaroa, the deaths were not necessary, but she didn't care." She then dispersed the image.

"This next memory is from the past, not too long ago I believe." The Alicorn said before igniting her horn and summoning another memory, it was that of a volcano, she could see Shade, Emerald, Golden and Roxanne all leaving, but she then saw Lyaroa hanging over the edge, and Fang looking towards the exit and then at Lyaroa. "What is this?" She asked.

Nightmare Moon closed her eyes. "Fang's death, while I know that you and the others would have preferred if Fang had survived and Lyaroa hadn't, that would have been a horrible loss." She stated before letting the sound from the memory leak into the world.

Twilight watched as Fang turned away from the exit and ran towards Lyaroa, she watched as he helped her up, and as he fell to the lava. "FANG!" She heard Lyaroa cry out.

As she watched Lyaroa run away to the exit after a few moments, she noticed a small smile on Fang's face. "At that moment, Fang had a vision, one that showed him what would happen, should Lyaroa die in Dalcorus." She said,

Twilight looked at Nightmare Moon. "What would have happened?" She asked.

Nightmare Moon shook her head. "You are best off not knowing most of it, but the one thing that spurred Fang to save the Sentinel.......was the suicide of his son." She replied before walking away.

Twilight's eyes widened as she looked at Nightmare Moon. "Why would Spark do that?" She asked.

Nightmare Moon looked stopped moving. "If Lyaroa died, everyone would place the blame upon Fang for allowing her to die, Roxanne most of all, this would lead her to leave forever, cutting all ties and going into exile, while dark forces would tear apart Equestria in three years time, however, the world would live, but Spark and Fang would be the only survivors of that horrible battle, and Spark would tell Fang exactly, how he felt, before killing himself." She explained before walking again.

Twilight followed Nightmare Moon, she didn't know what to make of these memories, but she would follow for now. "What are you showing me now?" She asked.

Nightmare Moon ignited her horn and a door appeared before them, it was chained up all around, the wood showed a small star in it. "Now you must leave." She said simply.

Twilight looked skeptically at Nightmare Moon, it couldn't be that simple, could it? "What's the trick?" She asked.

Nightmare gave a small smile. "No trick, you must simply accept the facts." She said.

Twilight walked up to the door and opened it, she looked back at the Alicorn for a moment before leaving.....only to end up back in the same position she was just in. 

"As I said, accept the facts." Said Nightmare.

Twilight sighed, she looked at the Alicorn. "Let me guess, my doubts are blocking me, and this is a test of my own beliefs?" She asked.

Nightmare Moon nodded.

"This may take a while." She said.

______*Ponyville*______

Dark, Golden and Roxanne all watched as the sphere......cracked.

What was once solid, now crumbled into pieces, it was as though the sphere was deteriorating because of the guardians deaths.

Dark sensed something, it was weak, and it sounded desperate. "Help" Said the voice.

"Did you hear that?" Asked Golden.

Dark walked up to the sphere silently, she could see the creature inside it much clearer now, it was small, like a kid, but it was blurry, she reached a hood out towards it, and it passed through the sphere.

"Bad idea Dark." Roxanne said as she approached.

Golden walked forward and looked inside. "Huh, looks like a little kid, around nine if you ask me." He said.

Dark couldn't explain it, she felt a powerful instinct awaken, and she soon grabbed the figure by the arm, she pulled back as hard as she could, and soon, she saw a large white claw grab her arm and help her. "Need a claw?" Asked the fox.

As the two pulled, Golden kept an eye out, and surely enough, a small hoof was pulled out of the sphere, and out came a young unicorn filly with a gray coat and a white mane, her cutie mark was that of a frosted gear with a hammer and sword inside of it, she seemed unconscious and her right hoof seemed pretty messed up by bruises and slashes.

"Who do you think she is?" Golden asked.

Roxanne shrugged, she watched as Dark held the child carefully. "Strange, I know that hold, it's a mothers hold, her maternal instincts must have kicked in." She thought.

'I agree love, though this seems more like she was holding a child she lost, more than instinct.' Added Nightmare.

"I don't know who she is, but she's hurt, we can take her to the house to get her checked out, then we can continue." Roxanne said.

Dark stood up slowly and carefully placed the filly on her back. "Let's go then, Gwen's house is closer." She said.

As they walked towards the house, they noticed that the town seemed oddly empty, which was odd considering it was as busy as ever before the sphere showed up.

"Where is everyone?" Dark asked.

Roxanne and Golden looked around and saw nothing, however, Golden felt something as he sent out a pulse. "Behind us." Golden said.

They all turned around, and saw a familiar Wolf walking up to them with his left hand glowing with a brown aura. "You can thank me later Rox." He said.

Fang looked at Dark and smiled. "It's been a while Dark, sorry I didn't drop by, but I haven't been feeling well." He said quietly, out of respect for the sleeping child.

Roxanne crossed her arms. "So let me get this straight, instead of helping us fight, you put me in a death loop?" She asked angrily.

Fang nodded. "I'm done fighting Roxanne, you know that, besides, now we know more about them if we run into more." He said simply.

While Roxanne growled and turned away, Dark slowly approached Fang, she was torn between confusion, shock and anger, but in the end, she chose confusion. "How are you here?" She asked quietly as she felt Fang's arm.

Fang shrugged. "These emotional time bombs rescued me from Tartarus, I got another chance to live." He replied.

Dark reached out and hugged Fang. "I'm glad your back big guy." She said.

Fang returned the hug and whispered. "Good to be back." 

Roxanne walked up. "I hate to be the one to break this up, really I do, but we have an injured child that we might want to take care of." She pointed out.

______*Ponyville*_______

Skitter sighed to herself as she walked around the house, it wasn't going to be the same without Gwen, since the Pegasus and her future wife stated that they would be living at Derpy's house, Gwen decided to let Skitter have hers, but it wouldn't be the same, it would just be her, Solar and Garth, then just her and Garth.....then just her. "Good times though." She muttered.

She was just about to go down memory lane when the door opened and in came Dark with an unconscious filly on her back, followed by Roxanne, Golden and.......Fang?

"Fang?" She asked quietly.

Fang looked over at Skitter and smiled as he waved. "Good to see you again Skitter." He said.

Skitter walked up to Fang, she stared at him in disbelief......then she slapped him. "Ouch!" He exclaimed.

"You asshole!" Skitter shouted as she shot his leg with a magic blast.

Normally Roxanne and Golden would have helped, but with Skitter?......no.

Dark looked back. "Will you be quiet!?" She shouted before going to grab some bandages.

Skitter quieted down and stepped over Fang, she grabbed him and looked him straight in the eye. "You are NOT allowed to die again! do you hear me?" She growled.

Fang nodded. "Yes ma'am." He replied quickly.

Skitter's expression then softened and she hugged Fang around his neck. "Just, just be more careful you big idiot." She said quietly.

Fang chuckled and returned the hug by patting Skitter's back. "I thought everyone would live without me just fine, I guess I was wrong." He said.

Skitter then let Fang get up, as he did she talked. "I have my own son now Fang, Garth." She said.

Fang grinned and held his fist out. "Awesome." He said as the Changeling fist bumped him.

Dark soon returned with the bandages, and she began to wrap them around the injured leg.

Fang walked over to the others and looked at the kid, and memories returned to him. "I know this kid." He said suddenly and out of shock.

Dark and Roxanne both looked at him. "You do?" They asked.

Fang nodded. "I ran into her twice back at Freddy's, once before the third location, and once afterwards, the first time I was with Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy, the second, I was on my own, and I was angry, so very angry, but I can't remember why." He explained.

Dark felt her protective instincts kick in for a moment and she went to stand between Fang and the kid, but she managed to stop herself, she calmed herself down and focused. "The good news is that she is in no danger of dying right now, the bad news is that I don't have the skills needed to heal this wound and she could wake up at any moment." She stated.

Roxanne then looked at Fang. "Fang, are you alright?......you know it isn't a good idea to be around many people." She asked out of concern.

Fang chuckled. "I won't go off the rails around a kid Rox, when I go home I'll take the time to calm down." He said quietly.

______*Twilight's mind.*_______

Twilight was beginning to get frustrated, she still couldn't get through the door, she eventually got tired of walking through the door, she had tried reviewing the memories to understand them better, but something was holding her back.

Twilight then thought of something, she was to accept the facts, and move on, but there was one fact she couldn't accept.

"I know what I need to do." She told herself.

Twilight stopped and looked off into the distance, she saw someone that was very close to her, someone she loved for who they were, but was forever out of reach, they were shrouded in shadow, blocking its features.

Twilight and the figure approached eachother calmly, and soon they were close enough to talk. "I know this is selfish, but I do care for you, more than just a friend." She began.

The figure nodded and revealed part of its lower body. "Then what is stopping you?" It asked in a distorted voice. 

"Because I am willing to see past it, no matter how much it hurts, we can't be together." She replied firmly.

The figure rose in size and revealed its black torso. "Then tell me, why did you come here?" It asked.

Twilight smiled and looked up at the creatures head. "Because I must face reality, I cant be blinded by dreams or nightmares anymore, if I am to move on, I need to let you go." She said.

The figures head revealed to show a black and white wolf, he smiled. "Thank you." He said before vanishing.

Twilight let a tear drop before facing the door. "Goodbye Fang." She whispered as she walked through it.

______*Canterlot, the Sanctum.*______

Twilight's eyes opened and she slowly stood up. "Welcome back Twilight, you have completed the trial." Said Cadance.

Twilight looked around and saw the five immortals bowing, they soon rose. "The empowerment is complete, you now have the full power of an immortal, and with it, your burden." Discord said.

"We had little doubt you would succeed my student." Celestia said quietly.

"For now however, the time for you to bear your burden is not yet here, you should first learn to control your newfound powers." Luna said.

Lyaroa waved her hand over Twilight, and a rumbling was heard in the room, soon enough, a throne appeared with its own pocket world, it was that of a small town, resembling Ponyville, the only difference was the library, which was slightly bigger, with a small building next to it, the sunset put the small town in a state of natural beauty. "I will return you to Ponyville Twilight, let me know when you wish to return." Lyaroa said.

Twilight looked at her teacher and smiled, after she said her goodbyes to everyone, including Discord, she looked at Lyaroa. "Let's go home." She said.

Twilight would never get used to Lyaroa's method of teleportation, it was instant, no buildup, no feedback, just perfect accuracy, but even as she looked around the walls of the library, she felt content, and confident from her ordeal, above all, she felt relieved that she let her doubts and sorrow go.

Twilight looked out the window with a smile as Lyaroa walked around. 'This is my pledge, I won't let life beat me down, and when things get tough, I won't give up, EVER!' She swore to herself.

Lyaroa crossed her arms and looked around, something felt off, like something in the world changed, she looked at Twilight. "I'll be back, will you be alright?" She asked.

Twilight nodded and Lyaroa vanished, yet another thing that would defy explanation.

______*Ponyville*______

Lyaroa looked around and saw that she was at Gwen's house, she had traced the anomaly here and was confused when she saw Dark, Roxanne, Golden and Fang all in the room, they seemed to be focusing on something important so she walked up. "Hey guys." She said.

Dark jumped slightly, while Roxanne walked over. "What are you doing back so soon?" Asked the fox.

Lyaroa shrugged. "It didn't take as long as I thought it would, but I could easily ask you guys why your in Gwen's house." She pointed out.

"We have an injured kid to take care of right now Lyaroa, now isn't the time to play the concerned bystander." Dark said.

Lyaroa placed a hand over her heart. "Oh!" She gasped dramatically. "You wound me Dark!" She acted.

"Shut up Migraine." Roxanne muttered.

Lyaroa held her hands up briefly. "Fine, fine fine, what do we know about the mystery girl?" She asked.

Dark paced a little bit. "We aren't entirely sure, all we have is Fang's memories of this kid at Freddy's, and a sense of familiarity about her." She said.

Lyaroa looked at the kid, she glanced at the web of life around her and saw her death date. "Odd." She commented.

"Why odd?" Golden asked.

Lyaroa rubbed her eyes and looked at the kid warily. "Either my eyesight is failing, or that girl should have died a thousand years ago." She replied out of confusion.

"Well you aren't killing her, no way in hell." Dark said protectively.

Lyaroa crossed her arms again. "I never said I was, but it's confusing, unless she's from the Crystal Empire, that would make more sense." She then approached the unconscious filly. "How long has she been asleep?" She asked.

"Not sure, she was like that when we found her inside that sphere." Fang said.

Lyaroa looked at the wolf. "What sphere?" She asked carefully.

Dark looked at Lyaroa. "We were hoping you could tell us, it was there, but it wasn't, it was solid yet it looked like water." She answered.

Lyaroa blinked and walked to the couch and rubbed her chin. "What's wrong?" Asked Skitter as she walked back in.

The Sentinel sighed and put her hand over her face. "I know what you guys found......its a containment sphere." She replied.

Everyone looked at Lyaroa as she went to explain. "It's a method that is used to imprison unstable world jumpers, those who are stuck in a cycle of being transported through worlds without a choice, I put defenders in place, just in case someone tried to free the captive inside." She explained, while pointing at the filly.

Dark then remembered that night the filly called her mom, she remembered her teleporting away quickly afterwards. "When did you imprison her?" She asked.

Lyaroa shrugged. "Nighttime, after the Empire, before Dalcorus, why?" She asked.

Dark shook her head. "Then I think I watched you do it." She said.

Lyaroa got up and walked to Dark, she then looked her in the eyes with a confused look. "Strange, you should be blind after that, something must have prevented that, or you didn't see it, whichever." She muttered.

Skitter walked around the room some. "So what happens now?......you going to send her away like you did with Storm?" She asked.

Lyaroa shook her head. "That was different, he was from a different world, in this case, she's home." 

_____*later that day, 3:21 PM*______

Lyaroa had moved everything to her house, the filly, the others, Garth and Skitter. 

Luckily the filly was alive and showed signs of awakening, but not many, she fell back asleep soon after.

Lyaroa was walking upstairs when she heard Fang talk. "Can I talk to you Lyaroa?" He asked.

The Sentinel nodded and kept walking up, when he reached the top of the stairs, he began talking. "First off, your defenses for the sphere almost killed Dark, Roxanne and Golden, secondly, I had another vision." He said quietly, especially for the last part.

Lyaroa raised an eyebrow. "I hate it when you get visions, they always suck." She said.

Fang nodded and then held out his hand. "I want you to look into my memories and see the vision for yourself, it'll be faster then me telling you." He said.

Lyaroa grabbed Fang's hand and immediately searched his memories, she saw the destruction unleashed, she saw the time, she saw the date, she saw the year, every. single. detail, she recoiled upon hearing the message she left herself. "TMH........damnit!" She cursed under her breath.

Fang looked curiously as Lyaroa paced. "What does that mean anyway?" He asked.

The Sentinel looked at him. "It's a code phrase I made when I began world making, it means This Must Happen, as in, I CANNOT interfere." She replied.

Fang paused at that, he looked at her in shock. "All that death, and you can't do anything?.....can't or won't?" He asked.

Lyaroa gave Fang a stare that could kill. "I have told you before, I have a moral code, and that stands against me reshaping the world just to make myself happy, and preventing that disaster." She huffed. "It goes against my own belief." She whispered.

"So what? We just stand by and watch as our doom approaches?" Fang asked.

Lyaroa shook her head. "Not if I can help it." She then walked to the stairs.

"What are you going to do?" Fang asked.

Lyaroa looked at Fang. "I'm going to break the world." She said with sincerity.

_____*downstairs*_____

Dark was relieved, not only did Lyaroa teleport them to her house, she had also healed everyone including the mystery kid.

Dark was alone with the kid now, since Golden went to the bathroom and Roxanne went for something to eat, Skitter was trying to calm Garth down while Solar waited on the couch.

She heard footsteps behind her and saw Lyaroa approaching. "So what now?" She asked.

