1- Awakening

The Terror of Death- Awakening

Destiny. It it a strange word with an even stranger meaning. Similar to Fate and Karma… But what does destiny actually mean? Some have described it as a predetermined course of events that is inevitable. It cannot be simply ignored or avoided because destiny is always something that comes back around like a boomerang in flight. Some are destined for great things to come to them… others are destined to fall in battle… and there are those who are destined to help their people. Help their kind stand firm against all that might come against them and harm them.

However… there are those that can’t accept destiny. Those that fear it because of what destiny might bring… or because of what must be done to achieve this destiny. Sometimes the host must go through great change, whether it is physical or personal, in order to finally accept it. But there is one undeniable destiny that can’t be avoided no matter how far you flee or how fast you run.

Death. No matter if death is inflicted as a wound by a foe or comes with age, there will always be a point in time where we all must pass on, no matter how much we want to stay alive. Though, we all must take note of something very important… When one life ends, another one begins. And when that life begins, that life… in time… will also come to an end as well. I have learned that myself throughout the years that I have been alive, but now, I must finally set down my quill… and lay my head… one last time.

-Final Journal Entry of renowned Grand Magus Starswirl the Bearded, shortly before his passing in 1052 CE (Celestial Era). May his soul find eternal peace.

Equestria (Present Day)

The snow that was violently kicked around with the storm rendered the vision of the lone mare that was trying to navigate it. She was trying to run away and had been trying for the past two days. Running away from the pain she felt… but most importantly… from Fate itself. The only friend that she ever had since she was a filly was now the tyrannical emperor that ran the crystal empire with an iron hoof and fate had decided that she was the one to try and stop his reign. However, she couldn’t come to terms with the task. For Sombra was her only friend… one that she did not want to lose.

It left the poor Crystal Pony with two options. Either let Destiny run it’s course… or defy it. If she followed through with the first option, she would have to lead her kind in an uprising. However, such things were unheard of or squashed out right in front of their eyes with public executions. A way that Sombra personally believed was to help keep everypony in line. The second option would leave the mare with having to serve the stallion that she knew since fillyhood. However, it would mean she would have to force herself to commit acts that she would never do before. Acts that would make herself think that she had lost her mind… Acts that would label her as a killer and a murderer. Blinded by only partial truths of what was right or wrong.

And of course, using whatever skill she had, the mare that was named Radiant Hope chose neither. Instead, she forged her own path… by running away from everything that was hurting her dearly. However, she could only run so much and with the violent winds kicking up even more, the Crystal Unicorn needed to find a place that would serve as shelter from the blizzard storm. Because if she continued to push herself, the only thing that she would be running away from was her own demise… A chase where death always wins.

As she tried to settle in and keep herself warm with the close she kept around herself, Radiant began to try and focus on getting a fire started. There were a few stray sticks and stones that blew in from the storm and with it, she tried to light a small flame using her magic. However, in the midst of this though… something began to echo in the cave… It was faint… but she could hear it.

“W-who’s there?” She asked, levitating a torch with her magic as she tried to light the darkened sections of the shelter the pony had come across. Radiant first thought that there were a few others that were in here before her, but another movement of the torch and she came across the skeletal corpses of several unfortunate souls who had stumbled in here. “I-is anypony there?”

Seconds after speaking again, a burst of wind from outside blew out her torch. Leaving the Unicorn with one option for light. Her own horn. Casting an illumination spell, she carefully began to tread inward towards wherever the noise was, gulping down whatever fear that lingered inside her. At one point though, the small noises grew in volume and it was then that the Unicorn could make out what they were.

They weren’t noises… they were voices.

‘Princess Amore, stay back! We don’t know if this creature is harmful!!’

‘If it were me, we should kill it while we have the chance,’ That voice… she knew. Right away, Radiant could hear that it was Sombra’s voice. Around the time that he was Chancellor for Princess Amore. But how did he play a part in it? ‘Avoid the risk altogether.’

‘Chancellor Sombra, I am NOT doing such a thing to a creature like this. Both of you are bickering about it like a pair of foals that are too eager to get their cutie marks. We ARE helping it and that’s final.’ The voices soon died down, but for a moment as Radiant tried to make sense of what she understood. When Sombra took over as King, he declared himself king after a insurgent attempt to take Amore’s life was successful. She was away doing business with one of the nearby villages, but no point at all was some… creature involved.

The second time that the voices spoke, she now saw reflections on the crystalline walls. One of the princess… But there was another one too. Possibly the “creature” that was mentioned previously. They appeared to be in the same chambers that was now Sombra’s personal study and hearing the voice of Amore and what she had to say really surprised her. ‘So… you don’t know how you arrived in my kingdom… at all?’

The being shook his head as he took a deep breath and let it out softly. ‘No, I don’t… Everything’s just… foggy. I remember my life before then and everything up to a certain point… but now…’ Radiant watched as the reflections on the glass showed Amore trying to comfort the stranger.

‘Sir… I think I forgot to ask you this… but what would you like for me to call you?’ The other being was quiet, but soon he had one answer for her off of the tip of his tongue.

‘Haseo.’

In the present, once that word was said, Radiant spun around to see a faint red glow coming from the back of the room. The red glow was coming from a wall of ice, oh it suffers played images of the past. But behind the images where three glowing red orbs. She saw the figure training with the guards, then helping civilians and always by Amore’s side. But with each image, it showed Sombra getting more and more furious at not just him, but the princess he was a guardian and protector for.

‘You trust that two legged brute instead of your own chancellor?! What has gotten into you, Amore!? WHY!?!’

‘I trust him because he is kind and knows what’s right. Sombra, maybe if you actually had a heart like Haseo does, then you would actually understand what I am talking about!’ Amore’s voice snapped back at him. ‘Get out of my sight now or you will no longer be serving the Crystal Empire!’

‘EVERYTHING I’VE DONE IS FOR THE EMPIRE!’ The voice of Sombra roared, causing the orbs of red to glow even more. ‘Yet, no matter how much I work and whatever I do, YOU turn a blind eye to me… No… Not anymore…’

‘Sombra, what are you doing?’ The voice of this… Haseo spoke, but what came next was something that Radiant personally could not believe or bear witness too.

‘Doing something I’ve should’ve done a long time ago.’ He growled, the sound of his voice followed by the sound of metal penetrating flesh. Amore’s cries slowly died out, now replaced with dying muffles as the sound of her body hit the ground.

‘No… Amore, NO!!’ Her guardian screamed, followed by brief tears. However, this was when those three red eyes in the present began to expand outward. Forming and creating a series of runes that expanded along the wall. ‘N-no…’

It was then though… that Radiant snapped back to reality when a new… deeper voice boomed throughout the cavern… and she realized that those red orbs… were eyes.

“I have found you.” It spoke as the ice began to crack.

‘Amber, take Cadenza and run as far as you can!’

‘Wha-? Why!?’

‘RUN BEFORE I LOSE CONTROL OF MYSELF!! SOMBRA KILLED AMORE… and I am going to MAKE SURE HE SUFFERS FOR WHAT HE DID!!’

The cracks began to widen, spreading rapidly across the ice as they got closer to Radiant. She was trying to back away, but her efforts weren’t helping her. However… what she heard next… changed everything.

‘I’m right here… Come on… COME ON!!! SKEITH!’ The walls that were once frozen had now crumbled away, breaking apart to reveal what was hidden inside. Frozen away for years, possibly centuries as it crashed into the cold ground that was once crumbling before. Now though, the shaking had stopped and the Unicorn who saw this all happen soon galloped over to the creature that fell as his eyes began to open.

“U-uuuhh… M-my head…” It groaned, clasping it’s hand on it’s head to try and overcome the painful headache that he was dealing with. But when he looked at Radiant… his reaction wasn’t what she expected. “A-amore?” Looking around for a small bit as he stumbled to his feet, the figure looked back at her. “A-am I…… dead?”

“I’m sorry, I think you have mistaken me for somepony else.” Radiant answered.

“W-what?” He said, looking at himself before looking back at her. “W-who are you? Where am I!?” He said, noticing the apparent changes around him.

“I’m Radiant. It's alright, nopony is going to hurt you.” She replied trying to calm him down. It only worked… for a short while as the figure now imposed a new question on her.

“What happened to the Empire?” Radiant was not sure what to say, so she told him the truth.

“It being kept safe, But we should go now. What is your name?” She asked trying to help him up. However, what the stranger said next… just caused her to think she was in some sort of dream.

“H-Haseo.”

“Haseo, that’s a nice name.” She first said, until she realized that she had heard it before. Right before this… creature was released from it’s icy prison. Which could have only meant that those voices… were not just ordinary voices… they were his memories. But as she turned around, she watched as a faint glow appeared in Haseo’s hands before a strange pair of blades began to take form.

“Guess I still can do that…” He muttered to himself, before looking back at the Unicorn. “Hmm? Is something on your mind?”

“How did you do that?” Radiant asked looking over the blades in his hands. “Is it some kind of magic?”

“Magic?” He said, shortly before shaking his head. “No, it’s more of a… special talent that I have. I can use a series of weapons and switch at will just by focusing on it… Why, did you think it was Magic?”

“Well, everypony knows and uses magic.” Radiant said, looking back at him before glancing outside. “Anyway I think we should be going now.”

“Going? Going where-?” He stopped for a moment, almost dropping his blades as he stared at the darkness that was hovering over the castle that was the Crystal Empire in the distance. “No… NO!! Dammit, he’s alive!?”

“Haseo calm down, let me explain.” Radiant asked, only for him to look back at her.

“Explain!? Sombra murdered Amore! I was suppose to protect her!!” He snapped, before looking Radiant again… “Radiant… what year did this happen? When did Sombra come into power?”

“1000 years ago, since then, things have… gotten worse in the empire.” Radiant admitted to him, looking back at Haseo as the blizzard died down. “Why do you want to know?”

“Radiant…… if what you said is right… I’ve been frozen for over 1000 years… the day that Sombra killed Amore and took over the Empire was the day I…… lost control of who I was.” He sighed, the memories still fresh in his mind and searing painfully as he looked back at her. “I had only one job… Keep the citizens of the empire safe… and I failed.”

“We can still help them.” Radiant said putting a hoof on his arm. “But I need your help.”

He looked back at her, raising an eyebrow in confusion. “My help? How?”

“It's said when you were out of control, you used some kind of magic that could weaken others, if you could use that magic again. We could free everypony from the spell keeping us here.” Haseo thought about that to himself for a small bit of time, trying to put the pieces together on what she was saying. Then though, he finally figured it out.

“I can… but we need to take into account some things…” He said, pointing out the Empire in the distance. “First, in order for me to pull it off, I need a bit of energy. Something I don’t have as of now since I have just woken up. Second, if we do pull this off, we need to go to the empire and do what we can to help those people. Sombra’s reign must be put to an end and we can’t do it if we spend our time waiting for help to arrive.” The first piece that Haseo said made Radiant a little nervous, but the second one really made her feel uncomfortable. He was saying that for them to do this, she needed to go back and return to what she wanted to run away from. Go back and face her destiny… and to help her people stop the only friend that she had. That was, until she heard him speak again.

“Hey… I know it might sound impossible, but the least you can do is have faith… Stick together and light the first spark of rebellion so it may sit long enough to catch fire… Do you think you are capable of this?” He asked her, waiting to see her response.

“I just want to get my friend back, if this will help then I’ll try.” Radiant said as she lead the way. All it did though, was make Haseo curious.

“Who’s this friend of yours?” He asked.

“There’s somepony who took the wrong path, and I’m going to put things right.” She said, looking back at the Adept Rogue as they continued on their journey.

“That… is admirable… But sometimes, some ponies are too far gone to be saved. I can always try to help whoever I can, but now everypony is the same…” He said, pausing mid sentence before looking back at Radiant. “Hey… Radiant? This may sound a little strange given that we just met… but can we be friends?”

“Sure, I’d like that.” She replied, causing Haseo to smile a little. It was the teen’s first friend in over a thousand years and it felt really comfortable to walk alongside her as they continued to tread through the snow. After about half an hour, since it was quicker to head towards the empire than away from it, Haseo stopped.

“This should be close enough.” The teen said as he turned to his side. Holding out his right arm and using his left arm for support. “By the time I do this, the Empire will be visible, but then we would need to hurry because Sombra might be onto us.”

“Alright, I’ll get a teleport spell ready.” Radiant replied, causing him to smirk as he closed his eyes. It was then that the unicorn began to see eight pillars of light emerge from his hand as a strange form of clustered energy began to flow around him. Growing in size as he channeled it through his body. Soon though, it was ready and he had two words to say before he unleashed the power he was charging.

“DATA DRAIN!!”

Radiant was confused by what he said, but whatever it was… it worked. The Empire was beginning to clear up now and it was the perfect chance for Radiant to teleport them straight over as quickly as possible. Because something like this… was not going to go unnoticed for long.

Meanwhile…

One of the guards that had been serving Princess Celestia and her sister Luna throughout his career was speeding off to their chamber with some urgent information that needed to be addressed immediately. Fortunately, he was quick enough in order to find them inside Celestia’s room as the sun alicorn was drinking a cup of tea while the lunar alicorn looked to be playing some sort of game.

“Y-your majesty!” He said, standing at attention as Celestia turned to notice him.

“Yes Private Steadfast? What seems to be the matter?”

“Colonel Brighthorn has an urgent report for you. Several scouts have been detecting major activity in the north-.” Immediately after hearing the words “the north”, Celestia found herself in a state of shock and dropped her teacup on top of her sister. The hot liquid seeping into her mane as she was forced to take off her headphones and pause her game.

“Sister, what was that for!? I was in the middle of playing the newest .buck// game and I was about to reach a save point-!” She snapped as the Alicorn turned around.

“Luna, we have a problem… The Crystal Empire… It has returned.” Those words got the Alicorn to stop talking as she got up from her position on the floor and looked back at her sister with an expression of shock on her face as they left the room and teleported to the tower where Luna kept watch over her subjects. Taking a spyglass that the Alicorn had set on the table, Luna looked off into the distance, only to see exactly what her sister was telling her.

She could see the Crystal Empire… and the demon that lurked in the distance. “Oh no… It’s Sombra.”

“Luna, gather both Cadence and Shining Armor. I’ll send out a letter to the elements immediately.” Celestia told her as Luna nodded her head and teleported off to go find the royal couple. However, the sun princess felt a small bit of uncertainty… like there was another danger out there that they should be concerned about.

2- Beyond the Veil

View Online

The Terror of Death- Beyond the Veil

Canterlot (Some time later)

Princess Mi Amora Cadenza was having a lot of things bounce off the walls inside her head as her Aunt Celestia began to explain why she had called them and the Elements of Harmony. As it turns out, due to some unknown circumstances, the Crystal Empire was no longer hidden away and can be seen by almost everypony. Given the fact that King Sombra would do anything he can to seal his kingdom away from the rest of the world, they had a very little timeframe in order for them to defeat him and save the empire. Everypony else reacted differently to it, but before they left, Celestia and Luna began to advise a bit of caution.

“Before you leave, there is something you must know… There is a unknown monster out in the Crystal Empire with unimaginable power that was known as The Terror of Death. I want you to be cautious if you come across this monster and do not try to take them on by yourself.”

“Pfft… Like something with a spooky nickname will try and stop us, Princess.” Rainbow snickered. “Why are you so concerned about this creature anyways. If I’m not mistaken, this Terror you speak of just makes me think of that Sombra freak again.”

“Sombra and The Terror of Death are not in the same league. Some have said that his powers were because he stole some of the abilities from the host. I want you all to be cautious nonetheless.” The Princess advised them. However, as they went on the train to go to the castle of crystal in the north, something was on Cadence’s mind. Something that she couldn’t get over ever since she was a filly.

The one person that risked his life so she could escape from the Empire. ‘Amber, take Cadenza and run as far as you can!’

“Haseo……” She mumbled to herself, looking out the window as Shining heard a small bit of what his wife said.

“Cadence, did you say something?”

“N-no… I was just… Thinking… That’s all.” She sighed, redirecting her attention outside as the warm rays of the sun were soon replaced by the white drops of snow that began to turn the area outside into a field of white.

Gate of the Empire

Haseo had only seconds to think of a plan as soon as he approached the walls of the Crystal Empire alongside Radiant Hope. From the looks of it, Sombra did not take the revealing of the Empire too kindly as Soldiers were scrambling to force ponies inside their homes and to beat anypony to a living pulp that even disobeyed a direct order. Fortunately, he still had a lot of his initial skills from before he was encased in ice. And with being an Adept Rogue, he had many tricks to the trade.

Adept rogues were capable of wielding different kinds of weapons and Haseo was no exception. For each weapon he could control, each one had a different set of skills for him to wield. His two blades allowed for skills like Gale Blade and Ghost Falcon from the Twin Blade class tree, his two handed sword allowed him to control attacks and arts from the Edge Punisher class and lastly, his Scythe made it possible for Haseo to fight with the skills of a Flick Reaper. Each one with their own specialties and drawbacks. But as of right now, he needed to find a way inside without drawing anypony’s attention.

Of course… that was nearly impossible. Because the first moment that they got in the courtyard, all eyes were on him and Radiant as dozens of guards had their spears pointed in his direction. “So much for not drawing attention.”

“It’s the Terror of Death! Run away!”

“Damn it… I swear, if Sombra had something to do with this…” Haseo growled, until noticing a poster with his face on it. The caption at the bottom being… “If you see this monster, stay away as far as you can and let your almighty king deal with him. Your concern is noted.” The name at the bottom of the caption was King Sombra as Haseo now was really beginning to feel pissed off.

“...... Sombra had to lie about me?! That bastard has gone too far.”

“I’m sure this is some kind of misunderstanding.” Radiant spoke looking at the wanted poster.

“Misunderstanding?” Haseo said, shaking his head. “He must’ve gotten that notion after I lost control and Skeith tried to mess him up… Radiant… I need you to do me a favor.”

“Yes?” She asked, not sure what to do.

“Make sure that all the citizens here are safe… I got a score to settle with a backstabbing traitor named Sombra who murdered a dear friend of mine.” With that, Haseo began to run towards the castle that he felt the King’s presence inside, all before Radiant was able to say anything to him at all or warn him of what he was going up against.

“Oh no, what do I do now?” Radiant said worriedly, going off to warn everypony about what going to happen. Only to not notice the smoke coming from the train that was in the distance.

As the Adept rogue ran through the empty streets and worked his way past the marketplace, he could tell that nothing was the way he remembered it. However, some things he still remembered from back in the days when he served Amore. Like the vault that contained a bunch of devices that he stored anytime he picked up something new. He thought that some of these would come in handy for the encounter with Sombra that he was about to have. He also had to make sure that his weapons were durable enough to deal with the mad king blow for blow. Haseo remembered in his last encounter that he could make weapons out of his dark magic that were as strong as his. Possibly strong enough to break them if he wasn’t careful.

Once he had everything he needed in the combat department, he picked up a few azure colored crystals and placed them within the leather bag that helped him carry the items in his inventory. They would be important because Crystals in the crystal empire were the Equestrian version of a Swiss Army Knife. Which means they could be used for multiple purposes. Now that he had everything that he needed to make sure that he stayed alive, the Adept Rogue began to walk over to the castle that he sensed was empty. However, he seemed to find something off with the door.

“Great, he’s using Signs to keep anypony out…” He thought to himself. Signs were special kinds of symbols that had three edges and could be used to keep anyone or anything out. But, if you had a skill revolving around it, those people could access those areas. Fortunately, Haseo knew Sign Hacking and based on what he knew and what he was looking at, by pulling this off, he would be in the same place where Sombra would be… The lions den.

“Sign… Hacking!” The energy that flowed from Haseo’s hands soon wrapped around him as he re-emerged inside the long hallway that lead to the main chambers of the castle. He knew that the Crystal Heart was at the top of the castle, but that was a couple floors above the main hallway where Delegates would normally meet.

He had less time to think on that though as an eerie and demonic voice that he remembered from long ago began to echo across the room. “We meet again, Terror of Death.”

“I only was named that because of you, King Sombra… You were still Chancellor when you decided to murder Amore in cold blood because she trusted me instead of you, you selfish jackass.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about monster. It was you who killed our dear Amore.” Sombra smirked.

“Don’t Bullsh*t with me, Sombra. You used my anger and my rage as a scapegoat for your schemes. The shadows around your eyes are proof. Your corruption and greed has gotten worse since I’ve last seen you.” He snapped back, looking at him. “I swore an oath that I would never harm Amore. She was the reason I was given a chance here! Now you are just hurting everypony here and blaming me for the reason, even if you sealed me off for 1000 years and I couldn’t do anything during then!! You used me as a scapegoat, you lying bastard!” At this point, Sombra sighed. He decided that the only way for him to actually stop him was to admit it to him… After all… Nopony else was here besides them.

“Heh… Not easy to fool, are you?” The king snickered. “I should have guessed, Amore always trusted you more then me, That why she had to die. I could not run the risk that you’d be given a rank above me. Therefore I killed two birds with one stone, I killed Amore and planted you as the villain! These fools had no idea that I killed her, all thanks to your rampage! Now I’m king and your where you belong, a worm in the dirt like all the rest of them! Hahahahaha!”

Haseo growled… But something then caught the mad king by surprise… He growl then changed to a … laugh? Why would he be laughing of all people? “What so funny worm?” Sombra asked giving Haseo a glear.

“You… are a really dumb idiot.” Haseo said, holding up one of the crystals in his inventory. “You recognize what these are?” Sombra did. He used several different kind of voice crystals in order to make announcements all across the city. But… if he was using one now…

“Wait, what-... HOW LONG HAS THAT BEEN ON!?!” Sombra’s voice roared across the whole city. Radiant herself was helping all of the ponies be safe by the time she heard them talking. Unaware of the ponies that pulled in from the train station behind her and also heard the entire conversation.

“From the start. Everypony in the city heard every word of your schemes… I think you sacrificed your intelligence a long time ago to feed your greed.”

“...... Okay, what’s going on?” Radiant heard somepony speak behind her as she turned to see eight ponies that definitely did not look like they were from the Crystal Empire. Two unicorn mares, two pegasi mares, two earth pony mares, a unicorn stallion and a… wait… is that an Alicorn!?

“I’LL KILL YOU FOR THIS YOU WORM!!” Sombra voice roared in rage.

“Who… was that?” The Lavender Unicorn asked.

“I think that was the Sombra guy that Celestia mentioned before we got on the train,” The pegasus with the cyan fur and the Rainbow Mane answered. “Umm… Who are you?”

“O-oh sorry… My name is Radiant Hope,” The Unicorn answered back. “I was trying to help get some of the civilians off of the streets while a friend of mine needed to take care of something-.” It was then that they heard a loud clash and that two powerful sources of energy could be felt from the other end of the city.

“Well, if that guy was Sombra… then who has the energy fighting him?”

“Umm……”

“As Protector of both the Empire and Amore, I will END YOU SOMBRA!!” That though, triggered something inside the head of the Alicorn as her eyes flinched. Causing her to separate herself from the group and take off towards the castle.

“Cadence, WAIT!!” She heard Shining Armor desperately call out her name, but the princess ignored it. She wanted to know the truth… the real truth on who she just heard.

“Haseo? …… Is that you?”

Seconds after Sombra heard what Haseo revealed to him, he was downright FURIOUS. Using his magic, he sent multiple spears conjured with shadow magic heading straight towards the Adept Rogue. However, he was surprised to see him moving straight at him, weaving left and right in order to dodge the incoming strikes. Even a few attacks from his twin blades caused the king’s spears to shatter like glass as Haseo tried to get close enough to strike him. Only clipping a small portion of the king’s shoulder.

“You little pest… You’re a lot different from when I last fought you.”

“Sorry Sombra, but last time, you never got the chance to fight the real me. So don’t expect to think that the same plan you used before is going to work.” Haseo grinned as he strafed backwards to avoid another few attacks.

“Don’t be… So sure of yourself. Ever since that day… I tried to find that power you used.” Sombra growled. “I want that power! With it no pony can stop me, I’ll be seen as a great king!”

Haseo knew what he was talking about. He was talking about Skeith. His avatar… Not the character that he was, but more likely similar to a guardian spirit. His avatar was something that only he could control and something no one else can. It couldn’t be taken from him and it was bound to him the moment that he first woke up in this world. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but you can’t take Skeith. He’s mine and there is no way in hell that you can make him yours!” With that, he put his hands behind his back as a faint glow went off. Sombra didn’t know what he was doing, but when he tried attacking again, he now saw Haseo holding a different weapon than the one that he had used before.

A scythe. “Heh, a fitting weapon for the Terror of Death.”

“Pfft… I thought you would be surprised at the fact that I switched weapons immediately without having to go into a nearby armory.” He said as the scythe disappeared and a two handed claymore now emerged as he easily help it with one hand.

“I just assumed it had something to do with your power. But I think it time, I show you… What I’ve found in the last 1000 years!” Sombra growled as a sound like a bell rang out, as black bubbles started to come out of his shadow. Haseo saw this and his eyes widened. That… was impossible. How could such a thing be here of all places!?

“Sombra, what the hell are you doing!?” Haseo snarled. “Are you insane!?”

“It doesn't matter how I got this power! What matters is I kill you!” Sombra roared, as the world around them started to change. The walls began to crack as the mad king slowly losed control over himself. Cracks along his own body formed as his eyes turned black.

“Why you-!!” Haseo shouted, just as the walls around them exploded. Seeing the massive black bubble grow in size as it corrupted and took control of Sombra’s body. All before he let out a bloodthirsty screech.

“DIE!!!!”

Haseo did the first thing he could and held up his weapon in a defensive stance to try and block Sombra’s next attack. But in the process, his power increased his speed. He was just as fast as Haseo. Probably even more if he didn’t focus on his attack power.

“Once you're dead, no pony will stop me!!” Sombra screams, as the room started to change around them.

“Are you insane!? You have no control over yourself!!”

“I don’t care! Now die!” Sombra channeled a spell and fired it at Haseo. As the spell was fired, the doors that originally held the chaos in broke down and the Alicorn that was running towards them only had seconds to move before the spell threw Haseo into a wall. Causing him to cough up blood from the impact that he felt.

“D-damn it…” He growled, taking the spear edge that he fell on and pulled it out. “Sombra’s gone mad…” He staggered upright, not even noticing the alicorn that was watching him. The same one that he swore to protect when she was a child. “That’s it… I don’t care if I die or whatever happens to me… I will make sure that this madness stops NOW!!”

“That it Haseo! Show me, Show me… Show me that power! I wanna see it again! And again, and again, and again! Until I can take it from you!” Each time Sombra snapped at him, he sent more attacks towards him as chips of Haseo’s armor broke off to the point where he was almost surrounded by Sombra’s newfound power. Making it look like that he was being swallowed up by the darkness. “SHOW ME TERROR OF DEATH!!!”

“So… is this the end?” He asked himself. “Am I going to die like this?”

“No Haseo… You are not ready to go this early.” He heard as a flash of light began to surround him. He had heard that voice before… someone frantic that he knew. But who? As he turned around though, he saw the last thing he ever would expect.

“A-amore!? B-but I thought you were-?”

“Dead? I am… Gone, I am not,” The Alicorn said to him. “I’ve been given a new position to watch over the world from anything that could do it harm. I’m now Aura… Goddess of the World. Haseo… ever since you disappeared, I’ve learned many things about you… Including how you came here originally… But now, the empire needs you… Equestria needs you… Call upon the light of the Crystal Heart and end the madness.”

“B-but Amore, I c-can’t possibly control it! I’m not one of the royal family unlike you-.”

“I’ve always considered you family, Haseo.” She said to him. “Your heart is pure… and your soul is just the same…” It took a moment for him to process, but then, the Adept Rogue finally made a decision.

“Alright… I’ll do it.” He said. “Together?”

“Together.”

Out in the real world, Sombra was now seeing the shadowy mass that was trying to engulf the Terror of Death now poking holes of light. Breaking apart in front of his eyes.

“Soon… It’ll all be mine, no pony will stop me once I take your power… And then, heh heh heh… I’ll show them all this power.” However, it was then that a bright pillar of light emerged from the shadows, destroying them completely as it casted a light all across the city. The crystal heart glowed in response as Sombra watched the events unfold. Haseo, the one he had just tried to destroy, had broken free of his newfound powers.

“W-what is this? What happening?!”

As the light settled down, he now began to see the Adept Rogue named Haseo… in a newfound form. With it, a silhouette of Amore behind him as he stared down the mad king with a fierce gaze.

“Sombra… You have murdered too many lives and have lost control over who you are. You no longer are able to control yourself. And for that, you will be destroyed. For the Crystal Empire… For Equestria… For The World…”

“For… The world?... Who care about the world. What matter is power… Without it, you’re nothing. Without power you can’t do anything! I need this power, OR I WILL BE ALONE AGAIN!” What came from Sombra was not rage in his voice but fear.

“Alone? Why do you see yourself as such?” Haseo questioned him. “It was your fault for accepting the power of AIDA. In exchange for power, you sacrificed your personal self. Your emotions. Replacing everything with greed and rage. I’m sorry, Sombra… I can’t save you…” Haseo grimaced, biting his bottom lip. “But I can make sure that this pain ends now…”

“Then show me… hehehe, Show me your true power… HASEO!” Sombra screamed as part of his body start to crack, and then the world exploded with sound. Thankfully, Haseo noticed that Radiant was with a few other ponies, protected by a dome barrier of magic. He grinned, just as the ponies noticed red markings glow along his body and face. Causing them to look back at him in confusion.

“Alright… I’m going to need you once more… For my sake… For everyone’s sake… I’m right here… SKEITH!!!!” The ground began to rumble as he charged at the insane dictator. Now as the ponies saw the energy around him take form into a massive figure. Sombra’s new form was changed into the form of a serpent with nails pierced into it’s body and held together by metal chains. With it’s head having a metal crown and a red horn.

“At last… This is what I’ve been waiting for… This is what I’ve wanted for 1000 years! Now… SHOW ME HASEO!” However, what he soon saw was not what he expected. Instead of a huge monster carrying a scythe. What he found this time was completely different. It’s body was split into multiple parts, with a pair of wings that resembled blades of pure energy. And the one part he could not tell at all was when He saw Haseo with it… and they both were in sync as they struck his face and broke off one of the fangs that the snake had.

“H-how-!?” Sombra asked, unsure what happened or what was going on. “How… What did you do!?!” He screamed as the snake attacked, trying to ram Skeith with it horn. Only for it to stop him and grab onto it mid-attack.

“Sorry to break it to you, Sombra…” He heard Haseo’s voice speak to him. “But Skeith and I are one! And this will be the reason why you will lose!”

For those who were watching the battle unfold from the protection of the dome on the ground, everyone was just as shocked as they were confused. Some ponies, Like Rainbow Dash, were devising a plan of action. “Okay, all we need to do is find the crystal heart, get the Elements of Harmony over here, and zap both of them before they cause any trouble.”

“B-but that means that you would hit the good monster!” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Are you even hearing yourself, Fluttershy? Good and monster don’t go with one another in the same sentence!” Her friend snapped. “Just who was the ape like figure anyways?”

“How are we meant to do anything with those two fighting up there?” Asked Applejack.

“I’m not sure what to do…” Radiant herself stammered. “I-i never thought Haseo was this strong.”

“Wait, wait wait wait…” Twilight paused for a second. “You know him!?”

“Yes… Well we just met.” Radiant said weakly before looking back at them, only to notice Cadences expression change. “I-is something wrong?”

“I thought he was dead…”

“Woah woah woah woah…” Rainbow interjected, “You knew him!?”

“Kind of, I remembered him trying to keep me safe once… And him being close with my mother...” Cadence said back, “Haseo… royal protector of Princess Amore… I never knew he was capable of something like this though…” While she was saying that, though, everypony heard Pinkie chuckle a little as they looked at her.

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh nothing, it’s just the silly looking snakehead that looks like it’s about to eat us!” She giggled again, only for Applejack to turn around and see a second set of jaws flying towards them. It eyes were stitched shut and had wire sliced into it lips to try and fail to keep it moth closed. The last thing she saw was the collar around it neck with spikes going into the snake's neck.

“Oh horseapples-!” She cursed, catching everypony’s attention as the snake tried to break through the barrier.

“I’m so… Sorry… I never wanted this to happen…” The snake head spoke in Sombra voice sounding sad as it tried to break in.

“W-what was that!?” Twilight asked. Looking back at the Cadence and the others as Shining tried to keep up the spell.

“No matter how hard I tried… They never cared about me… I just wanted her to see me, but now… What have I done?” It cried as it’s next attack caused the barrier to shake, throwing almost everyone backwards except for Shining and Cadence. The only thing different with Cadence though was that Twilight saw marks glowing along her forelegs and body. Almost similar to the ones around this… Haseo… but as a light sky blue instead of red.

“What happening now?!”

“H-how should I know-?” Rainbow snapped. “It’s almost like that Haseo dude over there-.” It was then that Cadence did something that actually surprised everyone. She teleported herself outside of Shining’s barrier.

“I know your sadness… But it doesn’t make what you’ve done to my home right… I will not allow you to harm my friends, family or my home!!” She snarled as her horn began to output a massive amount of magic.

“No… Please run away… I don’t want to hurt anypony else… Please, SAVE YOURSELF!”

“I save myself… by saving my HOME!” The Alicorn snapped as a new form stopped the snakes outward attacks. One that radiated from the amount of energy that she was pouring out. All that happened was a bright flash of light that blinded everypony in the vicinity, and when the light was gone, the snake head was slowly turning into dust as Cadence looked to the two others in the sky. She didn’t care about how she had defeated the monster she had to face… But now, there was one more that had to be destroyed.

“Haseo… please… WIN!”

Up in the sky, Haseo was trading blows with Sombra as he and Skeith punched the snake in the face and knocked the crown off of his head with his left hand while using his other hand to hold down the monster’s chains and use them against Sombra. “Choke on this!!”

The head of rage was roaring profusely, but struggling to no avail as Haseo prepared to finish him off. This fight had gone on long enough and if it would continue anymore, then other ponies would get hurt. Using the chains, Haseo used two of Skeith’s abilities while in this form. Slash, which turned the seven swords on his back into a scythe and shot out four waves of energy towards Sombra, and Chakram, which had that same weapon charge an energy disk projectile before firing at him after attacking three times. Slash was used to scar Sombra’s body and cut it to where the tail (which he didn’t know was a second head) wouldn’t try to wrap around him while Chakram had sliced cleanly through the horn on his head as Sombra hollered in pain.

“AARRGH!!! I WILL END YOU” Sombra roared, as the end of the snake body pull up the second head. It hissed in what sounded like pain. But Haseo used the energy chakram he threw by guiding it with a hand and having it cut the two snakes down the middle.

“I’m… Free… Thank you… Haseo...”

“Wait… Did I hear that right?” He thought to himself before shaking his head and looking at the other head. He didn’t care for what or why it was acting like that. The Adept Rogue just knew that he needed to end it. Disengaging, he held out his right arm while holding it down with the left and aimed his hand at the fallen king as the seven swords around Skeith were now around his hand. “Data Drain!” He said, softly as the attack took care of the rest. Not leaving anything behind as the castle and the surrounding structure of the world began to repair itself.

However, For Haseo, he was beyond the point of exhaustion and as he felt himself land on the ground, his legs gave way as the Adept Rogue passed out on the stone tiles.

“Okay… What do we do now? Hit him with the elements?”

“Don’t even think about it…” Cadence snarled as she hurried over to Haseo’s body.

“Okay, am I the only pony who completely lost here?”

“Whoever he was, that… things power just saved the Empire-.”

“Haseo.” Shining Armor and the others stopped talking. “His name is Haseo…”

“Wait… That, the Terror of Death?!” Yelled Rainbow Dash. More in surprise then shock.

That was when Radiant spoke up. “Sombra framed him as such because he had a severe hatred against him and what he was capable of. Haseo is… well… unique so to speak.” The Crystal Unicorn looked back at Cadence and raised an eyebrow though. “How do you know him though, Cadence?” She then asked.

That was when Cadence took a moment to look back at him before looking back at all of the ponies nearby. “He was my protector… and to me… he’s like family.”

3- Restoration

View Online

The Terror of Death- Restoration

Crystal Empire (Hospital)

Immediately after the defeat of Sombra, Cadence and Radiant Hope rushed the unconscious Adept Rogue to the nearby hospital. He might’ve not shown any signs of physical wounds, but he was beyond the point of exhaustion. Barely anypony know how or what he used to defeat Sombra, but that wasn’t what mattered right now. What did matter was to try and help the young rogue as best as they could. Lying him down on a bed as the rest of the ponies nearby were either helping the rest of the Empire or in the Hospital like they were. Rainbow Dash herself still thought that they should’ve zapped this Haseo with the elements the first chance her and her friends got and was grumbling to herself while Twilight and Shining Armor were talking to both Cadence and Radiant hope.

“Cadence, you’re saying you knew this… Haseo from your fillyhood? Before coming to Canterlot all those years ago?” Twilight questioned, unsure about some of the information that she was trying to process. Earlier in the day, she found out that Cadence was suppose to be the new ruler for the Empire. Now, not only did they find out a friend of the old Princess Amore was still alive, but they also discovered that he was her and Cadence’s protector. Not only that, but he is the feared “Terror of Death”, they were sent to stop…

“Yes…” Radiant Hope replied, confirming Cadence’s claims. “Before you came here, Haseo exposed Sombra of his crimes. Haseo may be seen as the Terror of Death, but he never actually killed anyone. I’ve been here ever since he took control of the throne… many of my dear friends were murdered because of Sombra… All while Haseo was frozen away because of the king… Not anymore though.”

“I believe you two,” Shining told the both of them, before looking at the figure on the bed. “But I don’t think I can easily trust him… Not after what he did to defeat Sombra. There are just many unknowns with this guy.”

“I may not trust the guy, but he was kind of cool. Taking on that snake thing.” Rainbow added, remembering the fight she witnessed. “But I would’ve been faster.”

“We get that, Rainbow…” Applejack groaned, before she got an idea. “Hey, how about when he wakes up, I get the chance to talk to him. No matter how we all look at this, I’m the element of honesty. So no matter how strange he tries to explain himself, I can tell whether he’s lying or not. What do you think?” That got everypony to talk amongst themselves for a few moments. Shortly before one voice spoke up as everyone turned to the yellow pegasus in the room.

“I-i agree with Applejack. Maybe we should wait…” Fluttershy squeaked. This got approval from a couple of other ponies in the room. However, Twilight herself groaned a little as she looked back over to the Adept Rogue and began to trot over next to him on the side of the bed and lit her horn.

“Twily?” Shining asked her sister, the unicorn mare looking back at her brother. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m going to try a simpler solution. A simple mind reading spell should do the trick.” The Unicorn told her brother as she returned to the task at hoof. However, the simple spell instead caused the strangest of backlashes as it threw Twilight into the wall and caused her eyes to close.

“Oww…” The unicorn groaned to herself, trying to open her eyes and make sense of what was going on. Only for her to be frightened by the roar of an unknown creature as she ducked for cover.

“Out of my way rookie!” yelled a being in a set of strange clothing with a large sword as she ran into some kind of hoard of monsters. As the warrior jumped over her, and cut down a number of them. Before the being was lost in a sea of movement. The unicorn watched as everything that would’ve hit her or harm her instead just went through her as if she wasn’t even there.

“What’s going on?” She said to herself. “Are these… memories?” That was when things around her begin to change and this time, she was seeing herself in a crowd of people. People that looked to be of the same species as Haseo! However, what she didn’t realize was from whose perspective she was seeing it from.

“Hey Ryou!” A boy wearing an orange costume yelled.

“Huh?” Twilight said as she felt herself being turned around. That was when she heard someone else speak instead of her… and realized who was speaking.

“Son of a bitch, Seamus?! Holy crap, I honestly did not expect to see you here!” It was Haseo’s voice… but how did he know this kid? And why did they call him Ryou? “How have you been man? It’s been ages since I’ve last heard from you.”

“Mom died of cancer last week and my cousin vanished. All of ‘em. Other than that, I’m good.” Seamus said. “What about you?”

“I’m sorry to hear about your loss,” Twilight heard Haseo speak. “My parents actually let me decide to finally come here on my own. It’s been weird for me though because I lost contact with my friend and his cousin a long time ago. No reason why…” For a moment, Twilight thought that the whole disappearance but was not exactly what it seems as she just watched everything. “So are you here by yourself or are you here with a friend?”

“Tessa, my brother Luke and his two girlfriends are with me! Haha!” Seamus laughed. All Twilight could think to herself was ‘What the hay is a girlfriend?’ until she heard Haseo speak up.

“Would Tessa happen to be the one gladiator that looks like BlackRose?” The Unicorn looked up, only to gasp. It was the same warrior that she saw in the vision before this one. Just what was she doing here though?

“Yeah, how’d yo-” Seamus was cut off as the warrior mentioned jumped onto his back. Only to hear someone in their small group snicker to themselves as they said something that Twilight was utterly confused about as another guy came up to them and overheard the three of them, looking like a priest or cleric.

“Well, would you look at that! one of them is Japanese and the other is fucking german! Now all we need is an Italian and they got themselves an Axis of Righteousness!!"

“God, I hate it when you got these ‘holier than thou’ assholes trying to ruin the fun.” Twilight heard him groan and turn around to face both of his… friends.

“Hey Ryou! How’re ya? Chance meetin ya here!” The girl said with the same accent the random guy shouting at them said.

“Good for the most part, except for when the guys that passed to us tried to refer to you as a Nazi.”

“What’s a Nazi?” Twilight thought to herself, forgetting the question and thought to herself that she rather not know the answer to that question as she watched this Tessa react to what Haseo told her.

“What a jerk. Well, we’ll just ignore ‘em.”

“Yeah, I hate it when people who are racist try to get on our case because of our family heritage.” The Unicorn heard Haseo tell the other two as she felt herself looking left to right. “Hey, I’m going to look around for a while and be at the food court for lunch. Wanna meet up later?”

“Sure thing. We’ll meet you there man.” Seamus said. “I’ll introduce you to my brother then.” Twilight felt herself nod as she turned around and began to walk over to where a few of the makeshift booths at this place called PAX prime or something like that upon Haseo having his badge be identified by what she saw as guards at the door. However, shortly after making her way in though did she see some kind of booth run by a blond man in a light blue coat with a long braid in the back and blue eyes. She felt herself look at him and stop, then turning towards them as she approached the booth calmly. “Well, you sure do have a few good items here.”

“Why thank you,” The salesman replied back to him pulling out a couple of items from a nearby makeshift shelf. “Though… I think you might find this to be of great interest.”

In that instance was when Twilight began to hear a deepened version of Haseo’s voice inside where she was. “No way… Is that what I think it is?” What Twilight soon saw on the table looked to be some kind of strange bracelet that she would normally put around her hoof during special occasions like the Grand Galloping Gala and a small figurine. Before he heard the merchant speak again “Something fitting for the Terror of Death I suppose?”

“Wha-?!”

“Okay, if this guy is trying to impress me by calling me by the alias of the character I’m cosplaying as, then it’s working.” Twilight stopped the moment she heard that thought and tried to process it. Not paying attention to the transaction and her walking away as she was deep in thought. Just as she finally hypothesized what it was, she looked up to feel herself fall through the floor, being dragged by an unknown force.

“W-what the hell!!?!”

When Twilight felt herself fall down, she felt herself crash onto the floor as she tried to stand… It was complete darkness around her as she began to hear whispers and voices of other ponies. One she recognized as Sombra. Another being Haseo… One even sounded like a young Cadence. But the last thing she remembered hearing was Haseo screaming something… A name possibly… And seeing a pair of three red eyes looking straight at her.

“I HAVE FOUND YOU!”

She couldn’t respond and a bright flash of light went off that caused her to feel like she was being pushed backwards and a burning sensation across her body.

Present Day

As the Element of Magic was trying to regain her senses, she felt a pair of hooves holding her by the shoulders and violently shaking her as she looked up to see who was doing so. Turns out… it was her friend, Pinkie Pie. “E-EVERYPONY!! TWILIGHT’S AWAKE!!!”

“Pinkie stop! You're going to shake the poor mare’s head off!” She heard Rarity try to caution the earth pony as everypony else started to enter the room. Twilight found herself now in a hospital bed as everypony else was around her and showing multiple signs of relief.

“W-what’s going on…? W-why am I in the hospital?” Twilight groaned, looking back at everypony else.

“You passed out right after using your spell. We were hoping, you could tell us what happened?” Cadence told her, asking for her friends to leave the room as it was only Twilight, her brother and the Princess of Love. However… what she had to say surprised them immediately.

“I… I think I saw… H-haseo’s… memories…” She said, explaining to them everything she saw and leaving out the details of certain things to avoid confusion. But, all that did was just make the two of them even more confused.

“Wait, are you saying he's a fake?” Shining asked trying to wrap his head around this.

“N-no… It’s a little hard to think of it from that angle… Think if you were dressed up as Captain Equestria, only to end up in another place as the actual hero you dressed as…” Twilight tried to simplify it. Only to look down at herself before speaking. “B-but I was confused at the last thing I saw before waking up…”

“What did you-?”

“You saw Skeith…” A voice spoke up, having all three of them turned towards the one who said the voice. It was Haseo. He was awake, but in a set of different clothes that almost looked a lot like armor. “Did it say… I have found you?”

“H-haseo?” Cadence said, almost shedding tears before going over to him as they hugged. “Oh thank Celestia you’re okay… I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too Cadence…” He said, feeling relieved to see her again. Twilight herself tried to go ahead and explain again, only to be interrupted by the Adept Rogue. “You don’t need to explain it again… Everything you saw was true… How I got here was unknown, even to me… and Ryou is my old name. I abandoned it a long time ago the moment I met Princess Amore for the first time.”

“What is this… Skeith?” Asked Shining.

“Skeith is my Avatar… Think of it like a guardian of sorts… Do you remember the fight I had with Sombra?” He asked them specifically, seeing all of them nod their heads in a affirming motion. “Well, the form I turned into was one when I use Skeith’s powers. It’s complicated to explain, but I’m worried that something that transpired in that fight we might be seeing more often. Now… Do you remember seeing that snake?”

“Yes, one head sounded angry the other sad.” Cadence replied as she looked at him. “Do you possibly know about that?”

“That was not suppose to happen…” Haseo firmly spoke, “He turned into that thing because of something called AIDA. It stands for Artificial Intelligent Data Anomaly and it acts like a virus. Whoever gets infected by it acquires power beyond their wildest dreams… but… at the price of their sanity. They lose sense of everything that’s around them and the longer it grows, the more vicious AIDA controls it’s host.” He then continued to explain a little more about it the best he could, so nopony was confused.

“We don’t understand… Are you saying Sombra was being driven mad by this, AIDA thing?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying…” Haseo kept a few crystals on him during his encounter with Sombra, not just to catch him in the act, but for other purposes as he set one down. “Watch this…”

“What is it?”

“It’s a memory crystal. Using a bit of magic allows for memories to be recorded and played back in crystals such as these. I had one on me during the fight with Sombra.” The recording played as the ponies now saw Sombra as his rage and anger caused the AIDA around him to bubble around him.

“I think it time, I show you… What I’ve found in the last 1000 years!”

“Sombra, what the hell are you doing!? Are you insane!?”

“It doesn't matter how I got this power! What matters is I kill you!” The recording showed the complete possession of Sombra as his eyes bleed black as the bubble consumed him and the room around them began to crumble. After a little while longer, Haseo snapped his finger and the recording stopped before returning into the crystal and allowing for the Rogue to pick it up and put it in his pocket.

“See what I mean?”

“So… How do we stop this from happening to anypony else?” Asked Twilight.

“Right now… This is just one case. Before Sombra encased me in ice 1000 years ago, I did not see anything then. Meaning that this is only the first incident that AIDA has actually caused. We shouldn’t be causing a mass panic right now, but if it happened more frequently… then there would be a reason for concern. And not just because of what happens, but also by who could defeat it.”

“What do you mean by that?” Shining raised an eyebrow, in confusion.

“Only those who have Avatars like myself can actually defeat and destroy it.” Haseo replied back. “From what I remember, there are eight avatars in total and the host for those avatars are chosen randomly… Skeith, my avatar, represents the reaper.”

“Oh… Umm, so how do we find them?”

“That’s the thing… Finding an avatar user is really hard because there are only so few. The only indication I know of is that a user of an Avatar would have markings glow around their body and call out their name before summoning it. The same thing happened with me facing Sombra earlier.” Haseo told them. “We should have this discussion again once we find out more about our enemy. Right now though, our focus should be rebuilding the empire after all the destruction that Sombra caused.”

While hearing Shining Armor talk about this with Twilight and Cadence, Haseo himself reflected back on his… current situation. He had turned into his Xth form during the fight against Sombra… but he couldn’t do so anymore. That form now just seemed like only something to turn into on rare occasions because when he tried to change shortly after he woke up, an unknown force was preventing him from doing so. The Adept still had a lot of his original skills and equipment from many years ago. But that equipment was in need of repairs after the unexpected transformation the Mad King went through. His attention was drawn back to them once he heard Cadence speak up again.

“I believe Haseo is right. First though, I think Twilight should fully recover first before she goes back with her friends.” The Adept Rogue, hearing this, looked back at Twilight and then looked back at Cadence before having a hand aimed towards Twilight as he said one.

“Repth.”

Cadence was surprised to hear that, but Shining thought that he was trying to hurt Twilight. That was until he put his hand down and looked back at the stallion. “Just a simple healing spell. Picked up some tricks with magic back in the day.” The stallion first had doubts, until he soon saw Twilight hop out of the bed and looking fully healthy. Surprising him in the process.

“Now… Let’s make sure you get to your friends before the train leaves.”

Days after watching his little sister leave with her friends on the train, Shining Armor and Cadence had a lot of things to do immediately after they parted ways. First off, they had to rebuild the walls and the buildings destroyed in the fight against Sombra. Fortunately, the crystal heart helped with that and made the cleanup process very simple. Second though, as onepony told them, they had to select both a Chancellor and a guardian to help them during their rule. After giving it a considerable amount of thought, they finally decided for Radiant Hope to be the chancellor and offer Haseo the position of guardian.

The third thing they had to do though… was tricky… Schedule a date for both Princess Celestia and her sister Luna to not only visit the Empire, but to also introduce them to Haseo. This was necessary because Cadence wanted to make sure that the three of them were on good terms… and to clear up the possible confusion regarding “The Terror of Death” that they had heard about in the past. However, there were many things right now that made it look like scheduling a date for them impossible.

On the plus side though, in the days after the defeat of Sombra, things began to look like they were improving. But there was one thing that was still difficult for Shining Armor to accomplish and that was trusting Haseo. Even after the defeat of Sombra, Shining thought of him as a risk. Especially with the kind of power that he was able to control as he tried explaining his case to his wife for the twenty-seventh time tonight.

“Shining, please… Let’s not overthink these kinds of things. That just sounds silly,” Cadence tried to calm him down. “He helped raise me when I was a filly. He was like a father to me that I didn’t have. Can you at least try to get along with him without being suspicious?”

“It’s hard to do that when everytime I look at him, I see that avatar thing that he turned into-.” The Stallion rumbled a little before he felt Cadence kiss him on the cheek.

“Honey, just relax… You don’t know him like I do because you haven’t spent that much time with him. If you actually spent some time together, you’re bound to find a common interest……” It was then that Shining Armor noticed a gleam in his wife’s eyes as he looked back at her. Something did not seem right. “Aha! I think I found the perfect solution.”

“Oh no… Nonononononono.” Shining tried to stop her, until Cadence looked back at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh come on, Shining. You haven’t even heard me out!” The Pink Alicorn insisted. “Besides, I think you’ll enjoy it because it’s something right up your alley.”

“Come on, Cadence! What could you possibly think of that would get for me to actually-!?” The Unicorn asked before he was interrupted by a series of knocks on the door. Cadence used her magic to open the door as she held it open for the same person that they were talking about to step in.

“Oh Dear Celestia-!”

“Hey Cadence, sorry I was running behind. I needed to make sure the Blacksmith was done reforging my equipment,” Haseo told her as he walked in, shortly before noticing Shining Armor. “Oh… I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?”

“No no, this is perfect!” Cadence insisted as she had Haseo sit down next to Shining Armor. “I had something that I thought you two could work together on.”

Both the stallion and the human looked at one another in shock and utter confusion as they both repeated two words simultaneously. “Work… together?”

“Yes! I was thinking that we can establish some kind of Royal Guard here in the empire to protect everypony that lives in the empire. I thought that given Shining being the Captain of the Royal Guard in Canterlot and Haseo’s experience with Combat and being the protector of myself and Amore when I was a filly, I thought that you two could work together on it!” She squealed happily like a newborn filly being given a puppy for Heart’s Warming. Only causing Haseo and Shining to look at her, even more confused than before.

“Okay… Just… How?”

“That I’m going to leave you two to do,” She smiled as she trotted out the door. “I had to go see Radiant for a meeting so I gotta go. I won’t be back til late tonight so have fun!”

“No Cadence wait-!” Shining Armor tried to cry out, until the door slammed shut. Leaving the nervous wreck of a unicorn… with the nervous wreck of a human. Why Haseo was nervous? Just a couple of days ago, he found out that not only was Cadence (the filly he raised during her fillyhood and had not seen in 1000 years) alive, but that the same filly he once knew was now a married mare… To the Captain of the guard no less!! He was really not wanting to embarrass himself in front of him. The same way that Shining did not want to embarrass himself in front of Haseo.

The awkward silence continued for a while… Until one of them decided to break the silence. “So… Um… Do you… have any ideas?”

“Possibly…” Haseo responded, gulping his nervousness down his throat as he looked back at the stallion. “Would you like to… hear what I had in mind?”

“Well, we are being asked to work together… So any suggestion can possibly work.” The Unicorn said, shortly before seeing Haseo take out a series of index cards out of his pocket. “What’s this?”

“My suggestion…” He said, spreading the cards out. “Cadence might’ve been talking about a royal guard, but I think there's a need for more than just guards… I think maybe we should have a jobs system.”

“What would that entail though?” Shining Armor asked as he rubbed a hoof to his chin.

“Well, with what I’m familiar with, some of the locals know what certain occupations are, but are limited depending on if they are Unicorn, Earth Pony or Pegasi. I was thinking of a series of classes and professions that could fit multiple needs throughout the Empire. Some of them are magic related, like Shadow Warlocks and Harvest Clerics, but some of the other classes can fit with the lines of a royal guard. Plus, you have professions like Alchemists and Blacksmiths along with traders who sell goods for bits.”

“That… might actually work,” Shining replied, relieved by the process of that being painless. “Dear Celestia, that was easier than when I first tried to find the forge in Canterlot as a new recruit a few years ago.”

“WHERE’S THE BLACKSMITH!?!”

“Mom, that Stallion is scaring me.”

“Not my best moment…” The Stallion sighed in embarrassment as Haseo began to put the cards he had away. Until something else fell out of that same pouch and landed on the coffee table. “Hey… is that a Twenty sided die?”

“Wait… You know what these are?” The Adept Rogue asked, surprised to hear this new revelation.

“Of course! I use to play Caverns and Chimeras all the time during my days as a recruit. A few of my friends and I would spend nights trying to finish certain games. Dear Celestia, did we really make our supervisor’s mad back then.” Shining laughed as he looked back at Haseo.

“That sounds a lot like me during my youth and before I arrived here,” Haseo replied back. “I have my own dice set and character for Dungeons and Dragons because my friend would sometimes pull me into some awkward situations. Mostly though, I played video games, read comic books, watched movies and would draw from time to time.”

“What a coincidence… I did some of those things and Luna plays games as well for most of the day until she’s needed at night.” Shining himself chuckled a little. “Hey… Since we finished up early… is there anything you want to do to pass the time?”

Haseo scratched his chin for a moment and looked back at the stallion before looking back at the leather pouch he had kept his stuff in, including a deck of cards. “I think I might have a few ideas.”

As Princess Cadence and Radiant Hope was walking back to the princess's quarters and discussing some of the things on the agenda, before they heard what sounded like Shining on the other side. “Hit me.”

“Shining, are you sure. Given everything so far?”

“I don’t care, just hit me.”

“Did… Shining just ask Haseo to hit him?” Cadence thought to himself, only to hear an angered shout from her husband as she opened the door. What the Princess found was quite a strange sight.

“Not again, that’s been ten times now!”

“I told you Blackjack was a simple game, yet so far, you lost around 200 bits.” Haseo chuckled, tossing some of the coins he acquired from Shining Armor from in between both of his hands. The Unicorn just looked dazed as he shook his head.

“I’m never playing Blackjack with you again,” Shining grumbled as he drank from a glass of water. “How am I going to explain this to Cadence?”

“I was beginning to wonder that myself,” Cadence spoke up, startling Shining Armor in the process. Haseo just took it casually as he watched the pink alicorn stare down her husband with eyes of rage. Only causing him to say one thing.

“Oh horseapples…”

4- Day and Night

View Online

The Terror of Death- Day and Night

Canterlot

It was early morning in Equestria with the rising sun shining in the distance, courtesy of Princess Celestia herself from the highest point in Canterlot as the Alicorn yawned and smiled with the start of a new day. It had only been a week ago that she had sent the Elements of Harmony, the captain of the guard; Shining Armor, and her niece to the Crystal Empire in the north to reclaim it from the mad grasp of the tyrant king named Sombra and like her sister Luna, they hoped for the best with their journey. And just this morning, as both of them walked into the room, they happened to find one of her student’s friendship reports on her throne this morning… Which was strange to them because they had only received a letter from Twilight Sparkle last night about their success in the Crystal Empire.

“This is rather… odd,” Luna replied, looking back at her sister as Celestia channeled her magic and began to open the letter. “Normally, Ms. Sparkle’s letters don’t exactly arrive so soon after her last report.” Celestia knew what her sister was talking about and she wasn’t wrong. Usually, it would be a couple of days until they would receive another letter from Twilight instead of a few hours. Nevertheless though, the Princess focused on staying optimistic.

“It’s not odd for Twilight to write, Luna. Perhaps this is a follow up report on something she had forgot to mention previously.” Celestia advised her sister. “There are times where my student can rush herself and forget to mention certain things in the process. It’s happened more than once here in Canterlot before I allowed her to stay in Ponyville… Mostly it involved her forgetting her library card.” That caused Luna to raise an eyebrow as her sister’s eyes scanned the piece of parchment. But it was only after a few moments that those same eyes widened.

“Sister? Is something the matter?” For a few moments, Princess Celestia herself looked like she was frozen in fear. Until a gentle tap from Luna caused her to snap out of her trance as she looked back at her. “Tia, you’re making me worried.”

“S-sorry Luna… It’s just… Remember when I previously mentioned The Terror of Death to Twilight and the others shortly before their departure?” Luna’s response was a silent nod of approval as her sister took a deep breath and looked back at her. “Well, according to this letter from Twilight… there’s more to it than we realize.”

“How can she be so sure?” The Alicorn of the Night asked, gesturing with her hoof for a moment before setting it back down. “I mean… this is about an unknown creature… even to us. A legend that’s used to scare fillies and colts for star’s sake.”

“Yes… But as Starswirl the Bearded once told me a long time ago sister,” The Alicorn replied back to her, putting the letter away. “There is always a bit of truth to legends. Cadence herself knows it too from the looks of it.” With that, the Princess looked around for a brief moment before looking back at Luna. “Where’s that new Scribe that replaced Ink Scroll a couple of weeks ago?”

That thought, caused the lunar princess to look back at her sister in shock. “Wait, Ink Scroll was replaced? Since when?”

“Replaced wouldn’t exactly be the right term… She gave me her resignation from service after the events of the Canterlot Wedding when the Changeling’s attacked… Which reminds me, where were you when Chrysalis invaded?” All that caused Luna to do was look in the opposite direction as her sister face-hoofed herself. “You were on your Haystation 3, weren’t you?”

“Oh come on, sister! If you were in my position, you would’ve done the same thing.” All that did was cause Celestia to groan to herself before a small flash of light went off and a yellow stallion with a Orange fire like mane soon arrived. He was wearing a navy cloak and also wearing a pair of glasses as he readjusted them before addressing the princesses.

“I-i’m terribly sorry for running late, your majesty. There was a lot of hoof traffic in the main square after news got out about the Crystal Empire returning.” The Stallion apologized, before Celestia set a hoof on his shoulder and had him calm down.

“You do not need to apologize, Sunburst. I’m actually glad that you arrived here when you did,” Celestia spoke to him as she looked at her sister briefly before returning her gaze to the young stallion. He was almost similar to Twilight. A hard worker who carefully used his studies and skills with magic to help Canterlot when in need. Now that everything was secure with Canterlot, the princess thought that Sunburst would be better off applying his skills… elsewhere. “We would like for you to come with my sister and I on a trip to the Crystal Empire.”

“The Crystal Empire?” The Stallion replied, his eyes lighting up a little before shaking his head for a moment to refocus himself. “My apologies for being so bold, princess, but why exactly are we going there?”

“Well, we will be meeting Princess Cadence, Shining Armor… and something else that many of Ponykind would possibly see as only a legend.”

Crystal Empire

Haseo’s wakeup call on this particular morning wasn’t exactly what you may consider as… friendly. He was trying to sleep normally, without a care in the world and trying to find some peace… Until he felt a bucket filled with Ice Cold water smack him directly in the face. Startling him awake as he saw Shining Armor holding the bucket while trying to recover from almost falling on the floor. “Shining… what the hell was that for?”

“It’s time to get up.” The Stallion bluntly told him as the Adept Rogue tried to dry off his face and wipe his eyes before saying a response to him.

“Get up?” Haseo asked, looking at the same alarm clock that Shining had put there a few days before. “It’s only six thirty. What’s the big deal?”

“I was told to get you up and for you to see Cadence.” Shining Armor replied back as he used his levitation to set the bucket down outside before handing him a towel with the same spell. “We got some important ponies coming over today.”

“Are they potential recruits?” Haseo questioned, taking the towel and using it to wipe off his face as he then heard the Stallion’s response before speaking himself

“No.”

“And by that, you lost me.”

“What I mean is we have recruits… Just not what I’d like to call my first choice.”

Haseo then raised an eyebrow as he looked back at the stallion and walked into the kitchen. “Okay, so you first say they aren’t recruits… but that they are recruits… Dude, you’re just contradicting yourself left and right.”

“Look there ponies who want to join the guard, but they’re not what I would call the finest equestria has to offer. I think one of them a changeling...”

Haseo heard about them before from Cadence as they were the creatures that ruined her wedding. But a changeling wanting to be a part of the empire? That was either a security risk or Shining Armor just being straight up paranoid. “Shining, we’re not trying to judge a book by it’s cover here. We’re not going to be excluding potential recruits because of superstitions. Besides, how would you know that it is one? Is it some sort of detection spell or something you have in that head of yours?”

“Good point to everything, but this one pony is, odd. I made the new recruits do laps to the gate and back,” Shining spoke up, recalling when he was having the recruits train the other day before they were to get some sleep. “He asked if he could do more work. I don’t know what he was thinking but by the time I had a list, he was already cleaning the barracks.”

“First impressions possibly?” Haseo suggested. “If anypony was eager enough to go for a job or position, they would try to impress the pony that was in charge… Was this pony a unicorn by chance?”

“No he wasn’t, and the fact he got everything cleaned so fast, had me wonder how he did it. After that he wanted to clean the armory and the castle, he didn’t stop until I ordered him to go to bed.”

“Hmm…” Haseo thought to himself as he looked back at the Unicorn. “All that does honestly is just remind me of a eager version of your sister’s friend… The Pink earth pony… what’s her name again?”

