Sequel to Pony Split. Pure Heart will have many new experiences in his new life.
Pure Heart is going to experience a lot of new things in his life after returning to Equestria. New friends, new adventures, new enemies and the newest thing yet... Parenthood. Join in this adventure of his everlasting lifetime. No longer accepting OCs.
“Everypony out of the way!” I screamed as I rushed her to the hospital. “Hold on Luna, we are almost there.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh yes, because this is only the most unimaginable pain I have ever been in!”
“Hey, I have been I pain before, as well.”
“You have given birth before?”
“No... Just chill, we will be there in a couple of seconds.”
I said this just as we were rushing through the hospital doors.
“Prince Pure Heart, how are you doing tod-”
“No time to talk! Wife giving birth and simultaneously crushing my hoof!”
“Right. Dr. Stern, to the delivery room please.” She announced into the microphone.
I rushed my wife down the hallway and into the delivery room.
“Oh hello Pure Heart, how are you doing today? Back for another coma case?”
“Um, no. I am kinda conscious, and hope to remain so to watch my wife give birth. But that won't happen if I faint from the lack of circulation unless you help my wife, in turn giving the feeling back to my hoof.” I said in a single breath.
“Okay, let me just slip on some gloves and we can pop that puppy out.” He walked away and gloved up and then came back.
“Now what seems to be the problem, Princess Luna?”
“Are you freakin' kidding me?!” She screamed.
An hour of pushing and screaming later
“Alright, here it comes. Keep pushing. That's it. I can see the head.”
POP!
“It's a girl!”
“Doctor, why is she still in pain?” I asked, really concerned for my wife.
“Well, let's see here. Oh! There is another set of hooves! Keep pushing your highness.”
Another hour of pushing, screaming, and fainting husbands later
POP!
“It's another girl!”
“Hello! Still in pain here!” Luna yelled.
“Wow! Another one, hold on. Keep it up.”
I held her hoof, “Come on dear, you almost are done.”
She looked at me, “You! You did this to me!”
I looked at the doctor. “Come on doc, hurry it up. I don't feel like dying today,” I said in fear of what my upset, pregnant wife was going to do.
Yet another hour of pushing, screaming(mostly from me this time), and death stares
“I see it. Keep on going.”
My wife screamed, “AHHHHHHHH!”
POP!
“This one is a...”
“Yes?”
“It's a...”
“Yes?” I said in a more panicked state.
“For Celestia's sake! It's a boy.” Nurse Redheart said.
That Dr. Stern and his amusing antics, I thought, rolling my eyes.
I turned to my tired wife and held her close. “You did it. You made us parents.” I kissed her on the forehead.
“Great. Now can I see my foals?” She asked, still breathing heavily.
“Of course.” I tenderly began to scoop up each one and place them ever so gently in her forelegs.
The first one that came out had a pure white coat and a blue mane and tail similar to her mother's when she was first released from the grasp of Nightmare Moon. Of course we could not tell what color her eyes were, since they would not open for a couple more days. “What is her name?” Nurse Redheart asked.
I looked at Luna and she nodded. See we had made an agreement a couple months earlier about how we would name our kids. We decided that I would get to name the girls and she would get to name the boys. She came up with the idea.
Now I had been thinking about potential names of girls for the past month or so, and so I had the perfect name for this one. “Moonbeam.” Luna smiled. “After my own little moonbeam.” I hoofed her the child as Nurse Redheart wrote that down.
The next one I picked up was the next girl, and I have to say, I was quite surprised by her coloring. She was a faint yellow with a mane and tail that were yellow and orange like fire. Since her color reminded me of sun exploding, I decided what her name was to be. “This is Starfire.” I nuzzled her and then also gave her to Luna.
Finally picked up the third and final foal. He was a cute one. But he also seemed to have an air of mystery about him. He was definitely the smallest of all three, but what he lacked in size, I could sense he would one day make it up with power. Anyways, he was completely black with a shiny purple mane and tail. I gave him to Luna and she nuzzled him.
“What is the name of your last one?” Dr. Stern asked.
Luna looked down at him and smiled, “Nightshade.”
“That is a wonderful name, my dear sister.” Celestia said as she walked in.
“Tia, why are you here? I thought you had a meeting in Manehatten today.” I asked in utter surprise.
“What, and miss the birth of my newest family members? I don't think so.” She said with a grin.
Luna looked up at her, “Thanks you, Celestia.”
“No problem. Now, who do I get to hold?” She said with glee.
"Starfire! Come down right now! Nightshade, stop pulling your sister's hair!" I was frantically trying to catch my children as they flew and ran around the room. Luna was resting and so the responsibility fell upon me to watch after the children. Let me tell you, they may look cute and harmless, but you turn your back for one second and they are getting into trouble. And they were only a couple weeks old!
I jumped into the air and caught Starfire as she was about to fly into a wall. "Gotcha!" She giggled as I descended back to the floor. "Stay here while I take care of your brother." I said to her as I placed her in her bouncer. I trotted over to Nightshade and Moonbeam and pulled him off of her. "We don't pull hair." I said sternly to him. He just looked up at me with those big blue eyes and laughed.
"It's not funny, you made your sister cry. See?" I turned to find the spot where Moonbeam was to be vacant. "Where did she go?" I asked out loud, placing Nightshade on my back. I turned around and saw her lifting a cactus over her head with her magic. "Moonbeam, nooo!" I ran over to her and grabbed her out from under the cactus. I wasn't so lucky, as it fell on my head, shattering the pot that it was in.
"Why did we even get a cactus?" I asked myself. I rubbed my head with one hoof and placed Moonbeam on my back with my magic.
"Alright little ones, time for you all to take a nap." I said out loud. I walked over to Starfire, who was actively chewing on one of the toys attached to the bouncer. I picked her up out of the contraption and placed her on my back.
Right when I did so, all three of them simultaneously yawned and then smacked their lips.
Diabetic shock overload!
I smiled and walked out of the play room, turning off the light.
As I walked down the hall, I past maids going about their business, guards patrolling the hallways, and other servants running their errands. I finally made it to my own room and walked in.
When I walked in, I saw Luna lying in bed fast asleep. I chuckled and walked over to her. "Okay kids, get mommy." I whispered as I tilted my left wing down, letting the kids slide down onto the bed. They then all turned and looked up at me. Those big eyes of theirs making me seriously almost squee with delight. I put my hoof over my mouth as to not wake up Luna and pointed at her with the other. They all followed my hoof with their eyes and until they understood and crawled over to her.
I walked to the other side if the bed where she was and gently placed a kiss on her forehead. She slightly stirred but didn't wake up. I looked up at the kids and they stared at me. I signaled them to tickle her by moving my hoofs up and down. I guess they didn't exactly understand, as instead of tickling her, they all pushed her off the bed.
"Ack!" Luna yelped as she fell onto me. She immediately stood up and looked around. "Ahh, we are under attack! Save the children!" She turned around and saw the kids on the bed. "Starfire, Moonbeam, Nightshade. What are you doing here? I thought daddy was watching you."
"E as…" I said, my voice muffled by the fact that Luna was standing on my face.
"Pure Heart! Why are you down there when the children are right here?" She accused.
"I as atchin em, ut- an you get off my ace …"
"Oops sorry." She said, jumping back onto the bed, causing the kids to laugh from the shockwave sent through the mattress.
"Ahh, much better." I said, rubbing my snout.
I looked back at Luna who was patiently waiting for an answer to her question. The kids were all jumping on the bed, giggling and squealing in delight. "Hi."
She raised her eyebrow, "Hi."
"Um, what?"
She sighed, "Never mind." She turned back to look at the kids, still enjoying the thrill of gravity.
"How was your nap?" I asked as I crawled into bed with her, perching my head on hers.
"Great, until I somepony woke me up." She turned her head to look at me.
"Hey don't look at me. I was trying to get them to tickle you, they interpreted it as 'shove mommy off the bed, in turn causing her to fall on daddy and get him in trouble'." I smirked.
She just shook her head, "Whatever."
We laid there for a little bit, enjoying the sight of our kids enjoying themselves.
"How were the kids?"
"Oh, they were great. I taught them to fly a little. Then Starfire began to fly nonstop around the room and nearly broke everything in there. And Moonbeam got a handle on her magic and began to teleport around and levitate objects and such. Finally Nightshade decided it would be a great idea to start pulling everypony's hair."
"Wow, sounds like you had your hoofs full." She giggled.
"You have no idea."
"Well, let us get them settled down." She began to grab each one in her magic and they began to struggle. She brought them all close to her and they quickly began to settle down and snuggle up to her.
"D'awww. So cute." I whispered as they each began to slowly drift off to sleep.
"How do you do that?" I asked as they all started to breath softly confirming that they were asleep.
"Being the goddess of the night has its advantages."
"Wait, wait, wait. You mean you can make other ponies fall asleep at your whim?"
She nodded and then looked out the window, "Oh dear, now it is time for moon to rise and for me to start my shift."
"Hey now, I will take care of tonight, you just spend some time with the kids."
"Okay, be careful." She said, then she raised the moon and I walked out to the balcony and winked at her.
"Aren't I always." I spread my wings and took off.
A little while after I started, I was flying around the Everfree Forest, since it always seemed to be the source of trouble. Though tonight, it was particularly calm.
I flew over a lake and noticed something strange in the water. I flew down and realized that it was a pony. He wasn't moving, so I dove straight in causing a large splash. I grabbed him and started swimming to shore.
I pulled him out and then realized I could of levitated him out with my magic. I facehoofed and then took a better look at this pony that lay before me.
He was black with a silver tail and mane. He still wasn't breathing, but I wasn't actually cpr certified or anything. So I did what I do best. Punch him in the gut.
He woke up and spluttered out a lot of water before actually beginning to breathe.
"Ah! What was that for?" He screamed as he sat straight up. It was then I noticed he had emerald green eyes.
"Sorry, thought you might want to live." I said sarcastically.
He looked at me and screamed, "Holy crap! A talking horse!"
"Seriously, are you serious?" I asked.
"Wait, why do I feel weird?"
"I don't know, but I am guessing you are not from around here."
He looked at me with those green eyes. "What do you mean 'not from around here'?"
"I mean, do you know where you are?"
"Well of course. I'm in... uh." He looked around, "Where are we?"
"Just outside of Everfree Forest."
"Everfree Forest! Wait, do you mean I am in Equestria?"
"Yes, yes you are."
"And you are an alicorn?"
"Well, I'm not just an alicorn. I am also a prince."
"Prince?" He fell on his face.
"Aren't you a prince?" I asked.
He looked up at me. "What are you talking about?"
"Well you are an alicorn, too."
"I am?" He spread out his wings and ran over to the lake to look at himself. "Holy crap! I'm an alicorn. Someone hit me, I must be dreaming."
I walked over to him and hoofed him in the shoulder.
"Ouch!"
"Well I guess you aren't dreaming." I chuckled. "Come on, I think Tia will want to talk to you."
"Tia? You mean Princess Celestia?"
"The one and only. So let's go." My horn began to glow, and we teleported.
We appeared in front of Tia's living quarters. I knocked on her door.
"Hold on!" She said from within.
A few seconds later, the door opened to a tall white figure with a green face.
"Holy crap! It's an alien!" I yelled.
"Ha ha, very funny Pure." She said through her mud mask.
"You know I had to. By the way, we have company."
"Eep!" She slammed the door. "I'll be out in a minute!"
I was on my back laughing super hard.
A minute later, Tia stepped out in her royal attire. "Hello Pure Heart, who is your guest?"
I was about to answer, but then I realized I didn't know his name. I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment. "I actually haven't asked him his name yet."
"Of course you haven't." She rolled her eyes. "Did it just occur to you that you could of just let a bad pony into the castle?"
"Um… no. But I found him face down in a lake, so I thought I should help."
"If I can clear something up." The black s alicorn said.
"You may."
"Well first of all, I assure you, I have no bad intentions. Secondly, my name is Andrew, but my friends call me Andy."
"Well, I am glad you have no bad intentions."
"Andy huh?" I said, tapping my forehoof on my chin. "Odd name for a resident of Equestria."
"That's another thing, I'm not from Equestria."
"Oh? Then where are you from?" Tia asked.
"Uh… Ohio."
My eyes grew big, "Your human?"
"Yes. How do you know about humans?" He asked with a confused look.
I nearly flipped out, "I'm human, too!"
Now it was his turn to nearly flip out. "No freakin' way!"
"Yeah man!"
"Brohoof?" He held up held up his hoof, which of course I pounded.
"Yes!"
"Wow! This is amazing! Not only was I saved by an alicorn, who turns out to be a prince, but you are a MLP: FIM fan as well!"
"Um, could you two stop yelling or go somewhere else? I would very much like to go back to bed with the last hours of night."
"Oops, sorry Tia. Kinda forgot you were standing there. Good night."
"Good night Pure Heart and Andy." She yawned and then walked back into her room and closed the door.
I turned back to Andy, "So, um… You hungry?"
He was about to speak when his stomach beat him to the punch.
I chuckled, "I'll take that as a yes. Come on, we can raid the kitchen."
"Sound good to me."
20 Minutes Later
"So, how is that salad?"
He held up his hoof as if to give me a thumbs up, but I knew what he meant.
After he finished, I decided it was a good time to ask about him.
"Andy?"
"Yes Prince Pur-" I cut him off.
"Please, just call me Pure Heart."
"'Kay."
"Anyways, how did you end up here in Equestria?"
He leaned back in his chair against the kitchen wall.
"I don't really know. I remember having a crappy day and decided to go blow off some steam by going to see Gone with the Wind at the local movie theater. Next thing I know, there is a terrible wind storm which completely destroys the theater. Then all I remember after that is you punching me in the gut."
"Yeah, still sorry about that." I said, smoothing back my mane.
"It's fine."
"But man that is pretty ironic."
"What is?"
"You saw Gone with the Wind at a theater that ends up getting destroyed in a wind storm."
He thought about it, then chuckled, "Yeah, that is pretty funny now that I think about it."
We both laughed at the thought of this for a couple moments before settling down.
"So, what is your pony name gonna be?"
"Pony name?"
"Yeah. You know, the name we should call you so other ponies don't get suspicious."
"Well, how about Eclipse."
"Eclipse, huh? I would of thought something like Wind Storm or Air Tossed."
"Ha ha, very funny. No, I like Eclipse."
"M'kay. Eclipse it is then."
A few moments of silence passed by.
"So, um… What now?"
"I guess finding you a place to stay is the next priority."
"Can I make a request?"
"NO!"
He fell backwards in shock and landed on the floor with a thud.
"Wow, I was just kidding." I chuckled as I extended my hoof to help him up. "Sorry about that."
"It's okay. Anyways, I would like to request Ponyville."
"Okay, though we should probably wait until morning to find you a proper place to stay."
"Why?"
"…Really?"
"No, I'm kidding. Everypony is obviously sleeping right now."
I rubbed my chin in thought, "Weeelllllll…"
"Well what?"
"There is one pony I can think of that is most likely still awake."
One Hour Later
"Knock knock." I said at Twilight Sparkle's door.
"Why don't you just knock?" Eclipse asked.
"Cause this is funnier."
"Ooo- kay."
"KNOCKITY-KNOCK-KNOCK!" I yelled at the door.
"Man it's a good thing everypony is asleep, or else they might think you are nuts."
Finally, we heard hoofsteps coming towards the door. "I'm coming, I'm coming. Keep your horseshoes on."
A few seconds later, Twilight opened the door.
"Prince Pure Heart, I didn't expect to see you here."
"Well, I was just in the neighborhood."
She gave me a look.
"Okay, maybe I wasn't. Anyways, I was hoping you could do me a favor."
"Sure. Why not?"
"Great." I stepped aside to let Eclipse walk into view. "Twilight Sparkle, I would like to introduce Eclipse. Eclipse, I believe you already know Twilight Sparkle."
"What do you mean 'already know' me?" She asked with her brow raised.
"He means I have heard many things about you. I mean, who hasn't heard things about you."
"Eclipse, she know about humans."
"Oh, good." He let out a sigh of relief.
"Pure Heart, what does me knowing you are human have to do with anything?"
"I can explain," Eclipse said. "I am also human."
"Really?"
"Yep."
"Where are my manners, please come in." She gestured.
"Actually Twilight, I need to get back to my nightly rounds. I just came by to ask if Eclipse could stay here with you for a while."
"Of course. I would love to have a fellow unicorn stay with me."
"Um, actually, I'm an alicorn."
Her eyes got big with glee. "Really?" He nodded and stepped into the light a bit more and spread out his wings. "Wonderful! Even better! I have even more questions for you then!"
"Well, I've got to get going." I motioned Eclipse closer. "Careful, she'll talk your ear off."
"I heard that!"
"Oops! Gotta go! Bye!"
With that I stepped backwards and shot up into the air.
"Whoa, that was close. I nearly had to sit for a lecture on magic or something."
After around twenty minutes of flying, I began to think out loud.
"Let's see what to do now?"
"Hey bro, why you talkin' to yourself?"
"It just so happens I like to talk- WAIT!" I came careening to a stop, nearly slamming into a cloud. "Who said that?"
"Right here."
I looked to my left and saw a white alicorn laying back on a cloud.
"Wow, I didn't see you there."
"Probably because I didn't want you to see me."
I flew back over to him and landed on the rather large cloud. Sticking out my hoof, I said, "Prince Pure Heart."
He lifted his leg out from behind his head and shook mine. "Death."
"Death? Kind of a funny name for a white alicorn."
"Trust me, after seeing what I can do to people, you would think it fits me perfectly."
"People? As in humans?"
"Yeah, as in humans."
"Are you saying you are from Earth, too?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Man, another human in Equestria. Oh Celestia will just love to hear about this."
"Celestia? You think I can meet her?"
"Yeah man."
"Sweet." He began to get up, popping his back as he stood. Now I didn't realize until he stood, but he was taller than me, probably as tall as Tia actually.
He had a flowing mane much like Tia as well, though his was red like fire and acted more like it too. He had eyes like Nightmare Moon's but were blood red. Another strange thing is that he had two different wings, the left being a bat wing like the night guards, and the other being like any normal wing except more, how should I say, angelic. Did I mention he was big!
I kind of just stood there in shock and awe at the behemoth that stood before me.
He waved his hoof un my face, "Hey buddy. You okay?"
I blinked and smiled, "Yeah. Um, ready to go?"
"Hold on, let me put on my jacket." He reached behind him and grabbed a black leather jacket that had a dragon design on the back. As he was putting it on, I noticed something else about him. He had a cutie mark, though his was anything but cute.
His cutie mark was a skull with black and red tendrils bursting out of it. The really weird thing about it was that it acted kind of like one of those hologram cards. You look at it one way, the tendrils are normal, but when you look at it from a different angle, the tendrils seemed to surge with electricity. And when you look at it a different way, the tendrils looked as if they were being consumed in flames. Yeah, this guy seemed to emanate an aura of extreme awesome.
"If you are done staring at my butt, I'm ready to go."
"I wasn't staring at your butt! I was looking at your cutie mark!"
"Whoa. Take it easy. I was just kidding."
If he was, he didn't show it. Mostly because of the ever present stoic expression he seemed to have.
"So Death..." I began to say as the wind currents pushed us forward.
"Yeah?"
"Where are you originally from?"
"New York City."
"Ah, hardcore pony from hardcore city, huh?"
"Yep."
We flew in silence for another 30 minutes until Canterlot came into view.
"There it is, the best place in Equestria." I said proudly.
"It's bigger than I imagined."
I chuckled, "Believe me, New York City is much bigger. Of course I only lived there for a month."
"I'll take your word for it."
"Alright there is the castle, though Celestia is probably still asleep. But she will need to wake up soon raise the sun. In the mean time, would you like to meet my family?"
"Uh, sure. Why, not?"
"Cool."
We touched down on the landing pad and walked up to the doors.
"Good evening sir." The guards said as they saluted me.
"Hello."
They dropped their salute and opened the doors. "Will you notify Princess Celestia, as soon as she is up and has raised the sun, that I have someone I would like her to meet?"
"Yes my liege."
They saluted again and closed the doors as soon as we walked through.
"Wow, how very... official. Do you like that kind of thing?"
"Meh, it's okay. I'd like it better if they just called me Pure Heart, but the continue to insist."
We walked down several hallways, passing many servants and guards along the way. The whole time, they kind of just stared at Death with a mix of confusion, fear, and wariness on their faces.
"Why do they all look at me like that?"
"Dude, you are a white alicorn with red eyes and different wings. Who wouldn't stare?"
"Oh, I see." He said in his normal voice, though I thought I detected a hint of a solemn tone.
I patted him on the back, "Hey man, don't worry about it. They will get used to it. They got used to me when I had only one wing within a week. So it shouldn't take that long for you either."
"You only had one wing?" He asked with a confused look.
"Yeah, I'll tell you about it someday. Oh, here we are."
We stopped in front of my room. "Okay, be very quiet, they might still be asleep."
He nodded and I opened the door. Suddenly laughter came spilling out of the room as well as shouting.
"Starfire you come down here this instant!"
I turned to Death, "I guess they're awake." I grinned and walked in.
I nearly bust a gut laughing at the scene that lay before me. I saw Luna running around the room trying her best to catch Starfire, who was laughing at the fact she couldn't get caught. Her two siblings sat on the bed, giggling at the antics they were witnessing.
"Oh Luuuna, I'm home!"
Luna stopped chasing Starfire around the room for a moment. "Pure Heart! Thank goodness you are back! I can't catch Starfire!"
Suddenly, a tendril shot out of the floor and gently wrapped around Starfire's midriff.
"Holy crap! What is that?"
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Death said.
I looked at him and saw that his tail seemed to be planted into the ground. It twitched and he said, "Here you go."
I looked back into the room and saw the tendril slowly retract, still with Starfire in its grasp. Just as it was almost entirely about to disperse, it placed Starfire on the ground, completely unscathed. In fact, she had the biggest grin on her face, not scared in the slightest.
Luna ran to her and embraced her. "Oh my dear, sweet Starfire, you scared me." She planted kisses all over her face, once again, causing her to giggle.
I turned back to Death, "Dude, what the heck was that?"
"Sorry, guess I should have warned you about my powers."
"You have the power to grab children?" I asked with a smirk.
"NO! I have the powers of Alex Mercer. Except I can use them for good as well."
"Oh, I see. Well come on in."
We trotted in as Luna was setting Starfire on the bed.
"Luna." She turned around to face me, still watching the kids out of the corner of her eye.
"Yes Pure?"
I beckoned Death forward, "I would like you to meet Death."
He bowed and said, "Mi' Lady."
"Pleasure to meet you Death. I am Princess Luna and these..." She took a step back and gestured to the triplets, "Are my children. Starfire, the one I was previously chasing. Moonbeam, the eldest of the three. And Nightshade, the youngest one."
"It is a great honor to meet all of you."
"Alright, so now that we all have meet, what would you like to do Death?"
"I would really like to meet Princess Celestia."
"Oh, that reminds me. It is time to for me to lower the moon."
"Let me grab the kids so they can watch." I scooped up the triplets and placed them on my back. They all laughed as they sat there. "You can some too Death."
"Alright."
The six of us stepped out onto the balcony and Luna began to lower the moon. As she did so, the first bright rays of the sun began to appear from the horizon as Celestia did her part.
The kids actually didn't seem to notice what was happening. They were too busy tugging on my mane and wings. It didn't bother me too much though.
Death on the other hoof was a little awe struck from what I could tell after he said, "Beautiful." Though his expression seemed to stay the same.
"Yes she is." I said as I nuzzled my wife. She blushed and kissed me on the cheek. "Honey, will you take the kids? I need to *yawn* take Death to meet Celestia."
"No way. You are going to bed."
"But I'm not *yawn* tired." I whined at her.
"No buts. You take the kids and go to sleep."
"But they aren't tired either."
She raised her eyebrow and smiled, "Oh really?"
"Yeah, see?" I turned my head to see them all cuddled up to each other, breathing peacefully as they slept.
"Go on. Get to bed and I will take Death to see my sister."
"Fine." I turned to Death. "Sorry man."
"Hey, it's okay with me. Brohoof?"
We slammed hooves and walked back inside. I walked over to my bed and levitated the kids off my back and onto the bed without disturbing them. Then I slid into bed with them.
"Sweet dreams." Luna said before turning off the light and walking out with Death behind her.
Luna's POV
I closed the door slowly as to not wake up the children, then I turned to face Death.
"So Death, quite an unusual name for a white alicorn, is it not?"
"Wow, Pure Heart said just about the same exact thing."
"Did he now? That is quite interesting." We began to walk down the corridor as we talked. "So?"
"So what?"
"I asked you a question."
"Oh, right. Well, do you think it can wait until we get to Princess Celestia? Just so I don't have to explain myself twice."
"I suppose so."
"Awesome."
We walked in silence until we reached Tia's room.
"Celestia, there is somepony here that wants to meet you." I called through the door.
"Luna, if this is another one of your pranks, I swear, the moon won't seem so bad."
She opened the door. "Yes?"
"Tia, this is Death."
"Hello Princess Celestia. How do you do?"
"Good. Can I help you with something?" She asked.
"Actually yes. I would like to ask you out on a date."
My jaw dropped after he said that. I looked at Tia, wondering how mad she would be at this pony for being so forward as to straight up ask her out on a date. To my surprise, she smiled.
"Hmm... okay. But first can I learn more about you?"
"Yes, Princess Luna wanted to know more about me as well."
"Excellent, let us go to my private study to have this discussion."
A couple minutes later, we were sitting on the couches in my sister's place of work. After getting some tea ready, Tia took a sip and then asked the first question.
"Where are you from?" Tia asked.
"New York City."
"Really? I have never heard of that city before."
"Probably because I am not from Equestria at all."
"Then where does this 'New York City' reside?" Tia asked.
"Earth."
Me and Tia both gasped, "Isn't that where Pure Heart is from?"
"Of course. It is just surprising to see a third human turned pony in Equestria."
"What you mean 'third'?" Luna asked in confusion.
"Last night, Pure Heart brought by another alicorn that was a human." I explained.
"And you didn't tell me?"
"I was half asleep. Besides, it is Pure Heart you should be accusing of not saying anything."
"Do not worry, I will make sure he gets his. If you will excuse me..." Luna stood up and walked out.
After the door clicked shut, I turned my attention back to Death.
"So do you have a real name?"
He shrugged, "Kyle, but I prefer Death."
"Well, okay."
"So, when can I take you out on a date?"
"A little anxious, are we?" I grinned.
"Nope, just like to know these things." He didn't blush in the slightest, he just kept that same poker face.
"Well, how about right now?"
If he was shocked, he didn't show it. "But don't you have royal duties to attend to?" He asked.
"Actually, no. It's Luna's turn today, so I have the whole day to myself."
"Sweet, let's go."
Death's POV
Thirty minutes later, we were sitting in a booth at a very fancy restaurant. The waiter had just taken our orders and I was quietly sipping on my iced tea and the princess was slowly stirring her drink.
After a couple minutes of silence, Celestia spoke up. "So Death, that is a very peculiar cutie mark you have. What is your special talent?"
I smoothed back my mane and readjusted my coat. "Well, you see... I am not entirely human... anymore."
"Well yes, I figured so since you are an alicorn."
"Um, sure. Anyways, my talent is basically shapeshifting among... other things."
She seemed a bit puzzled, but then just smiled. "Oh, shapeshifting. That is very interesting."
After another half hour of small talk, our food finally came. When we were finished, we left after paying.
"Princess Celestia, would you like to go for a walk through Everfree Forest?"
She looked at me with a 'are you crazy' look. "Why there?"
"Well, I thought it would be nice and quiet. Plus, I know a couple spots that are abosolutely beautiful. Just like you."
She blushed, "Sure, why not?"
One hour later, we arrived at the place where I wanted to take her.
She looked around, amazed at the beauty.
"Death, this is amazing! How did you find this place?"
"Oh, you know. Flying around Equestria, you tend to... stumble upon things." I paused, sensing something.
"Well, it is magnificent." She walked over to a tree and laid down in the shade.
My ears perked up, "Princess, we need to go."
"Ahh, but we just got here. Can't we stay a little while longer."
I could hear them getting closer. "No. We need to leave now."
She looked at me with a face of worry. "Death, what is wrong? You look so tense."
"Shh. They are here."
She stood up and frowned, "What is here?"
Almost as to answer her inquiry, a half dozen fins tore the surface of the earth asunder, causing large pieces of dirt and grass to fly out in the air.
"What are those?" She asked, curiosity and a slight hint of fear in her voice.
"Land sharks."
"Land sharks? I have never heard of anything like that in Equestria before."
"That is because they are myths, they are not supposed to be real."
Just then one breached and headed towards the princess!
Celestia's POV
This giant fish was heading straight at me, its jaws opened wide. I could see many rows of teeth, razor sharp and ready to kill.
I was so surprised, I didn't have time to move. I held up my forelegs in defenseand closed my eyes, waiting for the jaws to close around me. But it never happened.
I opened my eyes to see the beast stuck in place, nashing its teeth at me, trying to reach me with its extended jaws. I then noticed that it seemed to be skewered by a large spike protruding from its abdomen.
"What the..."
Suddenly, the spike began to slide backwards, cutting the shark in half. As the halves fell apart, I saw the spike retreat back into the ground.
I then caught sight of what seemed to be a... actually, I have no idea what it looked like. It was a large being that had tendrils snaking out of the ground surrounding it and it had large arms that lead into what looked to be huge clawed hands.
Two more sharks jumped out of the ground and it grabbed both by the tails and held them in the air. Electricity started to spark out of the creatures claws which thouroghly fried the sharks until their orange-brown skin with its grey stripes turned completely black.
Another land shark came out from behind and latched onto the creatures neck, sinking its teeth into its flesh, drawing blood. The creature screeched and then caught on fire. The shark began to char then crumbled into dust.
The last two sharks began to circle the figure repeatedly. Finally, they both jumped out of the ground and flew straight towards the behemoth.
The creature laughed and its hands seemed to morph into giant blades. When the sharks got close enough, it sliced the sharks into many pieces. Then it shot its tendrils out and collected all of the chunks of bloody flesh and it fried the pieces to a crisp. It laughed and started pounding the ashy remains with hammer like appendages.
I was completely horrified and began to back away while its attention was on the its current task. Unfortunately, I accidentally stepped on a twig and it turned around and started to walk towards me. I really started freaking out, "Please, don't!" I closed my eyes and began to cry.
"Hey now, it's over. No need to be afraid." A soothing voice said.
"Death?" I opened my eyes and saw Death looking at me, a smile on his lips.
"Yes?"
I threw my legs around his neck. "Oh Death! I was so terrified! Where did you go?" I began to sob in his coat.
He stroked my mane, "Shh, it's okay. It's over now." He spoke with tenderness in his voice.
"But what was that... that thing that tore those beasts to shreds?" I released my grip from him and discovered blood on my legs. "Death? Why do you have blood on your neck?"
"From that land shark, remember?"
I gasped "You mean... you were that monster?"
He nodded solemnly, "Yes. I told you I could shapeshift."
I stared at him blankly, "You... you killed those beasts."
"They pissed me off. Especially when that one nearly ate you. That is when I shifted into that form."
"Umm, okay. I think I am ready to go home now."
A little while later, we arrived back at the castle and he walked me back to my room.
"Thank you for the wonderful time. I had fun." I said to him as I opened my door.
"Are you sure that you are okay? I know that whole 'incident' came as a rather large surprise."
"Yes, I am fine. Once again thank you."
I walked inside and before I closed the door, I heard him say, "I'm sorry about today."
I poked my head out the door for a second, "It's okay, really." I gave him a smile.
"I love you." He barely whispered.
After he said that, I closed the door. I turned and slunk down to the floor.
He loves me? Can I love somepony who harbors a monster?
I landed on the balcony just outside of Pure Heart's room. I had decided to talk to him about what happened on my date with Princess Celestia.
After tapping on the window a couple times, I heard the door unlock and it creaked open. There stood Pure Heart, his mane slightly messed up, yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Death? Do you have any idea what time it is?" He said groggily.
"Um, I think around 4PM."
"Exactly, I still had 2-3 more hours until I had to wake up for my shift."
"Sorry."
He sighed, "Meh, it's okay. Just be more considerate to us night ponies. So what's up?"
I ran my hoof through my mane and let out a sigh. "I'm having... girl problems."
I looked him directly in the face, only to see him covering his mouth with his hooves.
"It's not funny." I said in a calm voice.
"I know, I know. I'm sorry." He calmed down a little, still having a couple of spasms of laughter. "I'm just laughing at the fact that somepony came to me for romantic advice." He must have used some Pinkie physics, cause all of a sudden I was laying down on a couch and he was sitting in a large arm chair with a fake gray beard and thick rimmed glasses on, a bubble pipe sticking out of his lips. He held a notepad and pencil in the air with magic and then he took the pipe from his lips and said, in a rather lame German accent, "Now den, what is de problem?"
Half an hour later
"Hmm. Land sharks, huh?" Pure Heart said, leaning against the balcony railing. He had ditched the Sigmund Freud act after the first couple minutes.
I nodded, "Yeah. They just came out of nowhere."
"And you are saying she was shocked by the form you were in?"
Again I nodded and began to transform while he was still facing away from me.
"Come on. How bad could it have b—HOLY CRAP! It's Kozelik, Butcher of Truth!" He jumped back in terror.
"Who?" I said as I morphed back into my pony form.
"Oh, well, he is one of the three Eldrazi titans."
I stared at him blankly.
"Never mind. But I can see why she was shocked."
"So, what should I do?"
"Hmm. What kind of music do you listen to?"
Now I was confused, "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Trust me."
I put my hoof to my chin in thought. "Well, I like bands like Hollywood Undead and Metallica. But I'm okay with just about any genre."
"How about Hoobastank?"
"Uh, I guess."
"Perfect."
Three Hours Later – Celestia's POV
"'Kay Tia. Walk this way."
"Luna, what is this all about?"
"You will see. Just a few more steps."
She directed me out into the garden and as soon as we turned a corner I heard what sounded like a guitar being tuned up.
The source of the twang of the strings came from a stage covered in fog.
"Over here Tia." Luna waved me over to some lawn chairs. For some reason, my student Twilight Sparkle was also there.
"Hello Princess."
"Twilight, what are you doing here?"
"It's a secret."
I rolled my eyes and walked over, sitting down between them. "Luna, what is this all about?"
She smiled mischievously, "You'll see."
At that moment, a spotlight shined down on what looked like Death with a guitar.
He looked up and smiled. He started to strum the guitar that hung around his neck.
"Princess Celestia. I just want to let you know..." He paused and smooth beat of drums began to pulse in the background as another spotlight began to shine on, revealing Pure Heart on the percussion.
Then another spotlight blinked on and showed that Eclipse fellow from the other night. He also had a guitar which he began to strum.
"I'm not a perfect person There's many things I wish I didn't do But I continue learning I never meant to do those things to you And so I have to say before I go That I just want you to know
I've found a reason for me To change who I used to be A reason to start over new And the reason is you
I'm sorry that I hurt you It's something I must live with every day And all the pain I put you through I wish that I could take it all away And be the one who catches all your tears That's why I need you to hear
I've found a reason for me To change who I used to be A reason to start over new And the reason is you
And the reason is you And the reason is you And the reason is you
I'm not a perfect person I never meant to do those things to you And so I have to say before I go That I just want you to know
I've found a reason for me To change who I used to be A reason to start over new And the reason is you
I've found a reason to show A side of me you didn't know A reason for all that I do And the reason is you."
The beat slowed down then the song came to a close. He looked at me and smiled. "Will you be my reason Princess Celestia?"
I was in tears as I stood up and shot forward hugging him.
"Come on kids! Time for an adventure!" I said as I placed my children in their safety seats and buckled them in.
Luna came out to the launch pad. "Pure Heart, are you sure you can handle the kids and pay attention to the sky at the same time?"
I smirked, "Of course! I am the best when it comes to multitasking."
I was taking the kids down to Ponyville today so they could visit their Aunties (the mane six) while caught up with Eclipse.
"Well, okay. Just be careful, okay?" She had obvious worry in her voice.
"I Pinkie Pie Promise." I did the motions. "We will be back in time for dinner." I gave her a peck on the lips.
She then trotted up to the kids, "You be good for daddy, alright?" She kissed each one on the forehead, causing them to giggle. She smiled and stepped back.
"Alright, next stop: Ponyville!" I yelled and the chariot shot forward from the thrust of the pegasus guards taking off.
"Be safe!" Luna yelled as we flew away.
One Hour Later
We touched down in front of the library. I chuckled when I heard Pinkie Pie scream, "Their here!"
I started to unbuckle my kids and levitated each one onto my back. Once they were all giggling between my outstretched wings, I stepped off the chariot. "Thanks guys. Take some time off and enjoy your day in Ponyville, but be back around 6 PM." I said to the guards, to which they humbly bowed and trotted away.
I turned and walked towards the door of the library.
I was about to knock when the door flung open. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Pinkie Pie screamed.
"Um... it's not my birthday Pinkie." I said matter of factually.
"It's not? Darn it! Oh well, more cake for me!" She said in a sing song voice as she bounced away. I walked in chuckling.
"Prince Pure Heart. So good to see you," Rarity said as she bowed.
I smiled, "Good to see you, too." I heard laughing coming from my back. "And I think Moonbeam is happy to see you as well." I picked up my eldest and gently placed her on the floor.
"Oh! She is just so cute!" Rarity exclaimed as she picked her up and started to tickled her tummy.
"Fluttershy, I would like you to help Rarity watch Moonbeam today. She is the most calm, so she will be easy to handle."
"Thank you." Fluttershy whispered as she walked over to Rarity and Moonbeam.
"Rainbow Dash, I think Starfire wants to meet you."
"No, really?" She said sarcastically after being knocked over by a speeding Starfire.
"Sorry, she is still trying to get the hang of flying."
"Now don't ya worry partner. I'll make sure those two don't get into too much trouble." AJ said, walking over to them.
"Thanks." I turned towards Twilight and Pinkie Pie. "And last, but certainly not least, Pinkie Pie and Twilight."
"Yes?" They both said in unison.
"I would like you two to keep track of Nightshade for me." I pointed my hoof to my back after folding my wings.
"Er, Pure Heart?"
"Yes, Twilight?"
"Where is he?"
I sighed, "Not again."
"What do you mean?"
"Yeah, um, you see... Nightshade likes to play Hide-and-Seek."
"Oh! I love that game!" Pinkie jumped for joy.
"Yeah, but he has a tendency to always win. He likes to blend in with his environment."
"He's a ninja!" Pinkie Pie squealed.
"In a manner of speaking, yes. That is why I chose you two to watch him. With Pinkie Pie's Pinkie Sense and Twilight's knowledge of magic, I know you can keep track of him."
"Twitcha-shake." Pinkie said as she was dragged to an unseen force towards a bookshelf. "Gotcha!"
Sure enough, Nightshade reappeared and began to laugh.
"See, I knew I made the right choice." I turned to Twilight, "Now, where is Eclipse?"
"He went to the market about 10 minutes ago." She said.
"Okay. I gotta talk with him. Will you girls be fine without me? Alicorn foals are much different than regular ponies."
"Don't worry darling. You go do your errands. We have everything under control." Rarity said as she was brushing Moonbeam's mane.
"Well okay, bye then. You kids be good for your aunties." I said as I walked out the door.
"Bye." They all said in unison.
I closed the door and walked away.
10 Minutes Later
I was walking through the market enjoying the sounds and smells. I passed Rarity's boutique and saw a pegasus looking through the window.
"Hello? Anypony home?" He said.
"Hi!" I said, walking up behind him.
"Holy Cheese!" He shot up into the air.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"Huh?" He came down and landed lightly on his hooves. "Oh, it's no big deal."
I stretched out my hoof, "Let me start over. Hi, I am Prince Pure Heart. May I ask who you are?"
He stared blankly at me and then at my hoof, then back at me. He then took my hoof and said, "Pleasure. My name is Paul."
"Paul?"
"Oops. I meant to say QuickSilver."
"M'kay. So can I help you with something, QuickSilver?"
"Why yes, actaully. This is Carousel Boutique, correct?" He pointed backwards.
"Yes. Yes it is."
"Oh good. Then do you know where Rarity is?"
"Do you know her?" I asked.
"Not really, at least no in person."
"Person?"
"Sorry, I meant 'pony'. I don't know her in pony."
"I see. Let me ask you a question."
"Go ahead."
"Do you know what a human is?"
His expression changed to one of surprise. "Um... uh... yes. No." He began to sweat profusely.
"Hey man, chill out. I'm just messing with you. Though this does confirm my suspicions."
He audibly gulped. "W-what?"
"You are, indeed, a human being."
"What? Me? Pfft. As if!" He began to fake a laugh.
"Dude, it's okay. I'm a human as well."
"Oh my gosh! Don't scare me like that."
"Sorry."
"It's fine. So, um, do you know where I can find Rarity?"
"Yes. Why? Do you have a crush on her?"
"No." I knew he was completely serious when he went all serious faced. "I would like to ask her if she can make me a straw hat. Nothing more."
"'Kay. Well before I even tell you where she is, let me say this. You know she would most likely not make you a straw hat. It isn't very regal for her taste."
"Fine. Where do you suppose I find one then."
"Maybe the hat store across the street." I pointed towards a shop with a big fedora on top.
"Huh? Oh, I see. Well not really."
"What do you mean?"
"Well I kind of crushed my glasses a few days back when I landed here. It was by mere chance that I stumbled upon Rarity's store."
"Oh, I can fix those for you."
"Really? Are you an optometrist?"
"No, but my grandfather was and I can do wonders with my magic."
"Cool." He reached into his flesh pocket and pulled out the remnants of his correctional lenses.
"Hold on, this should only take a second." My horn flashed and his glasses were good as new.
He put them on and adjusted them. "Wow, I can see better than I could before. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"
"Na. It's on the house. Now, let's see about getting you that hat."
I began to walk over to the hat store, and QuickSilver followed close behind me.
As I walked in, a chime sounded. "Welcome to Big Ed's Hat Hut! How may I help you gentlecolts?" Said a large stallion that appeared as soon as the chime had ended.
After my initial shock, I calmly said, "Hi. I am wondering if you have any straw hats in stock."
"Well, well. You are in luck! We have one left in stock." He disappeared for a second and then came back with a whitish-tan straw hat that had a single black band going around the base of the hump. "Here you are!"
I turned to QuickSilver. "What do you think of it?"
His eyes widened and said, "It's perfect!"
I chuckled, "Alright, we'll take it." I gave the stallion the amount of bits for the hat and he gave it to me which I then gave to QuickSilver who immediately placed it on his head.
"Thanks, come again." The stallion said as we walked out.
When we stepped back out into the sunlight, I took the time to actually get a good look at QuickSilver. He was a pegasus, duh, and he had a grayish-silver coat with a black mane and tail. His new straw hat kind of reminded me of the hat Luffy wears in One Piece.
"So, what is your talent?"
"Oh... um... I guess research."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I really especially like to research science and medicine."
"Well, if you want, I am sure we could use somepony with your expertise in Canterlot."
"That is very generous of you, but I think I would like to travel for a while."
"Oh, well okay then. But my offer will stand."
"Thanks. Now then, can you show me to the library? I would very much like to get some reading done before I head out."
"Excuse me." The mare turned to me. "Have you seen a black alicorn around here?"
"No, I have not your majesty."
"Darn, thanks anyway."
I watched her trot away and then sighed. "How hard is it to find a large black alicorn?"
Just then, I felt a tap on my flank. I turned around fast, accidentally scaring QuickSilver. "Oops, sorry."
"Don't worry about it."
"Did you find anything out?"
"Yes, the local florist said that an alicorn had come by and picked up a special flower and then said something about a book."
"Hmm, sounds like he is about to ask a special somepony out. Quick! To the bookstore!" I raised my hoof up in the air for dramatic effect. I held the pose for a second, causing a couple ponies to stop and stare at him.
"Um, what are you doing?" QuickSilver asked.
"Oh, well for some reason, I was hoping to get some awesome transition."
"Like Batman?"
"Yeah..."
"Well I think we will just have to hoof it."
"'Kay."
One Awkward Transition Later
"Okay, there he is." I said, my face pressed up against the glass.
"What now?"
"Um, I guess we just go inside." I peeled my face away from the window, leaving a rather funny face smudge on the glass. Opening the door, a little bell rang. "Eclipse!"
"Gah!" He screamed as he dropped a large book. He turned, "Pure Heart, what the heck?"
I laughed as QuickSilver and I walked inside. "Sorry. Where have you been? Me and QuickSilver have been looking everywhere for you."
"Who?"
"QuickSilver..." I turned and found that he wasn't there. "Where did he go?"
"Over here..." He said in a hushed tone. He had pulled a book off a shelf and was reading it.
"Okay, nice to meet you." Eclipse said with a shrug. "Hey, I have great news."
"What?"
"I got my cutie mark!"
"...You didn't have one before?"
"Nope, but check it out." He turned around to show off his cutie mark.
"Wait, is that the..."
"Yeah, it's the book from the first episode."
It was in fact a depiction of the brown book with a gold unicorn emblem on it that you see in the beginning sequence of the first episode of MLP: FIM.
"Wow, that is cool. But what is your special talent?"
"Equestrian knowledge."
"Ah, I see. Well what are you doing?"
"Oh I just thought I would find a book for Twilight."
I chuckled, "I bet you anything she has read every book here."
"I can attest to that." Said the shopkeeper.
Eclipse facehoofed, "Great. What am I supposed to get her now?"
QuickSilver spoke up, "Um, didn't you purchase a flower earlier."
"Oh yeah." He reached into a saddlebag that had the same image of his cutie mark.
"Wow, that is a strange flower. What kind is it?" I said.
"It's a called a... um."
"I thought you said your special talent was Equestrian knowledge." I said.
"I did. I didn't say that my talent was memory."
I facehoofed this time.
"It's a Twiliticus Ecliptium, commonly known as the Black Sunset. It is known only to bloom during the few minutes between the transition of the sun and the moon." He looked up from his book to see our confused faces. "Great at research, remember?"
"Oh yeah." I turned to Eclipse. "Research is his special talent."
"Oh, okay."
Continuing from where he left off, "The Black Sunset is said to shimmer with spectacular colors when exposed to the twilight of an eclipse."
"Oh, that is pretty cool. I only got it because it reminded me of Twilight." Eclipse admitted.
"Hmm... Where is a vegetarian vampire when you need one." Me and Eclipse both laughed.
QuickSilver just looked at with a confused look. "What are you guys laughing at?"
"The Twilight Saga... never mind."
"Yeah. Anyways, I think that will blow her mind."
"It would if it were real." QuickSilver commented.
Eclipse scrunched up his face, "Whacha talkin' 'bout Willis?"
Again we laughed but QuickSilver just did not seem to get it.
"I don't know who you are talking to, but as I was saying. The flower you have is not really a Black Sunset. Black Sunset's wither as soon as they are picked. That one is still healthy looking." QuickSilver explained.
"Huh, no wonder it was free."
"Sucks for you dude." I said.
"Where can I find them then?"
"Hmm, the book says they are found near the summit of Mount Dusk located in Raptor Valley."
"Raptors? As in dinosaurs?" I asked.
"No, as in large birds of prey."
"Well that sucks even more." Eclipse said, folding back his ears, looking down trodden.
"Hey, maybe you can convince Twilight to on an expedition with you to Mount Dusk."
"Well that is strange idea for a first date." Eclipse said.
"Considering it is a 3 month journey, I would say it is more of a commitment than a date." QuickSilver stated.
"Wow, then you should probably ask her out a couple times first." I suggested.
"Yeah,I guess."
"Can we go to the library now?" QuickSilver asked.
"Hold on, I want to buy that book on flowers you had first." Eclipse said.
Ten Minutes Later
"Finally, the library." QuickSilver said.
Eclipse opened the door and began to walk in. "Yeah, it's great to be ho..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Starfire flew into him. "Oof!" He crashed to the ground quite hard and I luckily caught Starfire.
"Oops, sorry Eclipse." Rainbow Dash apologized, landing next to the fallen alicorn to help him up. "I was teaching Starfire how to do a trick."
"No, it's fine. I didn't need to breathe anyway." He said sarcastically, rubbing his chest.
"Star, are you learning tricks?" I said to my little girl, nose kissing her. She giggled in response.
"Well ain't dat the cutest thing ya ever did see?" Apple Jack said smugly.
"Hey, shut up." I said blushing.
Everypony laughed.
"Hey, who's the guy with the hat?" Dash asked.
"Um, I would very much appreciate it if you didn't talk about my hat, thank you." QuickSilver said.
"Why? It looks like the kind of silly hat Rarity wears sometimes." Pinkie said, parrading a laughing Nightshade on her back.
"It is not silly!" QuickSilver yelled.
Everypony stared at him in shock.
"Um, okay. Take a chill pill. Everypony, please do not make comments about his hat." I instructed. "This is QuickSilver. He will be around for a couple days doing some research before heading off to see Equestria. Please treat him kindly."
After introductions were made, I started to gather up my kids for naptime.
Twilight said it was okay for them to nap in her bed, so I thanked her and took them upstairs and tucked them in. Afterward, I quietly tiphoofed down the stairs and found that AJ, Pinkie, and Fluttershy had all left, leaving me, Twilight, Eclipse, Rarity, QuickSilver, and Dash to chat.
"So, how were my kids?" I asked, settling down onto the floor.
"Moonbeam was a perfect little angel, up until she began to throw things around with her magic." Rarity said.
"Yeah, I guess I forgot to warn you about that." I looked around and saw QuickSilver already reading books. I then turned to Rainbow Dash. "How about Starfire?"
"Oh man, she was awesome. She was zipping across the room super fast. You have a racer on your hooves." Rainbow said in a really excited tone.
"Great, her mother will be thrilled." I chuckled, I finally set my eyes on the couch where Twilight and Eclipse sat. They both seemed to be sweating a little. Eclipse I think was sweating from nerves, but I have no idea why Twilight was sweating. "How did you fare with keeping an eye on Nightshade, Ms. Sparkle?"
"I didn't put a locator spell on him! It was Pinkie Pie's idea! These are not the ponies you are looking for..." She blurted out, waving her hooves around in a mesmerizing fashion with that last comment.
I blinked, "So, I guess he wasn't that hard to take care of, huh?"
"Um, oh I think the tea is ready!" She jumped off the couch and ran into the kitchen. We all laughed.
"So overall, they did well?"
"Oh yes. Quite fine." Rarity said with an awkward smile.
"Well then, I know who to get to foalsit from now on." I said in a coy manner.
"No!" Both Rarity and Rainbow Dash said at the same time.
I busted out laughing.
A few minutes later, Twilight came back in with tea. "Who wants tea?"
"There actually is tea? I thought you were making an excuse." I said with a grin.
"Me? As if. I didn't conjure this up with magic at the last minute to make myself not look crazy." She said with a nervous smile.
"Okay..." I turned to Eclipse. "Eclipse, didn't you have something you wanted to ask Twilight?"
"Oh yeah!" He turned to Twilight after she sat the tea down on the coffee table and sat down on the couch herself. He pulled out the flower. "Twilight Sparkle, this is for you."
Her eyes grew big, "Is that a Twiliticus Ecliptium?"
"Nope, it's a fake." QuickSilver said from across the room. Eclipse gave him a look which he just shrugged off.
"It is still very beautiful and I thank you for the gift. But what, may I ask, brought you to get it for me?" Twilight inquired.
"Well, I was wondering if I could take you out to dinner." He asked with a nervous smile.
She stared at him, then at the flower, then back at him. She smiled, "I would be delighted to."
I looked at Eclipse, his expression was blank. "Um, you okay?" I asked him.
I poked him, and he fell over, which caused him to come out of whatever he was in.
Let's see, I stole a glance of the clock on city hall. Wow, I still have 3 hours until we have to head home. I thought to myself.
I was out walking around Ponyville, just trying to pass the time. I wonder what the guards are doing? I walked into a nearby cafe, (yes cafe, no bars here, sorry), and I just so happened to see them sitting in a booth with another pegasus. I walked over to where they were sitting.
"Mind if I sit with you gentlecolts?"
"Your majesty! Of course not!" They both stood up and saluted.
"Please, settle down. Right now I am just a friend."
"Sorry, please join us." The first one said.
I nodded and sat.
"Wow, haven't seen anypony salute in a long time." The other pegasus chuckled.
"Okay... So what were you guys talking about?" I asked.
"Oh, you know, the good times we had together in the royal guard academy."
"Funny, I've never seen you around the palace before."
"That's because I am retired."
My jaw nearly hit the table. "Retired? But you're my age."
"Right, but the Princess suggested I settle down."
"Hmm. And what is your name?"
"White Rush."
"Well, White Rush, I would like it very much if you will accompany me to the palace this evening."
"Sure, I want to see how Princess Celestia is doing anyway."
We talked for a couple more hours. I learned all about the process by which royal guards are trained.
"Oh my, look at the time. We need to be back at the palace in an hour." I slid out of the booth and let White Rush out. Now that he stood up, I got a better look at him.
He was cyan with a white streak going through his wings. His mane and tail were white and his eyes were icy blue.
As we walked out of the cafe, we carried a light conversation for the five minute walk back to Twilight's.
I knocked on the front door and waited. Eclipse opened the door and I have to say, he looked pretty spiffy. His mane was combed and he was wearing a shirt and tie.
"Oh, here to pick up your kids?" He asked.
"Yeah, they still asleep?"
"Yep, come on in." He gestured us in.
"Eclipse, this is White Rush. I'm going to get the kids then we will be off."
I started towards the stairs. I passed QuickSilver who was still reading. He seemed to be humming as well, and actually I knew the tune.
"Clint Eastwood."
He looked up, "Huh?"
"The tune you were humming, Clint Eastwood by the Gorillaz. I love that song. Del the Ghost Rapper does a great job in it unlike Rock the House."
He kind of just stared at me. "Wow, I thought I was the only one who would know about them."
"Nope. Hey if you want, you can borrow my mp3, it has some of their songs on it plus a lot of other songs including fan music."
"That would be awesome!" He jumped up in excitement.
"Okay, just be sure to take good care of it." I said as I pulled it out for him.
"I will! Oh man, this is so epic! Thank you so much!"
"You are welcome." I smiled and walked away as he put the ear buds in and began to listen to music.
I got the kids and thanked Twilight for letting them nap in her room. "Okay, let's get home before mommy has a tantrum." I said as I strapped the kids in, mussing Nightshade's mane, to which he giggled.
The guards were already in place and White Rush got into the chariot with me and the kids.
"Have fun on your date Eclipse and Twilight!" I yelled as we took off.
They waved bye and the went about their business.
One Hour Later
"You are two minutes late!" Luna screamed.
"Um, sorry." I said, pouting.
"Don't give me that look."
"Dude, who is wearing the pants in your family?" White Rush chuckled.
Luna turned towards him. "Shut up Michael!"
I came out of my funk and stared at White Rush.
"Michael?"
White Rush facehoofed, then said, "Yeah, Michael. That is my real name."
"Oh, so we have another human in Equestria." I said.
"Another human?" He asked in surprise.
"Yep. You are the fourth human I know in Equestia. But it sounds like you have been here even longer than me."
"That is correct Pure Heart. He was a member of the Royal Guard for two years before he retired." Luna explained as she got the kids out of the chariot.
"Why did you retire?"
"Well, I kind of had a falling out with a few of the guards." He rubbed his head in embarrassment.
"I should say so." Said a regal voice from behind.
"Oh, Princess Celestia. How are you?" White Rush said as he bowed.
"Oh, you know. Same old, same old. But back to what I was saying. He stopped an uprising within the guard which unfortunately ended in an injury that caused him to retire."
"It was only a small flesh wound."
"Small? You had a large gash in your stomach." Tia shook her head, "Anyways, he was one of the best guards we ever had. Though, now I fear that without his presence, another uprising is rumored to be brought to pass."
"Hmm, this indeed is a problem. But what can be done?" Luna asked after the servants took the now sleeping kids to the bedroom.
"Well I would offer up my services, but I am afraid I might be too easily recognized." White Rush said.
"Right. What we need is somepony that has no trouble blending in but still had the strength to stop an event. But who?" Celestia pondered.
"I have an idea," I said. Everypony looked at me. "But can we continue this conversation in the study? Also, somepony get Death, he should be there when I explain my plan."
Everypony agreed and we began walking.
One Week Later – White Rush's POV
Wow, what a week. First I get called out of retirement and then I get promoted to co-captain of the guard, the other being Shining Armor of course.
Right now, I was pairing up the new recruits with some of the guards who new their way around the academy for orientation.
"Alright, the last on the list." I ran my hoof down the list to the bottom. "Vapor Sky." I said in to the megaphone.
A cyan pegasus with a red and pink mane and tail stepped forward. She saluted, "Yes Sir."
"You are assigned to Scorched Earth." A dark brown earth pony stepped out of the ranks. His mane and tail were black with scarlet streaks.
He saluted and walked over to Vapor Sky to stand next to her.
"Now that everypony has a partner, report to your assigned quarters and get settled. Dinner will be at 1800 hours. Dismissed!"
Everypony saluted and then began to disperse to their respective bunkers.
Shining Armor walked up behind me. "What do you think?"
I shrugged, "I really have no idea. Do you think an earth pony was such a great choice?"
"Maybe. To tell you the truth, I really have no idea either. But from what I have heard about him, I should be able to hold his own."
"I hope so. I don't want to be the one to inform them that he failed."
After being dismissed, we began to walk to our living quarters.
"So, Scorched Earth, what is your special talent?"
"Oh, um, geological tactics..." He whispered.
"Ah, that sounds pretty cool and that explains your cutie mark, too." I took a quick look at his flank and saw the image of a rock in a sling.
"Really? You don't think it sounds boring?"
"Nah, my parents taught me to never to judge a book by its cover." I gave him a smile, to which he blushed and looked in a different direction.
"W-what about you, Ms. Sky?" He asked.
"Defense. That's why I have a shield for a cutie mark." I waved my flank, causing him to blush even more. I laughed.
"So, um, how long have you been with the guard?"
"Hmm. I think it's been about... 3 months."
He stopped in his tracks. "3 weeks? But you are already a high ranking officer." He said, gesturing to the 4 stars on my armor.
"Yeah, it helps when you have had prior experience and show that you have what it takes." I explained, remembering my old life.
"Huh, and what does 'prior experience' mean?"
I sighed, "Can you keep a secret?" He nodded. "Alright, but not here. I will tell you back in the room."
He nodded again and we resumed walking.
Five minutes of silence passed before we got to our room.
"Here we are." I opened the door to reveal the small apartment that I lived in. It had a bunk bed and a small eating area. Other than that, not really much else but two dressers.
"Wow, quaint." Scorch commented.
"I know, it's not much, but it's home." I mused as I dropped my saddlebags off on the floor. "The bottom bunk is yours." I looked back at him and saw that he looked as if he were frozen in fear. "What's wrong?"
"Um... w-we are sleeping in the same room?"
"Yeah." He gulped hard. "Hey man, it's okay. We are all adults here. Just think of it as a co-ed dorm in college."
He seemed to relax a bit. "Okay."
"Good."
He looked around a bit and began to stare at something. "Who is that?"
I turned to see what he was gesturing at. "Oh, him? He is my inspiration for joining the royal guard." I said, smiling as I walked over to the poster on the wall. "Prince Pure Heart. Someday I hope to be his personal body guard."
"Hmm. What's the big deal? I mean, besides the fact that he is an alicorn, he looks like any other pony."
This caught my attention, "Are you kidding me? He is a hero! He gave his life to save Equestria!"
"Whoa! Take it easy. I take it back." I calmed down and got out of his face. "Though by the way you defended him, one might think that you had a crush on him."
I blushed this time. "Well, maybe a little." He gave me a sarcastic "Really?" look. "Okay, okay. I have a huge crush on him. But it doesn't matter, he would never go for a girl like me. Besides, he is already married to Princess Luna."
He walked over and put a hoof on my shoulder. "Hey now, there are plenty of other ponies out there that would be lucky to meet you, let alone have a relationship with you."
I looked up, "You really think so?"
He smiled, "I know so."
I hugged him around the neck. "Thanks Scorched Earth."
"Please, just call me Scorch."
I leaned back, "'Kay."
"Now then, I believe you had a secret."
"Oh yeah. Well, you see, I am not really a pony."
"Don't tell me, you are really a..."
"Say it..."
"A vampire."
"Yeah... NO! I am a human."
"Are you now?" He said, looking kind of amused.
"Um, yeah. My name is actually Kate. The reason I say I had prior experience was because back on my home planet, Earth, I was the daughter of a combat specialist who taught me how to defend myself."
"Really, now? You are saying that you are actually some kind of alien." He said rather calmly.
"Okay, what's the deal? I thought for sure you would be freaking out by now." I asked suspiciously. He started laughing. "What's so funny?"
"Sorry, but I can't keep this charade up for any longer."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm human, too."
My jaw nearly fell off. "No way."
"Yep, the name is Terra."
"I thought I was the only one."
"Are you kidding, there are quite a few of us here in Equestria. For example, that Pure Heart guy is human."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Wait, how do you know that?"
He shut up for a second, as if he were contemplating what to say next. "Okay, I guess it's time I tell you my secret."
"Don't worry, I won't tell anypony."
"Okay." He took a deep breath. "I was sent here by Prince Heart himself to investigate the possible threat of an uprising within the ranks of the royal guard."
I was in near shock from being told this. "Are you serious? You actually know Pure Heart?"
"Yeah, I am a... a student of his I guess you could say. You almost could say we are so close that it's like we are related." He smiled.
I was nearly about to explode from sheer excitement, but I quelled my excitement and kept a calm demeanor.
"So, have you heard anything about an uprising?" He asked, getting directly to the point.
I pondered this for a few moments. "Well, there is this one guard who is always bad mouthing the royal family."
"I wonder what is for dinner tonight?" Scorch said.
"I will give you one guess."
"Hay and oats?"
"Yep."
"Man, when I get out of here, I'm gonna make sure this place gets better meals."
"What can you do about it?" I asked him.
"Um, you know. I can make a petition." He said half smirking.
"I'd sign that." I said smiling.
"HAY AND OATS AGAIN!" A voice yelled across the cafeteria.
Scorch chuckled, "Sounds like somepony else agrees as well." He turned to see who was making the commotion.
"Can't they ever serve us anything else but this slop! Why do we get this garbage when the royals sit fat butts, getting fatter and fatter everyday.
"What a jerk. He really needs to learn some manners." I said.
Red Rum was your typical jerk. He was bigger than most other ponies, and so makes him think he can push others around. He has a black and red coat with a black tail and mane. He was a unicorn and quite a strong one at that.
"I bet that loser Celestia is eating her own weight in cake right now while her emo of a sister goes on about how horrible her life is. And don't even get me started about that idiot prince."
I shook my head, "That was very low blow, even for him. Right Scorch?" I looked back at Scorched Earth and saw him tensing up. "Scorch?"
"Who does he think he is? How dare he insult the royal family like that. I have half a mind to go over there and teach him a lesson."
"Scorch, don't let him get to you. I would like to give him a piece of my mind as much as you, but there is no reason to start a fight. Just let it go."
"Yeah, I guess your right."
"If you ask me, I think being under the rule of Discord would be much better than having those stupid mares as our rulers. They should just banish themselves to the sun and moon." Red Rum stated to his group of friends.
"That tears it!" Scorch began to stand up.
I reached out and grabbed his leg. "Scorch, don't do something you may regret."
"Don't worry, I'm just going to have a chat with him." He shook my grip and walked over to the table where Red Rum and his posse sat.
"Hey look boys. This newbie wants to join us." Rum said. The others snickered.
"No, I don't. I just came over to give you a warning." Scorch said.
"You hear that boss? He wants to warn us." One of the goons said. Everypony else at the table chuckled.
"Shut up and pay attention you putrid wretch!" He snapped.
At this point, I decided I should be prepared to intervene in case things got ugly.
Scorch took a breath and began to speak, "Now we have all had to put up with your whining and other crap, and I am fine with that. But no one, and I mean no one, insults the Royal Family. This academy was established to prepare stallions and mares to protect the Royal Family with their lives, be it from by attacks by physical means or by words. Many great ponies have sacrificed their lives to do just that and by insulting the Royal Family you dishonor those ponies and the foundation that this academy was established. That means you are dishonoring every pony here, including yourself. But worst of all, your insults dishonor the Royal Family and I can not and will not stand by while you continue to utter such foul words." He took a breath. His speech had gathered the attention of every pony in the cafeteria.
"So now you have a choice, Red Rum. Choice A. You shape up, get a better attitude and respect everything we stand for. Choice B. You keep your attitude and walk out of this academy and never taint these halls with your vile presence ever again. Or Choice C. You keep you attitude and stick around, continuing to push me until there is nothing left of you except a stain of your red rum blood surrounded by stanchions with a plaque that reads: 'A reminder to anypony who reads this. Keep your standards high and protect the honor of this country. Or end up as a stain of a spilled alcoholic beverage."
Every pony in the cafeteria had wide eyes with mouths agape.
"So Red Rum, make your choice." He said after a pause.
All of a sudden, their was clopping, followed by even more until the entire room was applauding his speech.
Scorch stepped back and turned around, beginning to walk away.
I ran up to Scorch, "That was amazing Scorch!"
Before he could say or do anything, a spear of black energy pinned itself right in front of him, effectively stopping him in his tracks.
"I'm not done with you! You think you are so great with your big words. How pathetic. Show me what you got. Don't be shy, I know who you really are."
"Do you now?"
"You are just a some quarry worker that the Royals saw as a good pet. Do you have some great sob story about they helped your family in their time of need? Or are you just some butt kisser?"
Scorch ground his teeth. "Really, don't tempt me."
"Oh, I am so scared. Hah! What are you going to do, throw rocks at me?"
Scorch turned to face Red Rum. Instead of advancing towards him, Scorch closed his eyes and seemed to begin to concentrate. Suddenly, a nearby column of marble began to shake. Cracks appeared in the column and it shattered. It's like it just exploded, but the shards of marble just seemed to float in place instead of flying all over the room. The shards began to spin and then redirected their points towards Red Rum.
"SCORCH!" White Rush yelled as Scorch floated into the air by what seemed like telekinesis.
"Huh? What?" Scorch looked around confused.
"Scorched Earth, you and Red Rum are to meet each other on the training field tomorrow at 1200 hours. That is where you will finish this dispute. Until then, you are to go back to your living quarters. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir." They both said in unison.
"Good. Dismissed!"
Scorch was released from the telekinetic field that held him and he walked out of the cafeteria.
One Hour Later
"Scorched Earth?" I called out as I walked into our room.
"Yep."
I set down my bags and looked at him. He was laying on his back. A piece of coal was floating above his outstretched hoof.
"So I guess my secret is out, huh?"
"The one where you told me a lie about who you really were or the one where about you being an Earth pony with powers?"
He sat up and stared me down. "Did I ever admit that I was who Red Rum said I was?"
His stare was formidable but it was no Fluttershy stare. "No, you didn't. But does that mean you really are Scorched Earth?"
"For all intents and purposes, yes. I am Scorched Earth.
I let out a sigh. "Fine."
He gave me a smile. "Don't worry. This will all be over soon."
I shrugged and walked over to the bunk bed and sat on the bottom bunk. Scorch went back to laying on his back and playing with his lump of coal.
"Do you know what it takes to make a diamond?" Scorch asked.
I shook my head.
"Scientists on Earth have no idea either. What they do know is that they are found deep within the Earth's crust. They hypothesize that diamonds are made through lots of pressure, heat, and time. Other than that, they don't know how to make real diamonds. And yet, jewelers pump out diamond rings like its going out of style."
"But you just said they couldn't make diamonds."
"I said they couldn't make real diamonds. They are perfectly able to make cubic zirconia."
"Huh?"
"Fake diamonds. You see coal is basically graphite, which is mostly composed of carbon but. Diamond is also composed of carbon, but their molecular structure is very different." As he said this, he tightened his hoof, which caused the piece of coal to be crushed to a fine powder.
"Basically, if you apply high pressure and lots of heat..." He paused to concentrate on the powder which he currently held between his hooves. His hooves began to glow white hot. "The atoms will fuse turning the rather unstable formation of molecules to become organized." He parted his hooves and a diamond now floated between them.
"That is amazing. But what does that have to do with anything?"
"Not much. I guess what I am saying is strong bonds take a while to make. If you don't just let nature take its course and instead try to force it..." He set the diamond on the ground and slowly stood up. "You get a cheap fake which is easily destroyed." Once completely on his hooves, he raised his foreleg and brought his hoof down on the diamond, causing it to shatter like glass.
"So what you are saying is that forced relationships can easily be shattered?"
"Huh? Uh... sure." He smirked. "Though I was really just practicing."
"Practicing making fake diamonds?"
"No, practicing how easy it is going to be to crush Red Rum tomorrow."
"...Wow, you went from inspiring to exceedingly morbid in a couple seconds." I said, rolling my eyes.
I was on the sidelines with the rest of the academy. Scorched Earth and Red Rum were in the middle of the field with White Rush between them.
“This is a closed aura shield match.” White Rush said into a megaphone. “This means that in order to protect the well being of everypony else, Captain Shining Armor will surround these two in an unbreakable force field. Once it is up, nothing can get in or out.” He took a pause. “This is an anything goes death match.”
We all gasped, then the crowd began to murmur.
“The match will end when there is only one pony left standing or somepony surrenders.” He turned to Red Rum and Scorched Earth, who were staring each down. “Once the shield is up, you may begin.” With that, White Rush flew off the field and landed next to Captain Shining Armor. He gave a nod and Captain Shining Armor's horn began to glow. The pinkish aura field began to encase a large portion of the field, Red Rum and Scorched Earth standing at the center.
“Oh, I hope Scorch knows what he is getting into.” I said to no pony in particular.
3rd Person Perspective
The sun reached its peak in the sky as the shield just barely closed.
As soon as it did, Red Rum shot several beams of black energy at Scorch who began to dodge them. Scorch began to concentrate and the ground started to shake. Suddenly, a large crack opened up underneath Red Rum. Red Rum jumped and reached for the ledge, but as he was about to grasp the edge of the abyss, black spikes emerged from the ground right at the edge. In his startled state, Red Rum completely missed the edge and fell in to the fissure as the black spikes retracted back into the earth.
Everypony in the audience gasped, thinking that the match was already over.
Scorch smirked, “Too easy.” He turned and began to walk away.
“You didn't think a hole would stop me, did you?” Came a voice from within the gorge.
Before he could react, Scorch was tackled from behind.
Somepony in the audience yelled, “Red Rum is alive!”
The rest of the crowd gasped at this realization.
“Oh please. Shocking how a unicorn can use magic to save himself, right?” He said in a sarcastic voice. He cackled as he stomped down hard on Scorch's chest, causing a sickening crack to permeate through the air.
Scorch cried out in pain from the feeling of his rib cage being broken.
“Hah! How does that feel tough guy? Why don't you just surrender and crawl back to that whorse of a ruler?”
Scorch opened his eyes and glared at Red Rum. “How dare you!?!” Scorch then wrapped his legs around Red Rum's chest. Then he began to concentrate again and the earth around them began to rise. As it rose, the rock started to surround them and spread out and continued to do so until they were completely encircled in a massive cone of earth.
“What are you doing?!” Red Rum screamed.
Scorch kept a solemn face. “I thought you looked cold, so I decided to start a fire.” Then several spurts of magma shot out of the ground.
“Wait, you can't do that! You can only control things of rock type nature.”
“Oh poor, ignorant Red Rum. Don't you know that lava is just molten rock?” He smiled. Suddenly, he let go and a black spire shot out of the ground, knocking Red Rum off from on top him. Then it retreated into the ground and more spires emerged and effectively snared all of Red Rum's limbs, hold him in place. “You know, there are other ways of destroying diamonds.”
“What are you talking about?” Red Rum said through gritted teeth, as the spires began to tighten around him.
“I mean that even unbreakable diamonds tend to explode under intense heat.” Suddenly large spikes of diamond began to erupt from the ground, covering the floor in glittering time bombs. Scorch smiled as he summoned a platform to emerge from the rock where his body laid. “Have fun burning!” Scorch laughed and began to ascend the side of the cone of the makeshift volcano on his stone platform. He had gotten about half way up when he stopped. He heard pleading coming from the molten pit. He descended and saw that Red Rum was crying hysterically. “What are you whining about?”
“I give! I surrender! Just don't let me die in this hell hole!”
Scorch's expression softened. “Fine.” The black spires that held Red Rum bound dispersed back into the ground and he was free.
“Thank you.”
“You can thank me by leaving this place and never coming back.” Scorch said with an edge in his voice. He began to stand up slowly. He then turned and continued, “Now to stop these lava jets.”
“Actually, that won't be necessary.”
“Why not? You have some use for th–GAH!!!” Scorch screamed as a black bolt of energy pinned him to the ground.
Red Rum laughed maniacally. “You didn't actually think I would ever surrender to you, did you? Pathetic.”
“You just condemned yourself as well. You have no way of getting out of this crater.” Scorch said as a matter of fact.
“Are really that stupid? You forget that I am a unicorn. And unicorns can teleport.” Red Rum smiled evilly. “Thanks for being so gullible.” Then he teleported out of the crater to the far side of the field.
The crowd gasped in surprise when they saw Red Rum appear next to the edge of the barrier closest to them. “The match is over. I won, now let me out.”
Vapor Sky began to tear up, “You don't know that! He could still be alive in there!”
“Oh, it is a definite possibility. But even if he is still breathing, he won't be for much longer.” Red Rum laughed like the crazed lunatic he that is.
“Wha-” She began to ask. But she was interrupted by a large explosion that shook the entire academy. She looked up and screamed in horror at the sight she beheld.
The volcano had erupted, spewing a geyser of lava out of its top as smoke and ash began to spread like a blanket of death. Red Rum laughed even harder, his victory evident.
The crowd went completely silent. The only sound being the aftershock of the explosion, the bubbling of the lava that was pooling at the base of the volcano and the soft breeze whistling through the grass.
Vapor Sky's POV
I continued to cry softly at the loss of my comrade and best friend. The only thing I could hear is my sniffling.
“Vapor Sky, shh. Listen.” Shining Armor said as he wrapped a leg around me.
“It's not f-fair. H-he was so young. A-and...”
“No I mean be quiet.” I stopped and looked at him. “Do you hear that?”
I wiped my eyes. “H-hear what?”
“Exactly.”
“Wait, what?” I looked around. Everypony was staring at something.
“Hey, what is happening?” Somepony in the crowd asked. I looked up and gasped at what I saw.
The volcano had ceased spewing out lava and the glow of the remaining lava slowly began to go out, leaving the field in complete darkness provided by the thick haze of smoke that remained.
This was soon remedied by a small light that began to shine through the dark, though it was not the burning orange glow of lava that permeated the heavy shade. It was more like a single pinnacle of red light that seemed to grow brighter by the second as it descended.
“What is that thing?”
“It's a ghost.”
“No, it is obviously an alien.”
The crowd began to murmur these things as the light became brighter.
The now radiant red light was beginning to cut through the haze like a lighthouse. It was joined by another red light that was even bigger than the first one and then the smoke was suddenly cleared away from the source of the light.
“Hey, that is no ghost or alien. It's a pony!” Someone shouted.
I blinked, rubbed my eyes and then blinked again. It was definitely a pony, though it did not look like either of the ponies that had been in the ring at the beginning. This pony that descended the down the slope of the now dormant volcano carried a large black sword that glowed red and was a glistening black color with wings... and a horn!
“Wow! I had heard about his crystal armor, but obsidian! My uncle sure knows how to pull a fast one, huh?”
I turned towards the captain. “Uncle?”
“Yep! Oh and look at that sword. It looks just like his old.”
“Wait, back up. Uncle?” I asked again.
“Yeah. I'm married to Princess Cadence and she is the niece of the princess. And since she is married to him, that makes me his nephew by marriage.”
“Princess Celestia is married?!”
“What? No. I'm talking about Princess Luna.”
“...Holy crap! That's Pure Heart!!!”
“RED RUM!!” Came a bellowing voice from the supposed figure of Pure Heart. “YOU ARE CHARGED WITH THE CRIMINAL ACT OF TREASON! I NOW PASS JUDGEMENT BY THE POWER OF THE THRONE AND DECLARE YOU GUILTY! YOUR SENTENCE: PENALTY BY DEATH!!!”
“No! Please have mercy!” He pleaded.
“YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE TO CHANGE YOUR WAYS TWICE! YOU NOW WILL NOW PERSISH!” He flapped his molten glass covered wings and rose into the air. “SPLIT!”
The black sword turned into several hundred shards.
“Awesome, now we get to see his finisher!” Shining Armor said.
“You are really enjoying this, aren't you?” I asked.
“Who doesn't enjoy a good fight?”
“True.”
“TEN THOUSAND NEEDLES!” Pure Heart thrust his hooves forward and the shards of obsidian shot towards Red Rum.
“NOOO!” The needles of glass ripped through his flesh, leaving him dead on the ground with puncture wounds all over his body.
The shield immediately went down afterward. White Rush stood up and put the megaphone to his mouth. “Scorched Earth, or I should say, Prince Pure Heart is the winner!”
The crowd started to cheer really loud. They surged out of the stands and headed towards Pure Heart, who slowly descended to the ground. Of course, I was right in front them, going full speed towards Pure Heart.
“CEASE!”
We all stopped in our tracks and stared at him, wondering what was going on.
“White Rush! Shining Armor!”
They both came forward and saluted.
“Yes sir?”
Without turning towards them, Pure Heart said, “Captain Shining Armor, please send everypony back to their living quarters except for Red Rum's associates and Vapor Sky.”
“Yes sir.” Shining saluted again and did as he was told.
“Captain White Rush.” Pure Heart said without moving a muscle. Actually, he didn't even move his mouth.
“Yes Prince Pure Heart?”
“Please detain Red Rum's gang and bring them here.”
“If I may ask, why? Red Rum is dead. They are no longer a threat to Equestria.”
“I'll explain in a minute. For now, just do it.”
“Well, okay.” He turned towards the group of flunkies. “Hey, get over here.”
The lot of them came over to where they stood. When they got there, I could tell they were scared out of their minds.
“Where is the last member of your group?”
One of the them stepped forward and said, “Last night, after our meeting, Red Rum asked Fletch if he could talk to him. We haven't seen him since. We assumed that Red Rum had just sent him on an errand.”
Pure Heart sighed, and then said, “How big is Fletch?”
“Um, about as tall as Red Rum.”
“And what color is he?”
“Black.”
“And what is he?”
“A unicorn.”
“Exactly. Now go look at that body, I believe you will find your friend.”
“Prince Pure Heart, are you saying what I think you are saying?” White Rush asked.
He nodded. “After they identify the body, take them into custody for further questioning.”
Captain White Rush saluted and dismissed himself to do as commanded.
The whole time, I just stood their like a deer in the spotlights. Strangely though, so did he.
“Ms. Sky.”
I stood motionless.
“Vapor Sky?”
I was still shocked from the events that had just occurred.
“KATE!”
“Huh, what?” I came out of my stupor of thought.
“Please come here.”
I did as the prince said. As I approached, he stood completely still. He didn't even seem to breathe.
“Y-yes s-sir.” I was very nervous because I was actually in the presence of hero.
“You okay?” His voice was full of concern.
“Of course.” I grinned. “I'm more concerned about you.” I said, reaching out to touch him.
“Don't touch me!” He exclaimed.
I pulled back in fear. “I am so sorry. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay...”
“No, no. I'm sorry I yelled. I didn't want you to get burned.”
“Burned?”
“This obsidian shell, it is still cooling. I didn't want you to get burned from it.”
“Wait, doesn't that mean you are being burned by it as well?”
“No, I have a layer of dirt underneath that is stopping the heat from burning my skin. Right now I just really warm.”
“So, then why are not moving?”
“The shell has cooled to the point where it has completely hardened and so is restricting my movement. Hold on, it's just about done.”
“What?”
Suddenly, there was a large cracking sound. “Please stand back.” Another loud crack sounded and I realized that it was his obsidian shell that was making that sound.
I quickly took a a couple steps back. His shell began to show cracks all over it and then all at once, it shattered.
I turned my head as to not let any shards get in my eyes.
“'Kay, it's all good.”
I turned back to see my hero in his true form.
He walked towards me, “Now then, I haven't properly introduced myself.” He smiled and bowed. “My name is Prince Pure Heart.”
I squealed, “Oh my gosh! I have been sharing a room with my hero for the past 3 weeks.”
He rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, let's not ever say anything to Luna about that, okay?”
I nodded.
“Awesome. Now then I think you have some questions for me.”
I did have several questions for him, but at the moment my mind was a large blank.
“Why?”
“...You are gonna need to be a bit more specific.”
“Why did you hide your identity? Couldn't you have just come inhere and start asking questions?”
“Well, yeah. I could of done that. But where is the fun in that?”
“Fun?”
“Yeah, this has been a fun experience. I haven't had a fight like that in what seems like years.”
“Wait, so this was all just a game to you?” I started to get tense.
“Now, I didn't say that. I really did just kill an innocent pony.”
“Red Rum is no where near innocent.”
“Oh, I forgot. You don't know.”
“Know what?”
“That wasn't Red Rum. That was Fletch. Red Rum most likely brain washed him into thinking he was Red Rum.”
“Very observant you stupid foal.” Came a voice.
“Red Rum. Show yourself!” Pure Heart yelled.
“No thanks. I think I will stay hidden for now. But don't worry, this is far from over.” He laughed and the voice faded.
I looked around and thought for an instant that I saw a silhouette fly off.
“You saw that, too?” Pure Heart said.
I nodded.
“You know what that means?”
I shook my head this time.
“It means I need somepony to be the head of royal security, because of now, we have a psychopathic alicorn on the loose.”
“Who will that be?”
“Well, let's see. I know this one pegasus. She is very smart and she happens to have a knack for protection.”
My eyes lit up. “You mean?”
“Yep. Come on, we need to report what has transpired to Princess Celestia.”
“Alright Ms. Sky, this will be your living quarters.” I said to my new head of security. I opened the door to reveal a room with a cloudy night sky theme.
I looked at her and her eyes were as big as saucers. “Oh my gosh! This is so much bigger than my room back on Earth. Is this really my room?”
“Yes, yes it is. Now put your things down, you can unpack later. But right now, I want to introduce you to the rest of the family. After that, we will get you outfitted.”
“Outfitted? For what?”
“Your new armor, of course. You really think you can go around wearing armor that suggests you are a normal day guard?”
She looked at the gold armor that she was wearing, then back at me and shrugged. “Okay, you're the prince.”
“Yes, yes I am.” I smiled.
“Why do you smile so much?” She asked after setting her stuff down.
“Because it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile.” I explained.
“Is that true for ponies?”
“...Actually, I have no idea. So let's just say I smile because it makes me more pleasant.”
“Okay.”
“Yep, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Now, off to the family.”
5 Minutes Later
“Luna, I'm back!” I yelled as I entered our room. To my surprise, it wasn't Luna who greeted me, but Tia and Death, playing with the kids.
“Hello Pure Heart. Who is this?” Tia asked.
“Oh, this is my new head of security, Vapor Sky.”
She stepped forward and bowed. “Pleasure to meet you, Princess Celestia.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
Vapor stood back up and turned to Death, tilting her head in confusion. “I'm sorry, but I have not the slightest clue as to who you are.”
He chuckled, “That's okay. I haven't exactly announced my presence to the public as of yet. My name is Death.”
“Nice to meet you.” She bowed again. Suddenly, she was lifted up into the air. “Ack!”
The rest of us laughed. “I see Moonbeam is getting better with her levitation.” I observed.
“That's nothing. Yesterday, she lifted up Death without even flinching.” Tia chuckled.
“HEY! Pony in the air not of her free will here.” Vapor complained.
“Oops, sorry. Moonbeam, please let her go honey.”
Moonbeam released her hold and Vapor caught herself in the air.
“Well, now you have meet Moonbeam.” Suddenly a whoosh of air came soaring past. “Death, you want to grab her.”
“Yep, hold on.” A tentacle shot out of the ground and grabbed her gently. He then hoofed her to me. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” I turned to Vapor and said, “This is Starfire. She is the Speed Racer of the family.” I set her down on the ground and she ran off in a random direction. “And finally, there is Nightshade.”
Vapor looked around. “Where is he?”
“Right next to you.”
She turned to her left and flinched when she saw Nightshade standing right next to her, rubbing his head on her leg. “When did he get there?”
Again, we all laughed. “He has probably been waiting for the right moment to pop up and scare you. He can turn blend in with his surroundings. He's like a chameleon. An Equestrian chameleon.” This time it was just me, Death, and Vapor who laughed.
“I don't get it.” Tia said.
“Don't worry about it. So now that everypony knows each other, I have a quick question.”
“Of course Pure Heart.”
“Where is Luna?”
“Out in the jungle, investigating a strange disturbance.” Tia said while picking up Moonbeam and placing her on her head, to which she giggled.
“WHAT?! Why wasn't I informed of this?!” I screamed.
“Whoa bro, don't yell at my marefriend.” Death warned.
“Sorry. Wait, marefriend? Never mind, you can tell me later.” I turned to Vapor. “Vapor, that armor fitting will have to wait until later.” I quickly ran off.
“Wait, where are you going?” Vapor asked.
“I have to find my wife!” I said as I ran towards the door.
Before I got there, I was tripped by a strategically placed tendril. “Hold on Pure Heart. Why do you need to make sure she is safe? She just went to check out a disturbance.”
I quickly got back up on my hooves and ran out the door, saying, “Because there is a pychopathic alicorn on the loose.” After a minute, I trotted back into the room. “Wait, where am I going?”
Tia, Death, and Vapor all simultaneously facehoofed.
3 Hours Later
There it is, the Catatonic Jungle. I thought to myself as I got closer to the canopy of trees in the distance.
I was able to convince Vapor to just stay at the castle and get settled in. She tried to pull the 'As your body guard' speech on me, but I was able to resist. Tia and Death didn't try to stop me, knowing I would go no matter what.
Oh, there is the village. I sighed. Wow, it sure is lonely being by myself. It almost makes me miss Ark. Almost. I chuckled.
I descended down to the village, causing a cloud of dust to be stirred up.
When the dust settled, I saw a resident making his way towards me. “Hello, welcome to our humble village. I am Chieftain Green Feather.”
“Hello, I am Prince Pure Heart. I am here to see my wife, Princess Luna.”
“Ah, I see. Yes, she is here. Please follow me.” Green Feather turned and started walking away. I shrugged and followed him.
The village was something else. The buildings were all made of bamboo and tree branches. It reminded me of those commercials where they ask you to donate money to save those kids in Africa. I sure did eat a lot of fruit roll-ups.
“Here we are.” He stomped his hooves three times at the door.
When it opened, a mare stepped into view. She was probably in her mid-forties. “Oh, Chief Green Feather. I wasn't expecting company.”
“Hello Water Vine. Is the princess awake?”
“Not at the moment. Shall I wake her?”
“That won't be necessary.” I said, stepping forward.
“And who might you be?”
“Prince Pure Heart. I am the princess' husband.”
“Oh, well in that case, please come on in.” Water Vine opened the door more and beckoned us inside.
“Ms. Vine, you have a lovely... hut.”