Lyaroa's hand glew with a golden light. "Now I'm going to stop her world jumping, regardless if she wants it or not." She placed her hand over the child's forehead and began to work, closing the gates in her mind that caused her to jump across worlds.

It didn't take long until the gates closed, but there was something else there, a magical parasite latching onto the child's mind, she removed it after determining it was harmful, and then she removed her hand. "When she wakes up we need to make sure she has food and water." She stated before walking away.

Dark looked at Lyaroa. "Thank you." She said quietly.

Lyaroa smiled a little. 'At least some good will come out of this.' She thought, not willing to tell her or anyone else the truth right now.

Afterwards, Lyaroa walked to the kitchen and found Roxanne, she walked over and leaned in next to her. "Hey Firecracker." She said quietly.

Roxanne sighed at the nickname, she looked at the Sentinel with a raised eyebrow. "What happened to Hothead?" She asked.

Lyaroa grinned. "It doesn't fit you, besides, I like Firecracker, it isn't exactly an insulting nickname." She said.

Roxanne put the plates down and looked at Lyaroa. "We're talking nicknames, so what's REALLY going on here Lyaroa?" She asked quietly.

Lyaroa sighed. "Fang had another vision, it was that of this world being destroyed.......and I can't interfere." She said telepathically.

Roxanne rubbed her eyes as she processed this news. "Well, what are we going to do?.....if we can't stop it, then what?" She asked.

"This will sound extreme, but it's better then letting this horrible event happen.......I'm going to destroy this world." She replied.

Roxanne looked at Lyaroa with a shocked and disbelieving stare. "Then we will all die." She said.

Lyaroa shook her head. "Not if I find us a new world to inhabit first, but there is a catch." She started.

"There always is." Roxanne replied.

"We won't be able to take everyone with, we can take up to thirteen people, but that's it." She said.

"Why can't we take all of our friends?" She asked.

Lyaroa sighed. "Because they are all part of every world, having two of each would be catastrophic, I'm sorry to say it, but it's true."

"You had best get searching for a new world then, I don't want to see what's going to happen if it's that bad." Roxanne said.

Nightmare cleared her throat in her mind. 'Ask what's gonna happen to me, please Love?' She asked.

"What's going to happen to Nightmare?" She asked.

Lyaroa shrugged. "Nothing if you want her to stay." She replied, though she was curious as to why Roxanne asked, she wasn't about to question it.

Roxanne nodded. "Good, she doesn't want to leave anyway, at least......I think." She thought. 

'Whatever you want to do Love, I'm fine with it.' Said Nightmare.

"In that case, think you could seperate us after we leave?.....I like her, but it's getting crowded in my head." She said.

Lyaroa nodded and walked away and headed up for her room, she needed to find a way to break the news to everyone without causing a panic.

______*a few minutes later*______

The child mumbled something as she lie there, her face and expressions showed distress, she shivered and shook as feelings of fear enveloped her, she suddenly felt them vanish as her eyes slowly opened, the area was very bright to her eyes so she quickly shut her eyes, a few moments later she opened them again and the light was now bearable, she looked to her left and saw a giant Golden bear sitting in a chair reading a book.

Many thoughts ran through her mind, but eventually she spoke up, deciding upon an action. "Fredbear?" She asked quietly.

The bear perked up upon mention of the name, he looked at the kid as he set the book down. "I haven't heard that name in years, but no, I'm not him." He said.

The child sat up slowly and rubbed her head. "Ah!" She exclaimed, she had rubbed a spot on her head that hurt like hell.

"You alright?" He asked.

She nodded as she looked around, she was in a living room as was obvious by the couches and chairs, but she couldn't place her location. "I know it's a common question for these situations, but where am I?" She asked.

"Ponyville.....anyway, my name is-

The child seemed started by the name, she blinked and looked at the bear. "Golden Freddy." She finished.

Golden nodded and stood up. "How do know these names?" He asked.

The child sat up fully. "I um, I've been around Fazbears for a while." She replied quietly.

Golden sighed and crossed his arms. "Well, if anything, we have some common ground." He said as he paced. 

"So, it would be rude of me not to introduce myself, my name is Syrin, it's uh, good to know your alright after all." She replied. [3]

Golden Freddy then looked towards what appeared to be the kitchen. "Hey! the kid is awake!" He called.

Syrin flinched due to her headache, she then heard footsteps coming from the kitchen, she watched as a changeling walked out calmly. "About time, I was getting worried that you might not wake up." Said the Changeling.

Golden looked at Syrin. "This is Skitter, Ponyville's resident Changeling." He introduced.

Skitter shrugged. "It isn't that big a deal, I'm not exactly anyone remarkable." She said modestly.

Golden rolled his eyes. "Anyway, this is Syrin." He introduced.

Syrin eyed Skitter cautiously. "Hi." She said carefully.

Skitter looked at Golden. "Well, I need to get back home, I'll see you around." She then teleported out in the blink of an eye.

Afterwards, loud footsteps were heard coming down the stairs, Golden looked and saw Fang heading down with a conflicted gaze. "Hey bud, you alright?" The bear asked.

Syrin looked at the wolf. "Fang?" She asked quietly.

Unfortunately, at that point, all of Fang's anxiety came back at that instant and he quickly fled towards his room. "What's wrong with him?" She asked.

Golden shook his head. "He will be fine, he's just been through a lot lately." He answered. 'Then again, I don't even know what's up with him anymore, and I know him better than almost everyone.'

Fang's door slammed and Golden winced. "It's been, difficult, but that's for another time." He said, he then looked at Syrin. "Do you want anything?" He asked.

Syrin could feel how dry her throat was, but she also knew better than to take things from strangers, especially after you wake up in a house filled with them. "I'm fine." She lied.

Golden nodded and walked off. "If you change your mind, let me know." He said as he headed upstairs.

Syrin was now alone with her thoughts, she didn't understand the circumstances that led her here, first she was walking on an empty road, next she felt the world go dark as she was immobilized suddenly, then she woke up here. 'The strangest part is, this feels like home.' She said to herself.

A pair of voices suddenly caught her ears, so she listened carefully. "I understand your confusion Dark, I do, but you need to keep a level head." Said an unfamiliar voice, although, she did recognize the name.

"Calm!? How can i? I literally almost died because of what YOU did, if Fang hadn't looped that confrontation like he did, I would be dead, so would Roxanne, and so would Golden." Said a very familiar voice.

"I didn't want that to happen Dark, you know that, I just didn't think it would pop up in Ponyville while I was away." Replied the first voice.

"You know, I really hope Roxanne can forgive you for everything you've done to her and to all of us, because at this point? I don't think I can." Said The second voice.

Syrin flinched at the hostility of the voice, but she kept listening. "What's gotten into you? you have been increasingly hostile to everyone since that kid got here, what's the problem?" Asked the other voice.

"Uh let's see, that would be anger combined with confusion among other things, I almost died today, and so did two of my friends! You know what's? I am not going to deal with this right now, I'm going." Said the second voice.

Footsteps on the stairs made Syrin cast her gaze over, she looked and saw a familiar unicorn mare with a dull white coat,  white and gray hair, silver eyes and two robotic legs stomping off, her eyes widened. "Mom?" She asked.

The mare stopped suddenly, she froze at those words.

_____*Dark's point of view*_____

Dark had frozen at that one word, she hadn't realized the kid was awake, but that was the exact same thing she called her a while back, before she vanished, she looked over at the kid, her icy blue eyes forming a small tear.

At this exact moment, Dark felt her mind open, and an armada of memories returned to her, she could remember her name, she could remember all the years they spent together, she remembered it all, sadly, she also felt the negative memories return, but that would have to wait.

Dark found herself unable to move, instead, as she felt her eyes slowly water, she spoke in one small word. "Syrin?" She asked quietly.

Lyaroa had watched the whole thing from the stairs, she smiled as she headed upstairs, she had known who the girl was the entire time, but she knew that this was the better way to go about it, rather than just opening her mind to the memories forcibly. 'Yep, they will definitely be worth saving.' She thought to herself.

______*Ponyville, the next day, 2:30 PM*______

Firefly was in the Sugarcube corner right now, she was with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo waiting on Apple Bloom, they were just sitting in a booth discussing what they would do after Apple Bloom got there. "So, we obviously can't let her know ANYTHING about the surprise party correct?" Scootaloo stated.

Firefly nodded. "Right, we just go about the day like we normally do, but we can't let her go anywhere near the clubhouse." She added.

"I've already talked with Applejack and Rarity, they'll start after we leave from our usual club meeting." Sweetie added.

"All that's left is to keep her distracted for a few hours." Scootaloo finished.

"Hey Firefly, is that guy coming along with you? you know, Storm?" Sweetie asked curiously.

Firefly shook her head and clutched the claw amulet that Storm let her. "No, he had to go home." She replied, leaving an air of silence.

Soon after, the doors to Sugarcube corner flew open and a loud shout soon followed. "Nobody move!" The voice was incredibly distorted but was undeniably male.

The three crusaders looked to the door and their eyes widened in horror.

A large unicorn stallion with dark blue fur and no mane or tail was holding a knife to Apple Bloom's throat. "Everypony down on the ground!" He ordered.

Everyone in the room complied along with the three crusaders, they were all terrified out of their minds, but their friends safety came first.

The stallion's horn ignited and the entire bakery was surrounded by a magical barrier, he then looked to the petrified crowd. "Everyone upstairs! Except you two!" He said, he grabbed two ponies from the crowd to state his point, Firefly and Rarity.

The stallion's commands were swiftly followed as everyone fled upstairs in a panic, only when they were all upstairs and he was alone with three of his hostages did he put the knife to Firefly's throat and send Applebloom upstairs, but not before putting a magic jammer device on Rarity's horn. "Don't even try to remove that device." He ordered.

Rarity nodded quietly.

Firefly could only feel fear right now, all of her movement and thought blocked by it, she had never been in such a situation, not even at the Temple of Jandoka, she didn't even move or flinch when her wings were bound to her sides by the stallion.

"Now, you both do what I say, and no one has to get hurt." Said the stallion.

Firefly eventually came to her senses and realized the situation more clearly, while there wasn't anything she could do about it, she could try to come up with a plan.

Rarity looked at Firefly. "Are you alright darling?" She asked out of concern.

Firefly made no motion at the question. "Mentally or physically?" She asked.

Rarity watched as their captor paced back and forth with a crystal, he was speaking to it. "Either." She said.

"I am physically alright." Firefly said.

Rarity decided to leave it at that for now, after all, now wasn't the time to play therapist. "I don't know what he is doing right now, but whatever it is, it has to be something with whatever he is planning, I hate to say this Firefly, but we need to do what he says." She said with disgust plain in her voice.

The stallion then teleported the crystal away and looked at his captives. "Now we wait, QUIETLY." He ordered.

_____*Golden Oaks Library.*_____

Twilight and Dark were in the middle of getting things ready for Dark to move out of the library. "I'm gonna miss having you around Dark, it was nice having someone else around." Twilight said.

"You have Spike don't you?.....he's a great kid." She said curiously.

Twilight shrugged. "What I mean is it was nice having another adult around to talk with, well, one that actually knows what I'm talking about half the time." She explained.

Dark chuckled. "Trust me Twilight, if there was room here for all of us, I'm sure I would stay, but for now, all I can say is that I can visit when I'm not busy readjusting to being a mother......again." She said.

Twilight looked at her friend. "I still have trouble believing that you have a daughter, after all this time." She mentioned out of disbelief.

"You and me both, according to Lyaroa, me and Ralkon had this really weird memory blocking spell put on us, that makes us go incredibly aggressive for whatever reason, thankfully Lyaroa was able to get rid of it." Dark replied.

Soon enough, both unicorn's detected a teleportation nearby, they looked and saw a glowing crystal in the center of the library. 

Twilight approached it, she scanned it carefully and discovered it was a communication Crystal, she activated it and saw a Dark blue unicorn stallion with no mane or tail and black eyes staring at her. "Good, your home, I trust the line is stable Princess?" He asked in a distorted voice.

"Who are you?" Twilight asked.

The Unicorn grinned and moved to the side, revealing Rarity with a magic jamming device on her horn, and Firefly with her wings bound. "I am the one in charge here, and I have a few demands that I will not speak over a communication Crystal." They then lost visual on him.

"Dark, take Syrin, and go to Lyaroa's house, tell them what's going on, I'm going see what I can do on my end." Twilight said before teleporting away.

_____*Outside Sugarcube corner*_____

Twilight was waiting outside the bakery, she saw the barrier, it was......strange, it certainly wasn't the same as her brothers barrier, but it was incredibly powerful all the same, but she didn't know it's properties.

Soon enough, another Crystal teleported in front of her, she activated it and she saw the same person. "Hello again Princess Twilight, I am pleased that you take this situation seriously." He said smugly.

"Holding ponies hostage normally is a serious situation." Twilight replied calmly. 

The stallion grinned. "Ah, but these aren't just anyponies are they? The Element of Generosity and the daughter of your friend, or should I say the Corrupted Element of Thunder?" He said.

Twilight knew at this exact moment that this was a planned holdup, not some random guy out for money. "What are your demands?" She asked.

"I am sending out a scroll, it contains a list of names, names of prisoners, I want them all released and in front of this building before sunset, or I will begin killing hostages, starting with these two." He replied before cutting off the transmission.

A scroll then appeared in front of Twilight, she opened it and saw that names on it, she widened her eyes and she quickly summoned four items, two communication Crystals, a quill and a paper, she quickly wrote down a message and sent it to Celestia. 'We can't let those monsters free again, but I can't ignore all of the innocents trapped inside.'

It didn't take long for Celestia to appear, she had a expression of deep thought, but Twilight quickly masked her general area with a cloaking spell, so that no one could see. "Princess, I am sending a message to Lyaroa, hopefully she can answer." Said the Alicorn.

Soon, Lyaroa appeared on one of these crystals, she was half awake. "Twilight, do you have any idea what time it is?" The Sentinel asked groggily.

"Lyaroa, we need you awake, there is an emergency that requires your attention." Celestia said sternly.

Lyaroa sighed and soon she appeared completely rested and awake. "Alright, what's going on this time?" She asked.

"A Unicorn stallion has taken control of Sugarcube corner and has taken everyone inside hostage, including Rarity and Firefly." Twilight explained.

Lyaroa shook her head out of disbelief. "Who else?" She asked.

"Unknown, but he is demanding the release of several inmates from across Equestria." Celestia added.

Lyaroa shrugged. "Then release them, what's the big deal?" She asked.

Twilight gulped and spoke up. "The people he wants released are proven terrorists, they alone are responsible for over three hundred casualties in Fillydelphia and Los Pegasus." She explained.

Lyaroa sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Then why the hell did you call me?.....you know it isn't my responsibility to deal with these kind of problems, regardless of how much I want too." She answered.

Celestia spoke. "I know that Lyaroa, however, you are the best person aside from Discord who can get word to these prisons the fastest, should we have no choice, we will need you for this." She said.

Lyaroa nodded. "Fine, I can do a message, but the rest is up to you guys, good luck, I have to try to keep Roxanne from charging in blindly." She said before cutting out.

"So what should we do here Celestia?" She said, still not comfortable with calling her mentor that.

"First, explain everything to me, what measures have been taken to keep the area secure?" She asked.

"I have the local authorities keeping a perimeter around the Bakery, keeping anyone from getting closer." She said.

"And what of the man?....what precautions has he taken to keep you and the police out?" She asked.

"He has a magical barrier of some sort surrounding the bakery, he has also made it clear that if anyone other than me or the people he wants released come near, he will begin killing hostages." She said.

Celestia closed her eyes in thought and then looked at Twilight. "How much time do we have?" She asked.

"Before sunset." Twilight answered quickly.

"For now, continue to monitor the situation, I will see about the monsters he wants us to release." Celestia said before cutting out.

