> Tales of Harmonia
>  by Ise no Kami
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Broken Calm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	A lone pony strolled into Sugarcube Corner, a bead of sweat dripping from his brow. Everypony immediately turned to look at the newcomer. In a world of pastel colored ponies, this one stood out for his plain colors. His black mane and tail did little to offset his tan coat. Rather, the lack of color was offset by his cutie mark, a sword glowing with magic energy. And yet these details weren't what caught everypony's attention. Rather, their eyes were drawn to the stallion's saddle...and the sheath hanging off the side, with a rather sharp sword resting within. The pony ignored all the attention, and walked up to the counter.

"Heya there, Shining Blade!" Pinkie Pie greeted the visitor as she blurred into existence behind the counter. "How's the training going? You want anything?"

"Just a muffin, thanks," Blade replied with a smile. "The training's going fine. The Guard's gonna notice me sooner or later."

"Well, good luck with that!" Pinkie exclaimed, having somehow retrieved the muffin in the few seconds it took Blade to say his piece. His cool green eyes locked with hers as he smiled, payed for the muffin, and left with his lunch.

Once he was outside, Blade leaned against one of the walls, and took a bite out of his muffin and thought about his dreams. For years now, he'd wanted to be a member of the Royal Guard, and had spent day after day honing his battle skills. Many of Ponyville's inhabitants had given him odd looks throughout the years for choosing the path of war in a peaceful world, but those he interacted with daily understood his dream and had helped him where they could. With their help, he knew he'd have a place in the Guard eventually. He smiled at that thought, and took one final bite from his muffin.

Blade noticed a dash of violet in the corner of his eye and looked up. "Well, if it isn't Princess Twilight," he greeted. "Off to the schoolyard?"

"Oh, hello," Twilight called back, just now noticing Blade. "Yes, I've gotta go pick up Nyx."

"Well, I've got nothing better to do," Blade replied. "Mind if I tag along?"

"You don't have any...training to do?"

"Nah, I finished up for the day. Come on, let's go."





The final school bell rang just as the two approached the schoolhouse. A large crowd of foals and fillies came rushing out of the building, eager for their afternoon of freedom. Among them were the Cutie Mark Crusaders and their friend Nyx, who all made a beeline for Twilight as soon as they saw her. While Nyx greeted her mother, the other three fillies were drawn to the town eccentric who had followed her.

"Hey there, Mr. Blade," Scootaloo greeted. "How's your training going?"

"I'd say it's going pretty well, squirt," Blade replied. "Pretty sure I could handle any monster problems Ponyville might have."

"You really think you can protect Ponyville?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Yeah, I'll keep you all safe," Blade answered.

"Well, I don't think we'll have to worry about that anytime soon," Twilight pitched in, giving a little chuckle. "Let's go home, Nyx." The princess of friendship extended a calming wing to her adopted daughter. Blade smiled as he watched the two.

"Is something funny?" Twilight asked as she noticed Blade.

"No, it's just...you really care for her, don't you?" Twilight nodded in response.

And then the world fell apart.

Suddenly, the earth began shaking violently, forcing everypony to their knees. Blade struggled to look up, hoping to see what was going on. What he saw seemed to defy explanation: shining orbs of light, very similar to stars in the night sky, erupted forth from nearly every point of the trembling earth. The lights felt mystical, but dangerous and foreboding. This light...was this the natural form of magic? Finally, the earthquake stopped, though the twinkling lights still pervaded the air.

"Mom, what's happening?" Nyx asked, too scared to get back up.

Before Twilight could answer, a growl pierced the air. Everypony turned in the direction of the Everfree Forest, from which a small group of monsters, obviously enraged by the magical quake, rushed to attack the poor foals and fillies.

"Well, guess it's time to back up my words," Blade noted, turning his neck to the side and pulling out his sword. He set his eyes on the monster in front, and prepared to strike.

"Azure Edge!"

He swung his sword along the ground, sending a blue shockwave toward the monster. The creature went down the instant the wave made contact. This was an odd part of Shining Blade's special talent: despite being an earth pony, he had limited access to magic. He couldn't levitate objects or light up dark places, or any of the other fancy spells unicorns could use, but he could channel magic into his blade to pull off useful tricks like this. The next two monsters approached Blade at rapid speed; he rewarded their haste with two clean cuts, felling them both instantly. With one last attack, he brought down the final monster, a timberwolf, slicing the wood it was made from in two so it couldn't reform. Seeing that his job was done for now, Blade put away his sword and returned to the crowd of children, who all thanked him for the rescue.

"So, any idea what might have caused this?" Blade asked Twilight.

"Huh? Why are you asking me?"

"Magic's pretty much your life. I just figured you'd be the first to have any kind of an idea."

"Hmm. Magic stems from the Tree of Harmony. You don't think something could've happened to it...?" Twilight's eyes widened. "Nyx, we're going home right now! I've gotta go get my friends and check on this!" And with that, she hurried off into the distance.

Blade, on the other hand, turned toward the Everfree. "So, something might've happened to that tree, huh?" He asked himself rhetorically. "Well, the forest is a dangerous place, now more than ever. I don't think Twilight would mind if I did some scouting for her." Just then, he noticed some of the kids were still frozen in fear behind him. "Run along now, my little ponies. I've got some work to do."
> Creeping Shadows
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The Everfree Forest was far more threatening now than ever. It had always been a dark and dangerous place, but the path through it used to grant visitors a sense of peace and safety. Now the air was over-saturated with magic energy, and the creatures within had become restless. Shining Blade pulled out his sword once more, preparing for the onslaught of enemies ahead. As he made his way through the forest, a timberwolf leapt at him through the trees, only to be cut to shreds as he turned and sliced the beast. More enraged monsters began to approach the pony who had stepped into their home. Blade dealt with the monsters at the front of the horde with Azure Edge, then sliced down the rest when they got too close.

As he finished, he noticed a black and white streak heading toward him. "Zecora?" he called out.

"The forest has grown too dangerous for me," Zecora warned as she ran past. "Heed my advice, and flee, pony, flee!"

"Thanks, but no," Blade replied when the zebra was out of earshot. "My destination's further in."

Blade proceeded deeper into the forest, cutting down every monster that attacked him. Eventually, he made his way to a large chasm. Across the gorge was the ruined Castle of the Two Sisters, and down below was his destination, the Tree of Harmony. Except...reaching the Tree wouldn't be possible. Magic energy poured out of the gorge like blood from a wound, saturating the air within the chasm far beyond lethal levels. Something had happened to the Tree all right, and whatever it was couldn't be treated directly.

"Blade? What are you doing here?" The stallion turned to see Twilight right behind him, and behind her her five friends.

"Same thing as you, checking on the tree," Blade replied. "By the way, you're welcome for all the monsters I took out on the way here."

"Are you crazy!?" Twilight chastised him. "This place is more dangerous now than ever!"

"I think I've proven I can handle myself," Blade retorted. "And I'm certainly not stupid enough to trot headfirst into that." He gestured toward the glowing stream of death.

"The Tree of Harmony..." Twilight said absently, realizing their predicament. "Now what do we do?"

"Uh, maybe there's a way to the tree that isn't full of magic energy?" Fluttershy whispered from the back of the group.

"Yeah, you might be right!" Rainbow Dash agreed. "That old castle was built right on top of the tree. Maybe one of its secret passages can get us to the tree safely."

Brimming with hope, the mane six crossed the bridge over to the castle, which just barely hung above the lethal magic stream. Shining Blade followed behind them, still curious about the Tree of Harmony and whatever problem it might be having. Besides, with all the monsters going crazy, these girls could use all the fighters they could have. Once they had all crossed, however, another tremor shook the world. As everypony was forced to their knees, they noticed the bridge supports snap, dropping the wooden planks into the magic stream. The non-pegasi were all stranded on the far side of the ravine.

"Looks like we have more than just monsters to deal with," Blade noted. "Let's all be on our guard." As he passed by Twilight, he whispered, "I guess you're stuck with me now."





The quake had hit the castle just as hard as the bridge. Rarity was appalled to see that all the work she and her friends had done fixing the place up had been ruined. Pillars had fallen over, and large chunks of the ceiling had dropped to the ground in massive piles of debris. Clearly it was going to be hard to maneuver in this place, especially if another quake hit.

"We need to hurry if we're going to fix this problem before our path to the tree is destroyed," Twilight noted. "We should split up and search every corner of the castle."

"Good idea," Blade interjected. "Rainbow and Fluttershy, you take the rooms to the west. Applejack and Rarity, you two take the rooms to the east. Twilight and I will go straight south. And Pinkie...do whatever you're gonna do." The mane six were confused that this outsider to their circle was giving out orders, but they ultimately decided their wasn't a problem with his decision and went their separate ways.

Twilight, however, wasn't exactly happy with Blade. "Why did you do that? We could search this place faster if we ALL split up!"

"In case you forgot, the magic surge is driving the local monsters crazy," Blade reminded her. "With this setup, each group has somepony who can fight them off if they decide to show their faces."

The two ponies headed off into the depths of the castle. As Blade slew monster after monster and searched the ruins, he couldn't help but feel depressed. The place was falling apart at the seams, whatever love it had recently been given undone by the quake. Orbs of magic danced in the air, somehow amplifying the castle's atmosphere of emptiness and solitude. He wanted to find that path to the Tree of Harmony and be done with this place, but the secret passages he found all proved fruitless, taking him and his ensemble in circles around the back of the castle. Eventually, the two came to rest in the library, all but defeated.

Suddenly, Blade's ears perked up as he noticed a presence behind a bookcase. He got up, drew his sword, and slowly approached the bookcase, ready to slice through whatever monster was stalking them. Finally, he chose to get the drop on his adversary. He turned the corner, prepared to strike...

...and stopped dead in his tracks as he saw Nyx cowering before him.