“Why thank you. It's not much, but it's home.”
“Yes. So, where is my wife?”
“Ah, yes. She is through there.” She pointed to a curtain.
I blinked as I realized that the hut was composed of this sitting room and whatever lied on the other side of the curtain. I thanked her and walked the two meters to the curtain. I pushed aside curtain made of large leaves and slowly walked in.
As soon as I had, I found that I was in an even smaller room than the previous. The only things in it were a window and a reed mat that was spread out on the floor. On top of said mat was my beautiful wife, looking rather uncomfortable as she slept.
I knelt down on the dirt floor and nudged her with my snout. “Luna.” I whispered into here ear. She slightly stirred. “Luna, time to wake up.”
She stretched her right foreleg. “Five more minutes Tia.”
I chuckled and then kissed her on the forehead. “Luna.” I said in a normal tone and nudged her a bit harder.
This time, she actually opened one of her eyes, then slowly closed it. “Hi Pure Heart.” She smiled and turned over.
“Three...two...one...” I counted down.
She then shot up. “PURE HEART! What are you doing here?” She said in complete shock.
“Oh, you know. Just taking my daily stroll through the middle of nowhere.”
She then proceeded to tackle me through the curtain and into the next room. “Oh Pure Heart. I've missed you so much!” She hugged and kissed me like I had been gone for years.
“I've missed you, too. But ponies are staring.”
She stopped and looked around at the two other ponies in the room. She blushed deeply. “Oh my, how embarrassing.”
“Don't worry about it princess. As far as we know, we didn't see anything.” Water Vine winked.
“Good.” She turned back to me. “Now then. What are you doing here?”
“I came to make sure you were safe.” I responded.
“Safe? Safe from what? I only came out here to investigate a minor disturbance.”
“Isn't that a job that the guard could handle?” I asked.
“Not when it requires interaction with other cultures.”
“Oh, well still, somepony could of informed me.”
“And risk blowing your cover at the academy? I don't think so. Besides, you know I can handle myself in a situation.” She said with a defensive look.
“I know, I know. It's just... I wanted to make sure you were okay. Plus, I missed you.”
She gave me a look. “You are hiding something.”
“Me? No I'm not.” I said, getting nervous.
“What did you do this time?” She asked disdainfully.
“Nothing that bad. I might of let a psycho alicorn get away. But...”
“YOU WHAT!?” She said in anger.
“Calm down, calm down. Let me explain.”
She raised an eyebrow and sat back on her haunches. “I'm listening.”
One Hour of Explaining Later
“Okay. So while investigating the uprising at the academy, you meet another human who turned out to have a crush on you.”
“Yep.”
“And this ultimately lead to a showdown between you and another unicorn who turned out to be an alicorn.”
“Yeah, that about sums it up.”
“Well, there is not anything we can do except question his group of lackeys and hope it helps us locate him. But that is going to have to wait. For now, I am actually glad you are here.”
“Wow, love you too sweetie.” I said rolling my eyes.
She hoofed me in the shoulder, which I have to admit, I actually kind of missed that. “You know what I mean. I want you to accompany me into the jungle tonight.”
“To do what?” I asked.
“We are going to search for the rare Blue Panther.”
“Okay, I believe we have everything we need to catch this menace.” Luna said.
“Then let's be off.” I said in anticipation.
“You both be careful in there.” Chief Green Feather warned.
“Oh please, you are talking to two skilled fighters in combat and in magic. I think we will do just fine.” I said in assurance.
We waved at the chief and then began our trek into the jungle.
1 Hour Later
“Gah! Stupid tree!” I said as I rubbed my face from the tree branch that just hit me.
“Are you okay?” Luna asked.
“Yeah, I'm fine. Though I'm about ready to burn this jungle to the ground.” I said.
“Well, I think we are getting closer, so it shouldn't take much longer. Look at these tracks.” She gestured to large paw prints in the ground.
“Good eye honey. Let's go.”
I ran ahead of Luna and she quickly followed.
After twenty or so minutes of following tracks, we noticed another set of tracks.
“Are those hoof prints?” I asked.
“Indeed they are.” Luna confirmed.
I facehoofed, “Great! We have been going around in circles, haven't we?”
“Pure Heart, there is only one set of hoof tracks, and they are smaller than either of ours.”
“Wait, so there is another pony out here? Do you think the panthers took her hostage?”
“Don't be ridiculous. They obviously are making the pony their next meal.”
“Well then we have to help them.” I said, righteously indignant. I took another step and stopped.
“What are you doing?” Luna asked.
“Shh... listen.”
We both remained quiet. Sure enough, there was a low growling coming from the trees. I looked up into them to see multiple sets of yellow eyes staring back at me.
“I think those are panthers.” I said.
“Really? How did you guess?” Luna said sarcastically.
Suddenly all the eyes slowly blinked out of existence. Yet, we still heard growling come from nearby. Then I heard something else.
“What do you mean go talk to them?”
I turned around, “Did you say something?”
Luna shook her head.
More growling.
“Yes, I know you are the leader of the pack and that I am only a guest. But...”
A snarl sounded.
“Fine.”
Suddenly, a large black panther jumped down from a tree, landing with a heavy thud on all fours. Then something else landed behind it. All I saw was a flash of blue, because it hid behind the large panther.
The panther growled again, and slowly the other creature came out of hiding.
“What do you want?” Said a dark blue unicorn.
“Um, uh...” I stuttered.
“We are looking for the blue panther.” Luna said.
“Really now?” The unicorn said slyly.
“Yes, we are here to stop its antics. The nearby village is quite upset.” Luna retorted.
“Hey, they were just harmless pranks.” The unicorn defended.
“Wait a minute! You're a pony!” I said.
“No, really?” She said sarcastically.
“Yet you live in the jungle and communicate with panthers?”
“Yes, but actually I'm good with all felines.”
“And you are saying you are the one causing a disturbance?” Luna asked.
“I'm blue and I hang out with panthers, so what do you think?”
“...Oh my gosh! The blue panther is a pony!” I realized.
Luna and the unicorn both looked at me with a 'No way' look.
Luna shook her head. “Regardless, you must be taken in.” Luna stepped forward only to have the large panther take a swipe. I saw it coming and jumped in the way of the panthers claws, slashing my side instead. Thank Celestia I was wearing my armor or I would be in a lot of pain right now.
“Wow, chill out Torvok, I'll go with them, it's no big deal.” The blue unicorn walked up to the panther and gave it a hug, to which it responded by purring. It was kind of weird to see such a large cat giving off such a small noise, but it was also a little heart warming.
Torvok the panther growled.
“I will miss you too. Thank you for allowing me to stay with your pack.” She let go of the black cat and walked towards us. “I'm ready.” She bowed her head in submission.
“Pure Heart, would you please lock her magic?” Luna asked.
“Um, sure.” My horn glowed and the blue unicorns horn began to be encased in crystal.
“Good, now miss...”
“Kat Scratch.”
“Excuse me?” Luna asked.
“My name is Kat Scratch.”
“Alright, Miss Kat Scratch, if you would please come along, you will be apologizing the villagers and then your fate will be decided.”
She nodded her head. “Yes, ma'am. But if I may ask, who are you ponies?”
Luna stepped forward, “I am Princess Luna, ruler of the night.” She gestured to me, “This is my companion, Prince Pure Heart.”
I nodded my head. “Pleasure to meet you, Miss Scratch.”
She once again nodded her head.
“Good, now off we go. I will take the lead and Prince Pure Heart will take up the rear.” We filed into a line and went forward.
On the way out of the jungle, we heard many cries of sorrow coming from around us. I knew that it must have been the panthers saying their goodbyes to Kat Scratch.
As we walked, something occurred to me. “Miss Scratch?”
She turned her head. “Yes, sir?”
“What prompted you to travel with a pack of wild panthers in the first place?”
Apparently, this caught Luna's interest as well, for she began to slowly lag backwards until our straight line formation became more of a side-by-side formation, making us look more like a group of friends than two ponies escorting a prisoner.
“Well, I kind of have had an attraction to felines ever since I was a filly.”
“But don't you have parents who you could be with?” Luna asked.
At this, Kat's ears flattened, and she seemed to become a little more distant. “No, they died when I was 10 years old.”
“I'm sorry to hear that. How did they die?” I asked.
“I came home one day after being out with my panther friends and found my house in ruins. No one else in the village knew what had happened except that there was a dark stallion that had been looking for a place to stay. My parents had always been very trusting, so they probably let this stallion into their home without even thinking about it. After learning this, I ran back into the jungle where I began to live amongst the panthers, losing my trust in other ponies, until I was old enough to be out on my own. When I was 17, I decided that said time had come, and embarked on my journey across Equestria in search of the one who killed my parents. And that is what I have been doing for the past two years of my life.” After she finished, she clammed up completely.
“Wow, that is some story.” Luna said.
“Indeed. No wonder you feel the need to play pranks. Though it is good you do not go as far as to hurt others.” I said.
She remained quiet.
Luna? I said to my wife telepathically.
Yes, Pure.
I think that her sentencing should be turned into just a warning.
She gave me a surprised look. Funny, I was kind of thinking the same thing. But she at least needs to have some kind of consequence for her actions.
Yeah, I guess so. But I think I have an idea of what it could be.
Please, do tell.
I smirked. Okay, so this what we do.
A Little Bit Later
“Once again, I am truly sorry for what I have done. I had no idea that my pranks would be taken so seriously. I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me.” Kat said, finishing her apology speech to the village. She then took a few steps back.
The villagers began to murmur and shake their heads in response. Seeing this, I took a step forward.
“Come now, no one was severely injured by any of her pranks. So it shouldn't be to hard to forgive her.”
The crowd muttered confirmations but still didn't seemed to be sold. I turned to look at Luna for help and what I saw I knew would sell them.
“Look at her, does she look like a heartless pony.” I gestured back towards where Luna stood.
Luna gave me a very disdainful look.
I chuckled, “Not you dear. Behind you.”
Luna turned to see Kat taking swipes at her ethereal tail. It was like Kat was actually part cat, for she concentrated on trying to catch it.
Luna must have been given in, for she smiled and began to flick her tail from side to side. I turned back to the villagers and saw compassion in their eyes.
Chief Green Feather came forward, “I believe now it is time for a vote. All those who pardon Miss Scratch from her pranks as long as she promises to not do it again, say 'I'.”
“I.” The crowd responded.
“Any opposed?”
Silence.
“The vote is unanimous. Kat Scratch, you are hereby pardoned of your faults against this village.”
The crowd stomped their hooves in approval.
After the crowd began to disperse, and the chief thanked us again for the help, I turned back to Kat to see she was still playing with Luna's tail. I walked up to her and got their attention.
“Well, now that everything has been cleared up, there is still the matter of your punishment.”
Kat stopped and looked back up to me. “But I thought I was pardoned.”
“You were, by the village. Since we were brought into this, there will be a consequence.”
“Oh, well okay.” She looked down.
I started to laugh. “How was I Luna?”
“Very convincing honey.”
Kat looked up in confusion. “Wait, what?”
“That was the brunt of your punishment. Being pranked back.” I chuckled.
Kat didn't seem to happy, but then she loosened up and laughed too. “Okay, I have to admit, that was funny.”
“Good, now for part two. This is not going to be very bad. We just saying that you will be assisting a good friend of ours for a while.” Luna said.
“That seems fair. When do I start?”
“As soon as we get there.” With that, I walked up to the side of Kat and lowered my head underneath her.
“What are you do-ING?!” She shrieked as I flipped her onto my back.
“Hold on tight.” I instructed her. She reached around my neck and locked her hooves together. “Off to Ponyville!” I ran and lifted off the ground Luna coming up right behind me.
Some Time Later
We landed on top of a hill that lead down to a cottage that was surrounded by animals.
“Last stop, Ponyville.” I hollered back to Kat.
“Oh, we are here already?” Kat asked, apparently having fallen asleep on the trip.
“Yes, we are. And it looks like we arrived in time for her morning rounds.” Luna said, gesturing towards the cottage.
Sure enough, as the sun began to rise, a yellow pegasus trotted out of the house, followed by a little white rabbit.
Kat jumped off and we all walked down to meet the pink haired animal care-taker.
“Good morning Fluttershy!” I yelled.
“EEEP!” Fluttershy dropped the bag of chicken feed she had and jumped into a nearby bush. The dropped seed caused all the chickens to frenzy for it.
“Pure, you have to be quieter around her.” Luna scolded.
“Yeah, says the one who yelled whenever she talked to somepony for her first year back.” I remarked, rolling my eyes.
She shook her head, and trotted up to the shivering shrubbery. “Ms. Fluttershy, please come out. It is just Princess Luna and her doofus husband.”
“I heard that!” I yelled from across the yard.
Luna chuckled and began to speak with Fluttershy, who did come out of the bush.
Kat Scratch looked to me. “You guys are married?”
“Of course. Isn't it obvious?”
“Well, I guess. But you are like, what, 26 years old?”
“Actually, I am only 20. I can see your confusion though. Others have thought I look older than I really am.”
“Well, still, that means there is a large age difference between you two.” She reasoned.
“What's your point?” I asked with a bemused look.
“I am just wondering, why are you attracted to somepony that is at least 1000 years older than you? I mean, you are pretty much my age and she is so... old.”
I cringed and looked at her. “She isn't old, she is just... wise.”
“I'm just saying that she seems to be pretty ancient compared to you. Don't you think you would be happier with somepony that is around your own age?”
I shook my head and stared at Luna. “You wouldn't understand.”
“Try me.”
I sighed. “Just drop it.”
“But...”
I grew a bit more tense. “I said drop it.” I seethed out venom in each word I spoke.
She seemed a bit frightened. “Sorry...”
I began to settle down. “No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you. Please though, just mind you own business when it comes to my affairs. Okay?”
“Okay.” She lightened up a bit.
Luna and Fluttershy walked over to us. “Kat Scratch, I want you to meet Fluttershy.”
“It's a pleasure to meet you.” Fluttershy said quietly.
“The pleasure is mine.” Kat whispered back.
“Pure Heart, please remove the lock from her magic.”
I did so without uttering a word.
“Good. Now Kat Scratch, Fluttershy is to be your mentor and supervisor. She will monitor your progress and send me weekly reports on your rehabilitation to show kindness towards others. This will be your sentence, and will end when she sees fit. Understood?”
“Yes Princess.” Kat bowed.
“Good. Then we will be off. Goodbye everypony.” Luna waved and then she and I took off.
“That was quite a different experience, was it not?” I said out loud.
I looked over at Pure Heart. He usually would of commented right away, but he had been quiet since we left Fluttershy's cottage. It was very disconcerting.
“Pure Heart?” I flew up close to him. He seemed to be slightly irritated, and that in itself was scaring me. Since talking to him didn't get him out of it, there was only one thing that I knew that would.
I flew just above him and then pulled my wings in and fell onto his back. “Gotcha!” I said, wrapping my forelegs around his neck and held on tight.
“Holy Mother of Celestia!” He screamed, whipping his head around. “What in the name of Equestria are you doing?!” I could feel his neck muscles ripple and tense up.
“Having fun of course!” I laughed.
He smiled a little. “Oh, is that what you are doing? I'll show you some fun!” He immediately folded in his wings as well and we started to descend at a very fast rate. “Having fun?”
The speed of the descent was making my ears ring, thus making it hard for me to hear. Though I did happen to hear somepony screaming, but after a moment I realized it was me.
I looked down and saw that we were plummeting towards the ground very fast. I closed my eyes in fear of us hitting the ground.
I felt his body shift and then a tingling sensation overcame my body. When I opened my eyes, I saw that Pure Heart was staring directly into mine. He smiled and I smiled back at him. He embraced me and then I kissed him and forgot entirely about the fact that we were falling to our deaths. It felt so good to have this very last moment of passion before we died, I closed my eyes and then suddenly it ended.
SPLASH!
I forced open my eyes and found that we were underwater, still embracing Pure. He gestured up and I followed. We broke the surface and I accidentally spat out water in Pure's face.
“Oops, sorry Pure.” I giggled.
He wiped off his and smiled. “It's okay, love.”
I looked around and found that we were in a lake just on the edge of the Everfree Forest. “How did we get here?” I asked.
“I teleported us a couple seconds before hitting the ground.” He chuckled.
I splashed him in the face. “That wasn't very nice.” I pouted.
“Hey, you asked for fun, so I gave it to you. What is more fun than a death-defying fall. You have to admit, it was pretty thrilling.” He grinned.
I stared him down, then broke a smile. I started laughing. “Okay, okay. I will say it was pretty fun. But we should probably get out of the water and get going.” He nodded and we swam towards the shore.
Once we got on land and shook out the water in our coats, he looked back at me. “So, really. What was all that about?”
I inclined my head and started scratching at the ground. “Well, you looked kind of sad, so I thought I would try and cheer you up.”
He lifted my chin and lifted my head until our eyes meet. “It was a valiant effort.” He kissed me again, this time for a longer period of time.
When we parted, I saw something in his eyes. Something that said that he loved me with all his heart, mind, and soul. There seemed to be something else glinting in the far reaches of his conscience. I couldn't confirm what is was for I saw it only for an instant.
“Pure Heart, what is wrong? What aren't you telling me?”
He turned his head away, seemingly to just break eye contact, and sighed. “Nothing. It's nothing.”
It was my turn to make him look me in the eyes. I placed my hoof on his right cheek and gently turned his head until our eyes meet. This time, I know I saw a flicker of the something from before. It was something that seemed that it was slowly flooding his persona with sadness. Though, I knew what is was this time. I knew what it was because I myself had felt this particular emotion on more than one occasion.
It was doubt.
“Pure Heart. Please, tell me what is wrong. I want to help you. But I can only help if you tell me what is wrong.”
“I don't know...” He started to shift his gaze again, but I held him in place, with both hooves this time.
“Please. I am asking you, not just because you are my husband, but also because you are my best friend.” I said this with my most sincere voice.
He started to tear up. “Really? I'm your best friend?”
“Of course.” I brought him into a hug.
We held the embrace for a couple of minutes, then he whispered into my ear. “You are my best friend, too.”
When we parted, I looked him right in the eyes and said, “Now, tell me what has you so depressed.”
He sighed, “Luna... how old are you?”
I was caught off guard by this question. I really hadn't thought about for a while now. I sat back on my haunches and took a minute to think. “Um, I think... one thousand... seven hundred... and twenty-six years old.” I looked back at him and his jaw was hanging.
“Seriously?!”
“Um, yeah. Why?”
“Well, when you and Fluttershy were discussing Kat Scratch's living arrangements, she started bothering me about how I should have married somepony much younger. I didn't think it was a big deal until she said it.”
He looked at me with sad eyes and I smiled at him. “Why did you not just say something? I know of a spell that can advance your age to my own.”
I swear, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. “No way.” He said in astonishment.
“Yes, but it is quite a difficult spell to perform, so we need Tia to be here to help. Should contact her?”
He was bouncing up and down now. “Yes! YES! A thousand times yes!”
I laughed, “Alright, hold on.”
Tia?
Yes my sister.
We need your help with the aging spell. Pure Heart was concerned about not being my age.
Well that is silly.
That is what I thought.
Alright, I will be there in second. It has been a while since I got to do that spell.
Thanks.
No problem.
I ended the mind contact with her and looked back at Pure Heart. “She is on her way.”
“Heck yes!” He pumped his hoof into the air.
Suddenly, Tia flashed in. “Somepony call for a sun goddess.” She said in giddy voice.
“Yep. Let's do this!” Pure yelled.
Me and Tia laughed.
“Hold on. We have to make the barrier.” Tia said.
Pure tilted his head in confusion. “Barrier?”
“Yes. It is so that it will only have an effect on you. It will go faster if you just form the shape with your magic.” I suggested, then beckoned him over. I started drawing a shape in the dirt with my hoof. “There. That is what you need to make. The outer circle needs to have a radius of 5 meters and the inner circle needs to have a radius of 1 and a half meters. Got it?”
“Yep!” He focused and the ground around us shifted and moved. Indentations began to form in the ground. The shape was of two circles, one inside of another, and twelve lines connecting the two circles.
“Alright, now can we begin?” He asked.
“Yes, let us start.” Tia said.
“Hold still.” I said.
Tia and I began to concentrate on the area around him. Two sparks appeared on opposite ends of the outer circle, one blue and one red. They grew bigger until the blue spark formed into a blue sphere, representing the moon, the red spark into a red sphere, representing the sun. The moon was in front of him and the sun was behind him.
The indentations began to light up with hues of red and blue, then the orbs started to slowly advance in a clockwise motion. As they moved forward, the sun left a trail of fire behind it and the moon left a trail of ice.
The orbs began to move faster and faster. The flames from the sun trail began to rise higher as well as the ice crystals left by the moon. Soon it go to the point where the ice was no longer melting and the fire was no longer being extinguished. The two elements seemed to actually fuse together.
“HEY! I feel really tingly!” Pure yelled from the inside. “Holy crap!” He screamed as the spheres passed around for the last couple times.
Finally, they slowed down and came to a complete halt. Their lights diminished and then completely disappeared. The ice began to melt and as it melted the water it produced extinguished the flames. The combination of this created a rather heavy curtain of mist to hang in the air.
Luna. Tia said to me mentally.
Yes.
I need to head back to the castle. Can you handle things from here?
Of course. Thank you again.
No problem little sister. There was a noticeable flash that pierced the mist. It illuminated a silhouette of an alicorn.
“Pure Heart? Are you okay?” I asked in worry.
“Nope, I can't see a thing.” A familiar voice from inside the mist said. It was his voice, but it seemed a lot more stern and authoritative.
“Well, that is because of the fog layer. Hold on. I'll take care of it.”
“No, I got it.” A large burst of wind cut the fog bank in twain and revealed the large frame of my husband.
I ran to him and hugged him around the neck. “Pure Heart, how do you feel?”
“I still can't see!” He said out loud.
“What?!”
He looked directly at me. “Gotcha.”
I hoofed him in the shoulder, though it was much more firm than I remember. “Not funny.”
He laughed. “Yes it was.” I began to laugh with him.
After we settled down, I took a step back and looked at him. He was still had his red coat and he was still the same height. But he had gotten broader in the shoulders and his mane was now three times as long. It also had the same ethereal quality that me, Tia, and Death each had. Though, his had carbon grey tips and was nearly all dark blue now as well as falling down in long strands instead of one large bush of hair. His tail was also changed in to an ever-flowing river of dark blue with grey tips as well. The tips of his hooves which were once the color of fire were now as blue as the ocean deep. The one thing that was most noticeable was that his eyes had grown a darker blue.
“How do I look?”
I blinked, and smiled. “Wonderful. You are now 1,727 years old. How do you feel?”
“I feel like taking a nap.” He blinked and smiled at me.
“That is completely natural after one of these spells. We should both actually get some rest.”
Suddenly a scream was heard from inside the forest. “HELP! PONY DOWN!” Somepony else said.
“Somepony is in trouble. We need to help them.” Pure said.
I nodded and we ran into the thicket of trees towards the sound.
We ran a few miles into the forest when he came upon a marsh that looked battle torn. I saw large patches of purple blood every where and then what else I saw disturbed me.
“That is a hydra.” Pure Heart said.
He was referring to the mountain of bloody flesh in the middle of the swamp.
“OVER HERE!”
We ran over to the noise and found an unconscious pitch black unicorn with to a wound on either side of his body.
I looked at Pure Heart and he nodded at me. I lifted the unicorn with my magic onto Pure's back. Then we both took off towards Canterlot hospital.
I walked into the patient's room and saw a nurse looking over his charts and readings.
“How is he?” I asked.
The nurse was so consumed in her work that I startled her. She turned around and bowed. “Oh, Princess Luna. He is doing well. He has responded well to our treatments and his two wounds have been stitched up.”
“That is good.”
“You're telling me.” A voice said.
I turned to the nurse, “Did you say something?” She shook her head. “Strange. I thought I heard somepony speak.” After another minute of silence, I shrugged, “Guess I am just hearing things.”
“Princess Luna.” A doctor said, poking his head into the room.
I turned around, “Yes?”
“There is something you should see. Your husband is already in the viewing room.”
I nodded and walked out of the room.
Once in the viewing room, I saw my husband, the doctor from before, and another mare I did not recognize.
“Hello Pure Heart.” I kissed him on the lips. “Who is this?” I gestured towards the mare.
“Crap. You two haven't meet yet. Luna, this is Vapor Sky, our new head of security. Vapor, this is my wife, Princess Luna.”
Vapor Sky stepped forward and bowed. “It's a pleasure to finally meet the spouse of my role model.”
I looked at her, then looked at Pure Heart. I quickly gave him the 'we will talk about this later' look, the turned back to Vapor Sky. “It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Ms. Sky. I look forward to your service.”
The doctor coughed for attention. “Now then, the reason I have asked you here.” His horn sparked and a panel lit up. On the right of the panel was an image of a pony's skeleton. More precisely, a unicorn.
“As you can see, this a what a unicorn's skeleton looks like. Notice the horn, confirming this is indeed a unicorn.”
He then gestured to the far left of the panel. His horn sparked and another pony skeleton image appeared. “Notice here the absence of a horn, but the presence of wings. This confirms that this is a pegasus.”
He then gestured towards the center of the panel. “Now here is the point. This is an image of the patient's skeleton.” His horn sparked one last time and the third image lit up. “This is very peculiar. Never in my years as a medical professional have I seen anything like this. It seems that our mystery pony is not a unicorn, or at least, he didn't used to be.”
“He's an alien!” Pure Heart said as he pounded his hoof into the other.
We all rolled our eyes.
“Um, no. He isn't.”
“Are you sure?”
The doctor sighed. “I'm 99.99% positive he is not an alien.”
“So you don't know.” Pure Heart said righteously indignant.
I facehoofed.
“Anyways, if you look here, you can see the two points where his wounds were. There are pieces of bone in these places. This suggests that our unicorn used to have wings.”
“Meaning he was an alicorn.” Vapor said.
The doctor nodded his head. “Indeed. You said that you found him next to a dismembered hydra. I think his wings must have been ripped off in a fight with said hydra.”
“That is terrible.” I said.
“Doctor!” The nurse from before ran into the room. “The patient is awake!”
“Oh. Well then, let us go meet our former alicorn.” We all nodded and filed out of the room.
As we walked into the room, I noticed that the patient was having a conversation with somepony. Though it was a strange thing to see, for there was nopony else in the room. Yet, I distinctly heard a familiar voice responding.
“I said no. You can't do that here.” The pony said to his right side.
“Oh come on! I won't kill anypony. Just harm them a little.” The voice pleaded.
“No means no.”
“But I am so bored. This place has too much lighting. I can barely stretch my wings.”
“And whose fault is that?”
“Hey, you are the one who fell into the swamp.”
“And you are the one who got bored and decided to piss off a hydra.”
“Yeah, but it was fun.”
“Getting my wings ripped off by an enraged hydra is not what I would call 'fun'.” The pony air quoted that last part.
“Wow, this sounds a lot like a conversation I would have with Ark. I wonder if it was this weird to look at.” Pure said out loud.
The pony turned, showing his soulless black eyes. I saw absolutely nothing in them, not even my own reflection. His coat was completely black and it lacked any sheen or luster. His mane was perhaps the strangest part, it was gold with pink bands here and there.
“Hey look, two more alicorns. We should kill them.” Said the voice.
Vapor stepped forward, blade drawn and at the pony's throat. “You will have to go through me first.”
“Ooh. I am so scared.” The voice said in a mock tone.
“Dude, she isn't kidding. You should really shut up.” Pure Heart suggested.
Something was bothering me about this situation. It was the fact that somepony was talking, yet it wasn't the one with a knife at his throat.
“Cut it.” The pony muttered.
There was a sudden rush of wind and a sound like a solid object falling to the floor.
I looked at the pony and saw that the blade of the knife was no where in sight. Vapor Sky was holding an empty hilt. She was just as astonished and the voice laughed at this.
I looked at Pure Heart who looked back at me and shrugged. Turning back to the pony, I spoke, “Who are you?”
“My name is ShadowBane. I am from another world.”
“I freakin' knew it! He's an alien! I told you! ALIEN!” Pure Heart yelled.
“No. I am from Earth. My real name is Drew.”
“Oh, you're a human, too.” I said.
He nodded. “Yes. I somehow appeared here in Equestria around a week ago.”
“He is still technically an alien.” Pure Heard said.
I turned to him. “By that logic, you are too. So please, hush.” I turned back towards ShadowBane.
“And you were an alicorn?” Vapor asked.
Again, he nodded. After that, he stretched and began to get out of the hospital bed.
“Don't stress yourself.” The nurse said, reaching out to help.
“STEP BACK!” The voice commanded. The nurse quickly retreated back into the hall.
“Chill out Maim.” ShadowBane said.
The voice grumbled.
“Excuse me, who are you talking to ShadowBane?” I asked.
“My shadow, Maim.” He gestured to the floor.
We all gasped. His shadow had wings and even stranger, it was waving at us and I think it might have been smiling as well.
“Hi, I'm Maim, Shadow's better half.”
“If by 'better half' you mean 'annoying and evil', then yes. Yes you are.” ShadowBane said.
ShadowBane was slapped across the face by his shadow. “Hey, that's not nice. Be he's right. About the evil part I mean.”
“Don't worry, I can control him, most of the time.” ShadowBane said to us.
I spoke again, “Then the question is: are you evil?”
This time he shook his head.
“Then you are good?” Pure Heart asked.
Curiously, again he shook his head. “I'm more of 'I don't give a crap'. I really don't have a preference.”
“Hmm. Well I suppose as long as you keep Maim out of trouble, you are free to go about your business.” I said.
“Free to go? Hah! We would have left anyways!” Maim retorted.
“Listen here buddy. No one talks that way to my wife.” Pure Heart said to the floor.
“Oh my gosh. What are you going to do, step on me?”
“HECK YES!” Pure screamed at the floor and started stomping on Maim.
Everypony else in the room, including Maim and myself, facehoofed and I decided I needed to be the one to tell him.
“Pure Heart, he's a shadow. You can't hurt him by physical means.”
“But you can bug him like this.” ShadowBane grabbed a floor lamp and shined it on Maim, who screeched in terror.
“The light! It burns!”
ShadowBane offered a chuckle in response and set the lamp back down.
“Yeah, take that!” Pure scoffed, only to also be slapped in the face.
We all laughed as they went at it again.
“So what do you plan to do now?” Vapor asked ShadowBane.
“Too bad.” He replied to Maim. He turned back to us. “I thank you for your hospitality. See you around.” He saluted in an awkward fashion and then melted into shadows that then dissipated.
I looked at Pure Heart. “Well, I am really tired. Shall we go to bed?”
“Luna, the sun is setting. We have to go on shift again.”
“Hold on. I just have to fix Starfire's mane.” A minute later, she trotted out of our room with an annoyed looking Starfire in tow. She had done up her mane in a bun with a couple loose strands here and there.
“Good, we are already to go.” I said, smiling at our children. They had really grown up in the past couple of weeks. They were practically already talking, though it was more of just foal babble, but the other day Moonbeam did call me 'Daddy'. You can bet I rubbed that in Luna's face.
“Let us all be off. The festival can't start without us after all.” Luna said, beginning to levitate the kids towards my back.
I held up my hoof, signaling her to cease her actions.
She gently placed Nightshade back onto the ground and looked to me with a puzzled look.
“What is wrong, dear?”
“Nothing. I just thought this would be a great opportunity for the kids to stretch out their wings a bit.”
“No.”
“Oh come on. You haven't even heard my proposal yet.”
“I know what you are going to say. You want the kids to try flying to Ponyville.”
“Yes, but not by themselves. Each of us will watch one of them closely.”
“Pure Heart, there are two of us and three of them. How do you expect us to keep a close eye on them?”
“Oh darn. If only we knew somepony that was a pegasus and that we trusted with our lives.”
“I am not letting Rainbow Dash watch one of our children. Who would watch her?”
“Not Rainbow Dash. Vapor Sky.”
“You called?” Vapor said, popping out of nowhere.
“GAH!” I turned to her, “Have been taking ninja lessons from Tia?”
“Yes. Yes I have. Now, how can I be of assistance?”
“Pure Heart thinks it would be a great idea to let the children down to Ponyville.”
Vapor looked at me in disbelief. “You really think letting foals fly such a long way is a good idea?”
“Hey now. Like I said, each of us would look after one of them. We would coach them as they flew and make sure they don't get hurt.”
Luna sighed, “You are not going to let this go, are you?”
“Nope.” I grinned, knowing victory was mine.
“Fine, but if Starfire's mane gets messed up, I am coming after you.”
My grin faltered slightly and began to sweat a little. “If it gets messed up, I will personally fix it.”
“All right. I will take Moonbeam.” Luna stated.
“I will watch Starfire.” Vapor said.
“That leaves Nightshade to me. Alright, let's go.”
Ten minutes later, we were all in the air. Nightshade was doing well, though he did take a couple of dips here and there, but once he got used to having his wings spread, he was able to keep his balance.
After about 30 minutes of flying, we all landed safely in Ponyville and luckily Starfire's mane was still in tact. Despite my thought of us being late, we turned out to be a half an hour early for the festival. The kids looked a little out of breath, so we decided to visit Sugarcube Corner for a quick snack and to pass the time.
“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner!” Came the voice of a hyperactive mare from behind the counter.
“Pinkie Pie. How are you doing?” Luna said as we approached the counter.
“Fantastic! Thanks for asking Princess! How are you? How are your foals? Oh, there they are! They are so adorable!” She said, quickly patting the kids on the head. “How is the Prince? Where is he? Who are these ponies?”
I held up my hoof. “Shh. Take it down a notch Pinkie Pie.”
She gasped. “Prince Pure Heart! What happened? Why is your mane so long? Did you get a perm? It looks really good! I got a perm once. It looked so silly that every time I saw myself in a mirror I would bust out laughing.” She began to laugh hysterically and did so for about a minute.
I blinked, “Okay. This is Vapor Sky, my head of security.”
Vapor stuck out her hoof and said, “Nice to meet you.”
Pinkie took hold of her hoof and shook it vigorously. “Oh, I love meeting new ponies! That is one of the reasons I can't wait for this festival to start! I also love parties and throwing parties for new ponies! That is another reason this festival is going to be so amazingly spectacular! We should totally throw a party for you!”
“That is okay Pinkie Pie, you don't have to do that.” Vapor said.
“Besides Pinkie, I'm sure you have many other things to do before the festival starts.” I suggested.
“Oh yeah! I gotta make a bunch of pies for the pie-eating contest. And I have to make cookies for ponies to snack on. Ooh, and let's not forget about the cakes! First off though, can I help you with anything?”
“Yes, can we just get three cookies and some juice to go?” Luna asked.
“Okie dokie loki! Three cookies and some juice coming right up!” Pinkie vanished into the kitchen for a second and then reappeared an instant later with our order. “Here you go! Three warm, chewy cookies fresh from the oven and juice!” She then dinged a bell and said, “Have a good day and see you at the festival!”
We said our goodbyes as we walked out of the Sugarcube Corner and found a nice table to sit down at. Luna passed the cookies out to the kids as I poured the juice. The kids began to munch away at their delightful confections.
As they ate, Vapor spoke up. “Prince Pure Heart, what is this festival for anyway?”
I took a sip of juice and then said, “Well, there have been reports of ponies seeming to pop up in Ponyville that no one seems to know. So Luna thought it would be a good idea to try and meet these ponies. And what better way than to have a festival. I also thought it would be a good way to reintroduce ourselves to the public.”
“But then why in Ponyville?”
“Pure Heart thinks it is more well known than other places in Equestria.” Luna stated flatly.
“Well, I guess that makes sense.” Vapor shrugged and took a sip of her juice.
“What should we do next? We still have 15 minutes until the festival starts.” I asked.
“We could chat with Twilight and Eclipse.” Luna suggested as she pointed out the two of them walking towards us.
“Hello Princess Luna. How are you doing?” Twilight asked as she approached.
“I am doing well Twilight Sparkle. How are your studies going?” Luna responded.
“They are going excellent. It's even better because I get to spend time with Eclipse.” Twilight rubbed the back of her head on Eclipse's chest, who responded by blushing.
“Ahem, yes. So who are these ponies?” Eclipse asked, trying to draw attention away from himself.
Vapor reached out with her hoof and shook Eclipse's hoof. “Hello, my name is Vapor Sky, head of royal security.”
“Nice to meet you.” Twilight said as she shook hooves with her next.
Eclipse turned to me. “And you are?”
I furrowed my brow and turned to Luna. “I thought it was just Pinkie being Pinkie, but am I really that unrecognizable?”
She nodded her head. “Indeed. Were it not for our everlasting bond, I would have had no idea who you were.”
“Everlasting bond?” Twilight asked.
“Do you really not recognize me?” They both shook their heads. “Interesting. Well at least my wife and kids know who I am.” I said patting Nightshade on the head.
“Hey I knew who you were right from the start as well.” Vapor Sky said.
“Oh yeah. Thanks Vapor.”
She blushed slightly.
“Prince Pure Heart?” Eclipse asked.
“Nope, Chuck Testa. Yes, it's me. Sheesh, now I am really glad we are having this festival.”
Eclipse facehoofed. “I can't believe I didn't recognize you. The only thing different is your mane and tail.”
“Yeah, epic fail on your part dude. Pull up a chair and I will tell you what happened.”
They complied and I explained the whole age thing until it was time for the festival to begin.
“Welcome everypony to PonyCon.” I said into the megaphone. The crowd cheered in response. “This is a festival to make introductions and build new friendships. But most of all, the purpose is to have fun. I will start off the introductions. I am Prince Pure Heart.”
Luna walked up next to me. “I am Princess Luna and these are our children.” The kids stepped up next. “Moonbeam, Starfire, and Nightshade.”
The kids waved and the crowded d'awed in response.
“Now then, we have several activities for all of you to participate in ranging from pie-eating contests to obstacle courses. We also have lots of food, so help yourselves. And last but not least, for your entertainment, we have live music throughout the entire day hosted by none other than DJ-PON3.”
The crowd cheered at the mention of all these things.
“Time for the 20-meter dash! Please come and sign up!” Rainbow Dash announced.
“Hey Rainbow, how's it going?” I asked her, walking towards her booth.
“Same old, same old. You here to watch the race?”
“Nah, just making my rounds. Looks like a good turn out.”
“Yeah, this is gonna be a good race.”
After a few minutes of meeting the ponies as they signed up, Rainbow Dash said, “Alright, looks like nopony else that wants to sign up.”
As she began to pickup the clipboard up, a couple pegasi ran towards the booth yelling, “WAIT!”
“It looks like you have some last minute entries.” I chuckled.
The ponies arrived withing a few seconds. One of them, a black pegasus with a gray rain cloud cutie mark, spoke first. “Is it too late to sign up?”
“Nope, you are just in time. Just sign here.” Rainbow assured, gesturing to the clipboard.
“Good. Wouldn't want to miss the chance to show off my mad skills.” The white pegasus said, flexing his wings. He had a brown mane and tail and his cutie mark depicted a pair of wings that looked to be on fire.
“What are your names?” I asked the two pegasi.
The white one spoke first this time. “The name is Blazing Wings. Good to meet you Prince.”
I shook his hoof and turned to the other one. “And what is your name?”
He seemed to snap out of a trance. I think he was staring at Dash. “My name is Dawn. It is nice to meet you sir.” He quickly shook my hoof and then turned back to Dash. “And it is a great pleasure to meet you, Rainbow Dash.” He took her hoof and kissed it.
Now the next thing she did really threw me off. She blushed and giggled. I didn't think she was capable of such a feat.
“Um... okay. Anyways, it was nice to meet you Blazing Wings and Dawn. I welcome you and wish you luck in the competition.”
I waved and began to walk away but stopped when I saw a red pegasus in the distance. At least, I'm pretty sure it was a pegasus. He was staring at Dawn with a look of disdain and then looked at me. We made eye contact and that is when I noticed his eyes seemed yellow.
“Pure Heart!”
I blinked and turned my head to see Luna trotting up to me.
“Pure Heart, I found somepony who paints portraits. Come on.”
I turned back to the spot where the pegasus was only to find he wasn't there.
Luna saw me looking into space and said, “Pure, what is wrong?”
I faced her again and smiled, “Nothing. A portrait, huh? I've been wanting to get a family portrait done for a while now. Let's go.”
She smiled and started walking away. I took one last look and then followed suit.
Five minutes later, I meet up with Luna and the kids to get our portrait painted. We got into the position we wanted for the portrait, me and Luna sitting next to each other with the kids in front of us.
Luna spoke, “We are ready whenever you are, Mister...”
“Electrum Flamestreak. Alright, hold still, this should only take a few minutes.”
While he skillfully worked his paintbrush and pallet, I studied his features. He was a pegasus with a dark rusty-brown coat and a scruffy honey-brown mane and tail. He had one gold eye and one silver eye and on his flank was a depiction of a paintbrush and pallet.
“Alright, I'm done. What do you think?”
“Wow, that was really fast.” I commented.
“It helps when you have been painting as long as I have.”
We took a look at the portrait and Luna looked a little irritated. Though she kept her cool and in a calm tone said, “Hmm. I think your color scheme might be a bit off.”
“Really? How so Princess?” Electrum inquired.
Trying to hold back my laughter, I sputtered, “Luna *snicker*... is... pink.”
“Well I think you amazing in yellow as well.” Luna remarked back.
I took a second look at the picture and saw I was indeed yellow. Actually, it seemed that the whole portrait was in a different color scheme. “Yeah, I guess I do. But that is besides the point. Why are none of the colors correct?” I asked Electrum.
“Oh, did I not use the right colors again?” We nodded. “Sorry, I guess I forgot to mention.”
“Forgot to mention what?” Luna asked.
“I paint in the way I think it should be.”
“Why don't you just paint the way you see it?” I asked.
“Well if I did that, then everypony would be even more mad.”
“Why is that?”
“I suffer from Monochromaticism.”
I walked over to him and pulled him into a hug. “I am so sorry. I had no idea. How long do you have?” I started choking up.
“Huh? What?” Electrum was struggling in my grasp.
“Pure Heart.” Luna said.
“Not now Luna. Can't you see I am consoling this poor stallion in his time of need?” I went back to hugging him tight.
“Pure Heart!”
“What!?”
“He can't breathe!”
I looked at him and he was indeed turning blue from the lack of oxygen. “Oops, my bad.” I let go and he breathed deeply a couple times.
While he regained his composure, Luna spoke, “Pure Heart, Monochromaticism means that he is color blind.”
“Oooooh.” I looked back to Electrum. “Sorry about that, I had no idea that it was not a debilitating condition.”
“Nope, that title belongs to the rib that is currently puncturing my left lung.” He chuckled.
Not wanting to be left out of the fun, the kids walked up to Electrum and hugged him.
“Well thank you.” He said smiling and hugged them back.
“Well that is very sweet, but we should get going. It was very nice meeting you Electrum and I do hope that we see you again.”
“Yeah and sorry about the crushing you thing again.” I said, shaking his hoof.
“Don't worry about it. It was a pleasure meeting you as well.” He waved and we walked off.
Around noon, Luna had to officiate in a duel tournament or something, so it was my turn to take care of the kids.
“Starfire, stop pulling your sister's hair. Nightshade, sit still. Don't make me come back there.” The kids were on my back and were roughhousing as usual.
“Shoot partner. Looks like you have your hooves full.”
I turned to see Applejack walking up beside me. “You have no idea.” I groaned. “How in Equestria does Luna do this by herself?”
“Don't really know. Ya need some help there?”
At that point, Nightshade was on my head, chewing on one of my ears. “Would you?”
“Of course, let me just take Starfire off your hooves.” I knelt down and she picked up Starfire and placed her on her own back.
“Thanks Applejack.” I levitated Nightshade onto my back again.
“'Twas nothin'.”
We began walking and talking. “So, have you enjoyed the festival so far?”
“Oh yeah. I am meeting many new ponies and having lots of fun. You ponies sure do know how to throw a shindig.”
“Please, your making me blush.” I said.
“Yep. But I can't help but feel that something is off.”
“Really? How so?” I asked as I pulled Moonbeam off my neck and sat her back down next to her brother.
“Well, earlier I thought I saw a red pegasus staring at me from a distance. But then I got distracted and when I turned back to look again, he was gone.”
“Hmm, that happened to me as well. I wonder if it is just a coincidence.”
“I am not too sure. Something about him seemed familiar.”
“Okay, if it makes you feel any better, I will keep an eye out for him. If I see him again, I will confront him.”
“Thanks Prince.”
“No problem.”
A couple of hours later, we took the kids home and put them to bed. Cadence was more than willing to watch them, saying something about wanting to have more experience with foals or something. I wasn't really listening because I was too psyched for the final event of the evening back at the festival.
Pure Heart and Luna arrived back at the festival just as the sun was about to set. They landed on the stage and Luna lowered the sun and raised the moon. He kissed Luna and told her to wait for him in the V.I.P. Booth and he then spoke into the megaphone when she was there. “Alright everypony, did you all have fun today?”
The crowd cheered in response.
“That is good to hear. We are grateful that you could all come tonight.” The crowd roared again. “Now then, we have one more song tonight then we will hoof out awards from today's events. So, without further ado, please give a warm welcome to Ms. Vinyl Scra-” He put his hoof over the megaphone as he was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. One of the stage hooves whispered into his ear. “You sure?” The stage hoof nodded and then quickly walked away. Pure Heart turned back towards audience, taking his hoof off the megaphone, and said, “Change of plans. Vinyl Scratch has requested that her coltfriend be the one to give the closing song. So please put your hooves together for his starring debut, Strums!”
The crowd stomped loudly to welcome the pony as Pure Heart flew off towards his booth where his wife was waiting.
A blue pegasus with a black mane and tail took the stage. He had a black soul patch and on his flank was an acoustic guitar. He wore reflective sunglasses and a Commander Shepard hoodie and strapped to his back was a guitar not unlike the one depicted on his flank.
“Gooood evening Ponyville!” He yelled.
Everypony gave a cheer.
“My name is Strums and I am going to play you a song that I really enjoy and I hope that you will enjoy it too. Now, I will need everypony's help with this song. When I point to you, I want you repeat the last word I said. Got it?”
The crowd cheered in confirmation.
“Good! Here we go!” Strums took a dramatic pause, then he yelled:
Turn it down you say Well, all I got to say to you is time and time again I say "No, no, no, no, no, no, no" Tell me not to play
Well, all I got to say to you when you tell me not to play I say, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no" So, if you ask me why I like the way I play it There's only one thing I can say to you
I wanna rock (Rock) I wanna rock (Rock)
I wanna rock (Rock) I wanna rock (Rock)
There's a feelin' that I get from nothin' else And there ain't nothin' in the world That makes me go, go, go, go, go, go, go Turn the power up
I've waited for so long so I could hear my favorite song So let's go, go, go, go, go, go, go When it's like this I feel the music shootin' through me There's nothin' else that I would rather do
I wanna rock (Rock) I wanna rock (Rock)
I wanna rock (Rock) I wanna rock (Rock)
I wanna rock (Rock) Rock (Rock) Rock (Rock)
I wanna rock (Rock) Rock (Rock) Rock (Rock)
I wanna rock (Rock) Rock (Rock) Rock (Rock)
I wanna rock (Rock) Rock (Rock) Rock (Rock) I wanna rock
I wanna rock (Rock) I wanna rock (Rock)
I wanna rock (Rock) I wanna rock (Rock)
I wanna rock (Rock) Rock (Rock) Rock (Rock)
I wanna rock (Rock) Rock (Rock) Rock (Rock)
I wanna rock (Rock) Rock (Rock) Rock (Rock)
I wanna rock (Rock) Rock (Rock) Rock (Rock) I wanna rock.
As the song came to its close, the crowd cheered really hard.
Vinyl Scratch ran out on stage and gave Strums a hug. “That was spectacular!” She gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
“Thanks, glad you liked it.” Strums said, kissing her back.
Pure Heart flew down to the stage and said into the megaphone, “Wow! What an amazing performance. Let's give him another round of applause.”
The crowd clopped their hooves together and cheered again. Strums bowed and thank them again. He and Vinyl then made their exit.
When the cheering died down, Pure Heart spoke again. “Now then, let's announce the winners of today's events.” A stage hoof ran up and gave him a list. “Thank you. Ahem. Today's first award goes to...”
30 Minutes Later
“Once again, congratulations Crusaders for being the only ones to complete the scavenger hunt.” Pure Heart said.
“Thank you!!” The Cutie Mark Crusaders said in unison. They ran off the stage hauling away their prize.
“Okay, it looks like there are only a few more awards to hand out. Our next event is The Duel. Will Black Steel and Obsidian Baron please come to the stage?”
An ash gray pegasus with a black and white mane and tail came to the stage followed by a light blue unicorn with a white and blue mane.
“Black Steel.” The pegasus stepped forward. He was rather tall and his black armor clinked together whenever he took a step. “For being able to hold your own in a fight, we give you the Endurance Under Pressure award.” Pure Heart hoofed Black Steel a plaque.
“Thank you Prince.” He bowed and stepped backwards.
“Obsidian Baron.” The unicorn stepped forward. “For having the knowledge of how to use the most weapons effectively, you receive the Combat Specialist award.” Obsidian Baron was given a plaque as well.
“Thank you very much Prince.” He bowed and stepped back.
“Give them a hoof everypony.”
The crowd applauded as they went back to the audience.
“Alright, the last event of the night is the 20-Meter Dash!” The crowd cheered. “2nd place goes to... Burning Wings!”
The white pegasus came to the stage and took the red ribbon that was given to him. “Thank you very much.” He bowed and then returned to the crowd.
“Finally, 1st place of the 20-Meter Dash goes to... Dawn!”
The black pegasus came to the stage as the crowd cheered. He winked at Rainbow Dash as he approached Pure Heart. He was given the blue ribbon and then he gave his thanks.
Just as he was about to leave the stage, Pure Heart stopped him. “I have a quick question for you, Dawn?”
Dawn turned around and smiled. “Yes Prince?”
“Do you know what a human is?”
“Um, uh...”
“I see.” Pure Heart turned to the crowd. “Ladies and gentlecolts, it appears that we have a human among us.”
The crowd began to murmur.
“What? I am not a human?”
“Dawn. Calm down. I am not done.” He turned back to the crowd again. “It is okay if anypony here is a human. Some of you may know that I am not a native Equestrian. The truth is I am not from this planet at all. I am in fact from a planet called Earth. I am a human.”
The crowd gasped.
“Now, now. Humans are safe creatures and we are not that different from you. I do not know how we came to reside on your planet, but I do know that I am much happier here than I was on my own planet. And so it is by official decree that humans and ponies are to live in harmony together and will be treated equally.”
The crowd seemed to still be a little hesitant.
Rainbow Dash flew up onto the stage. “Hey! I have spent all of today hanging out with Dawn and I have known Pure Heart since he came here to Equestria. You all know Eclipse, right? Well he is also a human and none of you have a problem with him, do you?”
The crowd actually seemed to warm up to the idea now.
“Then cut them some slack. I actually like one of them.” She said, slightly blushing as she looked at Dawn.
*terrifying roar in the distance*
Everypony froze in fear.
“What in Equestra was that?” Dawn asked.
“It sounds like a dragon.” Pure Heart said. He then spoke to the audience. “Ladies and gentlecolts. It appears that our festival it at an end due to dangerous circumstances. If you would, please leave in an orderly fashion.”
As the crowd began to disperse, a loud voice echoed throughout the area. “Stay away from Rainbow Dash, you pitiful human whelp!”
“Hey Dawn, I think it's talking to you.” Pure Heart whispered.
Dawn gulped and then stepped forward. “What are you going to do if I don't?”
The voice roared again. “I will tear the flesh from your bones!”
“Says who?”
Large wing beats could be heard as something approached from the darkness. Then a red pegasus with massive wings came into view. “My name is Corrosive Dash!” He landed with a loud thud onto the stage. He let out a torrent of flame above the crowd, causing them to panic. “Get away from my sister!”
"I want him to step away from my sister." He pointed to Dawn with a shaking hoof, staring at him with burning hatred in his yellow eyes. "If he does not do so, I will reduce him to ash."
"If you want to harm anypony, you will have to go through me first." Pure drew forth a sword from the ground and charged at him. He brought his sword down onto his back.
Klink!
It bounced right off Corrosive Dash's fur and slashed Pure's face on the rebound, causing a small stream of blood to trickle off his face.
Pure stumbled backwards in shock. "What the-"
He smiled. "My turn." He opened his mouth to reveal razor sharp teeth and as Pure stared into his throat, he saw a dim grey glow which quickly began to expand.
He had only seen this type of glow once before and his eyes grew wide. "Aww crap."
A torrent of grey flames erupted from his maw and quickly engulfed Pure Heart.
"Prince Pure Heart!" Everypony shouted.
"Step off!" Black Steel said, thrashing into Corrosive's side with his head.
This knocked Corrosive off his feet, interrupting the spout of fire. When it died down, everypony gasped as they saw a grey figure standing in front of Pure Heart who had his crystal armor on.
"What the huh?" Pure's armor melted away and he inspected the figure. "It's Dawn."
Rainbow Dash walked forward and reached for Dawn's snout. "Dawn?" As soon as she made contact, Dawn's snout began to crumble in to dust. "No. No, no, no, no, no, no. Don't do this to me." She caught the falling pieces of ash and shoved it back onto his form, causing him to only fall apart faster.
Applejack came up to the stage and grabbed Rainbow. "Rainbow Dash, stop. He's gone."
"No he's not. I can still save him." She said, tears starting to flow from her eyes.
"Listen to me!" Applejack shouted. Rainbow stopped and looked at her through her tears. "You can't do anything for him."
Rainbow Dash began to openly weep and Applejack pulled her into a hug.
"That fool!" Corrosive said out loud. "How dare he try to get in between me and my prey."
"Fool? Fool?! He just gave his life to protect the Prince and you call him a fool?!" Rainbow yelled, turning towards him with tears still in her eyes. "He is way more brave than you are."
He was shocked at the way she was speaking to him. "I only call him that because it was not his battle. I knew Pure Heart would be able to protect himself. No one else was supposed to get hurt."
"Yeah. Well, you screwed up. Because of you, a pony I actually liked is gone forever." She began to cry heavily again.
He seemed to contemplate this for a moment and then walked over to her. "You really like this pony, don't you." She silently nodded. "Very well then." He roared and something strange began to happen.
There was a gust of wind as the ashes of Dawn were picked up and swirled around and around. Then a sonicboom echoed as a light flashed where in a black stallion stood in the epicenter.
"Hey Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow was awestruck at the sight that she had just beheld. Dawn was standing exactly back where he stood.
"What happened?" He asked, rubbing his head. He coughed a little and a cloud of soot was expelled from his lungs.
"You're alive!" Rainbow jumped on top of him and began to bounce on him. "Oh man! That was so cool!"
"That's great and all, but could you please get off of me?"
"Oops, my bad." Rainbow hopped off of Dawn and helped him to his hooves.
"Can somepony please explain what just happened?" Pure Heart asked.
"I believe I can clear that up." Luna said, gliding down from the balcony. "But first, I believe we should retire to the courtroom back at the castle."
"Alright. Twilight?"
She walked onto the stage. "Yes, Pure Heart?"
"Can you see to that the festival gets cleaned up?"
"Of course."
"Good. Luna, Vapor Sky and I will escort Rainbow Dash, Dawn, Corrosive Dash, and Applejack back to Canterlot."
"Me?" Applejack asked.
"Yes. For some reason, I believe you should be involved in this."
"But I need to get back to Sweet Apple Acres and be ready for apple bucking tomorrow."
"You shall come with us, and that is final." Pure turned towards Corrosive Dash. "And you." Pure stomped his hoof and large crystal shards broke through the surface of the earth and shrouded Corrosive in a jagged prison with only his eyes showing. "Don't think I forgot about your little hissy fit earlier. As far as I am concerned, you are still dangerous and so will be treated as such until otherwise proven."
Corrosive Dash snarled and blew smoke out of his nostrils.
"Now that he is restrained, we will be off." Pure Heart and Luna both used there magic and teleported the seven of them to the castle.
Pure Heart's POV
Upon arriving in the courtroom, I asked Vapor Sky to take Dawn to the medical wing for a checkup. When she left, I closed the doors, never taking my eyes off of Corrosive Dash.
"Rainbow Dash, can you confirm whether this is in fact your brother?" I asked.
"Well, he definitely looks like him. But then again, my brother wasn't able to breathe fire. Plus, my brother is dead."
"I am not dead! I'm right here!" Corrosive said, slightly muffled through his prison.
"Shut up! It's not your turn!" I yelled. Turning back to Rainbow Dash, I said, "So your brother is dead?"
"Yep. At least that is what Sunny Skies said."
"Who?" Luna asked.
"My step-mother."
"You have a step-mother?" Applejack said.
"Yeah. I don't like to talk about her. She was kind of a jerk."
"Wait, what did she say to lead you to believe that he is dead?" I asked.
"She said that he was attempting to do a Sonic Rainboom and didn't pull up in time and crashed into the Everfree Forest. Rescue teams were unable to recover the body."
"...Okay. And that means he is dead because?" I asked with uncertainty.
She gave me an irritated look and said, "He fell into the Everfree Forest. He was easy prey for anything that could have been passing by."
"Ah, I see." I nodded my head.
"Anyways, that was over three years ago. I spent the first year crying about him. Sunny would just say to suck it up and get over it. She wasn't very comforting. I eventually just tuned that part of my life out." She looked very down trodden. Applejack put a foreleg around her and patted her on the back.
"Alright, so what would convince you that this was in fact your brother?" Luna asked.
Rainbow wiped her nose with her foreleg and thought for a moment. "His cutie mark. I remember his cutie mark being so cool."
"What did it look like?"
"Let's see." She began rubbing her head as if it would stimulate her memory. "It was a green lightning bolt...in front of a shield...and behind the shield were...two flaming swords."
"Okay, let us have a look. Honey, would you please?" Luna asked.
"Sure." I walked up to Corrosive Dash. "I am going to let you go. Don't try any funny business, got it?" He nodded and I stomped my hoof which retracted the crystal prison.
Rainbow walked up to his side and gasped. "It's him!"
"It's him!" My sister squealed, causing me to chuckle slightly.
"Indeed. It is I, your brother." She hugged me around the neck.
"Oh my gosh! This is so cool! I thought you were gone forever!" She began to lightly cry on my shoulder.
"Shh, it's okay. I'm here now." I rubbed her back to console her. "No need to cry." She began to ease off the waterworks and looked me in the eyes. I wiped her tears away and smiled at her. "There. Feel better."
She nodded and wiped her nose with her foreleg. "Yes. Thanks." She stared into my eyes harder. "Your eyes. They are so cold and unforgiving. You have changed so much."
"That is because he is no longer a pony." The Princess said, cutting into the conversation and catching our attention. "At least, not entirely."
Rainbow looked back at me and said, "What does she mean?"
I sighed and rubbed the back of my head. "Well, you see... I am still a pony. But I am also part soul splitter dragon."
"Soul what-er what?" The Prince said.
"Soul splitter dragon. It is the rarest dragon in the world. There are few documented encounters with it and even fewer that lived to tell about it." Princess Luna explained.
"Yes. And I am one of those few." I said in confirmation.
"But how?" Rainbow asked.
I sat back on my haunches and began to recollect the events of that fateful day. "You may want to get comfortable. This will be a long story."
"Well then, let us retire to the study. It will be more comfortable in there." The Prince offered.
I got back onto my hooves after we all agreed and we all walked to out of the court and went to the study.
Upon arrival, there were four ponies already in the study, lightly sipping tea.
"Princess Celestia!" Rainbow Dash and Applejack both said and bowed quickly.
Rainbow looked at me and motioned me to bow. I did so and then stood back up.
"Please rise." She said.
They rose and Rainbow quickly turned her head and yelled, "Dawn!" She jumped on top of the black pegasus.
"Yep, it's me. Please get off, I am still sore."
"Oops, sorry." She grinned and sat next to him.
I turned to the Prince and said, "What are they all doing here?"
"I wanted Princess Celestia and Dawn to hear about this and so I asked Vapor to escort Dawn here after his checkup and Death wanted to come as well." He said.
I shrugged and sat down on a cushion. A maid walked up and gave me a glass of what I supposed to be iced tea. I thanked her and promptly took a sip of the delicious nectar.
After everypony had settled and introductions were made, Princess Luna beckoned me to begin my story.
I set down my glass on a nearby coaster and tapped my chin. "Let's see, it all started about three years ago."
Three Years Earlier
"Hey, step off my sister!" I said to Soarin.
"Oh yeah, what are you going to do about it?"
"Corro, please don't." Rainbow pleaded.
You see, colts were always hitting on my sister, especially an older one named Soarin. Out of all of them, I liked him the least.
"What? You think I am gonna beat him up? I wouldn't do that." Soarin said grabbing her chin and lifting her face towards his.
"I said leave her alone!"
"Why don't you make me?" He said with a grin.
"Okay, I will!" I charged at him and he quickly side-stepped me and kicked me in the side.
We began to duke it out and eventually I won and he walked away with a few broken ribs and a shattered ego.
"Thanks bro."
"No problem. Now let's go home."
We lived in a regular house with just the necessities with our step-mother, Sunny Skies. She didn't treat us very well. She married our dad after our birth mother died of unknown reasons. A couple of years later, our father died of unknown reasons as well. Surprisingly, when his will was read, it left all his assets to the two of us instead of her. Our dad was a wealthy pony from investing.
When he died, we were left in her care. She knew that we could not access the money until we were of the right age. So she waited until the time was right to make the right move.
Anyways, that night when we got home, I had just put my sister to bed when Sunny asked me to help her with something in the kitchen. When I walked in, I was hit from behind and knocked unconscious.
When I woke up, I hurt all over. I found bruises on my body and one of my wings was torn. I had a few broken ribs and one of my legs was shattered. I looked around and knew I was in the Everfree Forest.
I limped around for a couple of days, trying to find some sign of life that wouldn't kill me. A week passed and I thought I would never find help when I heard coughing.
I walked as fast as I could towards this sound and to my horror, I found I had stumbled upon a gigantic sleeping dragon. At least, I thought it was asleep.
"Who's there?" Said the beast in a shaky voice.
"Um, my name is Corrosive Dash." I said with fear.
"Ah, a pegasus, huh? I haven't talked to a pegasus in a long time." It licked its teeth.
"How do you know I am a pegasus?"
It rumbled in what I supposed to be laughter. "Trust me boy, when you have been around as long as I have, you tend to pick up subtle details like the smell of down from a pegasus. Now then, why are you running around in the Everfree at night?" The dragon opened it's eyes revealing yellow irises with red pupils.
"Well, um to tell you the truth, I am lost." I said.
"Really? You have no idea where you are going?" It smiled slightly.
"No, I am going to get out of this forest and get back to Cloudsdale so I can find my sister."
"Well you can't go anywhere with that broken leg and torn wing." Before I knew it, the dragon whipped it's tail around stabbed me in the back.
"Gah! What was that for? And why do I feel so woozy?" I then fell over and saw the dragon get up and walk over to me, its jaws wide open. In terror, I then passed out.
When I woke up, I tried to lift my head but found myself paralyzed. I decided to just lay there. When my blurry vision finally cleared up, I saw a fire going and found that I was in a cavern. Then I saw the dragon on the other side of the fire.
"Well, well. Look who finally decided to wake up. You had me worried there for a while. I thought I had injected you with too much venom and killed you."
I tried to move again but found I was unable.
"Whoa there. Take it easy. I am not going to hurt you."
"Says the dragon that stabbed me in the back and then tried to eat me."
"Eat you? Why would I want to eat you? I don't even have any teeth. See?" He open his mouth and sure enough, it was nothing but gums.
"Fine, but what about stabbing me?"
"That was just so I could give you my gift."
"You call hurting me a gift?" I scoffed.
"Hey, that is a mere pinch compared to what other soul splitter dragons would do."
"Soul splitter dragons?"
"Yes. I am a soul splitter dragon. The rarest and deadliest dragon in the world. Our venom is so potent, that a drop could kill a hundred ponies. We have fire that immediately turns things to ash. And our roar is so fierce, that is scares the pony of death away from our victims to bring them back to life."
"Wow. So why am I not dead?"
"Because you were brave enough to approach me in my last hours of life."
"Wait, what?"
"That is right, I am dying. I have lived long a life and now I must pass on my power to make sure that my species thrives."
"You are the last of your species!"
"No, we are just really rare, so I have never met another one."
"Oh, well okay. By the way, what is your name?"
"Thorn."
We talked for a couple more hours before he finally passed away. He gave me instruction to burn his corpse after he was gone. After I left him as nothing but ash, I walked out and began to walk towards Cloudsdale.
"I was unaware of the changes that had occurred during the time that I was paralyzed, but all of my broken bones and wounds had healed in that time. I grew scales underneath my fur and my wings grew larger. My teeth sharpened and my vision was enhanced. Finally, I began to produce fire."
"Wow, that explains a lot." The Prince said.
"Except, why did it take you so long to find me?" Rainbow asked.
"Well, I did go back to our house afterward, but I found it was up for sale and no one was there. Plus, I couldn't exactly go out in public like this. I had to look for you under the cover of night. I searched all of Equestria for you."
"Hmm. Makes sense." Rainbow said.
I walked over to her and said, "I am just so glad that you are safe." I hugged her and she hugged back. I turned towards Dawn. "Sorry about burning you alive."
"Don't worry about it. I think it was an experience to be dead for a couple of minutes."
We shook hooves and then I pulled him forward. "If you ever do something to hurt my sister, I will do it again and make sure you stay a pile of ash." He nodded his head and I let go of his hoof.
"So, now what?" Death asked.
"Well now that I know that my sister is safe, I can go on to my next task."
"Which is?" Applejack asked.
I walked over to Applejack. "Ask you out on a date."
"Mommy, I'm tired." Nightshade said in a groggy voice as he trudged along side of me.
We were in the Everfree Forest, a less dangerous part of it, of course. We were searching for something I remembered seeing in a dream a few days ago. I had told Pure Heart that I was taking Nightshade on a mother and son outing.
He wanted to make it into a family outing, but I insisted it was just for me and Nightshade and told him it would give him time to spend with the girls. He agreed but asked that I at least take Vapor Sky to which I agreed to.
"Don't worry sweetie, we are almost there." I said back to him.
"If you would like, and your mother will permit, I can carry you." Vapor Sky offered.
He looked up at me with his tired eyes and I smiled and then nodded my approval.
He smiled back as Vapor perched down and extended a wing for him to climb up. He did so and then curled up on her back.
"Thank you, Ms. Sky."
"You are quite welcome."
I walked up to them and gave Nightshade a kiss on the forehead. "Get some rest, you have earned it." He yawned and slowly drifted off to sleep.
We continued walking through the thicket of trees towards our destination.
"Princess?" I turned towards Vapor Sky. "We have been through a lot over the last couple years, right?"
"Indeed we have."
"And I have helped you with many problems before."
"Yes?" I said inquisitively, wondering where she was going with this.
"So would you call us friends?"
I looked at her with caring eyes. "Of course."
"And friends can divulge personal things to each other, right?"
I started to get a bit nervous. "Um, yeah."
She looked at me with eyes of longing. "Do you think there is somepony out there for me?"
I wiped my forehead. "Oh, is that all?"
She stopped and looked at me with wonder. "What?"
"Nothing." I regained my composure. "Yes, I do believe that there is somepony out there for you."
"But it seems like there was only one pony for me, and well, we both know why I can't be we with him."
"My husband?"
She nodded. "Yes. I have had a crush on him for a while, and I don't think I can ever get over it." She flattened her ears. "Please don't be mad."
I smiled and walked over to a fallen log. I sat down upon it and gestured her to sit down as well. As she walked over, I took hold of Nightshade with my magic and laid him gently in a patch of grass in front of us.
I stared at Nightshade for a bit. "You are from Earth, correct?" She nodded. "Did you have siblings?"
"Um, no."
"Well, he did. He had three sisters and four brothers."
"Wow, big family."
"Yes, it is. Now, I have only meet them once, but from what I could tell, they were all very close. I don't know much else about them."
"Okay, so what does that have to do with anything?"
"Well, I think you remind him of one of his sisters."
"Really?"
"I am not entirely sure, but yes. The one time I meet them, I saw the way he looked at one of his sisters. It was a look of love and care. But it was a very different look than I have ever seen before. In fact, that is the only time I have ever seen that particular look."
"Even towards yourself?"
"Yes. Don't get me wrong, I get a very similar look from him. But the one he gave his sister was one that is meant for siblings." She nodded. "Now I say I have only seen that once, but I have seen that love many times since you have arrived."
"Are you saying that he looks at me like a sister?"
"Well, yes. That is why he felt okay about sharing a room with you when you two were in the academy."
She blushed. "Oh, you know about that?"
I nodded. "Yes. And I will say that I did not like you for a while. That is until I saw the way he looked at you."
"So you aren't mad?"
"How could I be mad? You loving him confirms that he is a good pony and that I didn't marry a dork." We laughed together at that. "But really, it is natural for you to have a crush on somepony like him. I just want you to know that he doesn't have the same feelings for you."
Her ears flattened. "Then what am I supposed to do?"
"Love him like a sister would and keep looking for that special somepony."
"Well, okay."
We stood up and stretched for a moment. "Well, we should get going. We want to reach the castle before sundown."
"Alright. And Princess Luna." I looked at her. "Thanks."
"No problem." I placed Nightshade on my back and we were on our way.
As the sun was just about to set, we finally reached my old castle. We entered and found our way to an old bed chamber.
"Here we are. We shall rest for a couple of hours and then we will start our search."
After we rested, we all made our way out of the bed chamber where I stopped and closed my eyes.
"What is wrong mommy?" Nightshade asked.
I opened my eyes and looked down at him. "Nothing, just some old memories."
"Like what?"
"Like this hallway. This is the hallway that me and my sister would play in when I was around your age."
"You were a filly once?!" He said awestruck.
Vapor Sky and I both looked at him then at each other and laughed.
"Yes, I was a filly at one point in time. Though it was a long time ago."
"Was daddy a colt once, too?"
"If you ask me, he still is a colt sometimes." Vapor Sky laughed, to which I laughed at as well.
"Come on, we have a tomb to find." I said, still lightly chuckling.
We walked out into the old courtyard and I looked around.
"What are we looking for Princess?" Vapor Sky asked.
"I am not sure. I am a bit fuzzy on the details, but I am sure I will know it when I see it."
As I scanned the area, I began to piece together the my dream. "Let's see here. I remember standing here and then I saw a..."
"Mommy?"
I just stared straight ahead as I began to remember... Remember an event that transpired here long ago.
"Princess? Are you okay?"
I shook my head. "No. It wasn't a dream."
"What?"
"It wasn't a dream I had, it was a suppressed memory. A memory from when I was her. From when I was Nightmare Moon all those years ago."
Nightmare Moon's POV - Flashback
"Come now you worthless ponies. I want that hole dug now!"
"Yes Mistress Moon."
I turned back towards him. "Now, is there anything you would like to say before I seal you away forever."
He struggled against his bonds and looked at me directly in the eyes. "Witch! Release me now or the heavens will reign down upon you in anger."
I laughed in his face and gestured one of my minions to whip him again. He screamed in pain as the instrument of torture was once again brought down upon his already torn and bleeding flesh.
"Not the answer I was looking for." He spat out the blood that was collecting in his mouth into my face. I wiped it off my face and grinned. "Too bad. You had such a handsome face. You could have worked along side with me." I stood up and put my forehooves on his chest for balance. Then I gave him a long lick up his face and tasted his sweet blood. "Mmm. Such a wonderful taste." I gave him a kiss on the lips to savor the taste and then got down and turned my back on him.
"Princess Luna! I know you are in there! Please, you can fight this!"
I turned back to him and gave him a swift jab in the stomach, causing him to splutter even more blood. "Luna can't hear you. She is gone, and she won't be coming back."
"Mistress! It is ready!"
I smiled. "Good. Pick up the prisoner and take him in."
The minions took hold of his restraints and lifted him. We all walked down the spiral staircase and into a chamber that held a platform and a stone box that lay in the center.
"Put him in the coffin." They did so and then I fired an immobilization spell at him. "Take off his bonds. He is harmless for now." The ponies took off the shackles and such. I walked up to the box and looked in. "No one will ever find you down here. Do you have any last requests?"
"Go to hell." He said with venom.
"Hee hee! We are already here!" I lifted the lid with my magic and placed it on top of the box. I then began to inscribe symbols into the stone lid and then blasted it with my magic. The symbols in the lid lit up with a black light.
"Now then, let us return to the surface and finish the job."
"Princess!"
I shook my head again. "What?"
"You are crying."
I wiped my eyes and stood up.
"Mommy, why are you crying?"
I sniffed and picked up Nightshade. "I am just sad from bad things that I did." I hugged him tightly and then set him down.
"Are you okay to go on?" Vapor Sky asked.
"Yes." I pointed towards a fountain in the center of the courtyard. "It is there." We all walked up to the long dry fountain and looked up at the figure on the center pedestal.
"So what do we do?" Vapor Sky said.
"I don't remember."
"Hey mommy! Look, I'm on top of the world!"
I looked up and gasped as I saw Nightshade on top of the pegasus statue's head. "Come down here before you get hurt."
"Hee hee hee!" He was jumping up and down on head. All of a sudden the head snapped downwards and he yelped as he fell.
"I got him!" Vapor Sky jumped up caught Nightshade, landing in a tuck and roll.
"Woo hoo! Let's do it again!" Nightshade said enthusiastically.
I rolled my eyes but then saw that a passageway had opened up in the commotion.
"Alright, down the stairs." I said. I picked up Nightshade and placed him on my back.
We all walked lightly down the dusty old steps that led into darkness.
"I can't see." Nightshade said.
I lit up my horn. "Is that better?"
"Yep, thanks mommy."
We descended deeper into the eerie darkness. The air was musty and stale, and there was the faint sound of water dripping in the distance.
"Mommy, I'm scared."
"It's okay sweetie. I am right here." I said soothingly.
We finally reached the bottom of the stairwell and walked up to a giant double door.
"Alright, so do we just knock or..."
"How about we just ring the doorbell?" Nightshade said, standing against the wall with his hoof on a large button.
"No, don't!" Vapor Sky jumped flew towards him, picking him up just as he pushed the button.
A boulder fell onto the spot where he stood just moments before. "Man! Another close one."
There was some rumbling and the giant doors began to slowly open into a chamber.
"Are you serious? Hey, are you sure you are only five years old?" Vapor Sky asked, rubbing his head. He giggled in delight.
"There it is!" I said, pointing towards the stone box on the platform.
We all walked towards the platform and stood in front of the box that lay on the floor. The symbols on the box lid still lit up with black light.
"Now, how do we open it up?"
"We can't. That would be desecrating this tomb."
"What?!" Vapor Sky turned to me. "You can't be serious?!"
I turned to her. "I am completely serious."
"You are saying we came all this way for nothing?!"
I was about to argue back when there was a loud thud.
"Hey mister! You awake?!"
We both turned slowly back towards the coffin and gasped at the same time. The lid was no longer on place and Nightshade was sitting on top of the corpse, that lay inside poking it in the face.
"Nightshade! Get out of there!" I screamed.
"Shh, mommy. This pony is asleep." He said, putting his hoof to his mouth in a quieting gesture.
"Oh my gosh. That is nasty." Vapor Sky said.
I walked over to pull Nightshade out of the crypt when suddenly, the eyes of the stallion opened.
I screamed and pulled Nightshade out in time for the corpse to sit up.
"Oh wow! That was a long nap." He said.
"What the-?" Vapor Sky started to say.
"Hey, how you all doing?" He said, looking around.
"Great, how about you?" Nightshade asked back.
"Oh, well my back is sore from laying down on this rock for so long. But other than that, can't complain."
Nightshade wiggled his way out of my grasp and walked up to him, extending his hoof. "My name is Nightshade. What is yours?"
He grasped his hoof. "Cloudlight." He let go then stood up and shook coat clean of dust. He then stepped out of the box and extended his wings. "Oh. Darn, my wings are sore."
"You have really big wings."
"Yeah, common trait where I am from."
"Where are you from?" Nightshade asked.
"Somewhere far away from here." I said, stepping forward.
"Princess!" He quickly bowed.
"Rise Cloudlight."
He did so and then came forward and gave me a hug. "How did you get free? Where is that evil witch?"
"Gone. For good this time."
"Wow, really? You will need to fill me in on the details later." He let go and turned to Vapor Sky. "Who is this beautiful mare?"
"Um, I am Vapor Sky, head of royal night security."
"Well then, it is wonderful to meet you, Vapor Sky." He picked up her hoof and kissed it, causing her to blush.
"Ahem." They both stood at attention. "If you two are finished, shall we leave?" "Of course Princess." They both said at the same time.
Once we were outside, Cloudlight began to speak. "So how did you guys get down there? Nightmare Moon made it next to impossible to find me."
"Actually, it was Nightshade who did most of the work." I said.
"Oh really. Well I guess I have you to thank then." He said, messing with Nightshade's mane. He laughed in return. "Now then, how long has it been?"
"Um, about 1007 years." I said.
"Wow, that long, huh?"
I nodded.
"Well things have probably changed a bit, right?"
"Yes, quite a lot actually."
"Well I guess that explains why your castle looks so bad." He said, pointing out the dilapidated structure.
"Yes, but we live in a better one now."
"Well, then. Let us go. You can fill me in on the details on the way there."
"Alright, I am sure Pure Heart will love to meet you." Vapor Sky said.
"Who?"
"My daddy, silly."
"Wait, who is your mommy?" He asked.
Nightshade looked a little confused. He turned his head to me. "Mommy, does he have trouble remembering who ponies are?"
"Luna's married?!"
"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"
"Nope." He took a second to regain his composure. "Now then, let us be off. I can't wait to meet the pony who got married to you?" He began to crack up, but I quickly punched him in the side.
"Let's go, before I have to hurt you."
"You already did."
"Get over it." I picked up Nightshade and placed him on my back. Then we took off towards the castle.
"So to sum up, you were imprisoned for a thousand years as Nightmare Moon, came back, cleansed by the Elements of Harmony, met this Pure Heart guy, and then got married and had three kids together." Cloudlight said.
"Yes. That is, more or less, what has happened since you were imprisoned." I replied.
"Wow, and it felt like it was only a short nap." He tapped his forehoof on his chin while he flew on his back. "Though, I bet that's why it feels a bit strange to have the wind running through my feathers."
"Hey mommy, there is the castle. And there is auntie Tia and uncle Death." Nightshade jumped off my back and flew towards the landing area where my sister and her husband waved at us.
"Tia is married as well?!" Cloudlight gaped.
"Yep. They got married about two years ago. That was a beautiful wedding." Vapor Sky pointed out.
We reached the balcony and heard my son giggling from being tickled by my sister. "Please auntie! Stop, stop!"
"Not until you say it!" She laughed back.
"Alright. I love you!"
She stopped tickling him and put him down, only to be picked up by Death and given a raspberry on his belly, starting up his laughing again.
"Hello sister." I said, approaching Tia.
"Luna, how was your quest?"
"Successful." I stepped to the side and Cloudlight stepped forward.
"Hello Celestia. Long time no see."
"Cloudlight!" She walked up to him and gave him a hug. "I thought you had died back when Nightmare Moon took you."
"Nope, just imprisoned for a thousand years in a coffin." He smirked. "And who is this?" He asked, stepping back and pointing at Death.
Death stepped forward and stuck out his hoof. "Death, Prince of Equestria. I am Princess Celestia's husband."
Cloudlight took his hoof and shook it. "Nice to meet you." He turned back to Tia. "Now let me have a look at you." Tia blushed and slowly turned. "Wow, after a thousand years, I thought for sure you would have gotten rid of that pudge." He said, grinning.
"It's not a pudge, jerk!" She playfully hit him in the shoulder. "I am actually with child."
His jaw dropped. "You are pregnant?!"
"Yes sir. About six months now." Death said, walking up behind her and patting her belly. She turned her head and kissed him on the lips.
"Eww." Nightshade and Cloudlight said simultaneously.
Now I punched Cloudlight in the shoulder.
"Ouch! You girls have gotten violent in your old age."
I punched him again. "You want to try saying something again, because next time, I won't hold back."
"Okay, I will shut up."
"Good." I turned to my sister. "Have you seen Pure Heart of late?"
She tapped her hoof to her chin. "Actually, I haven't." She turned to Death. "Have you?"
He shook his head. "I have not seen him in a week or so."
"Well that is strange. I will try to contact him." I reached out with my mind.
Pure Heart? Where are you?
Luna?! Help! They are crazy! Wait, what is that? No! Not that! Anything but that!
The connection was broken. I looked up. "He is in trouble!" I opened the doors and ran inside, everypony else followed quickly.
I ran to a maid and asked her if she had seen him.
"Last time I saw him, he was in the girls' room."
I thanked her and ran towards their room.
I opened the doors quickly and looked inside. What I saw confused me.
"Mommy!" Starfire and Moonbeam said, running up to me and giving me a hug.
"Hello girls." I looked passed them and saw a mare sitting in a chair at their little table. Her back was turned to me, so I could not identify her. "Who is your friend girls?"
They both giggled.
"What is so funny?" I stepped closer and noticed her forelegs were bound behind her back and her hindlegs were tied to the chair legs. "Girls? Why is she tied up?"
They both began to laugh harder. But they were joined by another laugh as well.
I walked around to her front. "Miss, are you oka-" I stopped as soon as I saw her face. "Pure Heart!" His mouth was gagged, though he had a beautiful shade of blue lipstick on his lips. "I thought you were in trouble, but I walk in to find that you were playing dress-up. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Mmg mmh mguh muhum." He said through his gag.
I pulled off the gag. "What did you say?"
He coughed. "I said that they took me by surprise. I didn't have time to react before Maim took hold of my body and held me in place for the past couple of days."
"Yeah I did!" Maim said as he split himself from Pure Heart's shadow. "And now you look like a drag queen!"
"I will step on you!" Pure Heart broke the ropes he bound around his legs and jumped out of the chair and started stomping on Maim.
"After five years, you think he would have remembered that he can't hurt me." Maim said, yawning at the futile attempts.
"Shut up!" Pure Heart yelled at the shadow.
"Now, now. No need to get testy." ShadowBane said, emerging from the shadows.
"How long have you been there?" I asked.
"The past week or so. Or rather, I've been out in the garden enjoying nature, while Maim has been getting his pent-up energy released." He said, gesturing at Maim, who had returned to his rightful place.
"Did you know this was going on?" Vapor Sky asked.
He nodded his head.
"And you didn't plan to intervene at all?" I said.
"Nope. I thought it was okay, since he was playing with somepony in his own mindset."
"You call holding me against my will 'playing'?" Pure raged.
He again nodded.
"Hey, at least the girls had fun torturing their father as much as I did." Maim said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Well, I guess so." Pure Heart said. He finally took off the wig that the girls had put on him, as well as the feather boa and dress. "If you will excuse me, I need to take a bath. I think some glitter got stuck in my mane." He indeed had glitter in his mane, as well as all over his coat.
"I believe we could all use a bath. Especially my little ponies." I said, levitating the children onto Pure Heart's back.
"Not a bath!" Nightshade and Starfire said at the same time.
"Hooray a bath!" Moonbeam shouted, getting strange looks from her siblings.
I laughed at their expressions as Pure walked out of the room with the children. I then turned back to the rest of the group. "Alright, we will reconvene on the morrow. Maim."
The shadow's ears perked up. "Yes?"
"Thank you for helping watch my children. Even if it was in your own, I'll be it, inappropriate manner."
He waved his hoof. "No problem. Torture is one of my favorite past times."
"...In any case, you will be rewarded. You may go."
"Thanks, I guess." ShadowBane and Maim then disappeared into the shadows that held them bound.
"Vapor Sky."
Vapor quickly stood at attention. "Yes ma'am."
"Please show our guest to a spare room."
Celestia finally broke her silence. "We do not have any extra rooms at the moment."
"Excuse me?"
"We are having most of the guest rooms renovated, and the ones that aren't currently have dignitaries staying in them."
"Well, if it is okay with your majesties, he can stay in my room tonight." Vapor Sky suggested.
"Alright, that sounds reasonable enough." Celestia said.
"Now that we got that settled, I will go join my family. Good day all."
Pure Heart's POV
"Look out! Tidal wave!" I said, as I splashed the kids, causing them to laugh as they splashed me back.
We were in our large bath tub that I had made for occasions of this sort. Needless to say, it was more like a large jacuzzi than a bath.
"Don't make a mess, or you will be mopping it up." Luna said, as she walked into the bathroom carefully as not to slip.
"Oh come on. We were just having fun." I said, signaling the kids to turn and give her 'the eyes'.
"You know those puppy dog eyes do not work on me." She stated as she stepped into the warm and bubbly water.
"Darn it, I forgot that." I signaled the kids to stop and they went back to splashing each other.
"So, other than being held against your will, how was your week?" She sidled up next to me, rubbing her body against mine. Man, I missed that so much.
"You know, I don't think anything else happened. Pretty much it was nothing but tea and crumpets the day after you left."
"Really, it was that good?" She asked as she picked up a wash cloth and dipped it into the water. She then began to remove the eye liner and other makeup that I had missed.
"No, I mean that literally was all it was that I got to eat. It started out as a normal tea party and then it all went to Tartarus." I picked up a cup and filled it with water. Then I lifted her chin and poured water down the back of her head. "But enough about me, I want to hear about your week. How was your 'mother and son outing'?" I made air quotes at that point.
"Well, I have something to confess." She took a breath for what I thought she was doing to calm her nerves. Instead, she dipped her head completely under the water.
I followed suit and quickly scrubbed my mane. Then I opened my eyes and kissed. She opened hers and we surfaced.
"You were saying."
"Yes. We didn't actually go on a mother and son outing in the more traditional sense."
"I know."
"You know?"
"Luna, please. I may be a bit of a goofball, but that doesn't impair my common sense. So tell me what it was really about."
"Well, about a two weeks ago, I had a dream. It was about me and a pegasus stallion that white with hint of sky blue."
"I see. Would that possibly be the pegasus that I passed earlier in the girls room?"
"Yes, it is. Like I said, it was me and him, but it wasn't actually me. It was Nightmare Moon. And he was tied down and wounded. She was laughing and then she sealed him away in a tomb."
"Alright, so what happened next?" I asked, tapping my hoof on my chin.
"Then I woke up. But this dream kept on coming back each day, every time with more details. I decided I should act upon it."
"Meaning you made an excuse to go pursue this dream."
She nodded. "Skipping ahead five days, we arrived at my old castle."
"The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters."
Again she nodded. "After resting for a day, we walked out to the courtyard and I had a flashback to when I was Nightmare Moon. It was then I realized that it wasn't just a dream, but it was a suppressed memory."
She paused for a moment and I patted her back. "It's okay. You weren't you back then. You would never torture somepony without a good reason."
She punched hard in the shoulder. "It is not a joking matter."
"I'm sorry. Please continue."
"Thank you. After the flashback, we went towards the fountain in the middle of the yard. Nightshade flew up and began to play on the statue's head and triggered a mechanism that opened a secret entrance."
"Alright Nightshade!" I ruffled his hair and then he went back to playing with his sisters.