Twilight then looked at the bakery worryingly, she didn't like this, she had all of this power, but she couldn't even use it to help her in this situation. 'Wait a minute, I can.' she ignited her horn and she reached out with her mind, she soon felt Rarity's mind, she then spoke mentally. "Rarity, don't speak out loud, but if you can hear, say yes in your mind." She said to her friend.

"Yes, I can hear you."

_____*Inside the bakery.*______

Rarity was confused as to how Twilight was talking in her mind, but she wasn't going to ask until this was over. "I need you to tell me what's going on in there Rarity, I can't see inside." Twilight said.

"He has sealed the upstairs, the only ones down here are me, Firefly and our captor, who is keeping an abnormally keen watch outside." She replied.

"Are you two alright?" She asked.

"Yes, for the most part, Firefly seems to be breaking down slowly, I'm trying to keep her calm." She replied.

Firefly however, was not doing so well as she originally thought, she was silently crying to herself, she sniffled and continued crying, she was trying to be strong, but something inside of her broke when the man held a knife to her throat.

The man seemed to hear Firefly crying, he gritted his teeth and shot a magical blast in the direction of his hostages.

Firefly froze completely when the blast zoomed right past her head at incredible speed. "Keep quiet!" He ordered.

Rarity soon saw a flaw in her captor, one she could send to Twilight. "Our captor has anger issues, and has little patience when things aren't going his way." She said.

Rarity looked at Firefly, who was clutching her amulet tightly and breathing rapidly, she reached out and touched Firefly's shoulder, the filly's head shot up and looked at Rarity in fear.

The mare did the only thing she could try to do in this situation. "Firefly, everything is going to be alright, just calm down and breathe." She said reassuringly.

Firefly slowed her panicked breathing down steadily and closed her eyes, she released her death grip of the amulet and felt something warm on her left hoof, she opened her eyes and looked, she saw Rarity's hoof holding her arm. "Just stay calm, can you do that?" Rarity asked quietly with a smile.

Firefly nodded, she looked at their captor, he seemed to know about her being the Corrupted Element of Thunder, but he didn't know that the Element wasn't Corrupted anymore, which meant that it was far easier to use now, and much more powerful, however.

She then looked at Rarity, there was no guarantee that even if she used her thunder to the best of her ability, that the magic jammer would help, or if Rarity was even strong enough to take the stallion on in a fight.

Firefly held her amulet carefully, she felt something strange on it, but she pushed past her curiosity for now as she drew on one of her memories, specifically something that Storm told her. 

_____*flashback*_____

Firefly was talking to Storm in the training yard as Roxanne practiced with Golden. "Hey Firefly." Storm said.

She looked at the Werewolf as he watched the two adults spar. "What is it?" She asked.

"Do you know what Elemental affinity is?" He asked curiously.

Firefly shook her head, she knew that Storm could see it. "No, why?" She asked.

Storm gestured to Roxanne. "Your mom, her affinity is fire, while Golden's is wind, you see, Elemental affinity has a significant impact on your abilities and attributes, for instance." He looked at Firefly. "Can you tell what MY affinity is?" He asked.

Firefly shrugged. "Fire, it's obvious." She said.

Storm shook his head. "Wrong." He replied.

Firefly raised an eyebrow. "Wind then?" She asked.

"No." He replied.

Firefly blinked, this was strange. "Lightning?" She offered.

"Wrong again." He teased.

Firefly sighed. "Fine, what is your affinity?" She asked.

Storm shrugged. "Believe it or not, my affinities are Earth and Water." He replied. "You see, at birth, we unknowingly choose an affinity, and later on, we obtain a second through the choices we make, as for you?" He said, looking back at the fight.

"Your affinity is definitely Lightning, no doubt about it." He said with a grin.

______*end of flashback*______

'The Lightning affinity is one of the rarest known affinities, and for good reason, those of this affinity have a tendency to do the unexpected, they act on impulse, doing what no others dream of doing, and in combat? Striking in a way that even they themselves are unsure of.' Twilight's lecture on Elemental magics seemed to have some merit after all.

Firefly smirked as she watched their captor, she calmed down and looked down at her amulet as she let go of it, she saw red liquid. 'Blood?' She then looked at her hoof and saw a cut, and that Rarity's right hoof was bloodstained.

'I cut myself on the amulet?.....strange, I don't remember doing that.' She then looked at Rarity. "Rarity, are you alright?" She asked quietly, pointing at her hoof, deciding to play it innocent and naïve for now.

Rarity nodded. "It's alright, I'll have it looked at when this is over." She whispered.

Firefly nodded. 'Good, she doesn't suspect, I just need to keep this act up for a while longer, I don't need to worry her or anyone else until later.' She thought to herself.

______*Hours later, 8:21 PM*______

The unicorn stallion growled. "What is taking them so long!? Do they not care what happens to you!?" He screamed in frustration.

Firefly saw an opportunity, so she took it. "What did you expect?" She asked.

He looked over at her with an angered expression. "What?" He replied out of anger. 

"I mean come on, you gave them until sunset and a list of names, they probably forgot what prisons those guys are in, and you wanted them to get them ALL here? you really aren't too smart." She teased.

The unicorn then held a knife to Firefly's throat and a magical sword to Rarity's. "I'm not against going with option B kid, so shut it!" He warned.

Firefly smirked and leaned in closer. "I better warn YOU, you can't kill us, if you do, you lose all your leverage, and those guys will never be free from prison, so go ahead, I wouldn't mind coming back to see WHAT my mom does to you for killing me." She taunted.

The unicorn screamed in frustration again and punched Firefly to the ground and shoved the magical sword into Rarity's leg.

Firefly hit the ground hard and heard Rarity scream in pain, she then heard her captor speak. "Next time, do what your told you little shit." He said.

Firefly felt a surge of unending anger flow over her, she growled and felt her bones breaking apart.

Rarity tried her best to stay awake, but she quickly fell unconscious from blood loss and the sound of bones breaking.

The unicorn didn't seem to notice as he went back to watching the outside.

Firefly growled and grunted as he bones broke, and soon, as it moved to her wings and ribs, she started gasping for air.

The unicorn sighed. "Shut it kid! I didn't even hit you in the lungs!" He shouted, still not looking.

Firefly soon felt her arm bones breaking, her eyes changed to a bright Amber color, her fur thickened and claws started to form as her teeth sharpened and turned to fangs.

As the sounds continued behind him, the stallion soon grew tired of them, he turned around. "Will you keep it Dow......" He was shocked by what he saw, Rarity was unconscious and Firefly had completely changed. "What the hell?" He grabbed his dagger and summoned magical swords as Firefly looked up at him with eyes of a predator.

_____*Firefly's pov*_____

Anger, a surprising emotion for Firefly, but one that helped in this situation, she cast her gaze upon the monster in front of her. 'Not pack, not food, enemy, kill.' 

Firefly growled and electricity crackled all around her, she slowly advanced as the monster in her vision struck with magical blades.

In her vision, she had lots of time to react, but in her enemies? An instant, she moved swiftly, she dodged the first blade by jumping to the side, the second by jumping at the wall, and the third by creating a barrier of lightning, she then lept from the wall at her enemy, she arced thunder through the knife he was holding and it paralyzed his entire left side, she then chomped down on his right arm.

She then proceeded to tear him apart as he struggled in vain, his dying screams could be heard throughout the structure, as he went to cast one last spell, she chomped on his horn with all of her might, causing a massive feedback, she quickly fled and grabbed Rarity. 'Pack, friend, not food, not enemy, save.'

_____*Outside Sugarcube corner*_____

Twilight covered her eyes, she was just about to call Celestia about the demands when screams could be heard inside the bakery, soon however, the barrier fell, Twilight quickly teleported in and almost threw up on sight of the bloodbath, she saw the man dead in the corner, his horn broken off and his body savagely mauled, she saw Firefly and Rarity, her friend was unconscious and had a massive puncture in her leg, and Firefly was covered in blood, with what seemed to be a piece of the mans broken horn in her mouth.

_____*an hour later*_____

Twilight managed to get Everypony out of Sugarcube corner while having the police and paramedics handle the downstairs, it wasn't easy getting them all out without them seeing the bloodbath, but she did it, she was more concerned about Firefly and Rarity right now though.

Rarity had to be taken to the hospital for immediate treatment, while Firefly was sitting in a booth, practically paralyzed by what happened.

She walked over to the filly after she was allowed. "Firefly, are you alright?" She asked quietly.

Firefly didn't answer, instead, she shook her head and looked around shakily.

"Roxanne is coming to take you home Firefly, okay?" She said.

Firefly nodded silently, refusing to speak.

_____*a few days later, Lyaroa's house, 1:45 PM*____

Lyaroa shook her head and sighed. "Well Lyaroa, what's the verdict?" Roxanne asked.

"Storm said that as far as he knows, the Werewolf gene can only be passed down by birth or by the direct bite a of a live Werewolf, and seeing as she has no Werewolves among her ancestors, it must be a new method of transformation." Lyaroa answered.

They were all in the living room right now, it was only Roxanne, Lyaroa, Fang and Golden, they were trying to figure out what to do, Firefly had turned into a Werewolf in the last two nights, so they knew it was true, but the worst part was the fact that she would not speak, to anyone, she had attended Apple Bloom's birthday but barely talked even then.

In truth? Roxanne was becoming increasingly concerned, as Firefly wouldn't even talk to her, she would express herself through motion and other means now.

Lyaroa couldn't blame Firefly however, she HAD killed a man, and had been through a very traumatic experience.

"For now, all I can say is to give her time to heal, she doesn't want to be crowded, that much is obvious." She said.

Fang looked at Lyaroa. "How does she feel about being a Werewolf?" He asked.

Lyaroa sighed. "I have no idea, and unless she specifically tells me to get rid of it, I will not." She then looked at Roxanne. "No matter how much YOU want it gone either, it is her decision." She added.

Golden then stood up. "While we give her time to decide, I think it's time we address a major issue." He said.

Lyaroa flinched. "About my decision to destroy this world?" She asked.

Everyone nodded. "I still don't see the point." Golden replied.

Lyaroa walked over to the chair. "Please sit down." She said.

As everyone sat down Lyaroa explained. "Since it'll take too long to explain, I'll simplify it for you all, this world is on a crash course for destruction anyway, and I will not see it happen, but, my code prohibits me from ending this disaster myself, it does not however, prevent me from destroying the timeline, so if I do that and transport us to a new world, a fresh one, we can live our lives peacefully, and as to everything else, like the disasters that occur such as the Crystal Empire? They will be dealt with." She explained.

No one seemed to like the idea, that much was obvious, however, one of them spoke. "What will happen to us? when we leave?" Fang asked.

Golden seemed surprised that Fang said that. "Whatever you want, I'll change you to whatever you wish, a dragon, a Griffin, a rabbit, anything." She said.

Fang looked out the window in deep thought, Golden sighed and crossed his arms. "Do what you will, but I'm not going along, if you insist on me leaving this world, send me back home." He said.

Lyaroa shrugged. "Fazbears?" She asked.

Golden shook his head. "That was never really my home, at least it never felt like it, I want to go to Kompako." He said.

Lyaroa nodded. "Your choice, we'll miss you when you go bud." She said.

Roxanne sighed. "Well, no matter how badly you piss me off or annoy me, I'm stuck with you, so I guess that blank slate would be the best bet." She said.

Lyaroa smiled. "Thanks, I've already talked with Shade and Emerald about this, and they are going to Oglan, Shade's home world." She answered.

"I thought he was never going back?" Fang wondered. 

Lyaroa shrugged. "So did I, but he changed his mind." She said.

Roxanne leaned back. "So, who's going to tell Dark?.....I'm going to tell Skitter." She said.

Fang shrugged. "I guess I'll tell her, I doubt she'll be happy, but I think she would rather go somewhere else than watch the world burn." He said.

Lyaroa nodded. "Then it's settled, I'll get Everything ready, and then I'll send us off before destroying the timeline." She said grimly, she then teleported.

_____*Gwen's house, the next day.*_____

Fang wasn't happy, he had to tell Dark AND her daughter what was going on because they would not seperate, they both seemed depressed about the situation, but they were taking it surprisingly well. "Let me see if I understand you correctly, Tirek, a magic eater, comes along and drains everyone of their magic, and it is so much magic that even the Elements of Harmony are useless?" Dark asked.

Fang nodded. "Yes." He answered.

"Well this figures." Syrin said with annoyance. "I finally get back home, just to find out we need to leave?" She complained.

Dark looked at Fang. "We aren't leaving without Ralkon, he IS Syrin's father after all." She said.

Fang nodded. "I'll get the message to him." He replied before leaving.

"Wait a minute!" Syrin said.

Fang looked at the kid. "Yea?" He asked.

"Me and mom have been talking, and I've been wondering, do you remember what you did back at your world?" She asked.

Fang winced but nodded. "Sadly yes, I don't know why I did what I did really, but I remember." He replied.

Syrin then slapped him.......with a fish, that appeared out of nowhere. "Ok, we're even." She said happily.

Fang then watched as the two walked off, he only had one thought run through his mind after they were out of sight. 'What in the actual fuck just happened?' He wondered.

______*Ponyville, Flower shop, 3:30 PM.*______

Skitter walked into the shop with a perplexed expression, she had received a message from Roxanne, asking her to meet in the flower shop of all places.

The shop was closed for the day, but Roxanne was waiting for her in the store, she approached the fox with a curious look in her eye. "Where are the flower sisters at?" She asked.

Roxanne chuckled. "Out for a business meeting, they won't be back for another couple hours." She said as she crossed her arms and leaned on the wall.

"Why did you want to meet up here?" Skitter asked.

Roxanne sighed. "I have very bad news Skitter, the world is ending." She said.

Skitter bit her lip, she then took a deep breath and spoke. "I know." She replied grimly.

Roxanne looked at her friend out of confusion and surprise. "How do you know?" She asked.

Skitter walked over and leaned back. "Funny thing about being the Changeling Queen that came up with Pure Crystal magic, you get visions and see a lot of prophecies." She replied.

Roxanne watched as Skitter looked up. "I was with my sister, and we were out wandering the hive at night, we weren't supposed to, but we were only seven, and we eventually stumbled across a blocked out cavern, we didn't know it at the time, but some real psychopaths lived there, so we entered it forcibly, and we found some carvings on the walls, detailing Armageddon at the hands of a giant centaur, and a date." She sighed and looked down.

"How long until the date arrives?" Roxanne asked.

Skitter looked at Roxanne with a sad expression. 

Roxanne placed a hand on Skitter's shoulder, the Changeling's silence disturbing her. "Skitter?" She asked.

"........Today." She whispered.

Roxanne's eyes widened and her expression turned to one of panic, she quickly shot up once she heard screaming in the streets, she looked at her friend quickly. "Skitter, get Garth and get to the Guardians Hill." She instructed before running out of the shop.

Skitter nodded and teleported away, heading for home.

Roxanne exited the shop to a town filled with fear and despair, she covered her eyes as the roof of one of the homes was blown off by a stream of fire and energy.

Roxanne started to run towards Lyaroa's house to make sure everyone was alright, she heard the screaming of the townsfolk as they ran past her in a frenzy.

Another building soon blew up and some ponies flew out and landed on the ground, Roxanne winced as the debris went everywhere, even landing on some people.

Roxanne picked up her pace but was soon cut off as a wall of fire cut a swathe through the land and remained there, she was disoriented as a Pegasus rammed into her as the firewall burned his wing.

She held her head and started heading for the more crowded area of the town, she had to fight her way past an army of panicked people, but she eventually made it near the buildings.

Unfortunately for Roxanne, as she neared the structures, another beam of energy collided with the two building she was between, and they collapsed.

She let out a scream as the debris crushed her, hiding her among two buildings worth of solid stone.