“Pinkie Pie? Huh, maybe they're related or something. I’ll asked Twilight to ask her friend next time I see her.” The Stallion replied as he looked back at the Adept Rogue. What he said next though surprised him.

“Would you happen to have the applications for the recruits? I wanna see something real fast.” He asked the Stallion as the pony returned with a stack of papers in his levitation grip.

“Yes, what did you want to look at? I’ve gone through them and found half of them had a lot of holes in their stories.”

“Well, I want to look at them myself. It’s always a good idea to look at things from a second point of view. Besides… I’m thinking a lot of the idea behind your method of recruiting involves the overall safety of Cadence… like being the protective parent in a relationship.” Haseo told him, just as the Stallion came back with what he requested.

“I guess you’re right. Maybe I’m just worrying over nothing.”

“Maybe…… When was the last time that you got some sleep?” The Adept Rogue then asked, wondering what the Stallion’s response would be to his question.

“Two days ago, I’ve drank nothing but coffee for the past three days.”

At this, Haseo just facepalmed himself. “Shining… you need to get some rest. The lack of sleep is affecting your judgement. Plus, what would Cadence say if you told her what you just told me?”

“It’s not what she’d say that I’m worried about, Last time I did this, I don’t remember what happened.” Shining Armor replied, which Haseo saw as a bit of protesting. “Sleep is the enemy of securi-.”

Haseo then cleared his throat, but the next words that came out was not what the stallion expected as he soon fell asleep. “Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur… Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, pur pur pur…” With that, Shining Armor began to start snoring abruptly on the couch as Haseo sighed to himself. “Holy crap, I can’t believe that actually worked.” Now that he did not have to worry so much about Shining Armor, Haseo soon began to look through the application papers that were submitted for being new recruits of the guard. Scanning through each of the papers as he carefully inspected the applications and read through them to every last important detail. Some may seem normal, but there was one in particular that caught Haseo’s attention.

“Bite...Chop?” Haseo repeated as he looked at the rest of the application. “Why would somepony be named to make it sound like they’re a cannibal?” Looking through the rest of it, Haseo was curious by a few of the details that were put on the application that didn’t quite make sense to him. Including details about certain geographical locations that this pony said that they had been too. Turn out this pony been a guard before, but to way he hasn’t stay in one place was confusing.

Then he cracked open an Equestrian atlas… and realized that a third of the locations that the pony had said to have served in… were fake. If that was the case, then there were two possibilities… either this pony was the changeling that Shining Armor was stressing about… or it was somepony who was really desperate in order to be a part of the guard.

“Just who are you?” He asked himself before getting up out of his seat and quietly leaving the room to go to the barracks as he made his way through the hall. After some asking around, he was informed by Radiant Hope that the pony he was looking for was in one of the smaller barracks, where he was sleeping peacefully after insisting on cleaning ALL of the supplies for the barracks and the floor of the mess hall. Definitely the case of a workaholic.

Finding the door, he soon crept inside carefully as he walked over and saw the pony asleep on the bed. It looked fine for the most part. But a small sneeze changed that as it’s magic flickered a little, revealing a small changeling drone with a small curl of a mane on it’s forehead. Haseo only had to poke it once before it woke up. But the response he got was not quite what he expected.

“GOOD MORNING!” It jumped up as it yelled then took a pose.

“Uhh… hello?” Haseo asked, shortly before the drone noticed that it’s disguise had faded away as it looked back at Haseo.

“How were you able to dismiss my clever disguise! It’s been a talent along my family bloodline FOR GENERATIONS!!!” It proclaimed, trying to flex it’s small forelegs as Haseo just stared in disbelief. “I’m terribly sorry for this but may I ask your name?”

“Certainly, my name is Haseo.” He replied back. “Would you happen to have a name other than… Bite?”

“I do, for that dreaded name is a horrible one and my true name has been passed down from my family FOR GENERATIONS!!!” He yelled again before striking another pose. “I am, Hoofstrong Belas Barge Ironlegs the 4th!”

Haseo again stared in disbelief, but just rolled with it as he looked back at the changeling. “Okay um… Hoofstrong… May I ask you something? What is a changeling like yourself doing within the Crystal Empire?”

“It is a sad story, of one changelings love of beauty. And a queen who could never understand my taste of love. I was kicked out for I could not follow their villanious ways, there was no beauty in it. There was nothing MANLY ABOUT IT! So I searched the lands hoping to find what my heart was seeking and I did. THE ROYAL GUARD!... Or however it is described in the Crystal Empire.”

“Okay, if this guy is trying to remind me of Major Armstrong, he’s hitting all the right notes.” Haseo thought to himself as he looked back at him. “So you were exiled and came here to start a new life? I can understand that… However, one of my subordinates, Prince Shining Armor, thought that if a changeling were here, they were somehow a spy.”

“I can understand that poor fellow, I was hoping by completing those tasks so easily. It’d take his mind off of such things. It not easy being a changeling nowadays, I’ll have to leave again and try again to. WILL I EVER FIND MY PLACE NEXT TO SUCH A FINE STALLION!”

“I don’t want you to leave… in fact, I would like you to stay,” Haseo insisted. “To be honest, the Crystal Empire could use more hard working ponies like yourself… I just recommend that you don’t try to overdo it. I’m still going to have to explain to his wife how he passed out in the middle of the palace.”

Next thing Hasao knew he was in a bone crushing hug. “Oh thank you Haseo! You have no idea how happy you made this lost soul, truly this is the beauty of MANLINESS!” The Adept Rogue was personally thinking in his head for someone to please PK him now before things were to get out of control. But it was in this moment that he heard Hoofstrong mention something else in the process.

“Oh, by the way, watch out for my older sister, I’m not sure where she is or who she designed as. But whatever you do never get on her bad side, if you want to live.” Hoofstrong said with fear in his voice. “But we should have nothing to worry about, I heard from mother she on the other side of the world so we should be fine.”

“How is that suppose to make me feel any better-!?” Haseo shouted mentally before hearing the door open up… and turning to see a ticked off mare glaring daggers straight at Hoofstrong.

“Brother, put your disguise on now-.” She ordered as she walked in, only to see the changeling clasped onto Haseo as he gulped a little.

“Oh Sister, it so nice to see you.” Hoofstrong said before letting Haseo go and changing his form. “I didn’t expect you-.” His sentence was cut off the second that her hoof met his face and she snarled a little in response.

“You were found out AGAIN!” She growled before sending him flying through a wall. The mare didn’t even care that Haseo was there as she followed after her brother. “By the stars, I feel like sometimes I have to babysit you because of your foolishness!!”

“Wait sister, let me explain!” Hoofstrong yelled as he got up and backed away from the pegasus. “This is just a simple misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding that would get YOU KILLED!” She snarled again, now drawing the sword she had at her side as she pointed it at her brother’s throat. “Would you ever expect someling to grant you mercy for your mistakes!?”

“Okay, can both of you please calm down, you’re going to make a scene like this-.” Haseo asked them, only for the pegasus to ignore him as he sighed a little. “Okay, look… we can either do this the easy way or-.”

Haseo ducked in time to avoid getting his head cut off by the staren looking mare. “Stay out of this, this is a family matter and does not concern you.” She said glaring at him, then smirked. “Or do you have the skills to test me?”

“Do I now?” Haseo growled, responding to the mare just as she tried to land another strike on her brother by summoning his blades and using the skill Gale Blade to block and hopefully disarm her. “Miss, do you even know who you are dealing with?”

“I could ask the same to you.” She replied, looking at him as she saw the pair of blades that he held in his hands.

“I’m one of the ones in charge of helping organize the guard in the crystal empire,” Haseo replied back. “And the Guardian of Princess Amore before her passing… Would that somehow ring a bell for you?”

“Why should I care about lofty titles, they mean nothing on the battlefield. But I’ll give you my name, I am General Hoofstrong Belas Barge Ironwings the 3th. Head of the northern defense of equestria.”

“Fair enough,” The Adept Rogue replied. “I am Haseo…” Unlike Ironwings, his name was all it took for the mare’s eyes to widen and for her to stare at him in shock.

“The Terror of death?” She asked staring at him.

“In the flesh… However, that title is a burden and something that King Sombra had lied to his people about. Whatever the case may be, that is me and I am here now as Guardian of the Crystal Empire and protector of Princess Cadence.”

“I’d thought you’d be taller and have more muscle on you. You're a scrawny as a stick.” In response, Haseo dismissed both of his blades and instead summoned another weapon. Only to dismiss it a few seconds later and tilt his head in a taunting manner, causing Ironwings to try and charge at him. All before another voice spoke up.

“Ironwings!!!” The mare turned around, alarmed at the sound of Princess Cadence as she walked into the courtyard to see the scuffle. “What in the Empire do you think you are doing?”

“My apologies Princess Cadence, I just wanted to test the so called terror of death. I have to say he past for the most part. But I am not here for him, I’m here to take my brother home.”

“Yeah right. If you mean take him home, you mean beat the ever living crap out of him for just a simple mistake,” Haseo interjected. “Plus, we never actually fought. Most of it was actually Ironwings going after her brother.” With that, Cadence looked at the two of them and then redirected her attention to Ironwings.

“Is this true?” She asked, narrowing her gaze a little in the process.

“It was a family matter between siblings. Besides, we do things like this all the time.” She replied coldly.

“As much as I hate to admit it true, our family is a long line of fighters.” Hoofstrong explained, causing Haseo to sigh a little as he looked back at them.

“Can we take this talk inside… you know… in private?” Haseo asked Cadence, who nodded her head in acknowledgement as she had both the brother and sister follow them inside the palace behind closed doors to where the four of them could discuss this politely.

“You must understand, my family worries over my brother and his safety. We just don’t feel he's ready to join the guard.” Ironwings explained as she drank some tea that was offered to her.

“I think it’s more then that…” The Adept Rogue spoke up. “I think it’s also the fact that both of you are changeling exiles.” The mentioning of that had Cadence caught off guard and almost caused Hoofstrong to fall out of the chair that he was sitting in.

“Is that so?” Ironwings asked smiling. “What proof do you have that we’re changelings?”

“Other than seeing your brothers actual form, his application containing a list of towns in which half of them were completely fake and him mentioning that he had a sister that would try to kill him?” Haseo asked before he lightly sighed. “Just a suspicion… other than Shining Armor telling me, but he hasn’t slept in two days.”

“Hmmm, I see. The worst I wouldn’t have done to my brother would be to break his legs and drag him home by his tongue.” She said calmly as she took another sip of tea. “But it looks like you have some care for his wellbeing, even if he is a spineless maggot.”

“Honestly, I believe we could use ponies like you to help the Empire get back on it’s hooves… But I must ask though,” Haseo spoke as he looked at Cadence, saying the one question on both of their minds. “Why were you two exiled?”

“Well if you must know, I do not share in our queen taste in discipline. My brother most likely told you why he left. The truth is we left because we was sick of our old queen acting like a spoiled brat. I even cut off her horn just to make a point not to come after us.” Ironwings smiled at that.

“But she still had her horn during the wedding… Did you leave before or after?” Cadence then asked, attempting to inquire more information from Ironwings in the process.

“What make you think that fool is our Queen?” Ironwings said with a knowing smark. “Unfortunately though, I can not tell you more. I may not like our old queen, but that doesn't mean I’ll tell you where the hive is.”

“I wasn’t asking about the hive…” Cadence asked, before realizing what Ironwings said. “Hang on a minute… Old queen?”

“Cadence, I know you’re eager to have some questions answered, but I think maybe we should save that discussion for some other time.” Haseo interjected, looking back at the two changelings as he adjusted himself in his chair. “Right now, the question at hand I have for both of you is how can you contribute to helping the Crystal Empire?” Both Changelings looked at one another, before Ironwings herself took initiative in order to speak first.

“Both my brother and I have military experience that we have gained by being soldiers in the Guard of the Hive as well as the short time that we were part of the Guard in Canterlot before being assigned here… My brother though is just… eager to impress other ponies.”

“My dear sister… it is more then that. I wish to see the beauty in manliness that is called, THE LOVE OF ONE COMRADES IN ARMS! LOOK AT THESE MUSCLES!!! THEY CALL OUT TO SHOW THE TRUE BEAUTY THAT IS LOVE!” Hoofstrong yelled, as the carren on his chest somehow flexed like muscles. Only just causing Haseo to stare in disbelief.

“No wonder Shining felt like he was overdoing it with the coffee…” Haseo mumbled.

“Anyway what did you have in mind.” Ironwings asked staring at Haseo. “Know this… if I am staying here, I’ll expect you to train as hard as the new meatbags. Understand?”

Haseo nodded his head, looking back at both of them before speaking. “Well, I believe we can use someone like yourself, who has had previous military experience, to good use in helping the newcomers. You see, we’re doing things differently from how it would work in Canterlot or the hive because we’re doing recruitment and training of guards and other ponies through a job based system.”

“Explain.” Asked Ironwings as she looked at Haseo with interest.

“We have ten different jobs that have different skills and abilities that could work depending on the different talents certain ponies have. For example, somepony who is skilled with magic would consider either being a Harvest Cleric or Shadow Warlock since both of those revolve around different forms of spellcasting. If it’s somepony who prefers to fight and use a weapon, like a sword, there are occupations such as Blade Brandier, Edge Punisher, Flick Reaper, Lord Partizan, and Twin Blade just to name a few,” The Adept Rogue explained, holding out index cards with the different examples of the jobs on each of the cards for better understanding. “There’s also other professions on the side including Alchemy and Blacksmithing for those who want to contribute to helping the empire, but rather not have themselves get involved in combat. I must note though that each job class has different skills and weapons depending on which one you choose, so it’s best for anypony looking for a position to choose wisely.”

“Hmmm, are there any jobs for hoof to hoof combat?” Asked Hoofstrong looking through the cards. “It’s something I took a lot of time to master.”

“Why yes actually,” The Adept Rogue replied, holding up a certain card as he looked back at Hoofstrong. “Tribal Grapplers are combat experts that use gauntlets in battle and are experts in martial arts.”

“That’s more like it. What about you sister?” Hoofstrong asked. As Ironwings was looking through the cards, she then smiled at one in particular, grinning menacingly. “Ummm, Sister?”

“Tell me Haseo, is this class for one winged sword fighting.” She asked showing him the card, which made Haseo grin a little as he looked at which one she had in mind.

“Ah, if you are looking for using a blade such as yours, then the Blade Brandier is the best choice,” Haseo explained, showing the card. “It’s said that all warrior classes originated from this one and that even if it may look average on the outside, Blade Brandiers can adapt to numerous situations.”

“I see, so when do we began training.” Ironwings asked, as she smarked at Haseo. “I’d rather think that we start immediately.” Haseo was going to speak, but a panicked Radiant Hope soon interrupted their conversation as she burst through the door.

“C-cadence!! We have a p-problem!” She panted, handing a scroll to Cadence as she opened it with her magic. A few moments after reading it though, her own eyes soon widened.

“Oh dear…” She muttered, looking at all three of them. “Everypony… we may have some unexpected company soon.”

“Like what your highness?” Asked Hoofstrong.

“It’s my Aunt… She’s coming to visit the Empire.” Cadence explained. Only to add a little more confusion to the subject.

“I don’t see what the problem is, I’m sure Celestia just seeing how things are going.” Said Ironwings as she drinks some tea.

“I understand that… but my concern is of two things. First, there's the fact that she’s… not to open on the subject regarding changelings… But the second thing I’m concerned about is Haseo,” That statement alone caught the Rogue off guard immediately, but before he could ask, the alicorn began to explain her reasons why. “She doesn’t know the truth about him. All she knows about is The Terror of Death fiction that was conjured up by Sombra in response to his rage all those years ago. Not only that, but it’s both of my aunts. Celestia and Luna.”

“Oh, well it shouldn’t be that hard. I’ve be working for her for years.” Ironwings said smiling confidently. At the same time her brother was sweating bullets.

“Miss Luna is coming here? I can’t meet her! I’M NOT READY!!!!” Hoofstrong yelled before running off, and being cut off as the doors slam shut, Ironwings was smirking as a glowing horn was not on her head, but still shimmered anyways.

“Forgive my brother, but he’s had a crush on miss Luna for years.” Said Ironwings as she looked at Haseo. “More tea please.” The Adept Rogue complied, pouring another cup for her as they sat down.

“Trust me… My family is a strange one it itself… You would not want to know who I have as an uncle.” Cadence replied, only causing Ironwings and Haseo to become a little more curious.

“And who would that be?” Ironwings asked as she took a sip.

“My aunt’s adoptive brother…… Discord.” Ironwings spat her tea out of her mouth after hearing that. That same tea landing on Haseo as he looked back at her and groaned.

“Really now?” He said, taking a small towel to wipe his face off.

“Sorry, it just… Discord is known for his… Pranks…” Ironwings growled softly.

“Yes… and how he’s related to my Aunts is a long story in itself.” Cadence replied. “He was raised alongside them since foalhood after Celestia’s mother found him abandoned on the front doorstep of the castle. No one knows why though that he went… well… crazy.”

“I thought he was always crazy?” Asked Ironwings.

“Not exactly.”

“What do you mean?” Asked Hoofstrong.

“It was said that he went crazy during a time where there was a lot of personal conflict between my aunts. They were blaming one another for the failure to rescue the Crystal Empire from Sombra and… well, I don’t know exactly the full story, but something in him from the sounds of it snapped,” The Alicorn explained. “Our primary focus right now though should be in getting ready to see the Princesses for when they arrive… Haseo, where’s Shining Armor?”

Haseo sighed as he looked at Cadence. “Passed out in your room. He had been driving himself crazy the past few days and had not gotten any sleep.”

“Darn it, and just when we needed him the most…” The Alicorn mumbled. “I guess we’ll just need to improvise right now for the time being. My best guess is that they’ll be here within the hour. If not, earlier than that, so please be ready for anything.” Haseo nodded his head, looking back at the others as he acknowledged what Cadence just said to them.

“Do not worry, your highness…” She assured Cadence before making a prideful declaration. “I’ll whip the troops into shape before they get here.” In response, the General’s words caused her brother Hoofstrong to sigh after hearing that.

“What about you, Hoofstrong?” Haseo asked. “What do you plan to do before the Princess’s arrive?”

“Well, I plan on helping the troops too. My sister can be heavy hoofed sometimes.” Hoofstrong replied as he went after his sister. Haseo himself was told that Cadence was going to see if Shining was awake and try to catch him up to speed on the present situation. But as he waited, something made him feel as if he was on edge. Which didn’t help when he heard the sound of unexpected hoofsteps echo throughout the hall.

Thinking that an uninvited guest somehow got past the guards stationed outside, Haseo cleared up his throat and spoke firmly. “Who’s there?” He waited, only to not hear a response and instead, the hoofsteps continued. Based on his hearing, it sounded like there were two, possibly three individuals trotting towards the end of the hall. And since none of them seemed to stop to answer his question, Haseo’s concern was on Cadence’s safety. Taking a deep breath, he held out his right hand behind him as he had the front left side of his body facing towards where the sounds came from. His hand soon grabbed hold of one of his weapons from before as he acted with the utmost of caution. Shining was probably asleep, so it was his turn to act in his place.

“I said… Who’s there?” he repeated himself. His eyes scanning around the room to try and find out what was causing all the racket. Soon, he turned to see Cadence walk out of her room to look at the guardian with a confused expression present on her face.

“Haseo, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’ve just been hearing three sets of hoofsteps for the past few minutes,” He explained to the Alicorn. “I asked them to show themselves, but either they are trying to hide themselves or my hearing is playing tricks on me.” That just got the Alicorn to raise her eyebrow as she looked back at the hallway before looking towards Haseo. Letting out a deep sigh, she cleared her throat before looking back at the Adept Rogue. Telling him to put away his weapon, which he did as soon as she told him too before looking back out in the hallway.

“Auntie… I know you like to surprise us with your unexpected arrivals, but we already know that you’re here… please come on out.” Cadence firmly stated. Shortly afterwards, a small portion of the room soon glowed a little as it showed three ponies standing there. Two that were similar to Cadence, just a bit taller while the last one was a stallion with a navy cloak and a light flame colored fur with an dark orange mane and tail.

“Just as perceptive as always my niece,” The white alicorn with a flowing teal colored mane and tail replied. “No wonder I see a lot of traits from you in Twilight nowadays.”

“Nah, Haseo had a feeling that you were already here… and since you do have a habit of dropping by unannounced, I just put two and two together. Even if you did send a letter saying you were coming, you never specified when.” Cadence explained. “So if that meant you were here now, then you would be here analyzing Haseo’s actions.”

“Haseo?” Luna asked, a bit curious. “You know the name of this… Terror of Death?”

“That alias was given to me by Sombra as a way to spread fear amongst his people. I was once Princess Amore’s protector in the past,” Haseo told them, looking at the princesses before looking at Cadence. “But now I serve as Cadence’s guardian. Still, it is an honor to meet the both of you.” With the last statement, he took a moment to bow as he got on one knee, using that as a way to show kindness and respect to both of the Princesses that had just made their presence known.

“My… I never expected one to be feared as a monster to actually be a Gentlestallion at heart, sister.” Luna replied, chuckling a little as Celestia looked back at the alicorn of the night. Haseo could tell at first glance that Celestia, the Alicorn of the Day, was a lot more serious than her sister, Luna; who was the Alicorn of the Night. Cadence had taken the time with Haseo over the past few days to explain to him all the things that had changed over the course of the thousand years that he had been encased in ice. Reflecting on the history of the past and also the events of the present so he was up to speed on everything.

“Aunt Celestia… Who is the pony that’s with you?” Cadence then asked, pointing a hoof at the stallion as he blushed a little from being mentioned.

“Ah yes, I almost forgot,” The Sun Alicorn remembered as she turned to face him as he trotted up next to the Alicorn. “This here is Sunburst. He’s an exceptional student at my school for Gifted Unicorns who I believe can do lots of good here in the empire. With your permission of course, I would like for him to stay in the Crystal Empire and try to help you as much as possible.” The Unicorn himself looked nervous, but still tried his best to keep his composure as he looked at Cadence and Haseo.

“Of course, many hooves here make light work,” The Alicorn replied as she looked back at the Unicorn. “Welcome to the Crystal Empire, Sunburst.” She then redirected her attention to the two alicorns as she looked back at them. “I’m sorry if Shining isn’t present right now. He’s been so busy with trying to start up the guard here that he hasn’t been sleeping lately. Haseo’s been helping him simplify things a little.”

“Along with finally convincing him to get some sleep,” He added on. “Seriously, he had been awake for the last two days because he was drinking nothing but coffee.”

“What can you expect from the fool? His passion has gone to his head.” The voice of Ironwings boomed from the other end of the hallway as she trotted up to them. “Ma’am.”

“My, General Ironwings… I honestly never expected you to be here.” Celestia replied to her, turning around to face her. “How are you and your brother doing?”

“My worm of a brother is fine. In fact, he’ll be helping out with things here, if that alright with you your highness.” She asked, looking at the Princess.

“It’s fine by me. The more the merrier… But remember, since you are in the Empire, any suggestions you may have for future activities or training with the troops needs to be verified by Cadence and Shining instead of me,” The Alicorn reminded her. “Also, Sunburst here will be helping Cadence with some of the other tasks around the city as well.”

“I see, thank you.” Ironwings replied, smiling to herself. “Brother! Take care of things here, I need to deal with some business.”

“Of course sister.” Hoofstrong said with a sigh as he returned back outside. With that, Haseo looked back around and looked at both of the Alicorns and the general as he watched them walk over to the dining room for tea. He took the time to help Sunburst with bringing things up to speed and with how things were being run in the Empire nowadays. To his surprise, it turned out that the Unicorn was not only a strong magic user, but also a historian. He was fascinated by the Crystal Empire and wanted to learn more about the Empire before Sombra came into power. Haseo’s memory of that time was short because he was only around almost four months or so before Sombra seized control and murdered Amore in cold blood, but nevertheless, he did try his best to help explain everything the best he could. It got a little bit confusing when trying to explain recent events, but Haseo approached the subject calmly and tried his best to explain everything that he could.

Yet, even that didn’t last long as they heard a loud crash from the training barracks. “What the buck was that?” Sunburst asked as Haseo lept to his feet.

“I don’t know, but something tells me we’re going to find out. Come on,” He insisted, both of them running over to the sight of the impact as the dust was finally beginning to clear up. “Thank god that whatever it was didn’t hit any civilians.” His attention was reverted back to the smoke when he saw the shadows of two figures from inside. Thinking the worse case scenario, Haseo summoned his punisher blade and Sunburst’s horn lit up with magic as they stood firmly amongst the present chaos.

“Where are we?” A familiar voice asked. The voice in itself stunned Haseo for a moment, causing him to shake his head a little. He must’ve been hearing things. There was no way that it could possibly be-.

When it was finally clear, Haseo saw who the two were. The closest to him was a dark skinned girl with white, short hair, and had white tattoos. She wore little armor, but what was there was different shades of purple with gold. She held a large sword that was almost or as big as her. Not to mention that she seemed surprised when she saw Haseo.

The other one was a male with pale skin and blue hair, and had orange tattoos on his cheeks. He wore some kind of orange leather, and wielded a pair of Twin Blades as well along with wearing a hat that was made of the same color of leather. Haseo couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Both of these two were like him… Humans who ended up here somehow… but these two ended up as Kite and BlackRose. How was something like this possible!?

“Crap! Another one!” BlackRose yelped, pointing her sword at Sunburst. “Why can’t we find a non-pony area!?”

Haseo couldn’t put his finger on it, but the Kite guy seemed… off. He looked almost deranged. Only one thing came to mind as he looked at him. “Who are you two… and why are you here? You look like Tri-Edge… yet, your appearance does not match that… So,” He said, looking to BlackRose as he changed weapons from his Punisher Edge to his Twin blades. “Who are you?”

“Oh thank gosh, another human!” BlackRose said in relief. She was about to walk over, but Kite stopped her with an arm.

“Sunburst, stand down,” Haseo insisted. “These… travelers mean no harm.” Sunburst nodded, dismissing the magic and apologizing for his hasty actions earlier.

“Who are you?” BlackRose asked.

“My name is Haseo. Adept Rogue and the current guardian of the Crystal Empire now that Sombra is slained. Both of you are welcomed here, but I believe it would be appropriate to know your names as well.” He told them in response to the gladiator’s question as he looked at both of them.

“I’m Tessa and this is Seabus.” BlackRose said. However, those names triggered something in Haseo’s mind as he stepped back, eyes widening in response as he dropped his two blades to the ground and fell onto one knee. Stunned by the shock of what he just heard.

“T-tessa? S-seabus?” He said after a minute, still trying to come to his senses. “Is that you?”

“She just said-.” Kite, or Seabus, said. Until he realized the other half of what the Adept Rogue just asked. “Yeah… Why?”

“I-it’s me……” Haseo said, shortly before saying the name that he never thought he would use again. “Ryou-.”

“Dude!” BlackRose shouted, jumping Haseo and tackling him to the ground.

“Oww! That… was a little unexpected.” He said, scratching the back of his head where it hit the crystalline ground that they were on. “J-just… How the hell did you two get here?”

“Are they friends of yours?” Sunburst asked.

“Yeah… it’s a bit difficult to explain…” Haseo replied as he looked at the two of them, still waiting on their reply back. “But still… How did you get here?”

“We… Don’t remember.” BlackRose said.

“Last thing I remember is saying I’d meet you later.” Kite said. “Then we woke up in a Manhattan pun of a city.”

“For me… It’s a lot different… I woke up here in the past… Well, maybe you two should see for yourself.” From the pouch that he had on his back, he gave them a memory crystal. But this one was a lot different. It contained everything. All the memories, good and bad. The full story all the way to the present… and what happened because of it.

“Ow…” Kite groaned. “I have a headache. Thanks.”

“Unintentional… But hopefully, this can help you with understanding.” Haseo told them, offering a hand to them. “Come along… I believe we have some catching up to do.”

5- Awaken

View Online

The Terror of Death- Awaken

In this present moment, there were a lot of things that Haseo was trying to process. First, there was meeting Hoofstrong and Ironwings earlier that day, which turned out to be a lot different than he originally thought since these two changelings wanted to help the Empire instead of find a way to harm it. Second, there was when he met both Princess Celestia and Luna in person, who turned out to be Cadence’s aunts. Something that he did not know until just recently. Both Alicorns were originally surprised at the fact that Haseo was “The Terror of Death” that they had heard before, but Cadence assured to them that he wasn’t exactly an enemy. In fact, they even had brought somepony from Canterlot to help the Empire and assist in anyway he could that went by the name of Sunburst.

Lastly though, there was when… somehow… the two friends that he remembered from a long time ago… crashed in the courtyard by the training barracks. Seabus and Tessa… now known as Kite and BlackRose, were now in the Crystal Empire. How? He was not sure… but something told him that taking this chance now to catch up and introduce them to Cadence and Shining later might answer some questions that were lingering in his head. Not to mention that he might have to answer a few of the questions that they might have as well.

BlackRose was swinging her sword in bizarre ways, giggling like a maniac, while Kite was quiet. Which wasn’t like him at all, Haseo noted. He used to talk any chance he got. In fact… this was a bit similar to the personalities of the actual characters in .Hack. To an extent of course. “So… I would assume that you two have some questions to ask me?” He said, taking a guess at what they would do in response to that.

“What happened to us-” Kite started, but BlackRose cut him off. In more ways than one. Kite’s hat was cut off of his head.

“This is awesome!” The swordswoman shouted, not even noticing the fact that she tore her friends hat to shreds. Kite looked at the hat passively.

“Now I’m incomplete.” He said, almost monotonously. Haseo chuckled a bit, stretching out one of his hands to scratch Kite on the head like he was a little child and smiled.

“I’m sure that we can find somepony to fix it. In fact, I’ve been helping Cadence make some changes around the Empire that might remind you two more of The World than anything else.” The Adept Rogue insisted, helping Kite pick up the pieces of his hat that fell to the ground.

“Cool!” BlackRose said, before she accidently let go of her blade and it went flying into a wall… inches away from Sunburst’s head. “Oops… Maybe I should… Y’know… Stop?”

Kite glared at her, “You think?” That had Haseo laughing a bit to himself as he looked back at the two of them. Despite a change in identity and appearance, they both still were his friends and seeing this made him remember of what life was like before he ended up in Equestria… before he met Princess Amore and her daughter Cadence…

Before he became The Terror of Death. Yet, there were still some things from his most recent encounter with Sombra that bugged him.

“Is something wrong?” Kite asked, his torn up hat resting on his blue head. Haseo sighed, looking back at Kite as he tried to process something.

“Not really but… there’s something that’s bothering me… a couple of days ago, I helped free the Crystal Empire from King Sombra and reunited with Cadence… but during the fight between Sombra… he had found something that I didn’t think was here until I saw it firsthand…” The Adept Rogue looked back at the two of them and took a deep breath before getting the chance to speak again. “I’m going to automatically assume that you are familiar with AIDA?”

“Kinda…” Kite replied. “It’s been awhile…”

“Well, when I fought Sombra… I actually found out that he had uncovered AIDA while I was frozen for 1000 years. It turned him into a monster and was the reason why we are trying to rebuild the Crystal Empire after all the damage it caused.” Haseo explained, recalling back to his encounter with the mad king of darkness some time ago. “I’m just concerned that this may not be the first time that we’ll be encountering AIDA… and since the only ones who can truly defeat AIDA are those with avatars…”

“... I don’t think I have one of those…” Kite stated, slightly confused.

“I understand that… the only person I know of that has one right now is me…” The Adept Rogue added on. “How I defeated Sombra… was with Skeith.”

“The thing that killed Orca in the first game?” BlackRose asked. Haseo remembered she only played the first five levels of the first game then quit.

“Not exactly,” The Adept Rogue retorted, having the two of them off to the side so Sunburst wouldn’t overhear their conversation. “In the games that Haseo is from, there is a group of eight Epitaphs called “avatars” that someone can call upon when they need help. They are based off of the eight phases of the cursed wave from the first game series… Kite, mind helping me with this? I don’t want to overcomplicate things.”

“They’re basically summonables that are based off of bosses from the first games.” Kite stated. “Right?”

“For the most part. Yet, I can call upon Skeith’s power when I need too and still use my Data Drain when necessary,” The Adept Rogue said to them. “Still, nothing has happened since then… but it’s just unsettling…” It was then that Haseo remembered that he still had to introduce the two of them to Cadence once she was done conversing with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. It had been some time since they left, so maybe it was the right time to go back and introduce Kite and BlackRose to her as well. “Well, maybe I shouldn’t exactly worry on it right now. There’s no need to be superstitious about anything for no reason…”

He soon lead the pair to the front door of the castle, opening it for them and letting them inside the place as they had the chance to look around and see the interior of the crystalline castle for themselves. As he walked though, Haseo remembered something that he wanted to mention Kite and BlackRose in regards to potentially meeting some of the ponies that are helping with fixing up the empire. That included Radiant Hope, Sunburst, Hoofstrong and Ironwings too along with Princess Cadence and Shining Armor as well.

“Oh… My… Sand… Are those…?” BlackRose pointed to a group of ponies, which she just realized were there.

“Oh god no…” Kite groaned as he stared fearfully at her.

“Ponies!” BlackRose tackled one in a hug, squealing like a little girl.

“LOOK AT THIS MARE’S ENERGY! TRULY, THIS IS THE BEAUTY OF FRIENDSHIP!” Yelled Hoofstrong as he joined in to hug Shining Armor. Causing Haseo to facepalm himself as he looked back at Kite.

“I was going to warn you about that… But I guess I was a bit late.” The Adept Rogue sighed as he whispered the last part to the Twin Blade. “Hoofstrong over there… is a bit like Major Armstrong on Fullmetal Alchemist… even has a sister that’s cold as steel… No pun intended-”

“I heard that welp! Ten laps around the castle!” Yelled Ironwings before turning to her brother. “That means you too Belas Barge, get moving!” Haseo sighed a little, looking back over to Hoofstrong before having to excuse himself so they do what Ironwings had demanded from them before returning back inside.

“Belas Barge?” Kite raised an eyebrow. “The heck does…” Kite stopped talking all of a sudden the second that the changeling by the same name reappeared in front of his face.

“You have something to say? You can say it after your fifteen laps around the castle!” Ironwings growled. “Or would you like that to be thirty laps?” She asked with a smile as she suddenly seemed much more terrifying to Kite.

Kite rolled his eyes. “I’m a civilian, innocent of any crimes, go bug someone else.” The Displaced then started to walk away. Ironwings smiled showing off her fangs before slowly drawing her sword.

All that caused Haseo to do was facepalm himself before groaning a little. “Uh oh… You shouldn’t have done that, Kite.”

“If you fight me, I won’t be responsible for your life.” Kite’s eyes turned hollow as he stared at Ironwings. Haseo was surprised by this. His friend was always so lively, but his eyes showed a pain that wasn’t there the last time they saw each other.

Now though was when Haseo was beginning to feel concerned.

“So, are you gonna assault me, or can I take a peaceful walk around this garbage looking city?” Kite added. Which lead to Haseo smacking him over the head.

“Show some respect man…” Haseo growled. “We may be friends, but I’m the protector of this city and Princess Cadence is in the same room… Please don’t do or say anything stupid, it’s for your own good.”

“What are they gonna do, throw me in jail for not liking this city? Newsflash, it’s sparkling and hard on the eyes.” Kite stated coldly.

“Seabus, you’re scaring me…” BlackRose said, looking at Kite worriedly.

“Kite, calm down…” Haseo insisted, before saying something that would catch him by surprise. “Don’t go all Tri-Edge on me, right now.”

“Tri-Edge…” Kite shook his head, “I’m leaving, it’s obvious I’m not wanted here.”

“No, wait! Kite…” Haseo protested. “I’m sorry I… I was the one who said something stupid… I haven’t seen you or Tessa in over a thousand years. The last thing I want to do is see you like this…” However, who spoke up next was not him or Ironwings, but instead Cadence.

“General Ironwings. You are dismissed… I want you to think over your actions and unnecessary aggression towards guests of the empire before reporting for duty again.” She sternly ordered, causing the general to sheath her sword before leaving the room. “As for Kite and BlackRose… I would like both of you to actually stay and help us. We as a city are rebuilding after the devastation that Sombra put this city through and would greatly appreciate your help. Any friend of Haseo is a friend of mine and I want to welcome you with open arms… we can provide a room for the both of you if you wish.”

“That’d be awesome!” BlackRose shouted happily, grinning with her eyes closed.

Kite sighed. “No one bosses me around… Remember that…” He then made his way back to his friends.

“Seabus, what’s up? You’re moodier than I remember.” BlackRose said, looking over Kite worriedly. Kite’s eyes widened, but didn’t react beyond that. Haseo himself wanted to add something to the conversation, but decided not too so he wouldn’t say anything he would later regret. Not to mention that he felt something that sent a shiver down his spine as he looked behind him and outside. Something did not feel right… but this was not from Kite.

Instead… it was somepony else. And it felt way too similar to the one lavender unicorn that was Shining Armor’s little sister.

Ponyville

Everywhere she looked, Ponyville was in total disarray. This whole fiasco began the moment that the mare named Trixie came into town and challenged her to a duel. The first time around, things didn’t turn out the way she hoped… now, things were getting worse. She did everything she could to prepare herself for the second duel. But now, as she was standing her ground, all Twilight saw her opponent do was laugh as she smirked viciously.

“Is this really everything that you are capable of, Sparkle. Trixie honestly expected you to be more prepared for when you faced me again.” The cyan unicorn taunted. “No matter, with this amulet, anything you do to Trixie is beyond pointless.” Twilight knew that her claims were no laughing matter. The amulet had caused enough destruction already, but not just to the town. Throughout the course of the duel, several spells that the unicorn had cast caused collateral damage and had struck some ponies.

However… when Twilight saw her opponent again… something was happening… The Amulet herself was radiating… and the moment Trixie looked at it, her eyes changed. What was once the eyes of a rival… now stared at the artifact in horror. “W-what!? This isn’t… This isn’t what Trixie asked for-!!!” The mare herself tried to yank the amulet off, but it clung onto her. Digging deep into her neck as bubbles of black now began to spread all across the mare. Twilight herself could not believe what she was seeing… and prayed to Celestia that somehow, this was a dream.

But it wasn’t… This was no dream at all. This was real… AIDA, the same thing that Haseo told them had corrupted King Sombra, was now trying to take control of Trixie.

“S-sparkle!!” She immediately lifted her head, staring as Trixie as she tried to resist the effects of the virus that was taking hold of her. “H-help me-!!!” The mare’s plea’s though lead to her being completely consumed by the black goo that absorbed her… Forming a completely new figure. One that was shaped like Trixie… but with darker fur, shadows radiating from her body and black liquid bleeding from her eyes as it opened her eyes… where what was once white eyeballs… was pitch black with Trixie’s eyes being blood red.

“T-trixie?” Twilight stared in disbelief along with all the other mares and stallions watching. But the mare didn’t say anything… Instead, it let out a piercing screech, sending out spears of darkness that tore through anything in it’s path. The Element watched in horror as her friends tried to run from what was happening. She wanted to join them… but something in her resisted and prevented her from running.

She wanted to help her… help Trixie… even with everything that she had done, Twilight believed that it wasn’t her fault. The Amulet… No, the AIDA that was in the Amulet, caused her to lose control of herself… She wanted to do what she could to rescue her… but realized that she couldn’t. Recalling what Haseo told her, only an Avatar like his could defeat it… But he wasn’t here… Instead it was just her… and only her.

All alone…

You’re not alone, child.

At this, Twilight opened her eyes. She had expected for what was controlling Trixie to come at her and kill her. But… everything around her had slowed down to almost a complete halt. Hesitating, she looked up, asking a question to whoever just spoke to her.

“W-who are you!?” She asked.

We are here to help… You are one of eight beings with a powerful gift to fight this infection. A guardian to you and to others you protect. In front of her now, a small light began to glow as a book began to take form in front of the unicorn. One with a sigil of a sun in the middle with a crescent moon around the edge. Once Twilight had seen the book fully take form, all the pages in the book began to swiftly move. Inside were spells and abilities that she had not seen before from all the times in the archives or in the library. Call us by name… and we will come to aide you.

Around her, time soon began to hasten around her, giving her only seconds to protect herself from the attack that was just inches away from Twilight’s face as she cast a defense spell that blocked the incoming spears. Behind her, she heard someone she truly cared for call out to her through the chaos that was happening.

“Twilight! Come on, we gotta get out of here!!” Spike shouted, trying to convince her to run while she still can. But the Unicorn refused to give up… she was going to save her friends… the town… and most importantly… save Trixie as well.

“No… I’m not leaving…” She firmly stated, the new grimoire she acquired opening once more as she looked back at her. “Spike… stay with the girls… I’m going to put an end to this.”

“But Twi-!”

“No BUTS!!!” Twilight snapped at him. “I’m sorry Spike, but I don’t want you getting hurt. Let me handle this.” The dragon didn’t object and instead ran straight for the others, only noticing for a brief second the cyan markings that were beginning to form around the unicorn’s body. As she flipped through the pages of the book, the mare soon began to talk to herself… trying her best to maintain composure… but to also call upon the voice that she had heard inside her head.

“I require your side… Help me save my friends… save my home… and save Trixie. This was not what she wanted… this wasn’t her fault… Help me rescue her… HELP ME…” The Mare told herself, all while the monster in front of her unleashed a raining barrage of spears to try and skewer her. But… everything soon changed.

“GORRE!!!”

One moment, something did not feel right to Haseo, the next moment, he felt a surge of power flow throughout the entire room that felt similar to whenever he would use Skeith. Shortly thereafter though, something fell over and crashed onto the floor as it shattered into pieces.

“Oh dear,” Cadence responded in shock and disappointment as Haseo turned around. He noticed that a vase that was previously on a nearby windowsill had fallen over and shattered on the ground. “This was the vase that Twilight gave me as a wedding gift… Now I need to get this fixed. Haseo, can you help me out please?” The moment that she turned to see Haseo though… she could tell that something was wrong. “Haseo? What’s the matter?”

“I… just felt something… big. It was a surge of power… almost like when I would use Skeith.” He told her. “I think an Avatar has awakened.”

“Are you sure about this?” She asked him, looking a little more concerned than anything else. “I mean, I felt something brief as well, but it didn’t feel like when you used your avatar to defeat Sombra.”

“That’s because not all of them are the same. There are eight different ones, each with a different ability and a different host… However, where it’s coming from is concerning me the most… And with the fact that the Chaos Gates we started making aren’t finished yet, I fear that I won’t make it in time if I tried any other methods.” Haseo clenched his fist to himself before looking back at Cadence. “Cadence… what was the name of that town that Shining’s sister lived in?”

“Wait, you mean Ponyville?”

“That’s the one. I felt the surge from there.” Haseo told her. “Cadence, please do me a favor and teleport me there as quickly as possible. I fear that… whatever this is, it can spiral out of control if left unchecked.”

Cadence nodded and before Haseo’s closed his eyes, the Adept Rogue heard her say something to him. “Please make sure that Twilight is okay… promise?” He nodded his head to her and a few short seconds later, he found himself being whisked away shortly before landing on solid ground. But when he opened his eyes, what he found… stunned him.

Somehow, AIDA was in ponyville… trying to lay waste to everything around it. But what stood out the most was what was fighting it. It was an avatar… the Machinator… Gorre. He hastened to try and make sure that Twilight was okay while sticking to the rooftops of the building’s around him. He could see the civilians, he could see Twilight’s friends and even her assistant Spike… but no signs of Twilight… anywhere.

What he did notice though is that the monster that was trying to fight Gorre… was slowly beginning to try and gain the upper hand. He watched the Avatar fight from a distance and could tell one thing for sure… that whoever was fighting was still adjusting to the changes with it’s form. It was able to blast off shots of energy to severely damage it, but the main problem was that this monster that was formed by AIDA was faster in terms of speed. He wanted to call on Skeith’s power to help whoever was down there, but realized something.

That Gorre wanted to put their opponent in that position. “Paradise Invite!!”

Like in the original .Hack//G.U. games, Gorre had two counterparts. A red one that was an offensive focused fighter and a blue one that was defensive focused. The original host of Gorre was a Shadow Warlock named Sakubo in the original games and they had two separate forms because Sakubo had two different players that would take turns playing a single character. With one taking control of Gorre's offensive capabilities with the red mode and the other taking control of the Avatar's defense oriented blue mode. However, this wasn’t entirely the case. The Avatar Gorre that was in front of him now instantly changed colors from red to blue instead of switching forms as it caught it’s opponent in a trap of bubbles. Before switching back and landing a powerful series of blows once caught. However, there was one particular detail that Haseo noticed while watching this fight.

Gorre was not trying to hit the opponent’s body… but rather something around it’s neck. An amulet that was glowing with power… and that looked to be the source of AIDA. The Avatar was trying to rip it off of the host and break it away, which she was able to do in a short amount of time. Tossing it into the air as the black bubbles that were around it’s opponent began to fade away, revealing a mare inside the masses. All the while both forms of Gorre were soon present as their arms extended into the form of a cannon with all the strength they had remaining to destroy the source of all the calamity that happened here.

“DATA DRAIN!!!”

That voice… Haseo knew for certain. But he could not believe that it was actually who he thought it was. “No… freaking… way…” As the smoke cleared and he tried to rush down to the stage that was nearby and when the dust settled, what he found startled him.

It was Twilight Sparkle… with the markings of an avatar across her body as she tried to stand up while they faded away. She was an Epitaph user… just like he was… How, he was uncertain. But upon a closer look, he noticed that she had a book underneath her as she still tried to get up. That was when she noticed the Adept Rogue rush to her, stunned and surprised. “W-what? H-haseo?!”

“Easy there. You’ve been through a lot… just stay with me right now,” He told her, chanting Repth as he let the healing spell slowly restore Twilight’s body. “Do you remember what happened?”

“W-well… Trixie had an amulet and was slowly-.” That was when she realized what she said. “Oh my gosh, Trixie!!”

Haseo turned his head in the direction that he was facing, looking back at the mare in front of her as both him and Twilight went over to the Unicorn mare. Checking her pulse gave him a sign of relief, but the mare’s body was severely injured all over the place. Bruises, cuts, scrapes and even worse injuries. He used Repth again in order to help close any immediate wounds, but the mare still needed medical attention.

“Is s-she…” Twilight was going to continue, but a hand from Haseo told her to not immediately jump to conclusions.

“She’s okay… she still has a pulse and is breathing, but has a lot of injuries all over her body.” The Adept Rogue told her. “We need to get her to a doctor and quickly.”

“B-but didn’t you just heal her?” Twilight asked, sounding a little panicked in the process.

“Repth is a healing spell yes, but it heals only external injuries. I don’t have anything in order to stop any internal damage.” Haseo advised her. “I’m not a cleric or a healer, so she needs to be brought to a hospital.” Luckily for them, the rest of Twilight’s friends were soon rushing back over once the chaos died down, along with a mare that looked to be a nurse in appearance.

“T-twilight! Are you okay!?” Spike asked, and he was just as equally surprised as the girls upon noticing Haseo was here too.

“I-i’m fine. But Trixie needs medical attention,” Twilight told him and the others. “Nurse Redheart, can you get her to the hospital as quickly as possible. She needs help.”

“Help!? Why help her after she tried to wreck Ponyville?!” Rainbow Dash protested.

“Because this wasn’t what she wanted…” Twilight told them as Nurse Redheart began to take Trixie away in an emergency cart used for carrying patients to the hospital. “She was infected by AIDA like how King Sombra was in the Empire.”

“And remember, AIDA grants those who are infected powers beyond their wildest dreams at the cost of their sanity.” Haseo added on while the whole group slowly began to walk towards Twilight’s home. “This… Trixie you have been talking about… lost control of herself because of it.”

“And all of that was because she wanted to be the best with magic… and beat me in a duel,” Twilight then remembered another fact to add on to the one that she had originally said already. “Like how Sombra wanted to defeat Haseo.”

“Whatever the case may be, it’s over now…” The Adept Rogue sighed, looking at Twilight for a moment… until they heard one other pony speak up.

“What confusing me though is how Twilight was able to save Trixie. All we saw was a bright flash of light and then saw some… thing fight that monster that Trixie turned into…” Applejack said before looking at Twilight. “Twilight, did you use something from that new book you are holding onto?”

“Uhh…” Twilight couldn’t exactly answer that question. But instead, Haseo answered it for her as they entered the Golden Oaks library and closed the door behind them.

“She didn’t summon anything….” Haseo told her as she looked at the other ponies. “Girls, can you promise me something? That whatever is said in here stays in here?” All of them nodded their heads, including Spike. “Okay good… Remember when you first met me in the empire and I explained about AIDA and how I originally beat it using Skeith?”

“Yes darling, I believe we do,” Rarity added on. “But if I recall correctly, only those who have avatars like yours can destroy that… thing. What makes this incident similar to the last one in the empire.”

Haseo sighed, looking back at everypony as he took a deep breath before speaking. “Like with the Empire, AIDA was there and defeated by my avatar… but this time, AIDA was here and defeated by a different avatar…” At that point, he looked back at the lavender unicorn and what he had to say next made everypony’s jaw drop.

“Twilight’s Avatar.”

6- Origins

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The Terror of Death- Origins

Golden Oaks Library

The moment that Twilight was told that she had she had an avatar, just like Haseo, everything that was going through her head had immediately slammed to a halt… and simultaneously replaced by even more questions. Ones specific to the situation at hand. Her friends were more focused on asking how if such a thing was possible or (in Pinkie’s case) a party can be thrown for Skeith and Gorre, but for Twilight, her questions were a little more… specific. For one thing, she was only partially familiar with how one can use an avatar because of how Haseo explained to them about Skeith back in the empire. Now that she had one though, it just made her even more curious as to how fighting with an avatar was suppose to work. “Everypony, calm down for a minute so I can expla-.”

“Explain what? How she became so AWESOME in a blink of an eye!? That doesn’t need explanations!!” Rainbow Dash boasted, which really did not help at all in the situation.

“Dash, that’s not helping anypony here,” Applejack then asked. “Haseo, ah thank you for showing up when you did at the end, but can you please try to explain why Twilight got selected for this avatar business?”

The Adept Rogue in response shook his head and folded his arms. “Unfortunately, I can’t explain why Twilight was chosen. Anyone who has control over an avatar is selected randomly. But I can explain a bit more about who the avatar is.”

“You mean Gorre?” Twilight asked, a little curious to hear Haseo’s response to what she just asked.

“Yes. Gorre, The Machinator. It’s an avatar that is composed of multiple parts, but has two primary forms,” He explained, looking back at her. “Unlike Skeith, which is one body, Gorre has two. A red one for offensive techniques and spells along a blue one for defensive. With the right amount of teaching, it should be simple for you to learn how to use it… However, my concern though is AIDA.”

“You mean the black bubbly thingy that made Trixie a meany?” Pinkie Pie then asked out of the blue. Which, to Haseo’s surprise… was actually an accurate summary of what it was if you had to explain it briefly.

“Yeah… We’ve seen it twice now. Once in the crystal empire and the second time here… I’m worried that it would show up elsewhere too…” The Adept Rogue nodded, thinking to himself for a moment. Yet, that was when he heard a question from one of Twilight’s friends that made him think a little.

“Well how can something so brutish and disgustingly impure be created in the first place?” Rarity then asked. Yet, her question soon gave the Adept Rogue an idea as he looked back at Twilight and her friends.

“I’m not sure… but I think I know someone that might.” The single statement had the lavender unicorn that just heard that seem a little curious as to who exactly was Haseo talking about.

When Twilight finally decided to speak, she only had one question to ask the Adept Rogue as she looked back at him. “You do?”

He nodded his head and looked back at the unicorn. “Yeah, she’s helped me before back in the crystal empire… Only problem is, I think she can only stay within the crystal empire given her… circumstances. Not to mention that we were trying to complete some Chaos gates to make transportation to and from the empire a lot easier, but they weren’t finished. Cadence had to teleport me here so I could be able to get to you guys in time before any real trouble happened.” That, to Twilight, sounded more like a puzzling tongue twister than anything else as she raised an eyebrow and look back at Haseo in confusion.

“What’s her name?”

“Her name is Aura. Last I saw her, she was inside the Crystal Heart and probably is still there… She could probably help us find out what’s going on… but I’m going to need you to come with me, Twilight.” Haseo told her, which surprised her at first, but he soon began to explain why. “Since you had a close encounter with AIDA and have an avatar like I do, it would be beneficial for both of us to tell Aura about what happened so she would be able to help us get to the bottom of this.”

“B-but what if there’s a friendship problem here and I am now here to-.” She stuttered for a moment, before she felt Spike tap her on the shoulder and try to calm her down.

“Calm down a bit, Twilight… We can all help pitch in while you are away.” Spike told her. “After all, there are some times where Princess Celestia has to take a break and Luna fills in for her right-.” Just as she said that, a bright yellow light went off in the center of the library and, lo and behold, Princess Celestia herself was now present.

“Speak of the devil,” Haseo chuckled a bit. “Spike was just mentioning you for a moment before you showed up.”

“Was he now?” Celestia asked out of curiosity before shaking her head. “Nevermind that, I had heard that something had happened in Ponyville. Is everypony okay?” Haseo nodded, taking a few moments to bring the princess that had just entered the library up to speed on the current events of the day. Including the Magic Duel, the incident with Trixie, AIDA and also Haseo’s plan for him and Twilight to go visit Aura. But what he did not expect was for what Celestia was going to ask about next. “I see… Would it be possible for me to join the two of you when you go to visit this… Aura? I’m a little curious as to who or what she is and how she is inside that of a powerful artifact like the crystal heart.”

Haseo himself was a bit surprised by that as he looked back at her. “Are you sure you want to come along as well, Princess? You don’t have too if-.”

“After what you have just described about the situation with AIDA, I’m most concerned with how this threat can harm my subjects. The more we can find out about it, the more we can find a way to stop it.” Celestia firmly replied, her tone sounding more serious this time.

“Okay, but I’m going to you to teleport us there. Cadence sent me here and we haven’t-” Just before Haseo can finish, a bright shimmering light glowed from Celestia’s horn and in a matter of seconds, all three of them soon found themselves inside the chamber of the Crystal heart within the walls of the empire. Surprising even him once he got his bearing of where he was at along with Twilight.

“I’m sorry for casting my spell abruptly, but time is of the essence… Therefore, we should not waste any time that we have.” Celestia instructed both of them before looking specifically at Haseo. “Now that we are here Haseo, where is this Aura that you spoke of moments earlier?” That was when the Adept Rogue told her to give him a moment before looking towards the Crystal Heart and getting down on one knee as he spoke a small bit to himself. Almost in prayer before looking to the Altar of the Crystal Heart.

“Aura, my companions and I wish to seek an audience with you.” His words had the crystalline heart hum to life as a brief glow could be seen from the artifact as it grew and took form in a small white ball before taking on a physical form. She had a light white mane with that of a light creme colored fur coat. The clothes that she wore reminded Haseo of the original outfit that Aura had in the first few .hack// games, just with the facial features that reminded him of the time in the past where he served Princess Amore.

“Greetings…” She spoke, surprising the princess and her student as they heard her speak. “I am Aura… Goddess of the World and soul of the crystal heart. It seems that you have many questions for me… including you, Princess Celestia.” The last part though most definitely caught the Alicorn’s attention as her eyes widened a bit. She was still trying to process how this being… one that she had only just met… knew who she was.

“H-how do you know who I am?” She asked, almost stammering because of how surprised she was in that moment when Aura said her name. Haseo and Twilight herself were also curious on the matter… but her response caught all three of them off guard.

“I know you… because your parents created me… a very long time ago.” She said to them, which lead to all of them having stares of confusion and disbelief. “I know… you may have a lot of questions… but somepony else is coming to join us now.”

Before Haseo could ask for clarification on what she was talking about, they heard the door to the chamber open behind them and two figures stepped inside. The first one being that of Princess Cadence… and the second one that Haseo knew as Kite. Both of them seemed equally surprised to see what was going on… but only one of them actually had commented on it.

“Dude, what on earth is going on here?” Kite grumbled. His mood was obviously no better than before.

“Well-.” Haseo was going to speak, before Aura beat him to it as she faced Kite and Cadence.

“Your friend asked for an audience between us and these two ponies. But you two are also welcome to join us as well,” They heard the goddess speak before she introduced herself again. “I am Aura… Goddess of The World and soul of the crystal heart. It’s a pleasure to meet you two along with everypony else here. What brings you to my chambers?”

“We had come to ask about what you knew on AIDA,” Twilight then replied as she looked at Haseo and Kite, looking at the second one a little more cautiously. “My hometown was almost ravaged by somepony who was exposed to it. Thankfully, we were able to see her, but there is concern that AIDA will become a recurring problem.”

“Hmm… I see,” Aura then nodded her head before looking back at the young unicorn. “And should I presume that an avatar other than Skeith had beaten it. Because I feel the presence of one coming from you, young sparkle.” Cadence gasped for a moment before trotting to Haseo… and smacking him.

“Oww! What the he-?”

“You promised me that you would keep her safe!” Cadence snapped, before looking back at Twilight as she face-hoofed herself.

“Cadence, Twilight isn’t hurt… her home can easily be repaired and she was able to stop AIDA herself,” Haseo looked back at her as he rubbed his face. “And seriously, you hit me with a horseshoe? That’s like punching me with a suit of armor.” That in turn, had her look back at Twilight for a moment before turning his attention to her. For a moment, she just looked confused… before the Unicorn sighed.

“Let me take care of it.” Twilight said, before opening the tome she kept with her and calling out the name of her avatar as Gorre formed behind her. “Haseo may have Skeith, but I have Gorre. I was able to use Gorre’s power to save Trixie back in Ponyville and afterwards, Haseo said that we could come here to try and find out if Aura knows of a way to stop AIDA.”

“What is this, Final Fantasy?” Kite grunted. “Can someone tell me what that is?”

“No. Remember when I told you how AIDA had shown up when I was fighting Sombra?” Haseo asked, trying to get Kite to somehow remember what he was talking about only a couple of hours ago as Twilight dismissed Gorre a few moments later. “Well, another incident happened and well… Twilight here is an Epitaph and her Avatar is Gorre, the Machinator. Like how mine is Skeith, the Terror of Death… Or as you described it… summons based off of bosses from the first game series.” He whispered the last portion since it was something that only he and Kite happened to know at the time. “Does that help?”

“Yeah… I suppose.” Kite shrugged as Haseo patted him on the back, leading to all of them walking over to where Aura was. Princess Celestia herself was wanting to ask the first question to her, but instead let her student speak as the young unicorn cleared her throat and looked towards Aura.

“Aura… Do you know anything about AIDA? Anything at all?” The question in itself had the goddess sigh as she looked back at the small group and began to speak again.

“I do… but in order to explain about AIDA, I need to explain to you about myself… because my origins and the origins of AIDA intertwine with one another.” She first spoke before looking towards Celestia. “A long time ago, your parents, Phyrron and Lunaria, had assisted Starswirl the Bearded with an experiment to try and somehow create artificial life. They were successful and the one who was created was named Morganna. She assisted your parents for a long time, but as time passed, her primary functions began to falter… and with it, Starswirl began to work on somepony to replace her.”

It took some time for them to process, however, it was Haseo who soon realized what she meant as the Adept Rogue looked back at her… and when Cadence then spoke up. “Is that somepony… you?”

She nodded, shortly before continuing to speak. “Yes… They made me as a more advanced version of what Morganna was suppose to be, ultimately to replace her when the process was complete. However, when the process was almost complete, Morganna… lost it. She went insane and tried to destroy others while I was unable to protect myself… or them.” Aura paused for a moment before looking towards Celestia, closing her eyes for a moment before looking back at her. “However… your parents gave their life to save mine… and it is a debt that I can never repay, no matter how much I want to.”

Celestia did not know what to say… but just said nothing as she placed a hoof across her birch and looked back at the goddess. “I… don’t know what to say……” She took a few moments to think it over before giving her an answer. “No matter how I feel… I can’t let it distract me from my duties… so thank you. Thank you for telling me about what happened. It wasn’t in your control… so there’s no reason to feel that you are the one to blame.”

Aura was surprised by that statement… along with deeply touched by her words as a non existent tear flowed from her eyes. “T-thank you… Those words… mean a lot to me.”

“Uh… I hate to interrupt this touching moment, everypony,” They all heard Cadence speak up from next to Kite as she looked back towards the crystalline heart. “But what does Morganna here and this… incident have to do with AIDA?” That had Aura sigh for a moment as she looked back towards the pink alicorn and began to speak.

“It was because of the Morganna incident that someone found out about my existence. A centaur named Sendak. He became jealous of me and my creation and sought out to try and make a duplicate version of me. He was successful… well… mostly successful.” Everyone looked back at each other in confusion before Twilight decided to speak up.

“Mostly? What do you mean by that?”

“There was an important piece to me that makes me who I am that Sendak did not have,” Aura told them. “That piece was Harmony. Harmonic magic is what you would see as my soul. Since Sendak did not have that, all he had was what was created from his experiment while being fueled with magic and hatred that was stolen from others. It did not help any that this… anomaly of his was mistreated and seen as a waste. So… when his apprentice Tirek betrayed him and stole his magic, he allowed for AIDA to manifest, giving it the power needed in order to spread like an infectious diesease.”

“But Lord Tirek is locked up in Tartarus. How is it that if he had so much power, why couldn’t he use it to break out?” Celestia then asked Aura, confused at her statement.

“Because Starswirl and I stopped them both thousands of years ago. He and I combined our power, not only depriving him of the magic that he stole, but also sealing away AIDA in a crystalline form and hiding it deep within the mountains of the Crystal Empire. Afterwards though, I was too drained to use any of my other abilities to help him, so to keep me alive and safe, Starswirl encased me inside this crystalline heart and with Princess Amore’s help, made me the heart of the Crystal Empire.” She answered, causing Cadence to look back at her in surprise of her mother’s name being mentioned. “Amore made sure that I would remain safe… and even when Haseo served her back then and did not know about me, his will to keep her safe made me see him as someone that could keep me safe too.”

“What happened to Amore though?” Haseo then interjected, hearing the former princess's name as he looked back at her. “You told me, before we beat Sombra together, that you were Amore, but now you were known as Aura… What do you mean by that and what happened to Amore?”

It was then that the goddess took a moment to clear her throat and to compose herself. Because the words she was about to say would most likely shock them all. “When Sombra killed Amore, I reached out to her in her dying moments before her spirit would be lost forever. Giving her an offer. To become one with me so she could watch over the empire. Despite her personal confusion and concerns, she accepted it and the two of us became one. We share our memories, appearance and abilities along with trying to help anypony who is deemed worthy of our strength.”

It was then that something began to click inside Haseo’s head as he remembered something from back to when he fought Sombra several weeks ago. When he was near the brink… and Aura helped him. Realizing it now, he began to reply back to the goddess. “So back when I was fighting Sombra… that’s why-?”

“Despite the negative persona that Sombra has put on you, you are still the Guardian of the Crystal Empire and it’s protector. We know that you will do everything in your power to protect the Empire from harm… and with it, we bestowed some of our power onto you when you needed it most.” Aura told him, extending a hoof and touching his forehead as Haseo’s appearance had changed. Now in his Xth form from when he fought against Sombra. However, this didn’t feel like a temporary change… but a permanent one. “This is our gift to you, Haseo. Use it wisely.”

Haseo nodded, looking back towards the others before a question appeared in his mind. “Aura… How can we be able to stop AIDA?”