"Yes, he was a great help. He actually was the one who got us through all the obstacles we encountered. When we made into the tomb, he was the one that revived Cloudlight." She explained.
"Who?"
"The pegasus."
"Oh. Alright, so what happened next?"
"Well, we had a short conversation and then came home."
"Okay. And who is this Cloudlight anyways?"
"He is a very old friend."
"Wait, how old is he?"
"Around 25."
"Oh, okay."
"Plus a thousand years."
"What?"
"He has been in a tomb for the past thousand years Pure Heart."
"Right, I forgot."
"And that is about it."
"I see. So where is he staying today?"
"With Vapor Sky."
"What?!" I stood up and began to climb out of the bath.
Before I could get my hindlegs out of the water, Luna gripped my tail in her mouth and pulled me back in.
"What are you doing?" I asked in a huff.
"Stopping you from ruining their day."
"But they can't stay in the same room."
"Pure Heart. She is 24 years old now. She can make her own decisions. And I have known Cloudlight for a long time and he is a very respectful stallion."
"But, but..."
"No buts. I know you love her like a sister, but you have to let her go."
I sighed. "Fine. But I swear, if he does anything..."
"Pure, you and I both know that she can handle herself. Just relax."
"Okay, okay." I sat back down next to my wife and relaxed my tensed up muscles. We sat there for awhile, watching our wonderful children play in the water.
I put my foreleg around Luna and pulled her closer. She set her head on my chest and I began to stroke her mane with my hoof. "How amazing it must be to be so young and carefree." I thought out loud.
"Indeed. Just thinking about their innocent and joyful life makes me think of my fillyhood. Of course mine is nothing like their's."
"How so?" I questioned.
"When I was growing up, I was always told that I would bear the weight of the moon and so had constant training. Rarely did I have time for friends." She sighed.
"Wow, that sounds like it was a pain in the rump."
"Yes. How about you, dear? What was your life like as a colt?"
"You mean a child?"
"You know what I mean." She laughed.
"I know, I know." I laughed as well. Then I thought. "Well, I can't quite remember that well. My parents told me that I was an adventurous one. Wasn't afraid of anything. I was always getting into trouble. I had plenty of friends and would get to play with them all the time."
"Ugh. Lucky." She pouted, lifting her head and turning away
"Hey, it wasn't always so glamorous. I am sure I have had bad times. I just can't remember them so well."
"Well, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that we won't get those years back."
"Yeah, but if you look at the few years you were a filly and compare them to how many you have been a mare, why does it matter? Sure those years might have been just as depressing."
"Gee, thanks." She crossed her forelegs and huffed.
"But the point is that you made it through those seven hundred years. And now, a thousand years later, we are together, making our own memories together. Happy memories. And we will continue to do so for the rest of eternity. And you know what?"
"What?" She began to relax again.
I snaked my forelegs up into hers and pulled her close until her back was rubbing up against my chest. I then whispered into her ear. "If I could take it all back and do it over again, I would refuse. Because I like how my life is right now." I kissed her on the lips.
"You always know just what to say." She said, turning around in my grasp to face me.
"It's a bad habit." I smiled and she smiled back.
"Mommy, I'm ready to get out now." Starfire said, interrupting our moment.
"Of course. I almost forgot." She looked to me and I got out of the water.
I picked up a stack of towels and walked over to the bath. Luna began to hoof me the children and I dried them off. I then gave her a towel as she stepped out of the water. Dang she looked hot when she was all wet.
"You want me to dry you off as well?" I asked.
"No, I am fine." She quickly toweled off, as did I. Then we went and tucked the kids into bed.
"So what are we going to do tomorrow?" I asked her, as we made our way back to our own bedroom.
The next evening, we all met back in the study and once we all got settled, Luna stood up and began to speak.
"As you already know, this is Cloudlight." She gestured to the pegasus and he waved excitedly. "What you may not know is that we have been friends for over a thousand years."
"Really now?" I said in a sarcastic tone.
"Yes really. I can't believe you couldn't catch on to that." Cloudlight said.
I facehoofed. "Is sarcasm really such a new concept?"
"Pure Heart. There is no need for sarcasm right now." Celestia said.
"Alright. So what do we do-OW!" I said as I swatted at something on my neck.
"What is wrong, dear?" Luna asked.
I rubbed my neck. "N-nothing. Must have been a mosquito or something." I grinned.
"Okay. As I was saying. Cloudlight is also not from Equestria."
"Oh, so he is from some foreign country. Fantastic! Let's just have everypony come into the country without proper papers!" I said.
"Pure Heart! That is quite enough out of you. One more outburst and you will be removed from this meeting." Death said.
I grumbled slightly.
Luna turned back. "He is not from Equestria because he is actually not a pegasus. He is an angel."
"Great! Just what we need. Somepony to judge us because of a 'holier than thou' complex."
"That is it. I tried to be patient with you, but you have left me with no choice." Celestia said with a solemn tone.
"Wait! I didn't m-mean it. I just... Just... Wow! When did the room get painted such a pretty color of orange."
My vision began to become very blurry.
"Pure Heart. Are you okay?" I heard somepony ask. Then I saw a pink hoof come into my field of vision.
"Pinky Pie? When did you get here? How is Vinnie?"
I felt the hoof press against my brow. "He is as cold as ice!" I heard the same voice say.
"Pinkie? What are you talking about? I am fine." I swatted the hoof away.
"Pure Heart, it's me, Luna."
"Excuse me Fluffy, I think I will go n-now." I stood up and began to walk towards the door.
"Pure Heart! Let me help you." Said another voice.
"Crikey mate! Ain't she a beaut!" I shouted. "Look out! She's angry!" I started poking at the large cobra on the ground. "What is a cobra doing in Manehatten anyways?"
"Pure Heart. That is a rope." Said somepony.
"Shh. Be very quiet. She can sense fear." Suddenly it struck at me. I wasn't fast enough and got bit. "Oops. Going down." I fell to the floor. The last thing I heard was somepony shouting something about a pure heart and then I blacked out.
The pony ran deep into the forest and into the cave. His form changed as he entered the threshold of the changeling hive.
"King Kron and Queen Chrysallis!"
"What is it?"
"The pony has been bitten."
"Excellent!" King Kron bellowed.
"Quickly, send a summons to Red Rum." Queen Chrysallis ordered.
"Yes my queen."
After the changeling left, King Kron turned and kissed his queen and said, "It is finally time."
One Week Later
"Bullet Blaster! You need to stop getting so distracted all the time." Red Rum said.
"I can't help it." He paused and looked around. "So much life." He pointed to a family of birds. "So much beauty." He knelt and picked a flower, sniffing it. "So much to destroy." He grinned, dropping the flower and crushed it as he let out a barrage of magic bullets on the birds.
"Truly, you are a nutcase."
Bullet Blaster blew the smoke away from the barrel of his gun hooves. "You know it!"
Red Rum shook his head. His ears then perked up. "We have company."
"Alright!" Bullet Blaster reloaded with some rocks and pieces of the birds he shot. "Die!" He started to fire randomly into the bushes.
"Wait!" Red Rum shouted. But it was already too late. There was a yelp of pain. He walked through the brush after Bullet Blaster had ceased fire. "Damn it Bullet Blaster. It was a changeling."
"Oh well. It's just a flesh wound." Blaster shrugged.
"Just a flesh wound?! You shot him in the spinal cord!" He pointed to the motionless changeling.
"I have a message for Red Rum from Queen Chrysallis." The drone said, coughing up blood. "She wants you to come to the hive immediately. She said the plan is in motion." The drone then fell into unconsciousness.
"Finally." He turned to Blaster. "Let's go."
"What do we do with him?" Blaster asked, gesturing to the messenger.
Red Rum turned and looked at the form on the ground. "Kill him."
Bullet Blaster got the craziest smile. "Sweet!" He reloaded and pointed his hoof between the changeling's eyes. "Thanks for the message. We no longer require your services." He fired three shots into the changeling's head, completely obliterating his skull.
"That wasn't necessary, but whatever. Come on, don't want to keep them waiting."
"Alright, alright."
Four Days Later
"Okay, we are here. Now tell me what happened." Red Rum said.
"Good to see you too." Kron said, rolling his eyes.
"Well, as you know, our plan is to wipe out the royal family. Recently, we completed phase one which is infecting one of them with our special serum."
"What does it do?"
"In stage one, it causes delirium and anger in the target. Stage two, the target will experience immense pain as the serum begins to kill all sanity he has left."
"And stage three?" Red Rum asked.
Chrysallis smirked. "He will be ours."
"Who did you infect?" Bullet Blaster asked, spinning his gun chamber.
"Pure Heart."
"Really? You infected that idiot? You might as well have infected a rock." Red Rum scoffed.
"Now, now. You must remember that it was he who defeated the great Ark in battle." Kron said.
"Whatever? What is next in your 'master plan'?" Bullet Blaster asked.
"Next is your part. In order for the last stage to be completed, we will need you to obtain the flesh of someone close to him."
"Too easy."
Bullet Blaster and Red Rum began to walk away but stopped when Chrysallis began to speak.
"There is one other detail. It can't just be anyone, it must be a human-pony."
Everything seemed to blur together over the next few hours. After Pure Heart passed out, he was rushed to the hospital and I tried my best to stay by his side.
As soon as he was admitted, he was placed into the ICU and I was not allowed to see him. After hours of pacing the floor, the doctor came out.
"How is he?" I asked.
The doctor took his glasses off and quickly rubbed them on his coat before replacing them onto his snout. "He is stable."
I sighed in relief.
"But..."
My ears perked up. "But what?"
"But he is in a state of unconsciousness the likes of which I have never seen before. His vital signs are very low and his core body temperature is below the norm and it remains in a slow descent."
"What does that mean?"
This time the doctor sighed. "To tell you the truth Princess, I haven't the slightest idea what this could mean. In all my years, this is the first time I have ever heard of this happening."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Hope for a miracle. If his body temperature doesn't come back up soon, he will be too far gone to help."
I began to cry softly. It was then I felt a wing curl around my shoulder. I looked up and saw that it was Tia. I saw tears in her eyes as well. We both wept for a while.
12 Days Later
In a dark alley way in Canterlot, a pony was taking a shortcut to the train station. He wanted to cut some time out of his daily commute from the college back home.
Though, just as he was about to exit the alley, he was grabbed from behind and thrown into a few garbage cans.
"What the-" Before he could utter another word, he was punched across the face.
"Shut up!" The attacker said.
"Who are you?" The black alicorn asked. He then saw the gleaming blade in the moonlight. "What are you gonna do with that?"
"Not much. Just gonna take some of you with me."
His eyes grew wide with terror. "No. NO!"
Schlinnk!
Luna's POV
Two weeks had gone by since Pure Heart had been admitted. I had gotten barely any sleep the whole time I had been there. As of yet I had not been allowed to see him.
The doctor assured me that his condition was stable and that his body temperature has not changed in over a week.
"Luna."
I looked up to see Tia standing over me.
"You really need to get some sleep."
"I can't. How am I supposed to sleep when I am not allowed to see my husband?"
"I know you are worried, but do you really think he would like to see you like this?"
I turned my head. "But..."
"No buts. You need to get some rest. I promise you, he will still be here tomorrow."
"Well... Okay." I began to walk out of the lobby when several doctors ran through the entrance of the hospital.
"Out of the way!"
I stepped out of the way as the doctors quickly wheeled somebody in on a gurney.
I stopped one of the doctors. "Excuse me, but what happened?"
"This pony was found in an alley way unconscious with a strip of flesh missing from his left flank."
"Do you know who he is?" Celestia asked.
"His identification depicts him as a Mr. Eclipse."
"What?!" We exclaimed.
I looked at Tia and saw that she had already summoned a quill and paper and began to scribble a message to her student. She then sent it and a minute later a reply was received.
"She will be here as soon as possible."
In a flash of light, Twilight Sparkle appeared in the lobby.
"Where is my husband?!"
Celestia's POV
Two hours later, Eclipse got out of surgery and Twilight Sparkle was now at his bedside. Luna had gone home to get some much-needed rest.
"How is he doing?" I asked as I walked in the room.
"He is doing better. The doctors were able to clean the wound and prevented any infections that might have started to set in." Twilight said without looking up once.
"Do they know what happened?"
She shook her head and remained silent.
I walked farther in and sat next to her. The only sound we could here was the IV dripping.
"How do you deal with it?" She suddenly said.
"What?"
"How do you deal with the worry?"
I sighed. "You just need to have the faith that he will pull through." I reached for her and pulled her into an embrace. "Don't worry, we alicorns have an amazing healing curve."
She chuckled slightly. "Tell me about it. Just the other day, I got a paper cut and it healed within a few minutes."
I smiled. "See, so there is nothing really to worry about."
After a few more moments, she spoke again. "How is Prince Pure Heart doing?"
My smile turned into a frown. "I don't know. The doctors keep saying that he is stable, but they still won't let anyone see him."
"Not even Princess Luna?"
I shook my head. "She is taking it very hard."
"Oh." More silence. "Well, like you said, we alicorns heal remarkably fast."
I nodded. "Yes, though this must be a very intensive injury. We have not received any news of him regaining any health. He just seems to stay in this state."
Before Twilight could offer a reply, she was interrupted by a commotion in the hall and an announcement over the speaker system.
"Attention. We need every available doctor in the ICU. I repeat. We need every available doctor in the ICU."
I turned to Twilight. "Stay here." I walked into the hallway and watched a crowd of doctors make their way down the hall. I looked from whence they came and thought I saw a doctor walking out the doors.
"Hold him down!"
"I can't!"
I put the thought out of my mind as my attention was brought back to the current situation.
I stopped one of the nurses. "What is going on?"
"It's the prince! He suddenly regained consciousness and then began to scream in pain."
"Take me to him."
"I am not supposed to."
I glared at her. "This is not a conversation. Take me to him now."
She nodded in reluctance. I began to follow her back to the ICU. As we ran there, I could hear the screaming of my brother-in-law.
"Doctor! His core body temperature is decreasing rapidly!"
"Quick! We have to get him into the bath!"
There was the sound of a splash of water and then a scream of pain.
"Princess! You aren't allowed back here!" A doctor said.
"I am when it sounds like you are torturing your patients."
I pushed him aside and quickly reached the source of the screaming. It seemed now there were more voices screaming now, none of which sounded like Pure Heart. But as quickly as it started, it quieted to a low growl. All the doctors were standing outside the room.
"Why aren't you in there?" I asked.
"As of now, that room is under quarantine." One of the doctors said.
"What do you mean?"
One of the doctors stepped forward. "As of a couple of minutes ago, the prince woke up in extreme agony and began to tear away at the flesh on his chest. The attending doctors found that his body temperature was well below freezing. They tried to warm him up by placing him in a warm bath. This only seemed to anger him and he lashed out at a nurse.
"He had hit her in a pressure point that caused her to collapse. When one of the doctors checked her pulse, they found her to be dead. After that we all ran out of the room and locked it so he could not get out. Not all of us made it out of the room in time, though."
"What is wrong with Prince Pure Heart?"
"I do not know. But I can tell you this. That is definitely not the prince, at least, not anymore." He gestured to the window.
I looked through the window of the ICU and gasped at the sight that lay before me.
The room was in ruins. Carts were knocked over, jars had been broken, and syringes littered the floor. There was a single light hanging from the ceiling. It was a dim fluorescent bulb that flickered from time to time.
Through the gloom of the poorly lit room, I saw what appeared to be my brother, standing over a nurse. At first, I thought he was trying to administer CPR on her. But upon further inspection, I saw a pool of blood spilling across the floor.
I banged on the window. "Pure Heart! What are you doing?!"
He stopped, and lifted his head away from hers and it was then I saw that there was no longer any flesh left upon the nurses face. Nothing but a barren skull devoid of any living qualities.
"Pure Heart! What did you do to her?!"
The light flickered off and an instant later, when it came back on, there stood a beast. All I saw of it was its snout pressed up against the window and two beady yellow eyes that had sunken into its skull. The fur on its muzzle was ragged and sopping wet with blood.
I screamed and it screeched back at me. It destroyed the last remaining light source in the room and then crashed through the wall letting the moonlight pour in. It let out another screech as it escaped into the night.
"Open the door!" I demanded.
The doctors did so and I rushed into the room. I ran to the hole in the wall and was about to pursue the beast when something squished underneath my hoof. I took a step back and gasped at what was there. It was a piece of skin.
I picked up the piece of flesh and quickly ran out of the room.
"So what was the big commotion about?" Twilight asked as I walked back into Eclipse's room.
"Twilight, does this cutie mark look familiar?" I held up the piece of flesh and she gasped.
"That's Eclipse's!"
I nodded. "But there is a lot missing from it. It seems to have been chewed on."
"I mean it was Pure Heart. He was the one who chewed on this piece of flesh."
She held up the skin to the light. "Are you sure?"
"Well... Not entirely. But it was in his room."
"So because it was in his room, it means he was the one who ate the muscle and skin?" Twilight inquired.
"Yes, I think. All I know for sure is that this skin belongs to Eclipse, there are ponies dead, there is a beast on the loose, and Pure Heart is gone." I said.
"Wait, what?"
I quickly filled Twilight in on the details of the situation.
"Okay, so if we put these things together, we can assume that it was Pure Heart who did these things." She contemplated.
I nodded. "Yes."
"Well, the first thing we should do is tell Princess Lun-"
"No! That is the one thing we can't do. Whatever it takes, Luna must not know about what has transpired tonight."
"Are you sure?" Twilight asked with a cocked eyebrow.
I nodded. "She is already distraught enough. Telling her that Pure Heart disappeared would surely drive her mad."
"And we don't want that to happen again, do we?" Said a male voice.
We turned towards the bed and saw Eclipse struggling to sit up.
"Eclipse! You're awake!" Twilight yelled, jumping into his lap, causing him to groan. She then started to place kisses all over his face.
"Easy Twi. I am still sore." He said.
She sat back and blushed. "Sorry."
He smiled. "You are so cute when you are embarrassed." He reached around her and pulled her into a hug.
I held my hoof up to my mouth. "Ahem."
"I see ya." He said, letting go of Twilight. She helped him as he tried to sit up. "Now then, I caught most of what you said. So what can I do to help?"
"You can rest. When you are ready, I would like to ask you some questions about your attacker. Somehow, he is connected to this mess."
"Well let me tell you right now, it was dark. I didn't catch much of a description of him. In fact, the only thing I remember about him is that he was able to hold a knife and use it well with his hoof. Its as if he had hands."
"Hands? And you sure it was a pony?" I asked.
"I am sure of that."
"Okay. Well we can't do much with that for now." I said
"So... What do we do for now?" Eclipse asked.
"You will do nothing. You are still healing from that attack and need your rest. Twilight will stay with you of course."
"And what about you Princess?" Twilight asked.
"Mine is the hard part of covering up this whole fiasco. That along with finding this monster and bringing it to justice."
"And what about Pure Heart?" Eclipse asked.
I gave a short sigh. "He will have to be put on hold for now."
King Kron's POV
I was in my private quarters, thinking about our next plan of attack when one of the drones came in.
"Sir, Bullet Blaster and Red Rum are here."
"Good. Show them in."
As they were being seated on the sofa, Bullet Blaster was looking all around the room. "Hey Kron. Sweet digs. I especially like this couch. It is very comfortable."
Red Rum just stared at him and then facehoofed. "Sorry sir."
"No problem." I picked up a few glasses and a pitcher full of cider with my magic. "How did it go?"
"It went without a hitch." Red Rum said.
"Excellent." I said, giving each of them a glass full of cider. "Tell me, who did you take the flesh from, Bullet Blaster."
"Some schmuck alicorn with a stupid book cutie mark." He threw back his head and drank all the cider in a single gulp. "You should have heard him, he screamed like a little filly. It was hilarious!"
"And you're sure it was a human pony?"
"Do you know any normal male alicorns?"
"Point." I turned to Red Rum who was sloshing around his cider. "And what about you?"
"My part was harder. But I was able to infiltrate the hospital without anyone suspecting anything. I then made sure to deliver the flesh to the Prince's room and put it into his mouth, making him swallow it manually. After his rampage, I witnessed him escaping towards the north."
"Wonderful. Chrysalis will be most pleased. Now we must wait for his full transformation." I said.
"Awesome. How long will it take for it to happen?" Bullet Blaster asked. He was now holding his glass in one of his hands.
I smiled. "Well let's just say Hearts Warming Eve will be particularly chilling this year."
"Sweet." He threw his glass in the air and then quickly swung up one of his legs and fired at it, shattering the glass into a million pieces.
"Sir!" One of the rescue team members yelled to be heard in the blizzard. "We need to head back to base camp! Somepony is going to get hurt if we continue like this!"
The captain was a brown stallion with a greying mane and tail. Scruff lined his lower jaw and he had a calm demeanor about him. "Not until we find those lost hikers!" The captain said. "Come on! We still have a few hours of daylight left!"
The band of ponies continued there search for the group of teenage hikers for two more hours before stopping.
"Alright team! That is all we can do today! Let's head back!"
"Sir! We won't make it back before dark! We need to find shelter for tonight!"
The captain tapped his hoof on his chin and thought. "Alright! I believe there is a cave just over that hill! We can stay there for the night!"
"But sir, this area is known for its bears!" Another pony in the group yelled.
"Don't worry! This time of year, they are just starting to hibernate! We should be safe!"
On that note, the rescue team made its way over the hill and headed towards the cave that was in the side of another hill. As they approached, they saw a glow coming from inside.
The captain stepped in to investigate. He then yelled back out, "It's the missing hikers!"
The rest of the team ran in and found that it was indeed the lost group of hikers. The team started pulling out survival blankets and wrapping up the shivering ponies tight.
"Don't worry kids. Come tomorrow, we will get you home."
"Uh, captain?" One of the team said. "The report said that there were five ponies missing, but I only count four." He held out the report with all the names and pictures of the group which the captain took and confirmed himself.
"I'll take care of it. See that these ponies are fed and their wounds tended to." The team member nodded and went off to delegate while the captain walked over to a pair of the hikers that were huddled together. He sat down in front of the mares and began inspecting them for wounds. He was unable to see the yellow one's face so he decided to take care of the other first.
As he did so, he struck up a conversation. "So what are your names?"
"Blue Bell. And this is Sunny Day." She pointed to the mare hugging her tightly.
"Good, my name is Captain Sherwood. Can you tell me what happened Blue Bell?" He asked as he checked her breathing.
"Well, we were just camping out here, having a good time and such, when this freak blizzard came in. We didn't know what to do, so Rusty suggested we find a shelter that was better than our tents. We found a cave after a few hours of searching and settled down inside.
"A day later, we woke up to a strange sound. Rusty had told Chuck to stay here with Joy, Sunny, and me while he went out to investigate. Well, two hours passed without him coming back, so we began to get worried and all decided to go and look for him.
"We searched for an hour before we found any trace of him. To our horror, that trace was his blood soaked coat. It was torn to shreds and even worse, there were bone fragments and skin scattered around it as well. We didn't have long to mourn though. We could hear that same sound again, except this time it was much closer.
"Suddenly, we saw a silhouette in the distance. Chuck thought it was Rusty and so-called out saying that it wasn't a very nice prank. But the silhouette began to grow bigger and bigger as it came closer. As it got closer, a horrible stench grew in the air and it was a few meters away. We still couldn't make out what it was, but just as we were about to look closer, it made that sound from before and stood up on its hind legs. Before we knew it, I was being dragged away by the 2 meter tall beast. Sunny reacted by bucking it in the legs and it howled in anger, dropping me and taking a swipe at her.
"Before it could get its bearings, we ran as fast as we could back to the cave. The whole time we were running, we were being chased by the beast. Before it could catch us though, we were able to make it back to the cave. We thought we were done for but it didn't come in.
"We don't know why it didn't come in, we just knew that if we stayed here, it wouldn't get us. So we have been here for the last couple of days." She finished speaking and then went quiet.
The captain was awestruck at the tale he had just heard. "Miss Blue, I am sorry to hear that you have gone through so much." He turned to Sunny. "I guess she is taking it the hardest though, huh?"
Blue Bell nodded. "Rusty is... Was, her older brother. They were very close. She hasn't said a thing since."
"That was a very brave thing you did, bucking that monster to save your friend." He said to Sunny. She didn't say a thing. She just sniffled. "If you don't mind, I'd like to take a look at the cuts you received when the creature attacked you."
She didn't make a move. Blue Bell softly rubbed her back. "It's okay."
Sunny sniffed again and nodded. She slowly started to turn around and as she did, he saw the cuts on her body. There were four long cuts that were parallel to each other going down her right side. Each cut was about one centimeter across and two centimeters deep, stretching from just above her right eye to her right flank. He gasped after seeing them for they were still oozing and bled when she put strain on them.
"Oh my gosh. We need to get you patched up as soon as possible." I turned to our doctor. "Doc Leaf, you need to take a look at this."
Our mare medical examiner quickly came over. "Oh my. I don't have any equipment to sew her up. I don't even have anything to clot her bleeding."
"We have to do something. She is nearly bleeding out."
Leaf thought for a moment. "Well the only thing I can think of is kill the infectious bacteria and then bandage her up."
"Will that help her?" Blue Bell asked.
"It will help keep her alive until she can receive proper treatment."
Sunny gripped Blue Bell and looked her in the eyes. Blue Bell saw fear in them.
"Will it hurt?" Blue Bell asked.
Leaf sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you. Yes, it will hurt a lot. But it is the only thing we can do to stop her from getting an infection."
"Doc, before you start, what do you make of this right here?" The captain pointed to the smallest claw mark in Sunny's flank.
Leaf looked closer. "Hold still my dear." She focused on the sliver in her flank and quickly plucked it out with his magic, causing her to yelp. "Got it." She looked it over. "It looks like a claw fragment. We will need to get this checked out when we get back." She pulled out a bag and put it in. "Alright, now let's get you prepped for this." She turned to the captain. "Get a few flat, pointed rocks and place them in the fire."
"Sure thing Doc."
She turned to some other team members. "I need you to hold her down." They nodded and came over to her.
"Is there anything I can do?" Blue Bell asked.
"If you could hold her head still, that would be good." Blue Bell nodded and helped Leaf lay Sunny down. "Sunny, I am going to wrap up your eye first so we don't get anything in it." She began to bandage her eye. "Alright, let's get this done."
Several miles away, a beast stands up from its meal and runs toward the sound of something screaming in pain. Running towards its next meal.
"One more bandage and you should be good." Leaf set the last bandage. "There, that wasn't so bad now was it?"
"You weren't the one holding her down, Doc." One of the team members said.
Leaf rolled her eyes and walked towards the captain. "Sherwood, you may want to talk to Blue Bell, I think she is in a lot of pain too."
"Okay Leaf. Thanks."
Leaf smiled and went to check on her medical supplies. Sherwood walked over to Blue Bell who was gently stroking Sunny's mane, who had passed out from the pain within a few minutes of the treatment starting.
He sat down next to her and stared at the ceiling. "Some day, huh?"
"I guess so." She said back.
"So how did you know Rusty?" Sherwood asked.
The mare sighed. "We were engaged."
Sherwood wasn't prepared for that, so all he could say was, "Oh."
After silence fell for a few more minutes, he spoke again. "So I guess that's why you are taking such good care of her then, huh?"
"She has always been like a little sister to me. I just know that right now, she could really use the support of an older sibling."
"That's good to hear. You keep on doing that and she will be fine. But make sure to let your feelings out too, okay?"
She sniffled. "Okay." He stood up and was about to walk away when she stopped him. "Thanks."
He gave a tired grin. "No problem."
"Hey captain!" One of the team members called out.
"Yes."
"Bumper hasn't returned from getting firewood and we sent him out over an hour ago."
"You know him, he is probably out there waiting to prank us."
"Wait, do you smell something?"
"It is probably the burnt flesh from cauterizing Sunny's wounds."
"No, this is different."
"It's back!" Joy screamed in terror. "It's going to kill us all!"
"Not if I have anything to do about it!" Chuck yelled. "Love you babe." He winked at her and then ran out the front.
"Don't be an idiot!" The captain yelled.
It was too late though, for as soon as he ran outside, he turned around looking for the beast. When turned to face the entrance, he shrugged his shoulders. "Guess it knew I was coming and was going to mess him up so it ran away." He laughed in victory.
"My hero." Joy said. Everypony else just rolled their eyes.
He was still laughing when there was a horrible screech. He covered his ears and then looked up. His jaw dropped and along with the rest of his body when everypony in the cave saw a large clawed paw swipe down at the pony, lopping off his head in one fell swoop.
Joy screamed in terror and ran out to his aid before Sherwood could stop her. Suddenly, another clawed paw came down and killed her too.
"Does anypony else want to try to rescue them, or have we learned our lesson?" Sherwood said sarcastically. Everypony shook their head. "Good. Now maybe we can figure out what to do before it decides to come in after us."
As they weighed their options, the decrepit arms of the beast could be seen still reaching down from the roof of the cave, each time hooking onto another piece of the fallen hikers. The sickening sounds of bones crunching and flesh slapping around in the beast's mouth that could be heard as the creature chewed was only matched by the sight of blood quickly dripping at the cavern's entrance.
"Stupid thing. Why can't you just leave us alone?" Said one of the team members, kicking one of the hot embers of the fire at cave entrance just as the beast was reaching for some last scraps of the ponies. The ember connected with the creature's arm and it let out a blood-curdling screech as it quickly retracted it arm. It could then be heard having what could be described as a tantrum on the roof just above their heads.
"Did you see that?" Doc Leaf asked. "That must be why it wouldn't come into the cave."
Sherwood nodded. "I believe we just found our ticket out of here." He turned to the team. "Get together all the supplies. We are gonna make some torches. See about making a sled as well." He turned to the girls. "Don't worry. We will get you two home safely."
"Alright, are we all ready to go?" Captain Sherwood asked. Everypony else raised their torches and nodded. "Then let's show this beast what we are made of."
With Sunny Day safely tethered down to a makeshift sled, the group of rescuers began their way out of the safety of the cave and into the freezing tundra beyond, exposing themselves to the elements and the vicious brutality of the beast that lie in wait.
The rescue team walked all day without any rest. They were tired and cold from traversing the endless frozen landscape. The wind and snow that blew without relent felt like stinging needles against their chapped skin, causing every step one of agony. Many a time, they would stumble and fall, but the constant threat of freezing to death would make them get back up and continue on. They all knew they could not stop for fear of the beast coming to take them.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity of pain and suffering, the team arrived at the train station that was located just a few miles west from the Crystal Empire. They all agreed to catch the train to Van Hoover instead risking the trek to the city of crystal.
Luckily, the train was ready to go. "All aboard who's going aboard! Next stop: Van Hoover!" The conductor shouted. Of course, the rescue team and their rescuees were the only ones there. The captain approached him. "Ah Captain Sherwood! How are you doing my friend?"
"Cold and tired, Pete. I am getting too old for these rescue missions."
"Oh dear. We better get you all inside then. Mares and injured first."
The team quickly untethered Sunny Day from the sled as Pete opened the larger doors so that they could easily maneuver her into the train car. Doc Leaf helped Blue Bell into the main door as the other team members began to unpack the sled.
Suddenly there was a loud roar in the distance. "What in the hay was that?" Pete asked.
"That would be the reason why we need to depart as soon as possible." Sherwood answered. He turned to the team. "Is that everything?"
One of the ponies looked over the sled and nodded. "Yes sir. All the supplies have been loaded up."
"Good. Get on board then and make sure everything is secure. After that, get some rest. We have had a long day."
"Yes sir!" The team all boarded and the train and went about their duties.
Pete the conductor stepped out of the train car again. "Last call for the train to Van Hoover!" He called out.
Suddenly, stepping out from behind a postbox, a figure in a black cloak walked up to the train.
"Oh my goodness! You scared me stranger."
The figure said nothing, but instead just extended out a hoof and gave him a ticket.
"Quiet one, eh?"
Once again, he said nothing.
"Well then, let's get you settled in, shall we?"
The figure nodded and followed the conductor on board.
Shortly afterwards, the whistle blew and the train slowly began to turn its wheels. Eventually, it began to work into its regular motion and was soon on its way to Van Hoover.
Just a few miles away, the beast ran up the slope, stopping at the top to sniff the air. The scent of its prey still strong in its maw, it roared in blood-lust and ran towards the train station.
About one hour into the trip, Captain Sherwood was checking on his team when he came across an unfamiliar figure sitting in one of the booths. He walked up to the figure. "Is this seat taken?" He asked, gesturing to the bench directly across from the cloaked stranger.
The stranger, without making a sound, simply shook his head.
"Much obliged." Sherwood slowly lowered himself onto the bench. After repositioning to get comfortable, he settled down and sat quietly for a bit, just resting.
"Quite a blizzard, isn't it?" Sherwood said, looking out the window.
The stranger said nothing.
"Haven't seen one like this in almost forty years. That was a cold one, let me tell ya." Sherwood said.
The stranger continued his silence, only slightly turning his head to look out the window.
"Not much of a talker are you?"
The stranger just shrugged.
"You have a name?"
"R-Rusty." The stranger said in a ragged voice, followed by a fit of coughing.
"You need some water?" Sherwood asked.
"Yes."
Sherwood stood up and got some water for Rusty who quickly swigged the paper cup's contents.
"Thanks."
"No problem. So your name is Rusty?"
He nodded.
"Rusty Gear?"
He nodded again.
"Your friends thought you had died at the hands of that beast. Why didn't you come back to them?"
He shrugged. "Thought I would be better off dead, the way I am now."
"Oh, come on. It couldn't be that bad if you are here and talking to me."
Rusty stayed silent but then gestured to his left shoulder. "It ripped off my leg." And then he gestured to his head, which was still confined in his hood. "It also took some of the flesh off my face."
Sherwood sat quietly for a moment. "So you just planned on abandoning your fiancé and your sister?"
"I'm here aren't I?"
"Well, yes. But have you made yourself known?"
"No. I am not sure I can."
"Of course you can. They were forlorned by the knowledge of your death. Finding that you are still alive, no matter your condition, would fill them with joy."
"But what if.."
"No buts."
Rusty stewed over these thoughts for a bit and then sighed. "Fine, but not yet."
"Alright, but I want you to do it before we get to Van Hoover."
"Okay."
"Now then, I have to check on a few things. You should gather your thoughts together." Sherwood stood up and cracked his back. He then held out his hoof and said, "It was nice meeting you."
Rusty held out his right leg and shook his. "Likewise."
An hour later, the loudspeaker came on with a chime. "Attention passengers! I need to inform you that we are unable to stop at Van Hoover due to worsening weather conditions. We will instead be stopping at Ponyville. We are sorry for the inconvenience." The speaker chimed again and went off.
"That's terrible! Can Sunny even survive that long?" Blue Bell asked.
Doc Leaf checked her vital signs again. "I believe so. But she will need to be rushed to the hospital immediately after we arrive."
"Are you sure?"
Doc Leaf nodded. "Positive. Just sit down and relax. We have a long ride ahead."
Pete was making his rounds on the train, walking through each car and seeing if passengers needed assistance. Of course, today was a particularly slow day because of the blizzard, so most of the car were empty. Though there were no other passengers besides Sherwood and his group, he was a stickler for the rules and carried out his duty of checking every car.
When he reached the second to the last car, he thought he saw something on the back of the caboose. He thought it odd and opened the door to the caboose and walked in.
"Hello. Is someone there?"
The thing shifted.
"Excuse me sir. I don't believe I received a ticket from you. If you would please come inside..." Just then, the train caught some of the strong wind of the blizzard causing it to jolt to the side.
"Oh dear!" Pete reached for the nearest object and steadied himself. As he picked himself up, he looked again out the rear window and saw that nothing was there.
He took off his cap and scratched his head. "Hmm. Must have just been my imagination." He shrugged and started his walk back to the front of the train.
"Approaching Ponyville Station! Please take all your belongings with you as you exit the train car. We hope you will ride with us again soon." The loudspeaker announced, though Sherwood and his crew were too busy to hear. They quickly got Sunny Day off the train and began to run towards the hospital.
"Out of the way! Out of the way! Injured pony coming through!" Sherwood shouted, heading the front of the group to make a path through the crowd of bystanders.
Back at the train station, Blue Bell was told to wait for somepony by Sherwood.
"Blue Bell."
She turned around to see the pony in the black cloak that she saw on the train with them. "Who are you?"
"What's all the commotion about?" Twilight asked as she made her way into Ponyville Hospital.
"There was an attack up north and the doctors said they have never seen anything like it before." One of the nurses said.
"What, the wounds?"
"No. What we found inside the wound." Said a green mare.
"Oh, hello. I am Twilight Sparkle."
"I am Doctor Leaf." She bowed.
Twilight blushed. "There is really no need for that."
"Well, the reason we asked for you is that we found this claw fragment, but we are unsure of the beast that it came from."
"I see. Did you see the beast?"
"Yes and no. We saw its arms as it slaughtered two of the hikers we were sent to find."
"That's horrible!"
"You don't know the half of it." A gruff voice said.
Twilight turned to see an older stallion walking up the hallway. "Good evening." She said.
"I wish it was." He bowed. "Captain Sherwood, Northern Equestria Rescue Team leader. You are Miss Sparkle?"
Twilight nodded.
"Good, this is a very strange thing we have found and we can use somepony with as much knowledge as yourself."
She blushed again. "Oh, please. I am nothing special."
"Don't downplay yourself. You and your husband are renowned for your research skills all over Equiestria. I am honored to be in your presence."
"Seriously, that's enough." Eclipse said as he walked in to the room.
"He's right. Go ahead and give me the specimen so I can begin studying it." Twilight affirmed.
Sherwood gave her the specimen.
"Now I would like to get a description of the beast, if you don't mind?" Eclipse asked.
"Well, like I said before, we only got a look at its arms. The ponies who could give you a better description-"
"Are here." Blue Bell said as she and Rusty joined the group.
"Ah, Miss Bell. I see you found your friend." Sherwood said as he smiled.
"Yes, at least most of him." She sadly confirmed.
"What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked.
Rusty turned to Blue Bell and she nodded. He uttered a sigh and spoke. "I am Rusty Gear. I am Sunny Day's older brother and Blue Bell's fiancé. I was the first victim of the hike." He pulled off his cloak and everypony else gasped at the sight of his mangled body.
"How are you not dead?" Eclipse asked as he took a closer look at his missing limb.
"To tell you the truth, I am not sure. One minute I am at the beast's mercy, waiting for it to eat me, the next I am being carried by some kind of creature that walked on two legs."
"But it wasn't the beast?"
"No. Even though the beast also walked on two legs, this creature was somewhat nicer. Before I knew it, though, I was back in the blizzard, looking for the train station."
"Your story has a lot of holes in it." Eclipse said.
"I know. But I really don't know how to explain it any other way."
"Okay, well first I want to know the beast's description."
"Right. It was about two meters tall with long arms and had brown fur."
Eclipse pulled out a sketch pad and began to draw. "Uhuh. What else?"
"Oh, it had sharp teeth and horns." Blue Bell added. "But it was taller than two meters. It was more like three meters."
"Alright. Anything else?"
"The eyes. Those eyes were ones that seemed to pierce my very soul." Blue Bell said.
"Okay. Was this the beast you saw?" Eclipse held out the drawing.
Everypony stared in silence.
"Um, honey. That is a sailboat." Twilight said.
"Yes, well I never was great at drawing." He explained, throwing the sketchpad aside.
Everypony sighed at his horrible attempt.
"We will get a real sketch artist for you. In the meantime, why don't you two relax and wait for your friend to get out of surgery. Me and mister 'master artisan' will head back to the library to begin researching." Twilight concluded.
"I never said I was a master artisan." Eclipse pleaded in his defense.
"Miss Sparkle. There is two more things." Captain Sherwood said.
"Yes Captain?"
"The first is that it seems to not like warmth."
"Alright. And the second?" She said, writing that in her notes.
He motioned her closer. "It may have followed us here."
"Why is there snow in October?" Sweetie Bell asked.
"Does it matter? It's snow!" Applebloom exclaimed.
"That's right. And you know what that means?" Scootaloo said.
"Cutie Mark Crusaders Ice Sculptors!" They all shouted together.
After five minutes Sweetie Belle looked over at the others sculptures. "Hey Scoots, I like your sculpture and all, but how did you make it so fast." Sweetie Belle asked.
"Yeah and what is it supposed to be?" Applebloom added.
"My sculpture? I thought one of you made it." Scootaloo said.
"It wasn't me." Sweetie Belle said.
"It's not mine neither." Applebloom commented.
"Well then, whose is it? It couldn't have made itself. Could it?"
Suddenly, the sculpture seemed to stir.
"Did it just move?" Sweetie Belle asked, taking a step back.
"No, its just your imagination." Scootaloo said.
The sculpture then emitted a low growl.
"I think it just growled at us." Applebloom said.
"Nah, its just a hunk of ice. I'll show ya." Scootaloo picked up her chisel and brought it close to the sculpture. Readying her hammer, she brought it down hard on the ice and the sculpture jumped up and howled in pain.
The girls screamed and ran away to the closest house they could find: Fluttershy's.
"Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Help us!" They screamed as they pounded on the door.
"Girls? What's wrong?" She asked in her dainty voice.
"Yeah. It looks like you saw a ghost." Kat Scratch added.
"No, it wasn't a ghost. It was a monster!" Sweetie Belle cried.
"A monster? Please. I'm sure you just saw a deer or something." Kat said.
"No, it was a monster. It was huge too. Like twenty feet tall." Scootaloo gestured with her legs to show that it was big, though her legs were still small so she didn't seem very convincing.
"So if I go outside, I will see a monster that stands above the tree line?" Kat asked.
"Don't go outside Kat! It will eat you!" Applebloom pleaded.
"Oh come on. Nothing is going to happen." She said as she opened the door.
"NOOO!" They all screamed.
"There is nothing out here."
"See girls. We told you there was nothing to worry abo-" Fluttershy was cut off.
"No, Shy. There is nothing out here. Like, none of your animals are out here."
"What?" She walked to the door and gasped. "You're right. They are all gone."
"And why is there snow all over the ground?" Kat asked.
"Oh, that must be it. The animals must think it is time to hibernate and so have all gone to do their things to prepare to do so." Fluttershy said optimistically.
"But then why are all of your chickens gone?" Kat asked.
"I don't know. Maybe they flew south for the winter." Fluttershy began to tear up a bit.
"Shy, you and I both know chickens can't fly."
"I know. I was just trying to be optimistic." The tears began to flow down her cheeks.
"Hey now. Don't go and do that." Kat tried to comfort her but to no avail. She looked around and saw something in the bushes. "Hey, that looks like a deer. Maybe it knows what happened."
Fluttershy looked over at the bushes and saw that there was indeed a pair of antlers sticking out of them. She sniffed and visibly lightened up. She walked over to the bush and straightened up. "Excuse me, but do you know what happened to all the animals?"
It didn't respond. It seemed preoccupied in eating something, at least, that is what it sounded like.
"Excuse me, may I please have your attention?"
It continued to munch away at whatever it was eating.
Getting more upset, Fluttershy finally worked up the courage to touch it to get its attention. "Excuse me, I am talking to you."
It stopped. It slowly began to stand and turn around. Every second, Fluttershy's eyes grew bigger with terror.
"Fluttershy! Run!" Kat screamed.
But she couldn't, she was paralyzed with fear. She realized that what it had been eating was her chickens. She could see the feathers strewn about and the blood smeared across its face. She was in shock from seeing all this.
The creature eased itself down until it was looking directly into her eyes. Then it let out a blood curdling screech, sending spittle and blood all over Fluttershy's face. That caused her to come out of her shock and she ran back to her cottage.
Strangely enough, the beast did not pursue, but instead disappeared back into the forest.
As soon as she was back inside her house, the girls swarmed her.
"That was it! That was the monster we saw!" Applebloom exclaimed.
"Told you it was huge!" Scootaloo added.
"Alright girls, back up. Give her some room, she needs to breathe." Kat said.
The girls slowly backed up and Kat helped Fluttershy to the couch, Angel gladly giving up his spot for her. He took her hoof and patted it slowly. She was back in a state of shock.
"It... It... It..." She tried to say, but couldn't utter anything else.
"Shh. It's okay. The monster is gone now. You're safe." Kat gently stroked her mane as she offered more comforting words. She turned to the CMCs. "Girls, I am going to take you home. It will be safer than it is here."
"But we want to help." Sweetie Belle whined.
Kat held up her hoof. "I know you do, but it is out of your hooves. This needs to be dealt with by professionals." She turned to Angel Bunny. "Look after her until I get back." He saluted and grabbed a carrot, lifted it to his shoulder and started walking back and forth in a military fashion.
"Come on girls, it will be dark soon."
The beast ran through the forest at top speed, destroying anything that got in its way.
It finally came to a clearing with a pond and a few animals drinking out of it. It stretched forth its paw and the pond quickly froze over.
The animals that were near the pond got scared and tried to flee. But the beast ran with such speed that it was able to dispatch the many animals within a few seconds. The once white snow was quickly turned red with the blood that was spilled from the animals. The beast then began to consume the many bodies. Though its hunger was still unsatisfied.
"Well, well. What do we have here?" Said a voice.
The beast turned its head to the sound.
"Oh, it has great hearing, too. That is pretty cool." Said a different voice.
"But, it sure is ugly."
The beast roared.
"Now, now. No need to be testy." Red Rum said, stepping out of the bushes.
"Yeah, we just want to help you feed." Bullet Blaster added as he also stepped out.
The beast roared again and began to charge at them.
"Oh my gosh, it's charging at us. What are we going to do?" Bullet Blaster said sarcastically. He looked at Red Rum with a grin.
Red Rum rolled his eyes with a smirk and put up a force field.
The beast rammed into the force field and then jumped back.
"You should just surround it." Bullet Blaster said.
"I was going to." He did so and the beast began ramming the walls, trying its best to get out.
"Man I never imagined it would be this creepy looking, did you?" Bullet Blaster asked.
Red Rum shrugged. "Doesn't really matter to me. As long as it does what it has to." Directing his attention to the beast, he pulled out a device. "Now this is going to hurt a lot. Would you like to do the honors Blaster?"
"Heck yes!"
Red Rum hoofed him the device and he stuck it in his gun. He aimed and fired at the beast. Its howls of pain could be heard throughout the region.
"Your highness. The Hearth's Warming Eve play is going to begin soon. Your carriage is waiting."
"I will be right there." I said in a sad tone. It had been almost three months since Pure Heart was placed in the hospital. The staff said I wasn't allowed anywhere near him. They said it was too dangerous for his health. I wanted to stay in my bedroom, but Pure Heart would of wanted me to go, especially since the kids were in the play this year.
I put on my jewelry and such and got the kids the together.
As soon as we were about to walk out the door, Moonbeam began to cry.
I knelt down next to her and took her in my embrace. "Honey, what is wrong?"
She sniffled. "I miss Daddy. Why can't he come to the show, too?"
I pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Because he is sick."
"But he has been sick for so long. Why doesn't he get better?"
I thought for a moment. "I don't know sweetie." I kissed her on the forehead. "I just don't know." I held her for a couple seconds longer. "But you know what I do know?"
She sniffled. "What?"
"I know that your Daddy wishes, more than anything, that he could be here to see you and your brother and sister in the play. I also know that he loves you very much. And so do I." I wiped away her remaining tears and she sniffled again.
"Thanks Mommy. I love you, too."
I smiled and set her down gently. "Now then, let's get going. We don't want to keep the crowd waiting."
They trotted out the door as I myself wiped my own tear away quickly. Then I walked out and closed the door.
We arrived just in time for the kids to quickly get into costume and then get ready to go out on stage. Of course the kids were just extras, but they were excited none the less.
I flew up to my private booth and took a seat.
"Hello Princess Luna." Somepony from behind said.
I turned and saw that it was Vapor Sky and Cloudlight.
"Oh, hello."
"May we sit with you, Princess?" Cloudlight asked.
"Of course. It would be very lonely up here if you didn't." I patted the seats next to me and they took their seats.
"I absolutely love Hearth's Warming Eve. The singing, the presents, the joy, the presents." Cloudlight said.
"You said presents twice." Vapor Sky retorted.
"That's because that is my favorite part."
Vapor Sky punched him in the arm, bringing back a load of memories. A stray tear fell down my cheek.
"Luna, are you okay?" Cloudlight asked, concern in his voice.
I quickly wiped away my tear and sat straight up. "I am fine."
Trumpets flared signaling that the show was about to begin. This year before the show started, Tia allowed them to give out credit for the wonderful costume designs.
"Ladies and gentlecolts. Tonight's production is thanks to two very special ponies: Miss Rarity of Ponyville." Rarity stood up in the audience and waved. "And Mister Gray Shark of Canterlot." A light gray pony next to her also stood up and waved. "Now without further ado, the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant." The announcer walked off stage and somepony else in garbs came out from behind the curtain.
"Once upon a time, before the peaceful rule of Celestia..."
One Hour Later
"Unicorns are snobs." Chancellor Puddinghead said.
The play was finally coming to its conclusion.
The roar of the windigo sounded in the play. "What are those things?" Private Pansy asked.
"They must be windigos." Clover the Clever answered.
Suddenly there was another screech, different from that of the windigo.
"Psst, I don't remember that in the script." One of the actors said.
"Neither do I." Said another one. "Just improvise."
The screech sounded again, though this time it was much closer. The lights went out and ponies began to panic.
"Due to technical difficulties, the show will be canceled, and so will you." Said somepony different from the announcer.
"'And so will you'? What kind of line is that?" Said somepony else.
"Shut up." The lights came back on and two ponies appeared on the stage.
"What happened to the actors?" Someone in the audience asked.
"Oh, you mean them?" One of the ponies pointed to the three actors who played the assistants and everypony gasped. They were not just dead, but slaughtered.
"Now you may think 'What kind of monster could do such a thing?' Well I could tell you, but I find it better to demonstrate." He whistled and the screech from before sounded again. A cold chill came over the audience as the lights flickered again.
When they came back on, a beast appeared on stage, though it hid in the shadows. It held a struggling actor.
"Please, don't hurt me." He pleaded.
"Oh don't worry. It won't hurt a bit." The first pony said. He smiled. "Go ahead."
The beast barely moved, but within an instant, the actors head was gone, blood still pumping out of the corpses neck as it continued to struggle until finally it stopped moving all together.
"Neat demonstration, huh?" The pony laughed.
Guards were now beginning to surround the two ponies and the beast.
"Who do you think you are?" One of them said.
"Finally, someone asked." The other pony said. He gestured to the first one, who nodded.
"My name is Red Rum."
"And mine is Bullet Blaster."
"And this..." He pointed to the beast. "Is our pet. His name is Blood Storm." The beast roared as it ate the rest of the body it held and stepped forward. The crowd screamed in terror.
"That's the monster we saw!" Sweetie Belle screamed.
"That's the creature that ate my chickens!" Fluttershy also screamed.
"That is the beast that ate my leg!" Rusty Gear yelled.
"This is no mere monster." Red Rum stepped back and pointed to the beast. "This is a body that has been possessed by the spirit of gluttony! This is what your worst nightmares look like manifested into flesh! This is the winter that will never thaw!" Red Rum stomped his hoof. "This is the Wendigo!" The beast screeched again, this time louder than the others.
The crowd began to run towards the exit in a panic. The wendigo saw this and attempted to run after them, but was stopped by something that seemed to cause it pain.
It was then I realized my children were still on stage. I quickly flew down to the stage and looked for them.
"What are you looking for, Luna?" Said somepony next to me. I turned and saw it was Red Rum.
I jumped away from him. "Where are my children?" I screamed.
"Oh, them. I think they are about to become dinner." He pointed and what I saw terrified me.
The wendigo had them cornered. They were all crying hysterically.
"You stay away from them!" I yelled as I ran in front of them. I drew my sword and faced the beast.
It was now that I got a better look of it. It had red-brown fur that was tattered all along its body. Its body was torn up and had open sores all over. It had two antlers like a deer on its head and it lips were chapped. Its eyes were pitted deep in its skull, yet the yellow pupil shined through.
The most hideous part about this creature, though, was its chest. There was no skin on it, just the bare rib cage that protected the vital organs that continued to run.
It stood there, baring its yellow teeth at me, unmoving. Its eyes seemed to flicker as it stared at me. It began to back off.
"What are you doing?! Kill them!" Red Rum yelled. He pressed something and the beast screeched in pain. It turned towards Red Rum and roared. "You dare to defy me?! Let's see how you like it when we turn up the heat!" He turned a dial and then pressed the button on what seemed to be a controller. The beast screeched again in pain and this time fell to the floor.
"You are pathetic!" The one called Bullet Blaster said. He took a few pieces of wreckage of the set and stuck it in his hoof. He then pointed it at the creature and fired many shots of magic out of his hoof.
"Bullet Blaster!" Gray Shark yelled as he stepped onto the stage.
He turned. "Well, well. Look who followed me here to this forsaken planet. How have you been Gray Shark?" He asked as he reloaded his hoof.
"Cut the chatter! You better leave if you know what's good for you." He held up his hoof and a blade popped out.
"Oh, I am so scared. You know I would have been the one to survive in that power plant..."
"Shut up!" He looked around, seemingly to see if anyone had heard him.
"Bullet Blaster. We are going to retreat. There is nothing more we can do here now."
"Ah, come on. What about him?" He pointed to Gray Shark.
"You can kill him another day."
"And it?" He gestured at the creature that was trying to get up.
Red Rum smiled. "Since it didn't want to obey, we have no use for it. We will leave it to die." He turned the dial all the way and then set the device on the floor. With a swift movement, he stomped on the button, shattering the device and causing the beast to go into a frenzy. Bullet Blaster fired a smoke bomb and they escaped before the guards could catch them.
"It's gone mad! Restrain it!" One of the guards yelled.
I looked at it and noticed something that glimmered in its chest. "Stay here." I said to the children and they nodded.
I turned back to the creature and drew my sword. I walked up to it and it lunged at me. I side stepped to avoid the blow but kept my calm demeanor.
"Your highness, please stay back!" Vapor Sky yelled above the cries of the beast.
"Just keep it restrained. I know what I am doing." I held up my sword and thrust it at the beast's chest, causing a shattering sound as black pieces of metal fell out.
The beast immediately relaxed and then fell to the floor.
"Now is our chance! Tie it up!" Vapor Sky said.
"Take it to the dungeon." I said.
"Luna, I don't think a jail cell will hold it back." Cloudlight said.
"Then make magic shackles. I don't care what you have to do, just make sure it stays in Canterlot!" I yelled.
He bowed. "Yes Princess."
"Your majesty, we need to get you and your children out of here. Please follow me." Vapor Sky said.
I nodded and pushed the children forward to get them to move. We began to follow the guard, but I could not stop looking back at the beast. Every time I looked over my shoulder, I saw it staring back at me.
"It was indeed a Wendigo." Eclipse said.
The day after the incident, Tia, Death, Twilight, Eclipse, and myself were all in the study.
"Don't you mean a Windigo?" Celestia asked.
Twilight shook her head. "No, a Windigo is only a spirit. A Wendigo is what that spirit becomes when it takes possession of a body."
"And they aren't satisfied with just taking any body, it must be of somepony that was consumed by hatred, greed, and/or had consumed the flesh of its own species." Eclipse said.
Tia gasped. "That means..."
"It's very much possible." Eclipse said.
"What is?" I said.
They turned quiet.
"What aren't you telling me?" I asked.
They remained silent.
"Fine. If you don't want to tell me, I will go straight to the source." I began to walk out of the room.
"Wait princess." Eclipse said.
I stopped at the doorway. "What is it?"
"Don't be fooled by it. Other than its ability to produce ice, it can also shapeshift. That is how it sometimes lures its prey, by changing into a loved one."
"I'll keep that in mind." I said as I walked out of the study.
"Which cell is it in?" I asked Vapor Sky as we walked down the dungeon corridor.
"Umm, this one." She said as we stopped in front of a steel door.
"Open it." I said.
"Are you sure? It is a very strong creature."
"I can more than handle anything it does. Now open it!" I seethed.
She fumbled the keys but got them into the lock. "I am going to close the door behind you, but when you want out, just tap the door three times." She instructed and I thanked her.
She opened the door, I stepped in, and then she closed the door.
I looked towards the back of the cell and saw a shadow.
"Good evening." I said.
"Luna? Is that you?"
I was startled at the response. I began to quake a little. "P-Pure Heart?"
Slowly, a single, shackled hoof stepped into the light. "It is you." The chains rattled as he walked forward.
"Pure Heart." I said in relief as I stepped toward him. But I then stopped, remembering what Eclipse had said about wendigos being able to pose as loved ones. "How do I know you are really my husband?"
He looked stunned. "What are you talking about?"
"Come on. I know this is just a trick to get me to come closer." I took a step back.
He frowned and shook his head. "Luna, Luna, Luna. This is silly. You know it's me."
"No, I do not. Last I checked, my husband was in the hospital."
"So you have seen me in there?"
I scuffed the dirt as I looked down. "No, but it is what my sister has told me. She told me that he is in an unstable condition that can't be threatened by outside contaminants."
"And you believe her."
"Of course I do!" I snapped.
He shook his head. "Really? Didn't you think it suspicious that they all clammed up when you started talking about me?"
I paused. "How did you know about that?"
"We're connected, aren't we? I know what you are thinking."
I took another step back. "Then what am I thinking right now?"
"You're thinking that there is no way I can really be Pure Heart because he would never hurt innocent ponies, much less eat them."
I was stunned in horror. "There is no way you could know that." I fell back on to my rear end in shock.
"Yes, there is. You don't have to accept it now, but the truth of the matter is that I am your husband, Pure Heart."
I stood up on shaky legs and backed up to the door. "No! I won't accept it. You are not my husband. He would feel remorse for what he did. You are completely at peace with it."
"If I am not him, then why did I stop before eating our children."
I turned towards the door, tears streaming down my cheeks. "I have heard enough of your lies." I tapped on the cell door twice.
As I was about to tap it a third time, I heard the chains shuffle. "If you will not believe me, then I have no choice."
I turned in time to see a large clawed hand thrust in my direction. In defense, I pulled my sword and slashed off the beast's hand. It howled in agony and went in for another attack. This time I was ready and thrusted my sword straight through it's heart.
It cried out and slowly shrank down to a motionless form on the floor. "Ask your sister." It whispered. Then it was dead.
I turned and tapped on the door three times.
"Princess, what was all the commotion about?" Vapor Sky asked.
"Do not worry about it. Just shut the door, I must go talk to my sister." I walked back down the hallway and up the stairs to the throne room.
"So Luna, how was your visit with the beast?" Tia asked as I walked into the room.
"Horrid. It tried to kill me."
She looked shocked. "It did?"
"Yes. But do not worry, I dispatched it."
Tia openly gasped and fell out of her throne. "You don't mean?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I killed it. Funny thing is that when it took the form of Pure Heart, it told me that it was him. Of course, I didn't believe it for a second because Pure Heart is still at the hospital, right?"
She was visibly shaking now and I went to her side to help her up. "What's the matter sister?"
Once she was back on her throne, she cleared her throat. "That was him."
I cocked my head. "What?"
She shook her head. "Months back, when Eclipse was admitted to the hospital, there was a disturbance in Pure Heart's room. When I got there to see what it was, I saw what looked like that beast and Pure Heart mixed together eating the staff. It then escaped into the night."
I went silent.
"Luna, I am so sorry. I wanted to tell you, but I knew how much it would upset you."
"So you thought that I would be less upset when I found out this way?! With the blood of my husband on my hooves!"
"You were not supposed to find out."
"Oh and I suppose that would have made everything so much better!"
"Now Luna, I was only trying to look out for my sister."
"And who might that be? Certainly you are not talking about me." I turned away, tears erupting from my eyes. "As far as I am concerned, I have no sister." I ran out of the room.
"Wait, Luna!" I heard Tia yell, but I was already gone.
Hive of the Changelings
"King Kron, the beast is now dead." A changeling said.
"Already? We haven't even had enough time to get all the information we need." Kron said, rubbing his chin.
"We should go check on him, see what he has extracted." Chrysalis said.
"Good idea, my love." He said, reaching across the throne and giving her a peck on the cheek.
They both stood up and walked down to the dungeon and opened a door. As soon as it opened, they could hear screams of agony from inside.
"Tell us what we want to know, and we will stop." Red Rum said.
"Wow, sounds like he is really enjoying himself." Chrysalis said.
"Of course he is. He is a Grade A lunatic after all." Kron laughed.
In the room, there was a rack and along the walls were multiple instruments of torture. Currently the rack was occupied by a single bipedal figure.
"Now tell me, what I want to know or I will cut out one of your kidneys next." Red Rum said.
The figure turned his bruised face to him and spat on him.
He wiped of the spittle and smiled. "Have it your way."
"That's enough." Kron said.
Red Rum turned. "Come on. We were just about to have some fun."
"I said that's enough. You can play doctor some other time."
He put the bloody scalpel down and walked out of the room.
"Hello again." Kron said as he stepped into the room. "Let's chat."
The figure turned away.
"Face your king when he speaks to you." Chrysalis said, grabbing his chin and turning it towards Kron.
"He is not my king." The figure said.
"Bite your tongue!" Chrysalis hissed, smacking him across the face.
"Can I please? That way I don't have to talk to you two." He smirked.
"No, no. Don't go and do that, or we will have to get the information from another source. One with maybe a more royal presence." Kron smirked.
"You stay away from them!" The figure shouted.
"Then tell us what we want to know!" Kron yelled, slamming his hoof on the table.
The figure sighed. "Alright. But first, you must promise to stay away from them."
"I give you my word." Kron said, raising his hoof.
She opened the door of my room and came over to my bed, sitting next to me.
"Luna, I have news about the wendigo."
I started to sob again.
"We found that it wasn't actually a wendigo at all. It was a mixture of a few species."
"One of them was pony, wasn't it?" I said through the tears.
"Actually, no."
I ceased crying. "What are you saying?"
"I am saying that it was a mutant of some sort. The base species was the strangest of all though."
"What was it?"
"Changeling."
I stood up and turned to her. "Twilight, will you do me a favor?"
"Sure Luna."
"Will you please watch my children?"
She had a puzzled look on her face. "Um, sure I guess. But where are you going?"
"Don't worry about it." I stepped away from her and went to the balcony. I spread my wings and jumped off the balcony.
A few hours later, I arrived at the hive of the changelings.
"Princcesss Luna. We have been exxpecting you." A drone said to me.
"Good. Show me to your queen." I said.
"Asss you wissh." It said. It turned and motioned for me to follow.
Deep into the catacombs of the hive we traveled. We passed many changelings that seemed to snicker as we walked by. I paid no mind to it though, for I was content to focus on why I was here.
After several minutes, we arrived at the throne room of the hive. Sitting there, awaiting me, was none other than Queen Chrysalis and some other changeling of the same stature.
"Well, well. Look who has come to visit us my dear." Chrysalis said.
"Queen Chrysalis, I demand to know what you did to my husband." I said, stomping my hoof for effect.
"Me? I haven't the slightest clue as to what you are talking about." She said, feigning her innocence.
"Oh please. Stop putting up such a ridiculous act. We found traces of changeling DNA in the beast you sent."
"Oh, you must be talking about Kron's wendigo." She said gesturing to the tall, black changeling sitting next to her.
"So it was you who made it." I seethed.
"Of course it was me." The tall changeling said. He stepped down from his throne and starting walking towards me. "Though I can't take all the credit. If it were not for the knowledge of a pony, we would not of been able to make such a creature."
"Who might that be?" I asked.
"Don't worry, you will meet him soon enough. Or should I say, 'You would have.'" He made a high pitched screech, causing me to cover my ears.
When it ended, I heard the wing beats of a thousand changelings, coming towards me.
"Take her." He said. He began to laugh as several changelings began to fly at me.
I drew my swords and began to fight off the onslaught as best as I could. But in the end, it proved futile.
"Just give up. Soon you will join your husband." He howled with laughter as I was forced to my knees. He walked forward and stood in front of me. Raising a hoof he said, "Lights out."
One Day Later - Canterlot
"Your highness." A guard said as he approached Celestia and Death in the throne room. "There is a package here for you."
"Thank you." She said as she lifted the package up. The guard saluted and walked away.
"There's a note tied to the top." Death stated.
She took the note and began to read aloud. "Hello Royals. We have your precious sister, Princess Luna. She has not yet been harmed too severely, but we can not promise her safety for much longer. Give us the Alicorn Amulet and we might let her go. Meet us at the edge of The Pit in the Badlands in three days and you will see her alive. As proof that we really do have her, we give you something of hers. Until then, Queen Chrysalis and King Kron. P.S. Only Celestia and Death are to come."
After reading the letter, Celestia tore open the box and gasped. "They really do have her." She said, lifting up Luna's royal necklace and crown.
Three Days Later - Badlands
Princess Celestia and Prince Death landed on a plateau next to The Pit. Celestia looked around and saw the two royal changelings standing at the edge of the cliff, Luna tied up and unconscious next to them.
"So they showed up. Looks like they are every bit as soft as we thought." Chrysalis laughed.
"Stop this foolishness! Give us Luna!" Celestia yelled.
"Only after you give us the Alicorn Amulet." Kron said. "And don't try anything funny. These cliffs are ever so fragile, so much in fact that one misstep would plunge Luna into the bottomless hole behind us."
Death turned to Celestia and she nodded at him. "Alright, here you go." He said, taking the box on his back in one of his tendrils from the earth and sending it towards them.
"Ah, finally." Kron said as he lifted the pendant out of the box and placed it around his neck. "Now then, let us see what this can really do." His horn glowed and a flash of lightning shot out at Celestia.
"Move!" Death said, as he pushed her out of the way, causing him to get hit instead.
"You monster! What did you do?" Celestia screamed, running to the motionless body of her husband.
"No need to worry, I merely knocked him out." Kron smiled. "Now then I believe we promised we would let your sister go."
Celestia looked up through her tears. "That's right. Let her go."
"As you wish." Chrysalis said, stomping on the ground in front of Luna. The ground began to crumble and gave way as Luna fell.
"NOOOO!" Celestia screamed as she ran towards the cliff.
"Stay back!" Kron yelled as he shot another bolt of lightning at Celestia.
This time, it came in contact with her and she fell to the ground in pain. The last thing she saw was Luna's limp body falling completely off the cliff. "Luna." She whispered, and then everything went black.
I woke up with a start. I looked around and found myself in a cave sitting next to a fire with some kind of cloth covering me.
"So you're awake finally." Came a voice from behind me. "I was starting to get worried."
I turned and found a bearded man sitting behind me. I started to scoot away in fear, as he held what appeared to be a club.
"Whoa now. Don't be afraid. I ain't gonna hurt ya." He said. He reached out a hand and scratched my head. I let him do it, because it actually felt pretty good.
"Now then, let's check those wounds." He lifted off the cloth and I gasped at what I saw. I was covered with wraps of leaves and splints of branches. He put his arms through the sleeves of what I now found to be his cloak that was covering me.
He pulled on my right wing. "Please, try to spread this for me."
I came out of my shock and complied with him. As I spread out my wing, I could feel the bones in it pop and crackle. It was quite a horrid feeling.
"Good, now sit still." He took his hand and firmly grasped onto the bones in my wing. I gasped and quickly retracted it.
"I know they are sensitive, but I have to make sure the bones are set in the right place. Please, you have to trust me." He said in a gentle voice.
I whimpered, but once again complied, letting him finish his examination. He then went on to my wounds that were covered by leaves. As he applied new ones, he spoke again.
"Man, you sure have come a long way since I found you. You were busted up and bruised everywhere." He finished putting on the last leaves and then went on to the splints. "Tell me when it hurts." He took hold of my right front leg and began to slowly massage his way down. I shrieked when he got to the knee-joint.
"Right there, huh? Well then, I will just have to splint it a bit better." He took the branches and tied them on with pieces of cloth. "Alright, now that we have most of your body covered, let's get a look at that pretty face of yours."
He pulled up a piece of wood and sat down so we were eye level. He held up his hand pointed a finger. "Follow my finger with your eyes only." He started to move his hand in different directions, to which I followed with my eyes. "Good, now look at the base of the fire." I did so and he look at my eyes. "Okay, you can stop now. Your pupils dilated just fine."
He took my head into his calloused hands and started to feel it. "Right now, I am just checking for any bumps I may have missed." He finished and stood up. "Well Miss Luna, you are fine. Just have to let yourself heal and you will be as fit as a fiddle."
"How do you know my name?"
He took off his cloak and laid it back on top of me as he chuckled. "Seriously? You're the princess of the night. How wouldn't I know that?"
"Oh right." I said, blushing.
"Is there anything I can get for you?" He asked.
I thought for a second, but before I could say anything, my stomach began to growl. I blushed again.
"Ah, hungry I see. Or I guess, I hear." He turned. "Bubbles, could you go get some food for the lady?"
I heard a little sound that was like a mixture of a croak and a growl. Little foot steps started to emanate from behind him. They went far away and then came back quite fast.
"Good boy." He said. He picked up a few leaves and dandelions and offered them to me.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me, thank Bubbles here." He reached down behind the log he was sitting on and something crawled up onto his arm. It poked its head up over his shoulder and stuck its tongue out. "This is Bubbles the iguana. Isn't he adorable?" He scratched the reptile under the chin, to which it closed its eyes and seemed to enjoy.
"Thank you Bubbles." I said. I took a bite of the food that was given to me. I eyed the man who seemed to know much about first aid and survival.
He was pretty tall, maybe two meters. He wore black pants with no shirt, showing off his developed abs. His arms were quite strong looking, but he was indeed no body builder. His face was covered in a brown beard and he had long brown hair that went all the way to his shoulders to match. Finally, on his arms were silver bracers of some kind that covered his entire forearm.
"Well, you know my name, and now I know your companion's name, but I have yet to learn your name."
"My name? Of course, how rude of me. My name is Terra." He said, reaching out his hand.
I took it and shook. "Nice to finally know the name of the one who saved me."
"Saved you? From what?"
"From the changelings, of course."
"Oh, I did not save you from them. You fell on top of me."
"Fell? From where?"
"The top of the Pit I am guessing."
"The Pit?! Why am I in the Pit?!"
"Those wretched changelings probably dropped you in here, like me."
"I don't understand."
"Not much to understand. All you need to know is that they didn't want us around, so they threw us in here, never to get out."
"But I can get us out of here." I began to cast a spell, but was stopped from exhaustion.
"Hey now, take a chill pill. There is no doubt that you could get us out, just not right now. You need to rest some more. Maybe in a few weeks, you can try again."
"But I need to get home now!" I tried to fire up my magic again, but to no avail. After my second failed attempt, I began to sob.
"Hey, please don't cry." He said, walking over to me. He took me by the chin and stared into my eyes. "Shh. Everything is going to be okay. You'll see." He tried to wipe away the tears, but they continued to flow.
"B-but, I h-have to get home. I n-need to tell m-my children I l-love them." I said in between sobs.
"They know you do. And they love you back." He said in a calm voice. He gently laid my head in his lap and began to stroke my mane. "And you know who else loves you?"
I sniffled. "Who?"
"Your sister."
I snorted. "Please, if she loves me, she would have told me about my husband being a wendigo."
Terra stopped smoothing out my hair for a second but immediately continued. "Really? Prince Pure Heart was a wendigo?"
"Yes. No. I don't know. I just don't-" I was cut off by him putting a finger to my lips.
"Shh. You don't have to explain it right now. Just get some more rest." He said.
He slowly began to rock my head back and forth. He soon began to hum and then sang. "Hush, lay down your troubled mind. The day has vanished and left us behind. And the wind, whispering soft lullabies... Will soothe, so close your weary eyes."
I closed my eyes and soon fell asleep. The last thing that crossed my mind was what a familiar voice he had.
I woke up to the sound of wind howling and thunder crackling. I had been in this cave for a little over two weeks now, not once moving more than a few feet at a time. Terra wouldn't let me strain myself.
Every night, he would be right there waiting for me to wake up. But tonight was different, instead of him, it was Bubbles staring at me.
"Good evening Bubbles. Where is Terra?" I asked the lizard.
He pointed at the entrance of the cave with his tail.
"Thank you." I patted the lizard on the head and stood up on my three good legs, the cloak falling to the side. I walked towards the entrance with some difficulty and found Terra standing outside. It was raining and he stood out there with his left hand stretched out in front of him.
Funny thing is I did not see the glimmer of his silver brace but instead saw something black shimmer on his wrist.
"Terra. You should come inside. You are going to catch a cold." I said, but he could not hear me above the wind.
He suddenly raised his left arm in the air and a bolt of lightning came down to greet him.
"Terra!" I yelled as I began to walk outside to his motionless body. But I was stopped by a sudden pain in my leg. I looked down and saw Bubbles standing in my way, ready to whip me again with his long tail. "He's in trouble! We need to help him." Bubbles just shook his head and pointed with his tail.
I looked at where he pointed and saw that Terra was already up. He had his hands in his pockets and his head was down. He kicked at a rock and sighed. He leaned over and picked up his bracer and put it back onto his forearm, shifting it as he slid it on. He turned and started to walk back. As he got closer to the cave entrance, I could hear him mumbling. "
Once he was back in the cave, he saw me and smiled. "Hey there pretty lady. What are you doing up? You still have a bad leg." He tussled my mane and then reached down to let Bubbles crawl up his arm. He then helped me over to the spot where I had been laying upon a pile leaves. Once he got me settled, he walked across the cave, leaving a puddle every time he took a step, and finally slumped against the wall next to the fire.
I was still shocked as to what I had just witnessed. "What were you trying to do out there?" I said in a quiet tone.
He stuck a finger in his ear and shook it, I assumed to try to get water out of his ear. "What did you say? I still have some ringing in my ears."
"Why did you try to get hit by lightning?" I said in a harsh tone.
"Hey, I didn't try. I did get struck by lightning." He said with a smile.
"What is so great about that?"
He frowned and turned his head down. "Not much, since it didn't do anything." He mumbled.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing. Don't worry about it." He looked back at me and smiled. "Hey, why don't we have some food?" He stood up, still soaking wet, and let Bubbles down. "Stay here and keep her company. I'll be right back." He walked off into the back of the cave.
I looked at Bubbles who looked at me. "What is wrong with him?" Bubbles seemed to just shrug. He then yawned and curled up into a ball. He quickly fell asleep.
"Some guard he is, huh?" Terra said, walking back with some lettuce and such. He gave me most of it to me and kept a single leaf of lettuce for himself.
"Yes, quite a lazy lizard." I said.
"No doubt. But he is a great friend." Terra slid his hand along the spines of Bubbles back.
"How did you two meet?" I asked.
"I found him in the midst of some larger predators. He was badly injured and was unable to fight. So I fended them off and took him into my care. We have been best friends ever since."
"I see. And exactly, why were you thrown into the Pit?"
He tensed up a bit and then slowly relaxed. "I was no longer needed by the changelings, so they threw me in here as if I were trash."
"But what did they need a human for?"
He sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."
"But..." I tried to say, but he held up his hand.
"I won't tell you, at least right now. So don't push the subject any further."
I nodded. "Alright."
We sat in silence for a while, listening to the sound of the rain and thunder echo off the walls.
"I love the rain. It is just so rejuvenating." He finally said.
"Indeed. I like to think it washes away the bad things in the world."
He nodded. "It would be wonderful."
"Me and my husband would just sit and listen to the rain like this."
"Minus the cave and injuries of course." He chuckled.
"Yes." I said in a sad tone.
"Tell me. What happened to your husband?" He asked.
I nearly choked on the piece of lettuce I was chewing. "What?"
"What happened to your husband?" He said again.
I began to cry a little. "I... I killed him."
"You killed him?"
I nodded, tears falling freely now. "I didn't know it was him. I thought it was merely the wendigo trying to lure me into a false sense of security."
"Yeah, those wendigos can be quite tricky." Terra said.
I continued to cry quietly.
"Your husband must have been a great pony."
I nodded. "He was the best." "But I am sure he wouldn't want to see you cry."
"You are right. He hated to see others cry." I wiped away my tears.
"And I know that he would forgive you if he had the chance."
"You think so?" I sniffled.
"I know so. Who couldn't forgive such a beautiful pony?"
He handed me a leaf, into which I blew my nose. I then threw it into the fire. "Thanks."
"No problem."
We continued to sit there for a while, waiting for the rain to stop.
"Did you feel that earlier?" Kron asked.
"Yes Kron. I believe he was trying to escape." Fire shot out of the floor.
"Whoa, calm down. Even if he escapes, he can't hide from us."
"You are right. I just have to focus on our ultimate goal." The pony smiled.
After a few more weeks, I finally could walk on my hurt leg, though with a slight limp. Terra still didn't like me walking around too much though.
"Sit down, before you hurt yourself even more." He said, jokingly.
"I am doing fine."
"At least let me help you." He said, offering his hands to steady me.
"Oh please, I am not a foal. I can walk just fine." I skipped along, showing him how well I could walk.
He rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, nothing like a foal. Foals certainly don't whine."
"I am not whining!" I yelled.
He began to crack up. I stuck my tongue out at him and he did so back. We began to laugh together.
The ruckus we caused woke up Bubbles, but he merely shook his head and went back to sleep.
Once we settled down a bit, I sat down next to him. He draped his cloak around me.
"Thank you." I pulled it over my shoulders tighter.
We sat in silence, listening to the crackling and sparking of the embers in the fire.
"Terra?"
"Hmm."
"There is something about you that seems so familiar."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean something about you reminds me of somepony. But I can't figure out who."
"Don't stress to much about it. It will come to you eventually."
"Well, okay."
We sat in silence for a bit longer until he spoke up.
"You remind me of someone I once knew as well."
"Really now?"
"Yes. She was beautiful just like you. Her voice was one of angels and she could always make me smile."
"What happened?"
He sighed. "I'd rather not talk about it."
I placed a hoof on his knee and looked him in the eyes. "That's okay. Time heals all wounds."
"Yes, unfortunately, we won't have much time if the changelings have their way."
"What do you mean?"
He looked a bit confused. "You didn't know?"
"Know what?" I started to get a bit anxious.
"They are starting a war."
I gasped in terror. "You can't be serious."
He nodded. "It's true. Why else would they kidnap you?"
I tried to think of an excuse, but that was the only logical explanation.
"That is just insane. I won't allow it!" I said aloud, stomping my hoof. Though my hoof accidentally made contact with a piece of wood in the fire, causing a white hot coal to fly right into one of Terra's bracers.
"Hot!" He yelled, throwing off his bracer. He brushed off the ashes quickly.
"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry! Here let me take a look at it." I took his forearm into my grasp.
"No! Don't!" He said, pushing me away.
"Let me see it! I need to know if I singed you or not." I tried to get closer, but he shuffled away.
"No. You can't see it." He said, hiding his left forearm from view. He reached for his bracer, but I moved it out of his reach.
"You can't have this back until you let me see it." I held the bracer up in the air, waiting for him to comply. Instead of doing so, though, I heard him begin to cry. "What's wrong? Does it hurt that bad?" I stood up, setting the bracer down behind me, and walked over to him.
"Please, stay back." He pleaded.
I stopped for a moment, but then continued forward. Finally, I sat down next to him. "What is going on?"
He sniffled. "I didn't want you to see me like this."
"What do you mean?"
He shakily held out his forearm, revealing to me a bracelet of beautiful design.
I was in shock. "I don't understand."
He turned to me and chuckled through his tears. "You were always kind of slow to realize things."
I looked at the bracelet for a few moments and then looked him in the eyes. "Who are you?" I asked with tears of my own starting to well up.
He took me into his arms in a large embrace. "You know I hate to see you cry." He whispered into my ear.
"I missed you so much!" I said, planting kisses all over his face.
"I missed you, too." He said, hugging me tighter.
"How are you alive though? I thought I had killed you." I said, more tears welling up.
"It is sort of obvious. That wasn't me. I was switched out months ago, back in the hospital."
"Are you saying that beast had been in the hospital all that time?"
He nodded. "Yes. They used some of my DNA to make that creature and then kept me as a prisoner for a long time."
"But how did they get your..." I was saying then I trailed off. "That mosquito."
He nodded again. "That's right. But it turns out that they needed me for much more than that."
"What do you mean?"
"They needed my body and the secrets that I knew."
"That's why you are human?"
He nodded.
"But how did they split your bodies? Only three ponies know that spell. Me, you, and... Him ." I stated.
"That is one of the secrets I held."
"You taught them how to split things?!" I asked in rage.
"I had no choice. They were threatening my family."
"And you didn't think that we could handle ourselves."
"No, I knew you couldn't handle yourselves. Not against what the changelings were making."
"What would that be?"
"More wendigos."
"Oh please, I killed the one impersonating you with ease."
"That was a prototype. It still had my emotions in it. They have made an army of changelings that have the abilities of the wendigo. And they are all emotionless."
"Still, I can take care of myself."
"Says the one that was easily taken down by changelings."
"They snuck up behind me."
"You would have sensed them if they were normal changelings."
"Well it doesn't matter now. We have you."
"At least part of me."
"But why didn't you try to contact me? You know we are magically connected."
He slumped his shoulders and sighed, beginning to remove his other bracer. He then showed me his right forearm.
"See these markings." He gestured to some scorched skin in the shape of flames. "It isn't just a burn. It is a curse mark."
I took his forearm into my hooves and upon closer examination, I found small symbols embedded in his flesh. "I have not heard of such a thing before. Please explain."
"It means that my magic is sealed."
I blinked in confusion. "So?"
"So?" He tensed up. "So?! I can't help you guys in the oncoming war! I don't even have wings!" He showed off his bare back, which was covered in scars from what I presumed to be torture. "See? I am absolutely useless!"
I stepped towards him and started to trace some of the scars on his back. "I don't see anything except the scars of a brave man who gave up all of his power for his loved ones." I wrapped my legs around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. "And that is why I love you."
"I love you, too." He petted my head without turning around. "But all the love in the world won't stop the onslaught of wendigos that the changelings control."
"I still don't understand how they were even able to create such beings. That involves the blending of DNA, and few know how to use such dark magic." I said sitting back to ponder.
"Well they have somepony."
"Who? Who do they have?"
"A pegasus by the name of Flash Fire."
"A pegasus? That makes no sense."
"I thought so too. But he somehow has the knowledge to do such things, as well as being able to create and control flames. That, combined with Chrysalis' and Kron's magic, is how I was given this curse mark. He actually burned the seal into my flesh."
"Well, at least you are still alive. Which reminds me. How did you survive that lightning strike from a couple weeks ago? And why did you want to get struck in the first place?"
"I was seeing if I could use the lightning's power to break the curse. All that happened was the curse mark took the brunt of the electricity. It seemed to absorb it."
"That is strange. It is almost like it protected you." I said, tapping my hoof on my chin. I shrugged and walked over to him. "Oh well. I am just happy you are safe." I kissed him again. I then looked around. "We should probably try to get out of this pit soon, so we can tell Tia about all that we have learned."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Alright, but before we get out of here, can you do me a favor?"
"Of course sweetie."
"Shave off that horrid beard. I swear it is like kissing a cactus. Yech!" I pointed to my mouth and fake gagged.
"Oh come on! You know how hard it was to grow this thing?" He said, stroking his beard.
"I don't care. Do it, or me and Bubbles will leave without you."
"Like he would leave me. He knows who's the boss, right buddy? Bubbles?" He looked around and found him sitting on my back.
"Yes, he does." I laughed as I stroked the lizard's chin. He began to bob his head up and down as if he were mocking Pure.
"Alright, I am ready." I said, scratching my newly shaved chin. It was not a clean shave, nor was it even close, but it was the best I could do with a sharpened rock.
Luna looked me over and sighed. "That will have to do. Let us be off."
I nodded and placed my hand on her back.
She closed her eyes and began to concentrate, her signature blue glow encircling us. She opened her eyes, which glowed white with magic, and then we transported.
After a few seconds, my eyes began to readjust to the direct moonlight. I looked around and found that we were merely on the plateau at the top of the pit.
"Great. I couldn't even get us that far." Luna said, breathing shallowly.
I smiled and picked her up. "That is okay." I shifted her to my back so she was piggy-backing me. "You are still weak. I will just walk us to Dodge City and then we can take a train from there."
"I wish I could be of more help."
"Hey, you got us out of the Pit. As far as I am concerned, you did help tremendously. I don't think I could have scaled that cliff by myself, let alone carrying you and Bubbles."
Bubbles growled at me. "I am not calling you fat. I am merely saying I don't have that kind of capability." He flicked his tongue at me and then climbed onto my shoulder. I rolled my eyes and looked back at Luna. "You ready?"
She nodded. "Yes, let us go."
I began to walk towards the north, wondering what the reactions of everypony will be when they see me.
After a few days of walking through the Badlands and then traversing other treacherous terrains, we finally made it to Dodge City.
I walked us to the train station and set Luna down on a bench. "I am going to get us the tickets."
She looked at me with a questionable look. "Do you even have any bits?"
"Uh, no."
She facehoofed. "You better let me handle the tickets."
"You don't have any money either."
"I can have it put on my tab, I am a princess after all." She began to stand and then got off the bench. "Besides, I really need to stretch my legs." She trotted over to the ticket window and I followed.
"Hello good sir. Me and my companion would like to purchase two tickets for the train."
The stallion behind the window didn't bother looking up from the book he was reading. "That will be thirty bits."
"You can put that on the royal tab."
"Royal tab?" He looked up and nearly fell out of his chair. "Princess Luna! I am so sorry. I didn't think somepony like you would be all the way out here."
"That is quite alright. Now about those two tickets."
"Yes of course." He pressed a button and two tickets were deposited from a slot on the front of the booth.
She took the two tickets and thanked the pony. She then turned to me and smiled. "See, easy as that."
I rolled my eyes. "Okay. So what car are we in?" I took the tickets from her and read them over. "Oh, sweet. We got our own private car." I picked up Luna and walked over to the car we were to be on and gave the conductor our tickets.
"Right this way." He said, eyeing me suspiciously.
"Thank you." I stepped into the car and gasped. The car was furnished with beautiful lights and beds. It even had a bathroom with a shower. "Wow, what a nice room."
"Indeed." I set Luna down and she hobbled over to the bathroom. "If you will excuse me, I am going to take a shower. I suggest you do the same thing."
"Are you saying I smell?"
"Yes. Horribly so."
I took a sniff at my right armpit and nearly gagged. "Okay, you are right."
"Aren't I always?" She giggled.
Again, I rolled my eyes. "Yes, dear."
She winked at me and closed the door to the bathroom. I soon heard the sound of the shower starting. I decided to stay put and found a stack of magazines. I picked up one and then sat down. Bubbles climbed off my shoulder and went to one of the beds, curled up, and fell asleep.
After twenty minutes or so, the shower went off and I heard a blow drier. Luna soon walked out of the bathroom and I went in and took a quick shower.
When I came out, I found Luna asleep in one of the beds. She looked adorable all curled up like that. I pulled the blanket over her, brushed a lock of her hair out of her face and kissed her on the forehead, causing her to stir a little. I sat down in one of the chairs and attempted to stay awake but soon gave into exhaustion and fell asleep as well.
"Pure Heart."
"Huh. What? I wasn't asleep. I was resting my eyes." I said, rubbing my eyes.
"Sure." Luna said, rolling her eyes. "Anyways, it looks like we are about home."