"Nyx? What the hay are you doing here!?" He chastised the young alicorn, sheathing his sword.

"I-I was worried about the tree, and about mother," she replied. "I couldn't reach the tree, so I flew over here..."

"Nyx!" Twilight yelled from across the room. "You could've been hurt! Do you have any idea how worried I would have been if I'd come home to find you gone!?" She got up and approached her daughter. "I'm taking you back home right now, and you're gonna stay there!"

However, as she approached, another tremor shook the foundations of the castle. As the three were brought to their knees, a huge chunk of the ceiling came crumbling down, forming a wall of debris between Twilight and her child. The force of the collision weakened the floor where Blade and Nyx stood, causing it to crumble rapidly. Thinking fast, Blade grabbed Nyx and braced himself as the floor gave way beneath them.





Worst. Day. Ever.

Blade woke up a short time later, rubbing his head to assuage the headache he incurred in the fall. Once his senses fully returned to him, he looked around the room, and noticed Nyx just regaining consciousness a short distance away from him. She appeared to be fine, thank Celestia. Twilight would have killed him if anything had happened to her daughter.

"You alright?" he asked. Had to make sure.

"I...I think so," she replied.

Having confirmed her safety, Blade then looked around the room. Looking up where they had come, he saw that the quake had knocked over all of the bookcases into a pile over the hole they had fallen through, leaving only holes far too small for even Nyx to pass through, through which what light was in the room came in. There was no chance of Nyx just flying back to her mother; Blade was going to have to be her guardian for now. The room itself was small and narrow, apparently one of the castle's dark hallways. The floor that had crumbled beneath them had formed the pile of debris where Blade lay, blocking their progress in that direction. There was only one way out.

"Hey Nyx," Blade called out to the filly gently. "Looks like we'll be stuck together for a while, so stick close to me, okay? I'm gonna find us a way out of here." Nyx simply nodded in agreement, and the two made their way down the hall.

As the two made their way down the hall, they passed a couple of suits of dark armor. Nyx cowered away from them as they towered over her. As Blade noticed this, he remembered why he had come to the castle to begin with: to seek a secret passage to the Tree of Harmony. Perhaps these suits of armor hid that passage, or at least a route back to Twilight. He examined the statues, and noticed that one of them had a device planted inside the helmet for absorbing magic. A trigger, perhaps? He asked Nyx to use her magic on the armor...but the device didn't activate. Was is broken? Or did it only respond to a certain magical signature? Disappointed, Blade made his way to the end of the hall with Nyx.

There, they say what seemed to be a magic laboratory. Or at least, the remains of one. Almost all of the equipment was broken and decaying, and the dust was far thicker here than anywhere else in the castle. Clearly nopony'd been here since well before Princess Luna had become Nightmare Moon. Perhaps this untouched corner of the castle had the path to the tree. Blade began investigating, checking out each piece of broken equipment. As he brushed one busted machine aside, a manticore leapt from the shadows behind it and slashed his shoulder.

"Buck!" he yelled in shock and pain, before turning around to chop off the monster's tail. It howled in pain, then fell silent as Blade finished the job.

"Are you okay!?" Nyx called out, rushing to Blade's side.

"Rrgh. I was careless," Blade replied, silently cursing to himself. Suddenly, a blue glow enveloped him, and the gash on his shoulder rapidly healed. He turned to Nyx just as her horn stopped glowing, and gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks, kid."

Just then, something caught his eye. He made his way to a table in the back, and brushed off papers so old that they crumbled into dust upon contact with his hooves. At the bottom of the pile was a gold bracelet with a red jewel inlaid in it. Blade noticed one final document next to the ring that seemed to be about the artifact.

"...Sorcerer's Ring?" he mused, reading the bracelet's name aloud. As he read, he put the ring on his forehoof and pushed it up his leg. As he did so, a wayward thought activated the ring, sending forth a fireball from the jewel and scorching the document. Not that it mattered. By that point, Blade had read all he needed to know what the Sorcerer's Ring was and what it did.

"I'm keeping you," he said, a sly smile creeping along his face. Suddenly he had an idea. "Hey, think that device back there would react to this thing?"

Nyx could only shrug in reply. They made their way back to the suits of armor, where Blade shot one of the suits with a fireball. It reacted and receded into the wall, sending the two ponies plummeting down a secret chute. When they finally reached the end, they were in the very depths of the castle. If there was a route to the Tree of Harmony, it was going to be down here. However, this part of the castle was drowned in darkness, illuminated only by the weak light of Nyx's horn, and just as untouched as the lab. No one had been here in over a millennium...except for the monsters.

"Stay close to me," Blade warned.

Together, the two navigated the maze of darkness, Nyx lighting the way while Blade cut down everything that attacked them. However, as dark and desolate as the halls were, the pair quickly became lost. Finally, they found a door along the endless walls of stone, and exited the maze...into an empty room. There was nothing here: no objects to check, and even the walls were blank. Even when Blade made the effort, it was clear that the room had no secrets. This was a dead end.

"I'm scared," Nyx whimpered. "We're...we're gonna be stuck down here forever, aren't we?"

"No, we'll find a way out," Blade reassured her, though he was losing hope too.

Suddenly, another quake hit, practically shaking the room apart. In the light of Nyx's horn, they could see the floor crumbling beneath them yet again.

"Are you kidding me!?" Blade yelled as the floor gave way and they were swallowed by the abyss below.





In a cavern far below the castle, just outside the reach of the magic stream, a unicorn in a brown robe was working her magic on the Tree of Harmony. Or rather, she was struggling to use her magic on the tree. She hadn't expected it to put up this much of a fight over such a simple spell. The magic surge, the tremors, the crazed monsters, none of that was part of the plan. She struggled against the tree's defenses to finish her work her, hoping that it might bring things back to normal once she was done with it.

"Is this gonna take much longer?" her rather impatient colleague blurted out. He was a gray thestral, his blood red mane offseting his eerie golden reptilian eyes. His cutie mark, two red lines circling each other in a corkscrew motion, seemed to specifically represent his favorite use of the twin blades mounted on the ends of his leathery bat wings. The unicorn had no problem with the ponies of the night, but this one in particular unnerved her.

"Give me a minute, Thatch," the unicorn retorted. "This thing isn't exactly cooperating with me." Then the tremor hit, violently shaking the cavern. "Oh come on! Just work with me and I'll be outta your branches!"

Right then, the cavern's ceiling collapsed...dropping Shining Blade and Nyx into the room.

"Well well, looks like we have some unwanted guests," the thestral, Thatch, mentioned, licking his lips.

"Oh great," the unicorn groaned. "I can't deal with this right now. Take care of them!"

"Wait, what?" Blade asked, still recovering from the fall. "What's going on? And what are you doing to the Tree of Harmony?"

"Not much point in telling you," Thatch rejected the question. "Sorry, but you can't know we were here." He spread his wings, and his blades extended from their sheaths. "Goodbye."

With that, he suddenly took off and pulled into a corkscrew. Blade just barely avoided having a pony-sized drill bore through his body. Thatch pulled out of the corkscrew right by Nyx, who was just recovering herself. Noticing her, he took a swipe at the defenseless filly. She just barely managed to avoid the attack, and Blade immediately drew his own sword and rushed their assailant. Thatch turned his attention back to Blade, and their two blades locked.

"Hey! Are you really willing to kill a child!?" Blade scolded angrily through his teeth, keeping them clenched to hold his sword.

"She saw us, so she has to die," Thatch replied gleefully. It was obvious he wasn't just killing out of necessity; he was nearly getting high off his bloodlust.

"What kind of a pony are you!?" Blade asked in disbelief, pushing Thatch away and slashing at him. The thestral danced away from his strikes...only to take an Azure to the face. Enraged, he went in for another corkscrew drill, only for Blade to sidestep it and slash him while he couldn't pull away. He fell to the ground, but he quickly got back up and lashed out at Blade in rage. Blade managed to block each strike, patiently letting Thatch take out his anger, until he saw his chance. He swiped at the thestral one more time, leaving a serious gash across his barrel and taking him down.

"L-lucky shot," Thatch told him in disgust.

As the fight drew to a close, the unicorn finished her spell, and somehow managed to calm the Tree of Harmony. The magic surge dissipated, causing the lethal magic stream outside to dissolve into nothing. "There, you happy now!?" she yelled at the tree. "Thatch, hurry it up there! It's time to go!"

"Urgh... They got me," he replied weakly.

"Oh, for the love of Celestia." She teleported over to her injured comrade. "Looks like you're off the hook for now, but don't you dare think you're getting off scot free. Trust me, your life is over." With that, she teleported herself and Thatch out of the cave.

"What just happened?" Blade asked in confusion.

"I don't know," Nyx answered, "but at least the Tree of Harmony's back to normal."

"And who's to say those two aren't going to screw up some other magical artifact, like the Crystal Heart?" Blade asked. "Come on. I've gotta tell someone about this. And you need to go back home." With that, he escorted the young alicorn out of the cave.
> Fugitive
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	No more. I'm done.

Shining Blade struggled to lift his hoof and pull himself up the last step out of the gorge, panting heavily as his strength ebbed away. As he dragged himself up to flat ground, Nyx gracefully landed beside him.

"Was the climb really that hard?" she asked, concerned rather than mocking.

"Hey, after the day I've had, I'm surprised I didn't crash sooner," Blade replied, mustering the energy to stand back up. As he did, he noticed a bunch of ponies approaching them. As they got closer, he noticed the golden armor each one wore; they were members of the Royal Guard. "Good. We can tell them what went down here, maybe have those two looked into."

A few seconds later, it dawned on him, too late, just how odd it was for the Guard to be in the Everfree Forest...before all five soldiers pointed their spears at his barrel.

"Halt, Shining Blade!" The lead guard ordered. "You are under arrest!"

"WHAT!?" Blade asked, shocked. "What did I even do!?"