“AIDA is something that can not so easily be stopped. For now, find the other Epitaph’s and their avatars. But remember… just because somepony may have an avatar doesn’t mean that they are invincible. Epitaph’s can also be infected by AIDA as well, so you must remain cautious.” She told them before closing her eyes for a moment. “I would want to continue answering your questions, but I too must rest at some point. Good luck, everypony. I will be watching over you.”

With that, the light that was around Aura soon disappeared as she returned to the Crystal Heart. Causing Haseo himself to look back at everypony in the room, along with his best friend Kite as he then heard Twilight ask him a question that was on everypony's mind.

“S-so now what do we do?”

“I’m hungry.” Kite announced. That was followed by the grumbling sound of Haseo’s stomach as he scratched the back of his head and sighed in embarrassment.

“Well, before we do anything… we should have lunch first. We can’t really do anything if any of us are on an empty stomach.” The Adept Rogue smiled, a lit embarrassed as Cadence and Celestia both chuckled in amusement before leading them out of the chamber and closing the door behind them on the way to the dining hall.

Elsewhere…

“Something’s… Missing…” A white figure said, floating in the badlands. Her hair, skin, and dress were pure white, while her visible eye was yellow. She looked around, a stoic expression on her face as she stumbled across a black castle-like building with pony/bug-like creatures swarming it. “A key… No… Code… No… Me… I’m missing, yet I’m here…”

Shortly, after a little bit, one of the creatures flew from the castle and landed in front of the figure. “Hold it right there… State your name, creature.” It spoke, it’s horn glowing green as it looked at the figure in white.

The child-like girl looked down for a second. “My name… Is Mor… Morti.”

The creature looked around for a moment, inspecting her around all angles before raising an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, miss, but what exactly are you? You don’t look like any creature or changeling that the hive has ever seen.”

“I am… Was, a maker… I created things… Beautiful things… Now all that’s left is death… Everything I’ve made, turned to dust in the blink of an eye…” Morti looked down, a sorrow building up in her chest. “Everything I made… Gone… Except one thing… My masterpiece… That they took away…”

“Miss, are you okay?” The Changeling asked, reaching a hoof out to try and touch her, but he was just sent flying away, frozen in time.

A cold, unnatural smile formed on Morti’s lips as her hidden eye was revealed due to a breeze that blew her hair away from her face. Her other eye was surrounded by a discolored beige skin, and a green eye.

“I will not be forgotten… Not again… And I will have what I created.” Morti laughed, but it sounded almost fake. Until she finally stopped. “See you soon, my little Aura…”

7- Brave New WAAAGH!!

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Author's Notes:

A couple things to note. One, part of this is a crossover with the story 'It ain't easy bein green' and since this involves Orks from Warhammer 40K, incorrect grammar is intentional. Secondly, even though this is a crossover and the Warboss (Tom in this instance) mentions terms like 'Displaced' and 'Token', Haseo doesn't know a thing about what they actually are because no one really explained it to him. Third... when Haseo comes back and is talking to Kite, there's a reason for his friends behavior. Because of his predicament, it's separated Kite (Seabus) from the two things he loves the most. His dream and his family.

Thank you ShadowInTheDark for suggesting the idea of the crossover and also BronyParasite for doing the second part of the chapter once Haseo gets back home to the empire. I'm wanting to do more to get some more chapters out for him with the upcoming release of .Hack//GU Last Recode in November. For now though, I hope you enjoy this chapter and have a good day.
-Frost

The Terror of Death- Brave New WAAAGH!!

Crystal Empire

After he had gone to get something to eat with Kite, Haseo decided to go back to check on Cadence and Twilight to see if they were doing alright. The Adept Rogue was a little concerned that with the response that Twilight gave earlier and then trying to process everything that Aura had told them, it might’ve been too much for her to handle all at once. Not to mention that with the amount of changes that the empire had gone through since she was last here, it may have been hard for the unicorn to keep up with everything.

Though, as he came into the room, he was surprised to find that Cadence and also Radiant Hope we're helping explain everything. Including how some of the ponies in the city followed the professions and job systems. Something that she did not know about before, but seemed rather curious by it. “So everypony here is given a job and just follows it?”

“No no, Twilight, it’s different. The pony that applies for a particular job makes the choice themselves based on their skill level…” Radiant replied, before looking it over and thinking of something inside her head. “You use magic a lot, right?”

“All the time, yes.” The Unicorn replied back, nodding her head in response to Radiant’s question.

“Well, for that, there are various different job classes depending on what you specialize your magic on,” Radiant continued as her horn lit up and pulled out a couple of images for Twilight to see. “If you are somepony who uses their magic for battle, they could be a shadow warlock and use Grimoires. If their magic is best used for healing, they can be a harvest cleric. Macabre Dancer’s and Steam Gunners are different equivalents to those two, but with variations that would allow anypony who isn’t familiar with magic to use them. Like Earth Ponies.”

“What about the guard?” Twilight then asked. “I’ve been noticing that no two members of the royal guard are alike. Would that mean that they also be different classes as well, Cadence?”

“That depends on their role in the guard itself,” Cadence now took the chance to talk to Twilight. “There are some in which require them to have the strength to carry rather heavy weapons while some require a weapon that’s lighter and easier to carry. Lord Partizans use Lances, Edge Punisher’s have Broadswords and Flick Reaper’s carry either Axes or Sickles depending on which one they specialize with and all of them wear heavy forms of armor. Other classes like Blade Brandier, Tribal Grappler and Twin Blade use weapons that are a lot lighter in weight, but just as strong. Not to mention that they could wear lighter forms of clothing that makes moving around easier.” That was rather true. Those three classes, because of their choice of weapons and gear would make them rather agile on the battlefield than that of an Edge Punisher or a Flick Reaper, but there were other things too that could be taken into consideration that Shining Armor and Ironwings thought of. If you were to assemble a group of ponies on a reconnaissance mission, it would be better to send in a Twin Blade and someone else like a Tribal Grappler and a Harvest Cleric rather than an Edge Punisher if you needed to make a hasty retreat.

Then… there was the question that even caught him by surprise. “Hey… if this idea was originally suggested by Haseo… then what class would he be?” It was something that he had a feeling they would ask sooner or later, but he didn’t think it would be Twilight that would be asking that question.

“Guess it’s time to answer it then,” He thought to himself as he now walked over to where they were and spoke up. “Perhaps I can help answer that.”

All three ponies were rather surprised to notice him now as they all turned to face his direction. “Ah! Haseo… Forgive us for sounding rude. We didn’t know you were here.”

“No no, it’s alright… for the record, I should be the one apologizing since I had been listening to your conversation for the last five minutes,” He replied, before turning to Twilight. “But yeah, my job class is much different than that of normal ponies. Much different to the point that I didn’t tell Shining about it because I was concerned about the kind of reaction some ponies would have to it.” That had all three ponies look at one another in confusion, shortly before Haseo began to clarify on what he meant. “You’ve all seen me be able to use different forms of weapons and change them out, correct?”

“I believe we have on more than one occasion. Why do you ask?” Cadence then asked for clarification.

“Well, the job class I have is considered as a… jack of all trades if that is the right terminology,” He then continued. “They’re allowed to choose between more than one job class, but can only acquire the skills of the other classes they choose through a system called ‘Job Extend’. However, my concern was that when it comes to Adept Rogues, they are generally seen as a ‘jack of all trades and a master of none’, so my thought at the time was that it wasn’t along the lines of what Shining Armor was looking for. Again, that was back then and this is now.”

“How does something like that work though? Everyone can’t just choose to be everything at once now, can they?” Twilight asked.

“No, they can’t… It works like this,” Haseo said as he took a seat nearby them. “When you start as a Adept Rogue, you are given four points for choosing what classes you want to specialize in. Out of the ten normal job classes; Twin Blade, Blade Brandier and Edge Punisher cost one point, Flick Reaper, Lord Partizan and Tribal Grappler are two points and the remaining classes cost three. You pick and choose up to two to three classes from those given points and only unlock the other classes you picked through the Job Extend system when the time is right.”

That was something that Cadence and Twilight found as surprising… while also making them rather curious as to what classes he chose. “So in terms for you, what did you start out with?”

“Well… when I first found by Amore, I was a Twin Blade. But as I stayed and continued to help serve her and the empire, I was able to extend my skills into both the Edge Punisher and Flick Reaper Job classes. Though, it wasn’t easy in order to get to that point and what you have to do to get those forms isn’t always something to accomplish on your own.” He explained before looking back at Cadence. “In fact, I had to have Amber help me out with them.”

Both Twilight and Radiant looked back at Cadence now on the mentioning of the unfamiliar name as they looked back at her. “Who’s Amber?”

“She was one of my mother’s closest advisors and also the only other pony other than her to trust Haseo. She was also my caretaker, but wasn’t afraid to get her hooves dirty to keep me safe.” Cadence replied, before looking down a bit. “However… After Sombra’s coup on the Empire and you telling her to get me out… she went back for you and has not been seen ever since.” That… even surprised Haseo. Amber was important to the both of them, so hearing something like this about somepony who cared for them just as much as they cared for her was rather concerning.

“I… never knew that she actually went back for me,” Haseo cleared his throat as he spoke up. “All I remember is just fighting Sombra and then… everything fading to black.”

That… surprised Cadence even more. She would’ve thought that he had seen Amber before getting frozen away by Sombra, but according to what he just said, that was definitely not the case. Which only meant that either something had happened to Amber once she had made it to the Empire… or that she never made it at all. And the second possibility was one that she didn’t want to think about given the current situation. “Do you think we should ask Aura about it?”

“We can, but right now, I think we should think of a plan regarding Twilight’s Avatar,” Haseo suggested, “I know that she would be going back to Ponyville soon, but perhaps every so often, she can come by and I can help her with controlling Gorre. Even though she was able to use her avatar to stop AIDA back in Ponyville, that was out of pure luck.”

“What do you mean? I was able to use Gorre earlier just fine.” Twilight then asked.

“True, but you’ve only had your Avatar for just a few hours. I’ve had Skeith for much longer than that. After all, the more you practice with something, the better you get at it.” Upon hearing that, Twilight soon realized what he was talking about. It was indeed true that the more that you practiced with something, you would get better at it. Heck, it was the reason why Twilight had been so good with Magic because of the amount of hours she spent into reading books and practicing with it. So essentially, the same approach could be used in regards to learning how to fight with Gorre.

“When do you think we should get started then?” Twilight then asked, wanting to hear Haseo’s input on the matter.

“Well, I think given how soon this came up after what happened in Ponyville, we should give you guys some time to get your senses back in order before doing anything drastic,” The Adept Rogue explained, before making a suggestion. “How about we give it a week and see how things are going from there? Does that sound good to you, Cadence?”

“I believe that’s fair,” Cadence then replied. “By then, we should have those gates up and running so travel between towns would be a lot simpler.” That honestly surprised Twilight. She had no idea what Cadence was referring to and they didn’t even get the chance to explain anything about these ‘gates’ at all.

“I’m sorry, but what gates are you talking about?” She asked, sounding rather puzzled.

“She referring to a device were trying to make called a Chaos Gate. Now… despite the name, it has nothing to do with actual chaos magic. But if we are able to successfully get these gates to work, then you can be able to instantly travel to towns, fields, cities and other areas rather quickly. But again, this is something we’re still working on and hopefully all will work out well for us.” Haseo then explained. Which, upon finishing, caused Twilight to stare at them in awe and wonder… while not paying attention to her surroundings as she stared off into space. “Uh… I think we broke her.”

“Give her a minute.” The Princess of Love told him. Shortly afterwards though was when Twilight finally snapped back to reality.

“T-that’s so AMAZING!!! I can’t wait to see this for myself! Such an advancement in technology and science… it’ll advance everything we know by GENERATIONS!!!” That just caused The Adept Rogue to facepalm himself again as he looked back at her.

“Is it a good thing or a bad thing that she’s reminding me of Hoofstrong right now?”

“I think the real question is what would happen if both of them actually meet,” Radiant chuckled… before realizing the full extent of what she just said. “I just jinxed it, didn’t I?”

A small lump of metal fell onto the floor. Only noticed by Haseo as the three mares finished out what they were discussing. After a bit, Cadence decided to make sure that she took Twilight back to Ponyville while Radiant was going to retire for the evening. Leaving Haseo to investigate what the heck actually fell on the floor.

He first looked up at the ceiling, hoping that it wasn’t some kind of chandelier that was added up there and overall, it confused him. “What would a metal scrap be doing here if there wasn’t anything on the ceiling to begin with?” He asked himself. Though, unknowingly, he actually got an answer… from the strangest of places.

“Hi! I’m Tom if yeah need some help with something just hold dis an gimme a call!” That… voice came from the piece of metal itself. Which, in Haseo’s mind, made him want to throw that at a wall. In his mind, he knew that in .HACK//GU, AIDA could take on physical forms of objects, weapons and even a cat in order to infect someone with it. Given the recent incident in Ponyville involving the Alicorn Amulet, he didn’t want to take any chances.

So… Grabbing the scrap, he decided to set foot outside the walls of the empire. If this were truly a form of AIDA, then he had to dispose of it right now. Once he was far away from the empire, he drew out both of his DG-X guns and began to charge up a blast to fire at it.

However, when the blast hit the scrap, it triggered something else completely. Once the blast made contact on the metal a portal opened in it place, a large green portal that was even shooting out green lighting. More importantly though… it was slowly pulling Haseo towards it as he fell forwards and through it. “What the hell-!?”

Once on the other side of the portal there was loud rock music and a lot of yelling. “ERE WE GO! ERE WE GO! ERE WE GO! WAAAGH!” It was as loud as someone pulling death metal on full blast as he landed and had to cover his ears. But that just made him think of two things.

One, was that some sort of Chaos gate he was unfamiliar with? Two… Orks. “Why did it have to be freaking orks of all things? I know that Dawn of War was fun and all, but seriously!?” He groaned internally. He was unsure of how he got here in the first place… but the last thing he needed right now were orks coming to try to tear his throat out. Which left him wondering… Where the hell was he?

“Alright lads pack it in! Wez got a long day an I don’t need yeah all yellin’ like a fan club to death metal!” Yelled a large ork who had a trucker hat on his head. To which, when he noticed them, only made him sigh even more.

“Yeah, I’m definitely not in Equestria anymore… I need to get out of this place and back to the Empire before something bad happens.” The Adept Rogue thought to himself as he hid behind a boulder,, looking at his weapons and tweaking them a small bit.

“Oi, who da humie git?” Said the small goblin on the large Ork shoulder, this in turn made all the orks look at where Haseo was hiding. Especially when one of them proceeded to throw some explosives at the boulder and cause him to move out in the open to not get hit.

Unfortunately, he soon notice that was not exactly the best choice. “Oh hell…” once they exploded he was covered paint… The Orks then laughed.

“Oh zog not again… Lads, for the last time, think before yooz throw da paint bombs!” Yelled the large Ork as the others laughed. Only to see Haseo growl as he looked rather irritated at them as he still held onto both of his weapons. Looking at them, there seemed to be a big group of them. Possibly twenty-five or more… and in Ork terms, that was a war party. Either that or they were just screwing around out here just for laughs… or as they phrased it, laffs.

“Alright, come on lads back ta work with yeah!” The large ork yelled. There were groans from the other orks but they pick up random weapons and wounder off. The large ork looked back to Haseo. “Sowwy bout dem, daays only a few months old. I’m Tom, yooz one of deem dispast, Sorry Displaced.”

“The hell is that supposed to be?” He asked, sounding defensive. “Matter of fact, you sound like the voice on that piece of scrap metal that took me away from the crystal empire!”

“Aaa! Dat be me Token, I heard about it from some git who was here last time.” ‘Tom’ explained as the small goblin popped up with a bag full of sweets.

“Want some? Da pink one makes really good cake!” It said happily. When he heard ‘pink one’, that made Haseo think of only one other possibility as to who that was. That earth pony that was Twilight’s friend, Pinkie Pie. Which could mean one thing…

He… somehow… was in another Equestria… “Holy-” A large pink truck just drives by with said pony driving it screaming in joy. Almost having to make Haseo move out of the way if that truck were to somehow come straight at him.

“Knew I’z shodn't hav made der a truck….” Said Tom as he shook his head. Which left Haseo barely understanding anything that was happening. In his mind to try to simplify things, he thought that he was kidnapped by an ork, subjected to death metal that he couldn’t even hear the words right and now just witnessed Pinkie Pie just drive past him like it was driving the Grave Digger monster truck.

Whatever this place was… he wanted out. “How da yeahs get ere anyways?” Tom asked as his orks were running after a spuig.

“A piece of metal appeared out of nowhere with your voice on it. Thinking that it was something bad, I shot it and ended up here,” Haseo grumbled, moving away from the chaos and even cutting a branch from a nearby tree clean off with the blade end of his twin pistols. “Now, if you excuse me, I’m going to try to find my way back home.”

“I’z cod, wait.” Tom made sounds with his mouth that sounded like a dying cat. “There we go, now then I could help you if you want. Been working on something for a while now. Giblit, get my truck.” Tom Said as Giblit looked at him confused. Tom rolls his eye before saying. “Get da truck for mez, alright?”

“Oh got it boss!” Said Giblit as he ran off and started yelling at some of the other orks to get the truck. To Haseo though… he wasn’t wanting to trust this guy. Especially since it was technically his stuff that got him into this mess.

So, the blades on the weapons now began to project a fiery glow from them as he looked back at this… Tom. “Give me one reason for me to trust you… Because so far, after everything that I have seen, it’s not letting me think you're the trustworthy kind of ork.”

“Do yooz like bananas?” Tom asked. “Who’z dat pokemon? Gotta go fast… A small Doggo is a mini bark.” He went on and on about memes for a while. “I’z just like yooz yeah daft git. Used to be human dan ended up like dis.” He oped and closed his power klaw to show his point. That when the truck rolled up.

Though… Haseo was not entirely convinced, despite some odd similarities. “Yeah and I’m a human with freaking Skeith. May I ask what’s your point?”

“My point, iz dat in order ta get yooz back ta… wherez ever yooz come from we’ll need something orky. Seein as my token is orky.” Tom explained as he get into the back of his truck. Haseo, feeling like he had no other choice, actually decided to go along with this crazy reasoning of his. Why? Honestly, he did not care. But if it were to get him back to the empire and back home to where he was suppose to be, then he would play along. However, he wasn’t going to just openly trust an ork. Especially since if one moment they trust you… the next moment they’ll stab you in the back.

In the back of the truck was, to Haseo was full of junk Tom was rummaging around for something before bring up a pilon fixed up to a engine and what looks like a microwave. “Alright dan, got anything from yeah home?” Tom asked.

“Define anything.” Haseo stated bluntly, folding his arms for a moment.

“Anything, bit of dirt, gum, food, old boots yeah know. Anything dat wasn’t from ere.” Tom asked as he pulled on a ripcord to try and start it up. “Com on yeah zogging thin!” He then kicked it and it lights up and start running. Haseo himself, during this process, began to think over what possible items, other than his weapons, could he have on him. He still kept thinking that and also checking his pockets, even after he had seen them try almost seven different times in order to do something with the microwave that looked like it had been pulled out of one hell of a scrapyard.

Then… he came across something. Something that… to him… he honestly never thought that he would actually see again after all this time. Originally, when he was still serving Amore, a young Cadence had made him a crystalline figurine that looked almost like Skeith, even though she had now actually seen what Skeith really was. And somehow, even after all the years frozen away and even with being almost torn apart by Sombra shortly after waking up… it was still intact.

Yet, it was only seconds after he found it and took it out that the small trip down memory lane… was rather short lived. “Datal do, iz it important?” Tom asked as he worked on the machine. Before Haseo could speak, his head softly moved in a yes like motion, prompting the ork to snatch it out of his hands before putting it in a box then tossing it in there. Yet… doing so recklessly really wasn’t the best kind of choice.

“Bloody ZOG!” Tom yelled before falling on his back covering his eyes with his good hand. “Wat was dat!? Wat in Gork an Mork name was dat!? It was like something out of a nightmare or chaos boyz on the bing!”

“Uh… What?” Haseo asked, looking back at him in confusion… Only to realize that he was reacting the same way that Twilight had looked at his memories shortly after fighting Sombra. “Ah crap… You saw Skeith, didn’t you?”

“Wat da zog is a Skeaf?” Tom asked as he get back up then his face looked grim. “Yoo may want to get out of da truck. Das thin might... explode.”

“Skeith is… it’s my avatar. It’s a part of me in a sense where I gain power and strength. However, a long time ago, I almost lost control of myself and ended up frozen in ice because of it…” It was only then that he looked back at Tom, got out of the truck and then say something. “What I just gave you… must have some sort of connections to my old memories.” Tom’s expression didn’t change at all, but it caused Haseo to think for a moment before wanting to ask something.

Unfortunately though, he did not really have the chance to ask anything. Before he could speak up, Tom just picked him up by the scruff and threw Haseo out of the truck before closing the door as a loud boom was heard inside the truck as black smoke came out of the windows.

“Huh, Bossis telaporta busted again?” Asked one of the orks as another one nods it’s head yes. The orks just watched as Tom opened the door coaching and waving his hand to clear the smoke out of his way. “Right… Let try again.” Tom said before closing the door.

Though… it was when the smoke died down that the Adept Rogue noticed something. That the crystalline figure he gave… was still intact. “Hunh… well, that’s one thing that’s still in one piece.” He thought as he watched the orks get back to work. Throughout the day, Tom has been working in the back of his truck, as a number of explosions from the back of said truck. How Tom wasn’t dead yet after so many explosions? Haseo honestly had no idea. Especially with the amount of times he had seen the ork shrug off shrapnel and gunpowder like it was dust or dandruff. Followed by the one statement that he was bound to hear at some point.

“WAAAGH!” Tom yelled as the sound of a sledgehammer was being used on the teleporter. Then a large portal opened in front of the truck. “Ha ha! It works! Oh… Zog it works!?” Tom yelled as he scrambled to get in the driver set, as all his orks ran to get on the truck or try and stop it from being pulled in. Yet, it did have the original figurine that Haseo had given to Tom end up back in his hands.

“Well… If at first you don’t succeed…” He said, before backing up a bit once he realized… that something about this wasn’t right at all. “Oh… crap!!” The Adept Rogue, shortly after realizing the problem, bolted away from the teleporter as far as he could possibly go. He almost forgot that since he was dealing with Orks, anything could go possibly wrong… including what was happening now. They were falling out of the sky over the empire, the other orks were screaming in every joy or fear as they all fell.

“Zog it! Enjoy it while it last boyz!” Tom yelled as all the orks screamed WAAAGH! Though, thankful to the Adept Rogue, he was at least glad that he was in the empire… just a few miles out from the actual kingdom. So the only real sense of victory Tom and the others got… was just landing inside a place filled with freezing snow.

“Ow…” Tom groaned from the driver set as the sound of orks in pain filled his ears. Well at least they're all alive. “Dat, hurt…” It was the that Haseo turned towards him and facepalmed himself, looking back at the ork as he sighed.

“Great… this was not exactly what I was planning on when making an arrival…” The Adept Rogue happened to notice something by feet as he bent it over to pick it up. Ironically enough, it was that same piece of scrap that got him into this mess in the first place. “Okay, now that I’m back home, I need to send all of you back… and I have no idea how the hell we’re going to do that.”

“Just give the boss a few days, he’ll fix up dat truck and telepota we’ll be home before yooz knows it.” Said Giblit as he smiled. Though, it was not something that was to Haseo’s liking. Though… now that he thought about it some more… he was beginning to think of a better idea for this.

“Actually… I have a simpler solution,” He said, throwing the piece of scrap to where it was in front of the group and stuck in an ice block. “Though… all of you might want to get in your truck.”

It took the other orks a moment before they all smiled and jumped on the truck yelling. “ERE WE GO! ERE WE GO ERE WE GO!” Tom looked less pleased as Giblit ran to get back on the truck. “Iz diz how yooz ended up in dad badlands?” Tom asked.

“Sort of… but this will allow for two things… One, get you back… Two… see Skeith.” Just before Tom could even ask, Haseo stepped back some distance as the glowing avatar pattern of his took form. Within seconds, the orks now saw the avatar that was Skeith… and with it, locked onto the scrap in the distance.

“Homing shot!” With that single command, the swords that were behind him shot outward, striking the scrap as the same portal from before now began to drag the orks away while they were shouting their deaf inducing war crys. Though, after they were away, Haseo still found the same scrap lying in the snow as he decided to pocket it away… while also using the incendiary ammunition to torch the area that Tom and the others happened to land.

“Better hold onto this and make sure that nothing pops up here like wildfire,” He said to himself as he placed the scrap away. Right now… he needed some much needed sleep and an excuse to erase what just happened in the last twenty minutes. Though, anytime he thought he could be able to get some rest… he could still hear them shout ‘WAAAGH!!!’ in the back of his mind.

It was definitely going to be a long night. “God… dammit… orks.”

Next Morning…

Throughout most of the night, Haseo wasn’t able to get much sleep. After his… well, abrupt encounter with the ork that called himself ‘Tom’, a lot of questions still remained in the Adept Rogue’s mind. Specifically because of one thing in particular.

He ended up in that other realm through that piece of scrap that he had shot. Doing so again proved to him that the scrap was clearly not something created by AIDA, but something else entirely. And there was only one other person that was within the Empire that may know a thing or two about what he had experience late that night. Because how he remember Kite and BlackRose ending up in the empire sort of reminded him of how he came back from whatever barren waste he was dragged to into the first place.

Now… all he had to do was find him this morning. Which, to be fair, wasn’t exactly easy. He knew that Kite and BlackRose were staying in the empire… though, he just didn’t exactly know where in the empire they were staying at. He thought that they would be staying in the guest quarters of the castle, but after the fierce discussion with Ironwings the other day, Haseo was unsure about that given that Ironwings stayed in the guards quarters nearby the castle.

Those thoughts soon evaporated though when he happened to find who he was looking for upon coming back inside.

Kite looked much better than before, even smiling, however tame it was. “Hey, been awhile Ryou, you haven’t visited us.”

“Sorry about that. Yesterday was a bit crazy… for more than one reason,” He sighed, before going on to ask something. “How are you and Tessa doing?”

“She’s having a blast. The power couple have been spoiling her with treats.” Kite said, smirking to himself. “I’ve been… okay I suppose. Guess I won’t be a DJ anytime soon.”

Haseo, hearing that… was reminded of something that he had heard about in Ponyville when Twilight was over earlier, so he decided to bring it up. “Actually, I think there’s one in Ponyville. Goes by… DJ Pon-3 I think the name was. Next time I check on Twilight, maybe I can find out some more information for you.”

“Thanks, but I don’t think Equestria’s looking for a monkey playing on a turntable.” Kite said, somewhat bitterly. “What are you here for? You wouldn’t be here unless you needed something.”

Haseo sighed for a moment before looking back at his friend. “Well… something occurred the other night that reminded me of when you guys got here,” The Adept Rogue replied, handing the scrap that belonged to the Ork Warboss he somehow met that evening to Kite. “I found this in the middle of the hallway and I heard a voice from it. Thinking it was AIDA trying to take on the form of an object, I took it outside the empire to try and dispose of it, but ended up finding myself crashing in a completely different place that was being run by some Ork Warboss from Warhammer 40k when I used to play back home. I was able to get back, but the whole thing reminded me of when you and Tessa somehow got here earlier this week… Can you help me understand what this whole thing is?”

“I’m still a bit unsure what’s going on here myself. All I remember is hanging out with you and my brother at the convention… Mostly my brother though, heh.” Kite shrugged. “I think I’m still processing this… I don’t know how to help you, man.”

“Alright… I just thought I would ask you if you know about anything…” The Adept Rogue said, remembering his friends brother. “Still… now that you mention it… do you think Luke ended up in the same situation we’re in now?”

“Possibly… Him and his friends were with Tessa and I the whole time. But Tessa and I were in the same place, whereas we haven’t seen them here at all.”

“Man, I never knew that he was there too… I really would’ve wanted to get the chance to see him there with you guys,” Haseo told him. “Was he dressed up like you guys were?”

“I offered, Ryou, but you had somewhere else to be. And yeah, Luke was dressed up, but not as a Dot Hack character. He didn’t like any of the games, so he went as that Kingdom Hearts dark form of Sora.” Kite replied. Haseo himself was a little surprised by that choice, but then again, this was Kite’s brother they were talking about… and a part of him felt bad for both of them getting split up.

“I see… Hey… is there anything you guys want to do today? I know that I’ve been a bit busy, but I think I can be able to hang out with you guys and help you get to know how everything works out here. It’s been too long since I’ve last seen you guys and I want to show that I’m here to help.” He offered, looking back at Kite and thinking of an idea.

“Sure, I’m up for it. And Tessa’s been cooped up for too long… I half expect her to blow up.” The Twin Blade told him.

“Hmm… If that’s the case,” Haseo scratched his chin for a moment, shortly before coming up with an idea. “Would you two like to do some friendly sparring? The training grounds are not far from here.”

“I suppose…” Kite replied. “Let me get Tes and we’ll start.” The Adept Rogue smiled in response as his friend went in order to go get BlackRose. Even though they had no idea who or what exactly was out there in the world… that really didn’t matter.

As long as Haseo had his friends by his side… no one will be able to stop them from protecting their newfound home. And that’s what matters-

“LEEROY JENKINS!” BlackRose shouted as she ran down the stairs before tripping over her sword, which she had been holding in front of her. Sliding across the floor to where she ended up at Haseo’s feet.

Well… Mostly what matters.

8- Lessons

View Online

The Terror of Death- Lessons

Ponyville

By the time that Twilight had woken up this morning, there were… quite a lot of things that she was trying to wrap her head around. Everything from her newfound Avatar awakening just only yesterday to all the things that were going on in the Crystal Empire. Everything that she learned the other day from Radiant and Cadence was still fresh and buzzing in her head to the point that she wasn’t able to get much sleep when she came back home. Not only that, but by the time that she was home, Ponyville was still recovering from the battle with Trixie.

Even things seemed a little more out of place when she was trying to eat breakfast. Spike had told her that while she was in the empire, some of her friends decided to take the Cutie Mark Crusaders out on a camping trip. Not to mention the fact that Pinkie was babysitting for the cakes again and Fluttershy was watching over her Winona, Opalescence and Tank during her friends camping trip.

Of course, even though her friends said that they were wanting to help her out while she was away… It was sort of cruelly ironic that they weren’t here to help her while she was back home. Still, that didn’t stop her from wanting to do one thing while she was home. “Spike, I’m going out for a few minutes. Can you make sure that everything is cleaned up by the time I’m back?”

The baby dragon, at first, only nodded his head. But after a moment, he felt the need to ask her something. “Okay, but where are you going? The market’s closed today.”

“I know that. It’s always closed on sundays,” She replied back. “But I’m not going to the market. I’m going to the hospital.”

“Wait, why the-?” It only took a mere second for Spike to realize why Twilight would go there. But when he realized it, he felt a little uncomfortable with where Twilight was going with this. “Are you sure about this, Twilight? I mean… she almost wrecked Ponyville and tried to kill you-”

“Spike, you know that Trixie could not control herself when that happened,” Twilight told him, “Besides, if anything, she did not want for anypony to get hurt or anything to get destroyed. All she wanted was to prove that she could be better than me… She was ego driven.”

“If you say so…” Spike told her in response, before picking up some of the things that were lying on the ground and putting them away. Though, it was as he was putting away a book on ‘Wildlife in the Everfree’ that he soon said something else. Just as Twilight was about to walk out the door. “But, I’ll only believe that when I see her do something to help other ponies instead of the other way around. Hay, we’ve had two incidents so far where she had caused trouble and instead of accepting responsibility the first time, she disappeared in a puff of smoke.”

He was right about that… but Twilight really didn’t think that Trixie would try to dash out of the hospital in order to avoid seeing her. Especially in the condition that she was in. But, that would be for her to find out. “I always give ponies a second chance… and I am willing to do the same for Trixie.”

Closing the door behind her, Twilight began to make her way over to the Ponyville Hospital. Instead of just using a teleportation spell though, the unicorn decided to just simply walk over to the hospital. There was nothing going on right now where it would force her to try and rush things, plus the walk allowed for her to try and clear her mind a little. Put it at ease. Allow for herself to focus on the only thing that she was going to do right now and not let herself get sidetracked by anything else.

When she finally arrived at the hospital and stepped through, one of the main caretakers, Nurse Redheart, was rather surprised to see her. “M-ms. Sparkle! I-i really did not expect to see you here.”

Twilight herself, just smiled as she looked at the earth pony. “It’s good to see you as well, Nurse Redheart. I… wanted to ask you something regarding one of the patients that was brought in here the other day.”

For a moment, Redheart paused… before snapping back to her senses as she looked back at the unicorn. “Y-you mean Ms. Lulamoon?” She asked, a worried expression being on her face.

“Is something wrong?” Twilight calmly asked. “She’s okay, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, she is… but after that incident… well, Doctor Stable thinks it’s going to be almost impossible for her to fully recover,” The earth pony told her, having Twilight follow her over to the room where Trixie was staying at. “Whatever it was that took control of her put a massive strain on her mana. Like too much for a normal unicorn to handle… She may be able to recover physically, but… it’s unlikely that she’ll be able to do magic for a very long time.”

What Twilight heard… shocked her. All of this… and now, the chance for Trixie to use the one thing she wanted to outclass her in, was severely damaged. “H-how long?”

“Months… perhaps even years… It varies depending on how much magic they were using at the time this happened” Redheart told her as she looked back at her. “It’s a miracle that her horn is still intact though. If her horn actually shattered when this took place, she would not be able to wield magic ever again.”

That… lead to Twilight thinking something. “But… is there a chance that she can fully recover?” Redheart sighed for a moment, before looking back at her as she placed the clipboard away. Unsure of what to tell the unicorn as she watched Trixie just lie there on the hospital bed. Bandaged and still breathing as her pulse was being tracked by a small monitor nearby.

“She can recover… but it’s very unlikely that she’ll be back to her normal self ever again,” The nurse told her, before looking back at her and saying something else. “What’s worse is that when some of the other staff were trying to find anything that belonged to her, we learned that the wagon she would live in was destroyed. Meaning that she would have nowhere to go after she’s released from the hospital…”

It was in that moment that Twilight soon… thought of something. “Ms. Redheart… I want to be able to help her. Would it be okay for her to stay with me while she recovers? I wouldn’t want for her to be on her own while she’s still recovering, so can I let her stay with me?”

“A-are you sure?” Nurse Redheart was personally not prepared to hear that from Twilight at all. Her hat even almost fell off her face upon hearing that. “I mean… I’m not against the idea, but-”

“I want to help give Trixie a second chance and help her be herself again…” Twilight replied back to the nurse that was working there, taking a moment to pause and catch her breath before finishing her sentence. “I feel like what happened the other day and what happened to Trixie was my fault too… so I want to be able to shoulder some of the responsibility and help her anyway I can.”

That… lead to Nurse Redheart thinking things over for a moment, shortly before giving Twilight a temporary reply. “Let me ask Doctor Stable about it and see if he’s okay with it. Could you wait here for a few moments please?” The unicorn nodded her head as the nurse trotted down the hallway to look for her supervisor as Twilight waited on a bench outside of Trixie’s hospital room.

She only had to wait a couple of moments though before Nurse Redheart came back. “The doctor’s all for it. He just would like for you to give us some more time and make sure that Trixie wakes up first.”

“Thank you very much,” Twilight replied back, sounding relieved. “Can you let me know if there are any changes with her condition?”

“Absolutely.” The earth pony told her in response, proceeding to thank the unicorn for stopping by and checking in on her as Twilight began to make the trek back to Ponyville. But… it was as she was coming back that she decided to do something… different.

Instead of coming back home to settle down, she came back to the library to grab her saddle bag and the book that she acquired shortly after awakening Gorre, before making her way to a booth at the far end of town by the tracks. “One ticket to the crystal empire please…”

Crystal Empire- Barracks

After having to help BlackRose when she tripped over her own sword and slid across the floor of the castle like she was on an ice skating rink, Haseo was able to guide the two of them over to where the training area was. For a moment, it looked like a simple arena surrounded by stands. But it was as they were there that the Adept Rogue told them that the concept for the training yard was based on the Arena in the .hack//GU games, where there were holographic screens around the battlefield that were powered by magic and other mechanics to treat any sparring session like it was a real duel in The World.

“So, what do you guys think?” He asked both of his friends. “I haven’t had the chance to test this out yet, but from what I heard with Ironwings and her brother, it seems like it’s working quite well with the guards during training exercises.”

“I guess it’s cool.” Kite said, looking at it passively. BlackRose herself was jumping up and down, squealing with excitement.

“Cool!? It’s awesome! I’ve never seen anything like this before!”

“Glad you like it, Tess,” Haseo chuckled. “Back during the games where Haseo is from, the Arena is the only place in The World where PvP is allowed. In fact, some of the guilds are specifically for Arena competition. Yet, this is only used so far for Guard Training.”

“Seems like overkill.” Kite’s head sunk forward as he crossed his arms. He examined the arena once more, scrutinizing each and every detail. “A waste, if you’d ask me, but I doubt that matters.”

“Wow, you’re even more pessimistic, man!” BlackRose teased, elbowing Kite in his side. He was unaffected by that, however, and remained stoic.

“It’s how I’m coping with this seizure inducing world. There’s nothing to do, and I’ve nearly gone mad with sitting around and listening to the royal pains about friendship and love or whatever… I already miss home.” Kite grumbled, a sombre look adorning his features.

“Hey, I miss it too… Though, I’m trying to make the most of things,” Haseo sighed, before looking back at Kite and moving his fingers for a second to where it looked like a screen popped up in front of him. “Right now though, would you or BlackRose like to go first when it comes to sparring? And I’ll not do my Job Extend to switch classes because I want it to be a fair fight.”

“Always thought that was BS…” Kite remarked, but was barely heard by BlackRose as she shouted.

“I’ll go first! I’m ready to show you what I’ve got!” BlackRose grinned, stepping forward and resting her blade on her shoulder.

“Alright then,” Haseo said, summoning his twin blades and changing his appearance to reflect the armor of his second job class. “Though… let’s be clear on some things. First, you can’t use items.”

“I don’t have anything in my inventory…” BlackRose replied after looking at her menu, a bit shocked.

“Alright…” Haseo said, surprised that she was able to bring out a menu before redirecting his focus on the matter at hand. “Secondly, we can do either best of three matches or just one round. Which do you prefer?”

“One round, no second chances!” BlackRose grinned excitedly, twirling her giant sword. “We fight till…?”

“Fight til the end?” Haseo finished her sentence, twirling his two blades and held onto them backwards, before setting up the parameters for the arena as he looked back at her. “Alright, all set-”

“Wait, I asked when do we stop!? How do we know who won!?” BlackRose shouted, getting nervous about hurting Haseo.

Around then was when Haseo looked up above the arena at one of the screens on the top. Showing what looked like two lifebars, one for Haseo and one for BlackRose. Both of them were colored a gradient green with a bit of red at the end of the bars. “How about whoever gets their opponents health into the red first? Sounds simple right?”

“Alright, it’s time to duel!”

“Wrong franchise, Tess!” Kite called out, unenthused. Haseo just chuckled for a moment, before looking back at his opponent and waiting to see what BlackRose would do first. She charged forward, holding up her blade for a downward strike. Seeing this, he went forward as well, but easily was able to dodge to the right once she brought down her blade and allowing the Adept Rogue a chance to hit her with his twin blades. Striking the right side of her chest as he turned back to her to see if BlackRose was going to counter somehow.

“Gyah! Take it easy, jerk!” BlackRose hissed in pain, stumbling away from Haseo and holding the spot he hit her. Looking at her health, Haseo noticed he took out almost half of her health with that single graze.

“Wait… aren’t you suppose to have some kind of armor or something? I didn’t give you a big gash at all, it was just a couple of cuts.” The Adept Rogue asked her, before looking back at BlackRose’s armor choice. “Oh… right. I almost forgot about that.”

“I’m also level three!” Blackrose hissed, waving her sword around in a huff.

That… had Haseo blink for a moment. “Wait… seriously? I thought you guys would be higher than that…” He blinked again, looking rather surprised as he looked to Kite now.

Kite just shrugged. “What level were you when you arrived?” He inquired with a raised brow.

“One… and before I was frozen in ice, I was close to fifty… However, right now, it feels like I’ve been away at the controls for too long and I’m trying to relearn a lot of things,” He said, before asking his friend something. “What level were you when you arrived… if you don’t mind me asking.”

“One. I’ve been training but there isn’t a lot to fight out in the cold, especially when Shining and Cadenza don’t seem to trust us. Kite’s not much better, he’s just been lazing about.” BlackRose said, to which Kite gave an uncaring shrug. “The only thing I’ve killed was a Bearbug by mistake-”

“Bugbear.” Kite corrected.

“Bugbear by mistake, and with an escort of guards.” BlackRose finished.

“Well, I was going to suggest to Shining Armor to put up a quest board of some kind… that way ponies and other individuals like us can take on assignments and gain experience from them. Besides… with the fact that AIDA is out there in Equestria and a lot of this world is almost like The World, it’s more than likely that there may be monsters outside the Crystal Empire that you can hunt.” Haseo suggested. “So… instead of me trying to take you down… how about we try something else… Try and hit me… as hard as you can.”

“Um… okay.” BlackRose replied, gripping her blade tighter. “So, um… are you going to block or do I have to actually hit you, because I’m not into hitting friends, even if that friend took a chunk out of my side!” She babbled almost coherently.

“I’m not blocking. I just want to see what kind of abilities you can do.” Haseo said. “After that… maybe you can let Kite have a go instead.”

“Alrighty! Here I come!” BlackRose sprinted forward, swinging wildly and without focus. Haseo… originally thought that this attack wouldn’t really do a lot of damage. However, the closer and closer she was getting to him, the more and more he began to realize that it wasn’t entirely a good idea to underestimate what she was doing. And when her blade hit, it hit hard.

Hard enough that when the blade actually landed and struck the upper half of his body, a quarter of his health bar dropped as he was thrown backward from the impact.

“A-a-are you okay, Ryou!?” BlackRose gasped, dropping her sword and rushing to Haseo’s side.

“Yeah… I’m f-fine,” He coughed, getting up and looking back at his friend. “For someone who’s level three, that was a pretty strong hit.”

“Really…?” BlackRose looked back at her sword.

Kite stepped into the arena. “You could’ve looked at the weapon’s stats to see how much damage it’d do… Would’ve saved you the pain. She’s a low level with a high level weapon, which could explain her lack of skill with the weapon if that indeed if how skill translates.”

“Maybe another day, we can help her gain some more experience so her skill and the skill of the weapon match out?” Haseo suggested, while also using some of the interface with the mission to call off the match and declaring it a draw right now. “I mean… it’s possible, right?”

“Have you ever gained experience without killing?” Kite asked all of a sudden, a sullen look on his face. “I mean, training doesn’t exactly help, now does it?”

“Remember when I mentioned that I was going to have them set up a quest board?” Haseo asked him in response. “I mean… you are right on the training part… but if we’re treating this like The World, then the best way for her to gain experience and for her to know how to fight is to, in fact, fight monsters, right? It’s just an idea…”

“Just don’t be an escort to her…” Kite grumbled, massaging his forehead. “Damn it, I already have another headache…”

Haseo, for a moment, seemed a bit concerned for Kite as he felt the pain from BlackRose’s attack subside. Before thinking of something else to change the topic now. “So… are you still up for that duel or do you want to wait a little and let that headache subside?”

“I’ll be fine, it’s just a headache. But hey, I’m sure you can get your rest later, lil’ man.” Kite tease, a genuine smirk forming on his lips. A smile Haseo hadn’t seen since they arrived, one filled with a playfulness only his friend could conjure up, or BlackRose’s attempted imitation.

“Alright, if you say so,” He replied back, smirking in response and letting BlackRose leave the arena first. After she stepped out, the arena began to change around them and reset. Having the two opponents be both Kite and Haseo as both of their levels were currently scaled at level 25.

Just as the fight was about to get started… BlackRose soon had a… unexpected guest show up right next to her. “Good afternoon,” Looking up, she saw both Shining Armor and Princess Cadence as the princess was directly talking to her. “Would you mind if we join you?”

“Not at all. Haseo’s just about to show Kite what-for! Lazy butt over there hasn’t fought a thing since we arrived.” BlackRose stated.

“Oh really? Well, given the kind of power that he showed when Haseo destroyed Sombra… this may be interesting to watch.” Shining Armor commented as both of them sat down. “Of course, I don’t think Haseo will be using that… well… what was it called again?”

“You mean his avatar, honey?”

“Yes, that… He probably won’t be using something like that for just a simple duel.” Shining Armor replied back to Cadence’s comment as they watched Haseo get out his twin blades and hold them firmly in his hands.

“I doubt Kite would use his… well you wouldn’t know what that is.” BlackRose added as she watched Kite unsheath his own dual blades.

To which, Cadence noticed something… despite the fact that Haseo had access to the weapons and skills of four other classes, it appeared that he was sticking with the weapons and the skills of the twin blade. The same class as his friend and current foe. So seeing two opponents clash with the same kind of skills and abilities would be rather interesting to watch.

But the one thing that Shining was taking into account was that unlike with Haseo… nopony knew what kind of powers Kite here had at his disposal. Something that they were going to find out about really soon.

“You ready, Seabus?” Haseo asked, grinning as he held his blades in reverse and took up a fighting stance.

“Yeah, I guess.” Kite replied. He then began to slowly walk towards Haseo, twirling one of his blades in his hand effortlessly. “Are you, Ryou?”

“Just as ready as you are.” Haseo said confidently. But in that split moment Kite was already in front of him, thrusting his blades into Haseo’s chest before kicking him away, and a devious grin formed on Kite’s face. In response to getting knocked back, Haseo flipped around, landing on his feet and charging back at his opponent. Attacking from all angles in hopes that he will be able to land a hit, but Kite easily blocked both attacks.

“Twin Blade vs. Twin Blade. But you can’t beat the original~” Kite chuckled, smile ever widening with excitement, before headbutting Haseo.

As the Adept Rogue was finding a way to fight back, that was when Shining soon turned his head and looked towards BlackRose. “What does your friend mean by that?”

“What do you know about Haseo and us?” BlackRose inquired.

“Well, Haseo explained the job class system to us and it’s the same system we are implementing with many of the ponies that are here… but aside from that and how he originally came here, not a lot,” Cadence added on to what her husband was saying. “We didn’t have much time to talk on the subject given that Celestia was coming over and we had the incident with Twilight back in Ponyville…”

“Well then I’ll explain it like this. Haseo’s job class is a second generation class, while Kite’s is one of the originals, as am I.” BlackRose explained. “But he probably meant that he’s the first series’ protagonist while Haseo is the second series’.”

“So… you mean that Haseo… would not exactly have all the same skills and strengths as your friend?” Shining asked, raising an eyebrow as he tried to wrap his head around all of this.

“Adept Rogues are jacks of all trades, yet master of none. Kite and I are masters of one trade.” BlackRose elaborated. “Haseo’s great at multiple, but I’m sure if he tried to use all of his classes at once it’d be overtaxing. Here he’s just trying to make it easier on Kite and I… I don’t think it’s working out for him.”

Shining himself, put a hoof to his chin and began to ponder what she said. “Well, in a way, that does make sense… Because I would think that if you have access to multiple classes, you have a limited number of skills to specialize in since your list of skills is spread out between all three… So only sticking to one of them is like only half of all the abilities in your arsenal.”

“More likely a quarter…” Cadence corrected her husband. “He has four different jobs, but he’s only using one. So it would be limiting himself to one-fourth of what he can do. That and he’s not using Skeith either.”

“Skeith wouldn’t exactly work. Let’s just say that no matter what, Skeith would be Kite’s bitch, even at level one.” BlackRose chuckled. “Seabus is an ass that way with video games.”

At one point in the match, Kite looked to be gaining an edge in the fight as he was pushing Haseo back into a corner. That is… until Haseo dodged one of his attacks and proceeded to charge at his opponent and say two words “Ghost Falcon!”

In that instant, Haseo unleashed a string of strikes against Kite and ended it with a somersault kick that knocked the Twin Blade into the air. Even though it was a strong attack and got Haseo out of a corner… it didn’t quite do enough damage to have Kite back off. Which surprised him… because of three things. First, it barely took a single attack from him to put BlackRose’s health at half… yet with Kite, a single hit only took away a small chunk of health. Second, the skill that he just performed was a high level attack that would do a fair amount of damage to an opponent… but Kite just shrugged it off as if it did not affect him at all.

Lastly though… was how Kite retaliated for what Haseo just did. His weapons embedded themselves into Haseo’s skull, draining his HP by a substantial amount, and Kite didn’t seem to want to take them out as he walked away casually. Leaving the Adept Rogue shocked as he was trying to get back up after an attack like that… but found that his health was much lower than he originally thought it would be at.

“You okay buddy? Did I hit something important? I wondered if crits were determined by headshots… Guess I was wrong.” Kite mocked, grinning like a madman. “Oh man I feel alive, this has picked up my spirits by spades!”

“What the hell!?” BlackRose gaped. “How’s he not out of the fight already! He should be a level… one…” BlackRose then looked at the two’s levels and noticed something. “What the… he’s at max level for the match!? How!?”

For that moment… Haseo paused, asking Kite to stop for a moment before looking back at her. “The arena scaled the levels of the combatants to where they are both 25… so the only possible reason would be that Kite was over that level threshold.”

“How’s that possible!?” BlackRose stared at Kite in utter disbelief. Kite just shrugged, while both Shining and Cadence were rather shocked by how somepony that they only had met for a couple of days was able to get the upper hand on Haseo.

“My only guess… would be that you were somehow over level 25 before you two somehow came here…” Haseo suggested, before taking a deep breath. “The only way we would know is that we look at Kite’s current level once the match is over-”

“It’s twenty eight.” Kite cut in. “I looked at it not long after we arrived. I though Tess would be upset that she was the weakest of the three of us.”

“Hey! You’re not wrong…” BlackRose grumbled, pouting all the while as she crossed her arms and slouched. All while Cadence was patting her on the shoulder and trying to comfort her.

“Maybe we should continue this once the match is over though…” Haseo pointed out, looking up to show that he still had a quarter of his health left while Kite had about seventy percent. That and his health wasn’t exactly in the red… and right now, that was not the case.

“I concur, monami.” Kite took the conversation as an opportunity to retrieve his matching blades.

Haseo himself, noticed him eyeing his blades as he tried to prevent him from grabbing them. Going as far as throwing one of his own blades to try and knock Kite’s away. However, all that did was allow for Kite to use the Adept Rogue’s own weapon against him as he pulled it out of the ground and threw it back. Forcing Haseo to focus on trying to catch it and have him not pay attention to Kite being able to successfully retrieve both of his weapons.

And then the unthinkable happened. He threw both blades with the skill of an expert knife thrower into Haseo’s most sacred place. “Oh, so that’s where crit’s happen. Good to know.”

At that, Haseo fell backward as he tried to properly stand. Even though he was in pain for a minute as he looked back at his friend. Not even paying attention to the fact that both Shining Armor and Cadence were staring at Kite with wide eyes… while BlackRose was laughing her ass off.

Though, it was as the arena was saying that Kite was declared the winner and when Haseo was giving Kite his weapons back that he tried… to make the best of it. “Can I be the first to say… That was a rather dick move?”

“What can I say? I fight dirty. I’m sorry though, man. It wasn’t exactly the friendliest move. I got carried away.” Kite said, moving his blades away from his person. Haseo also put his weapons away, giving Kite a quick pat on the back and a hug as a way to congratulate him on his victory as they walked back over to where BlackRose was waiting for them.

“Seriously, Kite, that was brutal! Reminds me when you bet fifty bucks with your brother if you beat him, and then chose the cheapest character!” BlackRose cackled, holding her stomach.

Haseo remembered those days too, shortly before looking back at both of them. “Well… if I haven’t said it already, I’m saying it now. I’m glad that both of you guys are here. I’ve missed hanging out with you two.”

“You might miss something else that’s supposed to hang-” BlackRose began, pointing down shortly before Kite elbowed her. “We missed you too!” All Haseo could do was roll his eyes and chuckle at that. It had been forever since he had seen his friends… and it felt great to have both of them back-.

“AWW, THIS COMRADERY AMONGST FRIENDS IS THE MOST MANLY I’VE SEEN IN MY LIFE!!!!”

And now reality began to set back in again as Haseo facepalmed himself. “God dammit Hoofstrong…”

Much later…

When Twilight found herself trotting off the train once again and stepping hoof into the Crystal Empire, she was beginning to think that somehow the Empire was a place where she would always be pulled back to no matter how far away somepony tries to get away. Like a pair of magnets… just with one of them being the Crystal empire and standing still while the other one was her and she was finding herself always getting pulled back here. Of course, in Twilight’s mind… that wasn’t entirely a bad thing. She did not get the chance to look around the Empire when she was here the last time. Only just the castle and some of the places outside of it.

Now though, as she was trotting through the streets, the unicorn was seeing some ponies wearing strange looking armor and some were carrying weapons. Others were hammering away with metals at the forge, creating potions through what looked like alchemy and also trading with other ponies. Though, she was also able to overhear some of the ponies nearby what looked like a bulletin board speak to one another.

“Hey, look at this… the Crystal Guard wants a team to be able to map out some of the territory around the empire and slay some Diamond Dire Wolves. You think we can do it?” A crystal pegasus with a leather like armor set asked his colleagues.

“Diamond Dire Wolves? You mean the savage variant of Diamond Wolves that attack lone ponies on sight?” A crystal unicorn mare, wearing a robe and carrying a staff responded back. “According to the legends, there were dens of them in the Crystal Mountains.”

“That would be the first place to look then. Let’s go!” A crystal pony stallion with a giant broadsword on his back declared before all three of them went towards the gates of the empire, after they pressed a hoof on the board and what looked like a holographic box emerged in front of them, the words ‘Quest Accepted’ in the center of it.

“Was the Empire already like this when I was here the last time? I mean… when it was freed from Sombra, the city was recovering. Now though… everything’s thriving on it’s own-” As she was processing this though, the mare accidentally walked straight into somepony else that was carrying a stack of books with their magic. And upon bumping into them, both ponies fell on the floor and the stack of books that the other was carrying soon hit Twilight. Making her realize what happened as she turned to face the pony she accidentally walked into. “O-oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! A-are you okay?”

“Y-yeah I guess…” She heard the unicorn stallion speak up, using his magic to put his glasses back on before casting a spell to reorganize the books he dropped before looking at Twilight again. “Though, it was kind of my fault too since I didn’t see you. My apologies…”

Of course, that was also when Twilight realized that the only book that she brought… was in the stack of the books that this stallion had. “I-it’s fine… Though, I think my book is in your stack.”

The stallion, in response, raised an eyebrow before looking back at her and realizing the one oddity that was in his small collection as he gave it back to her. “Oh, my apologies again… man, I’m only here for a few days from Canterlot and living her hasn’t really been easy.”

As Twilight herself got her book back, the unicorn herself now was a little surprised to hear the stallion tell her that. “You were in Canterlot? What brought you here mister… I’m sorry, but what’s your name?”

As the two of them began to speak, both unicorns now began to walk towards the center of the city and close to where the castle was. And along the way, the stallion began to answer Twilight’s questions. Starting with her most recent one. “Sunburst. My name is Sunburst. And originally, I was accepted into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. After I graduated, I worked as a scribe in Canterlot, but since the return of the Crystal Empire, Celestia insisted that I would be able to have more opportunities here working for Shining Armor and Princess Cadence-”

That last part of the stallion’s statement… had Twilight’s brain slide to a screeching halt. “Wait, you work for my brother?”

When Sunburst heard that, the stallion almost tripped on the small stairwell that lead up to the doors of the castle. Caught off guard by the question. “Hold up… brother?”

“I… don’t believe he told you, but I’m his sister,” Twilight explained, before extending a hoof for the stallion to shake. “Twilight Sparkle…”

Again… Sunburst was caught off guard by that revelation. “Wait… You mean the Twilight? As in Celestia’s student and the Element of Magic?” All Twilight could do was nod her head as Sunburst soon grabbed her outstretched hoof with his and began to shake it. “It’s an honor to meet one of the elements of harmony. I keep hearing about your endeavours all the time around Canterlot, but I never thought I would be able to meet you in person one day.”

Of course, a few seconds after originally saying that, Sunburst let go of the hoofshake and began to reposition the glasses on his forehead. “So… Ms. Sparkle… what brings you to the empire? Have you come to see Cadence or your brother by any chance?”

However, The unicorn mare’s answer for him… was one that he didn’t really think that he would hear her say. “Actually, I came by to see Haseo. Would you happen to know where I can find him?” Sunburst personally had to take a moment to wrap his head around what she just asked, before having to recompose himself and turn to face Twilight.

“Um… I think he would be somewhere around the castle… other then that, I don’t know,” He unfortunately told her, before asking a follow up question. “Why did you want to see him?”

“Well, he happened to help me out when something happened in Ponyville the other day, but there were a few questions that I have yet to ask him that have been on my mind,” The mare replied back. “So I thought instead of having them linger in there and irritate me to the point of insanity, I thought I would come to the empire so I can ask for some answers.”

“I see… well, I can go look for him if you like,” Sunburst offered to her as he began to trot up the stairs. “I was going to bring these books over to my personal study, but I can go look for him after I drop these off-.”

“Would you like for me to help you with that, then?” He heard Twilight ask, something that he personally did not expect to hear from her. “I mean… it’s the least I can do to help you so you can look for Haseo-”

“Somepony called my name?” At that moment, both ponies turned around to see the person that Twilight was looking for at the top of the stairs, caught off guard by the fact that they found who they were looking for so easily. But to Haseo, the thing that he was surprised about was the fact that Twilight was there. “Twilight? I thought you went back to Ponyville yesterday-”

“And I came back today,” The unicorn told him in response. “There were some things that I wanted to ask you about the other day that I didn’t get the chance to say. Are you… busy at all?”

The Adept Rogue, in response, shook his head and looked back at the unicorn. “No actually. All I was doing earlier was testing the arena that we had set up for the guards, but I’m not doing anything particular right now.” Sunburst himself saw that he wasn’t particularly needed now that Twilight found who she was looking for. So the unicorn stallion decided to be on his way and return back to his chambers so he can leave the two of them alone and allow for them to speak to each other freely.

“Well, to be honest… Earlier today, I visited the Ponyville Hospital to see how Trixie was recovering after she was afflicted with AIDA,” Twilight started off as she gave Haseo a short, but detailed summary of what she learned. “AIDA almost depleted her of all her mana… not making her able to use magic at all for the next few months. Hearing that… just made me think about how I now have Gorre, but I want to do more to help others so that the same thing doesn’t happen to them.”

That… had Haseo think a little to himself, scratching his chin before noticing the book she was holding with her magic. “Twilight… may I please have a look at that?”

“S-sure…” She said, levitating the book over to him as he held it in one of his hands. Though, she was caught off guard when a small box of light emerged from his fingers as he inspected it.

But, what he soon found out was something that even surprised him. “Holy-.”

“W-what? Is something wrong?” Twilight nervously asked him.

“No, it’s just that this isn’t an ordinary book Twilight. It’s a grimoire,” He told her, before asking a question that seemed way out of left field. Even to her understanding. “Spell books that are used as weapons by those of the Shadow Warlock class. These books contain different spells for attacking enemies and supporting allies just within the text of these pages.”

Then… came a random question that she wasn’t expecting at all. “What level are you?”

“E-excuse me?” Twilight stammered. “Haseo, w-what are you talking about?”

That had the Adept Rogue sigh for a moment, before looking back at her. “Think about it like this… Have you fought against creatures or monsters? Completed errands or assignments from your teacher? Fought any bad guys?”

“Y-yeah, all of those things! But why-?”

“Well, in the Crystal Empire, all of those previous feats and experiences actually are suppose to help you progress… Think of it like a role playing game,” The Adept Rogue explained to her. “You pick your character, complete assignments and the more that you level up, the stronger that you become. That’s the system that is implemented here in the Empire… As for your grimoire here… after inspecting it, I found out that this is a ‘Magic Hosei’. A grimoire that requires somepony to be level 15 to use…”

Then came something that Twilight did not expect… Haseo used the same technique earlier when it came to inspecting the grimoire… on herself. And the results of that surprised her. “What in the name of-?!”

“Hunh… let’s see… level 20… Class: Undefined. That’s weird… Species: Unicorn. Occupation(s): Element of Magic, Celestia’s student, Bookworm at the Ponyville Library, Egghead-?”

“Okay, okay, okay!” Twilight spoke up, backing up and breaking Haseo out of his concentration. “Please… don’t do anything like that again unless you asked me first.”

“S-sorry, I was kind of getting carried away,” He apologized to her. “In my mind… I was thinking that the best way in order to prepare you for when we actually train with your avatar is to see how strong you are with your skills of magic. Because if you somehow found this grimoire… I think that as a shadow warlock, you can be pretty strong.”

That had Twilight blink for a moment, before asking something. “Doesn’t it depend less on how powerful the magic is and more on the user? I mean, somepony who’s an apprentice might have good spells, but they can still be beaten by a grand magus.” That was a rather valid point. And one that Haseo was now thinking about for a bit before answering it.

“True, but I don’t think Ponykind is familiar with the kind of magic that a shadow warlock or harvest cleric,” He replied back as he gave the book back to the unicorn. “For one thing, they normally cast spells by reciting the words off the top of their head or in the pages of a grimoire. As for ponies, it seems like it just comes to them naturally.”

Hearing that was definitely something that Twilight did not expect… but it was also something that she was actually a bit curious about and wanted to learn more. “So… how do you become a shadow warlock? Because… I found this book just after awakening Gorre. I think it’s trying to tell me to learn the knowledge that’s inside of it. So with that in mind, how do I become one?”

Haseo could only chuckle a little bit as he looked back at the unicorn. “Well, for that… you’ve come to the right place.”

???

The world all around her felt cold and damp as she opened her eyes. Finding herself in a deep frozen cave, closed off from the rest of the world outside… but unsure as to why or what happened that caused her to be down here. All that she could remember was her name… and the fact that she was running. To help her-.

“Agh!” The mare screamed, feeling a severe pain shoot through her left shoulder as she weakly tried to stand. But the pain in her shoulder grew stronger with each step that she took. Almost as if something was wanting to take form from it. But before she could do anything about it, her hooves and body were covered in a warm cyan glow. Symbols emerging across her body as she looked up at what was in front of her.

“W-wha-?” She asked, sounding confused for a moment… before saying something as she was shivering. “You… brought me back?” It was silent across the cavern, but something told her that her question, along with a few other things were explained to her briefly.

But… she had one question for the being that stood before her. “W-who are you?”

In response… It only said one thing. “Corbenik”

9- Encounter

View Online

The Terror of Death- Encounter

In the time that it took for Twilight in order to become a shadow warlock and learn about her new spells and abilities, the unicorn was surprised at a few things. First, the pages in the grimoire, unlike before, translated to perfect equish for her to read. Yet, some of the spells that she was reading did not even seem to form actual words. Secondly, unlike the magic that she was already familiar with and accustomed too, she learned that she had to speak the spells in order to cast them. Something that was… not entirely common with magic. In her mind, you don’t hear Celestia say ‘Rise up!’ whenever she raises the sun.

Of course, she didn’t exactly have all the time to process that at the moment. “Hey, bookworm,” The unicorn looked up, seeing Haseo as he was setting down what looked like a pair of crystalline mugs on the stands around the training ground as he looked back at her. “How’s the studying going?”