I yawned and stood up, stretching out my joints, causing them to pop and crack. "Sweet. I can't wait to see the kids. I bet they have grown up so much."
"Oh yes. I hope Twilight and Eclipse have taken good care of them."
"They better have, I will have to have a few words with Eclipse."
"Don't worry, I am sure they are fine."
"Attention passengers. We will be arriving in Canterlot in any minute now. Please collect any valuables and luggage you have and prepare to depart."
"That's us. Now I just have to get my valuables and luggage." I said.
"You didn't bring anything with you." Luna stated.
"Sure I did. You are my valuable."
"Ah, thanks." She kissed me on the cheek. "But what about your luggage?"
"That's Bubbles."
Bubbles whipped me with his tail and grumbled.
"You know I am kidding." I said, rubbing my leg. I held out my arm and he climbed up onto my shoulder.
"Attention passengers. We have arrived at Canterlot station. Please collect your personal belongings and exit through the doors in an orderly fashion. Thank you for riding with us and have a spectacular day."
I took off my cloak and draped it over Luna.
"What are you doing?" She asked, lifting up the fabric that concealed her.
"We don't want to draw too much attention to ourselves, so we are going to cover you up."
"Oh yeah, because a six-foot human with a lizard on his shoulder is something ponies see everyday." She said sarcastically.
"Hey, if they see you, then we are bound to be crowded as soon as we step off this train. At least I will deter ponies somewhat."
She sighed. "Fine. But let's hurry. This thing is very hot."
"Okay." I adjusted the cloak a bit so it covered her a bit more and then we walked over to the door. "You ready?"
"As I ever will be."
We stepped off the train and into the hustle and bustle of Canterlot.
"Stay close. I don't want you getting lost."
"I am not a foal. I can navigate this city with my eyes closed." She said, walking out into the street.
"Look out!" I said, pulling her out of the way of a cart. We took a deep breath. "Please don't try to."
"Okay, I will just stay close to you."
"Good."
We spent a while walking to the palace, this time being more wary of traffic.
After about a half hour of walking, we finally arrived at the castle.
"Hello, we need to speak to Princess Celestia." I said to the guard at the gate.
Somewhat stunned, he was able to stutter a few words. "She is currently not seeing anyone."
"Alright, how about Princess Twilight Sparkle."
"What business do you have with her?"
"We want to pick up our children."
"Children?" The guard's jaw dropped.
"Don't worry. We know our way around." I opened the gate and we walked in.
Once we got to Twilight's room, passing several stunned maids and butlers, I knocked on the door.
"Hold on, I will be right there!" Twilight said.
The door opened and the purple alicorn poked out her head.
"Oh, a human. Eclipse! Come here."
Eclipse came to the door. "Yes, what is it?" He had Moonbeam hanging from his mane.
"There is human at the door."
"Really? Interesting."
"Is it really that weird?" I asked. I looked at Moonbeam and smiled. "Come here sweetie." I held out my arms and she looked at me. She smiled and jumped into my arms.
"Whoa. She never does that to anyone."
"I do for daddy." She said with a smile. She then rubbed her face in my chest.
"Daddy?" Twilight and Eclipse said in unison.
"Mommy is here, too." Luna pulled off the cloak and Twilight and Eclipse gasped.
"We thought you were, um, not with us anymore." Twilight said, hugging Luna.
"I am very much alive and well. Now let me see my other children." She pushed pass them and walked into the room.
"Mommy!" Starfire and Nightshade both screamed. They ran and jumped onto her.
Eclipse looked back at me. "Is it really you?"
"Yep, the one and only Pure Heart." I set Moonbeam down and she ran over to Luna. I then picked up my cloak, dusted it off, and put it back on.
"Where have you been this whole time?" Eclipse asked.
"On vacation in the Fillypines. Where do you think I have been?" I said with sarcasm.
"I don't know. That is why asked."
"Sorry, it has been a while. Anyways, I would rather discuss this with Tia and Death present as well."
"Well, Princess Celestia has been in her room for a few weeks now. She hasn't talked to anypony except Death."
"Why?"
"She is probably depressed from seeing her sister fall into the Pit and not being able to do anything about it."
"I see. Well then, we will just have to visit her then." I walked over to Luna and told her. She agreed and we began to walk out of the room.
As we walked down the hall towards Tia's chambers, I looked up at Pure Heart and saw a serious look on his face.
"What is wrong, honey?"
He seemed a bit startled when I spoke, but he quickly recovered and smiled down at me. "Nothing, just thinking."
"Come now. We both know I can detect a lie."
"It is nothing really."
I gave him a look of disdain but retracted it soon after. "Okay."
We soon reached her room and he knocked.
There was no answer.
He tried again.
Still no answer.
He knocked once more and was finally acknowledged by a quiet, "Come in."
We opened the door and found her laying down with her back turned to us on her bed. Death was no where in sight, though the room was very dark save for a couple of candles.
"Princess Celestia." Pure Heart said.
"What do you want?" She asked without moving.
I looked at Pure Heart and nudged his leg with my head.
He got the message and walked over to the bed and sat down.
She sat up and whipped her head around. "You dare sit upon my bed?!" She then stopped and looked at him a bit more thoroughly. "Who are you?"
He put his hand on his chest. "That hurts Tia. You don't even recognize your own brother-in-law."
Her eyes grew huge and she pounced him. "Pure Heart! We all thought you were dead!" She hugged him until his face started to turn blue.
"Tia! You are cutting off his airways." I said stepping forward.
"Am not." She said looking up at his face and then taking a double take towards me. "Luna!" She came at me next.
"No, no, no, NO!" I yelled. It was too late, though. Celestia crashed into me at full force.
"Oh Luna! I am so glad you are alive!" She hugged me just as hard as she did Pure Heart.
"You are not mad at me?" I barely made out.
She released for a moment and looked me in the eyes. "Mad about what? Sneaking out to find your husband? I would have done the same thing."
Tears filled my eyes and I hugged her back. Pure Heart walked over and joined in the hug.
"Man, you girls are so fluffy." He began to rub his hands up and down our coats and Celestia turned to him and hoofed him in the gut. He grabbed his stomach and fell over.
"Hey buddy, just because you have hands doesn't mean you can get all grabby."
"Oh come on. I was just kidding around." He said in short breaths. He slowly stood up and dusted himself off. "By the way, this is Bubbles." He pointed to his iguana who jumped off his shoulder and walked over to Tia.
"Oh how adorable." She scratched under his chin and he stuck his tongue out to the side almost like a dog. "How old is he?"
"Um, I am not sure. How old are you Bubba?" The lizard growled back at him and he put up his hands defensively. "Hey, what do I look like a mind reader?" Bubbles shook his head and growled. "He is 13 years old."
"So young." Bubbles held up his tail to her. "What's this?" She took a piece of paper from him. She quickly read it and turned to me. "Luna, will you please take Bubbles and walk out. I need to speak to Pure Heart alone for a bit."
I was a bit surprised. "What do you need to speak about?"
"I just need to debrief him, that is all."
I gave her a stern look but then picked up Bubbles and walked out of the room.
Right before I shut the door, I heard her speak. "Now then, what did you want to tell me?"
After I closed the door, I looked at Bubbles. "Did he seem a bit sullen to you?"
He just blinked at me and shrugged.
"I think I know what will cheer him up. Come on, we have to talk to Twilight."
Pure Heart's POV
Man that was brutal. I thought as I closed Tia's door. At least I can breathe a bit easier now that she knows. Though I can't believe how calm she was about it. Oh well.
I began to walk down the hallway slowly with my hand in my pockets. After our conversation, Tia told me to that it was getting close to morning and that I should go rest.
As I was heading to my room, I passed Vapor Sky's quarters. I wonder how she and what's-his-face are doing. I knocked on the door and was quickly answered by the aforementioned white pegasus.
"Hello, may I help you?" He asked.
"Hi ya. I was wondering if Vapor Sky was around."
He gave me a look. "Hold on." He left the door cracked and went back in. I could hear them talking. "Vapor, there is some strange, bipedal creature asking for you."
"Bipedal? Who would let a bipedal creature into the castle?"
"I don't know, but he seems harmless."
I heard hoofsteps coming closer to the door.
"Hello?" She said when she poked her head out. She looked up and gasped.
"What's up?" I said.
"A human?!" She opened the door wide and jumped on me.
"Why does everypony feel the need to tackle me these days?" I said in between gasps for breath.
She slowly stepped off me. "Sorry. It has just been a while since I have seen a human being."
"That's okay." I stood up coughing and stretched out my back.
"Cloudlight, come here."
"What is it?"
"This is a human. This is what I was telling you I was once."
"You were a boy?" He said smirking.
She hoofed him in the shoulder. "You know what I mean." She turned back to me. "Now then, what is your name?"
I had a funny thought just then. "Terra. My name is Terra."
"Strange, I knew a pony one time who lied about his name being Terra when he was a human." She said with a smile.
I frowned. "Busted."
"How are you Pure Heart?" She asked giving me a hug.
"How did you know it was me?"
"Luna stopped by earlier and gave us the low down to not be alarmed if we saw a human walking around."
"Man, she is no fun." I slowly extracted myself from the hug.
"We all missed you dearly." She said.
"Even what's-his-butt over here?" I asked with a smirk.
"My name is Cloudlight." He said, puffing out his chest.
I poked him in the stomach and he quickly exhaled. "So you are full of hot air." I laughed.
"Hey now, play nice." Vapor said.
"Alright, alright. It is nice to meet you officially." I said holding out my hand.
He took it and shook it. "Yes, nice to meet you as well."
"So you two are living together already?" I asked, putting my hands in my pockets.
Her cheeks grew bright red. "Maybe."
"Hey now, it is nothing to be embarrassed about. Just make sure you keep everything in check." I winked at her.
"Yes sir." She said saluting, her cheeks still flushed.
I turned to Cloudlight. "And you." He looked at me. "You make sure to take good care of her. I may seem harmless, but I know how to deal out some serious butt-whooping."
"There is no need to worry about that." He said, folding his wing around her and pulling her close.
I nodded. "Well I will leave you two love birds to it." I turned to walk away, but stopped. "By the way, do you know where Luna is?"
"I believe she went to see Twilight, but she said to tell you to get some rest." Vapor Sky answered.
"Oh, well thanks." I waved goodbye and walked away.
I walked into my room and closed the door behind me, giving a sigh of relief. "Boy, I am exhausted." I blew a few loose hairs out of my face and rubbed my eyes. It was then that I noticed the balcony doors were open.
I walked over to them and poked my head outside. "Hello? Is somepony out here?" I saw a figure standing out in the twilight of the morning hours. "Excuse me, but may I ask why you are on my balcony?"
The figure turned to me and I found that it was a human girl. She was probably in her early twenties and just a tad bit shorter than myself. She was white and had long blue hair with blue eyes. She wore a long blue skirt and a sleeveless top that exposed her midriff somewhat.
She smiled at me.
"I can tell you like what you see." She said. She closed the distance between us and wrapped her arms around my neck, closing my gaping mouth in the process.
"That may be, but I have to warn you that I am married."
"Duh, who do you think you are talking to?" She said looking into my eyes.
Then I made the connection. "Luna!"
"Ding ding! Let me give you the prize." She kissed me on the lips. I kissed her back.
After we broke the kiss, I spoke. "What happened? Why are you a human?"
"It is just a temporary transformation spell. I had to have a bit of help from Twilight since she knows more about humans."
"But why?"
"To make you a bit more comfortable, of course."
"Yeah, because being around human girls makes me totally feel comfortable."
"Oh stop being such a sissy." She said with a smirk.
"I am not!"
"Then prove it." She gave me a devious look and closed the balcony doors, shutting the blinds as well.
"Wow! That was an amazing day!" I said, stretching as I got up for the night.
"Indeed." Luna said as she stretched as well. She was still in her human form, which I thought was beautiful. "What do we need to do tonight?"
"Well, let's see. I think I might need to get some more clothes, but where can I get some?"
"What about Miss Rarity? Is she not a fashion designer?"
I thought about it for a moment. "She is, but that would require us to go to her or vice versa. Plus, I am not sure if she could make something for me, especially since she is used to making clothes for ponies."
"Well, okay." She thought for a minute then snapped her fingers, which kind of startled her. "Gray Shark."
I snapped my head towards her. "What did you say?"
"Gray Shark. He is a clothes designer here in Canterlot and he is very good."
"I have heard that name before." I said, rubbing my chin.
"What?"
"Nothing. That is great idea. Let us go and see him. Maybe he can design some clothes for you, too."
"We'll see. This form is somewhat hard to maintain."
"If it is so hard, why do you stay in it?"
"For you, of course." She came up behind me and wrapped her slender arms around my neck. She then kissed me on the cheek.
I slowly took one of her hands and kissed it. "You are beautiful, but it doesn't matter to me what you look like. You are my wife and I love you no matter what you look like."
She looked at me thoughtfully for a few moments. "Thank you." She started to glow and her form began to change from human to pony.
"There is the mare I married." I turned to her and kissed her on the forehead. "Now then, let's get ready for the night."
About an hour later, we got down to Gray Shark's store. As we walked in, a bell rang, alerting the owner.
"Just a minute." Said a voice from the back. Soon, a stallion in a jacket with a pirate hat and a ninja mask with a black garb walked out of a doorway.
"Hello and welcome to my store." He looked at us and smiled. "Princess Luna, how are you my dear?"
"Fine, and how are you?"
"Wonderful. I was just about to close shop for the night."
"Oh, well do you think you may have time to make some clothing for my husband here." She gestured to me.
He looked at me and slowly walked around me. "The Prince is a human? How interesting." He tapped his golden forehoof on his chin.
"Yes. Do you think you can do anything for him?" She asked.
"Of course. It would be my pleasure to do so." He opened a curtain. "Please, step into my office. I must do some measuring." I slowly walked into the back. "Please stay here Princess, it is a small room."
"Alright."
I walked into what was indeed a small room. It had a table with a few supplies and a screen for what I assumed was used for changing. In the center was a stool for standing on.
"Okay, please strip down to what you feel comfortable."
I nodded and slowly took off my vest. "Alright."
"That's it?"
"Hey man, you are lucky that I took that off."
"Whatever." He took out some measuring tape and began to measure my body.
As he did so, I thought and then finally spoke. "So Gray Shark, do you know a stallion by the name of Bullet Blaster?"
At that moment, the pencil he was writing measurements down with snapped. He took a deep breath, and turned to me.
"Yes, I do. Or at least, I did."
"I thought so. He mentioned you quite a lot."
"You've meet him?"
"Meet him? Hah. He was the one doing the torturing." I pointed to the several scars across my stomach and back.
"That lunatic! I should of destroyed him while I had the chance." He said raising his hoof in anger.
"Whoa buddy. Take it easy. I don't want anypony getting hurt on my behalf."
"You don't get it, he is a psychopath. He kills anything or anyone that gets in his way. He even kills things that aren't in his way."
"Okay, so he pretty much kills everything. We've established that. I think you have given me an idea though."
"Oh, really? What might that be?"
"I will tell you later. For now, let's just get this clothing situation figured out."
"Alright." He took a few more measurements and then I gave him a few ideas for my clothes. I also asked him to make a very particular set of clothing that he was more than happy to make for me. After that I thanked him and left.
"How was it?" Luna asked as we walked outside.
"It was very interesting, to say the least."
"That's nice. We better get back to the castle, we don't want to shirk our royal duties."
I stifled a giggle.
"What?"
"You said duties."
She smacked me in the back of the head with her wing.
"Ouch. What was that for?"
"For being a dork."
"Takes one to know one."
She stuck her tongue out at me and I back at her. We both laughed as we walked back towards the castle.
One Week Later
"... Twenty-nine. Thirty! Ready or not, here I come!" I yelled out to the empty garden.
Me and the kids were playing hide-and-seek and of course, I was losing.
"Where could they be hiding?" I heard a rustling in the bushes and I smiled. "Well, I know they are definitely not in the bushes." I said as I gently walked over to the bush. Then I jumped into the shrub. "Aha!" Unfortunately, what I had thought was one of the kids turned out to be a snake, which bit me on the nose. Luckily, it wasn't venomous, but it still hurt.
"Ha ha! We win again!" The triplets said in unison.
I stood up and dusted myself off. I turned around and saw them high-hoofing each other at the base, which in this case, was a rock that had a certain lizard basking on top of it.
Since Bubbles is a reptile, I make sure to get him some sun everyday. Usually I do it alone, but the kids wanted to play with their dad, so I brought them out with me. And so here we are in the daylight instead of being asleep.
Luna was asleep inside. She had a tiresome night, and so I let her sleep in.
Wiping the trickle of blood off my face, I smiled. "Darn, I was so close." I said, snapping my fingers in fake disappointment. "What is that? 37 to 0?"
"38, daddy." Moonbeam said, giggling as I walked over to them.
"Right." I tussled her hair. "I got to rest after that one." I walked to a nearby tree and plopped down under it. The kids came and sat down next to me.
I had just barely closed my eyes when Starfire spoke. "Daddy, there is a pony walking to us."
I opened one of my eyes. "Oh? Who is it?"
"It looks like that pony that helped make our costumes in for the Heart's Warming Eve play." Nightshade said.
"Rarity?"
"No, not her. He is wearing a pirate hat." Moonbeam stated.
I opened both eyes. "Well I know who that is."
"Prince Pure Heart. How are you doing?" Gray Shark said as he walked up to us. He was balancing a large package on his pack.
"Good. Yourself?"
"Not bad. I have the clothes for you." He took the package by the string and sat down in front of me.
"Sweet. Thank you very much." I lifted it and found that it was very heavy. "Wow, this thing weighs a ton."
"No doubt. Well, I have other things to do. Take care."
"See you later." We waved and he walked away.
"Oh daddy, you got clothes!" Moonbeam screeched.
"Yes honey. As you can tell, these clothes I am wearing are almost rags now."
"Yay, can we have a fashion show?" Starfire asked.
"Uh, no."
"Oh come on, pretty please." The girls said together.
"Let me think about it some more. Mm, no."
"I think it sounds like an excellent idea." Said a regal voice.
"No, Tia. I don't do fashion shows."
"You know want to." She said, getting in my face.
"No I don't."
"Yes you do." Said another voice.
"Hello honey." I kissed Luna on the lips. "How did you sleep?"
"Great. Now about this fashion show."
"Please don't make me."
"Sorry, but I think it would be a wonderful opportunity."
I folded my arms in defeat. "Fine. But on one condition."
"You are going to do it period. But I will humor you." Luna said with a smile.
"You and the kids have to be in the fashion show as well."
"Fair enough."
"I wasn't finished. You and the kids have to be in the show in human form." I said with a smile of my own.
Luna's smile turned into a frown. "Um, I am not so sure the kids can do such a thing."
"That is no problem. I can help with their transformations." Tia said.
The kids were all really excited to do this. Even, surprisingly, Nightshade. So I turned to Luna. "Well then, I guess we are having a fashion show."
I took a peak from the curtain separating the backstage from the catwalk.
"How the heck did all these ponies find out about this fashion show?" I asked to no one in particular.
"Word travels fast when a royal fashion show is announced." Luna said, looking super sexy in my jeans and t-shirt.
"Its been one day."
"Well next time I will make sure to spread the word faster." She said with a grin.
"It was you?!"
"Pfft, of course it was me. And a bit of Tia."
"Yep. I struck again." Tia said popping her head around a curtain. Apparently, she decided to take the role as the show coordinator as she had a headset and clipboard. "By the way, the show starts in three minutes. So you best get dressed Pure Heart."
"Oh fine. Let me just find the mask. But after this is over, we will have words."
Third Person POV
"Gooooood evening and welcome to the first annual Royal Fashion Show. I am one of your hosts, Pinkie Pie. And this fine piece of stallion sitting next to me is Vinnie."
"Yeah, what of it?" Said the black stallion with a green mane sitting next to her.
"Relax Vin, I'm just letting them know you are here."
"Oh, right. My bad."
"Anyways, let's welcome out our first model."
A fit, little red head came out on the walkway.
"Oh! What a cute little girl! I am pretty sure that's Starfire. She seems to be wearing a shirt with the words 'This is my party shirt!' written on the front. That sounds like my kind of shirt. Of course, that would be the only shirt I ever wore because I love to party!"
"Great, now she is going to throw another party." Vinnie said.
"Oh cheer up mister sour puss. You get to always play your silly saxophone at all my parties."
"True. Now who is the next model out on the runway."
"Well, it appears to be a young boy with black hair. That must be Nightshade. He seems to be sporting a pair of short shorts and a tank top."
"Those, my dear Pinkie Pie, are called daisy dukes. They are very popular among the humans."
"Oh really? Guys like to wear them?"
"Well, not normally. Mostly only girls and looney tunes like to wear them."
"Looney tunes?"
"Yeah, you know. Nut jobs. Wackadoos. Crazy people."
"Oh, like me!" Pinkie beamed brightly.
Vinnie turned and patted her fluffy mane. "Yes honey, just like you."
"Ooh. He seems to have some sparkly chains around his neck."
"That my dear is called bling."
"Bling? Is that because it is so shiny?"
"Pretty much."
"Alrighty. Next we have a nice little girl with blue hair."
"That must be Moonbeam." Vinnie said.
"You know that because she looks just like her mommy, huh?"
"Nope. I just know that they have three kids and we have already named two of them."
"Oh you silly goose. Well you would be correct. I do believe that is Moonbeam. And she looks pretty cute in her slippers and jammies."
"Yeah, she is adorable." He said rolling his eyes, to which he got a swift punch in the foreleg.
"You bet she is adorable."
"Alright, alright. Though the one thing I really like about her outfit is her shirt."
"Oh yeah? Is that because its green?"
"Well yes, but also because it has a funny phrase written on it."
"Really? What does it say?"
"It says 'Well I'm just one big freakin' ray of sunshine, aren't I?'"
"That sounds a bit sarcastic."
"It is supposed to be. It is basically saying they aren't a morning person."
"Why wouldn't anyone be a morning person?"
"Not all of us are as peppy as you."
"Well, you got me there."
"Now who is this coming out on the runway?"
"Silly. That is Princess Luna."
"Wow, she looks pretty ho-" Just then, Vinnie got a slap on the back of the head.
"Would you like to reform that sentence?" Pinkie said, holding a large mallet.
"Um, she is very beautiful."
"Yes she is, just look at how the moon light shines on her sparkling belt."
"Yes, and may I say, jeans suit her very well."
"Yes you may. Hmm."
"What is wrong?"
"Well, I thought for sure Prince Pure Heart would be coming out tonight."
"Yes, that is indeed very peculiar."
Just then, a being materialized on the end of the runway.
"Whoa! Did you see that?! That was amazing! One second, the runway is empty. Then poof! Someone is standing there."
"That isn't just anyone. That is a Predator."
"Oh silly. We don't have any Predators here in Equestria."
"You know about Predators?"
"Well duh. Of course I do?"
"Well for you folks who don't. They are a hunter race of aliens that find sufficient prey to hunt and then make a game out of killing them."
"Yep, we are all doomed." Pinkie said with a smile.
Vinnie took one look at her and facehoofed. "You are a dork."
"Yes, but I'm your dork."
"What is it doing now?"
"It looks like it is about to remove its mask and show us its hideous face." Pinkie said in delight.
"Wait, could it be? It is. Its Prince Pure Heart." Vinnie said in excitement.
"Wow, excited much?" Pinkie asked.
"Oh, you can talk."
"Yes, it is me." Pure Heart said.
"What? How did you get into our microphone system?" Vinnie asked.
"I'm the prince. Duh. And I also have very advance Predator technology. So eat it Vinnie."
"Well, is that the best costume you could think of? Because it looks fake."
"You seemed to think it looked real when you thought I was a Predator."
"That was before."
"Before, wha-" All of a sudden, Pure Heart began to make grunting noises and was holding his stomach.
"Ooh. It looks like mister tough guy can't handle a little stomach ache."
All of a sudden, is arms flew to the side and a creature burst out of his stomach.
"Oh my gosh. That is disgusting. Huh Vin? Vin?" Pinkie looked around for her co-host and found him under the desk. "What you doing? Playing hide and go seek?"
"Huh? What? Yeah that's it. You found me." He got up from under the desk and sat down again. "Well that was mildly disturbing."
"Mildly disturbing. Me and Bubbles scared the ever-loving crap out of you." Pure Heart held up his hand and the iguana sitting on his chest turned and gave it a high-five. "Well that is it for the fashion show tonight folks. Hope you enjoyed it and have a safe trip home. Goodnight."
Pure Heart's POV
I walked back stage with Bubbles on my shoulder, laughing at my great prank. I walked right into a pissed off Luna.
"What in the heck was that?"
"Hilarious. That's what that was."
"You are so dumb. You probably gave all those ponies mild heart attacks."
"That was the point."
"What?"
"Honey, these ponies don't know what scared is. Things are going to get much scarier in the next couple months and they need to be prepared for the worst. Also, consider that comeuppance for making me be in a fashion show." I kissed her on the forehead.
"That was so cool daddy." Starfire said, as the kids ran up to me.
"Yeah, where did you even get such armor?" Nightshade asked.
"Oh, let's just say I owe a certain doctor a favor now."
"Ah, come on Tia. It was just a joke." I said to her the day after the fashion show.
"It may have been, but that does not mean you are off the hook. What you did scared many ponies and now some do not trust you as much."
"So your plan is to send me to a school and make me speak to a class about what I do as a prince? How does that help at all?"
"I consider it community service." She pulled out a pair of reading glasses and held up a scroll. "Now then, your assignment is in Ponyville. You will be going down there tomorrow morning."
"Excuse me, did you say morning?"
"Yes, morning. So you best get some sleep now."
"Fine." I began to walk out of the throne room.
"One more thing." I turned back to her. "Please do not wear that predator suit anymore. It may... Worsen your condition."
"Don't worry about it. I modified it so that it keeps me regulated. But if it makes you feel better, I will only wear it if it becomes necessary."
"Alright, I will trust your judgment. Just be careful. I set up an appointment for you that I want you to go to as well."
She gave me a slip of paper and I read it. I nodded and walked out.
"Sir, we are approaching Ponyville." One of the pegasus guards that pulled the chariot said.
"Thank you. Just land in front of the schoolhouse." I directed. I was a bit nervous. I was never that great at public speaking. Though they were just children, so how bad could it be? Luna was back at the castle since it wasn't, as she called it, her opportunity to spread knowledge.
Vapor Sky came with me, however, and she seemed very excited to see me speak.
We landed right as the school bell rang and saw all of the children file up and walk into the school.
"Guess that is our cue to go inside as well." I said.
"Why are you sweating so much? Are you nervous?" She asked, nudging me.
"Me? Nervous? Pfft. As if. No, I am just really hot in this suit is all."
She gave me a look.
"Okay, fine. Maybe I am just a tiny bit nervous."
"What are you nervous about? They are just kids."
"No, its not that. I love kids. I do not love speaking in public."
"It's barely even in public. Just stick to your script and you will be fine."
I facepalmed.
"You forgot the script, didn't you?"
I twiddled my thumbs. "I didn't forget it. I just never made one."
"You didn't make one?"
"Hey, this was very short notice. I was told about it last night and then I went to bed. When I woke up, it was time to go."
She shook her head. "Well, I guess you will just have to wing it."
"Okay." We walked into the building and sat down in the back.
"Good morning my little ponies." Cheerilee said aloud.
"Good morning Ms. Cheerilee." The class responded in unison.
"Now class, we have a very special guest today. He came all the way from Canterlot and he is going to speak to you today. Please give a warm welcome to Prince Pure Heart."
The class began to clap and I tugged on my collar and slowly walked to the front.
"Thank you everypony. Thank you Ms. Cheerilee." I sat down in a chair at the front. "Alright kids, I have a confession to make. I don't have anything really planned for today. So I will instead make this a question and answer session. Now, then who has a question for me?"
A filly in the back rose her hoof and I picked her.
"What are you?" She asked.
"Good question. I am what is called a human. I was an alicorn, but some things happened that turned me into a human. Next question."
A colt raised his hoof. "What does a prince do during the day?"
"Another good question. Well, I myself attend meetings sometimes during the day and I used to watch over the night."
"What do you do for fun?" A filly asked.
"Sometimes I play games with my kids. Other times I will play with my pet. And I also will listen to or play music."
"Will you play a song for us right now?" Another filly asked.
"Oh no. I couldn't possibly do that."
"Please oh please." The filly asked.
I started to sweat a little. "Um, I would, but I don't have a guitar."
"If you want Prince, you could borrow the class guitar. I think the children would really enjoy it if you did."
I sighed. "Fine, give it here." Cheerilee retrieved the guitar and gave it to me.
I strummed it a couple of times and tuned it. "Alright. This song is by someone from my world named Jason. The song is called '
I tapped my foot a few times to get the beat and began to strum and then after a few chords I sang.
93 million miles from the Sun, people get ready get ready, 'cause here it comes it’s a light, a beautiful light, over the horizon into our eyes Oh, my my how beautiful, oh my beautiful mother She told me, "Son in life you’re gonna go far, and if you do it right you’ll love where you are Just know, that wherever you go, you can always come home"
Ohh…ohh…ohh… Ohh…ohh…ohh…
240 thousand miles from the Moon, we’ve come a long way to belong here, To share this view of the night, a glorious night, over the horizon is another bright sky Oh, my my how beautiful, oh my irrefutable father, He told me, "Son sometimes it may seem dark, but the absence of the light is a necessary part. Just know, you’re never alone, you can always come back home"
Ohh…ohh…ohh… Ohh…ohh…ohh…
You can always come back…back…
Every road is a slippery slope There is always a hand that you can hold on to. Looking deeper through the telescope You can see that your home’s inside of you.
Just know, that wherever you go, no you’re never alone, you will always get back home
Ohh…ohh…ohh… Ohh…ohh…ohh…
Ohh…ohh…ohh… Ohh…ohh…ohh… Ohh…ohh…ohh…
93 million miles from the Sun, people get ready get ready, 'cause here it comes it’s a light, a beautiful light, over the horizon into our eyes…
After the song ended, I looked up and the class began to clap.
"Thank you." I gave the guitar back to Cheerilee and waited for the class to settle down. "Now then, my time is almost up. I will answer a few more questions."
"What is your cutie mark and special talent?"
I rubbed the back of my head. "Heh. Funny thing. I don't have my cutie mark anymore."
The class began to whisper.
"Now before you begin to freak out, let me explain something. You kids have as long as need to find your special talent. When you do eventually find it and get your cutie mark, you will have it forever. It won't change, it won't disappear, it will stay with you for the rest of your lives. I, as a human, don't get a cutie mark."
"Why not?"
I thought for a moment. "Well I guess because we have other things that tell us what are talents are like the clothes that we wear or the houses we live in. They don't really say what we do, but they give a sense of what they do for a living is important. Does any of this make sense?"
The class sort of nodded. "Good. I will take one more question."
A filly rose her hoof. "Where to foals come from?"
I froze. "Um, uh. Ask your parents. Alright, thank you very much for having me and I hope you learned something today."
"Thank you for being our special guest Prince Pure Heart. Let's give him a round of applause class." The kids clapped as I waved and walked out of the building.
"Wow, that last question really threw you through a loop, huh?" Vapor said with smirk.
"Shut up." I whacked the back of her helmet which caused it to fall in her eyes. "I'm just glad its over." I took off my jacket and unbuttoned my shirt. "Whoo, that's much better. It was like a sauna in there."
"It felt fine to me, and I am wearing this heavy armor." She said, readjusting her helmet.
"I am pretty sure it was a million degrees. Its probably just the elevation though."
She gave me a look. "I guess. Well are you ready to go?"
"Actually, I have an errand I have to run while I am down here. You should go and hang out with somepony or something. I might be a while."
She raised her eyebrow. "Alright. See ya later." She walked away slowly.
That was a bit strange. All the years I have known him, he didn't mind the heat at all. In fact, I am sure he enjoyed it. I thought to myself as I walked along through Ponyville. Oh well, it is probably nothing. He probably has just become so adjusted to the night that he likes being cool more.
"Howdy Vapor!" I heard somepony call.
I turned and saw Applejack and Corrosive Dash waving to me from their apple stand. I walked over to them.
"Hello Applejack and Corrosive. How are you two doing this fine day?"
"Good. How about yourself?" Corrosive asked.
"Not to shabby."
"What brings you around these parts Ms. Sky?" Applejack asked. "Pure Heart was a special guest at the school today. He just answered a couple questions really."
"That's nice that he could take time out of his busy schedule to inform the younger generation." Corrosive said.
"Tell you the truth, I am pretty sure it was community service for scaring everypony at the fashion show."
"Pfft, figures." He said shrugging.
"Where's he now?" Applejack asked.
"He said he had to run an errand, so I am just hanging out until he gets back."
"Alright. Well, we got to get back to work. These apples aren't gonna sell themselves."
I waved to them and walked off towards the library.
The bell rang as I walked in.
"Welcome to Golden Oaks Library. How can I help you?" Said a grey pegasus that wore glasses and a straw hat behind the counter.
"I'm just browsing. Say, do you live here?"
"Why yes, in fact. My name is Quick Silver." He held out his hoof.
I took it and shook it. "Vapor Sky. I am the captain of the night security team."
"Oh, so you know Prince Pure Heart then?"
"Yes, I am his body guard."
"I see."
"So you took over the role of librarian after Twilight left, huh?"
"Yes I did. I also watch over Spike from time to time. But he tends to stay in Canterlot most of the time."
"Oh yeah, I remember seeing him sometimes."
"Speaking of things, you just missed the prince come through here a bit earlier."
"Really? What did he in come for?"
"Oh, just some book about magic ingredients or something. He seemed preoccupied, so I didn't bother him much. We exchanged greetings, he found the book and then he left. Nearly forgot to check the book out."
"Hmm, interesting. Did he possibly say where he was going?"
"Nope, sorry. Like I said, he didn't say much to me."
"Oh well, thanks anyways. It was nice meeting you."
"Nice meeting you as well."
We waved and I walked out back into the sunshine.
After the library, I spent a few hours just walking around. I ate lunch at a café and then went and checked back on the chariot.
"Hey guys. Has the prince been by yet?" I asked the guards.
"Yes, he said that he would be a few more hours and that we should take a break and come back at around 5 PM."
"So did you?"
"Yes ma'am. We took one and we just got back."
I looked at the sun. "It's only 4. Did you see which way he went?"
"Yes, he went into the Everfree Forest."
"What?! You let him go in there without any thought of accompanying him?!"
"Calm down ma'am. He went in with his predator suit on and he said that he would be completely fine."
That made me feel a bit better. But still, I worried about him. "Alright, I am going in to find him. We'll be back by at least 5." I ran in the direction of the forest. When I arrived, I took a deep breath and walked in.
I thanked Celestia I was wearing my armor to prevent most parts of my body from being scratched by brambles and branches that I had to walk through. It was dark from the dense tree cover and the fog didn't help so much either. Every so often, I would trip over a rock or stump.
Soon, though, I heard something in the distance. It sounded like metal hitting metal. As I got closer, I began seeing sparks in the distance.
Soon I found myself at a small clearing with two creatures standing a short distance a part. One of them lunged at the other with what appeared to be large claws and the other side stepped and came back with a fist that hit the first in the side.
I was unable to make out the identites of the creatures because of the dense fog, but the one with the claws was definetly smaller than the other.
The clawed one came back with a leg sweep which knocked the large one over. The first then jumped onto the giant and held its claws up to its head.
"Stay down!" It said out loud.
The voice sounded familiar and so I unwittingly stepped into the clearing and got closer to the creatures.
"Pure Heart?" I said.
The creature turned to me and I saw burning red eyes. Now that I was closer, though, I could see it was indeed Pure Heart in his predator suit.
"What are you doing?"
He quickly turned back to the giant and scraped its body with his claws and then pulled out a vial and collected some of what appeared to be its blood.
"It will heal. Next time, don't be such a baby about it and I won't be so hard on you."
The giant nodded his head and Pure Heart stood up. He retracted his claws and patted the creature. He then turned back to me.
"What are you doing out here? Don't you know how dangerous it is out here?" He said with a snarl.
"Funny, I could ask you the same thing." I said back with the same attitude.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and thought for a moment. "Okay, just forget what you saw. This steel giant doesn't need anyone looking for him. His species is nearly extinct and we don't want to give him any extra attention."
"Alright. I guess I can do that."
"Now high tail it back to Ponyville. And don't try to follow me." With that he pounded his chest with his fist and he disappeared. I heard twigs and leaves crack and rattle as he ran away.
That was odd. I thought. I began to walk back the way I came, only to realize that I had no idea which way I came from.
All of a sudden, he appeared in front of me. "You are lost, aren't you?"
I nodded.
He groaned. "Alright, I guess you are going to have to come with me." He picked me up with a bit of a struggle and put me on his shoulder.
"I can walk."
"And slow me down? No thank you." He pressed a switch on the side of his neck and his helmet snapped on. He then touched the side of his head with his fingers and pushed his temple a few times. "There it is."
He stumbled a bit but then got his footing and began to run really fast, narrowly missing trees and bushes. Everything became a blur as we moved faster.
Then all of a sudden, we stopped. "We are here." He set me down at a tree line and I began to walk a little haphazardly, kind of dizzy from the trip. I shook my head and saw a double image of him looking me in the eyes. "You okay? You look a little sick."
"Well I guess I'm just not used to moving at the speed of light." I held my hoof over my mouth and I ran over to a bush and expelled the contents of my stomach. "That daisy sandwhich didn't taste nearly as good coming up as it did going down."
"Sorry. Next time, you should close your eyes. Or better yet, mind your own business." He walked over to me and knelt down next to me and patted my back. "Now I have to talk to somebody. You stay here and feel better." He stood up and walked away.
After heaving for about ten more minutes, I felt somewhat better and stood up, taking in my surroundings.
I found that he dropped me off at the treeline of another clearing. This one, however, was bigger than the last one and it had a tree in the center. Then I realized where I actually was. I was at Zecora's house. Why would he come here though? I decided I would take a peak through the window and check it out.
As I got closer, I could hear them speaking.
"Do you think it will help?"
"Help you I am sure it will. And hopefully you it will not kill." Zecora said in her unmistakable rhyming tone.
"Ha ha. You are so funny. But I hope it was worth spending all day tracking down those ingredients in exchange for it."
"Its worth we shall wait for with interest. Remember to always inject straight into your chest."
"Right, right. I guess I should give it a test run, huh?"
I looked into the window and saw Pure Heart take a syringe and plunge it into his chest. I nearly squealed at the sight but was able to muffle the sound.
"Ah! Jeez, that hurt. I guess I will get used to it after a while."
I slid down the tree and thought about what I had just seen. Then I heard the sound of metal clinking and figured I better get back to where he left me so he wouldn't get suspicious.
"Thanks again Zecora. If you ever need anything, just contact me."
I saw Zecora wave to him and he waved back.
Pure Heart came up to me and picked me up, this time with little to no effort at all. "You ready to go?"
I gulped and nodded.
"Alright, remember to close your eyes this time." He needed no time to find his footing this time as he immediately took off without a hitch.
I wondered how he became so much more coordinated and stronger. Maybe it was that shot that he gave himself. And if so, what was it that he injected into his body.
We soon got back out of the forest and he stopped right at the edge and set me down. "Okay, we are out." He knelt down next to me until we were at eye level. "Now Vapor, I want you to forget everything you saw in there today. No one needs to know. Got it?"
"Um, yeah. I got it."
"Good. Now let's get out of this blasted heat. I am kind of tired after all that work."
We walked back to the chariot in silence and it continued all the way back to Canterlot.
"I don't know why, but Pure Heart has been acting a bit strange lately." I said to Twilight. We were at the spa along with Vapor Sky and were currently in the tub.
"Pure Heart acting strange? And how is that different from normal?" Twilight said giggling.
I splashed her. "Come now, this is serious."
"Alright, what is so bizarre that makes you think something is up?" She asked.
I tapped my hooves together nervously. "Well, that new suit of his, the predator suit. He always seems to be wearing it."
"He is just excited about his new toy. He will get it over soon."
"Well, he also seems to be a bit more intense."
"How so?"
"One example being the other day when he was sparring with Shining Armor. They were about to finish when Shining decided to test Pure Heart's reflexes and threw a rock his way. He gave him warning and Pure Heart turned invisible and suddenly Shining was pinned to the ground. Pure Heart reappeared with his blades inches away from Shining Armor's throat."
"That is horrible!" Twilight said, covering her mouth.
"Yes. Luckily, White Rush was right there supervising. He defused the situation before it could escalate any further. Afterward, Pure Heart had no idea what we were talking about and could only recall up to the point before the rock was thrown."
"Odd indeed. What else have you noticed?"
"Well sometimes he seems to be completely fatigued and then a few minutes later he is completely energized."
"That, I have no explanation for either." She admitted.
"I think I might have one." Vapor Sky said.
We turned to her. "Excuse me."
"I think I know how he is getting energized in a matter if minutes."
"Please explain."
She took a deep breath. "Now this is just my assumption, but I think he may be... Doing drugs."
It was very quiet for a few moments. "Drugs? You can't be serious." I said.
"No, that would explain some things." Twilight offered.
"You two are just pulling my leg. There is no way in the world that he could be on drugs. I mean, where would he even get them?"
"Possibly from Zecora." Vapor said.
"Zecora? But she is a witch doctor, is she not?" I asked.
"She is. But I really wouldn't put it past her to give some kind of remedy that enhanced his body." Twilight said.
"So he could be taking steroids." I suggested.
"I guess that is possible, too. But the only way of knowing for sure is to confront Pure Heart." Vapor stated.
"You mean like an intervention?" I asked.
Twilight clapped her hooves together. "That's exactly what we should do! We will get all of his friends together and stage an intervention."
"Okay, if that is what you think would be best." I said.
Pure Heart's POV
"So what you are saying is that we should wait for them to attack us?" I said to White Rush. Me and him were discussing how we should prepare for the upcoming war with the changelings as we walked to the war room.
"Indeed. I think it would be best."
"But that is what happened last time and they ended up invading Canterlot."
"But we won."
"Yeah, barely." I stopped and noticed that we were in a different part of the castle than where the war room was. "Hey, this isn't the wing of the castle with the war room. Where are we?"
He opened a door and pushed me in. I looked around and found that we were in my study. All around me were my friends and family including Luna, Twilight, Eclipse, Death, Celestia, Cadence, and Shining Armor to name a few.
"What in the heck is this?" I asked. "Did I forget somepony's anniversary or something?"
Luna walked up to me and looked me in the eyes. "Pure Heart, please sit down." I followed her over to a chair and I promptly did as she said.
"If this is about how I broke that statue, I can explain."
"This has nothing to do with some petty statue. This is an intervention." Celestia said.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on there. I can quit eating cookies anytime I want. I just don't want to."
Luna took my hand and looked at me. "Pure Heart, this is very serious. We believe you have a problem."
"A problem? With what?"
"With drugs." Vapor Sky said stepping forward.
"Drugs?! You have to be kidding. I don't even take my prescription medication anymore. I only take medicine if I have a headache. What in the world makes you think I am on drugs?"
"Well there was the incident with you and Shining Armor the other day."
"Please, I am sure I just got a bit too excited."
"You almost cut open my throat." Shining Armor stated.
"But I didn't. Besides, you shouldn't throw rocks, its not nice."
"What about the other day when we were in Ponyville and I saw you with Zecora?" Vapor asked.
"I told you to forget about what you saw."
"How could I forget about you beating down a nearly extinct steel giant and taking its blood?"
"It's blood? You obviously should have watched a bit more closely. I was merely taking an infectious growth off of its skin and collecting the mercury that was inside."
"Mercury? Is that what you have been injecting yourself with?" Luna asked.
"Injecting? I have no idea what you are talking about." I said looking around the room nervously.
"Pure Heart, please. We are only trying to help." Luna pleaded.
"Help with what? The only one that has done anything to help me is Celestia."
"Wait. Is that what all this is about?" Celestia asked. She immediately facehoofed. "Pure Heart I told you that this would come back to bite you."
"Bite him? What are you talking about?" Luna asked.
Celestia looked at me and nodded. I sighed and rubbed my neck. "Okay, I will confess. I have been injecting something into my body."
Everyone gasped.
"Now before you jump to any conclusions, let me explain." I took a deep breath. "I have not been injecting myself with drugs or steroids. I will show you what I have been injecting myself with."
I got up and walked over to a pitcher of water that was on a table. I opened a compartment on my chest and pulled out one of the syringes. "Watch closely." I placed the needle in the water and pushed the plunger. Suddenly, the water froze and I held the glass up and dropped it. It shattered along with the water.
"You are injecting yourself with liquid nitrogen?!" Eclipse exclaimed.
"I am. I do it to keep my body temperature low. It can't get to normal temperature or I will overheat. That is why I seem exhausted sometimes and then get better after taking it. It is also why I never take off this suit, it regulates my body temperature."
"Then why do you have to take these injections?" Twilight asked.
"Because even though it does regulate my body temperature, its been losing its edge."
"But why do you have to do any of this? And what does this have to do with your aggressiveness?"
I sighed and slowly removed my chest plate. Taking a handkerchief, I wiped my left chest. I slowly revealed a scar that stretched from below my neck to my left hip.
Luna ran her hoof along the scar. "When did this happen?"
"It was when I was held captive by the changelings. Just like when I first split myself from Ark, I kept only have of my heart when I was split from by pony body. This time, though, they cut out my half of my heart and replaced it with one made of ice from one of the wendigo soldiers."
Everyone was silent with mouths agape. "That means you aren't even human anymore." Death said.
"Wrong. I am human. I just don't have a heart of one. This heart of ice is what makes me act so crazy sometimes. If you have heard the expression 'as cold as ice', then you pretty much know my condition."
Luna came right up to me until we were face to face. She then slapped me across the face. "Ouch! What was that for?"
"What was that for?! You could have told me! Instead you worry me with all of these unexplainable changes in you."
"That's just what I didn't want to do. I didn't want you to worry about me."
"So instead you secretly inject yourself with a deadly substance?!"
"Well when you put it that way, it sounds really bad."
"How would you put it?" She said with tears in her eyes.
"I would call it prolonging my life."
"What?! You mean you could have died?!"
"Yes. That is why I kept it a secret."
Another silence settled on the room.
"Well, I believe this intervention is over. Everyone may leave now." Celestia said.
Everyone in the room quickly exited, leaving just me and Luna.
"That was rather awkward." I said.
"Don't get off subject. Why in the world would you think I couldn't handle all this?"
"Well for one, I knew you would react just like this, minus the slapping me part."
"I would have not. I would have calmly discussed with you."
"Calmly? Please. You would have had a tantrum."
"I admit there would have been tears shed, but how do you think I feel knowing that you couldn't trust me with this?"
"I am sure you feel horrid. And I am sorry beyond measure. Can we please forget about all of this?"
"Forget? FORGET?! How can I forget this?! I have tried my hardest to make this work since you got back! And for what?! Lies?!"
"Luna please. I am sorry." I pleaded with her.
"I am afraid 'sorry' is not going to cut it this time." She said, turning away from me. She swiftly walked out of the room, a trail of tears following her.
"Luna!" I yelled after her as I ran to the door. But she closed the door behind her. I slammed my fist on it. I could have easily opened the door and ran after her, but I knew she needed some time. I instead slid down onto the floor and curled into a ball.
I cried. I cried for her and the tears would not stop flowing.
Suddenly, I felt a pain in my chest. I wasn't sure what it was, but I instinctively reached for my syringes only to remember that I took off my chest plate. I stood up and started walking over to the chest plate, but suddenly, my legs gave out and I fell to my knees. "What the what?"
I began to crawl on my hands and knees towards the spot where I had left it on the other side of the room. I had trouble breathing and the pain in my chest grew even more. All my muscles seemed to tighten and I started having trouble moving at all. Soon, I was dragging myself on the floor by my hands.
I was just about to reach the spot where I had left my chest plate and stretched out my hand, but the pain in my chest pulsed again and I suddenly couldn't move at all.
The walls began to close in around me. "Luna, I am so sorry." I whispered. Then everything went black.
I ran out of the study and went to my room and jumped into bed, burying my head into the pillow. The tears flowed like a river, never seeming to stop. I probably cried for a couple of hours.
Later, I heard the door open and shut but didn't bother to look up to see who it was. I just continued to cry.
"Mommy, its time for dinner. Mommy, why are you so sad?" Moonbeam asked.
I turned and pulled her into a hug. "Oh Moonbeam. Me and daddy got into a fight."
"Mommy, you are crushing me."
I let go of her. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. What did you and daddy fight about?" She asked innocently.
"Well, daddy kept a secret from me and that made me sad."
"Did he say he was sorry?"
"Yes."
"Did you forgive him?"
"Well, no."
"Why?"
"Because sorry doesn't fix things every time. He should have known better than to keep secrets from me."
"So?"
"So what?"
"So you should forgive him anyways. Auntie Tia says we should always forgive someone if they hurt us, even if they don't say sorry."
"I don't know. It isn't easy."
"Yes it is. Just say I forgive you."
I thought about it as I dried my tears on a tissue I took from the night stand. "Honey, you are wise beyond your years."
"I get that all the time." She said with a grin. She jumped off the bed and happily trotted out of the room.
I couldn't believe I just got a talking to by a five-year old, but I knew she was right. I needed to say I was sorry to him as well.
I got up off my bed and got ready for dinner.
I walked into the dining room and sat down. I looked around and didn't see Pure Heart.
I leaned over to Nightshade. "Have you seen your father?"
"Nope. I haven't seen him all day."
"That is strange. He never misses dinner." I stood up. "You kids go ahead and eat. I am going to find your father."
They began to eat and I walked out of the room.
He must still be in the study. I thought. I walked down to the study and stood there. Come on Luna. You can do this. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Pure Heart? Are you in there?" I opened the door slightly and peeked inside. "Honey, I am sorry for how I reacted and I forgive you for keeping this all a secret." I saw he was on his stomach, reaching for his chest plate.
I opened the door the rest of the way and walked over to where he was. "Pure Heart?" I touched his forearm and it burned me from how cold it was. "Pure Heart! Speak to me!"
He didn't answer me and I tried to slightly move him and I heard a crack sound.
"He's frozen." I said to myself. I took a staggered back, turned, and ran out of the room. "Celestia!" I screamed.
I ran to her study and found her reading a book. "Celestia! Come quickly! Pure Heart is frozen!"
"Yes, there is no doubt about it. He is frozen solid from the inside out." The Doctor said, tucking his pen-like device into his pocket.
"Doctor, how did this happen?" I asked.
"Well, my guess is that his heart of ice was shattered by some stressful event and all the liquid nitrogen that he had been injecting was released and froze him."
"I broke his heart?" I said, tears gathering in my eyes. I turned to Tia and cried into her coat.
"What can be done?" Death asked.
The Doctor looked away. "There is nothing I can do. All of his organs have been damaged beyond repair. His body could shatter just by touching him. The only thing I have found that might be helpful is that he has a bit of brain function left. Just a little, but it seems as though he might be dreaming."
"He's dreaming? That means I can talk to him!" I said.
" Are you sure you want to? You might not like what you see." The Doctor said.
"It's a chance I am willing to take." I turned to my frozen husband and began to cast my spell. I fired it and everything went black.
"Luuuunnnaaaa..." I heard a voice say. "Luuunnnaaa..." It repeated. "Luna. Luna wake up."
I opened my eyes and found myself staring into a pair of blue eyes.
"Hey look who's awake. How you doing babe?" Pure Heart said with a grin.
I shook my head and stood up. "Fine. Fine." I looked at him again and realized that he was in pony form again. "Pure Heart! You are a pony!" I exclaimed, jumping at him and knocking him over. I landed on top of him and kissed him.
"Wow, I guess I am not in trouble anymore." He said laughing.
"Oh shut up." I got off of him. "And yes, I forgive you and I myself am sorry for the way that I acted."
"Apology accepted. Now then, what brings you to my humble dreamscape."
"Your dreamscape. Hmm." I looked around and saw what appeared to be a garden full of cherry blossoms. "Wow, you have a beautiful dream."
"Thanks. But why are you here?"
"Oh, yes. I came to see if you were still here."
"Still here? What do you mean?"
"You didn't know? You are frozen from the inside out. You shouldn't be alive."
"Shouldn't be alive... Well that really sucks."
"Yes it does. Also, the Doctor doesn't think you will recover from this, meaning you will most likely lose this body."
"Really? Man that sucks big time. I liked wearing that suit."
"Will you forget about your stupid suit?! We are talking about you dying here!"
"Oh please. If you thought I was going to die, you would be a lot more broken up."
"So?"
"So that means you have a plan."
I smiled. "You are right. I do have a plan."
"Well don't keep it to yourself. Share with the class."
"Okay here it is. We get you your old body back."
He stared at me and then laughed.
"What are you laughing at?"
"How do you expect to do that? I am currently the equivalent of a frozen vegetable. I can't really travel."
"Easy. I will just harbor your conscience in my body and then when we get close, I transfer you over."
He thought for a moment. "That could work. Man, did I marry the smartest mare in the universe or what?"
I blushed. "Oh please. Now hold still." I touched my horn to his and there was a flash of light.
I woke up a bit dazed.
"Princess Luna, are you alright?" The Doctor asked.
I smiled wearily. "Yes. I am fine. And so is Pure Heart."
"No he isn't. His brain activity just ceased."
"Don't worry. He is safe." I reassured him.
"How do you know?" Tia asked.
"Because he is now in me." I said.
"Nuh uh. Prove it." Death said.
"Prove your face." I said. Or rather, Pure Heart said through me.
"Yep, that is definitely him in there." Death said.
"You bet it is Deathy. Now let's eat something." He said through me.
No more doing that unless I let you talk, understand? I said to him.
Fine. Man this is just like when I had Ark in my head. Only now, I get to haunt you. Oooo. I'm a ghost.
No, you're not. Knock it off.
Okay. Oh, we should definitely not let the kids know about this. It might traumatize them to know you are both mommy and daddy.
Agreed.
We went to eat with the kids. When they asked where daddy was, I told them he went out of town on business, but told me to tell them that he loved them very much. They were happy with the response and went off to play.
As I walked back to our room, Pure Heart spoke to me.
"Alright, so what should our plan of attack be?" I asked as we sat around the war table. It had been a few weeks since Pure Heart had joined his consciousness with my body and, to tell you the truth, I was ready to get him his body back. Don't get me wrong, he is my husband and I love him beyond belief, but he always has to make a comment on something. Most of the time, though, it seems like I have a jukebox in my head because if he isn't making an absurd suggestion, he is singing. Sometimes they aren't even songs with vocals, they are just seemingly random sounds.
Do do do. Do do do do, do do do. Dooo, do do do do.
Shh.
Sorry.
"Our plan is to wait for the enemy to come to us so that we have the upper hand." Shining Armor said.
What is with you people and waiting? I swear, I will lead a rebellion if that is what we end up doing. Pure Heart remarked.
"I don't think that is the best idea. After all, we don't want a repeat of what happened the last time the changelings attacked." I said. Pure Heart pumped his hoof.
"I believe she is right. The last time they came around, they were only pushed back by the force of Princess Cadance's and Shining Armor's force field. This time, they are much stronger and faster since they were fused with wendigos." Tia said.
"Then do you propose that we just run head first into the fray?" White Rush asked.
"No. Of course not." I said.
That is totally what we should do!
Shut up.
"We should devise a strategy and then carefully take them out." I said.
Ahhh, you are no fun.
"Okay, so let's say we leave several soldiers here to protect the castle as well as Princess Celestia, Cadance, and myself." Shining Armor said.
"And the Elements of Harmony, Death, and myself will go to the hive and take on the threat there." I said.
No. The Elements are to stay in Ponyville. Pure Heart said.
Why in the world would we do that?
Because they won't be useful against a legion of wendigos. They will just be in the way.
I sighed. "Pure Heart wants the Elements to instead guard Ponyville."
"Fine, but you must pick others to go in their place." Celestia said.
Fine, but I'm not happy about it.
"He's okay with that."
"Good. And the rest of the royal guard will accompany you." She said.
May I get through? Pure Heart asked.
Yes, you may.
The tip of my horn began to glow red.
"Heck no! I don't want any of them dieing against these monsters. It will be just as I said before. Besides, our mission right now is to get my body back. We have to be sneaky for that to happen."
My horn returned to normal and I took back control.
"Sorry about that."
"No, he is right. As of now, we only need to gather intelligence and get his body back to him. So I will instead just send you and Death to the hive and whoever else you see fit to back you up."
Fine by me. Pure Heart snorted.
"Okay, so then let us get prepared." I said, standing up.
"Alright, roll call." Vapor Sky announced.
It had been a few days since we had the meeting and we were about to take off for the hive.
"Black Steel."
"Here."
"Obsidian Baron."
"Here."
"Gray Shark."
"Here."
"Alright, that is everyone."
"Good, we leave immediately." I said.
"You be careful, Luna." Tia said.
"Do not worry. I will be fine."
"Don't worry honey, I will watch her." Death said, giving Tia a kiss.
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
Enough with the smooching, let's get a move on.
I rolled my eyes. "Alright, Tia. Try to get us as close to the hive as you can."
"Okay, here it goes." Tia's horn flashed and we were sent away.
We arrived at the edge of a forest.
Do, do, do.
I looked around and saw several guards standing in front of the entrance to the hive.
Do do. Do, do, do.
They weren't wendigos, just regular changelings.
Do do. Do, do, do.
At least, from what I could tell.
Do do. Do, do, do.
"I will distract the guards." Death said.
Do do. Duh duh dummmm.
Death rose a tentacle from the ground near one of the guards and quickly pierced its skin, causing it to scream. The other guards left their posts to see what the commotion was all about.
Duh duh dummmm.
We quickly ran across the field between us and the entrance and made it inside.
Duh duh dummmm. Duh duh.
Will you please cut that out?! I finally said to Pure Heart.
Oh, come on. It's Mission Impossible. It's the perfect sneaking music.
I don't care. I am trying to concentrate.
Geez. Sorry. He quieted down after that.
We all continued on through the many caverns, taking out guards and sneaking around other ones, for a while.
Luna.
What?
I have to pee.
No you don't.
I am pretty sure I do.
I am telling you that you don't. It's impossible, you are just a conscious.
Okay, maybe I don't. But I am bored.
Too bad.
We went along in silence for a bit longer.
Hey Luna.
What?
Hi.
Hi.
We seemed to be getting closer to some powerful source of energy.
Hey Luna.
What?!
Do you feel that?
I stood still for a moment. Yes I do. I think we must be getting close to your body.
We soon turned a corner and found ourselves in a large antechamber. In the center of the room was a platform with a large table. On the table was Pure Heart's body!
My body! Hooray!
We heard voices coming from another hallway.
"That's Bullet Blaster!" Gray Shark whispered.
"Yes, and I think it is Kron as well." Death added.
"But who is that third voice?" Obsidian Baron asked.
It's Flash Fire. Pure Heart said.
"I believe we have all the parts, my lord." Kron said.
"Excellent. I grow tired of this body. Let's do the transfer now."
That isn't Flash Fire! Pure Heart yelled. Quickly, we have to put me back in my body!
I nodded. "Black Steel and Obsidian Baron, I need you to trap them in the hallway. Death, you block off the other entrances. Vapor Sky and Gray Shark, stand guard and make sure nothing interrupts me."
They all went to their posts and I went to the table.
You ready?
Heck yes. Let's do this.
I concentrated my magic and began to cast the spell.
"What the hell? Is that Princess Luna?" Kron said.
"What is she doing?" Bullet Blaster asked.
"She is trying to take my body! Stop her!" Flash Fire said.
Bullet Blaster came running at us and Kron stopped the boulders that Black Steel and Obsidian Baron were going to drop in front of the entrance.
Gray Shark jumped in front of us and produced a blade from his hoof. "Come and get some, Bullet Blaster."
"With pleasure." He smiled and picked up a bunch of rocks, loaded them into his gun, and began to fire.
Gray Shark sliced the projectiles out of the air with little effort and he smiled right back. "You are getting soft."
"Oh yeah? Try this on for size." He opened a pouch and started pouring in what appeared to be sharp teeth.
I was almost done with the spell and moved my head closer to Pure Heart's.
"Don't let her touch him!" Flash Fire screeched.
Kron ran at us, but Death produced tendrils and started shooting them at him. He nimbly dodge every attack, but was stopped.
"Do I have to do everything myself?" Flash Fire said. He concentrated and flames shot up all around the room. I was receiving several burns on my body, but it did not break my focus.
"No escape." He said with a grin.
I didn't pay him much attention, though, as at that moment, I touched Pure Heart's horn with my own and I felt a wave of energy shoot out into him.
After the spell was completed, I found that I had inhaled much of the smoke and I collapsed.
"Princess!" Vapor yelled. She jumped through the flames and dragged me out.
"Wait. What about Pure Heart?" I said weakly.
Without warning, a torrent of air swept across the room and all the flames went out. Everyone stood still and looked to the center of the room.
Pure Heart's body stood up and looked down at the table.
"What do we have here?" He picked up a sack and pulled out a red, sharp object.
"No! He has the horn! Don't let him take it!" Flash Fire screamed.
"Finders keepers." He said, sticking out his tongue as he held up the object. "Alright, let's see what this thing can do." He concentrated and as the object began to glow, large pillars of black crystal rose from the ground, consuming our comrades one by one. After being encased in the mineral, the crystals quickly sank back into the ground, leaving the earth around them as if it was never touched.
I was the second to the last to go, of course the last I assumed was Pure Heart. Right before I was completely encased by the rock, I heard Flash Fire yell.
"I guess pretty well." I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and slowly tried to sit up. "Ungh!" I held my stomach in pain.
"Whoa there. Don't try to get up. You received some pretty nasty burns from those flames back in the hive."
When my hazy vision finally came into focus, I pushed off the blankets that covered me and looked at my body. Upon further inspection, I found that my left foreleg, part of my stomach, and both of my hindlegs were wrapped up in bandages. "Wow. I did not think it was going to be that bad."
"That Flash Fire knows his stuff. Even if he is only a pegasus."
I looked up at the pony who I had been speaking with and instantly recognized him. It was Pure Heart, in his pony body!
"Pure Heart!" I lept out from under the sheets and wrapped my forelegs around his neck, ignoring the pain, giving him a long and passionate kiss and then resting my head in the crook of his neck.
He embraced me as well, smoothing out my mane with his right hoof. "I missed being able hold you like this." He kissed me on the side of the head and then broke the embrace, setting me up against the head-board.
After I got settled, I gave him a good look. He seemed to have all his body parts, though he did have bandages wrapped around part of his snout and covering his right eye. "How do you feel?"
"Excuse me?"
"How are you doing? Any adverse effects from having been transferred back into your body? Did they do anything to it?"
"Calm down. Aside from a few minor burns, I am completely fine. As soon as I returned, I was given a full medical examination."
"Then what is that on your face?"
"Oh. Well, right when I was about to leave, Flash Fire caught me on the side of the face with a fireball."
"How well can you see?"
"Tell you the truth, my depth perception suffered a bit from it, but I quickly learned to manage."
I reached out with my right foreleg and stroked his face lightly. "I am so sorry."
"It wasn't your fault in the slightest. It was merely a case of me being a second too late." He reached up with his hoof and held mine to his face. "Gosh, I missed your touch."
I slowly withdrew my foreleg. "And what of that magic you used to aid in our escape? When did you learn to do that?"
"Silly, I have always had an affinity for earth."
"But I have never seen you use black crystal like that before."
"Okay. Okay. I guess I had a bit of help from this little diddy." He reached underneath his wing and placed an object on the bed.
I picked it up and mulled it over. Then I realized what it was and dropped it back onto the bed. "That is King Sambra's horn."
He nodded.
"Destroy it."
He tilted his head. "Excuse me?"
"You heard what I said. I want it destroyed. It contains nothing but darkness."
"Now Luna. You have to think about this. This is an artifact, a powerful one at that."
"It is indeed powerful, but it is no artifact. It is a weapon. A weapon of oppression and sorrow. I don't want it anywhere near the children."
"Okay, okay. But I won't let it be destroyed. Did you see the way Flash Fire reacted when I took it? He needs it for something big."
I placed my good leg under my chin and closed my eyes, playing around with the idea a few times. As I opened my eyes to respond, I was startled by how close Pure Heart's face was to mine.
"You know. You are super adorable when you are deep in thought." He said, kissing me on the top of the snout.
I rolled my eyes. "Thanks. So I thought it over, and I guess it is okay. As long as you keep it in a safe place."
"No problem. I have the perfect place for it." He stomped his hoof and a box of led came out of the ground. The lid opened and he placed the horn inside. Then after another stomp of his hoof, the box sank back into the ground. "No one will ever find it."
"Alright. I trust you." I took a deep sigh of relief. " Now then, what is next?"
"Sleep. I am bushed. Since I got back, it has been nothing but meetings, meetings, and more meetings." He fell onto the bed, burying his face into the sheets.
"Speaking of which, how long have I been out?"
"A duh a teh." He said, his voice muffled by the linens from which he hid his face.
"Excuse me?"
He lifted his head and then laid it back down. This time his face was to the side so he could be understood. "Sorry, I said a day or two."
I froze. "A day or two?"
"Maybe three. I'm not sure, I haven't been around much. This is the first time I have seen you in five days. I had assumed that you had woken up and gone about your nights."
"I have been asleep for a week?!"
"No. At the most, five days."
"And no one thought it was strange that I had not woken up?"
"I'm sure they did, but I told everypony to not disturb you for anything. I wanted you to get some rest."
"And what about you? Have you gotten any sleep?"
"Psh. Sleep. Who actually does that?" He waved his hooves in a way to say who cares. "No, I took many caffeinated supplements to stay awake for the past couple days. As I said, many meetings."
I settled down a bit and spoke softly. "I would have gone to some of those meetings."
"No. I wanted you to sleep. I was completely fine. In fact, I could go for another day without sleeping." He began to stand up, but quickly fell from exhaustion.
I laughed a little and then stroked his mane. "Now its your turn to get some rest." I kissed him on the forehead, avoiding the bandaged side, and levitated him over to the pillows, laying him gently down. I then snuggled up to him, my back to his chest, and pulled the covers over us.
"This is great. Being back with my beautiful wife, all cozy in our own bed. Nothing could ruin this moment." He said softly, wrapping a foreleg around a portion of my chest that wasn't scorched and giving me a squeeze as well as pulling me closer. He then nuzzled my neck and I, in turn, turned my head towards his and we kissed.
"I never want this moment to end." I whispered, turning my head back to its original position.
"Me neither." He responded, stifling a yawn.
"Pure Heart?"
"Yes my love." His breath upon my neck becoming softer and softer.
"Can you promise me something?"
"Sure." His voice barely audible.
"Will you keep our family safe?"
"Of course."
"No matter what?"
"No matter what."
"Thanks. I love you."
"I love you, too." After he said this, I could feel the even flow of his chest rising and falling against my back. He had finally fallen asleep.
I yawned. Nothing wrong with a bit more sleep. I snuggled up to my husband and he intertwined his tail with mine. I wonder if he did that on instinct.
I didn't.
He kissed me on the back of the head and I smiled.
"Daddy!" My children screamed as I walked into their room.
"Kids! Come give daddy a big hug." I sat down on the floor and extended my forelegs. They gladly dropped what they were doing and ran into my outstretched legs.
"Oh, how I missed you all so much." I squeezed them all tightly and they squeezed back.
"Daddy, why are you a pony again?" Nightshade asked as I set them all down.
"Oh, you see, um..." I hadn't thought of what I would tell the kids when they saw that I was no longer in my human body.
"He was tired of being a human so he changed back. Just like we did the time we had that fashion show." Luna said, saving the day as she strolled into the room.
I looked to her and mouthed 'Thanks, I owe you one.'
She just winked at me.
"What happened to you guys?" Moonbeam asked, gesturing to our burns.
"We got a little to close to a volcano and the lava burnt us." I blurted out.
Luna raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'Really?'
"Wow! That's crazy! I want to see a volcano!" Starfire said.
I chuckled and mussed up her mane with my hoof. "Maybe someday."
"So does that mean you are a pirate now?" Nightshade asked, pointing to the bandages covering my right eye.
Again I laughed. "Aye! So that makes you bunch of scallywags me crew." I said in my best pirate voice.
"Aye aye captain daddy!" Starfire yelled.
"Argh!" Nightshade exclaimed.
"So what does that make mommy?" Moonbeam asked.
"Hmm... I guess that makes her the wench!" I said aloud. I gave off a hearty laugh but then got a slap in the back of the head.
"You want to change that answer? Because I will make you walk the plank." Luna said with a sneer.
"Oops, my mistake. What I meant to say is that she is the beautiful mistress." I said with a grin.
"That's better."
"Right! Now where is me lizard? Can't be a captain without me lizard." I said.
"Don't you mean parrot, daddy?" Nightshade asked.
"Nope, I mean lizard. I don't have a parrot, so I need me lizard."
I heard a hissing sound come from underneath the children's bed. "Avast, he be under the bed." I turned to Luna. "Mistress Luna. Would ye be so kind as to help the crew find a jolly roger?"
"Find a what?"
"A flag."
"Oh, yes of course."
"Swarthy! Crew, don't make Mistress Mommy do any of the work."
"Aye aye captain!" They saluted and ran off with Luna in tow.
As she passed by, I gave her a kiss. "Take it easy, okay?"
"No problem."
"Come on mommy. Let's find a jolly roger." Starfire said, tugging on her mane.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." She followed them out the door to who knows where.
I chuckled and looked back at the bed. I wonder if he will recognize me? I slowly walked over to the bed and crouched, looking under the bed. "Bubbles?"
I saw him in his battle ready position. "Hey buddy. It's me Pure Heart. Want to come out and play?"
He shook his head.
"Is it because you think I am not him?"
He nodded.
"Well, I can swear to you that I am him. Just give me a chance." I reached under the bed and he whipped me with his tail. "Ow! Come on! You know I am the only one who understands you. What other proof do you need?"
He hissed some more and then finally came out from under the bed.
"Thanks Bubba. You won't regret it." He slowly climbed onto my shoulder, wrapping his tail around my neck for stability, and I scratched him under the chin. "Now then, did you hear that whole pirate thing?"
He growled.
"Oh come on, it will be fun."
Another growl.
"Sweet! Let's do this!"
I walked out of the room with Bubbles and saw the kids were down the hall with a cart and a flag tied to the side. Luna was nowhere to be found.
"Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke." I heard Moonbeam say. She stood at the front of the cart while Nightshade and Starfire were on the sides, dangling there legs out to push the cart.
"Ahoy! There be a landlubber!" Starfire said.
"Blow him down!" Moonbeam yelled.
Nightshade and Starfire put a little extra oomph into there strokes and they were soon barreling towards me.
"Brace for impact!" Moonbeam said.
Nightshade and Starfire pulled up their legs and they all held on tight.
"Ah crap. This might hurt." I said as I braced myself as well. Of course they were only going a couple miles per hour, so when they did hit me, I barely moved. Just for show, though, I flopped onto my back. Bubbles luckily jumped off of me before hand.
"Oh no! We killed him!" Nightshade yelled.
"Boo!"
They all jumped when they saw I was fine.
"Oh daddy! We are so sorry!" Moonbeam said.
"Don't worry about it. I'm fine. But now I'm your swabbie." I said. I jumped up onto the cart and they all got back on. "You are the captain now, Moonbeam." I made a motion and Bubbles climbed onto Moonbeam.
"Argh! Let's bring the prisoner back to our island fortress." Starfire said.
"Aye! Swabbie! Turn the ship around and start stroking!" Moonbeam commanded.
"Aye aye!" I turned the cart around and pushed off.
As we went down the hall, I got several strange looks. But I didn't care, I was bonding with my kids.
"Land ho!" Nightshade said aloud as we approached my study.
"Come on you scurvy seadog! Go faster!" Moonbeam said.
"Aye aye, captain!"
We entered the study and I found that they had made a rather impressive fortress of books. They better hope Twilight doesn't see this. I thought.
We stopped at the front of the fortress.
"Queen Mommy! We brought you a prisoner." Moonbeam said.
"Queen Mommy?" I asked.
Luna walked out wearing a short, white skirt and a striped shirt with a black vest. She had hoop ear rings and a captain's hat on her head.
"That is Pirate Queen Mommy to you, swabbie!" She said.
My jaw nearly fell off. She looked smoking hot in that outfit!
"What are you staring at, swabbie?" She turned to the kids. "Take him to the brig!"
"Yes ma'am!" The kids saluted and prodded me inside the fortress where I was put behind a bunch of broom handles. Okay, so it wasn't that big of a fortress. Really, it was kind of a tight squeeze.
"This is mutiny!" I said.
Luna laughed and turned to the kids. "Now go plunder the kitchen. I believe it is snack time."
The kids cheered and ran off towards the kitchen. Luna turned back to me.
"Wow. Someone got pretty deep into character." I said, coming out from behind the brooms.
She blushed. "Um, well, you know. It was for the kids."
"Uh-huh. And the outfit was for the kids, too?" I asked with grin.
She gave a nervous laugh. "I guess I might have gotten a bit carried away."
"A bit? Luna, you built a fortress out of books. Old, rare books."
"Oh, they are just books." She said shrugging.
"Don't let Twilight hear you say that." I said with a laugh. I started to pick up books and put them away. "So where did you learn about piracy? Pipsqueak?" I grinned and she shoved me.
"Hardy har. You are so funny. No, I just have read a lot on the subject."
"And who sparked that interest?"
She sighed. "Pipsqueak."
"Score one for Pure Heart." I pumped my hoof.
"Yeah, yeah. Anyways, where did you learn so much about piracy?"
"Lots of television as a kid."
"Oh yes, the picture box. I must see one for myself someday."
"I think you would like it." I said as I put the last of the books back on the shelves. "Alright, what next?"
"We better check on our little pirate crew. Make sure they are not completely plundering the kitchen."
"Good idea. I'm a bit hungry anyways."
"Then off to the galley."
"Shall we take the ship?" I asked, gesturing to the cart.
"We shall."
I helped her up on top and I got on the bottom.
"Weigh anchor and hoist the main sail!" Luna said.
"Aye aye, Pirate Queen Luna!" I pushed off towards the kitchen.
"Thank you very much for coming chancellor. I will take your prospect under consideration." Celestia said as she walked out of the conference room. Just as she was stepping into the hallway, she saw Pure Heart and Luna on a cart coming towards her.
"Hi Tia!" They said as they raced past.
She waved with a very confused look on her face. "It's good to have things back to normal." She said shaking her head.
"Come on Daddy! We don't want to be late for the picnic!" Moonbeam shouted, tugging on my mane.
"Calm down sweetie. Winsome Falls isn't going anywhere. Besides, it looks like we are early." I laughed as we walked out of the forest into the twilight of dusk. It had been a few months since the incident at the hive. All of us who went had recovered from our burns, at least most of us. My eye and face still had some healing to do. I guess the fireball I took to the face had caused incredibly severe third degree burns. But I didn't complain, it didn't hurt after all.
Anyways, since we had worked so hard with planning and training for the impending war, I decided that we should all take a break and have a picnic with our close friends. Luna begrudgingly went along with it, saying that it wasn't a good idea. I had finally convinced her though, and here we were.
"Hey guys! Come on over and sit down." Eclipse yelled.
"Uncle Eclipse!" My children screamed as they ran and jumped on top of him.
"Rascals!" He yelled back as he hugged them all.
Me and Luna walked up to the blanket spread on the ground and she laid down.
"Eclipse. Its been awhile." I said as I tried to pry the kids off of him.
"It has. I think around four months. Time flies when you are visiting other countries."
"Indeed it does." I dislodged the last child and they all ran over to the table and got some sweets to munch on.
"So have you been? Had any crazy incidents since we've been gone?"
"Oh, you know. The usual. Got my body back, got my eye burned out of its socket. Same old, same old." I shrugged.
He laughed. "Yeah, I guess those kind of things do happen to you often."
"I guess." I looked over and saw Twilight talking to Luna. It was then that I noticed something. "Hey Eclipse. Sorry to ask, but that isn't just pudge I see on Twi, is it?"
He looked at them and smiled. "Nope. She is pregnant."
I slapped him on the back. "Good for you! Its been five years and you are finally doing it."
"Thanks. Yeah, we finally decided that it was high time we do it. And we did."
"That is awesome. How far along is she?"
"Five months, I think."
"What is it going to be?"
"A boy."
"You must be so proud."
"I am."
"Oh look, some more ponies are arriving." I said, directing our attention to the forest.
"Thank you all for coming. I want to especially thank Pinkie Pie and Vinnie for bringing such great food for our picnic." I said after everypony had arrived. "I will now let Eclipse and Twilight have the spotlight for a very exciting announcement." I stepped down from the podium I had made earlier from rock and sat down as Twilight and Eclipse went to the front.
"After five years, we are finally going to have a child." Twilight said and everypony cheered, except for ShadowBane, who was indifferent. At least he came though.
"And before anyone asks, it is a boy and he is due at the end of September." Eclipse said, causing more cheering.
"Have you thought of a name yet?" Celestia asked.
They shook their heads. "Nope. But we will have one before the baby is born." Twilight said.
"Thank you all." Eclipse said as he lead the pregnant Twilight down the steps of the makeshift stage.
"Alright, how is that for crazy? Now then, I do believe that is everything to announce. So go right ahead and dig in."
Everypony began to eat and as I stepped down, I felt a twinge in my right eye. I ignored it and went to sit next to my beautiful wife.
A few hours later, I was approached by Death.
"Pure Heart, I was wondering if you would like to spar."
"Spar? Um, I guess. Where at?"
"Just down the hill near the falls." He said.
"Okay." I turned to Luna. "Hey babe, I am gonna spar with Death for a little bit."
"Alright. Be careful."
"When aren't I careful?" I said with a smirk and kissed her on the cheek.
She rolled her eyes and went back to talking to Tia, Twilight, and Vapor.
"Hey everypony! My Daddy and Uncle Death are gonna fight." Nightshade said aloud. Soon everypony was looking at us as we made our way down the hill.
As soon as we were at the bottom, we stepped into the pool of water.
"Mind if I stretch first, I haven't done this in a while."
"Of course. Take your time old man." He said with smirk.
"Old man? I am only 1732. I think." I said as I stretched out my legs.
"See. You can't even remember how old you are."
"Whatever. I am ready." I said, cracking my neck.
"You sure? I can wait another twenty minutes if you'd like." He said with a laugh.
"Hardy har har. You're hilarious."
"Alright you two, I want a clean fight." Vinnie said as he stepped between the two of us. "Shake hooves and then begin when you are ready."
Vinnie quickly retreated as we shook hooves and as soon as I put my hoof down, the ground beneath it shot up, forcing me up into the air. Then a tendril shot out and grabbed me around the waist.
"You want to quit now before you get hurt?" He said from the ground.
"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing." I summoned my sword from the ground and slashed the tentacle in two. Then I fell to the ground, landing softly after putting out my wings like a parachute.
"Nope, I'm just getting started." He said.
Luna's POV
"I sure hope Death goes easy on him." I said.
"Wow, Luna. You should have more faith in your husband." Tia said.
"Don't get me wrong. I know Pure can hold is own quite well. It's just that the past couple months, he has seemed a bit more... Tense."
"Tense? He is one of the most laid back ponies I have ever meet." Twilight said.
"He used to be. But a month after the incident at the hive, he seemed to be getting angry at little things. For instance, last month, he couldn't open a jar of pickles. So he ended up throwing it out the window."
"Um, okay. That seems a bit strange." Twilight said.
"He hasn't hurt you, has he?" Celestia asked.
"Hurt me? Please. If he had, you would have known. He would be in the hospital."
"Like that would be an unusual place to find him." Vapor scoffed, causing us all to laugh.
"It looks like the fight is over!" Vinnie yelled.
I looked down the hill and saw Pure Heart on the ground, Death standing over him.
"I win." Death said.
Then Pure Heart seemed to say something that caught him off guard. Pure Heart kicked him off, causing him to fall on his back.
Before Death could get up, Pure Heart was on top of him, his hoof pressing down on Death's throat. He said something else and Death's eyes widened.
"Something isn't right." I said, getting up. I ran down to Pure Heart's side. "Pure Heart?"
He didn't react. He began to press down harder on Death's throat.
"Pure Heart!" I touched him and he faced me.
"What?!" He said.
"Your hurting him!"
He looked back at Death, then back at me. "Oops. My bad." He continued to apply pressure to Death's throat.
"So stop already!"
"Oh! Right!" He took his hoof off Death's throat. Death coughed for a minute. "Sorry about that. I guess I got caught up in the moment." He said, rubbing the back of his head. He held up his hoof. "No hard feelings?"
Death finished coughing and looked at him. "I guess." He shook his hoof.
"Alright, that was a great sparring session. I am gonna get some punch." Pure Heart said. "You coming?" He said looking at me.
"I'll be up in a minute. I wanted to ask Death something."
"Alright." He shrugged and walked up the hill to everypony congratulating him.
"Death, what happened? I know you could of easily gotten out of that hold you were in."
He scratched his head. "To tell you the truth, I don't know. One second, I am standing over him, and the next, you are telling him to get off of me."
"Interesting. Okay, well thanks."
"No, thank you." He winked at me and walked up the hill and I followed suit.
A few days later, I woke up to find that Pure Heart wasn't in bed with me.
"Pure Heart?"
I saw Bubbles on the headboard, sleeping away. But Pure was nowhere to be found. I got out of bed and went into the hallway and started walking. I couldn't contact him mentally, which made me a bit worried.
"Princess Luna?" Vapor Sky said.
"Oh, Vapor. I didn't see you there. Have you by chance seen my husband?"
"Oh yeah. I saw him go to the garden with your kids a while ago."
"Okay thanks."
I walked out to the garden and saw my children sitting around a hole in the ground. I walked up behind them and sat down, staring at the hole as well for a few moments.
"Hello my children."
"Hi mommy." They all said, not looking away for a second.
"What are you three doing?"
"Waiting for daddy." Starfire said.
"Oh. Where is he?"
"In the hole." Moonbeam said.
"In the hole?" I took a closer look and saw that the hole was very deep. "He's down there?"
"Yep." Nightshade said.
"Why are you waiting for him?"
"To surprise him." Nightshade said.
"You mean he doesn't know that you are out here?"
"Nope, we followed him." Said Starfire.
"And you have just been sitting here, waiting for him?"
"Yep."
"For how long?"
"Umm. I think maybe a hour."
"A hour? What is he doing down there?"
"Don't know."
"Well I do know that you three are supposed to be asleep. Come on."
"Ahh. Do we have to?" They whined.
"Yes. And don't give me any lip, I won't have it." I scooted them along with my wing and they begrudgingly started to walk. "Go on. I'll be up in a little bit."
As soon as they were inside, I looked back to the hole.
"Here goes nothing." I jumped into the hole and fell for what seemed like an eternity. Finally I landed, gently touching ground with aid of my wings, causing dirt to stir up.
After the dust settled, I saw a door made of dark-colored crystal. I knocked on it. "Pure Heart? Are you in there?"
I put my ear to the door and heard a faint rustling sound. "Pure Heart?" I pushed on the door, but it wouldn't budge.
"What are you doing?" Said a voice from behind me.
I turned around and saw a figure in the shadows. "Pure Heart?"
He laughed. "Oh, is that who you were hoping for? Sorry to disappoint." He stepped forward and revealing himself as Pure Heart.
"What are you talking about? You are Pure Heart."
"Has it really been that long since we've spoken? I thought for sure my voice would give it away. Maybe this will help." He unwrapped the bandages from his head, revealing his right eye. I gasped. "So now you remember. Well now that you know who I am, I can't let you go free." He stomped his hoof and crystal encased my legs. "Good night, Princess Luna."
"Luna. Luna! Wake up!"
"What? Huh?" I bolted upright, hitting something.
"Ow, my snout."
I reached over and turned on the lamp on the nightstand.
"Pure Heart?"
"Ugh. I think my nose is bleeding." He said, taking a tissue from his nightstand and shoving it up his nose. He then took another one and dabbed under my eyes.
I shied away from him.
"Luna calm down. I'm just wiping away your tears."
"Pure Heart? Is that really you?"
"Um, yeah. Who else would it be?"
"Oh, Pure Heart!" I embraced him really hard. "I thought you were... And then I was... And the kids." I sobbed into his shoulder.
"Shh. Its okay. It was just a dream." He said, rubbing my back.
"But that's just it. It wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare and it was real."
"It just seemed real. Now, go back to sleep."
"I can't. Not without knowing."
"Knowing what?"
"Will you please take off your bandage?" I asked.
He seemed stunned at my request. "Take off my bandage? I think that will only give you more nightmares."
"Please. It will set my mind at ease."
He sighed. "Fine." He slowly lifted his hooves to the bandages and started to unravel them.
After a minute he had them all off and on the bed.
I stared at him, flabbergasted at what I saw.
His eye was scabbed over and the rest of his face was scarred immensely. The parts of his head that weren't black were rough with ooze seeping out.
"I told you it wasn't a good idea."
"No, its fine. I'm just happy that it wasn't true."
"That what wasn't true?"
"Nothing." I kissed him on the cheek. "I am going to go back to sleep. Thank you."
He smiled. "No problem." He got up and out of bed.
"Where are you going?"
"I have to put on new bandages."
"Oh, sorry."
"No, its okay. It was worth it to put your mind at ease." He blew me a kiss and then headed towards the bathroom. "Sleep well." He said before disappearing into the bathroom.
Nightshade's POV
I woke up to the sound of something crashing to the floor. "Damn it!" I heard someone say.
"Moonbeam, did you hear that?" I asked her, pushing on her side to get her up.
"No, I didn't hear anything. You must have been dreaming. Go back to sleep." She said without moving.
"Well I am going to check it out." I said, jumping out of bed and slowly making my way to the door.
I opened it quietly and took a peak outside just to see Daddy, putting a vase back together with his magic. What is Daddy doing up at this time of day? I wondered. He put the vase back and walked down the hallway quickly.
I stepped out from my room and turned myself invisible, wanting to follow him. We walked down several more halls and down into the basement, the whole time I made sure to step quietly so I wasn't heard.
We finally came to a large door made of stone and metal. He stuck his horn into a hole in the door and it shook, opening itself wide. He walked in and I followed him before the door could shut.
"Here it is." He said, pulling a sheet off a large mirror. "By the way, good job following me here, Nightshade." He laughed.
I made myself visible again. "How did you know?"
"You may be able to hide yourself in the shadows, but you are far from being a ninja. You make sound every time you take a step. You also need to control your breathing." He never turned away from the mirror while he talked to me. "Now if you will excuse me, I have some old friends I need to talk to. But first."
His horn lit up with magic and I was lifted into the air. "Daddy, what are you doing?"
"Daddy? How cute. You thought I was your father." I was brought in front of him. "Tell me, son, would your Daddy kill someone for no reason?"
"Of course you wouldn't, Daddy."
"See, that is where you are wrong. Your father has killed many for no reason but the thrill of the kill. He is a murderer."
"No, its not true. My Daddy would never do something that bad." I said, beginning to cry.
"But he has. Now, while you stew over that, I am going to do something." Both of his eyes began to glow purple and I began to feel tired. "Nighty night, Nightshade."
"Nightshade, what's wrong?" I heard someone say.
I opened my eyes and saw Mommy looking at me.