______*Ponyville Ruins, a few minutes later.*______

It was dark, that much was obvious, it was difficult to move, also obvious, it was soothing, that was not obvious, at least to Nightmare, she found dark places calming to be in.

"Sorry Love, but I'm taking control, not that you can argue this time, don't worry, I'll take care of you till you wake up." Nightmare said quietly.

'We need to get home as fast as we can!' Roxanne's Soul said.

Nightmare unleashed her power and destroyed the rubble she was under.

Nightmare stood up and stretched the stiffness out, she then quickly moved out of the destroyed buildings, she then saw that most of the town was destroyed, she sighed out of boredom. "Whoever is doing this, needs a lesson on destruction, at least when I do this, I do it in a single minute, not what seems like an hour." She commented dryly on the death and destruction.

Nightmare quickly ran in the direction of the house, it was easier now that the people weren't around, however, there was now debris and now rock formations blocking her path, however it still didn't slow Nightmare down, she eventually made it to the house......or what was left of it, all that was left was a single room.....Golden's room, not decorated and simple, just how he liked it.

Nightmare then concluded that she should go to the hill, at least then she had a good plan. "Alright, time to meet up at the hill." She said quietly.

'Dont lose hope, Lyaroa won't let anything happen to them.' Said her Soul.

Nightmare quickly made her way towards the hill, she saw that the battle was still raging, it was between Tirek and.......Twilight? it seemed to be evenly matched right now, so she didn't have to worry about getting involved. 

As Nightmare eventually made it to the edge of the town, she felt Roxanne's warm presence awakening inside of her, she stopped and sat down. "Welcome back Love." She said mentally.

"I'm glad your back" Roxanne's Soul said.

Nightmare relinquished control to Roxanne. "What happened?" She asked weakly. 

"A building landed on you, I took control and got you here, you need to get to the hill quickly Love." Nightmare said.

Roxanne nodded, her head banged and hurt like hell, but she could move, she stood up and began walking towards the hill.

_____*Guardians Hill, outside Ponyville.*_____

Lyaroa paced worriedly, Roxanne should have been one of the first ones here, but she was late, the fox was alive, otherwise she would have felt it, she was tempted to just teleport Roxanne to them, like she had done for Skitter's sister Sapphire, her worries eventually were dispelled when she fox walking towards the hill. 

As Roxanne approached, Fang gasped at the destruction of the town, so Lyaroa spoke shortly afterwards. "Fang, listen, I know your having a vision right now, so I'm going to say this, give my past self this message, TMH." She said cryptically.

Lyaroa then sighed and opened a portal, she then looked at Shade and Emerald. "Guys, this is your portal, when you are ready, go on through." She said.

Emerald sighed and waited for Shade. 

Shade approached Lyaroa and extended his hand. "Look, I know we weren't the best of friends, but I wanted to thank you for taking me in, I guess I just needed time to get used to a normal life again." He said.

Lyaroa nodded, but she didn't shake his hand, instead she gave him a hug. "We'll miss you guys." She said quietly.

Shade looked at Emerald, who just finished saying goodbye to Spark, Firefly and Fang. "Let's get going bud." He said before going through the portal.

Emerald pulled his halberd out and stuck it in the ground. "Spark, I leave you this, it is yours, when the time is right." He then turned around, he gave a thumbs up to Roxanne and then walked through the portal, it then closed behind him.

And then Emerald and Shade were gone.

Lyaroa then summoned another portal, she looked at Golden. "Well then Goldie, this is you, you sure about this?" She asked.

Golden nodded. "Yes, I can't meet everyone I already know and act like I don't know them, I would rather go back to what I call home." He said, he looked over at Fang and walked over. "Fang, you are and always have been.......the biggest pain in the ass I have ever known." He said with a grin.

Fang crossed his arms. "Fuck off." He replied.

Golden shook his head, he then looked at Dark, Syrin and Roxanne. "Dark, I never really got to know you, but you have my thanks, for having our backs when it mattered most, for that, you have my respect." He said with a salute.

"Roxanne, I never said it, but I always saw you as a niece, a very rebellious niece but still, I cared about you for a long time, I uh, guess I was shocked to discover you loved the person that pissed you off to no end, but that was your choice." He then tossed Roxanne and medallion.

Roxanne catched it, it was the wolf medallion from the temple, she looked up. "Don't take what you have for granted, what you have is special, so I would make the most of it." Golden said.

Golden then looked at Syrin. "Take care of that moron kid, he needs all the help he can get." He said, pointing at Fang.

Golden then walked to the portal and then looked at Ponyville. 'I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye Derpy, I won't forget what we went through together.' He closed his eyes and walked through the portal with a smile.

Lyaroa then closed Golden's portal once he was through, she then opened one last portal, she looked to everyone left and sighed. "Well, if any of you have something to say, before we go, now is the time." She said.

For a time, no one spoke, no one willing to say anything at this dark moment, eventually, Firefly looked up. "Let's just leave." She said shortly and quietly.

No one argued that, so they then walked through the portal one by one, eventually, it was just Lyaroa and Roxanne, Lyaroa sighed and Roxanne looked at her. "You ready?" Roxanne asked.

Lyaroa shook her head. "No, I put so much effort to make things work out in this world, but I just give up when something threatens it all." She replied.

Roxanne grabbed Lyaroa and gave her a soft hug. "No one blames you Lyaroa, we understand and respect your decision to honor your code." She then rested her forehead on Lyaroa's.

Lyaroa let a tear out and took a few deep breaths. "Thanks Firecracker." She said quietly.

Roxanne smiled and pulled Lyaroa into a kiss, surprising the Sentinel, she then pulled her head back. "Migraine, you're my life mate, you know that right?" She asked softly.

Lyaroa nodded, and the two then stepped into the portal.

______*in transition*______

Lyaroa had just destroyed the timeline they had just come from, she was now transporting everyone to the new world, she had decided to give them new bodies for the new world, except for a few, she kept Syrin, Ralkon and Dark the same as they were, except for the removal of the robotic parts, swapping them out for organic parts and organs, clean of any medical issues or threats, they deserved that much.

She also kept Spark the same species and color, the ones she was changing however, was herself, Roxanne and Fang, along with Skitter, Sapphire and Nightmare, there was no reason to change Firefly, so she didn't do anything there.

She gave Roxanne her Pegasus form but with a magical focus in her body, allowing her to cast spells with her mind, her cutie mark was still a fire, but now it had a crystal claw next to it.

She gave Fang his Pony body, but she made him a Unicorn, she gave him an innate magical resistance and a small amount of temporal influence, his cutie mark was now a lit candle.

For herself however, she decided to take a little of pride in it, unlike last time, she gave herself a pure white mane and tail like before, but with cyan highlights, her hair was short and barely touched her eyes, she changed her body color to a very light shade of cyan, barely brighter than Gw.......Rainbow Dash, as she would now be known. She decided to go for an Alicorn in species, but limited her size to that of the average pony, her eyes were now a bright and vibrant red with cyan sclera and black pupils, her cutie mark would be that of a red web in the shape of a crescent moon.

For Nightmare, her species would be a Bat Pony, she was a light gray in color, with a faded red mane and tail, her eyes were bright pink and her cutie mark was an eyeball with a star in the center of it.

Skitter was orange in color, she was a unicorn mare with an orange and white mane and tail, her eyes were green and her cutie mark was that of a crystal cat.

Sapphire was a unicorn as well, her coat color was blue and her mane and tail were light purple, her eyes were a beautiful blue and her cutie mark was a Pendant with a bee on it.

Lyaroa, proud of her work, and certain that everyone would like it, allowed the transition finish, and they soon ended up in their new home.

_______*Equestria, Canterlot*_______

Fang had received a different name when he was 'born' he had chosen not to remember the past, or at least......not to much, he still remembered Roxanne and Lyaroa, but he no longer remembered Dalcorus, Jandoka, Sombra, Rainbow Dash, Freddy Fazbears and the like, his new name was Star Shifter, he didn't mind his name, he actually kinda liked it.

However, he was now in a classroom with a bunch of teachers, he was supposed to hatch a dragons egg, it was orange with dark blue stripes.

Star channeled his magic around the egg, he strained as the egg wobbled, he remembered seeing a large magical explosion shortly before he entered, and then he remembered the rainbow that had shone, unfortunately, Star's inexperience with Temporal magic and the memory fused and caused one to happen in his mind, forcing the dragon egg to hatch very quickly.

While it didn't have the feedback from the previous explosion, it was still a shock as he accidentally turned his parents and all of the teachers into lampposts.

It took a few moments for his magic to calm down, but when it did, Star looked up and saw a young baby dragon blinking at him.

The dragon had Orange scales and dark blue spines, it's eyes were dark green and it seemed more confused than anything.

On the other hand, it took over ten minutes until someone came in and reversed the change on everyone in the room, unfortunately for the school, the baby dragon and Star had bonded immediately.

______*The Crystal Empire, over 1000 years ago.*_______

Dark smiled as she stood in the living room with Ralkon and Syrin, they were sending Ralkon off right now, the kingdom was peaceful under the rule of King Sombra, unfortunately, with the disappearance of his four year old daughter Cadance, and the death of his wife, things were slowly declining as the King's mind waned.

The people were loyal to their king however, and they believed that things would be alright, so Dark was more than happy to keep her daughter free of the dark thoughts and rumors that spread throughout the land.

"Don't worry Dark, I won't be gone long, I just have some business in the main city." Ralkon said.

Dark nodded. "Oh I know, Syrin here almost ran off trying to find you last time." She joked.

Ralkon chuckled as he knelt down. "Ok Syrin, tell you what." He handed his daughter four bits. "When these are all on the end table, I'll be home, put one on there a day, after that, if I'm not home, I'll owe you alright?" He asked.

Syrin nodded. "I'll hold you to it Dad!" She said with excitement.

Dark leaned in. "You'll regret telling her that, you know that right?" She asked quietly.

"Oh yes, but I have no doubt I'll be back in THREE days." He whispered.

______*Ponyville*______

Lyaroa and Roxanne walked through the town happily, they were currently going to school together with Sapphire, Gem, which is what Skitter's new parents named her, and Nightmare, who now went by the name Night Frenzy, she was Roxanne's sister, which was not entirely inaccurate.

Firefly was going to flight school at Cloudsdale, so they hadn't seen her yet, but Lyaroa knew she was doing great.

Lyaroa had also gotten a name change, she was now called Umbrea, not her choice, but she didn't mind, she hated to admit it, but her current parents were better at raising her than her old ones ever were, which is saying something as her dad was fantastic.

Night Frenzy hovered along with the group as they moved through the town and headed for the school. "So what do you think we're going to have to deal with today?" Night Frenzy asked.

Umbrea shrugged. "I have no idea, but I bet it has something to do with our parents." She replied, and in truth, she really didn't know, she didn't want anything about this new adventure to be spoiled.

______*The school*______

As the group approached, they saw a familiar face waiting to greet them.

A young Earth Pony Colt was waving to them. "Hey girls!....come on over!" He called out.

The group headed over quickly and they were soon close enough to talk normally. "Hey Filthy, what's up?" Gem asked, using Filthy Rich's name just to annoy him.

Filthy groaned. "Do we REALLY need to go over this again?" He asked.

Sapphire giggled a little bit. "Once again, sorry about my sister, she just doesn't know when to stop, how are you Fil?" She asked.

Filthy shrugged. "I'm fine, dad keeps trying to get me to drop out, and get a private tutor, but I always tell him no." He replied.

"How come?" Roxanne asked, genuinely curious. "I get you have friends here at school, but those private tutors are REALLY smart, it's basically like going to college." She argued.

Fil grinned. "Then I wouldn't learn any people skills, if I'm going to eventually take over my dads business, I need to know how to talk with people right?.....besides, I enjoy school, it lets me make some friends AND learn things, so I win both ways." He said.

Umbrea laughed a little. "You know Fil, one day, you are going to be a hit in the business world." She said honestly.

Fil nodded. "Well, we better get inside, don't want to keep ms, Apple waiting." He said.

______*Canterlot*_______

Twilight was reading a book under the shade of a tree, she was nearing the end and it was incredibly interesting, she had heard about what happened with Star, but she wasn't all that interested, he mostly just goofed around yet he somehow manages to stay on equal footing with Everypony, she heard some rustling above her and it was driving her crazy, it was going on for over five minutes, she finally looked up and saw Star hanging from a branch looking at her. "Hi!" He said happily.

"GAH!" She exclaimed out of surprise.

Star winced as his ears felt the full impact, he then fell down from the tree. "Ouch." He said.

Twilight shook her head and looked at Star with an annoyed gaze. "Serves you right!" She stated.

Star chuckled. "I didn't think you would actually look up." He said.

Twilight was about to say something when she realized something far more important. "Have you been spying on me!?" She accused.

Star faked a gasp and held his head like he was wounded. "Oh no!" He said dramatically, before starting to laugh.

Twilight grumbled. "Drama queen." She said.

Star grinned. "Says the one who goes into panic mode upon seeing a book lying around." He countered.

Twilight went to say something, but she realized he was correct, she then grew pouty and looked away. 

Star stood up. "And to answer your question, no, I am not cheating, I did it all fairly, I just wanted to meet you." He said.

Twilight tilted her head. "You want to meet me?......uh, I need to study, so I uh, can't." She argued.

Star shrugged. "I already met you, but would it be too much to ask if we could hang out?" He asked.

"We have a very important test coming up, and I would like to pass it." Twilight said.

Star grinned. "I already have my studying done, so I can help you out." He offered.

Twilight sighed. "You really won't give up will you?" She asked.

Star shook his head. "I have a tendency to NOT give up." He replied.

Twilight eventually returned to where she was, she then allowed Star to sit next to her. "Just don't interrupt me." She said.

Star nodded as he pulled his own book out of the tree, it was a book on myths, he was heavily invested in it, just as Twilight was invested in her book.

They just sat there for a while, quietly reading under the shade, when they left, they left at different times, but they went in the same direction, which they didn't even notice.
> Epilogue: New timeline, new rules, new life.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*Canterlot, 8:00 AM, Star Shifter's room*_______

Star Shifter opened his eyes, he sighed as he opened the curtains with his magic, he rubbed his eyes and sat up with a loud yawn, apparently, being six years old was horrible on a sleep schedule.

It has been a week since he started hanging out with Twilight, trying to get that girl to loosen up was like trying to find a needle in a coal mine.....it was hard.

Star wasn't under any obligation to do anything other than his school work, but since he could get it done in a few seconds, literally, it got boring, that's why he caused such a ruckus at school, so he had something to do.

After the first three incidents he caused, completely by accident mind you, his parents AND the teachers all suggested he get to know other students, and so far, only two of them refused to talk anything other than business, Twilight Sparkle and Moon Dancer.

Twilight wasn't too difficult to approach, so long as you didn't interfere with her studying or had some really good arguments about science.

Moon Dancer however.......that girl was nearly unapproachable, she was closed off, and rarely spoke to anyone other than Twilight.

Star got off the bed and looked around, his room wasn't anything special, he had a desk, a bookshelf with a small assortment of books, a chair to sit in, a bed, blue curtains, gray carpet and ceiling, and dark blue walls, he had a poster for a band on the long wall, a picture of Canterlot by his desk, a dog bed next to his bed, and a photo of his family, his Pegasus father White Run, his unicorn mother River Seed, his younger sister Apache, and his dog Snowdrift, along Star himself right next to the dog.

White Run had dark green fur, with a brown mane and tail, his cutie mark was that of a Snowflake, his talent was making snow, according to him anyway.

River Seed was Blue, she had a blue mane and tail, and her cutie mark was that of a river flowing, her talent was water and life magic.

Apache is only two, she has pink fur, and has a silver mane and tail, she is a pegasus unlike Star, but she has a deep fascination with magic, particularly of the Fire element, she hadn't displayed any remarkable abilities yet, but that wasn't an issue, she was a great sister.