Rolling her eyes, she used her magic to close the spellbook as the unicorn cleared her throat and got up off the ground. Facing Haseo as she began to speak. “For the record, only my friends call me that…”

“What? So I’m not seen as a friend? That’s kind of harsh.” He chuckled in response, putting his left hand on his hip while having the other one just rest alongside him freely.

“No, that’s not what I-” Twilight said, before looking back at the Adept Rogue and letting out a low sigh. “Nevermind…”

“You know I’m just messing with you right?” He asked, before taking a drink out of one of the mugs as he offered one to Twilight. “How about a drink?”

“Um… should I be concerned about what’s in those mugs?” She asked, raising an eyebrow before trying to look and see what was in the mugs. Only to see what looked like a clear substance and a few ice cubes in each one of the mugs.

“Twilight, the only thing that’s in here is purified water,” He told her in response before getting up and making his way into the middle of the arena. “I just thought that you would need something to drink after looking through that grimoire for… well, over half an hour.” The unicorn blinked at that, looking around for a moment and was startled when she realized how much time had passed since she first started reading the grimoire that she had and trying to soak up the information within its pages.

“Sorry, I was just… The spells in this book are much different than I anticipated. I was just trying to take some time to understand the basic ones,” The unicorn told him in response while also mentioning another thing to him. “That and I’m still trying to process this whole thing that you were mentioning about ‘Levels’ earlier. You say it like it’s one of those role-playing games that Shining Armor introduced Spike to a long time ago.”

“It’s… kind of like that,” Haseo shrugged the back of his hand. “When my friends and I were originally displaced, we were displaced as characters from an RPG. So the whole thing with levels, skills, and experience all still applies. However, I’m not at max level and all of us still have room to grow… including you too.”

“Why thank you for the compliment,” Twilight replied sarcastically. Before she thought of an idea. “Hey… since I’ve had some time to look these over… would you mind if I try a few of these spells?” The question originally had Haseo fold his arms for a moment, before asking a particular question.

“Okay, but what did you exactly want to try these spells out on? We have training dummies and can simulate monsters-.” The Adept Rogue was going to continue speaking, but not before he heard Twilight’s answer. And one that caught him personally off guard.

“Can I try them out against you?”

At first, Haseo thought that Twilight was joking. But after a few seconds, he realized that she wasn’t exactly kidding when she asked him that. “You’re serious? You… actually want to fight against me?”

“Not fight, just practice,” Twilight replied back to him. “Like a training session. You just stand there and I say the spells in order to see what happens.”

Haseo gulped at hearing that, before telling her something. “That sounds more like you wanting to use me as a punching bag. Are you sure that you know what most of those spells are supposed to do.”

“No, that’s why I want to test them and find out,” Twilight replied back, just at Haseo facepalmed himself and let out a deep sigh. “What? Is something wrong?”

“Other then the fact that it would be much simpler to try it on a training dummy first before trying it on a living being. Besides, if you actually did that, I would have little time to try and dodge whatever you conjure.” Haseo replied back to her, before explaining something rather important to her. “Unlike Unicorn magic, magic spells for a Shadow Warlock and skills that all other classes can learn are powerful, no matter if you get it at level one or level twenty. In fact, a Shadow Warlock with powerful spells could still lose to low level spells wielded by an experienced one… Here, let me show you.”

Twilight blinked for a moment, before looking back at Haseo. “Uh… how do you plan to show me?”

“Consider it like a reflex test,” The Adept Rogue explained as he summoned his DG-X pistols and held them at his side. “How good are you when it comes to defensive spells? Like ones that you are familiar with because I know that Shadow Warlocks don’t have any skills in order to use for defense.”

Twilight blinked at that, before looking back towards Haseo. “I was… going to ask about that. I was noticing that a lot of the spells in here, aside from some exceptions regarding minor healing, were offensive based.”

Haseo nodded, before looking back towards Twilight as he began to try and clear things up for her. “The only two magic based classes in the Empire right now are the Shadow Warlock and the Harvest Cleric. One class is specifically set up towards offense while the other is more for defense and support. Of course, if there were other Adept Rogues, there can be someone who could use both… but given how my class is one that’s a ‘Jack of all trades and a master of none’, It would be generally disliked since it would limit the amount of spells or arts you would have access to.”

The unicorn took a moment to process that, thinking over what he just said… shortly before he added something. “But you’re different, Twilight. You have your equestrian magic to fill in some of the gaps that a normal shadow warlock would have. So… hypothetically speaking, it would be entirely possible that you can combine the magic you’re used to and this one together.”

“All of that and Gorre’s power as well?” Twilight then asked.

“Well, when you are in your Epitaph state, you can’t use the abilities of your class alongside your Avatar’s powers. I can’t use my arts or skills when I use Skeith,” He clarified for her. “Besides, Avatars can only used when having to fight AIDA that has gone out of control or other Avatars. It cannot be used willy-nilly. Do I make myself clear, Twilight?”

“Absolutely.” She immediately stated.

“Alright, then let’s start with that reflex test,” He replied to her, before turning around and walking to the edge of the training ground. Once he was a considerable distance away, he turned back to Twilight as she was looking back at the rogue. “On three. And just to be clear… Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

The unicorn, upon originally hearing that, just chuckled as she looked back at him. “Yeah, I am ready.”

“Good,” Haseo smirked, before pointing one of his pistols to Twilight. “Three.”

“Wait, wha-?” Twilight had only seconds to react as Haseo fired two shots each from his pistols. Causing her to dodge the first set before using her magic to block the other two. “Seriously!? Do you even know how to count?!”

“I do… But this is supposed to test how your reflexes are. And in an actual fight, ponies aren’t going to give you time to prepare yourself first before starting,” He replied back, taking a moment to reload his weapons. “Still, that was a pretty good job at blocking if I do say so myself.”

“Okay, I get your point in doing that… But I still see that as uncalled for,” Twilight replied back to him as she let out a deep sigh. But when she turned her head, that was when she noticed something. “Hey… do those mugs that you have melt?”

“Uh, no. They’re made out of the same material that’s used for weapons and armor. Why?” Haseo asked.

“Well, I don’t see them anymore…” That had the Adept Rogue turn around to realize that the drinks that he specifically had on the bench gone. Like they vanished without a trace. Which was weird because he was sure that there wasn’t anypony else nearby that would try to take it without either of them noticing.

“Hunh… that’s strange…” He replied back, before looking back to Twilight. “Maybe somepony from the castle brought them back inside unknowingly.”

“I didn’t feel anypony come by here in that short amount of time,” The unicorn then told him. “With my magic, I mean… Unicorns and Alicorns can tell if somepony is nearby just by feeling something off with the magic around them.”

“Let’s not focus on that right now though,” He told her, before deciding to walk over to the supply shed by the barracks and bring out a few dummies as he set them out in a row. “Instead, lets give you a few targets for you to practice some of those new spells. I think it would be better for you to use them against a practice dummy.”

“Says the guy who wanted to do a reflex test by shooting me.” She deadpanned.

“That was only one time… and I’m not doing it anymore. Besides, it was more than just a reflex test. It was also… how should I put this…” He replied back, before thinking of something to say. “You ever heard of a hand-eye coordination test?”

“You mean a hoof-eye coordination test?” The unicorn asked, before realizing something. “Oh I get it… You wanted to see how fast I could be able to cast my magic in reaction to if something was coming at me! Is that it?”

The Adept Rogue could only nod his head in response as he put his weapons away now. “That’s exactly it. If you weren’t able to cast quickly, I would’ve had us do a few more in order to practice it. But it looks like there’s no need for that. Instead, we can take some time on practicing the new spells in your grimoire.”

“Alright then… if you say so,” Twilight told him, before cracking open her book and channeling magic through her horn as she began to recite the first words on the top of the page. Wind churning around her hooves while she focused on her target. “Zan Rom!”

Immediately upon saying the spells name, a small tornado began to take form in the middle of the set of dummies. Though, it wasn’t trying to knock them up into the air at all. Instead, the wind was slicing at them, dealing damage the longer it continued to spin. Unfortunately though, since this was a low level spell, it only lasted for a few seconds before fading out.

“Well done,” Haseo congratulated her. “Even though that was a low level spell, you pulled that one off very well.”

“Thanks…” The unicorn replied, before thinking of something. “It’s strange though. Normally, when you have a spell that lasts a certain amount of time, you have to use up more mana in order to maintain it… is that the case here?”

“Unfortunately, I wouldn’t know…” The Adept Rogue replied back to her. “I only know some small healing spells, but that’s it. Most of my abilities are what’s called skills. But then there is one other thing I have yet to try actually.”

That… made Twilight curious. “Oh? What’s that?”

“Well… think of it as a special kind of attack that happens when you break down your opponents defenses. The catch is that it’s only easier to pull it off as a class that’s focused more on physical damage than magical,” Haseo began to explain, while trying to be as precise as possible. “It’s called a ‘Rengeki’, but it translates to ‘Combo attack’ and if it’s done successfully, the damage you can deal to an opponent is twice that of the damage you can deal with normal attacks.”

“That… sounds like it’s pretty useful.” The unicorn commented.

“It actually is. Because pulling off a Rengeki can have you gain extra experience and the higher level you are, the more challenging opponents and monsters that you can be able to face.” Haseo replied back as he looked back at her. “For and Adept Rogue like myself, it also provides a chance for me to switch weapons if I need to.”

“I see…” Twilight commented once again. Only for Haseo to look back at her shortly after finishing what he was saying.

“But enough about me. Let’s continue with where we left off with your new spells.” The rogue told her, taking the chance to move a few of the dummies out of the way so Twilight could focus on one specific target with the next few spells she would try out. For her offensive spells, each one were categorized with different elemental trees like fire, wind, water, earth, light and dark. Other spells that he called ‘Lei’ spells since they all had Lei in the second half of the name would apply status effects to a target, like poison, paralysis, sleep, curse, seal and confusion. Another group were Repth spells, used for healing the caster. Finally, the last set of spells she had were geared towards reducing the attack or magic power of an enemy, whether it’s physical or magical.

It took well over an hour in order to cover every single spell that was within the pages of her grimoire, the unicorn was personally worn out. But to her, coming out this way in order to be able to learn this new magic so she could be able to help other ponies with it was well worth it. Though, it was around the time that Haseo was going to congratulate her that they heard somepony else speak up. “Oh there you are Haseo.”

Both of them turned around to see that the unicorn named Radiant Heart was standing nearby, looking at the two of them with a sigh of relief. But based on her personal appearance, she looked a bit tired out. “Hey Radiant… are you doing okay? You look kind of exhausted.”

“Well, I’ve been trying to help out the Princess as much as possible, but most recently everypony around the empire is talking about having some of their belongings stolen from them,” The unicorn explained to the two of them. “At first, the incidents were minor because this thief was going for food and making it look like somepony just forgot something… but more recently, they’ve taken… other things.”

“What… other things?” Twilight soon asked, the comment surprising Radiant for a moment because she didn’t realize that the Unicorn was here and thought she was back in Ponyville.

“Well there’s Cadences head cushion, Shining Armor’s scarf, my patience…” The unicorn grumbled. “And if you listen to Hoofstrong ramble on, you would think that someone actually stole his ‘manliness’.”

That just had Haseo facepalm himself for a moment before looking back at Radiant. “Well, if you would like, I can look into it and see if I can get to the bottom of this. I mean I just finished with teaching Twilight how to use some new spells, so I got some time to look into if you would like.”

“That would be very much appreciated,” She let out a sigh of relief before looking to Twilight. “I can help Twilight return to the train station while you look into it. Last I checked, the last place that such a thief was reported to be was in Central Square.” The Adept Rogue himself nodded his head, thanking Radiant as he began to make his way over there. Around now, it was the middle of the afternoon and the central square marketplace was as busy as ever. With multiple ponies conducting business whether it was through forging weapons and armor or crafting potions. Heck, the sun wasn’t down and the tavern was quite busy with customers right around now.

Of course… it only took about ten minutes before he heard something that got his attention. “Why you-! Thief!! Somepony stop her!!” The voice came in the direction of the outdoor patio of the tavern, where there were spilled pieces of somepony’s meal everywhere. But there was also a faint shadow like trail all along the ground that was rather light for anypony to notice.

Of course, Haseo wasn’t exactly anypony… and soon after he saw the trail, he began to follow it to see where it would lead. Moving into a nearby alley between buildings, the Adept Rogue continued to follow it, even though it was getting much smaller the longer that he pursued it.

Though… when the trail ended, that’s when he found something… peculiar. The thief was not a grown colt or a mare… but a little filly. One that had a midnight blue coat of fur and resembled a earth pony as he watched her eat. But before he could say anything… that’s when it noticed him.

The filly suddenly hissed at him before bolting, the food dangling from her mouth as she fled through the alleyway. The trail of smoke that Haseo saw before he now realised was strangely coming from her mane and tail. Which… looked kind of odd because he had only seem that from one other pony… and the rogue thought that he was gone. Nevertheless though, he continued to go after her, even following her as she tried to go into another alley.

But it was as he went in this alley… that he found out just how much this little filly had stolen.

“Stay back mortal! Or I shall remove your eye with this mug!” The filly shouted, holding up one of the mugs that had disappeared earlier with a hoof as she had her back to her pile of stolen stuff. He could even see Cadence's pillow on top arranged like a makeshift bed.

But… all that did was raise an eyebrow for a moment as he looked back at her. “Seriously? You think you can kill me with a drinking mug?”

“I saw someone do it with a teacup once, and a mug is much more durable so it should work!” She shouted defiantly, her light blue cat like eyes becoming slits as she glared at him.

“Look… I don’t want to fight you. And I don’t want to harm you either. But why are you exactly stealing from everypony? That’s what I’m trying to understand.” He said, before taking a seat.

“Hmph, I don't trust you any more than I trust those crystal ponies!” The filly snapped, throwing one of the mugs at Haseo’s face. His reaction was quick and in the blink of an eye, he was able to catch it and set it down on the ground gently, causing her to visibly flinch.

“I told you, I don’t want to harm you… I just want to talk.” The rogue told her.

“Well I’m not listening!” She hissed one last time before bolting to the top of her pile of stolen loot, grabbing Cadence's pillow and a few more items before she made to jump for the rooftops. Haseo himself, got out his twin blades and used them to climb up the wall as he gave chase. Trying to go after the filly and see if he could be able to get her to return everything that she had stolen.

“Think you can catch me Mr. ‘Terror of Death’?” The filly laughed at him as she ran across the rooftops like a seasoned pro despite carrying multiple stolen items on her person somehow. Haseo himself originally had trouble keeping up, especially when she dropped a few items on her trail and it almost caused him to trip over them. But, he was still able to catch up and didn’t exactly fall too far behind while going after the filly.

The filly grunted in displeasure as she looked back and saw Haseo still chasing after her and so she proceeded to drop down into a neighborhood and started bolting through Ponies gardens, making a few scream in either shock or horror as she used whatever she could to try and shake him while taking a whole lap through the empire.

Yet… just as that lap was beginning to approach the train station, she felt herself being trapped in a ball. Turning around, she soon noticed a purple unicorn that was holding her there. But to the filly, she recognized her as the same unicorn that was with the Adept Rogue earlier. Just as Haseo stopped in front of the train station to try and catch his breath.

“All that trouble just to get a filly?” He heard Twilight ask as she was seen holding the filly in what looked like a magical hamster ball. “Now I see why Shining had trouble raising me when I was little.”

“Unhoof me you… you… mortal!” The filly shouted, frustrated as she banged her hooves on the barrier holding her. “Release me or I’ll eat your soul!” She added attempting to intimidate Twilight.

“... So who is this supposed to be?” Twilight asked.

“Apparently, she’s been the thief that’s been stealing things all over town. She even tried to throw one of the mugs that went missing earlier at my face.” Haseo replied back, before pointing at the cushion that she was still holding. “She was using Cadence’s pillow as a makeshift bed.”

“Its my pillow! Not the worthless alicorn’s!” The filly declared as she wrapped her forelegs around the pillow and turned away as if trying to hide it.

“I just find it hard to believe that a filly this cute would be stealing everything from everypony,” Twilight said, deciding to take the hamster ball and bring it back to the castle instead of catching the train. “I mean, just look at her.”

The response the filly suddenly gave towards being called cute was to suddenly burst into a hissing cloud of smoke with glowing blue eyes and a mouth full of fangs that completely filled the magical hamster ball it was trapped in as they passed through the market on the way to the castle.

“O… kay, and now that is giving me bad Sombra vibes.” Haseo muttered… though, he did not actually expect for the filly to reply back.

“Sombra was a failure! Don't compare me to that worthless whelp!” The filly turned into demonic cloud spat as it tried to break out of the hamster ball with no success. Twilight then decided to shake the hamster ball as the swirling black cloud turned back into the filly that was originally trapped inside.

“Perhaps we should continue talking about this inside the castle.” The unicorn said.

“I agree.” Haseo followed up as they went up the stairs and through the door. “Maybe we can convince Cadence to let her keep the pillow? I think she likes it.”

The filly, still in the appearance of a demonic cloud, stared at Haseo suspiciously as he and Twilight walked into the palace taking her with them. Cadence was by herself as she was looking over a few documents with her magic, shortly before noticing the two of them.

But the first question that she asked… was not entirely one that Haseo or Twilight had expected as she glared at what they were holding. “Haseo… why do you have a umbrum in a hamster ball? And why is it holding my seat cushion?”

“Cadence… hear me out first,” Haseo insisted as he looked back at the ball where the filly was being held as it turned back into its pony form and re attached itself to the pillow in defiance. “This filly was actually the one who had been stealing things all over the empire. Even had me running all over the place before Twilight was able to encase it in her magic-”

“Wait… Umbrum?” Twilight asked out of curiosity. “What the heck is that?”

“Shadow ponies… like that of Sombra,” The princess replied back sharply. “They were the reason why he was able to take control of the Crystal Empire in the first place when he killed my mother and when I thought that I lost you, Haseo. So how is it that we have a shadow pony in the grounds of the Empire even though the Crystal Heart keeps all the other ones sealed away?”

“I’m not telling you anything!” The filly hissed, having given up on trying to break out.

Haseo sighed at that, before thinking of something as he looked back at the filly now. Trying to sound calmer than that of Cadence right now “Maybe we should start by asking a different question in a much different tone. Like for example, what’s your name?”

“And why do you care? The crystal ponies sure didn't.” The filly snorted, pointing her muzzle into the air as she looks away.

“Because I’m not like them… They once thought of me as a monster before Amore took me in and had me stay with her,” Haseo said, recalling when he first met Cadences mother. “I just wanted to do the same… because I know that it’s right.”

“... fine, I’ll give you a chance…” The filly said as she sighed. “You can call me Sapphire Rose… Or Sapphire Rose the street rat… it doesn't really matter anymore…”

“Wait… what do you mean by that?” Twilight asked. “Don’t you have a family-?”

“How would a street rat have a family? Look, I don't know what it's like for you ponies but if I have any family they are sealed away with the rest of the other living shadow ponies.” Sapphire hissed as she slammed her hoof against the barrier. “But last I checked they were dead, why else would I have been sent here through the same loophole they used for sombra over a thousand years ago instead of being trained to be a monster like them?”

Twilight herself… was caught off guard by that statement. That and also what Haseo said next. “If that’s the case… Cadence, would you let me look after Sapphire? If she does happen to do anything, I will take full responsibility.”

Cadence blinked for a minute upon hearing him say that. “Are you… sure about this, Haseo?”

“Yes I am… I want to look after her like how Amore entrusted me to look after you when you were the same age.” Haseo replied back to her before looking back at Sapphire.

“Will you take responsibility if I release all the other umbrums from the seal?” Sapphire hissed, an annoyed look on her face. “Or what if I kill crystal flank over there like I was told to do? What then?”

“I would take responsibility for that too. But do bear in mind… you do not have to listen to the other umbrum. Because you can be able to make your own choice without having somepony make them for you,” He told her in response. “Cadence… would you allow for me to adopt Sapphire? The final decision is yours…”

Cadence herself looked at the filly, before looking to him. Looking at each one for a few moments and trying to wrap her head around this whole thing… before finally making a decision. “… Alright. Haseo, I really hope you know what you’re doing with this… Therefore, I will allow for Sapphire to be under your care. But if anything… and I mean anything does happen, you will be held responsible. Do I make myself clear?”

“Wait what!?” Sapphire shouted in shock as she looked at the two other ponies and then human with a dumbfounded expression.

“Absolutely.” Haseo firmly replied.

“But I just threatened to kill the one pony you already would consider your own daughter!” Sapphire shouted as she tossed up her forhooves in disbelief. “If rumors are to be believed…” She added under her breath as she made a complicated facial expression.

“Uh… When I said that Amore took me in, I did not mean take me into her family. She allowed for me to be her bodyguard and her protector,” Haseo told Sapphire as he looked at her sphere. “Plus… you do realize that she’s an alicorn right? You can’t exactly kill something that’s immortal.”

“He’s got a point.” Twilight added.

“Alicorns are no more immoral than an elder umbrum, and they have complete mastery of the dark magic our bodies are composed of.” Sapphire said looking at them as if she didn't believe them. “But back to what we were talking about, what makes you think I will listen to you or let you adopt me?”

“Because like you, I was once seen as a monster before I was given a chance. Even so more recently when Sombra still ruled the empire…” The Rogue told her. “I want to give you the same chance that I was given.”

“...” Sapphire opened her mouth to comment, before simply remaining silent as she bowed her head and just layed on Cadence's pillow inside Twilight’s magic hamster ball with a pained expression. “Fine… I’ll give you a chance...”

“Thank you…” Haseo smiled, picking up the ball and holding onto it. Twilight herself, dismissed the spell to let Sapphire out of the bubble as the Adept Rogue took the filly to his room. And by the time that he reached his room, he placed Sapphire and the cushion on his bed… giving her a real bed to sleep on without having to rest in the middle of an alley.

“... how?” Sapphire asked as she continued to sit on the pillow, her tiny body shaking as she hid her face behind her mane. “How can you… Trust somepony who’s very being is supposed to be made of concentrated evil?”

The Adept Rogue, looked back at her before taking in a deep breath and letting it out. “Because I am willing to give you a chance… I know that Sombra has left a big mark on the empire during his reign… but I can tell that you are not like him. And I want to help you anyway I can.”

Sapphire slowly looked up at Haseo as black tears rolled down her midnight blue fur before she jumped on Haseo, hugging him around his neck with her forehooves as she cried her eyes out. “Y-your the first creature to be n-nice to m-me… I don't know what I did t-to deserve this, but I-I’m sorry for being so mean!” She whimpered as she buried her face into his shoulder.

The adept rogue… was originally surprised at first by her actions… but then smiled as he placed a hand on her head. “It’s okay… I’m here for you now.” He told her as she continued to cry until her tiny body exhausted itself, leaving a massive inky splotch from her tears coating his shoulder and most of her fur that was in contact with it as she fell asleep.

It was after she fell asleep that Haseo set her gently on the bed that he was sitting on and began to place a blanket on her and have the cushion be her pillow as he softly spoke to her. “Sweet dreams, my little Sapphire…” It was at this moment that Sapphire began to snore, sounding like a small bird as she, for the first time in her life, had some real sleep rather than a half awake cat nap in the middle of a back alley on the streets of the empire.

The only thing that neither of them knew at the time… was that Cadence was right outside Haseo’s room. She followed him using an invisibility spell to make sure that he was truly okay with it. But after seeing how emotional Sapphire was just now… and thankful for what Haseo did for her, the princess realized that she did happen to make a good choice instead of a risky one.

And with it… she left the two of them alone. But had one last thing that she said in a prayer. “Mother… No… Aura, please watch over Haseo and… and Sapphire too.”

10- Dreamwalker

View Online

The Terror of Death- Dreamwalker

Canterlot

The sun had already been set for some time over the land of Equestria as it was now covered by a blanket of stars. The moon rising above as the only form of light that shined across Equestria as the Princess of the Night looked at the sky, before looking down to see all the ponies who were still awake at this late hour in the evening. The members of the royal guard who were on the night watch shift, the ponies who were out late with their friends and those who were about to go sleep.

Of course, with her title of ‘Princess of the Night’, Luna had one other responsibility that she had to take upon herself as she began to make her way towards her bedroom. A responsibility that her sister did not even know about. It was what she would refer to as being a ‘dreamwalker’. Where she would walk through the dreams of ponies who were sleeping across Equestria and try to help resolve any nightmares that somepony might be having. Originally, she thought that Night Court would be the best way to help the ponies that her sister saw as her subjects. But… after a few sessions, she saw it more as tedious rather than actually being helpful in any form whatsoever. So, this was a better alternative for her.

Now, for her, dreamwalking wasn’t exactly some kind of spell that she needed to cast on herself before going to sleep. Instead, it was something that actually happened naturally. Anytime in the evening that her physical body fell asleep, she found herself in the realm of dreams. A place where the dreams of everypony around Equestria would look like a series of crystal orbs on pedestals… and if one of those orbs seemed to be glowing a dark red, that meant that there was a nightmare going on in that dream. Tonight though, there didn’t seem to be any nightmares that were happening.

However, there was one thing that kind of stood out to her. Because one pedestal that was close to a huge tree was much different from the others and the orb that was on the pedestal actually had the reflections that you would find from a gemstone or a crystal pony. A sense of curiosity soon fell over Luna, wondering whose dream this was. Surely it was not that of her sister or the elements of harmony, for theirs were in another section of the realm of dreams that resembled more of Twilight’s library.

Thinking it over, she thought that she had some extra time on her hooves this evening… So in her mind, it would be interesting to see whose dream that this orb belonged to.

Upon touching it and letting a soft light surround her for a moment, Luna found herself in what she referred to as the Dreamscape. The plane of existence where the dreams of ponies take place. It was different from the Realm, because that just served as a gateway. The dreamscape contained the actual dreams themselves for Luna to walk around and see what was happening.

However, there was something about this dream that… was different than normal. When she first entered the dream, the princess found herself in a place that… seemed unfamiliar to her. It… looked like a hallway of a school, but everything inside it was not what you would find in a typical equestrian one. Not to mention that the atmosphere outside looked dark and murky like a rainstorm was going to hit.

Then, she heard voices. And when she saw who was speaking, she was caught off guard. “Get that ridiculous thing off your head!”

The individuals she was seeing weren’t equestrians… they appeared to be the same species as that of Haseo. However, this wasn’t just one or two, but an entire classroom filled with them. Though, she was primarily hearing the conversation taking place between two of them. One that sounded like a female that had black hair, green eyes and tanned skin and was dressed in a tight shirt and shorts. The other one was smaller than the other and wore grey baggy pants and a t-shirt. Aside from his black hair, blue eyes and light skin… there was one other thing that stood out to Luna.

Seabus was wearing a hat that looked sort of familiar to the one that Applejack would wear. “But why…?” He asked her, while also suppressing a smirk as he just looked back at her. In Luna’s mind, it looked like the two of them were friends… but they were friends to the point that they would often get on each other’s nerves.

Just as that friend was doing right now as they were approaching the door to one of the classrooms. “Seriously, people are going to look at you all funny!”

All Seabus did was shrug in that moment as they went through the door, with Luna following them as she walked through the door that was closed into her. “Then let them look. I can’t see why it’d matter.”

However, it was as they were walking in that the two students, along with Luna herself, noticed someone that was standing in the front of the room. And when Luna saw who it was, she was caught off guard. “H-haseo?”

Originally, she thought it was Haseo. However, there were a lot of noticeable differences when the princess was looking at him. Aside from the fact that the clothes he was wearing were different from what she saw him have on when they met each other in the crystal empire, there were no red markings under his eyes. The only detail that did not change was that of his mane. It was still grey and rather spiky from when they met last time.

However, her attention soon became focused on something else as she heard what appeared to be the instructor of the class begin to speak. “Alright, all of you settle down now-” He said, before looking in the direction of Seabus as he noticed what was on his head. “Seabus, what in the world are you wearing? Are you part of a theater class or did you just come back from the midwest?”

“I dunno, I saw it in my closet and I put it on.” Most of the classroom laughed at this, but it wasn’t a loud obnoxious one like if you said a joke during a comedy. It was more of a series of held back giggles and snorts, but Luna saw what Seabus said not as humorous, but just a bit disrespectful.

The teacher himself just let out a small sigh, before looking back towards the class and beginning to speak. “Right… Well, before we begin the lesson today, I wanted to introduce a new student to the class,” After the first part of the statement, he motioned his hand towards the new student that was next to him in the front of the class. “This is Ryo. He’s a new student here and had just moved here from San Francisco. I want you to give him a warm welcome because he’ll be your new classmate for the rest of the year.”

Luna personally thought that around now, she would actually hear this ‘Ryo’ speak and greet everyone. However, all he did was sigh and take up an empty seat near a window that was a couple of spots behind Seabus and his friend as the class went on. He actually stayed silent throughout most of the class, leaving Luna in suspense and making her wait for when the class was going to end.

At one point though, it did. And with it, Luna watched as the girl that was with Seabus got up to introduce herself. “Hi, I’m Tessa, and that weirdo blocking your view is Seabus.”

“Oi!”

Around now though… was when Luna finally was able to hear him speak. “Um… Hello…” It was brief, but Luna remembered that voice. Because it sounded just like Haseo’s, but not entirely the same. Was it because he seemed a bit nervous?

“So, you’re from San Francisco… What’s it like there, cold?” He heard Seabus ask. However, in saying that, the princess that was watching this thought that he didn’t really seem too interested in the city itself.

“Not always. Just depends really…” Ryo replied back, moving some of the hair out of his face so he could look at the two of them. Before asking them a question. “Um… I’m sorry if this is much to ask, but could you help me find my next class? I’m still trying to understand where everything is at.”

“Of course! Just follow us, we’d be happy to help!” Tessa grinned eagerly, while Seabus just shrugged.

Smiling as he casually added on. “What she said.”

For another few moments, Luna watched as the two of them helped Ryo understand his classes and who was teaching them, while also seeing him attend some of those classes. One of the teachers that Luna saw made her feel appalled and wonder how they ever became a teacher because of how he verbally abused his own students whenever they wanted to ask a question. Another was a kind history teacher that was also a bit of a fast talker while she was teaching the lessons, and one that Luna thought should at least slow down so she could help students who might’ve fallen behind.

Eventually though, after getting through his classes, Tessa brought Ryo into the cafeteria for lunch, where three other people were sitting with Seabus, who looked to be holding some kind of strange device in his hands while also making sure it was out of reach of someone else at the table.

Which… had Luna in that moment think the exact same question that Ryo asked to Tessa. “Um… is this normal?” “Yeah, Seabus thinks it’s rude to use electronics at any meal time. And Tim’s absorbed in his game twenty four seven.”

“That small thing is a gaming device?” Luna murmured to herself as she watched everything play out in front of her. “Fascinating…”

It was around then that someone new began to speak. It was another young girl that looked similar to that of Tessa, but she appeared to be tall and skinny. Not to mention that she had blonde hair, green eyes and wore clothes that were much different from that of Tessa. “Oh, uh, hey. You the new kid? Welcome to the misfits.” She said with a bitter smile as Luna noticed that she looked a bit hunched over.

“Pleasure’s ours.” A boy who looked strikingly like Tessa spoke up next. Smiling cooly as he had a plastic fork in a salad bowl. However, it was shortly afterwards that the kid who was trying to get his gaming device from Seabus decided to stop. Turning back around as he rubbed his blue baggy eyes with one of his hands and scratched his mane with the other. Letting out a simple ‘hey’ as a greeting.

Just before Tessa began to introduce all of them one by one. “Alright Ryo, these are our other friends,” She began with introducing the blonde girl that greeted him just now. “She’s Bethany Brooks, or BB as we like to call her. She’s Seabus’ little brother’s babysitter/tutor, and she’s from France, but moved here when she was three.”

“France? That oddly sounds like the country of Prance… Is that how they pronounce it here?” Luna spoke, before she began to hear Bethany say something to Ryo shortly after Tessa introduced her.

“I’m sorry if I bring your mood down…”

“Now why would she assume that?” Luna thought to herself. Just before Tessa introduced another one of the misfits at the table.

“Next is Kasper Scandal, he’s the polite one. He’s studying to become a doctor and helps the rest of us with our grades”

“I try.” He shrugged casually. “And I changed my last name after I lost a bet. It was a funny story.” That though, made Luna not want to know what kind of bet made him legally change his last name… or anything related to that.

“And then there’s Timothy Stones- or Timmy. He’s studying to become a marine biologist. He brought us together, mostly picking transfer students up whenever he could so they wouldn’t be alienated…” Upon originally hearing Tessa introduce the last member of their social group, Luna thought that Timothy had a rather kind heart in order to go out of his way to do something like that.

Then, she heard the other part of what Tessa was saying. Just as Timmy was able to steal back what Seabus took from him. “He’s addicted to games though…”

That… had Luna stare at him for a moment, before she began to think to herself. “M-maybe I should reduce the amount of time I spend on the Haystation 3…”

Quickly though, she brought her attention back towards Ryo as he introduced himself to the rest of Tessa’s friends before sitting down at the table. “Well… Nice to meet you all. I’m Ryo. Ryo Misaki.”

“Welcome to Seattle.” The one named Kasper replied back as Ryo got out what looked like a sandwich to have for lunch. They seemed to have a bit of a small conversation at to where Ryo originally was from and how his family had moved to this place that sounded eerily similar to the Seaddle that Luna was familiar with. But there was one part of the conversation that the princess of the night heard that kind of caught her attention.

And it started when Ryo said this. “It’s good that I can finally have some friends that I won’t be leaving behind.”

“Trust me, you’ll want to.” Timothy snarked for a moment. Which, had Ryo looked at him with a confused expression on his face.

“Um… What do you mean by that?” He then asked Timothy, sounding puzzled before looking back towards Seabus and Tessa while Tessa was slowly beginning to shrink down in her seat. “Is there something that I don’t know about?”

“She not tell you we’re the losers of the school...?” Timothy asked rather lazily as Ryo shook his head before he finished his sandwich and tossed the plastic bag away in the trash.

“I was aware that we were misfits, but not losers.” He replied back, brushing some of the crumbs off of his clothes as Luna noticed Seabus chuckling awkwardly.

“Well… Kasper’s often picking fights with the jocks-” He spoke, just before he was cut off by Kasper himself. Who didn’t flat out deny it, like Luna was expecting… but instead stated his reasons for actually doing it. Something that the princess founded as rather… shocking considering that Tessa had labeled him as the polite one.

“They bring up my foster roots… And insinuating that my sister isn’t smart.”

“Then he gets his ass handed to him.” Grumbled Bethany, even though Kasper himself looked unfazed. “Oh, and his sister picks on their little siblings.”

“He has a lot against him…” Tessa then added on, leaving Ryo with just one question that was in the back of his head now that he had heard all of this.

“H-how long has this been going on for?” He asked, almost sounding like he did not want to know the answer to his own question. But it was an answer that Kasper still gave him… and from how Luna saw it, it was one that made him think that it was really going to be hard staying out of trouble with these new friends of his.

“Since last year.” Again, that shocked Luna. She would’ve thought that this was something that gone on for the last couple of days or so, but to hear that it was going on for more than a year? That was just insane. Still, Ryo took it rather… lightly and not as something that he should really be trying to use up a lot of his time on. However, the conversation did not exactly die down like he or Luna thought it would… and instead, it went an entirely different direction.

Because the next person to talk was Timmy, and just like how Seabus talked about one of Kasper’s bad habits, he began to talk about one of Seabus’ bad habits. “Seabus can’t keep his mouth shut. Talks off the popular people, the geeks, the teachers… He gets into the most trouble.”

Once again, Luna had expected for Seabus to flat out deny what Timmy said. But instead, like with Kasper, he didn’t. “It’s all my fault really, I don’t mind it.”

Around then, the princess of the night seemed rather confused not just by where she was, but why would these individuals be acting this way. And those kinds of thoughts were best demonstrated by Ryo when he spoke up next. “You don’t mind… getting into trouble…” He said, raising an eyebrow as he appeared to be trying to wrap his head around what he just heard from Seabus. “Was that the reason why you wore that old cowboy stetson like it was one of Clint Eastwood’s old western movies?”

“Who’s Clint Eastwood?” Luna asked herself. Ironically though, Seabus was asking the same thing. But before he could finish his sentence, that was when Tessa cut him off and try to explain to Ryo why exactly he would do something like that.

“No, he’s just very expressive. He blabs what he thinks without considering the consequences and accepts them after it’s too late.”

“Hunh… I see…” Ryo replied back, before trying to clarify everything that he had just heard. “So let me see if I get this straight… both Kasper and Seabus respectively act without thinking things thoroughly…” Kasper himself was quick to counter Ryo on what he said.“No, I think things through, I just throw that to the wind when my family’s brought up.”

“That still doesn’t mean you should try to fight them…” Luna said to herself, almost like she was wanting for them to hear her, even though she knew that they couldn’t. Though, when she looked back towards Ryo, he was quick to think of a comparison.

“So like if Edward Elric was called out on his height in Fullmetal Alchemist?”

“Who?” Luna thought to herself. Even though it looked like she had no idea what he was talking about, Kasper himself seemed to understand it as he nodded his head.

“Pretty much. I’m an overprotective brother. Penelope might be bratty, but nobody badmouths her.” Kasper affirmed. To Luna, even though being a good sibling seemed admirable to him, she also thought that it did not serve as an excuse to start a fight with somepony.

Though, it wasn’t until Timothy tried to say something that the entire table got quiet. “Tessa’s bullied because… Reasons we… don’t feel right saying.” Luna herself turned towards Tessa, and based on the fact that she wasn’t looking at anyone at the table right now, it must’ve been bad. And when Tim thought he could try to change the topic of the conversation, he just ended up making it worse. “Uh… BB’s mom’s a slu-”

“Her mood makes her alienated from people.” Seabus immediately butted in, glaring daggers at Tim. “And Tim’s-”

“No! C’mon, that’s uncalled for!” Timothy cried out, which surprised Luna because she was not expecting for him to raise his voice so quickly. “I thought we were through this!”

“Hey, he’s gotta know.” Seabus smirked. Which, only made the night princess curious as to what he was talking about. “I mean, so what if Nightingale revealed that you were a crossdresser~?” The whole table snickered quietly around Ryo and the comment itself had Luna look at Tim with a rather disturbed expression on her face.

However, Tim himself was not the kind of individual to back down as he hissed back towards Seabus. “I only dress up for cosplays! You’re the one who leaked the pictures!”

Like with Ryo in that moment, Luna herself was really trying to understand what was going on through all the bickering between both Timothy and Seabus as she just watched. All before hearing a question from Ryo that got the two of them to stop arguing… and also got the princess a bit curious as to the answer. “Who’s Nightingale?”

The answer to that question came from Bethany, who was focusing her salad as she spoke up. “Oh, she’s the queen bitch of the school. You know, the Heather Chandler.”

Luna herself… oddly enough, said the exact same question that Ryo said in that moment. “The who?” All that did was cause BB to groan in response, but not before Tessa tried to help provide some context so Ryo could understand what she was referring to.

“Oh, BB likes old movies. Her favorite is Heathers.”

“I’ve… not heard of that one.” Ryo admitted, which resulted in an offhanded reply from BB as she took a moment in order to try and explain it to him.

“It’s a classic R rated movie in a school setting, where there are three girls names Heather who are bullies and stuck up.” Upon originally hearing that, Luna thought of what they were talking about as one of the satirical comedy performances that would be done at the royal theater. Something heartfelt, yet still serious. That was… until she heard Bethany finish that statement. “Until the head Heather, Chandler, is murdered.”

Luna herself, did not expect that at all and the thought of something like that almost made her feel sick… but Ryo himself only showed a small amount of shock from such a gruesome detail. Even as Seabus tried to simplify things a little with one small statement. “A dark comedy.”

“Ugh… I was never one for those kinds of productions…” Luna said to herself, coughing for a moment so she could try to keep her composure. Though, it was around now that she noticed Kasper trying to shift the topic of the conversation.

“Nightingale’s basically a stereotypical bully.” He responded with a stoic tone in his voice. Before deciding to ask Ryo a question related to the general topic. “Now… what movies have you seen?”

“Well, there’s not a lot that I remember off the top of my head, but I do remember seeing Akira when my father got back from Singapore one year,” Ryo sighed as he spoke to them. Luna was unfamiliar with the names that were mentioned, but something about the last one that he mentioned that somehow… felt familiar. “Then there were some other films, some animated and a few live action… last one I saw was .hack//GU Trilogy.”

“Huh… isn’t that game in your collection?” Tessa asked Seabus as she turned to face him.

“The first series, yeah.” Seabus replied.

“Oh, so you like .hack// as well?” Ryo then spoke up, overhearing the two of them as they were talking. “I have some of the original movies that weren’t released to the US.”

“What is a US? Does it stand for something?” Luna asked herself, before turning her attention back to Ryo and the others. Though, it seemed as if what Ryo was saying to Seabus actually resonated rather well.

It was to the point that when he was talking, Seabus then said what seemed like an offer. “If you want, you can visit our house and check out what I have. Just be warned of our siblings.”

At first, Luna watched as Ryo seemed to look a bit nervous. Considering what he said, before wanting to think things over. It also lead to them talking about where each one of them lived at in the local area before they all went to their last class. Ryo’s teacher in that class was very nice and sweet, making Luna think that this kind of class would be one that she would want for all ponies to have. Even the teachers name, Ms. Clover, reminded her of Clover the Clever.

However, there was one small problem. And that was the fact that Timothy was also part of that class. Tessa did warn Ryo that Timothy made Ms. Clover’s life hard for her, but Luna did not think that it would be this much disruptive. It was not fun for Ryo, her… or practically anyone in that class to watch him groaning loudly, being disruptive and going as far as to shout a verbal declaration that he just finished a test.

Thankfully though, he stopped halfway through the class and let everyone else finish in peace all the way until the end of the class. And yet, there was only one other thing that Ryo had heard from him. “Pleasure meeting and annoying you. Welcome to hell.”

Luna herself, thought that his greeting was just a bit excessive and rather rude, but Ryo didn’t seem to mind it too much. In fact, all he did afterwards was meet up with Seabus and Tessa as they went towards their house. It was mentioned earlier in the dream that Tessa actually lived with Seabus’ family and his siblings. However, he didn’t really mention how many siblings he had. Personally, she thought that he had only one other one besides Tessa.

When they arrived, the princess was surprised to see how small the home actually was. Granted, she was able to simply just walk through one of the walls at the front of the house. The home itself was around two stories tall, had a few bedrooms across the second floor and two bathrooms. But the reason why that it seemed rather small to them… was because there were three other children that were in the living room.

“Ryo, these are my siblings. Luke, Nayeli, and Monte.” Seabus stated, pointing to a boy almost their age, then a girl who looked even younger, and an even younger boy. They all looked vastly different, and only Luke seemed to resemble Seabus with their shared black hair and hazel eyes. But Nayeli had red hair with green eyes, and Monte was blonde with blue eyes.

“Hello, nice to meet you.” Ryo greeted them. Even going as far as to try and get down on the same level as them so he would not seem intimidating.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like that worked. Monte was busy playing with his toys while Nayeli just shyly replied back while looking at her feet. “S-s-same…” Just from that comment alone, Luna almost thought that she was just like Fluttershy. One who was very nervous and shy around somepony except for those she feels comfortable around.

“She’s the newest addition to the family. She’s shy around everyone,” Seabus explained to Ryo as he stood back up. “We’re helping her out of her shell.”

It was also then that the child that was named Luke decided to add on to the conversation, while also adding a bit of a snarking tone. “Yeah, she’s been with us for about a month. She isn’t used to the attention Seabus and Tessa give her,” He then turned to Ryo, where he continued what he was saying. “Welcome to overloaded center. Mom’s out, so if you need something ask those two… or find Keon. He’s the eldest.”

“Who’s Keon?” Luna saw Ryo ask. The princess herself was wondering more about how many siblings are actually here. Because she thought that there would only be a small number… and then thought it was just Seabus and these three. But to here that there was somehow one more? That was something that confused her.

Fortunately though, what Seabus said next actually clarified a couple of things. “Keon’s our older brother. He’s usually taking care of us when mom’s away.”

That had Ryo nod his head, before looking around for a moment as he took in his surroundings first before asking a key question. “Alright… where exactly is he?”

“In the kitchen.” Luke replied, which soon lead to Ryo letting Seabus and Tessa guide him around their home. Luna originally thought that this new individual that was mentioned was a lot like Seabus, given how he was the older sibling and also how he looked after his siblings. But she did not want to immediately jump to this conclusion just yet.

Because as they were entering the kitchen, they were greeted by the person they were just talking about. ““Ah, you two brought home a new friend? If you need a ride home, I can spare a lift.” Keon himself had a brown mane and currently had an apron over his standard clothes as he looked to have been busy with making something in the kitchen.

However, Ryo seemed to have not expected anything like this… well, at all. “You’re… Keon?”

“Yes, why?” Keon replied back, seeming oblivious to his thought process as Ryo let out a sigh.

“Sorry, I was just…” He was going to continue, but decided to take a different approach after scratching his head. “Let’s start over. I’m Ryo… It’s nice to meet you.”

“Same. I’m Keon, Seabus’ substitute guardian while our mother is called on important business.” Keon told him while also smiling. This made Luna wonder if it was both Seabus’ and Keon’s responsibility to look after everyone in the household while their mother was working and was hoping that Ryo would ask about that, but instead, he was asking her about where their mother worked at before the three of them went off to Seabus’ room.

It was around this point that the dream seemed to… fast forward a little. It jumped to a point where Ryo was with some of his friends as they were walking along a street. Some time had passed since it appeared that they were wearing some different clothes and Ryo looked like he had aged a little. He was with Seabus, Tessa, Bethany and Timothy while they were walking and around now, Seabus had what appeared to be a piece of bread stuck in his mouth.

That was… until Timothy slapped it out of his mouth as it fell onto the sidewalk. “No! My breakfast!”

“Why did you have to waste such perfectly good food?!” Was what Luna was asking right now, before she heard Timothy speak.

“That’s what you get for going too anime. You got me into Index, but you aren’t pretending to be a school girl.” He growled back, just as Bethany and what appeared to be a newcomer joined up with them.

“It’s a waste of food.” The newcomer soon spoke in response to what Timothy was saying. “There are starving children in-”

“Shut up, Ben…” Timothy grunted, now addressing the newcomer by his name. And, as Luna found out, both Ben and her had similar thoughts when it came to Timothy’s overall behavior. Though, Ben was the one who was able to actually tell him that.

“You’re far too rude…” Ben sighed disappointedly. He seemed a bit like Ryo in the sense that he was even more awkward when he joined the group. Getting to the point that everyone else would end up talking over him accidentally while he was trying to speak.

Speaking of Ryo though, he was the one to speak next to try and ease tensions a little… while also answering a question that was on his mind. “So, what are we exactly doing today? I know we’re going to the mall, but were you guys looking for anything in particular?”

“I’ve been working on costume making...” Bethany mentioned while they were all still walking.. “I’m looking for materials. It’ll take a while to put them all together because Luke pressured me into making him and his friends costumes.”

“Are they preparing for Nightmare Night or something?” Luna thought to herself. She would’ve thought that it was too early for them to be trying to think about costumes and what to wear. Unless it was one of those ‘costume parties’ that she heard about last time she was talking with Pinkie Pie.

Of course, it was also then that Timothy began to state more on what Bethany has been doing. All while saying it in a tone of voice that made Luna think that he wanted recognition. “She’s helping us with our own costumes. Since Kasper’s the only one busy, I thought we’d all meet up and work on it so one day we can all go to comic con.”

“What’s a comic con?” Luna thought to herself again, wondering if it was like one of those big gatherings that was held in Manehattan each year for fans of the Daring Do book series. Of course, the only way that she actually was familiar with the book series was because one of the friendship reports that was sent to Celestia was from Rainbow Dash and she mentioned that it helped her pass the time while she was in the hospital… and when she asked Celestia about it, she told her about the books and how popular they were to the point where the author held big fan gatherings in Manehattan so they could tell A.K Yearling how much they appreciated her work.

Back to the moment at hand though, it was around now that Luna noticed Ryo’s facial expression change. Looking a little more serious as he let out a sigh. “One day we’ll get there… but every year, my dad tries to buy tickets and they sell out lightning quick,” He told his friend, shortly before thinking of another idea. “Maybe we can try one of the conventions that held here locally before trying to go for comic con. Wasn’t there one that occured in downtown?”

“Yeah, but that won’t come back for another year or two.” Ben added with a sigh, before adding in something positive. “Still, we’d be ready by then.”

Ryo nodded in agreement, while Luna watched as Tessa was doing the same thing. Before asking a question that caused Timothy to look away in what appeared to be embarrassment. “Yeah! So, what’re you guys going as?”

“Well, before I answer that, what were you thinking of going as, Tessa?” Ryo replied as he sent the question right back at her.

That… just had Tessa stutter with her answer as she giggled nervously. “I… don’t actually know.”

To Luna, it looked like Ryo saw that as a way to try and explain more about what he had in mind, just so he could probably help out Tessa a little. “Well, there was one idea I had… but I was unsure about doing it because I didn’t want to put a lot of stress on BB given the complexity of it.”

“I’m going as Obi-Wan Kenobi.” The one named Ben spoke up eagerly.

“Kasper’s going as some Elsword guy with purple eyes.” Timothy then spoke up, though he did not look like he really wanted to mention what he was specifically going to be. All before Bethany corrected him with just one word.

“Add.”

“Add what?” All Timothy’s question did just caused Bethany to groan for a moment. Luna herself was also wondering what she meant by that, but it was upon hearing what Ryo said next that things began to slowly fit into place.

“I think Add is the name of the character he’s talking about,” Ryo deadpanned as he looked back at Timothy, noticing that he had not contributed to the topic and thought that he should include him in the conversation. “What about you, Tim? Who would you go as?”

For a moment, things seemed rather quiet… all before Timothy sighed and grunted one word. “... Index…”

It was around then that Luna noticed that this time, Bethany was actually smiling as she looked back at them. “Seabus and him made a bet. The former won, and Timothy has to dress as his favorite anime character… who happens to be a girl.”

“Now that sounds like cruel and unusual punishment…” Luna muttered. Sure, it was common for mares to dress up like they were part of the royal guard, but having a male dress up as a female character? That sounded wrong to her on so many levels.

She watched as Ryo looked back at Bethany… before looking towards Tim as he spoke up. “I’m not sure if I should feel sorry for Tim or if Tim should be lucky that it’s just for one time only.”

“Me neither…” Tessa added. Luna herself was a little unsure about which choice she would’ve taken if she were in the exact same scenario. Though, the whole thing seemed to have Ryo thinking about something to himself for a moment, before looking back at everyone else and asking another question.

“So what about you, Seabus? Bethany? What do you guys plan to go as?” Out of all of the people who mentioned the characters that they were going to be, only Ryo, Seabus and Bethany had not actually said what that was. And Ryo himself wanted to hear what his friends had to say first before he would speak.

“I’ll be going as Larxene. Luke pressured me into it.” That was no surprise. Over the course of Ryo’s visit earlier in the dream, Luna learned that Seabus’ brother was a real huge fan of a particular game series called Kingdom Hearts. Going as far as to steal one of Seabus’ game consoles in order to play it. The character that she was talking about must’ve appeared at some point in the series if Luke was the one to make her do it.

As for Seabus, he started his answer by turning himself around and beginning to walk backwards. Something that Luna saw as kind of unsafe given their current setting. “Me? I’ll be the twin blade, Kite. Hero of the first game, and the guy who they keep basing characters off of.”

Luna now knew a little bit as to what he meant by that. From Ryo’s visit, they got the chance to talk about another game series that Ryo had mentioned earlier called .Hack//. There were two main series of games that they happened to enjoy and the character that Seabus was talking about was the protagonist of the first game. Not to mention the fact that all this talk about games made her wish that she had some of the games that she was seeing in this dream.

But it was also around this time that Ryo seemed to have an idea to share. “I like both of them. Matter of fact, what I think would be interesting is if you had Tessa be BlackRose.”

Yet, upon first hearing that, Luna watched as Seabus’ grin got wider and Tessa looked back at Ryo with wide eyes as she used her arms to cover her chest. “No! She’s way too exposed! I’m not wearing a bikini armor!” It didn’t help any that when Kite whispered something in her ear, her expression made her look extremely horrified.

As for Ryo, all he did was get out a device that was called a phone as Luna heard him speak. “To be fair, it’s only the top half that’s exposed… Besides, it’s ironic that you were going to do something from .hack// because I was thinking the same thing,” Yet, it was when he showed the picture to his friends that Luna herself froze in place. She was staring at Haseo. The Terror of Death himself, but why was it there of all places? “I was thinking about maybe going as Haseo… However, with the fact that he has like… multiple different forms, it’s hard to choose which one I would like to do in particular. Which one do you think would be a good choice?”

“Second,” Tessa quickly added on. “And… fine, I’ll be BlackRose. But if BB makes it too small I’m not going!”

“I highly doubt she would do that. Bethany’s not the kind of person who would do something like that on purpose…” Ryo added on… before turning towards Bethany. “Would you?”

“Not on purpose.” Bethany responded, crossing her arms and shaking her head. Which caused both Luna and Ryo in that moment to let out combined sighs of relief. The dream began to move forward much faster now once they reached the mall that was there. Moments and memories flying past her like fireflies before it got to the next part of the dream.

However, as Luna soon realized, this part was much more serious. Ryo and his friends were all back at school again and it was lunchtime once more. Kasper himself was, once again, absent due to a fight and Bethany was out sick. Everyone but Timothy was there, until the shortest teen in the group reached the table and sat down. Ryo noticed though, that his lip was cut and there was a large purple spot around his left eye. “Holy crap, Tim. Are you alright? What happened?”

“Dear stars…” Luna gasped. She had not expected for this boy… the one who she thought was the one who was the most rude and impatient, to have such grievous injuries. And his response did not make things sound any better at all.

“It’s nothing.” Tim said, offhandedly. The response had Tessa and Seabus look away, but Ben had the same reaction that Ryo had just a few seconds ago.

“That isn’t nothing… Nightingale hasn’t gone that far in a while. In fact, she’s been turning a new leaf.” Ben said as he narrowed his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“I said nothing, my dad just got a bit carried away and I ran out of makeup.” Timothy said. He didn’t look anyone in the eye as he stared down at his tray. In Luna’s mind, she thought that Tim’s father getting ‘carried away’ meant that he assaulted and beat his own child. Something that would get you thrown in jail if you were caught doing that here. And she thought it was shameful that Tessa and Seabus weren’t doing anything to help him.

However, Ryo in that moment was still trying to do his best in order to try and help his friend. “That’s just horrible… You should at least go to the nurse to get that looked at,” He told Timothy as he set his tray aside. “I can help take you there when you’re done eating if you like-”

“No, he asks too many questions and I can’t keep saying I fell.” Timothy said as he played with his food. “They’ll catch on, adults aren’t morons.”

However, when Luna watched Ryo, she saw that he was not going to give up so easily on trying to help a friend. Something needed to be done about this as he moved his hand over to open up his lunchbox. Grabbing what looked like a cold cooler pack as he handed it to him. “Here… Maybe this can help stop some of the swelling.”

“Thanks...” Timothy replied, taking it and applying it to his bruise. “Look, I don’t like my dad, but he pays the bills, gives me a roof over my head… Tessa knows what foster care’s like most of the time. Once I’m eighteen I’ll leave. He’s usually not this bad, mostly verbal.”

Even with what he said though, in Luna’s mind, she saw this as no reason for anypony to harm their children whatsoever. No matter if it’s verbally or physically, no child should have to suffer at the hands of somepony that’s supposed to care for them… and in a way… she felt sorry for him.

The dream continued on like this, playing pieces of what was Ryo’s life with his friends as it got to one particular scene. One where he had his friends over as Bethany was working on his costume. Tessa was asleep on the couch, Timothy was passed out drunk in the kitchen after stealing some of his father’s booze, Ben was busy and not there to join them and Seabus was in another room playing a game on his phone. All while his new puppy was sleeping on Ryo’s lap.

After some time had passed, Ryo had offered to get Bethany a drink of water, who said yes even though she was so focused on her work that she did not even pay attention to him when he offered the drink or when he brought it back for her. But as he returned, that was when Luna had noticed that there was what appeared to look like a picture frame. One that had all of their friends together by some kind of museum and all of them looked rather happy together.

But that kind of happiness was not present right now, as Bethany suddenly said something that even threw her off guard. “I’m sorry you have to deal with me all the time.”

It was a statement that left Luna rather shocked… especially when she thought that things were doing fine within their group of friends. And Ryo himself seemed rather puzzled by Bethany’s comments. “Why would you be sorry about that? I like it when you and everyone else is around… I really did not have a lot of friends before you guys aside from one friend I had when I was very young, so I don’t see you being here as a bad thing.”

“I’m not the easiest to be around.” She clarified.

However, Ryo himself was not buying that. “Actually, I think you are. You just don’t give yourself enough credit.”

All that did was leave Bethany a bit puzzled as she looked back towards him. Now she was confused and had no idea as to what he meant by that. “Why? I’m a pessimist… There’s not much to like about that.”

Ryo let out a low sigh, before looking back towards the kitchen. Timothy still seemed to be passed out from the looks of things, but that didn’t prevent him from speaking about him. “Well, unlike some people we know, I like hearing a difference of opinion. I’m open minded when it comes to most things… except if it’s something that might get us in trouble.”

“Same,” Bethany replied back as Luna watched her scratch the back of her head awkwardly. Speaking the next sentence as if she sounded… uninterested. “I think this is the first time it was just the two of us. I suppose we should’ve talked about this sooner, maybe I would’ve had a better mood around you. Emotions are a pain…”

Ryo himself nodded his head in agreement as he looked back at his friend. “Yeah, I can agree there. Sometimes, not everyone is that easy to read when it comes to their feelings.”

“Even my emotions are hard to understand. I hate feeling worthless every day…” Bethany then said while the last few words that she said began to sound quieter and almost whisper like. However, Luna looked back at Ryo and watched as he spoke up to her. Trying to help her feel more like herself and comfort her.

“Bethany, let me tell you this right now… In my eyes, you aren’t worthless. You’re very important to the group and ever since what happened to Kasper… well, it’s been up to the two of us to make sure that we stayed together. I don’t know what would’ve happened if we all just separated, so from the bottom of my heart… thank you. For everything.”

At this point, there were two questions that ran through Luna’s head… One, what happened to Kasper? And two… were Ryo and Bethany somehow a possible couple in the making? Because as of this point, it almost seemed highly likely. Especially with how Bethany was looking right now. Shocked at first, before putting on a genuine smile as she looked back at him. “No, thank you. I needed that.”

The white haired teen smiled back at her before deciding to sit not far from where she was at. “I’m glad to hear that helped… If you want to talk again, I’m more than open to help you if you need it.”

Once more, the dream began to move a bit fast forward as it approached what happened next. It looked like it was a few days later and Bethany had called everyone over for a particular reason.

Timothy was the first one to speak, yawning for a moment as he asked a question. “Why’d you bring us here, BB? I was helping my little brother with his homework.”

Tessa was the next one to say something, while also backing Tim up. “Yeah, what he said.”

All of that just had Bethany smirk, before speaking in a vindictive tone. “Oh, so you don’t want your costumes?” Around that moment was when Ryo began to hold out what looked like a long white garb with gold trims and a matching hat on a clothes hanger. Something that had the group laugh while Timothy just grumbled and claimed his costume.

Ben was next as he was given what looked like a series of robes and a brown cloak. However, the weapon that Ben had with him was that of what looked like a red ‘lightsaber’... and it was something that made Timothy speak up. “Where’s the blue lightsaber?”

“Oh, I didn’t have enough money for a blue one. I had this one in the garage. Even if I had money, it’s not worth it.” Ben explained.

“Though, if it’s one of those build-your-own-lightsaber or whatever those ones are called, you can probably find the right pieces to change it up. Heck, I can even buy that for you if you like,” Ryo suggested, before grabbing another two costumes. “Next we have Seabus and Tessa.”

Luna herself was surprised by the first two costumes, but upon seeing the next one, that was when princess thought that she was seeing things. Seabus’ outfit included that of a hat, shirt and pants that were all a rather bright shade of orange. Something to which he nodded his head and proceeded to say that this was definitely like the character he was going for. As for Tessa, she had what was called a metal ‘bikini top’ with black pants, grieves that were the colors of purple and gold as well as a pair of white boots.

“The shoes are always the hardest.” Bethany then stated factually as Ryo got the next one out. Which turned out to be her own costume.

“Good thing I was able to help you with that,” He said, taking the costume off of the hangar and looking back at her. The costume she was holding was that of a simple black cloak with a zipper and chains at the shoulderblades. “Here’s yours.”

“Thanks.” She simply replied. Though, around now, Luna was personally curious as to why they were giving them their costumes now. I mean, it was typical to give somepony something they requested after they were finished working on it. But according to earlier in the dream, they would only be going in these if they actually had some kind of event to attend.

It was a question that also seemed to be in the back of Timothy’s mind as he decided to speak up. “So, when’s the event?”

“Well, that’s a funny story,” Ryo replied back with a smirk as he looked back at them. “One night when Bethany was over and we were working on our costumes, my parents came home. We told them how we were doing this on the off chance that we were going to a convention that we wanted to be prepared… So my dad decided to surprise us.”

Luna watched as Ryo pulled out what looked like a series of passes. Ones that had the words ‘PAX Prime’ directly on the front of each one. Enough for every one of his friends. “He got all of us these passes for PAX Prime in Seattle… that starts tomorrow.”

That just left a surprise Seabus to smirk back at his friends and ask them one question. “Well then… Who’s ready for PAX!?!?” His question was met by cheers from everyone as they went back inside Ryo’s home.

As the next day rolled around, Luna watched as each one of Ryo’s friends were in their costume and going towards the event. However, not everyone seemed to be happy as she heard Seabus and the others talking with Bethany. “… And I said we’d meet him here.”

“Good to know he’d leave us that quickly…” Bethany grumbled as she rested her chin on her hand. Before noticing the shocked looks from everyone else that was there. “What?”

“He’ll be here…” Tessa then spoke up. Making Luna wonder who exactly they were referring to in that moment.

“That’s more pessimistic than normal.” Ben pointed out.

“Well, I am pretty annoyed that I have to babysit Luke and his friends while I’m here…” Bethany grunted. All before Seabus suggested something to her.

“Um… maybe I’ll go get you something? Y’know, to cheer you up? No payment, I’ll buy you anything ya want.”

Bethany herself, was appalled and taken aback by the simple suggestion. “I’m… I’m not a charity case.”

“This isn’t charity, it’s paying ya back for the costumes you slaved over…” Timothy added, looking away as to not seem interested. Or maybe to hide his face from the others as Luna watched the whole thing unfold. Currently, she thought that they were talking about Ryo in that moment, but she did not want to assume anything preemptively. Especially since there was still more of the dream to see.

“We’ll buy you something nice so you have a lot to go back with. You keep Luke entertained and we’ll help you get what you want.” Ben added on to what Timothy was already saying. “We’ll meet up here and there, to make things more bearable for you.”

Bethany was speechless, so Seabus stood up and looked back at the small group. “Yeah! I’mma go look for something right now to prove my sincerity.”

“I’ll help!” Tessa added as she stood up. “We’ll be back in a minute with something… hopefully.” With that, the two went out into the crowd of people and searched for a souvenir. Leaving Ben, Bethany and Timothy by themselves before Tim tried to break the awkward silence.