"Mommy!" I said, jumping out of bed into her forelegs, sobbing into her shoulder. "I followed Daddy, but it wasn't Daddy. It was someone else, and they went to a mirror, and he said that Daddy liked to kill others."
"Shh, its okay. Mommy knows just how you feel. I also had a nightmare today. But you don't have to worry, because none of it was real."
I sniffed. "Even the part about Daddy killing other ponies for fun?"
"Especially that part. Now, you just go back to sleep." She said, putting me back into bed. She tucked me in and kissed me on the forehead. "Sleep well." She then walked out of the room, leaving me in the dark in between my two sleeping sisters.
"There is nothing to worry about. It was just a bad dream." I said to myself, though I wondered if it really was.
Pure Heart's POV
I woke up to a splitting headache. "Where is some Tylenol when you need it?" I said aloud. I threw my legs over the edge of the bed and rubbed my temples. I got up and as soon as I began to walk towards the bathroom, I heard a jingling noise.
"What the huh?" I felt something around my neck and looked down to see a gold chain with a ring on it. I undid the chain's clasp and took a look at the ring. "Nah, it couldn't be." It was a gold ring with an onyx square in it.
"What couldn't be?" Luna said walking up behind me.
"This ring, it belonged to my grandfather. And to his father before him." I gave it to Luna and she looked it over.
"Interesting. How did it get here?"
"I am not sure. I left it behind in the human world when I died."
"Well, what do you want to do with it?"
"Well, I don't really need it anymore, so I think I will give it to Nightshade. You know, carry on the tradition. Its what Rick would if wanted."
"Who?"
"My grandfather. We called him Rick to distinguish him from my other grandfather."
"I see. Well, I am sure Nightshade will be thrilled."
"I hope so."
"Nightshade!" I yelled down the hall.
"Yes, Daddy." He said, not looking me in the eye.
"Hey buddy, what's wrong?"
He sighed. "Yesterday, I had a nightmare. About you going to a mirror and I followed you. But I found out it wasn't you. And this pony that looked liked you told me that you had killed ponies before for fun. When I woke up, Mommy said that it was just a dream and that you would never do that. Is it true?"
I scratched my head and then gave out a sigh. "Come with me son."
We walked out to the garden and laid down under my favorite tree.
"Son, I don't know why or how, but your dream was somewhat true."
He gasped.
"Now before you get the wrong idea, listen to me. This was a time when I was not myself. I thought I was a pony named Darkly Facade. And he did enjoy killing others. But that wasn't me. I was, you could say, asleep, yet I was fully aware of what I was doing. My mind was being manipulated by an evil spirit. Had I known who I really was, I would have never done such horrible things."
"So you did kill other ponies?"
"In a sense, yes."
He came up to me and gave me a hug. "Its okay, Daddy. I forgive you."
I hugged him back. "Thanks son. Now I have something for you." I pulled out the ring and chain. "These belonged to my grandfather and the ring was given to him by his father. He was unable to give it to his son, but insisted that I have it. So now I want to give it to you."
"Oh wow! That is so cool!" He bent down and I hooked it around his neck. He admired it for a minute and then gave me another hug. "Thank you so much, Daddy. I love you."
"I love you, too." I smiled and hugged him tight.
As I hugged him, I noticed that he seemed to be fading. "Nightshade, what are you doing?"
"I'm not doing anything." He looked at me with a terrified expression. "Daddy, help me!"
"Don't worry, son! Everything is fine!"
Soon, just his head remained. As it slowly dissipated, he screamed. "Daaaadddddyyyyy!"
His last word echoed into the night. He had completely vanished, leaving me alone in the garden.
"I mean he disappeared. He was there one second, then he just faded away." I said calmly.
"How can you be so calm?! Your one and only son is missing and you are acting like he just went out for a stroll!" She screamed. Tears were vigorously flowing from her eyes as she spoke.
"Luna take a deep breath. Panicking won't do us any good. If we want to find him, we are going to need clear heads, one's devoid of sorrow and anger."
"You expect me to just stop feeling and become stoic?!"
"No. I am just saying that you need to calm down."
"Calm down?! How in the world am I supposed to calm down when my son could be lying in a gutter somewhere?!" She came up to me and started to pound on my chest. "This just isn't fair! He is just a child!"
I wrapped my forelegs around her and held her tight as she began sobbing into my shoulder. I lightly rubbed her back and she began to calm a little. "Luna, he is a child. But we have taught him well and I know that if he were to run into adversity, he will be able to stand up to it. He is very strong willed and his heart is full of courage."
By now, she had calmed down to the point of just sniffling here and there. "You really think he will be fine out there by himself?"
"Of course. Where ever he is, I am sure he is fine and will be able to take care of himself until we find him."
"And we will find him." She wiped her tears and smiled. "Thanks for being so cool headed dear."
"I try my best to do so for you." I smiled and kissed her. "Now then, what is our next step?"
"We need to figure out where he went. Take me where it was that he disappeared."
"This is it." I said, pointing to the tree.
"What is that in the grass?" She asked, pointing to something.
I walked up to the spot where I had been sitting before and picked up an envelope. "It's a letter, addressed to us." I opened the letter and read aloud. "It says, 'Dear Prince Pure Heart and Princess Luna. I am sure you are aware that your son is missing. You will be glad to know that he is safe, for now. Don't bother looking for him, he is somewhere that you will never find him. He will remain there until you give me what I want. Pure Heart knows exactly what it is and if he knows any better, he will give it to me right away. You have until the winter equinox to give it to me. If you do not comply, your son is doomed to live his life in pain and suffering for the rest of eternity. - The Devil Inside.'"
I gave the note to Luna and she looked it over.
"What kind of monster would do this? And what does it mean that you know what they want?"
"My only guess is that they want the horn of Sombra. As to who, I think it might be Flash Fire and his cronies."
"What are we supposed to do? We can't just give them the horn."
"For our son, they could have my horn for all I care. As long as it returns him safely to us."
"Okay, but the winter equinox is only three months away."
"That's fine. We only need a couple of days."
"And Nightshade will be fine until then, right?"
"Of course, after all, he is our son."
"Nightshade, wherever you are, please be safe."
Nightshade's POV
"Ouch. That hurt." I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. I was in what looked like a hospital room. I know that from the many times that Daddy had to go to the hospital. Always getting hurt and having to get stitches.
"Oh, he is awake." Someone said. I looked at them and saw some creature in a white coat. "It looks like your vitals are better to."
"Hey wait, I know what you are. You are a human." I said pointing at him.
"Last time I checked, I was."
I looked at him carefully. "What are you doing in Equestria?"
"Equestri-huh?" He said scratching his head. "I have never heard of such a place."
"Equestria. It is where I am from."
"Well, I am from Boise." He said, adjusting a bag on a metal pole.
"I have to get home. My Mommy and Daddy are probably really worried about me." I began to get up, but the doctor pushed me back down.
"I am sorry son, but you aren't going anywhere. You had a pretty nasty spill. You broke your leg."
"My leg?" I pulled off the sheet and looked at my lower body. "That's not my body." I then realized what I had pulled the cover off with and saw I had what looked like hands. "Am I a human, too?"
"Unless you are an alien." He laughed.
"Is he okay?" I heard someone else say.
"Yes, yes. He is fine now. Come on in Mrs. Credo."
Some girl walked in, holding a stuffed animal in her arms. "Hello. This is for you." She gave me the bear.
"Thank you, Mrs. Credo."
"Your welcome, and please call me Kit."
"Alright." I then looked her over a bit more. She was about five and a half feet tall and was skinny. She had long blonde hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a green shirt and blue pants.
"What is your name?"
"Oh, its Nightshade."
"Nightshade, huh? Kind of a funny name. Are you Native American?"
I shook my head. "No, I am from Equestria."
"Equestria? I have never heard of it."
"Where am I?"
"You are in a hospital."
"I know that. I mean what is the city I am in?"
"We are in Mesa."
"Mesa? I think my Daddy said he was from there. But that means that I am on Earth."
"Right."
"Wow, I am really far away from home." I coughed a little.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine. My throat is just a little dry."
She picked up a pitcher and poured some water for me. "Here you go."
I reached for the cup and tried to take it, but I was unsure of how to use these hands to well. Thanks to that one time Daddy had that fashion show, though, I was able to take the cup.
"Thank you." I took a sip and she poured herself a cup of water as well.
"You said that your Daddy was from here?"
"Yes."
"What is his name?"
"Pure Heart."
"Pure Heart, huh?" She took a sip from the small plastic cup.
"Yep, and my Mommy's name is Luna."
"What a pretty name."
"Yes. Though I think my Daddy had a different name when he lived here."
"Oh really? Was he in the witness protection program or something?"
"The what?"
"Never mind. What was his name?" She said as she was pouring herself some more water.
"I think it was... Zach maybe."
She dropped her cup and water spilled everywhere.
"Oh my. How c-clumsy of me." She picked up a nearby towel and wiped up the mess.
"Are you okay, Kit?"
"I'm fine. I'm fine. You just caught me off guard is all."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I say something bad?"
"No, no. I just haven't heard that name in a long time."
"Zach?"
"Yes. You see, I had a brother named Zach one time."
"What happened to him?"
"He died a long time ago."
"I am sorry to hear that. My daddy said he died a long time ago, too. That is when he came back to Equestria and then I was born a couple of months later."
"How old are you Nightshade?"
"Five."
"Five years old? That is about how long he has been gone." She said, tapping her chin with her finger. "It's probably just a coincidence."
"Auntie Tia said that there is no such thing as coincidence. Just fate."
"Auntie Tia?"
"She is my Mommy's sister. She is also the ruler of Equestria."
"Ruler of Equestria? Like a queen?"
"No, she is a princess. I don't think Equestria has a queen."
"Wait, so if she is a princess, that means that your Mommy is also a princess."
"Right, Princess Luna. And my Daddy is Prince Pure Heart."
"Does that make you a prince?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess. I never really thought of it."
"Interesting."
"So, how did I get here?" I asked.
"Oh, I was driving down the street and found you on the side of the road. I got you in my car and brought you here."
"Car? What is a car?"
"Its a machine with wheels that gets us to places."
"Like a carriage?"
"Yes. Like a carriage."
"Cool."
"Mrs. Credo. Now that he is awake, we have called social services and they will be here to pick him up shortly."
She looked at me. "Would it be okay if he just came home with me?" She looked back at the doctor.
The doctor tapped his chin. "I don't see why not. Just wait for them to get here and they will have you fill out the proper paperwork."
"Is that okay with you?" She asked me.
"I guess. As long as I won't be a bother to you."
"Trust me, having you around will brighten our house up a lot."
"Our house? Are you married?"
"Mm-hmm. I think you will like Josh."
"Alright. But it is only temporary. My Mommy and Daddy are probably on their way to get me."
"That is fine." She then looked down at my neck. "What is that?"
"Huh?" I lifted up the necklace around my neck. "Oh this is a ring my Daddy gave me. He said it belonged to his grandpa."
"Can I see it?"
"I guess. Just give it back when you are done." I took the chain off my neck and handed it to her.
She looked it over and then gave it back. "It is a very nice ring."
"Thank you." I put it back around my neck.
"Mrs. Credo, social services is here."
"Awesome. I'll be right back. When I get back, I will take you home."
"Okay."
She reached out and messed with my hair and then she walked out of the room.
"Please come and get me soon, Daddy." I said softly.
Luna's POV
I walked in the study and found Pure Heart, Vapor Sky, Cloudlight, and ShadowBane waiting for me.
"Are you ready to go?" Pure Heart asked.
"Yes."
He nodded and turned to Vapor Sky. "You two take good care of my children, okay?"
"I won't let them out of my sight." Vapor saluted.
"Alright. Then let us be off." He picked up the lead box containing Sombra's horn and turned to ShadowBane. "Take us away, good sir."
"Finally. I get to kill some of these wendigos I have heard so much about." Maim said.
"You will not touch anyone or anything unless I tell you to. Got it, ink blot?"
"Ink blot! Why I oughta..."
"Maim, settle down. You can have fun later." ShadowBane said.
"Fine, fine. Let's just go already." Maim said.
A portal opened up and we walked into it.
A few seconds later, we came out the other side, directly in front of the changeling hive.
"Does it seem bigger since the last time we were here?" Pure Heart asked.
"Nope, its the same size as it was last week." ShadowBane said.
"Last week? Why were you here last week?" I asked.
"Oh you know. Talking to Kron and what not." He said shrugging.
"Talking to Kron?" Pure Heart said.
"Yes, talking to Kron. Are you guys just going to repeat everything I say in the form of a question?"
"Are we just going to repeat everything you say in the form of a question?" Pure Heart said, to which I punched him in the shoulder. "Sorry, I got caught up in the moment. Why were you talking to Kron?"
"I wasn't really. It was more of Maim than me."
"Yeah. He is a really cool guy. A little bit crazy though."
"Says the evil shadow." Pure Heart said.
"Why I oughta skin you right now." Maim said.
"Boys, boys. Deal with your petty squabbles later. Remember what we are here for." I interrupted.
"Right. To kick some ass." Maim said, pumping his hoof.
"No. To get my son back."
"Right. No killing, yet."
We walked into the hive and were immediately surrounded by changelings.
"What isss your busssinesss here?" One of them asked.
"We are here to talk to Kron." I said.
"Talk to Kron?" The changeling laughed and the rest laughed as well.
"What's so funny?" Pure asked.
"One doesss not sssimply ssspeak to Kron." It said.
"Bite your tongue!" A voice said.
The crowd parted and Chrysallis walked in. "Back to your posts." She said calmly.
"But my queen..."
"NOW!"
The changelings quickly scattered and soon we were alone in the dank cavern.
"Follow me." She said, turning and walking away.
I looked at Pure Heart and he simply shrugged at me and followed the royal changeling as did I and ShadowBane.
"ShadowBane, how are you doing?" Chrysallis asked.
He walked up to her side. "Oh you know, same crap, different day."
"Isn't that the truth. How is Maim?"
"I'm doing great, your majesty."
Pure Heart leaned over. "He never calls us that."
"We aren't evil though."
"True."
"We are here." She opened a door and we entered into a large chamber.
"Greetings!" Kron said walking down from a platform with wendigo guards accompanying him on both sides. "What might I do for you, Princess Luna and Prince Pure Heart?"
"You know exactly why we are here." Pure Heart said.
"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about."
"You kidnapped our son!"
"I did no such thing. I am no monster."
"Yes you are."
"In other matters, maybe. But I would never harm a child."
"It's true." Said another voice. Slowly, Flash Fire came out of the shadows. "He is too much of a pansy to harm a child."
"I don't care who has my son. I only want him back. You can have your stupid horn back." Pure Heart took the lead box off his back and kicked it across the floor.
"Oh thank you so much. This will help tremendously."
"Now give us our son back, Ark!" I said.
"Ark? You are mistaken. He does not inhabit my body anymore." He walked to the front of the platform. "No, you should search your own household before accusing others."
"What in the world are you talking about?" I asked.
"Ask yourself, Princess." He turned his head towards me. "Have you ever woken up to find that your husband wasn't there?"
"Yes, but so what?"
"And have you had any bad dreams of late? Maybe of your husband?"
"How do you know about that?" Pure Heart asked.
"You poor fool. A puppet in his grand scheme. Of course you have no memory of these events. You were technically asleep while they transpired." He stepped down so he was eye level with Pure Heart. "Why don't you remove your bandages and show us what I did to you last time we met?"
Pure Heart hesitated, but removed the bandages covering his face. "There, are you happy? Yes, you scarred my face. Enjoy the fact that I can't open my right eye anymore."
"You're mistaken, Pure Heart. Your eye is wide open." Flash Fire laughed.
"What are you talking about?" I asked. Pure Heart looked at me and I gasped.
"What is it? Do I have something on my face?"
"No, it is your face. Or at least your eye."
"What in the world are you talking about?" He ran over to a mirror on the wall. "My eye, its purple. Does that mean..."
"Yes, you have been blessed by our lord. You are now the receptacle of the mighty Ark."
"It is true." Pure Heart said, though it wasn't his voice. "I have to say, it is good to be home. But it still needs something. Oh I know."
"Get him!" Flash Fire said. The wendigo guards quickly ran across the room and immediately had Pure Heart pinned to the ground.
"Pure Heart!" I screamed, but before I could even move, another set of wendigos had me restrained as well.
"ShadowBane, do something?" Pure Heart yelled, but it seemed that he had already left.
Flash Fire walked up to me. "Excuse me, but I must take something of yours."
"What do you want?"
"Your magic." He looked back to the shadows from where he came from. "Bullet Blaster! Take her horn."
"Yes sir!" Said the green pony. He walked up to me as one of the wendigos held up my head. "Alright princess. This is going be extremely painful." He let out a maniacal laugh as what seemed to be fingers popped out of his large hoofs.
He pulled out a sword that was very misshapen and rusty, though it still seemed sharp.
"Don't worry, it will be over in a second." He grinned. He hoisted up the blade with his hands and then swiftly brought it down.
"Ahhhh!" I screamed. The pain was excruciating and it seemed to pulse through my whole body.
"What did you do to her?!" Pure Heart yelled.
"We have simply removed her ability to use magic." Flash Fire explained.
"I'm okay Pure Heart." I said weakly. Then my vision blurred and I blacked out.
Pure Heart's POV
"Luna! Luna speak to me!" I couldn't see her from my current vantage point and she wouldn't answer my calls.
"Luna! Luna speak to me!" Flash Fire repeated in a mocking tone.
"Why are you doing this to us?" I asked.
"Why? WHY?!" He yelled and the entire room erupted into flames. He seethed for a moment and then calmed down, the fire dying down along with his anger. "It is quite simple. You ruined my life."
I thought about it for a moment. "I ruined your life?"
"Yes you did. You killed the person that treated me as his own."
"You will need to be a bit more specific. I have killed a couple of ponies."
"For your information, he was not a pony. He was a draconequus."
I took a sharp breath. "You mean Discord?"
"Yes Discord. He was like a father to me. He is the only one that ever showed me any kindness. When I arrived in this wretched nation, he took me in and made me feel like I was wanted."
"When you arrived? Where did you come from?"
"The same as you. I am from Earth as well."
"You are also from Earth? Why am I not surprised?"
"Yes, but unlike you, I did not come from a family that loved me. I was forced to work in a factory. A factory that took humans and crushed them into mulch. I was soon to be next until I was saved by Discord."
"This is a very intriguing story and all, but can you skip to the part that I might remotely care about?"
He growled and struck me across the face. "Fine, since you are in such a hurry to be destroyed, I will sum it up." He walked to a cabinet and opened it up. "You killed the only family I ever had. So in return, you will also destroy your own family." He took something out of the cabinet and brought it over to a table. I was unable to see what since I was still pinned to the ground. "Now, enough chit-chat. Bullet Blaster, bring me her horn."
Bullet Blaster came to his side and placed the horn down, making a clinking sound.
"Good, now give me a piece of yours."
I heard a cracking sound and a slight screech, and then another clink.
"Now the rest of you."
There were a few more cracking sounds and screeches, followed by more clinks.
"And finally, a piece of one of Discord's horns and Sombra's horn." I heard a pop like the lid of a container and then a final clink.
"Wonderful, now we just crush it all up." Sounds of grinding came from the table and continued for several minutes. "Followed by a bit of mixing with my own blood." Sounds of stirring came from the table.
"It is ready!" I saw Flash Fire approach me with a bowl. "All you need to do is drink."
I kept my mouth closed.
"Oh, he won't take his medicine." He looked at one of the wendigos, and it gripped my mouth and forced it open. "Down the hatch."
I felt a warm liquid slide down my throat, warming my body as it went. After the bowl was emptied of its contents, the wendigo let go of my head and I coughed hard.
"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?"
"I think I'm gonna be sick." I began to feel really dizzy as the room began to spin.
"Everyone stand back. You don't want to be in the way when it begins."
"When what begi-" I started to say, but I was cut off when I felt a tremendous pain in my chest. Then everything went black.
I opened my eyes and saw nothing but darkness. Then I realized that both of my eyes were working again.
"I can see!" I yelled.
"See what? It is so dark in here." I heard someone say. "Of course, that is the way we like it."
"Who's there?" I asked.
"Pure Heart, I'm hurt. We were great friends for so long. How is it that you don't remember my voice?"
"Ark?"
"That's right."
"How did you get here? You are supposed to be dead."
The purple pony came out of the darkness. "I can't be killed, Pure Heart. You should know that. For as long as you exist, I exist."
"Well, it doesn't matter. You shouldn't be here."
"But I am, and now, we will be as one again."
"Over my dead body!" I ran at him.
"Oh please." I was stopped in my tracks. "Don't you think I planned for all of this to happen. That liquid you just ingested was a mixture made of the magic from the seven deadly sins. I am now more powerful than you could ever imagine."
He walked up to me and got right in my face. "And with you, we be will invincible!"
"One problem with your plan. I am not going to help you."
"Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. But unfortunately, you don't have a say in the matter. Because I am going to fuze our minds this time. So there will be no escape."
I started to sweat. "But you can't do that. If you do, you won't exist anymore either."
"Don't worry, I have a dominate personality. I will come up on top in the end."
He placed his hoof on my forehead. "Well, it has been a pleasure, Pure Heart."
"No. NOOO!"
"FUZE!"
Nightshade's POV
"Kit, this is delicious. What is it?" I asked her.
"Enchiladas. Nothing that special."
"Well I think it is absolutely the best thing I have ever had." I stuffed another piece of the tasty food into my mouth.
"So, Nightshade, you said that you were from Equestria?" Josh, Kit's husband, asked.
"Yes sir."
"Where is that?"
"I have no idea."
"Okay, and do you remember how you got here?"
"Well, I remember sitting underneath Daddy's favorite tree in the garden and he gave me this ring." I held up the ring hanging around my neck. "Then we hugged and then I woke up in the hospital."
"I see. What was your Daddy's name again?"
"Pure Heart. Though I guess he was called Zach here." I took a sip of the sweet, red stuff they called Kool-Aid.
"Okay."
"Do you know Twilight Sparkle?" Juliet, Kit's oldest daughter, asked.
"Yes, I know her. She is my auntie, after all."
"Julie, how do you know about his aunt?" Kit asked.
"Silly Mommy, he is talking about My Little Pony."
"My Little Pony?" I asked.
"It's a TV show. Me and Marcy watch it all the time."
"TV? What is this TV?"
"Oh yeah, I guess they don't have TV in Equestria. Mommy, can we be excused?" Julia asked.
"Sure honey. Daddy and I have to talk anyways."
"Alright, come on Nightshade. Me and Marcy will introduce you to the wonderful world of cartoons." I jumped down from my chair and turned back to Kit. "Thank you for the wonderful meal."
"You are quite welcome."
I smiled at her and then followed Julie and Marcy into another room.
Luna's POV
"Wakey wakey." I heard someone say. "Wake up, princess."
I fluttered open my eyes and saw a red figure come into focus.
"Pure Heart?" I reached forward but immediately found that I could barely move.
"Don't try moving. It wouldn't help, seeing that you are chained to the wall."
"Chained to the wall?" I looked at my restraints and saw that I was indeed chained to a wall. I looked back at the figure in front of me. He was sitting on the ground, just staring at me with a smirk. "Pure Heart? What is going on? Why am I in chains? Why aren't you?"
"Calm yourself, my sweet flower." He said. "You have been knocked out for a couple of days now. I guess the pain of losing your horn, and all your magic with it, was too much to bear." He pulled out a small box and tapped it on the ground with his magic. "Excuse me for a second." He opened it and took a slim stick out of the box. Sticking it in his mouth, he held up his hoof and a flame shot out, burning the end of the stick.
"Pure Heart! Are you smoking?!"
"Yes, I am." He took the cigarette out of his mouth and blew smoke in my face. "You like it?"
I coughed. "Like it?! Put that thing out this instant! While you're at it, get me down from here!"
He stuck the cigarette back in his mouth. "Heh. No can do, Luna. You see, prisoners aren't allowed to go free."
"Prisoners? I am no prisoner."
"That's where you are wrong, my dear." He took the cigarette and put it out. "You are my prisoner."
"No, I am your wife!" I said, starting to cry.
"Hey now. No need for crying. Pure Heart wouldn't want to see that."
I stopped for a moment. "What do you mean Pure Heart wouldn't want to see that?"
"See for yourself." He looked directly at me.
I gasped. "Your eyes. They are purple."
"Yes ma'am."
"Does that mean you are... Ark?"
"Wrong again. Try looking a bit closer." He turned and showed off his pitch black mane and tail. As well as his hair, his cutie mark had changed. It was now a black heart surrounded by seven symbols.
"Okay, I am completely lost."
"Well then, let me spell it out for you." He stomped his hoof and a chalkboard appeared out of thin air.
"How did you do that?"
"You'd be amazed at what you can do with the powers of chaos." He pulled out a pointer and tapped the board. "Now pay attention." He pointed to a picture of a mortar and pestle. "After taking your horn, Flash Fire took pieces of everyone else's horns and ground them to dust. He then added Discord's and Sombra's horns and ground them and saturated it all with his own blood."
He tapped a picture of Flash Fire in front of Pure Heart with the bowl. "Flash Fire then poured the magical liquid down Pure Heart's throat and he and Ark got into a confrontation in his mind."
He finally pointed to a picture of himself. "Ark and Pure Heart eventually joined minds and I was born." He retracted the pointer and turned back to me. "And that is how Equestria was made."
"What?"
"Oh sorry. Wrong ending. That is how we got here."
"So you aren't Pure Heart or Ark?" I asked.
"Yes and no. I am my own pony, free to do whatever I want. But I also have the knowledge of those two. Their souls are gone. Not in another plane of existence. Just gone. Eradicated, if you will."
"So who are you then?"
"Well, that is the problem." He said, stomping his hoof, causing the chalkboard to disappear. "I have been unable to think of a name for myself. My minions have merely called me boss."
"So my husband is really gone forever?" I began to cry again.
"Yes, he is gone. You and he were the only ones that knew the magic to separate me. But he is gone and you no longer possess the ability to conjure spells."
I began to sob harder.
"Hey now, I do have all the memories of the times you and he had together. So I will tell you what. Give in to the darkness that remains in your heart, and I may consider making you my mistress."
"Go to hell, you black-hearted fiend!" I spat.
"Say, that gives me an idea for a name. Your husband was called Pure Heart. I now have his body but with the evil of Ark in my system. So I think I will be called Black Heart. Yes, it has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
I remained quiet except for the sobs that came.
"Well, I really should be going." He said, causing a time piece to appear on his wrist. "But I do have errands to run. You know, havoc to wreak, ponies to kill, fun stuff like that. It was nice talking to you and all, but you are really harshing my mellow." He began to walk out the door.
"Wait!"
He stopped and turned his head. "What is it now?"
"At least tell me my son is okay."
His expression softened. "Don't worry, he is in very capable hands." He then walked out the door and shut it, leaving me alone in the dark cell. The only sound being the tear drops hitting the stone floor as I continued to quietly weep.
Black Heart's POV
"Well that took longer than I expected." I yawned as I walked out of the dungeon. As a wendigo guard closed the door, I was greeted by Flash Fire.
"Sir, now that you have spoken to her, what is our next step?" He asked.
"First off, I have decided on my name. I am to be addressed as Black Heart."
"Very good, si- I mean Black Heart."
"Good. Let's walk and talk." We began to walk down the corridor. "Next, we must destroy the tools of those who would seek to destroy me."
"What tools, your lordship?"
"Lordship. I like that. Anyways, think about it. Who are the ones that always seem to get some kind of praise for defeating villains?"
"The Elements of Harmony."
"Bingo. You know, you aren't as stupid as Ark thought you were."
"Thank you." He said with a puzzled look.
"Yes, the Elements of Harmony. Those goody-goodies have had it easy for too long. It is time we take what they hold so precious. Their artifacts."
"And without them, no one will be able to stop us."
"Exactly. Now prepare a squadron of wendigos. We strike now."
"Now?"
"Right now. They won't be expecting it if we do it right now."
"Alright, you are the boss." Flash Fire saluted and ran off to prepare.
"Excellent." I said, rubbing my hooves together. "Soon, the world will be mine."
Celestia's POV
"Where could they be?" I said aloud as I paced the throne room.
"I'm sure they are alright. You know how Pure Heart is. He probably got stuck helping some village or something." Death consoled.
"But they went just to negotiate the release of their son. No, I have a very bad feeling about this."
"And so you should." Somepony said.
I turned to find somepony standing in the shadows of the door.
"Who are you and how did you get past my guards?" I asked.
"You really, think they could stand against one of my underlings." I saw a small orange light flicker and then heard a deep breath.
"Underlings? What underlings?"
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry." He stomped his hoof and two wendigos appeared with blood dripping from their mouths and claws. "Hope you don't mind, but I thought they could use a little snack." He kicked a bloody helmet across the floor, stopping at my hooves.
"Ark!" I yelled.
"Wrong!" He stepped out of the shadows, and who I saw I couldn't believe.
"Pure Heart?" Death asked.
"Man, I hate it when ponies confuse me with those losers. No. My name is Black Heart. I am Pure Heart and Ark fused together." He took a few steps forward. "Nice digs. You know, once I conquer Equestria, I just might make this my castle. Sure there will be some major alterations that need to be made, but it is better than that hole those changelings call home."
"I don't understand. How did this happen?"
"Easy. Thanks to the help of Flash Fire, I was made by taking the magic of the sinful ones. As you can see by the symbols on my flank." He pointed to his cutie mark.
"Sinful ones?"
"Yes. You see each symbol is one of the seven deadly sins. Discord, sloth. Sombra, greed. Chrysalis, lust. Kron, pride. Bullet Blaster, gluttony. Red Rum, wrath. And finally, Luna, envy."
"Luna would never help you!" I yelled.
"She didn't. Flash Fire simply took her magic by cutting off her horn."
"You fiend!" Death yelled, charging at him.
"So naïve." Black Heart smirked as he swatted his hoof to the side, causing Death to go flying into the wall. "Chill out." He stomped his hoof and dark crystals enveloped Death. "You see, princess, I have the abilities of all those who gave me their magic. I can summon Sombra's dark crystals for instance." He nodded towards the spot that Death was.
"Okay, I will admit that you are powerful, Black Heart. But you cannot win. The Elements of Harmony will destroy you."
He laughed. "See, that is where you are wrong." He stomped his hoof again, and a cage and a box rose from the ground. "For you see, I have already defeated them." He gestured to the cage and I gasped. There, lying on the floor, were the bruised bodies of Twilight and her friends. Luckily, they were still breathing.
"I have collected their precious artifacts as well. And I have to say, their power is intriguing." He opened the box lid and sure enough, he had all the elements. "But since I am such a good sport, I will let you keep this worthless bunch of girls." He closed the box and it and the cage sunk back into the ground, leaving behind the girls.
"Alright, you got what you came for. Just leave."
"Oh, so soon. Fine, I can tell when I'm not wanted. Kind of like your sister, huh?"
"You bastard! What have you done with her?!"
"Uh-oh. Someone said a worty dird. So unbefitting for a princess. As for your question, she is fine and so is her son, in case you were wondering."
"You mean you are the one who kidnapped Nightshade?!"
"Not me, that would have been my lesser halves."
"Pure Heart? He kidnapped his own son?"
"Yes and no. He was being controlled by Ark at the time and so had no memory of the event."
"And what-"
"Silence. No more questions. I have a few more pieces of business to attend to while I am here. But first, an offer."
"I doubt I will like it, but continue."
"You work for me, and I will spare your life. Your husband, however, will remain encased in the crystal."
"I would rather die than help you."
"Suit yourself. Though I will spare you for a while longer." He turned away. "Have fun trying to get your husband out. It may seem like ordinary crystal, but it is in fact riddled with magic wards. It will take even you, a master of magic, days or even weeks to get him out."
He sneered at me and then walked towards the door. "One more thing." He stopped in front of the Elements of Harmony. "I sense a strong force in this one's womb." He said, gesturing to Twilight Sparkle. "Can't have anyone threatening my reign, now can we?"
"What are you... No."
"Yes." He grinned psychotically. He rose up his hoof and with a swift motion, kicked Twilight in the stomach.
"NO!" I screamed, collapsing to the ground in sorrow.
He put his horn down to her stomach and it glowed. "Yes. The life she harbored inside her is gone." He gave off a horrid cackle.
"You monster."
"Don't I know it." He then left with his wendigos in tow.
I looked at Death and sighed. "This is terrible. I must alert Princess Cadence." I walked up to my frozen husband and placed a hoof on his prison. "I will be back to get you out in a little bit." I then trotted over to the wounded six mares.
"I better get them to the hospital first." Since Black Heart had killed my guards, I carried them there myself.
Black Heart's POV
My wendigos and I walked down several corridors in the castle. We approached many servants who just ran away and the guards we saw tried to stop us, but they were no match for the wendigos, who devoured each guard.
Finally, we approached the room I was searching for. "You two stand out here. I don't want you scaring them. Leave the servants alone, but any guards that try to attack, you may do what you wish." They gave off growls and I opened the door and walked in.
"Daddy!" Moonbeam and Starfire yelled as they ran to me.
"Stop!" I said, holding up my hoof. They stopped inches from me. "Stay." I saw Vapor Sky and Cloudlight staring at me.
"Hi Pure Heart. Where have you been? Everypony has been worried about you." Cloudlight said.
"First of all, my name is not 'Pure Heart'. It is Black Heart. I will not explain the details, you can get them from your precious Celestia. I believe she is at the hospital." I said with a smirk.
"Black Heart? But-" She began to say as she got closer, but then she gasped. "Your eyes."
"Yes. Now if you don't mind, I have a suggestion for you. Take these children far away. I may not love them, but there is still a bit of compassion for them in my blackened heart."
I knelt down to the kids. "Hello children."
"Daddy, you don't love us anymore?" Moonbeam said with tears in her eyes.
"That is untrue. Your daddy loved you more than anything. That is why he wouldn't want you around for when things get icky. He wants you to be safe."
Both of them were crying now. "Daddy, can't we come with you?"
"I'm sorry, but no. It is too dangerous. Just know that Mommy and Daddy love you with all their hearts. And that will never change." I gave them each a pat on the head.
"We love you Daddy." They both said in tears.
"He loved you too." I looked up at a stunned Vapor Sky and Cloudlight. "Like I said, take them far away. As soon as I leave, get everything you need together and then tell Celestia where you are going. I won't be so merciful next time."
I turned towards the door and began to walk. Vapor Sky ran in front of me. "Pure Heart!" I stopped and looked at her tear stained face. "Please."
I sighed. "Your pleas fall on deaf ears." I pushed her out of the way and walked out the door.
After closing the door, I looked to the sides and saw a pile of helmets and armor in front of each wendigo. "Alright you two, let's get out of here."
"What happened? Where is she?" I yelled as I ran into the hospital.
The nurse pointed to the ICU and I ran in to see what state my beloved was in. She was bandaged up, but not in casts, so I guess she was in better condition than I thought.
I looked down the row of beds and saw the other five in about the same condition. Their lovers were by their bedsides as well.
I walked over to Twilight and sat down next to her. I took her hoof and squeezed it. She stirred and looked at me with her good eye, the left one being swollen over.
"Hey darling, how are you?" I said softly.
"Really banged up, but other wise, fine."
"Do you remember what happened?"
"Let me think. The girls and I were just talking in our room, you know, catching up. Suddenly, the doors flew open and all the candles went out. We heard a laugh that was harsh and unforgiving."
"Hi ya, spooky and mysterious voice in the dark." Pinkie Pie said.
"Silence!" The voice said. "I wanted you six to be the first to know my terrifying power."
The lights came on, and there was nopony else in the room but us six.
"Boo."
"Eep!" Fluttershy screamed and jumped to the ceiling.
"Oh man, that was priceless." Said a figure that was taking shape behind where Fluttershy was sitting.
"Hey, that wasn't very nice!" Pinkie Pie said.
"No, I suppose it wasn't. But you know what? I'm not a very nice pony." Said the fully formed figure. It was still completely covered in shadow, but it slowly dissipated from its hooves up.
"Just who do you think you are, scaring Fluttershy like that?" Rarity said.
"Well, I guess you could say I am Discord. Looking for a cheap laugh." The figure turned into Discord, yellow eyes and all.
"Or I could be Chrysallis or Kron, after the love that you have for each other." It changed form again, but this time in quick succession from the changeling queen to her husband.
"I could be any of one of your enemies." It flashed through a few more forms including Red Rum and Nightmare Moon.
"Stop your fancy pants showmanship and tell us who ya really are." Applejack demanded.
"Ah, you are no fun." He stomped his hoof. His visage changed from that of King Sombra to that of somepony we all thought we knew and loved.
"Pure Heart!" We all shouted.
"Wrong!" He lifted his head and stared at us with purple eyes.
"It's Ark! He's taken over Pure Heart's body!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"Once again, you are wrong." He reared up on his hind legs and brought his front hooves down with such force, all the glass in the room shattered. "My name is Black Heart! I was once that pitiful excuse of a pony, Pure Heart. But Ark combined his mind with his and I am the product of that."
"What do you want?" I asked.
"Easy, world domination. If not that, then to destroy the world." He laughed.
"Not if we have anything to say about it." I said. I began to call upon my energy and the girls all surrounded me. Our elements then began to glow. "Oh dear, if only I had seen that coming." He vanished, and within an instant, he was in front of me. "Take this." He took his hoof and hit me on the side of the head, causing me to fall to the floor in a daze. "I bet that had to hurt." He laughed and turned to the others. "Now for the rest of you."
"You big bully!" Fluttershy said. She came charging at him.
"Freeze!" He yelled. She stopped in place, inches away from him. He walked around her and held up a lock of her hair. "My, my. Such a delicate flower, yet when threatened, shows her prickly thorns." He then stood up on his hind legs and held his front left leg above her. "Have a taste of concrete." He took his elbow and slammed it into her back, causing her to gasp as she slammed into the ground.
"You jerk!" Rainbow Dash said, hurtling at him.
"We'll teach you a lesson!" Applejack yelled as she got up in front of him. She turned around and attempted to buck him, but he sidestepped her and kicked her in the stomach. He then ducked under Rainbow and grabbed her tail in his mouth. He gave her a sharp yank and she fell on top of Applejack.
He then jumped into the air and came close to crashing down onto them. But he was caught in a levitation spell.
"You brute! You need to learn to behave yourself." Rarity sent him flying towards a wall with the spell that she cast, but he broke free of it and landed against the wall with his back hooves and pushed himself off it towards Rarity.
"And you need to learn a few new spells." He hit her with his front right hoof as he passed her.
She spun around and then fell. He turned and saw Pinkie Pie in front of him with her party cannon.
"Take this you big meanie!" She pulled the cord and a large amount of confetti flew out.
"Oh please." He started to spin and the confetti was sent flying away from him. He continued his spin straight towards Pinkie Pie and plowed right into her, sending her into a wall.
He touched down in the middle of the room, my friends bodies all around him.
"Whew, what a workout!" He said, jumping from side to side on his back legs, punching at the air. "Is that it? Are you girls all ready finished?" He said as he walked over to me. "Pitiful. Downright pitiful. No wonder Pure Heart hated you all. You are all a bunch of worthless nobodies who just happened to come across a few powerful artifacts. You thought since you had these wonderful Elements of Harmony, that you were unstoppable. Well I have news for you, you are pushovers."
He stopped in front of me. "And to think, you were destined for great things. Let me tell you honey." He got up next to my ear. "You are nothing but garbage."
"You leave her alone!" Rainbow Dash yelled, slowly standing up.
"She is not just another pony, she is our friend." Fluttershy said, picking herself up.
"You can't come in here and tell us that we're nobodies." Applejack spat as she dusted herself off.
"Indeed. You are the one that is garbage." Rarity uttered as she unsteadily got back up.
"And only a meanie-head would kick somepony while they are down." Pinkie Pie stated as she pulled herself out of the crater in the wall.
"I swear, if you spout anything about love or friendship being more powerful than me, I will gag."
"But it is, Black Heart." I said as I slowly stood up. "And deep down, you know it is true. I know somewhere inside of you, Pure Heart is trying to get out. And he will." We all surrounded him. I focused my magic once again and our elements began to glow.
"Oh, but you couldn't be more wrong. For his soul is gone!"
Our elements shot out beams of light and he was bathed in a rainbow of colors. The pillar of light erupted up to the ceiling like a column of fire and covered everything with colors.
The light then subsided and we all fell to the ground, exhausted. The spot where he stood was empty except for a wisp of smoke that lazily rose up to the ceiling.
I took deep breaths. "We did it girls. We beat him."
"Did you really think I would be stupid enough to stand there while you fired your rainbow laser at me?" Said a voice next to me. I turned my head, only to see a hoof come crashing down in my face. "Good night, Twilight."
"After that, I blacked out and woke up here in the hospital." She said.
"Well, as long as you are alright, that's all that matters." I said.
"There is one more thing." She said, tears filling her eyes. "When I woke up, Princess Celestia was here. She said that he came to her afterward and froze Prince Death in crystal. She is currently trying to get him out with the help of Cadence and my brother."
"Alright, but why are you crying?" I asked.
She began to cry even harder. "She wasn't able to check, so the doctors are running some tests."
"Running tests for what?" I started to get more frantic.
"He might have made me have a... A miscarriage." Her eyes burst into heavy streams of tears as she wrapped her hooves around me.
I didn't know what to say. I simply wrapped my hooves around her and cried along with her. "Twilight, I swear to you. He will not go unpunished. Whether he is Pure Heart or not, I will not rest until he has been brought to justice."
"I can help with that." Said a voice behind me.
I turned around. "Who are you?"
"A friend."
Luna's POV
"Oh Luna! I'm home!" Black Heart said as he entered my cell.
"Get out." I uttered weakly.
"Ah, that's not a very nice thing to say to your husband." He came up close and kissed me on the cheek.
"You are not my husband. My husband was a kind, gentle, and loving pony. You are an evil, uncaring maniac. As far as I am concerned, you killed my husband."
"Oh, but that is so untrue. Why, just today, I visited your girls. They were so happy to see their daddy."
"If you have hurt them at all, I swear I will-"
"Calm yourself. I merely stopped by to tell Vapor Sky and Cloudlight that they should take them away to somewhere that they would be out of harm's way."
"They wouldn't have to if you weren't going to destroy everything."
"True. I will give you that. But at least I let them get away with their lives. Would you rather that I had ended their sorrowful existence right then?"
"No!"
He smirked. "That's what I thought." He made a table appear in front of him with a teapot and cups. "Would you like some tea? It's camomile."
I flapped my wings and caused his teapot to fall onto his lap. "Hot! Oh, that's hot." He jumped up and wiped away the tea on his legs. He then grabbed me by the snout. "You are lucky that I heal fast and that I don't actually like tea." He shoved my head away and turned towards the door. "Luna. Why must you fight it? You will be so much happier once you give into the darkness and join me as my queen."
"My heart was once consumed by darkness, and because of it, I was banished. I was imprisoned in the moon for a thousand years, and every second of it was agony. Now, I feel more pain than I have ever before felt. Pain that I will never see my sister again. Pain that my children will grow up without their loving parents. And worst of all, pain that my husband is gone forever and I never even got to tell him that I loved him one more time. I know pain, Black Heart. But you know what? I would rather feel the most excruciating anguish, than ever love someone who kills the innocent for fun. I can at least take solace that my children will be raised in the hooves of ponies that I trust and that my sister has a loving husband to keep her company. What do you have?"
"Why power of course!" He laughed. "I don't need pathetic love or friendship." He turned to me. "I am essentially a god! I can have whatever I want! And no one can stop me!"
"Someone will stop you. And when they do, I will be there to watch you suffer and die."
"Keep dreaming, sweet cheeks." He waved as he walked out of the cell.
"You'll see. Someone will take you down."
Eclipse's POV
"A friend?" I asked.
"Yes. You see, we share a common enemy."
"My only enemy is Pure Heart." I growled.
"No, your enemy is Black Heart. Pure Heart is your friend. He was your first friend here, wasn't he?"
My expression softened. "How did you know that?"
"I know a lot. For instance, I know that you would very much like to have revenge against Black Heart. But I also know that if you were to charge in now, it would end in disaster."
I took a moment to study this pony. He stood at about my height and but any other details about him were hidden underneath a grey cloak.
"Please, let us talk somewhere else. Gather your friends as well." He began to turn, but then stopped. "Oh, silly me, I forgot one of the reasons I came here." He walked up next to me and seemed to rummage around under his cloak. Then he extended a leg that was covered in a blue metal that held a vial with an orange liquid in it. "Please, open your wife's mouth."
I looked at him. "Why?"
"It's for her own good, trust me." He pulled out the cork with his teeth.
I looked at Twilight and sighed. "If this hurts her in anyway-"
"It won't, I promise."
I slowly opened her mouth and he lifted the vial to her and poured the contents down her throat.
"There, she and her baby will be right as rain." He plugged up the vial and placed it back in his cloak.
"What did you give her?"
"It was an herbal remedy that my friend Zekal made for her."
"How did you know that she needed it?"
"I had a hunch." He said, shrugging his shoulders. "Now grab your friends and follow me."
I looked at him once more and then turned towards Twilight. "I'll be back in a little while. You get some rest." I kissed her on the forehead and gathered the stallions of the other mares.
Nightshade's POV
"Grandma!" Juliet and Marcy both screamed as they ran up to the older woman.
"Julie! Marcy! Give Grandma a hug!" She said, extending her arms towards them to receive hugs. "I love you kids so much." She kissed them on the foreheads.
"Hey Mom." Kit said as she hugged her mother.
"Hello dear. How are you?"
"Oh, you know, bills, cleaning the house. Motherhood."
"Imagine doing that for 30 years." Her mom said.
"Yeah. You still got it though." Kit laughed. "Oh, Mom. I want you to meet someone." She gestured to me and I stepped out of the magic moving carriage, or a car as Kit called it, and walked over to the women. "Mom, I'd like to introduce Nightshade. He is the one I have been telling you about over the phone."
"Oh yes. Very nice to meet you, Nightshade. Kit has told me all about you."
"Very nice to meet you too, Kit's mom." I said, shaking her hand.
"Oh, please. As far as I'm concerned, you're family. Call me Grandma."
"Okay, Grandma."
"Oh, he is so cute. He reminds me of your brother, when he was that age." Grandma said, pulling me into a hug.
"Grandma, I can't breathe." I said, squirming in her grip.
"Oops, sorry dear." She let go of me.
"Come on, Nightshade! Let's go see what my uncles are doing!" Julie said, grabbing me by the hand and pulling me inside.
"It was very nice to meet you." I said as I was dragged away.
"Have fun. Dinner is in twenty minutes." Grandma said as I was pulled downstairs.
"Hi Jack! Hi Bekkah!" Julie said as we walked into a large room with a few couches and two TVs. Jack was waving around a stick in front of one while Bekkah was watching the other.
"Jack! They're here." Bekkah said, throwing a ball at him.
"Huh? What?" He said, taking off some large pads from his head. "Oh! Julie and Marcy! What's up?" He said, pushing a button on the stick, causing the image on the TV to stop.
"Not much. Wanted you to meet our friend, Nightshade." Julie said.
Jack walked up to me and shook my hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Jack and that's Bekkah. Say, do I know you from somewhere?" He asked.
"I don't think so."
"I think I do. Hey Bekkah. Does he look familiar?"
She looked at me for a moment. "Nope, I have never seen him before." She then turned back to her TV show.
"Huh. Oh well."
"How do you guys do that?" I asked.
"Do what?"
"Freeze the picture on the TV." I pointed to the TV.
"You press 'pause'." He said, pointing at the device.
"Interesting. And why were you waving around that stick?"
"This? It's not a stick. It's a Wii remote. There are motion sensors in it that tell the game where you are pointing the remote. Watch." He unpaused his game and pointed the remote up and the character on the screen pointed the sword it held up as well.
"That is incredible! I need to learn that kind of magic." I said excitedly.
"Magic? It's not magic, it's technology." He said.
"Amazing. You humans. You never cease to amaze me."
"Humans?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Nightshade is from Equestria." Julie said.
"Equestria? Please. He's lying." Jack said.
"I am not. I really am." I defended.
"If you are from Equestria, why aren't you a pony?"
"I am, I just changed form when I came here, I guess."
"Whatever. You can believe what you want." He turned back to his game.
Suddenly, a bell rang. "Dinner!" Everyone yelled. They ran out of the room and up the stairs and I followed.
"That was a fantastic dinner, Grandma." Julie said.
"Thank you. I worked hard for it." She laughed.
"May I be excused?" I asked.
"Of course Nightshade. Take your plate to the sink, please." Grandpa said.
"Okay." I picked up my plate and carried it over to the sink. I then walked out to the family room and looked around. There were several neat items on shelves as well as another TV and three more couches.
As I looked, I noticed something. "Grandma? Who are these people?" I asked, pointing to some framed photos on the wall.
"Oh, those are my children."
"Wow, you have a lot of kids." I then saw that one of them had one less person than another. "Why does this one have only seven, while this one has eight?"
"Well, that's because one of my children died a while back."
"Which one?"
She sighed and crossed the room. "This one." She said, pointing to a young man.
I scratched my head. "Grandma, why is my Daddy in the picture?"
"Your what?"
"My Daddy. That's him, isn't it?" I pointed to the same young man she did before.
"Nightshade, are you saying that Zach is your father?" She asked.
"He did say that his name was Zach when he lived here. And that looks just like he did when he was a human for a while."
"Nightshade, please don't mess with me about this." She said.
"It's the truth! That is my Daddy!" I got so flustered that my necklace came untucked from my shirt.
"What's that?" She asked, pointing to the ring.
"This is the ring that my Daddy gave me."
"May I see it?"
I took the chain off from around my neck and handed it to her.
She inspected the ring. "Dan, this is my dad's ring!"
"No way. That's not possible. We buried it with Zach."
"I'm sure of it. This is Rick's ring!"
"What does that mean?" I asked.
She turned to me and pulled me into a giant hug. "It means you really are my grandson!"
"Now hold on, we should get a paternity test done before we get our hopes up." Grandpa said.
"You're right. Let's do it now!" She said.
"It's Sunday night. We can't go out right now. Besides, the clinic isn't open."
"Okay. But still, think about it! Our Zach had a son. Oh my gosh. How could he have had a son and not told us?"
"Grandma, I can't breathe." I choked out.
She let go of me. "Sorry Nightshade. I just can't believe this. It's a miracle." She began to cry.
"Grandma, why are you crying? Did I do something wrong?"
"No, no. These are tears of joy. I am just so happy. This means that your Daddy might be alive."
"Well of course he is alive. He is immortal."
"He is what?"
"Immortal. You mean you aren't?"
"No one is. We do know that we will be with our family forever."
"So will I. I'm also immortal. It's a common thing for alicorns."
"Alicorns?"
Eclipse's POV
"Thank you all for meeting me here." The pony in the cloak said.
Corrosive Dash slammed a hoof on the table. "Cut the crap and tell us what you know or so help me I-"
"Calm down, Corry." Tempest Storm said, placing a hoof on his shoulder. "I am as worried about Rarity as much as you are about Applejack. But beating the stuffing out of somepony won't do any good."
Corry took a deep breath. "You're right. Sorry."
"No problem. I know you all want answers. And I will supply them. Eclipse, Twilight explained exactly what happened to them, correct?" The cloaked one said.
"Yes, and I already told them what she said." I pointed to the other stallions.
"Good. Now, you are all probably wondering who I am." He said.
"Yes, actually. I was wondering who the hey you was." Vinnie said, taking a toothpick out and placing it in his mouth.
"So am I." Dawn added.
"Well, unfortunately, I cannot reveal myself to you all. All you need to know is that I was specially trained for this fight for over twenty years."
"Twenty years? This all happened recently. How could you possibly have known about this all?" I asked.
"Well its obvious, isn't it? He is from the future!" Tempest Storm said.
"You are correct. I was sent here to make sure that Black Heart does not grow to his full potential." The pony said.
"But what is your name?" Corry asked.
"I cannot tell you my real name, for it would alter time if I did. Though, for all intents and purposes, you may call me Daylight."
Dawn snickered.
"What?"
"Just Daylight?"
"Yes. Daylight. Get over it." Daylight said.
"Alright, Daylight, tell us why you want to help us." Vinnie said.
"Black Heart destroys the future of Equestria. He brings war, famine, pestilence and death in his rule."
"That's terrible!" Tempest said.
"Indeed."
"Alright, but why did you personally come back to the past?" I asked.
"...He killed my father."
Silence took over the room for a moment.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's kick some ass!" Corry exclaimed.
"Yeah!" The rest of us said.
"Wait a moment. What is your plan? Just walk into the hive and say hello. No, you'll get slaughtered. We need to plan this out."
"Well you're the chrononaut, shouldn't you already have a plan?" Tempest said.
"Heh. You'd think. But I unfortunately never had time to develop one."
"I have one, though you all may not like it." Said a voice from behind.
I turned and saw ShadowBane coming out of the wall from the shadows. "ShadowBane. Why do you want to help?"
"Because he hurt Fluttershy. I don't care about a lot of things, but she is one of the few ponies that I actually like. And when he touched her, he crossed a line."
"Wow. I don't think I have ever seen you this pissed before." Corry said.
"I don't think I have ever seen him mad before." Dawn added.
"He hasn't. And I love it! Use that rage man!" Maim encouraged.
"You really know how to get us in?" I asked.
"Duh. Who do you think got the royal blunders in there in the first place?" Maim said.
"You mean you were the one who is responsible for all this?!" Corry yelled, jumping towards ShadowBane.
Before he got to ShadowBane, however, Corrosive Dash was stopped in midair.
"Who stopped me? I swear, I will tear out someone's lungs if someone doesn't fess up."
We all looked around and it didn't look like anyone was doing it.
"You leave him alone." Someone said from outside the room.
"Kat Scratch?" Tempest said.
Kat Scratch walked into the room. "That's right, me. And you better watch it buddy, or I will turn you into a kitten." She said, pointing to Corry. "ShadowBane is offering his help and you want to hurt him? For shame. What would Applejack say?"
Corry snorted smoke. "Fine. Can you let me go?"
Kat released her magic and Corry fell to the ground. "Say you're sorry."
Corry grumbled and turned to ShadowBane. "Sorry."
"No problem. I understand why you are upset. I actually feel horrid that I was the one who lead them in to the hive. And after Fluttershy got hurt, I knew I had to do something."
"Awesome. Now we actually have a way in. Let's discuss the rest of the plan." Daylight said.
"Before you do that, Fluttershy woke up a little earlier. She asked me if I could find Bubbles." Kat said.
"Bubbles? The lizard?" Dawn asked.
"He is an iguana, and yes. She said that she had been watching him for Pure Heart. She was holding him when Black Heart attacked them. When she looked back down, he was gone."
"I am sure he just went hid under a bed or something. He will turn up." I said.
"Okay, well I am going to go back to the room to try to find him. If anypony sees him, tell me." Kat turned and walked out of the room.
"Why the heck is she here anyway?" Corry seethed.
"I asked her if she could watch the girls while we were gone." ShadowBane said.
"Pfft. Whatever. Let's get back to planning this attack before I get impatient."
"Too late for that." Dawn whispered to me.
"I heard that."
Luna's POV
"Good morning starshine. The Earth says hello!" Black Heart snickered as he entered my cell.
"Oh joy. Look who decided to grace me with his presence." I sighed.
"Now, now. No need for sarcasm, my dear. I merely came in to talk." He summoned a cushion and sat down. "Yesterday, I kind of exploded at you, and for that, I'm sorry. After I left, I remembered that I forgot to tell you some great news."
"Well, judging by your peppy demeanor, I'd say you squashed a box of puppies." I said rolling my eyes.
"Nope, even better." He grinned.
"What could possibly be better than killing adorable puppies?" I spat.
"I killed your niece's baby!" He shouted, standing up on his hind legs and giving jazz hooves.
"You what?! How could you do that to Cadence?"
"Cadence is pregnant?! Holy crap! I had no idea. I should get her a present for her baby shower. Oh, I wonder if I even have time for such a thing." He sat back down and tapped his hooves together three times. A small black book appeared in midair. He opened it as he put on a small pair of glasses. "Let's see." He licked his hoof and began to flip through the pages. "Squash some puppies. Squash some kittens. Squash some puppies and kittens. Man, my week is pretty shot."
"Wait, wait, wait. You didn't know about Cadence being pregnant. I told you... I mean Pure Heart about it months ago."
"Hah! You think he actually listened to you? Didn't you ever notice how he just seemed to nod his head and say 'Ah-huh'?"
"Well, no but-"
"Oh my gosh! He thought you were stupid, but this is ridiculous!" He said, falling backwards and laughing on the floor.
I frowned. "No. You're wrong. He would never think things like that. He loved me."
He started to laugh harder. "Loved you?! That is freaking hilarious!" He kept on laughing for five more minutes before he settled down and sat back up. "Ahhh... Too funny." He wiped a tear from his eye. "You really think anyone could love you? Please. You're Nightmare Moon for goodness sakes. Everyone is terrified of you. Everyone is afraid that if they make one wrong move, then you will send them to the sun or the moon or something."
I was speechless.
"In fact, the only reason you were kept around was because Celestia started getting lazy. When you were turned back into Luna, she let you hang around so she wouldn't have to raise the moon every night anymore. And the stars, don't even get me started."
"But... But Pure Heart... He loved me. He told me so everyday. He told me that when he had first seen me, that his heart reached out for me and he has loved me ever since."
"You were desperate, weren't you? You couldn't even see how Ark had been pulling the strings from the very beginning. Who do you think caused that fog bank to roll in when 'Zach' was driving down the freeway, hmm? Who do you think was the one who whipped up a portal for him to come to Equestria, hmm? Who do you think caused his car to catch on fire, HMM?! Who do you think-"
"ENOUGH!" I screamed, tears pouring down my face. "I get it. Ark was there the whole time. But Pure Heart loved me truly. I could feel it. I remember when his heart reached out to me that day, years ago. Even though he was from a different world, I felt love coming from somewhere far away."
"Once again, all the doing of Ark. Why do you think Zach came home early from his trial of manhood? Ark was there, causing him to become depressed. He was sent home because of his depression and his friends just happened to be into this TV show called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Ark knew that all this would happen. He planned it from the start. What Zach thought was love for you was actually Ark's lust for power."
"Stop it!"
"When Zach came to Equestria, it was no accident that you had feelings for him. Ark knew that you were lonely, and he used that to his advantage."
"Then how do you explain our wedding bands?! They can't be removed if the two ponies who wear them are truly in love!"
He shook his head. "Poor naïve girl. Did you ever even try to remove it?"
I paused for a moment. "No, I didn't. But that's because I loved him and cherished our love. I would never even think about removing our symbol of marriage."
"Exactly. His love was Ark's lust for power. He never really loved you. He took his wedding band off all the time. They weren't even made of real precious metal." He took the band off his ankle and crushed it into dust. "See, it was merely iron." He blew the dust all over me. "He never wanted any of this. You never even went out on a single date before you claimed you were engaged to him. But he went along with your ruse for self-preservation."
"That's not my fault! The nurse wouldn't let me see him if I wasn't related to him in some way."
"And why did you want to see him? It wasn't love, was it? It was curiosity. You wanted to see the freak show. The human trapped in a pony's body. Admit it!"
"NO! I did love him!" I yelled.
"Poor innocent child. You actually convinced yourself that you were in love with him. That sounds something like Stockholm's Syndrome. Only you were in control." He said with a smile.
"You're entirely wrong! Our love was true! How else would he have become an alicorn?!"
"The texts say nothing about love. Only pure of heart. And his heart wasn't even whole."
I was weeping near rivers of tears now. "Why are you doing this?! Why couldn't you have just left us alone?!"
"Because its fun!" He laughed.
"You bastard!" I screamed.
"Funny. Your sister said the same thing when I killed Twilight's baby."
"You killed her baby?!"
"Yes, that was the great news. Isn't it wonderful?"
"You monster!"
"Once again, spot on with what your sister said. Too bad she hates you. If you hadn't been born, then all of this would have never happened. Her husband wouldn't be trapped in crystal. She wouldn't have been stressed about having to raise the sun and moon everyday. She wouldn't be stressed at all actually. But she is, and you are to blame." He laughed maniacally.
"You're... right. It's all my fault. Everything is my fault." I whispered, the tears slowing to a mere trickle.
"Indeed it is. Now if you will excuse me, I have a world to conquer and then destroy." He laughed again and when he finished, he lit his horn and my shackles unlatched. He opened the cell door and walked out. I heard him start to talk to the guard stationed outside the door and I looked at him. He stared back. "Don't worry too much about her anymore. In fact, why don't you take a break?"
"But what about her?"
"Pfft. Just the lock the door. This wild mustang..." He paused for a moment and put on a pair of sunglasses. "Has been broken." He slammed the door shut and I heard him yell. "YYYEEEAAAHHHHHH!"
I heard him and the guard laugh as their hoof steps faded into the distance.
"It's all my fault. I can't believe I didn't see any of this. None of it, not even our love was real."
"You actually believe all of his malarkey." I heard someone say.
"Great, now I am hearing voices. What's next, talking animals?" Suddenly I felt something rub up against me. I flinched and looked down. "Bubbles?"
The iguana bobbed its head up and down.
"Oh, Bubbles!" I yelled. I picked up the lizard and hugged it and rubbed his head against my cheek. "I am so glad to see a friendly face. Wait." I pulled him away and held him out. "You are friendly, right? This isn't some kind of trap or something, is it?" I began to inspect him and then I set him down. I got up and began to inspect the room.
"Man, he really messed you up, didn't he?" I heard the voice say again.
I looked at the iguana. "Bubbles did you hear something?" I turned back around and searched the room some more.
"Man, he really messed you up, didn't he?" I heard the voice say again.
I looked at the iguana. "Bubbles did you hear something?" I turned back around and searched the room some more.
"No. But I said something."
I froze and turned around, staring right at Bubbles. "B-b-b-Bubbles?"
"Y-y-y-yes?" The iguana said.
"Ah! A talking lizard!" I yelled, backing up to the wall.
"Ah! A talking horse!" Bubbles said, standing on his hind legs and waving his front feet back and forth. "How does that feel? Not too good I bet."
I slumped down to the floor. "I must be dreaming. Yeah, that's it." I said closing my eyes and rubbing the side of my head. "This is all really a nightmare and I am going to wake up next to Pure Heart and everything will be fine. Right... now!"
I opened my eyes and Bubbles was still in front of me and I was still in the cell. "Nope, still here." He said.
I closed my eyes again. "Okay, try again." I opened my eyes and he was still there.
"Nope, try again. This time, try hitting your head against the wall. The shock might wake you up."
"Good idea." I closed my eyes and banged my head against the wall behind me. "Ouch!" I opened my eyes and he was gone. "It worked!"
Then Bubbles came running into my view again. "Sorry, I thought I saw a piece of lettuce in the corner. But it was just a leaf."
"Okay, one more time." I closed my eyes once more and banged my head against the wall again. "Ouch!" I rubbed the back of my head and opened my eyes, only to find Bubbles sitting on my left knee.
"Well, I would suggest doing it again because it was freaking hilarious watching you try to wake up, but you shouldn't. You might get a concussion."
I gently placed my head against the wall. "I guess I'm not asleep."
"Duh. Of course not. I thought you didn't dream anyways."
"I don't. At least, not horrid, terrible nightmares like this. I guess I really don't dream at all normally."
"Then I think that your imminent headache could have been avoided." Bubbles said, lifting his front right foot to gesture at the air.
"Give me a break. I've kind of had a stressful day."
"Okay, I will give you that."
"So, if I am not dreaming, then the only logical explanation is that the grief I have experienced today has driven me clinically insane."
"How do you figure?" He asked, placing his feet under his chin in an attentive pose.
"Well, for one thing, I am talking to a lizard."
"Iguana."
"Iguanas are lizards!"
"Point." He pointed a claw at me and put it back under his chin.
I sighed and began rubbing my temples. "I'm sorry, I guess I am really just upset about my whole marriage being a lie." I crossed my forelegs and placed them on my knees, lying my head down onto them. I began to quietly cry.
"Shh. Its okay." He said, climbing up to my shoulders and patting me on the head. "You have me."
"Great, I have the talking lizard created by a crazed delusion." I said sarcastically.
"Hey, you may be a bit scatter-brained right now, but I can assure you that I am one hundred percent real." He wrapped his tail around my shoulders and tickled my right ear.
"Quit it." I said, pushing his tail away.
"Nope." He started tickling my ear again.
"Your bugging me, stop." I swatted his tail away again.
"Not until you admit that I am real." He did it again.
"Fine, fine. You are real. Now can you please stop?"
"Okay, but first you have to show me your pretty smile." He said.
"No."
"Come on." He stuck his tail under my legs and tickled my nose while my face was still down.
"No. Leave me alone." I turned my head to the side so he couldn't reach my face.
"Please. I will give you a cookie."
I sighed. "Fine." I turned to him and quickly flashed a smile, then turned my head back.
"Uh uh. A real smile. Teeth and all."
"No. Now give me the cookie."
"Okay, I lied about the cookie. But it got you to do it the first time."
"I didn't want a cookie anyways." I said sadly.
"Hey, don't make me tickle you in your tickle spot." He threatened.
"I don't have a tickle spot."
"Oh yes you do. Pure Heart told me exactly where it was." He climbed down my back and went under my left wing.
"He didn't." I said.
"Yes he did." He began to lick me right under my wing joint.
I began to laugh. "Please, no. Stop. Ahh!" I fell over onto the floor from laughing so hard.
Then he suddenly stopped. I took deep breaths and then opened my eyes. He stood in front of me with a grin. "There we go. That's what I wanted to see."
I smiled. "Thanks."
"Hey, we're family. Cheering each other up is what we do." He said, wiping away stray tears from my face with his tail.
After I calmed down a bit, I laid down on the cold cell floor. "I'm still sad though."
"Yeah, finding out that your life is a lie tends to do that to you." He came over and laid down on my stomach. "That's okay though. We can get through this."
"I just don't understand. How could I not see any of this?"
"Love can blind us to what is really going on. That's what Pure Heart told me once."
"How can you trust in that? Pure Heart is a liar."
"Is he? I thought he was your husband."
"I thought so, too. But now, I'm just not sure. Black Heart said that he was just a puppet and I was coaxed into being one as well."
"Did you feel like a puppet?"
"No."
"What did you feel?"
I sniffled. "Love for him and my children."
"Exactly. You had children with him. Where are they now?"
"I don't know, but Black Heart assured me they were safe."
"Right, and did you believe that?"
"Yes. Something in his eyes told me he was telling the truth."
"So if Pure Heart didn't love you, Black Heart would have had no problem disposing of your children. But something held him back. Same with you. Why does he keep you alive if you have already served your purpose?"
"Because something is holding him back."
"Bingo."
"But what about all the other things he said? And did Pure Heart really love me?"
"I don't know. I wasn't around back when you two met. This is what I do know, however. I know that when we were all stuck in The Pit, he found you lying on the ground, badly hurt. Even though you were no longer the same species, he picked you up and took you in to our cave. I wasn't particularly thrilled at first, but he told me all about you. He told me that you two were married but that he had to keep his identity a secret. He patched you up and he waited by your side until you woke up. If that isn't love, I have no idea what is."
I was silent for a moment. "You really think he loved me?"
"Either that or he is a fantastic actor. And we both know that he sucks at acting."
I chuckled a little. "He is really bad, isn't he?"
"The worst." We both laughed lightly.
"Hey Bubbles."
"Hm?"
"How are you talking to me now?"
"You mean you never saw me talking to Pure Heart?"
"I saw you growl and make noises."
"Yeah, that was me talking to him. I can choose who to talk to."
"Why didn't you ever say anything to me before?"
"You never asked."
I sighed. "That makes some sense. But how did you find me?"
"Well, when Black Heart busted in, I knew that it was Pure Heart's body but that it wasn't Pure Heart anymore. I knew that he probably had you locked up somewhere, so I followed him here. And low and behold, I was right."
"But now that you have found me, what are you going to do? I can't use magic anymore and my wings are so stiff that I can't use them."
"Hmm. I have an idea." He got up and went to the barred window. "I'll be back. You just rest."
"Okay. And Bubbles, thanks."
Flash Fire's POV
"What up, party ponies?!" Black Heart said as he walked into the room.
"Sir, maybe you should focus on what you want to do next." I said.
"I will do whatever the hell I want!" He yelled. "And I want to go on with the next step of my plan."
"Very good. Let's hear it." Red Rum said.
"You ready for this. We do... Nothing."
"Nothing?! That sucks! I want to kill someone. I have haven't murdered in days." Bullet Blaster complained.
"I have to agree with the psycho on this one. We can't just sit around and do nothing. If we wait around, then they will mobilize their troops and attack us." Chrysalis said.
"Exactly." Black Heart said.
"Excuse me? You want them to attack us?" Kron said.
"Duh. It wouldn't be any fun if they were completely defenseless. Besides, what can they do, throw rocks at us? They are weak. We already crippled their main weapon. We have their Elements of Harmony. And what does that leave them with. Love? Friendship? You changelings may be susceptible to their barriers of love, but I feel nothing but sin."
"He's right. We have nothing to worry about." Kron said.
"But what about me? I want to feel the flow of blood trickle over my skin as I rip the head off an innocent." Bullet Blaster said.
"Whoa man, take it easy. That was kind of graphic. If you want, you can head over to Appleoosa and kill those hicks. They are anything but innocent." Black Heart said.
"Yay! Who wants to come with me? We might get to participate in an old fashion shoot out." Bullet Blaster asked.
"I might as well come. Anything is better than sitting around and waiting for who knows how long." Red Rum said.
"Alright, anyone else going?" Black Heart asked. No one spoke up. "Okay, have fun you two. Rip out a couple of hearts for me."
"Will do." Bullet Blaster saluted. He and Red Rum walked out of the room.
"Oh, I just remembered. There was something I wanted to do." Black Heart exited the room, and I followed.
"What did you have in mind, sir?"
"Oh, just a couple resurrections."
"Resurrections? Of who?"
"Oh, just two guys that probably would like to have a bit of fun."
Luna's POV
It had been hours since Bubbles had crawled out the window. It had given me time to think, though. I thought about my childhood. About all the times that Tia had been there to help me up when I fell. It then occurred to me that I had no idea what caused me to fall in the first place.
'Am I repressing bad memories? I couldn't be. I remember other times that things turned out for the worse, but none from my childhood.' I was thinking it over some more when Bubbles scurried back through window.
"Whoo! What a workout."
"Bubbles, your back!" I said, taking him in my forelegs.
"Hey, hey. You are going to squish me."
"Sorry."
"No problem. Now, you may want to stand away from the window."
"Why?"
"Well, let's just say that it won't be there much longer."
"What?" Just then, I heard a pounding on the wall. "What is that?"
"That would be the demolition team." Bubbles grinned. "Now stand back. It is gonna get messy real quick."
I walked over to the opposing wall as the pounding continued. A crack appeared in the wall, then it got bigger and bigger. Then the wall completely shattered. A large eye peered through the hole.
"Knock, knock. Someone call for a taxi."
"Princess Luna, I'd like you to meet my older brother, Brand." Bubbles said, scurrying towards the hole.
I was completely shocked. "Um, uh, hi." I waved.
"What's happenin'?" He said back.
"Come on. We don't have long until the guards show up." Bubbles ushered me out the hole and onto the snout of Brand.
"Let's get out of here." Brand said, charging through the forest, knocking over small trees as he went.
"Not very subtle, is he?" I said to Bubbles as we climbed onto his back.
"Nope, but he sure knows how to make an entrance." Bubbles grinned.
I looked at the beast that we stood on, and realized I had no idea what it was.
"Bubbles, just what is he?"
"I'm an iguanadon." Brand said, as he ducked under a branch.
"Your a dinosaur?" I gaped.
"A what?"
"Never mind. So wait, you two are blood relatives?"
"Impressive huh? You didn't think I would grow up to be a macho giant, huh?" Bubbles said.
"Wait, what did she call you, Throk?"
"Um, Bubbles." I said.
The beast began to reverberate deep in his chest. "Hah hah hah! Bubbles. That is hilarious." He continued to laugh.
"Yeah, yeah. Yuk it up. It is so funny." Bubbles rolled his eyes.
"Where has he been this whole time?" I asked.
"You know, walking around the Badlands. Trying not to get eaten by dragons and such." Brand answered. "Say, where are we going anyways?"
"Back to Canterlot. I need to get home to see my children." I said.
"You can't go there. That is the first place Black Heart will look for you. No, we are going to your old castle."
"But... My kids..."
"Aren't even there. Black Heart told Vapor Sky and Cloudlight to take them somewhere safe." He said.
I sighed. "Fine. I just hope they are all okay."
A few hours later, we arrived at my old palace. It was as bad as it looked months ago.
"I really should get this placed fix up some time." I said aloud.
"Yeah, its a dump." Bubbles said.
"Sure is." Brand agreed.
We walked up to the front doors and Brand pushed them open.
"Hey, do you guys smell that?" Brand asked.
I sniffed the air. "Smells like something is cooking."
"Cooking? This place is supposed to be deserted. How could anything be cooking?" Bubbles asked.
"I don't know, but I intend to find out." I jumped down from Brand's back and started towards the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" Bubbles asked.
"To find out what is going on."
"Not without us, you're not. It could be dangerous." Bubbles ran ahead of me and Brand took up the rear.
As we approached the kitchen, I could hear someone talking.
I opened the door. "Hello?"
"Intruder!" A pony said. A knife was hurled at me, but it luckily lodged itself into the wall.
"Whoa! Hold on! We mean you no harm!" I yelled.
"Princess?" The pony said, coming out of hiding. It turned out to be Vapor Sky.
"Vapor Sky? W-what are you doing here?"
"Me? What about you? What in the hell is that?" She asked, pointing to Brand.
"That is Brand, Bubbles' older brother."
"What's up?" Brand said.
"He talks!" Vapor yelled.
"Calm down. He is harmless." I walked over to her. "Vapor, its so good to see a friendly face that isn't reptilian."
"Hey!" Bubbles said.
"Shh." Brand said.
"Princess. I can't believe it. You're alive. We were so worried about you." Vapor dropped the knife she was holding and pulled me into a hug.
"Vapor. This is great and all, but where are my children?"
"Oh, right." She let go of me. "Wait. Something is different about you. Did you get a haircut?"
"Uh, no."
She looked at me a bit closer. "Holy crap! Your horn! Its gone!"
"I know. Bullet Blaster cut it off."
"You poor dear. I am so sorry. I should have come with you two. Then, maybe none of this would have happened." Vapor began to cry.
"No. It is not your fault in the slightest. We asked you to take care of our children and you did. For that, I am grateful."
"Thanks." She sniffled. "Come on. Let me take you to your children. Then you need to take a bath, your absolutely filthy."
She walked out the door that I came in, Brand moving to the side so we could get through.
"How long have you been here?" I asked as we walked.
"Only a few hours. We left as soon as we told your sister where we were going."
"At least she knows that you are safe. What made you choose my old palace?"
"Well, it is really the only place that Cloudlight felt that we would be safe. And he says he remembers where everything is."
"That's good. Maybe he can help me remember a few things."
"We're here." We had stopped in front of the master bedroom. She knocked on the door.
"Vapor. Is that you?" We heard Cloudlight say from the other side.
"Yes, and I have a surprise."
"A surprise!" The door swung open to reveal Moonbeam. "What's the surprise?" She looked at me and smiled widely. "Mommy!" She jumped at me, tackling me to the floor.
"Mommy?" Starfire said, peaking around the door. "It is Mommy!" She also jumped on top of me.
"Girls! I missed you so much!" I kissed them so many times all over their faces. "I promise, I will never leave you again." I hugged them so incredibly tight, they started gasping for breath.
"Mommy, we can't breathe." Moonbeam said.
"Sorry."
"It's okay. We missed you a lot." Starfire said.
"I missed you, too." I nuzzled them.
"Ahem." I looked up and saw Cloudlight. "Do I get a hug?"
"You idiot, of course you do." I stood up and walked over to him, giving him a hug.
"We were worried about you." He said.
"I know. I'm thankful that I could get away, though."
"That's right. How did you escape?" He asked.
"That will have to wait. First, she needs a bath." Vapor Sky said.
"Wow, you sound like my sister." I said.
"Come on. You two as well." She said to the girls.
"Yay! A bath!" Moonbeam said.
"Is there even any running water here?" I asked.
"There is now, thanks to Mr. Fix It over here." Vapor said.
"Aw shucks. It wasn't a big deal."
"Well, thanks. Come on girls, I think I still know my way around." I said.
"I'm coming, too." Bubbles said.
"No you're not. You're a boy. You can shower with Cloudlight." I said.
"Did Bubbles just talk?" Vapor asked.
"You can understand him, too?"
"It's kind of hard not to when he speaks plain English."
"You guys didn't know he could talk?" Starfire asked.
"You did?" I asked.
"Yeah. We talked all the time." Moonbeam said.
"I am very confused." I said.
"So I talked to the kids, no big deal." He said.
"Enough chit chat. Bath, now." Vapor said.
"Okay, sheesh. You are worse than my sister." I said.
We then walked towards the bathroom for a long needed bath.
Black Heart's POV
"How are the pentagrams coming?" I asked.
"We are almossst done." The changeling said.
"Fantastic."
"Black Heart!" Flash Fire said, running into the room.
"What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy?" I took a sip of the lemonade that I had in front of me.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but Luna has escaped!"
"Good. All according to plan."
"You knew she would escape?" He asked.
"Well of course. What kind of evil ruler would I be if I didn't let her escape?"
"A smart one?"
"Wrong. I wanted her to escape. That way, when I find her, I can tell her it was all Celestia's fault."
"You know where she is?"
"Yeah man." I sat down and put my legs up on a desk I summoned in front of me. "Damn I'm evil!" He laughed hard.
"Should we go after her?"
"Why? She isn't going anywhere? Besides, I am keeping an eye on her."
"They are finished, sssir." The changeling said.
"Excellent." I got up and walked over to the two pentagrams. "Now, you pests get out. I have to concentrate."
The changelings walked out the door. Flash Fire began to as well, but I stopped him.
"Hoof it over." I said.
"What?"
"You know what. The other piece of Discord you have."
"You mean you are bringing back Discord?" He squealed like a child.
"Yes. Now give it."
Flash Fire gave me the other piece of Discord's horn he had. "Excellent. Now for the other one." I concentrated and my chest began to ripple. "Here it is." Sombra's horn sprouted out of my chest and I broke of the tip of it. The rest of the horn slowly sunk back to whence it came.
"Now what?"
"Now we place the pieces in there respective pentagrams." I walked over to the first placed Discord's piece in the center and then placed Sombra's in the second. "And now I make the mark of their sin." I made the symbol of sloth in the first one and the symbol of greed in the second.
"And finally, I sit down in between them and concentrate while you light the pentagrams."
"Alright."
I walked into the middle of the pentagrams and he placed a burning hoof on each one, causing a flame to appear in line with the pentagrams.
"Now, get out. I need to be able to focus."
"Okay. Have fun." He said as closed the door.
"You know it." I relaxed and opened my mind, letting the magic flow out of me.
Luna's POV
After we took our bath and ate a bit of the soup, we all retired to the old study. I settled down with my girls on an old cushion as Vapor Sky and Cloudlight sat together on an other cushion.
The door to the study was large enough so that Brand was able to come in. He sat laid down behind me and Bubbles sat on his brother's head.
"So you can't use magic anymore, Mommy?" Starfire asked, rubbing the stub where my horn used to be.
"No, I can't sweetie. But I can still fly." I fluttered my wings.
"But, how are we supposed to have magic lessons together?" Moonbeam queried.
"You'll have to learn from your Auntie Tia or Auntie Twilight."
"But I want to learn from you or Daddy." Moonbeam pouted.
I nuzzled her face. "I'm so sorry, dearest. But I'm afraid that won't be possible. Your Daddy is gone. But he told me that he loves you and that you need to be strong."
Moonbeam sniffled. "Okay."
"Now, it's time for you two to go to sleep." I turned to Brand. "Will you watch them as they sleep? You know protect them."
"Of course. I love children." He placed his tail in front of me and I set my girls on it. He then set them on his back. Bubbles jumped down from Brand's head and sat next to the fire that was going in the fireplace.
"I will go with him, so he knows where to go." Vapor said. She got up and walked them out of the room.
"I will be in later." I said after them. As soon as the door closed, I laid down on the the cushion.
"What's wrong?" Cloudlight asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Come on Luna. I know you. You gave that same pouty face when we were kids whenever something was making you sad. So what's up?" He stood up and moved his cushion next to mine, then sat back down.
I sighed. I then recounted everything that Black Heart had said to me about Pure Heart's love being a lie and such. Vapor Sky came back in about midway through my story.
"It's just, everything that Black Heart told me. Could it all be true? Could all mine and Pure Heart's love have been a lie? I mean, sure, we had children together. And don't get me wrong, I love them to death. I would do anything for them. But..."
"You want to know if he loved them as well as you?" He said.
"Yes."
"Luna, this may come as a surprise to you, but when we were younger, I had a crush on you."
"Really? I had no idea."
"It's true. Now that may have been before the whole Nightmare Moon fiasco, but I can tell you that I was not in the least bit terrified, even as you locked me away in that tomb."
"Really? But how?"
"Because I loved you. Now I still love you, but as a sister."
"I love you as well, sis." Vapor said, winking at me.
"See, right there, that's two ponies that aren't scared of you, but instead love you. There are also your children. They love you, too."
"But what about my sister, Celestia?"
"Oh come on, you really think that she would ever hate you? She loves you with all her heart."
"And what about Pure Heart?"
"That, I can help with." She sat up and pulled something out of her armor. "Pure Heart gave this to me before you two left to meet Kron." She hoofed me a letter with his cutie mark on it. "He told me to give this to you if something were to happen to him."
I opened the letter and read.
'My Dearest Luna,
If you are reading this letter, thank Vapor Sky for me. Reading this letter means that I am no longer around. I don't what happened, but I hope that I my death was not in vain.
I want you to know that you are the most precious person in my life. My love for you knows no bounds. Don't let anyone ever tell you different.
When we first meet, I felt an instant connection and I know you felt it too. It was love at first sight. There is no such thing as coincidence. Only fate. Our fate was to be together, forever. I am incredibly saddened that I screwed it up by dying.
You are so amazing, Luna. You are loved by everyone. And your night, don't even get me started.
You are the mother of our three beautiful children. I am so happy that they will be raised by you. I am sorry that I can't be there to help.
Luna, I need you to know that we are forever intertwined. My love for you will never end, even now that I am gone. However, I want you to move on, Luna. You should not have to be alone, not again.
I love you Luna. I cannot express that enough. There is no way that I could fake it, you know how much I suck at acting.
I am afraid I must close. Luna, I love you. Don't you ever doubt that. Though we may be apart, I will always be with you.
Luna, don't you cry for me, I am as happy as I have ever been. I have been pushed forward to the end, but you are the one who fixed my broken heart.
Loving you forever and always,
Pure Heart'
I set down the letter, my tears falling upon its surface.
"Luna, what's wrong?" Vapor asked.
"He did love me." I said.
"So what?" A voice echoed through the room.
"What?" We all looked around the room.
"So what if he loved you? Love is for the weak. It can't give you what really matters." It said.
"Oh yeah? What does matter?" Vapor asked.
Black Heart walked out of the fireplace. "Power, of course."
"Black Heart?! How did you find us?" Cloudlight asked, drawing his sword.
"Why, this little guy of course." He said, kicking Bubbles across the floor.
"You jerk! I oughta-" Bubbles threatened, but was cut off.
"What? Whip me with your tail? Or maybe you will run to your big brother." He laughed.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"Funny thing about iguanas." He said, pulling down a chart out of thin air. On it was a diagram of an iguana's head. "Besides their two eyes they have for sight, they have a third eye on top of their head. It is mostly used for detecting light, but I used it to spy on you." He laughed.
"What?! You invaded my head?!"
"Oh shut up, you worthless animal!" He said, making a clamp appear on Bubbles' mouth.
"That's animal cruelty!" Cloudlight said.
"Oh come on, that is the least of your worries." He said.
"Vapor. Take Luna and get the girls. I will take care of him." Cloudlight stood ready to strike.
"Oh, you mean these girls?" He stomped his foot and Moonbeam and Starfire both appeared next to him, tied up and crying.
"Monster! Let them go!" I yelled.
"I think not. I told Vapor Sky and Cloudlight to take them far away. But instead, they just take them to this pitiful castle. I gave them a chance, and they blew it."
"No, you blew it." Another voice said.
"Oh, friends of yours?" Black Heart laughed.
A portal appeared behind us, and from it, stepped out Tempest Storm, Corrosive Dash, Dawn, Vinnie, Eclipse, ShadowBane, and somepony in a grey cloak.
"Ah, the lovers of the Mane Six. How charming. And who is this?" He pointed to the cloaked pony.
The pony stepped forward. "I am known by these ponies as Daylight." He took hold of the edge of his cloak and pulled it off, throwing it behind him. Underneath the cloak was a black alicorn, covered from horn to hoof in blue armor. "But you may know me as something else, Dad."
The alicorn in blue armor walked up to me. "Hello Mom." He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. "You are looking lovely today."
"Who are you?" I asked.
"It's me, Nightshade."
"Nightshade?"
"You probably don't recognize me with my helmet on." He took his blue helmet off and his long purple hair spilled out. "How about now?"
I looked at him closely. "It is you." I hugged him. "Oh Nightshade, I missed you so much."
"I missed you too, Mom. I haven't seen you for almost twenty years."
I held him back. "Twenty years?"
"That's right."
"You mean... We never found you?"
"I'm afraid not. But don't worry, I was well taken care of."
"By who?"
"I'm sorry to break up this sappy reunion, but I believe that I was about to kill these brats." He raised a long, red sword from the ground and held it at the necks of Starfire and Moonbeam.
"You leave my sisters out of this." Nightshade said, taking a step forward.
"Take another step, and you'll be an only child, son." Black Heart pressed the blade against their throats, causing them to scream.
"Don't hurt them! Please!" I yelled. I stood up and walked forward with my head lowered. "I'll do whatever you want, just please spare them."
He smiled. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear." He gestured to his side. "Come here and I will spare your children's lives."
I walked towards him.
"Mom, wait." Nightshade said, grabbing my tail with his hoof.
I looked back at him with tears in my eyes. "Son, please find them a good home. I don't think I will be coming back this time. And I'm so sorry we didn't find you." I flicked my tail out of his grasp and went to stand by Black Heart.
"Excellent." He withdrew his sword from my children and it disappeared. "Now, if you will excuse us, we have some important things to take care of." He summoned a portal and motioned me to step in.
"Mom! I promise that I will make all of this right!" Nightshade yelled.
"Please. You would need a miracle." Black Heart sneered as we stepped through portal.
"Welcome to your new home, my dear." Black Heart said as we came out the other side of the portal.
I gasped at the room I was in. It was not a dungeon cell, but a fully furnished bedroom. There was a fireplace with a table and sofas. A canopy bed with end tables and a very large closet.
"Where are we?" I asked as I looked back to Black Heart, but I did not see him. All I saw was a human with long black hair wearing black clothes. "Black Heart?"
"Luna, do you not recognize the human form of your husband?" The human said.