And then you have the newest addition to the family, Spark, as Star named him, he came up with the name when the baby dragon electrocuted himself by accidentally touching Snowdrift after the dog rolled around the floor, the dragon wasn't a nuisance, if anything, it gave Apache someone around her age to play with, much to Snowdrift's relief.

Star then chuckled a little as he looked at the picture, Snowdrift was a very unique dog, he was white furred, he had a bushy tail like a raccoon, along the ears to match, his eyes were VERY pale, as in you wouldn't be able to tell if the dog was blind or if that was his actual eye color, his father said he would grow to be as big as a horse, he had the body of a timberwolf, not the wooden ones, just to clarify.

Snowdrift was a Ka'rakos, in the tongue of the lost coastal faction of Harbos, or Raccoon Dog, in basic, this particular species of dog has the special power to see in the dark and can see through an illusion, of course, with Star, the dog had acquired an unusual power, the ability of speech and a strange paralytic effect to his claws, while the dog himself was immune, the paralyzing effect could last for hours, maybe more when he grows up.

Star shook his head, According to his father, who was a decedent of Harbos, they found Snowdrfit as a pup one week before Star was born, as such, he and the dog shared a very special bond, and since Snowdrift has known Apache his whole life, that made the three almost inseparable.

Star got off the bed and leaned down to Snowdrift. "You awake bud?" He asked.

Snowdrift grumbled as his eyes slowly opened. "Go away." He said telepathically, what?.....he has speech, I just didn't say how.

Star chuckled and ruffled Snowdrifts fur. "You know how it works my brother, when I get up, you know Apache will want you to be awake." He said quietly.

Snowdrift then begrudgingly stood up and yawned, he also stretched. "Fine, that little bundle of energy needs to calm down soon though, I don't think I can handle another game of leapfrog." He said.

Star then stood up again, and headed for the door, he opened it and headed for the bathroom. 'Well, time for another boring day at school.' He said.

"It could be worse." Snowdrift pointed out.

"Get out of my head!" Star rebuked.

Snowdrift just chuckled quietly.

_______*Later that day, 8:30 AM*_______

Star walked into the living room, it was almost time for him to leave for school, he had everything he needed, but his mom wanted to talk to him. "Hey mom, you wanted to talk to me?" He asked.

River nodded. "Yes I did." She held up a paper that Star swore he got rid of. "Family day?" She asked firmly.

Star felt his heart freeze, his dad could be strict, but when his mom was angry........Tartarus incarnate. "I uh, didn't want to participate." He said truthfully.

River's eyes narrowed. "Come sit down." She said,

Star walked to the couch and sat down across from his mom. "I don't know why you don't want to participate, but I am curious, is there a reason?" She asked.

Star nodded. "Yea, I didn't want to put Snowdrift in that situation." He replied.

River put the paper down. "What situation?" She asked.

"Uh, there are two girls in particular that would latch onto him, one because she would be curious about him, the other.....because he is a dog." Star replied.

"Oh really?" River asked, with sarcasm plain in her voice. "Are you sure it has nothing to do with how your father and I acted last time?" She asked.

Star winced, he had almost forgotten THAT, last time they had a family day at school, his mother and father had practically killed him out of embarrassment. "Now that you mention it." He started.

River sighed and looked down. "Look, I am sorry about that, but I can promise you that it won't happen again, you can't hide this stuff from us, it doesn't help." She said.

Star nodded. "I know that, but I was serious about those two girls, they WILL latch onto him at some point." He stated.

______*The school, 11:10 AM.*______

Star sighed, he was right, Twilight did latch onto Snowdrift, but she also barraged Star with questions, at least she socializing, that was a plus.

However, Lyra was probably the calmer between the two, whereas Twilight was busy examining Snowdrift and practically interrogating Star, she was simply petting Snowdrift and talking to Apache.

Star was just thankful that his parents weren't doing anything ridiculous, they were getting along well with Twilight and Lyra's parents as well as everyone else's, Spark and Spike were getting along great......for babies.

"So, how do you know when he wants something?" Twilight asked.

Star froze again. 'Crap.' He thought.

"And you thought that this day was salvageable?" Snowdrift joked.

______*Ponyville*______

It was a sad time, particularly for Umbrea, her mom and dad had just been in a massive accident when a storm was being formed, they were both in critical condition for a few days, until her dads heart stopped beating, when Umbrea heard the bad news, she broke down on the spot, she was staying with her great grandfather now, her mother was now in stable condition, though she was still in the hospital.

Gem was currently sitting in the classroom, she had a seat next to Night Frenzy in the second row, in front of her was Sapphire and Filthy Rich, or Fil, behind her was Roxanne, right now they were simply paying attention to the lesson, boring, but instructive.

Gem and Sapphire's parents were out of town right now, so they were being watched by Umbrea's great grandfather Jotun, he was an Earth Pony with brown fur and no tail, he only had his right eye and had a large scar over his left eye, according to Umbrea, he was an old war vet, another thing that was obvious due to the haircut, which was a flat buzz.....he was also Eighty four years old, which they still had a hard time believing as much as he moved around.

Jotun was awesome, he had LOTS of stories, they were always so engaging, and whenever he told them, everyone tended to listen, especially Umbrea, who seemed to be fascinated by the old mans tales.

Everyone's parents seemed to realize something about Jotun, whenever he was asked to watch the kids, they would all listen, even Night Frenzy, the wildest of the bunch, so they didn't have to worry about them wandering off.

Gem chuckled mentally, the main reason that Jotun was able to make them all listen, was the fact that he had proven that he could make life a living hell when his 'orders' weren't followed, she was STILL cleaning out the mud from her ears and her mane.

Eventually, recess came, and all the kids left, not Gem and the others though, they all met in the back of the classroom.

"You know, I've been thinking." Night Frenzy started, much to the annoyance of the others. "We should have a little get together for Umbrea, she could use with a getaway." She said.

Roxanne shook her head. "Probably a bad idea, she needs time to deal with this, I know you mean well Frenzy, but she needs time to sort this out." She replied,

"Well, you could just ask her." Gem said as she pointed over at the Alicorn filly, who just sat down with a pair of pencils.

Night Frenzy went to walk over, but Roxanne blocked her with her hoof. "Let me handle this sis." She said quietly.

Umbrea sighed as she twirled two pencils around carelessly on the table, she heard hoofsteps behind her and she looked behind her. "Hey Rox." She greeted flatly.

Roxanne sat down across from Umbrea and looked at her. "Are you doing alright?" She asked.

Umbrea shrugged. "Same as a few days ago, I guess." She said absently, she then looked at Roxanne. "My dad passing away just put things in perspective for me, I haven't seen my Sentinel parents in five thousand years, and I don't even remember why I left all of that behind." She said in the Sentinel language.

Roxanne leaned on the table. "Maybe that's the problem, and the solution." She offered.

Umbrea looked at Roxanne curiously. "What do you mean?" She asked.

Roxanne took a breath and looked out the window, she then looked at Umbrea. "You erased practically everyone's memories, but not all, maybe it's time you did that.......including me, and you." She said.

Umbrea put the pencils down and sighed, she then looked down at the desk, she could still see her web of life, and that of the others, she looked out the window and saw the web all over the place, it's intricacies, it's beauty, and it's horror, she looked away and looked at Roxanne, she refused to see her final days, so she quickly looked away and back at the desk. 'Why I'm I still clinging to all of that?.....I hated my mother, I grew distant from my father, I never even talked to my friends, so why do I cling to it?' She asked herself.

'As for the previous world.......i feel nothing but heartache when it comes to that, there were some fantastic memories there, but the bad memories outweigh the good.' She continued to ponder this carefully.

'It isn't fair anyway, to make everyone remember the pain from that world, I think it's been long enough now, I need it to end, and just begin again.' She looked around to make sure no one else was around, she then looked at Roxanne. "Are you sure about this Rox?" She asked.

Roxanne nodded and gestured to the others. "We've been talking about it for the past year, we don't want to remember our old lives, we would rather have a clean slate, which is why I suggested it to you, I don't think you should be the only one to remember it all." She said.

Umbrea blinked and leaned on her desk with her left hoof. 'I guess if no one remembers, they won't be hurt by the memories, same goes for me I guess, it's about time I let go of the past.' She sighed and began her using her powers, she felt her soul kindle as she removed the memories of the past worlds from everyone, but no memories from this world were removed, so long as they didn't have anything to do with their past lives. 'At least now, everyone will have a clean slate, as for me.'

After everyone's memories were gone, she focused on her own memories, it wasn't difficult to get rid of the memories at all it mostly just required her to wall them off and tear them apart, she then focused on something that was not normally done, sacrificing the powers of the Sentinel, she closed her eyes and ripped her powers out of her soul........it was incredibly painful, not exactly hard, but painful, it required incredible focus, and the ability to control the web of life, she gave herself one power however, the ability to use chaotic magic, and once she was done, she eliminated any trace of her old life from her mind.

Umbrea opened her eyes, she looked at Roxanne. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up Rox.....but I....I need time." She said quietly.

Roxanne nodded. "Anytime Umbrea." She said before getting up.

Umbrea looked outside, she smiled a little as the sun shone brightly. 'Maybe things won't be so bad after all, I have my friends, and they have me, I just need to sort things out.' She thought to herself.

_____*a few days later*_____

Umbrea was at Night Frenzy and Roxanne's house, she was currently hanging out with Night Frenzy in her room....literally.

Night Frenzy was grinning widely. "You know, it won't be long before the effects start to happen." She said.

Umbrea looked at her friend as they hung upside down. "What do you mean?" She asked.

Night Frenzy shrugged. "Well, first the blood rushes to your head, then you feel dizzy, and if you let it go for long enough, you fall asleep, trust me, it's the best rush you can get." She said.

Umbrea raised an eyebrow as she looked at the poster on the wall, the timber wolf pack in its den was not helping matters, especially since it was upside down as well. "Is this safe?" She asked.

Night grinned, her fangs showing prominently. "Nope." She replied.

Umbrea then quickly got herself up and glided down from the bunk bed.

Night Frenzy's room was modest, if a bit dark, the walls were dark purple with a slightly brighter ceiling, the carpet was brick red, if it wasn't for the bright lamps in the two corners of the room, it would be impossible to see, for everyone except Night Frenzy of course, there was a desk in one corner with a lamp, the bunk bed was along one wall, taking up most of it on its own,

The room itself was kind of small, with Night's desk, bed, and her footlocker, there wasn't much room to walk, but Night Frenzy didn't mind......Roxanne however, minded.

Umbrea smiled, she looked at Night Frenzy. "So, do Thestrals really have night vision?" She asked.

Night Frenzy chuckled. "Kind of, we see a little better in the dark compared to others, but not perfectly." She replied.

Umbrea shrugged her head a little and then another question came to mind. "Do you actually drink blood?" She asked curiously.

Night opened her mouth to answer and then closed it soon after. 'Huh, never really thought about it.' She said in her mind, she then decided to just say it. "I have absolutely no idea." She said truthfully.

Umbrea tapped her chin thoughtfully, she then looked at Night Frenzy. "We need to test that at some point." She said idly.

Night Frenzy then let go of the top bunk and glided down. "Maybe next time, when it's just you and me, I wouldn't want someone to walk in and completely freak out." She joked.

Umbrea giggled a little bit and then stood up. "So, wanna go raid Roxie's room?" She asked deviously.

Night grinned. "YES." She replied eagerly.

_____*one minute later*_____

"GET OUT!" Shouted a loud voice.

Night Frenzy and Umbrea were soon sent flying out of the room and into the wall......they never lost their smiles.

______*Canterlot*______

Star was currently in his room helping Apache with learning the alphabet, Normally his mom would help, but she had to work, and his dad was away on business, so he was alone with Spark and Apache, Snowdrift wasn't a problem when he had his food and water.

Star didn't mind however, Spark was easily distracted with a few children's books, and Apahce just needed something to focus on, which was currently learning the alphabet, she knew all the letters up to L, but she was still working on the rest.

Apache normally learned six letters a day, Star wasn't sure if it was good or bad, but the way he saw It, if you learned it, it was alright, he looked out the window in his bedroom, and saw the sun shining brightly, he sighed to himself, normally he would be running around, having fun outside, but he had to watch his younger siblings. 'Ah well, I suppose it's better to stay inside than go outside today, it's going to rain today anyhow.'

______*a few hours later.*_______

Star walked to the kitchen from the living room, Spark and Apache had fallen asleep, much to his relief, he walked in and saw Snowdrift laying on the floor. "How are you doing buddy?" He asked.

Snowdrift looked at him with tired eyes. "I am trying to sleep, so please, keep it down." He replied.

Star chuckled quietly and walked to the pantry, he opened it and pulled out bread and peanut butter, as he began making his sandwich, he heard the door open, he looked and saw his mom walk through. "Welcome home." He said quietly.

River looked at her son, she then looked around and saw that Apache and Spark were asleep on the couch, and that Snowdrift was sleeping in the kitchen. "I can't believe this." She said in wonder.

Star shrugged. "Those two got tired from whatever it is we were doing, he is just being lazy, and I'm hungry so I'm making myself a sandwich." He replied.

River looked and saw what he was using for a sandwich. "Are you using my peanut butter?" She asked.

Star froze, he then glanced at his mother, he quickly used his temporal magic and made his sandwich, he then quickly ate it and hid the peanut butter, once he finished eating the sandwich, he turned off his spell and whistled. "What peanut butter?" He asked slyly.

River sighed. "One of these days, I will find a way to counter that darned spell." She replied before walking away.

Star grinned. 'Oh no you won't.' He thought.

______*five years later, Umbrea's house, 5:34.*_______

Umbrea sat in her room simply reading to pass the time, it was raining outside and she was still grounded, along with Roxanne and Night Frenzy, she had raided the town hall and drew graffiti on EVERYTHING, the walls, the floor, the ceiling and roof, and even the folders holding important documents, why did they do it?.....because they wanted to see the reactions of everyone......they were disappointed as the Mayor and their parents made them clean it all off, without a single emotion to show.

Umbrea had let her hair grow longer, she never let it go past her shoulders, but it was still long enough to give herself a wild hairstyle, it was fuzzy looking now, like a dog, but it didn't have the smell, she let it go down past her eyes but she always kept them apart except for that one little strand of hair that slightly curved to the left on her forehead.

Right now, Roxanne and Night Frenzy were staying here, but they weren't allowed contact, the only reason they were here was because their house was being fumigated, apparently, they had a nasty moth and termite problem.

Umbrea sighed and closed the book after marking the last page she was on, she looked outside and watched the rain, normally, she would be outside playing in the mud, but right now she wasn't allowed outside.

It was hours later when Umbrea's mom June called her down for dinner.

Umbrea stood up and stretched a little. "Coming!" She replied.

She walked to her door and opened it, she then started heading downstairs to the dining room.

Umbrea headed down the stairs and heard her mom talking with Roxanne and Night Frenzy, she stopped moving and listened. "I know we're grounded miss June, but don't you think Umbrea's kinda lonely up there all on her own?" Night Frenzy asked.

Umbrea silently walked down the stairs, listening the entire time. "I never told her to go upstairs." June replied. "She did that on her own." She said.

Umbrea couldn't say that she didn't, but her mother was right, she sighed quietly, she pushed her gloomy side away and entered the dining room. "Hey!" She said cheerfully.

She sat down at the table next to Roxanne and Night Frenzy, Jotun was sitting at the end of the table whereas June was the opposite end. 

Night Frenzy looked very different from five years ago, she no longer had the bangs that made her look like a cute and innocent Vampony, but she now looked more like an actual Vampony, her hair was short around the front and back, with slightly longer hair that went down to her ears, but not inside them, her coat was a little brighter than before, her fangs were longer and stronger, her ears were very pointed, and her eyes were soothing yet fierce.

Umbrea and Night Frenzy still haven't tested their theory yet, but they wanted too.