"What did you do?" the guard repeated, angered and incredulous at Blade's ignorance. "You kidnapped Nyx, the reincarnation of Nightmare Moon, who's supposed to be under the tight guard of her mother. And in order to keep your hostage, you assaulted and nearly killed Night Guard Lieutenant Thatch. Do you deny these claims?"

"Wha- Of course I do!" Blade replied, though he doubted it would help. As soon as he heard Thatch was a soldier, he knew he was screwed. "I didn't kidnap Nyx; we got trapped together in that old castle. And Thatch attacked me!"

Blade's defense was answered with a spearhead pressed against his throat. "You won't worm your way out of this one with such blatant lies," the lead guard scolded him, enraged. "You're coming with us to Canterlot, to await your judgement. And you, Nyx...allow us to escort you home."

At this point, Blade was ready to just take his unjust punishment. There wasn't really much he could do in this situation, and he might have found a higher authority willing to hear him out at his trial. And Nyx would be able to go home and have her troubles end there. Except...she didn't. She cowered away from the knights, retreating behind Blade. Was something wrong?

"Come now, Nyx, you have nothing to fear from us," the lead knight comforted her. "Just let us take you home and this can all be over."

At that, Nyx cowered even more behind Blade, practically curling into a ball at his hindleg. Something was definitely wrong. She probably didn't know what it was, but her instincts were telling her not to go with the guards. Perhaps they weren't simply lied to. Perhaps, whatever Thatch and his friend were doing, these guards were in on it. Blade prepared himself to fight his way out of this predicament, when everypony heard a faint buzzing sound. As everypony tried to figure out what was causing the sound, it got louder and louder...

Suddenly, Scootaloo came zooming in on her scooter, knocking down most of the guards like bowling pins. The one that remained standing realized what was happening, and prepared to skewer his assailant as she caught air off of the last knight she hit. Using what capacity her wings had to hover, she twirled in place and threw her scooter at the knight with all the momentum she had built up. It hit him square in the face, knocking him out, and bounced right back into her hooves before she let herself drop to the ground.

"Scootaloo?" Nyx asked, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I heard some crazy story that Mr. Blade kidnapped you, and thought I'd come to the rescue," Scootaloo replied. "Looks like that story wasn't accurate though, thank Celestia."

"Wait, that lie's spreading back in Ponyville?" Blade inquired, his spirits sinking. "Why can't anything go right for me today?"

"Yeah, they've got a whole bunch of guards all around Ponyville waiting for you to come back," Scootaloo answered. "Probably best not to go home tonight."

"...your life is over," Blade thought, remembering the mystery unicorn's words. Dammit, so that's what she meant.

"And if they're waiting for Mr. Blade, they're waiting for me," Nyx realized.

Blade sated Scootaloo's curiosity when she gave her friend a confused look. "It looks like there's some sort of conspiracy going on within the ranks of the Royal Guard, and Nyx might be a part of that. Her instincts are telling her to stay away from them, and I'm inclined to agree with her. You, on the other hand, are not part of this. The guards aren't a problem for you, so go home. It's bad enough one child's involved; I don't need to involve another."

Scootaloo just shook her head. "No can do. If Nyx is in trouble, I'm gonna help her. Got a plan?"

Blade stared into her eyes, and sighed. He wanted to argue with her some more, but it was clear nothing he could say would make her leave. "First of all, I'm not going to be able to do much with this dang kidnapping charge over my head. We need to get word of this conspiracy to someone who'll actually listen."

"How about the princesses?" Scootaloo pitched in.

"Not a chance. After this fiasco, even Twilight is surrounded by guards. We'd never make it near any of them."

At this point, Nyx had an idea, one pony they could possibly turn to...but she shrugged away from the idea. He lived in Canterlot, a city full of guards, and even if they made it to him, she associated so many bad memories with his face. Unfortunately for her, Blade saw her reaction. Her body language was all he needed to see the danger and pain involved in this option, but he didn't have much choice.

"Nyx, who do you have in mind?" he asked, and was answered with a timid whisper:

"...Spell Nexus."

A chill ran down Blade and Scootaloo's spines. They remembered the uprising when a horde of ponies possessed by Nightmare Moon tried to bring Nyx back as their master. Though he was not himself at the time, Spell Nexus was at the head of that cult. However, he had been freed from Nightmare Moon's control, and returned to his position as headmaster of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Going to him was probably Blade's best option.

"Well, let's get moving," Blade told the fillies, resigning himself to the task. "No going back to Ponyville, so we'll have to find another way out of the forest-"

As he said this, a monster jumped out at him from the shadows. Before he could draw his sword, Scootaloo had already run the creature over and beat it into submission, using her scooter as an unwieldy hammer.

"Guess the creatures here are still crazed," Blade noted. "Wonder how long that'll last..."

"I don't think we should stay here," Scootaloo pointed out the obvious. "C'mon, let's get going." As the trio made their way out of the forest, the sun finally set on this nightmare of a day.
> Prismic Fury
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	In the plains northeast of Ponyville, Shining Blade and Scootaloo sat calmly by a campfire as the night drew on. Nyx was fast asleep a few feet away. As they stared into the fire, they each contemplated the events that had brought them to this point.

"Hey, squirt," Blade called out to the orange filly across the fire. "You really think you can handle a journey like this?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Scootaloo replied, "but I have to try. Sure, all of this is scary, and I don't know what going to happen to us...but Nyx is my friend. If she's in trouble, I've gotta help her, no matter what."

"You really care for her, don't you."

"Not just her. I'd do the same for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle if they were in trouble."

"Ready to protect your friends to the very end," Blade ruminated. "I like you, kid. Anyway, you better rest up. We can't exactly take the Friendship Express, so we're gonna have to actually climb that mountain if we wanna get to Canterlot."

"Woah, how long has it been since anypony's tried to climb that thing?" Scootaloo wondered. "Is it even possible?"

"It'll have to be," Blade answered, before lying down to sleep.





The next morning, the three ponies began the long, challenging climb up the mountain atop which Canterlot rest. The steep inclines weren't much of a problem for Nyx, but they proved a challenge to her companions. Shining Blade used his strength to leap from perch to precarious perch, while Scootaloo pushed her wings to the limit to slowly pull herself up to each ledge. Eventually, they made it to a flat area where they could all stop to take a rest...

As they stopped to rest their aching limbs however, they were attacked my monsters, green chickens with beaks in the shape of axes. Blade instantly went alert and slew the monsters, but their mere existence sent him into an inner panic. This wasn't the Everfree Forest, it was an area subject to the will of ponies...and suddenly there were monsters here. Was this another effect of the magic surge? Had this once peaceful nation suddenly become full of hostile creatures? He couldn't worry about that now. Even so, it was clear that it wasn't safe for them to rest anywhere for long. They continued their ascent up the mountain, wary of the creatures that now roamed the rocky slopes.

Eventually, they reached Canterlot's altitude, and were just a few yards away from their destination. Yet something felt wrong. As Blade turned a corner onto a large clifftop, he motioned for the fillies to stay behind while he scouted the area. As he trotted onto the cliff, the whole place was quiet and calm, yet Blade couldn't shake the feeling that danger was nearby...

BOOM! A rainbow missile shot toward the cliff, landing right in front of him. As the dust settled, Rainbow Dash stood in front of Blade, staring him down and blowing steam from her nostrils.

"Oh hey there, Rainbow Dash!" Blade greeted her, surprised. "Say, think you could get a message to Twilight?"

He jumped back as Rainbow suddenly turned around and tried to buck him in the face. "Let Nyx and Scootaloo go right now!" she yelled.

"Wha- I'm not holding them hostage!" Blade rebutted.

"Bull! I thought you were weird, but I never thought you'd sink this low!" She rushed Blade and tried to punch him.

"Are you crazy!?" He pulled out his sword and blocked her hoof.

"You gonna use that thing? Bring it!"

"I don't wanna hurt you!"

"Too bad! I'm taking you down!" She flew up into the sky, only to dive right back down. As she fell, a mach cone formed around her, getting tighter and tighter, until she finally performed a Sonic Rainboom...while focusing all that momentum straight toward Shining Blade.

Oh sweet Celestia, she's serious.

As the speeding rainbow approached its target, however, Scootaloo rushed forward and into Rainbow's path.

"STOP!"

Panicked by her honorary sister's sudden appearance, Rainbow violently swerved...into the side of the mountain. She fell to the side, limp and unconscious, but still alive. The mountain, however, wasn't faring as well. Nyx noticed as it trembled, and hurried to her friends before a massive rockslide separated the trio from Rainbow Dash.

"Thanks, kid," Blade told Scootaloo. "You saved my life."

"You think she'll be okay?" Scootaloo asked, concerned for her idol.

"Eh, I'm sure she's been through worse. But we have to go, before she wakes up."

And so the three made haste to the front gates of Canterlot, an entrance that hadn't been used for quite some time.
> Court of Mages
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Well, that was easy.

After all the trouble the three ponies had gone through to get this far, they waltzed into Canterlot without a hitch. As they approached the city, they made their way into the crowds outside, hiding themselves in the masses as they entered the city proper. However, they couldn't rest now that they were in Canterlot's walls. The city was full of guards, and even the civilians would gladly turn Shining Blade in if they happened to recognize him. They had to do what they needed to and get out as fast as possible.

"Nyx, do you know where Spell Nexus is?" he asked. She nodded, and escorted her friends through the city.

The alicorn filly brought the group to a large mansion in the outskirts of the city, fitting a pony of Nexus' status. Blade walked over to the front door, and lifted his hoof to knock...

"You really think that'll work?"

Every hair in Blade's mane stood on end as he whirled around to face the mystery pony. Standing behind the group was a unicorn with a coat as white as snow and a short cut scarlet mane. Her cutie mark was a four-point star. Her magenta eyes just stared flatly into Blade's. Clearly she took him for an idiot.