“Welp, Ryo’s gone and pissed you off. He’ll probably apologize and make it up to you, so why dwell on it? I’m going to see if I can find some people who’d appreciate the costume you made.” With that, Ben left the table. Which left only Timothy and Bethany as it grew rather silent at the table.

That was, until Timothy tried to break that silence and say something. “You might want to go and enjoy what little time you have while Luke’s in a line.”

“And you?” She questioned. Before Timothy said something that… in Luna’s mind, could have possibly been phrased rather differently.

“Not really feeling up to it…” He said, tone matching hers. “And no, it has nothing to do with the costumes. You did an amazing job. Now get going before you waste both of our time, BB.”

“Oh dear…” Luna said, facehoofing herself before looking back at them as Bethany left a few moments afterwards. “You had her all the way until you said that last statement-.”

Of course, that was also when she heard Timothy spoke up, letting out a deep sigh as he looked down at the ground. “Nothing ever lasts…” He grumbled. “Even friendships like these…”

“I suppose you’re right…” The moment that Luna heard this newfound voice, her heart almost skipped a beat. The voice came from a woman with black hair and green eyes, who just walked up right next to Timothy. She wore a striped dress that was both black and white while also emitting a dark aura around herself that made Timothy feel smaller than an atom. With the last few words she said feeling like ice being pressed against somepony’s skin. “So why not change that~?”

Immediately after those words, Luna felt herself being forced out of the dream. Finding herself back within the realm of dreams once more. If she found herself here, then that could only mean one thing. That whoever was having the dream just woke up. Whenever somepony were to wake up, she would always find herself back here.

However, she had several questions emerge in the back of her mind. Who was that woman at the end of the dream? What happened to Ryo and his friends? Was Ryo… really who she think he was? All of them were questions that lacked answers.

“Perhaps I should revisit this another time…” Luna thought to herself, before looking in the distance and seeing a small amount of sunlight emerge from one corner of the realm. “It’s time to wake up anyways…”

11- The Next Morning

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The Terror of Death- The Next Morning

By the time that the sunlight broke through his curtains, the adept rogue was beginning to slowly open his eyes. Waking up, Haseo originally was going to prop himself up on the bed and get up so he could eat breakfast. But upon waking up, it was then that he felt somepony laying on top of him. More specifically, the young shadow filly that he had taken into his care, Sapphire Rose. Originally, she once lived on the streets of the empire and made a living through stealing food and other possessions from the locals, but Haseo thought that there was something about her that was different. Under her hostility that she showed towards other ponies, there was something else. A different side to her.

Though… the stealing part might not be going away anytime soon. Because when he woke up, he found only a sheet covering him and Sapphire covered in the comforter that was originally over them. Luckily though, he could see her head as the adept rogue stretched out a hand to see if Sapphire was awake. Gently touching her on the head for a moment, before moving his hand away.

“Ngh…” Sapphire groaned/moaned, batting at where she had been petted with a tiny hoof as she continued to sleep with her muzzle scrunched up. Shortly after her head retreated into the comforter as it rolled over away from Haseo as the sounds of her lightly snoring continued.

In Haseo’s mind, two things came up. The first thing was that he shouldn’t disturb her. But the second thing was that if she continued to roll that direction, she would end up falling off the bed. So, instead of lightly touching her, he just moved the rolled up comforter so that it would not fall off the edge of the bed.

Unexpectedly though, the moment he took hold of the comforter the snoring was cut short as two neon blue glowing orbs stared out at him from where Sapphire’s head vanished. “Um… Good morning.” He lightly said to her.

“...” the eyes continued to stare, almost as if paralyzed, before like a lightning bolt A blue mist fired out of the comforter and ducked under the bed.

“Before you ask… You were an inch away from falling off the bed-” He pointed out. Only to see that she had went off to hide under the bed as he sighed. “... I’m sorry, Sapphire. I didn’t mean to do that.” In Haseo’s mind, he didn’t think that things were really starting off well. He had only been an adoptive dad for… well, less than a day and now Sapphire was hiding from him like a scared kitten.

“Too bright! Where am I?” Sapphire hissed from the darkest space under the bed.

That… had Haseo think to himself for a moment before looking towards the curtains and closing them. Darkening the rest of the room as Haseo answered her question. “Under the bed. I just closed the curtains, so it shouldn’t be that bright now.”

Slowly, Sapphire’s head began to peek out from under the bed as Haseo was able to watch her mist like body and glowing eyes slowly solidify and dull until she regained her physical form. The sounds of her hooves on the floor had Haseo let out a sigh of relief… along with making a mental note to NEVER open his curtains ever again as he looked back at her. “How did you sleep, Sapphire?”

Sapphire’s head immediately snapped in Haseo’s direction as she went wide eyed and ducked back under the bed. “Noooo! He saw, he most certainly saw!!” She squeaked, sounding strangely embarrassed. Which only left Haseo puzzled as he just tilted and looked back at her.

“Sapphire? Are you okay?” The adept rogue asked, shortly before looking under the bed. “Is something wrong? I was going to make breakfast soon.”

“Noooo, don't look at me! I’m not-” Sapphire rambled on, seaming to not know or understand whats going on. Until suddenly, she was interrupted by her stomach growling at Haseo’s mentioning of food… resulting in a reddish pink glow seeming to come from her face as she hid under her hooves.

“Sapphire, I don’t know what’s going on… but you have to eat,” Haseo told her as he made his way to the kitchen. Ever since he came back to the crystal empire, he learned that there were a few advancements in how crystals were used. One example was what he would call the Crystal Empire equivalent of a refrigerator, just made out of a crystal and two shards with cryo-magic keeping a lot of the food in here cool. He got out some of the eggs that were in the fridge as well as the loaf of bread that was on top of the fridge as he looked back at her. “Would you like some scrambled eggs and toast?”

“W-what is scrambled eggs and toast?” Sapphire asked, having difficulty pronouncing the words. When Haseo heard that, he seemed… rather surprised at first. But he also saw it as a chance to show her something new.

The first thing that he did was take one of the blades that he would use as an adept rogue and channel some heat into one of his swords. The purpose for it was to use it to toast the slices of bread he was using for their toast this morning. Next, he opened up a cabinet that was underneath it and grabbing a frying pan along with two plates. Once the toast was done, he took the blade and flipped the pieces onto the plates like he was handling a spatula.

Now it was time for the eggs. Heating up his second blade like he did with the first one, he placed the frying pan on top of it and cracked open four eggs. Letting the heat soak in as he broke up the yoke and began to cook it. It took a few moments, but once he was done, the adept rogue had two plates ready for them. With two pieces of toast and scrambled eggs to go alongside it as he placed them on the table while also having his weapons cool off.

“There we go. Breakfast is ready.” As Haseo said those words, Sapphire peeked over the edge of the table. A chair under her hooves as her cat like eyes stared curiously at the toast and eggs like some kind of alien creature that had just appeared in front of her. Haseo himself just watched and waited to see what her reaction would be when she tasted it, especially with the amount of effort he went through to make that meal for her.

Slowly, Sapphire looked up and locked eyes with Haseo as her muzzle and front hooves inched up and onto the table. Slowly reaching for the eggs and toast, before grabbing ahold of the plate and seeming to vanish under the table with all of it. For a moment, Haseo was left with nothing but an empty table and munching sounds until Sapphire soon returned to staring over the edge of the table with most of her face hidden but this time with sparkling eyes. Easing the plate with not even a crumb left on it back onto the table.

Which… definitely surprised the adept rogue. He did not think that she would finish up the meal that fast. In fact, he had only finished the first piece of toast that he had before realizing that she was done. And the sparkling eyes made Haseo think that she definitely enjoyed it as well as made him wonder if she wanted to have some more.

Finishing the toast that he had in his mouth, he then pushed the plate over so it was closer to her and then asked a question. “Are you still hungry? You can have the rest if you like.” And as if the words were a trigger, Sapphire lunged for the plate and dragged it under the table just like last time as she scarfed down the extra food. Repeating her action of placing the empty plate on the table with sparkling eyes right afterwards as well. “I guess that answers my question then… What do you think?”

Slowly, Sapphire inched her head and front hooves onto the table as her eyes grew wide and grew even more sparkles. Followed almost instantly by her flailing and banging her hooves on the table as if it was a bongo set. Haseo was not quite sure if that was the answer he was looking for, but he couldn’t just tell her to ‘use her words’. So he just smiled and looked back at her.

Though, as he was placing the dishes back in the sink, there was a small knock at the door. Which prompted Haseo to walk back over and answer, partially opening the door halfway as he looked to find a familiar face outside. “Sunburst? I honestly did not expect to see you this morning.”

“Neither did I if I were to be honest with you,” the unicorn replied back, “But Cadance wanted for you to come help with something that’s going on today.”

That had the adept rogue raise an eyebrow for a moment as he looked back at Sunburst. “What is going on today?”

“General Ironwings brought in some recruits from Canterlot that could become part of the royal guard… She see’s today as their orientation day.”

The main hall in the crystal empire had a small group of ponies that consisted of Pegasi, Unicorns and Earth Ponies as they all stood in front of General Ironwings. Who was in her pony disguise as she looked back at the new recruits that were here. “I’m not the type for mushy introductions, so let me get straight to the point. All of you were assigned here to serve as new members of the Crystal Guard here in the Crystal Guard. As you might have heard, we are just starting out, but we do things a lot differently here than we do back in Canterlot, such as fighting monsters, collecting with resources and dealing with those who are seen as a bit of a nuisance as well as a threat to our society. Especially when some that don’t have any form of magic and believe themselves to be of… mystical persuasion.”

Several of the ponies that were in the room were laughing at the last bit, even though they weren’t really supposed too. But for one pegasus in the middle, who had a ponytail that was tied up in a braid, he asked a different question. “Apologies for speaking out of turn General, but is there anything specific that we should know about the empire?”

“Most of what you should know has already been covered in the briefing-”

As Ironwings said that, it was then that one of the walls began to have shadows take form around it. All before they saw a pair of hands and part of a bipeds head stick out. Before being met with a pair of gazing eyes. It looked like that person was going to say something as he was slowly emerging from the wall.

But unfortunately, somepony else got to it first. “HEY KIDS, WANNA SEE A DEAD BODY!?!”

Several ponies were startled by that. Including the pegasus that was originally talking as he fell backwards. Two ponies were even screaming as Haseo stepped out through the wall and facepalmed himself. “Did you really have to say that, Sapphire? Out of everything you can think of… that was your first idea?”

“But the ponies had their guard down…” Sapphire replied, emerging from Haseo’s shadow in a way similar to how he just emerged from the wall. “And it was funny?” She then added on with an innocent fang filled smile.

That had the adept rogue nod his head for a moment as he looked back at each one of the ponies that were here. Four in total, with two of them being stallions and two of them being mares. For the stallions, one was a light orange earth pony while the other was an ice blue pegasus with a leather colored mane (which was the same one that was tied up). For both of the mares, one was a earth pony that had half of her obsidian colored mane shaved off alongside a set of mismatched eyes while the other was light green unicorn who had a pair of reading glasses over his face that were the same dark color as his mane and tail.

But all of this only left one question on Haseo’s mind. “Um… I was told that this was an orientation. I honestly expected for their to be more.”

“There was,” Cadance replied. “When Shining Armor and Ironwings were in Canterlot looking for potential recruits to bring on for the guard, there were more than twenty different eligible candidates… However, when Ironwings wanted to test them herself to see if they were qualified…”

Around that moment was when the general herself interjected to finish that sentence before Cadance could. “These four were the ones that I saw to have the highest mortality rates out of all the others. A shame given that I actually had hopes for some of the ones who ended up failing.”

That… did not really give Haseo any positive news. In fact, it made him honestly think that they were scraping the bottom of the barrel when trying to find somepony that could be able to handle the… unpredictable conditions of the Crystal Empire. Matter of fact… he was unsure of one particular thing. And it was something that came up when the mint colored mare asked a particular question. “Excuse me, general… but I don’t recall anything about the crystal guard having bipeds among their ranks. So who is he?”

“That would be Haseo,” Cadance now spoke up, the name causing all of them to blink for a moment as they stared back at the princess. “Now… I know what you might think, but let me assure you that he is not what you think. He’s been the protector and guardian of the crystal empire since the time of my mother and now serves me too. Consider him your ‘captain’ alongside that of my husband and General Ironwings.”

Then, Cadance looked back towards the mint green unicorn as she asked the mare a new question. “Does that answer your question, Wintergreen?”

“I… guess. It’s just a lot to take in right now.” Wintergreen nodded. Which prompted Haseo in order to speak up now as he looked back at the rest of them.

“Trust me… there is a lot to cover here… but before we begin, I want to make one thing absolutely clear,” He said, before looking to Sapphire. “This here is Sapphire. She’s a shadow pony like Sombra, but is under my protection. If any of you have anything to say about her or say about myself and two of my closest friends that are also here, you take it to me and me personally. Do I make myself clear?”

The sight of Sapphire and looking at Haseo made all four of them nod their heads rather quickly, before the adept rogue let out a sigh as the filly went back towards his room. “Alright. Now… before I say anything else, I want to hear each of your names.”

“Wintergreen.” The light green unicorn replied back.

“Ash Burn.” The unicorn with the mismatched eyes soon spoke up afterwards.

“Spearhead.” The earth pony stallion answered Haseo’s question now. Leaving one more to answer as well.

“Quick Step.” The pegasus then replied, before asking one thing. “Now… Mr. Haseo-.”

“Please, just Haseo is fine.” The adept rogue insisted as he turned to the pegasus that was speaking.

“Very well… My colleagues and I were wondering if there was anything else that we should know while we’re here. Like anything we should know before we get started,” He responded, using one of his wings to scratch the back of his head. “We already know about not bringing harm to your daughter, but-”

A scream was heard from down the hall as a specific midnight blue filly was at that moment, noticeably missing. All while Haseo asked a question. “But?”

“But we wanted to know why some of the townsfolk have similar themed clothes, weapons and armor,” Spearhead now took a turn to speak in his colleagues place. “It’s much different from that of Canterlot and we really wanted to understand the reason for it.”

However, before he could be able to finish, that was when Sunburst soon burst through the door, looking back at Cadance as he had a rather exhausted expression on his face. “P-princess Cadance, I’m sorry! I tried to stop her! But when I pleaded with Sapphire, all it lead her to do was steal all the pillows and cushions inside the castle. She also happened to tilt all the paintings that went down the hallway and throughout the castle.”

All that was heard afterwards was just a menacing laugh of a filly as Haseo facepalmed himself. “Oh god… walking through that hallway is going to be an excruciating headache now,” He groaned, shortly before looking back at Ironwings. “Before I go handle this… would you like for me to talk to them about Job Classes or-?”

“I think we can manage for now,” Ironwings replied back, before looking fiercely at them. “Besides, there are some other things that I need to make sure to inform them about as well.”

Without even going as far as to ask about what she meant, the adept rogue began to venture down the tilted painting covered hallway back towards the room where he and Sapphire were staying at. And yes, walking through the hallway did give him a headache. Especially since everything, including the pottery and the chandelier that was hanging in the grand hall was also tilted somehow. Making Haseo question even more as to how that exactly was possible. And the closer he got to the door, the stranger things were.

But it wasn’t as strange as what he saw once he stepped foot inside the room. Because right away, he saw two things. First, some of the cushions that were stolen were used to block out the windows in Haseo’s room. While the rest were used to make a cushion fort that… somehow had a working drawbridge.

“Sapphire?” Haseo asked, closing the door behind him as he slowly approached the the filly’s self made sanctum of solitude. Before sitting down and using his finger to ‘knock’ at the gate of the castle. Waiting for a response from the shadow filly as he looked around the room for a brief moment. “Sapphire, are you there?”

“Yes?” Was the reply he got as Sapphire poked her head out of the pillows, a look of mischief on her smug muzzle. However… his response to her was not what she expected.

Instead of her getting lectured and told that what she did was wrong, he smiled and scratched her mane. “Aside from the headache that was the hallway… I have to admit, this is awesome.”

Sapphire stared at him in shock, not understanding what was going on. But when he began to pet her, she crumbled under his touch and let out a small yelp in bewilderment. “Nyoooo! Sthap!” She complained flailing her legs as she tumbled out in an attempt to cover her blushing face. “Sthap being so niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice! It's making me feel weiiiiiiiiiiird!” Which was then followed up by her smacking Haseo in the face with a pillow. Using her tail and diving back into her fort to hide, only her eyes being visible as they glowed through the pillows.

“How is me complimenting you weird?” The adept rogue asked, a little puzzled by the way that Sapphire was acting right now. “I mean… I’m trying to show that I care for you, yet you’re trying to hide like a scared puppy.”

“B-because your being s-suspiciously nice! ...and it's m-making me itchy all over for some reason!?” Sapphire stuttered in embarrassment.

“H-hey, there’s no reason to shout… And I’m not being suspicious at all really. It’s just the right thing to do,” Haseo wasn’t sure what exactly she was feeling… or what exactly could be causing this ‘itching’ that she was feeling, but he wanted to try and help keep Sapphire calm and not have her freak out over anything. “It’s normal for others to have different feelings, whether you’re happy that you helped someone out or you’re embarrassed because you did something dumb. That’s kind of normal here.”

“W-what's embarrassed?” She asked suddenly, like a timid cat falling prey to its curiosity.

“Like…” For a moment, he paused. Trying to think of something that could serve as an example in this instance. “Say that I had some kind of secret that I really don’t want for anypony else to find out. Like if some really tough guy had a secret that they liked keeping stuffed animals… but then one day, somepony actually finds out that secret, even though the one trying to keep it did everything they could to hide it. They would feel embarrassed that somepony found out because they didn’t want to have themselves look really soft in front of their peers… does that help?”

“I… Maybe?” She said, somewhat confused but slowly having an idea of what he meant. “So, it would be like Cadance reacting to somepony finding her fanfiction collection?” She then asked wondering if that would be a good analogy.

Haseo blinked for a moment, before looking back at her, processing what he heard before responding back. “Yes… wait, she has something like that?”

“... maybe…” Sapphire muttered as her eyes stopped glowing.

“SHINING!!! Were you going through my things again!?!”

The adept rogue chuckled back, before then thinking of something as he watched the shadow pony for a moment. It was as he was thinking that a small theory popped into his head. But the only way that he could actually confirm if it was true or not was by how Sapphire answered his next question. “This… may sound strange to ask but… Sapphire, what were things like back where all the other Shadow Ponies are?”

“Cold, dark, lonely, and most of all painful…” Sapphire winced as she poked her head back out of her pillow fort. “Nothing like it is here, thanks to you.” She then added on with a brave smile as he saw her tiny body shivering a little. Haseo placed a gentle hand on her body to ease her tensions… but her response did solve one thing.

“I see… Sapphire, I think I have an idea as to what’s causing this… itching, but don’t take my word for it,” He told her, letting out a sigh before asking her something else. “Would you like to hear it?”

“U-um, I guess? If I can’t trust you, I can't trust anyone right?” She said, her smile becoming a tad crooked and she wrapped her forehooves around his hand.

Haseo let out a soft smile, letting her move her forehooves around his hand as he looked back at her. “True… but this itching might be because of something you felt, not by interacting with someone. It might be because you’re feeling emotions… positive ones that you did not experience before back where you once were,” He explained. “Like happiness, affection, love, caring for others. Things that might sound like a… foreign concept to most shadow ponies. But… you’re not like them. You’re different.”

Sapphire stared back at him, slowly processing this with her young mind. And while she didn't quite understand it, she had placed her hopes and future in Haseo’s hands so she finally accepted it out of trust. “I trust you, d… d-da… d-d-dad!” She said as confidently as she could with her eyes shut tightly and her face growing uncomfortably warm.

That… was the first time that he heard her… or matter of fact, anyone call him that. And part of him felt uncomfortable with being called dad. But… after a bit, he felt good. For he then looked back at her and told her the first thing that came to his head. “Thank you… that really means a lot to me, Sapphire.” Wrapping his arms around her, he gently began to hug Sapphire. It was a way for him to show to her how much it meant as he felt her cling onto him. She then released his hand and proceeded to hug him back as best she could as the itchy feeling from earlier was replaced by a pleasant warmth in her chest, which she then proceeded to decide to ask which emotion it was later.

Then, Haseo felt as if he should tell her something. “Hey Sapphire… can I tell you a secret?” To which she simply looked up at him with eyes full of curiosity in response. “Haseo is… well, it’s my name here… but not my original name. Back home, before ending up here… I was known as Ryou. A name that my friends here still call me to this day, even though everypony else calls me Haseo.”

“Ok?” She replied, her face going from curious to disappointed. “Is that all? Because to me, you are still and always will be by Daddy!” She declared with puffed cheeks as if daring someone to challenge her claim, clinging onto him much harder than before.

“I just didn’t want you to be confused on the chance that we meet them and they call me by that name,” He replied back to her. “They’re kind of like me… but with different personalities. They have good intentions though.” As he said that, a small glimmer foretelling of a possibly terrible future appeared in Sapphire’s eyes. But it quickly vanished before Haseo could be able to see it.

However… what they did see next was a giant sword fly through their window and plowed through the side of Sapphire’s pillow fort. Stabbing through several cushions in half and causing the drawbridge on it to break.

“W-w-wya…” Sapphire stammered in shock, frozen like a rock. “I-I was just in there... a-and my favorite pillow… My p-pillow...”

“Oh god, don’t tell me…” Haseo thought to himself, before turning to the now shattered window after briefly looking at the sword that was now leaving a huge gash in his wall. But it wasn’t any ordinary blade. And as he looked outside, that was when he could see who it exactly belonged to.

In the middle of the training ground that was dimly overcast, he saw both Kite and BlackRose. And the latter of the two was missing their weapon.

“S-sorry! Eheh…” BlackRose chuckled nervously as she scratched the back of her head. “My grip slipped…”

“I told you it was a dumb idea.” Kite piped up casually, not tearing his eyes away from an origami in his hands.

Despite hearing BlackRose’s apology though, Haseo knew that wasn’t going to be enough. Not by a long shot. “I… don’t think it’s me you have to be apologizing too, Tessa.”

“Huh?” BlackRose tilted her head, before noticing Sapphire. “Oh my god! Did I hurt you-!?”

Kite cut her off. “She’s clearly fine.”

“Yet, BlackRose’s blade basically stabbed through the one pillow that Sapphire cherished all the others that she… found and is now mourning over it.” He told the two of them before realizing something important. The two of them have never actually met Sapphire yet. And out of all the times that would be likely for them to meet… this was not the most ideal.

“MY PILLOWS!” Sapphire cried, sitting amongst the piles of shredded pillows as she proclaimed her mourning of them to the heavens.

Haseo didn’t really feel the need to say anything to them after that, but instead just looked back to Sapphire as the adept rogue tried to calm her down. “Sapphire, it’s going to be okay. A friend of mine knows somepony who can fix them to where they’ll be good as new.”

Looking up to Haseo with teary eyes she asks, “Really?” To which, all he did was nod back with a smile on his face. “Yay! Thanks DAD!” She then shouted loud enough to be heard as far as the training yard below and maybe a bit further.

BlackRose’s eyes widened in shock. “What!? Ryo, who’ve you been seeing!?” Kite, meanwhile, looked irritated at the whitette.

That… had Haseo look back to both of them as he attempted to clarify what Sapphire meant. “I found Sapphire yesterday, so with Cadences permission, I took her into my care.”

“You should know how adoption works, Tessa.” Kite added, which caused BlackRose to fume.

For Haseo, he took a moment to look back at Sapphire before looking back at his two friends. “Sapphire, these were the two friends I was mentioning earlier. This is Kite and BlackRose. Otherwise known as Seabus and Tessa-”

“Don’t confuse the brat.” Kite grumbled, still having yet to look up from his hands.

“I’m not a brat, I am a thief!” Sapphire harrumphed, sticking her tongue out at Kite before taking note of BlackRose… and doing something absolutely crazy for anyone other than herself. She jumped out the window.

“Gyah! I got her!” BlackRose yelped, out stretching her arms as she tried to catch Sapphire. Followed momentarily by the filly landing smack onto her face and cling on like a facehugger.

“Targeted landing achieved~”

“Mmmph!” BlackRose’s screams were muffled by Sapphire’s fur coated stomach as the human tried and failed to yank the filly off of her. Kite just watched, uninterested. All while Haseo just looked at the two of them, baffled by what was going on as he tried to ask the filly the only question that he could be able to come up with right now.

“Sapphire, what are you doing?”

“I shall have vengeance! MUAHAHAHA!” Sapphire cackled as she latched harder onto BlackRose’s face.

“You do realize you’re getting vengeance over something that’s an accident right?” Haseo then responded back, before going over to try and get Sapphire off of BlackRose. “Besides, we can take these over to one of Twilight’s friends to fix it and maybe she can enchant it so that this wouldn’t happen again…” For a moment, it seemed like she wasn’t doing anything. Not budging at all.

That was… until he said one more thing. “If you get off of BlackRose’s face, I’ll buy you any single stuffed animal that you want.”

“Non lethal vengeance complete…” She announced before turning into a ball of smoke and flying over to Haseo before reforming on top of his shoulder, hugging onto his neck so that she wouldn't fall off due to her size. “Can I have a really big one?”

“Whatever one you want,” He responded back, even scratching her head for a moment as he heard a cheerful glee escape from the filly. “Even one that was bigger than your fort.”

“What… just happened?” BlackRose asked, utterly confused.

“Oh… right,” The Adept Rogue almost forgot about the one thing that he should’ve mentioned before they saw Sapphire. “I should’ve told you this sooner, but Sapphire’s a shadow pony.”

“Who cares?” Kite asked, genuinely curious.

Sapphire stared at Kite for a moment before muttering “I like you now.” as she let go of Haseo’s neck and landing on the ground to escape his petting. Leaving the Adept Rogue to collect the remains of the destroyed pillows and cushions that were scattered all over the floor.

Then, he realized something. “Sapphire, is everything still tilted out in the hallway?”

“Dear SWEET CELESTIA!! Why is walking through this blasted hallway such an excruciating headache!! And just when I thought finding the blacksmith as a recruit was problematic…”

“Yep~” Was Sapphire’s simple (and for some reason, proud) reply.

“Okay then… Guess it’s time to go to the chaos gate then,” Haseo spoke up as he looked back at his friends. “I’m going to take a trip to Ponyville. Can you guys keep an eye on things while I’m gone?”

“What things…?” Kite narrowed his eyes. He finally stood up, discarding the origami. “Is there something you haven’t told us?”

“The only thing that’s going on now is that Ironwing’s taking some recruits from Canterlot and having them be part of the guard here, but I believe she has that under control…” The Adept Rogue replied back, before looking up at the ceiling and noticing something. The lamp above their heads… was crooked. “Sapphire…?”

“Hehehehe!” Sapphire giggles as she gave them all a innocent look while fiddling with a diamond in her forehooves. Hopefully… she won’t do the same thing when in Ponyville. Hopefully.

Some time later…

By the time that he had arrived in Ponyville, it took Haseo a little bit in order for him to be able to get his bearings in the small town. The last time he was here, it was because AIDA has corrupted a pony that was facing Twilight in a magic duel. A stage performer named Trixie Lulamoon. But he wasn’t here to talk to Twilight about that. Instead, he needed to ask a favor from both her and the other unicorn that he had met once in the crystal empire, who was known as Rarity.

But before he could do either of those things… he had a promise that he needed to fulfill. And after walking and looking around for a few minutes, the adept rogue happened to find a place that might have what he was looking for. “Mr. Trot’s Toy Box hunh?” A brief glance at the windows showed several different kinds of toys, from board games and action figures to cards, dolls and a variety of others. “Well, if this isn’t the place to find you something Sapphire, I don’t know what is.” to which Sapphire simply followed behind him not knowing what he meant.

Walking through the door, Haseo heard a small jingle from the bell on the top of the door as he now saw the inside of the store. Which, caught him by surprise. Upon initially entering, he thought it was the size of a locally owned shop. But upon coming in, he found the inside of the building to be the size of a full on toy emporium. Yet, it appeared that there weren’t many ponies actually here at this hour.

Except for one. “Welcome to Mr. Trot’s Toy Box! How can I-” When Haseo turned around, he turned to find a young mare that was at the counter of the store. Who was honestly shocked upon seeing him for the first time… as well as a bit nervous given the change in her voice upon seeing him. “Oh… h-hello there…”

“Um… hello,” He said for a moment, before looking back at the mare. “Are you… Mrs. Trot?”

“What? No, nothing like that,” The mare shook her head, scratching the back of it with a hoof as the unicorn looked back at. “That name belongs to my grandmother. I’m Mr and Mrs Trot’s granddaughter, Toy Maker. I’m running the shop while my grandparents are celebrating their thirtieth anniversary”

“Oh, s-sorry for assuming wrongly,” He replied back to her, before looking around for a moment and down at his shadow on the floor before asking a question. “Though, I was wanting to ask if you can help me with something. Do you have a section for stuffed animals?”

“Why yes actually,” The mare told him, before pointing a hoof towards the far end of the store. “All of our teddy ursa’s and stuffed animals are in the back of the shop. Though… out of curiosity, is this something for you?”

The adept rogue shook his head, chuckling for a moment as he looked back at the mare behind the counter. “Not for me…”

Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, Sapphire went from hiding behind Haseo’s leg to charging down the aisles towards the direction of the stuffed animal section. “I WANT THE BIGGEST ONE THEY HAVE!” She declared as she vanished into the toy store.

That… was followed by Haseo pointing in the direction of where the shadow filly took off as he looked back at the startled toy store clerk. “It’s for her.” He began to follow down where Sapphire took off as he proceeded to go to the back of the store. In all honesty, he did not really expect to find much here. Maybe just a few decent sized teddy bears or a few stuffed animals based off of creatures in Equestria.

He was so wrong… Because by the time he got to the back, he found Sapphire hugging a huge Ursa Major plushie that was almost bigger than the front door to his room. And Sapphire was on top of it like the plushie was her loyal steed and preparing to charge into battle.

“I want this one.” She said, sounding like a queen ordering her subjects.

For a moment, Haseo thought that she was kidding. But the look on the fillys face told him that she was downright serious as he noticed a price tag on the corner of the Ursa Major’s ear. It read 500 on the side along with showing the shiny coin that was the Equestrian Bit as he took a moment to check something. He knew that he could be able to inspect others equipment, change weapons and what not… but given the limited amount of combat experience and missions that he had been on, he was unsure if he had that much money on him.

Pulling out his inventory window told him otherwise though, because at the bottle of the screen, it said that he had… 1000 bits. It honestly surprised him at first, because he hadn’t had the chance to go on any quests or take on anything that could give bits as a reward. But then he remembered his encounter with Sombra upon first awakening. If that were treated like a final boss encounter at the end of a quest chain, then perhaps the bits he had were a reward for defeating him.

“Did you find something you like?”

The sound of Toy Maker’s voice caught the attention of Haseo and Sapphire Rose as the unicorn noticed Sapphire playing on the top of the Ursa. All before Haseo nodded his head. “Yeah, I believe we have… How much for this?”

“It's the most adorable stuffed animal EVER!” Sapphire then declared afterwards, like she was issuing a royal decree.

After paying for the Ursa Major plushie that Sapphire wanted, the next stop for both her and Haseo was to head to the place where Rarity ran her business. The carousel boutique. Originally, the plan was to head to Twilight’s library first before going there, but after running into the unicorn while she was in town, they instead made a detour to go to the boutique instead.

And once they had arrived, they found Rarity on the couch in her home, reading what looked to be the newest copy of ‘The Foal Free Press’ before taking a moment to set it down as she heard the belle to her front door jingle. “Why good afternoon Twilight,” She greeted the fellow unicorn, before turning to see Haseo and Sapphire. “And hello there Mr. Haseo, and… Oh my, who’s this little one?”

“Oh here we go…”

“I’m Sapphire, and who are you miss marshmallow?” Sapphire replied with the most innocent of expressions… almost too innocent...

“Why I am Rarity Belle. The owner of the Carousel Boutique,” Rarity responded back, trying her best not to sound offended by what the filly just told her before looking back at Haseo. “Please refrain yourself from any irrational behavior, little Sapphire.”

“Try telling that to anything that isn’t bolted down…” Haseo muttered to himself before looking back at both unicorns now. “Anyways… I’m sorry for Sapphire and I to come down to Ponyville unexpectedly, but I wanted to ask for your help with something.”

That was when Haseo took out the pieces of cushions and pillows that fell victim to the flying blade of BlackRose and set it down on the table. For a moment, he thought he heard a sound similar to that of suspenseful movies when it's revealed that one of the key main characters had been murdered as both ponies looked at him. Rarity being the first to speak. “My word. What exactly happened to these elegantly designed cushions?!

“They were murdered by a flying sword!” Sapphire declared, immediately giving a pouty look in displeasure of the state of ‘her’ precious pillows while pointing a hoof at them.

“Um… what?” Twilight asked, causing Haseo to fold his arms and provide further clarification.

“Earlier today, Sapphire was… collecting a bunch of cushions around my room and turning them into her own little fort. However, at the same time that she stepped out to talk to me, my friend BlackRose was trying to train with Kite and do some spinning sword attack-”

“Who is this Kite and BlackRose that you speak of, darling?” Rarity then asked.

“They’re friends of his… from before he came to Equestria,” Twilight briefly explained. “Now, back to the spinning sword… thing?”

“Well, Kite was trying to help her practice with having a stronger grip on her weapon, but BlackRose ended up trying to do something that she didn’t really have enough skill for,” The Adept Rogue continued, “Long story short, she lost her grip, her broadsword was sent crashing through my window and it tore through some of Sapphire’s favorite pillows.”

“Oh, the agony… Nopony should have to deal with having a weapon crash through into your home. That’s just beyond tragic,” Rarity replied, before looking down as Sapphire. “I feel sorry that you have to go through something like this.”

“Can you fix them? Daddy said you can fix them…” Sapphire said while giving Rarity the puppy dog eyes so large and watery only Pinkie could rival her, if it wasn't for her inky tears.

“Hmm,” She said, picking them up with her magic and analyzing the damage before looking back at Sapphire. “I believe I can be able to do so. Excuse me for a moment…” Channeling some more magic, Rarity took all the torn cushions with her and began to take them to her sewing room. It took her only a few moments, which felt like an eternity to the young filly as she sat with her new Ursa Major plushie. Waiting for the cushions to make everything seem complete.

And when the fashionista came back out with the cushions, which looked like they were completely brand new, Sapphire was overjoyed with the results.

“Thank you, Ms Rarity!” Sapphire squealed as she glomped the older mare before nabbing the pillows and running circles with them around the boutique.

“Why, isn’t she quite an energetic one…” Rarity chuckled, before looking back at Haseo. “And I was beginning to think that she was one of Sweetie Belle’s classmates.”

“Actually… I’ve been looking out for her and raising her.”

That… had Rarity blink for a moment, before looking back at the Adept Rogue. “Hang on, darling… Are you telling me… that she’s yours?” That just lead to him nodding, before the fashionista said one last thing. “My word, she’s so adorable!!! Who’s the mother? Come on, fill me in on all the details.”

That statement just lead to Twilight facehooving herself as she looked back at Rarity. “Don’t be silly, Rarity. Sapphire’s-”

“No, Twilight, don’t!”

“-adopted.”

In the next moment, Sapphire vanished as everything that wasn’t bolted down, including the ponies, found themselves stuck to the ceiling. Almost as if they were pulled by a huge magnetic force as everything, including Rarity’s mannequins, were now stuck to the ceiling. And to make things more baffling… both of the unicorns were also on the ceiling too.

Which, just lead to Twilight looking back at Haseo with a startled expresssion. “W-what just-?”

“This happen anytime you bring that up around Sapphire,” He said, “Trust me, she tilted everything in the crystal empire… and I mean everything when somepony else brought it up.” After saying that, he looked back at the young filly… only to not notice her there. Leading to the Adept Rogue sighing as he opened a window.

“Sapphire, we’re going to need Twilight to enchant your cushions and plushie so they don’t get shredded by anymore swords. Could you please put them back down?” A moment after Haseo said that Sapphire re-entered the boutique through the front door setting off the chime… followed by gravity suddenly reasserting itself upon everything in the room that was on the ceiling. Both ponies landed back on their hooves, and everything else was mostly put back in it’s proper place.

CRASH!

Again… Mostly.

“Thank you.” Haseo replied back. “Twilight… Before we go, can I have you enchant these? I want to make sure than another… incident, like this never happens again and I remember Cadance once saying about how some unicorns can enchant clothing to where it’s durable as steel. Can you try it?”

Twilight rested her hoof on her chin, pondering the possibilities for a moment before nodding her head. “I believe that’s something I can be able to do.”

Back in the Empire

By the time they got back and situated, almost everything that was in the castle was straightened back up and Haseo was able to get the Ursa Major plushie into his room along with the cushions that Rarity fixed for them. The crack in the wall was beginning to patch up because of the energy from the Crystal Heart as the final cracks were being filled. Even the window was finally finishing up as he looked back at the room. Letting out a sigh of relief, glad that things were beginning to simmer down.

“Hey guys, glad you’re ba-aaaa…! Wh-what’s that thing…?” BlackRose gaped at the plush, eyes wide with shock and confusion.

“That’s… Sapphire’s new friend,” Haseo replied back, pointing in the direction of it. “Bought it for her while I was in Ponyville getting the cushions patched up… What? It’s just a plushie-”

Suddenly, the ursa major plushy began to groan as it floated towards BlackRose, a haunting black mist emanating from its body as its eyes glowed with eerie lights~

“Gyah!” BlackRose screamed, utter horror etched on her face as she draws her sword, looking as if she wasn’t even seeing what was in front of her.

“Boop.” The ursa seemed to say as it poked her nose, a glint in its glass bead eyes as it fell to the ground a moment later.

BlackRose collapsed onto her knees, hyperventilating as she dropped the sword. She stared vacantly and the floor, shaking. Only to feel a hand on her shoulder as Haseo stood next to her before turning to the plushie.

“Sapphire, was that really necessary? You’re making her lose her mind.”

Sapphire materialized on top of her plushie, a confused look on her face. “Why does she look like that? Is she going to be Ok?” She asked, a tad bit of concern in her voice. “I only meant to get even for nearly cutting me in two, not to make her… like this...”

Haseo looked back at the filly, before looking back to BlackRose as an idea came to his mind. “Sapphire… can you get me a glass of water please?”

Sapphire immediately dashed off to, somewhere, before returning with a large crystal bucketful of water. Haseo deadpanned for a moment, before getting up to get a glass from the kitchen for a brief second along with a towel. As he returned, he filled the cup up with water, before using it to splash BlackRose in the face. Hoping that something like that would snap her out of her trance.

Blackrose yelped, shuddering out of her stupor. She panted as she sat down on the floor, nursing her rapidly beating heart. “Gah, what happened…?”

Sapphire hid behind Haseo’s leg when BlackRose yelped, staring out at her with big pouting eyes as she hung her head. “I-I’m sorry…”

“Sapphire thought it would be funny to try and scare you… only for you to be frozen in fear on accident,” He said, before looking to the filly. “Just don’t try that again, alright?”

“That didn’t happen… right?” BlackRose chuckled nervously. “I’ve never freaked out that bad unless I had a bad fever...!”

That… had Haseo look back at Sapphire for a moment, before looking back at BlackRose as he helped clean some of the water off of her face. “Hey, it’s okay… everything’s alright now… You want to take a moment to rest here for a bit? Maybe have something to eat?”

“I’ll be fine… I just need some air!” BlackRose faked a smile as she excused herself. “Good one, Sapphire!”

Sapphire just stared as BlackRose left before muttering “She’s lying…” and then sulking into her pile of pillows.

Elsewhere…

Diamond Tiara stared at the carpet of her bedroom, attempting to drown out her parents loud arguing from beyond her closed door. Her moping was interrupted, however, by a tink at her window. The filly was quick to hop off of her bed and practically galloped towards the window.

Outside was a female biped with dark skin that had tattoos on her forehead, upper chest and lower abdomen. She had short spiky blue hair with a white ponytail on her right side, hazel eyes, and was clad in what looked like a blue sports bra surrounded by armor that only covered her left arm, and matching shorts with armor only around her left leg.

She was tossing pebbles at Diamond’s window to get her attention. Diamond eagerly opened the barrier between the two and eagerly spoke up. “Ender! You came!”

“Keep it down, pipsqueak…” ‘Ender’ hissed, holding out her hands. “I don’t need you announcing my presence to the entire town.”

Diamond smiled nervously. “S-sorry…” Then, she jumped out of her second story bedroom and into Ender’s arms, who quickly set her down.

“I have one more task you have to do in order to gain the freedom you’ve always wanted…” Ender began, and Diamond’s ears perked at the ‘straight to business’ attitude she’d been getting used to over the weeks they’d known each other.

“What is it?” Tiara tilted her head.

Ender’s lips turned into a half-smirk. “Steal one of the Elements of Harmony…”

12- Chaotic Counseling

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The Terror of Death- Chaotic Counseling

A couple of days after Haseo went to ponyville to get the stuffed Ursa Major for Sapphire as well as fix the cushions, the adept rogue found that things had quieted down a bit. With her new stuffed animal and fortified pillows, there wasn’t a need for the young shadow pony to try and steal any others that could be hiding around the empire. Which, was a bit of a relief to Haseo considering that it was one less headache for him to worry about and that she wasn’t causing any trouble with some of the other residents of the Empire Like Cadance and Shining Armor.

Of course, this morning was a bit different. Instead of somepony coming at his door and asking if they could talk with him, Sunburst had given him a report on what had been going on in the last couple of months since they established the changes to the crystal empire. Which included the job class system, chaos gates and several other systems that seemed to resonate well with that of the Empire. But there was one particular system that seemed to get his attention. Because at the time that he suggested a lot of this to Shining Armor, he didn’t really consider it given the state that they were in. But it just happened to manifest on its own.

This one in particular… was the guild system. Groups of individuals who would help one another out and also shared a common interest. In the original .hack// games, where Kite and BlackRose’s characters originated from, there wasn’t really a lot of detail as to how they functioned or the purpose that they served. But when the .hack//GU trilogy came out, there was a lot more depth to it to the point that no two guilds were the same. Guilds can have ranks depending on their status in The World and with it, they could gain bonuses to their @home, a space that’s dedicated to each guild that could only be accessed by that corresponding guild key, as well as their Guild Shop, where they can sell goods to others and gain money to support their Guild.

All of this was a surprise to Haseo, but he was also all for it. But one particular guild on the short list that was included in the report got his attention. The guild that was named Canard. It was the same name of a guild in .hack//GU that was created to help and aid new players that have just began to play in The World. And based on what he was reading, the mission statement was pretty similar. This Canard though was founded by a few of the soldiers of the Crystal Guard and their goal was to aid those who had just taken up a job class in the empire and want to understand how everything in the Crystal Empire functioned. Something which, in Haseo’s mind, was rather noble since there wasn’t exactly any kind of tutorial that could help show somepony where they could start.

Around the point where he was reading about how Cadance was going to propose having the Crystal Empire be a prime location for the Equestria Games though, the Adept Rogue lifted his head up from the table and looked around at the sound of what could be described as something, or somepony, being slammed into a wall. At first, he thought that it could have been just somepony moving some furniture, but the more that he continued to hear this noise repeat itself, the more that it began to damage his concentration. And at one point, he decided that he finally had enough and wanted to know what the hell was causing all this racket.

Of course… what he found was not quite what he originally expected. For he found both Hoofstrong siblings in the middle of the main courtyard outside the castle, with Ironwings holding her brother in a chokehold and putting her sword at his neck. “… Okay, just what are you two doing?”

For a brief moment, Hoofstrong noticed Haseo’s presence and attempted to speak. “H-help me! My sister’s trying to kill me-!” That was before his sister sent him flying into a pillar around the edge of the courtyard. Where there were visible cracks along the wall from how hard Ironwings was beating him. Which now happened to attract the attention of Sapphire as she soon appeared right next to the adept rogue.

“Ironwings, what are you doing?” Haseo tried to ask, only for his question to fall on deaf ears as the changeling used one of her wings to drag her brother by one of his legs.

Which, had Sapphire decide to speak. “Well, can’t you see that they’re doing some sibling bonding?”

“This is a matter of honor!!”

“I’m sorry that I ate the last piece of cake!” Hoofstrong now pleaded for mercy, just before one of Ironwing’s hooves hit him in the face. “I didn’t know-!!”

“Really deep bonding…” The shadow pony chuckled. Enjoying the sight that was on display as Haseo was facepalming himself in response to all of this, especially considering the fact that it was only earlier this week that Sapphire had everything that wasn’t mounted down in the castle tilted and somehow had Rarity, Twilight and almost everything else in the Carousel Boutique end up on the ceiling.

“I’m going to use your head as a doorstep!!”

“I give up! I give up!! Just stop pulling my leg that waaaaay!!!” Hoofstrong pleaded once more to his sister, while still getting dragged by the leg because of Ironwings.

By this point though, that was when Haseo decided to act. “Okay, we need to do something about this.”

“Should we?” He heard Sapphire speak as the Adept Rogue looked down to notice that she was nearby.

“Yes.” Was all he could really say as Ironwings had her brother trip and fall flat on his face again. But that response didn’t quite settle well with her.

“Okay... but, do we really-?” Before Haseo could reply back to the Shadow Pony, they both heard Hoofstrong fly into a wall that was outside that of the courtyard as Ironwings herself sheathed her blade. Relieved that this scuffle of theres was now over as she stood there, victoriously proud of herself.

“There… hopefully that will teach you a lesson next time you end up taking something that belongs to me,” She said, before forcing her brother to stand up as the two of them began to walk off. “Now get up, brother. We got work to do.”

Hearing that though only made Sapphire pout. Complaining that the little one-sided bout between siblings was a bit too short and that it was missing the dismemberment and many other things that were apparently what she believed were normal to a ‘sibling bonding experience’ as she had previously stated. Of course, in Haseo’s book, none of what they saw would ever really be seen exactly as normal. If anything, it would be seen as out of the ordinary.

“Finally, I’m glad those two are done going at each other's throats like that.” Both of them now heard another voice as they turned around to see Shining Armor not far from where they were.

“Wait… you mean that you have been standing here the whole time… and you didn’t do something in order to stop them?” The adept rogue now asked him as the stallion let out a sigh.

“They were originally supposed to be sparring against one another as a combat demonstration for the new recruits today,” Shining Armor explained to them, motioning a hoof towards the training grounds as it showed a scoreboard that was labeled as ‘Ironwings: 1, Hoofstrong: 0’ along with the recruits from earlier this week that were just sitting there. “But the two of them took it further when Ironwings said that whoever would win would get the last piece of cake back in the guard quarters.”

“And that was when Hoofstrong told her that he already had the last piece?” All Shining did was nod in response to Haseo’s question as the adept rogue looked back at him now. “Now it all makes sense,” He said to himself, shortly before deciding to change the topic. “So, how has Cadance been recently?”

“She’s been… alright. Busy with trying to have the Crystal Empire host the upcoming Equestria Games, but alright,” For a moment, Shining took in a deep breath as he looked down at Sapphire for a brief second, before turning his attention to Haseo again. “Though, there is something of greater concern that I should address to you. And it regards… Sapphire, I believe her name was.”

“Yeah, that’s her name,” The Adept Rogue replied. “What about it?”

“Well, as of recently, there’s been a couple of incidents that might have been caused by her in the last couple of days. Based on all accounts as of now, it appears that Sapphire sent a package earlier in the week to that of Prince Blueblood,” At first, that didn’t quite seem like anything out of the ordinary… but that was before Shining was able to finish and held out what looked like a box of some kind. “It had this heart shaped letter on the outside that said ‘To BB, from Rose’, but when he opened the box, he was horrified by the sight of a butchered dog with its heart torn out and it’s head dismembered from its body and the tail missing. A small collar with Bunny written on it laying to the side of the dismembered head."

Hearing that, Haseo looked back down at Sapphire, who appeared to be stroking a new fur scarf she was wearing. “Sapphire, when I was telling you about hearth's warming gifts, this was not what I meant.”

“But I don’t give things people don’t deserve~” Sapphire replied back, a hoof to her chin as she tilted her head and glanced at him with a pair of puppy dog eyes. Which had Haseo let out a deep sigh as he deadpanned at what she was talking about.

“I honestly can’t believe that we’re having this conversation.” He mumbled to himself. He remembered having to tell her about Hearth's Warming because of how the holiday was only a couple of weeks away. But he honestly did not expect for her to go out of her way in order to do something like that.

Of course, he had to toss that aside as he heard Sapphire ask something else. “Do you like the gift I made you?” When she said this, the young shadow pony was referring to the pair of hoof-stitched mittens that she had finished making for him yesterday.

To which, Haseo was wearing right now underneath the gauntlets and equipment that was around his hands as he showed them to her. “Of course I do.”

“I’m glad you like them~,” The shadow pony replied. Now beaming with positivity as she got closer to him. Enjoying every bit of his praise. “I put a lot of effort into making these.”

“Y-yes, well, as great as that seems, I would think that Cadance really doesn’t want anything like that happening if the Equestria Games are being hosted here,” The unicorn then interjected, being careful with his words. “I think she just wants to show that this is a safe place for other ponies to come visit and such. Although, that just sounds ironic considering what else is happening today.”

Now that… had Haseo raise an eyebrow as he and Sapphire looked back at the unicorn. “What do you mean by that?”

At first, Shining Armor had a startled look on his face. As if he was trying to withhold something. But one glance at Sapphire made him think otherwise as he let out a sigh. “Celestia told me that she wanted to have Twilight and her friends release Discord from his prison because she… and I quote… ‘believes that he learned his lesson now and that he can be reformed’. End quote.”

Haseo at first, was not entirely sure how to process that. But for Sapphire, she had a rather quick and witty retort in response to what Shining Armor just told him. “What lesson is there to learn? From what I heard he just sounded bored and a bit cranky from being locked up for so long. How would you feel if you were turned to stone for over a thousand years?” Sapphire stated while shrugging, wiping some drool from her mouth as she remembered something before continuing. “Just compensate him for being locked up for so long and be friends with him. I don't think you would have to do much else to get him to behave.”

Haseo just stared at Sapphire for a moment, before thinking of a proper question to ask her. “Where… did you exactly hear about Discord from in the first place?”

“From cousin and sparklebutt’s friends.” Sapphire said, before looking towards the ground as if there was something fascinating with it that caught her attention.

“That explains a lot,” The Adept Rogue sighed. “So, what exactly gave Celestia a change of heart this time around?”

“Honestly, this move surprised even me. Normally, if there’s someone who’s been entrapped in stone by the elements of harmony, you would usually want for them to stay in stone. I’m not sure what brought the sudden change.” Shining Armor just shrugged. Haseo was also puzzled by this too. Even though he was considering the fact that Cadance did say that Discord was adopted by Celestia’s parents, it didn’t quite clearly paint a picture as to what exactly got him in stone in the first place. Or for that matter, why would they decide to release him now.

Then again, this also reminded him of a particular conversation he had with Cadance and Ironwings. Just before meeting Celestia and Luna for the first time. “Maybe they want to hear his side of the story…” He thought to himself, before looking back at Shining. “Would you happen to know where they would be releasing him at?”

“Yeah I do, but why do you ask?”

“Just wondering. That’s all,” He replied back, before exchanging a glance to Sapphire. “Would Twilight be there?”

“Why of course. Celestia would need the element bearers to let him out in the first place,” Shining replied back, before looking back at the guards for a moment. “Oh, right. Sorry about that, but I think I need to get back to keeping an eye on the recruits. See you later.” With that, Shining trotted off, rejoining the other ponies who were waiting by the training grounds as Haseo looked back at Sapphire.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” He asked.

“Free cotton candy clouds with a side of crystalberry juice?” Sapphire asked, her drool escaping her mouth again.

“Not quite what I had in mind,” The Adept Rogue replied back. “I’m thinking we should go over and make sure that Discord here doesn’t try anything upon getting out. Then you can ask him about that. What do you say?”

“... Ok.” Sapphire replied, sticking out her hoof as if to shake on a deal. Haseo kneeled down to the ground, using one of his hands to shake the tiny hoof as he looked back at her. The only question that was left in his mind though… was how were they supposed to get there. Or for that matter, why she was so quick to agree on that- “Make sure to hold onto your lunch, were going to hijack one of your gates.”

The adept rogue blinked for a moment. Feeling a bit of uncertainty as he looked back at her while also hoping that he wouldn’t get sick by the time they got there.

Meanwhile…

“With all due respect, Princess Celestia, how could you bring Discord out here!?” Out of all the things that her mentor would ask for her and her friends to do, the last thing that she could possibly think of was to let out the same creature that was responsible for causing untold amounts of chaotic devastation. But that was all before she cleared out her throat and then spoke up. “Your majesty.”

Out of every one of her friends, only four of them were present in that moment. Fluttershy was busy with trying to help solve a problem at Sweet Apple Acres so that Applejack’s apple trees could be able to get fresh water and grow. Spike also happened to be there too alongside that of two royal guards, who were the ones pulling the chariot that held Discord’s statue in place. And as Princess Celestia was explaining to them what her plans were, and that Fluttershy was needed for them, there was a bit of confusion that ran among the group.

Not to mention that around the time when Rainbow Dash went to go find her two other friends, that was when they got two more unexpected guests. “Girls… is it just me or does anypony else feel a cold shiver down their back-?”

As Spike spoke, everypony around him just started as a black cloud bubbled out of his shadow till it was the size of celestia, slowly taking on a more pony like shape with glowing blue eyes but no horn or wings. “Spiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike…” The shaddowy being rasped in a haunting wendigo like voice before it suddenly shrunk and solidified into the small filly form of Sapphire. “I found you!” She then shouted in her normal voice as she tackled him with a predatory grin.

That was followed by Haseo coming out a few seconds later as he looked back at everypony else. “For the record, that wasn’t my idea.”

“Just how in the world did you get here so quickly?” Twilight then asked. Which led to Haseo looking back at Sapphire as she trotted back over to him and said one simple answer.

“Magic.”

That had Twilight blink for a moment, looking to Princess Celestia first before thinking of a response to say back to her. “That’s it? You mean there isn’t anything else?”

“Nope, just magic.” Sapphire replied back to her. “Geez, for being the element of magic, you should know about this by now.”

“Sapphire, be nice…” Haseo told her, before looking back at everypony else. More specifically, noticing Celestia’s gaze as she stared at Sapphire. “Oh right… Sapphire, you haven’t met Princess Celestia before, have you?”

“No, I don’t believe we have met before,” The sun princess then spoke up as she looked back at Sapphire. “Though, I have heard from Cadance that you have taken a filly under your care. I just did not expect for that filly to be a shadow pony at all.”

For a second, Sapphire just stared back at celestia, before her mane began to twitch. “And what's wrong with being a shadow pony huh!? You don't intimidate me, alicorn!” She shouted, waving a hoof in Celestia’s direction.

“I… wasn’t trying to come off as saying that it’s wrong or anything, little one. I just thought it was surprising.” The alicorn replied back, before letting out a deep sigh as she noticed that Rainbow, Applejack and Fluttershy were coming back now. Which could be seen as a good thing considering the fact that with all of the elements of harmony present, they could be able to finally get the spell underway to free Discord.

There was just one thing that she did not anticipate. And that came from Haseo just as everypony was getting back together. “Yeah, just as surprising as the fact that Discord’s your adoptive brother.”

“WHAT!?!” was the single response from each one of the elements of harmony as they all stared at Princess Celestia. Who in turn, stared back at Haseo in complete shock at what he just said.

“How do you-?”

“Cadance told me,” He replied back. “She told me that your mother found him abandoned on the doorstep to Canterlot Castle while you and Luna were fillies and raised him alongside you. But after Sombra took over the Empire, she said that something in him ‘snapped’ because of how you and Luna were always arguing and disagreeing with each other back then. But that’s all she knows.” As he finished, that was when he looked back at her. “I’m sorry if this was something that you didn’t want for anypony else to know, but I thought it would better for the elements of harmony to know so that way they would not think that this plan’s completely insane-”

At that moment, that was when he heard a bit of a crunching sound. Looking down, he noticed that Sapphire looked to have been eating out of a popcorn bucket. Something that she did not have a few moments ago. “Um, where exactly did you get that?”

“I brought it.” She shrugged. “Can I have my cotton candy cloud yet?”

“Is… the first thing that comes to her mind always about sweets?” Rainbow now asked.

“Please don’t try and antagonize her, Rainbow,” Twilight soon spoke up as she looked at her friend that was flying idly in the air. “Just trust me on this one. Rarity and I have seen firsthoof what she’s capable of.”

“On that note, I think we have everything that we need in order to get this complete,” Celestia said, her tone of voice sounding as if she really wanted to somehow change topics. “I’ll just-”

“Hang on just ah minute now,” Everypony now heard, this time from Applejack, the Element of Honesty. “If he’s ya brother, then surely ya know something about what happened to him that made him all chaotic, right? Ah don’t mean this as a way to disrespect ya, but ah just find all of this as a bit odd.”

That had a moment of silence from Celestia, before she let out a deep breath. “What happened to Discord was something that Luna and I couldn’t see coming. At the time, we didn’t think that our disagreements back then would have so much of an impact on him. All he wanted was for us to stop fighting. And the only time that he saw us working together was when we would be facing something that threatened the existence of our kingdom and equestria.”

Now, Haseo began to realize something. “And because Sombra was out of reach and there were no other threats around to face… He decided to make himself the threat.”

That got the sun princess to nod as she let out a breath. “Exactly… He came across a spell that was in development for the Royal Guard a long time ago. A self-hypnosis one to help soldiers in the royal guard that wanted to hide their psyche from the bloodshed of war and conflict. Where the user would adopt a completely separate personality that would mask over their own. However… at the stage that this spell was being made, there was no way to reverse it.”

“So the Discord that we saw… the one that broke out of the statue and that we encountered before.” Twilight gasped, realizing everything that her mentor was saying.

“That was the mask of the spell at work. The original spell was never finished, because it was one of the few spells that was never completed and abandoned by it’s maker, Starswirl the Bearded, after Luna and I had to seal him away,” Celestia then explained once more. “But after the elements of harmony encountered them last year, part of me saw a bit of hope. When you encountered Discord before and told me everything, part of me now thinks that the spell that he had casted on himself long ago is now beginning to crumble away.”

“So you’re saying that if we let him out now… and if he can be reformed,” Twilight pondered as she tapped a hoof to her chin. “Then he can be himself again?”

“That is the hope…” Celestia replied back. “Unfortunately though, I cannot be here to help you out anymore. I have other obligations awaiting me in Canterlot. I trust that I can leave this task in your hooves now.” With that, Celestia and her royal guards disappeared. Leaving Haseo, Sapphire, Spike and the Elements of Harmony by themselves as they prepared themselves. Beginning to release the spirit of chaos from his stone prison.

Of course though, they did not expect for him to be letting out a loud yawn though as he stretched out his arms rather wide. “Wow, what a relief! About time I got out of that stone block. My back is killing me-” Of course, just as he was about to stretch it out, that was when he began to notice a few things. For one thing, all six of the elements of harmony were by themselves alongside… two other characters that he had not seen before. “Um… just who are you supposed to be? Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen strangers before, but nothing like you two.”

“I’m just here to make sure you don’t try to pull anything while Sapphire here is drooling over some of the culinary creations you can make,” Haseo replied back. “Plus, you have some sort of idea as to what is going on, right?”

“Haseo, aren’t you just assuming?” Twilight asked the Adept Rogue. However, she did not anticipate what came next from the draconequus as everypony focused their attention back to him.

“Wow, did you take a peek into my playbook while I was away?” Discord replied back, sounding kind of impressed by what the Adept Rogue was saying right now.

“No, but given your chaotic nature, all bets are off.” Haseo replied back, folding his arms and watching Discord to see if he would try anything.

“Well, to skip the monologuing, I already know that Celestia is putting her faith in you ponies to try and reform me. Which is adorable by the way,” The draconequus replied back as he blew a raspberry. “I also know that one pony wanted to have a cotton candy cloud of her own, but I’m sorry to say that I don’t take requests. Only commissions. I’m an artist when it comes to my chaotic arts and I should be compensated for it.”

That… had Haseo look down at Sapphire for a moment before looking back to the Spirit of Chaos. “Yeah… you probably shouldn’t have said that.”

“Why’s that now? Celestia’s going to have the shy one try to reform me anyways-”

“That’s… not what I meant,” Haseo said, before taking a seat on the grass next to Spike. “Just to warn you, you brought this on yourself.”

“GiVe Me ThE CoTtEn CaNdY ClOuD.” Sapphire said, having reverted to her shadow pony form, and giving everyone a good look of what she actually looked like. As Sapphire’s glowing blue eyes stared directly into Discord’s, her almost skeletal looking body made of midnight blue mist formed an array of crystalline tentacles each of which she then pointed at Discord as she lunged for his throat… literally.

“AGH!! Get her off!! Get her off of me!!” The draconequus panicked, trying to use some of his chaos magic. Only for his paw and talon to be held tightly in the grip of the shadow pony’s tendrils. All while Haseo just watched. “P-please, I’ll do anything!! ”

“One, agree to the reformation,” Haseo began to speak as if he was stating the terms for a negotiation. All while everypony else was watching him work. “Two, provide the cotton candy cloud that Sapphire wants. Do both of those things and then she’ll stop.”

Seconds later, the cloud of cotton candy was floating right beside Haseo, which soon caught Sapphire’s attention as she pounced for that moments later while reverting to the appearance of a normal earth pony filly. Discord himself looked to have been in a bit of a scuffle as he had bruises that made him look like he just got out of a bar fight.

“Ya know, ya seem awfully calm about all of this,” Applejack then spoke up.

“We’re dealing with a creature that can manipulate your emotions if you let your guard down,” Haseo replied back to her. “If my expression had changed only for a moment, he could’ve used that… though, I do think that Sapphire was a bit too aggressive when it came to convincing him to reconsider.”

“Wow… you can be rather serious when you want to be.” Rainbow then added on.

“Comes with a job description. I can’t be the protector of the Crystal Empire if I let my guard down for a moment, right?” All of the ponies nodded their heads, just as Discord was beginning to get back up to standing upright.

“Wait… the crystal empire? I thought that’s hidden away by Sombra.”

“Yeah, not anymore,” Haseo replied back. “Also, Sombra’s dead so…”

“The empire is back. The reject has kicked the bucket, not that anyone would bother to revive him again. And everything is back to how it was.” Sapphire yawned as she snuggled into her cotton candy cloud as it floated next to Haseo. “And that's just the tip of the iceberg of things you missed out on, Uncle.”

That had Discord look at the group for a moment, stunned by what he was hearing before looking back at Fluttershy and the others. Trying to process that he had just heard a few moments ago as he looked to be deep in thought before actually saying anything. “Um… Could somepony please bring me up to speed on everything? I know it’s not my position to ask, but… Please?”

That had some of Twilight’s friends look back at each other, deadpanning a bit at what the draconequus just said. Fluttershy was unsure of how to make of everything in that moment, but Twilight had a feeling that something like this could possibly happen. Even though he did say that he heard what Princess Celestia was saying moments ago, that did not mean that the draconequus exactly knew what had happened between the first time that he was imprisoned in stone all the way up until now.

“Called it.” Sapphire chuckled with a smug grin as she looked back at Haseo. “See what I mean Dad? Just watch as the rest of what I said comes true.”

“Um, Twilight,” Fluttershy now spoke up. “I-if it’s okay with you, I can have h-him come to my cottage. W-we can talk to him about everything over tea.”