Roxanne was very much the same, her hair was long and reached down an inch or two past her ears, and rested comfortably on the left side of her neck, the only difference was that she now had red streaks in her hair and she was a lot more confident.

Umbrea was trying very hard to resist the urge to tickle both of them in their sleep tonight.

As they all got their dinner, which consisted of noodles, vegetables, and a small portion of meat for Night Frenzy, Umbrea thought hard on why they did what they did to the town hall, and the more she thought on it, the more she didn't understand it.

As they sat at the table eating dinner, and making small talk, Umbrea kept feeling a strange sensation coming from her horn, she stopped eating and looked around. "Umbrea? what is it?" June asked curiously.

"Anyone else feel like something is about to happen?" She asked.

Everyone glanced around curiously, with absolutely no idea what the Alicorn was talking about. "What do you mean?" Roxanne asked.

Umbrea blinked and looked at the door. "I have no idea what it is, but every five seconds, I get a strange fuzzy feeling in my horn, no I am not making a joke, I am serious." She said.

June almost didn't believe her rebellious daughter when a sudden and panicked knock at the door startled them all, excluding Jotun. 

June got up and walked over to the door, she reached out and opened the door.

And in came Gem, completely soaked from the rain, she was panting heavily and sounded like she was having a seizure. "Ne,a,ho,Ra,pe," she spoke.

June closed the door, she then grabbed Gem by the shoulders and shook her. "HEY!" She shouted.

Gem immediately quieted down and started to catch her breath. 

June released the mare and looked at her. "What's wrong?" She asked.

Gem gulped and began to speak. "I need you all to come with me to the hospital, right now." She replied with panic plain in her voice.

"Why?" Umbrea asked curiously. "What's going on?" She asked as she sipped her water.

Gem looked at her friend and blinked, it took her a few moments to speak but she eventually found her voice. "Sapphire is pregnant." She stated In a frenzy

Umbrea, Night Frenzy and Roxanne spit out their drink, choked, and fell over respectively.

"How!? The girl is only fourteen!" June said.

Gem looked at June with a look of disbelief. "Nopony told you?......me, Sapphire and Filthy Rich were with their class as chaperones, we are at least six years older." She explained.

June went to go off, but she remembered the important thing here. "Ok, let's get going, but try to keep calm, we don't need the doctors throwing us out." She said as she got Umbrea, Night Frenzy and Roxanne two umbrellas for them to share. "Hey Granddad, you going to be ok?" She asked.

Jotun huffed and stood up. "Like I'm going anywhere. "He muttered.

______*the hospital*______

The five ponies entered the hospital and Gem went up to the receptionists desk. "Hey, We're here to see Sapphire, my sister." She said.

The nurse checked some documents and soon looked at the panicking Unicorn mare. "Oh yes, I remember, Gem right? well, I need to check with the Doctor, so if you could wait here, I'll be back." She said.

Gem nodded and headed back to the others. "Ok, she'll be right back, we just need to be patient." She told everyone.

It was a few minutes later, but the nurse eventually came back out. "Miss Gem, the doctor says you can go in, and that your sister wanted to talk to her friends." She then began to lead the group to Sapphire's room.

The group followed closely, and when they reached the room, the nurse then faced the group. "She passed out a few hours ago due to some mild exhaustion, she should be fine now, but try not to overwhelm her." She said before walking back to the desk.

The group entered the room and they saw Sapphire talking with Filthy Rich. "How you doing Sis?" Gem asked.

Sapphire took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling. "Well, I'm pregnant, with a baby I didn't know I had, and I just blacked out from exhaustion today, it's a lot to process." She replied.

June looked at Filthy Rich. "I'm glad you're here Rich, how long have you been here though?" She asked.

Fil rubbed his eyes. "Ever since we got here." He said.

Sapphire looked at Night Frenzy, Roxanne and Umbrea. "How are you girls doing?" She asked.

Umbrea walked up and sat on the hospital bed. "We're fine, but uh.....how long?" She asked.

"Apparently I've had the baby for ten weeks, I never even noticed." Sapphire replied.

Night Frenzy leaned in next to Filthy Rich. "So Fil, how does it feel to know your going to be a father?" She asked.

Filthy Rich took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. "Stressful, overwhelming." He replied, he then thought about it for a moment, he looked at Night Frenzy. "How did you know?" He asked.

Night Frenzy shrugged. "Because you are the only one she ever had sex with." She whispered.

Filthy said nothing.

"So, do you think it's a boy or a girl?" Roxanne asked.

Sapphire shrugged. "We don't know, and I want to be surprised." She replied.

"That's the best way." June said. "Better you figure it out when the day comes." She added.

______*six months later*______

"So, she had the baby." Night Frenzy said as she sat on her bed with Roxanne and Umbrea. 

Umbrea nodded. "Yep, she had her the day before you and your parents got back from your trip." She said.

Roxanne and Night Frenzy had gotten dragged along with their parents to Fillydelphia for a family vacation, of course, the two sisters wanted a vacation from the vacation.

Umbrea had been in the hospital when Sapphire had the baby, but the thing was, she apparently had twins, a boy and a girl, and three weeks before that, her and Filthy Rich were married.

"How was the wedding?" Roxanne asked.

"It was cool, it wasn't a fancy dress code type thing, it was very casual, you know?" Umbrea said.

Night Frenzy grinned. "You had to play dress up didn't you?" She asked.

Umbrea smirked. "No actually, I hid until the actual wedding started, THEN I showed up." She replied.

"Was your mom mad?" Roxanne asked.

Umbrea shrugged. "I have no idea, she never said anything on the count of Sapphire saying she was glad I didn't, they are awful for the wings." She replied.

"Well, what did they name the foal?" Night Frenzy asked.

"They named the girl Diamond Tiara, and they named the boy Shard." Umbrea replied.

Roxanne and Night Frenzy grinned. "I cannot wait to meet these new rascals." Frenzy said deviously.

Umbrea nodded, she laid back and looked at Night Frenzy. "Yea, i should probably mention that Sapphire said she would kill you if her kids got into trouble after meeting you." She said.

Night Frenzy pouted. "Well that takes the fun out of it." She complained.

"One last question, was Filthy's dad angry?" Roxanne asked.

Umbrea shook her head. "He actually seemed happy for his son, I guess he decided that his sons happiness was more important than marrying into a noble family." She guessed.

"Who was the supposed wife?" Night Frenzy asked.

"Somepony called Spoiled Rich, I don't know." Umbrea replied.

"So, come on give us details, what are the foals like so far?" Night Frenzy asked eagerly.

Umbrea closed her eyes. "Annoying." She said.

_______*five years later*_______

"I'm not so sure about this Star." Apache said quietly.

Star looked at Apache and grinned. "Oh come on, it's only a jump." He said.

Apache had changed a lot in the last few years, she was very smart, and very rebellious, she had let her mane grow a little long around the face, particularly around her eyes, it was enough to cover her right eye and it fit snugly around her right ear.

Star was a little bigger now, he had more muscle than the average unicorn his age, and was capable of much stronger magic than before, his grasp of temporal magic had expanded dramatically, but he was holding off on practicing it for a while until he was better with more spells than before.

Apache shook her head. "Yea.....a jump, about that." She looked down......at the forty feet drop. "We might want to rethink this Shift." She suggested.

Star grinned as he neared the edge. "Calm down Apache, you can fly and I can teleport, there is no way this can go wrong." He said confidently.

Apache groaned and walked up next to her brother. "If we get in trouble for this, you owe me big time." She said.

Star nodded and lit up his horn, he then expanded a large dome around them and a large magical barrier down the mountainside. "See you at the bottom!" He said as he lept down, sliding along the magic as he went.

Apache shuddered and then followed her brother on his magical slide, something she was sure she would regret later.

And she was right, apparently Star had placed his acceleration spell on the barriers, which caused her to fly down the hill at hyper speed, she just barely noticed her brother on the slide before feeling like she would throw up her insides.

_____*at the bottom, a few seconds later.*______

Apache vomited on the ground, she felt like her insides were still on top of the mountain, she wiped her mouth and looked at her brother. "Why do you so that?" She asked while out of breath.

Star laid down on the soft dirt with a big grin. "I love the rush, it helps me to feel like I'm flying." He said.

Apache walked over and laid down. "You want to fly?" She asked curiously.

Star nodded as he looked up at the sky. "Yea, it would be pretty awesome." He replied.

Apache looked at her brother. "Well, I always wanted to use magic, maybe we can swap some day." She said.

Star and Apache shared a laugh over that for a while, they normally talked about flight and magic, it was one of their favorite pastimes, besides, it was also educational, so their parents couldn't complain. 

Star eventually gained a thoughtful look on his face, he looked around a little and then at his sister. "Maybe we can." He muttered quietly.

Apache looked at her brother, if their was one thing she learned from her brother, it was the ability to understand people talking in any tone, and any speed, she also knew that when he got an idea, he planned on seeing it through. "What's going through your head?" She asked.

Star looked at his sister with a grin. "You know, I might have a way for us to swap for a day." He said, unintentionally rhyming.

Apache sat up with her brother. "How?" She asked.

Star looked at Apache as he stood up and began pacing. "I know a spell, I know, it's probably illegal, HOWEVER!" He said firmly. "I didn't know if it could be illegal when I swiped a book." He then sat down again across from Apache. "This spell can swap the minds of two people for a short while, making it helpful for situations like these." He stated.

Apache raised an eyebrow, she knew Star was illogical half the time, crazy the rest, but this? "How long is a 'short' while." She asked.

Star shrugged. "At longest? With my level of magic? Three days, shortest? A day." He replied.

Apache sighed and looked at her brother skeptically, the risks here were great, especially if their mom and dad found out, but school was out for a week and Star was in charge while they were away on business, for a few more days.

However.......the temptation, she REALLY wanted to know how it felt to use magic, and she knew Star wanted to fly, she sighed and eventually nodded. "Whatever, but make sure we do it at home, alone, because I don't want anyone to see this happen." She said.

Star nodded. "Alright then." He said before standing again to head home, he then grinned and looked at Apache, he winked and vanished from sight.

Apache rolled her eyes and stood up, she started to fly home, knowing her brother and his randomness, he would run into a wall at some point, but nopony would notice until a day later.

______*Ponyville*______

Gem was walking with Applejack, they were heading to the market square to set up their Apple stand, they did this whenever they had filled up the cart.

Gem was very thankful to the Apple family, they gave her a job after her last one ended painfully, she had been very happy at that woodshop, but the owner had passed away due to a heart attack recently, and the moment It was his nephew's, he had fired her and everyone else immediately and then sold the business.

Gem had a very close relationship with the woodshop owner, his name was Saul, and he was a fantastic boss, and a good friend, he was also a very close friend of Umbrea's great grandfather Jotun.

"How are ya holding up there Gem?" Applejack asked.

Gem sighed as they started to set up. "I'll be alright, I just don't get why Saul's nephew did what he did, he knows everyone at the woodshop did good work." She said with some disbelief.

Applejack shrugged. "Nothin we can do about it Gem, that was his choice......at least Filthy Rich is the one who bought it, he was very close to Saul." She replied.

Gem chuckled. "Yea, Fil won't do anything bad with it." She said.

"Not that your sister would let him." Applejack added.

Gem shook her head. "She doesn't tend to focus on the business side of things, she has a job at the local cafe, but that's about it." She replied as she started placing apples.

After they were done, Applejack set the cart to the side of the stand and then stood behind it. "Well then Sugarcube, we're all set, all that's left is to wait." She said.

Gem nodded, she proceeded to get behind the stand when ponies filled the market a few moments later, this was the busiest time of day, but Gem didn't mind, she loved talking to people.

______*Filthy Rich and Sapphire's house.*______

Shard walked around the house with his sister, Diamond Tiara, also, saying the word 'house' was kind of an understatement, they lived in a manor, not quite a mansion, but not exactly a house.

Shard was an Earth pony like his father and so was his sister, he had blue fur and had a dark gray mane and tail, his eyes were green, he had no cutie mark as of yet, but he wasn't holding his breath.

"So, dad wants us to go to school, as opposed to being tutored?" Diamond asked curiously.

Shard nodded. "Yea, says it'll be good for us to get out there and meet other ponies." He replied.

"Don't we do that already?" Diamond asked.

Shard shrugged. "I guess he wants us to make some friends, not meet future business partners." He replied.

"This has mom written all over it." She muttered.

Shard chuckled. "So what?......mom knows what she's talking about, and according to her, dad went through this same thing, and he turned out great." He said.

"Mommas boy." Diamond teased.

"Daddy's girl." He countered.

They both shared a laugh after that, they continued their walk for a while until they got bored, then they went to find one of their parents.

______*Night Frenzy and Roxanne's house.*______

Night Frenzy and Roxanne were in their respective rooms when they heard their parents call them down, no, they weren't still living with their mom and dad, but they were over for a visit right now and the two sisters had retreated to their rooms for a moment.

"Can you two come downstairs for a moment!?" Their father, Hunt, called.

Night Frenzy walked out of her room and headed downstairs, she saw Roxanne show up a few seconds after, and soon, they were all in the living room, sitting down.

"So what's up?" Night asked.

Their mother, Weave, sighed as she rubbed her eyes. "Um, your father and I have been discussing this for a while now, and we think you two should know the truth." She started.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow. "What truth?" She asked.

Hunt shook his head and leaned back. "The two of you are adopted." He said.

Night Frenzy and Roxanne sighed in relief. "Whew, thank Celestia." Said the Thestral.

Weave and Hunt looked at their kids with a shocked expression. "You knew?" They asked.

Night Frenzy gave them a glare that screamed 'your kidding?' and then chuckled. "Yes, we knew, first off, I'm a Thestral, Roxie is a Pegasus, the two of you are Earth Ponies with neither of the two races in their bloodline." She said.

"We were concerned the two of you were getting a divorce, that's why we were antsy." Roxanne added.

Their parents looked at each other and then started laughing quietly. "Well, that explains a lot I suppose." Hunt said.

_______*two years later*_______

Twilight sat under a tree in Canterlot reading a book, she was reading the chapter on The Mare In The Moon, Nightmare Moon, she just finished it and was rushing back to the observatory when she ran into three of her classmates on the bridge over, Lyra Heartstrings, Minutte and Twinkleshine.

Twilight was in such a hurry that she didn't even consider going to the party the girls had mentioned, instead giving them the need to study for something important excuse, she quickly ran off to her home to research everything she could about Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony, as well as to warn her mentor of this dire threat.

So when she recieved her mentors reply, she was shocked. "You simply MUST stop reading those dusty old books." Spike read off. 

Twilight was flabbergasted, even more so when she learned that she was to organize the summer sun celebration coming up, and that she was being sent to a town called Ponyville. "Ponyville....." She muttered.

Twilight looked at Spike. "Isn't that where Star and Apache moved last year?" She asked.

Spike shrugged. "I think so? I'm not sure, but hey, he might be able to help you out with this whole thing." He suggested.

Twilight shook her head. "No, I don't want to bother him with this, he has too much on his plate already with taking care of Apache, Spark AND Snowdrift." She said.

Spike wasn't so sure, so even as they were on the chariot to Ponyville, Spike finally realized he never finished the letter. "Oh yea! I almost forgot, ahem.....here is a list on things you should do when you arrive, check on the weather, the catering, the decor, and the music, also, while your there, make some friends." He said.

Twilight checked the letter and her eye twitched at the last part. "I don't have time for that! I need to research the Elements of Harmony, not make friends!" She argued.

_____*later*_____

Twilight and Spike got out of the chariot and thanks the guards who pulled it, afterwards, they started to walk around, they eventually found someone, a bright pink Earth pony mare with a poofy pink mane. "Hello, excuse me, my name's Twilight Sparkle, and I." She was cut off as the mare gasped loudly and then vanished soon after.

"Ok, that was weird." She said to herself.