"I'm guessing you want Spell Nexus. He's not here, moron, and even if he was, there's no way his butler would let in a bunch of random ponies off the street. The guy's working over at the magic academy, not that you'd have a better chance of seeing him there."

"Cold."

"Just saying it like it is," the unicorn replied. "You can't just head over here and actually expect to meet with somepony with that kind of power and authority."

"Look, I really need to see him," Blade explained. "You see, I'm-"

"Shining Blade, right?" the unicorn mentioned. "Yeah, I know all about you."

Blade went into a panic. "And you're not calling the guard?"

"You're waltzing your 'hostages' around a city full of guards in broad daylight. Nopony's that stupid, so I'm thinking there was some sort of misunderstanding."

"Oh, thank Celestia," Blade sighed. "Actually, that's why we need to see Nexus. I need to talk to an authority who'll actually listen to me so I can get this kidnapping charge off my back."

The unicorn gave a cocky smile. "Tell you what. I'll pull some strings over at the academy, and get you an audience. How's that sound?"

"Oh! Thanks!" Blade replied, perking up with gratitude. "Say, I don't think I caught your name."

"Haven't given it yet, have I?" she realized. "It's-"

"Mornstar!"

Mornstar turned her head toward the voice and sighed. The other three ponies likewise turned to see who had spoken. A distance away, a beige pony was staring Mornstar down with cold blue eyes. Her yellow mane was tied up in a bun, and small curly strands dropped down either side of her head. Her tail likewise curled around itself. She wore a black dress, lined at the neckline and bottom with short white frills, giving her a look of authority. Her cutie mark was a ray of magic passing through a crosshair.

"What are you dawdling around here for?" the strict pony asked. "I believe you still have plenty of work to do back at the academy."

Blade looked to Mornstar for an explanation, and she sighed again. "That was Lockheart, my superior. Look, I've gotta go. Just come by the academy later. I'll make sure you have an appointment with the headmaster." With that, she followed Lockheart out of sight.

"Well, it's a good thing we found her," Scootaloo pointed out, before noticing the puzzled look on Blade's face.

"Is something wrong?" Nyx asked.

"That Lockheart," he mused. "Something about her is ringing a bell...but I can't put my hoof on why."





Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns was not hard to find. Even by Canterlot standards, the building was massive. The trio walked in, heading right up to a secretary pony sorting through files.

"Um, hello," Blade greeted her. "I believe we have an appointment to see the headmaster."

"Let's see here," the secretary answered. "Ah, yes. An appointment for one Shining Sword and his friends."

"Uh, yes, that's me," Blade replied. Apparently Mornstar had gotten his name wrong so he wouldn't be arrested on the spot. Except...

"Wait, aren't you that fugitive?"

"N-no," Blade stammered, sweat running down his face. "Ponies have been mixing us up all day 'cause are names are so similar. I'm not that guy." The secretary stared him down hard for several seconds, and then...

"Okay. Right this way, sir."

The secretary escorted them to a fancy office, where Spell Nexus was going through some papers. He raised his eyes as his visitors entered the room, and they fell on the black alicorn filly. He froze, and his pupils shrank to the size of dimes. The secretary left, leaving him alone with the pony he had warped and tortured so long ago...and her friends.

"Woah, dude, relax," Blade calmed him, noticing Nexus' panic. "We're not here to guilt trip you or anything. Anctually, we-rather, I-need your help."

"What?" Nexus asked, surprised that Nyx wasn't even the focus of the conversation. Blade proceeded to explain to him all the events leading up to this point.

"Fascinating...and troubling," Nexus replied to the story. "I don't believe the Royal Guard has any unicorns powerful enough to even touch the Tree of Harmony...which means this conspiracy extends to my academy. I've been careless."

"I can help you look into these ponies," Blade offered. "But first, I need you to help get this kidnapping charge off my back. I can't really do much if all the guards are gonna attack me on site."

Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Yes, come in," Nexus answered.

The door opened, and in walked a unicorn stallion with a pure white coat and golden hair. His cutie mark was an ankh, clearly a sign of his magic prowess. He gave off an air of majesty and authority...even more so than Spell Nexus, his superior.

"Ah, yes, Arcane Arts," Nexus greeted the newcomer. "What have you found out about the effects of that magic surge?"

"It appears to have caused some major issues," Arcane replied. "The world has become overrun with monsters, and they are far more aggressive than the Everfree creatures of the past. Our data indicates that this issue will only get worse as time goes on, and we haven't found any way to counteract it."

"On the bright side, the Guard will actually have a job to do," Blade pointed out, trying to make light of the situation.

"One more thing to report," Arcane mentioned. "It appears the academy is surrounded by guards. They believe we may be harboring some fugitive. I suggest you come and handle them as soon as you can, before they make a mess of the academy." With that, he took his leave.

"We can't get caught," Blade stated matter-of-fact. "Not while Nyx is here."

Nexus nodded. "Head down to the basement. There's a passage down there to the sewers. You can use that to escape the guards."

"Why would you have a passage to the sewers here?" Scootaloo asked.

"Well, some of the spells we practice here get a bit dangerous," Nexus answered. "It helps to have a testing ground away from the city."

"Okay, we gotta move now," Blade mentioned. "Let's get outta here!"





The sewers were pretty much what Shining Blade expected: damp, dull, and dark. The three ponies dropped down right near a flowing river of sewage water. It looked surprisingly clean, but it was still probably best not to fall in. They started making their way through the dim tunnels, steering clear of the water below...until it came up to greet them.

"Look out!" Nyx warned, as a frog monster hopped out of the water to attack. Blade drew his sword, and cut clean through the creature. A few round tadpole monsters rushed to the aid of their friend, only to be smacked aside by Scootaloo. Satisfied that the creatures were slain, Blade moved to proceed. As he did, a nearby piece of debris shook and stood, revealing itself to be a crab monster. Blade barely had time to react...before the creature was incinerated by a fireball. Confused, he looked behind the group to see Mornstar, her horn glowing as it held a runed metal staff.

"Didn't think you needed this much help," she mocked.

"Why are you here, Ms. Mornstar?" Nyx asked.

"Headmaster's orders. Nexus wanted me to keep an eye on you so you idiots don't get caught before he can sort things out," she explained simply.

"Look out for us?" Blade repeated. "How, exactly?"

"I'm supposed to get you to a safe house halfway across Equestria," she answered, "and I'm also supposed to keep your flanks from getting munched like I did just now."

"Oh yeah, thanks for that," Scootaloo told her. "But why are you using that stick? Don't you just need your horn?"

"Oh, this?" Mornstar pulled her staff closer. "It's part of my research. Turns out spells can get more powerful if focused through the right objects. It's not necessary for everyday spells, but battle mages can benefit greatly. Once I'm done with this, we can strengthen the army tremendously just by giving all the unicorn soldiers staves."

"Nice story, but we need to get a move on," Blade reminded everypony.

Mornstar took the lead as the group made their way through the sewers. Along the way, more monsters jumped out of the water, only to meet fire and steel. Eventually, after what felt like hours of wandering the mazelike passages, they saw a light, the exit where the water drained out. From there, it would be a short trot to the station, and then a quick trip to that safe house...

Unfortunately, fate had other plans. As they approached the exit, the water below was disturbed one last time. It frothed and splashed for quite some time, until a great beast leapt forth from the water. Now that the massive fish had left its aquatic home, it turned upright, using its massive fins as wings as it stared down its prey.

"What in Tartarus is that!?" Blade wondered, drawing his sword.

"A student's failed project," Mornstar explained, readying her staff.

Scootaloo rushed the monster, striking its body with her scooter at 60 miles per hour. The beast blew her back, sliding her against the concrete floor. Blade moved in next, cleanly amputating the monster's two back fins. It howled in pain, and dove down to take a bite out of the pony. Nyx came to their aid, healing their wounds with a flash of her horn. As the beast was distracted by the immediate threats, Mornstar focused her power, forming a massive fireball at the tip of her staff. Seeing her chance, she fired it off, incinerating the beast.

"Pretty sure somepony got expelled for making that thing," she mentioned. "Good riddance."

The four ponies finally left the sewers and saw the light of day once more, or what was left of it at this late hour. Mornstar took the time to zap away the stenches they had all picked up in those tunnels, and placed perception filter spells on her comrades. "This whole thing goes to Tartarus if you get recognized at the station," she mentioned.

The group made the short trip to the train station, and got in line for tickets. "Four tickets to the Smokey Mountains, please," she ordered.

"Pretty remote place to have a facility," Blade pointed out as they boarded.

"That's kinda the point."

The train doors closed, and they were on their way to one of the remote corners of Equestria.
> Cool Steel Blue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Shining Blade walked off the train into the warm morning sun, his friends following him into the daylight. He never imagined he'd ever be so far from home. Too bad this trip wasn't just a vacation. He turned his head toward the Smokey Mountains, his new home until things settled down.

"Lead the way," he told Mornstar, gesturing toward the mountains.

"Other way," Mornstar corrected him. "We're headed for the Unicorn Range."

"Seriously? I get that the safe house has to be secret, but why's it in the middle of nowhere?" Blade inquired.

"Well, it's not exactly a safe house," Mornstar explained. "It used to be a facility where we'd have all our really dangerous experiments, miles away from anypony who might get hurt. Eventually, though, most of those experiments were deemed illegal, and the place was abandoned. Nexus figured no one would look for you in a run down place like that."

"How considerate of him."

The four ponies headed north, and began their climb through the Unicorn Range. Eventually, they began to notice that a lot of the rock formations weren't exactly natural. Piles of stone bricks were scattered all over the place, the remains of ancient walls. Some stacks were taller than two grown stallions on top of each other, and others still linked together to form the remains of rooms.

"Ms. Mornstar, what are these?" Nyx asked.