Now that I looked at him a bit longer, I did see that it was Pure Heart's face and body. "Why are you in human form?"
"Well it's kind of the norm to be human in this society. Have you not noticed your own body yet?"
I took a second and realized that I was standing on two feet and had hands. "What the-" I ran to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. "I'm... Human." I poked and prodded my face, pulling down my eyelids and such. I felt my hair and found that it still flowed with its ethereal quality. I then ran my hands down the curves of my body and pulled at the bottom of the blue garment that covered my chest. "What happened? What am I wearing?"
"You shifted forms, obviously." Black Heart said from the doorway, his foot up against the wall as he leaned back with his arms folded, staring at my image in the mirror. He stepped in and stood behind me. "You tend to do that when you go to a different world as well as gaining clothes. In your case, a blue t-shirt with blue jeans."
"Different world?"
"That's right. We are in the human world."
"But how?"
"Magic. Something you used to know. It doesn't really matter, though, for your magic would have not worked here anyways. As you may remember, humans can't use magic."
"But I'm not human."
"Ah, but you are. When we passed through that portal, your DNA was altered. The same thing happened to Twilight Sparkle years back, if I remember correctly."
"Then you are stuck here, too."
"Wrong. I was protected because I was the developer of the spell." He put his hands on my shoulders and then let them fall down my body. "Not that there is anything wrong with your body."
I elbowed him in the stomach. "Keep your hands to yourself." I walked out of the room and sat on the bed.
"Fine, fine. Though, you won't be so apprehensive for much longer." He said as he sat on the bed next to me. I turned away.
"Why I am here? Aren't you just going to kill me?"
"Kill you? Why in the world would you think that I would want to kill you?"
"Your blood lust for one. And two, your a homicidal maniac."
"Oh come now. Do you really think I enjoyed those things?"
"Yes."
"Well, you are mistaken. I would never do those things."
"Then why did you?"
"To tell you the truth, I did it for you."
"Excuse me?" I turned to him.
"Yes, I did it all for you. Ark may have had different motives and Pure Heart may have never actually loved you, but that does not mean that I don't love you."
"You kidnap my children, you destroy my husband's soul, you hurt my friends and family, not to mention you had me chained up to a wall, and you have the gall to say that you did it all for me? That is one hell of a way to show it."
"Okay, I had nothing to do with your husband's soul be destroyed and your son being kidnapped. That was all Ark. But yes, I did kidnap you, chain you to a wall, and hurt your loved ones. I will admit my guilt for those." He scooted closer to me. "But that was just to earn the trust of those fools I call minions."
"Oh shut up. I know that this is all just a big lie. You probably have some ulterior motive to all of this."
He shook his head. "I do not. I simply wish to help you see that I am not a bad guy. Don't get me wrong, I am sin incarnate, but I am also a very lonely person, hoping for a friend." He reached out to stroke my hair, but I smacked his hand away. He got down on one knee. "Luna, I want to ask you out on a date. Just give me a chance to show you how great it is to be evil again and also a chance to see how good of a guy I am."
I stared at him, for a long time. Then I took my hand, and smacked him across the face. "That was abhorrent. I nearly vomited I was so disgusted. I would never go out on a date with such a vile man. And I definitely never want to be evil again."
He rubbed his face, and began to laugh. "Oh well. I tried to show you my good side, but you seem to have a thing for bad boys." He stood up and turned. "Very well. Seeing as you will not go out on one date with me, more than your precious husband ever had mind you, I will have to go to plan B."
"What are you talking about?" I said rolling my eyes.
"We will skip the dating process entirely and go straight to marriage."
"Marriage?! Are you mental?! I just refused to go on a date with you! How on Earth do you think that I would accept your marriage proposal?!"
"Well you do seem to like the idea of going straight to being engaged, what with your last husband and all."
"Hah! I would rather die than marry the likes of you!" I turned completely away from him.
"Not even for the lives of your girls?" He asked.
My eyes grew wide and I turned back to him. "What are you talking about? You set them free, remember? And knowing my friends, they have put them under the highest security."
"Not even a legion of alicorns could stop what I can do."
"What?"
"You see, before I showed up in that room back at your old castle, I slipped your girls a special mineral. Something of my own design that I am very proud of. I call it a Heart Geode. With a single word, the granules that I fed them will discard their protective casings and become vulnerable to liquids. Once saturated, its atoms will begin to multiply, spreading like a cancer but becoming twice as deadly."
"You're bluffing!"
"Am I?" He took a small bag out of his pocket and summoned a frog. He reached into the pouch and took a pinch of red dust out of it. "Here you go fella." He opened the frog's mouth and sprinkled the dust on its gums. He then took a water bottle out of his pocket and murmured something, I was unable to hear what he said. He poured the water in the frog's mouth and the frog began to hop around like normal.
"Hah! It did nothing." I sneered.
"Shh, watch. It takes a moment."
Looking back to the frog, I saw that it seemed to be moving slower and slower. Then it suddenly fell in midair and shattered on impact with the floor.
Black Heart walked over to the remains and picked up a small red crystal. "Did you know that some animals' organs continue to function even after death?"
"Yeah, so what?"
"His heart is still beating." He held the red crystal out in the palm of his hand and I gasped. The crystal was in the shape of a heart, and, though it was stone, I could still see the blood pumping through the ventricles. Then it too turned to hardened. He looked at the stone for a moment. "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a heart?" He licked it once. "One." He licked it again. "Two." He licked it one more time. "Three." He finally bit down on the stone with a loud crunch. "The world may never know." Red liquid began to drip out of his mouth. "Mmm. Delicious. It's like rock candy with a gooey center."
I watched in horror as he swallowed and licked his lips. "You disgusting creature."
He wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "Come now. It was not to disturbing. You know, in some countries, they eat frog hearts while they are still beating." He stepped up to me, and brushed a lock of hair out of my eyes. "I can just imagine how wonderful your girls' hearts would be. Horse hearts are a delicacy I hear."
"You sick bastard."
"Maybe. But it will happen, unless you accept."
I thought for a moment, and then sighed. "Fine. I will marry you."
"Hurray for me! I'm the happiest lad in all of the South Pole!"
"In where?"
"Oh, I was so caught up in all of this that I forgot to tell you. We currently stand in the most harsh and unforgiving environment in all of the world, Antarctica."
"Antarctica? I believe Pure Heart told me about this place before. He said that is was the one place he never wanted to visit because it was so incredibly cold."
"Indeed it is. The temperature outside is currently -17 degrees Celsius."
"Then how is it that I am not shivering?"
"This castle is very well insulated plus I placed a barrier around the castle that keeps out the harsh winds. You should be nice and toasty. I personally find the cold invigorating and the wendigos absolutely love it. And you will grow to love it as well as me."
"I don't care if I am being forced to marry you, I will never love you!" I yelled, turning away from him again, but this time lying face down on the bed.
"Oh, Luna. You will see. It will be easier to love me after our wedding." He laughed as he opened a portal and walked through.
I began to cry into a pillow on the bed, when I heard footsteps behind me.
"Quite a predicament you have, isn't it?"
I turned to see a man with red hair standing up against the wall. He wore a black suit with a red tie.
"Who are you?"
"It's me, Kron."
"Oh great. Just what I need, one of Black Heart's lackeys babysitting me."
"Actually, he doesn't know I am in here. He thinks I am running errands."
I stared at him in confusion. "What? Then why are you here?"
"Well, to tell you the truth, I never liked Black Heart, Flash Fire, or Ark to begin with. Flash Fire one day just came into our hive and took over, saying that if we didn't do what he said, he would burn us all alive. Of course, he had those two psychopaths with him, so we reluctantly agreed."
"Why would you care about what happens to me?"
"I don't. I care what happens to your children. Anyone that hurts children I consider to be the scum of the Earth. No, they are worse than scum."
"Wow, you must really love children."
"I should, since I have one." He said, walking away.
"You have a child? What does he think of you doing such horrible things?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen him for awhile." He went and sat down on a couch, putting his face in his hands. "He was cast out as a reject because his mother was a unicorn. That was around two years ago."
"I am sorry to hear that. But don't you think your anger should be directed towards your own people instead of mine."
He shook his head. "No, it was your people that placed an execution order on us changelings, and that is why I had to take refuge with them in the first place with my foal."
"What about his mother, could she not of taken care of him?"
"No, she died shortly after child birth. After that, I had to take care of the foal. But then I was confronted by the royal guard. They said they knew I had a changeling foal and demanded that I give him to them. I escaped them and ran to the changelings for refuge and was confronted by King Metamorphosis. He said he did not want such an abomination in the hive and we ended up fighting for power. I won in the end."
"I wondered what had happened to Metamorphosis." I pondered as I crossed the room and sat across from Kron.
"Yes. But Chrysallis did not know that my son was a halfling until a few years after my succession to King. When she did find out, she sent him away, making him think that she had killed me and that there was no place for his kind."
"And you just went along with it?"
"I had to, for my son's safety."
"Why in the world would you stay with Chrysalis, then?"
"Because she may seem evil, but underneath her exoskeleton beats a heart of gold. She only sent my son away for the good of the hive. I just hope that one day, she will see Nix as one of us."
"Nix? Is that his name?"
"Yes, though the rest of the changelings called him Disgrace."
"How horrible? Why didn't you stop it?"
"Because he had to toughen up."
"Wow. You have a strange way of showing affection."
"Indeed, but I digress. If you want to make sure your children are safe, I suggest you do as Black Heart says."
"But you said earlier that he is worse than scum."
"He is. That doesn't mean he is stupid. He has every situation covered. If you make one move, he has ten strategies to counter it. Any way you look at it, you lose in the end."
"Well that's just perfect." I said, tears starting to well up.
"Hey now, I know for a fact that your husband didn't like you to cry." He said, sitting next to me and patting me on the back. "Don't you worry about anything. Chrysallis and I have your back."
"That's right, dearest." Said another voice from behind. I felt a hand placed on my shoulder.
"Chrysi! How long have you been standing back there?" Kron asked, running his hand through his hair.
"The whole time. You and I will talk later. But right now..." Chrysallis sat next to me. "I want to let you know that my husband is right. We will be right behind you. And we will do what we can to aid you."
I thought for a moment. "Do you think you can get a message to my sister?"
They looked to each other. "I suppose we could." Kron said. "But it will have to be short."
"Alright." I searched around the room and found a desk. I walked over and opened a drawer. Inside was stationary and a small tube. "Where are the quills and ink wells?" I asked, opening the other drawers but finding nothing of use.
"They don't use those in this world anymore." Chrysallis said, walking up next to me. She reached into the first drawer and pulled out the tube. She pulled off the end, exposing a point. "They use pens."
"Pens? Interesting. I wish I had more time to research this culture." I took the pen and tried to write with it, but ended up only making squiggles. "Curses. I can't even write legibly."
"Let me." She took the pen and sat down at the desk, taking out a new piece of paper and placing it on the desk. "Tell me what you want to say, and I will write it."
"How do you know so much about using this human form?" I asked.
"I have dabbled in this form in our world before. Now, speak."
"Oh, right. 'Help. I am fine but am being forced into marriage. I am being held captive in Antarctica of the human world. Signed - Luna'." I watched as Chrysallis scribbled down the words.
She then turned to me. "You need to sign it so they know it is you."
"But I can't, I still don't know how to write with these hands."
"Well we need some type of identifier so they know it is you."
"I don't... Wait!" I reached into a pocket of the jeans I wore, hoping I still had it. "Got it!" I pulled out the letter that Pure Heart wrote to me. "Only a few know about this letter, so it should let them know it is me."
I handed it to Chrysalis and she folded it up with the note. She handed it to Kron, who placed it in a pocket inside the black jacket he wore.
"Alright, I will send this personally to Princess Celestia by magic once we are back in our world."
"Thank you." I wrapped my arms around Chrysallis' neck in a hug.
"You are quite welcome." She patted my arms and I let go. She stood up and straightened out her lime green dress. "Now then, off with you." She said to Kron.
"Yes, I have a few things to attend to before Black Heart will open the portal again." He waved as he quickly left the room, closing the door behind him.
"Well, now that we got that settled, we need to prepare you for the wedding." Chrysallis said, clapping her hands together.
I gave her a stunned look. "What? But I thought you were opposed to all of this."
"I am, but that does not change the fact that this is going to happen. Black Heart will make sure he marries you, one way or the other, so why fight it? It is best to just accept your fate than try to change it."
"You are wrong. You can change fate, I know that for a fact. Pure Heart changed his fate so that he wasn't banished to the sun."
"Yes, and look where that got us. He is gone and Black Heart is here. If he had banished Ark to the sun instead of destroying his body, then none of this would be happening. As far as I'm concerned, that old prophecy is still in effect, and it will be until he is sent to the sun."
"We can't send him to the sun! Pure Heart is-"
She grabbed me by the arms. "Luna! Open your eyes! Pure Heart is gone! His very existence has been wiped out! He is never coming back because there is nothing left of him!"
I looked into her eyes and saw the stone cold truth in them. I began to cry.
She took my head and placed it on her shoulder. "There, there. I'm sorry that I said those things."
"No. It is all true. I just can't accept it. I mean, if he is really gone, then why can I still feel him?" I said, placing my hand on my heart.
"You will always feel him, in your heart. The love he had for you was so expansive, that it was feeding our entire hive, and it had been for weeks and it continued to do so."
"Wow, that's a comforting thought." I said, wiping a few stray tears away.
"What I am saying is that fake love doesn't even feel like a grain of rice for us. His love for you was real, and it was without end. That is saying something coming from the queen of a race that feeds off of love."
I sniffled. "So he really did love me?"
"Yeah, a lot of help that is now." She said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Then there is still hope." I said defiantly.
"What part of 'soul erased' do you not understand?"
"Don't you see. He loved me, and I loved him."
"So what?"
"Love overcomes all. It travels any distance and can conquer any obstacle."
"Luna, you are over romanticizing it. Love is merely an emotion. It has no power."
"Then why do you feed off of it?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We feed on the positive energy that specifically comes from love. It is all science."
"What I am talking about is magic, not science."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I am tired of all this sissy crap. Let's get you ready for this wedding."
Future Nightshade's POV
"Where did they go?" Eclipse asked.
"The human world." I said, holding my crying sisters. "Shh. It's okay. Big brother will take care of you." I rocked them back and forth causing them to fall asleep against my shoulders. We had gotten back to Canterlot and reported what had occurred to Celestia. Vapor Sky, Cloudlight, Celestia and I currently were in Celestia's study, talking about what was to be done, the rest having gone to check on their loved ones.
"Well that is no problem. We just need to use the mirror." Cloudlight said.
I placed the sleeping toddlers down on a cushion and shook my head. "I'm afraid that is impossible."
"Why is that?" Celestia asked.
"The mirror was shattered a while ago. Ark destroyed it while controlling my dad's body."
"Then how did you get to Equestria?" Cloudlight asked.
"I used one of Black Heart's portals."
"You mean he can create a portal between worlds at will?" Celestia gasped.
"Indeed. And it was no easy feat to get through one. I had to start conjuring the time travel spell beforehand and just when he opened it, I jumped through and let the spell go."
"How did you even infiltrate his fortress?"
"That was the hard part. I had to pose as one of his henchmen for a year before I was able to get close enough to him."
"Interesting."
There was a sudden whooshing sound as a scroll appeared in front of Celestia. "Who could be writing to me at this time?" She took the scroll in her magic grasp and opened it.
"What does it say? Who is it from?" I asked.
"It's a message from Luna. She says that she is fine but that she is being held in Antarctica and is being forced to get married."
"Married to who?" Cloudlight asked.
"It doesn't say but I have a pretty good idea as to who."
"Black Heart." I said. She nodded. "We have to stop that wedding."
"I agree. But how are we supposed to get to the human world?" Vapor Sky asked.
"Hmm." I tapped my chin with my hoof. "Celestia, who sent that note?"
She looked at the note and flipped it over to check the other side. "There are no distinguishing marks on it. I don't even know if it was her who wrote it."
"What's that?" Vapor asked, pointing at a paper on the ground.
Celestia looked down and picked up the other page. "It's another letter. But this one seems to be addressed to Luna."
"Who is it from?"
"Pure Heart."
Vapor gasped. "May I see it?"
Celestia gave her the paper and she read it over. "It's the letter that Pure Heart gave to me to give to Luna if something happened to him! It is her!"
"Well now that we have established that it is my sister, what was your idea Nightshade?"
"Well, whoever sent that letter had to come through a portal to get back to our world. Obviously it was not my mother for she possesses no magic at this time and so would be unable to send the letter in the first place. And since there is nothing on the paper that says who sent it, we will need to prepare a tracing spell."
"Excellent. Let's start there." Vapor said.
Celestia shook her head. "It's not as easy as it sounds. It will take a few hours to set up such a spell."
"She is correct." I turned to Celestia. "I will prepare the spell myself."
"Nightshade, it takes more than one pony to cast such a spell." Celestia said.
"And when it is ready to be cast, I will ask for your assistance. Until then, I want you to concentrate on getting your husband out of the crystal. We will need his help later on if my plan is to succeed."
"What do you want us to do?" Cloudlight asked.
"Go back to your room and rest. Take a bath and relax for a bit. You will need all your energy later on."
"But..." Vapor started, but I stopped her.
"Vapor Sky. I remember when you would play with me and my sisters when I was young. I remember how you would take care of us when our parents were out on a business trip. Please, just let me take care of things for once."
She looked into my eyes and nodded. "Okay. At least let me take your sisters for now."
"Very well. Make sure you keep a close eye on them, though. If anything about them changes, let me know right away."
"Got it."
I lifted my sleeping siblings onto her back and kissed them both on the head. "Don't worry girls, I will make everything better."
Moonbeam yawned and opened one eye. "I love you, Nightshade." She mumbled.
I chuckled. "Love you too."
She closed her eye and went back to softly snoring.
Vapor Sky and Cloudlight exited the room and Celestia followed, but stopped at the door. "Are you sure you don't need my help?"
"I'm positive. Go and break out your husband." I said, shooing her out the door.
She nodded and closed the door, leaving me alone in the dark study.
"Alright everyone, bring it in!" I yelled in the throne room of my Antarctic castle.
"What's up boss?" Flash Fire asked as he and Discord came into the room. The rest of my associates soon followed except for Chrysallis who was attending to Luna and Kron and Bullet Blaster who were holding down the fort in Equestria.
"Now that my wedding plans have been made, we can go to Part 2 of my plan."
"Part 2?" Sombra queried. "What does this entail?"
"World domination!" I said excitedly, thrusting my fist into the air.
"We already knew about that." Discord said. "Equestria will fall and you will be the supreme ruler. Yadah yadah yadah." He mocked by mimicking a mouth with his hand.
"Yes, I will control Equestria, but I was talking about this world."
Everyone gasped.
"This world?! Are you mental?! Do you know what kind of power humans have?" Red Rum scolded.
"Oh please, I'm not stupid. I have this all figured out. In fact, taking over this planet will actually be far easier than taking over Equestria. And it will also be so much fun!"
"Fun you say?" Discord asked, stroking his beard.
"Yes my chimeric friend, loads of fun. For I have something that these pitiful humans don't."
"What's that, sir?" Flash Fire asked.
"Magic." I snapped my fingers and a chair of black crystal rose from the floor.
"One slight detail. How are we supposed to assist if we have no magic?" Sombra asked.
"Have you forgotten that I can give you your magic back? It was I who filtered everyone here when you came through my portal." I motioned for Discord to step forward and then placed my palm on his forehead. I concentrated and I felt a rush of energy come out of my hand and pulse through his body. He spasmed a bit, but then stood up. "How do you feel Discord?"
He smiled and snapped his fingers. Two horns popped out of the white hair on his head and a tail grew out of his backside. "Like this world could use a bit of chaos."
"Now don't get any funny ideas. I gave you your power, but I can take it away with a mere thought, got it?"
"Fine, fine. I promise to keep it under control." He grinned.
"You better. Now after I give the rest of you your powers back, here is what will happen..."
United Nations, New York City
"This meeting of the United Nations held in New York City of the United States of America is now called to order." Barrack Obama declared. "We will start with a roll call."
"Afghanistan."
"Albania."
"Algeria."
"Andorra."
"Angola."
The doors burst open at the top of the stair case.
"Excuse me, but how did you get in here? How did you get past the guards stationed out front?" Obama asked.
The man laughed. "Didn't you hear? They had a hair emergency, but I fixed them right up. All they really needed was a little off the top." He held up a two heads and threw them, leaving a blood trail down the stairs. The room erupted into gasping and curses.
"We do not condone terrorists." Obama said.
"Barry, I'm heart broken. I am no terrorist. I am the representative of a new nation."
"Oh really? We discussed no new nations in our last meeting." The representative of China said.
"That is because I declared us a nation only a few short weeks ago, my good sir."
"You did? How is that? There has been no paper work issued."
"I need no paper work. I have decided this upon the principle of force."
"Well what nation is it that you have claimed?" Obama asked.
The man smiled. "Antarctica."
There was a lot of murmurs around the room.
"Order. Order." Obama said, pounding a gabble on the stand. The room quieted down. "Antarctica, huh? Tell me-"
"Black Heart." The man walked down the steps, kicking a head to the side as he descended to the stage, taking a seat next to Obama. "My name is Black Heart and I am the ruler of Antarctica."
"Tell me, Black Heart, how do you expect us to recognize you as ruler of a land that was decided no one should have control over."
"Because my people now inhabit it."
"Who would that be, penguins?" The rep of Malta said, causing an uproar of laughter amongst the room.
"Good one. No, let me introduce you to my body guards. They are of my people." Black Heart snapped his fingers and their were suddenly two creatures standing next to him. The room gasped in horror.
"What in God's name are those?!"
"These are a species of legend. One that will haunt you in your nightmares for the rest of your lives. These are wendigos!" The creatures gave off a horrible screech that caused everyone in the room to cover their ears.
"Wendigos. The spirit of cannibalism?"
"Indeed. Antarctica is the perfect land for them to dwell in and they will one day cover the Earth. For now, though, I control their insatiable hunger." At that moment, one of the beasts picked up a severed head and took a bite out of it like an apple.
Several representatives threw up at the sight and the sound of skull fragments being crushed as it chewed it's snack.
"That is absolutely horrifying. That man had a family waiting for him at home." Obama said with disgust.
"Well then I did them a favor. I know I certainly don't have the patience for that kind of thing." Black Heart laughed.
"You sick, twisted man. How dare you barge in here, causing distress and turmoil in such a place. This room is meant for peace among nations and settling conflict, not violence." The representative of Ghana said.
"Hey, I was planning on being peaceful, those guards are the ones that attacked me and I was simply protecting myself. But enough chit-chat, I came here for a reason besides declaring my sovereignty over Antarctica." He said straightening out the sleeves of his black suit. "I wanted to make an announcement. And- Oh dear." He said looking around.
"What's the matter?" Obama asked.
"Well I was hoping the media would be here so I could make this announcement to the world."
"No worries, we got your back." Said a voice.
"What was that?" The rep of Japan asked.
"Ah, Discord! You did come!" Black Heart said out loud.
"Who are you talking to?" Obama asked.
A man with horns rose out of the floor sitting in a director's chair holding an old-timey megaphone. Another man with red hair and a red shirt with black jeans appeared next to him with a camera in hand. "That would be me." Discord walked up to Obama and shook his hand. "Discord is the name. Professional everything. This is my assistant Flash Fire."
"Pleased to meet ya Mr. President." Flash Fire said shaking Obama's hand vigorously.
Hushed questions could be heard around the room.
"What happened?"
"How did they do that?"
"Is this some kind of new military technology?"
"No my fellow representatives. What you just witnessed was something beyond your comprehension. It is called 'magic'." Black Heart explained.
"What do you plan to do with your camera? No one will air such absurd footage." The rep of Canada said.
"That's fine because we are filming live to the whole world! Hit it!" Black Heart said.
(Present) Nightshade's POV
I was watching TV with Julie and Marcy late at night. It was a show called Family Feud and the host of the show was very funny. The show seemed to be one of their favorites.
Anyways, right as the host was reading off a card, the TV went blank. "Mom, the TV is broken!" Marcy yelled out.
"We interrupt your pitiful and meaningless lives for a very special announcement." The TV said.
"Nevermind! It's working again!" Marcy yelled.
The screen flickered and showed a man standing at a podium. "Hello people of planet Earth. My name is Black Heart and I am here at the United Nations in New York City. Currently with me is President Barrack Obama and my two body guards. Say hello boys."
The camera zoomed out showing two hideous creatures that gave off ferocious howls.
"Hey, that man looks familiar." I said.
"President Obama? Yeah, we all know who he is." Julie said.
"No, not him, the man that is talking. He looks a lot like my dad."
"Really?" Marcy asked.
I took a closer look at the TV. "Yes, I am sure that is my dad. He just has different colored hair."
Just then the phone rang and Kit picked it up. "Hello? Oh hey Mom... The TV? Zach is on the TV?" Kit came into the room and looked at the TV. "I agree that looks like Zach. Alright I'll talk to you about it later. Bye." She hung up the phone and looked at me. "Nightshade, do you think that is your dad?"
"It sure looks like him."
"Shh. He is talking again." Marcy said.
"I suppose you are wondering what I am doing, interrupting your shows. Well I have an announcement. I, the ruler of Antarctica, am going to get married." There was some clapping. "Thank you. I am getting married to Princess Luna of Equestria." An image of my mom in human form appeared on screen. "I want the ruler of every country to attend our wedding. Being sent to them right now is the registry with what I want as a wedding gift." He held up a piece of paper. "You will notice there is only one item on the list. It is for them to give me the sovereignty over their country." There was a gasp in the room he stood. "A toaster would be nice too, but the sovereignty thing is mandatory."
"And what if we don't comply with your outrageous demands?" The camera turned to face another man, the caption at the bottom said he was the representative of Israel.
"I am so glad you asked." The camera turned back to Black Heart. "If you will turn your attention to this screen behind me." He snapped his fingers and a large TV appeared behind him. "On the screen you see the distant image of an island. This island is one of the Florida Keys. Now watch closely." He held up his hand in front of the screen and slowly began to close his hand into a fist. As he did, the island began to shake violently and birds could be seen fleeing from the island. The island soon split in half and as he closed his hand completely, the island sank into the depths of the sea.
Everyone gasped and he smiled.
"That is not my daddy. My daddy would never do such a horrible thing." I said.
"Yes everyone, I have the power to destroy lives and that was only one way I could do it. That was only small scale and was just to show how powerful I am. I can do a lot worse. Don't think that you can beat me either. In such an event that I was defeated, which will never happen because you humans are petty and stupid, I have rigged up a thermonuclear bomb and placed it deep under the ice of Antarctica so if I was to die, it would melt all the ice and flood the planet."
"You monster!" The representative of Iran said. He jumped up on the table he sat behind and reached into his coat, pulling out a small firearm. "I will show you!" He pulled the trigger and in a second the projectile flew right in front of the camera lens. But the bullet never made contact as Black Heart had vanished.
"That was a dumb move." Black Heart said, appearing in front of the rep. He took hold of the man's wrist that held the gun as he pulled out a sword from the ground. "I believe the punishment for stealing in your country is losing a hand. So I will be kind." With a swift motion, Black Heart brought the sword down on the man's shoulder, severing it.
"Ahh!" The man screamed as he stumbled backward off the table. The representatives sitting next to him quickly went to work to help the man. One pulled off his shirt and made a turn a kit as the other began to call what I assume was 911.
"You see my friends, I was not kidding. Do not cross me." Black Heart dropped the man's arm on to the desk and walked to, then down the steps back to the stage with the sword over his shoulder. "I am the most powerful being on this planet. No, I am not an angry god. I am much, much worse." Once he stood behind the podium again, he threw the sword down, causing the blade to bury itself deep into the stage. Grasping the sides of the podium, he spoke again. "In Greek mythology, there were four deities that came before the gods. I now declare myself to be the fifth."
"What are you saying?" Obama asked.
Black Heart smirked and turned, staring straight into the camera. "I am Black Heart! Ruler of Antarctica and soon the planet Earth! And I... Am a Titan!"
I was in a bright meadow with beautiful trees filled with blooming flowers and alive with the chirping of birds. The lush grass felt so soft under my bare feet as the sun warmed my skin making me feel at peace. I was in a flowing white sundress that barely touched the ground and had a white sunhat that provided just enough shade so that I could see well in the sunlight.
The song of the birds died down enough that I began to hear a guitar being played in the distance. It was a soft tune that carried through the trees. I picked up my dress and walked toward where I thought the source of the sound was coming from. As I got closer, the chords got softer as a voice began to sing.
When I look into your eyes
It's like watching the night sky
Or a beautiful sunrise
Well, there's so much they hold.
And just like them old stars
I see that you've come so far
To be right where you are
How old is your soul?
I determined that whoever was singing was a man.
Well, I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up.
I followed the music to a forest and as soon as I entered the sound seemed to come from every direction.
And when you're needing your space
To do some navigating
I'll be here patiently waiting
To see what you find.
The chords slowed down a bit making it harder to find the source, but then they started up again going faster and becoming louder as did the voice singing.
Cause even the stars they burn
Some even fall to the earth
We've got a lot to learn
God knows we're worth it
No, I won't give up.
The music got a little softer again but remained fast as I picked up my pace, my hat falling off my head as I ran, but not to the ground because of the strap that held it to my neck.
I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily
I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use
The tools and gifts we got, yeah, we got a lot at stake
And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend
For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn
We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in
I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not, who I am.
I ran into a dead end of trees, so I turned around and ran the other way as he continued to sing.
I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up, I'm still looking up.
I ran into another dead end and retraced my steps back to the 4-way intersection of trees, taking the right path instead of left this time. As I did, more voices seemed to add to the music.
Well, I won't give up on us (no I'm not giving up)
God knows I'm tough enough (I am tough, I am loved)
We've got a lot to learn (we're alive, we are loved)
God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it).
After finding another dead end, I backtracked and went down the last path. The music began to fade as I ran faster for I thought for sure that this was the correct path. But my spirits wavered as I saw another dead end. I fell to my knees and buried my head in my hands, softly sobbing.
I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up.
I looked up from my hands and saw light begin to spill out from the trees directly in front of me. I wiped my eyes as the music ended and then got to my feet. I walked slowly toward this new path that had opened and shielded my eyes from the sunlight.
As my eyes adjusted to the light, I found that I had arrived in a glade. It turns out the light was actually from the moon, shining brightly in the sky with stars twinkling all around it. That light reflected on a large pond that was filled with water lilies that had awakened from a day of slumber, exposing their beautiful white blooms. Fireflies flashed and shimmered above the surface of the water, flying back and forth as if performing an intricate dance. Frogs croaked among the cattails and lily pads of the pond adding to the serene atmosphere.
Just then, a few chords played from a guitar causing me to look away from the spectacular scene. I looked across the pond and saw a figure sitting under a tree. I was unable to make out who it was, so I took a step forward but stopped as I felt somewhat different. I looked down and saw that I had hooves again then ran to the pond's edge and looked into the water.
I was my old self again, causing a wave of relief to wash over me. Then I remembered the figure and slowly trotted away from the edge and began to walk around the pond to the tree that they sat under, the dew covered grass collapsing under my hooves with each step.
A few more chords were played from the apparent guitar that the subject held and then a voice emanated as they began to sing, strumming the same chords over and over.
Do you hear me? I'm talking to you
Across the water across the deep blue ocean
Under the open sky, oh my, oh baby I'm trying.
I got closer to him but then something inside of me told me to sing a reply.
Boy I hear you in my dreams
I feel your whisper across the sea
I keep you with me in my heart
You make it easier when life gets hard.
I saw the figure look up and we both began to sing.
I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again.
Ooh ooh ooh.
They don't know how long it takes
Waiting for a love like this
Every time we say goodbye
I wish we had one more kiss
I'll wait for you, I promise you. I will.
I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again.
Lucky we're in love in every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday.
I finally got to the other side of the pond but found that I was still separated from the tree the figure sat under by a river. Luckily, there were stepping stones that lead across the river. I slowly stepped onto each stone as he began to sing again.
And so I'm sailing through the sea
To an island where we'll meet
You'll hear the music fill the air
I'll put a flower in your hair
I made it to the other side of the river without falling in thankfully and once across I slowly made my way toward the tree as I began to sing again.
Though the breezes through the trees
Move so pretty you're all I see
As the world keeps spinning 'round
You hold me, right here, right now
I finally made it to the tree and sat down for a moment to catch my breath, figuring that he wouldn't go anywhere. Soon though, we both began to sing again.
I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
I'm lucky we're in love in every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday
Ooh ooh ooh.
Ooh ooh ooh, ooh.
Ooh ooh ooh, ooh.
He played a few more notes on the guitar and then let it fade. I heard grass crinkle under steps that came from behind me.
"Hello love." Said a voice.
I looked up and tears of joy began to well up. "Pure Heart." I whispered.
He smiled. "The one and only."
I jumped up and tackled him to the ground. We rolled out from under the tree and before I knew it, we had fallen into the pond.
"Luna, wake up." I heard someone say as my eyes fluttered opened. I sat up and looked around. I was in my bedroom in Black Heart's castle. "Luna, are you okay?" Chrysallis asked as she came into view.
I shook my head. "No. I had the dream again."
"The one where you are naked in public?" She asked with a giggle.
I hit her on the arm. "No! The one about the forest that I can't get out of. I got to the point where I'm at the last dead end."
She sat down on the bed next to me. Me and Chrysallis had become good friends over the past couple of weeks that I have been in this castle. Actually, she is my only friend here in the human world since I am not allowed to exit my room. Sure there is Kron who visits sometimes, but he never sticks around for very long. And of course there is Black Heart, but I don't want to have anything to do with him so I just don't talk when he visits. The only other person that comes up to my room is the servant that brings food and supplies and he doesn't talk at all. Chrysallis is the only one who is always there for me.
"That is the point that you usually wake up, isn't it?" She asked.
I nodded. "Only this time I looked up and a path opened up in the trees. It opened to a large pond at night. I looked across the water and saw a figure under a tree and went to it. He began to sing and soon I sang with him. When the song ended, I was sitting under the tree and the figure came over to me. You know who it was?"
"Discord?"
"No! It was Pure Heart!" I said with a smile.
"Really? What happened next?"
"I asked if it was him and he said it was. So I jumped on him and we rolled into the water of the pond. Then I woke up." I said sadly. I pulled my legs, still under the covers, up to my chest and held them there, setting my head on my knees.
Chrysallis put her arm around me and pulled me close. "It's okay. It was just a dream."
"It didn't feel like a dream. It felt like I actually was holding Pure Heart. I could feel his warm fur against mine and his soothing heartbeat in his chest, even if it was only for a second."
"Sweetie, you have to face the fact that he is gone. He won't be coming back and he never will."
"So you keep saying. But I just..." I sighed. "I don't know. Maybe your right."
"I am right, and the faster you realize this, the better you will feel." She gave me quick hug. "Now get up and get dressed. The wedding is only a few weeks away and you have so much to learn about this world."
I sighed again. "Alright. I'll be ready in thirty minutes."
"What a day!" I said as I jumped onto my bed face down, throwing my book bag onto the floor.
"Tell me about it." Chrysallis said as I heard her crack her back. "Those professors are very harsh. Not being able to chew gum is a travesty!"
"Not just that, but all the languages I have to learn is insane." I turned and sat up in the bed. I opened my bag and began pulling out books. "Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Arabic, Spanish, Russian, and Latin. Latin isn't even spoken in this day and age."
"At least you already speak English. I have heard English is one of the hardest languages to learn."
"But so is Mandarin Chinese." I said, holding up the proper textbook. "This would be so much simpler with magic." I put all the books back into the bag and then let myself fall backward onto my bed.
"Well, at least the day is over so you can get some well deserved rest."
"Right. I best get ready for bed then."
I opened my eyes and found myself under a beautiful tree. It appeared to be the same location that I fell into the pond in my dream the night before. I looked around but found no sign of Pure Heart.
"Pure Heart?" I said aloud as I stood up.
"Yes dear?" Said a voice from above.
I looked up and saw him sitting in the tree, tuning his guitar. "Pure Heart?"
"Hey babe, what's shakin'?" He said in a very coy manner as he jumped out of the tree, landing on his hooves.
"We haven't seen each other in months and the first thing you say to me is 'what's shakin'?" I said with a scowl.
"Oh, sorry. Um, I missed you."
I jumped on him, making sure to not head for the water this time. "I missed you, too." I kissed him tenderly on the lips but he didn't seem to kiss me back. I backed off a bit and looked at him. "What's wrong?"
He sighed as he stood up. "It's just... I wish this was real."
"But this feels plenty real to me."
"It may feel real, but the truth of the matter is that I'm gone."
"But you are right here."
"Yes, in your dream. I will always be in your dreams. But that isn't enough, Luna."
"What is it that you are trying to say?"
"...That it may be time for you to move on." He said as he turned away.
"No!" I ran in front of him. "I will not! You are my true love and I will not give that up!" Tears began to form in my eyes.
He grabbed me by the shoulders and looked me in the eyes. "Luna! You need to let me go! You will never be happy again unless you do!"
"I can't." I said, lowering my head.
"Luna, I love you too much to see you suffer like this." He brought me into a hug.
I closed my eyes and buried my head into his chest. We stayed like that for a few minutes and then I broke the silence. "If you are only in my dreams, how can I feel your heartbeat?"
"It's just your memories, love. And you will always have them. But it would make your life much better to just forget me."
I continued to cry. "But... Pure Heart. I don't want to. If I do, then Black Heart will win."
"Luna, he already has won. He is the most powerful being in the universe and he will soon be the supreme ruler. No one can stop him." He said, running his hoof through my hair.
"How do you know about Black Heart?" I asked, looking into his eyes.
"I'm just a memory, Luna. All that I am telling you are things that you already know."
"So, you're saying that there is no hope and I already know it."
"Well, yes and no. There is always hope Luna. You just have to figure out where that hope lies. Once you do, the answer will become clear."
"But where does it lie?"
"The tree."
A sudden rush of wind stirred up dust causing me to close my eyes.
"It's time that I go." I heard him say.
"What? No! Stay with me a bit longer." I gripped his warm fur in an attempt to keep him with me.
"I'm sorry, but it is time for you to wake up."
I felt his fur change to a rough texture as his personage faded from my embrace. I opened my eyes and found I was hugging a tree. The wind had died down and pink petals floated around me. "Pure Heart?"
I looked around but found he was nowhere to be seen. He was gone.
"PURE HEART!"
I awoke in my bed as usual and saw that Chrysallis was by my side.
"You saw him, didn't you?"
I sat up and nodded.
"What did he say?"
I sniffed and wiped away the tears in my eyes. "He said that he was gone and that I should move on with my life."
She placed her hand on my shoulder. "So you finally have accepted the truth."
I shook her hand off and looked at her. "What are you talking about?"
"Come on Luna. You of all people should know that dreams show us what we truly want in life."
"But I don't want to move on. He may have said that he was gone, but I know in my heart that he is still alive."
She rolled her eyes. "Here we go again."
"Don't give me that. Even though he said he was just a memory, I have had my fair share of dreams with him in it. And this is the first time I have felt the soothing beat of his heart."
"Come now, it was merely a memory."
"But he told me something I have no memory of."
"Which is?"
"That there was hope."
"Hope of what?"
"That is the thing I am not totally sure of. He said that the hope was a tree."
"Well that narrows things down. There are only billions of trees both in this world and our own."
"I know it is not much to go on, but at least it's something."
She sighed. "You know that you are confined to your room in a castle that is located in the middle of a frozen wasteland where there is nothing that sustains any plant life of any kind except on the very outer reaches of the continent, right?"
"I know, but I am sure I will figure something out."
She looked down and raised her brow. "What are you holding?"
"What?" I looked down and found that my hand was balled up in a fist. I held up my hand and opened it. What I held caused me to gasp. "I knew it. I knew it wasn't just a dream."
"This proves nothing." Chrysallis said, shaking her head.
"What other proof do you need? As you said, we are in a frozen wasteland. One that is devoid of plant life."
"But it is just not possible."
"Nothing is impossible. You and I both know that." Suddenly an idea came to my mind. "Chrysi, we need to get a message to my sister. I know what tree Pure Heart was talking about."
"I'll get a pen and paper." She stood up and walked over to the desk.
I once again looked down at my outstretched hand and reveled at the pink petal that lay there.
After being summoned by my aunt, I walked into the throne room and bowed before her. "Greetings, your majesty."
"Who is this?" Said a voice beside her.
I looked up and saw Death sitting beside her.
"That is your nephew, Nightshade. Remember?" Celestia explained.
"Ah yes. Our nephew the time traveler." He walked up to me and slapped me on the back. "How the heck are ya?"
The hit knocked the wind out of me and I coughed hard to regain my composure. "Fine." I coughed again into my hoof. "It's good to see you as well. I'm glad to see that you are out and about. How long have you been free from the crystal?"
"Oh, about a week, though I'm still a little stiff from it."
"It's most likely just the residual effects of the magic. Just make sure to stretch every morning and you'll be fine."
"I'm surprised you didn't know he was out." Celestia remarked.
"To tell you the truth, I have barely left my father's study in the past couple of weeks. I actually don't even know what day it is." I said, rubbing my sore eyes that developed from reading so many texts.
"May 11."
"May 11! Crap! We don't have much time!" I said starting to hyperventilate.
"Whoa son. Calm down." Death said patting me on the back. "What are you talking about?"
"I talking about the winter solstice. It is closing in and I still have no idea how to stop Black Heart."
"The winter solstice? But that is in December." Celestia said.
"It is in the northern hemisphere in our world. That is, back on Earth." Said someone from behind.
I turned to see a silver pegasus with a straw hat and glasses.
"Quicksilver. Thank you for coming." Celestia said.
"It is an honor to be called into your service, Princess Celestia." He said, tipping his hat. "As I was saying, the seasons on Earth are quite different from the seasons here."
"Right. On Earth, humans do not control the seasons and so they are different between hemispheres." I said, then turned to the pegasus. "By the way, I am Nightshade."
"Ah yes, the prince from the future. Pleased to meet your acquaintance." We shook hooves quickly before turning our attention back to Celestia and Death.
"So what does this mean?" Celestia asked.
"It means that the winter solstice is on a different day of the year in the southern hemisphere than that of the northern hemisphere. June 22nd is the day of the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere." Quicksilver explained.
"But what does any of this have to do with Black Heart?" Death asked.
"The winter solstice is the day that Black Heart marries my mother!" I said with terror in my voice.
"That is awful!" Exclaimed Celestia.
"Though I do feel bad for her, I am still unsure what this has to do with anything." Quicksilver said.
"The day that they were married was the day that everything went wrong."
"What happened?" Death asked.
"I can't say, because it could entirely mess up the time line."
"Isn't that what we are trying to do? Change the future?" Celestia said.
"We are, but I am physically forbidden from saying anymore. It is part of the spell that I used to get here. If I say anymore, then the spell will break and I will be sent back to the future."
"Then why even come back at all?" Death asked.
"Because, though I am cannot say what happens, I can prevent things from happening."
"That makes next to no sense at all." Quicksilver said.
"Don't blame me, I was not the one who found the spell."
"Who did?" Quicksilver asked.
"Once again, I can't say."
"Well then, what have you found thus far that can help us?" Celestia asked.
"Nothing of interest. No spell can prevent the coming catastrophe and I have found no objects of power that can possibly help." I said with sorrow.
"Indeed that is bad news." Death said.
Suddenly, a scroll fell out of the air from a cloud of black smoke and bounced across the floor, finally coming to rest at the base of Celestia's throne.
"What is this?" She lifted the scroll with her magic and unfurled it.
"Who is it from?" Quicksilver asked.
"It's from my sister." She said as she looked over the scroll.
"Celestia?" I asked.
She looked up.
"Would you be so kind as to read it out loud?"
"Oh. Yes. Of course." She looked back to the scroll and read. "Celestia. I have found out where to look for a solution to this disaster. You must look in the old sakura tree in the palace garden. I believe that Pure Heart may have left us something there to help. Luna."
"Sakura tree? What is a sakura tree?" Death asked.
"Sakura is the Japanese word for cherry blossom." Quicksilver explained.
"Okay. And what is Japanese?" Celestia asked.
"Is this really the best time for 20 questions?" I said.
"Right. To the garden." She said.
"Old cherry blossom tree. We have a lot of cherry blossom trees in the garden, but I do think that this is the oldest one." The master gardener said as he lead the way into a clearing.
"Thank you Cabbage Patch." Celestia said.
The old farm pony bowed his head and walked away.
"Well this is the tree. What's so darn special about it?" Death asked.
"I do not know. Luna did not explain what this tree's significance was. Have you any idea, Nightshade?" Celestia asked me.
"I do not know what significance it holds to my mother, but it definitely is special to me. This is where I last saw my father before I was transported to the human world."
"Ah, yes. I remember now. That was the day everything began to turn south." Death said.
"But what are we supposed to do at the tree?" I said.
"The hole!" Said a small voice to the north of the tree.
We went walked around the tree and found ourselves in a clearing with my sisters staring at a small hole in the center.
"What are you kids doing out of bed?" Celestia asked with a stern tone.
"We heard what was going on we remembered the hole next to the tree." Starfire said.
"Yeah. This is the hole that we followed daddy to months ago. Mommy found us and said she that she would go down and find him. After that, we got bored and went back to bed." Moonbeam explained.
The hole. I do remember that. I thought as I walked closer to it. But wasn't it bigger? The hole was about the size of my hoof but I thought for sure it was at least a meter wide when I saw it last. How else would mother have been able to fit inside?
Stick your hoof in.
I looked around. "Did you say something Death?"
He furrowed his brow. "No. Why?"
"I thought I heard someone say something."
Stick your hoof in.
"I think I'm supposed to put my hoof into the hole." I said.
I reached forward and was about to put my hoof into the hole, when I felt a hoof on my shoulder.
"Hold on, do you think it is such a good idea to do that?" Celestia asked with concern.
"Well, I won't know until I try, now will I?"
I once again reached for the hole and, without hesitation, plunged my right hoof into the hole.
A bolt of energy rushed up my leg and sparks began to fly out of the hole. "Ahh!" I screamed in pain.
"Girls! Get back!" Celestia yelled as she scooped up my sisters and darted backwards.
Death ran to my side. "Pull out your leg!"
"I c-can't!" I said through the pain.
Death tried to help me, but was struck by a bolt of electricity as soon as he touched me, knocking him off his hooves and sending him flying off into a nearby bush.
"Ouch!" He yelled. He got back up and ran back towards Celestia. "No one touch him! He has electricity running through his entire body!"
"What are we supposed to do then?" Celestia asked.
Turn your hoof to the right.
Through the pain, I did turn my hoof and then pulled with all my might. The hold on my leg began to give and then seemed to snap off. I pulled my leg out of the hole and the light show immediately subsided. I collapsed onto the ground, exhausted.
Death again ran to my side and picked me up. "Are you alright?"
I coughed. "Fine, fine. Just give me a minute?" I breathed deeply and then felt something in my hoof. I held it up to my face and found that it was a hilt.
"What's that? A sword's hilt?" Death asked.
"That's what it looks like. But not like any I have ever seen." I was about to take a closer look when Starfire spoke up.
"Hey! A hole!"
"Yes dear. That was a hole." Celestia said.
"Not the sparkly one. The one that's in this tree."
We all turned around and found that there was indeed a hole in the cherry blossom tree. A large hole.
"That wasn't there before, was it?" Celestia asked.
"It was not." Death said. He and I walked over to the hole and he inspected it. "It seems that the laser light show we just witnessed was a trigger that caused this hole to open."
I walked up to the entrance and found a set of stairs leading downward into the ground beneath the tree.
I began to take a step into the tree hollow but was stopped by Death.
"What do you think you are doing?"
"I need to go in there."
"You just got electrocuted and you think that it is a good idea to enter a dark corridor with who knows what is lying in wait along the way?" Death scolded.
I looked him in the eyes. "I have to. For the sake of the future."
"But you are in no condition to do anything after that little mishap with the hole." Celestia said.
"Then I suppose that we will have to accompany him." Said someone else.
I turned to see Vapor Sky and Cloudlight standing behind us.
"I do not wish for anyone else to get hurt, so I must refuse."
"You may refuse, but we are coming anyway. It is my sworn duty to protect Pure Heart's family and that means accompanying you into this hole." Vapor Sky said.
"And I stand by her no matter what the cost." Cloudlight said.
"Fine, just stay out of my way." I said.
"Wait, wait. Do I not get any say in this?" Celestia asked.
"I'm sorry Auntie, but I must do this." I gave her a quick hug. "Don't worry, I'll be back." I turned to Vapor and Cloudlight. "Come on then. We mustn't dawdle."
I took a deep breath and entered into the darkness of the tree with Vapor Sky and Cloudlight following.
After walking downwards for around fifteen minutes, the ground leveled out and turned into a straight corridor. We continued forward but as we did, a light appeared at the end.
"What's that?" Vapor asked.
"I'm not sure." I said.
As we got closer, we found a large stone arch with a metal portcullis separating us from the other side. The light we saw was a single torch to the left of the portcullis.
"Hey, what's that under the torch?" Vapor asked.
I looked underneath and found words scratched into the stone. "'Hydra's may have many heads, but two heads are not always better than one. Find the one.'" I read aloud. After I did, the portcullis raised and we entered.
Upon entering, the portcullis slammed shut behind us. "I guess there is no going back now." Cloudlight said.
I looked around and saw that we were in a large arena. In the distance, there was another arch with a closed portcullis. We walked towards the other side of the arena, but I stopped in the middle.
"What's wrong Nightshade?" Vapor asked.
"I feel like something is watching us." Just as I said this, a large glob of something fell from the ceiling and onto the ground, causing a sizzling sound.
"What in the world?" Cloudlight asked.
We all looked up and saw several red eyes staring back at us through the darkness.
"We need to move!" I yelled.
We all dashed to the side of the arena just as the beast fell to the ground, making the ground shake.
"What is that thing?" I asked.
"I've never seen one in my life. And I've seen just about everything." Cloudlight said.
"It's a bone hydra-dragon." Vapor Sky said.
"A what?" I asked.
"Oh come on. Don't you know anything about your father? He fought one of these years ago."
"Maybe we can discuss Nightshade's heritage after we stop this beast."
"Yeah, that might be best. Wait, why isn't it doing anything?" I asked. The colossal beast was just staring at us with no expression due to it's lack of skin.
"Maybe we aren't supposed to fight it." I said.
Just then, it made a deafening screech and lunged one of its heads at me. I drew one my swords and stabbed it in the forehead. The head reared back, taking my sword with it.
Another head attacked me, so I pulled out my other sword and stabbed it in the jaw. It took that sword with it as well. This pattern continued for Vapor Sky and Cloudlight as well.
"What are we supposed to do now? We are out of weapons and they seem to just have gotten angrier." Cloudlight said.
I didn't have much time to think as the last head attacked me.
The hilt.
I pulled out the sword hilt from earlier and held it up as the beast engulfed me in its mouth.
"Nightshade!" Vapor Sky yelled.
I looked up and saw that the hilt had pierced the skull. The beast screamed and then began to fade.
"What the huh?" I said. There were several klinking sounds as our weapons fell to the ground.
Vapor Sky ran over to me and gave me a quick look over. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just a bit confused. What happened?"
"I guess there was never really a beast. It must have been an illusion." Cloudlight explained.
"That was the realest illusion I have ever seen." I said.
"Say, what is that you are holding?" Vapor asked.
I looked at the hilt and saw a large white spike protruding from it. "This used to just be a hilt."
"May I see it?" Vapor asked.
"Knock yourself out." I said, giving her the spike. I walked over to my own weapons and picked them up, placing them back into their sheathes. After collecting the other weapons, I went to back over to where Vapor Sky and Cloudlight stood, examining this new addition to he hilt.
"Here you go." I gave them there swords and they gladly accepted them. "So you find anything out?"
"Well I'm not entirely sure of it, but it seems to me that this new addition to your hilt is a spike made entirely of hydra bone." Cloudlight said.
"Oh goody. Can we move along now?" I took the hilt and spike and held it under my wing. I then walked over to the next portcullis and it opened.
"Let us continue." I said walking into the next hallway.
After another long walk, we approached another stone gate with a single lit torch, but this time the torch was to the right of the portcullis.
"Another inscription." Vapor said. "It says, 'Magnets attract and repel each other. Wait for the right moment.'"
The portcullis opened and we walked through and the portcullis once again slammed shut behind us.
We were in a narrow chamber this time with several swinging pendulums. Some were black and some were blue.
"It appears that we have to get pass these blades." Cloudlight said.
"Piece of cake." I said running forward.
"Nightshade!" Vapor yelled. I didn't stop though.
Each pendulum seemed to move faster than the last, but that didn't stop me from running through. Though after each one, I felt a bit heavier.
"Only a couple more." I said to myself.
I passed two more blades and barely made it pass them. "Alright. One more."
This last one was by far the fastest, making a pass every two seconds.
"I can do this."
I waited for the right moment and jumped but was forcibly pulled down in the path of the blade.
The spike.
I pulled out the hydra bone spike and held it up to block the blue pendulum. The blade came down and made contact with the spike. The pendulum didn't stop, but instead melded with the spike as it passed over. I then rolled over and made it to the other side.
"Are you alright?" Cloudlight asked.
"I'm fine. Wait how did you get over here before me?" I asked with surprise.
"We flew over." Cloudlight said.
"What? How? I thought the gravity in the room prevented that."
"It's not gravity, it's magnets."
"Magnets?"
"Yeah. The magnets got stronger as you went, making your armor weigh you down."
"But you're wearing armor." I said, pointing at Vapor Sky.
"My armor has no magnetic elements in it. My guess is that your armor has iron in it."
"It does."
"So it looks like the sword is almost complete." Vapor said.
"Sword?" I looked at the spike and saw that it now had blue blades either side of it.
"Neat. I've never seen a sword like this."
"You've never seen your dad's sword?"
"Dad's sword? Not often. I don't think he wanted to expose us to violence as children."
"Even so, this sword here is different from the one you've seen. This is shaping to be like his first sword."
"First sword?" I asked.
"You don't know anything about your father, do you?" Vapor Sky said.
"I know what my grandparents have told me. And that only pertains to his life as a human."
"Well, let me fill you in a bit. Years ago, when your dad first came to Equestria, he lost his memory and was told he was someone else by Ark."
"Who was he then?"
"Back then, he knew himself as Darkly Facade, a harvenger of darkness."
"Dad was evil?!"
She nodded. "He killed many creatures in the Everfree Forest. Including a hydra from which he crafted the spike of this sword. I had always wondered what he had done with this sword. Princess Luna had told him to get rid of it."
"Did you stalk my dad?" I asked with a smirk.
She began to blush. "N-no. I just was a quite interested in him in my younger years. I know a lot about him."
"And your cool with that?" I asked Cloudlight.
He shrugged. "As long as she loves me more, I'm fine with her fan girl obsessions."
She punched him in the shoulder. "I am not a fan girl."
"If I may interupt this flirt fest, what else made up this sword?"
"It doesn't put you off that your father used this sword to kill many innocents?" Vapor asked.
"Like you said, he didn't know who really was, so I don't think it counts as him being evil."
"Alright, if that's how you feel. The first part was obviously the hydra bone. This blue blade must be the cobalt, which would explain the magnet themed room." Vapor explained.
"How so?" I asked.
"Cobalt is one of the few elements that can be attracted my magnets." Cloudlight said.
"Alright, then what is the last one?"
"Obsidian."
"Volcanic glass?!" I asked with surprise.
"Indeed." Cloudlight said.
"Wow, I can't wait to see what that room will look like. Well there is no use in staying here then. Shall we move on?"
We walked through the gate and again were surrounded by darkness.
We came upon the final gateway. This arch had a torch on each side of the portcullis. The inscription this time was above the arch.
"I'll read this one." Cloudlight said. "'Close calls can't save you this time. Just like ancient human cultures, you must appease the gods.'"
The portcullis opened and we stepped inside.
Inside, the room was aglow from the large crater in the center.
"Of course it is an active volcano." I said.
"Well, what now?" Cloudlight asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. "That last riddle made no sense to me."
"Someone will have to jump in." Vapor said.
"Are you crazy?!" I yelled.
"Listen to me. It said that we must appease the gods. In ancient human cultures, they appeased they're gods to prevent the volcano from erupting. They did this by giving human sacrifices."
"Well I am part human, so I suppose I should be the one to go in."
"But you'll be killed!" Cloudlight said.
"Hey, I have survived electricity, a hydra, and swinging pendulums. I doubt a little bit of lava is going to harm me." I took out my swords and walked to the edge of the pit. "Wish me luck." I stuck my swords into the side wall and started descending into the volcano.
As I went down, it obviously got hotter the closer I got to the lava.
"How's it going?!" I heard Vapor shout from the top.
"It's paradise! How do you think it's going?!" I said sarcastically.
I kept climbing down further and further into the volcano. The sweat began to drench the handles of my swords, causing them to become slippery. Many a time, I nearly fell to my death.
Eventually though, I made it to the bottom. Strangely, at the bottom there was a platform that I was able to jump onto. It was small and seemed to be made of molten glass. In the center, there was a mound with a slot at the peak.
Place the sword in.
I took out the sword and placed it into the slot.
As soon as the sword was buried up to the hilt, the platform began to shake and spouts of lava erupted all around me.
My instinct told me to leave the sword and unfurl my wings, letting the hot air carry me up fast.
Stay.
I was just about fly out, but for some reason, did not. Instead, I grasped the hilt of the sword and held on tight.
The platform began to crumble all around me, each piece splashing into the magma below and showering me with molten rock. Most of the magma was caught by my armor, but some of it did make contact with my skin and it caused severe burns. I just gritted my teeth and waited for a supposed miracle.
The platform, which I barely had room to move on freely to begin with, now just gave a few inches between me, the mound, and being burned alive by the lava below.
"Well, it needed a sacrifice, so I guess I'm it." I said to myself. Just as I was about to give up hope, the sword began to shine bright, brighter than all the molten rock that surrounded me, and the platform suddenly shot upwards, leaving a trail of rock in its wake.
Before I knew it, I was at the top of the crater. I looked around and saw Vapor Sky and Cloudlight beckoning me from the next gate.
"Come on, the volcano is about to explode!" Vapor yelled.
I looked down and saw the lava was indeed rising at an alarming rate. I pulled out the sword and jumped to the edge, running for the gate.
"Get through now!" I yelled over the roar of the erupting volcano.
Vapor and Cloudlight quickly ran through the gate and I ran after them. The portcullis closed behind us, and we breathed a sigh of relief.
"That was a close one." Cloudlight said, breathing hard.
"Wait, didn't the inscription say-" I was cut off by rumbling from the portcullis. As I turned around, I found that the portcullis wasn't holding up. "Run now!" We all ran as the gate burst and lava spewed out.
Stop.
I skidded to a halt.
"What are you doing?! The lava is moving faster!" Vapor said.
Use the sword.
I pulled out the sword and held it in front of me.
"Are you nuts?! That lava will burn you alive!" Cloudlight said.
I didn't say a word. I just had the strangest feeling that I should stay put.
"Come on! You can't die here!" Cloudlight said, tugging on my shoulder.
I pulled out one of my other swords and held it to his throat, though I have know idea why.
"Step back, unless you want to die." Why did I say that? I thought to myself.
He did step back, and I continued to hold my stance.
"We've got to keep going." Cloudlight said to Vapor Sky.
"We can't just leave him!" She said.
"There's nothing we can do for him. Come on."
I heard her sob and then steps going running down the tunnel.
What am I doing? If I stay here, I'm gonna be deep fried.
Place the sword in the ground.
I stabbed the sword into the ground and waited as the lava began to cover my hooves.
Twist the sword handle.
I turned the handle and a crevice opened up in front of me, causing the lava to flow into it.
"Wow, did I just do that?" I shrugged and ran after Cloudlight and Vapor Sky.
After another hour of walking, I saw another gate in the distance and I also saw Vapor Sky and Cloudlight standing in front of it.
"Hey guys, what's up?" I said with a cheery tone.
Vapor ran up to me. "Your alive!" She hugged me tight.
"Ow, ow, ow."
She let go. "I'm so sorry."
"It's fine, it's fine." I said.
"Well now that we know you are fine, could you please explain what the sword to my throat was all about?" Cloudlight asked.
"Yeah, sorry about that. It was an impulse, except it felt like someone else's impulse. As if I was being controlled by something. Believe me, I would never do that to a friend."
"Controlled by something? Strange." Vapor said.
"Well, in any case, I forgive you for it. Best to look forward than to look back." Cloudlight said.
"Cool. Now, what does this one say?" I asked looking for the inscription.
"It says, 'The sword you now carry once belonged to a madman. Do you hear the voices, too?'" Vapor read.
I could feel the blood rush from my face. "Voices?"
"Yeah, voices. Does that mean anything to you?" Cloudlight asked.
"Well, I wasn't too sure of it, but there might have been a small voice telling me what to do through this whole dungeon."
"Really? And when did this begin?"
"When we found the hole in the ground behind the tree. It's what told me to stick my hoof in the hole."
"And this has never happened before?" Vapor asked.
"Nope."
"And you just did whatever it told you to do?" Cloudlight asked.
"I guess. Though it felt like I didn't have any choice but to do what it said. Like I was a puppet or something."
"Interesting. Is it telling you what we have to do to get through this gate?"
Use the sword.
I walked up to the portcullis and slashed at it with the sword. The metal grating tore open like it was wet paper.
"It said to do that." I said.
"Well I guess that's one way to open a door." Vapor said.
I stepped through the opening in the gate and walked into the room, Vapor Sky and Cloudlight right behind me.
The room was empty, save for a large pedestal made of stone in the center of the room. Upon the pedestal was a box made of a shiny black mineral that glistened and danced in the light of the torches hanging on the walls.
"What is that box?" Vapor asked.
"I'm not sure. Cloudlight?" I turned to see him visibly shaken. "Cloudlight, what's wrong? Do you know what that is?"
He nodded. "It's a t-tomb."
"A tomb?" I walked up to the box and felt the black stone box. "It's so cold."
"Is it that strange?" Said a voice.
I turned around just in time to see a fireball flying at me and dodge it.
"What the heck?!" I yelled.
"You missed son." Discord said, talking to Flashfire.
"It's not my fault. Sombra is the one that spoke and gave away our position."
"At least I hit my targets." Sombra sneered.
I looked around and saw Vapor Sky and Cloudlight on the ground writhing in agony.
"What did you do to them?!"
"They are just living their worst nightmares. Nothing you need to worry about." Sombra chuckled.
I started to run towards them, but was stopped by a wall of fire.
"He said you don't need to worry about them. Worry about yourself." Flashfire said.
"How did you even get in here? The path is blocked my a wall of cooled magma." I asked.
"You poor fool, we can go wherever we want, as long as there are shadows." Sombra said.
"Indeed." Discord snapped his fingers and a portal appeared behind him, through which he stuck his arm through. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see his hand waving at me after which it punched me in the jaw.
I staggered back and rubbed my jaw. "Cheap shot!"
"I'm a bad guy, it's what I do." Discord said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Enough of the pleasantries, we have work to do." Sombra said.
Flashfire turned to me. "Nightshade, we have come for that sword."
"You can't have it. This sword belonged to my father and is infused with his magic."
"Oh, well if that's how you feel, I guess are work here is done. Come on fellas." Discord said as he opened a shadow portal.
"Are you serious? Why don't we take it from him right now?" Sombra asked in shock.
"No, no. We don't need that sword. Come on, we still have things to do here before Black Heart will open the portal again." Discord made a gesture and Sombra nodded.
"Yes, we best be off. Goodbye for now, young prince." Sombra walked through as well.
Flashfire looked at me and then the portal and switched between the two a few times. "Wait, what?"
Discord's hand came back through the portal and grabbed him by the neck. "Get in here." He pulled him through, closing the portal behind him.
I pondered for minute on what just happened and decided to just forget about it.
"What happened?" Vapor Sky asked, rubbing her head.
"Vapor! You're alright!" I yelled, running over.
"Yes, I'm alright. Where's Cloudlight?"
"Over here." He walked over to us on shaky legs.
"How are you feeling?" I asked him.
"Apart from having the worst nightmare ever, I'm okay."
"You too?" Vapor asked.
"I'm not surprised in the least, since Sombra used his fear magic on you."
"Sombra?!" They both exclaimed.
I nodded. "Discord and Flashfire as well."
They looked around. "Where are they?" Cloudlight asked.
"They already left."
"They did? Without killing us?" Vapor asked.
"Yeah. They said they had come for the sword, but after I said no, they just left."
"Just left? No fight?"
"Nope."
"No curses?" Asked Cloudlight.
"Not one."
"And you didn't give them the sword?" Vapor asked.
"Of course not. See?" I pulled it out from under my wing and showed it off.
"Nightshade... That's a stick."
"Huh?" I looked at what I was holding and found it was indeed a stick. "Bu- Hu- What?" I stuttered. "When did they..." I thought for a moment. "It must have been when Discord made a cheap shot from behind."
"Oh no. That was the only thing that could have given us an edge against Black Heart. What are we supposed to do now?" Vapor asked.
"What's worse, I think Discord took my wallet as well." I said, checking my pockets.
"Really? THAT is what you are worried about?" Vapor scowled.
"It was a nice wallet and I had twenty dollars in it."
"Would you two stop bickering and help me with this?" Cloudlight said, pushing against the lid of the black box.
We walked over and started pushing it as well. As the lid began to budge, a blast of cold air rushed out, blasting our faces. We continued to push and once we got it halfway, it tipped over on to the floor with a loud clank.
We looked into the box and gasped.
"Dad." I gasped.
"So that's what happened to his body." Vapor said.
"I can't believe it. He's been here all along." Cloudlight said.
"That's not him though." I placed my hoof on his neck. "There is no pulse. This is merely a souless shell."
"Perfectly preserved though. He looks like he could wake up at any moment." Vapor observed.
Suddenly, a bright light was emitted from the side of the coffin, causing us to jump back.
An image began to flicker in front of us which was followed by a muffled sound.
"What is it?" Vapor asked.
"Looks like some kind of hologram message." Cloudlight said.
The image began to become fuzzy but then solidified.
"Dad!"
The image moved its mouth, but all that came out was a loud screech much like what my grandmother said dial-up sounded like.
We all covered our ears and the hologram seemed to take notice. It walked over to the coffin and gave it a swift kick. The sound immediately ceased and we uncovered our ears.
"Testing, testing. 1, 2, 3. Mary had a little lamb..." The hologram said.
"We can hear you." Vapor said.
"Good. Nice to see you again, Vapor Sky." It said.
"See me again? I've never been down here."
"I know. I'm talking about from Pure Heart's point of view."
"What are you saying, that you are Pure Heart?" Cloudlight asked.
"Well, yes and no. Yes, I think exactly like him. No, I am not him. I am an AI he created that has all his memories stored inside. He created me so that one day if he were to die, there would be a piece of him around. So for all intents and purposes, I am Pure Heart. You may just call me Mr. Heart, though."
"Wow. An artificial intelligence. Pure Heart was a lot smarter than I gave him credit for." Cloudlight said.
"Of course he's smart. He is my dad." I said.
Mr. Heart squinted at me. "Hello. I don't believe we have meet."
"Dad, it's me. Nightshade."
"Nightshade? How long has Pure Heart been dead?"
"A couple months." Vapor said.
"But, Nightshade is so old." Mr. Heart's image began to flicker and spark. "Does...not...compute..." Mr. Heart's image then completely faded.
"Great, you broke it." Cloudlight scolded me.
"Boo."
Cloudlight screamed and jumped to the ceiling.
"Hah! Classic." Mr. Heart said, laughing his head off.
"I see he programmed in his sick sense of humor." Cloudlight gasped as he lowered himself to the ground.
"Yeah he did!" He wiped his eye as he calmed down. "In all seriousness, it's nice to see that you grew up to be a strong young man. I assume you are from the future. Don't tell me anything about. I like surprises."
"I'm just glad to see you. It's been so long." I said.
"I'm sorry, son. I wish I could have been there for you as you grew up. But, that's in your past."
"Yeah, I guess."
"So, how was the gauntlet?"
"Gauntlet? You mean the death traps?" Vapor asked.
"Yeah, the gauntlet. Was it fun?"
"FUN?! It nearly killed me!" I yelled.
"Isn't that fun?"
"NO!"
"Oh, well I'm sure it would have been easier with your sisters."
"What?"
"Your sisters. Moonbeam and Starfire. This dungeon was meant for the three of you. Why didn't they come?"
"They are only five." Cloudlight said.
"But what about his sisters? The ones from the future."
"They didn't come with me. I haven't seen them since this all started." I said.
"Since what all started? How did I die?"
"Ark fused your minds, creating an extremely evil person known as Black Heart. Since then, he has gone to the human world and we haven't seen him since." Vapor explained.
"Black Heart? He stole my bit. Why I oughta kick his butt."
"That would be hard. He has gained the powers of all the most evil villains. And he has them all working for him as well."
"And no one tried to stop him? Why didn't Luna put him down or better yet, split my mind from Ark's?"
We all got quiet.
"Why are you all so quiet? What happened to my wife?" Mr. Heart got visibly tense.
"She couldn't stop him because... her horn was cut off."
He blinked. "Is that it? You scared me for a second. I thought you were gonna say she had died." He completely relaxed.
"What? Aren't you furious?" Vapor asked.
"Well sure. If I could, I would totally beat the living crap out of whoever did it. But her horn will grow back. Besides, she can take care of herself."
"But she is without magic in the human world." Cloudlight said.
"So is every other human, pegasus, and earth pony. Yet, they have all survived a long time without magic. They just had to work harder and that is what she will have to do."
"Well, what can we do to help?" I asked.
"You constructed the sword, right?"
"Yeah, but it was just taken by Discord." Vapor said.
"Wow. Discord is alive? Didn't see that coming. Anyways, the point is that you constructed it. That sword was just a conduit. It had no real power. Every obstacle you faced, you completed by your own power, not the sword's."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yes. And as long as you have that ring, I'll always be with you."
"Ring? Oh, you mean your grandpa's ring." I pulled out the chain that I kept tucked into my armor with the gold ring on it.
"Yep. That ring was very precious to me, and I am glad to see that it is to you as well."
"Wait, has it been you that was talking to me this whole time?"
"Yes, it was. It also acted as a conduit, but for my telepathy instead of your power."
"How come I haven't been able to hear you until now?"
"You haven't been close enough until now. I'm an AI, not a radio antenna."
"This is great and all, but we are still waiting for the solution for the impending doom problem." Cloudlight said impatiently.
"Right, sorry. Like I said, the sword acted like a conduit for Nightshade's power. Now that he has used it, his power should be completely unlocked."
"And what power would that be?" Vapor asked.
"Well, he was able to stop the lava from flowing."
"That's right. You told me to shove the sword into the ground and when I did a crevice opened and the lava flowed into it. But what kind of power is that?"
"The power to control the earth, of course." Mr. Heart said matter-of-factly.
"The earth? But you, err, Pure Heart was able to control and manipulate molecules. Shouldn't you pass that on to Nightshade instead?" Cloudlight asked.
"While it is true that Pure Heart was able to reconstruct molecular structures, he felt as though such an ability should not ever be given. It is a heavy burden to carry."
"But I know for a fact that he was able to teach it to Princess Luna. How is that different from teaching his son the same technique?" Vapor asked.
"Because he didn't teach her the technique, at least not in its entirety. He taught her how to split the pieces of her own weapons and how to split minds. Never did he once reveal to her how to actually split molecules."
"But wouldn't it have made sense to teach her how to do so?" I asked.
"It would in a logical sense, but not in an ethical sense."
"What does ethics have anything to do with it?" Cloudlight asked.
"Ethics has everything to do with it!" Mr. Heart yelled. "You can not comprehend how much blood he had spilled while perfecting that technique, at least a quarter of which, if not more, was his own. And the fact that he learned how to use such magic from the very being that caused this entire mess was enough of a reason to keep the secrets of molecular reconstruction to himself. That is why he has only used it to manipulate the earth and compounds within it."
I was awestruck, and looking at Cloudlight and Vapor Sky I knew they were, too. We could not even form words to respond. Silence fell upon the room for several minutes until I finally found my voice and spoke.
"I had no idea that so much death was involved."
"Yes, but now you know why he wouldn't give away that knowledge."
"But if we can't use his power to split atoms, then how are we ever supposed to save him and Luna?"
"You will have to use your new affinity for earth to figure that out." After he said this, the light from the coffin flashed a few times. "Oh dear, it seems that my time is up."
"What do you mean?" Vapor asked.
"I mean that there isn't much power left to sustain me. There is only so much a soul fragment can do."
"But you can't leave, we need your help to save mom and dad." I said.
"Sorry bud. You'll have to do it without me. Though there are a few things I need to tell you. First, you must save your mother and forget about helping your father. His soul is gone and cannot be retrieved. Second, do not try to confront this Black Heart character because he will not hesitate to kill you. Next, wear that ring at all times, it is imperative to your new power. And finally, and this is the most important, even though you now have Pure Heart's power over the earth, you can only use it to an extent. Don't over exert yourself, because it will kill you."
Once he explained this, the light from the coffin ceased and his image with it.
"WAIT!" I yelled.
"He's gone, Nightshade." Cloudlight said.
I breathed a sigh of sadness. "I know, I just wish he had told us how we are supposed to accomplish any of the tasks ahead. I mean, if I am not the one to defeat Black Heart, then who? And how can I just forget about my father?"
Before either of them could respond, another light flashed, but this one came from inside the coffin and was much softer. I walked over and saw that my dad's body had crumbled to dust. The only thing left inside was his wedding band. I reached in to pick it up, but then it too crumbled to dust.
"Good grief, studying sure is tiring." I said aloud as I backed up from my desk and stretched my arms over my head. Leaning back in my chair, I closed my eyes and tried to think about all the things that I had reviewed. Tomorrow I had a big test that covered every subject that I had been studying. The teacher called it a 'final exam' and said that it was a common practice among human colleges to issue such a test, though it was not usually as extreme as this one was going to be.
My teacher, Mr. Yaeger, is a very kind, old man that still had traces of his German accent in his voice when he spoke. He helped me through the material and explained things when I didn't understand. He even would comfort me when I would tear up from thinking about my situation. He is definitely a wise scholar and an even greater person.
"How is the studying going, froiline?" He asked, walking in front of my desk.
"It's going." I sighed, letting my chair fall back on all four legs.
He pulled up his chair and sat down next to me. "Don't worry, my dear." He said patting my hand. "It is almost over. Once you pass the test tomorrow, you'll be done with your studies."
"Mr. Yaeger, may I ask you something?"
"Of course Luna, but please, call me Kevin. After tomorrow, you will no longer be my student and so I find that such formalities are not needed any longer." He said smiling, causing his face to show it's age.
"After tomorrow, what will happen to you?"
He smoothed out his white mustache as he took a moment. "I suppose I'll go back home and continue my retirement."
"Did that scoundrel really drag you out of retirement? I ought to give him a piece of my mind."
"Don't worry about it. Retirement is not all that it's cracked up to be. I was so incredibly bored, I was taking up knitting. KNITTING!" He said laughing, causing me to laugh as well.
After we calmed down, I looked at him as he removed the small glasses from his nose and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Do you not have anyone to go home to? Any family to see?"
"No. I'm afraid that I was an only child and so was my wife."
"What about your children?"
He shook his head. "We never had children. Unfortunately, my wife was barren."
"And your wife?"
He sighed. "My sweet Liza died years ago."
"I'm so sorry. I did not mean to bring up such hard memories."
"No, it's quite alright. I love remembering her. She and I had a wonderful life together with spectacular memories. And I know that someday, I'll get to see her again."
"What? Are you some kind of necromancer?"
He gave a hearty laugh. "You are a funny one. No, I mean in heaven."
"Heaven? Ah yes, I remember. The Christian belief of paradise after death."
"Indeed. She and I will once again be together and we can be together forever."
"Together forever... That must be nice." I said sadly, looking at the bracelet on my wrist.
He took my hand and slowly rubbed his thumb over the back of it. "My dear. You said that you and your husband were eternally bound, correct?"
I slowly nodded.
"Then you will see him again."
"You sound so sure of that. How can you be so confident?"
I felt him wipe a tear from my cheek with his thumb. "Because love never dies."
I looked at his face and and saw him smiling, so I smiled back. "Thank you."
"You are very much welcome." He patted my hand then stood. "Well I believe that will do it for today." He walked over to his desk and placed a few books into his bag.
I picked up my books and notes put them into my own bag. I stood and stretched out my legs for a moment and picked up my bag.
I said bye to Mr. Yaeger and had just walked out the door when I felt my feet fly out from under me as I hit the ground with a thump.
"Luna, are you alright?" Mr. Yaeger said, helping me to my feet.
"I'm fine. Just a sore backside." I looked around and saw that the floor was wet and knew who the culprit was. "Mop-man." I whispered.
"Excuse me?"
"Mop-man. The guy who is always mopping the floor. That is what I call him since I don't know his name. Anyway, this isn't the first time I've slipped on the wet floor."
"So you are talking about the janitor?" He asked.
"Yes."
"Have you talked to him about this?"
"Well I've tried, but every time I confront him, he ignores me and continues to mop. I have even tried speaking in the Royal Canterlot Voice, and he still doesn't respond. It is quite rude."
"Well there he is now." He said, pointing him out. "How about I come with you this time and see what I can do?"
I agreed and we walked down the hallway, carefully, and then Mr. Yaeger tapped him on the shoulder. The man ceased mopping and turned around.
"Hello my good sir. This young lady would like to have a word with you."
Mop-man took a finger and pointed to himself and then to his ear and moved it down to his mouth.
"Well that is just rude." I said.
"What is?"
"Didn't you see it? He made a rude gesture at me."
Mr. Yaeger laughed at this.
Mop-man made a few more gestures and then Mr. Yaeger made some back. Then Mop-man began to chuckle as well.
"Now you're doing it too? Is there a virus going around or something?" I said with an annoyed tone.
"I am sorry my dear. We're not making rude gestures, we're signing."
"But there is an obvious lack of documents and writing utensils for you to be doing that."
"You misunderstand. Not signing as in writing your name, but signing as in talking through hand gestures. It is a very common means of communication among the deaf."
"Deaf? You mean this man can't hear me?"
"Exactly."
"What is his name?"
Kevin made more gestures and the man made some back.
"Jacob Smith."
"Nice to formally meet you, Jacob Smith." I said, extending my hand. Jacob took it and shook, smiling wide. He then signed more.
"'It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Lady Luna.'" Kevin translated.
A bright red light began to flash from his hip. He reached for his belt and pulled out a small device that seemed to buzz. He looked at it and put it back on his belt. He looked at us and signed once again.
"'I'm sorry, but I have to go. There is a mess that needs to be cleaned. Goodbye.'" Kevin again translated.
I simply waved goodbye as did Jacob and he walked away with his mop and bucket. I then looked at Kevin. "So you know sign language as well, huh?"
"Just American Sign Language. A childhood friend of mine was deaf and I learned from him."
"I thought you grew up in Germany."
"I did. He did too. He was born in the United States and moved to Germany when he was ten."
"I see." I yawned.
"Well I see that you are tired, so I am going to let you go." Kevin said, bowing. "Have a good night, Lady Luna. And watch out for those wet floors." He looked up and winked, causing me to slightly blush.
"Alright. You have a good night as well." I said as I waved and walked down the hall.
After traversing the many halls, I finally reached my room and opened the door. When I walked in, I heard a crinkling sound come from under my feet. I looked down and found a folded paper with my name on it and picked it up. Closing the door, I walked further into my room and threw my book bag onto my bed and then sat down myself. I opened the paper and read what was written.
'Please meet me tonight at 11 PM in the hallway next to the statue garden. Don't tell anyone.'
A chilling breeze ran through the halls as I walked through them. When I approached the garden, I felt a hand cover my mouth and pull me backwards into a doorway. Once inside, the door shut, cutting off all light in the room. I heard a click and a dim light came on just above my head. The hand let go and when it retreated, I caught a glimpse of a gold band around the ring finger. I turned to see Jacob Smith standing there with his finger over his mouth, signaling me to keep quiet. He then went and sat on a small bed and patted next to him which I supposed meant he wanted me to sit next to him.
As I did, he picked up a pad of paper and a pen from a small table next to his bed and began to write. I took a moment to look around the room and found that it was not very big. It actually appeared to be a utility closet that also served as his quarters. One side held a shelf with several cleaning products and supplies and the other side held his bed, a table with a book on it, and a cabinet.
There was not much else to actually look at except a single photo hanging on the wall with what looked like a woman with brown hair that appeared to be laughing lying down in some grass with her arms stretched upwards. She was very beautiful from her stunning brown eyes to her slender hands on which was a gold band. In her hands, she held a little girl with brown hair as well that also was laughing.
A tap on my shoulder brought my attention back to Jacob. He handed me the pad and pointed to what he had written to which I read.
'Sorry about grabbing you like that, but I needed to speak with you. While it is true that I am deaf, I can read lips very well, so I as long as I can see your mouth I can understand what you are saying, just make sure to whisper. Though I can't hear what you are saying, these walls have ears. Now for what I asked you here for. I believe you are in great danger, Lady Luna.'
Facing him, I handed him the pad and whispered, "That really comes as no surprise to me. This castle is filled with deadly wendigos."
He quickly wrote something and then gave the pad back with his reply.
'Those beasts are not what I am referring to. In fact, they are docile compared to what I have seen.'
"What have you seen?"
'I have not actually seen it, but I have seen the henchmen of Black Heart talk about it. They think that since I am deaf, I don't know what they are saying, so they tend to talk about confidential things when I am around.'
"What are you talking about?"
'A monster. The likes of which I have never heard of. They said that it can only be seen when you face it directly and when you do see it, you see the manifestation of your most terrifying nightmares. That is all I know about it.'
"But what does that have to do with me?"
He gave me a sad look and then put the pen down to the paper began to write. As he did, I look over his shoulder to see what it was he was writing.
'Black Heart plans to'
As he was forming the next letter, the door slammed open, causing the pen to slip and tear the page. We both looked up and saw a wendigo standing there. It reached out with its long, gruesome arms and grabbed Jacob by the throat. Just as it did, Jacob quickly held up his left hand and opened it so the palm was facing right and then with his right hand stuck out his index finger. He then placed his right hand against his left palm and slid it forward towards me and repeated the action. The wendigo squeezed his neck more and Jacob began to struggle.
"Stop that at once!" I yelled while leaping towards the beast and trying to pull its decayed fingers away from Jacob's neck. The wendigo let out a growl and pushed me aside like I was an insect.
"Now, now. Be kind to your queen." Red Rum said, stepping into the room.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"We are simply here to collect this man. He has been a suspected conspirator against Lord Black Heart for some time now and shall be thrown into the dungeon for his treason." He then shrugged his shoulders. "Shame really, he was quite good at his job. I suppose it really is always the quiet ones." He let out a small chuckle.
"The dungeon? I didn't know there was a dungeon, though I guess I really shouldn't be surprised."
"Indeed, we do. Though I have heard it is quite empty at the moment." He said smiling.
"I demand to see this dungeon at once."
"You wish. The only one allowed inside is Black Heart as only he knows where it is."
"How do you even know it exists then?"
"He has talked about it before."
"Then take me to Black Heart."
"He is training right now and doesn't want to be disturbed."
"I don't care. I order you to take me to him."
"It is not a good idea."
"You said yourself that I am your queen. Would you deny a direct order from your matriarch?"
Red Rum sighed. "Fine, I'll take you to him. Follow me." He walked out of the room and started down the hall.
I looked at Jacob who stared back at me. "I will make sure you are unharmed and returned back to your family. I owe you that much." I mouthed. He nodded as the wendigo turned and went the opposite direction that we were going.
"Come now Lady Luna. You shouldn't be alone in these halls at night." Red Rum said, having returned to where I was and extending his elbow for me to hold on to.
I turned to look at Jacob again but the wendigo had disappeared with him. Turning back to Red Rum, I ignored his gesture and walked down the hall. I heard him sigh again and then he quickly caught up to me and lead the way.
After twenty minutes, we arrived at a paper screen door that seemed to have been repaired several times. Sounds of grunting and heavy breathing were easily heard through the paper. Red Rum extended his fist and knocked on the wooden frame surrounding the door and the sounds stopped.
"What do you want?" Said a voice from inside.
"You have a visitor, my Lord." Red Rum announced.
"You know very well I am not to be disrupted when I am training. For this, you shall be-"
"Let me in, Black Heart! I demand an explanation!" I yelled through the screen.
There was silence for a moment, but then the door clicked and the screen door slid open to reveal a bald, white man in a white robe with black trim.
"Enter." Said the voice.
We did and I found that the room we walked into was a large dojo. The room was moderately lit with florescent lights hanging from the ceiling and all the walls were stark white causing the room to seem brighter than it was. The outskirts of the floor were made of hard wood and the rest was covered in a thin, blue mat. The room was lightly furnished with a few weapons hanging on the walls and a small table made of black metal and a glass top on the side. Two chairs made of the same metal sat on both sides.
In the center of the room stood Black Heart next to a large wooden dummy in white gi pants land no shirt with his long, black hair tied back. Even though I can not stand him, I have to admit that his figure is quite impressive.
"Welcome my beloved. I am sorry you have to see me like this. Please, sit. I'll be with you in a few minutes." He stretched out his arm and gestured to the table.
I nodded and walked to the table as Black Heart walked to the back of the room and opened a door, went in and closed the door behind him. Turning my attention back to the table, I saw a tall man in a black suit standing next to it with a metal cart in front of him. His suit left no skin showing except for his pale face, upon which he had a curly, black mustache and slicked-back black hair. He pulled out one of the chairs and beckoned me with his hand to sit, to which I did and he pushed me in.
"Tea, Madam Luna?" He asked in a foreign accent, holding up a white teapot with a blue stripe through the middle.
"Yes, please."
He picked up a saucer with a small cup on it, both of which shared the same design as the teapot, and poured the brown liquid from the teapot into the cup. He held out the saucer and I gratefully accepted.
I took a sip of the warm, soothing drink and was reminded of the many socials I attended back in Equestria. The way that Tia would always take a bite of the cake and get crumbs all over her snout, and I would giggle about it with Pure Heart for the rest of the day. And the way that he would do his best to make sure I never stopped smiling during those dull meetings. Those times seemed so far in the past now, it's almost seems like I imagined those memories.
"Here you go, madam." The tall man said, holding out a handkerchief.
I hadn't realized that I had begun to tear up a bit. Once again I thanked him and took the cloth and dabbed my eyes.
"I'm sorry, I haven't even asked you for your name." I said to him.
"Jean Claude, madam." He said, taking my cup and filling it again.
"Well thank you again, Mister Claude." I held out his handkerchief.
"Your welcome, madam." He took it and stuffed it into his pocket.
As I took another sip of the tea, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the door in the back open again, letting steam escape from the room. Out came Black Heart, patting down his head with a towel. He was now wearing black shorts and a black t-shirt.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting, love." He said as walked across the room towards me.
"Don't call me that." I said before taking another sip of the tea.
"Is it so wrong to display affection towards the one I am betrothed to?" He asked, lifting my chin to look at my face.