“That… would seem like the best course of action,” The unicorn herself nodded her head. “In the meantime though… Spike, you and the rest of the girls can go back to the library. I don’t think we need the elements of harmony anymore, but keep them on standby just in case.”

“Okay, what about you though? And Haseo?” Spike now asked her.

“Well,” For a moment, Twilight looked back at the Adept Rogue, before she looked back to the dragon that was her assistant. “I think he and I will need to be present to give Discord the full recap of everything that has happened. If he isn’t there, we would be missing bits and pieces that only he can tell him about.”

“I say that’s fair… as long as you get along with Sapphire and not try any funny business,” Haseo’s last remarks were towards Discord, who quickly nodded his head in response. Probably because he did not want to antagonize her anymore after his earlier remarks.

“This is going to be fun~” Sapphire purred, her eyes giving off a mischievous glint as she hooked her tail to Haseo’s shoulder.

“Alright, the kettles on now and tea should be ready in a few minutes,” Fluttershy spoke in a whisper like tone as she looked back at the guests that were in her cottage. Haseo was sitting on a floor cushion that was by the coffee table along with Twilight while Sapphire was wrestling with her cotton candy cloud like a cat playing with a ball of yarn. As for Discord, he was sitting in a rocking chair that was along the windows as he just sat there. Not trying to do anything sneaky out of fear that Sapphire would catch him. “Um… so, how do we start?”

“Well,” Again, Twilight looked back at those that were around her, before she turned her gaze to the draconequus. “Why don’t we start by asking the first few questions that come to mind and we will answer them to the best of our ability? That sounds simple, right?”

Discord himself, just personally shrugged his shoulders as he looked back at the small group. “Well, that’s one way to do it… Let me see here…” Of course, what they did not anticipate was for him to pull his brain out of his ear and start to shake it as if he’s trying to get a few coins to slip out of a piggy bank. Except that instead of coins in this particular instance, they were questions that were written on small 4x6 note cards as he placed his cranium back inside of his head. “Ah right, my first question… your friend,” He paused for a moment, looking at Sapphire as she continued to play with her cotton candy cloud. “Um… excuse me, but what should I address you by? Your name? Occupation? Species? …… Cotton Candy Filly?”

“Her name is Sapphire Rose,” Haseo answered for her. “I’ve taken her under my care, so she would be seen as my adoptive daughter. Something that you might have a bit of experience with in your position.”

“Would Little Rosey work? I’m terrible when it comes to remembering names sometimes.” The draconequus then asked, while a small little notebook was in his paw that had names such as ‘Cae Cae’, ‘Lulu’, ‘Bookworm’, ‘Skittles’ and so on. Presumably, the nicknames of Celestia, Luna, Twilight and Rainbow Dash respectively. Unfortunately for Discord… Sapphire didn't like the pet name.

“What was that~?” Sapphire asked with a honeyd voice as she looked at Discord with closed eyes and a crooked smile… her cotton candy cloud slowly floating towards Haseo.

“S-sorry!!” He said, panicking as he looked back at her. “S-sorry, Sapphire. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Good boy.” Sapphire replied, patting him on the ankle in response to him correcting how he addressed her before she sauntered back over to Haseo and leaped into her adoptive father’s lap.

“So, should it be safe to presume that you want to talk about the Crystal Empire first?” The Adept Rogue then asked him. He took this guess based on two things. One, that the downfall of the Crystal Empire was one of the first things that lead to Discord going all villainous on the royal sisters. And two, how he was caught off guard when Sapphire mentioned that Sombra was dead. It made sense because Sombra had only been defeated recently and it was more than likely possible that Discord was still in stone when it happened.

“Yeah, that’s right,” He nodded his head in response. “The last I heard of it, The Crystal Empire was hidden from the world and Sombra was still its ruler after Princess Amore was murdered.”

“Okay, first thing to note… Sombra was the one who murdered Amore. I know this because I witnessed it myself and then falsely made me look like I was a monster that wanted to destroy the Empire,” Haseo explained. “Second, the Crystal Empire’s now a part of Equestria and Princess Cadance is the one who rules the empire after I defeated Sombra myself. ”

“Princess Cadance? I’m… not entirely sure if I heard of her before. I know of Celestia and Luna,” The draconequus tilted his head in confusion, while his eyes looked like they were going to fall out of his head any minute. “But that’s the first time I’ve heard of that name.”

“She’s the niece of Princess Celestia and Princess Amore’s daughter,” Twilight stepped in, before looking back at Haseo. “Oh, my bad. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” A few seconds later, they heard the whistling of a tea kettle from the kitchen as Fluttershy excused herself so she could go get it.

“That’s all I can say for the Crystal Empire right now. We’ve been slowly trying to make progress on having the Empire catch up to what society is like nowadays, but that’s a work in progress right now,” The Adept Rogue finished what he was saying, looking back at the draconequus as Fluttershy returned with a tray that had a teapot, a few cups and some milk and sugar. “Does that answer your question, Discord-?”

Of course, just as he lifted his head up to look at him, he saw Discord floating a few things from the tray around him and had one of the cups and a spoon begin moving over to him. Like it was one of the dinner utensils in the ‘Be our Guests’ song from Beauty and the Beast. All before he could be able to answer the Adept Rogue as he had the spoon stir in some of the milk and sugar. “Pretty much, yeah,” Stirring the spoon in the teacup a few times before setting it down and taking a sip. Before stopping partway through and snapping his fingers as grains of sugar began to float over and mix with the tea before tasting it again. “There we go… Oh, my apologies. My tea needed a little bit more sugar and I didn’t want to rudely reach across the table.”

“We… could of just moved the sugar closer to you.” Fluttershy said.

The spirit of chaos paused for a moment, almost as if his facial expression asked the question ‘Why didn’t I think of that in the first place?’ as he facepalmed himself with his lion paw. Something that Haseo kind of chuckled at. With all the power that he was supposed to have at his disposal, it was kind of funny to see him forget basic manners.

“Moving on…” Twilight then asked. “Do you still have any questions for us, Discord?”

The spirit of Chaos took his time with finishing the rest of his tea, before setting it down for a moment as he looked back at him. “Yeah, mainly two… First, how have Celestia and Luna been? I haven’t had the chance to see them in a long time. Did they get over the petty arguments that they would get into?”

That… was a bit of a tough question to answer. And Twilight was the one who took it upon herself to answer. She told him how their unresolved issues and jealousy towards her sister turned her into the power hungry entity that was Nightmare Moon and that she had been banished to the Moon for one thousand years, only returning just recently after her defeat by Twilight and the rest of the Elements of Harmony.

It was something that Discord was not expecting. Especially since, as he told them, he originally decided to take on the role of villainy and place the spell that made him into who he was because he wanted for the sisters to stop with the arguing. He wanted to say to them that they could be able to get a lot more accomplished if they actually worked together instead of disagreed with one another. But because of how busy they were, he could not be able to find the time in order to be able to tell them himself without somehow interrupting them in ‘something important’.

It took a while in order for him to explain everything. Especially since he went through around three different tissue boxes that Fluttershy had. And when he finished them, he had the boxes explode after tossing them behind his head. Something that Haseo wasn’t exactly amused by. “Did you really need to do that?”

“Do what?”

“You know… the whole ‘ka-boom’ goes the box thing just now,” He then asked. “Can’t you recycle like anybody else?”

“Ponies recycle now?” Discord ask. “Back before I was first imprisoned, that was just a trend. I didn’t think ponies still did that now.”

That just had Haseo let out a sigh as he got up from his spot on the floor before looking back at Sapphire. “If there isn’t anymore questions that you would like to ask me, I think now would be the right time for Sapphire and I to head back.”

As the Adept Rogue began to walk to the door and Sapphire followed him out with her cotton candy cloud in her mouth, that was when he heard Fluttershy’s guest speak once more. “Actually… I have one more question. It’s about what I heard Sapphire said earlier. Why did she call me Uncle?”

Haseo himself was tempted to let his head just drop forward and hit the front of the door on the way out as he looked back at him. “Well, there’s no real subtle way to put this… But Princess Cadance, the one we mentioned earlier,” That had the draconequus nod as he looked back at Haseo while he was stretching his hand out for the door handle. “She’s Celestia’s niece… and since you’re Celestia’s adoptive brother, that would make her your niece as well, Uncle Discord.”

As he stepped out and closed the door behind him, Haseo began to walk away from the cabin for a moment, until he stopped and turned around. A move that confused Sapphire as she looked at him with a puzzled expression on her face.

“What are you plotting?” Sapphire asked, visibly curious.

“I’m not plotting anything, Sapphire,” He replied back to her. “I’m just waiting.”

“Waiting for what then?” The filly commented as she arched an eyebrow. To her, this reeked of shenanigans. For Haseo, all he did was point back at the cottage and smirked.

And not a moment too soon after that, they both heard what was the equivalent of Discord realizing the gravity of what they said moments ago, while also blowing off the roof of Fluttershy’s cottage for a few seconds. “OH SWEET CHAOS, I’M AN UNCLE!?!! WHY AM I ALWAYS FORCED INTO POSITIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY?!!”

“That…” Haseo then chuckled. “I was curious about what his reaction would be to that.”

“I’m surprised he didn't react that way sooner.” Sapphire commented, pouting slightly.

“I thought that filly was just joking to mess around with me and get more candy from me!!” They continued to hear the draconequus cry out from a window that was cracked open from Discord’s original reaction to everything. “I didn’t think she was actually serious!”

“I think you did a bit of a number on him, Sapphire,” Haseo replied back, smiling as he looked down and began to pet Sapphire’s mane. “That’s my girl.”

Sapphire simply purred at the attention. Happy to be praised, but at the same time slightly confused. “So can I keep the cotton candy cloud?”

All Haseo did was just nod his head. “Yes you can. After all, I would say that with you around, you made reforming a bad guy like Discord a lot easier for that of Twilight and Fluttershy. To which, I’m proud of you.”

“So your saying I made it a piece of cake?” Sapphire smirked before looking at her cotton candy cloud and saying something Haseo didn't expect before he could say anything in response. “I’m going to name you Nimbus!”

That just had the Adept Rogue raise an eyebrow, before chuckling a little as he had Sapphire hold onto her cloud and stand by him. “Alright then. Ready to go back home now?”

“Ok!” Sapphire replied as she pulled something out of her mane and tossed it into the cottage as soon as she was ready. Something that Haseo happened to notice while they were walking back to the chaos gate that they would use to return back to the empire.

“Let me guess, a parting gift?” He asked only to get an ‘innocent’ smile from Sapphire in response. Which, in the back of his mind, he was hoping that it would not be something to torment the draconequus even further after everything Discord had gone through today.

Later that evening…

“Spike, are you sure that you made sure you put everything away like I asked?” Twilight asked her assistant as she was levitating a few books with her magic. Rearranging them back in alphabetical order before turning around as her assistant spun a ring of keys around one outstretched claw.

“Yeah, I did. But are you sure that you need this many keys on here?” He asked, pointing out all ten of them on the ring. “I mean, what are they even for exactly? Besides the key to the chest, I mean.”

“Well, one’s for the library, my room, my personal study in Canterlot, the basement, and a spare key from each of our friends for their place just in case of emergencies,” The unicorn answered his question, before taking the key ring and setting it on a wall hook that was under a picture frame of her and her family. “Besides, it’s not that hard to tell which ones which. I put a marking for each of our friends on their respected keys, and a label for the others. So the one for the chest is the one that doesn’t have any of those.”

“If you say so,” her assistant yawned, before walking up the stairs towards his bed as he began to curl up in it and cover himself in his blanket. “Good night, Twilight.”

“Good night Spike. I’ll see you in the morning.” Twilight replied back, trotting outside for a moment to blow out all the candles that illuminated her home before locking the front door. She was going to go to bed, but then remembered how hot and sticky the inside of her home would get this time of year, leading her to partially crack open a window by the kitchen counter before going to her own bed and falling asleep shortly afterwards.

Outside the library/house, Diamond sat in wait for a few minutes, breathing quietly and slowly. When she was confident that the occupants of the building were upstairs, she entered via the window, the only thing she had was a thin black box with no visible use. It was long and shiny, which meant that Diamond’s breathing fogged it over.

Upon entering, the filly found herself on the counter of the kitchen inside the tree. To her left was the sink, where there were a couple of dishes and a pan that had water soaking inside of it. While to her right were two closed trash bins that were right next to one another, with one being a bit smaller than the other. It wasn’t exactly the most sanitary way in order to get down to the floor, but it was the only other way where she could get down without accidentally waking somepony up.

Once she was down on all four of her hooves, she began to look around and head towards an opening in the wall which connected the kitchen to the living room in the center of the library. She could see tables, cushions, bookcases, a stairwell that lead upstairs and a few other things in the dimly lit room. One thing that stood out to her though was the gold plated treasure chest that was to the right of the second bookcase. In her mind, this had to be the chest that held the elements. But she was surprised that it was out here in the open. A part of her thought that it would be locked away in some kind of secret room, unless Twilight had to use them recently and didn’t have the chance to put them away properly.

She pressed the rectangular ‘box’ to the keyhole, the tiny item magnetizing like a magnet, and the metallic sound of unlocking greeted her ears. She opened the lid of the chest, where all of the elements were. Her goal in sight, she quickly bit down on the crown and galloped towards the window, careless as to if the residents would pursue her or not. She hopped out the window and crashed into the trashcan waiting just outside, and the whole thing toppled over with her on top. Without thinking, Diamond rushed to the nearest building, running past it and entered the space between it and the house next door, panting from fright… and a little bit of excitement.

Now with the Element of Magic in her possession, she would be at Ender’s side…

Forever.

12.5- First Night (Bonus Chapter)

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The Terror of Death- First Night

It had been only several hours since they arrived in the crystal empire and they had their orientation with General Ironwings, Princess Cadance and the being named Haseo, but for the four ponies that were brought on and were now a part of the crystal guard, there was a lot of information that they needed to unpack. Before arriving in the Empire, each one of them thought that the ‘tests’ that they had to undergo were for the possibility of a promotion from their current rank. Especially since each one of them was originally from a different branch of the royal guard and all of them were called together to Canterlot to see if they were qualified.

Of course, now that they realized that they were actually here to be brought on to the Crystal Guard, there were a few things that they needed to learn about. First, there was this ‘job class’ system. Where everypony was a different class and specialized as a different weapon type, with them gaining certain abilities depending on the class they chose. Second, unlike that of most of the royal guard, who just happen to stand around in cities and watch over the civilians, members of the crystal guards would use what was called ‘chaos gates’ to go out into the field and complete bounties or quests. Lastly, completing the quests and bounties that they would be asked to do would result in them getting stronger and having access to new abilities.

Though, it wasn’t a choice that they were forced to make immediately. In fact, when they had the chance to meet Sunburst, a unicorn that assisted Princess Cadence with day to day activities alongside that of Chancellor Radiant Hope, they were advised to take some time into thinking about what they would want to choose as their class and have themselves be familiar with the Empire. Though, they would have to have their answer chosen by tomorrow so that way they can have their training begin as soon as possible.

As time passed and the sun began to set, the four of them were shown to where they would be staying. It was similar to the living quarters like that of Canterlot, but there was a lot more space and some furniture in the room such as a table and chairs. Of course, there was one particular thing that one of the new recruits was relieved by. “Thank Celestia, we don’t have those stupid bunk beds.”

The comment came from that of Ash Burn, an tan-brown earth pony mare with a pair of mismatched eyes and a obsidian colored mane and tail as everypony else looked back at her. “May I ask why you said that?” One of the two stallions that was brought on as well, an ice blue stallion by the name of Quick Step then asked as everypony was beginning to empty their suitcases. “Last I checked, I don’t remember the Royal Guard having bunk beds where I was stationed.”

“Well, where I was stationed at in Seaddle, they did,” Ash told the stallion with a groan. “Apparently, the one in charge did it as a measure to save bits. I can’t blame him for that, but unfortunately for me, I shared a room with two ponies who were night owls and were on the top bunk. Meaning that they were talking away and kept me up at night.”

“Geez, and just when I thought that the idea of bunk beds would be more towards something for fillies and colts.” The other stallion named Spearhead spoke up as he unzipped his bag and placed what looked like a container in a nearby drawer alongside that of what looked to be some art supplies.

“You know, now that Ash brought it up, I’m now curious about something,” The unicorn mare named Wintergreen spoke up. “At first, I thought that all of you guys were stationed in Canterlot originally. But from the sounds of it, it doesn’t seem that way.”

“To be fair, I think I’m the only one in this group who was stationed in Canterlot,” Spearhead spoke up. “Shining Armor and I were friends in the guard before he became captain and got married. Heck, the only reason why I was able to come here was because he told me about what the general was doing and I took part in the tests she had for us,” That was followed by the stallion looking up at the others, followed by asking them a question. “Out of curiosity though, where were the rest of you stationed at? Aside from Ash I mean.”

“I was with the division of the royal guard that was in Cloudsdale.” Quick Step answered.

“Manehattan was where I was before I met you guys in Canterlot.” Wintergreen then replied, while also using a levitation spell to pull out some books she kept in her luggage.

“Okay… and just how did you hear about all of this? I mean, it can’t be just a coincidence that we found out about it. After all, there were twelve of us when the general had to… well, choose who she thought was qualified,” Spearhead was careful in how he chose his words, mostly because of the fact of how bluntly the general described why she chose the four of them sounded more as if she expected for them to fail. “If I found out through Shining Armor, then how did you guys find out about this?”

After setting her stuff down, Ash just sat up on the bed that she had be hers and then began to speak. “To be perfectly honest, I just thought the reason that we were called was to assess our abilities. I had no idea it would lead to this,” She explained. “But if I really have to think about it, I learned about the assessment from General Ironwings herself when she visited our barracks in Seaddle.”

“Really? Why was she there? And how exactly did you get her attention?” Quick Step then asked as he took up a seat in one of the chairs that was in the room.

“Well…”

It started when the one who was in charge learned that she was here in order to evaluate everypony stationed there who was serving the Seaddle division of the guard. However, what she did not like was the fact that the one who was in charge of the barracks was relentlessly following her everywhere. Almost predatory like. Which was unusual since he was normally expressed a bit of a calm demeanor.

So, when General Ironwings was talking to me, which he disapproved of, I decided to… speak my mind a bit.

“Sir, with all due respect, why exactly are you following the general so closely?”

And that was when the general herself also voiced her frustrations on the matter. “This fool thinks that he needs to be my side and play the role of bodyguard during my visit. Ugh.”

“Could you please sound a little less offended by my presence? I’m standing right here.”

“Sir, I got a little bit of advice for you. Maybe not treat your superior like she’s a filly running around in the middle of cart traffic during rush hour. I think she can handle herself just fine without you stalking her.”

Just from that response alone, Ironwings seemed a bit surprised. The officer in charge? Not so much. “…… What did you call me?”

“Look, to be honest, by the way you are acting, you are coming off as less of an officer of the equestrian military and more of somepony who would break into the bunkers and watch other mares while they’re sleeping. So can you please start acting a bit more professional?”

“Me? Professional? Sergeant Ash, you are the one that’s acting unprofessional here-!”

“I’m just acting normally. General, don’t mind him. It’s not his fault that he looks and acts like a diamond dog that got caught in a grease fire.”

Everypony else in the room just stared directly at Ash, caught off guard by everything that she told him. Which soon lead to Spearhead speaking up. “Holy… You said that directly in the face of your commanding officer?!”

“To be honest, a lot of ponies in the Seaddle barracks were frustrated by his behavior towards everypony. I was just the one who was bold enough in order to actually say anything,” The earth pony replied back. “Seriously, what else would you do when you want for him to stop treating a royal guard division like it was his own castle and treat mares more like objects than ponies?”

The other three just looked back at each other as silence began to drift over the room. Shortly before Wintergreen spoke up. “So what happened? Did you get discharged?”

“Actually no… What happened was that Ironwings herself actually agreed with what I was saying and when the officer tried to attack me later in the day, I punched him right in the jewels,” Ash told them, the response causing the pupils of both stallions in the room to shrink. “That officer’s now being investigated for multiple counts of physical abuse and sexual misconduct, while Ironwings put another pony in charge of that division to oversee it. All while telling me about the assessment and saying that it was a chance to leave everything else that happened there behind. I immediately took it without a second thought.”

“O-okay then…” Wintergreen then commented. “Was punching him really necessary though?”

“Personally, I think it was an easier way to get the message across to him without having to explicitly spell it out for him. I joined the royal guard because I wanted to be serving and protecting the public, not protecting who I serve under from the public.” The earth pony finished what she was saying before looking back at Quick Step and Wintergreen. “So how did you two learn about the assessment? Or for that matter, why did you join the royal guard anyways?”

The unicorn and the pegasus looked back at one another for a moment, a bit nervous as to who would be the first to answer Ash’s question. But after a little bit, Wintergreen decided to take initiative. “To be honest, back when I joined, the royal guard was not exactly would I call my first choice for a career. Before I enlisted, I really wanted to become a scholar or a mage. I had a gift for knowledge and magic that even surprised my friends and family, and even was planning to go to a college in Canterlot that could accelerate my studies further… But then my parents were caught in a terrible accident. Medical bills began to pile up to the point that I had to use all the bits I had saved up so I can go to school to pay for their care.”

Wintergreen paused for a moment, lifting up her glasses with her magic and using a hoof to wipe away some tears that were going down the side of her face before placing them back on. “I joined the guard afterwards and when I told them about my talents, they took me on not as somepony who would become a soldier, but as a tactician. A strategist who could use their mind and magic to lead others towards victory in any conflict. Of course, with the fact that my parents are still trying to make a full recovery and my brother Spearmint is the only one who can care for them, I have to send some of the bits I get to them so that way they can one day be like what they were before they were hurt.”

The unicorn noticed Spearhead try to raise his hoof to say something, but Wintergreen was quick enough in order to cut him off beforehand. “As for how I learned about the assessment, my commanding officer told Shining Armor about my story and through that interaction, he had me come to Canterlot. I think you know what happens next.”

“Damn,” Quick Step cursed, blinking for a moment as he looked at Wintergreen. “I’m sorry to hear about your parents. I mean… Supporting family is one thing, but giving up your dream to do that… that’s just brutal.”

“It’s fine, really. Both of them are doing well in the recovery process, so it's not much to worry about.” The unicorn insisted, smiling all the while before directing her gaze to Spearhead as he now had the chance to speak.

“That’s good to hear. If any of my folks get injured, they would almost see it like its the end of the world because it would prohibit them from doing what they acceled at the most.”

“And that is?” Ash raised an eyebrow.

“Art,” The stallion replied back. “My father is a painter and my mother works with ceramics. Some of the pictures that are in Canterlot castle and ceramics in her garden were actually commissions from Celestia herself.”

“Wait, seriously!?” Wintergreen blinked in shock at that. “If that were the case, why didn’t you become one too? You would’ve been as good as your parents. Maybe even better!”

“Well… I did consider it at first,” He replied back, before letting out a sigh. “But around the time that I wanted to start my profession in that field, that was when a very close family friend of ours that was a well renowned artist and teacher was arrested. He confessed to using the artwork of his own students, including art that I made with his help, for his own personal gain. Making forgeries of famous works to sell on the black market out of the fear of becoming poor and losing everything he had. It… really had an impact on me and for a while, I was honestly thinking about just giving up. I mean, what was the point of doing my own work if somepony else was going to take the credit for it?”

Spearhead paused for a moment, before picking up where he left off. “Then I met Shining Armor. He told me about how he joined the guard and invited me to a seminar that was held for ponies who were interested in joining the royal guard. And with that, I decided to enlist that same day. Because I thought it would be better for me to be recognized for the actions and deeds that I do rather than have someone else be recognized for what I’ve done.”

There was another pause in the room, this one a bit longer as everypony else was processing what Spearhead told them. All before Wintergreen then asked a question. “So… are you saying that you actually gave up on art altogether?”

“Oh no, Dear Celestia no,” He shook his head, pointing a hoof to the drawer that was nearby him. “I still do some art every once in a while, but I’m not considering it as a full time career. It’s more of a hobby now than anything.” That had Wintergreen nod in response as the stallion now looked past her and towards the pegasus that was at the table.

“So… I guess it's my turn to say my story now?” He asked.

“Well, some of us already did explain either why we joined the royal guard or how we got to this point, but you haven’t really shared anything,” Ash pointed out to him, folding her forelegs. “So why did you join the guard? Was it to help family? Money?”

“No, none of those things,” The pegasus replied back. “Back during my time, I did not have money or dreams. Because I could only really focus on one thing growing up.”

Survival. When I was little, I had no parents and was left to survive in the Ghastly Gorge on my own. The only real pony that I saw to me was Galewing, a mare who taught me how to be able to live on my own. I even got my name from her because of how fast I was on my hooves. She taught me how to gather food, how to hunt, how to craft my own tools to defend myself from monsters and beasts that would normally see an equestrian as a source of food.

Unfortunately though, just as she taught me everything that I needed to know, a Manticore fatally poisoned her and she… couldn’t make it. In her last moments though, she gave me a badge and told me to look for somepony by the name of Stratos in Cloudsdale. Saying that he could help me.

Though, when I actually found the pony, it turned out that he was actually Commander Stratos. The head of the Cloudsdale Guard. And the badge that I gave him? Well, to him, it turned out that badge told him not just that she had passed away, but that I was ready in order to take up the position that she left behind. All I had to do was passed the initiation test.

However, that part wasn’t exactly easy. For one thing, just by me seeing the Commander, a lot of the other members in the Cloudsdale guard saw me as less of somepony who wants to be a part of the guard and more of an outcast. Somepony who didn’t belong. Which, became rather clear on the day of the test.

You see, the initiation test for the cloudsdale division of the royal guard is supposed to be simple. You go into the Everfree Forest, find a relic that was hidden in the ruins of the Castle of Two Sisters and make it to the extraction point within eight hours. However, the ponies that saw me as an outcast specifically had the test happen when it was… I think it's called Zap Apple Season. Which meant that Timberwolf sightings were at an all time high. So while everypony else was able to find their relics and get out, I had to fight mine and fight off an Alpha Timberwolf that was chasing me.

Personally, I think they thought that I was going to die down there… heh, jokes on them.

All of the other contestants, as well as Commander Stratos, watched me as I demonstrated everything that I was capable of. Everything that Galewing taught me to do. I made traps using nothing more than tree branches and sharpened stones that I tied together using pieces of cloth that I scavenged at the ruins. The traps crippling the beast as it fell forward.

When it tried to attack me, that was when I began to defend myself. Alongside the traps, I used leftover cloth and stone in order to fashion myself a knife. One that I would use to shove deep into the Alpha’s head the moment that it tried to bite me with its jaws.

In that moment… it was less of an initiation and more of something else. A proving. Something that allowed me to show to those who doubted me what I was really capable of. And that I shouldn’t be looked down upon otherwise.

As Quick finished speaking, both Wintergreen and Spearhead stared at him. Shocked by everything they just heard him say. As for Ash though, she didn’t really seem too fazed by what he was telling them at all. In fact, it actually looked like she was enjoying the story a bit as she looked back at Quick with a smirk. “Serves them right. I hate it when ponies judge you for who you are before even giving them the chance to see what your capable of.”

“W-was killing the timberwolf really necessary though?” Wintergreen stuttered.

“Hey, growing up, I was taught at a young age that the way to survive was eat or be eaten. And I wasn’t going to let an enraged Alpha have me for lunch,” The pegasus responded back to the earth pony as he let out a small breath and got out of his chair. “Besides, most of them thought that their position in the job would just be given to them. I had to work my flank off to get to where I’m at now.”

“I-i wasn’t saying anything negative about that… Just… if the test was just to get a relic, then killing the timberwolf just seemed… excessive.”

“True, but I was concerned that one of its bites could break my wings. Making me unable to fly and everything I had to do to get to that point useless,” Quick replied back to Wintergreen. “Though, I’m getting sidetracked. How I found out about the assessment was because Commander Stratos thought it would be a good chance for me to gain necessary experience in something that I wasn’t able to do much of back in Cloudsdale.”

“Oh? What kind of experience?” Spearhead was next to ask.

“Working in teams,” As he said that, the pegasus was walking over to the bed that would be his as he sat down on it and left his stuff on the floor. “After the initiation test, many ponies really did not want to work with me. Either because they were sickened of me or perhaps out of fear. Most of my assignments were either done solo or alongside the commander, taking part in recon operations and information gathering. So, he thinks that I could be able to learn from working with other ponies. Something that I’m kind of curious to see how well it will go.”

“Well, personally, I’m looking forward to working with all of you,” Ash said as she looked around for a moment. “Though, now that we had the chance to discuss a bit about ourselves, what do you guys think of the empire so far?”

“I’m liking it. Though, it takes a bit to adjust,” Spearhead was the first to answer that question as he looked back at Ash. “I mean, it's a bit warmer back in Canterlot than here, so it takes some time to get used to it.”

“I have to agree with Spearhead. I’m liking it so far. Though for me, I’m honestly not too cold. It’s mostly overcast a lot of the time where I live in Manehattan, so I’m used to it,” Wintergreen replied shortly afterwards. “There are still a couple of things that I’m trying to comprehend though.”

“Like what exactly?” Quick asked. “I don’t see anything wrong. In fact, this is a nice change of pace from what I’m familiar with. I can get used to this.”

“Well, what I’m trying to comprehend is how exactly magic works here in the crystal empire,” She replied back. “Aside from the standard magic that ponykind already has, I mean.”

“Do you think it ties back into that ‘job class’ thing that the General was explaining earlier today?” Spearhead asked. “I mean, there did seem to be a few ponies with robes carrying those odd looking books around.”

“Honestly, I think that’s going to be something that they’re going to teach us tomorrow once we actually start training,” Quick then intercepted the conversation before Wintergreen had the chance to answer. “I mean, today was more of a chance to be familiar with our surroundings. I think tomorrow they’ll go more in depth into stuff like that.”

“That may be true,” Wintergreen nodded her head. “But it doesn’t hurt to know about what you’re getting into beforehoof. I mean, it could give you an idea as to which one of them might be more to your liking, right?”

For a moment, everypony else took a moment to think on what the unicorn said, before nodding in agreement shortly afterwards. Prompting Wintergreen to continue where she left off.

“Besides, part of me thinks that some of these job classes have certain roles to play and not every one of them is the same. It would be a bummer if you pick something, only to realize that it was much different than before and hindered your abilities in combat.”

“You do make a fair point there.” Spearhead admitted.

“If I may add on,” Quick spoke up. “I think the class you choose depends on the weapons and appearance you have too.”

“Personally, I’m not one for weapons,” Ash then added on. “If I had to choose something, I rather have my hooves do the talking.”

“Yeah, like how you ‘talked’ with that former commanding officer,” Quick snickered in response, but after seeing the expression on her face, immediately apologized shortly afterwards. “Sorry, too soon?”

“What do you think?” The earth pony asked him, the tone in her voice causing Quick’s fur to stand up on end.

“I think I just answered my own question,” He muttered, before looking back at everypony else. “So… is there anything else that we need to talk about, because honestly, I think it’s getting late. We do have an early start tomorrow.”

“I think everypony can agree on that,” Wintergreen spoke once more. “Though… there is one thing that should be done first before we head to sleep.”

“Oh? What is tha-?” Before Quick could even finish his sentence, Wintergreen cast a spell through her horn that sent him crashing into the opposite side of the room. Landing in the bed that was adjacent to where Spearhead was with his bags following suit. “Ow! What the buck was that all about?!”

“Not to be rude, but I think it would be more comfortable if you two had one side of the room and we had another,” Wintergreen replied back. “It might be me being overly cautious, but I don’t want you trying anything on our first night here.”

All that did was cause Ash to smirk as she looked back at the unicorn. “Well, this is going to be interesting.”

After having breakfast the next morning, the four of them left their own quarters to go find Sunburst. The scribe had asked for their presence to talk more about what they were going to choose in terms of job classes and wanted to find out what each of them would want to be.

Of course, when they got there, they all expected for either the general or the one named Haseo to be standing right next to him. Unfortunately, it didn’t entirely seem like the case as Wintergreen soon spoke up. “Hey Sunburst… Where’s the General this morning?”

“She’s giving a combat demonstration alongside her brother so a few other ponies can watch and observe her.”

“H-help me! My sister’s trying to kill me-!” Was the sound of a voice that followed before the loud boom of something colliding into a nearby structure.

“Should… we assume that she’s not going to be joining us then?” Quick Step then asked.

“That would probably be for the best.” Sunburst said as he nodded his head.

“I’m going to use your head as a doorstep!!”

“I give up! I give up!! Just stop pulling my leg that waaaaay!!”

For a moment, Ash turned in the direction of where the noise was coming from, but then just shrugged it off as she and the others went back inside the palace of the Crystal Empire. The four of them followed Sunburst to a particular chamber before the light orange unicorn used his magic to close the door behind him to drown out the noise of all the carnage going on outside.

“Alright, I’m glad that all of you are now here. Because now, all of you have a choice to make,” Sunburst said as he trotted over to the back wall and placed a hoof on it. Moments later, a section of the wall began to glow as ten different holographic displays began to float around them. “This is where you get to learn about the ten different job classes that you can take on and make a decision as to which one seems right for you. When you have made your decision, just tap the display of your choosing twice and then we’ll take care of the rest.”

Each one of the displays had a symbol. A symbol that corresponded with the particular job class and when onepony pressed the symbol, they could see a description of the particular class in general as well as see certain examples of the skills and abilities that they would have access too if they chose that job. Something that was demonstrated as Quick Step placed his hoof over a symbol that had two crossed blades in the center of it and began to read and learn more about the Twin Blade class.

What he saw… impressed him. And not long after seeing a few moving images of a pony with the Twin Blade class engaging enemies in combat, the pegasus immediately had that be his choice. And with it, he found himself caught up in a giant pillar of light as new leather garments stretched over his legs, front hooves and his body. Two blades were attached to the set of leather grips on the front hooves as he took a moment to try and get used to his newfound form. “I think I’m going to enjoy this.”

The second pony that made their decision was Wintergreen. At first, she was stuck between two different choices. The Harvest Cleric, a class where the primary focus was on healing and support magic with a few attacks once they were higher in level, or the Shadow warlock, a primarily offensive focused class that only had a little bit of support once they leveled up higher. It was a tough choice for her, but after narrowing it down, she finally decided to stick with the latter of the two. A dark emerald robe and matching grimoire now besides her a few seconds after making her choice. “Hunh, this is a lot more comfortable than I thought it would be.”

The next pony to choose their class was actually Spearhead. Both Quick and Wintergreen thought that the earth pony would choose his class last and that Ash would be the next one to have finally chosen their class. But that was proven false when he was enveloped in the same pillar of light. Coming out with Metal guards around his shoulders and a special chain mail like robe as a spear was seen on his back. Signifying his choice as a Lord Partizan. Though, it took him a bit to stay balanced because of how heavy his gear was.

Finally, after the other three made their decisions, Ash finally made her choice. It was a bit difficult for her to originally decide what class best suited her. There were two of them in particular she had her eye on, but had to narrow down her choices. When she saw the class called the Steam Gunner, she thought that the weapons that she would have access too would consist of heavy artillery like the equipment she was used to back at the Seaddle barracks. But when she saw that the weapons they used were a series of bayonets and small rifles with blades attached to them, she immediately picked her second choice. That being the Tribal Grappler. A class that would allow for her to let her hooves do more of the talking. And when the pillar of light from before engulfed her, she was seen wearing new leather like clothes and a pair of heavy knuckles on her forehooves. Something that cause her to grin with satisfaction.

All the while, Sunburst smiled as he looked at all four of them. “So one Twin Blade, one Shadow Warlock, one Lord Partizan and one Tribal Grappler. This is a rather… interesting setup here. Anyways, well done.”

“Alright… What exactly happens now though?” Wintergreen then asked as the new shadow warlock looked back towards Sunburst.

“For that… We’ll need to get you to start training,” The unicorn told them as he trotted over towards the door they all came through and opened it with his magic. “You may have chosen your job classes, but you need to train and gain experience with them. The more experience you gain, the more skills and arts that you have at your disposal. Everything isn’t going to be given to you just by choosing a class. You have to put a lot of hard work if you want to demonstrate how strong you really are.”

“And what’s the best way to do that?” Spearhead now asked, a little curious as to how Sunburst would respond.

“Well,” Sunburst said, noticing the chaos gate in the courtyard roar to life as he watched a pair of familiar faces come forth. The ones who originally met the four ponies as they were being briefed on the situation. “Why don’t we start by explaining how the chaos gates work. Then we can work from there.”

13- Rogue and Queen

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Author's Notes:

Before we begin, I want to start by informing you guys that part of this chapter is a small crossover with Queen of the Dead, a new story that had just started recently by Viper Pit. They were the ones who asked if it was possible for one of my characters to meet Loreley, the main character of that story and after some though, I thought... Why not Haseo?

Also, just as a note for future crossovers, all worlds/locations that Haseo would go too would be defined by three area words and a greek symbol in front of it. Exactly like that of how the in-game areas work for .hack//GU. In this case, it would be 'Delta Lifeless Cold Expanse'

Furthermore, in regards to how much time the crossover takes place, Haseo leaves around the time of 'Games Ponies Play' and comes back after 'Magical Mystery Cure'. And yes, this also means that he missed Twilight's coronation as princess as well. BUT, there are a few surprises in store for what would happen next.

Last thing I want to note is that UNTIL Haseo can be able to properly send out his token, there will be no other crossovers until then. Unlike some of my other displaced, I rather have Haseo take his time when it comes to figuring out how to meet other displaced and I want for him to do it in a way that best fits his world.

For now though, I think that summarizes everything. Hope you guys like the chapter and look forward to what else I have in store. Please take some time as well to check out Viper Pit and give them the same support you guys give me. See you around!
-Frost

P.S. Who else is excited for this? I know that I am, that's for sure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9Gu1PspA3Y

The Terror of Death- Rogue and Queen

To say that it was all hooves on deck today in the Crystal Empire would be a bit of an understatement. The equestria games were being held this afternoon and for Haseo, there were a few things that he needed to do before stepping outside. Primarily, he needed to make sure that Sapphire had everything that she needed in order to be on her best behavior and not cause any problems today. To which, that was easily done by letting her stay with her Ursa teddy bear and also showing her the food in the pantry for when she had to have something for Lunch.

Though, as he stepped out the door though, somepony else decided to greet him this morning. Instead of Shining Armor, Radiant Hope or Sunburst meeting him at the door, it was-. “Good morning, FINE COMPANION! How are you doing today!?”

“Hoofstrong…” Haseo groaned, having to rub his ears for a moment because the changelings way of saying ‘good morning’ made him feel like he almost went deaf. “Was that entirely necessary?”

“Why yes it is! It is a sacred duty to make sure that one’s companions are doing fine and well!!” The changeling boasted, while taking up a pose and flexing his forelegs.

“No, that’s not what I… You know what, never mind,” The adept rogue shook his head. If his interactions with the changeling tribal grappler had taught him anything, it was that logic and reason had no effect on Hoofstrong when he was ‘in character’. So instead, he decided to take a much different approach. “How are the preparations coming along?”

“Well, according to General Ironwings, some of the guard are currently helping with getting the inspector of the equestria games accommodated to her surroundings. While another report from Ponyville says that the elements of harmony are en-route to the crystal empire by train as we speak.” That was definitely promising. Especially since, according to what Cadance last told him, they were going to be playing a big role in today’s events. Since Haseo was with the crystal guard, his job was to make sure that there were no disturbances during the events today, which sounded simple. Yet, considering the fact that this is Equestria and that crazy things happening is another tuesday, they needed to be alert and ready for pretty much anything.

“I hope momma is alright. I don’t wanna lose her.”

For a moment, Haseo flinched. Looking around him and wondering where the sound was coming from. Before looking back to Hoofstrong. “Hey, did you hear that?”

“Hear what, my friend?” The changeling now asked. Which, was surprising. He was sure that he heard that voice just now. It sounded like a colt who was looking for their parents, and it also sounded like it was coming from nearby.

“Hoofstrong, I gotta check something real quick,” The rogue told him as he turned around and began to walk in the other direction. “If I’m not back in the time for the games, I’ll take on a few shifts for you and the guards, okay?”

“Alright! It’s a promise! I’ll guard the princess with my life, as it is a quality passed down my family line FOR GENERATIONS!!” Even as Haseo was walking away, he can still feel Hoofstrong’s words ringing in his ears as the rogue began to follow the voice of the colt. The words kept repeating. Almost as if it was playing in a loop as he searched through the back alleys in between the aisles of the Crystal Empire.

At one point though, as he came across the alley that Sapphire used to live in, he felt something else. It was the same kind of sensation that he felt when he was originally ‘summoned’ by Tom. But, it didn’t make sense. There was no particular object in the vicinity that would pull him this time, so why is he feeling this now? It was something that got stronger the more he walked around the empire. But things got more complicated when he reached the chaos gate.

One moment, he placed a hand on it as he was trying to catch his breath. The next, he was blinded by a powerful bright light as he disappeared completely a few seconds later.

ΔLifeless Cold Expanse (Land of the Dead)

Sombra didn’t know what to expect from the upcoming battle, but from the sound of his mother's voice, she was likely to be gone for a while. He only just got her back after her trip to find the some enchanter for his mothers undead army.

He looked around the Blacksmiths shop and he found a neat little trinket. He had seen it before and the blacksmith didn’t say not to touch it. As he placed his hand on the strange item, he made a wish for his mother to come back safely. Something he did not expect though was for the item begin glowing. Shortly afterwards, a figure that looked like a taller bulker version of his mother landed just a few feet from where he was standing. Falling face first into the ground as he looked up and brushed the dirt off his face.

“Who are you?!” The colt said in both surprise and aww. The figure in front of him had a mane that looked similar to his mothers, but was shorter in length and his garments looked rather different as well. As he looked up though, he seemed a bit surprised.

“M-me? Did you call me here?” He asked the young colt. A bit confused.

“I dunno?” The colt told him as he pointed to the trinket on the shelf. “I just made a wish and that thing made you appear.” As the new arrival looked at it, he picked it up and took a closer look. The colt could see a look in the stranger’s eyes, almost as if he had seen something like this before. But there wasn’t much that he could tell otherwise.

In the mind of the rogue though, he was thinking of something differently. The trinket was actually a small little crystalline keychain of his own avatar, Skeith. One that looked identical to the figure that he found when he originally met Tom back in the world that the ork and his warband lived at. As he looked at it and proceeded to place it in his pocket, he then asked the colt a question. “Hey kid, what’s your name?”

“It’s Sombra, sir.” He then tried to salute the big man. Only to use the wrong hand. When the rogue heard the name, he felt a chill down his back. The umbrum responsible for everything that he did in the crystal empire, for murdering Amore and for painting him as the Terror of Death… was only a child? This, made him think of several things. But one thing became apparent. He was not in the same Equestria that he was familiar with.

So instead, he took up a different tone. After all, Sombra here was a child. Perhaps he was different here. “And you wanted my help in finding your mother?”

“Yeah she had been preparing for weeks to take care of what she called ‘abominations to nature’. Whatever that means.”

“Oh boy, that’s a tone setter,” He thought to himself, before shaking his head and beginning to speak again. Reminding himself to not try and make assumptions so early. “Alright, let’s go find her then. Would you happen to know where we could start looking?”

“There's a big field to the west that she and her army went to fight,” Sombra then put a hand to his ear. “Just follow the explosions from there, I think.”

For a brief moment, the rogue looked back in that direction again, hearing one go off in the distance before turning around and asking a different question. “Sombra, did you want to come with me? Battlefield’s aren’t normally a place that’s suited well for children.”

“Yeah!” He nodded in excitement, clapping his hands for a couple of seconds as he rushed to the adept rogue’s side. “Let's go save Momma!” Sombra in in all of the excitment forgot something important “Oh right. Sir, I never got your name.”

The rogue paused, before looking back at him and getting down to the colt’s level and placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’m Haseo. Now, let’s go find your mom.”

“To victory and candy!” Sombra then took Haseo by the hand and started to drag him with all the might that a ten year old could muster. Which, surprisingly, was a lot. In fact, seeing Sombra like this almost reminded him a bit like with Sapphire back home. Just as energetic as she was, but for him, he was placing that energy towards a goal. It felt odd, but part of him felt that he could learn from something like this. And perhaps, maybe even apply what he learned to raising Sapphire.

The walk to the field was surprisingly short given the dire shape of the field itself. Thick unnatural fog was everywhere and the bodies of the dead were scattered all across the grassy plain. Corpses of what looked to be soldiers from the royal guard were also scattered across the area as flashes of bright lights could be seen through the fog. Which would be followed by either a explosion or a scream, which was likely one of those who were caught in the explosion.

“Oh please don’t tell me that this mother of his is using land mines,” The rogue thought to himself, thinking of the possibility of a dead body being used as a hidden bomb. “I really don’t want to step on one of those and lose a limb today-”

“Soul shackles!” Was screamed followed by what sounded like chains and the sound of more bodies crashing about could be heard shortly after. “You will pay for your sins!!” The same voice shouted.

“Sombra?” Haseo now asked. “Does that voice sound familiar to you?”

“Yeah! That's my mom.” Sombra told him, but now he had a worried look on his face as he turned towards her. “I never heard her so angry before.”

Now though, felt like the proper time in order for Haseo in order to ask Sombra something that had been stuck on his mind for the last few moments as he looked back at the young umbrum. “Hey Sombra, do you happen to know who exactly your mother’s fighting against?”

“I think it was the new rulers of the land,” He said at first. But when he said the second half though, that’s when Haseo’s heart almost skipped a beat. “A pair of sisters that move the sun and moon, why?”

“I was just… curious. That’s all,” He told him as the two of them carefully began to walk through the battlefield “Okay, what the actual hell is happening? Why is it that Celestia and Luna are declaring war here? Are they trying to fight some necromancer or something?” Back home, he knew that necromancy itself was a forbidden magic that should never be practiced under any circumstances. But part of him felt that it was still too early for him to be jumping to conclusions so quickly. That he should actually wait until he met Sombra’s ‘mother’ first before making any final judgements.

“Raise dead!” The voice spoke again, now sounding more cold and ruthless than earlier as all of the bodies around them came to ‘life’ as they acted more like puppets on a string rather than living ponies. “Your own soldiers will end you, abominations.”

“Oh good. No corpse land mines… I guess that’s a plus.” Haseo thought to himself letting out a sigh of relief as he looked back towards where Sombra was. Only to realize that he was directly behind him. Almost as if he was scared of everything going on around them. “You okay?”

“I’m fine I just don’t like this fog. It's so thick, I can barely see anything.” That had Haseo think for a moment, before deciding to act on that. Using the same method that he originally did when he was cooking breakfast with Sapphire, he channeled his power into his two blades and had them be lit ablaze. Using the two swords as small torches to guide them through the fog so they could see.

“Laughing skulls!” And just as the name implied, laughter echoed throughout the area until a feminine scream was heard. That voice belonged to someone else. “One down, one to go.”

“She must be talking about the rulers! Shit!!” Haseo mentally cursed, before looking to Sombra. “Sombra, stay by me. We’re going to go a bit faster than normal.”

“Okay Haseo. I trust you.” And Sombra and Haseo effectively doubled their speed now that they didn’t have to worry about anything popping out of the ground. That while they were also trying their best to avoid the skulls that were all around them because Haseo did not want to know what would happen if they got too close.

Soon, the pair saw a human riding on a giant skeleton hand while the other hand was holding a dark black alicorn by the neck as the alicorn struggled to break free of its grip. “You can’t run forever, Celestia.”

“Mommy!” Sombra shouted getting the attention from the three combatants.

“Sombra!” The human shouted in surprise “What are you doing here!? I thought I told you to stay safe!”

“Wait, that’s her?” The rogue commented, before looking back to the woman. She was… not that different from how he had originally pictured her. Of course though, when he heard Sombra mention his mother, he thought it was an actual pony. Not a human like the one he was seeing.

“Soul shackle” The women said as she held up both hands. One at Celestia, the other at the rouge. Purple ethereal chains shot forth and one pierced through Celestia but not physically. Not to mention that due to his lapse of concentration, he was struck with the other one and his whole body felt numb like his very soul was weighed down. “Get away from my son.”

“Look lady, I don’t know who you are,” Haseo grit his teeth, trying to push himself to stand up as he looked back at her. “But Sombra was the one who summoned me in order to come find you. He was worried about you. I am not your enemy here!”

“Please mommy, I’m scared.” Sombra said as he put on a set of puppy dog eyes.

“And I will protect you Sombra.” She then moved the arm that was connected to Haseo slamming him into Celestia. ”But first, I need to take out the trash.”

Haseo grit his teeth, looking back at her as his emotions began to rise. Anger going through him. “Come on… COME ON!!” As the woman and Sombra looked closely, they could see red lines begin to glow around the rogue and take form. To him though, this was the only way that he could be able to break out of the chains that were bound to him. “I’m RIGHT HERE!!!”

“Soul shatter-” She said, but before anything could happen, a dark blue horn had pierced her throat, causing her to go limp and the chains to wither.

“SKEITH!!!”

In one moment, the two rulers thought that they had gained an edge in their fight against the queen of the dead. But, to their shock and utmost horror, all their actions did was awaken another beast that was lurking nearby.

“SKEITH!!!”

In mere moments, the white haired figure that came with a child had changed. He had grabbed the woman that Luna had stabbed, but now, something else stood with it. A massive creature, armed with a scythe who’s edge was as sharp as a crescent moon. Its three red eyes glaring at them and their army.

“W-what is this-!?” Before Celestia could finish, the being swung its weapon. Sending a massive shockwave that shook the earth beneath their hooves. Their soldiers were flung backwards like dolls as nearby trees began to break and collapse. All at the sight of this monster.

And just as fast as it started, they were gone. The queen, the newfound figure and the child had all vanished, all while Luna stared at her sister. “Celestia, what do we do!?”

“Tend to the injured first, then send a search team! They can’t have gone far!”

Elsewhere…

“That should buy us some time,” Haseo said, overlooking where the two sisters and their army was from the entrance of a cave along the hillside, before turning to look back at Sombra and the woman. “Is your mother okay, Sombra?”

“I dunno, I’ve never seen her get hurt like this before.” The colt said as he hugged his mother's body. As Haseo got closer, he placed his hand near the woman’s injuries, before muttering the word ‘Repth’ as green energy began to glow from his hands. Slowly mending to the wounds that were seen on her. Thinking that this would hopefully clear some things up.

“You two are idiots,” Sombra’s mother said. This caused both Haseo and Sombra to jump in surprise as they did not expect her to start speaking once her injury was mostly healed. “Why would you bring a child to a battle?”

“I’m sorry mother. I was just worried about you.” Sombra said as he hugged his mother that much tighter. She would have hugged back, but her neck was effectively still broken for the time being.

“It’s alright Sombra but as soon as my spinal cord is better you are grounded until the day you die,” She then turns to Haseo. “My name is Loreley, by the way.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” He replied back. “My name’s Haseo.”

“I wish I could say the same. Because of you, I lost one of those filthy immortals.” Loreley's’ voice was not of kindness, but of one of annoyance as the adept rogue let out a small sigh. “I still need an answer Why did you bring a child to a battle?”

“Would you believe me if I told you I couldn’t say no because-”

“Puppy dog eyes?”

The adept rogue paused for a moment, before looking back at her. “That’s one bit. The other was that him hoping that you were okay was what caused him to summon me here in the first place.” He took a moment to explain the initial encounter with Sombra back at the village as well as take out the small figurine of Skeith that he saw Sombra holding earlier to show to Loreley to further emphasize what he was saying.

“I see,” She paused for a moment as she put her hands to her neck and popped it back into place before she was able to stand back up. “Ahh, much better. Now, I don’t know about you, but a hole in the neck is not all that pleasant.”

“Try being encased in ice for a thousand years. That’s worse.” Haseo muttered in response. Originally thinking that she wouldn’t be able to hear him, but proven wrong a few seconds later when he heard Loreley speak up.

“Encased in ice for a thousand years and you have no ill effects from that?” She cast her red eyes at the rouge. “If you are immortal and I find out, your soul is mine. Understand?”

“That wasn’t what I meant at all. If anything, I’m… not from this world,” For a moment, he looked towards where Sombra was. A bit nervous at what he was going to say next before looking back at Loreley. “Can we have this conversation somewhere else, I rather not have Sombra overhear what I’m going to tell you.”

“Fine,” With a wave of her hand, the skeletal hands from before came flying in from the battlefield. Unfolding as if it was the Magic Carpet from Aladdin. “Get on.” She ordered as one got in front of Haseo. Without delay, he listened to what she told him. Getting on the hand without a second thought as he looked back towards her.

In a matter of seconds, Loreley took Haseo and with a swipe of her hands, they flew high into the sky. About five hundred feet in the air if the rogue had to assume. Everything down below looked rather miniscule from up here and many of the inhabitants looked like tiny ants.

“So, why did you want some privacy Haseo?” Loreley had quickly given the rouge the impression that she was all business and no pleasure based on what he had seen so far.

“Well, there’s a reason why I did not want for Sombra to listen,” He told her, clearing his throat and letting out a sigh. “Back where I’m from, Sombra isn’t a child, but a full grown adult. One who was driven mad with power, had me take the blame for the murder of the Crystal Empire’s ruler and was the one who encased me in ice for a thousand years. I’m from a future where he isn’t the sweet son that you see now, but a ruthless tyrant who went as far as to sacrifice his own well being for power that he did not know how to control or understand. He’s the one that made me be known as ‘The Terror of Death’ back where I am from. All because he wanted everything for himself and his own desires.”

There was a brief pause after he said that as the sound of owls could be heard hooting in the night sky. But not long after did the adept rogue ask a new question. “Does that explain why I was concerned?”

“Indeed. Even now, I see a darkness in his soul. He always wants to learn my magic and how to use it. But I don’t because he is unable to learn most, if not all of it. For the magic of the dead is not for the living.”

As she said that now, the adept rogue now had another question for him. “Loreley, would you happen to know what an umbrum is?”

“The name is unfamiliar to me.” The woman told him in response.

“It means Shadow Pony,” Haseo explained. “That’s what Sombra is. He is one of an entire army of umbrum that is buried under the crystal empire. I know this because, where I am from, I am raising one as my daughter. And I… well, I don’t want your son to turn into the power hungry umbrum that I had to slay back where I’m from.”

“I see.” Loreley responded, folding her arms before continuing to speak. “Well, from what I know is that a creature composed of all sorts of random parts tore families asunder and moved entire lots of land. I know that some of those are true for when I arrived the land was chaotic until a rainbow washed over everything."

“Wait, you mean Discord? The draconequus?” The adept rogue now asked, recalling back to when the elements recently ‘freed’ him so that he could undergo rehabilitation. Or as Sapphire would put it, chaotic therapy.

“I know not the creatures name, nor his species, Haseo. I just know what I saw and that when I first met Sombra, he was covered in cotton candy.”

“Yeah, that sounds like him,” Haseo replied back. “Discord is a draconequus, some kind of pony-dragon hybrid with the talon of an eagle, paw of a lion, foot of a dragon, hoof of a pony, a horn and antler of his head and is known for making it rain chocolate milk from cotton candy clouds with just a snap of his talon. However, yours seems to be more hostile because mine would just do this stuff as a prank.”

“Perhaps, but I believe we are getting off topic here.” Loreley pointed out.

“Fair point,” Haseo replied back. “Though, there is one other thing from what you said that I might know. That rainbow you were talking about.”

“And what could you know about it?” she asked suspiciously.

“That’s not an ordinary rainbow. That’s magic from a set of powerful artifacts called the Elements of Harmony,” The adept rogue told her. “Six gems filled with harmonic magic that are comprised of Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, Kindness, Loyalty and Magic. In my time, it has been used to handle villains and ‘fix’ things that should not happen. When they are used, their magic takes the form of a rainbow. Like what you said.” All the information on this was from what Cadence told him a few days after he originally ‘woke up’ from his icy slumber. As a way to try to get him to be a bit more familiar with what was going on in the present day. He left out the part though of how Celestia used the elements on her sister when Luna turned into Nightmare Moon, because from the looks of things, that had not happened yet.”

“How interesting.” She pondered what he said before something clicked in her mind. “If what you say is true, then who would of been the wielders from your point a thousand years ago?”

“Back in the past, Celestia and Luna had to use them,” He responded. “In the present… or my present to be more precise, they are wielded by six mares who each represent one of the qualities of the elements. I believe that’s all I should say though, because I don’t want to offload too much.”

“Then I gotta hurry and get back to the fight. Too much time has passed. If the immortals do indeed have these elements, then I gotta finish one off before they can use them on me.”

“Can I ask you something though this time?” He told her. “What are you specifically? I mean, I have introduced myself, told you what I was and more about me, but I’m just as curious about you. If anything, I would think you are the living incarnation of death itself. A piece of the circle of life that one can’t just simply ‘defeat’ if you know what I mean.”

Of course, what the woman told Haseo next was something that he honestly didn’t expect, or for that matter, feel prepared for. “My name is Loreley and I am the queen of death. I cannot die until all life in this plane is gone.”

Of course though, the last part felt more ironic than anything else. After all, both life and death were just factors in the ever spinning cycle that was the circle of life. If life were to end at some point, it would just come back again later. So what was the point in stopping something that was inevitable? Of course, that would also be a question tailored towards the princesses of this world too, seeing how they were fighting against a being that is the living representation of a natural process.

Though, it was what the queen of the dead said next that kind of… caught him off guard. “While I have you, I must ask you something. How do you make the trinket? The one that Sombra used to bring you here?” That was a bit of a hard question to answer, especially since Haseo himself was unsure of the answer to it.

“I’m not entirely sure,” He told her, looking down at the figurine of Skeith. “But… let me see something,” Wrapping his hands together around the doll, he began to channel a different kind of power than the one that he used before. In fact, it was the same kind of power that he used to ‘data drain’ the barrier over the Crystal Empire back in his world. But this time, instead of draining it, he actually used that power to make an exact replica of the doll before handing it to her. “I may not know how it works now, but I believe that the next time we meet, I will have the knowledge that you seek. I believe there are others in the universe, each with their own trinket that serves as a catalyst to summoning them. However, getting that catalyst out to everyone else is the kind of knowledge I currently lack.”

“How interesting, but I feel like the next time we meet you will be dead, but I have been wrong before.”

The adept rogue chuckled at that, shortly before looking back at her. “So have I sometimes. But I will do what I can to stay alive until the next time we meet, Queen Loreley.”

“That’s the fun part. No one plans to die it just happens.” She giggled a little, which seemed kind of unsettling to Haseo all things considered. ”But I do wish you luck in your life.”

“Why thank you,” He told her in response. “Before I go though… I would like to see Sombra one last time. You know, to say goodbye to him?”

“Of course.” Loreley nodded, lowering both of them to the ground and back to the entrance of the cave that they were at earlier. “I would hurry. I feel the sisters will be arriving shortly.”

Haseo nodded, just as he approached the entrance to the cave and looking to see if Sombra was inside. The colt that was sitting along the wall stood up upon seeing his new friend and mother return, walking over to where they were at. “Are you done talking?” His voice sounded rather bored.

Haseo nodded, before getting down to his level and looking back at the colt. “Hey Sombra, I’m sorry about this, but I’m afraid I can’t stay here,” For a brief second, he looked towards Loreley for a moment, before looking back and thinking of the words to say to the umbrum colt. “Your mother is concerned that they will find me if I stay here for too long. But don’t worry. I’ll come back and make sure to see you guys. That’s a promise.”

“I-I see.” Sombra hugged Haseo, which felt a bit awkward for the rogue given that he was being hugged by the colt version of the umbrum who almost tried to kill him back home. “Thank you for helping me find my mother again, Haseo.”

“You’re welcome,” He told him in response, returning the hug and looking back at him. “I gave your mother one of the dolls that you used to bring me here. I’m letting you keep it,” For a moment, the colt’s eyes were wide with joy. Right up until Haseo finished his sentence. “On the condition that you only call me here if its an emergency, alright?”

“I understand.” The sadness in his voice was audible for the day has wore on his feelings. Almost everyone was feeling rather drained emotionally. But that was when the rogue let go of the colt and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, cheer up,” He told him, smiling as he looked at the colt. “If you can be brave for me, then you can be able to overcome anything, alright? I don’t think your mom wants to raise you as a crybaby.”

Upon hearing him say that, Sombra tried to smile. But the tears from his eyes portrayed his true feelings in that moment. “I will miss you.”

“I will miss you too.” With that, Haseo got up and looked back to Loreley, walking back outside of the entrance as he said one last thing to her. “Do everything you can to make sure he has a bright future.”

“I already have a plan in place should I fail.” She looks Haseo directly in the eyes. “I am not so arrogant as to think that victory is all but mine. Sombra will go with the sisters. Should they win though, I feel like it is more for his sake then mine.”

“You believe that he will do well in the hooves of the immortals you despise?” Haseo then asked her, trying to process what he just heard her say.

“No.” The queen swiftly retorted back at him. “But they are the only ones who could have a chance at taming the beast within him.”

The rogue let out a sigh, nodding in response as he looked back at her. A part of him was worried that Sombra would end up blaming the sisters for whatever would happen to Loreley, but he decided not to speak on that and instead just not question the queen’s plan. As he stood there, he began to feel something familiar. A pulling sensation that was much similar to that of began transported by a chaos gate and it was happening rather fast

He only had a few seconds to wave goodbye before a light blue light began to overtake him and whisk him away back to the reality that was his home.

By the time that Haseo had come back to the Crystal Empire that he was familiar with, night had already fallen. But to him, it felt like a lot of time had passed. In fact, as he made his way back to the castle and stepped inside, he stepped in to find Cadence talking with Radiant Hope. Both of them being surprised by his presence alone.

“There you are!” Cadence was the first to speak. “Everypony was wondering where you went!”

“I’m sorry Cadence, but something… came up-” He tried to tell her, shortly before the princess interjected once more.

“We were getting concerned after Hoofstrong told us that you went off to go take care of something, but you never came back. Hay, you’ve been gone for almost two whole days!! Just what exactly came up to where you missed the Crystal Empire being chosen as the place to host the Crystal Games this year?!” With each word that was spoken, Cadence’s voice continued to rise to the point that even after a few seconds, Radiant decided to leave and give the two of them some space. Closing the door behind her as the adept rogue let out a sigh.

“It wasn’t like I had a choice really…” He told her, scratching the back of his head. This was definitely going to be a long conversation, especially with the way it was starting off. “I was going to help Hoofstrong, but shortly before I could, I heard a voice speak up. Next thing I know, I was in another Equestria that was a thousand years in the past… With myself, Kite and BlackRose being what we are, it’s more than likely that anyone else that’s in our position would try to summon us too.”

The two of them continued to talk amongst themselves for a little while longer as Haseo explained to Cadence everything that he saw. He told her of how he met a young Sombra, one that was only a colt and who reminded him of Sapphire, explained his encounter with Loreley and how he believed that him being called there to help them was for a good reason, even though Loreley was known over there as the ‘queen of the dead’.

At first, the ruler of the Crystal Empire wasn’t sure whether to believe that everything he said was true. But if one thing was for certain, whenever he spoke with her, Haseo was never a liar. Even if everything that he said felt like it was straight out of an alternate reality, she just let out a sigh and went with it.

After he finished though, that was when the adept rogue looked back at her and mentioned one other thing. “To conclude, I’m here now and I promised Hoofstrong that I would take over some shifts for him and a few other guards to make up for the time that I was gone.” After saying that, he looked around for a moment before looking back to Cadence as he asked her a question. “Is there anything you would like for me to do?”