"The remains of some old castle or something," Mornstar replied. "I guess some princess or something lived here long before Equestria was founded. Who knows, maybe that unicorn kingdom from the Hearth's Warming tale was closer to home than we thought."

As she said this, a monster appeared from behind a broken wall, a green slug-like blob with tentacles writhing from its top. Mornstar reacted quickly, summoning blades of wind to rip the creature to shreds.

"Well, whatever this place used to be, it's a monster nest now," Blade noted. "Best not to waste any time here. Let's get moving." As he rallied his friends to move, he noticed Nyx was staring up at the sky. "Nyx? Are you okay?"

"Huh?" she asked, broken out of a trance. "Yeah, I'm fine. We should get going." As the group got back on their way, Nyx looked back up at the sky, looking for what she had seen...and she saw it again:

A purple speck soaring high in the sky.





The four made rapid progress through the ruins. They were set upon by many monsters, but Blade's sword and Mornstar's magic made short work of them, and what monsters got through them were rewarded with a speeding scooter to the face. Eventually, they reached a large room that was surprisingly intact. True, the floor had been completely replaced with dirt and grass, but the walls to their left and right were barely damaged, and even a small part of the back wall was still standing, allowing a small piece of the ceiling to remain intact. They moved to simply pass through this room...when a purple streak dropped to the ground in front of them.

Standing in their way was the Princess of Friendship herself, Twilight Sparkle.

"Give my daughter back to me!" She ordered through gritted teeth.

"Gladly," Blade replied, sighing with relief. "I don't know what you've heard, but I didn't mean to hold onto her. Things just got crazy in that castle."

"Wh-what...?" After Shining Blade had been built up as a crazed kidnapper, this surprised her.

"Oh, and can you take this squirt home, too?" Blade motioned to Scootaloo.

"Awwww..."

"Don't whine," Blade scolded her. "You said yourself that you wanted to protect Nyx. Well, now you don't need to. So go home."

Blade and Mornstar stood by as Nyx and Scootaloo made their way to Twilight. For them, at least, the nightmare could finally end. Things were finally looking up...

BANG!

A bullet made of pure magic sped into the ground between mother and daughter, freaking out everypony there.

"That's far enough I'm afraid." Blade and Mornstar looked up to see Lockheart standing on what little roof the room still had, pointing an experimental magitech gun where the bullet hit. Before Twilight could react, she fired off another gun she was holding at the ground beneath Twilight's hooves, sending the alicorn flying. She hit her head on a broken wall and lost consciousness.

"Lockheart, what are you doing!?" Mornstar asked, looking upon the beige pony with contempt and confusion.

"Come now, Mornstar," Lockheart began, "is that any way to look upon your mentor?"

That's when Shining Blade connected the dots. "I thought you were familiar! I know that voice! You're the unicorn who screwed up the Tree of Harmony!"

"Not my intention, really," she explained. "I just wanted some simple data, but the tree put up far more of a fight than I anticipated for something so simple. Thankfully, it was worth the effort."

"What could be worth filling the world with monsters!?" Blade retorted, enraged. "What could be worth separating a poor filly from her mother!?"

"Oh, you mean Nyx?" Lockheart asked. "That part of the plan's had some...adjustments recently. We still need her, but we'll also be taking the other filly...and you."

"What!?"

"I believe this has gone on long enough," Lockheart decided, teleporting to the ground and aiming her guns at the four ponies. "Don't struggle, and this will be far less painful for you."

Scootaloo was having none of that. She raced right toward Lockheart, only for her to teleport away as she prepared to smash her face in. Lockheart reappeared across the room, and fired a few shots at the orange filly. As Nyx ran over to heal Scootaloo's wounds, Blade took his turn rushing their opponent down. He leapt into the air...

"Destruction Field!"

...and came down sword first, causing the ground to erupt beneath his blade as he came down. Surprised, Lockheart couldn't teleport away in time and got singed. As she warped away, Mornstar prepared a spell to bring down her mentor, but Lockheart had other ideas.

"Eclair de L'armes!"

With a flash of Lockheart's horn, a magical symbol formed around Mornstar. Two blades of light crossed each other within the symbol, then burst with holy energy, searing Mornstar and cancelling her spell. Nyx prepared to heal her, only to become the focus of Lockheart's attention. She fired upon the poor filly, only for Blade to rush in and block her shots with his sword. Right then, Scootaloo sped up to her and clocked her with her scooter, slamming her into the wall. Finally, fully recovered, Mornstar ended the fight by summoning a blade of lightning from the heavens. Lockheart collapsed, breathing heavily, with barely enough concentration to keep her guns aloft. Blade approached their adversary...

"Not one step closer!" she suddenly snapped, raising her head and pointing a gun at his barrel. Her eyes were filled with panic and terror. "I'm supposed to bring you in alive...but I'll kill you all if I have to!" The sudden shift in her mood, and the threat of death, caused Blade to flinch.

And then a shot rang out.





Silence permeated the air. Nopony was able to react to what just happened, least of all Lockheart. She trembled in fear, looking up at the thestral guard who had pushed her gun away at the last second. His mane was rather long for a stallion, and it covered over his right eye. His mane, armor, and one uncovered eye were all a cool steel blue, while his coat was a dull silver. As he looked down on her, he was calm and chill, a lazy smile creeping across his muzzle. How...how could anypony be so calm in a situation like this?

"Not sure what this is all about, but it can't be good," the thestral stated simply. "I'm gonna let you off on a warning, miss, but I'd better not see you doing this again."

"Y-you... What are you?" Too panicked to say much more, or wait for an answer, she teleported away.

"T-thank you," Blade told the stranger, finally finding his voice. "I'd be dead if it wasn't for you."

"Not a problem," he replied coolly. "The name's Night Sky. Pleased to meet you."

"N-nyx..." Twilight groaned, stumbling into the room as she regained consciousness.

"It's okay, Twilight," Blade reassured her, giving her his shoulder to lean on. "Lockheart's gone, and Nyx is safe. You just rest up and take the kids home, okay?"

"Uh, sure," she replied, still groggy. "But...you're not coming with us?"

"I'm not quite in the clear yet," he told her, whispering so Night wouldn't hear. "And even once I am, there are some...things involving the pony who attacked us that I'd like to look into."

Twilight nodded in understanding. "Come on, girls. It's time to go home." She walked off with the two fillies in tow.

"I'm kinda worried," Mornstar mentioned after the three had disappeared from sight. "If Lockheart found us here, I'm not sure how safe that facility is."

"Eh, we can probably trust it," Blade responded, unconcerned. "Besides, I'm kinda curious about the place now."

"You mean the abandoned lab at the summit?" Night inquired. "I've heard that place got dangerous after the magic surge. Can't let you two wander into a place like that alone, now can I?"

"So you're coming with us?" Blade asked.

"My spear is yours."

Together, the three moved past the ruins, toward the abandoned facility above.
> Forgotten Secrets
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Shining Blade and Mornstar sat quietly on either side of the campfire, waiting for sleep to take them one last time before they reached their destination. Above them, Night Sky soared around the starry expanse above, keeping watch over their camp from the skies.

"I don't think we have to worry about watch shifts while he's around," Blade mentioned.

Mornstar looked up at the speck of a thestral and smiled. "You know, I kinda envy him. And all pegasi and thestrals, for that matter."

"Oh, really?"

Mornstar nodded. "For all the things a unicorn's horn can do, there isn't a spell around that can truly replicate the pegasi's gift of flight. The cloudwalking spell doesn't count; at that point, I might as well be standing still on a mountain. Self-levitation can only be grasped by master unicorn mages, and the few who have pulled it off can't move very fast. Even that butterfly wing spell I've heard about isn't good enough. I don't just wanna fly; I wanna soar."

"You'll get there someday," Blade told her with a smile. "If you're that passionate about it, I'm sure you'll find a way."

"I actually have been working on something," Mornstar mentioned. "I was working on a project in Manehattan, and began working toward my dream on the side. Pretty sure I finished it, too, but I got called back to Canterlot before I could test it. Not sure how your job is, but working at the academy is brutal. You can't just go visit another city for the weekend; you're pretty much stuck where they assign you."

"Ouch," Blade sympathized with her. "So your dream's on hold until you get another project in Manehatten?"

"If I get another job out there," she corrected. "There are plenty of other skilled unicorns the academy can send out, and maybe my skills won't be needed next time. For all I know, I won't see my masterpiece again."

"Have some faith," Blade comforted her. "You'll get back there and soar one day. I just know you will." Mornstar smiled in gratitude, and lay down to sleep. Blade did the same.





The next morning, the ponies climbed to the peak of the mountain. Sitting there was an ominous building, casting a dark shadow as it loomed over them.

"The academy actually worked here?" Blade asked, incredulous.

"It looked better when it was in use," Mornstar explained. "Nopony's been here since it was shut down after the Plundervine incident."

"Wait, that was back in Ponyville," Blade mentioned. "What did that have to do with this place?"

"Nothing, really," Mornstar answered. "Pretty sure it was just a coincidence. All I know is that it wasn't long after the Summer Sun Celebration that this place got shut down."

The three opened the gates and carefully stepped inside the derelict building. Aside from what light came in through the windows, the room was dark. Some doors led into individual labs, and though they were locked, small windows let the guests look in on the rooms' contents. Each one was full of broken equipment, clearly smashed by hooves as the scientists brought an end to their unethical experiments.

Blade walked further down the hall. "Where do you think you're going?" Mornstar asked.

"Checking to see if there's still something edible in here," he replied, looking over his shoulder as Mornstar raised an eyebrow. "Oh come on, you're not even a little bit curious if there's still something intact in here?"

"I worked here. I know what went on. I'm praying to Celestia none of that stuff survived."

"Wait, you worked here?"

"Yes, under Arcane Arts. I don't think we were doing anything too bad, but many of the other scientists were working on some freaky stuff. You don't want to know about any of it."