For a moment, I got lost in his eyes, not from their beauty but from how much evil I could see in them. I then simply knocked his hand away with my own and turned my head, but I could very well tell he was smiling.
Taking a seat himself, Jean poured him some tea as well.
"Thank you Jean. You are dismissed, leave the teapot here."
"Yes, Lord Black Heart." He bowed and then wheeled the silver cart out the door I entered through and closed it behind him.
Now I was alone with Black Heart, in a room full of weapons none-the-less. Though he seemed very content with his tea. We sat there for a few minutes in silence.
Finally, after what seemed to be forever, he set down his tea cup and then crossed his right leg over his left and placed his clasped hands on the table, looking me straight in the eyes and wearing a small smile like he was glad to see me.
"Now my dear, what is it that you wanted to talk about?"
I was a bit stunned. Here was the man that took my husband away from me, the man who threatened to destroy the entire world if it did not surrender to him, yet he acted like a total gentleman.
Pulling my thoughts together, I spoke. "What is the meaning this?"
"You will have to be more specific."
"The janitor?"
"So you know who he is then?"
"Of course. What kind of man would I be not to know the name of the man I hired myself?"
"You hired him?"
"Indeed I did. You may not of known this, but Sign Language was the only other language Pure Heart ever learned. At least to the point of being somewhat fluent."
"Then tell me what his name is."
"Lurch of course."
I furrowed my brow. "What?"
He laughed. "I'm kidding. His name is Jacob Smith."
"Good, now tell me where the dungeon is so that I can speak to him."
"You thought I would put him in a dungeon? How evil do you think I am?"
"Well, you have threatened my children."
"Fair enough. Yes, I put him in the dungeon. But you can't see him."
"And why not?"
"He can not be disturbed." He took a sip of his own tea.
"And again, why not?"
"Because he is preparing to go home. Surely you saw that picture of his?"
I thought back to the photo of the woman and little girl and nodded.
"I'm sending him home to be with his family."
"You are sending him home after all the atrocities that he has probably seen here?"
"Of course not, I'm going to erase his memory of this place. I have some part of humanity left."
"And what of his family?"
"They will be given a substantial amount of money for the trouble I have caused them. I know it can't replace the time lost and heal the pain they suffered, but it's the best I can do."
"...Alright. But I want to be there when he departs."
He smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
I stifled a small yawn and he frowned. "Oh my. I can't believe that slipped my mind. Here I am chatting away, when you should be resting for your big test tomorrow. We need to get you to bed." Before I could protest, he snapped his fingers and a servant, this one a young maiden, walked into the room. "Would you escort Lady Luna back to her chambers?"
"Yes my Lord." The girl curtsied to Black Heart and turned to me. "This way my Lady." She outstretched her arm in a direction.
I stood up and began walking the way she had directed. Just as I was exiting the room, I heard Black Heart say out loud, "Good night my love," to which I just shivered.
"Ow!" I yelled as the doctor applied ointment to my burns.
"Simmer down. With the account you gave, you're lucky that you aren't a pile of ash, much less alive." He finished wrapping up the last burn and then swiveled around and grabbed his clipboard. "I mean seriously, lava?" He snorted and adjusted his glasses before swiveling back to me. "You are a crazy one."
"I'm not crazy, I'm determined."
"Funny. Prince Pure Heart would say the same thing whenever he came in here with serious injuries." He chuckled. "In all my years as the royal physician, no one has ever sustained more injuries than him."
"I bet." I said, laughing a bit as well.
"Alright. That should about do it. You're free to go. Just try not jump into any more volcanoes."
I began putting my armor back on. "I won't promise anything."
"He used to say that, too."
After I finished with the last buckle, I looked at him. "You and the prince were pretty close, huh?"
"Well, I'm not sure about that. Ever since he first came into my clinic years ago, he has always come to me with his medical problems. So I guess you could say I was the only one he trusted with his well being. He rarely even told his wife about the injuries."
"Why is that?"
"To keep her from worrying of course. Didn't stop her though." He laughed a little. "Those two were made for each other. I could tell from the first time I saw them together."
I sat for a second thinking about all this and then hopped off the table. "Well thanks for the patch work Doctor..."
"Stern. Dr. Stern. No problem." Dr. Stern tilted his glasses and looked at me hard. "You know, you kind of remind me of him."
"Well thanks again." I quickly exited the room to the waiting area where Cloudlight was waiting.
"You didn't reveal who you were, right?" He asked.
"No, but he is really good. He almost recognized that I was related to my dad."
"Well you are the spitting image of him."
"So I have been told."
"Well now that you are all bandaged up, we can continue."
"Continue what? Mr. Heart said that I shouldn't even try to fight Black Heart and that is the whole reason that I came back to the past in the first place." I said as we walked into the hall.
"So what? Does that mean that you are going to give up?"
"Well of course not."
"Exactly. Now stop feeling sorry for yourself and let's find a way to stop Black Heart."
"Right. I suppose we can focus on a different problem for now."
"That's the ticket. What did you have in mind?"
"One of the main problems is that we have no way to get to the human world."
"That's right. The portal mirror has been shattered and the magic that created it has been lost for centuries."
"The key phrase is 'has been lost'. If it's lost magic, then we just have to find it. In other words, we have to make our own spell."
"What are you talking about?"
"There was a time when unicorns had to make there own spells, just look at Starswirl the Bearded. He came up with thousands of spells many of which we still use today. So if the magic to move between world's has been lost, then making our own is the next best thing."
"I assume you have done some research on the subject."
"Indeed I have. My notes are in the study."
"Alright. Assuming that you do find this lost magic, the amount it would take to move between worlds is almost unheard of. How will you perform such an act?"
"That remains to be determined. But I'm sure we'll figure it out as we go."
"Well okay, if you're sure. But remember, we only have just over a month to get all this squared away."
"I know, I know. That's why I'm heading back to the study to do more research."
"In the meantime, I will get a team together and see what we can do with what you have compiled so far."
"Thank you."
After a few hours researching back in my father's study, I got slightly bored and leaned back in my chair. I started to think about how I could possibly help when I was basically told that I was useless by my own father. In frustration, I leaned forward and pounded down on the table I was working at. As soon as I made contact, though, the table fractured right down the middle, and the two halves fell to the ground along with all the papers and books that were on it.
"What the heck?" I said aloud.
"So it's true." I heard from behind.
I turned and saw Celestia walk into the study. "Oh, um. It was already like this, I swear."
"Come now, you really expect me to believe that a table of solid granite would split itself in half. Besides, I saw you do it."
I blushed. "Sorry."
"Don't apologize, fix it."
"You want me to fix this table. Well I suppose I could try but I will need a lot of glue."
"Not with glue, fix it with your new found power."
"Power? You mean the controlling earth thing?"
"Yes, I want to see if you really did get your father's gift."
"He said it was more of a curse."
"The ability that your father had to split molecules was indeed forged through the flames of sin and tribulation, but it is what he did with his power that made him the hero he was."
"Are you saying he was pardoned for all that he had done?"
"In essence, yes. For he was not in his own state of mind."
"What, did he plead in insanity?"
"There was no court hearing for his actions. He has more than made up for his actions."
"How is that? By giving him a slap on the wrist and tell him not to let it happen again?" I said in a rather irritated tone.
"By giving his life!" She shouted.
I was taken aback. It felt like I had just been punched in the gut.
She lowered her head and I saw tears fall to the floor. "Your father gave his life to save this world and, more importantly, your mother. Even more, she was, at the time, pregnant with you and your sisters, and your father didn't even know it. Through some kind of miracle, he returned months later as if nothing had even happened. And he returned just in time for the last month of your mother's pregnancy. That is six months of pain they can never get back."
I was silent for a moment while Aunt Celestial pulled herself together.
"I'm sorry they had to go through that. I guess I really am ignorant as to what my parents went through." I went to my aunt and hugged her tight. "I promise though, I will use the powers that have been bestowed upon me by my father and help make things right." I let go of my aunt, walked to the desk, closed my eyes and concentrated.
After a few minutes, I heard the sound of objects rolling across the wooden floor and then a creaking noise. After more creaks, the noises stopped and I opened my eyes. To my astonishment, the desk was put back together with no apparent seam where it had split in half, though I was dismayed at how lopsided it was.
"Not bad for your first conscious effort. I imagine you're more of the type who is better adept in the heat of battle." Celestial said behind me.
"Let me guess, just like my dad." I said shaking my head.
"I wasn't going to say that, though he was good under pressure. I'd say with a bit more practice, you will be able to master it."
"But if you are right about me being better with this magic in battle, then we will need to find someone to spar with me."
"Oh I'm sure that we can find someone." She walked over to the desk and started to pick up the papers that had fallen to which I helped. "What's this?" She asked, holding up a book.
"Careful!" I yelled, taking the book from her magic grasp. "This book is all I have from my grandparents." I placed the book gently on the table.
"I see. What is this book's title?"
"It's called 'The Twins of Ages'. It's about these twin men that have been around for a long time and watched as human events unfolded in front of them."
"How long have they been alive?"
"It's hard to say, since it is a children's book, but from the events they had witnessed, I would have to say well over a thousand years."
A look of intrigue came across her face as she walked over to the desk and peered down at the cover. "Is it me, or does the character on the cover look like your father?"
"That's what my grandmother said when she gave me the book. She said that she bought it just because the character reminded her of him. The other one as well."
"And they are brothers, correct?"
"I didn't say that."
"But the title is 'The Twins of Ages'."
"Right, but they aren't actually related. The title is just referring to the fact that they are doppelgangers."
"Ah, well that explains it."
"Explains what?"
"The cover art makes it seem as if they dislike each other. Look how they have their backs turned from each other."
"You are correct. They don't like each other much at all. In fact, the book begins with them wanting to destroy each other."
"That's not a very good beginning to a child's book."
"Well it's not meant for little kids, more like preteens."
"So how does the book end?" She asked, flipping to the back of the book.
"That's kind of the strange part about the book. It ends by just saying that the two are still among us today."
"And this is a work of fiction?"
"Historic fiction, yes."
"What's this in the back of the book?" She asked pointing to a page of strange lettering.
"No one knows. People asked the author the same thing and he would say that one of his sources asked him to put it in. It has been looked at by experts around the world and no one could figure out what language it was."
"That's because it is not a language of the human world."
"Excuse me?"
"This text is ancient Equestrian writing."
"You recognize it!"
"Yes, and I can read it too. It says 'The power of earth will signal us to come, but only when the Moon and Star appear with the Night.' The rest just describes a pattern of symbols."
"Interesting. Do you think you can draw the pattern it describes?"
"I can, but what will you do with it?"
"I have an idea, but it is too early to tell how it will play out."
?
"How much longer do we have to wait?"
"Geez you're impatient. It shouldn't be much longer now."
"That's what you said last time."
"Because the last time was five minutes ago. I swear, when we get out, I am never talking to you again."
"Oh come on, I didn't mean anything. I'm just bored is all."
The day had finally come. The day that my entire world would end.
I sat in front of my vanity as servants did my hair and makeup. We had already been sitting around for what seemed the better part of an hour when they had finished. I thanked them as they walked out the door, leaving me to my thoughts.
How did it get to this point? I wondered. Do I have myself to blame?
A knock at the door brought me back to my senses.
"Come in." I called out.
"Oh Luna, you look stunning in that dress." Chrysalis commented.
"I suppose." I said quietly.
"Don't be so excited." She said sarcastically.
"You know how I feel about all of this, yet you mock me?"
"Whoa, whoa. I was just kidding." She threw her hands out defensively.
"I'm sorry. I just feel abandoned. I thought someone would have stopped all this madness by now."
"Well take heart, dear Luna. My husband has gotten word that your sister has been able to make a spell to get to this world."
"Really?" I perked up a bit and looked at her.
"Indeed. They should be arriving any time now."
I then looked away. "Even if they get here, what can they do? Black Heart is a monster that cannot be beaten."
She pulled up a chair and sat next to me. "If I have learned anything about your friends, it's that they can overcome any obstacle. Besides, I've heard they have a secret weapon."
"Secret weapon? Well I hope it is pretty spectacular. Do you have any idea of what it may be?"
"From what I've heard, they don't even know exactly what it is."
"Super. All my hopes lie on something of an unknown nature."
"Yeah. Well, all we can do is put our faith in them. Now buck up, you have a graduation to attend. Then after that-"
"I know, I know. The wedding."
Future Nightshade's POV
"Is everyone ready to go?" I asked the battalion that lay before me.
They all shouted in agreement.
"Good. Our intel says that the vows will be exchanged at 6:00 PM tonight. That is when we will activate our spell so that we can all go through. When we all have gotten to the other side, we will have transformed into humans, though we should have no problems with that as you have had extensive training done in that form already thanks to our skilled unicorns. The only problem you will have is taking out wendigo soldiers. Instructions on how to combat them will be reviewed by Eclipse."
Eclipse walked to the podium at which I stood and nodded at the screen behind him. "Now as we all know, the wendigos are creatures of the cold. Considering that, and based on my research, I believe the only way to destroy them is with a large heat source such as flames. Unfortunately, we are unable to use magic in the human realm, so magic fire is out of the question. However, this does not mean we can't disable them. If you are able to sever the head from the body, the wendigo will cease to function for a while. This is not to say it is an easy feat as wendigos are extremely fast. In fact, it will be down right near impossible to get close to them without a distraction." With that, Eclipse sat down.
I went back to the podium. "I know many of you are wondering how you expect to survive this battle. The truth is I doubt many will survive. But I wouldn't have asked for your sacrifice unless it was for a good cause. The cause being the prevention of the destruction of both our world and the human world. So I say again: Are you ready?"
The battalion shouted again in consensus.
"Fantastic. We begin our assault in 4 hours. Dismissed!"
At that, the battalion went about its duties to prepare for our stand against Black Heart.
"I had no idea you were such a leader."
I turned to see Vapor Sky walking up behind me.
"Oh, you know. You tend to learn these kinds of things when you have lead as many rebellions as I have."
"You've done this before?"
"I have. Though it always turns out the same."
"How's that?"
"Everyone but a lucky few get slaughtered."
"So you expect that to happen again?"
"I sincerely hope not. I am hoping that our spell will work."
"I guess we won't know until we try. Until then, we should all get some rest. We are going to need it."
"Yeah, you are right."
Luna's POV
I was actually kind of excited for the graduation. For one, I finally got to see all my studying come to fruition. And two, I would get to see John Smith again.
"Will Lady Luna please come forward?" Discord asked.
I walked up to the podium.
"Lady Luna. On behalf of us all, it is my pleasure to award you this degree." Discord handed me a rolled up piece of paper. "Smile!" A camera flashed and I walked away from the stand.
"Now time for the wedding!" Discord said, snapping his fingers, causing the hall we were in to turn into a wedding chapel.
"Wait. What about John Smith?" I asked.
"Excuse me?" Discord asked.
"Black Heart promised I would get to see John Smith before he was sent back home."
"Of course my sweet." Black Heart said from behind me, making me jump.
"Don't do that!" I yelled.
He stifled a chuckle. "My bad. Anyways, I kept my promise. Look out the window."
I walked to the window and saw a ship heading out to sea. "It's a boat, so what?"
He held up a pair of binoculars. "Here, use these."
I took them from his hands and held them up, focusing on the ship. I saw John Smith waving at me, but something seemed off about him. Before I could investigate further, the fog enveloped the ship and I lost sight of it.
"There you go, I kept my promise. Now you keep yours."
I sighed. "Fine. I will be back in 2 hours."
After 2 hours, I was escorted from my room to the front doors of the main hall by Bullet Blaster and Red Rum.
"Wait here, Lady Luna." Bullet Blaster said.
"What are we waiting for?"
"Your intro, of course." Red Rum explained.
After a few minutes, I heard an organ play begin to play.
"Ready my dear?" Red Rum asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be."
Red Rum and Bullet Blaster opened the doors and the crowd of world leaders turned to look at us.
I breathed deeply. "Here we go." I said to myself as I began to walk down the aisle.
Future Nightshade's POV
"5 minutes until we deploy!" I shouted. The battalion was in its ranks and ready for combat. I was currently running over the specifics of the symbols I need to create when I got to the other side.
"Here you go, Nightshade." Eclipse said, giving me a vial with a glowing, green liquid inside. "This should let you use your magic for an instant. As the reagents for it were extremely scarce, I was only able to make enough for one use of your magic, so make it count."
"Thanks Eclipse. You sure you won't come?"
"No. The others and I need to stay here and take care of the wives. We'll be rooting for you, though."
"Thanks." I started to turn when he stopped me.
"Nightshade."
"Yeah?"
"Kick his ass."
"I will."
Eclipse left and Celestia approached me. "You ready for this?"
"I believe so."
"You have the symbols memorized?"
"Yes."
"Good. What are you going to do about the last part?"
"I think I have an idea. All we can do is hope it works."
"Right. Well, here's hoping it all turns out for the best." She got closer and hugged me. "Be careful."
"Hey. Who do you think you are talking to? I am my father's son after all."
She let go. "That's what I'm afraid of."
"Don't worry. Everything is going to be okay."
"1 minute until departure!" Vapor Sky yelled.
"Everyone get into positions!" I yelled. I got into my own spot and made sure I had all my equipment. "Here we go."
Luna's POV
After a while of Discord droning on and on about marriage, he finally got to the part with the vows.
"Do you, Lord Black Heart, take Lady Luna as your wife?"
Black Heart looked at me with a grin. "I do."
"And do you, Lady Luna, take Lord Black Heart as your husband?"
I looked out at the crowd, hoping for something to happen. When nothing did, I looked down. "I do." I said solemnly as a tear rolled down my cheek.
"If there are any objections at this time, speak now or forever hold your peace."
Suddenly a loud humming noise filled the hall. We all looked behind us and saw a portal open up.
"Sire, why did you open a portal?" Flash Fire asked.
"I didn't, you buffoon!" Black Heart snapped.
A tall man in blue armor stepped out of the portal. "I object!"
Future Nightshade's POV
I crossed through the portal and saw everyone in the room staring at me.
"I object!" I yelled.
"And just who do you think you are, making such an objection?" He asked.
"My name is Nightshade, and we are here to stop you."
"We?" Black Heart stepped down from the platform. "Who is this we?"
"My battalion and I." I turned to see the portal had closed and that there was no one behind me. "Crap."
"This is a treat. I was starting to think no one would be stupid enough to interrupt my wedding, yet I was delightfully mistaken. Even better, it's my idiot son from the future." He then drew my father's sword from his waist. "It was a pity to find that there was no magic left in this sword, especially since I have no control over splitting molecules like your father did. Sadly, he was able to block that part of his mind when I was created. But no use crying over spilled milk."
As he continued to ramble, I quickly drank the vial and felt magic run through me. I then began to use my magic to make craters in the ground in the shape of the symbols.
"Are you even listening?" Black Heart asked. He was now standing in front of me. He kicked me which sent me flying into the doors behind me.
"Nightshade!" My mother screamed.
"I'm fine." I said, though I very clearly heard something break on impact.
"What do we have here?" He looked at the symbols etched into the marble floor. "Why I have never seen these symbols before? Have a look Discord."
Discord ran down and looked at the symbols as well. "I can't say I have ever seen anything like these before. Though whatever they are, they look complete."
I looked out the window and saw the full moon shining. I grinned. Just a few moments and it will be in the correct position.
Black Heart approached me. "What are you smiling at?" He followed my gaze and saw the moon as well. "You need the power of the moon for something, huh?" He tilted his head back and laughed. "Well you picked a great night for it." He continued to laugh as he walked back to the stage accompanied by Discord.
"Sire, do you want me to destroy his circle?" Red Rum asked, walking beside him.
"No."
"No? But sir, he is very clearly trying to ruin your wedding."
"Let him try. I guarantee it won't do a thing."
"As you wish." He bowed and walked back to me, returning to his post at the door.
"Everyone observe!" Black Heart yelled. "Watch this sad man's foolish attempt to stop me!"
Silence encased the room as everyone looked at me and my circle. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the moon was in the right spot for it to shine completely on the circle.
"Behold the means the means of your end, Black Heart!" I yelled with triumph in my voice.
After a few minutes, Black Heart began laughing. "What did I tell you? Just a sad man's delirium."
I looked down and saw that the circle wasn't reacting to the light of the moon at all. "W-what?"
"I thought you of all people would know this after being stuck on this planet for so many years, dear son. This world has no magic of its own. The moon holds no power. The only magic on this plane is my own and that which I bestow." He turned to Sombra and whispered something.
Sombra nodded and walked over to me. He lifted me up by the neck and said, "Lights out, boy." He then punched me in the stomach, shattering my armor and making me spit up blood and then pass out.
Luna's POV
"Nightshade!" I yelled in horror when his body went limp. Sombra dropped him and pulled out a small, silver tube from around his neck. When he blew into it, a wendigo appeared which he directed towards Nightshade. It picked him up and slung him over its shoulder.
I tried to run off the stage, but was blocked by Black Heart putting up his arm and raised his other arm to summon a portal next to Sombra. I looked on as Sombra walked through the portal with the wendigo and my son in tow.
After the portal closed, I turned to Black Heart. "Where are they taking him?" I asked with tears in my eyes.
"To the infirmary. They will patch him up and send him home from there."
"Yeah right. You are just sending him to the dungeon."
"I've told you before, there is no dungeon. Now, can we please get on with the wedding?" He spun me around towards Discord and turned towards him as well.
"If there are no further objections, then by the power invested in me, by me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."
I looked at Black Heart, who was moving in to kiss me. When he got to me, I tried turn my head, but he grabbed my chin and forced his kiss on me.
The crowd cheered as he broke the kiss and turned us towards them. We walked down the aisle and towards the back. When we reached the doors, Red Rum and Bullet Blaster opened them and Black Heart raised his hand, opening a portal on the other side. We walked through and he closed the portal behind us, leaving us in my room. He walked me over to my bed and pushed me forward onto it.
I turned around and sat up. "There, we're married. Your evil plan to tear my family apart is complete. Now release my children from your virus."
"Virus? Oh yes, the Heart Geode. Funny thing, I made it up."
"You mean there is no such thing as a Heart Geode?"
"Oh no, there is. I would never fib about such a marvelous creation. No, I'm talking about the part where I infected your girls."
I set my hand on my chest and let out a sigh of relief. "They're safe."
"Of course. I'm sure there will be a point in time when they become useful." He laughed.
"You monster! Don't you dare give me relief and then threaten my children again right away!" I yelled.
"Oh calm down, I didn't threaten them. I merely suggested that they have the potential of becoming valuable assets."
"You bastard!" I reached under my pillow and grasped the knife I was given for protection. "I'll kill you so that can never happen!" I pulled it out and stabbed him in the chest.
"Tsk, tsk." He said, shaking his head. He grabbed my hand holding the knife and pulled on it, plucking out the knife as if it was a thorn. "Did you really think that could hurt me?" He wrenched the knife out of my grasp. "With this toothpick, nonetheless."
He tossed it over his shoulder and flicked his finger at me, sending me backwards onto the bed. I tried to move, but found I was paralyzed from the shoulders down. He spun his finger in the air which spun me so that I was laying on the bed in a normal fashion.
"I thought for sure we could work out this next part. I guess I was wrong." He snapped his fingers and my room began to fade away, replaced by a dark, dank cell. My comfortable bed turned into a hard wooden table with restraints, which he began to fasten, one-by-one, around my ankles, waist, and wrists leaving the one by my head undone.
"I knew you were lying about the dungeon." I spat.
"Technically, I didn't as I think of this more as a chamber." He chuckled.
I turned my head as I heard groaning to my right and gasped when I saw Nightshade hanging from the ceiling by shackles around his wrists.
"Let him down this instant!" I demanded.
"Hmm…Nah. I think he is good where he is." Black Heart said waving his hand.
"But he needs medical attention!"
"See, this is your problem. You worry about others who are beyond help when you should worry more about yourself."
"He is not beyond help! He can still be saved!"
"He is right, Mom. It is futile to tend to my wounds." Nightshade whispered in a wheezy voice.
"Nightshade! You're awake!"
"I am."
"You need to help him! Please!" I begged Black Heart.
"Please don't. I will fade soon enough."
"You will not. You are fully conscious and can recover completely if you are treated."
"You don't get it, do you?" Black Heart said. "He means he will literally fade. As in out of existence. His time travel spell can only last for so long without his magic fueling it."
"You're lying."
"He isn't." Nightshade said.
"But then you'll just go back to the future when the spell ends."
"Do you know anything about time travel?" Black Heart asked. "He has altered his timeline. His future doesn't exist anymore. Therefore, neither will he."
"Then give him some of your magic!"
"It won't help!" Nightshade yelled, immediately coughing up blood afterwards. "Only my own magic will work."
"Then send him back to Equestria as you promised!"
"Mother, you need to let go."
I began to cry. "But I just found you."
"Silence!" Black Heart yelled, pointing two fingers as Nightshade's mouth which covered it with a gag. "I am tired of you talking. If you don't mind, I would like to get started." Our attention turned to him and he smiled. "Much better. Now that you two are finished, let me tell you what is going to happen." He began to pace in front of me. "Even though I am elated to finally have you as my wife, there is something more that I want."
"Total world domination?" I asked, rolling my eyes.
"No, no. That is already within my grasp." He stopped in front of me. "What I want is true companionship. Something that you sadly will never show. That is, not without some help."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about your better half, dear Luna."
My eyes grew wide with terror. "You can't possibly mean-"
"That's right. Luna, I am going to turn you back into Nightmare Moon."
"Then you are going to be severely disappointed. Nightmare Moon is gone. There are no traces of her left in my body. She was expunged when Ark took her dark powers, made her corporeal, then destroyed her himself."
"Come now, Luna. Is your memory damaged? First of all, Ark didn't destroy her, he absorbed her. And in case you've forgotten, I am comprised of Ark and your worthless husband. I have her powers. Second, you are the harbinger of envy. I wouldn't be here if you didn't still have darkness inside of you. Her darkness. You can never truly be rid of her. I mean, you still harbor the Tantabus after all."
"I do, but only to remind myself to never give in to the darkness again."
"Please. You hold on to it so that you can still feel that power. Admit it. You feel weak without it. Weak and alone."
"Shut up!"
"Your envy stems from it. Envy of power."
"I said shut up!"
"You can deny all you want, but the fact is that you still have darkness inside of you and keep it willingly. That makes you vulnerable. Don't worry, though. I am going to turn that weakness into strength." He walked to the wall and pushed a button on a box. "Bring them in."
Doors opened and in walked a servant with a metal tray that held a large syringe and a wendigo that held a struggling person with a bag over their head.
Black Heart took off his shirt and picked up the syringe. "Even though you do indeed have darkness in you, you will need even more as well a jump start." He then stuck the large needle into his chest and pulled out the plunger. I didn't think it too odd that instead of red blood, the syringe extracted a wriggling mass of black ooze. He pulled out the needle and the spot that he extracted it from immediately closed up.
"Here we are." He held up the syringe. "One dose of Grade A Nightmare. Spectacular, isn't it?"
"So you are going to inject me with that. I am going to fight it with all my might and it won't do a thing."
"That may be true, if I were to inject it somewhere like your arm. Even if I injected it into your heart, where it would circulate through your blood the fastest, there is still a chance it wouldn't take."
"Then I guess you shouldn't even try."
"No, at least, not anywhere convenient."
"What do you mean?"
"Tell me Luna, have you heard of lobotomy?"
"Y-you wouldn't." I said with fear in my voice.
"Oh, I would. And I am." He flicked the syringe. "But even injecting this into your brain won't completely transform you. So that is where he comes in." He gestured to the person and the wendigo pulled the bag of their head.
"Kevin!" I gasped.
"That's right. Your teacher and friend. He will be what sets you off." Black Heart looked at the servant with the tray. The servant set it down and walked behind, strapping my head down and placed wired hooks under my eye lids to keep them open.
Black Heart smiled as he walked over to Kevin and removed his gag. "Do you have any last words?"
Kevin looked at me. "Don't be sad, I'm going to be with my wife at long last." He smiled at me. "Goodbye."
Black Heart drew his sword and slashed Kevin's throat, slicing open an artery making him quickly bleed out.
"NOOOO!" I screamed. I looked at Black Heart. "You vile monster!" I screamed in anger.
"Yes, yes. Hold that anger." Black Heart said, wiping his blade off the newly deceased and sheathing it. He then held up the syringe and brought it to my face. "Now hold still. This will hurt a lot." He then jabbed the needle into the corner of my eye.
I screamed so loud, or at least, I think I was screaming as I suddenly couldn't hear. Then my head began to hurt so much, it felt like it was going to explode. The pain became so unbearable, everything became blurry and then I saw nothing.
Future Nightshade's POV
I closed my eyes until my mother stopped screaming, supposedly passing out from the pain. When I opened them again, my mother was motionless and Black Heart was walking back to the intercom on the wall. "Discord and Flash Fire."
They appeared and saluted.
"Please take her to my chambers."
"You really tired her out, huh?" Discord said, nudging Black Heart with his elbow.
"Bow chicka bow wow." Flash Fire laughed.
Black Heart face palmed. "Just take her."
The two undid the restraints, picked her up, and took her out he doors.
Black Heart slowly slid his hand down his face. "Idiots." He then looked at me and grinned. "So what do you think?"
I tried to answer, but there was still a gag in my mouth.
"My bad." He pulled out the gag and dropped it to the floor. "So?"
"I think you are a heartless fiend that is begging to be put down."
"Oh come on. You knew that I would turn her into Nightmare Moon."
"I didn't know it was in such a barbaric way. You and I both know that injecting it into the heart would have been just as effective."
"True, but not as satisfying."
"She also didn't need to see Kevin die."
"Once again, it was just for fun. He didn't have much longer anyways." He explained as he put his shirt back on. "Now then, if you'll excuse me. I have a couple of things to do before my wife wakes up." He opened up a portal and walked into it, throwing up his arm and waving. "Toodle-loo." The portal closed and the servant quickly cleaned up and left along with the wendigo who took his next meal with him as well, leaving me alone. Alone in the silent dungeon with just me thoughts.
"This is it. Black Heart has won. I've failed everyone. And soon, I'll be gone." I thought out loud. "I'm sorry everyone!" My voice echoed off the walls deep into the dungeon. I sighed. "At least my sisters and my younger self are safe."
Just then, a portal opened. I could tell it wasn't Black Heart as this portal was different in that instead of being comprised of shadow, it gave off white light, not unlike the moon.
Voices then began to come out of it. "I told you we should have asked those clicky people for directions." Said a voice of what seemed to be a little girl.
"And I told you that I don't need directions. Dad always said I had a great sense of direction." Said a little boy.
"Misdirection, maybe." The first voice said.
"Say that again."
"How about instead of fighting, you two step through. This portal is getting harder to hold open." Said a third voice of another little girl.
"Fine." The first two said.
Out of the portal first was a little girl with red hair, a yellow shirt and red overalls. She was followed by a slightly smaller boy with purple hair, a black shirt and shorts. Last out of the portal was a girl about the same size as the first with light blue hair and a white sundress. She closed the portal after she came through.
"Wow, what a dump!" The red head exclaimed.
"Shh. That's not a nice thing to say Starfire. This could be someone's house." Said the dress girl.
"Oh come on, Moonbeam. You have to admit that it isn't very inviting." Starfire said.
"I don't think it's someone's house. I think it's a dungeon." The boy said.
"It strikes me as more of a chamber than a dungeon." Starfire said.
Moonbeam rolled her eyes. "What makes you say that, Nightshade?"
"Well, I am not sure how many houses have people chained to the ceiling." Nightshade said, pointing at me.
Starfire and Moonbeam gasped. "Big brother!" They squealed.
I was in a bit of shock. "Is that really you girls?"
"It sure is. Hold on, I'll get you down." Moonbeam pointed her finger at the chain that kept me suspended. "Zap!" She said and white energy shot out of her finger that hit the chains, which sparked and then melted the link it hit. I fell, landing on my feet but quickly dropped to my knees.
"Big brother!" They squealed again, running to me and giving me a hug.
I would have done so back, but my wrists were still in cuffs.
"I'll just take care of that." Moonbeam said, touching the cuffs. "Zap!" The cuffs fell apart and I was able to hug my sisters.
I looked up and saw my younger self giving me a weird look. When my sisters let go, he walked up to me and started to look me up and down. He walked behind me, to each side, and again to the front.
"This is me?" He asked.
"I am."
"Prove it." He said, folding his arms.
I thought for a second. Then pulled out my ring. "We both have Dad's ring."
He pulled out his. "Big deal. You could have made a copy."
I thought again. I took off the remnants of my chest plate and rolled up my sleeve. "We both have the scar from when we fell off Uncle Jack's longboard." I showed him a scar that stretched from the middle of my forearm to my elbow.
He showed me his as well. "Oh yeah. It wasn't too bad, but Kit freaked out just the same."
We both laughed at the thought of Kit freaking out over a small cut.
"I guess he really is me. You guys were right, I do get huge."
"We were talking about the pony you. You're even bigger as a human." Starfire said.
"Hey, I have a question for you three." I said.
"Sure." Moonbeam said.
"How did you get here?"
"Through a portal, silly." Starfire explained.
I rolled my eyes. "I mean how did you get a portal spell? How are you able to use magic?"
Moonbeam kicked at the ground. "Well we found the spell in a library under the castle."
"It has lots of cool stuff like a hat with bells." Starfire chimed in.
"Anyways, we found the scroll and…"
Starswirl the Bearded's Library
"Are you all packed?" Moonbeam asked.
"Sure am." Starfire said, putting her saddlebag on.
"Alright. The scroll says to stare at one point and say the magic words." Moonbeam pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on her head as did Starfire. "Are you ready?"
Starfire nodded, pulling on her shades.
"Then let's go…" Moonbeam paused to put on her sunglasses. "Save the world!" She stared at a wall and said, "Open sesame seed!"
Nothing happened, so she stared again. "Abra kadabra!"
Still nothing. Starfire lifted her glasses. "Are you saying the right words?"
Moonbeam lifted hers as well. "Honestly, I have no idea. The scroll doesn't give the words."
"That's dumb. The hat guy probably hid them in here somewhere." Starfire said.
Moonbeam sighed and looked at big painting of the bearded pony. "Darn jingle-bell man." As she said that, a portal opened on the beard of the painting.
The girls looked at the portal and the high-hoofed each other.
They stacked some boxes so they could reach the portal and stared at it.
"You scared?" Moonbeam asked.
"A little bit. You?"
"Same. We'll be fine though. The scroll says as long as we think about where or who we are going to, we should get there safely. Still…"
Starfire took Moonbeam's hoof. "Good enough for me. Ready?" She lowered her sunglasses once again.
"Ready." Moonbeam put hers on.
They nodded at each other and jumped through.
"For Equestria!"
New York, New York
"Ahhh!" The girls screamed as they fell out of the portal into a dumpster filled with noodles and dumplings.
"Ew, ew, ew!" Moonbeam screeched, jumping out and quickly began flicking the discarded food off her. "So gross!"
"Calm down. It's not that bad." Starfire said, getting out herself and helping her panicking sister.
After they finished wiping each other off, they looked at each other.
"You're human!" They said pointing at each other. "I am?" They started to pat themselves down.
"I guess the spell worked. Way to go!" Starfire said, patting her sister on the back.
"Thanks." She beamed.
"I just thought of something. When Daddy was human, he didn't have magic, right?"
"Right."
"So now that we are human, do we not have magic either?"
"I don't know. I don't feel any different, do you?" Moonbeam asked.
"Nope. Maybe we should try what Auntie Tia taught us." Starfire suggested.
"Oh yeah. The self-defense magic." Moonbeam looked down the alley they were in and saw a bottle. She pointed her index finger at it and said, "Zap!"
White energy gathered at her fingertip and shot at the bottle, making it melt.
"That was awesome!" Starfire exclaimed. "Now it's my turn." She saw a can sitting on a box and stuck out her thumb and index finger. She pressed down her thumb and said, "Bang!"
A yellow laser shot out of her finger and went straight through the can, leaving a large hole.
"Sweet!" Moonbeam squealed. "So I guess that means our magic works."
"So the next question is: where are we?"
"Well let's get out of this alley and look around." Moonbeam suggested.
They took each other's hands and walked to the end of the alley.
"Whoa!" They both exclaimed, seeing lots of people and super tall buildings that seemed to scrape the sky.
"Are all of these castles?" Moonbeam asked.
"I don't think so. Castles are all super clean. These look like the buildings we saw in Manehatten last year."
"Oh yeah. That was a fun vacation." Moonbeams gaze fell upon all the people that were walking in front of them. "Do you think Daddy is here?"
Starfire tapped her chin. "Nah. Daddy doesn't like big crowds."
"Then why are we here?"
"Maybe he has been here before."
"That is probably it. Well if he isn't here, we just need to go through another portal." Moonbeam said.
"Lead the way."
They went back into the alley and Moonbeam stared at a wall. "Darn jingle-bell man!"
A portal opened and they jumped through, yelling, "For Daddy!"
Mesa, Arizona
They fell out of the portal, screaming, into some bushes.
"Maybe if we put the portal on the ground, it will stop spitting us out in midair." Moonbeam suggested.
"Look on the bright side. At least we fell into bushes this time instead of a dumpster." Starfire grinned.
They helped each other up and dusted off.
"Wow, it's hot here." Moonbeam said, fanning herself with her hand.
"You said it." Starfire tugged on her collar.
"Starfire? Moonbeam?" Someone behind them said.
They turned and saw a young boy running towards.
"Is that?" Moonbeam asked, shielding her eyes with her hand.
The boy got closer.
"It can't be." Starfire said.
As the boy got closer, he tripped and fell.
The girls looked at each other and rolled their eyes. "It is." The two sisters ran over to help up their clumsy brother.
"Nightshade, are you okay?" An older boy said, riding up to them on a long piece of wood with wheels.
"Yeah, that was some fall." Another boy on a bike said.
"I'm fine. Really, I am." Nightshade said, dusting himself off. He turned to his sisters. "It's really you!" He hugged them super tight.
"Yeah, it's us. Can you let go?" Starfire said.
He did and he turned to the two boys. "I guess I should introduce you all." He pointed to the boy on the longboard. "This is Uncle Ammon." Then at the other. "This is Uncle Jack." Then at the girls. "These are my sisters, Moonbeam and Starfire."
"Sisters? You are all the same age but don't look like each other." Jack said.
"Oh, our Mommy said something about that once. I think it's called being fraternal triplets." Moonbeam explained.
"I can't believe you are here! How did you get here?" Nightshade asked excitedly.
"Through a portal. We are on a mission to save the world." Starfire said.
"I'm glad we found you Nightshade. Your super awesome ninja skills could come in handy. Want to come?" Moonbeam asked.
"Yeah I do!" The three siblings high-fived. Nightshade turned to his uncles. "Tell Grandma that I went with my sisters to save the world."
"We can't just tell her that!" Ammon said.
"I'm sure you'll figure something out." Nightshade turned to his sisters. "I'm ready."
"Okay. Now when we go through, make sure you think of Daddy so that we go to him." Moonbeam explained.
"Gotcha."
Moonbeam stared at the ground this time. "Darn jingle-bell man!" A portal opened and they all jumped through.
Future Nightshade's POV
"And after a couple missteps, we ended up here." Starfire said.
"My favorite was when we found ourselves in the snow-covered forest." Moonbeam said.
"I didn't like that one. It was way too cold and it felt like there was something watching us."
"Oh you're just being paranoid." Moonbeam retorted.
I sat there with my mouth agape.
"Hello. Earth to Big Bro." Starfire said, waving her hand in my face.
"Amazing. You three are simply amazing." I stuttered.
"You know it!" The three high-fived.
"Nightshade, have you tried using magic yet?" I asked.
"No. I never learned self-defense magic from Auntie Tia."
"That's right. You were gone when we learned that." Starfire said.
"Why don't you try anyways?" I suggested.
"Well okay." Young me looked at the wooden table that Mother was on. He raised his fist and punched at it. "Pow!"
Black energy waves shot out of his fist and smashed the table to splinters.
"Holy crap!" I squeaked.
"Ooo. Big Brother said a bad word." Moonbeam said.
I rolled my eyes. Then I had an idea. "You three have magic."
"Very good, Captain Obvious." Starfire said, followed by all three saluting me.
"Ignoring that, you three must be what the second part of the riddle is talking about."
"Riddle? I love riddles!" Moonbeam squealed. "What is it?"
"It goes: The power of earth will signal us, but only when the Moon and Star appear with the Night."
"Well duh. I could have told you that." Moonbeam said.
"Oh yeah, how do you know?" Starfire asked challengingly.
"Because I'm the one who helped Daddy write it."
Once again, shock took over my face. "You and Dad wrote this?"
"Of course. Daddy was struggling to find the right words. He isn't much of a poet."
"So do you know what it means?" I asked.
"The first part, no. Although I can tell you that it has been changed."
"How do you mean?" Nightshade asked.
"Where it says signal us to come. It used to read signal me to come."
"Okay and the second part?" I asked.
"Once again, it is just talking about us three."
"So the circle must need you three to activate it." I said, scratching my chin. "Do you think your portal spell can get us to this?" I drew a picture in the dirt of the circle I made in the main hall.
"I don't see why not." Moonbeam shrugged.
All three of them studied the circle for a minute and then Moonbeam opened a portal on the ground.
"Let's go!" Starfire yelled. Then we all jumped into the portal.
Main Hall
The portal opened in the back of the hall by the doors. I poked my head out of the portal and saw the hall was empty. I stepped out and signaled them to come out. Once we were all out, Moonbeam closed the portal and we all stood around the circle.
"So if I am right, I took care of the earth part in the riddle. Now you three just need to take care of the second part."
"Right!" The three said.
After looking at the circle for a minute, they looked at me.
"What are we supposed to do?" Nightshade asked.
"You aren't supposed to be here." Said a voice behind us.
We all looked and saw Black Heart walking down the aisle.
"Stay behind me guys." I said coaxing the three behind me. I reached for my swords, but realized I didn't have them.
"Did you think I'd let you keep your swords after you were dispatched the first time?" Black Heart said.
"Do what you want with me, but leave these three alone." I said.
"How can I when they pose such a huge threat?"
"Threat? You are afraid of mere children?" I laughed.
"Hey." Starfire said.
"Shh." Moonbeam nudged her.
"No, not of them, but of what they can do." He continued to advance.
"Well if you want to get to them, you will have to go through me."
"No problem." He got to me and punched a hole straight through my stomach.
I dropped to the floor and he kicked me, sending me back into the door again.
"You big meanie!" Moonbeam yelled.
"You can't just hurt Big Bro like that!" Starfire shouted.
"We will show you what happens when someone messes with our family." Nightshade threatened.
They all took positions in the middle of the circle, which I swear had started to slightly glow.
"Ready?" Moonbeam asked.
"Ready." Starfire and Nightshade said.
They raised their hands.
"Zap!"
"Bang!"
"Pow!"
The three attacks shot simultaneously, but instead of shooting at Black Heart, their magic seemed to be absorbed by the circle, which if it wasn't glowing before, then it definitely was now.
"What did you three do?!" Black Heart shouted.
A cloud of smoke, both black and white, appeared above the three siblings and soon enveloped them.
"Prepare for trouble!" Said a voice from the haze.
"I told you we aren't doing that!" Another voice scolded.
"But it fits so perfectly." The first voice whined.
"I said no!"
"Fine."
"Who's there?" Black Heart yelled.
The smoke dispersed and on either side of the circle stood two men. The one on the right wore a black suit while the one on the left wore a white suit. In the middle stood the kids looking awestruck.
The white suited man turned to the kids and knelt down. "Are you three okay? Sorry if we scared you."
"D-Dad?" Nightshade asked.
He chuckled. "Well no, not exactly. I am a friend of his."
"Stop beating around the bush. His name is Ark." The black suited man said. "Now heal that fool of a son and get them out of here."
"Alright, alright. You are so impatient, Pure Heart."
"You're our Daddy?" Moonbeam asked, tugging on the jacket of the black-suited man.
The man in black softly pulled away. "I am not your father."
"But you sound just like him." Starfire said.
"Trust me. You don't want me as your father." He said without taking his eyes off Black Heart. "What's the hold up, Ark?!"
"It takes a minute to heal such a large wound." Ark said, standing over me. "There, that should hold him over until we get out of here." Ark turned to Moonbeam. "Hey sweetie, can you help me with a portal? I'm a bit rusty."
Moonbeam nodded and she held up her hand and said, "Darn jingle-bell man!"
As soon as the portal opened, Ark picked me up and slung me over his shoulder. "Okay kids, hold hands now and think of the throne room in Canterlot."
"But what about Dad?" Nightshade asked.
"Not your father." The black-suited man said over his shoulder.
"He'll be fine. Now come on, into the portal."
"What makes you think I'm just going to let you leave?" Black Heart said with menace. He was about snap his fingers, but found he didn't have a hand to do so.
"Were you using these?" The black-suited man held up a pair of dismembered hands.
"You see, totally fine. Now go." Ark said, coaxing the children into the portal.
"Oh where could those girls have gone?" I asked, pacing the throne room.
"Calm down, dear. All of this stress is not good for the baby. Please sit down." Death pleaded.
I was about to form a rebuttal, but was interrupted by a low humming from the middle of the room, after which a portal opened up.
"I don't feel so good." Said Starfire as she walked out of the portal.
"Me neither." Moonbeam said following her.
"Ditto." Nightshade said.
"It's just the effects of returning to your pony form. It will wear off." Said a purple pony who walked out after them.
"Starfire! Moonbeam! Nightshade?!" I squealed as I ran up to them and gave them all a hug.
"Auntie, please let go. We don't feel *hrp* so well." Moonbeam said weakly.
"Yeah. Besides, this fella needs some medical attention, stat. I've always wanted to say that." The other pony said, pointing an unconscious pony he had on his back.
"I've got him." Death said, running up to the pony. "Oh god, its older Nightshade."
"What?!" I yelped, setting the kids down.
"Don't worry, he is going to be fine for the most part. He still needs a doctor though."
"On it!" Death picked up Nightshade and ran to the medical wing.
"Ark!" I yelled.
"Shh. They are asleep." He whispered, pointing at the children, who were indeed asleep at my hooves. "I'll just take them to their rooms." He started to move forward.
"Touch them and you will perish where you stand."
He stepped back and bowed.
"Vapor Sky!"
"Yes, Princes- Oh god! They are alive!" She squealed.
"And tired. Please take them to their room and don't take your eyes off them."
"Yes Princess Celestia." Vapor Sky took the sleeping children and walked out of the room.
"So I guess I have some explaining to do." Ark said.
"Yes. But let's start with why I shouldn't kill you right now."
"That's a fantastic place to start. Well, you could say that you shouldn't kill me because I am good now. Or because you need to know what the heck just happened. Maybe because if you kill me, you kill Pure Heart."
"How do you think I could possibly trust anything you say after the ruin that you brought to so many lives?"
"You can't. And I do so wish that old grumpy gus was here to explain…That's it!" A portal opened underneath him into which he fell. "I'll be right back!" He yelled, then it closed.
A few seconds later, another portal appeared, spitting out a pony encased in crystal and Ark.
"Oh no! Pure Heart!" I yelled, running towards the pony in the clear crystal.
"Stop Princess!" Ark yelled.
I stopped. "What did you do to him?" I asked angrily.
"I suspended him in crystal so he'd cool off, which probably he has by now. Just in case, please back up."
I looked at him with a wary eye, but then did so.
"Alright, play nice buddy."
The crystal began to melt as if it was ice, and soon Pure Heart fell to the floor and immediately got up.
"What? Where am I?" Pure Heart looked around and saw Ark waving at him. "You imbecile! How dare you interfere in my fight!" He rushed Ark and impaled him with his horn. He kept running and pinned him to the wall.
"I had to." Ark said, blood dribbling from his mouth and onto Pure Heart's face. "I needed your help explaining our situation to Princess Celestia."
"Celestia?" He let Ark slump to the floor, looked around and saw me. "Oh joy! One of the very goddesses who imprisoned me! How long I have waited for this moment! That is, the moment of feeling your ice cold blood running over my hooves!"
"He stood up on his hind legs and magic began to swirl around his body.
"NO!" Ark yelled, encasing Pure Heart in crystal once again. He slowly stood up and dusted himself off.
"What in Tartarus just happened?!" I asked.
"Well, he evidently is going to need more than a couple seconds to calm down."
"Who is this pony? As it certainly isn't Pure Heart."
"He is Pure Heart, or at least he was."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that after a thousand passed, he snapped."
"A thousand years? But he has only been gone a few months." Death said as he walked back into the room.
"How is our future nephew?" I asked.
"Stable. He would have been a lot worse if this guy hadn't done something." He said, pointing at Ark.
"Yes, I am very adept at healing, as you can tell from the lack of a hole where sour puss stabbed me."
"Stop calling me names, damn it!" Pure Heart yelled from inside the crystal.
"Oh, I didn't freeze him all the way." Ark said, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
"You better not! In fact, let me out right now!"
"Do you promise not to hurt anyone?"
Pure Heart sighed. "I promise."
"Okay, I'm gonna seal your magic though."
"Fine, fine. Just let me out."
Ark concentrated and all of the clear crystal melted except for a bit that remained on Pure Heart's horn.
"Is it such a good idea to let him out?" I asked.
"He'll be fine, as long as nothing sets him off."
"What can set him off?" Death asked.
"Just don't piss me off and we will be fine." Pure Heart sneered.
"Well okay. Now I would like some more answers. What is going on? Where were Nightshade and the girls? Where were you two this whole time?" I asked.
"I can answer part of that." Future Nightshade said, walking into the room.
"You stupid, incompetent foal! Get back to the medical wing this instant!" Pure Heart yelled.
"Dude, take a pill. I feel better than I had when I left for the human world."
"Since you're little episode was enough of an explanation, why don't you go lie down?" Ark said to Pure Heart.
"Don't tell me what to do!" Pure Heart yawned. "But fine. It will be nice to sleep in my own bed after so long. But first, can you please take this uncomfortable rock off? As long as no one disturbs me, I won't use my magic."
Ark nodded and took off the crystal from Pure Heart's horn then opened a portal and Pure Heart walked through.
"Good night Dad." Nightshade said.
"Not your father." He said back as the portal closed.
"What is that about?" Nightshade asked.
"I'll tell you later. First, why don't you tell your aunt what has happened since you entered the portal into the human world?"
"Good idea. So there I was…"
After an hour or so of explanation or so of Nightshade relaying his story, he finished his account of everything that had transpired in the human world.
"If Luna is truly becoming Nightmare Moon again, then we need to act quickly." I said.
"But the only way is through the Elements of Harmony which we don't have and it's a bearers are out of commission anyway." Nightshade said.
"There is actually another way." Ark said.
"Lay it on us." Death said.
"Well as you have seen, I possess powers of a more positive nature such as healing, protection and transport. What you haven't seen are Pure Heart's powers of a negative flavor as in just destruction. Basically, we are the two sides of the spectrum, he rips apart and I rebuild. He alone holds the power to split the Nightmare from Luna."
"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's get him over there." Death said.
"There is a problem, though. If he sees Luna, he will most likely kill her." Ark muttered solemnly.
"Why would he kill her? She is his wife!" I said.
"Much like you, Princess Celestia, he blames Luna."
"For what?"
"For trapping him in a land of nothingness. Don't ask me anything else, though, for I have no idea of any of the details. He never talks about it. And the only thing he will say if asked is that it is your and Luna's fault."
"Well there has to be a way to get the old Pure Heart back." I said.
"There is. If he splits Black Heart first. I can then fuse his old consciousness with him. He will at that point, I believe, come to his senses."
"What's to stop you from taking back your evil self?" Nightshade asked.
"Well the fact that I don't want to be evil is again is a pretty good incentive."
"Then what do you plan to do with the evil you?" I asked.
"Put it in a containment device and bury it of course."
"Well that all seems simple enough, let's get rolling." Death said.
As Death and Nightshade left the room, I stopped Ark.
"Earlier when you froze Pure Heart, you looked earnestly frightened. What was he about to do?"
"There are things that no one should ever see, Princess. What he was about to do is one of those things. If you ever do see it, I hope you die from the terror, for the alternative…"
"What's the alternative?" I asked with fear in my voice.
"…Let's just hope this works so we will never have to worry about it."
Vapor Sky's POV
"Pure Heart?" I knocked on his door. "Are you awake?" I had been told not to disturb, but I couldn't resist seeing him.
"I am."
I opened the door and saw him sitting in front of the fireplace, watching the flames.
"Oh Pure Heart, I'm so glad that you are alive." I said as I walked towards him.
"Please do not call me that. That person and I hold nothing in common."
"How can you say that? You obviously still care for your children. Why else would you have saved them?
"I did not save them. I told Ark to get them out of there as they were would only have gotten in my way."
"But they are your children."
"No! They are Pure Heart's children! I am not him!" He shouted, looking at me with hurt in his eyes. He then went back to staring at the fire. "That fool died a long time ago."
"What are you talking about? You're sitting right here."
He sighed and shook his head. "You are much too young to understand."
"Too young? I am only a few years younger than you."
"You are a few years younger than Pure Heart. You don't even begin to hold a flame to me."
"Oh, because of some age spell that changed you to look older, you think you are so much wiser than me." I said sarcastically.
He again looked at me, but this time with an angry frown. He stood up and slowly began to approach me.
"Of course I am, as you are just a stupid little girl that knows nothing! I have had to endure so much more than you ever will be able to!" The flames in the fire place began get larger and started trailing behind him. "You think your beloved princesses suffered? I have felt more pain than both of them combined!" The flames shot out and caught the paintings on the wall on fire. "You think your boyfriend felt betrayed? I discovered the concept!" The flames began to spread to the furniture. "You think Black Heart's goons are crazy? I am the sire of insanity!" The room was quickly being engulfed by flames. "You think Black Heart is cruel? You don't even know the meaning of the word!"
At this point I was thoroughly frightened and had backed up against the door.
He stood up on his hind legs and his horn began to glow. "I have seen so much pain, so much sorrow, and so much destruction! And I have been the cause of it all! I feel their pain! I hear their screams! I hate it! And it's all their fault!"
I was so scared, I barely let out a whisper. "W-whose fault?"
"Those damn princesses! They must pay for it all! Pay for turning me into the devourer of souls!"
The smoke in the room finally got to me and quickly began to fill my lungs, though it didn't burn from heat as it was strangely cold. My eyes lids became extremely heavy, but before I passed out I heard a whisper.
"Don't hate me."
"Vapor! Vapor wake up!" I heard someone say.
I opened my eyes to see Cloudlight's face.
"Thank Celestia you're alright." He said as he hugged me tight. "What happened? Where is Pure Heart?"
"We have to get out, before the fire-" I looked around and saw that the room was unscathed.
"Fire? What are you talking about?"
I blinked furiously and then tears began to pour from my eyes as I buried my head into his shoulder. "He's gone. He's really gone. The old Pure Heart is lost forever!"
Cloudlight comforted me as my tears of sadness and terror cascaded to the floor.
Celestia's POV
"Are you ready, Death?" I asked.
"Sure, am. Let's kick some butt."
"Are you sure it's such a good idea for you two to go, Celestia?" Nightshade asked. "I mean, shouldn't I at least come?"
"No, Nightshade. You have already done your part and I have sat far too long on the sidelines. Besides, I need to be there in case something goes wrong with my sister."
"And why is Death going?"
"I refuse to let my pregnant wife go somewhere dangerous alone with a psychopath." Death replied.
"I'm right here, geez." Ark said.
"I'm talking about Pure Heart."
"Oh."
"But who will watch over the kingdom in your absence?" Nightshade asked.
"We won't be gone long too long." Ark said. "All we have to do is get Pure Heart to split Black Heart and Luna. After that, it is just a matter of getting rid of the wendigos."
"What about Black Heart's lackeys?"
"They will yield as soon as their leader is gone, I'm sure."
"And if they don't?"
"Then we will put them down." Death said.
"If you are done with your Q&A, let us be off." Ark said.
"Right, someone summon Pure Heart." I said.
"That will be a problem." Cloudlight responded, walking into the throne room.
"Why? What's wrong?" Ark asked.
"He's gone, and I take full responsibility." Vapor Sky admitted as she walked in behind Cloudlight. "I went to see him and he got mad when I said that he wasn't much older than me. He started saying that he is a monster and that he blames the princesses for making him that way. He told me that he was going to make them pay for turning him into the devourer of souls and at that point I blacked out from choking on smoke."
"Smoke?! There was a fire?!" I asked in horror.
"No there wasn't. She just thinks there was because he used her fears against her." Ark said. "You are lucky that you're alive. I have not seen many instances of his rage where he didn't kill someone. But this is bad. We need to leave right now." Ark tapped the floor and a portal appeared.
"What do you mean Pure Heart used her fears against her?" Cloudlight asked.
"There is no time to explain, he already has a head start."
"A head start in what?" Death asked.
"In his slaughter." Ark gestured to the portal.
I began to walk towards it but was stopped by Vapor Sky. "Be careful Princess. That creature is not our Pure Heart."
I nodded and walked through the portal.
As soon as we appeared on the other side, the smell of death decay hit me like a train.
"He's been her." Ark said, pointing to the bodies of wendigos on the floor. Or at least, what was left of them, for they had been torn to shreds.
"Let's follow the trail of bodies. It will lead us right to him." Death suggested.
"What about my sister?" I asked.
"That is probably where he is headed. When we find him, we'll find her." Ark said.
"Alright, let's hurry."
"Hold on, I forgot something." Ark held out his hands towards me and a purple light poured out, flowing over me. "That should do it."
"What did you do?" Death asked.
"I put a shield spell over her. Nothing will be able to harm her for a couple hours."
"Why didn't you use it on all of us?" I asked.
"Because it can only be used on one person at a time. If I were to use it again on Death or myself, your shield would end."
"Well that is quite handy. Now, let's get going." Death said.
We started running down the hall, avoiding bodies as we went. After a few minutes, we arrived at two large doors.
"This leads into the throne room." Ark said.
"Take your hands off me, whelp!" Barked a voice from the other side of the doors.
We opened the doors and found Pure Heart in a black suit on the ground, pinning a man to the floor.
"Where is she, Red Rum?"
"I'll never tell you." Red Rum spat.
Pure Heart raised his hand in the air and red, crystalline claws enveloped his fingers. "Try again."
"I'd rather die than tell you anything."
"I'm fine with that."
"Wait, it's just an expre-" Red Rum was cut off as Pure Heart shoved his claws under Red Rum's chin and exiting through the back of his head.
"Pure Heart!" I yelled as I ran into the room, once again avoiding the remains of wendigos.
"That's not my name." He said as he extracted his claws from Red Rum's skull and shook off the blood and brain matter. He then stuck one claw into Red Rum's chest and muttered something, making some kind of dark gas flow out and which he breathed in.
"Why did you do that?"
"You heard him. He wanted to die, so I obliged."
"You can't do that."
"Why not? Was he not a criminal? Did he not kill multiple people? I think he deserved to die." He stood up, his claws retracting back into his fingers, and dusted himself off.
"But it's not your place to pass judgement and execute someone."
"And I suppose it's your place, huh? Miss 'I condemned my brother to death'."
"I did no su-"
"Silence, cow! I don't want to hear it! All I want to hear is the sound of someone gasping for breath, drowning in the blood that fills their lungs."
"Then it will be your own." Black Heart said, flinging corpses aside as he walked into the room.
"Perfect. I've been waiting for a challenge." Pure Heart said, cracking his knuckles.
"Me? Oh no. I meant you will fight her." He held out his hand and Luna grabbed it, walking up beside him.
"Luna!" I shouted, as I ran forward. Or tried, as I was quickly held fast by one of Death's tendrils.
"That's not Luna." He said.
"He's right, dear sister. I am the terror of the night, Nightmare Moon."
"Well now you're dead." Pure Heart said, then he disappeared.
"Where did he go?" I asked.
"GAH!" Nightmare Moon screamed as Pure Heart's red claws dug into her skull.
"No you don't!" Black Heart yelled. He drew what looked like Pure Heart's old sword and slashed at Pure Heart's arm that held Nightmare Moon. The sword sparked on impact and turned to dust. "What the-"
Pure Heart knocked him away. "Fool! You really think a sword that I made could hurt me!"
"Fine, take back your wife." Black Heart said, wiping blood from his mouth.
"I plan to." He turned back to Nightmare Moon. "SPLIT!" Red energy surged out of his claws and into Nightmare Moon's skull. She screamed as he ripped out his claws and black goo dripped to the floor, Luna along with it.
"Luna!" I yelled again, this time running to her. I held her up and shook her.
"What? What's going on?"
"What's going on is that your husband has severely pissed me off." Black Heart snarled, snapping his fingers. The room quickly filled with wendigos, surrounding us. "Good luck with that." Black Heart said as he stepped into a portal.
"No one will take my kill!" Pure Heart bellowed, ripping off his jacket and shirt. Red lines began to appear across his body as his magic started to swirl around him.
"No Pure Heart! Don't do it!" Ark yelled.
"That's not my name!" He screamed, which turned into a high-pitch cry as the glow from his magic was absorbed into the lines which took on the look of seams. Suddenly, his back split open as two large skeletal hands gripped the sides of the torn flesh and helped out a large rip cage that held an elongated skull with sharp antlers sprouting from the top. Its limbs were composed of many bones that looked as if they were just thrown together and would fall apart if not for the few strands of sinew that held them together. From behind, a tail, comprised of vertebrae and what looked to be rib cages, whipped back and forth. The most horrifying feature, however, was the skulls that were embedded in its torso seemed to be moaning.
The main skull opened its mouth, revealing dagger-like teeth, and screamed, "I am Megedagik! Father of the wendigo!"
Ark appeared behind us with a portal. "We have to go!" He picked up Luna, who had fallen unconscious, and ran in with me close behind. The portal opened up next to Death. "Come on! We have to leave now!" He said to Death.
"What about Pure Heart?" Death asked.
"There is nothing we can do."
"You can't freeze him like last time?" I asked.
"No. He can't be stopped like this."
"I can stop him." Death said.
"There is no time for this Prince. He'll be upon us any second."
At that moment, Pure Heart disappeared. A roar came from behind and before we could turn, a clawed hand swiped Ark aside. "You won't get away from me!"
Death transformed into his titan form. "If you want to get to them, you'll have to go through me."
It roared and flashed onto Death's back, taking a bite out of his shoulder. Death grabbed it by the head and pulled it off, flipping it on to its back. He jumped and landed an elbow straight into its ribs, making it scream. Its tail whipped up behind and stabbed Death in the back. He jumped up and pulled the tail out with a tendril.
"That was a mistake." It hissed.
Death screamed out in pain as ice began to cover his body from the point where he was stabbed.
"You have a few minutes to save him. Ark knows how." It said. It walked over to where Luna lay and picked her up. "Now you get yours." He then disappeared.
"Luna!" I screamed.
"She'll be fine, I placed my shield spell on her when we went through the portal to heal her. It heals wounds as it protects. Right now, we need to worry about your husband and get the spines out of his back before he dies."
Luna's POV
I woke up with a massive headache in what looked like a cave next to a fire. I felt wet and kind of sticky and looked to see I was covered in bloody seal pelts.
"You better keep those on, or you'll freeze."
I looked up and saw Pure Heart sitting on the other side of the fire, staring at me coldly.
"Pure Heart?"
"My name is Megedagik."
"Another name? Did you lose your memory again?"
"Oh no. I remember everything quite vividly. Especially the last seventeen-hundred years of imprisonment."
"Imprisonment? By who?"
"By you and your sister!" He yelled, jumping up and taking a swipe at my face with red claws that had grown from his hands.
I closed my eyes and waited for the pain. But none came.
"Damn that Ark and his shield spell!"
I opened my eyes and saw him at the opposite wall, slumping to the ground.
"What happened?"
"My claws glanced off the shield spell that Ark placed on you. Don't worry though, the shield will wear off after a few hours."
"What happens then?" I asked with fear in my voice.
"I slice you to ribbons."
"I don't understand."
"Understand what?"
"Why you think I imprisoned you. I would never do such a thing. Especially to my own husband."
"Not on purpose. No, it was just the biggest mistake ever."
"How do you mean?"
"The age spell, or at least, what you and your sister assumed to be an age spell."
"How was that a mistake? It worked."
"It did work. But someone had to live all those years. That's where I come in."
"How do you mean?"
"Exactly how it sounds. I was dropped in this miserable plane of existence in the year 292. For the next 700 years, I wandered the world searching for a way to get back to you and hoping you would realize your mistake and find me. Then one night, in the dead of winter, I was visited by a spirit. It told me that I was all alone, that no one was going to help me. Then it promised me vengeance on the ones that hurt me. I agreed and woke up the next morning as a beast."
"A wendigo."
"Yes, the first one. After that, I spent centuries terrorizing the world, devouring people and, sometimes, their souls as well. Then one day, a man had the gall to stand up to me. We fought and ended up at an impasse. We soon became friends, which is a definite improvement from the mortal enemies we once were."
"Once were? You mean the man was Ark?"
"Yes, but he was the good guy this time."
"Ark is a good guy? How is that possible?"
"I don't know how, and frankly, I don't really care."
"Does that mean your evil then?"
"If you consider my actions over the past several hundred years, then yes, you could call me evil. Though that is completely subjective. I didn't like, though."
"Like what?"
"The killing. I hate killing. I can't help myself though. It's like a constant hunger for death. I'm able to control it most of the time, but when I get mad…"
I stood up and walked over to him, touching his arm, which was cold enough to burn. "I am so sorry that you have had to endure so much pain. Had I known about the cost of the spell I would have never even mentioned it."
He swatted away my hand. "Spare me your pity. You have no idea what I've been through."
I sat next to him. "I don't? I was imprisoned in the moon for a thousand years."
"No, Nightmare Moon was."
"It was still me though."
"Still, you were sentenced for a good reason. I just wanted to be more relatable to my spouse."
I started to get a bit upset. "At least you had a friend. I was alone for a thousand years."
"So was I! And your sentence is over while I still live out mine!" He stood up in anger.
I stood as well. "You are free to roam the earth while I was stuck on a rock!"
"You were cured!" He yelled, punching the wall.
I stepped back. "What?"
"You were cured Luna. The Nightmare was purged from your body by the Elements of Harmony within a day of your return. Your sins were forgiven. You've never killed someone. Whereas I have killed many."
"I'm sure you haven't killed too many."
"The name Megedagik was given to me because it literally translates to 'kills many'. And wendigo means 'evil spirit that devours mankind'. Do you need any more proof?"
"Those are merely names."
"Names that I didn't choose."
"So what? It obviously wasn't you that was doing all these things."
"But it was, Luna. I am a beast that can't be forgiven."
"So you think killing me will fix things?"
"No, it won't. It won't even make me feel better."
"Then why do it?"
"Because everything points to you. You are the center of all my problems. Thus you must die."
"Don't you think you are being irrational?"
"I haven't been rational for a long time."
"But like you said, I was cured by the Elements of Harmony. So why can't you?"
"They can't do anything for me. The only way I can be cured is by being split."
"So why don't you do that?"
"I would need something to fuse into me with moments of being split, or I'll die."
"What about my Pure Heart? The one making up half of Black Heart."
"That would work."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going!"
"There is another problem."
"What?"
"What do you think is going to happen to the beast inside of me? It won't just disappear."
"Why not?"
"Because before I became the beast, I was just a projection."
"Like a ghost?"
"In a way, yes. I was invisible to everyone. But when I became Megedagik, I gained a physical form as him. Turning back to my normal form left me incorporeal again. I just recently gained this physical body."
"How did you do that?"
"Through a ritual using the power of your children and Pure Heart's human body he left in your world."
"His frozen body?"
"Yeah, it was the perfect receptacle for me. Anyways, if I am split, that beast will be unleashed. Without me, it would go on a rampage and kill everyone."
"That's simple enough, we just destroy it."
"It's not that simple."
"Why not? We can do anything when we are together."
He seemed to mull it over for a bit. "Well I guess there isn't much I can do right now about killing you. And it makes sense that helping you do this would actually benefit me." He tapped his finger on his chin for a few more minutes. "Okay, I'll help you."
I smiled big and went to hug him, but he held out his hand to stop me.
"On one condition." He said. "If Ark's shield spell runs out before we get the other me back, I will kill you on the spot."
"Why? You could your life back, and you would throw it away for vengeance?"
"What can I say? I am mentally unstable."
"How will you even know when it runs out?"
"A perk of living a long life is learning to sense things, so I'll know." He held out his hand. "Do we have an understanding?"
I sighed. "Fine, but it won't come to that, I assure you." I shook his hand.
"Fantastic." He held out his other hand and opened a portal. "After you."
"Where are we going?"
"I need a few ponies to help."
"I thought you were all 'big and powerful'." I said sarcastically.
He laughed. "That is one thing I missed, your sarcastic bite." He immediately became serious again. "No, I am not. Even I have need for pawns. Now come on."
I simply nodded and walked through the portal.
We appeared in our bedroom in Canterlot. I was a bit taken aback.
"Why are we here of all places?" I asked.
"Because unlike Ark, I can only return to the place where I started from. I have my limits."
I began to walk but stopped when I felt something was off. I looked down and saw I had hooves again. I ran to the mirror and squealed in delight.
"I'm a pony again!" I hopped up and down several times in glee. Even better, I noticed my horn had grown back. Then I saw Pure Heart behind me I the mirror and stopped.
"It's been awhile, huh?" He said walking next to me. "Since you've seen me like this, I mean. Though there are some noticeable changes."
"What do you mean?"
He turned to show his flank revealing his cutiemark. The normal heart, moon, and star were there, but they were overlapped by four black, ragged slashes that looked like claw marks. "If you remember, it used to stand for my love for you. Now it's a symbol of hate."
I started to tear up and when he saw this he walked away.
"Come on. We have ponies to talk to."
I wiped my eyes and went to the door where he stood. He opened the door and walked out. I turned and looked at the bedroom me and my husband shared for years. Memories flashed through my head and got me choked up a bit. A tear fell to the floor as I knew I might never see this room again. Slowly I closed the door and caught up to Pure Heart.
"Princess Luna?" I heard from behind. I turned around to see Vapor Sky walk up to us.
"Hello Vapor."
"Oh Princess!" She yelled, hugging me. "I thought I'd never see you again. They said Pure Heart had taken you."
"I did." Pure Heart said from behind her.
She whipped around and held out her wings in front of me. "Get out of here Princess. I'll hold him off as long as I can."
I pushed down her left wing with my foreleg. "That won't be necessary."
"What are you talking about?" She asked without taking her eyes off of him.
"I mean that he isn't here to do any harm."
"Not yet, anyway." He sneered.
"What does he mean?"
"That's not important. What is important is finding… wait, who are we looking for?"
"Ark and the husbands of the Elements." He responded.
"They are all at the hospital." Vapor said.
"Alright, then we are off to the hospital." I said.
"Hello subjects!" Pure Heart said as we entered the room with the Elements and their spouses.
To my surprise, Tia and Death were there as well.
"You!" Death said, rushing Pure Heart.
I stepped in front of him, making him slide to a stop. "There is no need for that Death."
"Luna!" Tia yelled and ran to me, pulling me into a crushing embrace. "What happened? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, dear sister. He wasn't able to lay a hand on me thanks to Ark's spell."
"You're welcome." Ark said, walking up to Pure Heart. "What do you have to say for yourself?" He asked him.
"You are a sneaky one, I'll give you that." Pure Heart said, grabbing him by the neck with his foreleg, putting him in a headlock.
"Let go of him this instant!" Tia yelled.
"What? I'm just showing him some love." Pure Heart said, giving him a noogie.
"Ow, ow, ow! Stop it!" Ark said.
"Or what?"
Ark's horn lit up and shot a bolt at Pure Heart's hooves, making him let go.
"Ack! You little-" Pure Heart began to say before I cut him off.
"What is going on?" I asked.
The two looked at each other and began to crack up.
Everyone looked at them in confusion, including myself.
"Oh sweet Luna. We are just have some fun. It's what brothers do." Ark explained.
"Brothers?" Tia asked. "You two are sworn enemies."
"The old Ark and Pure Heart may have been, but after 300 years or so, you learn to get along with each other." Pure Heart said.
"So it's true then. You really are older." Eclipse said as he walked up to Pure Heart.
"Indeed. It's been awhile, Andy." Pure Heart responded. "At least, since I've seen you like this."
"What do you mean?" Eclipse asked.
"I mean I watched you for a time, in the human world. I even witnessed your birth." Pure Heart said.
"You what?!"
"Oh yes. Now I didn't stalk you or anything. I just visited a couple of times. Though I have to say that watching that theater get torn to shreds was my favorite part." He said with a grin.
"You did that?" Eclipse asked, stumbling back.
"Oh no. I may be a monster, but I was just a bystander."
"So, you just stood there and watched me die?!" Eclipse's face twisted in anger.
"Indeed. And every moment was breath taking to say the least. Your breath, that is." Pure Heart laughed.
"You evil fiend!" Twilight said, hobbling up next to Eclipse.
"Now take it easy. He is just trying to get in your head, mess with your mind. He has a tendency to do that." Ark said.
"And it works every time." Pure Heart chuckled. "Especially with this one." He pointed to Vapor Sky. "Her idolization of Pure Heart made it really easy to terrify her."
"You mean the fire, don't you?" Vapor Sky asked.
"Yep. Being choked by the flames from your hero really freaked you out. That was priceless."
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"Well as everyone here probably knows by now, I am a wendigo now. With that comes many powers, including being able to become what someone fears the most. In Vapor Sky's case, the fear of her hero betraying her."
"That is awful!" Applejack said.
"Guilty! Now if we are all done talking about trivial matters, let's get down to business.
"And what business might that be?" Tia asked.
"That would be- Wait." He counted everyone in the room. "Three are missing." He whispered to Ark, who nodded and opened a portal which Pure Heart walked into.
"Wait, where are you going?" I asked.
"I'll be right back. We have to pick up your buddies." The portal closed after Ark walked through.
Several minutes passed by before another portal opened. Through it stepped the older Nightshade, Chrysalis, Krom, Ark and Pure Heart.
"What's going on? Why are those two here? And Nightshade, I told you to get some rest." Tia said.
"Nightshade is here because he needs to know what is happening." Ark said.
"And Krom and Chrysalis are here because they have been in the company of Black Heart for a while now and so know his routines." Pure Heart explained.
"His routines? I thought the plan was just to split him." Death said.
"I can't very well do that if he is up and going. I have to know where he is and what he is doing. He is no idiot. He has raised mental barriers that prevent even me from splitting him. He has to be weakened first."
"Even if they know his routines, why would they help us?" Twilight asked.
"Because they are the ones who helped me." I said.
Everyone looked at me.
"That's right. They did help her. Krom was the one who delivered messages to you and Chrysalis took care of her and was her friend. Therefore, they are allies."
"Is this true?" Tia asked.
I nodded as did Krom and Chrysalis.
"Good. Now that everything is cleared up, onto my plan." He walked over to the wall and picked up a pen that was on a table. He then lifted the pen to the wall and began to write.
"Uh, we have a white board and markers." Eclipse offered.
"No thanks. I am quite content with defacing this wall." After a couple minutes, he put down the pen and pointed at his work. "What we know is that there are only four generals left: Discord, Flash Fire, Sombra, and Bullet Blaster."
"Four? What happened to Red Rum?" Vapor Sky asked.
"Pure Heart brutally murdered him." Tia said.
"He wouldn't do that. It's against his ethics." Eclipse said.
Pure Heart facehoofed. "Okay, I am only going to explain this one more time. So listen up." He raised his hoof to the wall and bit off a piece, making it bleed profusely. Then he put it to the wall and wrote out as he said, "I am not Pure Heart!"
He turned to everyone who were showing signs of abhorrence. "Do you understand?! Pure Heart died a long time ago! My name is Megedagik. It is a name I have rightfully earned as it means 'kills many'. So the next pony to call me 'Pure Heart' will have his soul eaten."
"You're bluffing. You don't have that power." Rainbow Dash said.
Pure Heart sighed and held his hoof, which was no longer bleeding, to his chest. "Split." A blue-gray smoke began to flow out of his chest and onto the ground and then reshaped into a man.
"Help! Help! Please help me! I don't know where I am! It's so dark!" The man cried while pounding his fists on what seemed to be a wall.
"What in the world?!" Applejack yelled.
"This is Captain Alexander Jenson. He served in the second World War." Pure Heart explained. "I killed him and ate his soul after seeing him kill a German family for no reason."
"My word! That is terrible!" Rarity gasped.
"That's why I killed him."
"No, I mean it's terrible that you would do such a thing as kill someone and then eat their soul. That is just barbaric!"
"Ha! Barbaric! Let me tell you sister, when you have lived as long as I have and seen what I have seen, stealing a soul is nothing. If you want something truly terrifying, try living between worlds for a millennium."
"Between worlds?" Ark asked.
"That's right my friend. Ever since that day when my consciousness was split in two by that horrible spell, I've had one hoof in this dimension and one foot in the human dimension. Yet, I wasn't in either. I was stuck between both worlds."
"The Void." Tia said.
"Bingo. So I have been watching history unfold in two worlds. You can imagine how much I have seen. Now if we are done playing 20 Questions, let's get back to my plan." He said, sucking up the smoky spirit.
After around 30 minutes of talking, the plan was completed and we began to disperse for preparations. As I began to walk out of the room with Pure Heart, Tia pulled me aside.
"Where do you think you're going?" She asked.
"With my husband to our room."
"Luna, you can't be around him. He wants to kill you."
"That's all talk. He would never actually hurt me. Besides, I had Ark recast his shield spell on me while no one was looking. I'm totally safe."
"Well…okay. But I still don't like it."
"Hurry up! I don't have all day!" Pure Heart yelled from down the hall.
I quickly hugged Tia. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." I whispered to her and then ran down the hall to join my husband.
"What did she want?" He asked with an annoyed tone.
"She just wanted to be sure that I was okay."
"Oh yes, the kind façade of a matriarch. Haven't seen that before." He said rolling his eyes.
"Lighten up. Soon you'll have your old life back and all of this will just be a bad memory."
"That's just it. It will be a memory, as in I will always remember the last 2 millennia of pain and sorrow."
"But it will be the past. You should know better than anyone that the past can't be changed. All you can do is learn from it."
We walked out the front entrance into the cool night air. A breeze swirled and blew through my mane, causing it to blow into my face.
He gently brushed my mane away and held up my chin to look in my eyes. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly to form a small smile.
He sighed. "I suppose it's hard to argue with that logic." He let go of my chin and turned away. "Come on, there is something I want to show you." He spread his wings and flew off and I followed suit.
A while later, we arrived at my old castle in the Everfree Forrest. We landed at the front door and went in. After a little bit longer of walking in silence, I spoke up.
"What are we doing here?"
He remained quiet until we approached a door with a moon on it. "Do you remember this?" He asked as he opened the door.
I walked in and gasped. "This is my old room. From before I was Nightmare Moon."
"Right. Ever since you were a filly. We had some pretty great adventures."
I froze and turned around to look at him. "We?"
"It figures you wouldn't remember." He walked over to a wall and picked up a frame that had fallen to the ground, looking it over. "That was a day I will never forget."
I walked over to where he stood and looked at the frame held in his magical grasp. Within it was a crudely drawn picture of a blue filly and a red colt. They sat next to each other with smiles on their faces. At the top, the words 'Best Friends Forever!' were written.
"I drew this." I said, taking the frame and running my hoof over the drawing.
"Yes."
"It's me and you."
"Uh-huh."
"But how? I didn't know you as a filly."
"You may not have known me as Pure Heart, but you did as another name."
I thought for a moment as I looked at him, then at my drawing and back at him. My eyes grew wide as I came to the realization. "Carbide!"
"I give up! I'm going to be a blank flank forever!" I yelled as I stomped down the hall.
"Come on, Luna. You've only been at it for a few days. It took me years to find my special talent." Tia said, trying to make me feel better.
"But I have to get my cutie mark now! I can't let dumb Princess Platinum get ahead of me."
"Oh come now. Are you really comparing yourself to her?"
"No. She just said that if I can my cutie mark first, she will be my friend."
Tia sighed. "You two are so competitive. Well, we'll try again tomorrow." She walked me to my room and I got into bed. She tucked me in and kissed me on the forehead. "Goodnight Luna." She walked out and closed the door, leaving me in darkness.
"Stupid Tia. What does she know? Nothing, that's what." I said, sitting up in bed. "Stupid Platinum for not being my friend." I got out of bed and went to the window, opening it and resting my forelegs on the windowsill. "I wish I had a friend. One that liked everything I do and will always be there for me."
"HELP! HELP ME PLEASE!" I heard someone yell.
I looked around outside from the window, but didn't see anypony out there.
"PLEASE, SOMEONE! ANYONE!" They screamed.
This time I was able to find that the voice was coming from the forest.
"HOLD ON! I'M COMING!" I backed up and ran, jumping out the window, fluttering my small wings and floated towards the cries for help.
When I touched down, I ran into the thicket of trees. The cries eventually led to a large patch of brambles.
"SOMEONE PLEASE! I'M STUCK!" They called from inside the thicket.
"Where?!"
A small red leg with a brown hoof poked out and waved. "Over here!"
They were near the middle of the briars. Luckily, there was a small tunnel nearby that looked like it would lead straight there.
"Okay! I'll be right there!"
I got down on my tummy and started crawling into the tunnel. It turned out I was a bit too big as the thorns began to scrape me, but I continued forward.
After what seemed like forever, I finally found a red colt tangled in the briars and saw that they were cutting deep into his skin.
He turned his head and I saw tears falling down his face. "Help me please. It hurts so bad."
"Don't worry. You'll be out in no time." I crawled up to him and pointed my horn at the branches that held him. I concentrated and my horn sparked, cutting a branch in half. I kept doing that and soon he was free. "Come on, follow me and I'll get you bandaged up." We both crawled back through the maze of thorns and after making it out, we headed back to the castle and used one of the secret passage ways to sneak back to my room as it was definitely passed my bedtime.
I turned on my lantern once we were in my room. I looked around the room and couldn't seem to find him. "Where did you go?"
I heard whimpering from behind me. I turned around, holding up the lantern and saw him shivering in the corner. Blood was slowly pouring out of the deep cuts he got from the thorns.
I tapped my hoof on my chin, thinking that Tia would know what to do, but then I would get in trouble for being out passed my bedtime. Then I remembered the 'My Little Nurse' kit I got for my birthday last year. I sat the lantern down and ran over to my toy chest and put on a white nurse hat and a pink gown. I took out the kit and ran over to the colt who was still shivering.
"I'll make you all better." I said softly. I set down the kit and opened it. I pulled out a cotton ball and a bottle.
"W-What's that?" He stammered.
"I think the adults call it Perry Ox Hide. It's going to clean your cuts and keep them from getting infected." I poured some on the cotton and touched one of his cuts.
"OW!" He screamed as he recoiled.
"Shh. You're going to wake up the whole castle."
"But that hurt!" He cried.
"Sorry, I'll be more careful." I lightly dabbed one of his cuts and he flinched but didn't scream this time, so I continued.
As I cleaned his cuts, I was able to get a better look at him. He wasn't much bigger than me, so he was probably around 6 or 7 years old. His fur was pretty close to the same color red as the blood that I was now wiping away with a cloth. He had a brown mane and tail with a streak of lighter brown running through them. Besides that, also had red wings and a horn as well.
I gasped. "Are you an alicorn?"
"A what?"
"Half pegasus, half unicorn. You have wings and a horn, so you have to be, right?"
"Uh, I g-guess."
I pulled out the long white bandage tape and began to wrap up his cuts. When I finished, he looked at my work and smiled for the first time.
"Thank you so much Nurse… uh."
"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Luna. What is your name?"
"Philos Carbide." He smiled at me. "You can just call me Carbide."
"So why were you stuck in a bramble patch anyway?" I asked.
His smile disappeared. "I was hiding. There was a bunch of stick dogs and they started chasing me. So I hid on the briars and got stuck."
"Those timber wolves are so mean. Well, you are safe now. So let's see about getting you home."
"Home?" He asked, tilting his head with a confused look. "What's a home?"
"You know, the place you live with your family."
"Oh. Um. Then I guess I don't have a home. Or a family."
"But who takes care of you?" I asked shocked.
"I've taken care of myself ever since I can remember."
"But who gives you food?"
"Food?"
"The stuff you eat when you are hungry."
"Um, I guess I've never been hungry before."
"That's crazy. You're crazy."
"No, you're crazy." He said back.
"No, you are." I stepped forward.
"No, you are." He stepped forward as well.
"You are!" I got closer.
"You are!" He got his face right up to mine.
We stared at each other then we both started laughing.
He then stopped and looked into my eyes.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing. I thought I remembered something, but it's gone." He looked down. "Oh gosh! You're still covered brambles!"
"Huh?" I turned and saw brambles stuck to my tail. I took off the gown and there were a bunch stuck to my fur as well. I looked back at him. "You're one to talk." He also still had some stuck to his mane and tail.
"Hmm. Oh I know. Turn around."
"Why?"
"Trust me."
I shrugged and turned around.
"Okay. You can look again."
I looked and he had a pair of tweezers in his mouth.
"Where did those come from?"
"Um, your kit."
"It came with tweezers? It doesn't say that on the box." I said, looking at the kit.
"It was a bonus prize. Now hold still."
He came close with the tweezers still in his mouth and started pulling off brambles. After he pulled all of them off my body, he dropped the tweezers back into the kit and looked at me.
"Okay, now to get them out of your mane and tail." He said.
"Oh, I have a brush we can use." I walked over to my dresser and picked up a brush with my magic. I turned around to show it off, but he already had a brush. "Where did that come from? And don't say the kit because I know there wasn't one in it."
"Oh…um… I brought it from home." He said nervously.
"You didn't even know what a home was until a few minutes ago." I said with an eyebrow raised. "What's going on?"
He sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll show you, but you have to keep it a secret."
"I promise I will."
"Okay." He held up the brush in his magic and concentrated on it. It started to turn black and then change shape into a ball and finally turning red. He let go and it dropped to the floor.
"A rock?"
"Not a rock, a ruby."
"Wow! That is so cool!"
He blushed. "Oh, thanks." He picked up the ruby and turned it back into a brush. "Now then, let's get those brambles out."
I sat down and he began to gently stroke my mane with the brush.
"This is nice." I said softly.
"Hmm? What is?"
"This. Having someone to talk to."
"Don't you have a family?"
"I have a sister. Though my parents died when I was young."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's okay. I don't even remember them and Tia won't tell me about them. All she does is work and rarely has time for me."
"That's terrible."
"I'm used to it. It just gets lonely is all."
"Don't you have any friends?" He asked, lowering the brush to work on my tail.
"Not really. Royalty doesn't get to have much contact with the common folk. At least I don't."
"Royalty? You're a princess?!"
"Yes. It wasn't obvious by the castle?"
"You're talking to the pony who doesn't even know what food is, remember?" He chuckled.
"Oh yeah." Laughing as well.
"Well, that will do it." He said, finishing my tail.
"Now it's your turn." I said, taking the brush in my magic.
"Okay."
I began to brush out his mane, but it was all hard and filthy.
"Geez, when was the last time you took a bath?"
"A bath?"
I sighed. "You know, washed yourself."
"Hmm." He thought for a moment. "I don't know. Why?"