“I don’t think just a few guard shifts would make up for you leaving unannounced, Haseo. Even though it is admirable of you to want to make up for the time that you were gone,” The princess told him, before looking back at her, lightly tapping a hoof to her chest before thinking of something to say. “I do have one thing though that I believe you can do though.”

“What is it?”

“In a few days from now, a summit of the princesses will be held here in the crystal empire. So, I’ll need you to be there.”

For a moment, Haseo was beginning to think that he understood what Cadence meant as he folded his arms. “So you want me to be there, by your side as your bodyguard?”

“Not my bodyguard.” The alicorn clarified for him, before using her magic to lift up a letter that was on the small table next to Cadence’s throne. At first, it looked to be a letter of sorts that was sent to her. But as Haseo read its contents, he now began to realize something that happened while he was away.

There were now four princesses in Equestria. And the fourth one was Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship.

14- Secret Agent Mare

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Author's Notes:

So, somehow with everything going on right now, I'm on a roll with make updates? Is this normal?

Just as a heads up, this chapter will contain characters and terminology from one of the MLP chapter books. More specifically, the one called 'My little pony: Lyra and Bon Bon and the Mares from S.M.I.L.E.'. Of course though, since this book takes place after the season 5 episode called Slice of Life, there's a few changes between this chapter and the book that you will notice as you read since right now, we are currently in between Season 3 and Season 4.

This chapter is more of a way to set up what's going to happen next, so please stay tuned for when the next one comes out. As always, thank you very much for the support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

As always, huge thanks to Solphestus for the lovable menace that is Sapphire.
-Frost

The Terror of Death- Secret Agent Mare

After Haseo had finished his conversation with Cadence, the first thing that he did was immediately take off towards his room. When he left earlier, didn’t even think he would be gone for too long. But after realizing that he had been gone for almost two full days, what he was worried about the most right now was that of Sapphire. The adept rogue couldn’t even begin to imagine what would be going on inside her head right now and was worried about how she would react the moment that the shadow pony realized that he was okay and nothing bad happened to him. Part of him thought that she would be scared half to death, while another part of him would think that she would be relieved to see that he was okay.

He got the answer to how Sapphire would react the moment that he opened the door. “Sapphire? I’m home-”

Haseo suddenly was bowled with enough force that it would have sent him through a wall if it hadn't of knocked him over first. And when he looked to the source of said force, he was met with a face full of tear stained umbrum filly. “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?” Sapphire bawled as she clung to him, looking almost ten times worse than she had when he had first met her on the streets.

“S-sorry, Sapphire,” He said, tapping her on the shoulder and trying to calm her down. “S-someone really needed my help and before I knew it, I was teleported somewhere else entirely-”

“I dont care!” She whined, sounding like a four year old human child as her eyes quivered and leaked large black tears while she pouted at him. “You're the only being I have, I don't want to lose you Papa!”

“Hey, hey… Everything’s okay now… I promise I won’t go off anywhere on my own like that ever again, okay?” He told her, holding her close as her grip tightened. “I’ll always be here for you… and if I need to be somewhere, I’ll have you come with me. Okay?”

“Pinkie promise?” She asked, a dangerous glint in her eyes as she sniffled.

“Pinkie promise,” His words were a confirmation to the filly that he was really planning on making sure to keep his promise. As he slowly got up though, with Sapphire still clinging onto him, he began to realize that she wasn’t entirely by herself. In fact, BlackRose was passed out on the couch and Kite was seen lying against a wall that was close to one of the open windows on the left. What made it stand out though was that they looked like they just came out of a warzone. “Uh… were Kite and BlackRose trying to… help you?”

“...” Sapphire didn't comment as her tail turned into an arm made of black magic. Which in turn proceeded to reach for the door and shut it behind her as she continued to snuggle into Haseo’s chest. Possibly staining the shirt he was currently wearing permanently black with her tears. “Mine… will never… let go…” She seemed to also be muttering under her breath repeatedly.

“Oh boy. Sapphire must’ve put them through hell in order to try and keep her calm,” Haseo thought, realizing what must’ve happened after hearing Sapphire mumble to herself. Part of him wanted to get up and see if they were okay. But with Sapphire’s grip on him turning into what felt like the Incredible Hulk giving him a hug, that seemed to not be the case. Though, there was one thing he could tell her now that he thought of it. “Hey Sapphire, I’m going to be doing something in a couple of days and… well, I thought I would let you know in advance.”

Of course, the shadow pony’s reaction to what he said was not entirely what he expected. Especially if you consider the fact that her tone of voice immediately began to change. “Papa is forbidden from going without Sapphire…” She said, sounding suspiciously younger than normal as her mane and tail seemed to flicker between looking like Luna's but with no stars and a thick swath of midnight blue solid hair.

“That’s not what I was implying,” He told her in response. “Cadence told me that I needed to make up for the time I was gone, so she wants me to be Twilight’s bodyguard a couple of days from now. You know, with her being a new princess and everything.”

“... Sapphire no like Sparkle butt…” The filly stated as she gripped Haseo tighter, “But, Sapphire will protect papa as papa does his job for Love butt.” However, as she tightened her grip, that made the rogue flinch in pain as he looked like he was getting strangled. Something that she did not realize until after he mentioned it to her.

“T-too tight… C-can’t breathe…” He coughed, causing her to squeak and release her magic fueled strength. Which allowed for him to finally catch his breath as he looked back at her. “I’m glad that you want to come, but please refrain yourself that would lead to either Twilight or I getting in trouble, okay?”

“Sap- I-I mean, I understand daddy…” She said, looking quite embarrassed as the filly continued to snuggle into Haseo’s chest. Albeit from shyness this time as she calmed down, just a little bit. “Um, by the way… while you were gone, um…”

When he heard that, the rogue was not liking how this was going to go down. “Sapphire, what happened while I was gone?”

“W-when you disappeared, some strange ponies came looking for you… and I thought that when you didn’t come home… um…” Sapphire tried to think of how to word this, a suspicious look of somepony thinking they were about to be grounded coming across her face.

Though, in Haseo’s mind, he wasn’t entirely too worried about it. “Don’t worry about it. I was supposed to help Cadence with the preparations for the Equestria Games inspection, so it was probably some ponies looking for me and wondering where I was. She did… kind of yell at me for disappearing too so yeah.”

Sapphire just looked away, deciding to let Haseo believe what he wished. “Love butt is weird, I don’t like her either…” She then said, pouting a bit.

“Well, she’s the reason why you can be with me,” The rogue’s comments were followed by him tapping Sapphire’s nose with a finger to try and get her to chuckle a bit. “But let’s not worry about that… besides, I think we got some cleaning up to do back inside.”

“It’s late, why don't we take a nap? It's a lovely time for a nap, why don't we go sleep on the roof? The stars are pretty tonight… please don't make me clean!” Sapphire rambled.

“My bad. I said that under the impression that Kite and BlackRose were going to help. But…” That left Haseo to scratch his chin for a moment as he thought of something else. “Let me do something else first, then we can sleep on the roof alright?”

Sapphire purred as she cuddled against Haseo’s chest, looking forward to being able to have personal time with him now that he had returned from wherever he vanished to. She had no intentions of sharing him with anyone for a long while and she was going to exploit her looks to make him dote on her as much as possible within that time span. She was going to punish him with dark magic weaponized cuteness for making her worry so much.

And Haseo was completely okay with that.

When Kite finally woke up from his slumber, he began to notice a few things. One, there was a blanket over himself as well as BlackRose. Second, most of the stuff in the room had already been cleaned up from the disaster that was taking care of Sapphire while Haseo was missing.

Speaking of which, as he got up, he noticed a rather big leather bag on the table in the center of the room. One that was attached with a note.

Dear Seabus and Tessa,

I’m extremely sorry for having to put the both of you through the hell that is watching over Sapphire. Someone just happened to ‘summon’ me while I was on my way to go help for the Crystal Games and I just got back recently. I’ll be taking her off your hands so you two can get some much deserved rest. In the meantime, I hope the amount of bits that I left behind for you two will be enough to compensate since there’s about two thousand bits for each of you in there. I’ll catch you guys later. I gotta make up the time I was absent by watching over a book princess.

Sincerely,

Ryou

“Prick...” Kite grumbled, going back to sleep disgruntled.

Few days later…

The town of Ponyville was rather quiet and peaceful this morning. Many ponies were trotting out and about in order to get some food from the market or meet some of their friends that were in town. For one earth pony though, she was spending her morning organizing a few of the homemade candies that she made into jars, a cardboard box by the base of the table she was sitting by. Just before she looked up to hear her roommate speak to her.

“Hey Bon Bon, I’m going to be meeting Octavia and Derpy for lunch,” The mint green unicorn named Lyra told her in response. “Would you like to come with us?”

“Uh, n-no thanks Lyra,” The earth pony chuckled, before looking back at her. “I got my hooves full at the moment.”

“Alright, well, let me know if you want anything from Sugarcube Corner alright?” The unicorn said, trotting outside and closing the door behind her. The mare waited for a few moments first, before reaching down and pulling out what looked like a metal suitcase from inside the box. Some of the packing peanuts falling to the floor as she opened the case. Pulling out what looked to be a hoof-sized mirror that shimmered at seeing her reflection, before showing a silhouette of what looked to be a stallion in the background.

“Agent Drops to Agent Furlong, checking in,” The earth pony now said with confidence, glad that the windows were sealed tight and that the home that she and Lyra lived in was considered as ‘secure’ in the eyes of S.M.I.L.E. Otherwise known as the ‘Secret Monster Intelligence League of Equestria’. “Cover is still maintained, nothing is out of the ordinary as of right now.”

“Good to hear,” her boss at the agency, Furlong, replied back. “I’m afraid though that Alpha Hoof has a new matter that he wants all of S.M.I.L.E. in order to look into right now.”

That had the mare blink for a moment, looking around the room as she tried to comprehend what she just heard. “Agent Furlong, could you please provide some clarification. There hasn’t been anything abnormal in Ponyville since the ‘Magic Duel’ incident.”

“And I remember how much of a cover up we had to put in place for that one,” The stallion told her. “Agent Drops, this matter though is to be taken as priority one. Reports from Agent Charlie and Foxtrot have brought forth something that has come to life. A creature that was present during the time of the ‘Sombra’, ‘Magic Duel’ and ‘Reformation’ incident and is just as powerful as the Elements of Harmony. Perhaps even stronger.”

That made Agent Sweetie Drops blink. A creature that is just as strong as the Elements? That was unheard of. “What is this being?”

“We believe that it is the same creature that was referred to in the old pony tales as ‘The Terror of Death’. He may look ordinary, but when Agent Easy tried to use one of the gadgets that we use to determine how much magical power he has, the device shattered. He’s had to have several stitches on his hooves ever since,” The name and that alone sent a chill down the mare’s spine, just before her boss picked up right where he left off. “Not to mention that one of the nobles in Canterlot believes that he’s responsible for the death of his dog. Which… seems unlikely. But given how it was severed into pieces and put in a heart shaped box, I say that sounds like something he would do.”

“With all due respect Agent Furlong, are you trying to give me a briefing or make me want to throw up my breakfast?” The earth pony then asked him.

“Getting straight to the point now, are we?” The stallion responded. “Alright. One of our field agents picked up that its likely that this ‘Terror of Death’ is currently posing as Princess Twilight’s escort for the Princess Summit. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to gather information on the subject and try to capture them alive. They’ll be boarding the friendship express at one o’clock this afternoon. We’ll be providing more information to your hoofpack, so keep that on you at all times. Furlong out.”

Meanwhile…

“So let me see if I can get this straight…” The adept rogue spoke up as he looked back at Twilight. Ever since he and Sapphire had arrived here a couple of minutes ago, he had been helping both her and Spike pack everything they needed for the Princess Summit. All while Sapphire was watching. Haseo himself though, was using the time in order to be able to ask Twilight about everything that he missed. And what he was told kind of surprised him. “You and your friends had your cutie marks swapped, you had to make a new spell and that evening, you became a princess?”

“Pretty much, though the spell part was harder than it seemed,” Twilight explained to him, having to adjust her newfound wings for a moment. “My original plan was to use the element of magic in order to come up with the spell, but instead, I had to use Gorre.”

“Uh, why Gorre, if you don’t mind me asking?” The rogue asked, recalling Twilight’s Avatar that she had unlocked during the course of the ‘magic duel’ and when AIDA infected Trixie.

“Well, that’s the thing,” Spike now interjected as he now walked over, holding what looked like the Element of Magic in his claws as he gave it to Twilight. “When we found out it was missing, after we fixed the whole ‘switching cutie marks’ mishap, Twilight thought she simply misplaced it. But after looking throughout the library… and subsequently, throughout Ponyville, we’re beginning to think that it was somehow stolen.”

The idea of that alone baffled Haseo. Yet, Sapphire herself had something else on her mind to say regarding that. “What I can't comprehend… is how you can formulate a spell as complex as the one maintaining my physical appearance and turn into an alicorn, yet not set up a proper burglary alarm. Haven't you even thought once that it might be a good idea to keep a legendary artifact of power more properly protected?” She said with a slight deadpan, her face looking slightly drained of life at how she felt about the situation.

“Hey, we always lock the doors to the library and make sure to close everything up,” Twilight said in response. “Besides, we aren’t ruling out other possibilities.”

Of course, while they were speaking, that was when they heard somepony else speak now as everypony turned to the stairwell. “What kind of racket dares to disturb the slumber of Trixie?!”

That just had Haseo stare at the mare for a few moments, recognizing her from when the magic duel happened, before looking back to the newly deemed princess. “Could you care to explain?”

“Twilight had Trixie stay over and wanted to help her while she was recovering,” The dragon added. “Not to mention that she’s temporarily staying here until she can be able to afford herself a new wagon.”

“Why thank you for speaking in Trixie’s place…” The azure mare spoke sarcastically as she trotted down the stairs and looked at him for a moment, before noticing Sapphire. “Oh hello.”

Sapphire tilted her head at Trixie, before turning to Haseo. “Daddy, who is the strange new pony?” She asked while pointing at the light blue mare. “Is she one of Sparkle butt’s servants?”

“No, she’s…” Twilight soon interrupted before Trixie could say anything, trying to not act embarrassed for how Sapphire described her. “She’s a friend. I’m just letting her stay here until she can get back on her hooves.”

“Oh… I thought she was like one of those ponies that Love butt keeps around, my bad.” Sapphire shrugged before climbing onto Haseo’s shoulders using her ethereal mane like a giant tentacle.

“Love… butt?” The unicorn asked.

“She’s talking about Cadence,” Twilight replied, before looking back. “Trixie, this is Haseo and his… well, that’s Sapphire. They’ll be helping me with going to the Crystal Empire today.”

“Um… Isn’t she-” Before she could finish, Twilight used her magic to yank the unicorn closer to her, before whispering something in her ear. Whatever it was, it made Trixie’s eyes widen as she looked back at the filly. “Um… You know what, Trixie thinks she has some things to do in her room. Have a good trip, Sparkle!” With that, the unicorn raced upstairs and slammed the door behind her.

“Hmph, she didn't have to act like I was going to eat her for her magic. Pony meat doesn't taste good anyway.” Sapphire said with a bored expression, totally misreading the situation. Which had Haseo let out a sigh and Spike himself, raised a claw in order to say something, before deciding to keep it to himself.

Twilight herself, was more focused on the clock though as it read ‘12:45pm’ on the wall. “We should probably get going to the station now. Spike, do you have the tickets?”

“Right here!” He told them, holding an envelope with four tickets inside. One for each one of them, including Sapphire.

“Alright, let’s get going.” The princess replied, while Haseo volunteered to help with her luggage as they began to make their way towards the station. The wait at the station wasn’t entirely that long, but it felt a bit uncomfortable since out of nowhere, many ponies started coming up with pencils and notepads asking for Twilight’s autograph like she was a celebrity. Something that didn’t quite make her feel comfortable as she hurried to get on the train, with Haseo and Spike following her shortly afterwards.

But before the train could leave the station, Haseo had to hold the door open for somepony that needed to get on board the train at the last minute. A cream colored earth pony that looked to be carrying some kind of briefcase. Whatever the reason, they looked to be rather high personnel considering that they had their own personal suite in first class.

As the train was moving, there was a knock on the door as two ponies stood outside the door. One was a mare and the other was a stallion as the mare spoke up. “Hello there, would any of you like some concessions? Perhaps take an order for lunch?”

All that did was remind Haseo of the one thing that he did not have yet as he looked back at the waitress. “Would you happen to have any soup on the menu?”

“Why yes, our daily special today is Tomato soup.”

“Can I have a bowl of that, please?” He asked politely, which was later followed by one of the mares writing down the order before heading back to the other cars, while the stallion went towards the front. Just before the door to their room closed though, Haseo heard something whistle past him for a moment. But he thought that it was just one of the fillies on board cracking open a window and just left it be.

But not Sapphire, she stared as her eyes became slits at where the sound came from before scooting closer to Haseo in where she was sitting, covering up her displeasure with her hunger. However, the change did not go unnoticed. “Um, are you okay… Sapphire, right?” Spike asked, looking through his bag to see if there was anything that could somehow help her. “I think I packed a couple of snacks in here in case we were hungry.”

“What kinds of snacks?” Sapphire asked, dodging the question that was asked before food was mentioned.

“Chocolate chip cookies from Sugarcube Corner,” He said, placing a paper bag that had the logo of the Sugarcube Gingerbread house on the front. “Pinkie Pie gave them to me this morning as a way to say good luck with the summit.”

Sapphire took one look at the cookies and nabbed three with her hooves as she began to nibble on them hungrily, visibly enjoying the cookies. Haseo himself was glad to see that she liked them, though, after a bit, he was beginning to think that something was taking a bit too long with the soup and he wanted to go get up and see what the issue was.

Yet, before he could be able to do so, that was when the waitress from earlier returned. “I-i’m so sorry for the long wait,” She frantically apologized, placing the bowl of soup on the table for him and handing him a spoon. “We accidentally had your order mixed up with somepony else that was on the train.”

Sapphire eyed the waitress suspiciously, before sniffing the soup. And after confirming that it was safe went back to eating her cookies, not giving anyone an explanation as to what she was doing. Haseo himself wanted to ask if there was anything that was wrong, but after a bit, he just focused on having his soup. After all, this was going to be a long train ride.

“Agent Drops to Agent Furlong and Command, do you read me?” Bon Bon spoke inside her personal cabin once she made sure that the entire area was secure and that nopony was listening.

“We hear you loud and clear, Agent Drops,” She heard her boss speak on the other end of the line, along with the murmurs of some of the other agency members nearby. “What’s the situation?”

“I’m onboard the train as we speak, but…” The mare held her breath for a moment, shortly before letting out a sigh as she continued to speak. “All current attempts to subdue and capture the subject have failed.”

“W-what?” Her boss responded, sounding rather baffled by the statement that he just heard. “What do you mean that it failed? What gadgets have you used?”

“First attempt was with a knockout dart, but the dart ricocheted off of his shoulder plate and hit a waiter that’s in the front of the train, second one was with a small laxative to try to lure the subject to be in an isolated area, but that got served to another customer,” Bon Bon sighed in response to that. “Now the pony we classified as ‘Lucky Rose’ has been stuck in the mares room for the last hour and a half.”

“Did you try the sleeping pills?” Agent Furlong now asked, shortly after hearing a whisper from somepony else behind her.

“I was going too, but I bumped into somepony else and they mistook the sleeping pills for the complementary breath mints that the staff hand out after somepony has sushi from Neighpon,” The agent replied. “That stallion is passed out in his cabin right now.”

“Damn… Is there anything we can do to find out more about him? If current attempts on board the train haven’t worked, then perhaps you use the train for reconnaissance.”

“Well, the only thing that I can make out is that there’s a filly sitting right next to him. It could potentially be his daughter-” Mere seconds after saying that, it sounded as if a loud pitched screech went off, before there was complete silence. “Furlong? Agent Furlong, are you there? Come on… please don’t tell me that the spell on this thing wears off today. I just got this last week.”

Manehattan

“What do you mean we lost contact with her?!” Agent Furlong shouted as several unicorns were scrambling to try and cast the long range communication spell.

“I don’t know, but we’re trying to re-establish contact right now, Agent Furlong!” One of the ponies that was behind the channeling desk told him as another pony soon joined the stallion.

“Is everything alright, Agent Furlong?” The stallion turned to see the Alpha hoof standing right behind him. To which, Furlong immediately saluted before explaining the situation to him.

“We’re working to re-establish communications with Agent Sweetie Drops right now. Our spell somehow got cut off and we’re working to fix that now-”

In a matter of seconds, there was something new on the monitors in front of them. This time though, it showed the close up shot of a young filly. Before it turned into the equivalent of a shadow demon less than a second later as it glared at everypony in the room with glowing slit like eyes and repeated three words over and over. “KILL YOUR SANITY!! KILL YOUR SANITY!! KILL YOUR SANITY!! KILL YOUR SANITY!!”

“WHAT THE BUCK!?!”

“Sapphire, you alright?” Haseo asked her as he noticed her nuzzling against his side. Almost looking as if she was about ready to fall asleep.

“Hmm? Ah, yeah I just managed to get rid of a fly buzzing around us. That’s all~” Sapphire purred as she rolled unto her back displaying her small belly to him like a cat. Prompting Haseo to pet it, before looking back at Twilight and Spike. The baby dragon had already fallen asleep while Twilight looked to be staring out the window and pondering something that was on her mind.

“Twilight? You doing alright?”

“Hunh? Wha-?” It took a moment for Twilight to realize that the adept rogue was talking to her, before letting out a sigh. “S-sorry, I was just thinking. I’m… kind of a bit nervous.”

That had him a bit curious for a moment by what she meant as Haseo took a moment to inquire. “Nervous about what exactly?”

“Well… this is my first official meeting as an actual princess. Not just as an accomplice of Princess Celestia,” She said, gritting her teeth for a moment as she looked back at him. “And with everything going on right now, from the fact that AIDA’s still out there, having to learn new magic from the grimoire you gave me and now this? I’m just a bit nervous that I might… well…”

The adept rogue himself didn’t need to hear any more of what she said. Instead, he just said two words. Two words that completely match what Twilight was thinking in that moment. “Screw up?”

Twilight immediately nodded in response. “Exactly. I’m worried that I would somehow screw up my first official meeting as princess. I mean… wouldn’t you be nervous if you were in the same position I’m in?”

“Ehh, maybe,” The adept rogue shrugged. “But then again, I would try to have a bit more self confidence to make sure that your doubts and worries don’t weigh it down. As long as you just be yourself, you’ll do fine.”

Sapphire snickered as she glomped Haseo’s hand which was petting her belly, having enjoyed the belly rubs but still amused by the conversation. “I can assure you Sparkle Butt that as long as you don't do anything too stupid you will be fine… your mentor and the others would protect you after all.” She then commented absentmindedly as she stared intently at Haseo’s thumb for some reason.

“Sapphire, this is supposed to be a summit between the princesses, not a council of war,” Haseo deadpanned. “But she does bring up a point. As long as you just stay calm and relaxed, you’ll be alright.”

“And not do anything too stupid?” Twilight then repeated what Sapphire said, all while Haseo shrugged for a moment.

“Well, I wasn’t intending to phrase it that way,” He told her and let out a sigh. Still scratching Sapphire’s belly before noticing that the filly was staring at his thumb like if a cat thought that it was some kind of chew toy. “Um, Sapphire? Are you doing okay?”

“... fingers…” Sapphire muttered as if contemplating something. “Would be useful if I had fingers…?”

“Can’t you just make a pair of claws or hands with your magic?” Twilight then asked, before pondering to herself and realizing that there was something that she wanted to ask the filly. “Speaking of which, there was something I wanted to ask you, Sapphire. Is your magic like normal magic or does it go by a different name, Sapphire?”

“Uh…” Sapphire froze at the question, knocking her out of her pondering before she glanced up at Haseo, a look of concern and worry on her face as if asking if it was ok to say anything. Who in turn gave her a reassuring nod as a way to say that it was okay for her to tell her about it and that there wasn’t a need for her to be nervous. Gulping Sapphire turned to face Twilight and with her voice barely above a whisper she muttered “d-dark m-magic?”

For a moment, Twilight just looked back at her, looking as if she was either having trouble hearing Sapphire or trying to contemplate something. That didn’t turn out to be the case though. “Well, that seems… reasonable I guess. Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”

“Was there any particular reason why you wanted to ask?” Haseo then followed up.

“Mostly it was out of curiosity. That and I was just trying to think of a way to make light conversation while we were waiting for the train to pull into the station.” The alicorn shrugged. Ironically though, just as she said that, an announcement could be heard all across the train.

“Attention passengers, we are now reaching the Crystal Empire. Please stay in your seats until the Friendship Express has come to a complete stop before attempting to leave the vehicle. Thank you and have a very nice day.”

“Well, looks like we don’t need to wait about that anymore,” Haseo smiled. “Sapphire, can you wake up Spike? I think we need his help with the luggage once we step outside.”

“O-okay!” Sapphire said nervously, glancing towards the doorway before leaping off the seat and walking over to Spike to wake him. Tapping him on the shoulder as the dragon slouched out of his slumber and rubbing his eyes.

“Uhh… H-hunh? A-are we there yet?” He yawned, before noticing Sapphire nearby. At first, he thought that she was going to scare him again. But this time around, it didn’t really seem that way. “O-oh hey, Sapphire. W-what time is it?”

“Time for us to be getting off this train soon.” The adept rogue spoke up. Before looking back towards the previous car as he helped guide them to the doors as the train began to slow down. From there, he could see a couple of familiar faces waiting at the station for them. Two in particular being that of Radiant Hope and also Sunburst, who both seemed to be waiting rather patiently for their arrival.

As they got off the train though, that was when Haseo noticed something to his right. The same briefcase pony from before. Yet, she seemed… bewildered by everything going on. Though, what caught his attention was that she was briefly glancing at him before looking back to the main platform of the train. Something that could be seen as rather suspicious.

“Good afternoon, Princess,” Sunburst addressed Twilight as they walked on in. “I see that you made it here safely.”

“Indeed,” Twilight nodded her head. “I was glad to have Haseo and Sapphire along for some company though.”

“Yep,” The rogue stated, before looking down at the shadow filly that was next to him. “And Sapphire was on her best behavior now, wasn’t she?”

“... I did nothing... to Sparkle butt or her companions…” She said, glancing away as she hid behind Haseo.

“KILL YOUR SANITY!! KILL YOUR SANITY!! KILL YOUR SANITY!! KILL YOUR SANITY!! KILL YOUR SANITY!! KILL YOUR SANITY!! KILL YOUR SANITY!! KILL YOUR SANITY!!”

“FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA, MAKE IT STOP!!!!!!!”

“Right,” Haseo nodded his head, before looking back to see the cream colored mare again. Only this time, she looked to be having trouble navigating the surrounding area. “Um, Twilight? Would you happen to know that pony over there? I saw her boarding the train from Ponyville and I think she’s kind of… lost.”

After he finished saying that, that was when Twilight looked in the direction that he was pointing. But when she saw the mare, part of her was caught off guard. “My gosh, that’s Bon Bon. She’s a candy maker back in Ponyville that provides sweets for the Cakes at Sugarcube Corner. What’s she doing here?”

“Perhaps she’s trying to see how ponies like her candy here?” Spike then asked, “I mean, that case she’s holding probably has some sample of those taffies she had been working on recently.”

In the adept rogue’s mind, this kind of made sense. Those who owned a small business would sometimes try to seek new customer bases as places to expand their business. Given how the Crystal Empire is still seen as practically ‘new’ to the rest of Equestria, it was likely that Bon Bon was here for that reason. “That might be the case. Hey Radiant, can you help her out? Maybe show her around the empire?”

“I can do that,” The unicorn nodded her head, pointing a hoof to Spike and Haseo as they both picked up some of the luggage that they had on the train. “I was only asked to help with greeting and handling anything you might’ve brought with you, but it appears you have that covered.”

As Radiant left in order to go help Bon Bon, that was when Haseo looked back at Twilight and smiled. Bowing a bit to her as he had his arms point in the direction of the castle. “After you, Princess.”

After previous attempts in order to apprehend her target had all but failed and being cut off from her boss at hidequarters, Agent Sweetie Drops was rather thrown off guard by everything. Yet, when she arrived in the crystal empire, that was when things got a bit weird. First, there was the fact that she had to change the objective of her mission from capturing the target to learning more about it instead. That way she at least had something to report back to Agent Furlong. Secondly, upon arriving in the crystal empire, what she saw seemed flat out bizarre. Multiple ponies weren’t just dressed funny, but some of them carried weapons out in public and acted as if this was normal.

Fortunately though, she did get a bit of unexpected help though from a mare named Radiant Hope. Somepony that Princess Twilight knew and who noticed that she needed help getting to know her way around the empire. Of course, it wasn’t just knowing her way around that Radiant helped her out with though. Because she also explained a lot of things about the empire too.

The most important one to her though… was that this ‘terror of death’ actually had a name. Haseo. She was also told that the alias of him was one that Sombra had used to frame him long ago, but to the S.M.I.L.E. agent, she wasn’t entirely convinced. After all, she did not know if this Haseo was capable of magic and used a spell that would make her say such good things about him.

So there was only one practical way that the mare could get the answers that she was looking for. Reconnaissance. Using an empty and hidden alleyway, she pulled a pair of binoculars out of her hoofpack. One that had an enchantment that would allow for her to hear the conversations of other ponies from long ranges as she looked back to the princess and the rogue from her vantage point.

At first, the conversation that they had seemed to consist mostly of small talk. But after what felt like twenty minutes, the princess soon asked something. “Haseo… there’s something I would like to ask you about. I feel that it would be better to talk about it here than when we were on the train.”

“What’s that?” He asked her.

“It’s… about AIDA.”

“AIDA?” Sweetie Drops said to herself. There was never any recorded monster in the S.M.I.L.E. fieldbook that went by that name. It sounded more like an acronym for a death metal band from Germaney than anything else. “Could this be… something new?”

“Oh? What did you want to know about it?”

“W-well… after seeing what happened when it infected both Sombra and Trixie, I had been doing some thinking and I was… wondering something. Since it’s been referred to as if it was an infection, is there like any sort of way that you could tell if somepony’s been affected by it?”

“Well. There are only a few things that I can think of. But it honestly depends on the severity. AIDA, if taken care of immediately like with Trixie, can be seen as if it was something that could be seen as a single case. But if a pony has been affected with it for longer amounts of time, than it’s all the more likely that it could spread to other if not taken care of immediately.”

“Like the Feather Flu?”

“Kind of. But it's much worse. AIDA would cause those who have been affected to act the opposite of their normal personality. Taking things that they would worry about to themselves internally and exploit it,” There was a pause in the conversation, before the rogue thought of a good comparison. “Say for example, you have a pony that’s a champion at a particular sport or game, but internally, they fear of losing and being stripped of their title. AIDA can use that insecurity to take control. Giving that pony power, but exploiting that insecurity to make them increasingly violent. Even towards others that consider him as friends.”

“T-that sounds awful!” Sweetie Drops murmured to herself, before noticing something. As the two of them continued, the young filly that was with Haseo had repositioned herself towards the window. In one instance, she looked in the direction of the agent. Forcing her to hide behind a trash can. But when she looked back up, the filly had disappeared.

Unknowingly though, she wasn't really gone.

“You know, it's not nice to spy on others.” A young feminine voice whispered into Sweetie Drops’ ear. Slowly, the mare placed the binoculars away and turned around. A shadow like demon was behind her and immediately used its magic to grab her and pin the mare to a wall before the agent could do anything. “Make a scene and you will regret it.” The shadow demon ordered, its blazing blue eyes staring into hers. “Now then, why are you and your buddies tailing papa and Sparkle butt?”

Sweetie Drops herself struggled in the beasts grip, barely able to make out a sentence. “T-terror of d-death…” She croaked, before looking back at the shadow being. “T-thought to b-be… m-m-monster… C-can’t b-breathe...”

The shadow demon loosened her magic’s grip just enough so that Sweetie Drops could breath, but not enough that she would be able to scream. “Well, I will inform you right now… he is far less a monster than you ponies.” It hissed in its feminine voice, visibly angred despite its amorphous form at Sweetie’s statement. The mare attempted to struggle, moving her legs as she dropped her hoofpack. Some of the supplies that was in there spilling out onto the ground.

Though, there was one moment that threw the shadow demon off guard. “Sapphire, what are you doing?”

The shadow demon seemed to go completely rigid, its whole amorphous form seeming to freeze in place as it slowly started to shrink to the size of a filly… but maintaining the form it had when it snuck up on Sweetie Drops. “U-um…”

For a moment, the rogue looked at the mare. Until he looked at her pack and noticed some of the things that spilled out onto the ground. Including what looked to be a leather case as he opened it up. “Hunh… Twilight says your name is Bon Bon, but right here, it says your Sweetie Drops,” The rogue replied, before looking back at her. “Would you care to explain yourself?”

At first, the mare seemed to not budge at all, especially with the tight grip on her. But that was when he said something else. “How about this… I’ll have Sapphire release you from her grip, and in exchange, you’ll tell us the reason why you have been following us. Because I’m pretty sure by now that you don’t have any candies in that pack of yours.”

The agent grit her teeth, before reluctantly nodding her head. She did not have any other options in order to get herself out of this situation, so she had to take this deal if she wanted to make sure that this filly did not attempt to kill her. “F-fine. I-i’ll talk.”

Sapphire glared at Sweetie Drops with her glowing ethereal eyes for a moment, before glancing back at Haseo and dispelling her grip. “I dont like this pony, daddy…” She grumbled as she sulked her way over to Haseo.

As she did though, Sweetie Drops though began to explain why she was asked to ‘follow’ him without spilling out too much information that could be deemed as ‘classified’. She told them that her superiors heard rumors of the ‘Terror of Death’ and were concerned that it was a new kind of monster that could be a threat to Equestria. At first, her superiors wanted her to try and capture him, but after a few mishaps, she decided to instead just gather information to report back on anything that would be concerning.

All of this though… was new to Haseo. “So, let me get this straight… Your boss thought that I was a threat, but did not know for sure?”

“T-there wasn’t much information at the time that they reported me on it. All they had to go on was the sightings of you in Ponyville and something about a butchered dog in a box given to a noble.” The words from the second part had Haseo look back over at Sapphire, before asking her a question.

“And you’re sure that’s what he deserved?” All that did was have Sapphire shudder for a bit, causing him to sigh as he looked back at Sweetie Drops. “Okay then… You’re free to go.”

“R-really-?”

“On the condition,” Haseo interjected before Sweetie Drops could finish what she was saying. “That if your superiors really want to get to know me, have them at least invite me to wherever you guys are located at so we can have a civilized conversation. I’m more than willing to talk to you as long as you don’t try to pull anything on me. Also, you don’t mention anything about what you just saw with Sapphire… Do you understand?”

The agent nodded her head again, before looking back at both of them. Though, that was when she saw something that Sweetie did not expect for the so called ‘terror of death’ to do. He actually returned her bag and even go as far as to channel some kind of energy to mend the scratches she sustained from Sapphire. “Alright. Looks like we’re in agreement,” With that, he began to walk back towards the castle with Sapphire right behind him. “Have a good evening… Bon Bon.”

The last thing Sweetie Drops saw of the two of them being Saphire morphing into the form of the filly she saw in the window with Haseo as she glanced back and mouthed “I have my eyes on you…” before they exited the alleyway.

“Well, I think that went well,” Haseo said to himself as he looked back at Sapphire, the moonlight filling in the main hall of the castle as he walked back towards Twilight’s room so he could go on his night shift. “Aside from you pinning her to a wall.”

“I don't trust the ponies still…” Sapphire pouted. “She smelled like the bad ponies that were looking for you that I... dealt with.”

“Whatever the case, I don’t think we would need to worry about her for a while now,” He let out a sigh of relief. But as he got closer to the door of Twilight’s room, something… seemed off. He would expect for Twilight to be asleep, but instead, he heard hoofsteps coming from inside her chambers. “Sapphire, be on guard. I think we might have an intruder.”

The adept rogue immediately began to stay silent, approaching the door with one of his DG-X pistols drawn while Sapphire waited on the opposite side. He placed a free finger to his lips, a sign for her to stay silent as the door opened. A few seconds later, a pony with a cloak over their face slowly began to make their way to the center of the room.

“Well, this was too easy…” The mare spoke to herself as the sound of magic and a shimmering cyan aura formed around her head to adjust her cloak. “Now with the crown, nothing can prevent me from setting my plan in motion-”

That was when Haseo made his move, arming his weapon as the clicking noise startled the pony. Her hood moving backwards to reveal a yellow fur unicorn with cyan colored eyes and a mane that looked to resemble a burning fire. “Hold it right there.”

15- Sundown

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Author's Notes:

Alright. Where do I start here?

Well, for one thing, as you've already seen, things are going to escalate rather quickly in this one. Especially considering the fact that I packed so many important details into these scenes, so make sure to keep an eye out for them. I may not have the chance to update this in a while with everything going on right now, but I do hope that you guys like this chapter. I put a lot of time into this one with my fellow authors Solphestus and Brony Parasite and I am pretty proud of the end result.

Let me know what you guys think of this one. I'm really wanting to hear your feedback of it because some of the characters in this particular chapter are ones that I don't always have the chance to practice writing with. As always though, if you do like the story, feel free to show your support for it by faving and tracking. You guys are the reason why I keep making chapters for my stories.
-Frost

The Terror of Death- Sundown

Upon first coming here, she did not think that she would find herself in the center of a city that was said to be forever lost. But upon stepping hoof in the crystal empire, the unicorn found herself in a place that was much different from the Equestria that she was once familiar with. For a moment, she felt like she was in the past, but nevertheless, she had to refocus herself. The unicorn had a goal that she needed to accomplish… and to accomplish such a goal, there was something that she needed to obtain.

Word around town was that the princesses were all gathered here for their annual princess summit. And there were four of them, much to her surprise. Though, it was not the princesses themselves that she wanted, but something that they carried. The crown that was known more commonly as the ‘Element of Magic’. One of the six elements of harmony. And if what she heard was correct, the newly crowned princess of friendship had it in her possession.

She waited until night fell over the empire before making her move. Using an invisibility spell to hide herself from the guards as she quietly slipped into her room from the open window on the balcony. Using her magic again to gently close it, she began to scan the room and look for what she seeked. Being cautious to not wake her up or the baby dragon sharing her room. The crown had simply been placed on the princess's nightstand, not in some kind of lock box or chest that the unicorn thought it would be placed in.

In fact, everything up to this point had felt a bit… too easy. But that did not stop her from placing the dummy crown in her saddle bag in the place of the one she grabbed and making her way to the door. Closing it quietly as she let out a sigh of relief. “Well, this was too easy…” She confidently spoke as she walked through the center of the room. Heading towards the stairwell at the end of the hall. “Now with the crown, nothing can prevent me from setting my plan in motion-”

CLICK!

“Hold it right there.” The voice made her jump, the hood on her cloak coming off as she turned around. What she saw though… almost seemed flat out impossible.

What was a human doing on this side of the mirror?

The words of the adept rogue had caught the unicorn mare off guard. A shocked look on her face as Haseo kept his arm steady. He had just caught her red hoofed for not only trespassing, but if what she said was true, robbery. “Now… we could do this the easy way or… things are going to get rather difficult-”

Before he could finish, the unicorn attempted to turn around and gallop towards the other side of the room. But not two seconds afterwards did Sapphire rise up from the shadows on the floor and startle her. Causing her bag to come loose as it dropped to the floor. The shadow filly glared at the yellow unicorn, pointing a hoof at her as she shouted. “See!? Ponies can't be trusted!” Her cheeks puffing out cutely as she seemed to be in a slowly worsening mood.

“W-who are you-!?”

“Funny you ask that,” The rogue replied back to her. “I could ask you the same thing. We’ve already had one pony sneaking around today and I say that’s the limit.”

“Yeah! Identify yourself, bacon head,” Sapphire snapped, glaring even more at the mare. “Or should I just eat you and be done with it?”

That just had the unicorn blink, her eyes widening as she looked back at the rogue. “Is… she joking?”

All the adept rogue did was give the unicorn a shrug, shortly before noticing the bag on the floor and looking to Sapphire. Before he could say anything, the filly had sent a shadow like claw to push it closer to him. And in the process, the crown that was inside began to roll out onto the floor and to Haseo’s feet. Something that surprised him at first, but then afterwards, he just looked back at the unicorn with a raised eyebrow. “You’re kidding me, right? All of this just for a crown?”

“Oh, what the hay do you know!? I have plans for this,” She snapped, quickly using her magic to retrieve her bag and the crown that fell on the floor. “I got what I came for! And there’s nothing you can do to stop me-!”

“Oh really?” He asked, putting the gun down and folding his arms. Beginning to realize just how much of a hole this pony was digging herself. “Did you read the label?”

The unicorn blinked, baffled by the sudden unexpected question that he posed for her. “W-what?! There is no label! This is a magical artifact! One of the elements of harmony, not some kind of toy-!”

All the rogue did was just glare back, repeating the same words that he said with a bit more intensity now. “Did you… read… the label?”

After hearing that, the ‘bacon head’ unicorn picked up the crown with her magic, flipping it over as her eyes began to hone in on something that she overlooked the last time around “Friendship is Magic: Element of Magic… Made of 100% recycled chaos magic… Made in Shanghay-” The last three words though really began to sink in though after a few seconds as she looked at Haseo. “THIS IS A PROP!?!!”

“Yeah, funny story about that…” The adept rogue unfolded his arms, summoning his pistol again and aiming it back at the mare. “A couple of weeks ago, the element of magic was already stolen and since then, Princess Twilight has been using this as a temporary replacement. Now, I don’t know about you, but it seems rather suspicious of you to be trying to steal something that has already been stolen. That and the fact that you were already caught for trespassing.”

This was really not going well for the mare. She had planned for this to be a quick and simple way to steal the crown and get back to the other side of the mirror. But now though, she felt as if her back was against the wall. “So you can either come quietly or-”

“Haseo, what’s going on-?” The voice came from where the princesses chambers were as Twilight pushed the door open. Her eyes widening at the sight of what was going on and at the sight of the crown on the floor.

The unicorn that Haseo was cornering though used this chance to quickly pull something out of her bag, using her magic to crack it and toss it into the air. Just as it was about to come back down though did the adept rogue realize what it was. “Sapphire!! Shield your eyes!! It’s a flash bomb-!!”

BOOM!!

“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-!”

Sapphire’s high pitch scream tore throughout the crystal empire, echoing into the frozen wastes surrounding it as many of the castle’s windows shattered violently. The small shadow filly curling into a ball a split second later as she covered her face with her hooves and wailed in unimaginable pain as smoke billowed from her pitch black fur.

“Sapphire!!” The rogue rushed over, trying to silence the ringing inside his head to hurry over to the filly and hold onto her. Picking her up and looking towards Twilight. “Find your brother and put the empire on lockdown! Nopony goes in or out, now!!”

No more than two seconds later did the princess teleport out of the room as the adept rogue tried to help the curled up filly. “Sapphire, it’s okay. I’m right here. Everything’s going to be okay,” As he said that, Haseo was frantically casting Repth to try and mend the filly’s pain. “Daddy’s here.”

Sapphire clung to Haseo as she continued to cry out in pain, seeming unresponsive to his words as he took notice of the smoke coming off her body. Taking a closer look at her face as her front hooves latched onto him, he then saw a large black holes with cracks expanding across her face from where her ‘eyes’ had previously been. “Oh my god…”

“Haseo!!” He turned around, seeing both Princess Celestia and Cadence at the end of the hall as they rushed over, before looking back and seeing the state that Sapphire was in. “By the stars, what happened here?!”

“Some yellow unicorn with a fire like mane tried to steal Twilight’s crown. But after catching her red-hoofed, she used some kind of flash bomb to escape. Now Sapphire’s in extreme pain and Twilight’s getting Shining to put the whole place on lockdown-” His gaze now looked towards Celestia, who she herself looked rather shock at the state that Sapphire was currently in. “D-do either of you know h-how to help her? I don’t want to lose her.”

All that had Celestia do was look towards Cadence, motioning for her to leave as she was the only on in there with her. “I know how… but if I do this, we keep this between ourselves. Do you understand?” All Haseo could do was nod, really hoping that she knew what to do to help her as the princess of the sun closed her eyes.

What he did not expect though was for when she opened them, her eyes began to glow green. Shadows emerging from the edges as her horn erupted with dark magical power. Directing the magic, she looked to Sapphire and had it go towards her. The dark energy heading towards the holes and filling the cracks that were around her eyes. As if they were never there to begin with.

All of which, made Haseo stare at her with utter disbelief. “Holy shit… You know dark magic?”

“It is a secret that I want to stay secret,” The princess told him directly. “Dark magic is one that's more like a force of reality on its own. The more that you try to control it and bend to your will, the more that it would act against you. If the rest of ponykind knew about this… I would be frightened by what would happen if they did.”

All Haseo did was nod, before looking down to Sapphire now. “Sapphire? Sapphire, can you hear me?” He didn't quite get a response, but from Saphire’s ragged breathing and the fact she had stopped screaming he had to hope the now unconscious filly was going to be alright as her fur seemed to reform all over her body including her face as Celestia stopped channeling the dark magic into her small form.

“She’ll need some rest. Light magic, the Crystal Heart or anything that’s too bright, can be severely damaging to an umbrum,” Celestia told him, before changing the topic a few seconds later. “Now, who is this ‘intruder’ that did this to her and attempted to steal from Twilight?”

“It was a unicorn mare. Fire like hair, yellow fur, cyan colored eyes,” The rogue recalled, setting Sapphire down on the rug in the middle of the room. “I couldn’t get her cutie mark or name, but she said something about ‘plans’. However, I couldn’t get her to elaborate on that-”

“There’s no need,” The princess told him, narrowing her eyes as she looked out towards the nearest window. “I know who she is.”

“Y-you do?” Haseo asked, baffled by what the princess said as well as her tone just now.

“Yes… and I was afraid that it would someday lead to something like this,” The alicorn told him. “For you see, Twilight wasn’t my only student. There was one other.”

“Spread out! The castle’s already locked down and we closed off the port of entry by the station! She couldn’t have gone that far!” One of the guards told a few other ponies as Sunset hid in between an alleyway. Trying to remain out of sight from them for the time being. From overhearing them, she realized that the mirror she used to come through here was in the castle and therefore, on lockdown. There was no way for her to be able to go back inside without the possibility of getting spotted by anypony.

Because of this, Sunset now had to find another way to get out of here, and fast. But because of her situation, she had rather limited options for doing so. Teleportation would track too much attention, the train station was more than likely closed off and there was no way that she could just ‘lay low’ with this many ponies searching for her. There had to be some kind of way for her to escape.

As she began to ponder her options though, a faint shimmer from the right side corner of her vision caught her attention. Two ponies emerged in front of some kind of globe like statue that glowed green, one a unicorn and the other was a pegasus. And they were talking to somepony else. With a quick spell, she amplified her hearing in order to catch wind of the conversation that was going on.

“What the hay do you mean the empire’s on lockdown?! What happened?”

“Somepony broke into the princesses chambers and then assaulted the daughter of Cadence’s protector. We’re on the lookout for her right now. Did your entire party make it through the chaos gate?”

“No, it was only the two of us. We were just completing a bounty!”

“Then follow me. We need all hooves on deck. We’re looking for a golden yellow unicorn with a fire like mane and tail.”

At that point, the three ponies that were talking soon began to follow the one that greeted them. Leaving a clear shot for Sunset to try and make it over there. If this device was some kind of gateway, then it was entirely possible that she could use it to get out of there! There was still hope! Placing the cloak she had back over her head, she galloped on over to where the ‘gate’ was and placing a hoof on it.

“G-get me out of here!”

No response… she was met with utter silence. As if it did not respond to her. “C-come on! H-how in the world is this supposed to-”

As she was tapping the structure with her hoof though, she heard something from behind her and turned. Only to have her cloak torn off and stuck to a nearby wall as a dagger held it in place. Looking at the direction where it came from, she laid eyes on the same pegasus from before, who now had two daggers attached to his forelegs as he spoke up. “Spearhead, let the general know we found her. We’ll do what we can to prevent her from escaping.”

“O-oh no!” Sunset panicked, quickly trying to come up with some kind of way to protect herself. She tried to form a barrier of magic after firing off two bolts at the pegasus, but it was too quick. Leading to it dash right at her before going into an upward somersault.

“Ghost falcon!!”

The unicorn’s eyes shrank the moment she saw the barrage of daggers flying directly towards her. At this point, fighting back seemed useless. She couldn’t be able to defend herself as she felt two of the knives graze her forelegs. Leading to her stumbling forward.

“Quick Step, our orders were to subdue her and bring her in alive,” The unicorn retorted as it wielded a tome next to her that Sunset had not seen before.

“Yeah yeah, I know. I only just grazed her so she wouldn’t be galloping anywhere,” The pegasus shrugged it off as he approached the unicorn. For Sunset though, she just wanted to leave. To get out of here. Not to come back and continue her plan, but out of fear.

Once more, she placed a hoof on the structure, speaking again. “P-please… get me out of here! I-i don’t care if you take me away to some burning ruined wasteland! Just help me!!”

Destination confirmed.

Instantly, the structure began to awaken and roar with life. Shocking the two that were pursuing her. “Aw buck!! She activated the gate! Wintergreen!!”

“I’m on it!! Go!!” The unicorn declared. “Zan Rom!!” Wind began to surge around them as the light around Sunset began to grow. But it was as the light was shining brighter that Sunset soon realized that this other unicorn was not trying to attack her.

She was accelerating her comrade forward. Getting him to bolt directly at her.

“You’re not GETTING AWAY!!!”

The last thing that could be seen by the unicorn before her vision went white was the face of the pegasus and the blade that was just mere inches away from her face. All before she was whisked away.

Moments after helping Sapphire’s injuries, Haseo and Celestia took the filly to his room. Setting her down on the bed and helping her in her recovery. As they waited, the princess told the rogue more about the pony that they encountered. The former student of Celestia’s who was taken on not long before Twilight was her student, but when she was not satisfied with the results of her teachings, she began to change. Becoming more cruel and dishonest over time and eventually, straying away from the princesses teachings and pursuing her own path. Yet, Celestia did not think that she would be so bold in order to do something like this.

But it was as she was finished speaking that the two of them finally were given a sign of hope. Sapphire was beginning to slowly wake up.

“Nngh… no… not my eyes…” Sapphire whimpered as she flailed her front legs a bit as if searching for something. It seemed she hadn't noticed that she had been healed as she tried to feel around with her front legs and right herself on the bed calling out to Haseo as she stumbled about.

“S-sapphire?” Haseo spoke up, before rushing over to the filly. “Oh my god, Sapphire!” He held her in his hands before slowly pulling her in for a hug. She could feel a tear or two going down the side of his face as he continued to speak. “Y-you had me so worried!”

Sapphire hugged Haseo back, her small body trembling as she did so. “I-It hurt papa… I felt the magic compromising my eyes being stripped away and destroyed almost as if I was being eaten alive by an angry swarm of miniature lightning bolts…!” She proceeded to cry into his chest, both scared from the trauma she just went through but also happy that Haseo was right there as he promised he would be and even more happy to be alive.

“Sapphire, your eyes are okay…” He interrupted her, still holding her. “We healed them. Have you tried opening them?”

“T-they were… healed?” Sapphire said, confused before attempting to open them. Sluggishly managing to open them successfully. “W-what!? H-how!?” She then sputtered in shock, her body trembling more as she felt her face with her hooves to be sure she wasn't imagining this… Although, there was a small detail that seemed off. Her eyes, which were once a vibrant crystal blue, now held slight specks of discoloration in places that would occasionally flicker red or green.

“I’m relieved to see that you are okay, young one,” The two of them heard Celestia speak now as Haseo turned towards her.

“E-eep!” Sapphire squeaked as she tried to hide herself within Haseo’s arms, her grip on Haseo tightening.

“Sapphire, it’s okay! She’s the one who healed your eyes.” The rogue told her, trying his best to calm the filly down.

Giving Haseo the filly equivalent of a thousand mile stare, Sapphire relayed her doubts and confusion to him silently. She trusted Haseo, but it was far too soon for her to trust a pony. And with how she hadn't stopped shivering, it was obvious it was going to take some convincing for the traumatized filly.

“Allow me,” Within seconds, Celestia used the same magic she once did before. Darkness forming around her as a green hue simmered from her eyes. She only did this briefly, shortly before dismissing it. “I used the power I know from dark magic to restore your sight. I know that you don’t trust me… but I can’t just sit around and watch a young filly like you suffer in pain and lose the gift of sight.”

Sapphire seemed to freeze, not blinking, shivering, or even breathing as she stared at Celestia. “Y-you c-c-can use… d-dark magic!?” She seemed to mewl, shrinking into herself a bit as here eyes became metaphorical pinpricks. “Y-you didn't do anything other than try and fix my eyes did you...?” Her paranoia seemed to be rising as she began to twitch, the filly uncertain of how to check if she had been meddled with in any way aside from the restoration of her eyes. Matters certainly were not helped by the fact that Sapphire had a deep rooted mistrust for ponies and that the one who apparently healed her was none other than Celestia… one of the rulers of ponykind.

Of course, all the princess did was shake her head. “No. I wouldn’t do anything to harm a young filly like yourself. Especially since you’re Haseo’s daughter. He was the one who asked me if there was a way to save you. He was scared and worried about you after what happened and didn’t want to lose you.”

Sapphire looked up at Haseo silently as she heard this… before snuggling into him with a bone crushing hug as she whispered “Thank you…” to the rogue, a black tear streaking down her muzzle at the mixture of emotions running through her. She still couldn't trust ponies, probably never would, but she knew that in this world that there was one being that would always be there for her whom would love her and that she could trust. And that, was all she needed in this life.

To Haseo though, he felt that the thank you that he heard was supposed to be said to both him and Celestia. But instead of trying to correct her, he instead just held her closer. Holding her tightly. He wanted to tell her about who did this, but he felt that doing so would be too soon. It would be better for them to just enjoy the moment.

Unfortunately, the moment was interrupted by a knock on the door. “Um, hello? Are you in here, Haseo?”

“Yeah, Cadence. Come on in,” The rogue spoke, shortly before the door opened and the alicorn trotted inside. She turned to see him, before noticing that Sapphire was now awake and healed. Something that was beyond surprised to her. “Sapphire just woke up, so let’s try to take it easy.”

“I’m so glad she’s okay,” Cadence let out a sigh of relief. “I was worried about you after seeing what happened earlier. How did you help her?”

For a moment, Haseo turned to Celestia, shortly before the adept rogue let out a sigh. “Let’s just say that’s for us to know. Is everything going okay right now? Did you find the mare who did this?”

The question was met with a look of uncertainty by the princess of love as she looked back at all three of them in the room. Part of her really did not want to break the news to them after finding out that Sapphire was okay. Yet, another part of her thought that it would be better for her to say it rather than having it be abruptly brought to their attention by somepony else. “Yeah, about that-”

Unfortunately, that was when the latter scenario kicked into high gear. “WHAT THE BUCK DO YOU MEAN THAT SHE ESCAPED!?!!” The voice boomed from that of General Ironwings as she stood in front of two new recruits. Quick Step, a pegasus who now wore the equipment that would normally be seen on a twin blade, and Wintergreen, a unicorn who was wearing the robes of a shadow warlock and had a grimoire to match.

“General, if you can please just let us explain,” The unicorn spoke. “We had her cornered in the main square, but somehow, she was able to get the Chaos Gate to activate and it took her away before Quick Step could be able to grab and subdue her-.”

“Oh no.” Haseo muttered, looking down to Sapphire and still holding her close. Going as far as to close the windows to block out the conversation so she didn’t hear what they were saying. He was concerned that if she heard anymore about the one who harmed her, she would have a breakdown that was on the same level as when they were separated. Maybe even worse.

“Cadence, could you leave us for a moment? I think it would be better if we were filled in on the situation later,” Celestia soon spoke up, noticing the change in Haseo’s expressions and how Sapphire was reacting to what she heard outside. Cadence herself acknowledged her aunt’s request, stepping out and closing the door behind her.

“I-it… e-escaped…?” Sapphire stuttered, having gone rigid and cold to the touch.

“Not it… She…” Celestia told her, “But I know for certain that your father would not allow for you to be harmed like that again…” There was a bit of a pause to her words though. Something that Haseo picked up on quickly.

“P-p-ponies… Scary… Why must they always… Hurt me…” Sapphire half muttered to herself half asked as she seemed to be zoning out, making one question if her hearing was working.

“Sapphire, it’s going to be okay…” Haseo assured her, before noticing the change on Celestia’s face now. “What is it? You seem to have something on your mind… Is it about her? The one you call Sunset Shimmer?”

All Celestia did was nod in response. “I told you that I once took her under my wing as a student, but when she did not get what she wanted, her actions and motives changed. But one thing always remained the same. Whenever something did not go her way, she would always remain defiant,” The princess stopped for a moment, before looking back at them now once she thought of the words. “She would never run like what she did just now… there’s a part of me that thinks that she’s scared.”

“That doesn’t excuse what she did to Sapphire-”

“And I’m not saying that it does,” Celestia quickly retorted. “I’m just… worried that this would cause even more damage than she already has done. And I don’t want to see that happen.”

At the moment, the rogue kind of knew what she was implying. But then again, there was a lot on their minds right now. Though, one thing was for certain. “Princess, I’m going to be with Sapphire for a while and calm her down. I’ll come back out when I’m ready.”

The princess of the sun acknowledge the request, before trotting over to the door and walking out. Leaving the rogue alone with his daughter as he tried to help her cope through the traumatic experience that she just endured.

Meanwhile…

“Alright, you two. Now, start from the beginning.” Shining Armor spoke as he looked at the two most recent members to join the royal guard, Quick Step and Wintergreen. After overhearing the outburst from General Ironwings earlier, Shining took it upon himself to bring both the pegasus and unicorn inside the castle so they could report what happened without the changeling trying to interrupt them. Yet, he wasn’t just having them report to him though. In the room, three of the four princesses were in the main hall of the castle alongside Sunburst, the royal crystaller.

“Before what happened in the main square, the two of us were undergoing training with our fellow recruits, Spearhead and Ash,” Wintergreen started off. “We were split into groups of two and tasked with taking on a bounty at the quest counter before coming back. When we returned, we found Spearhead and he informed us about how the entire Crystal Empire was on Lockdown.”

“And after that?”

Now the pegasus took his turn in speaking as he looked back at the Captain of the guard. “After he told us what was going on, Spearhead was going to take us to the general. However, as we were leaving, I saw a mare in a cloak rush over to the terminal for the Chaos Gate and acted as if touching it would cause it to activate. It was then that I got a bit suspicious and used a throwing dagger to tear off the cloak, which in turn revealed the suspect that the guard was trying to apprehend. We attempted to follow standard procedure for apprehending her, even using one of my skills to break through a shield she cast with her magic, but just when we thought that we had her, she said something, the chaos gate activated and took her away.”

“Just like that?” Shining asked, wanting to make sure that there were no details left out of the equation. Their answer was just a simple nod, prompting the unicorn to ask another question. “What did you try to do to subdue the subject?”

“Some of my daggers grazed the edge of her forelegs. Not to the point where it would be a direct wound, but just a scratch and a few lost hairs of fur,” The pegasus said again. “It was intended to slow the subject down if they attempted to run.”

“I see,” Luna now spoke up, just before noticing Celestia come through the doors of the hallway. “Would you happen to know at all what the subject said?”

“If I have to be honest, it sounded less like she had some kind of plan, but more as if she was acting out of desperation. She said that she wanted to get out of there and didn’t care if took her to, and I quote, ‘to some burning ruined wasteland’.” Upon first hearing that, there looked to be an exchange of glances between some of the ponies who were there, including amongst all four princesses. Trying to understand what it could mean.

“Area words.”

Now everypony looked back towards where Sunburst was standing, all while Cadence raised an eyebrow. “Come again, Sunburst?”

“It’s how a Chaos Gate functions. One of the things that Haseo told me and that we’ve been trying to teach the newest recruits of the guard is how to use Chaos Gates,” The unicorn followed this up by using his magic to project what looked like the chaos gate in the main square alongside three small boxes. “In order to use a chaos gate, you can’t just tell it where you want to go like ‘Ponyville’ or ‘Canterlot’. Instead, you need to put in a combination of three words, or area words, that will take you to the destination that corresponds with it.”

“So you’re saying that her plea… caused the gate to activate?” Luna now asked as Sunburst dismissed his spell and readjusted his glasses, a puzzled expression on the princesses face.

“It’s all possible. Though, from the sounds of it, the unicorn sounded as if they were afraid of what would happen if she was caught,” His words were followed by a nod from Wintergreen, who also acknowledged the same thing. Yet, there was one more thing on the stallion’s mind that he had to ask. “If I may though, do we have any idea who this pony actually is though?”

Silence began to echo through the room as everypony looked back at one another. That was, until one of the ponies who just walked in a few moments ago began to speak. “I know who she is.”

“P-princess Celestia?” Twilight now asked. “You do?”

“Indeed. At first, I was a bit unsure. But after hearing Haseo’s encounter with her that started this chain of events, I can confirm who she is,” The diarch of the sun replied back, looking now towards the princess of friendship as she spoke. “Her name is Sunset Shimmer. She was once a student of mine, beginning her studies not long before you started learning from my own teachings, Twilight. However, over the course of time, she became dissatisfied with the lack of results from what I taught her. In turn, it lead to her becoming more deceitful and dishonest before eventually straying away and pursuing her own path. Yet… I never even thought once that it would come to something like this.”

“What exactly happened in this ‘encounter’ with Haseo?” Cadence asked.

In turn, Celestia herself expelled a deep breath. Before she told everypony what the rogue had originally told. “She attempted to steal Twilight’s crown, thinking that she could use it as a conduit for some kind of plan of hers. However, before she could get away, Haseo caught her and attempted to get her to give it up with Sapphire helping him… However, when Twilight woke up, she used a flash bomb and dropped her bags before getting away, forcing Haseo to rush over to Sapphire instead of pursuing her.”

“If I may interject,” Wintergreen spoke up. “What would be the reason why Haseo would not pursue her?”

“It’s because what Sunset did, even though it might have been unintentional, did something horrible,” Celestia explained, looking to her sister briefly before looking back at everypony else. “Umbrums like Sapphire have two main weaknesses. The first is the magic of the crystal heart and the second is any major form of light. The amount of light that went off in the room because of the flash bomb severely injured her. If Haseo wasn’t there to help heal her in time…” At that point, the princess paused. Thinking of the right way to phrase it, before deciding to just tell it straight up front. “She could’ve gone permanently blind.”

A couple of gasps went off in the room. Especially from Twilight. The thought of the little filly that was on the train with her losing her sight? That was too cruel to even think of. “I-is she okay?”

“She’s awake now, but I fear that the scars of what happened would be lingering around for a long while,” Celestia responded back. “Aside from that, I believe we all know what happened soon afterwards.”

“That just leaves us with only one question. What exactly are we going to do now?” Shining now asked. “I mean, how exactly are we supposed to find her? Who knows where the Chaos Gate possibly took her?”

“Now that you mention it… there might be one possibility,” Sunburst then spoke up, before turning to the pegasus in question. “Quick Step, do you still have your blades?”

“Yes, but I haven’t had the chance to clean them up after what happened earlier,” The pegasus responded as he took them out to show them. Though, it was as Sunburst was looking closer at the blades that Quick Step had a question for him. “Do you need them by chance? I can give them to you-”

“You don’t need to give that to me,” The crystaller interjected, before using his magic as it appeared to pull something that was caught between the edge of the blade and the hilt on both weapons. “I just needed this.”