"I'll be the judge of that," Blade retorted, flashing a cocky smile before heading off down the hall.

"Argh, you moron!" Mornstar yelled, her voice echoing through the hall. She and Night headed off to make sure Blade didn't hurt himself.

As Blade headed down the hall, he passed by room after room of shattered equipment. Those scientists sure were thorough, Blade thought to himself. Pretty sure I'd be ticked off if I was told to destroy my life's work. Finally, he came to a metal gate, barring him from the stairs down to the lower levels. He pulled out his sword, and tried to break the lock. No good; the lock was magically reinforced. Then he had an idea. He pointed the Sorcerer's Ring on his hoof toward the lock, and willed it to fire. Bingo! The lock popped off upon contact with the fireball.

Mornstar and Night caught up to him then. "How did you get that open?" Mornstar asked as Blade lifted up the gate. "That was sealed off by Arcane himself. Only his magic signature could unlock it."

"Forced the lock," Blade answered, showing her the Sorcerer's Ring. When she asked what the ring was, he explained where he'd found it and how it worked.

"Amazing," Mornstar noted. "So the magic from that ring can activate any magic device, even overruling security protocols like magical signatures. Good thing there's only one."

Suddenly, they heard a buzzing sound. Recognizing it, Blade looked behind the group to see Scootaloo racing toward them. "What are you doing here, kid?"

Scootaloo stopped right before the group, out of breath. "We...we were attacked on our way back to the station. A bunch of guards tried to kidnap us. They...they got Nyx. I...I couldn't stop them. I came here to get you guys."

As Blade and Mornstar tried to take all this in, a dark shadow passed through the labs they had walked by, settling in a room a short ways away from them. The darkness pulsed...then it pulsed again...until finally a monster burst through the window. Its skin was a dark, sickly purple, and it was stretched thinly over its bones. Its upper arms and legs were shrouded in clouds of shadow, assuming they existed at all. It turned toward the poor ponies, its glowing red eyes staring them down, and rushed toward them.

"No way! All those rooms were empty!" Blade exclaimed as the group turned and ran down the stairs.

"Still want to look into this place!?" Mornstar scolded him.

They ran for their lives through the dark halls of the lab, descending further and further into the darkness. As they ran, they came across lesser monsters, both failed experiments and new residents courtesy of the magic surge. They cut these things down to clear the way as they ran from the shadowy behemoth. Eventually, they realized they had left the nightmarish creature far behind them, and stopped to rest in the bowels of the building.

Blade noticed a plaque on a nearby door. "'Arcane Arts,' eh?" he noted. He put his hoof to the door, and was surprised to find it unlocked. "Think I'll see what Nexus' right-hoof pony was working on."

"Hey, don't go in there!" Mornstar warned him.

"Why not?" he rebutted. "I thought you said you weren't working on anything bad."

"The guy's got a point," Night pitched in, shrugging.

"Yeah, but that was months ago," Mornstar mentioned. "Who knows what's in there now?" Blade ignored her warning, and pushed through.

Inside, the group found an odd metal chair. It looked kind of like a dentist's chair...except each end had two clamps to hold a pony's hooves down, and the apparatus hanging above was clearly not a light. It looked like some sort of giant needle, except that there were no hinges to adjust its position; clearly it wasn't something that ever needed to be moved. The chair was wired to a few machines nearby, all of which were broken.

"So, Ms. 'We-Were-Doing-Nothing-Wrong,'" Blade began, turning to Mornstar, "mind telling us what this is supposed to be?"

"I...I don't know," Mornstar replied shakily, putting a hoof to her head. "I don't remember this thing..."

Just then, Blade noticed a nearby door. "Looks like this isn't everything Arcane had to hide," Blade mentioned. "Let's see if anything in the next room will jog your memory."

The group stepped into a large room. There were several lights embedded in the walls, to the point of overkill, but something had smashed every single one. In the back were a couple of poles embedded deep in the floor, with metal chains hanging off them. Clearly this was a prison of some sort...and clearly the prisoner had escaped.

"I don't understand," Mornstar wondered as she dropped to the ground in confusion. "What is all this? Did I help create something horrible? Why can't I remember?"

Blade knelt down to comfort her. "Look, whatever happened, I'm sure it won't be that bad."

"Eh, so what if you did something bad here?" Night pitched in. "Doesn't change who you are. I think you can live with it."

"If your memory's worrying you, I'll try to help with that," Blade offered. "Just know that whatever you find out is in the past."

"And in the present, you have far bigger problems."

Blade turned to the doorway, where Thatch stood looming. "I follow that orange pipsqueak to this rotten place, and who else do I find but my other target? Well, looks like it's my lucky day." Just then, he noticed Night. "Is that you, Corporal Night Sky?"

"Yes, what of it?" Night answered, his chill factor coming down half a notch. That was as close as he got to sternness or anger.

"Why did you not report that you had secured the fugitive?"

"I'm sorry, I thought that charge was questionable at best. The pony I met was no kidnapper. And even if he was, now you're saying this child is a suspect and not a victim?"

"Are you questioning me, Corporal?"

"I am...sir."

"Well, you no longer have the right to address me as such," Thatch informed him. "I hereby strip you of your title and dismiss you from the army! If you're going to side with a fugitive, you have no place in the Royal Guard."

"Oh really?" Night retorted calmly. "I could say the same about you."

As Thatch prepared to attack, everypony heard an inhuman roar. Suddenly, a shadow plowed right through Thatch, knocking him on his back, and transformed into the monster from before.

"Argh, I'm not dealing with this thing," Thatch spat in disgust. "You wretches can handle it, if you can. I hope this monster tears you apart, Night Sky." With that, he was off.

With no route to flee, the group was forced to fight the beast. Blade and Scootaloo rushed it, aiming for the leg and chest respectively. Blade sliced through the dark cloud of its upper leg, only for his sword to pass right through. Its limbs really were connected to the torso only by pure darkness. Scootaloo slammed her scooter right into the monster's chest, but it didn't flinch. Night swooped in and stabbed at the beast's head, but his spear somehow failed to pierce its flesh. Finally, Mornstar had enough time to call down another lightning blade upon the creature. This time, the magic definitely hurt the monster, and the light from the spell cast away the darkness of its limbs for a short moment. With this, Mornstar had an idea. She focused on her most recent lessons, a spell she was only barely able to grasp...

"Eclair de L'armes!"

As she cast her mentor's spell, it blasted the monster in holy light. Unable to bear the brilliance, the monster fell to the ground, its corpse dissolving into shadow.

"Figures that a creature made of darkness wouldn't like light," she mentioned.

"Well, now that that thing's dead, we'd better get out of here," Blade mentioned. "Nyx needs us!"
> Rescue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The four ponies raced back through the ruins, slaying every monster in their path, and finally caught sight of the station. Where the Friendship Express had dropped them off, an imposing behemoth of white silver prepared to make its return trip to Canterlot.

"Is this where all the military money's going?" Shining Blade asked as he saw the train. "Pretty sure they should worry about being imposing themselves before buying an awesome train."

"You're saying I'm not strong?" Night Sky asked.

"No, you are...but you're the exception."

"If you two are done squabbling," Mornstar began, "we need to get on that train now!"

As they reached the station, the train started pulling away. They had just enough time to jump onto the open caboose balcony as it sped back toward Canterlot. With purpose, they stormed into the first car, which was filled with guards. The knights grabbed their spears and attacked, but the four ponies easily outmaneuvered them and took them down. Even Scootaloo was able to easily dodge the guards' spear thrusts, and answer them with a forceful swing of her scooter.

"Sorry, but we've got a kid to save," Blade told the reeling guards in passing as they moved to the next car.

Each train car they entered was full of guards, forcing them to fight for every step they took through the train. Even so, they quickly managed to conquer car after car, leaving piles of unconscious, but still breathing, knights in their wake. Finally, as the train approached the climb up the mountain, and the ponies approached the front of the train, they came to a car that was completely empty, and stopped to take a breather. They prepared themselves for a fight, knowing that Nyx couldn't be too much farther...

In the next car over, Thatch watched over a bound Nyx, her eyes filled with terror. "Don't you worry now, little one," he told her in a creepy, sinister tone. "Just a little bit longer, and we'll have what we need from you."

"You're not gonna lay a hoof on her!" Blade yelled as the group stormed into the car.

"Well, well," Thatch noted, taking in the intruders. "I honestly wasn't expecting you to survive that monster's attack. I was gonna tell Lockheart that there was a tragic accident, and our other subjects perished..." He extended his wing blades and licked his lips. "There's still time for that 'accident,' you know."

Just as everypony prepared to fight, a blast of magic tore a giant hole in the side of the train. Thatch turned to the empty space to see what had happened, and saw Twilight flying alongside the train, enraged. Just then, the train lurched around a corner, dumping Thatch into the air. He recovered and tried to return to the train, but Twilight blocked his path and blasted him with her full magical might. He lost consciousness as he plummeted to the ground miles below.

Blade quickly rushed to Nyx and undid her straps. Seeing the terror still in her eyes, he embraced her. "Don't worry, Nyx. Your mother's here. We're all here. It'll all be okay now..."





"It took a while, but I got your story to the princesses. You're off the hook."

Blade was rather surprised when he got off the train at Canterlot, only to be called to another meeting with Spell Nexus. Thankfully, the guy had good news to give him.

"I can't thank you enough for what you did for me," Blade replied, sighing with relief as that charge was finally dropped.

"I'm more than a bit disappointed to hear that Lockheart was part of this conspiracy you brought up," Nexus mentioned glumly. "She was one of the academy's finest."

"Seems like they were pretty good at hiding their intentions 'til they chose to make a move," Blade noted. "The Royal Guard's got a problem with these ponies in their ranks, too."