"Well for one, you have dirt clods stuck in your mane. Your hair is almost rock hard."
"Look who's talking. You have dirt all over your fur too."
I looked at my fur and noticed I did as well. "This won't do. If Tia sees me like this, she will know I went outside. We are going to have to take a bath."
He blushed. "Together?"
I smiled. "I won't tell anyone if you don't."
"Well okay. Lead the way."
I walked to the bathroom and over to the tub, turning on the faucet. Warm water began to fill the tub and I poured in some bubble bath.
"What's that?" Carbide asked.
"It's bubble bath, it makes the water bubbly for more fun."
"Neat."
After the tub filled, I turned off the faucet and stuck my hoof in the water. "Ooo, perfect." I turned to him. "Alright, let's get in." I stepped into the tub and let the warm water engulf me.
"Are you sure this is okay?" He asked.
"What are you chicken?"
"No."
"Then get in here."
He sighed and stepped in as well.
"Isn't this nice?" I asked.
He shifted. "I suppose."
"Alright, now turn around."
"What? Why?" He asked.
"So I can wash your mane, silly." He turned around reluctantly and I came up behind him, grabbing the shampoo off the shelf with my magic and poured some on his head. "Close your eyes." I told him and started to rub the shampoo in. I picked up a cup and got water in it, pouring it over his head.
"Gah!" He yelped.
"Calm down. It's just water." I grabbed a sponge and was about to wash his back when I realized he still had the bandages on. "Darn it."
"What?"
"We forgot to take off your bandages. Hold still, I'll take them off."
"No, no. That's fine. I can do it."
"I insist."
"Please, don't. I got it." He turned around and tried to bite the bandages off, but he couldn't reach.
"Let me help." I took hold of the bandages in my teeth and tore them off. I looked over his cuts and found that they all had mostly closed up. "What the-"
"Now you know. I am some kind of freak." He said, starting to cry.
"Freak? What are you talking about? That is awesome! You healed super-fast!"
"You don't think I am weird?" He said sniffling.
"Weird? No. You are really cool, though."
"Thanks. You are, too."
I went ahead and scrubbed his body and tail and then he did the same for me. Soon, we were all clean and I let the water out of the tub. We got out and I got us towels and we dried off.
"How do you feel?" I asked.
"Clean. Cleaner than I have been for a while. Thank you." We finished drying off and walked back into my room. He then bowed and began to walk away. "I better get going."
"Going? Where?"
"Well I need to find somewhere to sleep for the day."
"Sleep during the day?"
"Yeah. My body has the habit of turning off when the sun is out. So my last hours of night are spent finding a safe place to sleep."
"Oh, okay." I said sadly.
He walked to the window and got up on the ledge.
"Wait!" I said running to the window.
"Yeah?" He turned to look at me.
"You could stay here. It's safe here and I have a big bed."
"But what's the exchange?" He asked.
"The what?"
"Sorry. I never mentioned. I live by the Law of Transmutation. Basically it means something is traded for something that is equal."
"Wow, for a pony who doesn't know what food is, you know some weird things."
"It's just something I've always known and lived by. Anyways, what do you get in return?"
"How about a friend?" I held out my hoof.
He jumped down from the window and shook my hoof.
"Deal. But you are only getting a friend, while I will get a friend and a place to live. How about we just be best friends and in exchange for me living here, I teach you the Law of Transmutation?"
"Even better!" I squealed.
"Well I still have a few hours left, what do you want to do?"
"Oh! I know!" I ran to my desk and pulled out paper and crayons.
"What are you doing?"
"Making it official." I drew a picture of us sitting together, smiling under the moon with the words 'Best Friends Forever!' written at the top. "There! Now we just need a frame."
"I can do that." He picked up the brush and turned it into a frame.
"Perfect!" I put it up on the wall and then stepped back to look at it.
"Yeah it is."
"Luna!" The door swung open and Tia walked in her nightgown. "What are you doing awake?"
"I'm playing with my new best friend."
"What do you mean? There is no one else here besides me and you."
"He's standing right here." I pointed to Carbide. "Say hello Carbide."
"Hello Carbide." He chuckled.
I laughed too, but Tia just stood there with a confused look.
Then she smiled. "I get it. My little sister has her first imaginary friend." She turned to Carbide. "Nice to meet you Carbide." She giggled as she bowed. Then she turned back to me. "Now Luna, you have a full day tomorrow of learning magic. It's time for Carbide to go home and for you to go to sleep."
"Actually, I invited Carbide to live with me. Is that okay?"
"Of course. In fact, I would have it no other way."
Me and Carbide squealed and pranced around Tia.
But then, I stopped. "Also, Tia?"
"Yes?"
"Carbide is only awake at night, so is it okay if I start staying awake at night and sleep during the day?"
She thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "But only if you continue to practice your magic."
"I promise. Carbide is really good with magic. He can even turn-"
I saw Carbide put his hoof to his mouth and shush me.
"He can what?"
"Never mind. He is just really good with magic."
"Alright. I guess I'll check in tomorrow evening. Goodnight you two."
"Goodnight!" We said in unison as she closed the door.
"Well it's even more official now!" I squealed.
"Yeah, but what did she mean by imaginary friend?" Carbide asked.
"Who cares? We can be best friends forever now!"
I hugged him and he hugged me back.
"Now what?" He asked.
"Uh... Oh! Let's play 'the floor is lava'!"
"Yeah!"
Luna's POV – Present
"I can't believe I forgot about Carbide. His lessons about equivalent exchange eventually led to me getting my cutie mark when I was able to raise the moon."
"Yeah. I was pretty good, huh?"
"But how do you fit in? I mean the part of you that was stuck in the human world."
"Remember how I had to sleep during the day? That is when Pure Heart would be awake. In a way."
"What do you mean?"
"They were never really awake neither were they asleep. They were just kind of just dreaming of each other. Which is why they don't remember each other, most of the time."
"Most of the time? You mean how sometimes you remember really good or bad dreams."
"Exactly. But they would each remember the opposite ends. Pure Heart would remember the really good times you and Carbide would have and become jealous. While Carbide-"
"Would remember the really bad times that Pure Heart had and become terrified." I said solemnly.
"Exactly."
"This explains why I was the only one able to see Carbide. I have power over dreams and since he basically was one, we could interact."
"Huh?!" I shot up and knocked heads with Luna, making her fall backwards.
"Dag, girl! You trying to break my skull?!" I yelled.
"Sorry. I just saw you tossing and turning in your sleep and I couldn't take it."
"I'm fine. Just another bad dream."
"Do you remember this one?"
"Thank Celestia, no." I said smiling. It was a lie though. I remembered every horrible detail of the ape on two legs, desperately searching for something. It's always moving from place to place, trying to find…her.
"You know I really worry about you. Why don't I have a peak at these-"
"NO!" I yelled. "No, Luna. You know how I feel about dream intrusion."
"That it's an abomination and a waste of time since dreams aren't real and blah, blah, blah." She said mockingly with a red sock puppet she made of me.
"Ha, ha, ha. You are so funny. Give me that." I took the puppet and turned it to dust. "Now try to make fun of me."
"Okay." She held up her other hoof which also had a Carbide puppet on it. "Look at me, I turn things to dust just by thinking. Poof." The puppet spat glitter in my face.
"What is with you and sock puppets?" I asked, shaking my head to get the glitter off.
"You know I like socks. So puppets seemed to be the next logical step."
I thought about it for a moment and smiled. "You have a point."
She arched her brow. "Really?"
I got my face close to hers, to which she kind of moved back. "Nope!" I grabbed her puppet and jumped off the bed, running.
"Hey! Come back here! That's one of my good socks!" She laughed, chasing me.
"You will have to catch me if you want if back!"
We ran around the room for a few minutes until the door flew open.
"Luna!" Celestia said.
We both skidded to a halt.
"Great, the party pooper is here." I said.
"Tell me about it." Luna replied.
"Luna, it's time for your rounds." Celestia said, walking towards us.
"Already? But Carbide and I were just in the middle of a chase." Luna whined with her pathetic look, making me laugh which resulted in a hoof to the shoulder.
Celestia sighed. "Come now Luna. You're over 700 years old, practically an adult. Don't you think it's strange to still have an imaginary friend?"
"There's that word again. Why does she still think I'm not real?" I asked.
"Because she is old and thinks that friends aren't a necessity." Luna said.
"Hey. I think friendship is one of the most important things in life." She defended. At this point, I had shifted the sock puppet of me into a likeness of Celestia and stood next to her, mimicking what she said.
Luna saw this and began to crack up.
"Luna!" Our attention snapped back to Celestia. "I think it's time you let go of Carbide and made real friends."
"Hey. I'm right here you know." I said, jumping up and down in front of Celestia.
"Forget it, Carbide. It's obvious she doesn't understand us. Let's just go." Luna said with a dark tone. She turned and walked to the balcony.
I looked at Luna and then back at Celestia and stuck my tongue out at her, then followed Luna who had already taken off.
After a while of flying in silence, I spoke up.
"Wanna talk about what just happened?"
"What do you mean?"
"Luna, you and I both know that she kind of has a point. Besides me, how many friends do you really have?"
"What are you talking about? I have Cloudlight-"
"I mean ones that you hang out with on a regular basis. Cloudlight… I don't what his deal is, but he certainly isn't friendship material."
"Eh, I guess you're right about him. He is kind of a recluse."
"Yeah he is. Oh! What about the bell guy?"
"Star Swirl? He is kind of too strange for me."
"Too strange for the mare who plays with sock puppets." I said with a smirk, earning me another hoof in the shoulder.
"Come on, you know what I mean. Besides, he is more of Tia's friend."
"What about Discord?"
"He's a statue, remember?"
"Oh yeah. I hope his nose didn't itch before that happened. That is a fate worse than death."
She laughed. "I can only imagine."
We touched down on a cloud.
"There has to be somepony in Equestria that is awake at night." I said, holding my hoof over my eyes and looking around.
"Don't bother. Everypony is asleep at night. There is no one that appreciates my night." She said glumly.
I looked at her sadly but then smiled. I wrapped my foreleg around her neck. "That's not true at all. I mean I do. Without your night, I wouldn't be talking to you right now. I will always be here for you Luna."
"Except during the day."
"Well, there's that, yes. But that's something that can't be helped."
"If only it was always night. Then we could always be together."
"Whoa there. Don't even think it. I enjoy being awake, I really do. But eternal night? That's just asking for trouble. Ponies need the sun, Luna."
"Who cares about all those day walkers? They don't love me. They just sleep all night long."
"Stop it Luna."
"Why should I? You're the only one I need. We could be happy Carbide."
"LUNA!" I yelled. She stopped and looked at my crying face.
"Please. Please stop. I don't like this side of you."
She hugged me and began to cry as well. "But… I don't want to see you in pain anymore. Those nightmares-"
"Are my burden. Besides, they aren't real, they can't hurt me. Now I don't want to hear about this again. Promise?"
She looked at me with tears in her eyes. "I promise."
I smiled. "Hey now. There is no need for those tears. You know I hate to see you cry." I wiped away her tears and she smiled. "Come on. It's getting late."
We spread our wings and took off for a few more rounds before we headed back to the castle.
He was running. Running towards something. A lake. It was a lake. He looked in the reflection but saw nothing but the blood that started to fall into the water from his face.
He heard a scream and looked to his left to see nothing but a blue blur. He ran after it only to find it lead to a cliff.
"I know it's you!" He yelled. "Why won't you help me?! I keep waiting, and waiting…"
Luna's POV
I watched as Carbide tossed and turned in his sleep, whimpering in pain. I know he told me to never look into his nightmares, but he needed help and I am the only one that could. I concentrated and delved into his dream.
It was snowing heavily. I saw a bipedal figure run past me and began to follow it. It knelt down in front of a lake and I saw blood trickle off its face. I screamed and it looked in my direction. I ran but it pursued. I hid and saw it run to a cliff.
"I know it's you! Why won't you help me?! I keep waiting, and waiting…"
I awoke and Carbide was staring at me with a look of anger.
"What did you do?!" He yelled.
"What do you mean?"
"Oh don't play innocent. I know that you tapped into my nightmare."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because he saw you!"
"Who saw me?"
"The two-legged ape! He saw you and, even worse, recognized you! How many times have you delved into my dreams, Luna?!"
"I swear, this is the first time."
"Then why does he know who you are?"
At this point, I felt something wet on my face. I touched it and saw it was blood. "Am I bleeding?"
"No, I am."
"What? Where?" I sprung up and looked at his face and saw blood oozing out of his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. "Oh my gosh! We have to get you to a doctor!"
"Don't change the subject. You know full well it's your fault." Carbide said, wiping the blood off my face with a cloth.
"My fault?"
"Yes, your fault. It was you who made me bleed when you entered my nightmare. You made it real, Luna."
"But I was only trying to help." I started to tear up.
"I don't want your help! It's your help that made him see you. Now he won't ever stop."
"Stop what?"
"Trying to take you away from me! Every night, he screams your name, Luna! He goes from town to town, looking for ways to travel here or contact you! And now that he has seen you, he'll try even harder!" He began to sob, his tears mixing with the blood and falling to the mattress.
"Shh. It's okay." I said, pulling him into a hug. "I won't let him take me away. I'll always be right here for you."
He hugged me back. "How? How can you promise such a thing?"
"Like you said, he's just a dream. So we just need a way to stop you from dreaming."
He pushed me away. "No. You will not make an eternal night."
"I wasn't going to suggest that. I'm just saying there has to be a way to do it."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. Maybe Star Swirl has an idea."
"Oh yeah. He always did seem akin to me."
"How do you mean?"
"Well he always seems to understand when you talk about me."
"Alright, let's go talk to him."
"Star Swirl!" I yelled as we walked into his library. "Star Swirl!"
"I'm right here, no need to yell." He said, waving us over to his desk where he was writing on parchment.
"Star Swirl, do you have something to stop somepony from dreaming?" I asked.
"Why in the world would you want to do that?" He replied without looking away from his work.
"Well you see, Carbide keeps having nightmares and I want to help him."
"Carbide? Ah yes, your invisible friend."
"Why didn't you say imaginary? Everyone else does."
"I whole-heartedly believe that he could be real and that you just have some special connection that allows you to see him."
"I told you he understands." Carbide boasted.
"Now to answer you first query, no I have nothing that can stop somepony from dreaming."
"Darn." Carbide said, kicking the floor.
"But maybe I can help him through it."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well nightmares are usually caused by a past trauma. Tell me what happens in these nightmares." He pulled out a new parchment.
"Well from what I saw when I entered his nightmare-"
"Without my permission!" Carbide interrupted.
"Shh." I gestured to Carbide, who crossed his legs. "Anyways, in the dream, there was a bipedal ape creature."
"Hold on. Does this creature have no hair except on its head?" Star Swirl asked, stroking his beard.
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"Amazing! How does he know about the humans?"
"Humans?" Carbide and I both asked.
"Yes, humans. They are beings from another world that walk upright on two legs."
"Another world? Are you saying that Carbide dreams of another world?"
"That is what it sounds like."
"How do we stop it though?" Carbide asked, which I then relayed to Star Swirl.
"Once again, why would you want to? This is an amazing learning experience."
"Because they are nightmares. They are scaring him to the point of pain."
"Pain from a dream?"
"Well, only mentally I suppose. That is, until I entered his dream and it affected him physically. Which probably happened when the bleeding human saw me."
"It saw you? Fascinating." Star Swirl scribbled down some notes. "Then what happened?"
"It chased me until I hid. Then yelled that it knew I was there and asked why I didn't help it."
"Mm-hmm." He jotted some more notes. "And then?"
"Then I exited the dream and Carbide was bleeding."
"So you entering the dream projected the human's afflictions onto Carbide."
"I suppose so, yes."
"Extraordinary. I do so wish I could study Carbide for a bit. In any case, you definitely should not return to his nightmares."
"I figured as much. But again, is there anything I can do to help him?"
"Hmm... Nope."
"What if I were to help the human?"
"Absolutely not. Humans can be dangerous, Princess. Even if it is only a dream, there is no telling what it can do."
"So I am stuck, fantastic." Carbide muttered.
"There has got to be something we can do." I said.
"Aside from keeping him awake, there isn't much I can offer without examining him. I am quite sorry my dear."
"It's fine. We'll just have to figure something out on our own."
"It was good seeing you, Princess. I'd say the same for Carbide but, well, you know."
"Great seeing you as well, Star Swirl." Carbide said as we left.
After we left Star Swirl's library, we went about my duties as a princess, or patrolling the night as usual. After hours of flying and talking about what we could do to keep Carbide awake, we came up with nothing. Finally, the end of the night drew near once again and we returned to our room.
After showering, I found Carbide staring at the moon from the balcony. I walked over and joined him.
"I hate this." He sighed.
"The moon?"
He shoved me in a playful manner. "No. All these nightmares."
"Yes, they have put quite a damper on your mood."
"I don't hate them because they affect me. I hate them because they affect you."
"What?"
He turned to look at me. "I see the pain and sorrow you feel in your eyes, Luna. Normally it only comes from feeling that no pony appreciates your night. But whenever we talk about my nightmares, those feelings intensify."
"That's only because I care about you, Carbide."
"I care about you too, Luna. And that balance of care has kept us together for over 700 years."
"What are you getting at?"
"I've been dealing with these accursed nightmares since before we even met. I believe they are the exchange for my understanding of transmutation. Thus, I've accepted them. What I can't accept is the fact that they are terrorizing you more than me. They are my burden, not yours. That is why I asked you to never delve into my dreams."
"And I never will again."
"I appreciate that, but that's not the point."
"What is then?"
"My point is that your pain is caused by me and I can't have that. I love you too much to be the cause of your pain."
"Y-you love me?" I stuttered, stepping back.
"I've always loved you. Ever since that first night when we became best friends. No, somehow I loved you even before then. Like we met in another life or something. Whatever time it was, it remains that I love you Luna."
I was stunned. I stepped back again.
"Say something, please." Carbide begged.
I looked away. "I… Need some time to process." I stepped off the balcony and flew off.
From behind I heard Carbide yell, "Luna! Come back!"
But I kept flying. I had to clear my thoughts.
Loved me before we even met? Is that possible? I know we've been best friends for a long time, but is love the next step?
After flying for an hour with questions of love floating around my head, I rested on a mountain peak.
What do I do? Do I tell him that I love him back? Do I love him back? Well I do care deeply for him. I like talking to him and playing with him. I enjoy his company more than that of others. But do all these constitute love?
Night was soon coming to its end and I had yet to decide on anything.
He loves me. He loves ME. The only one in Equestria loves ME. I'd be a fool not to reciprocate his feelings. But the question remains: do I love him?
I looked at the setting moon and smiled.
"I do." I stood up, spreading my wings and sped off back to the castle.
Upon arriving, I saw the lights were dimmed in my room.
"Carbide! Carbide!" I turned up the lights and looked around the room but he was nowhere to be seen. "Carbide! Where are you?!"
Upon further inspection of the room, I noticed a folded paper on my bed. I walked over and picked it up in my magic. It was addressed to me, so I opened it.
Luna,
I can take a hint. Staying friends is all that you can handle right now. Well, that's okay. You take as much time as you need. I was going to leave soon anyway because of the whole 'I don't want you to be in pain because of me' thing. So I guess it works out. I do still love you though and I always will. I'll wait a thousand years if I have to. Maybe by that time, I will have gotten these nightmares under control and then we can be together. Though I guess there is still the problem of you being the only one who can see me, but maybe I'll have figured that out as well by then.
In the chance that you had decided that you do love me, well then I have messed up big time. You won't be able to find me as I don't know where I'm going. Maybe you can send a signal, but what… Oh! You can leave the moon up for a bit a longer than usual. Not too long, just enough to get my attention. It may take a while for me to get back as I don't know how far away I'll be before I have to stop for the day, but hey, patience comes to those who wait. I don't know what that means, but it sounds right.
I really do love you Luna. I do with all my heart, mind, body, and soul. And that will never change. I eagerly await the day that you leave the moon up for me.
Love, Carbide
P.S. I left you a sock drawer full of me puppets.
By the end of the letter, tears were streaming down my face and I was sobbing uncontrollably.
"Luna! Why haven't you lowered the moon yet? Luna?" Tia asked as she came into my room. "What's wrong?"
I gave her the letter and she read it over.
"Why would you write yourself such a depressing letter?"
I looked at her. "Don't you see? Carbide wrote it and now he is gone."
She sighed and sat down on the bed. "Luna, I think this whole Carbide thing has gone on long enough. It was cute for the first 300 years or so, but now it seems kind of desperate."
At this point, my crying had slowed down to a trickle. "What are you trying to say?"
"For goodness sake, Luna! He's not real! He's a figment of your imagination to compensate for your lack of friends!"
"But he is real! Just because you can't see him doesn't mean that he doesn't exist!"
"Then show me proof." She demanded.
"The letter you hold is proof enough, Tia! He wrote that!"
"Oh come now. You expect me to believe that your imaginary friend loves you?"
"He does! He said it to me! And I love him back!"
"That's kind of a hollow love, considering he doesn't exist." She scoffed.
"Stop saying that!" I screamed. I jumped off the bed and flung it against the wall with her still on it. "Our love is real! I'll show you! When he gets here, I'll prove he exists! I just have to keep up the moon and he'll come." I walked over the balcony and raised the moon back to the middle of the sky.
"Luna! Stand down! Your delusions are going to affect every pony in Equestria if you keep the moon up!" She said, walking up behind me.
"Maybe they deserve it. None of them appreciated my night like Carbide did. So maybe I'll just keep the moon up until they learn to love the night as much as he does!" I stomped on the ground and a dark mist started to spread across my body.
"Luna? What's happening to you?" She stepped back.
"It's time for the ponies of Equestria to suffer as much as Carbide does. And the only way to do that is to let the nightmares seep in."
Carbide's POV
"Well that is strange." I raised my hoof to my eyes and looked at the moon. "It's no longer setting. I wonder if that means… She does love me!"
I opened my wings and flew as fast as I could back to the castle.
After an hour or so, I had reached the balcony and walked into our room.
"Luna! Where are-" I stopped as soon as I saw the ruins of the room. "What happened?"
I walked past the upturned furniture and broken glass to the door.
"Luna! Did my letter upset you this much?!" I yelled, but there was no answer.
I ran out into the hall and found it was torn apart as well. Then I heard a crash in the distance.
"Luna?" I ran down the hall, avoiding debris and came to the doors of the throne room. More crashes came from within along with voices.
"I am the night! No light can pierce my darkness!" One voice said that seemed familiar.
"It's not too late!" Another voice pleaded that sounded like Celestia. "Please just lower the moon and we can forget that any of this happened!"
I had to get in there. I tried the door, but there must have been debris blocking the way. I concentrated and the door crumbled to dust. Running through, I saw Celestia badly hurt on the ground and across from her stood a tall, black alicorn. But there was no sign of Luna anywhere.
No matter. I turned my attention towards Celestia and helping her. Running forward, I put myself between Celestia and the dark alicorn.
"Don't worry, Princess! I'll protect you!" I knew she couldn't hear me, but I spoke to her anyways.
Drawing a line with my hoof, I raised a barrier of stone in front of Celestia.
"What is this?" She asked.
On the wall, I began to write and she read as I wrote.
"It's me, Carbide. No time for chit chat, where is Luna?" She shook her. "No, it can't be. You aren't real."
Yes I am. It doesn't matter right now. Where is Luna? I wrote.
After reading, she hung her head. "That is her. The black mare."
"What?" I said aloud.
"It's true, my dear Carbide." The stone wall fractured and fell to pieces. Through the dust, a purple mist snaked through, wrapping around my legs and hoisted me up into the air. "Well, it used to be true, for I no longer go by the name Luna." The figure of the black alicorn came through the dust.
"If you aren't Luna, then who are you?"
She flapped her wings and the dust dispersed. She got her face right in front of mine and showed off her sharp teeth in a smile. "I go by Nightmare Moon now."
"…So what do you want me to do with that?"
Her smile turned into a frown. "Excuse me?"
"I mean how do you want me to react? It's just a name."
"I want you to scream in terror. I want you to cower in fear. I want you to-"
I stopped her mid-sentence by placing my hoof on her mouth. "Luna, why are you throwing this tantrum? If it's about the note, I'm truly sorry. I really did think it best for us to go our separate ways. At least until I got my nightmares under control."
She blinked a few times. "But that's what I'm doing all of this for."
"Doing what? Destroying the castle? Hurting your sister? The Luna I know would never do any of those things."
She laughed. "That's just it. I am not the Luna that you used to know. I am Nightmare Moon!"
"Oh come on. My best friend is still in there."
"No she isn't. She is gone. Luna is gone and Nightmare Moon is here to stay."
"Then I have no choice." Celestia said. We looked at her and the Elements of Harmony were floating around her.
"Wait! There has got to be another way!" I yelled.
"I'm sorry my sister." Her eyes began to glow as did the elements as a beam of rainbow energy shot out, directed at me and Luna.
"No!" We yelled as the beam made contact with us.
Everything went black.
"Hello? Sir?"
I awoke to someone talking.
"You're okay." Some blur said.
"Of course I am." I said, rubbing my eyes. I looked up to see Princess Celestia standing over me.
"That's good to hear. Now may I ask who you are?" She said, backing up.
Then I realized something. "Wait. You can see me?"
"Yes."
"And you can hear me?"
"Again, yes. Why do you ask?"
"Amazing! You are the first one to see me since-" My eyes grew big and quickly stood up, to which I almost immediately fell over.
"Hold on friend. You need to take it easy." She said, steadying me with her forelegs.
"Where is she?" I asked, whipping my head back and forth. "Where is Luna?"
Celestia lowered her head. "She is gone."
"Gone? What do you mean gone?"
"I mean I banished her."
"Then unbanish her. I can get this all straightened out. You see, I left a note telling her that I would return if she left the moon up for a bit longer and-"
She held up her hoof. "You wrote that note?"
"Of course. Who else would?"
"That means you are-"
"Philos Carbide. Yeah, I'm real. The Elements of Harmony must have turned me visible."
"That means she was telling the truth all these years."
"Yeah. All a big misunderstanding. Now if you could just unbanish her, we could all get on with our lives."
Celestia began to cry.
"Whoa. What did I say?"
"It's nothing you said. It's just…I can't undo her banishment."
"Why not?"
"She… She has been banished to the moon for a thousand years."
I was stunned. "What?"
"She wouldn't lower the moon, and I have Equestria to look after. So I did what I thought necessary."
"You thought sending your sister to the moon was necessary?!"
"It was a judgement call I had to make and I did." By now she was sobbing.
I sighed and walked over to her, taking her into a hug. "Shh. It's okay. No need to cry." I patted her on the back and held her until her sobs turned into sniffles. "There. All better?"
She nodded. "I don't get it. Aren't you mad at me?"
"No. I'm mad at myself for leaving with just a note to explain things. So much for romantics."
"How can you be so calm? The love of your life has just been sent to the moon."
"Getting all flustered won't solve anything."
She backed out of the embrace. "You are wise beyond your years." She wiped her eyes with her foreleg and stood up. "Well then. I will take these words to heart." She looked at the moon and breathed deeply. She closed her eyes, lowering the moon and then raised the sun.
As the sun ascended, I closed my eyes and prepared to fall asleep, but nothing happened. "I'm free."
"Free of what?" Celestia asked as she came to stand by me.
"I used to involuntarily fall asleep whenever the sun rose, but this time I didn't."
"Ah yes. I remember. You were the one to convince Luna to sleep during the day as well."
I laughed. "Yes. Thus began a wonderful friendship."
"And the start of a pure love."
I frowned. "Yeah."
"You know, she loved you back."
"I was pretty certain she did. But I wish she would have said it."
"She did. After she read your letter, she told me so."
I perked up. "Really?"
Celestia nodded.
"Then there is still hope for us!"
A silence fell for a few minutes.
"Well, what will you do now?" She asked.
"Wait for her of course. I told her I would wait for a thousand years and I stand by that."
"Would you come wait with me? I already have an idea for a new castle."
I shook my head. "No. I'm gonna stay here. I think it best to keep my part in all this a secret from history."
She smiled. "As you wish. If you ever need anything-"
"I'm sure I'll be fine. But if I do, you'll be easy to find."
"Then I will take my leave." She opened her wings, and flew away.
I looked at the sun and smiled as its rays warmed my fur.
"Well Luna, at least I still get to see you every night. I'll be right here the whole time, waiting for your return. Then we can pick up where we left off. Until then, I will never stop loving you."
Luna's POV – Present
"What happened next?" I asked.
"He waited. Never leaving the castle for a thousand years."
"And when I returned?"
"You had no memory of him. He was no longer a dream."
"In other words, the dream was over."
"Yes. Heart broken, he left Equestria, but often returned to the castle, upholding his title as the Pony of Shadows. That is, until he was assimiliated."
"What do you mean?"
"The spell that your children cast counteracted that 'age' spell that you casted. So the souls of Carbide and Pure Heart were brought together to make me."
"Then there should be a part of you that still loves me, right?"
"Wrong."
"But Carbide loved me and he is part of you now."
"Did you not hear the part when I said his 'heart was broken'? He spent a thousand years waiting for you, and then when you finally returned, you had no clue who he was. He was devastated. That sadness, turned to rage. More fuel for my hatred."
"But it wasn't my fault." I started to get choked up.
"Oh I know. That is why I am showing you a bit of compassion. There is still part of me, deep within, that wants to love you."
"Really?"
"Of course. Though your deception is most unattractive."
"What are you talking-"
"Don't feign ignorance. I know Ark reapplied his shield spell. So I just knocked off a few hours of its duration."
"How could you have known?"
"…Really? Luna, I've already explained this. I have grown adept at sensing things with the 3 millennia of experience I have acquired."
"3?"
"1700 years from Pure Heart and 1700 years from Carbide. Come on Luna, catch up. I'm still only 1727, but I have the experiences of two lives in my head."
"Can we get my husband back now? I'm really getting tired of listening to you ramble on about hard your life was."
He smiled. "Now we are getting somewhere. Yes, let's get my life back."
Upon returning to Canterlot, we found all the necessary preparations had been made for the final assault against Black Heart.
"Reliving the memories of our past." Pure Heart said.
"Like I would believe anything you say." She turned to me. "Where were you really?"
"It doesn't matter. What does matter is that we get my husband back, as soon as possible."
"Well then, let's get started." Vapor Sky interrupted. "Every pony is ready to get our prince back."
"Splendid. One last thing before we leave. Will all those going with us please come forward?" Ark asked, walking up behind us.
They came forward and Ark held up several necklaces that contained stones, bones and pieces of silver, all with symbols carved into them. "Each of you must wear one of these at all times during this fight." He started to put them around their necks.
Corrosive Dash held his up. "What are they for?"
"They are charms that will keep the wendigos away from you. Very few things deter them, but with the right symbols they can be repelled. At least for a time."
"Why aren't they affecting him?" Vinnie asked, pointing at Pure Heart.
"They are, though it is more of an annoyance then a hindrance to me. I have had to deal with such charms for a long time and have grown resistant to their effect." Pure Heart explained.
"That said, the wendigo soldiers that Black Heart possesses have never been introduced to these charms and therefore should prove quite effective at keeping them at bay. Any questions?"
"Yes, how come I did not receive one?" I asked.
"Simple. You aren't coming." Pure Heart said.
"Why not? I am-"
"Not essential to my plan. You will merely be in my way."
"In your way? I am plenty capable of defending myself."
"Uh-huh. Tell me, when was the last time you used your magic?"
I was going to respond but realized I hadn't in months. Not since my horn was cut off. I stayed quiet.
"Exactly." He turned to Ark and whispered in his ear.
Ark nodded and stomped the ground, making a large, clear crystal grow.
"What is this?" I asked.
"It's a viewing crystal. Since you are so worried, Megedagik thought it would be nice to let you watch us. Basically, it harbors a window into the human world."
"Now everyone can see our victory." Pure Heart said. "Now, if we are finally ready, let's get this show on the road."
Ark opened a portal and gestured for everyone to enter. One-by-one, the husbands of the Elemments Chrysalis, and Kron entered the portal followed by Pure Heart screaming, "Let's raise some hell!"
Ark rolled his eyes and was about to enter when I stopped him.
"Watch him closely." I said.
"Do not worry, Princess. I have been for a long time and I'm not about to stop." He then stepped through the portal.
Of course I would worry, but all I could do is turn my attention towards the crystal screen and watch the battle for my husband.
After stepping out of the portal, Megadagik walked over to Krom.
“Okay, bug. Where do we go?”
Krom looked around and pointed to the doors in the back. “Through there. That will lead to the courtyard.”
They headed towards the courtyard and upon arrival were greeted by screeching and howling. Walking in further revealed an arena. In the stands were several hundred wendigos that roared as if cheering.
In the middle of the field, a stand rose from the ground with Discord on it holding a microphone. “Welcome all to Cold Coliseum!” His voice boomed through the arena. “This is where we will decide who will live and who will die. Now, to explain how this will go down, please welcome Black Heart!”
A portal opened up next to Discord and Black Heart walked out, taking the microphone from Discord.
“Thank you all for coming, please have a seat.” Chairs grew from the ground behind the group and they hesitated. “Do not fear, they are just chairs. This will be a civil event.” Again they hesitated, but went ahead and sat down.
“Now then, here is what will happen. My generals will be announced and then you will decide who among you will fight them. Each fight will be different in way of rules. If you win against a general, then you move on to the next. If you lose, you die. If you are able to defeat all my generals, then you will get to fight me.”
“And what if I want to kill you right now?” Megedagik threatened.
“You could try, but you will find you are unable to move.” The group struggled to move but were immobilized. “Those chairs are imbued with paralyzing magic. You will only be able to stand when you are chosen to fight. So sit back and relax, the game is about to begin. The first round will be against Bullet Blaster.”
Bullet Blaster stepped out on to the field from a side tunnel. “Who will be the first to die?” He asked, his hands turning into guns.
Gray Shark spoke up. “I will fight him.”
“As will I.” Dawn said. “Me too.” Vinnie said.
The three were released from their bonds and stood up, walking to the field.
“Very good.” Black Heart said walking back into the portal with Discord walking in behind him, reappearing on a balcony in the back.
“It’s been a long time, Gray Shark.” Bullet Blaster jested.
“Not long enough.” Gray Shark retorted.
Bullet Blaster laughed then looked at Dawn and Vinnie. “You two are unarmed? I can fix that.” A rack of weapons rose from the ground.
“All I need are my fists.” Vinnie said, cracking his knuckles.
Dawn walked over and grabbed a sword and shield. “These will do.”
“Wonderful, now we can begin.” Bullet Blaster started firing off rounds from his hands at Dawn who used blocked them with his shield.
Gray Shark’s hand turned into a pirate sword as he ran forward and slashed at Bullet Blaster who blocked with his right gun and went to fire with his left gun at close range but was unable to as Vinnie held back his arm.
Bullet Blaster shook him off and kicked Gray Shark away. From behind, Dawn swung with his sword and cut off Bullet Blaster’s right arm. In reply, Bullet Blaster knocked him to the ground with a swing of his left arm and tried to shoot him but was tackled to the ground by Vinnie who punched him in the face.
Gray Shark ran up and stabbed Bullet Blaster in the heart, making him sputter blood. “It’s over Bullet Blaster.”
“It sure is.” His gun rotated and shot Gray Shark in the shoulder, causing him to fall backwards. “Something to remember me by.” He whispered as he slumped over and died.
“It’s over! Bullet Blaster is defeated!” Discord’s voice echoed.
Gray Shark stood up, holding his shoulder as Vinnie helped up Dawn, patting him on the back.
“I had no idea you knew how to fight.” Vinnie said to Dawn.
“I know a little bit of swordsmanship. Is Gray Shark okay?”
“I’m fine. Just a flesh wound.” He said, walking over.
“Will the winners please proceed through the portal? You are no longer needed here.” Discord said as a portal opened near the three.
“And what is on the other side?” Dawn asked.
“Why, it is home of course. Like I said, you aren’t needed here anymore and in winning have earned the right to go home.”
“How can we trust that is a portal home and not to some torture chamber?” Gray Shark asked.
Suddenly, a woman with purple hair and a white dress stepped out of the portal. “He is telling the truth, dear.” Rarity said. “That portal appeared right in the throne room. You can come home now.” She held out her hand and Gray Shark looked back at the others, still paralyzed in the chairs.
“Don’t worry about us, Gray Shark. You go and get patched up.” Eclipse said.
He nodded and took Rarity’s hand, walking into the portal as Dawn and Vinnie followed. Once through, the portal closed.
“Alright! Next up is Flash Fire! Who will fight?”
“Krom and I will!” Chrysalis exclaimed.
The paralysis subsided and the two stood up and walked onto the field where Flash Fire was waiting for them.
“My rules are quite simple: magic only.”
“Of course it is.” Krom rolled his eyes.
“Ready, set, FIGHT!”
Flash Fire immediately shot flames out of his palms at Krom who jumped out of the way and countered with an energy blast from his hand. Chrysalis ran behind and shot a beam out of her finger at Flash Fire to which he raised a barrier of flames to deflect both attacks, following up with spouts of flame from the ground underneath Krom.
He tried his best to dodge but got burned on the left arm. He fell to the ground, clutching his arm.
Flash Fire smirked and raised a wall of fire between him and Krom, turning to see Chrysalis shooting another beam at him to which he quickly dodged, blasting a fire ball at close range, hitting Chrysalis directly in the stomach and sending her flying across the field.
“How dare you!” Krom yelled, sending a scythe-like wave of energy at Flash Fire which hit right in the neck, lopping off his head. “Heh. Guess I shouldn’t have messed with your people, huh?” Flash Fire’s disembodied head said.
“No, you shouldn’t have messed with my wife.” Krom spat, kicking the head as he rushed over to help Chrysalis.
Flash Fire’s head and body then turned to ashes.
“Flash Fire loses.” Discord said solemnly.
Krom reached Chrysalis and helped her up. “Are you okay, Chrysi?”
“I’m fine. Just a large burn is all.” She showed her blackened stomach with blood running down.
“Let’s get that treated.” He smiled. A portal opened and he helped her through.
“Up next is Sombra! Who will fight?”
“Corrosive Dash will!” Maim said.
“Then we will too.” Shadowbane added.
“I am fine with that.” Corrosive said.
They were released and met Sombra on the field.
“You two will find out how I was able to enslave an empire.” Sombra sneered. “My rules are easy enough. You may not use magic.” He held up his hand and a black crystal band grew around Corrosive Dash’s and Shadowbane’s heads. “And you may not use combat.”
“Too easy!” Maim yelled, as he constricted Sombra. “Now Corry!”
Corrosive Dash roared and Sombra turned to dust.
“…Um, I guess it’s over? Sombra loses.” Discord said flabbergasted.
A portal opened and Corrosive Dash stepped through.
“Oh come on! Bring on Discord! I want to cut him up!” Maim yelled.
“No, no. We did our part. Time to go home.” Shadowbane explained calmly.
“Aw man, that wasn’t fun at all.” Maim whined as they followed Corrosive Dash through the portal, closing behind them.
“Well then, I guess it’s my turn.” Discord said, appearing on the field. “Who will be my victim?” Eclipse looked at Ark and Megedagik.
“Don’t look at us, buddy. I am here for Black Heart and Ark is going to help me. You are on your own.” Megedagik said.
Eclipse gulped hard and spoke up. “I-I guess its me.” He was released and walked up to Discord.
“No worried friends. This is not a combat themed trial, but a trial of wits. You merely have to answer my riddle. You get it right and I defect and join your side.”
“WHAT?!” Black Heart screamed.
“Let me finish.” He assured. “If you lose, you die.”
“Fine with me. Bring it on.” Eclipse said confidently.
“Alright, here is the riddle.” A podium appeared in front of Eclipse. “A window cleaner is cleaning a window on the 25th floor of a skyscraper when suddenly, he slips and falls. He has no safety equipment and nothing to soften his fall, and yet he is not hurt. How can this be?”
Eclipse thought for a moment and smiled. “He was cleaning on the inside.”
“That is correct! You win!” Discord turned to Black Heart who was walking towards them. “Sorry chief, but I quit.”
“Fine, traitor. Just know when I take care of those two, you’re next.”
A portal opened and Eclipse and Discord walked through and it closed behind them.
Ark and Megedagik were released and they walked over to Black Heart.
“Well that didn’t take very long at all.” Black Heart shrugged. “No matter. It will be nice to have an opponent worthy of fighting me.”
Megedagik cracked his knuckles. “Oh, how I have waited to finish beating you to a pulp.”
“Please, do you actually think you had the upper hand earlier? I was merely letting you hit me so I could assess your fighting style.”
“Really? And did you figure it out?”
“Indeed. You fight like a wild animal. You don’t stop to think, you just let loose your anger.”
“Enough talk. Let’s fight!”
Megedagik’s fingers grew into their blood claws and he started towards Black Heart who smirked and stepped aside. Megedagik stopped next to him and spun on his heel to slash upwards at Black Heart, connecting with his side but it glanced off. Black Heart back handed him, sending him a few feet away.
Ark put his hands on the ground and purple crystals grew on his arms and more began to envelop his body until he was covered in crystal armor. He sprinted towards Black Heart and delivered an uppercut on his chin making him fly into the air. Ark opened a portal under himself and appeared above Black Heart and axe kicked him in the stomach which sent Black Heart back down to the ground. Ark appeared next to Megedagik.
“Let’s finish this.” Megedagik said.
Ark nodded and opened several small portals around Megedagik and Black Heart who was just getting up. Megedagik closed his eyes and blood began to ooze out of his pores. His eyes snapped open and shouted, “Iron-Blood Maiden!” The blood froze into thousands of needles and shot out through the portals, impaling Black Heart from every direction. Ark let the portals go and Megedagik fell to one knee out of breath.
“Nailed him!” Ark shouted, pumping his fist in the air.
“Is that so?”
Before they could turn, Ark was kicked in the side and skidded across the field as Megedagik was punched in the head and fell to the ground. He tried to push himself up, but a heavy leg blow made him collapse again.
“That was an interesting attack. I surely would have been a goner if I hadn’t shifted out of the way.” Black Heart said. He kicked Megedagik over so he was on his back and then squatted down next to him. “Though I think it was quite silly to use such a powerful attack without wearing me out first. I mean, just look at yourself, totally worn out and nothing to show for it.”
Megedagik spat in his face. “You talk too much.” He grinned.
Black Heart wiped the spit from his face. “Just for that, I’ll make sure you never talk again.” He stood up and summoned a black ethereal blade. “Say goodbye.”
Equestria – Canterlot Throne Room
Everyone watched in horror as Black Heart kicked Ark and struck the weakened Megedagik to the ground. After he spoke, he materialized a sword.
“NO! I won’t let this happen! Not again!” Luna cried.
“There is nothing you can do. I am sorry.” Celestia said. “Just watch me!” Luna’s horn began to glow and a portal engulfed her. “I’m coming Pure Heart!”
Earth - Battle Field
Megedagik closed his eyes for what he thought was finally his end. He felt at peace as his life of loneliness passed before his eyes. Then a scream echoed out through the field and he felt a warm liquid drip on his face. He opened his eyes and saw Luna smiling at him.
“Hello, Pure Heart.” She spluttered as blood dripped from her mouth onto his face again.
He blinked in confusion. “W-what? Luna?” His eyes trailed down her figure but stopped when he saw the black sword sticking out of her abdomen. It slowly withdrew and she fell on top of him. “W-why did you do that?”
“Because-” She paused to cough up blood. “I love you.”
Black Heart laughed. “Oh, how sweet. Your wife protected you with her own body.”
“Fool. You don’t know what this sword is made of, do you? It’s dark matter. It’s able to penetrate anything.”
Megedagik struggled to sit up and turned Luna over, holding her in his arms. “I don’t understand. You love me?”
“Of course I do, silly.” She managed to smile weakly. “I always have and always will.”
At that moment, something clicked in his brain. “I… I love you too.” He took her hand in his.
She laughed lightly. “I knew you did. You just needed a little push…” She trailed off and closed her eyes, her hand slipping from his.
“Luna? LUNA!” When she didn’t respond, he pulled her in close and buried his face in her neck.
Black Heart laughed. “If you hadn’t acted so stupidly, maybe she would have lived.”
Megedagik began to laugh as well. “You’re right.” He gingerly set Luna aside, his head still bowed down, and got up on one knee. “It is my fault that she is gone.” He slowly rose from his kneeling position, shakily getting to his feet. “But you share the blame as well.” He raised his head and his eyes were glowing red. “That’s something I will never forgive.”
Black Heart clapped. “Let me guess, the love you suddenly feel for her has given you the strength to go on. How cliché.” “Wrong. It’s the hatred I have for you!” Megedagik looked at Luna. “Ark!”
Ark appeared from a portal. “Yeah man.”
“Take her back to Equestria. I am finishing this.”
Ark’s eyes grew wide. “You can’t be serious.”
Megedagik growled.
“Fine, fine.” Ark carefully picked up Luna.
“One more thing.” Megedagik whispered in Ark’s ear and he nodded.
“Gotcha. It’s been an honor.” Ark opened a portal and walked through with Luna in his arms.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Black Heart asked, raised his hand to make an attack.
His arm was held fast though by Megedagik. “Nowhere of your concern.” The portal closed, leaving Megedagik alone with Black Heart and a thousand wendigos.
“That was a mistake.” Black Heart grinned. “Do you really think you can defeat me and my army by yourself?”
“I only needed Ark here as support. I alone can destroy you and everything you have built.”
“And how do you plan to do that?” Black Heart broke his arm free and stepped away.
“After several centuries, I learned to harness a power greater that splitting matter.”
“Yeah, yeah. You can outright destroy matter.”
“There is that, but I was speaking of something different.”
Megedagik appeared behind Black Heart and grappled his body. “Anti-Matter Meld!” His body began to melt on top of Black Heart.
“What are you doing, Megedagik?!” Black Heart screeched.
“My name is Pure Heart!” He roared, his body covering every inch of Black Heart’s skin. “Molecular Devestation!”
Equestria – Throne Room
The screen on the crystal turned to static as Ark appeared with Luna. “Luna!” Celestia screamed as she ran over to them.
“Don’t worry. She will be just fine.” He set her down and his horn began to glow and the hole in her stomach began to seal up.
Her eyes snapped open and she gasped. She looked down at her stomach and touched where the hole used to be. “I’m alive?”
“You weren’t dead. Just unconscious.” Ark said.
“What happened? Where is Pure Heart?” She asked, looking to Celestia.
“We don’t know. I was asking going to ask Ark.” She said.
“He’s…gone.” Ark said solemnly.
“Gone? What do you mean gone?” Luna asked.
“As in wiped from the face of the Earth. He used his last resort: anti-matter.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that he gave his atoms an opposite charge and when he collided with Black Heart, his atoms set off an explosion. Basically, set off a nuclear blast. I was able to set up a barrier around the field and contain the blast, but there is nothing left there.”
“But he can’t be gone! Not again!” Luna screamed, breaking down crying.
Obviously, I was worn out and Celestia sent me to bed. I agreed as I was in no condition to do anything. Vapor Sky said she would take care of my children. I thanked her as I went to bed and quickly fell asleep.
Luna’s Dream
This forest. I’ve been here before. I knew just where to go and ran through it. As I did, I noticed it was devoid of sound this time. No music, no bird sounds, no crickets chirping, nothing, everything was still. I finally reached the lake just as before, but it was dank and murky, unlike its former clear and pristine self.
“Pure Heart!” I yelled out. Nothing happened. I ran along the banks to find the tree that I found him under before had withered. “Pure Heart!” I cried out. Still nothing.
I sat down and looked over this once beautiful lake and began to cry.
“Why are you crying?” A small voice said.
Startled, I jumped up and looked around. “Who’s there?”
“Down here.”
I looked down and saw a small red colt with brown hair looking up at me with big blue eyes. He tilted his head to the side. “So why are you crying?”
I wiped my eyes. “Because I lost my best friend.”
“Well that’s easy to fix. We just have to find them.” He grinned and took me by the hoof, pulling me along. “Come on. I’m sure my friends would be more than glad to help you.”
I smiled back at him. “You are so kind. What is your name?”
He turned to me and bowed. “Phylos Carbide, at your service. But you can just call me Carbide.”
“Carbide, huh? I think I knew someone by that name once.”
“Really? That’s so cool!” He led me to the forest edge and motioned me to follow him, which I did. “So what’s your name?” He asked as we walked through the forest.
“It’s Luna.”
“That is such a pretty name. I bet my friends will think so too. Speaking of which, we are here.”
We came to a small cottage with a human, wearing a hat, tending to a garden out front with his back turned.
Carbide ran up to the man and began to talk to him. The man nodded and stood up, dusting off his hands. He turned around and walked towards me.
“Hello. Carbide here says that you lost your friend.”
I nodded, stunned at how tall this man. He was maybe two meters tall with tan skin.
He took off his hat, revealing brown hair and blue eyes behind a pair of glasses. “How rude of me. Please come in.” He opened the door to the cottage to which Carbide ran in and the man gestured for me to follow.
I did and when I walked in, I saw it was a simple living space with a kitchen, dining room and living room.
The man walked in, putting his hat on a rack, and yelled out, “Darkly, we have a visitor.”
An adult unicorn with red fur and a green mane walked in from another room. “Yeah, what do ya want?” He looked at me with his purple and blue eyes, which narrowed at my sight. “What is she doing here?” He asked angrily.
“She is here looking for the other, I believe.” The man said.
“Pfft. Why should I care? I’m glad that pansy is gone.”
“If I may interject, who are you talking about?” I asked.
“Why, Pure Heart of course.” The man said. “Oh, but where are my manners. You’ve already met Carbide, and this is Darkly Façade.”
Darkly waved his hoof in an uncaring fashion.
“And my name is Zach. I believe you already know who we all are.” Zach said, pulling out a chair at the table. “Please, have a seat.”
I did and thought about what he just said. “I actually do think you all look familiar, but I can’t quite put my hoof on it.”
“I’m not surprised, you only knew me for a little while.” Darkly huffed.
“Indeed, and you technically never met me. Though you have met people older than me.” Zach said.
“But how could you forget about me? I mean, we grew up together.” Carbide said.
I thought about it for a time and realized how I knew them. “You are all Pure Heart!” I gasped.
“Well, yes and no. We are all personas of him. You grew up with Carbide of course. Then Darkly was who Pure Heart identified as when he was directed by Ark all those years ago. And as for me, well, I was him before he first came to Equestria.”
“And do any of you know where my Pure is?”
Zach sat down in a chair, taking off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “Can’t say I do. He left a while ago and never returned. All he said before he left was that he was going to end ‘this nightmare’ or something like that.”
“Nightmare? What nightmare?”
“Yours, idiot.” Darkly said.
“Hey be nice. It’s not like she meant for us to get stuck here.” Zach said, putting his glasses back on.
“What do you mean stuck ‘here’?” I asked.
“In your head.” Said a voice from behind.
I turned around and saw Pure Heart standing at the door, clutching his chest with his foreleg.
“Pure Heart!” I jumped up and caught him just as he was falling.
“Step back, I got him.” Darkly said, dragging Pure Heart to a couch.
“What happened? Are you okay? Why are you bleeding?” Carbide asked, jumping onto Pure Heart and bouncing on him.
“Carbide! Get off him!” Darkly yelled, going to a cupboard and pulling out a first-aid kit.
“He’s fine. It’s just a scratch.” Pure Heart said, trying to lift himself up, but Zach pushed him back down.
“Don’t be stupid. You’ve been injured and need to take it easy.” He said.
“Yeah, so beat it squirt.” Darkly said, pushing Carbide off.
“Squirt?! Say that again. I’ll teach you to respect your elders.” Carbide stood up on his hind legs and motioned like he was ready to fight.
“Cut it out you two. I’m not so injured that I can’t show you who is boss.” Pure Heart said.
“Sorry Pure Heart.” Carbide said.
“Whatever.” Darkly lifted Pure Heart and started to bandage his chest.
“What in Equestria is going on here?” In asked. “I demand some answers.”
“Well hello to you too, sweetheart.” Pure Heart snickered.
“You think this is funny?!” I started to choke up. “You just died for what feels like the 50th time! Then I meet all your friends and you just happen to show up but again near death!”
“Hey! I am not his friend.” Darkly piped in, bandaging Pure Heart’s leg now.
Everyone just rolled their eyes.
“I died again? Dang it. I owe Darkly 30 bits.” Pure Heart grumbled.
I growled.
“Okay, I can see you are upset. But really, I’m fine. See?” Pure Heart got off the couch and hobbled around for a moment before returning to the couch.
I took a deep breath. “Okay.” I then hoofed him in the shoulder.
“Ow! See I told you she was abusive.” Pure Heart said, rubbing his shoulder.
“It is you!” I jumped on top of him and hugged him, to which he returned the hug.
“Ech! You ponies and your love. It makes me sick.” Darkly walked away and put up the first-aid kit.
“I want some love!” Carbide squealed, squeezing himself in between us. Pure Heart and I looked at each other and laughed.
I let go of him after a few minutes and looked at him. “So what happened? They said you went to end my nightmare.”
“I did, but I failed.” He said solemnly.
“Loser.” We heard Darkly say from a back room.
“Anyways, what did you mean by stuck in my head?”
“If I may.” Zach interjected. “He meant that we are just figments of Pure Heart’s make. All of us except Carbide.”
“Of his make?” I pointed to Pure Heart.
“No, of the real Pure Heart. The one who saved you.” Zach said.
“But Ark saved my life.”
“No, he healed you. Pure Heart stabilized you by cauterizing your wounds. He then made us your mental guardians.”
“Why would I need guardians?”
“To protect you from Black Heart’s ichor. His sword was covered in poison that destroys your mind. We are here to stop it, but as you saw with the lake, it moves fast.” Pure Heart explained.
“And mean. Just look at what it did to you.” Carbide said, pointing out Pure Heart’s injuries. “Why if I was my older self, I would give that thing a beating.”
“Older form?” I asked.
“Yeah, big Carbide. He was here a while ago, but he had to leave.”
“Are you saying there was an older version of you here?” Zach asked.
“You mean you haven’t met him?” I asked.
“No, Carbide was here before us.” Pure Heart said.
“How long have you been here?” I asked.
He smiled. “Since you two got married. One of the wedding gifts you got was a tube of skin cream. When you used it, I came to reside in your head.”
“You’ve been spying on me for nearly 6 years?”
“Oh no, I have respected your privacy. I just hung out really.” Carbide shrugged.
“Well, that aside, how do you think we can defeat this nightmare?” I asked.
“Well now that you are here, I think it may be possible.” Zach said.
“How do you mean?”
“By banishing it from your mind.”
“By what?”
“Hear me out. In order to defeat it, you must banish it from this world and into the real world. It has so much control over you mentally, but physically it is powerless.”
“So what you are asking me to do is manifest a dream into reality.”
“Exactly.”
“Impossible.”
“Why? You had no problem doing it with me.” Carbide said.
“But I didn’t do anything for you. You were made real by the Elements of Harmony.”
“So just use them.”
“She isn’t the bearer of the Elements anymore, dummy.” Darkly said, walking back into the room. “And besides the Elements were hidden by Black Heart and even if they are found, how is she going to get the message to Twilight and her friends.”
“I’ll just wake up and ask for their for help in the dream world like they did once before with the Tantibus.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.” Pure Heart said.
“Why not?”
“Because the poison has already spread to the stream of consciousness. You will not be able to wake up until it has been purged.”
“So then I will contact them through their dreams.”
“Again, that won’t work. It infected the pond of scrying.”
“Pond of scrying? Are you just making up bodies of water now?” I asked.
“I may have just made up the name, yes. But it is preventing you from dream scrying.”
“So then, again, what do you suggest we do?”
“What about me?” Carbide asked.
“What do you mean what about you? You are the second most useless one here next to Zach.” Darkly said.
“I would resent that, if it wasn’t true.” Zach shrugged.
“I am talking about me talking to older Carbide. He could get the Elements together and save the day.”
Pure Heart, Luna, Darkly, and Zach all exchanged glances.
“What?” Carbide asked.
Luna picked up Carbide and sat him down on her lap. “Sweetie, older Carbide was absorbed by Pure Heart hours ago. He’s gone.”
“W-what?” Carbide said, tears filling up his eyes. “That’s not true. That’s impossible!” He began to cry, and I held him close.
“Shh, shh.” I said, rubbing his back.
“But I just talked to him yesterday.” He sobbed, burying his face into my shoulder. “How can he be gone?”
“It’s okay, kid.” Darkly said, patting him on the back.
He continued to cry, but suddenly stopped. His ears perked up and lifted his head, wiping his eyes and looked around.
“What is it?” Zach asked.
“I felt something.” He pried himself out of my arms and ran for the door.
“Carbide! Get back here!” Darkly yelled.
“He can’t be out there by himself, it’s too dangerous.” Pure Heart said, getting off the couch.
Zach tried to stop him. “You can’t go anywhere, you’re-“
“I know I am injured. But he is just a kid. We need to go after him.”
We all nodded and ran out the door after him.
Third Person POV - Castle Hallway
Celestia was walking towards Luna’s room when she saw the triplets running down the corridor. “What are you children doing?”
“We saw a pretty bird flying around outside. We wanted to go outside and see it.” Starfire said.
Vapor Sky came around the corner. “There you kids are. Come on, we need to let your aunt get back to work.”
Celestia held up her hoof. “It’s okay Vapor, I always have time for my nieces and nephew.” She smiled and looked them. “Now then, what kind of bird did you see?”
“It looked like Philomena, but blue.” Nightshade said excitedly.
Celestia’s smile quickly went away. “What did you say?”
“He said it looked like a blue phoenix.” Moonbeam said.
“Right, a phoenix. I forgot it was called that.” Nightshade laughed.
“Where did it go?” Celestia asked with a hint of ire in her voice.
“Follow us, we are going to see it right now.” Starfire said.
They ran around Celestia and she turned to Vapor Sky. “Gather the Element bearers and their husbands and meet me out at the garden. I will contact Death and tell him to come out.”
“What’s going on, Princess?”
“I hope nothing bad. Now go.” Vapor ran off and Celestia ran after the triplets.
Garden
Celestia caught up to the children in time to see the blue phoenix fly overhead.
“There it is Auntie Tia!” Nightshade exclaimed.
It flew down to the peach blossom tree in the garden where a hooded figure stood with its back turned. It landed on its back.
Celestia and the children stopped a distance away from the figure. A portal opened up and Ark stepped out along with everypony else.
“What’s going on Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked.
The phoenix noticed them and flew over, landing in front of Celestia. It tilted its head.
“A-Artemis?” Celestia said to the bird. In response, the phoenix squawked and nuzzled her leg.
The figure whistled, and the bird flapped its wings and flew back to the figure.
Celestia walked forward. “Is it really you?” She called out.
The figure chuckled and lowered its hood, revealing a red pony with a brown mane. He turned and faced everyone making them all gasp.
“Daddy!” The triplets screamed as they ran to the red pony.
He smiled and opened his forelegs wide and embraced them. “Hello children.” He hugged them for a moment then looked at Celestia who was advancing. He set them down and turned to Vapor Sky, pointing at her. “Miss, uh…”
“Vapor Sky.” She answered.
“Right. Miss Sky. Will you please take the children back inside? I need to talk my sister.”
“Of course.” Vapor walked forward and herded the children away from him.
“Bye Daddy! We love you!” The children said as they walked away.
Moonbeam quickly ran back and hugged his leg. “Don’t leave again, okay?”
He smiled and patted her head. “I’m not going anywhere.”
She smiled and began to walk away again before turning around. “By the way, I like your pretty earrings.”
He waved as they started walking back towards the castle. He looked at the blue phoenix. “Watch after them.” The bird squawked and flew after them, landing on Vapor’s back, startling her. She looked back and he winked. She shrugged and continued on.
By this time, Celestia was a meter away. She was about to say something, but he held up his hoof.
“Wait until they are in the castle.” A minute later, they had gone in and he lowered his hoof. “Now then, what were-“ He was cut short when Celestia struck him across the face, making everyone gasp again. “Ow! What was that for?” He looked at her and saw her crying.
“Where have you been?! I have sent hundreds of messages to you and not once have you responded!”
“Oh that. Well I can explain. See I have been around this whole time.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” She yelled. She blinked and he was gone. “Where did he go?”
“Yeah, where did he go? So strange.” Said a voice from behind her.
She turned around to see an iguana on the ground.
“Bubbles?” She questioned.
“Correct! Or so you think.” The iguana began to grow and turned into the large red pony from before. “Ta da!”
She hit him again. “You have been that stupid lizard this whole time!”
“Ouch! Yes! I’m sorry! Please don’t hit me anymore!” He shielded himself with his legs. He felt her legs wrap around him in an embrace.
“Why didn’t you do anything?” She cried.
He hugged her back. “You know my rule. I don’t interfere unless it is something super small or something monumentally huge.”
“I know, I know. But would it would have been nice if you had.” She said.
“Well I am here now.” He patted her on the back.
“Thank you.”
“What in the hell is going on? Why was Pure Heart a lizard?” Death asked.
The two broke their embrace. She wiped away her tears. “Honey, this isn’t Pure Heart.”
“Then who is he? Aside from the earrings, he looks just like him.” Eclipse said.
The red pony laughed. “My apologies.” He stood up tall. “I am known by many names. Right now, I am the Guardian of the Elements of Harmony, Phylos Carbide. But my friends just call me Carbide.”
“Carbide!” Pinkie Pie yelled, hopping in front him.
“You know him, sugar?” Vinnie asked.
“Of course, silly. I have been visiting him for years.” Everypony rolled their eyes and sighed in a way suggesting that of course she had.
“It’s nice to see you again Pinkie.” He turned to the group. “And these must be your friends.”
“Yes indeedy. I’ll introduce you to them.” She went down the line saying everpony’s names and he greeted each of them.
Finally, they got to Ark. “And this is-“
“Ark, yes we have met.” Carbide stretched out his hoof. “Kind of.”
“How did you survive? That spell that they used…”
“Was terrible. I told you he was an idiot.”
“What are you talking about?” Celestia asked.
“The spell from the book. It was supposed to absorb his soul into Megedagik.” Ark explained.
“But of course, Megedagik was the one who made the spell and it couldn’t get past my defenses. All he got were three memories: when Luna and I first met, when she was banished, and when she returned. Other than that, it failed.” Carbide explained.
“What do you mean when you first met?” Applejack asked.
“That is an excellent question. One that would require a long story. So instead, I shall sum up. I met Luna 1700 years ago as a child and grew up with her. After she was banished to the moon, I spent 1000 years studying magic, medicine, basically everything. Sometimes I even traveled. 6 years ago, give or take, she returned and did not recognize me. So I traveled to the human world and met Ark and Megedagik. He hatched a plan to take my soul and Ark dumbly went along with it. It failed and here I am.”
“I am so sorry Carbide.” Ark said, bowing his head.
Carbide hugged him. “There is no need. You were trying to help your friend. In any case, I forgive.” He broke the embrace. “Now then, any questions?”
Everypony raised their hoof.
He laughed. “I realize this all very confusing. And I am more than willing to answer all your questions. But for now, let’s just pick Death.”
“Why are you so buddy-buddy with my wife?” He asked.
“Easy.” Carbide disappeared and reappeared next to Celestia. “It’s because we were lovers for a time.” He kissed Celestia on the lips.
“You what?!” He yelled.
They both laughed. “Oh my gosh! You should have seen your face!” Carbide chuckled.
“No one will want to see your face when I am through with you.” Death stepped forward and turned into his behemoth form.
“Wow, Tia. You got a special one here.” Carbide said, appearing on Death’s shoulder. “Look at this guy. How crazy.” Death reached for him, but Carbide appeared next to his leg. “And these legs. Dang girl!” Death reached again for him and again he disappeared seamlessly.
“Would you hold still so I can pummel you?!” Death said.
“Now, now dear. It was just a joke.” Celestia said.
“Yes dear. We are just friends.” A second Celestia said.
“Why are there two Celestias?” Fluttershy asked.
“Look, that one is wearing studs in her ears.” Rainbow Dash said.
They looked at each other and laughed. The one on the right morphed into Carbide. “Good times. Remember when I used to be you for a day?” Carbide asked.
“You what?” Death asked.
“Calm down, Death. We haven’t done that in over 20 years. Though I wouldn’t mind it right now.” Celestia said.
“Wait, he can turn himself into other ponies like a changeling?” Eclipse asked.
“Kind of. Changelings merely put on the illusion of being somepony else. I change my entire physiology to actually transform into other ponies or even other creatures. As a master of transmutation magic, it comes easily to me.” Carbide shrugged.
“So if you were Bubbles this whole time, how come you didn’t help us? We were all injured by Black Heart and you just stood there.” Rarity said.
“Well, you see, I have a rule. I do not interfere with history unless it is a small thing like saving a village from a virus or a monumental thing like the world is on the brink of destruction.”
“But the world was on the brink of destruction. Two worlds in fact.” Corrosive Dash said. “We could have used you in the fight against Black Heart.”
“That’s the other thing. I’m a pacifist, I don’t fight unless I absolutely need to. I would much rather settle things with words.”
“A pacifist, huh? Meaning you are a coward.” Death spat.
Carbide laughed. “No, no. Nothing of the sort. I like to think of it as keeping my nose out of others’ business.”
“If you are really about not helping, then why are you here now?”
“Because those children need a father figure, and with Pure Heart gone, that responsibility falls on me.”
“Do really think that Luna would let you be their father after what have done, or rather what you didn’t do?”
Carbide’s smile changed into a frown. “You know, friend, you are really negative. You should get medicated or something.” His cloak turned into a white lab coat and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pad of paper. “I prescribe to you mood stabilizer.” He wrote something down and ripped off the paper, giving it to Death.
“You calling me mentally unstable?”
“Whoa buddy. I am no psychiatrist.” A pair of glasses appeared on his nose. “Now I am, and yes, that is my official diagnosis.” He grinned.
Death roared and brought down both fists on top of Carbide.
“No Death!” Celestia yelled.
A cloud of dust engulfed them. The dust was blasted away by everypony with wings and they saw Carbide holding up both of Death’s fist with single hoof.
“You would be a good sparring partner, my friend.” He set the fists down on the ground to the amazement of everypony there except Celestia. “You know, after a hundred years of training.”
“Will you two stop it? Death get out of that form and Carbide stop antagonizing him.” Celestia said.
“Yes dear.” They both said, Death glaring at a smiling Carbide.
“How did you do that?” Vinnie asked.
Carbide dusted off his hooves and turned his white coat back into a black cloak. “Like I said, I am the guardian of the Elements of Harmony. I protected those relics for a thousand years. That comes with the expectation of keeping them safe from evil. Speaking of which, where are they?”
Twilight looked nervously at the others and spoke up. “Black Heart took them.”
“Yes, yes. I was there for that. I assumed you all retrieved them.”
“We sent a team to Black Heart’s fortress to get them back but have been unsuccessful in finding them.” Celestia said.
“I have an explanation for that. They were destroyed.” Carbide said.
“What? How? When?” Celestia asked.
“I assume that Black Heart had them on his person when he was hit with the blast that Megedagik set off. Such a powerful blast could surely destroy them.” Everyone looked downtrodden. “Though I have good news.” He flashed the jeweled studs in his ears. “I am sure you have noticed these six earrings I am wearing. They just happen to be the original Elements of Harmony that were passed to me by Princess Celestia after Luna was banished. The ones you had were just conduits for their power.”
“That’s fantastic! Now you can give them back to us.” Rainbow Dash said.
“That’s the bad news. As the Guardian of the Elements, I cannot freely give the original ones. They are much to powerful for kids such as yourselves to hold on to. I would have to build new conduits.”
“Well then you should do that.” Death said.
“Oh you. I wish it was that simple. But it took me twenty years to do it last time. Yes, I could do it much faster this time around, but it would still take a year or two. And even if I was able to make them that fast, I could not in good conscience give it to a pregnant mare. It could hurt the baby.”
“Then what do you plan to do with them?” Eclipse asked.
“Not sure. I may hold on to them for another thousand years. Or maybe return them to the Tree of Harmony.”
“The what?” Death asked.
“It’s where they are originally from.” Celestia explained.
Carbide nodded. “But for now, I will just hold them. You six will remain as the Element Bearers but will not have access to them. I am sorry.” He looked at Twilight who began to tear up. He walked over to her and lifted her chin. “You are not in any kind of trouble, my dear. The Elements just need to rest for a while. There is no need to cry.” He wiped the tears from her eyes. “My, my. You sure have grown up. I remember when I first met you.” He stepped back and looked at Celestia. “Do you?”
She smiled. “Of course. I was so excited to show off my new student I sent for you immediately, making it seem like an emergency.” They laughed.
“We’ve met before?” Twilight asked through a few sniffles.
“Why of course, though you were quite young. I believe it was only few days after Celestia picked you as her protégé. But I knew you were the right filly for the job as the bearer of magic. You know how I knew?”
She shook her head.
He smiled and lowered his head, showing the purple stud in his ear. “Cause this began to glow.” As he said this, the purple stud glowed bright. “Just as I thought you are still worthy.” He looked at her directly. “You probably don’t remember, but you said my earrings were pretty at the time.” He stood up and laughed as he ruffled her hair. “I’ll tell you what. After you give birth, I will train you six to use the original Elements. It will be a long road, but I think you all can handle it.” He looked around. “Is that acceptable?” Everypony nodded. “Wonderful.” He clapped his hooves together. “Now then, where is Luna? I have been in my lab for the last hour.”
“She is sleeping right now. She has been through a lot in the last couple hours. Between getting stabbed in the stomach and learning that her husband died again, she was really worn out.” Celestia said.
“She was what?! Damn!” He hit the ground hard, making a large crack in the ground. He breathed heavily for a second but then looked around seeing everypony’s worried faces. He stood up straight and smoothed out his mane. “Sorry. I get really worried about her.” He turned to Celestia. “Who is the primary physician?”
“Dr. Sternum.”
“My old student? Wonderful!” His pocket began to beep. He pulled out a stack of cards and started flipping through them.
“What are those?” Celestia asked.
“They are business cards attuned with magic, so they act like communication devices with clients. Now let’s see, professional aeronaut, no. Professional scarecrow, no.” Applejack and Rarity gave each a look. “Ah, here we are. Phylos Carbidium, M.D.” He held up a flashing card and tapped it. A hologram of Dr. Stern popped up. “Dr. Sternum. How is my favorite student?”
“Well, I am in a bit of pickle. I was looking at Princess Luna’s chart, and there is something that just doesn’t add up. I was hoping you could come and help me out.”
“Interesting. I’m actually in the neighborhood, I can be there in a few minutes.”
“Awesome. See you then.” The hologram cut out and Carbide stuck the card back in his pocket.
“I have to go talk to Dr. Stern. Ark, I could use your help.”
“Roger that.”
Carbide turned to Celestia. “You should go rest. It’s been a long day.”
Celestia stepped forward and kissed Carbide on the cheek. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being here.” She smiled and he smiled back.
“Come now, Ark. We must not keep my student waiting.” Ark opened a portal, but Carbide shook his head. “No my friend, let me take care of the transportation.” Ark closed the portal and Carbide touched him on the shoulder. Before anyone could blink, they were gone.
“What do we do now?” Twilight asked.
Celestia looked at her own student. “You all should rest. I will be checking in on my sister.”
Castle Hallway
Celestia and Death walked through the castle, she explaining to him her exact relationship with Carbide.
“We are just close friends, dear.”
“There was absolutely no intimacy between you two?”
“Only comforting shoulder hugs and occasional cheek kisses. Nothing more.”
“Well, okay. I will let it go then.”
“That’s all I ask.” She kissed him on the lips. “Now then, here we are.” They approached the doors to Luna’s room and knocked on the door. “Luna? Are you awake?” They felt a cool breeze come out from under the door. “She must have left the window open.” Celestia tried to open the door, but found resistance. “We should get these door hinges oiled.”
Death pushed open the door with some effort and they found the room covered with a thin layer of frost. “What’s going on?”
Celestia looked around and saw the window was closed. Then she looked at the bed and saw Luna covered in ice. “Luna!” She tried to run over but she began to slip. Death held her fast and they helped each other over to the bed. “Luna! Wake up!” She reached over to touch her and was met with icicles appearing on her hoof.
“Don’t touch her. There is a dark magic at work here.” Death said.
“We have to help her though!” Celestia yelled.
“We need to get out of here. This cold is not safe for the baby. Come on.”
“Not without Luna!”
“He’s right.” Said a voice from behind them. They turned around to see Carbide and Ark. “You two need to get out of here. It is much too dangerous.” Ark said. He walked towards them with some difficulty.
“What do you mean? What’s happening?” Celestia asked.
“Leave now!” Carbide yelled. His horn sparked and the three of them were transported to the study.
“What’s going on?” Celestia asked. “Why did we have to leave?”
“Wait a moment.” Ark looked her over, from snout to flank. “Did any ice get on you?”
“Yes, on my hoof.”
He took her hoof and looked it over. “Good, it looks like it didn’t spread.” He touched his horn to her hoof and she felt a burning sensation.
“OW! What was that for?”
“I had to make sure to kill the infection.”
“What do you mean infection? What’s happening?” Death asked.
“When Luna was stabbed by Black Heart’s sword, it left behind a poison that takes over the body in the form of ice. That ice has a metamorphic effect on the body, slowly changing the recipient into a wendigo.”
“Luna is turning into a wendigo?!” Celestia shrieked. She ran towards the door, but was blocked by Ark. “Get out of my way! I need to save my sister!”
He shook his head. “There is nothing you or anyone can do.”
Celestia stepped back. “Do you mean to say that there is no way to stop my sister from turning into a wendigo?”
His ears folded back and he bowed his head. “I am sorry.”
She began to weep heavily. “Let me through, I need to see her!”
“That is impossible. By now, Carbide has already sealed off the room. There is no way in or out until he the deed is done.”
“The deed? What do you mean?”
“As we speak, Carbide is making sure that her transformation does not progress anymore. The only way to do so is to… end her life.”
Celestia’s eyes grew wide and her horn sparked, blasting Ark. “NOOOO! I need to stop him!” She ran out the door and into the hall, arriving at the door to Luna’s room within a minute. She beat on the door. “Carbide! Don’t do it! There has to be another way!” She began blasting the door with her magic, but to no avail.
“I am sorry Princess.” She heard him say from behind. She turned around and saw a card on the floor with a hologram coming out. “I am so sorry. You have been such a great sister. To both us. But I cannot allow you to see this, it will hurt too much. I am about to enter her mind to say goodbye. I will tell her you said goodbye as well.”
“Carbide, don’t do it! Please, I am begging you! There has to be another way!”
He shook his head. “Ever the optimist.” He sighed. “After this is over, I will be leaving. This is goodbye for us as well. I love you Celestia. You are truly a great friend.”
The hologram cut out and Celestia screamed. “CARBIDE! LUNA!”
Luna’s Dream - Carbide’s POV
When I appeared in her dream world, I looked around and saw a withering forest. “It’s getting bad in here. I better find her quickly.” I said to myself.
I began running. “Luna! Luna!” I yelled out. “Where are you?”
I heard rustling behind me and I whipped around, charging up a blast from my horn. “Show yourself!” From the bushes walked out my younger self.
“Carbide!” He squealed, running towards me.
I let the charge go and smiled. “How’s it going squirt?”
He hugged my leg. “I knew it wasn’t true! I knew that you weren’t gone!”
“Carbide!” Yelled a familiar voice. Luna emerged from the bushes as well as a human and two ponies that looked like me. “There you ar-” She stopped in her tracks when she saw me. “Who are you?”
“It’s me! Or the real me, anyway.” My younger self said.
I walked towards her, and raised a hoof. “Hello. It’s been a long time, Luna.”
She hesitated, but shook my hoof. “So you are Phylos Carbide. I never thought I would get to meet you, or see you again. I’m not sure which really. This is all so confusing. And I-”
I stepped closer and hugged her. “It’s okay. I know just how you feel.”
She hugged me back. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.”
We broke the embrace and I looked at the others. “And who are these folks?”
“They are you. Or you are them. Again, confusing.” She pointed to the human. “This is Zach, the form of Pure Heart before he came to Equestria.”
He stepped forward and shook my hoof. “It is nice to meet me.” He laughed.
“And this is Darkly Facade. He’s-”
“I’m the guy Pure Heart became under the control of Ark.” He interrupted. He stayed back, making no effort to be nice.
“Finally, we have Pure Heart.”
“Yes, the pony who started all of this.” I said. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“You too. I haven’t heard much about you, but I have heard that you grew up with my wife.”
“Yes, we are, or were, best friends.” I shook his hoof and stepped back. “Nice little family we got here.” I began to tear up.
“What’s wrong? Is seeing my husband making you sad?” Luna asked.
“No, no.” I sighed. “You see, I didn’t come here to catch up. I came to say goodbye.”
“Goodbye? Why would you say that when you just got here?” The young me asked.
“Because the infection has spread too far. You will soon turn into a wendigo, Luna.”
“What’s going to happen to me then?” Luna asked.
I looked away and the tears spilled on to the ground. “I have to… kill you.”
The other three stepped forward. “Over our dead bodies.” Zach said.
“This is the only way to make sure she doesn’t suffer more than she has to. This is mercy.”
“That’s murder. You are going to murder the pony you love?” Pure Heart asked.
“Even I can’t let that happen.” Darkly Facade said.
“What do you want me to do? Let her mind wither away into nothingness as she becomes a beast of absolute horror. Is that what you want?”
Young me stepped away. “No. But you can’t do this, big me. There has to be another way.”
“What about the Elements of Harmony? They can stop this, can’t they?” She asked.
“The Elements could do that in theory, yes. But the Element bearers are in no shape to use them. Especially without the conduits.”
“What happened to the conduits?” Pure Heart asked.
“They were destroyed in the explosion that Megedagik made. Only the raw elements remain.”
“Then use those.” Zach said.
I wiped my tears. “That… could work. But I can’t do it on my own. I need help.”
“We can help. We will lend our power to you.”
“There is one caveat. This will kill you three. Are you willing to give up your lives?”
They looked at each other and all nodded. “We were put here to protect Luna. And that is what we will do.” Pure Heart said.
“You can’t. I don’t want to lose you again.” Luna said to Pure Heart.
He took her into his forelegs and kissed her. “Don’t worry, I will be back.”
“Ech. Can we get this over with so I don’t have to see this mushy stuff anymore?” Darkly asked. We all looked at him and laughed.
She stepped up to him and gave him a hug. “I will miss you too.”
He struggled, but ended up hugging her back.
They let go and she turned to Zach. “It was pleasure knowing you, Zach.”
“The pleasure is all mine. I am just stoked that I got be part of something this big. You know, I was thinking about my life and how dull it truly was. I’m glad I got to actually make something of myself.”
They hugged and then she turned to the young me. “And you? What will happen to you?”
“I’ll go back to Carbide. I’m just an extension of him after all.” He said happily.
She smiled and hugged him. “You are so much more.” She kissed his cheek and he giggled.
“Are you ready to go?” I asked. They all looked at me and nodded.
Pure Heart walked up to me and whispered in my ear. I nodded and looked at her. “Luna. I am so happy we got meet, and look forward to being your friend again.”
She smiled. “And I you.”
I smiled back and looked at my new companions. “Well friends, lets get her better.” I sparked my horn and all the versions of me disappeared. “See you on the other side.” I said to her. She waved and everything began to fade.
I woke up in Luna’s room, covered in ice. I flashed my horn and the ice shattered. I shook off the cold and looked at her laying there.
“Well, here goes nothing.” I closed my eyes and concentrated on the power emanating from the stones attached to my ears. I felt the presence of the other personas in my mind and when I opened my eyes, a rainbow energy was circling me. I sent it towards Luna who began to float and then everything went white.
I quickly got my vision back and Luna was lying on the bed again as a beast stood above her.
“Get away from her!” I yelled. Out of my pocket, I pulled a white sword.
The beast looked at me and roared, lunging at me. I sliced down at it and it screamed.
“Begone! And never come back!” I yelled as I delivered another cut it to. The beast howled in pain and turned to dust. I picked up the dust in my magic and incinerated it into nothing.
I looked at Luna and ran to the bed. “Luna! LUNA!” I melted all the ice off of her and listened to her heart. It was slow, but there. I picked her up and transported us to the hospital.
Hosptial Room - Luna’s POV
I slowly opened my eyes and winced at the bright light coming from the room.
“She’s awake!” I heard someone say.
I tried to sit up, but was pushed back down. “Take it easy, sister.” I looked and saw Celestia smiling at me.
“Tia!” I shot up and hugged her.
She smoothed out my hair and patted my back. “It’s good to see you too, Luna.”
I let go and looked around. “Am I in the hospital?”
She nodded. “Carbide brought you here after expelling the beast within you.”
“That’s right. He used the Elements to dispose of the wendigo growing inside of me. How is he doing?”
“You can ask him yourself.” She moved and he was leaning against the wall, a large sword slung to his back.
“Carbide!”
“Hello, Luna.” He walked over to the bed.
“I will give you two some privacy.” Celestia said, walking out the door and closing it behind her.
“How are you feeling?” He asked, placing the sword against the wall and sitting on the bed.
“A little groggy and kind of sore. But otherwise, just fine. Except…” I looked away.
“You miss him, don’t you?” He asked.
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Well, there is something he told me before we left.” He picked up the sword. “Do you recognize this sword?”
I looked at it closely. “This is Pure Heart’s sword, Divinus.”
“That’s right. Your elder son, Nightshade, rebuilt it a while ago. And your husband did something that I actually applaud him for.” He flipped the sword and showed her the handle and pointed at the pommel. “You see this stone? It’s a soul fragment. He placed part of his soul in the this sword knowing that something like this might happen someday.”
“So that means, we can bring him back?”
“Yes, but there is only one way to do so.” He got off the bed and walked to the door, opening it. “Come in.” Ark walked into the room.
“Hello Princess. You look well.” He said.
“Hello Ark.” She looked at Carbide. “I don’t get it. What does he have to do with it?”
“Ark is the only one with fusion magic left. He will be fusing my soul and Pure Heart’s soul.”
“Carbide, no. I can’t ask you to do this.”
He held up his hoof. “I am quite fine with it. I want to even. That way, we can both be with you.” He broke off the soul fragment and gave it to Ark. “Ready?”
“It’s been an honor.” Ark’s horn lit up and he pushed the soul fragment into Carbide’s head.
Carbide screamed and all the lights in the room went out.
When they came back on, Carbide stood there looking around. “Thank you Ark.” He said. Ark bowed and walked out of the room.
I got out of bed, and shakily walked over to him. “Carbide? Pure Heart? Are you okay?”
“I don’t know. Was Pure Heart blind?”
“WHAT?!”
He looked at me and smiled. “Kidding.”
I laughed and cried, while hoofing him in the shoulder.
“Ow! What was that for?”
“You big, dumb jerk.” I cried, hugging him. I kissed him and he kissed me back. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, Luna.”
I broke the hug and looked at him. “What should I call you now?”
“I don’t know. Big, dumb jerk has a nice ring to it.” He grinned. I hoofed him again. “OW! So abusive!”
“You are definitely Pure Heart.”
“Indeed.” I continued to cry and he wiped my tears away. “Hey now. There is no need for that. You know I hate to see others cry.” He smiled as he kissed me again. He picked me up and put me back in bed, him lying beside me.
“What do we do now?” I asked, nuzzling his neck.
He held me in his forelegs. “Well, I have to say that I am kind of sick of the cold. How about you?”
“Oh my, yes. I could go without it for a long time.”
“So I was thinking. I know a place where it is almost never cold. How does that sound?”
“That sounds amazing. A vacation is just what I need.”
“I was thinking of a bit longer than a vacation.”
“Well however long it is, as long as I am with you, I don’t care where we are.”
He kissed me again. “Me neither. But for now, you need some rest.”
He began to get up, but I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. “You aren’t going anywhere.”
He laughed and laid back down. “As you wish.”
We laid there for a while until I slowly drifted off to sleep.
Mesa, Arizona - 3rd Person POV ‘It’s been three months since the world was taken over and then released in Antarctic. Officials say that a castle of ice still remains in the South Pole but that it is entirely devoid of life as a degree of radiation emanates from a crater in the center of the structure. We may never understand exactly what occurred in Antarctica. At least it is safe to that it is over.’ The TV blared.
“Dan, will you turn off that dribble?” Katie told her husband from the kitchen.
“Sure honey.” He clicked the remote and the TV turned off.
Katie walked out of the kitchen with a casserole. Come on, we are going to help the new neighbors.”
“It’s amazing how fast the Karblon’s moved out.”
“Yeah, they just up and left. Their house didn’t even go on the market.” They walked across the street to the moving van.
They saw a man with his back turned carrying out a sofa off the truck. He was struggling to keep hold of it and was about drop it.
“I gotcha.” Dan said, rushing to the other side of the couch.
“Thank you very much.” They carried the couch into the house and up the stairs to the living room, setting down against the banister.
“There we go.” Dan said, wiping his brow with a rag from his pocket. “Dan.” He said, holding out his hand, but his hand curled when he saw the man’s face. “Zach?”
The man smiled. “Hey Dad.”
Dan walked over to him and stared. “It can’t be.”
“It is.”
Dan hugged him tight. “But you died.”
“He does that.” A blue haired woman said, walking out of the hall.
“Jeez, you dies 3 or 4 times and suddenly everyone thinks he does it on purpose.” Zach laughed. He turned to Dan. “Dad, this is my wife, Luna.”
She held out her hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”
Dan shook her hand. “The pleasure is mine.”
“We baked you a casserole.” Katie said, walking up the stairs, but dropped the dish when she saw Zach. “Zach?”
“Actually, it’s Pure Heart now.”
“Who cares? You’re alive!” She rushed over and hugged him. “I am so glad you are alive.” She stepped back. “And who is this?”
“My name is Luna. I’m his wife.”
Just then, the children came running up the stairs.
“And these are our children: Moonbeam, Starfire and-”
“Nightshade!” Katie exclaimed, hugging him closely. “We thought you had been kidnapped.”
“I’m fine grandma, except you’re squishing me.”
“Sorry, I just can’t believe it. And you two.” She turned to Moonbeam and Starfire. “I guess you can call me grandma.”
“Awesome. We’ve never had grandparents before.” Starfire said.
Katie turned back to Pure Heart. “So other than having a family and getting your ears pierced.” She paused and pointed at his ears. “What have you been doing for the past several years?”
Pure Heart turned to Luna who winked at him. “It’s a long story.”
“Come on grandma and grandpa, let me show you my new room.” Nightshade said.
“No I want to show them my room first.” Moonbeam whined.
“Now kids, I am sure they have plenty of time to see all of your rooms.” Luna said.
“Uhh, um. Sure. But we will be talking later.” Katie said, pointing at Pure Heart.
“Come on, come on.” The triplets urged their new grandparents, almost pushing them down the stairs.
Luna and Pure Heart laughed.
Luna then turned to Pure Heart.
“So you think Equestria will be fine without us?”
“Of course. It’s only until the kids graduate high school. And if anything happens, then we are only a portal away.”
“More than 10 years. That’s a lot of time.”
“More time to spend with you without any insanity.” He kissed her passionately.
When they broke their kiss, she hugged him and him back. “So this is our new life.”