The two started to walk around the town more, they eventually found a Pegasus mare napping on a cloud. "Uh, hello, are you Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked.

The rainbow maned cyan mare grinned. "Oh, so you heard of me huh?...fastest flyer in Equestria?" The mare bragged.

"Aren't you in charge of keeping the skies clear for the day?" Twilight asked skeptically, while also avoiding the question.

Rainbow Dash huffed. "I can clear these clouds out in ten seconds flat, I can get it done at any time." She countered.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Yea right." She said.

Rainbow Dash then quickly proceeded to destroy every single cloud in the nearby area, within ten seconds. "You see, ten, seconds, FLAT." She proudly stated.

Twilight had to admit, that was impressive. "Ok, at least now the sky is clear." She said.

Rainbow Dash landed near Twilight. "So, what's your name anyway?" She asked.

"Twilight Sparkle, I was sent here to organize the summer sun celebration." She replied.

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Well, I better get going, catch you later!" She said before zooming off.

Twilight then started to walk off. "Weather, check." She said.

As she walked, she found herself unable to navigate the town. "Ugh, we are never going to get anywhere in this town." Twilight complained.

Spike tugged on Twilight's fur. "Maybe we can ask her?" He offered.

Twilight looked and saw a cyan Pegasus mare, she had a white mane and tail with cyan streaks and a red web cutie mark, she was currently fixing up an old fence. "Good idea buddy." She said.

Twilight walked over. "Excuse me, can you help me out?" She asked.

The mare stood straight up and stretched. "Sure, what's up?" She turned around and it was revealed that she was an Alicorn.

It took all of Twilight's willpower to avoid kneeling and calling the mare princess. "You can breathe you know, I'm not royalty, it's just a species thing." The mare said.

Twilight calmed down quickly before that. "Sorry, I'm just not that used to seeing another Alicorn besides Princess Celestia." She said.

The mare gave a small smile as she chuckled. "It's alright, anyway, my name's Umbrea, you?" She asked.

"Twilight Sparkle, I was sent to check in on the celebration." She said.

Umbrea nodded. "I see, so how can I help?" She asked.

Twilight had Spike look at the list. "I still need to check the catering, the music and the decor." She said.

Umbrea nodded. "Ah, then you want Sweet Apple Acres, Rarity's Boutique and you need to find Fluttershy." She replied.

Twilight looked around, and then at Umbrea. "You mind showing me?" She asked.

Umbrea looked at the fence and sighed. "Ah, why not, come on, let's get going." She said as she began walking.

"Um, anyway, I should warn you, the Apple family is very proud of their food, so if you don't like something, try to let them down gently." Umbrea said.

Twilight nodded. "Is there anything else I should know?" She asked.

"Rarity is very eccentric, she loves fashion but always goes out of her way to make something her client would appreciate, if you go there today, be prepared to become a sudden model, she doesn't mean any harm, but she gets carried away." The Alicorn added.

"And Fluttershy, just be patient, she is obviously incredibly shy, talks quietly, and loves animals, she almost had a heart attack when she learned one of my best friends is a carnivore." Umbrea said.

Twilight kept up with Umbrea and soon found herself curious. "Griffin?" She asked.

Umbrea shook her head. "Thestral." She corrected. 

That one surprised even Twilight. "Huh, I didn't think there were any left." She muttered.

Umbrea shrugged. "Eh, she isn't so bad, troublemaker for sure, but not dangerous." She said.

_____*Sweet Apple Acres*_____

"Here we are, now, when you leave, Rarity's Boutique is forward from this gate for five buildings, then it cuts off to the right, you can't miss it after that." Umbrea said as she walked off.

Twilight prepared herself as she walked to the farm, hoping to just get this over with so she couldn't get to the library.

But when the Apple family talked her into staying to sample some food, she was delayed yet again.

The only thing out of the ordinary here was the fact that there was a unicorn asleep on the roof. "GEM!" She heard Applejack call. "Now what did I tell you about sleeping on the roof!" She shouted.

The mare, Gem, simply teleported off the building and leaned on a stack of hay, she then went right back to sleep. "Anyhow, that there was Gem, she works here, but she tends tah sleep on the job." Applejack said.

Twilight found herself chuckling a little bit at that. 'Star did that all the time, he would sleep without a care in the world.' She said to herself.

_____*Later that day.*_______

Twilight walked up to the door of the library, Spike had been talking to Fluttershy the ENTIRE time since they met, thankfully, Twilight managed to diffuse the situation by stating that Spike needed his nap as he was a baby, well, in dragon years.

Soon enough Twilight was also scared out of her skin as the lights in the library were suddenly turned on and what appeared to be the entire town was there.

Twilight froze for a moment as the pink mare from before popped up in front of her. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie and I made this party just for you!" The mare said happily.

"I uh, what?" Twilight muttered.

The exchange from that point on was basically trying to avoid confrontation and interaction with the ponies, until she drank what she thought was juice, when it turned out to be hot sauce, she breathed fire for a moment and was panting as the hot sauce burned her throat.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I would say you picked up Star's habit." Spike teased.

Twilight glared at Spike before taking a few deep breaths and then standing up straight. "No, I have not, I thought it was juice." She replied before walking to the steps.

As Twilight reached the upstairs bedroom and laid down on the bed, she tried to block out the sound of the party downstairs, however, she soon heard a familiar voice. "Twilight?" Asked a quiet female voice.

Twilight flipped over and saw an all too familiar Pegasus filly. "Apache?" She sat up as the girl walked up and sat on the bed. 

The two shared a quick hug before speaking. "It's good to see you again Twilight." Apache said.

Twilight nodded. "Same here, but uh.....where's your brother?" She asked curiously.

Apache chuckled. "He's sick, he decided it was a good idea to shut off his magical immune system in the middle of a storm." She replied.

Twilight sighed. "That moron." She muttered, unicorns had an innate magical immune system that protected them from most illnesses, which was why unicorns were so common in hospitals and clinics, but when it was gone, they had the immune system of a one day old.

"Will he be alright?" Twilight asked.

Apache nodded. "Sure, he's been strengthening his regular immune system ever since we got here, it isn't as strong as mine yet, but it's getting there." She said.

Twilight smiled a little at that. "So how have you two been, since you moved here?" She asked.

Apache shrugged. "It was rough at first, but it's gotten better now." She replied.

Twilight stood up and stretched. "Well, as much as I hate to say it Apache, I can't catch up that much right now, I have something of the utmost urgency to deal with." She said.

Apache nodded. "Alright, I'll go rejoin the party, don't stay up all night like you usually do ok?" She asked.

Twilight rolled her eyes as she laid back down.

______*hours later*______

Spike came into the room with a lampshade on his head. "Hey Twilight! You need to get down here, this party is awesome!" He stated happily.

Twilight groaned as she rolled on the bed. "Sorry Spike, I can't focus on partying right now, I'm trying to think on how I'll stop Nightmare Moon when or if she returns." She said.

Spike headed up and stood at the side of the bed. "Didn't Princess Celestia say that you shouldn't worry about that old mares tale?.....it's a myth." He said.

Twilight looked at Spike with a firm glare. "And if it isnt?" She asked.

Spike opened his mouth to talk, then he closed it. "I don't know." He replied.

Twilight shook her head. "Go and enjoy the party Spike, and if your right, it's just a myth." She said.

Spike nodded. "If you say so Sis." He muttered.

_____*the next day*______

Twilight opened her eyes and yawned, she looked outside and saw that the sky was still dark, but ready to become day, she stretched and got off the bed, she looked around the room a little and saw Spike asleep in a dog bed, with the lampshade still on his head, she used her magic and took the lampshade off the dragons head and placed it on the nearby table, she then rubbed her eyes and left the room.

She saw that the main room of the library was surprisingly clean, as much of a ruckus went on last night, she shook her head and began exploring the building, she found a bathroom inside along with a kitchen thankfully.

After she was done in the bathroom, she went upstairs to wake Spike up. "Hey Spike, come on, you got to get up." Twilight said.

A few minutes of trying later, and the dragon awoke. "Can't I have a few more minutes?" He pleaded.

Twilight sighed. "No Spike, it took me at least five to wake you up." She replied.

_____*later*_____

The planning for the summer sun celebration went well, everything was going according to plan, but Twilight was still concerned, it seemed to easy, and the mare on the moon vanishing wasn't a good sign either.

She soon received a tap on the shoulder, she looked behind her, and saw nothing, she then heard a voice. "Up here." Said a whisper.

Twilight looked up and saw a Thestral mare grinning at her with sharp fangs. "I VUNT TO SIPHON YOUR BLOOD!" She cackled wickedly.

Twilight was more confused, Spike however showed his superstitious side. "VAMPONY!" He screamed as he hid behind Twilight's back legs.

The Thestral laughed at Spike's expense but was soon slapped in the back of her head by a white Pegasus mare with red streaks and faded red patches of fur. "Knock it off Frenzy." She said firmly.

The mare, Frenzy, chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. "Yes ma'am." She replied. "Sorry for scaring you, but I wanted to greet the newbie." She said.

Spike glanced out from behind his sister. "W,w,well.....just don't do it again." He said.

Frenzy landed with the other mare. "Anyway, I'm Night Frenzy, this is Roxanne, I just call her Roxie." She introduced.

"Twilight Sparkle." She replied, she then looked at Spike. "And this is Spike." She said.

"And here I was thinking you would wait for me." Said a familiar voice.

Twilight turned around and saw Umbrea. "I was actually supposed to back them up, but SOMEPONY got impatient." She said, glancing at Night.

"Whatever." Said the Thestral.

After that, there was a big commotion as Princess Celestia was to appear in a moment, Twilight still had doubts, but hopefully her teacher and Spike were correct, and that the tale WAS just a myth.

"She's gone!" Gasped a pony as the curtains opened to show no one behind them.

Shocked murmurs ran through the crowd quickly, but just as quickly as they started, they stopped when the sky darkened and dark blue mist entered the room, it soon coalesced into the form of a dark blue Alicorn mare with dark blue armor and a mane of twisting shadows. 'That must be her.' 

"Please tell me I'm not the only one who knows who that is." Night Frenzy asked quietly.

Twilight blinked. "You aren't." She replied quietly.

Soon enough, Nightmare Moon went on a rant about how she had returned to her 'subjects' and how the night would last forever, but she did seem disappointed when none of the ponies in the room seemed to recognize her.

"Does no one know who I am?" She asked the crowd.

Just then, Twilight found her voice. "I know who you are!" She declared.

"Your the Mare on the Moon, Nightmare Moon!" She stated.

This however sent Nightmare Moon on another rant, and how she was pleased that someone remembered her.

With a maniacal laugh, Nightmare Moon vanished into the night and left Everypony in the room in complete shock.

Twilight however found her strength and immediately headed for the library, convinced that there must be something there that could help her defeat Nightmare Moon.

What she wasn't expecting however, was to be followed by an Alicorn, a Thestral, three Pegasi, two unicorns, two Earth Ponies and a baby dragon.


______*the library*______

Twilight frantically searched the library for any book referencing the Elements of Harmony. "Elements? Elements? Elements! Gah!" She screamed in frustration.

"You!" Twilight was suddenly face to face with Rainbow Dash who seemed angry about something. "What ARE the Elements of Harmony, are you a spy?" She accused.

The Pegasus was soon pulled down by Applejack who grabbed her by the tail. "I think what she was tryin to say, was how do you know about that Nightmare Moon?" She wondered,

"She read it in an old mares tale." Night Frenzy said easily. "It said on the thousandth year after her defeat, this is translated for simplicity by the way, that the Mare In the Moon will return to bring about eternal night." The Thestral said.

After explaining the situation to Everypony, Twilight got around to the critical part. "We need to find the Elements of Harmony, they defeated Nightmare Moon last time, but I can't find any reference to them anywhere!" She said with increasing annoyance.

"Found it." Said a male voice.

Everyone looked and saw a black, or very dark gray furred unicorn stallion with a very short white mane and tail, his cutie mark was that of a lit candle and he had glowing green eyes, he looked at the group and held up a book. "It was under E." He said calmly.

Twilight was shocked to see Star, not that she wasnt happy to see him, but he was sick, and shouldn't be moving around. "Star?" She asked.

Star grinned and tossed the book over. "Not sick, but stopping Nightmare Moon is priority one, so find those Elements, and afterwards, we can catch up." He said before walking to another shelf. 

Umbrea looked at Twilight. "You know him?" She asked.

Twilight nodded. "I went to school with him for ten years." She said.

"Nine." Star corrected. "I came here last year remember?" He reminded.

Twilight opened the book and began reading out loud, she soon got around to the names of the Elements. "Honesty Generosity Kindness Laughter and Loyalty, the sixth Element is supposed to bind them together but nopony knows where it is." She said.

Star walked over. "Then we better get started, the sooner the better." He added.

"So, where does the book say to look?" Rarity asked.

"It doesn't, but the only place I can think of is where Nightmare Moon was defeated." She said.

_____*Outskirts of Ponyville*_____

"The Everfree Forest!?" Most of the group said in shock.

Umbrea and Night Frenzy shrugged. "I mean, it could be worse." Umbrea said.

"How?" Rarity asked.

"It could be storming." Night Frenzy replied.

Twilight looked back at the group. "So, you all ready for this?" She asked.

Everyone there nodded, and they journeyed into the forest.

_____*the Everfree Forest.*_____

As the group moved through the forest, they were careful not to stray to far from each other, they eventually reached a cliff face, they couldn't see a way down, but just as they went to find a safe way down, the earth and rocks connecting it to the rest of the cliff were destroyed, causing everyone to fall, aside from the fliers of course.

Twilight had almost fallen off the cliff when Applejack caught a hold of her. "I got ya!" She said. "Whatever you do, don't let go!" She said.

Twilight had no problem with that logic. "Quick, pull me up." She said

"I can't, if I pick you up, we both might fall down." Applejack replied.

Twilight strained. "Then what am I supposed to do?" She asked in a panic.

Applejack seemed to focus. "Let go." She said.

Twilight hated that logic. "You just said NOT to let go." She countered.

"What I'm sayin' to you is the honest truth, let go, and you'll be safe." Applejack stated.

Twilight groaned, she let go and screamed as she fell down, only to open her eyes and see that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had caught her. "Oh." She said, feeling just a little bit silly.

"Whoohoo!" Star cheered as he slid down the cliff, he was having a blast apparently, everyone else was at the bottom of the cliff, but Star was busy having fun with it.

Twilight sighed. "Adrenaline jockey." She muttered.

When Star reached the bottom he grinned. "Okay, I'm ready, let's go." He said.

The Group moved even more carefully through the forest after that, eventually, they were surprised when they were attacked by a wild manticore......only for Fluttershy to stop them from retaliating and fly up to it, she then proceeded to remove a thorn from its left claw, and then the manticore was a little more than a giant cat.

After the group was finished standing in shock of what just happened, they decided to quickly move on, Stsr did notice however, that the thorn vanished in a puff of blue mist. Odd. He thought.

"Is it me? or does it seem like something is influencing things around here?" Gem asked.

"It's not just you, I've been feeling something watching us this whole time." Umbrea stated.

"Let's keep moving, we need to hurry." Twilight said.

After that, the group continued until they reached a very dark part of the forest, they saw things in the night, they saw faces on the trees, and they kept hearing creepy sounds in the bushes.

They also heard an eerie whistling coming from nearby, they all looked around and they saw Night Frenzy with a strange device that made the eerie whistling. "I didn't do anything." She said as she disposed of the device.

"You aren't helping." Roxanne stated.

They continued on until they got scared by an army of bats, soon enough they were so disoriented that when the bats were gone, they screamed in terror at the trees, well, except for Night Frenzy and Star. "Think they'll ever stop?" Star asked.

Night looked at him. "You gonna stop them?" She asked.

"Nope." He replied.

Everyone soon stopped from their panicking when they heard laughter, coming from Pinkie Pie. 