"Yes, Celestia and Luna are looking into just how deep their influence runs," Nexus mentioned. "In the meantime, perhaps you can check into one of their projects within the academy's ranks."

"Hmm?"

"A while back, Lockheart took a leave of absence to go work on a 'personal project' deep in the Forbidden Jungle to the south."

"I thought academy staff couldn't do that."

"Some of the higher officials do enjoy such privileges. Some..." Nexus looked away, failing to hide the envy in his eyes. "Anyway, now that we know that she's part of this conspiracy, that trip has become suspect. Perhaps you could head down there and find out what she was working on?"

"Gladly." The two shook hooves, and Blade walked outside to meet with his friends.

"I'm heading down to the Forbidden Jungle," he told them to satiate their curiosity. "Anypony want to come?"

"Sure, why not," Night answered. "I've got nothing better to do."

"Think I'll pass on this one," Mornstar declined. "I've got some questions for Arcane Arts. Maybe I'll catch up with you once I get some answers."

"I'm pretty sure Nyx has had more than enough adventure to last a lifetime," Twilight answered. "I'm taking her home."

"Well, I'll go with you!" Scootaloo pitched in. "I'm always ready to help out my friends!"

"Oh no you don't," Twilight disagreed. "Rainbow's worried sick about you! You're coming back to Ponyville with us, no ifs, ands, or buts!" She dragged the orange filly behind her to the station.

"Guess that's it, then," Blade noted. "Come on, Night. We'd better get going."

The two made their way to the station, and bought a ticket to Baltimare. From there, they would head south through the Haysead Swamps to their destination. They sat down on the train, and relaxed for the long ride.

"Right back into adventure," Blade noted, contemplating the hectic nature of the past few days.

"I know! Isn't this exciting?"

Blade whipped his neck around to see a certain orange filly hovering behind him, her eyes wide and her grin stretching from ear to ear.

"I snuck away from Twilight when she wasn't looking," Scootaloo explained. "I'm not missing this trip for anything!"

Blade opened his mouth to protest, but he saw that same look in Scootaloo's eyes that told him there was no argument to be had. He sighed, and the train pulled away. "Guess we're stuck with you, then. Twilight's gonna kill me." He shook his head as the train sped off to the southeast.
> Unexpected Encounter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Maybe this wasn't such a good idea...

Scootaloo rethought her decision to tag along with Shining Blade as she struggled to free her scooter from the moist, boggy ground of the Haysead Swamps. She flapped her wings as hard as she could, desperately trying to speed off, but her efforts just sank her wheels further into the muck. Blade noticed that the young filly had gotten stuck, and went over to help her, but it turned out he didn't need to. Night Sky swooped in from above, hooked his hooves under the handlebars, and pulled Scootaloo out of the swamp.

"Careful there, kid," he warned her. "You might want to stay off that thing here."

Scootaloo thanked the thestral, and made her way through the swamp on hoof with her friends. The scooter still got plenty of use, however...as a weapon. Like the rest of the world, the swamps had gotten dangerous since the magic surge, and they were constantly set upon by pony-sized frogs, giant hawks, and other monsters. All the while, they tried to find decent footing as they passed through the swamp. Finally, they reached the edge of the Forbidden Jungle, the smelly muck making way for a dark maze of trees. Somewhere within, they would find Lockheart's secret project, and hopefully learn what she and Thatch were up to.

The three ponies wandered into the dark forest, the light of the entrance shrinking in the distance behind them. After a while, the jungle completely surrounded them, confusing their sense of direction. It was doubtful they could even make their way back out, much less find some secret facility. It was at this point that a giant spider crawled down from a tree, hoping to devour these treats that had wandered into its home. Blade noticed the spider, and prepared to fight it...when a tan and black streak zoomed in and knocked the creature right on its back. With one more strike, Daring Do ended the spider's life with her bare hooves.

Shining Blade couldn't believe his eyes. "Daring Do!? Wait, you're real!?"

"Who wants to know? A fan of mine?"

"Eh, not really," Blade admitted. "I've read one or two of your books. Good stuff."

"Wow, the real Daring Do!" Scootaloo piped up, rushing over to the famous explorer. "Wait until I tell Rainbow Dash about this!"

"You know Rainbow Dash, kid?" Daring Do asked. "Why don't you say hi to her for me next time you see her?"

"Wait, you know Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo asked, astonished.

"Sure, she and her friends helped me out a while back," Daring answered. Scootaloo squealed in amazement and delight.

"That's all well and good," Night pitched in, "but what's a fine lady like yourself doing in a place like this?"

Daring pondered for a bit, sighed, and decided to give these three strangers an explanation. "I'm searching for the lost zebra city of Aquinas. It's supposedly on the coast of the jungle, but nopony's seen it from the sea. I came into this jungle with a guide, hoping to discover its secrets." She sighed once more.

"You had a guide?" Blade wondered. "Who? Where are they?"

"A zebra named Zaphias, the last survivor of Aquinas," Daring responded. "He was going to bring me right to the lost city, but it looks like he bailed on me."

"Well, we're searching for something in this jungle, too," Blade mentioned. "How about we stick together and search the jungle together?"

"You really think it's a good idea to get sidetracked like this?" Night asked him.

"I doubt it could hurt," Blade replied. "We're gonna be wandering through this jungle either way, so it'd be good to have an expert on hoof. And if we find this lost city first, at least we'll have a landmark."

And so the four ponies made their way through the twisting jungle. The darkness confused them and twisted their path through the trees, and they were constantly set upon by more giant spiders, as well as ghostly creatures made of rags. Slowly, though, the jungle got brighter, as they made their way closer and closer to the coast. Finally, they reached a clearing overlooking the beach. Or rather, overlooking a ruined structure on top of the beach.

"That's it!" Daring exclaimed, pointing to the structure. "That's Aquinas!"

"What, that little brown box?" Night pointed out. "That's no city."

"That's just the entrance," Daring corrected the thestral. "The city itself is underwater."

"Well, that explains a bit," Blade mentioned. "Somehow, I think ponies would miss this."

"Does that matter?" Scootaloo asked rhetorically, her eyes wide with delight. "This kinda stuff is awesome! C'mon, let's go inside!" She got on her scooter and sped off toward the ancient city.

She didn't get very far before a four-armed bear, alternating black and white fur, swooped down on insect wings and brandished its massive stinger at the poor filly.

"The bugbear!?" Scootaloo wondered in shock. "But I thought Rainbow Dash and her friends defeated this thing!"

"'Defeated' doesn't mean 'dead,' kid," Night pointed out, readying his spear. "Well, better clean up their mess."

Blade rushed in to save Scootaloo, slicing at the beast's stinger. He managed to lodge his sword right above the stinger, causing the bugbear to howl in pain. Scootaloo took advantage of this, backing away before rushing back on her scooter. She vaulted off her friend's blade, and shoved the full force of her scooter into the bugbear's stomach. As it was left reeling, Night swooped down on the beast...

"Crescent Moon!"

...and made a loop in the air, dragging the tip of his lance into a crescent arc that knocked the bugbear right out of the sky. His sword free, Blade followed this up with a Destruction Field, roasting the creature as he plunged his sword into its abdomen. It writhed and clawed at its attackers, but Scootaloo dazed it with a swift and powerful blow to the head.

"Moonbeam!"

It was hard to tell, but Night seemingly teleported the few feet from where he hovered to directly above the bugbear's heart, before dropping down and plunging his spear into the beast's chest. As it finally died, he returned to his previous place in the sky just as instantaneously.

Daring Do was amazed. "Wow. I've never seen a monster of that size go down that quickly."

"Well, most of us are trained for this kind of thing," Blade explained. "Self trained, in my case."

"Anyway, we'd better go see the ruins now," Scootaloo piped up.

"Woah there, squirt," Night began. "That's the lady's job. We've still got work to do, remember?"

"Oh, come on! Don't you want to see what's in there?"

"...okay, maybe a peek."

The four ponies made their way to the ruins on the coast, unsure of what awaited them in the lost city below.
> The Drowned City
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The four ponies made their descent down a long, long staircase. As they descended, the light from the entrance got dimmer and dimmer, until their path was lit only by the torches that sporadically lined the walls. Just as they were beginning to think that the staircase would never end, it finally opened out into a massive dome on the ocean floor. Above them, a giant sphere of thick glass separated them from the ocean above, through which sunlight reached down and lit the ruined city underneath with what rays could make it down that far. Small canals lined the streets between the broken buildings, and the remains of fountains could be seen in a few dilapidated rooms.

"Seems like an odd place for zebras to set up shop," Shining Blade wondered. "Any idea why they decided to live down here?"

"According to Zaphias," Daring Do began, "his tribe found out there was some sort of spirit down here, and built this place on the ocean floor to live alongside her. You should really hear it from him; he talks about that spirit like he knows her personally." She spread her wings. "I'm gonna go find Zaphias and get him to give me a tour. You three...don't you dare break anything." And with that, she flew off into the ruins below.

"Well, guess our work here is done," Blade noted.

"Oh come on," Night Sky chided. "This place is nice. I wanna check it out for a bit longer."

"I thought you were against coming in here."

"A walk through the city can't hurt." Blade sighed and gave up, following his friends down into the city.

As they passed by one of the canals, a bipedal fish monster jumped out of the water, and lashed out at them with some sort of wand. Scootaloo panicked, and reflexively beat the thing into submission with her scooter. Night gave it a stab to make sure it was dead. Apparently these ruins were also affected by the magic surge. The three made sure to tread lightly, their weapons at the ready to fend off the other fish monsters that had taken refuge in this ancient city.

As they walked through the dilapidated city, Blade noticed something in the corner of his eye. He turned to look into an alleyway, and saw the rear of a pony as they walked behind the building and out of sight. Blade noticed the mystery pony's short, blood red tail, and instantly knew it was Thatch. But why would he be here? He got his friends' attention, and led them down the alley. At the end was a door locked by...magic? How? Zebras didn't have access to magic. Before the three ponies could ponder this mystery, however, they noticed the sounds of electricity and screams, muffled by the thick door. Blade wasted no time busting the lock with his Sorcerer's Ring, and the three rushed to the rescue. However, they weren't prepared for what they found.