For a moment, Twilight and Wintergreen both blinked, before realizing what he was holding onto. “Is that-?”

“Fur. And if it’s what I think it is, it’s Sunset’s fur,” Sunburst told them. “If we can figure out a tracking spell using this, then maybe we can determine her location. Though, our first priority should be to make sure that the Crystal Empire’s back to normal now.”

“The lockdown’s already lifted, but we still are going to happen to open an investigation into all of this,” Shining Armor then spoke up. “Wintergreen, Quick Step, I want you to collect the saddlebag that Sunset dropped on the third floor and bring it over to the barracks. We’re going to need to take a look inside there and see what other clues might be hiding. Otherwise, you’re dismissed”

“Yes sir!” Both ponies saluted, before heading to the stairwell to complete the task they were assigned.

“What should we do though?” Twilight now asked.

“In the meantime, you should head back to Ponyville with Spike after the summit. In addition, since Haseo is likely to be caring for Sapphire, I’ll have to assign you another guard to take his place for your train ride back,” Shining told her. “If we make any breakthroughs on the investigation, we’ll send you a letter.”

With that though, everypony else seemed to part ways as they all went back to their personal quarters. Although, as Celestia was going back with her own sister, Luna had a question for her sister.

“Tia, would you care to tell me who this ‘Sapphire’ is? I don’t believe I have ever met her before.”

Elsewhere...

As her eyes began to adjust once more, Sunset Shimmer began to realize that as of right now, she was no longer in the Crystal Empire. In fact, she was not in any local city or town at all. The unicorn woke up to find herself in the middle of a barren and broken wasteland that was dried up of any fauna or plant life. She had seen the place before, but only in the pages of geography books when she once lived in Canterlot. Dry winds were blowing as she began to look around and realize where she ended up.

She was in the badlands. And right when a raging dust storm was beginning to take form. Panic began to set in as the unicorn mustered any strength that she had to try and get away from the storm. Yet, despite her best attempts, Sunset found herself caught in the storm. Blurring her vision as it made it harder for her to see where she was going. The numerous stones and pieces of rocky terrain were just mere shadows as she attempted to cross through.

Upon reaching one of the basins that was closest to her, she had to use her hoof to find if there was an opening. She could’ve used her magic, but right now, Sunset was already using it so that she could try to see through the storm. Though, as she inched closer, one of the rocks she was touching gave way. Causing the unicorn to stumble and fall forward down a deep section of rock that was in the earth.

Yet, as she struggled to get up on her hooves again, that was when she found something. She found what looked like an underground hive, or to be more precise, what remained. The walls were covered in cracks by the hundreds, each revealing an unnatural black abyss with white pixelated ones and zeros fading in and out, like a dying light clinging to whatever it could. The floors were mostly the same, only the opposite with wide holes that changed from black to red like a siren, and the white numbers within changing every five seconds. It seemed almost like a parasite had taken hold over the place.

Looking at the hive, part of her thought that going inside would be a bad idea. But it was either this or trying to find her way through the storm again. Treading carefully, she began to trot towards the front of the hive. Going through a hole in the wall that appeared to be the entrance. What she saw though really through her off guard.

There were changelings here. Not just one, but patrols of them. Each one was projecting a green field and they all were patrolling around a platform that looked to be held up by natural threads as if it were a chandelier hanging over them. The platform was kept together by walls all around it, but Sunset wondered what it was supposed to be. Was it some kind of prison cell, holding something in? Or was it the home of whoever lived here?

Whatever it was, she felt compelled to get a closer look. To save her magic, she began to climb up the side of a nearby cocoon. Being careful with the placement of her hooves as she climbed up carefully. The higher she rose up, the better of an angle that she could see the top of the platform that all the threads were holding up. But what she saw… confused her.

“A door?”

Seconds after saying that, Sunset covered her mouth with a hoof. Worried that the drones could’ve heard her. However, they did not seem to hear her words or even notice her presence. Which was a sigh of relief as she continued to climb. The goal for her was that if she could climb high enough, she could easily be able to use a small amount of magic to teleport herself to the top. Something that wasn’t relatively too hard considering everything that she had been through so far.

After landing on the top of the cube though, that was when she began to use her magic on the handle of the door. However, any attempts to pull the door open ended up being unsuccessful. “Darn it. Out of all the things that have been thrown at me, how is opening a door the hardest-?” Just as she said that though, she twisted the handle again but didn’t pull. And as the door fell open, Sunset felt herself getting yanked inside. “Agh!”

After the unicorn fell inside, she found herself lying on what looked like a spider like creature with wings as she slowly began to raise her head up into the air. Upon looking around, she found herself in what looked like the changeling equivalent of a nursery that ponykind would have. However, there was one major difference.

In one corner of the room, there was a small girl. She was playing with a larvae like worm, but Sunset was more shocked of the fact that there was another human here. The only ones that she had seen up until today were from the other side of the mirror. As of now, she has seen two of them in Equestria.

The girl looked at her dead in the eye, unphased by her entrance. She looked like a corpse, and if not for her fingers continuing to toy with the worm, Sunset would’ve thought that be true.

The unicorn soon felt the need to say something as she looked at the girl. Even if she looked unphased, she felt that her entrance might’ve startled her. “Um, h-hi?”

The human tilted her head, expression not changing. “Are you lost, pony?”

“M-maybe…” Sunset said, looking back at her. “Where am I?”

“The word eludes me. Many words do.” The girl said, her tone never shifting. Never diverging. “I forget and remember, such is the way I am. Perhaps you would call this place mine.”

“Yours? Like your home?” She asked her, slightly puzzled by the girls choice of words.

“Home…” The word sounded foreign on her lips, and there was a hint of… something. Confusion, perhaps? “I do not believe that word is correct. I merely exist here, for now. What about you, stranger?”

The girl, oddly enough, brought up a valid point. What about her? It was something that Sunset had to comprehend to herself, before actually answering her. “I once had a home… but I was forced out. All I wanted was to understand what I can do with magic, yet my teacher Celestia did not approve of it. So I ran… Now, I feel as if I’m in an Equestria I no longer recognize.”

“I detect a large quantity of similarities between us. Strange…” She pondered for a moment as she pulled the two ends of her worm till the little creature was severed in two uneven halves. It was a sight that made Sunset twitch for a moment, and made her to try to come up with something to say so she did not have to focus on that.

“Do you… have a name?”

“I forgot most of it. Mor is all I recall, so I redubbed myself ‘Morti’.” The pale girl crushed the larger half of her ‘toy’ in the palm of her hand, uncaring.

“I’m Sunset… Sunset Shimmer,” The unicorn introduced herself, before thinking of something to ask her. “Um, Morti? I know this may sound a bit sudden to be asking, but can I stay here? I don’t really have anywhere else to go.”

Morti stayed silent for a moment, before nodding faintly. “I cannot calculate a reason not to. But you mustn't leave.”

“With the way things are right now, I don’t think I’ll be leaving anytime soon,” Sunset told her, trotting closer to her. Half tempted to hug her as a sign of thanks, before deciding to go all in and wrapping her front hooves around the girl in a warm embrace. “I don’t think you know how much this means to me. Thank you so much.”

Morti leaned into the embrace, though unsure what was happening. “There is no need for this.” She piped up.

“You… haven’t felt a hug before?” Sunset questioned, looking back at her with a raised eyebrow. “Morti, if I may ask, how long have you been here for?”

“Five months, one week and three days.” Morti replied matter-of-factly. “While I have been active for five months, two weeks and seven days.”

“Dear stars, you’ve been by yourself for that long? That sounds horrible,” Sunset cursed to herself, trying to remain positive despite everything she heard Morti tell her. “At least, I’ll be here now so you don’t have to feel alone anymore.”

Morti analyzed Sunset silently for a moment. She wasn’t entirely sure what the orange mare was getting at. “You don’t need to concern yourself with my well being. I am not like ordinary organics. Co-com-co-... fellowship is not a necessity I require.” She struggled a bit with her words, but quickly found an alternative.

“O-okay then.” Sunset nodded her head in response, not entirely sure of what to say next afterwards. It felt off, but it was something that she could concern herself with later.

“What is your primary directive?” Morti interrogated.

Sunset blinked, startled by the sudden question and the words used to phrase it. “P-primary w-what?” She asked, looking back at her with a confused look. “W-what do you mean?”

“Your ultimate objective. Your… p-purpose?” The last word sounded alien to the pale girl. Hearing the last part had her raise an eyebrow, but the unicorn let out a sigh as she began to think a bit before responding.

“Well… before I met you, I ended up trying to do something that right now, I’m beginning to regret. But with the way things are, I can’t just go back and ask for forgiveness. Not after everything I’ve been through,” She said, looking as if she was pondering on something, before fully answering her. “So… right now, my purpose is to learn. I want to learn the things that most ponies would rather just have locked up or hidden away. If I can be able to understand how some of these things work… understand what has caused parts of Equestria to change.”

“And then what?”

Sunset only had one thing to say in response. “Survive. I won’t be able to get any farther if I just end up dying out in a wasteland now, would I?”

Morti began to float in mid air, her white dress flowing in a non-existent wind. “Then join me.”

Now the unicorn blinked, caught off guard by the girl floating in the middle of the room. She had no wings, so how was she able to do that? “J-join you?”

“Yes. I require others to help me regain the rest of my code.” Morti answered without hesitation. “I am but a mere fr-frac- sliver of my former self. I was barely able to convert the locals. The most likely scenario, if I were to act in this state, would not be favorable.”

“She’s only a piece of her former self?” The unicorn thought to herself. She used this revelation to prepare and formulate her next question. “Do you think that your… code contains the memories that you once had?”

“It is very likely. I also calculate that it also has around ninety two percent of my strength and power.” Morti stated. “What you see before you is but the base code, or the ‘skeleton’, if you would prefer. My memory is highly unstable, and in my current state I won’t last longer than a year.”

“But with my help… that can change?” The unicorn now asked her.

“My chances would significantly improve.” Morti looked up towards the hatch in the ceiling. “I’ll grant you administrative access to the hive.”

Sunset thought it over for a few moments, before nodding her head as she made her decision. “Alright. I’ll do it. What would I be looking for?”

“There are eight fragments, each taking the form of something… of a substantial size. You locate it, and use the hive to weaken them, and then I’ll join you to assimilate the data.” Morti donned the ghost of a smile. All while Sunset nodded in response as she looked towards the latch in the ceiling. Though, she had one final question for the young girl.

“Sounds simple enough… Where should I begin looking?”

“There is a small town below the capital. I believe the hive thought that place important. Burn it down, if you have to.”

16- Facing Fears

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The Terror of Death- Facing Fears

In the days after the incident involving the unicorn named Sunset Shimmer that led to her escape, the Crystal Empire had been busy trying to get things back to the way things were before the incident. Unfortunately, several ponies could not really forget about what had happened. Some of those ponies included General Ironwings and Shining Armor, who had immediately organized new training routines for every member of the royal guard to follow if this type of incident were to repeat itself. Cadance herself agreed with the fact that they needed to keep the empire’s citizens safe, but was worried that both of them would take things a little too far.

For Haseo though, he was focused on something different entirely, but it was something that, to him, was rather concerning. That being Sapphire. Ever since the incident with Sunset and learning that the one who harmed her had escaped, her personality had drastically changed. It was getting to the point that after watching her for a couple of days, he felt that something had to be done and he could not put it off.

Which is why after being briefed about the progress of the training by Shining Armor one evening, he decided to ask for help from the one pony he thought would be the most experienced on the matter. “Cadance, can I talk with you for a moment?”

At first, the princess of love and her husband seemed a bit puzzled. Normally, Haseo would keep to himself and only comment either when they asked for his input or believed it was necessary. So hearing him ask her a question was a bit bizarre at first. “S-sure, Haseo. Is something the matter?”

“I… need some help,” He told her, letting out a small breath in the process. “It’s about Sapphire.”

That had both the unicorn and alicorn look at each other for a moment. Normally, when the subject of the little shadow pony came up, it involved him having to apologize for whatever antics happened during the course of the day. Up until now, there was never a moment where Haseo had legitimately asked for advice when it came to her. “What seems to be the problem? Did she do something?” Shining asked, his tone giving the implication that she did something wrong.

“No no, she didn’t do anything,” the adept rogue was quick to respond on that, “It’s more like something that’s been on the back of my mind. It’s been distracting me throughout the last couple of days and it breaks my concentration when I’m practicing in combat against Kite and BlackRose. Heck, BlackRose actually beat me in one match because of it,” As he spoke, Haseo scratched the back of his head, before emphasizing the main point. “I’m worried about how she’s behaving. How she’s seeing ponykind after… well… Sunset.”

That had Cadance’s eyes widen for a bit, before she decided to ask a bit more. “What’s wrong?”

“Well, she’s keeping herself isolated in our home, doesn’t come with me whenever I go outside to check on how everything is going on, and I also hear her say to herself that ponies are scary… and that they’re out to hurt her,” the adept rogue recalled everything he could from the past two days, “I’m worried that her encounter with Sunset is leading to her thinking that all of ponykind are just like her. I want to try and tell her that isn’t true, but I’m worried that what I might say could do more harm than good.”

That was definitely a bit of a difficult position to be in. One that Cadance did not entirely know how to help with upon first hearing that. Though, as she was thinking, that was when Shining decided to speak up. “That… almost reminds me of when I was helping raise Twilight.”

Haseo blinked at that, before looking back at him. “It does? How?”

“Well, when we were much younger, we had a neighbor that had a dog as a pet. It was a medium size germane shepherd that was rather loyal to its owner. Yet, whenever we see that neighbor walking the dog on the way home from magic kindergarten, it would bark at us. Probably because it thought that we were trying to do harm to its owner,” the unicorn began to recall the story from his foalhood, “I shrugged it off, thinking it was no big deal. But Twilight? She began to think that all dogs were mean because of her encounters with the dog that belonged with our neighbor.”

That… almost sounded a lot like the current situation with Sapphire, but with a few differences. Yet, Haseo was not entirely if he was understanding what Shining Armor was trying to say. “I think I’m following you so far… but how did you resolve that-?”

“That… was actually something that I didn’t tell Cadance about, because the method we used to resolve it was actually kind of… well, embarrassing,” Shining admitted, “With my fathers help, we had Twilight learn that just because one being acts a different way doesn’t mean that all beings do so… and we demonstrated that by dad using a spell and turning me into a dog.”

The thought of that alone was enough to make Cadance giggle, especially when she looked back at her husband. “Aw man… where was I when this happened?”

“This happened when I was a colt, so it was a few years before we met,” the unicorn admitted, “Of course, it did feel weird to be a completely different creature, but hey. I was more than willing to do it if I could somehow help Twilight overcome her fears,” Shining then looked back to Haseo, letting out a small sigh before speaking, “I’m not sure how that helps with Sapphire though-”

“Actually… I think it does,” the adept rogue admitted as he looked back at the two of them, “Not to mention that I think both of you just gave me an idea. That is… if you’re okay with helping me pull this off.”

Next Morning…

When Haseo woke up, he was already beginning to feel the adamant effects of his ‘idea’ beginning to run its course as he slowly got up. Dragging himself over to the kitchen as he was trying to process everything that was going on inside his head. He knew that the changes were going to happen while he was sleeping, yet he did not think it would happen so quickly. But at least he was up and moving before Sapphire. So right now, he was trying to make the best of it.

Of course, it was as he was trying to get breakfast ready in his newfound form that the filly saw him. Followed by a reaction that part of him expected, but it still startled him nonetheless at this hour in the morning.

As Sapphire peeked into the kitchen, having heard the sounds of small hoofsteps not her own, she screeched in shock before tripping backwards while sputtering gibberish as she flailed in shock. “Fil… pa…? Wha… ha…!?”

“Sapphire, calm down… it’s me,” Haseo assured her, even though he was now in the form of an earth pony colt instead of his normal human body.

“HOW!?” Was all Sapphire was able to squeak out as she twitched in ways that were not possible for normal ponies.

“I asked for help,” he simplified, not wanting her to go after Shining and Cadance if he told her that they were involved… well, not just yet anyways, “Could you please calm down and let me explain?”

“G-g-give me… a… m-m-inute…” Sapphire managed to say as she turned around… and launched herself into the bed in her room, causing multiple pillows to explode or go flying into the living room as a muffled scream leaked from her landing point. Haseo though just waited patiently for the screams to die down after which she seemed to be dragging herself back over, feathers sticking out of her fur and mane all over. “I-i’m… listening~?” She finally said with a barely-holding-it-together tone.

“Alright. To put it simply, ever since… the incident, I’ve been noticing that you’ve been acting differently and it made me worried,” the colt began to tell her, “I was beginning to think that you thought that all ponies were just… monsters that wanted to hurt you after what happened. So, I talked with both Cadance and Shining about it, expressing my concerns and wanting their advice. Oddly enough, a story that Shining told me gave me the idea to be turned into this because… even though I might be a pony, you still care for me and I care for you. I want to help you overcome those fears you have, Sapphire.”

Sapphire was unable to meet Haseo’s gaze as he spoke, a complicated expression coming over her face. “I-I see… Um, Papa?” Sapphire then managed to peek up at him, but was unable to hold her gaze in his direction as she guiltily looked at the floor. “A-are you… s-sure this is a g-good idea?”

“Sapphire… I would do anything to make sure that you are okay, even do this. You are my daughter and I care deeply for you,” the rogue explained to her, “I want you to be able to fight your fears. I want for you to be brave… I don’t want you to be scared anymore, Sapphire.”

Sapphire finally stopped twitching, but now she wasn't moving at all as black tears began to gather at the corners of her eyes. With a small whimper she then tackle-glomped Haseo and hugged him as if she was clinging on for dear life. “Waaa-! Papa!” She finally bawled out as her accumulated stress finally broke down her emotional barriers.

All Haseo did was let Sapphire hug him, wrapping an arm around her to return the hug and let her just let it all out. “There there… everything is going to be okay.”

“C-can I confess something papa…?” Sapphire asked guiltily, obviously worried as her grip started to become closer and closer to the grasp of a boa constrictor unconsciously.

“S-sure… what is it, Sapphire?” He asked, trying to not give off the impression that Sapphire was choking the life out of him.

“I-I don't… k-know if I can look at a pony, even if it's you… I’m sorry!” She blurted out as her face scrunched up, her grip finally loosening a bit moments later due to her noticing in a small moment of panic how tightly she was hugging Haseo.

“Sapphire… You’re judging your view on ponies based on one of them. One pony’s actions don’t represent the entire species as a whole,” He told her, “Besides… if it weren’t for Cadance, you wouldn’t be here with me right now.

“T-thats…” Sapphire began, before her face gained an extremely pained expression. “That pony… the only thing she was first at, was doing potentially permanent damage to me, if it wasn't for c-c-c-cel… sunbutt.”

“Sapphire… can I ask you something?” Haseo then spoke to her, “If you were working hard on some kind of scheme… like… stealing a cake meant for a party, but you were caught in the act… what would you do?”

“... Depending on my distance from the cake, either grab it or not then run as I have magic lasers and whatnot being launched my way?” Sapphire asked, suspiciously sounding as if she was talking from experience.

Haseo though, just didn’t pay attention to it as he continued, “Sapphire, when a plan you work really hard on goes wrong, most ponies would immediately panic and do something to get out of there without being caught. They don’t intend to harm ponies and then escape into the night because they have their backs against the wall… now, do you understand why I’m telling you this?”

“... no?” Sapphire admitted, trying to comprehend what he was saying through her… slightly warped understanding of ponies.

“What I’m saying is that when… you were hurt, the pony who did it didn’t intentionally try to harm you. They weren’t going after you with a vengeance, they did not have a manifesto, nor did they have a prepared speech that would go along the lines of ‘You killed my father. Now, you will die’,” Haseo explained, “She was scared… as anypony in a place completely unfamiliar to them would be. Heck… when I first came here, part of me was scared too.”

“You… were scared when you came to Equestria?” Sapphire asked, letting go of Haseo and giving him some breathing room as she latched onto one of her nearby pillows so that she wouldn't risk crushing him again with her need to hold something. It was totally for stress relief, yes stress relief… nothing strange hidden in her small inhuman mind at all.

“Oh definitely…” He told her. “One moment, I was at a get-together with my friends, I black out and the next thing I knew, I woke up in the frozen wastes outside of the empire. Separated from my friends, family and everything that I knew. When I was found, Sombra, who was only a chancellor of the princess insisted that they should just kill me and be done with it… But it was Princess Amore, Cadance’s mother, who actually gave me the chance to live. Gave me the chance to learn about my predicament, where I was… and if at all possible, find a way to send me home. Looking back at that though… I’m glad she didn’t find a way to send me back.”

“How come?”

“Well… for one thing, the Crystal Empire feels like my home now… and if I were back where I came from, I never would have met you.” He said to her.

Sapphire buried her face in her pillow, her ears turning an odd color as she muttered to herself.

“Sapphire, can I ask you one thing? Just one,” he said, before looking back at the umbrum filly. “Can you give ponykind a chance? Just like how Amore gave me one?”

“... I-I don’t k-know… but for you, I’ll try.” She squeaked out in a small voice.

Haseo smiled at that, before looking back at her, “That means so much to me,” The colt told her, coaxing the filly to hug him once again as they held each other close. “I love you, Sapphire.”

Sapphire’s entire body suddenly matched the odd coloration of her ears, which came off as a light cyan. “Papa’s not fair…” She pouted in embarrassment.

“I think you mean ‘I love you too’,” He chuckled in response, patting her on the head. Sapphire had no way to respond to something like that and could only sulk in embarrassment, but it was as she was sulking that Haseo came up with an idea. “How about after we eat, you and I can play some games. Cadance gave me the day off from any important duties, so I can spend all day with you today.”

“Really?”

“Yup,” He smiled, “I know you like to have fun with all the things I got for you at the toy store, but I think sometimes it’s fun to play with someone too. You can even play games like Hide and Seek.”

“What kind of game is hide and seek?” Sapphire asked, slightly curious since she lacked the common sense of Haseo and the ponies.

That had Haseo blink for a moment, surprised that she did not know about it. “You mean that you don’t know?” His question was followed by Sapphire shaking her head, which had the colt grin for a moment. “Hide and Seek is a game where one person does their best to hide from someone who tries to find them. But the one who’s hiding can’t move around, so they have to be creative in order to try and conceal their presence from the one who’s trying to find them.”

A small glint appeared in Sapphire’s eyes before she became contemplative. “And ponies play games like this? Is it some kind of special training?”

“No. They actually do it because it’s fun.”

“I see. So how do you play? Something like this sounds like it requires more than just two.” Sapphire, forgetting her earlier mood, began to relax a bit.

“Well, how about we try one and see?” He suggested, “Close your eyes and count to ten. Afterwards, try to come find me. Though, you can’t use magic since that would be cheating.” Sapphire, though she seemed hesitant, did what he asked for her to do. Closing both of her eyes and counting to ten before opening them back up again. Haseo was no longer where he was standing before, leaving the room empty as she looked around.

For a split second, Sapphire seemed to become worried, before swallowing and mustering her spirits. “Alright, no magic is allowed, but I wonder,” She muttered to herself before stopping. “No, that's a bad idea. If someone barged in, it could get dangerous. I’ll just have to do this by hoof.” and not much later she began to search, doing her best to stick to what an earth pony was capable of.

She began in the kitchen where she was, searching all the places a non shapeshifter colt could fit in. She looked in the pantry, finding nothing other than a jar of cookies in the pantry. Taking the jar with her, she munched her way to the living room, then she searched everywhere else. One room or space at a time and throwing the now empty jar of cookies onto the floor until all that was left to check was her room and Haseo’s.

“Hmm…” She contemplated the safety of entering Haseo's room to search it, but decided that she didn't feel like checking for traps today. So she went into her room, preparing to search. Even though she was not expecting for him to be here.

Though, it was as she was looking around that she saw something that stood out to her. A white brush like tail that was behind her oversized Ursa plushie. “Found you!” She shouted and tackled him.

“Gah!” He yelped, caught off guard by the sudden glomp from the umbrum as he looked back at her. “G-guess you did find me. How did you like it?”

At first, the shadow filly was silent as she tried to come up with an answer. But after thinking for a bit, she thought of what she saw as the right thing to say. “I was kinda scared at first… but I guess it was a little fun?” Sapphire admitted, nuzzling into him.

“I’m glad that you like it,” He told her, welcoming the nuzzle. Though, as Sapphire got closer, he soon began to pick up a familiar scent. “Hey, why is it that you smell like cookies?”

“... YoUr TuRn!” Sapphire belted out as she broke away and sprinted out of the room. Leaving Haseo just blinking for a moment as he tried to regain his thoughts, before shaking his head and getting up off the floor.

“Okay, well fair is fair. I guess I need to start counting.”

Much later…

“So let me see if I understand this correctly your majesty,” Sunburst spoke with Princess Cadance as the two of them were walking through the halls of the Crystal Empire, “Haseo came to you and Shining Armor for advice when it came to helping Sapphire because he was getting concerned that she thought of all of ponykind as bad?”

“After what happened during the course of Princess Twilight’s stay, yes.”

“And when he was asking for advice, Shining Armor told a story from his foalhood about how he willingly had himself turned into a dog so that Princess Twilight could get over her fear of dogs?”

“Which I personally wanted to see, but we did not meet until years later,” The Alicorn replied, “I’m pretty sure that I’ve already told you about this a couple of times, Sunburst. Is there something that you’re having trouble with?”

“Actually, yes,” the scholar replied back, “I’m having trouble trying to understand why Haseo would go through something like that himself and have himself get turned into a colt. I mean, trying to get used to a quadruped body in itself would be difficult if you’ve been used to being on two legs for the majority of your life, but why go through with it?”

Cadance let out a small breath as she looked back at Sunburst, stopping in the middle of the hall so she could speak. “Sometimes, you have to do something uncomfortable if you know that something good can come out of it. Haseo thinks that if this goes well, then it might help Sapphire not see all of ponykind as just monsters who want to hurt her. Even if she’s an umbrum, I would never do anything to harm her. Besides… I’m learning something else from this too.”

Sunburst blinked for a moment, before looking back at Cadance with a confused look on his face. “Something else, your majesty?”

“How to raise a child…” She admitted, sounding embarrassed as she looked back, “I mean, I might have foalsat Twilight, but I don’t have knowledge of anything when it comes to the subject of parenting. I’m nervous about asking for help from Celestia and Luna, plus Shining is worried about asking his parents because he thinks it’ll just open the floodgates to them asking questions about our personal life. We want to be parents at some point, but we’re worried about where to start.”

Sunburst was a bit surprised by that, just before he began to realize what the princess was telling him. “So you’re saying that… helping Haseo with Sapphire is not just something you two are doing to assist him, but also something that you want to learn from the day that you two decide that you want to have a foal?”

That had Cadance nod her head, just before looking past Sunburst as she happened to notice something that was out of the ordinary. “Hey, Sunburst… is it just me or does that statue in the garden look out of place?” When the unicorn turned around, he soon began to realize that the statue that was made to honor the legacy of Princess Amore was definitely out of place. It was originally positioned to where it’s head was to look out towards the garden and the courtyard. Though, right now, it was facing away from the courtyard and was facing towards the crystal mountains that were behind the empire.

“Yeah, it definitely does,” Sunburst replied, “Should we-?”

“Check on them? Oh yeah,” Cadance agreed, before turning around and heading back towards where Haseo lived at. It was a one story home that was not far from the palace, but Cadance was a bit more concerned with what was going on inside. Ever since Haseo had started taking care of Sapphire, anything that seemed out of place might have been a result of Sapphire’s magic fluctuating. Whether it was tilted paintings or furniture that was stuck to the ceiling, the cause of it was always when Sapphire was somehow flustered by something that happened or something that somepony said.

Of course, knowing this alone did not prepare either of them for what they would find once they opened the door. “Haseo, is everythi- Oh my goodness!”

To say that the room was a mess or in complete disarray would be enough for them to win the ‘understatement of the year’ award. It had looked like a hurricane ripped through the entire place. Everything was scattered all over from seat cushions to bed sheets to toys and even furniture. Several chairs that were supposed to be with the dining room table were knocked down onto the floor and one was missing a leg. The pantry doors were not simply left open, but ripped off as two of them were sitting on the ground. Even Haseo’s playing cards from the time that he beat Shining Armor at blackjack were also scattered everywhere as well, along with a sack of marbles that spilled out and rolled out all over the floor.

It didn’t really help that as Cadance tried to carefully step inside, she heard a familiar voice that startled her. “There you are!! Geez, why did it have to take me almost an hour to find you?”

“Hehehehe, ok this was a lot more fun~” they could hear Sapphire giggling, “And you said this wasn't any form of special training? I am very much doubting that.”

Cadance could now hear the auditory equivalent of a facehoof as Haseo soon replied back. “Remind me that next time we do Hide and Seek, I need to specify that when I say ‘no magic’, I mean no powers or anything either. I put our home in so much of a mess that Discord would see it as a work of art.”

A fit of giggles could now be heard from Sapphire as Cadance slowly trotted inside. “Aww, that's no fun…”

“I know, but you have to at least give others a chance. It would not be fair if a game was rigged and made to where you can never win.”

“Then I don't want to play anymore, the only part I liked was watching you try to find me…”

Haseo paused, before looking back at her. “I didn’t say that it always had to be the case… Tell you what, if you’re playing with me, you can hide like that all you want. I just need to be a bit more aware.”

For a moment, everything was silent. But as Cadance got closer, she then heard the umbrum speak up. “Deal. By the way, someone came in the house Papa.” Sapphire said, being convinced by Haseo.

As he was told that, Cadance watched as the little colt that was Haseo’s current form trotted out of his room, only to stare directly at the princess. The expression on his face looking like he was caught for breaking the rules and looked like he was going to be grounded by his parents. “Oh… H-hi Cadance. S-sorry about the mess.”

“Papa is acting funny…” A filly sized stuffed animal said with Sapphire’s voice before looking up at Cadence. “Oh, its lovebutt.”

Cadance looked like she was going to correct her, but also looked a bit shocked by the fact that she was looking at a stuffed animal instead of Sapphire. “S-should I-?”

“As I now just learned, Sapphire has the ability to shapeshift and take on the forms of objects,” Haseo replied now, looking over to Sapphire for a moment and hearing her chuckle to herself before redirecting his attention back to the princess. “Not to sound rude, but what are you doing here Cadance?”

“Well, Sunburst and I was wanting to check up on how you were doing,” The alicorn replied back, deciding not to mention about the statue in the garden as she looked at both of them, “Though, when I came in, I found… well, this.”

“So the byproduct of me having to find Sapphire in a game of hide and seek for the last hour or so?” Haseo asked, which had Cadance nod her head as he looked back at Sapphire. “Yeah, I thought that while I was in this form, I could teach her a few games and spend some time with her… though, I did not intend to have it look like this.”

Sapphire made a cute squeaking sound before poofing into a small cloud of smoke that proceeded to escape through a gap in the nearest window. “Should I start cleaning up or-?”

“No, I think the least I can do is help you in that department,” Cadance replied back, channeling some magic with her horn as everything in the room soon began to come back together. The sheets returned to the bed, the cushions returned to the couch, chairs stood upright and even the doors on the pantry were fixed within a matter of moments. “I’m no stranger to big messes.”

“Mind telling me what you mean by that?”

“Ever had a moment that you come over to foalsit, only to find that the foal your watching over knocked over the personal library of her parents?” The princess then asked, which made Haseo’s eyes widened before he let out a bit of a small giggle. Mostly because it was something that Twilight herself would see as rather embarrassing. Following that statement though the sounds of a notepad being written in were heard from under the bed, along with mischievous snickering.

“So you’re no stranger to big messes… good thing to keep in mind,” Haseo said to himself, “Is there anything else?”

“Nope, I think that will be all,” Cadance now said as she walked back to the door, “You two take care now.” With that, she closed the door right behind her. Leaving the two of them by themselves as Haseo turned back to his room.

“So… we still have a few hours before this wears off… what do you want to do next?”

A pair of cat like glowing eyes lit up from under the nearby bed, locking onto Haseo as if getting ready to pounce.

“Um… Saph-?” Unfortunately for him, he had very little time to react as the next thing that he saw was the umbrum filly jumping straight towards him like a tiger about to ambush its prey, “Oh boy-”

GLOMP!!

It wasn’t until several hours into the fun that he was having with Sapphire that Haseo felt the effects of Cadance’s spell begin to expire. As the magic faded, he began to change from the appearance of a young colt back into his regular human form as he looked down at the umbrum that was next to him. “Well, that was short lived. I honestly thought it would last longer.”

Sapphire pouted a little in response. “Mou, I want to grow up faster… I want to be able to be bigger than you so I can still tackle you like when you were in the form of a colt.” She commented, thinking strange things as usual.

“You’ll get there soon enough,” He smiled, patting the side of the couch as a signal for her to come up and sit with him. To which she obliged. Although, rather than sit next to him, she claimed her spot in his lap where she proceeded to curl up like a cat with a very satisfied smirk. “I was beginning to wonder if today was successful… I think you just gave me my answer.”

“Papa is Papa, no matter the species,” Sapphire said with only one eye open and glancing at Haseo. “You’re different from ponies, and I would feel hurt if you think that a mere spell will make me change my opinion of an individual.”

“I know,” he told her, putting one of his hands on her body and gently petting her. “Yet, this was not to have you think differently of me, remember?”

“Your plan doesn't make any sense to me then. In order for it to work, I would have to not recognize you in pony form.” Sapphire pointed out as she leaned into the petting.

“It has nothing to do with that,” he simply told her, before asking a question, “How many people do you trust aside from me?” There was a bit of silence to that question, before Haseo let out a small breath, “I was trying to help you see that not every pony out there is scary… but since I’m the only one that you trusted, the only real way to try and get that message across was through me. Even if I bring up Celestia, Twilight, Cadance and everyone else in the empire, you trust me the most. It was to try and have you think differently about ponykind in general. They aren’t scary… you just need to give them a chance.”

As he continued his pets, he moved his hand to where he was rubbing her ears, before asking her a question. “You can do that for me, right?”

Sapphire had to concentrate hard to not fall to the bliss of being pet but she eventually managed to answer his question. “W-well, I could n-never trust anyone more than you. B-but, I will try to give individual ponies a chance. No promises on my view of their race as a whole. I have too many bad memories of ponies before you took me in to change overnight.” Although she was trying to be mature about it, the obvious distaste of the concept of interacting with beings other than Haseo was visibly clashing with the bliss from the petting on her face.

“I never asked for you too have your view of them change overnight. These things take time, but I’m glad that you’re open minded to the possibility,” He said, taking a moment to kiss her on the head. “I love you, Sapphire. Nothing will ever change that.”

Sapphire’s face turned an odd color as she broke down under the affection and petting combo, squirming a bit in Haseo’s lap. “T-t-that's n-not f-fair, Papa! B-but… I l-love y-you t-t-too…”

In a surprise turn of events, the affectionate petting soon turned into Haseo holding onto her like she was a kitten in his arms as he smiled back at her and began to rub her belly. “That’s all I wanted to hear, Sapphire. Thank you.”

“Nya!? Nuuuu! Stop! Its tOo mUch! StOp!!!” Sapphire mewled as she squirmed and gasped, twitching all over from over stimulation having never had her belly touched before. It was ticklish to a near-dangerous degree and was somehow pleasurably addictive in a way similar to headpats. She almost felt like she was going to be turned into a useless daughter if this happened often.

Though, it only happened for a small bit. Haseo followed through on her request to stop and soon withdrew his hand a few moments later. “Maybe it would be better to not do that too much. Don’t worry though, I’ll not tell anyone that you’re ticklish. That’s a promise.”

Sapphire’s following pout session was much longer, and intense, than any other… and for Haseo, he wasn’t sure if this was normal or he did something to upset the filly. Though, given how it was already late in the evening, he decided to head towards his room. Followed by asking her one last question. “Well, I’m going to turn in for right now… Did you want to snuggle with me one more time before I get some sleep?”

“Up.” Was Sapphire’s simple reply as she put up her forhooves in a ‘pick me up’ gesture as she silently demanded cuddles. It was the only answer that he needed as he bent over to pick up the filly and held her in his arms again. Even if the world was dangerous out there, he knew that wherever they were or whoever they were up against, Sapphire would always be safe with him.

Elsewhere…

When the dust storm in the badlands had finally subsided, Sunset Shimmer trotted forth from the confines of the hive she came into contact with and out into the open. Yet, this unicorn was not the same as the one that stumbled into. What she saw in there and who she met had changed her. After her original plan upon returning to Equestria had failed, she was lost and felt as if she had no reason for coming back. The Equestria she returned to was not the same as the one that she ran away from all those years ago.

She wanted to learn and survive… and because of someone she met in that Hive, the unicorn now had a new purpose. To find the eight pieces of Morti and restore her back to who she once was. A task that would seem like a huge undertaking, but nopony said that she had to do it alone.

The swarm that lived in the hive that Morti called home was now a hive that she had control of. To call upon them when it was time to weaken one of the eight and for Morti to reclaim what was hers. But it was not time to have them answer her call just yet. She had a town to find first, one that was not far from the capital of Canterlot.

Once Sunset found it, then it would be the right time to call upon the hive… so they can help her burn it to the ground.

17- Flicker

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The Terror of Death- Flicker

It had been days since she originally departed and after traveling through the Badlands, the unicorn named Sunset Shimmer found herself getting no closer to her destination than when she started her journey. One idea that came to mind was for her to find a set of train tracks and follow them towards a town such as Appleloosa or Dodge Junction. The unicorn thought that she could use the chance to get some additional supplies that she might need for the journey. But after remembering what happened in the Crystal Empire, she began to think that the Royal Guard was looking everywhere for her. So, the only way that she could remain hidden from them is to avoid any towns.

Luckily, she had received a couple of provisions from the drones in Morti’s hive before setting off on her journey. One such item of importance was a map. Yet, it took a couple of moments in order to try and figure out how to read it. It was in a language that relied a lot on symbols rather than words and it was only when she could see a location did the symbols change into words that she could understand. It was a strange system, but one that she could work with.

A few other items included food for the trip, but the unicorn was rather confused to what they gave her. Some things were understandable, such as flasks to hold curatives for different ailments, but she was also given what looked to be mangos and caramel sauce. In her mind, you would only have mangos on you if you want to drive any thestrals into a frenzy and caramel sauce would only be used by ponies who enjoyed dipping apple slices in them. But, if these were part of the provisions that were provided to her, then it must be somewhat important.

A few days after starting to traverse through the barren wasteland and carefully using the supplies that she carried with her, she had finally left the Badlands behind. The unicorn found herself in a forest, one that had the remains of castles, twisted trees and savage swamps. The unicorn used what minimal magic she could to blend in and keep herself out of sight from the manticores and timberwolves that stalked the woods while moving towards the end.

By the time she was at the edge of the woods, another few hours had passed and night had fallen over Equestria. Her destination was in sight now. The town below the capital, Ponyville. Many ponies looked to have been in their homes, while others wandered the dimly lit streets when they left the tavern. As she watched, several thoughts began to emerge in the mare’s mind. The main one being that this was a conflict between her and whoever had one of the fragments that she was seeking. There was no point in forcing anypony else into this. But how was she going to make sure that it was only the two of them

Taking a moment to fully recuperate, Sunset began to think over the options that she had right now. The unicorn could bring out the Hive now, but upon seeing a few ponies wandering around the street as part of a local Night Watch, she realized that it was a bad idea. If somepony were to see an army, especially a changeling army, they would immediately sound the alarm and wake everypony up. This was a matter between her and the one who was in possession of one of the fragments. But what was the best way to draw them out in the open?

Then, something from her conversation with Morti began to resurface in her brain.

‘Burn it down, if you have to.’

Setting the town ablaze was not what Sunset had in mind. Though, Morti did not specifically say that it only had to be the town. After all, the forest behind her was a giant tinderbox.

One small spark can set the whole place ablaze.

Over the last couple of days, Twilight had found it difficult to come to terms with a lot of things that had been going on for her. Mainly, it was because of her newfound position of being Equestria’s ‘Princess of Friendship’ as well as bearing all the responsibilities that came with such a title. The alicorn was no stranger to bearing titles and the duties that came with them, but there was a bit more weight in this one than that of ‘Celestia’s Personal Student’.

Then, there was the other reason. A few days ago, when she was up in the Crystal Empire for the Princess Summit, she had an encounter with a unicorn named Sunset Shimmer that went horribly wrong. Sunset originally wanted to take her crown, but it led to the unicorn having to flee the city and her watching in horror as Sapphire cried in pain. Almost going blind because of a flash bomb that the unicorn used to run away.

Ever since that incident, Twilight wondered if there was some other way that the conflict could have been resolved. One where nopony like Sapphire had to get hurt. For being the so-called ‘Princess of Friendship’, it felt as if she failed the first test that she had in her newfound position. That, combined with the fact that she had not received a letter from her brother regarding the investigation into finding Sunset made it harder for her to try and put this behind her.

It was while she was thinking over this that she heard a knock at the door to her room, which was enough for her to put down her quill and turn to the door. “Come in.”

The door opened, followed by her assistant Spike coming in with a tray that had a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk as he walked over to her desk. “Hey. I made some cookies,” he told her, setting the tray down before looking back at Twilight as she turned to face the dragon.

“Oh, thank you Spike,” she replied, using her levitation magic to lift up a cookie and begin to eat it before setting it down to drink some milk. It was as she was having her snack though that the dragon sat up on a stool and had a question for her.

“Hey, is everything going okay Twilight?”

The question was met by the Princess looking at the dragon with a puzzled look at her face, having trouble trying to come up with the right words to say as she just looked at him. “Y-yeah, why?”

“Well, given the fact that your trash bin is filled up with various crumpled up balls of parchment,” Spike told her, pointing to the overflowing waste bin that was in the corner by the door, “It’s telling me that you are stuck on something.”

Twilight just chuckled, before letting out a small sigh as she looked back at her assistant, “I’m just… After everything that’s happened in the last few days, I had a lot of thoughts go through my mind. I want to ask Princess Celestia about it, but… I’m finding difficulty trying to find the right words.”

“Really? You don’t seem to be the kind of pony who would would have difficulty with that,” Spike replied back, remembering all the times where Twilight was able to come up with the right words to say for every friendship letter that they wrote to Princess Celestia.

“I know, though,” Twilight paused, taking a second to compose herself as she looked back towards Spike, “Many times when we had to write letters, it was about having to resolve one problem that we have solved. However… this is about a problem that isn’t solved.”

“You mean what happened in the Crystal Empire?” For a moment, Twilight was speechless. She wasn’t quite sure how he knew, but before she could ask, the dragon quickly added a follow up response, “Cadance told me what happened before we left to go back to Ponyville.”

After hearing that, Twilight smiled a small bit before looking back at Spike. “Y-yeah… I just have been thinking a lot about what could’ve happened. If things really had to end the way that they did-”

“Twilight,” the dragon interjected, looking back at him, “You’re overthinking about this… Sometimes, there are things in life that are outside of our control, no matter what we try to do. You and I have had our fair share of instances like that over the years. This is no different-”

Before the dragon could go any further, both of them heard a set of hooves racing up the stairs as they turned towards the door and saw Trixie standing outside. “Uh… Is Trixie interrupting something?”

“Uh no, I was just helping Twilight,” Spike explained, before folding his arms as he looked at the unicorn. “Why? Is… something wrong?”

“Well, that depends,” Trixie asked, looking a bit uncertain as she looked back at the two of them while Twilight was trying to drink from her glass of milk, “Is it normal for the forest nearby to spontaneously combust into flames?”

Immediately, the question had the glass slip from Twilight’s magical grip as it spilled out onto the floor. The alicorn immediately looked back at Spike, before both of them began to hurry outside to see what was happening, with Twilight grabbing her Grimoire on the way out of the library. Only to be horrified by what they were seeing.

The Everfree Forest was on fire. Not just a hoof-full of trees, but the entire forest. Many of the animals and creatures were running because the flames were torching their homes as the smoke from the blaze rose up into the sky.

“O-oh dear Celestia,” Twilight swore, shocked by what she was seeing. What could have possibly caused such a disaster to take root? She could see several pegasi trying to stop the fire by using rain clouds, only for the flames that they were fighting to push back and injure them, “H-how…? H-how did-?”

“Twilight!!” Her attention immediately had the alicorn turn to her left as she saw a few of her friends nearby. Fluttershy was there comforting the animals that were nearby, while also applying first aid to their zebra friend, Zecora. Rainbow Dash was also nearby and trying to help fight the fires while Applejack was assisting Fluttershy. “Thank Celestia your here, Sugarcube.”

“Applejack, what happened?” Spike asked, before gasping at the sight of the burns on Zecora’s body.

“Ah don’t know. One minute, we were all about to head home. The next thing we knew, the whole darn forest erupted in a ball of fire!” the earth pony told her, “We got all the pegasi we could to try and fight it off, but the fire’s having none of it!”

“What about Zecora? Is she okay?” Twilight asked, worried about her because of the state of her injuries that were on her body. Several patches of fur were burned away as Fluttershy tried to treat her wounds.

“S-she’ll be fine…” Fluttershy assured her, taking a moment to look at her friend before her ears dropped, “B-but I’m worried… A-as I was getting Zecora out of her h-hut, I thought I saw somepony else in the fire. I-I tried calling out to them, but-”

Twilight now looked towards the blaze and at Fluttershy, before looking back to Spike and Trixie, “Spike, Trixie, try to help them anyway you can. I’m going to go find them.” Before either the unicorn or the dragon could say anything, Twilight took off. Racing towards the flames as the zebra that was on the ground opened her eyes.

It was as Twilight disappeared into the blaze that Zecora began to speak, “D-don’t go… to the Everfree. The d-danger… only used… to deceive.”

Immediately after seeing the danger that was a threat to her home and learning that somepony was still trapped inside the forest, Twilight instantly rushed into the flames. Avoiding the collapsing trees and the burning embers to try and find whoever was still inside of the Everfree forest and get them to safety. The flames had not reached Zecora’s hut, but everywhere else was still burning as she felt the ash and smoke against her face. Using her magic to try and prevent any particles from getting in her eyes.

Moments after entering the inferno that swallowed the Everfree, the alicorn thought that she found the pony Fluttershy had mentioned before. Though, something about all of this seemed… off. They did not appear scared or afraid of everything that was going on around them. In fact, they were acting like this was completely natural.

As she landed, Twilight began to trot over before trying to speak. “Hey! Are you okay?! You’re going to get hurt if-”

“So… you actually came,” the voice made Twilight freeze, watching as the mare turned around and began to face her. Walking out from under the shadows of a burning tree as they stared directly at her.

Immediately, she recognized the pony. It was the exact same one from the Crystal Empire just a few days ago. But something… was different about her. The mare that she had seen in that brief glimpse was afraid and had her back against the wall. Now, she was standing defiantly amidst the chaos surrounding them. “S-Sunset Shimmer?”

“So… you know who I am,” the mare remarked, closing her eyes as she let out a sigh. As she opened them, her horn began to flicker with magic as the unicorn glared at her, “This will make things a lot easier.”

Before Twilight had the chance to react, the flames from the forest began to move, creating a wall of flames that was too thick for her to see through. She tried to teleport, but felt her spell bounce back as the Princess fell to the ground. “W-What are you doing?! D-Did you… do this?”

“It was the only way to make sure I have you right where I want you,” the unicorn smirked.

“B-But why!? I-Is this because of what happened in the Crystal Empire? Because of your anger towards Celestia-?”

Much to Twilight’s surprise, Sunset shook her head as she looked at her, “No. There’s no point in petty revenge if it’s only temporary,” her horn began to light up as Twilight saw her holding onto something with her magic that she didn’t think was possible. A grimoire, like the one she carried, but it’s appearance was much different than hers, “I’m doing this for a much different reason.”

When the grimoire opened, the pages of the book blew with the wind as the unicorn’s magic flowed with the pages. “I’m doing this for a friend. There’s something here that doesn’t belong to that of anypony here, so I’m here to reclaim it, no matter what. If you dare attempt to stand in my way or stop me… then it’s your funeral.”

Mere moments after saying that, what could only be described as a blocky ‘cluster’ began to form behind Sunset, one that looked like static as it began to collide with an invisible force. It was small at first, but with each collision, it began to grow in size before shattering as several hooves ripped open a giant tear. One that lead into a dark abyss with ones and zeroes fading in and out as what tore open this hole began to step through.

Immediately, Twilight’s eyes widened in shock when she saw the creatures that emerged from the rift behind her and stood behind the unicorn, “C-Changelings?!!” she gasped, her mind racing as she looked at them before immediately thinking of the first thing that she could think of, “You’re in league with Chrysalis!? Are you out of your mind-?!”

“Who the buck is Chrysalis?” Sunset asked, noticing the alicorn’s shock before closing her eyes and letting out a small sigh. At the Princess stared at the changelings, she watched as each one was looking directly at her. These changelings… there was something off about them. If they aren’t with Chrysalis’ hive, then what exactly were they a part of?

It was as she looked at the creatures in front that she realized something. These changelings weren’t the same as the ones that were in Canterlot during the royal wedding. In fact, these ones looked and acted much differently than the ones that Twilight and her friends had encountered before. These changelings had flesh missing from parts of their body and instead of blood, all she saw was red ones and zeroes. They also didn’t express any emotions at all. Almost as if they were brain dead and on autopilot.

In her position, Twilight saw herself as the only thing standing between her home and an armada of changelings as the rift behind Sunset closed. The unicorn looked back at Twilight as a grin appeared on her face. “So Princess… what do you plan to do now?”

The Princess of Friendship only had one answer as she looked back at Sunset. Her grimoire at the ready as red and blue markings began to glow around her body and magic glowed around her horn. “The only thing I can do… protect my home.”

Sunset could only smile as she looked back at the Princess. The flames that were scorching the Everfree grew higher as the changelings began to move. Closing in on Twilight as they moved closer and closer to her. The markings on her body glowing brighter as she readied herself before closing her eyes. “I know you’re there and I need your help. My friends, my family… everypony is counting on me. So, come forth!” Mana began to rise all around her as two giant spectral beings, one red and one blue, began to form behind her. “Gorre!!”

In that moment, all the unicorn could do was smile as she began to channel magic around her horn. “Morti… I believe I found what you’ve been looking for.”

“Come on, why isn’t this stupid thing dying down already!?” Rainbow grit her teeth as she idly flew in place by a rain cloud looking over the Everfree Forest. The pegasus, along with several other members of the Cloudsdale weather team, have been trying to tackle the blaze that was burning the Everfree for the last twenty minutes. Yet, anytime that they thought that they were getting somewhere with putting it out, the blaze would reignite. Like candles on a birthday cake that just would not go out.

If that wasn’t bad enough, several pegasi that were trying to help her put out the blaze were hurt by the backlash of the flames. Almost as if the fire was retaliating at them for what they were trying to do. Not just light injuries either, but burns that required immediate medical attention. In addition to this, the moisture of the clouds was quickly being used up, which led to several ponies having to fly over to Ponyville Lake in order to get more water and try to put out the fires. This disaster was taking a toll on her team members as well as her patience.

Though, it was as she was bringing her injured team members to the ground that she noticed something… off. The flames were moving. Not spreading outward, but instead joining up. Moving to the point where the sheer size of the fire was smaller, but the flames that were still burning were brighter and emerging above the tree line.

“Rainbow!” she heard her name called out, turning to see Applejack and Trixie nearby while Fluttershy was tending to Zecora. “What’s happening up there-!?”

“I don’t know, but whatever it is, several of the weather team are hurt,” Rainbow told her friend as she looked at them, “They need medical attention and fast!”

“Spike’s trying to find Nurse Redheart and Doctor Stable right now-” the earth pony told her, just as they felt another wave of heat rush over them and saw small embers in the sky die out before touching the ground, “This is bad… if we don’t do something, all of the Everfree is gonna go up in smoke.”

“Where’s the rest of the girls? Are they okay?” Rainbow asked, worried when she noticed that not all of her friends were here right now.

“Rarity and Pinkie Pie are trying to keep everypony calm. They’re using Sugarcube Corner as temporary shelter-” Applejack was interrupted by the sound of a collapsing tree as it kicked up more ash and embers into the sky. Yet, that response only had Rainbow partially relieved. There was still one more friend that was unaccounted for as the pegasus looked back at the farmer.

“AJ, where’s Twilight?”

The question was met by silence, before Applejack looked back towards the rising flames in the distance. “She heard that somepony was still out in the forest and took off to find them before we could stop her.”

“Well, that’s just great!” the pegasus immediately snapped in frustration, slamming her hoof on the ground as Applejack turned back around to face her. But before the earth pony could say anything, Rainbow beat her to it, “First, this fire’s fighting back to the point that the weather team’s getting severely hurt. Then, it starts moving on its own and now I find out that one of my friends is risking her life and stuck in the middle of all this!? How in the name of Celestia can this get any worse?!”

Yet, one particular detail in Rainbow’s outburst caught the attention of one particular pony as Trixie now trotted over to them. “Did Trixie hear you say that this fire… was moving on its own?”

“Yeah, it used to be all over the Everfree, but now it’s just in this area over here,” the pegasus explained, pointing at the ongoing blaze that’s happening, “The weather team was not even getting anywhere with the flames and then it just backed off like it didn’t want to deal with us anymore.”

“Why are ya asking about this, Trixie?” Applejack now asked as she looked at the unicorn. In the time that she had been staying with Twilight, there was never a point where she saw the former stagepony act like she was right now, “Do… ya know what might have caused all this to happen?”

“Yes, but Trixie doesn’t think that either of you are going to like it,” the unicorn responded, before turning to Rainbow, “What you just described sounds exactly like pyromancy. When Trixie was a filly, she once saw a stagepony use magic to bend and control fire. If this is similar-”

“Woah, hold on their partner… are ya suggesting that somepony intentionally set the Everfree on fire?!” Applejack interjected as she looked at Trixie, “That’s crazy!? Who in their right mind would go out of their way to commit arson on such a large scale-!?!”

“Hang on, Applejack,” Rainbow stopped her friend, “I think what Trixie is saying, as weird as it sounds, is true. We couldn’t get any of the flames to die down at all, so if somepony was controlling them, then it would make sense.”

“But who in their right mind would-” the earth pony stopped, eyes widening as she looked at both Rainbow and Trixie. When she was trying to speak, something came back to her. Recalling where Twilight was at the present moment before realizing the danger, “Oh no…”

“What? AJ, what’s the matter?”

“Sugarcube, we got to find Twilight, now!” Applejack told her, trotting past her friends as she approached the edge of the Everfree and the flames that were burning, “That pony in the forest must’ve been the one who caused all of this to happen! She’s trotting into a trap-!”

Before the earth pony could go any further, a loud explosion went off as Applejack was knocked back by a blast wave that threw both her and her hat up into the air. Trixie quickly reacted, catching the earth pony with her magic and setting her down while Rainbow caught her hat, giving it back to the farmer as she looked back towards the flames.

“W-What the hay is going on in there!?”

“I-I don’t know,” Rainbow said, before looking at both the earth pony and the unicorn, “But we gotta get Twilight out of there, now!!”

As she felt the heat of the flames burning behind her and faced the numerous horde of changelings that came towards her, Twilight was doing her best to try and fend off her attackers. Having Gorre fire off energy shots that took the forms of needles as she used a combination of her Avatar’s attacks and her magic to fight off the swarm.

However, one problem that she was beginning to encounter was that no matter how many she defeated, there was still more that came after them. Forcing her to relocate and move out of the way so she couldn’t be hit by their attacks. There was also the fact that the last time she had to fight against multiple foes was during the Canterlot wedding, and she had her friends with her when that was going on. This time, it was just her and Gorre against an army and the unicorn that was leading it.

Still, it did not mean that she planned on giving up. If anything, the alicorn needed to approach this from a different angle. If hurting the rank and file drones was not so effective, what would happen if she attacked the one that was leading them instead? It was something that she was unsure of, but still had to try.

“Gorre, Bloom of Destiny!!” In response to Gorre’s command, the red half of the Avatar grabbed the bottom half of her body and spun it around her head before throwing it. Going past her foes and heading directly towards Sunset Shimmer. Something that even threw her off guard as she tried to maneuver out of the way, but ended up having one of the petals from Gorre’s attack strike the left side of her face.

It was something that her opponent did not take rather well. “Oh, you will pay for that!!” She snarled, the pages in her grimoire glowing red as Sunset glared at the Princess. Several orbs of fire emerging above her head before launching them towards her foe, forcing Twilight to teleport out of the way to try and avoid what was coming at her.

However, it was when she thought that she was safe that she felt something strike her left side, throwing her back into the line of fire of the unicorn’s attack. Twilight was not sure what had just happened, but as she got back up, her eyes widened in shock. Standing nearby was another one of the changelings that Sunset had brought over, but this was much taller. By appearance, it looked to be even taller than that of Haseo. “W-What in-!?”

“Oh? What’s the matter? A little distracted?” the unicorn taunted, before channeling another spell as she picked up a fallen tree trunk and aimed it at her, before releasing the attack as it flew towards Twilight, “Too bad!!”

“No no no-!!” she panicked, having Gorre attack the log immediately as it split up into multiple pieces and scattered everywhere. Several chunks burning up once touching the flames that burned around them. However, everything else stopped in place. Caught by Sunset’s magic before she had them rain down on the Princess. Striking her several times and burning her mane as she struggled to try and protect herself.

To counter this, Twilight began to fire another blast of magic. This time though, she was aiming for Sunset’s horn. In her mind, if she could use the crystallization spell she knew on her horn, it would prevent her from using any more spells. However, the only problem was that it would require her to use a good bit of her mana. Something that she had been trying to conserve since the start of this fight, but found herself using more times than she would like to admit.

Focusing her magic, the Princess fired off three different blasts using the same spell. Yet, none of them hit their intended target. The first blast hit the side of a rock as a small amount of crystals hit the side of the boulder. The second spell hit the crystals formed by the first one and bounced, hitting two changelings and trapping their bodies in a crystalline cage. The third spell was coming towards Sunset, but in the blink of an eye, the unicorn created a protective barrier that had the spell rebound. Heading back towards Twilight as she tried to react, but the magic hit her back right hoof. Forcing her to fall over flat on the ground as she struggled to move.

“You had a few good spells, I have to admit,” Sunset herself told her as the alicorn looked up to see the unicorn coming over to her, “But you don’t seem to be taking this seriously at all. You’re not fighting with intent.”

Twilight tried to call on Gorre, but soon felt another spell hit her as the same spell she used mere seconds ago was applied to her mouth, hooves, horn and wings. Preventing her from speaking, using her magic or trying to move as Sunset looked down on her. “You might be a student of Celestia… but you’re nothing compared to me,” she said, backing up as she looked towards the rift that she created once more. Leaving Twilight to only watch as she said three words.

“Morti, its time.”

The rift began to spasm and fluctuate as a new entity emerged, cloaked in pure white that matched their skin and hair. Twilight thought that it looked like a young, pale BlackRose, rounding up to around half the height of the humans. She hovered a solid foot off of the ground, a blank look adorning her features.

“I feel it… The Machinator,” she spoke in a ghost of a whisper, but the mares were able to just barely hear her, “My strategists…”

“S-She knows about Gorre? H-How?” Twilight thought to herself as she looked at the entity, before looking to Sunset as the unicorn looked back at them.

“Now that she’s restrained, how do we retrieve the fragment?” Sunset asked. She recalled what Morti said before, but she did not say anything in regards to how the retrieval process was going to work.

“It appears The Machinator is tethered to this mare’s magic core. My strategist is in a symbiotic state with her.” The girl said, her golden eye seemingly looking through Twilight. “I can sever the link by corrupting her core, forcing Gorre out of her. At my current state, it would be the quickest way.”

The unicorn nodded, before picking up Twilight’s encased form and bringing her closer to Morti. Setting the Princess down in front of the girl and stepping back to give her some space.

Morti reached out for Twilight’s horn, her blank features being the only thing in the alicorn’s sight. The instant Morti’s hand grabbed ahold of the Princess’s horn, she felt a wave of unfamiliar power course through her entire being. Her nerves went aflame as her horn began leaking a purple mist that began encircling around Morti’s arm.

Sunset stood by as she watched her new friend drain her replacement’s magic while simultaneously replacing it. Despite not knowing what the pale girl was doing, she could sense that the alicorn’s magic was indeed being corrupted by some kind of power beyond anything the former apprentice had witnessed.

To Twilight, the pain she felt was beyond agonizing. She wanted to scream, but the crystals over her mouth prevented her from doing anything. Her whole body felt as if it were being invaded… no… infected. Infected by something horrible. Her vision became blurry as she felt the last of her magic slip away as well as the last of her strength. She was beginning to black out, weak in her knees as her eyes closed.

Morti let go of the mare’s horn, letting the mist gather together to form an orb. One that was red and blue with two symbols. One symbol was half of a shining sun, with the other being half of a crescent moon. It floated gently above Morti’s hand, before slowly descending into her outstretched palm.

“Extraction successful. Gorre the Machinator has been returned.” Morti said, staring at the item in her hand. Sunset herself no longer saw the need to keep up her spell, so she dismissed the crystalline spell. Having the body of the Princess drop down to the ground as she looked back to Morti.

“One down, seven to go,” the unicorn told her, “Now that you have a fragment, are… any of your memories coming back to you?”

“Gorre is not integrated with my code yet, and I have insufficient power to make the repairs to myself. But I am sure that once I do, I’ll be able to remember.”

Sunset saw that as a bit of a good sign, looking back towards the princess on the ground before casting another spell. Having the flames that were burning around flicker away and die off, “Alright, we got what we came for. We should go back before anypony else finds us.”

Morti looked in the direction that Twilight had come from, “I sense my Terror of Death not too far…”

“Terror of Death?” Sunset asked, sounding a bit puzzled as well as a bit concerned because of Morti’s lack of tone, “Is it another fragment?”

“Yes…” Sunset thought she heard a hint of longing in Morti’s voice as she said that.

“Maybe we should wait before going for it. Give you time to integrate Gorre with your code first,” the unicorn suggested to the girl, “It could make hunting that fragment easier.”

“You’re right.” Morti replied, turning back to Sunset and hovered towards her. Sunset herself nodded, before turning to the rift. Having any changelings that were still with them go in first and allow Morti to go in after. Letting herself step through last so she could close the rift. Leaving the body of the alicorn in the middle of the scorched remains of what was the Everfree.

Mere moments after though, the sounds of hooves galloping on the ground had somepony find Twilight in her state as they stared at her. “S-Sparkle? W-What in E-Equestria happened to you-!?”

“Trixie, did you find her?” She heard another voice call out, just as the azure unicorn used her magic to pick the princess up and have Twilight rest on her back.

“Somepony get Trixie a doctor, NOW!!!”

Author's Notes:

"The power it holds can bring either salvation or destruction at the whim of the user." -Aura

This chapter... Oh where do I begin? We're now beginning to pick up more on the story. Making it to where Haseo and company are up against something that's an actual threat. But you need to be careful. Because at any particular point, the hunter can immediately become the hunted.

Also, as a general reminder, when it comes to Twilight... please consider the following...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObWrdYQ_6xY

With that in mind, I hope you enjoy what's in store here. Thanks a ton to BronyParasite for his help with Morti.

Stay safe out there
-Frost

10/4/2021: For those who have been reading the story for a while and are wondering where chapter 18 is, the chapter is planned to be redone, but with the story on Hiatus, it'll take some time before things are back up and running again.
-Frost