Night Frenzy watched with interest as the party mare soon started a little song that made the trees normal, she raised an eyebrow and shrugged, she bobbed her head a little at the catchy beat, but she refused to join the song, just like she refused to dance. 

After that was over, and the group was laughing at the situation, they eventually kept on moving and they were in much better spirits now.

After they exited the dark part of the forest, they continued on until they reached a sea serpent who was causing a violent wave to block their path, after Rarity spotted the problem and cut off most of her tail and gave it to the serpent to replace the lost half of his mustache, he was more than happy to let them pass.

They soon reached an opening, one where they could clearly see the castle, however, a very thick fog soon rolled in, and they started to move through the forest once again.

"Darn it, I can't see a thing." Rainbow Dash said.

"Oh no! What a nightmare!" Gem said mockingly. "At least YOU have actual eyesight." She said.

"Your blind?" Applejack asked curiously.

Gem shrugged. "Are you seriously just now noticing?" She asked in disbelief.

"Can we talk about this later? I wouldn't prefer to be jumped by something hiding out here." Star stated.

Night Frenzy scoffed. "You can't be serious!" She said.

The Thestral lept In front of the group and was practically part of the fog in their eyesight. "So far this whole trip has been a breeze! the only thing out here right now is fog! Gem could tell you all that!" She stated out of frustration.

"Frenzy, calm down!" Umbrea said.

Night Frenzy shook her head. "Why should I love? I'm not exactly a kid now am I?" She countered.

Just as Night Frenzy went to step out of the fog, vines shot out and grabbed her by the legs and body, she looked at the group. "Uh oh." She said before being dragged away.

"Frenzy!" Roxanne quickly rushed into the fog after her sister, with Umbrea in tow. "Wait up!" The Alicorn said.

Before the others could follow, a massive wall of vines blocked the path after the fog vanished.

"We need to go after them!" Applejack said.

"Your right, let's go!" Rainbow Dash said.

Star closed his eyes as he heard them all agreeing to give chase, he opened his eyes and gritted his teeth. "ENOUGH!" He shouted.

The group looked at him as he stared them down. "If we go after them, Nightmare Moon might be able to destroy the Elements of Harmony, our best bet of finding them is to first stop her from going through with her plan." He stated.

"She wanted us to give chase, she needed to seperate us, so she did this once Night Frenzy went on her outburst." Gem added.

Afterwards, the remaining eight reluctantly continued on, hoping to end this madness before it got worse.

They traveled for what felt like forever, but they eventually reached a fallen bridge that would lead them directly to the castle, Rainbow Dash, being the only remaining flier brave enough to fly across the chasm, flew across to get the bridge back up.

Soon however, the group saw three more Pegasi in suits that looked like wonderbolt counterparts, they called to find out what was wrong, but the fog returned in great thickness across the chasm.

The group was very concerned, but when the bridge connected and Rainbow Dash returned, the tension eased up a little.

_____*meanwhile*______

Night Frenzy grunted and rubbed the back of her head, she hit her head on one of the trees when the vines dragged her away, she was no longer bound but she had no idea where she was, she blinked and stood up, she took a look around but didn't see anything, well, nothing out of the ordinary for this forest.

She sighed and started walking, now she had the right to complain, but Umbrea would have the right to say I told you so now, and that was the worst part.

Night stopped herself. 'Or is it?' She thought.

Eventually she heard voices. "Frenzy! Where are you!?" Cried out Umbrea. 

Night grinned, but then her grin faded when she thought of something. 'What if this is a trick? And I'm under some kind of spell, and Nightmare Moon wants me to see or hear what I want.' She thought.

"Night Frenzy, show your face right now or you are banished to the couch!" Roxanne's angry voice called.

'Nope, not a trick, why would I WANT to see Roxie so angry?' She asked herself and she ran toward the voices.

It didn't take that long to find the pair, Frenzy did her best to suppress a laugh at the state they were in, they were both covered in mud, sticks, and leaves, but they both looked great regardless.....in Frenzy's eyes at least. "Hey." She said.

Roxanne slapped her, and Umbrea patted her on the shoulder. "Miss me loves?" Night Frenzy asked.

Roxanne and Umbrea both looked at each other, and then at Frenzy, they both shrugged and slapped Frenzy in the back of the head. "Nope." They both said.

Night Frenzy grinned. "So, let's go find the others eh?" She asked.

When she saw the two blinking and looking at her funny, Frenzy grinned wider. "OR, we could stay here, and uh......'wash' that mud off." She teased.

The two immediately started to run away towards the direction they came from, with Night Frenzy in tow, laughing the whole way.

______*The old castle.*______

"The Element of....Magic!" Twilight finished, her eyes glowing and levitating, the others were doing the same thing as well, together, they shot a beam of magic in the form of a rainbow at Nightmare Moon, it caused a massive flash of light and made the six mares fall over from exhaustion, they didn't lose consciousness, but it did throw them for a loop for a while.

Star headed over to see if they were alright, thankfully they were, he helped them all to get up as the sun shone brightly behind them.

To their shock, and surprise, Princess Celestia flew into the room gracefully, the six mares bowed, Star simply waved at her. 

Celestia greeted and thanked them all for defeating Nightmare Moon, and saving her sister at the same time, they all shared in the shock as Celestia revealed the truth, that Nightmare Moon was actually her sister Luna.

As Celestia went to speak with her little sister, hurried steps were heard behind them, Star looked and saw Night Frenzy, Roxanne and Umbrea head up the stairs, they looked dirty because of the mud and twigs, but they were otherwise alright.

"Darn! we missed it!" Night Frenzy complained.

"Not really, it was mostly reminiscing until Twilight finished talking, then they used the Elements on Nightmare Moon, that's about it." Star said.

Night Frenzy's eye twitched. "I'm done, we need to go home, I'm tired, I'm dirty, and I really just want to sleep after all of this." She said flatly.

"You know what this calls for!?" Pinkie started energetically.

"Oh no." Star started.

"A PARTY!" She finished loudly.

_____*Ponville*_____

As the party raged on in Ponyville, Night Frenzy was left alone out by a nearby lake. "I was told I could find you here." Spoke a calm voice

Night Frenzy threw a rock and it skid, she looked behind her and saw Princess Celestia walking up. "What's up?" She asked casually.

Celestia threw a rock into the lake as she spoke. "I decided I should meet the ones who saved my sister, I owe you all that much at least." She said.

Frenzy chuckled. "So, we're you surprised to see another Alicorn? Or a Pegasus with fox ears?" She asked.

Celestia shook her head a little. "At first, yes, Alicorns aren't exactly common, I suppose seeing another born Alicorn surprised me, as for Roxanne, I was curious more than surprised, she's the only one I know of that is like that." She replied.

"Well, i guess seeing a Thestral after a thousand years was a bit of a shock." She said.

Celestia smiled a little. "Actually, after Nightmare Moon's defeat, many Thestrals rebelled, but even more sought sanctuary from the rebellion, nowadays, they have a city of their own, it's underground but stable, Deepmaze I believe was the name." She replied.

Night Frenzy blinked as she through a rock. "Sounds like people get lost a lot there." She stated.

Celestia nodded. "Yea, I get lost every time, thankfully some of the Thestrals in the guard are more than capable of navigating it." She replied.

The stood there in silence for a short time. "So Frenzy, tell me about yourself." Celestia said.

Night Frenzy shrugged. "Not much to tell, aside from a carnivorous diet and adopted parents, very normal childhood, best friend lost her dad a while back, I sleep upside down sometimes, and.....actually." She looked at Celestia. "Do you know if Thestrals drink blood?" She asked.

Celestia thought on it for a moment before shaking her head. "I have no idea, Thestrals are very secretive at worst......at least, the ones I have met." She replied.

Night Frenzy thought on something for a while and then looked at Celestia again. "Wasn't there a counterpart team of the Wonderbolts?" She asked.

Celestia nodded. "The Shadowbolts, they were disbanded a long time ago when Nightmare Moon arose." She answered.

Night Frenzy threw a rock into the lake. "What would you say to reforming them?" She asked.

Celestia threw a rock as she thought on it. 'Reform the Shadowbolts? Interesting idea, but the problem would be actually getting it done, they would need funding, an academy, staff, trained Pegasi or Thestrals, not to mention, the strained relations with the Wonderbolts, and the propaganda that would spread about 'power hungry' now, the upside would be that Equestria would have a new military force, it would definitely be a boon to have the Thestral or Shadowbolt decendants quiet down about reforming them, and it would be a way for the Wonderbolts to relax some more, they had a ridiculously busy schedule as it was, I need to think on this some more.' She noted.

"I need to give it some thought, there is a lot to think about." Celestia finally replied.

Night nodded. "Understandable, running a nation isn't easy." She said. "Well, when you have an answer, look me up, I'll be here." She said.

Celestia smiled and she threw one last rock. "By the way, before I go, there is one question I have for you." She said.

Night listened as the Princess spoke. "Your sister told me you want to know who your birth parents were, I've promised to try to find her's, but I would like to know, do you wish to know?" She asked.

Night Frenzy sighed and chuckled. "Sometimes I hate that mare." She muttered, she then looked at Celestia. "On one condition, you don't withhold anything, even if they died, or are traitors, i need to know." She replied.

Celestia nodded. "Then you have my word, that I will find them if I can." She swore before walking off. "We should talk like this again sometime." She added.

Night Frenzy smiled a little. "Maybe." She said to herself.

_____*Ponyille*______

Star and Twilight sat together under a tree, it was warm, there was a party going on, and right now, they were just sitting there with a book, the two dragons were happily talking and reconnecting, and Snowdrfit was avoid Fluttershy and Pinkie at all costs.

"I hear your going to be staying here in Ponyville." Star began.

Twilight nodded. "Canterlot is nice and all, but I can't deny it." She paused as she watched some of the shenanigans that Pinkie was starting. "This place has a special charm about it." She finished.

Star chuckled. "You know, I know your staying at the library, but I am curious." He looked at Twilight. "First, would you and Spike like to stay at my place? it has a lot of room, more than me, Spark and Apache can use, even if you count Snowdrift, second, you could enroll Spike at the local school, I know he has some tutoring back in Canterlot, but it might be a good idea for here." He said.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "I'll have to pass on your offer to stay with you, never know when you meet that special somepony, and as for the school, you're right, Spike should have fun, besides he needs to make some friends aside from Apache." She said.

Star nodded. "Hey, remember when we were told that Spark and Spike were brothers?" He asked.

Twilight shivered. "Don't remind me, my head was spinning the entire time, I didn't even consider it." She replied.

______*A few weeks later*______

Night Frenzy was in her room reading up on the history of the time of Nightmare Moon.

She was very intrigued by that era, but not because of its historical value, but because of one thing alone.

That was where all mention of Thestrals ended, after that era, Thestrals didn't exist.

So she was reading up, getting any information she could.

Soon however, there was a knock on the front door. "Can you get that!" Night asked.

"Yea!" Roxanne said.

Night continued to read, comparing whatever she read in the book, to a notebook she made, a knock on her door however made her stop, she got up and headed for the door, she opened it and saw Roxanne. "We have a visitor." She said.

Night headed downstairs, she looked into the living room and saw none other than Princess Celestia sitting down, with a stack of papers on the table. "Well well well." She said with a smirk. "Would you look who it is." She said as she walked up to sit down.

"It has been a while." Celestia said.

Night Frenzy chuckled. "It has, so......apologies, but we haven't been able to stock up food just yet, so I don't have any snacks to offer, but that isn't why you are here, is it?" She asked.

Celestia nodded. "I found your birth parents, but I don't think you'll be surprised at who they are, all things considered." She said as she gave the sisters a couple folders.

Roxanne opened her folder and raised an eyebrow, but she then shrugged. "Makes sense I suppose." She muttered.

Night Frenzy peaked and saw that Roxanne's father was an actual fox, while her mother was a Pegasus mare called Helios, according to the file, the birth never should have been possible, but it happened.

Night Frenzy then opened her folder, she saw that her father was a Thestral named Jurgen, while her mother was......a Griffin? Named Ligani. "What?" She asked herself.

According to the file, this birth was quite literally an impossibility, but somehow it happened, she blinked and looked it over once again. "I'm half Griffin?" She mumbled.

Roxanne looked at Celestia. "This can't be right, I mean, these are impossible births." She argued.

"So is an Alicorn." Celestia countered.

At that, Roxanne was stumped, she didn't really know how to argue that. "Then how do you explain the Griffin thing?" She asked.

"Sex change spell." Night Frenzy and Celestia replied easily.

Roxanne shook her head. "Tmi." She quickly said. [1]

Night Frenzy did read one thing in the files however, Roxanne's mother had died five years ago from cancer, her father was impossible to differentiate from other foxes, Ligani was alive in the Griffin kingdoms, and Jurgen was.......in jail, for murder. "Oh, well, that's a bummer." She said as she set the file down.

The three sat in silence for a time until Frenzy spoke. "Who did he kill?" She asked.

"The social worker assigned to you." Celestia replied.

Night Frenzy sighed and after a few moments, she looked at the rest of the papers that Celestia had. "What's all of this?" She asked.

Celestia handed the sisters the papers. "Do you remember what you asked me a few weeks ago?" She wondered.

"Yea, I asked if you wanted to reform the Shadowbolts, I take it you have an answer?" She asked.

Celestia nodded. "I do, go ahead and read, I think it will explain itself." She replied.

Night Frenzy delved into the files, at first it looked like little more than estimates, cost of construction and such, but there was one paper that explained it all. 

The paper containing the legal information and documentation of the Shadowbolts, however, it was blank whenever the word captain appeared. "What's this about?.....you couldn't find a good captain?" Frenzy asked.

Celestia shrugged. "Oh no, don't get me wrong, I have found plenty of candidates for positions in their ranks, but I felt like you deserved this post." She replied.

Night Frenzy looked up at Celestia with a confused look. "Why me?" She asked. "I don't have any military training, and I'm not an amazing flyer, ask anypony." She said.

Roxanne looked at her with a disbelieving glare. "Yea right, you've always been the Better flyer between us, and I've seen you beat Rainbow Dash more times than I can count." She argued.

"The reason I believe you fit this position Night Frenzy, is because you have displayed many traits of a leader, bravery, judgement, rational thought, a questioning mind, and above all, you are not afraid to take matters into your own hooves, or let another do something you cannot." Celestia explained.

Night Frenzy sighed and looked at Roxanne, she then looked at the paper, giving this decision a great deal of thought before continuing. "Ah to heck with it." She looked at Celestia. "Got a quill?" She asked.

Celestia gave her a quill and Night Frenzy signed the papers.....after reading them very thoroughly. "Congratulations Night Frenzy, new captain of the Shadowbolts." She said.

Night Frenzy leaned back into the couch and sighed, she looked up at the ceiling and chuckled. "This is so going to suck for a while." She mumbled.

"At least you won't be alone." Roxanne said.

Night Frenzy looked and saw that Roxanne had signed the papers as well. "Uh oh." She said.

Frenzy then looked at Celestia. "Don't expect me to salute you all the time." She said.

Celestia nodded. "I wouldn't dream of it." She replied.

It was at least ten minutes until the tension in the air settled, as then the sisters bid farewell to Celestia.

Night Frenzy looked at Roxanne. "I just thought of something." She said.

"What is It?" Roxanne asked.

Night Frenzy sat down on the couch. "I didn't think about it until just now.....but I unintentionally signed myself up for the Wonderbolts academy to learn advanced flight and military discipline from the guard." She said.

Roxanne sighed and walked up behind Night Frenzy.....she then delivered one mother of a head slap to the back of Frenzy's head.

"Thank you." Frenzy said.

"You'll do fine." Roxanne said.

Frenzy chuckled. "Wait, did your paper say something like that?" She asked.

Roxanne paused and groaned. "CRAAAAP!"