After rushing through a narrow hallway, they came to a small room. In the back was the same apparatus they had found in the abandoned lab at the unicorn range, except this one was fully functional. Strapped to the chair was a zebra stallion. Unlike Zecora, his mane was more like a pony's mane, and drooped over his face. His flank showed a circle with a large dot in the center, and he wore a runed ring where Blade had his Sorcerer's Ring. A beam of magic energy shot down from the needle, making the zebra writhe in agony as it drained some sort of pink energy from him. Over to the side, Thatch stood in front of a connected apparatus as it deposited the energy into something physical. As the three ponies burst in, the machine finished its process, and the object was complete. Thatch panicked, grabbed the object before anypony could see what it was, and sped off through a side door.

The ponies rushed to the zebra's side and freed him as the machine shut down. "Zaphias, I assume?" Blade asked.

"Yes, but how do you know my name?" Zaphias asked.

"Daring Do told us about you," Blade explained. "Wait, you don't speak in rhymes?"

"No..." Zaphias answered, confused. "Were you expecting me to?"

"There's a zebra friend of ours back home who rhymes everything she says," Scootaloo explained.

"Ah," Zaphias replied, understanding. "I had heard that another tribe spoke in rhymes. The zebra you speak of must be from that tribe." He shuddered as he tried to take a few steps.

"Woah there, buddy," Night warned. "You better rest up after what you've been through."

"Your concern is appreciated," Zaphias began as he pulled out a boomerang, "but you must understand. This is my home, and that pony and his friend defiled it. I will not stand idly by and watch as it is defiled further." He stood tall, shaking off his pain and fatigue and readying himself to face the intruders.

"Looks like we found our secret facility," Blade noted in hindsight. "If that's how you feel, that's fine, but we're tagging along with you."

The group made their way through the side door and down the hall it led into. As they moved through the ruins, they faced more fish monsters, as well as monsters born from the broken stone of the city. Zaphias noticed a lot of these threats early, and took the initiative by throwing his boomerang before the creatures even registered their presence. After that, the other three were on the weakened monsters, and dispatched them quickly. Finally, they made their way to a ruined hall lined with the remains of long desks and chairs, with a podium at the front. This was once some sort of senate office, but now it was empty.

Empty, that is, except for a tan adventurer and the blue monstrosity that stood before the podium.

"Ahuizotl!" Daring called out. "How did you even find this place?"

"Why, I had help, my dear Daring Do," he explained while stroking a tiny white cat beside him. "What, you thought you were the first pony to set hoof in this place? Sorry, but no. And it gets better. My helpers just offered me a gift that will let me get rid of you forever!" He reached into a sack he had strapped to his side...

"I would say otherwise," Zaphias stepped in. "Undine! Wash this creature away!" A blue-skinned human, with fins on her head, stark azure hair, a blue silk scarf mimicking water, and a stunning aqua dress, materialized above the zebra. With a small gesture from the woman, a torrent of water broke through the walls of the room and carried Ahuizotl away.

"What in Luna's name was that?" Night asked. The other ponies, including Daring Do, were too stunned to speak.

"That was Undine, the Spirit of Water," Zaphias replied nonchalantly, as if summoning a fish woman was no big deal.

"You mean she's real?" Daring Do asked, dumbfounded. Zaphias nodded in reply.

"Wait, if she's like a god to your tribe," Blade began, "why would she just do whatever you asked of her?"

Zaphias responded by holding up his runed ring. Only now did Blade notice the one rune that glowed with the shine and color of aquamarine. "This is a pact ring, a relic of my tribe," the zebra explained. "So long as one has this, they can forge pacts with the spirits of nature, such as Undine. Once those pacts are forged, the summoner is free to use their powers as they wish."

"There are more spirits?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yes, little one," Zaphias answered. "For every element that makes up this world, from its raging fires to its gentle winds, to even the powers of light and darkness, there is a spirit that governs it. And with this ring, I can bring those spirits under my command."

"Wow," Daring Do responded, truly astonished. "You never told me that trinket had that much power."

"Ah, Miss Do," Zaphias finally acknowledged his partner. "Forgive me for stranding you in the jungle. I'm afraid that monster's 'help' captured me for some sort of experiment. It is thanks to your new friends that I'm finally free."

"Don't mention it," Blade replied. "His helpers are the reason we were in the jungle to begin with. Now let's go track them down. We've got some scores to settle."

The group followed Ahuizotl through the new hole in the wall, heading deeper and deeper into the city as the water trail drained downward. As they moved, they noticed how the stone looked more ruined and eroded as they moved ahead. As they passed one terribly dilapidated building, a chunk of it fell off, clipping Scootaloo's leg as it blocked their return path. Zaphias noticed this, and rushed over to the injured filly. He pulled out a potion, and poured it on the wound. Miraculously, the wound healed in seconds under the running liquid. Finally, they reached the edge of the dome, and proceeded to some outlying structure. They made their way through a dark hallway, until it opened into some sort of coliseum. At the far end, a damp Ahuizotl stood waiting for them, enraged.

"You've thwarted me for the last time, Daring Do!" he told the adventurer through gritted teeth. "This time, I'll make sure you never leave this place alive!"

"Yeah, I'm sure you had your cliche chitchat speech nice and prepared," Night began, "but we don't really care. Where are your helpers?"

"You dare mock me!?" Ahuizotl shot back. "I don't need helpers to send you all to your graves! Behold!"

He reached into his sack, and pulled out the object that was made from Zaphias' energy. Now that they were allowed to get a good look at it, all the ponies' jaws dropped in shock, confusion...and horror. Ahuizotl was holding a silver ornate necklace. Embedded in the center was a pink jewel in the shape of a butterfly. The metal was wrong, but otherwise, they were staring at the Element of Kindness. But how was that possible?

"My helpers have given me the results of their pet project," he explained. "Now, bow before the mighty power of an Element of Harmony!" He put the necklace on...

...and his body froze up.

Just as everypony was trying to figure out what was going on, a flash of white light came from an overlooking balcony. Blade looked up to see Thatch and Lockheart looking down on the whole scene with contempt.

Thatch sighed. "Guess we still have a few bugs to iron out."

"You...you tortured Zaphias...to make that!" Blade accused them, pointing to the trinket that was giving Ahizotl a seizure. "Why!?"

"Surely you know the answer," Lockheart replied. "The Elements of Harmony are gone, and our country is defenseless. So we've taken it upon ourselves to make a new set."

"We tried this before with Mornstar," Thatch began, "but that try was even worse. We ended up creating that monster you guys fought, and we got the whole lab shut down."

"And we had to erase her memory of the whole affair," Lockheart mentioned. "It's actually a good thing she started asking questions, though. She walked right back into our hooves without even realizing it."

"You don't mean-" Blade realized. "You let her go, you monsters!"

"I'm afraid we're not the monsters here," Lockheart dismissed him.

Just then, Ahuizotl's body exploded with pink energy, shaking the room. When the light faded, what was left...could hardly be described as Ahuizotl. From his abdomen poked out eight sharp, spidery legs. From his rear protruded a tail with a massive blade at the end. Where his head and neck used to be, there was a humanoid torso. The arms ended in stumps, at which point they transitioned into long curved blades. Where his head should have been on this new torso, there was only a single eye, though it didn't look like the eye of any normal creature. Looking into that eye, everypony could tell that Ahuizotl no longer had control over the monstrosity he had become.

"He is."

"You freaking monsters!" Blade yelled. "You used him like a guinea pig!"

"Yep," Thatch replied nonchalantly. "And now we're gonna let you clean up the mess. See ya!" With a flash of Lockheart's horn, the two were gone.

Realizing they were going to have to fight the monstrosity before them, Zaphias threw his boomerang in its face, then summoned Undine to ravage it with a torrent of water. Scootaloo rushed it, barely dodging its scythe arms as she pounded its stomach with her scooter. As Scootaloo fought the creature from below, Night battled it from above, dodging its tail as he looked for opportunities to stab it. Blade went at the beast head on, his sword clashing with its scythe arms as he moved to dismember it. Daring Do punched the creature here and there, but it was clear her companions were doing more damage. As the monster put up a fight, the soul of Ahuizotl within suffered, trapped within a monstrous body he couldn't control, waiting for his assailants to finally kill him. As the battle raged on, however, the monster ceased to be the only threat. The fight was weakening the room's structure, and the stone was beginning to crack.

Finally, Blade struck the monster a blow that sent it writhing in agony. It crashed into the back wall, and that was enough to end the room's erosion. Water began bursting through the cracks, breaking off chunks of the walls and ceiling as they got bigger. The Ahuizotl monstrosity was crushed under a giant chunk of ceiling, finally ending its life. The ponies, however, had no time to run as the room collapsed, releasing them into the ocean. Blade lasted for 5 seconds before the pressure made him lose consciousness...





On the shores north of the Forbidden Jungle, four ponies and a zebra washed up on the beach, unconscious but unharmed. As they slept, a white unicorn with a golden mane approached them. Arcane Arts picked up Scootaloo with his magic, gently placed her on his back, and began to walk off. Just then, Shining Blade regained consciousness, and noticed what was going on. He drew his sword, ready to stop the kidnapping in progress. Arcane noticed him, and with a flash of his horn, he called a lightning bolt down from the sky to smite Blade.

"A shame that you can't understand the reason I've gone to such lengths to achieve my goal," he mentioned. "Now, back to sleep with you, knave. Your time will come soon enough." With that, he walked off into the distance.

"Damn you, Arcane," Blade said through gritted teeth, before losing consciousness once more.